During 2009 we covered all the complaints about the Corps of Engineers, but when evidence to the contrary came up, I like to think we gave it a fair hearing too.
Its time to do the same for our coverage of local tourism. Last week I wrote a fairly self-explanatory article about why Gainesville's marketing will continue to suck in 2010.
Well, in contrast to Gainesville's tourism officials, the city's new mayor Ruth Bruner actually has some very smart proposals:
"As she took hold of the gavel Tuesday, Bruner outlined three initiatives that she would like to see the City Council push during her two-year term as mayor, including making Gainesville a regional tourism hub, encouraging developers to build condominiums and loft apartments in the top floors of downtown and midtown buildings and making the lake more accessible to the general public.
Bruner asked that the council spearhead a communitywide effort to stabilize and improve the Lake Lanier Olympic Venue."
Three wonderful ideas right there!
- Downtown Gainesville is dead and having more people live there would be a wonderful first step to revival.
- Making the lake more accessible to the general public is a great idea. Newcomers to the area often seem to be shocked by how hard it is to get down to the lakefront and enjoy it.
- The Lake Lanier Olympic Venue is the most valuable public location on Lake Lanier. It's in disrepair now but continues to host the majority of large events on the lake. Lake Lanier lost the Head of the Hooch and its $4.3 million economic impact. There's also rumblings that Lanier's largest annual even the Dragon Boat Races will move. Repairing the Olympic Venue to attract and retain big events is a very smart way to spend money.
You're off to a good start Mayor Bruner.
