Panama Canal Expansion Could Boost Hampton Roads and Virginia Economy

Sunrise over Hampton Roads harbor - port facilities are across the harbor from our street

Despite the efforts of the Republican Party of Virginia backwards and unwelcoming to anyone who is not white, heterosexual and conservative Christian, the Hampton Roads region and to a lesser extent other parts of the state could nonetheless receive a huge economic boost next year when the expansion of the Panama Canal is completed and the superior aspects of Hampton Roads harbor could make the area the premier container ship port on the East Coast. If the projected economic boost occurs, one can only hope that it will also work to make the area more progressive - many of the European shipping lines are based in countries far more socially progressive - and boost the population and help the GOP's base in rural Virginia to be forever out voted by the urban areas of Virginia.  The Richmond Times Dispatch looks at the prospects for Hampton Roads:

The Port of Virginia — and the state’s economy — should be able to benefit from the expansion of the Panama Canal, due to go into operation at the end of 2015, Panama Canal and Virginia Port Authority officials said Friday.

“Virginia’s port has the draft and capacity,” María Eugenia Sánchez with the Panama Canal Authority said at the Governor’s Conference on Agricultural Trade. “They are in very good condition.”

The canal’s expansion “is going to be beneficial to us,” said Thomas D. Capozzi, the Virginia Port Authority’s chief commercial officer. “It really plays to our advantages — deep water and rail connections.”

The century-old canal’s $5.25 billion expansion now under construction is expected to create demand for ports to handle the new Panamax ships, vessels the maximum size the canal can accommodate.

Now limited to 5,000-container vessels, the Panama Canal will be able to handle ships carrying 13,000 containers when the expansion goes into service in 2015, Capozzi said.

“That will make the East Coast more competitive vis-à-vis the West Coast” for ships carrying cargo from Asia, he said.

At 50 feet, Hampton Roads has the deepest shipping channels on the East Coast, capable of accommodating vessels carrying 10,000-plus containers, the authority said.

A port like Hampton Roads, which is deep enough and well-enough equipped with commercial transportation infrastructure to handle the supersized ships, could be a big winner.

 More than 30 international steamship lines service the Hampton Roads port, and the Norfolk Southern and CSX railroads offer on-dock, double-stack intermodal service to major markets in the Midwest and the Southeast, the authority said.

The expansion project entails building two new sets of locks, one on the Pacific side and one on the Atlantic side, as well as widening and deepening the navigational channels in Gatun Lake and Culebra Cut, an artificial valley that was cut through the continental divide and that forms part of the canal.

The expansion of the Canal touches a personal note - my mother's father worked on building the original canal and received a commendation from then president Theodore Roosevelt (see image below).   It's where he first became involved in medicine and eared the funds to put himself through medical school.  After World War I - he ironically was stationed in Hampton, Virginia for the duration of the war - he returned to Central America and practiced medicine for roughly 20 years.

Roosevelt in Panama at the construction of the original canal

Obama to Name Hampton's Fort Monroe a National Monument

In a move that local leaders of all political stripes have sought aggressively, Barack Obama will reportedly name historic Fort Monroe which has guarded the mouth of Hampton Roads' harbor for over 180 years. On its site, fortifications have existed as far back as 1609. Fort Monroe is the largest stone fort ever built in the United States and it has seen an interesting history over the years since construction began in 1819 as part of a plan of coastal defenses after the British burned Washington, D. C. during the War of 1812. This designation will help ensure that Ft. Monroe will exist as a tourist destination and that its history is not lost. For the City of Hampton - whose leadership has shown itself to be among the most LGBT friendly in the region - the national monument designation should be a huge boon. Interestingly, Hampton Roads Business OutReach's ("HRBOR") December business networking event on Thursday, December 8, 2011, will be hosted by the City of Hampton at Ft. Monroe. Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

Fort Monroe will take its place among the nation's most revered places on Tuesday, when President Barack Obama is expected to designate much of the former Army base a national park.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said in a phone interview Saturday that Obama would use powers granted to him under the Antiquities Act to preserve the Hampton waterfront fortress and hundreds of acres of open space along the Chesapeake Bay.

More than a dozen presidents, starting with Theodore Roosevelt, have used the 1906 act to protect historic or endangered places that loom large in American lore, including the Grand Canyon and the Statue of Liberty.

The announcement delighted local and state officials and the region's bipartisan congressional delegation, which introduced legislation to create a national park but pressed Obama to use his executive powers to make it happen more quickly.

Salazar said bipartisan backing for a national park, buttressed by broad public support, helped persuade Obama to act. He also cited jobs creation as a motivator for the president, saying that the money spent by tourists who visit the park would create many jobs in coming years.

