State and local officials are offering $100 million dollars in tax breaks to the Internet company should it locate a new facility in Lenoir, North Carolina. Yet some wonder if the generosity will pay off for the town.
"Google, which has not committed to a site in Lenoir, could bring $600 million in new investment, equal to half the city's tax base and more than 10 percent of Caldwell County's.
But neither city nor county would reap riches in revenue. To win the facility, Lenoir and Caldwell County officials have agreed to waive 100 percent of Google's business property taxes and 80 percent of real-estate taxes for three decades."
"Despite the benevolence, few, if any, of the 3,400 unemployed people in Caldwell County are likely to get the Google jobs. The positions probably will require specialized education and skills lacking in this blue-collar community.
'How can it possibly be worth it?' asked Jim Henson, a Lenoir native and single parent, who makes his living dismantling pieces of old furniture factories.
Economic officials say the largess is needed because Google is considering rival sites in South Carolina and elsewhere. And Google is needed, they contend, as the foundation for a new economy that Lenoir must put in place to move forward."
FULL STORY: Google breaks may top $100M
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
Houston Mayor Pauses Complete Streets Projects
The move raises concerns among road safety advocates who point out that traffic deaths continue to rise.
Twin Cities Trains Move to Fewer Cars, Higher Frequency
Headways will drop from 15 minutes to 12 minutes.
DC Bikeshare System Breaks Ridership Record
Capital Bikeshare users took over 20,000 rides on one day in March.
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