Election Coverage: Create an attractive place for immigrants, lose federal dollars?

Somebody didn’t read Pooja Shah’s article. “Republican Fred Thompson said Tuesday the government should yank federal dollars from cities and states that don’t report illegal immigrants.

In his first major policy proposal, Thompson challenged presidential rivals Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney by criticizing “sanctuary cities’‘ where city workers are barred from reporting suspected illegal immigrants who enroll their children in school or seek hospital treatment.”

If immigrants actually reduce crime, as Shah’s article suggests, how do we, as a country, come to view immigration to our cities as something to be desired? Or do we? Discuss below.

Wi-Fi – The next great municipal service, or an utter failure?

As someone who has experienced mixed success with Wireless Philadelphia, I appreciated this article from c|net. “Like many new technology initiatives, citywide Wi-Fi has been over-hyped. In less than two years, the technology—which provides inexpensive Internet access by using unlicensed wireless spectrum and cheap, industry standard equipment—has gone from savior to sunken ship.

But the truth is that blanketing cities with Wi-Fi signals is not inherently a bad idea. Even though some projects have stalled or failed outright, there have also been several success stories. Cities such as Minneapolis, Minn.; Houston, Texas; Burbank, Calif.; and Tucson, Ariz., are moving forward and seeing early signs of success.”

Apparently, Earthlink is working to improve Philadelphia’s service. I’ll believe it when I see it.

Move over Las Vegas, step aside Santa Cruz, Nairobi named one of the world’s fastest growing cities.

“Nairobi has been rated among the world’s 25 fastest growing large cities, signalling that failure to plan may aggravate urban problems such as the rise of slums. London-based International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) indicates that the city’s population has grown from 1.8 in 1999 to 3.5 million.

Mr Peter Kibinda, the director for city planning, said City Hall was reviewing development policies for residential areas to deal with rapid expansion of the city’s 20 zones.”

Philly waterfront: What do the people want, what is planned, and what might actually come to be?

This one hits close to home:

“For Philadelphia government, this was radical: Design a vision for the Delaware River waterfront by actually asking people who live along the river what they would like to see. At 13 sessions over the last year, a team from the University of Pennsylvania worked with residents, as well as representatives from commercial and government interests, to divine the future of a seven-mile stretch of the central Delaware waterfront.

On Nov. 14, Penn Praxis will officially unveil the results at a public forum at the Convention Center.

It’s a vision, not a plan set in stone. But this “We the People” approach has produced a view of the future that is radically different from what exists or is proposed for the riverfront from South Philadelphia to Port Richmond.

There are no vast, gated communities. There are no big-box stores blocking the view. There are no acres of blacktop. There are no casinos. Instead, there is a grid of walkable streets – much like the neighborhoods to the west of Interstate 95 – that extend right to the river’s edge.”

Minneapolis moving forward – redesigning the I-35W bridge

“Final design details of the new Interstate 35W bridge are being decided today at a design workshop at a Minneapolis hotel. About 80 people are participating in the workshop, including architects, elected officials, neighborhood residents and transportation authorities.

Among the decisions are the color of the bridge and the shape of the piers that will support it. Minnesota Department of Transportation project manager Jon Chiglo says the design will be final by the end of the day.

Construction on the bridge’s foundation is expected to begin by Nov. 1.”