Showing posts with label Aquarium. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aquarium. Show all posts
Sunday, August 18, 2013
A Second Chance
Recent news that the planned hotel for the corner of Lee St and South Elm St will not be built has breathed new life into the gills of the downtown Greensboro Aquarium Project. Read about it on Facebook.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Concord Considers Incentives For Dinky Aquarium
The City of Concord, North Carolina is considering $238,000 in incentives to the Simon Property Group to add space to the 1.4 million-square-foot Concord Mills mall for a Sea Life aquarium that is just about the same size as the soon to be completed Greensboro Natural Science Center Aquarium.
Without a doubt the little aquarium will be a boost to Concord but here's what it won't be:
It won't be a world class aquarium.
The Concord aquarium won't contain a research center employing high paying marine biologists, pharmaceutical researchers or nano-tech researchers.
It won't contain the rarest aquarium species in the world.
There will be no penguins.
There will be no mammals.
It might have an Alligator Snapping Turtle but hey, while they're not Alligator Snapping Turtles we've got some 150 pound or better regular Snapping Turtles running around right here in Greensboro. You just have to know where to look.
It won't draw visitors from hundreds of miles away. Greensboro residents might drive 80 miles to the Concord Mills mall to go shopping but if all they want to see is a dinky aquarium they need only drive to Lawndale Drive where some of the rarest fish in the world will be on display. Let me see, should I drive over an hour to see run of the mill fish or 10 minutes to see rare breeds?
And now you can bet no one from Concord or Charlotte will be coming to Greensboro to see the Natural Science Center Aquarium unless say, tickets to a Downtown Greensboro Aquarium included passes and/or a shuttle.
There will be no university campus there. Hey, it's a mall.
No Aquaponics, no fresh fish or vegetables grown locally and placed on grocer's shelves, local restaurants or exported to other parts of the country providing local jobs beyond the walls of the aquarium.
No water sales from the Randalman Dam to put money in Greensboro city coffers.
No tourists flying into PTI.
No downtown jobs.
No local environmental research.
It won't promote the Natural Science Center Aquarium and other Greensboro attractions.
And unlike the Concord Mills mall, the Greensboro Aquarium Project isn't asking the City of Greensboro for incentives, only cooperation and coordination, the things we all pay our taxes to cities to do.
I don't know if any of this is possible but I do know one thing. All of Greensboro's leaders know about this effort. I told them myself. And as long as they ignore it, it will remain impossible. Perhaps you should tell them too?
Without a doubt the little aquarium will be a boost to Concord but here's what it won't be:
It won't be a world class aquarium.
The Concord aquarium won't contain a research center employing high paying marine biologists, pharmaceutical researchers or nano-tech researchers.
It won't contain the rarest aquarium species in the world.
There will be no penguins.
There will be no mammals.
It might have an Alligator Snapping Turtle but hey, while they're not Alligator Snapping Turtles we've got some 150 pound or better regular Snapping Turtles running around right here in Greensboro. You just have to know where to look.
It won't draw visitors from hundreds of miles away. Greensboro residents might drive 80 miles to the Concord Mills mall to go shopping but if all they want to see is a dinky aquarium they need only drive to Lawndale Drive where some of the rarest fish in the world will be on display. Let me see, should I drive over an hour to see run of the mill fish or 10 minutes to see rare breeds?
And now you can bet no one from Concord or Charlotte will be coming to Greensboro to see the Natural Science Center Aquarium unless say, tickets to a Downtown Greensboro Aquarium included passes and/or a shuttle.
There will be no university campus there. Hey, it's a mall.
No Aquaponics, no fresh fish or vegetables grown locally and placed on grocer's shelves, local restaurants or exported to other parts of the country providing local jobs beyond the walls of the aquarium.
No water sales from the Randalman Dam to put money in Greensboro city coffers.
No tourists flying into PTI.
No downtown jobs.
No local environmental research.
It won't promote the Natural Science Center Aquarium and other Greensboro attractions.
And unlike the Concord Mills mall, the Greensboro Aquarium Project isn't asking the City of Greensboro for incentives, only cooperation and coordination, the things we all pay our taxes to cities to do.
I don't know if any of this is possible but I do know one thing. All of Greensboro's leaders know about this effort. I told them myself. And as long as they ignore it, it will remain impossible. Perhaps you should tell them too?
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Today Is Penguin Awareness Day
Too bad Downtown Greensboro has no aquarium for penguins to frolic and play.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Reprinted From The News & Record
"Natural Science Center grows, adds SciQuarium
• Fresh exhibits, more species, a cafe and even a new name are part of the changes for 2013.
BY SUSAN LADD
susan.ladd@news-record.com
GREENSBORO • The sound of hammers, saws and drills have largely replaced the rumble of earthmovers and cranes on the grounds of the Natural Science Center of Greensboro. The SciQuarium has a real exterior now, and most work has shifted to the interior. But construction curtains and safety fences have popped up in other locations throughout the center as it readies for its biggest year since the opening of Animal Discovery in 2007 — perhaps its biggest year ever.
“We had a zoo before we opened Animal Discovery,” said Rick Bet-ton, director of exhibits and programs. “But we’ve never had an aquarium on this scale before. It’s a whole new ballgame.”
It’s also bigger in terms of the financial investment, the staff expansion and the sheer level of complexity that comes with a large aquarium operation, Executive Director Glenn Dobrogosz said.
Animal Discovery was a $5.5 million project, with a 30 percent staff increase. All told, the SciQuarium is an $11.5 million project that will expand the staff by 50 percent.
The opening of the SciQuarium, tentatively scheduled for mid-June, is certainly the biggest attraction coming this year. But there are plenty of other significant changes in store for the center in 2013, including its first-ever cafe, new exhibits in the Herpetarium and Animal Discovery, improvements to the tiger exhibit and a brand-new name.
The new name of the center will be unveiled in March, along with a new logo and signs. It will cre-ate a unified identity for a place that is often known by its various parts, Marketing Manager Steffany Reeve said.
“It’s going to be great,” Reeve said. “It will simplify who we are in one marketing message and show where we stand out.”
The Natural Science Center will be special in having an accredited museum, zoo and aquarium. Few facilities have all three.
“If you add in the Omni-Sphere theater, I don’t think anyone does,” Do-brogosz said. “When we unveiled the master plan years ago, that was the beauty of it. That reality is coming to be this year.”
The first project to be completed this year will be the renovation and expansion of the tiger exhibit. New regulations require higher walls, and the center used the opportunity to improve landscaping, security and space. That project is expected to be complete at the end of January.
