Outside Erie

Erie will never be New York or Boston.
Because of its size, it shouldn’t try to aspire to be Cleveland or Pittsburgh, either.
But because of its size, history, and demographics, it has some truly marketable advantages.
Yesterday, I pointed to PolicyLink’s new report on smaller, industrial cities and promised to dig deeper into the report to explore […]

Outside Erie reader and regular commenter Julio Reyes posted a question about who serves on Erie’s Zoning Board.
Curiously, you won’t find the list on the city’s Web page for the board.
But I do have a list of the members.
Jeffrey Johnson — chairman
Ron Desser
Lisa Austin
Dale Niemenski
Salvador Parco
Johnson was the sole member of the board to […]

I’m reading a new report this week from the group PolicyLink, which takes a look at how smaller industrial cities such as Erie can restore their economic power.
The report argues that these smaller cities — many of them in the Northeast and Midwest — have been squeezed out of the national consciousness and have been […]

One of Erie’s unsung businesses, Corry Publishing, has a new name and a new home.
The company has officially changed its moniker to Jameson Publishing — a move that stems from the notion that too many people assume the company is still based in Corry.
Jameson Publishing has actually been headquartered in Erie since the mid 1990s […]

The Erie Zoning Board will meet today at 1 p.m. at Erie City Hall to discuss the proposed Erie Renewable Energy tire plant.
Opponents are again rallying the public to come out against the proposed plant.
You might remember the Erie Housing Authority’s recent opposition to the plan.
They now look to have a new ally in […]

The fact that Erie Indemnity Co. went outside of the family in hiring its new chief executive officer is a big deal.
When I covered the company, it was very clear from every corner that it was a “promote from within” culture.
The arrival of Terrence W. Cavanaugh and the departures of longtime execs such […]

It’s encouraging to see Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio exploring the idea of a four-day workweek for county employees.
I’m not completely sold on the idea yet.
But it’s a refreshing development to see an Erie elected official thinking creatively.
I’d love to hear this community’s thoughts on this approach. Have you seen this happen in […]

Picker-blogger Dale Hannah went to Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio’s town hall meeting in North East last night and offers a report on What If?
Hannah is also looking to post some more in-depth reports on the blog in the coming days.

I don’t know which is worse news, that GE Transportation CEO John Dineen has (predictably) been shipped off to his next position, or that his successor is actually younger than I am.
General Electric Co. announced that Dineen is leaving its Erie-based transportation unit to become the president and CEO of GE Healthcare in London.
He will […]

Jim Russell’s CleveBurgh Diaspora has an interesting critique of the leaders of so-called Rust Belt cities.
It seems the critical comments (which he attributes to colleague Richard Herman) frequently thrown at Erie’s political leadership extend into neighboring cities, as well.
Two excerpts worth noting here.
The first:

In defeat, and afraid to compete globally (immigrant talent—bad, free trade —- […]