Paul Shigley's blog
California's Best And Worst Mid-Sized City Downtowns
10 September 2007 - 4:48pmWhen people think of downtowns, they often think of huge cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. But anybody familiar with California knows that the big city downtowns are the exceptions. By and large, California is a state of mid-sized cities, and some of the most delightful urban places are the smaller downtowns. Often in older cities, these districts are manageable, pleasant and, very often these days, in the midst of a strong renaissance.
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As The Countryside Burns, Planning Changes Gain Urgency
11 July 2008 - 9:24am» read more
Grand Jury Season Activates BS Detector
8 July 2008 - 2:42pmSound familiar? Not the details, but the tone. Your local newspaper has probably struck similar notes recently. That’s because it is the season for grand juries to release their annual reports on local government.
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California Regains Public Policy Forefront With Climate Plan
1 July 2008 - 11:28amPerhaps most important, however, the plan marks the State of California’s return to the role of public policy leader.
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Best Downtowns: Vacation Cities
23 June 2008 - 8:52amStill, Carpinteria has the best downtown for a vacation in California. We’ll tell you why.
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Downtown Exeter: True Small-Town Atmosphere
11 June 2008 - 9:01amWhen we listed the best small-city downtowns in the Central Valley, we didn’t include Exeter, a Tulare County community eight miles east of Visalia. Exeter was in our discussion, but it didn’t make the cut for reasons that I don’t recall.
After spending part of one day last week in Exeter, I’m convinced we made a mistake. In fact, Exeter has one of the best downtowns for a city of its size (about 10,700 people) not only in the Central Valley, but in the entire state.
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Downtown Yreka: Historic But Not Frozen In Time
3 June 2008 - 3:54pmSome of California’s best-known Gold Rush towns feel like museums that are operated for the benefit of tourists and transplanted retirees. Although the towns are genuinely historic, they may or may not be genuine places today.
Yreka is different. The historic district in the county seat of Siskiyou County can match the historic qualities of just about any Gold Rush city in California. But it’s no museum. Downtown Yreka is very much a functioning and evolving district.
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Climate Report Identifies Impacts On California
30 May 2008 - 2:48pm» read more
Affordable Homes Are Suddenly Beyond Reach
21 May 2008 - 9:00amWhen gasoline costs $5 a gallon, and diesel $6, who is going to buy a house in the exurbs?
With those fuel prices appearing inevitable within a year or two, I have been posing that question in casual conversations with people. Their answers is, well … no one.
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Napa County Campaign Reflects Bay Area Growth Tension
13 May 2008 - 11:29amOn one side are slow-growth advocates with the usual arguments about density, traffic, greedy developers and untrustworthy politicians. On the other side are developers with promises for creating housing in a very nice setting within a few miles of tens of thousands of jobs. In between are local government officials, who may end up arm wrestling with lawyers over who should review the project.
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