"The news from France is very bad...."

The above is quote from a speech Winston Churchill made to the House of Commons early in the war - WWII The Biggie. I listened to Mayor Mack's State of the City speech last evening on the Trentonian web site and came away with one thought. He's offering us bread and circuses. Dan Dodson summed it up perfectly on his blog. The mayor failed to discuss Trenton's problems and so he failed to discuss solutions. Bringing a college to Trenton will do nothing especially since the land used by the college will be tax free (unless, of course, the college rents space from a private party). To broaden our tax base, we MUST attract residents with high incomes. This is an idea that goes way back to the Holland administration but nothing has been done. Dan and I do not always agree on the residency issue; in fact, I've often wondered if the police and firefighters realize that they would be one hellva of a voting block if they lived in Trenton? I am also tired of hearing about what the State owes us as the Host City. If state government were not here, Trenton would be dead seven days a week rather than just weekends. We get more from the state than the state gets from us. What we should be doing is looking for ways to make Trenton attractive to state employees so they will move here. And we ain't doing it. As for Mr. Sigmund, I appreciate his devotion to his family, but how often will he fly back to the Coast? And who pays for the tickets? And why isn't his family moving here to Trenton? Due to a schedule conflict, I will not be at city council this evening; Mr. Chilson will report. But, please, Trentonians, start to attend public meetings. Start to ask questions. Start to demand answers. Realize that we are in a financial mess.