"It's a huge economic opportunity for southern Virginia," Salazar said, noting that national parks draw tourists and attract businesses that cater to them.

Fort Monroe's most historic chapter came during the Civil War, when it remained a bastion of federal power even after Virginia seceded. Early in the conflict, three escaped slaves reached the fort and asked for the Union Army's protection. The commanding general's decision not to send the men back to their Confederate owners set the stage for a mass migration of slaves to Fort Monroe and helped bring about the Emancipation Proclamation.

Fort Monroe won't be only a national park, though. If the president follows the blueprint of the pending legislation, the park service would manage slightly more than half of the property, including the north beach area and about 90 acres inside and around the moated stone fortress. The Fort Monroe Authority, a state entity, would handle the rest - including limited new development in certain areas.

More than Economic Reasons Justify Gay Marriage

In the New York battle ground for same sex marriage a number of powerful economic players have come out in support of marriage equality saying that among other things gay marriage is important in the world of global competition and that “attracting talent is key to our state’s economic future.” There is much truth to the argument and I've used it myself in condemning Virginia's anti-gay jihad at the behest of the Christian Taliban centered on The Family Foundation based in Richmond. but, as an op-ed piece in the New York Times points out, much more than economic benefit dictates that allowing full same sex marriage is the right thing to do. Among them, full equality for all citizens and much more. Here are highlights from the column:
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IN a letter to the New York State Legislature last month, top business executives endorsed same-sex marriage on the ground that “attracting talent is key to our state’s economic future.” The signers — among them the banker Lloyd C. Blankfein, the financier Ronald O. Perelman, the real estate developer Jerry I. Speyer and the publisher Mortimer B. Zuckerman — declared that legalizing gay unions would “help maintain our competitive advantage in attracting the best and brightest people the world has to offer.”
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The letter was only the latest example of a trend toward promoting marriage equality as a boon to businesses and state and local budgets. While these arguments are appealing at first glance, and may be politically effective in the short run, they ultimately hurt the broader struggle for gay and lesbian equality.
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Those making these economic arguments probably have the best of intentions. After all, why can’t gays and lesbians have full equality, while also saving the state money and bolstering local economies? Aren’t civil rights narratives consistent with the economic case for same-sex marriage? Shouldn’t supporters use all possible arguments in the hopes that at least one will finally stick?
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And yet supporting marriage on economic grounds dehumanizes same-sex couples by conflating civil rights with economic perks. Americans should be offended when the value of gays and lesbians is reduced to their buying power as consumers or their human and creative capital as workers.
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Why can’t same-sex couples have access to the same rights and protections as their straight neighbors simply because they are citizens? How would we respond if the right to interracial marriage were based on the prospects that these relationships made good business sense or added to the state budget?
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Worse yet, this narrative neglects the most economically vulnerable gay and lesbian couples and plays into the inaccurate stereotype of same-sex couples (particularly male couples) as being mostly well-educated and affluent.
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So if you support same-sex marriage, do so not because it brings in tax revenue and tourism dollars and prevents people from becoming a burden on the state, but because you value gay men and lesbians as citizens who deserve equal access to the rights and responsibilities of marriage.

Illinois City Pursues Gays and Lesbians to Improve Its Quality of Life

Back during the summer, I wrote about a meeting between the City of Hampton, Virginia department of economic development and members of Hampton Roads Business OutReach ("HRBOR"), the local LGBT and LGBT friendly chamber of commerce in an effort to secure LGBT involvement in revitalization efforts for the Phoebes section of the city. Apparently, folks in Berwyn, Illinois, has some things in common with the City of Hampton - it too is reaching out to LGBT couples in the hope they will move to and invest in Berwyn and boost the city's quality of life. As one friend noted after the HRBOR-City of Hampton meeting, maybe the new LGBT Motto should be "You'll Thank Us Later - After Your Property Values Increase." Berwyn has even inaugurated an ad campaign to encourage LGBT couples to come to the city and boost its quality of life. Here are some highlights from the Chicago Tribune:
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Marge Paul can sit on the front porch of her Berwyn home, look at the crisscrossing, bungalow-lined streets to the north and south, and smile about something many don't realize.
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"I know there's a gay or lesbian couple on just about every block," said Paul, Berwyn's 3rd Ward alderman and the city's first openly gay elected official. "But I think there are some gays and lesbians in Berwyn who still think they're the only ones."
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Berwynites — from the mayor to Paul to everyday citizens — are trying to alter that view, using an aggressive marketing campaign in Chicago neighborhoods such as Lakeview and Andersonville to convince people that their suburb is both affordable and amenable to people in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
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The broader, $70,000-a-year campaign — titled "Why Berwyn?" — targets people of all walks of life and features billboards and radio advertisements across the Chicago area. But part of it is directed specifically at the LGBT community. "That was the key demographic we were looking for," Lennon said. "Not the only demographic, but the key one."
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From a real estate standpoint, few would argue with the city's approach. It has been well-established anecdotally and through academic research that an influx of gay or lesbian residents often boosts property values and can lead to improvements in the appearance of a community as well as the amenities it offers.