Also this month, new species from Madagascar are coming to the Herpetarium, including giant day geckos, one of the largest gecko species, and tomato frogs, which get as round and red as the fruit they are named for. By the end of February, there will be a mixed exhibit of poison dart frogs, said Rick Bolling, curator of reptiles and invertebrates. Frank, a juvenile American alligator, is also a recent addition.
After the rebranding in March, a new species will be added to Animal Discovery, said Jessica Hoffman, curator of Animal Discovery. A red panda will take up residence in the space that used to house the lorikeets. Though it is a distant relative of the black-and-white giant panda, it looks more like a raccoon. It has a white mask that stands out in its red fur and a long bushy tail with red and white rings.
The cafe may open as soon as spring but certainly should be operating by the time the SciQuarium opens, Reeve said. Having a restaurant on site will not only be nice but necessary, Bet-ton said.
“The aquarium is going to add another hour or two to the visit,” Betton said. “You’re going to want to be able to stop and eat.”
The big splash comes in June, with the opening of the SciQuarium. The fish-ing cat exhibit now has the beginnings of a rock sculpture inside. This Asian feline literally taps the surface of the water to attract fish, then scoops them out with webbed paws or dives in after them. A feeding tube has been installed so visitors can watch live.
The Asian small-clawed otters now in Animal Discovery will be moved to an exhibit there and joined by an additional breeding pair. “We’re really hoping for babies, and they have lots of babies,” Hoffman said. “If we get a good successful birth, it will be mayhem in here with all those cubs running around.”
The SciQuarium will be the first institution to experiment with using brackish water for the otters — which reflects their hab-itat in the wild — instead of fresh water.
Visitors may be able to get face-to-face with some of the 13 African penguins, thanks to a rock ledge built right next to the front glass of that exhibit.
In the Amazon exhibit, there will be another anaconda — larger than the one that currently resides in the center’s Herpetarium. The center’s two-toed sloth will share the tree tops with Golden Lion Tamarins, a primate species with long golden hair and an impressive orange mane. This exhibit also may be home to lizards, birds and freshwater rays.
The largest tank will be devoted to an open-ocean exhibit, featuring sharks and numerous fish species.
Dobrogosz really is look-ing forward to the day the sharks arrive. But the ultimate moment for him will be when the SciQuarium is finally unveiled to the public.
“When that door opens for the first time, and moms and dads and donors walk in and say, ‘We get it,’” he said. “And the best part is, this is only phase one. We still have phase two and three. This is just the start.”
Phase two is museum reinvention and renewal. “We’ll take the oldest parts of the museum and transform them into a modern, state-of-the-art science center,” Dobrogosz said. “It will also include all the little things, like new bathrooms, floors, ceiling tiles.”
Phase three will double the size of Animal Discovery, with an endangered-species village called Sanctuary Station.
And because he’s always asking, “What’s next?” Dobrogosz is already drafting phase four.
“Not necessarily because I want to — though I do — but because you have to,” he said. “People today expect bigger, better, faster, more intense. What do you do to make them come back? You want to compel that audi ence to come out to you.”
In the meantime, the staff is running full-out to get everything ready for the centerpiece of phase one, the SciQuarium. It’s a chore just figuring out where to put everything.
Seventeen pallets of salt are waiting in the ware-house. Some of the animals for the new exhibits are already arriving and need to be housed in temporary space. But it’s all good, Betton said.
“What drives the people here is the reaction of the visitors to the things we work so hard to create,” he said. “That’s better than a couple of hours sleep. It’s great to work at a place where people appreciate what we do.”
Contact Susan Ladd at 373-7006, and follow @susankladd on Twitter.
WANT TO GO?
What:The Natural Science Center
When:Museum open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Animal Discovery open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
Where:4301 Lawndale Drive
Admission:Adults (ages 14-64) $8; Seniors (65+) $7; Children (3-13) $7; Children (2 and younger) free. Center members admitted free. Greensboro residents, military and college students get $1 off admission with valid ID.
Information:288-3769 or www.natsci.org "
Now imagine a Downtown Greensboro Aquarium 10 times this size and the economic development it could bring to Greensboro. Fish Man can.
• Fresh exhibits, more species, a cafe and even a new name are part of the changes for 2013.
BY SUSAN LADD
susan.ladd@news-record.com
GREENSBORO • The sound of hammers, saws and drills have largely replaced the rumble of earthmovers and cranes on the grounds of the Natural Science Center of Greensboro. The SciQuarium has a real exterior now, and most work has shifted to the interior. But construction curtains and safety fences have popped up in other locations throughout the center as it readies for its biggest year since the opening of Animal Discovery in 2007 — perhaps its biggest year ever.
“We had a zoo before we opened Animal Discovery,” said Rick Bet-ton, director of exhibits and programs. “But we’ve never had an aquarium on this scale before. It’s a whole new ballgame.”
It’s also bigger in terms of the financial investment, the staff expansion and the sheer level of complexity that comes with a large aquarium operation, Executive Director Glenn Dobrogosz said.
Animal Discovery was a $5.5 million project, with a 30 percent staff increase. All told, the SciQuarium is an $11.5 million project that will expand the staff by 50 percent.
The opening of the SciQuarium, tentatively scheduled for mid-June, is certainly the biggest attraction coming this year. But there are plenty of other significant changes in store for the center in 2013, including its first-ever cafe, new exhibits in the Herpetarium and Animal Discovery, improvements to the tiger exhibit and a brand-new name.
The new name of the center will be unveiled in March, along with a new logo and signs. It will cre-ate a unified identity for a place that is often known by its various parts, Marketing Manager Steffany Reeve said.
“It’s going to be great,” Reeve said. “It will simplify who we are in one marketing message and show where we stand out.”
The Natural Science Center will be special in having an accredited museum, zoo and aquarium. Few facilities have all three.
“If you add in the Omni-Sphere theater, I don’t think anyone does,” Do-brogosz said. “When we unveiled the master plan years ago, that was the beauty of it. That reality is coming to be this year.”
The first project to be completed this year will be the renovation and expansion of the tiger exhibit. New regulations require higher walls, and the center used the opportunity to improve landscaping, security and space. That project is expected to be complete at the end of January.
Also this month, new species from Madagascar are coming to the Herpetarium, including giant day geckos, one of the largest gecko species, and tomato frogs, which get as round and red as the fruit they are named for. By the end of February, there will be a mixed exhibit of poison dart frogs, said Rick Bolling, curator of reptiles and invertebrates. Frank, a juvenile American alligator, is also a recent addition.
