Centennial Plaza: Federal Pork? Oh, no! Not when it's our pols doing it.
In between denunciations of collosal Obamaian spending, local Congressman Mike Conaway and U.S. Sentaor Hutchison have managed to funnel around three-quarters of a million federal tax dollars into a project for downtown Midland.
The immediate question is: Of what possible national interest is a renovated Centennial Plaza?
The only non-ridiculous answer is, "None whatsoever." Credit will also be given for "Zilch", "Zero", and "Nada".
Having now had two of our three elected federal representatives stand at a podium and refer to federal involvement with our downtown Centennial Plaza as something more or different than just the usual wasteful pork barrel spending it is easy to see why more and more folks can look at the GOP and at the Democrat Party and see less of a philosophical difference and more of difference in scope and scale.
In short our hard-core, "fiscally-conservative", red-blooded Red-State pols are driving down the same road as the Democrats.
Only slower.
And with their right turn signal stuck in the on position....indicating a movement that never actually comes.
I really have to ask the Downtown Fan-Boyz: What interest in our Centennial Plaza should the federal government properly have?
And while we are on the topic of Downtown and asking questions, here are a couple more:
- Now that the entire half-block on which the old Midland Savings Building was located has been turned into private paid parking who is getting the money for the parking rentals? I haven't even seen a telephone number to call posted there.
- Perhaps they are waiting for the next break-through in parking garage technology to ensure that we truly do get a "state-of-the-art" facility for our $2,000,000 in tax dollar subsidies....but is it just me, or has the work on Basic's Petroleum Place development slowed to a crawl?
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Centennial Plaza: Federal Pork? Oh, no! Not when it's our pols doing it..
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.jessicaswell.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2773
6 Comments
Conaway lost more votes by voting in favor of the bailout than he would have ever mde by getting the 3/4 million for Centennial Plaza.
I know Mr. Conaway, and I like him, but he really upset me by voting for that bill.
I drive by the visitor's center on a regular basis and there is always only that white little mini-station wagon in the parking lot.
Its owner must dream of becoming a Maytag repair man.
My Brothers and Sisters of the "Temple of the Jaundiced Eye" saw something like this happening MILES ago.
What a wonderful time for all , basking in the concrete jungle of the newly remodeled Centennial Plaza and watching all the water Midland has bought rising from the flowing fountains ,evaporating and falling as rain in Abeline and Angelo . What Brilliance !
What NO ONE has yet asked (me excluded) is just how important IS Downtown Midland ?
Really !!!??!!!
WHY is it soooo important to ALL residents of the city to keep throwing money into an area held by private investors?
Seems to me that if the government wants to throw money into parks and such , they should do so in areas where people actually live in NOW , rather than to lure people into areas where investors are salavating on making a real estate killing.
Midland can easily survive WITHOUT tall buildings ! I have watched too many trees being planted on Wall and then suffering death because of the geniuses who forget to water them .
The best thing for the city , imao ,would be to raze the downtown area and plant cotton...using those stupid fountains for irrigation !
WHY do our elected officials keep doing " stupid" over and over and over , and expect different results ?!?!
(Oh yeah ! They always ask for your input , ..but if you give it to them ....well...God help you .)
Old Otto, you seem to be full of inane suggestions. I suggest you run for city council so we can then make appropriate remarks about you.
Inane ? I can live with inane..It's how I used to make my living .
As far as running for city council ..It's no council for old men.
Appropriate remarks about me ? Hey ! Have at me !
The only "suggestion" I made was about planting a cotton patch and I apologise for humor too deep for you to fathom Mr Greenspin.
The gist of the article was opinion ,pal , and THAT'S why I come here. Opinions !
Even yours .
Bigger piece of pork: Centennial Plaza redo or the never-used Rankin Highway Visitors Center, which the city pays the Chamber up to $200,000 in operating costs each year.