Odds and ends, 8/6/07

We hear about radicalized Muslims in Europe. Here, the New York Times has a story from a convention of such a group.

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This came today from the Ashland Alliance, which functions as the chamber of commerce and as the economic development agency for Boyd County, Ky."

Alliance President Jim Purgerson, Lawrence County (OH) Chamber President Bill Dingus, and Huntington Chamber President Mark Bugher went to Washington, D.C. this week to meet with Congressmen Geoff Davis (KY), Charles Wilson (OH), and Nick Rahall (WV) to drum up support for a proposed parking garage at Tri-State Airport. Due in large part to the success of Allegiant Air’s non-stop service to Orlando, boarding at the airport for the year to-date are up 75%, which at times has caused an overflow at the airport’s parking lot. The addition of a multi-story parking garage attached to the main terminal via walkway, would do much to alleviate this problem and help in the modernization of the airport. All three Congressmen pledged their support, and Congressman Rahall will take the lead as he is Chairman of the House Transportation Committee.

Nothing wrong with that, although it probably will get caught up in the question of exactly how much Congress should earmark for local projects, and which projects should receive earmarks. The difference here is that this is a capital investment rather than paying for a Lawrence Welk museum or some such.

A former colleague here at The Herald-Dispatch (we'll call him He Who Must Not Be Named) and I talked about mountaintop removal mining, a practice he opposed. I asked him about the mountains that are leveled to build four-lane roads. He said that was different, as it is for the public use and the public good rather than a private enterprise.

I can see his point, although I must admit I tend to think too many four-lane roads are being built in southern West Virginia.

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And finally, did anyone notice that Huntington has two bridges on the National Bridge Inventory that scored 2 points out of 100 on the national sufficiency rating scale? One was the 5th Avenue bridge to Guyandotte, which was closed earlier this year for safety reasons. The other is Huntington's infamous pink bridge.

It has already been reported that the state is willing to help Huntington replace the bridge, but Huntington needs to come up with some money. That should be interesting to see where the money will come from.