Pueblo - General Info (Colorado Springs, Durango: construction jobs, bankruptcy, minimum wage)

[Josseppie]

This is the last of the pictures I took of Pueblo from my flight.



This is the south west side of the city.









This is a canyon south of town. I had no idea this was even there.

[Josseppie]

Some more good news for Pueblo. I can't wait to see what Pueblo does after the recession ends and the recovery takes hold!

This is from the Denver Post:


Pueblo and Colorado Springs recorded some of the strongest personal-income gains in the nation last year, while Boulder and Grand Junction suffered some of the biggest declines, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Monday.

Pueblo ranked 35th among 366 metro areas with per-capita income growth of 1.3 percent.

The link: Pueblo posts gains inpersonal income, while Boulder and Grand Junction decline, report says - The Denver Post

[goyanks57]

Originally Posted by Josseppie

Some more good news for Pueblo. I can't wait to see what Pueblo does after the recession ends and the recovery takes hold!

This is from the Denver Post:


Pueblo and Colorado Springs recorded some of the strongest personal-income gains in the nation last year, while Boulder and Grand Junction suffered some of the biggest declines, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Monday.

Pueblo ranked 35th among 366 metro areas with per-capita income growth of 1.3 percent.

The link: Pueblo posts gains inpersonal income, while Boulder and Grand Junction decline, report says - The Denver Post

I'm not sure what world you live in, but this recession is FAR from over. The last time I checked, our unemployment rate has been hovering around 9 or 10 percent for several months now. And since people have seen their income rise by an average of 1.3 percent, that means that they are now making $30,330 a year instead of $30,000 a year. What a HUGE difference!

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by goyanks57

I'm not sure what world you live in, but this recession is FAR from over. The last time I checked, our unemployment rate has been hovering around 9 or 10 percent for several months now. And since people have seen their income rise by an average of 1.3 percent, that means that they are now making $30,330 a year instead of $30,000 a year. What a HUGE difference!

Technically its over as we have had 3 consecutive quarters of growth of the GDP but there the recovery is in the very early stages and until the unemployment rate begins to go down and the banks let lose of more cash it will be tough. That is why I said I can't wait for the recovery to fully take hold because with what was going on in Pueblo right before the recession it should be a fun time once we are in a recovery.

[Josseppie]

One of the things Pueblo has done in the past 20 years that has been unique and something that other cities followed was start the Pueblo Economic Development Corporation (PEDCo) and the residents voted in a 1/2 cent sales tax to bring in primary jobs and gave us national attention on programs like the one with Paul Harvey who always talked about how Pueblo "picked itself up from its boot straps".This year we vote on the 5 year extension of the sales tax and since the paper is behind it the stories on how great it is and how it has helped Pueblo are starting, essentially free advertising. Since there is no group in Pueblo against the tax there is never any criticism of the articles, we are not like the Springs.

I bring this up because in the past week on the front page of the Business section there was a great history lesson of what happened to Pueblo is the 1970's and why we started PEDCo and why we voted in the 1/2 cent sales tax. I thought I would post the link to the article as it is great reading of how necessity caused Pueblo to be innovative and start something that is now a model for cities across the country and kept us from being like most rust belt towns who lost tens of thousands of people in the past 30 years.

This is from the Chieftain:

The general prosperity of the 1960s turned sour as the 1970s progressed. In Pueblo, dark clouds were forming, and it wasn't smoke from CF&I. Pueblo's unemployment rate was 5.1 percent in 1975, 2 percentage points lower than the national average. But the worst was yet to come. In 1982, CF&I, Pueblo's bedrock employer, laid off 2,000 people.The unemployment rate soared to almost 20 percent here in September 1982, from 6.4 percent in November 1981.

The link: http://www.chieftain.com/business/lo...cc4c03286.html

Other cities also recognize what Pueblo has done. This is from Greeley and shows that Pueblo has in fact been on the leading edge of economic development and that other cities are following Pueblo's lead. While Pueblo has not grown like our neighbors to the north this is one key reason Pueblo has not gone down the same path as most of the rust belt cities and lost population. Now once this recession is over Pueblo is set to grow like the rest of the front range.

