WeShare

Keeping up with the news was not a high priority for me when I began my career as a city manager in the 1980s.  We did not have television in our home, and our only publication subscriptions were to the Eugene Register-Guard and Oakridge’s Dead Mountain Echo.  My focus, at least in my memory, was on the crisis of the moment at City Hall.

I spend much more time today in front of computer screens scanning information from within our organization, the community, the state, the country, and the world.  I still take the time to travel around town to survey … Continue Reading

I think it’s time to reassert a fundamental Shakespearean truth.  “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”  I’m not a fan of Cassius’ solution (assassination), but I agree with his diagnosis.  If we dislike the condition of our community, its politics, or our lives, for that matter, we should consider what we have done or are doing to use the power we possess to make things better.

I believe the current increase in anger, name calling, misinformation, and thoughtless criticism of those who do not share our view of the world is … Continue Reading

A few days ago, the City settled a lawsuit with PepsiCo, one of the world’s largest corporations by revenue, for $20 million immediately and another $5 million upon the sale of property in Albany owned by the company.  The settlement brings to a close more than four years of work that began with an effort to bring family-wage jobs to Albany.

I have to keep reminding myself that receiving a large sum of money is usually considered good news.  My reservations begin with the 200 to 400 jobs that were anticipated but never created.  The economic benefit of the jobs went … Continue Reading

Albany’s plan to increase the width of sidewalks and add some landscaping on Broadalbin Street is competing with the renovation of the old train station for the title of biggest waste of taxpayer dollars among people in the community who are angry with city government.  It’s reasonable to wonder why the City would consider spending money on a streetscape project when resources are tight and there are so many other community needs.

The short answer is the City is not spending money on this project.  Albany’s promenade is being financed by the Central Albany Revitalization Area (CARA), a separate urban renewal … Continue Reading