Recently a report by the consultant AngelouEconomics was released and a number of you have left your opinions about it in the October General Issues section. As of today, we are still getting comments in regards to that specific report, therefore we at the Gateway News thought it would be prudent to start its own comment section. Before posting any comments, PLEASE read the following statement:
This process is not intended in any way to serve as a vehicle to simply criticize, nor does it place blame. That is counter-productive. Rather, the process of issue identification and SWOT {strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats} summary gives a realistic inventory of assets or limitations that can be used to develop realistic, effective recommendations from Angelou.
Fact – Nearly 60% of Commerce City ’s population over the age of 25 has a high school diploma, if not a higher degree of educational attainment.
Fact - In the Northern Range , 83.3% of the weighted population over the age of 25 has graduated high school. This rate is higher than our neighboring cities and the Adams County statistic.
Fact – Approximately 60% of the weighted population in the Core City over the age of 25 has a high school diploma.
Fact - Multiple sources, including the database (Claritas) used for the Comprehensive Plan update, provide us with similar educational attainment statistics as found in the Angelou study.
Fact - The source that Angelou used for the data and statistics found in the Economic Scan (Decision Data Resource) is used by many national site selectors on behalf of their clients. If we were to report numbers other than ones that are cited in the report, those site selectors would probably pass us by for other jurisdictions.
Fact - Commerce City has grown 158% in population since 1998. While rapid growth is a good thing for a number of reasons, it poses a great challenge to projecting population and demographic statistics.
Fact – The purpose of the Economic Scan is to evaluate the current state of affairs in Commerce City in areas that are most critical to business & industry growth and job creation, in order to evaluate Commerce City ’s readiness to attract and direct future economic development. Educational attainment is one of these critical areas.
General Issues October 2009
Another month has passed and once again it has been a very interesting education of your thoughts and concerns. Thank you to all that have posted and we look forward to hearing more of your comments and concerns.If you are confused about how to post on the blog or feel more comfortable e-mailing me your comments and concerns, please do so and we will post it for you.
E-mail: dustin.mcintyre@yahoo.com
Dustin McIntyre, Gateway News and gatewaynews.org
LANDMARK ACADEMY STUDENTS ASK THE HARD HITTING QUESTIONS
This week several Landmark Academy students sat down with Gateway Reporter Dustie McIntyre and told him what questions they would like the candidates running for office to answer.
Click on comments below to read the responses from the candidates.