This is from the Greeley Tribune:

» Pursuing a program similar to Pueblo's unique-in-Colorado dedicated tax for economic development. Since 1984, Pueblo voters have every five years approved a half-cent sales tax that goes solely to the Pueblo Economic Development Corp. The taxes amount to $5 million to $6 million a year, giving the city more money to attract primary-sector employers.

The link: Ad-hoc committee offers lots of ideas on Greeley's development fees, but no ‘magic bullet' | Greeley Tribune (http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20100814/NEWS/100819848/1002&parentprofile=1001 - broken link)

[Josseppie]

In today's Pueblo Chieftain they said they were going to expand Memorial Hall by way of voting on a venders fees to pay for the remodel. I really hope we pass it because Memorial Hall is a gem for Pueblo, something that most cities would kill to have, and if we modernize it Pueblo could really attract great top rated Broadway shows like Wicked and that would be one less reason I would have to drive to Denver. In fact my friend who is knowledgeable about the theater says one of the biggest hindrances for Memorial Hall in attracting major Broadway shows is it's lack of hydraulic lifts on the stage. If they can add them then Pueblo could hopefully get some of the large shows that now only go to Denver as they don't care where they perform only that they get their money and being Pueblo is the culture center for a 20 county region I am sure they could sell out. That would, also, bring more money to the Pueblo economy just like the Buell brings money to the Denver economy. A win - win for southrn Colorado, IMO.

This is my not so good picture at night after I attended a Broadway show at Memorial Hall:



This is from the Pueblo Chieftain:



Renovation plans include revamped seating to improve sight lines, better accessibility for handicapped patrons, more women's restroom capacity (and less for men), air conditioning, a larger stage, better dressing rooms, hydraulic lifts for stage scenery and catwalks.

The link: http://www.chieftain.com/article_247...cc4c03286.html

[sesamekid]

Just saw this article about a woman in Pueblo who is doing something to make her community better by highlighting the run-down homes on the internet and shaming people in fixing them up.

NewsFirst5.com | Colorado Springs news, Colorado Springs weather, Pueblo news, Pueblo weather | Ways homeowners can report neighborhood eyesores

At first I though it was kind of a privacy concern, but i do agree that something should be done with all those run-down houses. Fixed up houses can bring such pride and renewed vigour to a community.

[Josseppie]

I like Pueblo's vision for the Fountain river and the fact we are always devloping new parks. I think a growing city always needs to have new parks for its residents.

This is from the Pueblo Chieftain:



A flood detention pond on Fountain Creek being developed as a demonstration project would be the first step toward extending Pueblo’s trail system to the north. There already is a trail along Fountain Creek through Pueblo, but that would be improved and added to the Front Range Regional Trail system, ultimately connecting with trails in the Colorado Springs area.

The link: Planned creek pathway - The Pueblo Chieftain: Local

[Josseppie]

Its always nice to see a local company be successful so I thought I would post this about a growing hi tech company in Pueblo.

This is from the Chieftain:



A friendship formed in Pueblo's adult hockey league now finds Chris Gredig and Alan Wooldridge partners in a growing high-tech business. AccuSystems, a 25-worker company at 3915 Outlook Blvd., develops and manages electronic document imaging and management software for banks and other financial institutions. The company last month launched a plan to grow still bigger by acquiring Dallas-based Xtria RMS, the maker of Tickler-brand electronic alerts software.

The link: DOCUMENTED SUCCESS - The Pueblo Chieftain: Local

[Josseppie]

For fun I made a 15, 25, 50 and 150 year growth plan for Pueblo.



This is the 15 year growth plan. It goes with the tech center and energy park being developed. I know there will be growth along Pueblo Springs Parkway but I am not sure how it will be so I left it out. The population will be about 250,000 people.



My 25 year plan. The population will be about 350,000 people.



My 50 year growth plan. The population will be about 500,000 people.



This is the 150 year growth plan for Pueblo. The city if Pueblo would be about 1-2 million people. Notice how downtown Pueblo stays in the middle of the city and by then should have sky scrapers. CSU Pueblo and Thunder Village will have grown to be dense and the PTC will have sky scrapers as well and grown to become dense.


Light blue is the industrial park
Dark blue is the tech park and the R&D park by CSU Pueblo
Purple is Thunder Village by CSU Pueblo
Green is part of the Colorado Energy Park
Red is retail
Brown is the current city of Pueblo