Presque Isle might as well become a premiere beach location even more than it is today and Erie should just embrace tourism as its mainstay. Its safely located far enough away from Cleveland and Buffalo and Detroit to avoid the dirty water containation and the beaches are actually some of the best in the Great Lakes region, probably because the Isle juts out into the lake a good bit.

Only problem with tourism based economies is that the jobs typically don't pay as well as industrial jobs unless you're in Las Vegas. ;)

But light manufacturing like the beer brewery can also be part of the puzzle.

many of Presque Isle's beaches have been closed this summer due to contaminant levels... it's a problem every year... though this year seems worse than usual... Erie's economy still relies heavily on the manufacturing sector

Where does the contamination come from?

Lake Erie is the most shallow of the Great Lakes, creating higher contamination averages from what I understand. Even Lake Ontario, despite its smaller coverage area, has more than double the water volume because its so much deeper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Erie
Volume: 116 cubic miles
Average Depth: 62ft; maximum 210ft

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Ontario
Volume: 393 cubic miles
Average Depth: 283 ft; maximum 802ft

That's almost 4x the volume of water in Lake Ontario, and its smaller than Lake Huron and Michigan.

Cleveland

The "contamination" is naturally-occurring E. coli bacteria that reaches higher levels with summer storms (runoff from agricultural areas mainly), high water temps (this summer the waters off of Presque Isle have topped out at around 79 degrees), and especially due to a change in the federal guidelines as to how E. coli levels are measured. This "contamination" is really no big deal... if the levels are high on certain beaches, then they'll issue a swimming advisory - basically don't swallow large amounts of water or if you have large open wounds, you might not want to swim. Overall, Lake Erie is cleaner than it has been in decades and the lake and Presque Isle Bay in Erie have cleaned up dramatically since the 1980s.

Also, if they adhered to the same E. coli guidelines on the Jersey Shore or in Florida... you wanna talk about loss of tourism revenue...

yeah, I think it's still somewhere near 22-25%! The shift to a tourism and service-based economy is a tough sell in Erie where the blue collar ethic still runs deeper than just about anywhere else I can think of. That's one of the big problems in Erie; the place has really known nothing but a local economy based on heavy industry, be it iron & steel, shipbuilding, tool & die, locomotives, plastics, various durable consumer goods, etc. It's having one hell of a time making the transition. I went to a lecture and seminar a few months ago focusing on Erie's industrial past and preservation of its industrial architecture. It featured some renowned industrial architecture scholar (don't remember his name, but I can look it up) who said that Erie was the largest manufacturing city in the world per capita from the turn of the century until the 1960s... I never realized that little tidbit.

In July 2008, Metro Erie had 23k manufacturing jobs out of 134k total for a 17.2% share. (national average 9.8%)

In July 2000, Metro Erie had 34k manufacturing jobs out of 136k total for a 24.3% share. (national average 13.1%)

However, I assume the manufacturing accounts for an even greater share of regional earnings.

I don't think the loss of American industry is a good thing personally, but there's nothing you can do with political policy as we've sold that sector long ago.

Last I read, it was somewhere around 22%, but, as you said, that may have been a regional number including all of Erie County (and maybe Crawford and Warren, as well). Also, Erie has lost a good number of manufacturing jobs just this past year (GAF Materials, Steris, Affinia all moved to cheaper pastures... to name 3 of the larger plant closings... combined they probably employed around 2000).

Those numbers are for Erie MSA, which consists of Erie County.

you can look them up here:
http://www.clevelandfed.org/Research...rts/chart7.cfm

is Erie Coke still in business

New website promoting Erie's abundant freshwater resources to attract industry:

http://www.tapintoerie.com/

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08353/936013-100.stm

Erie tires-to-energy plant loses appeal

Thursday, December 18, 2008
The Associated Press
ERIE, Pa. -- A judge has rejected the zoning appeal of a company planning a $300 million tires-to-energy plant.

Erie Renewable Energy LLC wants to build the 90-megawatt power plant in Erie. But zoning officials rejected the plan because two 165-foot boilers are higher than the city's 100-foot limit.

The company argues that zoning allows for exceptions if the boilers are a "necessary mechanical appurtenance" to the main plant.

The city says the boilers aren't part of the main building and don't qualify. But the company says pipes connect the boilers to the building's main turbines, which can't operate without the boilers.

The company's attorney is reviewing the ruling for another possible appeal.


Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

^ I wish this was the end of this whole ridiculous ordeal. They're filing other plans and appeals constantly... determined to get it built, even though there has been a lot of strong oppostion to it from government bodies and private industries in the area.

The whole project is an obscene joke and it angers me that it is even being considered. The whole "energy" part is a marketing gimmick, since it will not be a net energy producer at all, given that it will require more energy to run the tire gasification process than will be produced by the process. It's basically just a money-making scheme for a business outift with a far less than respectable past.

http://www.erielifemagazine.com/issu...s/JJCover1.jpg

http://www.erielifemagazine.com/issu...ial-report.php

ERIE'S ECONOMY: A SPECIAL REPORT

On the surface, Erie is a city that seems to be in the process of change. The image of a dying steel town out of step with the rest of the country is finally being shaken, and the terms "revitalization" and "redevelopment" have become buzz words around the city, but is our city growing enough to survive into the next generation?

http://www.erielifemagazine.com/issu...onomy_main.jpg

:previous: Sounds like a lot of western PA cities and towns.

Erie firm powers first transcontinental biodiesel flight
 

I know a similar concept is talked about in Columbus (went to HS there).

Basically, they're trying (and struggling) to keep 20 somethings there after they graduate from OSU. And all I remember from HS is everyone bitching about how boring it was there, and how they wanted to move (which is why, in retrospect, looking at facebook and the # of folks still there is kinda surprising).

I really think that whole region has an uphill battle, though, which is unfortunate for those who lack the means to pack up and leave.

ughhhh

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09041...MOSTEMAILEDBOX

Erie locomotive plant laying off 1,550

Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Associated Press

ERIE, Pa. -- Erie-based GE Transportation says it is laying off 1,550 workers, including 350 whose jobs will be cut permanently.

The locomotive manufacturer is blaming the global recession and lower production for the cuts.

The layoffs will take place this year. The company says in a statement today that 1,200 layoffs are lack of work furloughs that should eventually end.

But 150 salaried workers and 200 hourly workers will lose their jobs permanently.

The company says most of the cuts will come at its primary plant in Erie, but that other GE Transportation sites will lose jobs, too.

Ugh, this will probably effect the GE Grove City plant as well:(