tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10836315.post113006338413571362..comments2023-09-21T06:41:02.986-04:00Comments on Swamp Fox Insights: Notes from Austin: Keep Austin WeirdRileyWarnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10404943850095368615noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10836315.post-1130777099697414202005-10-31T11:44:00.000-05:002005-10-31T11:44:00.000-05:00JohnYou have it right on Austin. I was in Austin t...John<BR/><BR/>You have it right on Austin. I was in Austin the same time as the Chamber group but was tied up with my family in Austin and could not join the group. <BR/><BR/>I went to college at UT in Austin many moons ago and my daughter graduated from UT in 2001. I also have family there. I have visited Austin on many occasions over the past 40 years and know it pretty well. Still, I learned from your and others' notes on the Chamber visit.<BR/><BR/>Above all, Austin is a quirky, intellectual, liberal, young island in a sea of mostly the opposite in the rest of Texas. It's no accident that Austin has had been represented by a Democrat in Congress for the past fifty years plus (their current Congressman, Lloyd Doggett, was president of the UT Students Association when I was there as an undergraduate). Austin is also very much dominated by the University -- not just the 50,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students, but by the 25,000 or so faculty, staff, and employees of the University campus and its research center north of downtown. It's also the state capital, and although the legislature there only meets every other year, Austin has the intellectual capital that goes with all the state agencies, lobbyists, law firms, and other activities in a state capital. Even 35 years ago when I was in school, Austin had many of these traits.<BR/><BR/>We can't duplicate Austin in Greenville. We don't have a research university in town (though Clemson is nearby). We aren't the state capital. The community values here would never support the freewheeling, anything-goes culture in Austin. <BR/><BR/>So what CAN we do? <BR/><BR/>I think we can continue to look for closer ties with Clemson. ICAR will be good for us. Perhaps some sort of light rail transport would make Clemson and Greenville closer (though as you point out, Clemson and Furman students do know about downtown Greenville). My son is a senior at Clemson and considers it a "trip" to come home. Perhaps an ongoing forum between, say, Clemson student government and the Greenville Chamber, could explore synergies between the city and the campus. <BR/><BR/>We can keep the issues around innovation in front of city, county, and state government (as you and others are doing a great job of). The recent competitiveness summit at the Expo Center was great and we should do more of it. <BR/><BR/>We can continue to explore the vision of "cool" for 2025, even if we know we can't get everything Austin has. Continuing discussion of this should help identify areas that cause some of us discomfort, which can then be addressed. <BR/><BR/>Keep publishing. You are helping.<BR/><BR/>Chris KlasingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com