Well if anybody wants to give up expansion we will take it here.  With
unemployment "officially" at 26% (probably closer to 40% actually), the
property assessments down 1.5% (I can now by a house cheaper than I could
build one), and a closure of Sydney Steel (putting 700 more people out of
work), which used $1,000,000 a month in electricity, Nova Scotia Power has
lots of electricity to spare. We have plenty of land, people, resources  and
one of the most scenic places in Canada, but we just cannot seem to grow.

Slightly depressed in Cape Breton
Gary Nolan

----- Original Message -----
From: Dave Darnell <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2001 1:10 PM
Subject: Re: [HP3000-L] OT: rotating blackouts ordered for Northern
California


> John wrote:
> > Actually, there are several.  Austin, Atlanta, Denver, Raleigh-Durham,
> > Boston, and several others are centers for high-tech
> > industries.  I expect
> > the power problems in California may lead to further
> > decentralization of
> > these industries, rather than centralization in another city.
>
> I reply:
>
> No, Oh No!  Please - no increased growth rates here in the greater Denver
> area, at least for a while!
>
> Traffic on all Freeways is now ridiculous, housing costs and taxes keep
> going up, and sprawling growth is a mess. The higher growth rates mean
> businesses don't have to compete as well, so consumers suffer.
>
> Our "new" airport, which was intentionally built way out on the
uninhabited
> plains, already has a large number of those whining, crying weenies who
buy
> houses under the approach paths and complain about the jet noise. (The
same
> mentality is forcing the end of our only NHRA drag strip.)
>
> Interstate 25, which passes through most of our high-tech areas, is a
> parking lot twice a day, and is forecasted to get worse even without the
> new-lane construction that is expected to go two to three years.
>
> The only people around here that want more growth are those with interests
> in real-estate/development (like, city council members for example), or
> those who benefit from growth at the expense of the individual citizens /
> property owners (again, city council members are good examples, but add
> service providers and retailers who wouldn't be profitable in a more
static
> economy.)
>
> Long-time residential property owners see their taxes going up
significantly
> because they get tapped to help build the new infrastructure to handle the
> population increase. Every year, fixed income retirees who've not only
paid
> off their homes, but also paid for a couple of generations of schools,
have
> to sell their homes because the property taxes went up again.
>
> OK, so we do have some "new dwelling" taxes, but they don't cover it all!
> Besides those taxes are very unpopular with the developers (and therefore
> with those that we let get into city and county government.)
>
> Boise, Idaho as an isolated study in growth rates over the last four
decades
> shows us that 3.0% through 3.5% are about the maximum annual growth rates
> (in either population or business growth) that can be absorbed in a
healthy
> and controlled manner (Past mayors of that town have stated so publicly.)
>
> So, if you are looking to get your business out of California, please
don't
> bring it any closer to Denver than say, Boulder (an esoteric community
with
> some high-tech businesses, that exists in a beautiful mountain setting,
but
> is about 40% phase-shifted away from the rest of the state in what we
might
> refer to as "reality".)
>
> Or perhaps, consider Utah.
>
> -dtd
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: John Clogg [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> > Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2001 3:24 PM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: OT: rotating blackouts ordered for Northern California
> >
> >
> > Actually, there are several.  Austin, Atlanta, Denver, Raleigh-Durham,
> > Boston, and several others are centers for high-tech
> > industries.  I expect
> > the power problems in California may lead to further
> > decentralization of
> > these industries, rather than centralization in another city.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Rick Clark [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> > Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2001 2:17 PM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: OT: rotating blackouts ordered for Northern California
> >
> >
> > <<stuff snipped>>
> > > And to top it all off, Intel said last week that it was
> > > shelving all plans to
> > > further expand or build new plants in California until the
> > > current situation
> > > is straightened out -- which could be five to ten years from now.
> > >
> > > Wirt Atmar
> > >
> >
> >
> > Could we see a 'silicon valley' emerging in another part of
> > the country????
> >