WHAT A DIFFERENCE seven days makes.
Tonight's State of the City address by Mayor Christy Weir was a breath of fresh air after a trying week of public debate over the 911 fee. It was a reminder of why we all love Ventura and are so very passionate about our town.
Weir, our second female mayor in 141 years, led the evening off with charming suggestions on how to improve the city sent in by 5th graders at Mound Elementary. I can't resist listing a few:
"We don't need a Wal-Mart," "We need a Wal-Mart," "All city cars should be hybrids," and my favorite, "Stop shopping in Oxnard, P.S. I'm happy that you're a girl mayor."
Our new mayor even had her own "Hillary" moment, choking up a bit at the beginning as she gazed at a photo, projected on a nearby screen, of her 93-year-old father and her two young granddaughters. "Bad start," she apologized. "No, good start," a nearby colleague said.
But the balance of the evening was reserved for an overview of the city's goals and progress made over the last year. I was particularly interested in the new projects being built in the city and coming soon. Among them: a beautiful new Embassy Suites near the beach, a four-story office building Downtown, and three large retailers for the long-vacant north end of the mall.
While Weir didn't gloss over the stark realities of budget cuts and a looming recession, she didn't go into a lot of detail, either. She was at her strongest when conveying the sense of hope we all feel for our city and it was heartening to hear it.
Back to the 5th grade wisdom: "There's a lot to be done in Ventura, but it's still a nice city," one child wrote.
My sentiments exactly.
Who are you, and why are you so excited about more development in Ventura?
Nice to see something positive for a change! Loved the kid comments.
Hi Dave,
Thanks for posting. I think we're all really happy to see the north end of the mall resuscitated.
As for the office building Downtown and the new Embassy Suites, they are high-quality infill projects which will bring jobs and much-needed tax revenue to our city. Sales taxes and property taxes make up more than half of our General Fund, which pays for police and fire staff.
Some commenters on this blog have said they don't want to pay any more taxes or fees to the city. If that is the case, we need to generate more revenue in other ways. You can't have everything. No new fees/taxes and no new development means no new revenue coming into the city.
I agree that infill development is needed, but first we need to address traffic. When the North End of the mall is developed traffic on all streets surrounding the mall will be over capacity. The Hotel will surely increase traffic to an already trafiic heavy area making it less attractive and less accessable to Ventura City Residents.
Development for the sake of Tax Revenue that degrades the quality of life for the average citizen is not good!!
I hear you Dave and I completely understand your point of view. I wish CA cities weren't so reliant on sales taxes to stay afloat, but it's the system we have.
I think a few quality infill projects, especially the renovation of blighted areas, will add to the city, though.
Thank you for posting. Keep it up. If you read through some of the other entries, you will see there are people here who take the opposite point of view. I really encourage all voices and healthy debate.
[quote]Among them: a beautiful new Embassy Suites near the beach, a four-story office building Downtown, and three large retailers for the long-vacant north end of the mall.[/quote]
Each of these is a great idea and long overdue!
It's very informative posting, actualy i'm new in the domain matter, so this writing help me much increase my knowledge.
Sweetpost
This is getting a bit more subjective, but I much prefer the Zune Marketplace. The interface is colorful, has more flair, and some cool features like 'Mixview' that let you quickly see related albums, songs, or other users related to what you're listening to. Clicking on one of those will center on that item, and another set of "neighbors" will come into view, allowing you to navigate around exploring by similar artists, songs, or users. Speaking of users, the Zune "Social" is also great fun, letting you find others with shared tastes and becoming friends with them. You then can listen to a playlist created based on an amalgamation of what all your friends are listening to, which is also enjoyable. Those concerned with privacy will be relieved to know you can prevent the public from seeing your personal listening habits if you so choose.