OpenCDA

March 1, 2015

The Future Was Then…

Filed under: Probable Cause — Bill @ 5:54 pm

CDA Future from 2010

OpenCdA ran across this news article dated September 30, 1997.  We were also sent a copy of the flyer shown above.

It’s always interesting to look back and see who the “visionaries” were.  In this case, we would say former Coeur d’Alene City Council candidate Stan Smith had the correct vision of what was likely to happen.  We wonder if Mr. Smith is happy with the result of some of the faux-visionaries like Sandi Bloem, Deanna Goodlander, and Woody McEvers.  It looks to us as if today’s wannabe faux-visionaries like Mayor Steve Widmyer, Amy Evans, and Kiki Miller will follow in their predecessors’ footsteps, though.  We’ll change the name to Tokyo d’Alene.

5 Comments

  1. Yes, Stan’s vision for the future of the city was correct.

    Comment by Susie Snedaker — March 1, 2015 @ 6:24 pm

  2. Susie,

    Yes, and maybe his alternative ideas would have caused the honest people in Coeur d’Alene to band together with ideas and the drive to make the city what our present cast of clowns (Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, elected headnodders, etc.) could only imagine but never envision. What passes for “vision” in today’s Coeur d’Alene is correctly diagnosed as regressive myopia in other dead and dying cities. But then, what do we expect from people who actually think a nice but in my opinion hardly a “world-class” hotel should be the centerpiece of the City?

    Mr. Smith definitely hit the bent nail on the broken head in the news article: “Smith also worries that a downtown revitalization plan will make another assault against city parks. McEuen Field and Memorial Field are rated as ‘under utilized’ in the revitalization plan.” He evidently didn’t foresee the intentional manipulation of North Idaho College — or maybe he did and it just didn’t make the news article.

    Comment by Bill — March 1, 2015 @ 8:14 pm

  3. Plenty of former CdA elected officials liked to toss around the term “vision.” Stan Smith was the only local politician who sported any vision. Truly, the last 10 to 20 years would have been different had he been elected to Council.

    Comment by Dan Gookin — March 2, 2015 @ 8:19 am

  4. “I Can See for Miles” –a song written by Pete Townshend of The Who, recorded for the band’s 1967 album, The Who Sell Out, is quoted in relevant part:
    “I know you’ve deceived me, now here’s a surprise, I know that you have ’cause there’s magic in my eyes. I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles–Oh yeah—If you think that I don’t know about the little tricks you’ve played–And never see you when deliberately you put things in my way–Well, here’s a poke at you–You’re gonna choke on it too–You’re gonna lose that smile
    Because all the while I can see for miles and miles
    I can see for miles and miles
    I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles
    Oh yeah—You took advantage of my trust in you…I know you’ve deceived me, now here’s a surprise
    I know that you have ’cause there’s magic in my eyes–I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles
    Oh yeah…”
    DOES IT SEEM LIKE THESE LYRICS MIGHT SUM UP THE SITUATION?

    Comment by Tributary — March 2, 2015 @ 12:37 pm

  5. I have at times agreed and in fact praised some efforts that have yielded a renewal of the old downtown(albeit different and certainly not healthy for the average joe/jane) The next decade in that area has now and will continue to bring out the buzzards with nothing but greed in their beady little eyes.

    Low cost high rises will sprout like dandelions. Square footage returns will be the buzzard-buzzwords. We are seeing the effects of urban blight already, part time vacationers hiding above in their little coups, scurrying from the elevators to the parking garage. Single use businesses serving only tourists by day and wide open drinkfests by night. Limited community access to the lake and parks, High rise walling of the walking public.

    As more cheap Stalin multistory uglys sprout, the old downtown ceases to be a sense of place for the people of the city. It is now and will be even more so, a gated community for the absentee coop owners and the nighttime party crowd. Oh well, It was bound to happen….too much money ready to be harvested……too many buzzards eager to devour the carcasses

    Comment by Steve Badraun — March 5, 2015 @ 6:13 pm

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