WGBY’s "The State We’re In" aired a one-hour special last Friday titled "Saving Our Cities," hosted as always by Jim Madigan. The description, from the station:
Saving Our Cities is the first in a series of special programs WGBY is producing in conjunction with the mayors of 11 western Massachusetts cities to focus on the problems facing our region’s urban centers and what can be done to address them. The programs will air periodically over the coming months. This first one-hour program concentrates on the fiscal difficulties in running a city today. The mayors in attendance will address the question: what has led to the tight straights our cities find themselves in and how can those problems be turned around?
In addition to a live round-table of mayors, Madigan welcomed David Soule of the Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University. This show is a must-watch.
Adding to the mix, Erin O’Connor published an article for the Reminder with ample quotes from Springfield Mayor Charles Ryan on a variety of current topics related to development. In this week’s Business West, an editorial sets forth an argument that the Springfield mayor’s salary ought to be increased—and other mayors in the region are underpaid, too, it claims. Springfield’s next mayor, the editorial states, "will be tasked not only with administering the city, but with inspiring its residents and business owners to dream bigger and better—and then leading them in the task of making dreams reality."
The public has a chance to weigh in on some of these matters tomorrow night, Wednesday, November 15, starting at 6:00 pm at downtown Springfield’s Good Life Center, 1600 East Columbus Avenue. The city’s Office of Community Development invites the public to participate in "two forums to identify priority community needs" for the upcoming fiscal year. Tomorrow night’s meeting will address housing and neighborhood issues at 6:00, and then economic development at 7:00. For more information contact the office at (413) 787-6050, or read the city’s fiscal year 2006-2010 strategic plan (PDF).