After the rebranding in March, a new species will be added to Animal Discovery, said Jessica Hoffman, curator of Animal Discovery. A red panda will take up residence in the space that used to house the lorikeets. Though it is a distant relative of the black-and-white giant panda, it looks more like a raccoon. It has a white mask that stands out in its red fur and a long bushy tail with red and white rings.
The cafe may open as soon as spring but certainly should be operating by the time the SciQuarium opens, Reeve said. Having a restaurant on site will not only be nice but necessary, Bet-ton said.
“The aquarium is going to add another hour or two to the visit,” Betton said. “You’re going to want to be able to stop and eat.”
The big splash comes in June, with the opening of the SciQuarium. The fish-ing cat exhibit now has the beginnings of a rock sculpture inside. This Asian feline literally taps the surface of the water to attract fish, then scoops them out with webbed paws or dives in after them. A feeding tube has been installed so visitors can watch live.
The Asian small-clawed otters now in Animal Discovery will be moved to an exhibit there and joined by an additional breeding pair. “We’re really hoping for babies, and they have lots of babies,” Hoffman said. “If we get a good successful birth, it will be mayhem in here with all those cubs running around.”
The SciQuarium will be the first institution to experiment with using brackish water for the otters — which reflects their hab-itat in the wild — instead of fresh water.
Visitors may be able to get face-to-face with some of the 13 African penguins, thanks to a rock ledge built right next to the front glass of that exhibit.
In the Amazon exhibit, there will be another anaconda — larger than the one that currently resides in the center’s Herpetarium. The center’s two-toed sloth will share the tree tops with Golden Lion Tamarins, a primate species with long golden hair and an impressive orange mane. This exhibit also may be home to lizards, birds and freshwater rays.
The largest tank will be devoted to an open-ocean exhibit, featuring sharks and numerous fish species.
Dobrogosz really is look-ing forward to the day the sharks arrive. But the ultimate moment for him will be when the SciQuarium is finally unveiled to the public.
“When that door opens for the first time, and moms and dads and donors walk in and say, ‘We get it,’” he said. “And the best part is, this is only phase one. We still have phase two and three. This is just the start.”
Phase two is museum reinvention and renewal. “We’ll take the oldest parts of the museum and transform them into a modern, state-of-the-art science center,” Dobrogosz said. “It will also include all the little things, like new bathrooms, floors, ceiling tiles.”
Phase three will double the size of Animal Discovery, with an endangered-species village called Sanctuary Station.
And because he’s always asking, “What’s next?” Dobrogosz is already drafting phase four.
“Not necessarily because I want to — though I do — but because you have to,” he said. “People today expect bigger, better, faster, more intense. What do you do to make them come back? You want to compel that audi ence to come out to you.”
In the meantime, the staff is running full-out to get everything ready for the centerpiece of phase one, the SciQuarium. It’s a chore just figuring out where to put everything.
Seventeen pallets of salt are waiting in the ware-house. Some of the animals for the new exhibits are already arriving and need to be housed in temporary space. But it’s all good, Betton said.
“What drives the people here is the reaction of the visitors to the things we work so hard to create,” he said. “That’s better than a couple of hours sleep. It’s great to work at a place where people appreciate what we do.”
Contact Susan Ladd at 373-7006, and follow @susankladd on Twitter.
WANT TO GO?
What:The Natural Science Center
When:Museum open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Animal Discovery open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
Where:4301 Lawndale Drive
Admission:Adults (ages 14-64) $8; Seniors (65+) $7; Children (3-13) $7; Children (2 and younger) free. Center members admitted free. Greensboro residents, military and college students get $1 off admission with valid ID.
Information:288-3769 or www.natsci.org "
Now imagine a Downtown Greensboro Aquarium 10 times this size and the economic development it could bring to Greensboro. Fish Man can.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Congrats To The North Carolina Zoo
From the Downtown Greensboro Aquarium Facebook Page:
"The North Carolina zoo at Asheboro had a record breaking attendance in 2012. Families with kids flocked from all over to visit the zoo since it is the the only one of its kind for miles around. That's what a great animal facility does for an area and that's what a world class aquarium will do for Greensboro. I learned a long time ago that kids make the world go around. Parents and grand-parents will do anything for kids. Build an aquarium with interactive learning games and great exhibits and you will have millions of people flocking downtown Greensboro every year. New jobs plus conservation and medical research done at the venue will bring high paying jobs to Greensboro, too! Think about the local universities expanding into marine biology and veterinary studies; students from UNCG, A&T and HP University and others will intern and help run the venue. It's a win-win situation if done right.
Help bring a world class aquarium to downtown Greensboro and help make Greensboro a destination for millions of people and not just a pass-thru city. Share the page and invite people to the fan page so the local politicians know that this is a serious idea to be looked at. We do not need a GPAC. Every city around us has a PAC and we already have a PAC (granted not the best around but still very usable). We need to have our own identity and being another city with a PAC is not going to help Greensboro have it. Our neighbors to our immediate north are building a PAC, too. The PAC pie is getting smaller so do we want a sliver of a pie or have our own pie? I say let's have our own pie and along with Aquatic Center we can be known as the Aquatic City of the Carolinas! Let's do it!"
Fish Man agrees!
"The North Carolina zoo at Asheboro had a record breaking attendance in 2012. Families with kids flocked from all over to visit the zoo since it is the the only one of its kind for miles around. That's what a great animal facility does for an area and that's what a world class aquarium will do for Greensboro. I learned a long time ago that kids make the world go around. Parents and grand-parents will do anything for kids. Build an aquarium with interactive learning games and great exhibits and you will have millions of people flocking downtown Greensboro every year. New jobs plus conservation and medical research done at the venue will bring high paying jobs to Greensboro, too! Think about the local universities expanding into marine biology and veterinary studies; students from UNCG, A&T and HP University and others will intern and help run the venue. It's a win-win situation if done right.
Help bring a world class aquarium to downtown Greensboro and help make Greensboro a destination for millions of people and not just a pass-thru city. Share the page and invite people to the fan page so the local politicians know that this is a serious idea to be looked at. We do not need a GPAC. Every city around us has a PAC and we already have a PAC (granted not the best around but still very usable). We need to have our own identity and being another city with a PAC is not going to help Greensboro have it. Our neighbors to our immediate north are building a PAC, too. The PAC pie is getting smaller so do we want a sliver of a pie or have our own pie? I say let's have our own pie and along with Aquatic Center we can be known as the Aquatic City of the Carolinas! Let's do it!"