Daily Press Coverage of HRBOR/City of Hampton Meeting

I previously reported on the very positive meeting that representatives of Hampton Roads Business OutReach ("HRBOR") had on June 6, 2010 with representatives of the City of Hampton Department of Economic Development concerning investment opportunities in connection with the revitalization of the Phoebus area of the City of Hampton (the main street is pictured at left). My post can be found here on this blog and here on The Bilerico Project. Yesterday, the local paper, the Daily Press, ran an overall positive story about the meeting, citing Richard Florida's work on the "creative class' and referencing other cities/neighborhoods where LGBT businesses and residents have sparked a gentrification and economic blossoming. Unfortunately, the story - which referenced me by name - has set off a firestorm among Christo-fascists and the truly ignorant and prejudiced who apparently would prefer to live in a seedy economic backwater than have more upscale, legitimate LGBT owned businesses move into the area. The irony, of course, is that some are already in the area but the Neanderthals apparently don't realize it.

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The running commentary on the article can be found here and I would encourage readers to create a simple log-in and leave supportive statements to counter balance those posted by knuckle draggers. Comments can be posted here. So far, City personnel have remained steadfast in their support of the HRBOR/DED meeting. Obviously views other than those posted by Pat Robertson's Kool-Aid drinker crowd would be most appreciated.

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As I explained to a Daily Press columnist, overall my experience with Hampton has been most positive - particularly among the educated, well to do, and professional class. The nasty comments posted to the Daily Press article obviously do not appear to be from the better elements of Hampton's population. Instead, they appear to represent the ignorant, Bible beating segment of the population which would drag the city and the nation back to the Dark Ages if given the opportunity.

Strong Economy Propels Brazil to World Stage

I have long found Brazil fascinating - and not just because it seems to produce some of the most beautiful guys in the world, although that's not a bad thing either. Now, the country seems poised to come into an age of prosperity and international influence that has heretofore escaped it as reported by the New York Times today. It is interesting to note that some of the trends and economic measures that are being implemented in Brazil run counter to what the Chimperator is foisting on the USA, where income disparities are sharply increasing and spending on infrastructure and social programs that strengthen citizens are being cut or subjected to veto threats. Here are some story highlights:

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Brazil, South America’s largest economy, is finally poised to realize its long-anticipated potential as a global player, economists say, as the country rides its biggest economic expansion in three decades. That growth is being felt in nearly all parts of the economy, creating a new class of super rich even as people like Ms. Sousa lift themselves into an expanding middle class.

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It has also given Brazil new swagger, providing it, for instance, with greater leverage to push for a tougher bargain with the United States and Europe in global trade talks. After seven years, those negotiations finally broke down this week over demands by India and China for safeguards for their farmers, a clear sign of the rising clout of these emerging economies.

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Despite investor fears about the leftist bent of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva when he was elected to lead Brazil in 2002, he has demonstrated a light touch when it comes to economic stewardship, avoiding the populist impulses of leaders in Venezuela and Bolivia. Instead, he has fueled Brazil’s growth through a deft combination of respect for financial markets and targeted social programs, which are lifting millions out of poverty, said David Fleischer, a political analyst and emeritus professor at the University of Brasília.

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Long famous for its unequal distribution of wealth, Brazil has shrunk its income gap by six percentage points since 2001, more than any other country in South America this decade, said Francisco Ferreira, a lead economist at the World Bank. While the top 10 percent of Brazil’s earners saw their cumulative income rise by 7 percent from 2001 to 2006, the bottom 10 percent shot up by 58 percent, according to Marcelo Côrtes Neri, the director of the Center for Social Policies at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Rio de Janeiro.

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The momentum of its economic expansion is expected to last. As the United States and parts of Europe struggle with recession and the fallout from housing crises, Brazil’s economy shows few of the vulnerabilities of other emerging powers. It has greatly diversified its industrial base, has huge potential to expand a booming agricultural sector into virgin fields and holds a tremendous pool of untapped natural resources. New oil discoveries will thrust Brazil into the ranks of the global oil powers within the next decade.

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President da Silva has deepened many of the social programs begun 10 years ago under Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who as president ushered in many of the structural reforms that laid the foundations of Brazil’s stable growth today.

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Should John McCain somehow - in my worse nightmare - win the election in November, Brazil may be a country to add to the list as possible emigration destinations for those fleeing the economically declining and increasing fascist USA.