Loudoun losing It's Brain Power

I saw that South Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate at the moment. Maybe that's the place we should all go?

 

The US unemployment rate is below 5%, which used to be considered "full employment." I think there is a bit of chicken little going on with the economy, especially as certain candidates play upon people's fears to get votes.

 

You may be right. When you attribute things to me (Cliff doesn't care about Loudoun County), put words in my mouth that I never said (Cliff called people stupid who bought homes near commercial areas) that are completely untrue, I get a bit put off by it.

You spout this stuff and seemingly don't remember it when you're called out on it. But it's all there in black and white for anyone with the fortitude to read all your posts.

Stick with your own ideas without casting dispersions on others and I will be fine with you.

 

Then why don't you do something about it instead of constantly complaining?
Maybe volunteer your services to the county to help. You have attempted to point out how charitable you've been in the past, why not help out now?

 

Focusing attention on problems is part of doing something (think about the free press). Lee's posts let others in the community know what's up. So, Lee, keep on posting your views!

Let's examine that first line a little more closely... Isn't it fair to say that you are "constantly complaining" about Lee? So, aren't you criticizing yourself with this statement, too?

Finally, I do hope that people will stop hijacking Lee's thread. That's pretty rude. To get us back on topic, could anyone of the people who are criticizing Lee show any evidence that the County has a comprehensive and realistic plan to grow our tax base, recruit companies that pay good salaries, and attract well-educated and high-earning professionals?

 

Attemping to play an admin is also rude, don't you think that is rude??????

And to keep this thread on track. Yeah, Loudoun is losing its (not it's, btw ) brain power based on some of the posts people make here!

Hmmm, HCA would provide all the items you listed.

 

...

 

I don't think it is rude to defend someone who is doing the right thing like Lee, especially when he is being unfairly criticized.

Now, aren't you playing an admin rule since the admins now police spelling and grammar here?:scaredeyes:

I agree. And to stop this thread hijacking of Lee's thread by those who seem to want only to criticize him, I repeat that I was asking if any of those who are against Lee could point to an integrated, rational plan to grow our tax base, recruit companies that pay good salaries, and attract well-educated and high-earning professionals? Are you saying that one hypothetical hospital is a plan?!?

 

How is that hijacking Charlie?

Gryphon asked does "the County has a comprehensive and realistic plan to grow our tax base, recruit companies that pay good salaries, and attract well-educated and high-earning professionals?

May not be part of the "plan" but HCA would fit all of these I do believe.

 

gryphon I hope you come to happy hour tomorrow- I'm sure Lee would love to shake your hand!!!

 

Chsalas, I have to admit (darn it!) that I agree with T8erman on this one point. His HCA comment was not a hijack. It was on topic even if it did not respond to my question.

 

Criticism is a matter of opinion. You think unfairly while some others think fairly. Let's agree to disagree.

Personally, I make quite a few mistakes with regards to spelling and grammar. But if I was to start a thread that referred to "Losing Brain Power", I would sure as heck make sure I checked and doubled checked both!

I didn't say that the hospital is a "plan", but it is a start.

 

Agreed. We agree to disagree on this point.

Lee can't fix the typo since he started the thread over 10 minutes ago. So, as the saying goes, don't cry over spilled milk. Lee has no way to fix his simple typo, so we just have to all cope somehow. Personally, I think I will live, and I bet you will, too.

I disagree. It is not a start. It is coincidence. That's one company deciding to build here. It's not a coordinated plan by the county to recruit employers. That's what we need, and I applaud Lee for pointing that out even though some people don't like to hear it.

 

Coincidence aside, HCA would be a large TAX PAYING company that would provide many middle to high paying jobs.

And who knows what message (if any, I don't know) the county would be sending out to other prosepctive businesses that want to come in (all the hospital politics aside)?

 

I was just kidding Mr. Potatoe head!

 

Thanks Gryphon for your support today

Anyway I have an extremely thick skin so all these negative comments about me just bounce right off. As far as me getting involved from the community standpoint of view. Well I tried several meetings in the original Waxpool task force and left feeling the only way something is going to get done of any significance in an reasonable amount of time was to work with the actual developers that have the money and professional expertise to make things happen. I have heard people complain about Lori Waters yet her side of the county is getting roads and bridges built. She is also smart enough to know rt seven needs to get the two feeders roads built and completed on each side of rt 7 and doing now before it gets to crisis proportions like 28. Example nokes is going to open in an year yet Atlantic will not even be funded to coonect to church road. So how do people get to and out of orbital when the two lights are taken out when nokes is open. All the traffic will funnel to nokes which will become the next nightmare.