Fish Man agrees!
Monday, January 7, 2013
How Do You Get National Media To Downtown Greensboro
And doing stories that don't make Greensboro look like hicks. Give them an octopus and other cool animals to video. And remember: Fish Man told you.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Aquaponics In A Downtown Greensboro Aquarium?
Aquaponics is a process that uses plants to filter the water from aquariums or other containers in which fish and many other aquatic animals are raised. It's beauty is that the fish and animal waste is exactly what plants need to grow healthy and the plant waste is exactly what is needed by the fish and animals to keep them healthy as well. It's the way it works in nature only stuck in a container or small man made pond.
As a rule Aquaponics can be quite expensive and most farmers avoid it because of the costs of building huge tanks or ponds but if you're going to be building an aquarium anyway... Well, it just makes sense that we look less than a mile down the road to North Carolina A & T University and invite them to help us design and run a downtown Aquaponics program at the aquarium. I mean, if you're going to have the water and the tanks and the fish and the other aquatic animals anyway...
But does it really have to end with that. In keeping with our plan to make Greensboro the Aquatic City we thought we should also look at some of those empty warehouses and big box retail stores sitting all over town as places to build year 'round Aquaponics farms raising Tilapia, Catfish, Crayfish, Mussels and other fish for human comsumption along with fruits and vegetables all grown indoors. He's an example of an indoor Aquaponics operation in Chicago, Illinois.
Aquaculture, a form of Aquaponics that only involves plants and not animals, can also be used in water filtration to remove toxins from polluted waters. We might want to look into that as well. You know, to take care of some of Greensboro's runoff into Jordan Lake.
As a rule Aquaponics can be quite expensive and most farmers avoid it because of the costs of building huge tanks or ponds but if you're going to be building an aquarium anyway... Well, it just makes sense that we look less than a mile down the road to North Carolina A & T University and invite them to help us design and run a downtown Aquaponics program at the aquarium. I mean, if you're going to have the water and the tanks and the fish and the other aquatic animals anyway...
But does it really have to end with that. In keeping with our plan to make Greensboro the Aquatic City we thought we should also look at some of those empty warehouses and big box retail stores sitting all over town as places to build year 'round Aquaponics farms raising Tilapia, Catfish, Crayfish, Mussels and other fish for human comsumption along with fruits and vegetables all grown indoors. He's an example of an indoor Aquaponics operation in Chicago, Illinois.
Aquaculture, a form of Aquaponics that only involves plants and not animals, can also be used in water filtration to remove toxins from polluted waters. We might want to look into that as well. You know, to take care of some of Greensboro's runoff into Jordan Lake.
How To Save Randalman Dam
Now ol' Fish Man isn't taking sides on the Dam Scam but as this graph by Greensboro Water Conservation Manager Mike J Baron clearly shows, the City of Greensboro is using a lot less water these days than the City thought Greensboro would be using before the Randalman Dam was built. As a matter of fact, based on the published figures Greensboro has no current need for the Randalman Dam.
But really, isn't that just water under the bridge?
Well. not really. You see, municipal water sales are traditionally the only profit generator most cities have and with bonds coming due in a few years Greensboro's taxpayers are going to be saddled with $Millions upon $Millions in debts and no water sales to pay it off. You see, Greensboro's leaders thought we could attract lots of multinational corporations here if we had lots of water and lots of shovel ready sites and now we have a big hole full of water and lots of empty industrial parks but no multinational corporations. What's wrong with this picture?
But you know what, The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California uses 50,000 gallons of water a day. Yes, they get their water from the ocean but the Greensboro Aquarium would have to buy our water from the Randalman Dam or the City of Greensboro then add the salt and other nutrients. We're even considering building the world's largest freshwater aquarium.
Now granted, evaporation is a bigger concern in Southern California than in Greensboro and we will do our part to conserve water with our own rainwater collection systems but the fact remains a downtown aquarium could very well become one of Greensboro's largest buyers of water.
But it doesn't end there. No sir. Remember that downtown college campus we're talking about putting at the aquarium? That will no doubt use a lot of water, right. And what about all those pharmaceutical companies that locate near aquariums to experiment on sponges and other sea life? Won't they use a lot of water too?
Come on, Greensboro, we're trying to bail you out here. Did I mention 3 Million tourists a year might want water too? And here's an idea: Instead of selling bottled water at the aquarium we can sell locally manufactured refillable water bottles and water refills. You see, as a fish I'm tired of all that plastic trash in Buffalo Creek. Besides, it just makes sense.
Then there's NC A&T University and the Aquaponics program we hope to host both on site and in empty commercial buildings all over Greensboro that will supply jobs all over town and make Greensboro an exporter of food-- something that everybody needs.
Or you can just wait in your performing arts center until the bills for the Randalman Dam come due and figure out how you plan to pay them. Your call.
But really, isn't that just water under the bridge?
Well. not really. You see, municipal water sales are traditionally the only profit generator most cities have and with bonds coming due in a few years Greensboro's taxpayers are going to be saddled with $Millions upon $Millions in debts and no water sales to pay it off. You see, Greensboro's leaders thought we could attract lots of multinational corporations here if we had lots of water and lots of shovel ready sites and now we have a big hole full of water and lots of empty industrial parks but no multinational corporations. What's wrong with this picture?
But you know what, The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California uses 50,000 gallons of water a day. Yes, they get their water from the ocean but the Greensboro Aquarium would have to buy our water from the Randalman Dam or the City of Greensboro then add the salt and other nutrients. We're even considering building the world's largest freshwater aquarium.
Now granted, evaporation is a bigger concern in Southern California than in Greensboro and we will do our part to conserve water with our own rainwater collection systems but the fact remains a downtown aquarium could very well become one of Greensboro's largest buyers of water.
But it doesn't end there. No sir. Remember that downtown college campus we're talking about putting at the aquarium? That will no doubt use a lot of water, right. And what about all those pharmaceutical companies that locate near aquariums to experiment on sponges and other sea life? Won't they use a lot of water too?
Come on, Greensboro, we're trying to bail you out here. Did I mention 3 Million tourists a year might want water too? And here's an idea: Instead of selling bottled water at the aquarium we can sell locally manufactured refillable water bottles and water refills. You see, as a fish I'm tired of all that plastic trash in Buffalo Creek. Besides, it just makes sense.
