Local election time is around and the heat is on. I've been cooking up quite a few comments over at the Well, and there is no doubt that fire will get bigger as Local politics kicks into high gear with debates and profile pieces in the MRT.
Local Political Blogs: Asking the questions whispered in the coffee shops.
I was a little down on Second Life, but as I have been shown some things it is not so bad. You just really have to want to be a 3-D texture builder and script writer if you want to have some quality spaces
That being said, maybe the City of Midland should build a virtual convention center in Second Life. Texas State University (SWT San Marcos for us old folks) has a really nice virtual campus.
Nobody could say we weren't cutting edge with with a SL convention center.
OK, it is official. People in Midland now have more money than sense. In all my years I have never seen the Mall Parking lot packed out like it was last weekend. Get real people. Midland Park Mall really doesn't have that many great stores (it has had better in its history).
Of course the Wal-Marts, Best Buy and Kohl's aren't doing too bad either. I'm curious what the sales tax receipts are going to look like in a couple of months.
United States' Wilson Young, left, son of Jake Young, one of the victims of 2002 Bali bombings, touches a freestanding granite globe, with 202 individually carved doves, each of which represents a victim, prior to a ceremony to unveil the memorial site in central London, Thursday Oct. 12, 2006. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
For the United States, 9/11 brings Terrorism home in the hearts and minds of a nation. It was a horrifying day. However, 9/11 was not the first, nor the latest strike by Islamic Terrorists at Americans. Barely a year after 9/11, at the conclusion of Ramadan, Global Islamic Terrorism consumed a Man who embodied the best of what Midland, Texas can produce, Jake Young.
For all the column inches of space spent in the national papers remembering where you were or what you were doing when you learned about 9/11, little has been said about Jake in the national press since 2002. However, tonight, as Ramadan comes to a close, I was reminded of Jake Young. There are widespread reports of the release of two of the Islamic Militants convicted of participating in the bombing that killed Jake. Some media reports mention a "Neraska Football Player," others reference "Americans" and others just quote the figure "202."
I remember Jake Young.
Cross posted to Jessicas Well
(Edited to be kinder and gentler to the local press)
Originally posted at Jessica's Well
They held the first public and stakeholder input meeting for the $45 million dollar Performing Arts Center "Earmark" provided to UTPB by the Texas Legislature.
I'm not too much of a fan of publicly funded Performing Arts Centers, because I think there are better uses for $45 million in tax dollars, like refunding it to taxpayers. However, until the whole tax and spending system is fixed, I say let them spend the money in the Permian Basin instead of the metropolitan black holes of Houston or DFW.
That being said, it was quite refreshing to read Tim Jebsen's quotes in the MRT today. I think Tim has done a fine job with the PRIVATE non-profit Midland Community Theater and he stated very eloquently what many I listen to have been thinking and saying.
He [Jebsen] said a 2,000-to 2,500-seat auditorium is larger than audiences for most performing arts events here."My concern is that they are building too big of a hall," said Jebsen, adding his ideal size is 1,500. "Seven hundred and fifty people in a 2500 auditorium looks empty and doesn't pay the bills. I think there needs to be some soul searching there to see what we really need."
Just after this quote Jebsen, in my opinion, nails the problem with government getting involved in building such edifices, or funding programs which overlap with existing community offerings:
"The number one concern is who is going to be paying the bills to run this building three or four years after it opens. Is UTPB going to be putting 1.5 million to staff and pay bills or are they going to be going out into the community and suck that support away from already existing non profit groups not only theater groups but others."
Well Said Mr. Jebsen, I truly hope the design team was listening.
Accouring to MyWestTexas.com:
Rail transloading center gets setback as land lease expires (By Bob Campbell)
Reading between the lines of a previous article on this subject, I knew this was in trouble. I think the "small opening" quote from the Iowa Pacific representative is telling.
I think a rail facility would be a good addition to the Basin as a Whole, but someone bigger than the local Rail District is going to have the poke the Dinosaur that is UPRR. Dinosaurs don't respond to pokes by little sticks.
It seems the wire services picked up on the "Come Home to Midland" campaign.
I have known about this campaign for months, and it has made the "Community Organizations" rounds too. Glad to see it is actually out in the Wild.
Now, will it do more than create buzz? If it does work, where will we put all these returning 20-30 somethings? At their parents houses?
