ypsi~dixit

What made Ypsi a Granholm-stamped "cool city" in the first place? Was it our fabulous bar scene? The abandoned warehouses along Huron Street?

Or maybe No-Face?

I imagine because it was a small, struggling city with several cool things (Riverside Arts Center) that could be leveraged/improved with a bit of cash.

Someone on Craigslist was asking about No-Face recently. I myself haven't seen him in a long time, when previously I'd see him once a month or so on the bus.

It's kind of odd how that explanation doesn't acknowledge the state's structural deficit that the same Republican party hasn't shown the political will to address, isn't it?

Though I don't see anything wrong with trying to make something positive happen by designating some cities as "cool" ones, I do have a problem with the chronic failure of our Republican-controlled legislature to come up with a solution to our state's financial instability -- a problem they are supposed to be solving while they are being paid with our tax money.

This is so lame. Basically, this is a Republican shot at the Governor masquerading as a "news" blurb.

"The Michigan republican party ['nuff said] is saying that cool cities aren't that cool after all. Party Chairman Saul Anuziz says the governor's 4 million dollar cool cities initiative is not making communities like East Lansing any better off."

How, exactly, is the intiative failing to improve things? If there are reasons, this would be the place to list them. Instead, there is only this assertion, lacking evidence of any kind.

"He says the program as done little to create jobs and that its goal to create cultural centers around Michigan has actually resulted in cutbacks."

Again, where is the evidence? What cutbacks? This is not news; it's propaganda. And it's absolutely shameful that a news organization would present this as authentic news.

You are correct. I also wondered at the nebulous charges. I think it's just propaganda as well.

I'm not sure I agree, Komplain - absence of improvement is a hard thing to prove. If the Cool Cities program is being sold as an economic development tool, some attempt to be made to at least provide qualitative indicators of ROI. (I think hard, fast quantitative data would probably be impossible to narrow down.)

While I agree with the goal of the Cool Cities program - to improve quality of life and foster economic development in Michigan's cities, as I understand it - I think it's fair to ask what it's done. If our past/current expenditures on the program aren't having the desired effect, we need to realize that and try something else. Republicans attacking Cool Cities isn't enough of a reason to get behind the program, unless we're pretty certain it's worthwhile.

That's only fair. Well, let's examine the local example: the improvement of the Riverside Arts Center; has that resulted in a good ROI?

Murph; You make good points about using actual qualitative data to asses the relative success of the Cool Cities program. If it's not working, I don't think we should all support it just because Republicans dislike it. ROI is a perfectly reasonable expectation for our tax dollars.

However, my issue is not with the program, but the fake news piece. WLNS has presented a statement from the Repubs as though it were fact. There are no causalities cited, no data, and not even a rebuttal from the Dems. This is not journalism; it's a press release.

Absence of improvement may indeed be a hard thing to prove, and a self-respecting news organization should ask that the folks making this assertion at least make an attempt. But we see none of that. Yet, it's still presented as a new item. I think that's lame.

It's very sloppy, indeed. Just a potshot. It is a press release.

When the DDA was conteplating new banners for downtown, they came up with the idea of using the Cool Cities logo. I pointed out that if you have to tell people you are cool, you usually are not very cool.

I suggested we should do Elvis banners with his face and then say something like ElvisFest, Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Now that is cool! It is really cool because we are one of just 4 communities that are allowed to use the King's likeness for things like banners in our Downtown and Depot Town. Sadly, the powers that be at the DDA office won out with their Cool Cities banners which cost about $5,000.

The Cool Cities banners are very nice, but Elvis would have been cool.

- Steve

Margaret Thatcher once said that if you have to tell anyone you are a lady or are powerful, you aren't.

That applies to being cool as well.

$5,000 may not sound like much, but it all adds up. $5,000 here and $5,000 there and another $5,000 yonder starts adding up fast.

Incidentally, Steve, you do not have to tell people you are cool.

:)

I came across this, which is apropos:

http://wizardkitten.blogspot.com/2006/05/sauls-blame-granholm-first-tour-2006.html