Then there's NC A&T University and the Aquaponics program we hope to host both on site and in empty commercial buildings all over Greensboro that will supply jobs all over town and make Greensboro an exporter of food-- something that everybody needs.
Or you can just wait in your performing arts center until the bills for the Randalman Dam come due and figure out how you plan to pay them. Your call.
Giving Greensboro What It Really Needs
In recent months ol' Fish Man has been reading of a lot of things that local leaders say are needed in downtown Greensboro if Downtown and the rest of Greensboro is to grow and prosper. The following are some of the things they've mentioned:
A downtown university campus.
More downtown residents. Of course, to get more downtown residents you also need more downtown jobs.
Airport development.
Tourism.
Shoppers.
Parking.
Now think for a second, what one thing can help to bring all those things to Downtown Greensboro? If you guessed a performing arts center you're wrong but if you guessed a world class aquarium that's open from early in the morning until late at night, 7 days a week, 365 Days a year then you're smarter than the average fish.
Aquariums are designed to be places to teach and learn. We wouldn't even think about building an aquarium without inviting Greensboro's colleges, universities and public schools to be a part of the process.
Aquariums bring real jobs paying far more than most jobs.
A downtown aquarium would give people a reason to use Piedmont Triad International Airport more often.
How does 3 Million visitors a year sound for tourism? GPAC is predicting just 300 thousand. That's 10 times the economic impact or more.
You think at least some of those visitors won't shop?
You do understand that we're planning to include a parking garage, right? We can make it big enough to park a few extra cars. And with the proposed monorail or shuttle we can almost guarantee more shopping and dining at Downtown restaurants.
All the things a performing arts center has fallen short on can be provided by a Downtown Greensboro Aquarium if Greensboro wants to build it. The question is: does Greensboro want to build it?
A downtown university campus.
More downtown residents. Of course, to get more downtown residents you also need more downtown jobs.
Airport development.
Tourism.
Shoppers.
Parking.
Now think for a second, what one thing can help to bring all those things to Downtown Greensboro? If you guessed a performing arts center you're wrong but if you guessed a world class aquarium that's open from early in the morning until late at night, 7 days a week, 365 Days a year then you're smarter than the average fish.
Aquariums are designed to be places to teach and learn. We wouldn't even think about building an aquarium without inviting Greensboro's colleges, universities and public schools to be a part of the process.
Aquariums bring real jobs paying far more than most jobs.
A downtown aquarium would give people a reason to use Piedmont Triad International Airport more often.
How does 3 Million visitors a year sound for tourism? GPAC is predicting just 300 thousand. That's 10 times the economic impact or more.
You think at least some of those visitors won't shop?
You do understand that we're planning to include a parking garage, right? We can make it big enough to park a few extra cars. And with the proposed monorail or shuttle we can almost guarantee more shopping and dining at Downtown restaurants.
All the things a performing arts center has fallen short on can be provided by a Downtown Greensboro Aquarium if Greensboro wants to build it. The question is: does Greensboro want to build it?
Aquariums Bring Real Jobs
I can't begin to tell you how many jobs a downtown Greensboro Aquarium
might bring to Greensboro but I can tell you what some of those jobs
might be and what they might pay.
Marine biologists earn from $36,000 to over $100,000 per year.
"The average yearly wages of chemists were $71,070 in May 2008. Materials scientists had average yearly wages of $81,600. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, beginning salary offers in July 2009 for graduates with a bachelor's degree in chemistry averaged $39,897 a year." --BLS.gov
Pharmaceutical engineer earn an average of $84,000 per year
According to Payscale.com, college professors like those who might be teaching at the Greensboro Aquarium earn from $57,350 to $104,260 a year plus bonuses. There would also be skilled trades involved in maintaining the aquarium that would require specialists in HVAC, welders, pipefitters, electricians, computer technicians and more. None of these skills come cheap.
Of course, these would all be full time jobs. There would also be other lesser paying full time jobs as well as part time jobs with wages I can't begin to discern. And how does this compare to some of the best paying jobs a downtown performing arts center might bring us? From Salary of a Theatrical Technician
"According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, set designers in the theater company industry earned an average 2010 salary of $39,620 per year. Audio, video and sound engineering technicians typically earn higher salaries than set designers. Federal statistics report that audio and video equipment technicians in the theater industry earned an average salary of $45,020 per year as of May 2010. Sound engineering technicians, who record the tracks needed to be used during a theatrical production, earned an average salary of $47,110 per year in 2010.
Construction technicians are employed by theater companies in order to create the sets, lighting plots and sound design constructed by the design technician staff. Carpenters and electricians involved in theatrical construction both earn better average salaries than technical design staff. Federal statistics reported that the average 2010 salary for carpenters employed by theater companies was $51,800 per year, while electricians earned $55,730 per year. Painters employed by theater companies earned much lower salaries among construction staff members, averaging $30,930 per year as of 2010."
In other words, there is no comparison. And that's without making mention of the businesses that will grow around the aquarium, restaurants, shops, hotels, truck and bus dealers, shuttles, food trucks owned by Greensboro restaurants, garages, body shops, distribution warehouses, feed suppliers, agricultural industries and hundreds of other locally owned small businesses that a performing arts center could never bring to Greensboro.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Hello From The Downtown Greensboro Aquarium
Ol' Fish Man is betting most of you reading this didn't even know the Downtown Greensboro Aquarium existed until you found us on Greensboro101.com but that's okay 'cause now you do and we're more than happy to welcome you to our humble abode here in the heart of Downtown Greensboro, North Carolina.
Of course, we're not really an aquarium yet but if Greensboro really wants us we will be. You see, unlike those other guys, we'll not be forcing any bait down your throats or asking the City of Greensboro to spend money it doesn't have. And to gauge support we've added a user poll in the left column of this website and you can like us on our Greensboro Aquarium Facebook page. Already we have more likes than those other guys and we didn't spend any of your money to make it happen.
As a matter of fact: to date, we haven't spent any money.
We'll happily answer your questions on our Frequently Asked Questions page. And if the answer you seek isn't there we'll be happy to add it for you. All you have to do is ask. Getting in touch with us is easy, just e-mail us at GreensboroAquarium@gmail.com and we'll get back to you ASAP. On that you have ol' Fish Man's word.
So why do we want to build a Downtown Greensboro Aquarium? Jobs, prosperity, education, learning, medical research, wildlife research, fisheries research, aquaponics, water purification... Oh, and did I mention 1-3 Million visitors a year?
