THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 4, 1996 TAG: 9610040520
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 114 lines
Henry Luke of Jacksonsville, Fla., is an economic development and community planning consultant with a resume that runs on for pages and pages. But he doesn't believe it takes an expert to figure out what's wrong with Hampton Roads.
Why just Thursday, Luke said, he asked a taxicab driver who picked him up at the airport, ``How are things in Hampton Roads?''
``Well, we do have a problem,'' the cabbie replied, according to Luke. ``The cost of living is high, and the earnings are low.''
And, he said, the driver offered a couple of solutions.
``Well, we ought to fix the education system, and we ought to get these governments to cooperate,'' Luke said he was told.
Luke said he then asked the driver ``if he had been reading my speech.''
Anyway, it was Luke, not the taxicab driver, who got to be the keynote speaker at the ``State of the Community'' dinner program Thursday on the economic issues facing the region. The forum is the inaugural event in a three-year project organized by the League of Women Voters of South Hampton Roads.
And, while Luke gave the familiar refrain that the 15 localities of Hampton Roads need to cooperate better, he also reported economic statistics to underscore the problems.
Based on Luke's calculations, private-sector earnings in Hampton Roads are about $3 billion less than what they should be, and the gap between this region and the national average continues to widen.
Here's how he figures it: In 1993, private-sector earnings here averaged $22,022 per worker, which was $5,142 below the national average of $27,164. That's a gap of $5,142.
Then Luke multiplied the gap by the number of private-sector jobs in Hampton Roads, about 589,000. The result: $3,028,638,000.
The Hampton Roads per-person private-sector earnings figure of $22,022, he said, also puts the region in 60th place nationwide, behind areas such as Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Richmond, Memphis, Raleigh, Nashville, Greensboro and Jacksonsville.
From the podium at the Norfolk Airport Hilton, Luke led more than 300 area political, business, educational and civic leaders through several more calculations - even asking them to draw their own graphs at their dinner tables.
In 1970, the region's per capita income was 87 percent of the nation's; it climbed to nearly 95 percent in 1982 and 1986, but since then dropped again to 87 percent in 1994.
``In eight years you lost 7 percent per capita to the rest of the nation,'' Luke said. ``Do you understand the seriousness of that?
``If you relate that to the rest of the U.S. average, you have less money for food, for clothing, for housing, for transportation, for saving, for contributions, for every business you run . . . and less taxes . . . for infrastructure.''
The consequences, he predicted, will be magnified as the federal and state governments continue to cut their budgets and pass more funding responsibilities down to localities.
To counter the trends and dangers, Luke said, the region's 15 jurisdictions must work better with one another in attracting businesses with higher-paying jobs.
Luke then joined other speakers at the dinner in calling for citizens to translate their concerns about the region into politics.
``The more I study it, the more I'm sure in my mind that a regional attitude, with regional marketing, with a regional infrastructure and with a regional name are tremendously important,'' Luke said. ``And the politicians are waiting for you to help them decide that that's the way it needs to be.
``It's just that simple. If the taxi driver figured it out, the rest of us can figure it out, and you can make some great headway.''
Another speaker, Mark R. Kilduff, deputy director of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, warned that business ``prospects do not understand political boundaries.'' He said ``confusion will absolutely waste a prospect's time. They don't understand it, and when you confuse a prospect they're off to the next city.
``The location factors that businesses look at are regional. I think that sums it up and says it all . . . We better be prepared to deal with the way they look at our efforts.''
The League of Women Voters organized the State of the Community dinner to encourage more citizen involvement in regional issues and assess regional cooperation.
This dinner's theme was ``Hampton Roads: Are You Ready for the 21st Century?''
Also addressing the forum were Rear Adm. Robert Cole, commander of Naval Shore Facilities Atlantic; Michael J. Barrett, vice president and CEO of the Runnymede Corp.; and Hampton Mayor James L. Eason, co-chairman of the Hampton Roads Partnership, a regional group with representatives from local governments and the military, education, business and civic sectors. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by RICHARD L. DUNSTON, The Virginian-Pilot
Henry Luke told local leaders that area earnings are $3 billion
below par.
Graphic
Talking Regionally
Here are some upcoming public programs where citizens can explore
regional problems and solutions:
Military Privatization and Regional Transportation Issues, a
public forum with the Hampton Roads Coalition of Civic Organizations
and Baby Steps, a women's advocacy group. Rear Adm. Robert Cole,
commander of Naval Shore Facilities Atlantic will speak.
The forum will start at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 30 at Norfolk Community
Hospital. Call Baby Steps, 628-1538.
Healthy Community Summit '96, as part of the Plan 2007 regional
strategy for economic development and improved quality of life.
The forum will feature Gruffie Clough, a senior associate with
the National Civic League. She will speak on ``The Art of
Implementation.''
The all-day session is Nov. 21 at Norfolk State University. Call
627-2315.
Citizen Challenge: Jobs and Hampton Roads, a series of public
discussions organized by the Community Networking Association.
The program is being prepared for early 1997. To participate in
planning or otherwise contribute, call 495-8301.
KEYWORDS: ECONOMY INCOME REGIONALISM by CNB