[Anyone] Article in Santa Fe paper

[Thos Myers]

To: Taos Airport Forum <taos-airport-forum at googlegroups.com>


On Sun, 14 Jan 2007, Moderator wrote:

>
> "It's amazing what an economic engine an airport is."
>
> Hmmmm. So, if you want jobs, it helps to have adequate infrastructure?
> You mean you have to INVEST in your future? What a concept!

Yes, it is a concept and here are examples of missed opportunities and
other observations:

1. Taos as an artist community and art destination.  The town and county
(Chamber of Commerce, Taos News, town council, county commissioners)
abandoned marketing Taos as an art colony a decade ago. The town and
county coffers do much better with the sale of a $350,000 house than 350
thousand dollar paintings.  Tourism faltered and dropped for that market.

2. Taos got marketed as a retirement/second/third home destination: land
values went up, contractors got busy along with plumbers and the "trades"
and people started making more money, which they had to do to be able to
survive.

(Time was that one or two part time jobs provided the necessary funds to
live and live well so that we could enjoy the reasons we are here: skiing,
climbing, river rafting, camping, "hanging out", talking about art,
politics, the latest band and music - doing what people who live
in civilized cultures do.)

3. The problem with marketing as a retirement/second/third home
destination is that these people come for a couple weeks out of the year
and buy very little while here.  Taos becomes the sandbox for the
well-to-do and the rich who keep servants and lawn boys.
(Yes, I do not like the arrogance of the rich people.)

4. In the Taos News of 4-10 Jnuary Ron Gersten was whining about the fact
that his sister refused to come here because of the travel time.  She
shouldn't come here even if she could fly in (a 45 minute flight from Alb)
because Taos is too rugged for her.  Her high heels would get dirty and
she might actually get lost in the mud roads or pot holes! He also whined
about seeing more Taos art in New York than he sees here.  That, Mr.
Gersten, is called economics and marketing to a larger population than is
available here, even with tourists.  Of course artists from Taos market in
larger art markets.  If Mr. Gersten was more than a bottom feeding real
estate investor here and actually made something and needed to market that, he would do
well to market it out of town...or starve.

There are a lot of small manufacturing companies here that market their
products outside of Taos.  One would be a fool NOT to.
And they don't need corporate jets to get around.

>
> When your town is 1.5 hrs. from the nearest suitable airport (Santa
> Fe), what corporate executive is going to base a major operation there?
> Corporate execs don't base operations in towns where they have to land
> 1.5 hrs. away and drive if they want to have a meeting.
>
And that is what continues to save this community!

Unfettered corporations (basically Capitalist thugs) are ruining the
planet with their labor practices and greed for more and more raw
materials to wrap their cheap plastic crap in to market to the poor. How
much of this crap do people really NEED?

BTW, HUMMER drivers/owners ARE the PROBLEM!
They represent the greed that is ruining the planet.


> (Of course, I know that most of the semi-retireds/under-employeds
> who've moved to Taos don't WANT better jobs here, but long-time locals
> with children probably don't agree that good-paying jobs are a bad
> thing.)

Have you asked them?  Have you surveyed the semi-retireds/under-employeds
whether they want meaningful work?  (Please note that I do not say "better
jobs" as that has not yet been defined.

5. A very clean solution to one aspect of improving the economy of Taos is
really simple.  UNM-Taos must develop infrastructure to bring in live-in
students from around the world.  This requires developing curriculum (the
restaurant trades is a good start since we need people in the restaurant
business here who know how to run a restaturant and provide good service).
Buils dormitories.  Suddenly you have full-time tourists buying stuff in
town, going to cafe's and restaurants and skiing, etc, AND their families
come to town as well.  Instant money.

Other possibilities for UNM-Taos with resident students:
1. Hospitality training (mentioned)
2. Art (DUH!)
3. Film
4. Theatre (the venues for this are increasing)
5. Music
6. Writing
7. Outdoor Sports and Survival Training

The list is only limited by imagination.  I suggest the above 7 because
the people who can do and tech in these areas are already here and working
in their respective fields.  With the right leadership and vision and
money UNM-Taos could outdo Santa F Community College as THE place to come
and learn the business of film and art. which are very hot in this state
this year and the state gummint is willing to dump bundles of money into
those areas.

Of course, it may do well for UNM-Taos to secede for UNM and break the
chains of repression that that institution has on UNM-Taos: do not hire
professors full-time, but limit them to 2 classes; make the
proeffors/teachers market their classes instead of the school.  It's
always being done on th cheap with a high volume of in-fighting and
squabbling and other bs.  Give the peopl at UNM-Tos a bigger vision and
goal and some monies to do.

In 1958 a small group of visionaries started Florida Presbyterian College
(FPC) in St Petersburg, Florida.  In 1970 a major donor contributed $10
million and the college then became Eckerd College (www.eckerd.edu)
(named after the donor) and it remains, year after year, in the top 100 colleges in the United
States.

That could happen here - all the parts are already in place.  Housing i
already built! As half on the rooms in every hotel are empty all the tim,
save for some spurts once in a while, there is a grand opportunity for an
entrepenurial exercise in changing one of these under used hotels into a
vibrant community.

What people are failing to see is that the best communities are ones that
arise organically - without the rush on cancerous unlimited
uncontrolled unfettered growth. Several examples of this are the states of
New Hampshire and Vermont.  Sign codes that really preserve the beauty of
the community. See what we do: www.taosdailyweekly.com/cpp.html

Business owners:  turn off your damn signs at night when you are not open.
They're UGLY!

We have so many signs that we can't see the signs for the signs.  Totally
absurd.  The town placed a sign directly in front of the TCA marquee.
That's an easy message to decode: no support for that organization and the
anti-business attitude of the town becomes visibly clear and in plain
sight.  The town is NOT anti-development however - no matter how damaging.

The destruction of what was once one of the most beautiful streets is
almost complete: East Kit Carson Road (aka "slut condo" rd) Just a couple
more trees and one last hotel and bingo done.  Then start in on the houses
on the south side and soon there will be no beauty there.

Here are some things that need to be done before your corporate whores
show up:
1. Improve the service industry: restaurant amateurs need to be trained. I
mean the owners!  Then the staff.  There are some very excellent
professional restaurants here and some bad ones.

2. Clean up the cocaine/heroin/crack/ drug trade.

3. Here's a big one: create a government that involves the entire valley.
Whew - this one is almost impossible but should be first.  There is a long
discussion about what this shouold be and do - but it needs to be done by
the people of the valley and not some politician trying to figure it out.

4. Turn the Plaza back into a   locals hang-out.  Bring in some businesses
that would cater to locals.  Allow people to play music and perform on the
Plaza without a lot of hoopla.  And certainly don't impede that by
ticketing performers if they do not have a PERMIT!  Performers bring
people to the Plaza and then they shop.

It would be very interesting if the Plaza shops remained open while the
Thursday Night Summer Music Series happened.  The Chololate Factory
enticed people every night and did some good business as did other
entrepeneurs. Money to be made there as long as the town didn't get in the
way.


Oh, .6 % is not a significant statistic (the 197 people who took the poll
is .6 % of the county population.  For the poll to be really significant
it should have been mailed to every resident in the county as it is an
issue that affects all of us.  Also the timing of this whole adventure was
very interesting: startin g after Thanksgiving and going through the
holidays and ending right after Epiphany.  People are most distracted
during that tinme period with shopping and eating and family and the
stress of the whole time of year.  Interesting way to slide that through.


Have a good day.