Don't forget, this isn't our first blog post, just our first on Greensboro101. We've already filled several pages with ideas, suggestions, answers and questions of our own. Look around the site and get a grasp of what we're trying to do. Tell us what you think, your questions and concerns. The more questions we're forced to answer now the fewer mistakes we'll make later. And the more time we'll have to figure everything out.
Besides, if it turns out that Greensboro really doesn't want a Downtown Aquarium then who are we to try and force one on you?
Of course, we're not really an aquarium yet but if Greensboro really wants us we will be. You see, unlike those other guys, we'll not be forcing any bait down your throats or asking the City of Greensboro to spend money it doesn't have. And to gauge support we've added a user poll in the left column of this website and you can like us on our Greensboro Aquarium Facebook page. Already we have more likes than those other guys and we didn't spend any of your money to make it happen.
As a matter of fact: to date, we haven't spent any money.
We'll happily answer your questions on our Frequently Asked Questions page. And if the answer you seek isn't there we'll be happy to add it for you. All you have to do is ask. Getting in touch with us is easy, just e-mail us at GreensboroAquarium@gmail.com and we'll get back to you ASAP. On that you have ol' Fish Man's word.
So why do we want to build a Downtown Greensboro Aquarium? Jobs, prosperity, education, learning, medical research, wildlife research, fisheries research, aquaponics, water purification... Oh, and did I mention 1-3 Million visitors a year?
Don't forget, this isn't our first blog post, just our first on Greensboro101. We've already filled several pages with ideas, suggestions, answers and questions of our own. Look around the site and get a grasp of what we're trying to do. Tell us what you think, your questions and concerns. The more questions we're forced to answer now the fewer mistakes we'll make later. And the more time we'll have to figure everything out.
Besides, if it turns out that Greensboro really doesn't want a Downtown Aquarium then who are we to try and force one on you?
A Downtown Greensboro Monorail
Again, Ol' Fish Man is just swimming 'round thinking up cool ideas for Greensboro and the Downtown Greensboro Aquarium but what if, as part of the project, we included a monorail that began at the Depot on Washington Street and made it's way through a glass tunnel under a lake outside the Aquarium before unloading at the Aquarium?
Then, for the return trip the monorail would wind its way through Downtown Greensboro stopping at various downtown locations to allow passengers to get on and off before returning to the Depot where passengers could then board buses, trains, taxis or shuttles to Piedmont Triad International Airport. Maybe riding the monorail could be free to encourage more downtown shopping?
Anyway, it's just an idea, the Downtown Greensboro Aquarium can be anything the citizens of Greensboro finally decide they want it to be as the citizens will ultimately decide if, when and how the aquarium is built. Me, I'm just swimming around thinking up ideas.
Then, for the return trip the monorail would wind its way through Downtown Greensboro stopping at various downtown locations to allow passengers to get on and off before returning to the Depot where passengers could then board buses, trains, taxis or shuttles to Piedmont Triad International Airport. Maybe riding the monorail could be free to encourage more downtown shopping?
Anyway, it's just an idea, the Downtown Greensboro Aquarium can be anything the citizens of Greensboro finally decide they want it to be as the citizens will ultimately decide if, when and how the aquarium is built. Me, I'm just swimming around thinking up ideas.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
How Could An Aquarium Help Your Greensboro Business?
Yes, the Downtown Greensboro Aquarium is still in the dream stages but it's not too soon to start asking existing Greensboro business owners how they might fit into the picture. For example: NC Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores allows local restaurants to do seafood taste tests at the aquarium as a way to lure in customers.We could do that.
But what if your business isn't a seafood restaurant? What if your business isn't a restaurant at all? Already we're kicking around an idea that would allow local businesses to make money through licensing products but even that won't work for everybody. What could a Downtown Greensboro Aquarium do in the way of cooperative marketing or just plain old cooperation between friends and neighbors that would help your business grow?
Those are the things we want to know and we want to know them early so we can build them into the planning process. And unlike that other project that recently took place in Downtown Greensboro, instead of forming a task force of a few select people guarenteed to follow the party line, we want your opinions on how to do these things. No, we can't be everything to everyone but we'll be everything we can.
So e-mail ol' Fish Man at GreensboroAquarium@gmail.com with your ideas and myself and real people will get back to you as fast as we can swim back up the Internet with answers to your questions, solutions to your problems, questions for your questions and concerns about your concerns.
Don't forget to like us on Facebook and please help spread the word.
But what if your business isn't a seafood restaurant? What if your business isn't a restaurant at all? Already we're kicking around an idea that would allow local businesses to make money through licensing products but even that won't work for everybody. What could a Downtown Greensboro Aquarium do in the way of cooperative marketing or just plain old cooperation between friends and neighbors that would help your business grow?
Those are the things we want to know and we want to know them early so we can build them into the planning process. And unlike that other project that recently took place in Downtown Greensboro, instead of forming a task force of a few select people guarenteed to follow the party line, we want your opinions on how to do these things. No, we can't be everything to everyone but we'll be everything we can.
So e-mail ol' Fish Man at GreensboroAquarium@gmail.com with your ideas and myself and real people will get back to you as fast as we can swim back up the Internet with answers to your questions, solutions to your problems, questions for your questions and concerns about your concerns.
Don't forget to like us on Facebook and please help spread the word.
Monday, December 31, 2012
It Could Have Been Greensboro
Ol' Fish Man just figured out how to add a new feature to the website. On your left is a news feed titled, It Could Have Been Greensboro, that brings you the latest aquarium news from around the world, all the things Greensboro is missing out on because Greensboro doesn't already have a Downtown Greensboro Aquarium. Get it. Things like this yummy seafood taste test at the NC Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores that allows local restaurants to bring samples to the aquarium in order to lure customers back to their restaurants.
Something like that would be pretty hard to do during a Broadway play, you think?
Or how the Oklahoma Aquarium is installing a geothermal heating and air conditioning system to replace their old system. Hey, maybe we should start out with a geothermal system?
Know anyone who carves wooden ducks? Found that on the feed as well.
Or how the people of Falmouth love their aquarium so much they're collecting aluminum cans to raise money for improvements. Do you think people in Greensboro could ever love anything that much?
Of course, the stories change from time to time and they're not always good. We won't be building our aquarium with exploding glass tanks I promise, as there are much stronger plastics available. But by checking out It Could Have Been Greensboro on a regular basis you'll soon understand why Greensboro needs and wants a downtown aquarium.
It sure is a good thing we found out that could happen before we built our aquarium. Now we know to design to prevent it from happening.
Something like that would be pretty hard to do during a Broadway play, you think?
