Welcome to the new "Wall Street" of Midland

As many of you probably know, 2007 was the year Wall St. in Midland got a face lift downtown. Now, before all you ney-sayers start to chime in, listen up for a second... it looks cool!

For years now, I've listened to the skeptics tell me downtown "isn't worth saving," and that "it's a waste of tax payers dollars," and "there's nothing down there, so why bother?" Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again: "Midland is the 'Tall City.' Downtown isn't going anywhere and it is plain FOOLISH to think if we ignore it, it'll just go away!" No, downtown Midland is in all actuality an asset to Midland and is only just now getting the face lift it needs to breath life back into it.

TxDOT and the city of Midland just did a great overhaul last year to Wall St., a good chunk of downtown. And thanks to the foresight of the City and citizens working with the city, six blocks of Wall St. right next to downtown have been rezoned PDNS, or, Planned District Neighborhood Services. Now then, what does that mean?

From N Street to I street (I think that's correct) is a six block area that had previously been zoned strictly for offices. BOR...ING! Sure, some look good, but others need a little help! But now, with the change, shops of various kinds can open up along Wall St. and breath new life into the gateway to downtown Midland! Monument signs will be used instead of pole signs, meaning businesses will have signs no taller than four feet tall. This will allow for the oaks to remain and stay the nice feature that they are. Shops of all kinds can come in, pharmacies, various services, and there is even talk about a "collectible cars museum" coming in to the area! Being that it is just a couple blocks from the Museum of the Southwest, it's very fitting and can only prove to be a further asset to Midland.

Things are happening in Midland, and changes... good changes, are all around us. Through the participation of the citizens of Midland, bigger and better things will come as well!

Speaking of which, the new city council met recently and declared they would bring back a "ten minute" section of time at their council meetings for citizens of Midland to come and talk to the council about... get this.... ready??

ANYTHING!

Yes, you to can have 2 minutes of uninterrupted time to speak with the city council about anything and everything you feel you need to voice to them. Want a stop sign in your neighborhood? Tell them. Like what they are doing? Not? Tell them. Want something changed? Left alone? TELL THEM!

This blog is my bullhorn and by God, I'm gonna tell you right here and right now:
SPEAK UP! We elected people to listen to us and work for us. They can only do that if they know what the heck we're thinking! That can only happen if we talk to them.

Now is your chance. Get to a council meeting and make yourself heard. You'll never feel so free as getting out in the open, all the thoughts and ideas you've been bottling up for years. Be brief. Be concise. But be heard.

Okay, I'm done here. I'll be back next time with more news I think you should know. I'm cool like that. ;)

Happy New Year 2008 !

Greetings and salutations!

Well, the calander has finally flipped and 2008 is well upon us now. FutureGen took the easy way out and went to Illinois. (*sigh*) Oh well. With as much work has been done on this already, I have no doubt that progress will now step forward to something even bigger and better than a government funded project anyway.

The Permian Basin has officially seen $100/barrell oil! History has been made. Sucks for us at the gas pump, but it foretells a productive year for Midland and the oil industry.

Other things to look forward to in Midland 2008:

Real Estate development.
"The Palms" apartment complex is very near completion and will be the first of many new apartment complexes for Midland in a long time. Nice too.
Shopping centers. Development around the new Wal-Mart on I-20 is still going like gangbusters. Holiday Inn Express, Complex Community FCU and many others are either out of the ground or getting ready to break ground. There is also a new shopping center going in north of ClayDesta along Big Spring. Looks good!
And how many new housing additions do we have now? A baker's dozen or so? I can't even keep up. Between new apartments and new housing developments going up, I think 2008 will be the year we can kiss our "housing shortage" goodbye.

Now where's all the people?
Unemployment in Midland keeps hitting record lows. I e-mailed MONEY magazine and told one their writers about Midland. I had read an article recently about "Prosperous Cities" despite the housing downturn around the nation and was surprised to see Midland was not mentioned. Well, I moved to correct that rather quickly. But will I get credit for turning that idea over to a national publication? NOOOOooooooooooo........... (Cue the Steve Martin impersonation) Ah well, maybe Midland will get a blurb or two. Who knows.

New Politicians. Joy?
OH... the drama! Midland has a new Mayor now, and new city council members. I'll be at the Midland Center Monday for their swaring in. It was a very dramatic election for many reasons, but we made it through and now... we have new people coming in. I wish them all well and hope for good things. We'll soon see if it was a good thing or not.

There's plenty more to talk about, but the clock is ticking.
Y'all have a good one and I'll be back again soon.

Ciao!