Posted on 05/30/2012 6:09:15 PM PDT by CedarDave
The Santa Fe Complex, a combination science/arts think tank and business incubator, will close on Friday, ending a four-year city-subsidized economic development experiment.
After putting $340,000 into the project, the city in March sent the complex a letter expressing its concerns about the nonprofit’s own revenue production and denying payment on a $25,000 invoice, although the group’s contract with the city remains in place, said Kate Noble, special projects administrator with the city Economic Development Division.
But Santa Fe Complex founding director Stephen Guerin said the city funding is gone for good.
~~snip~~
The idea of the Santa Fe Complex was to bring together artistically inclined scientists and scientifically inclined artists to collaborate, with the idea of generating ideas or projects that would attract contracts, business and private funding.
Some of the projects that the complex has highlighted in the past included helping Venice, Italy, minimize wake damage in its canals; a high-tech sand box used to simulate wildfires; a project that helped San Francisco track young people in the mental health system and a plan to help the military deal with parts replacement on the battlefield.
The complex also has hosted a quirky schedule of public events — concerts, workshops, lectures, art and video exhibits, even game nights.
(Excerpt) Read more at abqjournal.com ...
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The idea of the Santa Fe Complex was to bring together artistically inclined scientists and scientifically inclined artists to collaborate, with the idea of generating ideas or projects that would attract contracts, business and private funding.
Some of the projects that the complex has highlighted in the past included helping Venice, Italy, minimize wake damage in its canals; a high-tech sand box used to simulate wildfires; a project that helped San Francisco track young people in the mental health system and a plan to help the military deal with parts replacement on the battlefield.
This is simple insanity.
Where is Al Gore when we need him?
I notice all these liberal idealistic conclaves never bring in business experts who can actually help them try to accomplish all their pipe dreams.
Grownup children working on their Play-Dough fantasies and constructs with other people’s money.
“..ending a four-year city-subsidized economic development experiment..”
ALWAYS someone elses money.
>>The idea of the Santa Fe Complex was to bring together artistically inclined scientists and scientifically inclined artists to collaborate<<
IOW, loaf on the taxpayers’ dime. Come in to the “office” if you feel like it — screw around and gossip for a 1/2 hour or so, then back to the pad for tequila shooters and appletinis...
What could go wrong?
The city refused to pay for all the play-dough that they were eating.
Yep, they want others to pay for their confabs and these idiotic pretensions and everything else they want.
Thanks for the ping Dave, hope you’re well!
This idea was ridiculous when it was conceived and I cannot imagine why they waited this long to pull the plug. *shaking my head*
Sounds like junior high science fair projects.
Venice canals and high-tech sand boxes??”
Well, at least they have sand in that part of the country, but water canals and studying speed bumps in Boston?
I love Santa Fe - or at least my memory of it from when we went skiing years ago. Spent an afternoon on the square in Santa Fe last year during the Christmas holidays. The Burrito Factory didn’t have nearly as good a food as before and so many of the art and sculpture shops were closing. One owner who had been in the area over 50 years said lots of people were still visiting but very few bought anything.
Driving from Colorado through northern New Mexico to Santa Fe I was appalled at how many housing and school projects had been started but never completed. And seemed like there was a post office every five miles or so. So glad people finally came to their senses and voted Richardson out but appears they are only doing marginally well in some of the areas without all the government money.
If Santa Fe Complex is actually in Santa Fe, NM,
this is all quite understandable. Seems to me there
is a railroad associated with Santa Fe that is
another sterling example of the crap sandwich that
spells liberal boondoggle being subsidized by the
taxpayers. If the taxes only came from Santa Fe that
would be one thing, but I suspect like the railroad
there is more than meets the eye.
What’s the Plaza like since they started allowing panhandlers? Thinking about taking the grandkids there, but don’t really want to expose them to the types of bums I’ve seen elsewhere...
Well, I still believe in Santa and The Tooth Fairy!
They have just raised the fares. A 200-mile all day round trip now costs the equivalent of a two super-sized Big Macs ($11, $10 on line, even less for seniors, students, etc.). Still losing big bucks for taxpayers - latest about 14% fare box recovery. And cost with interest payments is just about 3/4 billion dollars with a big balloon payment in about a dozen years.
Don’t know - haven’t been up there in about 18 months. You might check with SantaFeConservative.
Good ideas that no one thought were worth paying for.
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