October 9, 2006

Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine October 5 announced the creation of a cabinet-level task force on urban policy to review economic, social and fiscal conditions in Virginia cities.

Two northern Virginia mayors are on the task force: Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille and Fredericksburg Mayor Thomas J Tomzak.

Kaine, a Democrat, is a former mayor of Richmond, the state’s capital.

Kaine said the panel will develop benchmarks to help rate state programs that serve urban areas and recommend ways metropolitan regions could collaborate.

Bill Cosby and Richmond (VA) Mayor L. Douglas Wilder have launched a new campaign to raise $100 million to help build a national slavery museum in Fredericksburg (VA) amid the battlefields of the Civil War.

The Washington Post on September 25 reported that Wilder and Cosby held a teleconference to urge every American to donate $8 to build the museum. Cosby has already committed $1 million to the project. Wilder is a former Governor of Virginia and the first African-American to hold that position.

Charleston (NC) Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. and his city are profiled in the October issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine of being in second U.S. place on the 2004 destination scorecard. The magazine credits the mayor with seeing the potential in restoring the historic churches, forts on the harbor, hidden courtyards and alleys, its Gullah and other African-American traditions as amenities for improvement.

Says the article: “Recognizing that art, architecture and history are economic assets, he has promoted urban renewal with architectural sensitivity extending even to parking garages.”

New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin signed an order October 2 requiring that large businesses use as many local and minority firms as possible when they seek millions of dollars in tax incentives and grants for Hurricane Katrina recovery.

The October 3 USA Today reported that in the aftermath of the August 2005 storm, many local firms complained that the main beneficiaries of large government contracts for emergency clean-up and recovery were out-of-state businesses and workers. Said Nagin, “We just want to make sure we don’t bank to a city of haves and have-nots.”

A premier retail, office and residential development will rise on nearly 20 acres across three blocks in the heart of Salt Lake City over the next five years, making the city one of the few in the nation with a vibrant, mixed development at its core.

A conceptual design plan for the project was presented to the Salt Lake City Council today by Bishop H. David Burton, presiding bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The conceptual plan was presented earlier to Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. The Church is developing the property through its commercial real estate arm, Property Reserve, Inc. (PRI).

Demolition of part of the site will begin early next month, starting in the northwest portion of the redevelopment area. A progressive wave of demolition will move roughly west to east, followed by excavation and site preparation that will take about a year.