IS IT TRUE that the subject of the value and competitiveness of the Evansville Regional Airport comes up from time to time with respect to our regions attractiveness to businesses with customers that are further away than a reasonable drive?…that would include just about any business other than locally owned in-person service businesses?…that everyone seems to agree that an airport with competitive pricing and a reasonable flight schedule would be a good thing for business and tourism?…that it is business followed by tourism that will either lead this region out of the recession or not?…that a study was released today regarding the competitiveness of the nation’s 100 largest airports?…that Evansville did not make the list of the 100 largest airports so a good goal would be to use the statistics reported and see what it will take to actually get our EVV onto the list of the largest 100 airports?

IS IT TRUE that the there seems to be two indicators of non-competitiveness in airports from the perspective of good pricing?…that one of those is being a hub airport that is dominated by a single carrier in what could be called a “localized monopoly”?…that very large airports that are localized monopolies like Houston’s Bush Airport, Cincinnati, Washington Dulles, and Dallas-Fort Worth all made the most expensive list with average fares that exceed $430 per flight?…that the average of all of the largest 100 is $356 so that $430 and up amounts to a 21% premium to feed the monopoly?…that Houston Bush at $477 is a 34% premium to the average and a full 169% ahead of the small Atlantic City Airport that won the award for least expensive flights of the largest 100 airports?

IS IT TRUE that the other indicator of non-competitiveness is exemplified by the #2 most expensive Huntsville, AL airport?…that the kiss of death for Huntsville is that it is a small market with no economy carrier like Southwest Airlines and is an easy drive to two big airports (Nashville and Birmingham) that offer very competitive fares?…that the situation at Huntsville describes the situation right here in Evansville?…that the article went on to state that a traveler could usually save $100 by driving for 2 hours, get more convenient flights, etc. etc. etc.?…that the Huntsville airport’s dilemma’s in establishing competitiveness sound very much like EVV’s challenges?…that it would be interesting to see the numbers for EVV and get a feel for exactly where we would be if we were in the largest 100?

IS IT TRUE that Huntsville, AL went after the Volkswagen plant that eventually chose Chattanooga with a vengeance?…that Huntsville officials consider their non-competitive airport as a factor that lead to Chattanooga being chosen over Huntsville?…that Evansville has felt that sting before when Mead Johnson Nutritionals chose Chicago for their headquarters over Evansville where they have had a substantial operation for about a century?…that EVV officials know these things and that the important piece of information that we wish to convey is to the people of Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer encourages people and businesses here to use the Evansville Airport (EVV) whenever possible even if the fare is a little higher and it means having a three hour layover instead of a one hour layover?…that if you think things are a little higher and more challenging now, imagine life without an airport?…that without a local airport with commercial service that we may actually lose existing jobs and future opportunities?…that when you think about it, paying an extra $100 to support EVV as opposed to driving 6 hours and paying more for parking is not even a great economic decision?…that we do understand if you are a family of 5 or if there is a 20 hour layover that money and convenience dictates your decision?…that we stand by our encouragement to use EVV and believe that a $100 or even in some cases a $200 premium is WORTH IT?

IS IT TRUE that the burning house on Read Street Monday night that occurred just hours after the Evansville City Council passed a resolution asking the State of Indiana to pass legislation to make pseudo ephedrine based medicine covered by prescription only has now caused some COLLATERAL DAMAGE?…that COLLATERAL DAMAGE is what it is called when a big problem in one place causes a different problem elsewhere?…that in the case of the Read Street house fire that the house right next door happens to be a Crisis Pregnancy Center that serves women who need their services?…that this Crisis Pregnancy Center is now closed indefinitely due to the fire next door?…that the heat has damaged the Center, has distributed debris all over the lot and will now require repairs and cleanup before re-opening?…that we hope that this fire was not meth related because sometimes meth related fires cause environmental toxicity well beyond their confines?…that meth related house fires can have the COLLATERAL DAMAGE effect of causing three or even more houses to become uninhabitable?…that this just underscores that the Evansville City Council is on the right track and that Senator Jim Tomes is the deer in the headlights on this subject?

IS IT TRUE that speaking of houses that the issue of INVENTORY MANAGEMENT needs to be considered by the candidate for Mayor of Evansville as they ponder what to do about the Front Door Pride program and other public housing construction that is under consideration?…that at any given time there are between 2,000 and 2,500 houses on the market in the Evansville area?…that the private sales per year has recently been in the 1,500 to 2,000 range?…that Evansville by some measures has 8,000 homes that are dilapidated to the point that they are economically unfeasible to repair?…that in addition to that there are about 2,000 to 2,500 homes that are unoccupied due to abandonment or lack of demand?…that when all of the empty homes and for sale homes (some of which are empty) are counted up the Evansville area has a 6 to 10 year inventory of homes that are available?

