By then there will be a good 11 days of shopping time before
Christmas, so John Kramer figures folks should be able to squeeze in
a few hours talking about the city's economic future.
In fact, he hopes a lot of local folks will want to show up for
the Great Falls Development Authority's second annual economic
summit on Dec. 13. The gathering begins at 1:30 p.m. in the Great
Falls Civic Center.
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About 230 people turned out
last year for the inaugural summit in which Larry Swanson, an
economist from the Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Missoula,
shared local economic indicators.
But Kramer says he has seen waning interest in the quarterly GFDA
investor reporting sessions. The most recent gathering last month
drew just 24 investors.
The idea behind the summit is to illustrate what's happening in
the local economy.
"The thing I'm trying to get people to get done with it is to get
people to understand the economic situation the region is in,"
Kramer said, noting the gathering will include discussion of what's
being done to improve the economic outlook.
— JEL
What, no taxes?
We hear all too often of people who lose money to all kinds of
scams, everything from phishing and pharming to phony cashier's
checks.
In one hot scam, involving the Canadian lottery, con artists call
victims and announce they have "won" a large sum of money.
But taxes have to be settled up front, the scammer claims, so the
"winner" needs to send a check. Victims mail the check and never get
the lottery windfall. The ripest target for the Canadian scam?
Americans.
Sgt. Yves LeBlanc of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police offers an
explanation for the cross-border targeting.
"Canadians don't have to pay income tax on prizes so the scam
wouldn't work here," he said. "They go after Canadians in other
ways, but the 100 percent of the lottery scam victims are
Americans."
— JDB
A green future?
When Rick Evans announced last week his decision to leave his job
at president of the Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce, he was a
little vague about his retirement plans.
"I don't know if I have any," he said.
When he's done early next year, Evans said he will have more time
for community activities, including continuing to serve on the board
of Benefis Healthcare, which he has done since 1997.
"Being a Chamber executive is a lot like being a community
volunteer," he said.
But that's not to say there aren't jobs that Evans would mind.
What about being a golf pro, tapping a favorite hobby?
"Sure, as long as they let a golf pro have a 15 handicap," Evans
said.
— JEL
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