Home / Archive / Publisher's letter: Feb. 2009
Saturday, February 04, 2012
Publisher : February 2009
Seizing opportunity
Amid the global crisis caused by World War II, Winston Churchill could still declare: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
Count me among Churchill’s optimists, because I do, indeed, see many opportunities for our region despite the economy. Adversity often leads to cooperation, self-examination and a willingness to change. The city of Sacramento certainly voted for change in selecting Mayor Kevin Johnson.
A majority of Americans also voted for change in the November election. As a result, we have a new administration promising a stimulus package that targets a number of our region’s most urgent needs: improvements to deteriorating roads and bridges, upgrades of school buildings and creation of jobs in clean and green industries.
In fact, the new national agenda is looking more like one tailor-made for our state and region, particularly since we already have the groundwork for numerous infrastructure projects that state funds can no longer support. California has $28 billion worth of infrastructure projects it could have up and running within four months, according to the governor’s office.
In our region, the Metro Chamber and the Sacramento Area Council of Governments have been hustling to identify “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects and work with elected officials to make our case in Washington. These projects include the downtown Sacramento railyard redevelopment, levee fixes, highway repairs, public transit investments and overdue school maintenance.
And, let’s not forget, a number of projects are still moving ahead. In downtown Sacramento, for example, the railyards have enough money to begin construction and put 3,000 people to work during 2009, while the $85 million expansion of the Crocker Art Museum continues. The $1.3 billion makeover of the Sacramento International Airport has also begun along with a $181 million environmentally friendly replacement for the state’s heating and cooling plant.
Another major boost for our region should come from the new administration’s emphasis on cleaning up the environment and developing new energy sources. California is a leader in efforts to reduce greenhouse gases and use more renewable energy, and as the state capital, we offer access to the policy makers who advocate for clean technologies.
I have long argued that our region could, and should, aggressively pursue a role as a center for these technologies. We already have a base of nearly 100 clean-tech companies. A new federal initiative could be exactly the push we need to become an incubator for clean-tech startups and the 21st century jobs they bring.
None of this is to deny the challenges we all face in sustaining our businesses during the months ahead. As Comstock’s enters its 20th year, we are tightening our belts by producing a combined January-February issue. At the same time, we are moving ahead on new initiatives such as the second phase of our website, expanding current content and building a five-year article archive. Additionally, we have begun work on Capital Region 2010, our first annual review and forecast of the region, which will debut in late December 2009.
Yes, these are difficult times. But we at Comstock’s intend to search for the opportunities within them. I urge you to do the same.