It seems that Midland is starting some rather ambitious projects. Between the road improvements, retail improvements, water system improvemetns, new housing developments things are happining. I guess some of that cash from high oil prices is starting to come loose.
I just hope we manage the wave correctly.
It seems the economic development engine of Midland is moving at two speeds. Wall street and the downtown area is seeing some activity, while we learn in the MRT today that the Container Rail Yard is being held up by the Union Pacific Rail Road (UPRR).
This makes sense, only becasue UPRR is running at near capaciy. Why make a stop between Midland/Odessa on an over-crowded rail line when you don't have too.
If anything I have always wondered why UPRR isn't looking to build two (2) tracks along most of its route through West Texas. It seems this would do wonders for its capacity, but I guess it is too expensive to do without the Government paying you per mile of track laid like they did back in the late 1800's.
Then again, maybe they are frozen by union railway workers who are afraid of modernization and automation which would increase the capacity of the lines without large capital expenditures. Who knows, for now they just count their profits from rail and oil & gas operations.
I analyzed the bus system figures for EZ-Rider based on the NTD 2004 database figures. I asked the NTD when the 2005 numbers would be posted and they said it would be DECEMBER 2006. Yes you read that right, a whole year later. Now, the NTD requires all transit agencies to submit their data MONTHLY via the web on their site, and they require the agencies to file a final report within 180 days of the end of their Fiscal Year.
OK, so if most fiscal years end on September 30, they have a March 30 Deadline, then a couple of months to put all the data together and you should have 2005 Data by July or so...but NO.
Ahh to work at the speed of Government. When they are ready, the public and the consultants must have all their stuff in to them yesterday...when it is them...well when they get around to it.
Public Transportation Supports the Community
- During emergencies, such as floods, hurricanes, and fires, public transit comes to the rescue of the public and workers alike.
- Vinyl wraps around buses promote community events, organizations, and public service messages.
- Public transportation provides special service to community events such as Christmas shopping, special tours, and concerts.
- Special programs are conducted for groups in need of discounts or adjusted fares.
Well I'm over analyzing the EZ-Rider bus sytem again over at Jessica's Well.
Why do I do it? It's not that I am against EZ-Rider. I think the system is useful (if not fully designed, implemented and optimized). I have actually ridden EZ-Rider and think it is O.K. Also, I am not against public transportation in theory, but some of the generic public transportation selling points for EZ-Rider were over the top for Midland/Odessa. (Congestion, Commute Time, etc.)
What I wonder about is what will happen when the Federal share of running the system drops below 50%, or what happens when the State $ get reduced to fund "education" expenses? I have these visions of MIDTRAN. Yes, ridership is up, but how did other similar system do in Year 2, Year 3? Yes fare collection is 70% of the measley local share, but what happend to systems that had their Federal share drop below 50% of the total?
For the uneducated, the day-to-day EZ-Rider folks are really a team of well trained Mass-Transit professionals who are employed by McDonald Transit. They are very good at public relations and pretty good at running transit systems. I do find it troubling that the Key personnel on their website are CPA's and Public Administration Types, NO ENGINEERS.
I think EZ-Rider has done a good job with building a system around the disabled and the low-income, but for them to grow, they need to branch out. I have always questioned the lack of route between Midland & Odessa with a transfer station at the Airport. I guess the problem is it would take at least 4 buses to make this system viable, and when you only have 30 buses to begin with, that is a big investment. I also think that EZ-Rider doesn't market itself as well as it could for special event shuttle services. There has been some small scale uses at Rock the Desert and the CAF AirSHO, but they don't seem to be plugged into big annual events in the area. Yes it would take time to develop, but my analysis for 2004 shows EZ-Rider is not really a take me to work/school transit system, so they need to be inventive to survive the eventual decrease in Federal Funds.
Midland now has a Fixed Route bus system called EZ-Rider. The whole point of having a Fixed Route public transportation system was to get the Federal Dollars "we were missing out on", quit being the largest metropolitan areas in the US without one, be like every other big city, fill in a check box on an Economic Development Project prospect form, help Midlanders who didn't have transportation, and conserve resources. (in that order)
I'll go into the numbers below, but the moral of the story is that in 2004, EZ-RIDER cost the Taxpayers approximately $24 per person, per round trip bus ride, with the rider paying $2. ($26 Total)