IS IT TRUE that the overwhelming majority of these empty homes are in the City of Evansville?…that the population of the City of Evansville even including annexation has been shrinking by about 500 people (250 households) per year for 50 years?…that the loss in population (25,000) corresponds nearly exactly to the abandoned households (12,500)?…that Evansville’ problem with dilapidated and abandoned houses can be traced directly to the shrinking population which can be traced directly to the loss of jobs?…that the last thing that a competent retailer would do with a 10 year inventory of any product would be to add to the inventory?…that is exactly what the City of Evansville has been doing?…that inventory liquidation or elimination by whatever means is necessary is what a competent business owner who wants to stay in business would do if faced with a 10 year inventory?

IS IT TRUE that many of Evansville’s legacy problems like the abandoned house problem will be solved by private investment if the local economy is fashioned into an atmosphere that inspires private investment that will in turn create desirable career opportunities?…that is another word for JOBS?…that we encourage our candidates for Mayor and City Council to concentrate on what will solve our problems as opposed to what may hide a legacy problem?

IS IT TRUE that the President of the United States has installed the CEO of GE as his head of job creation?…that GE is a big exporter of American jobs to other countries?…that GE has just announced a partnership with China to make commericial jets?…that Boeing just put in a new commercial jet facility in South Carolina that is being harassed by the government of the United States largely because South Carolina is a right to work state?…that for the Presdient to put the CEO of GE in charge of job ceation for America makes about as much sense as if the Mayor of Evansville put the CEO of Whirlpool in charge of creating jobs in Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that the new Executive Director of the Evansville Convention and Visitors Bureau addressed the Evansville City Council on Monday night regarding the subject of tourism?…that Bob Warren is a man who seems to have fallen in love with the concept that Evansville is a place that has a great amount of potential as a vacation destination?…that he went on and on about how Evansville is a great place to visit yet has never really shared that with potential visitors?…that when he started discussing the MARKETING BUDGET of the ECVB and comparing it to other cities in which he has worked in his career that all too familiar DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS look came upon the faces of our City Council members?…that the entire marketing budget for the Evansville Convention and Visitors Bureau to tell the world about how great Evansville (population 117,400) is for vacationing is $116,000?…that Mr. Warren’s previous place of work, the town (not city) of Galena, Illinois (population 3,500) had a marketing budget of $330,000?

IS IT TRUE that Galena is about the size of Chandler, IN or Morganfield, KY?…that these towns are no more than 3% of the size of Evansville?…that Galena’s marketing budget is TRIPLE the size of Evansville’s?…that the other places that he has worked are closer to the size of Evansville but spend in the millions of dollars per year to attract tourism?…that once again Evansville is exposed as being hopelessly out of touch with the reality of the cost of doing business in the outside world?…that this was reminiscent of the paltry wage scale that inspired Mayor Weinzapfel to propose a dual pay scheme to attract Tom Barnett to Evansville over a town of 3,000 people in Florida?…that in the recent ‘Competitive Realities” report from the SW Indiana Coalition for Economic Development the MARKETING BUDGET to attract new businesses was fingered for being hopelessly low?

IS IT TRUE that one of the 10 things identified by the CCO that need to be done right in 2011 was to upgrade municipal pay scales in the City of Evansville to national levels?…that having a marketing budget for tourism that is 1/3 of a place the size of Chandler is almost hard to believe?…that if the City of Evansville chooses to not even try to compete either through complete ignorance or disinterest that the population shrinkage will continue, the number of abandoned houses will increase, the local wage base will continue to decline, and we can continue to experience DEER IN THE HEADLIGHT MOMENTS at City Council meetings?…that our City Council should not be blindsided by things like this?…that our City Council is elected to do what is best for the people of Evansville?…that being completely oblivious to the economic reality of the modern world is not in the best interest of the people of Evansville?…that what scares us the most is that the City Council members really seemed to be surprised that a town the size of Chandler has a tourism budget that is TRIPLE Evansville’s?…that we wonder if they are surprised that a Colts ticket costs more than $3, that a beer at the game is more than a dollar, and that a bag of peanuts costs more than 50 cents at Lucas Oil Stadium?

IS IT TRUE that the street sweepers that are deployed for downtown are about an inch or so too tall to fit into the City of Evansville parking garages?…that this is a repeat performance of the performance out on a Diamond Avenue overpass a few years ago?…that the first suggestion at that time and again Monday was to deflate the tires?…that is a lame way to make up for the failure to get out the tape measure in the design stage?…that the DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS look is once again indicative of obliviousness?