Or how the Oklahoma Aquarium is installing a geothermal heating and air conditioning system to replace their old system. Hey, maybe we should start out with a geothermal system?
Know anyone who carves wooden ducks? Found that on the feed as well.
Or how the people of Falmouth love their aquarium so much they're collecting aluminum cans to raise money for improvements. Do you think people in Greensboro could ever love anything that much?
Of course, the stories change from time to time and they're not always good. We won't be building our aquarium with exploding glass tanks I promise, as there are much stronger plastics available. But by checking out It Could Have Been Greensboro on a regular basis you'll soon understand why Greensboro needs and wants a downtown aquarium.
It sure is a good thing we found out that could happen before we built our aquarium. Now we know to design to prevent it from happening.
Not Making Promises We Can't Keep
We're not sure where this branch is going to lead or how many waterfalls we'll have to swim up and we honestly don't want to make any promises we cannot keep but we are earnestly looking at funding options that would not require local tax dollars to build the Downtown Greensboro Aquarium. We're only hoping someone doesn't close the spillway before we can get that far upstream.
Ol Fish Man will let you know as soon as we know.
Ol Fish Man will let you know as soon as we know.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Paying The Bosses
In today's News & Record, Don Campbell of nearby Siler City writes the following letter to the editor:
Don has an excellent point, we are paying the bosses for the "right" to work for them and in my book and the book of most Americans, liberal and conservative alike, we don't believe that's the way our system was intended to work. That's why Fish Man is proposing that the Downtown Greensboro Aquarium be designed as a new public-private partnership owned by the City of Greensboro, the citizens of Greensboro and others who buy stock in the company. We don't want incentives in-so-much as we want loans and the privilege of contributing to Greensboro's, Guilford County's and North Carolina's tax base. I mean, let's be real, if you're giving money away then Fish Man will gladly take a fin out but what I really want to do is swim to a local Greensboro bank and write checks to local employees, businesses and even tax departments.
After all, what is a fish going to do with all that money? Until you dummies learn how to properly bait a hook I've got all the fresh worms I can eat.
But seriously, folks, have you ever heard of a pro sports aquarium that packed up and left town because the wanted a newer stadium or an aquarium that took incentives then outsourced all its jobs as soon as the incentives ran out? You haven't heard of these things because they don't happen, nor will they happen if the City of Greensboro and the citizens of Greensboro invest and buy stock to build a Downtown Greensboro Aquarium.
Or, you can wait for the folks in charge of Greensboro to do things the way they have always done things. Click on the link to e-mail City Council and tell them to forget all about that silly GPAC thing. Tell them it won't float. Tell them you want to invest your money in a public/private downtown Greensboro Aquarium and bring real economic growth, jobs and prosperity to Greensboro. Tell them it just makes sense.
Tell 'em, Fish Man set you.
" In a recent Dilbert cartoon, the pointy-headed boss tells the employee that the plan is to make employees pay the employer for the privilege of working there. How is this different from our state, local or county governments offering financial “incentives” to companies to choose their area?
We’re told this brings much-needed jobs. But if we are paying through our tax dollars to entice companies to move, are we not paying them for the privilege of working for them? "
Don has an excellent point, we are paying the bosses for the "right" to work for them and in my book and the book of most Americans, liberal and conservative alike, we don't believe that's the way our system was intended to work. That's why Fish Man is proposing that the Downtown Greensboro Aquarium be designed as a new public-private partnership owned by the City of Greensboro, the citizens of Greensboro and others who buy stock in the company. We don't want incentives in-so-much as we want loans and the privilege of contributing to Greensboro's, Guilford County's and North Carolina's tax base. I mean, let's be real, if you're giving money away then Fish Man will gladly take a fin out but what I really want to do is swim to a local Greensboro bank and write checks to local employees, businesses and even tax departments.
After all, what is a fish going to do with all that money? Until you dummies learn how to properly bait a hook I've got all the fresh worms I can eat.
But seriously, folks, have you ever heard of a pro sports aquarium that packed up and left town because the wanted a newer stadium or an aquarium that took incentives then outsourced all its jobs as soon as the incentives ran out? You haven't heard of these things because they don't happen, nor will they happen if the City of Greensboro and the citizens of Greensboro invest and buy stock to build a Downtown Greensboro Aquarium.
Or, you can wait for the folks in charge of Greensboro to do things the way they have always done things. Click on the link to e-mail City Council and tell them to forget all about that silly GPAC thing. Tell them it won't float. Tell them you want to invest your money in a public/private downtown Greensboro Aquarium and bring real economic growth, jobs and prosperity to Greensboro. Tell them it just makes sense.
Tell 'em, Fish Man set you.
Friday, December 21, 2012
How's This For A Plan?
Attractions like aquariums make lots of money from licensing fees for products sold with their name, logo or brand on the product. What if, instead of licensing some big multinational corporation for these items, we agreed to keep it local? And what if, we figured out a way for local businesses to make money off the Downtown Greensboro Aquarium before the first shovel of dirt is disturbed? We have and you can.
If you'd like to learn more just e-mail Fish Man at GreensboroAquarium@gmail.com and I'll have a real person get back to you ASAP.
Now that's real economic development that starts now!
If you'd like to learn more just e-mail Fish Man at GreensboroAquarium@gmail.com and I'll have a real person get back to you ASAP.
Now that's real economic development that starts now!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Is it Outer Space or Underwater?
"Under the Arctic ice is a cosmos of spectacular and rarely seen bioluminescent creatures with an otherworldly quality."
I recommend you watch the following video full screen.
You know, ol' Fish Man isn't a scientist but I'm betting that with some chillers and a few other gizmos, an Arctic exhibition could be made available for viewing at the Downtown Greensboro Aquarium so that marine biologists could study these amazing creatures with access like they've never had before. Who knows, it might even lead to some major scientific breakthroughs right here in downtown Greensboro. That is, if that's what Greensboro decides to do.
I recommend you watch the following video full screen.
You know, ol' Fish Man isn't a scientist but I'm betting that with some chillers and a few other gizmos, an Arctic exhibition could be made available for viewing at the Downtown Greensboro Aquarium so that marine biologists could study these amazing creatures with access like they've never had before. Who knows, it might even lead to some major scientific breakthroughs right here in downtown Greensboro. That is, if that's what Greensboro decides to do.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Why Is An Aquarium Important To Greensboro?
