Downtown Rising
City Center Transformation
From my office building on the corner of First South and Main in downtown SLC, I have a bird’s eye view of some of the demolition and construction occurring on both sides of Main Street between South Temple and 100 South for the massive new City Creek development.
It is fascinating, almost mesmerizing, to watch the gigantic backhoes and earth-moving machines, fleets of big trucks, and an army of construction workers prepare the sites for the retail stores and shops, restaurants and high-rise condos that will fill the two blocks.
On the west side of Main, where the old Crossroads Mall was located, we’re starting to see a lot of rebar and concrete in a massive crater as footings and foundations are poured in preparation for vertical construction. On the east side of Main, location of the previous ZCMI Mall, demolition is winding down as humongous machines with great steel jaws tear away at a few remaining building facades and a steady stream of trucks haul away the debris.
Meanwhile, a block and a half south on Main Street, adjacent to the American Towers condo complex where I live, the 22-story Hamilton Partners office tower at 222 South Main will soon go vertical from a great hole in the ground. It will provide 350,000 square feet of state-of-the-art office space.Right now, things can be rather slow downtown. But these projects, along with numerous other retail and residential developments, are going to transform downtown into a busy, vibrant city center once again.
Fund of Funds Wins Expansion
The Legislature approves a major expansion of Utah’s Fund of Funds, a top priority of the state’s high-tech industry. See press release.
Today in Political History
Feb. 20, 1792: The Postal Service Act, establishing the U.S. Post Office Department, is signed by Pres. George Washington.
Feb. 20, 1809: The Supreme Court, led by Justice John Marshall, rules in Marbury v. Madison that the power of the federal government is greater than that of any individual state. (Source: NBC5)
Feb. 20, 1962: U.S. Marine Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr., becomes the first American to orbit the earth. Launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Glenn makes three 90-minute orbits of the earth in the space capsule, "Friendship 7". (Source: Perspicuity)
Wise Words
"Humans always have fear of an unknown situation -- this is normal. The important thing is what we do about it. If fear is permitted to become a paralyzing thing that interferes with proper action, then it is harmful. The best antidote to fear is to know all we can about a situation."
-- John H. Glenn Jr., astronaut and U.S. senator (Source: Quoteworld)
Communications Tip
Seven Keys to Effective Communications
A good communications program for a candidate, an interest group, or a business starts with a complete understanding of one’s goals and objectives. Once objectives have been clearly established, the next step is to determine what audiences need to be reached to achieve the objectives and what messages need to be delivered to those audiences. Good quantitative and qualitative research is sometimes needed to assess current attitudes and to test messages.
Only after carefully thinking through objectives, audiences and messages, and analyzing research, can the focus turn to delivery channels to get the messages to the desired audiences. Examples of delivery channels are earned media, paid media, TV, radio, print, outdoor, on-line, newsletters, blogs, direct mail, web site, press conference, etc. In planning message delivery, two final things are key: timing and resources (personnel and budget). (Source: Exoro Group Basic Communications Handbook)
National Politics
Best Stories From . . .
-- New York Times: "Senator Barack Obama decisively beat Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Wisconsin primary on Tuesday night, accelerating his momentum ahead of crucial primaries in Ohio and Texas and cutting into Mrs. Clinton's support among women and union members. ... [Obama made] new inroads with those two groups as well as middle-aged voters, and continuing to win support from white men and younger voters -- a performance that yielded grim tidings for Mrs. Clinton, of New York."
-- Politico: Political strategists say Clinton can still win the nomination by directly attacking Obama's "readiness to lead."
-- Washington Post: "Five top aides to Sen. John McCain hunkered down for two days of meetings ... over the weekend as they began to plot his transformation from primary-season candidate to Republican nominee. ... [T]he campaign's inner circle debated the dynamics of a race against either [Clinton or Obama], the funding necessary for victory, the political climate likely to exist six months from now, and the shape of the organization they will need to quickly assemble."
-- The Hill: "Capitol Hill greeted the news of Fidel Castro's resignation Tuesday with muted cautiousness, with several members warning that the long-expected ascension of Castro's brother Raul is no cause to celebrate."
Lighter Side
“If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to it.”
-- Jonathan Winters (Reader’s Digest)
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