As we go about our daily business, it’s easy to forget just how fortunate we are here in Edmonton. While we didn’t escape the recession unscathed, Edmontonians continue to fair much better than our American neighbours.
newjerseynewsroom.com - Newark cutting toilet paper to help close $70 million budget deficit
From the Article
"In the meantime, I'm going to shut down as much of city government as I can," [Newark Mayor] Booker said. "We're going to stop buying everything from toilet paper to printer paper. Call me Mr. Scrooge, if you want, but they'll be no Christmas decorations around the city."
28.4% of Newarkers live below the poverty line. That’s more than double the national level of 12.4%. Only 58% have high school diplomas compared to the national average of 80.4%. Things are so bad in Newark that it’s earned itself a new nickname: America’s Worst City. That’s right. Even worse than Detroit. And Detroit is pretty bad.
The situation is so horrific that Newark city council is considering selling its portion of the Prudential Centre to cover a budget shortfall.
So that’s proof that a downtown arena district doesn’t work, right? Wrong. Even in the midst of the worst recession since the 1930s, the arena project in “America’s Worst City” has been an unquestionable success.
New York Times - Devils’ Move Paying Off for Team, and Newark
From the Article
The additional foot traffic has helped generate nearly $15 million in economic activity and helped created 708 jobs in Newark, on top of the 1,400 people who work in the arena when there are events. Marriott plans to break ground on a new hotel in September. Several housing developments and a park across from the arena are planned. A few sports bars will open on a street adjacent to the arena.
“I was against the whole arena deal when I was not mayor because I thought it was a misuse of funds,” said Mayor Cory Booker, whose predecessor, Sharpe James, brought the Devils to Newark. Now, he said, “all of us are true believers for the arena to be one of the economic engines in the city.”
The worst city in the US built a downtown arena district in the midst of the most significant recession of the past 80 years and its construction was STILL of benefit to the residents of Newark.
If Newark decides to sell its interest in the downtown arena, it won’t be be because the project failed to achieve its goal; it’ll be because Newark needs money fast. This is the City of Newark saying, “Let’s have a garage sale and sell anything that we have of value to keep us afloat for another year.”
Edmonton isn’t saddled with crushing debt, unfathomable unemployment, a crippling crime rate, and an economy that’s on life support. Our city is the complete opposite of Newark, NJ and, as such, there can be no doubt that a downtown arena district in our city will be anything other than an unmitigated success.