I have posted here and other sites as well as emails to the old BOS and county traffic people that the tool rd needs two parallel feeder roads from moorefield east to 606 and the sterling interchange. So what is happening we have a 30 to 50 million dollar interchange at sterling and 28 that will be half used because an industrial building by right is soon going to block any possible direct connection to shellhorn. If we don't get ssome serious connections to 28 from moorfield and that does not mean dumping it all on to 606 we will see an traffic jam around moorfield of biblical proportions. I have tried to explain this to our civilian and paid county planners and it goes on death ears. Lori Waters over on her side is smart enough to see way ahead the road connections she needs and is working on getting them way before it becomes an crisis. Our part of the county is mired in too many people running in too many directions with no central focus and leadership when it comes to transportation, so nothing will get done until there is razor sharp focus and the development community with the professional know how and the money can be energized into an single unit and focused on our entire region. That is going to take some powerful leadership and vision to accomplish. I got a big laugh about this article from WP and and the problems with the pacific and waxpool intersection, until Gloucester is put thru that intersection will get worse and worse and even with that some creative thinking is still going to be needed to solve that nightmare. I would not count on the extension of pacific to help it it could even make it worse without Gloucester and other innovative solutions.

http://loudounextra.washingtonpost.com/blogs/living-loco/2008/feb/20/waxpool-and-pacific-go-flow/

There are solutions if you can get the development community to focus and leadership.

 

Now back to the topic. Here is an blog from the Washington Business journal that many seem to agree we are losing are brain power from the demise of AOL MCI and Sprint. What is it going to take to keep us from turning into a huge electronic industrial complex of SI FI style fortress complexes with comparatively few workers for their size. Is eastern loudoun destined to become one large electronic machine that replaces the brain power with electronic machine power????

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/washbizblog/2008/02/readers_respond_to_aol_exodus.html

Readers Respond To AOL Exodus

Kendra Marr and I wrote a story that appeared in Monday's paper exploring what AOL's exodus means for the region. It elicited some heated comments. Here's an overview of some of the themes that readers brought up:
* Does Washington have a university (or several) that can be a source of technology entrepreneurs - like Stanford is in Silicon Valley and MIT is in Boston? We suggested not - and that AOL played that role for a time.
But "reston75" pointed out "there are plenty of quality engineering schools in the DC area," including Virginia Tech, University of Maryland, George Mason, George Washington, University of Virginia, Penn State and Carnegie Mellon. Reader "sivadthe4th" noted the strength of Maryland's business school and engineering school. "It obviously has to fit a wider range of needs overall because it is a state school, but its education is definitely top notch in engineering and business for certain."
Other readers felt the region's research universities did not fit the bill. Reader "Haudidoody" wrote, "only CMU and VT are quality in that list and they're both more than 200 miles away. And you can forget the graduate programs for engineering at those other schools. They're putrid. Much of the quality tech comes out of researchers in Ph.D. programs."
Reader "thermowax" said: "You call The University of Maryland (College Park, I presume) a quality engineering school? You must be joking. It's a 40000+ student commuter school with a commodity education mentality."
* Does the Washington region have a vibrant technology culture - or is it just government contractors with their security clearances?
Reader "kinoworks" wrote: "This region is a joke when it comes to startups and high tech when compared to silicon valley. It's all about security clearances and zero risk taking, as opposed to innovation."
And "sivadthe4th" noted: "AOL has been a non factor in tech for quite some time now. Its demotion and departure to New York is further evidence of that. The Washington area has not been able to procure new technology upstarts, mostly I believe due to the adversarial climate in this region. Sure we have had OLD giants like MCI, AOL and Sprint but look what has happened to them. There is promise though, someone has to use the office space being vacated by the military due to BRAC in Crystal City and [Rosslyn]."
By Zachary Goldfarb | February 19, 2008; 8:00 AM ET TechPost

 

The problem with reports like this are that IT industry analysts are just about as accurate as weather forecasters and political pundits.

Comparing the DC market to Sillycon Valley is ludicrous. I'd prefer to have a lackluster, sustainable economy than a sizzle and fizzle economy based on VC money. Companies that in 2 years go from sure things to complete nightmares (ala facebook).

 

So you are saying you like to live in an economy that lives off the Americas tax dollars that helps steadily increasing the national deficit, instead of entrepreneurship that helps create an vibrant economy that would then help decrease the deficit and less dependence on foreign goods and technology.