“Zoos and aquariums worldwide receive more than 700-million visitors annually … This corresponds to 11% of the global human population, indicating that about one in 10 people experience human–animal interactions at zoos and aquariums each year.” -via World Association of Zoos and Aquariums and Two Oceans Aquarium,
Now I guess ol' Fish Man could wear out my gills gurgling on about tourism and economic development and the advantages of an aquarium over a GPAC but I think most of you get it already, even a downtown NASCAR track or NFL football team will probably not bring as many visitors to Greensboro or spur as much economic development and jobs, jobs, jobs as a world class aquarium will bring. It's a given.
But there also the connection to nature that most kids in Greensboro aren't getting. You see, with the exception of Greensboro's better off families, most Greensboro families cannot afford to visit aquariums 200 to 300 miles away. Most of Greensboro's children will never see a world class aquarium if it's not built right here in Greensboro. Most of North Carolina's children will never see a world class aquarium if it's not built right here in Greensboro. While the cost of admission is high, the biggest hurdle for Greensboro's working class poor is the cost of travel. One night in one hotel room is often more than a week's pay for these people and often families have to rent multiple rooms. And have we forgotten what it costs to transport people from point A to point B.
Children who grow up without being directly exposed to nature, without interacting with nature, become disconnected from nature. They are more likely to become litter bugs, be wasteful, waste energy and less concerned about the environment because the environment is not something they can relate to. Sure, you show them nature in books and in your school buildings but is that really nature? Does that inspire like seeing a shark swim overhead or a thousand jellyfish put on an ever-changing light show right before your very eyes? Will your schools teach them the joys of nature in the same way as watching our brightly colored schools swim past? Your schools can fill their heads with facts, figures and numbers but can they inspire like our schools?
Let me see a show of fins if you think your schools inspire as well as our schools? That's what I thought, not a single fin in sight.
As I swim up and down Buffalo Creek and sometimes make my way into the Haw River I look out at what you have done to the land. I talk with the Deer, and other animals who come to drink and we wonder what a difference it might have made if there had been an aquarium here already when people first came to Greensboro. Would generations have come to look at us differently if you could have gotten a closer look? Would you have done a better job as stewards of the planet with dominion over all you see?
I don't know all the answers but I'm praying nobody finds Fish Man's Time Warner Internet Cable laying in the creek and pulls it out before I can get your attention.
Now I guess ol' Fish Man could wear out my gills gurgling on about tourism and economic development and the advantages of an aquarium over a GPAC but I think most of you get it already, even a downtown NASCAR track or NFL football team will probably not bring as many visitors to Greensboro or spur as much economic development and jobs, jobs, jobs as a world class aquarium will bring. It's a given.
But there also the connection to nature that most kids in Greensboro aren't getting. You see, with the exception of Greensboro's better off families, most Greensboro families cannot afford to visit aquariums 200 to 300 miles away. Most of Greensboro's children will never see a world class aquarium if it's not built right here in Greensboro. Most of North Carolina's children will never see a world class aquarium if it's not built right here in Greensboro. While the cost of admission is high, the biggest hurdle for Greensboro's working class poor is the cost of travel. One night in one hotel room is often more than a week's pay for these people and often families have to rent multiple rooms. And have we forgotten what it costs to transport people from point A to point B.
Children who grow up without being directly exposed to nature, without interacting with nature, become disconnected from nature. They are more likely to become litter bugs, be wasteful, waste energy and less concerned about the environment because the environment is not something they can relate to. Sure, you show them nature in books and in your school buildings but is that really nature? Does that inspire like seeing a shark swim overhead or a thousand jellyfish put on an ever-changing light show right before your very eyes? Will your schools teach them the joys of nature in the same way as watching our brightly colored schools swim past? Your schools can fill their heads with facts, figures and numbers but can they inspire like our schools?
Let me see a show of fins if you think your schools inspire as well as our schools? That's what I thought, not a single fin in sight.
As I swim up and down Buffalo Creek and sometimes make my way into the Haw River I look out at what you have done to the land. I talk with the Deer, and other animals who come to drink and we wonder what a difference it might have made if there had been an aquarium here already when people first came to Greensboro. Would generations have come to look at us differently if you could have gotten a closer look? Would you have done a better job as stewards of the planet with dominion over all you see?
I don't know all the answers but I'm praying nobody finds Fish Man's Time Warner Internet Cable laying in the creek and pulls it out before I can get your attention.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
About That Airport
Fish Man here. Now I don't claim to be the smartest paraphyletic organism to ever swim around Buffalo Creek and without a doubt all those toxins you people have been putting on your lawns all these years have taken their toll on me and my kind but when I go online thanks to that fallen Time-Warner cable laying in the creek and read of the Mayor wanting to invest more money in Piedmont Triad International Airport I can't help but gurgle, "Why?"
I mean, it's not like people or airlines will have more reason to use it just because you spend more money on it, right?
But what if you gave people a reason to fly into and out of Greensboro? Something they needed or wanted to come to Greensboro to do? Give people more reasons to come to Greensboro and more people will fly into and out of Greensboro. And if more people start flying into and out of Greensboro then airlines will add more Greensboro flights. If airlines add more Greensboro flights then the airlines become more competitive and prices come down. You see, even fish know that's how economic development really works. The fish catches the worm, then the angler catches the fish, not the other way around.
So what would attract more people to Greensboro? Fish, that's what! Fish inside a world class downtown Greensboro aquarium would attract more people to Downtown Greensboro. And when it comes to performance art, we perform night and day and never the same show twice.
Could it be fish really are smarter than a mayor? Or do fish just have bigger vision?
Don't forget to like us on Facebook where in just 2 weeks we're already more popular than GPAC. If enough people like us we'll come.
I mean, it's not like people or airlines will have more reason to use it just because you spend more money on it, right?
But what if you gave people a reason to fly into and out of Greensboro? Something they needed or wanted to come to Greensboro to do? Give people more reasons to come to Greensboro and more people will fly into and out of Greensboro. And if more people start flying into and out of Greensboro then airlines will add more Greensboro flights. If airlines add more Greensboro flights then the airlines become more competitive and prices come down. You see, even fish know that's how economic development really works. The fish catches the worm, then the angler catches the fish, not the other way around.
So what would attract more people to Greensboro? Fish, that's what! Fish inside a world class downtown Greensboro aquarium would attract more people to Downtown Greensboro. And when it comes to performance art, we perform night and day and never the same show twice.
Could it be fish really are smarter than a mayor? Or do fish just have bigger vision?
Don't forget to like us on Facebook where in just 2 weeks we're already more popular than GPAC. If enough people like us we'll come.
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