As the sun and moon renew themselves and we honor the closing of circles.

Once again we learn, that even in the darkest moments.

Health, serenity, and healing are available.

Bless our connections with the ancients.

Bless our connections with each other.

Bless our connections with future generations.

Bless our connections with the circles of the seasons.

Bless our connections with places of beauty and solitude.

Celebration is at hand.

Celebrating the renewal of bonds of kinship.

Celebrating the renewal of bonds of friendship.

Celebrating those who have touched our lives.

Celebrating the return of the sun and longer days.

Rejoice

PEACE - GOOD YULE

• Employment Growth: 4.0% (4.3%)
• Employment Increase: 48,900 (52,500)
• Unemployment Rate: 2.8% (2.7%)

Source: Utah Dept of Workforce Services, 12/18/07

• Employment Growth: 1.0% (1.2%)
• Unemployment Rate: 4.7% (4.7%)

Source: Utah Dept of Workforce Services, 12/18/07

• State Total (Market Share) 48,795 +4.0%
• Salt Lake County (46.4%) 22,663 +3.8%
• Utah County (19.8%) 9,640 +5.2%
• Washington County (5.7%) 2,786 +5.3%
• Weber County (5.5%) 2,692 +2.8%
• Davis County (5.0%) 2,446 +2.4%
• Summit County (3.6%) 1,764 +8.7%
• Uintah County (2.2%) 1,054 +7.6%
• Box Elder County (2.1%) 1,045 +5.3%
• Cache County (2.1%) 1,003 +2.0%
• Tooele County (2.0%) 990 +6.6%
• Duchesne County (1.5%) 717 +10.3%

Source: Utah Dept of Workforce Services, 12/18/07

• State Total 48,795 +4.0%
• Specialty Trade Contractors 6,500 +9.5%
• Health Services and Social Assistance 4,000 +3.7%
• Accommodation and Food Services 4,000 +4.4%
• Finance and Insurance 2,800 +5.1%
• Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 2,700 +4.2%
• Administration & Support & Waste Mgm't & Remediation 2,000 +2.5%
• Transportation & Warehousing 1,500 +12.7%
• Ambulatory Health Care Services 1,500 +3.4%
• Architectural, Engineering & Related 1,500 +12.7%
• Heavy and Civil Engineering 1,400 +14.1%
• computer and Electronic Products 1,300 +10.4%

Source: Utah Dept of Workforce Services, 12/18/07

• Business Support Services (700) -4.1%
• Motion Picture and Sound Recording (500) -10.9%
• Internet Service Providers (400) -4.1%

Source: Utah Dept of Workforce Services, 12/18/07

Plan for the best

• Sadly, many of America's urban areas have "died on the vine", and city and business leaders are now faced with the tremendous task of revitalizing these downtown cores. In fact, 62 percent of all major city population growth in the 1990s occurred along suburban borders, compared to just 11 percent in city cores, according to a report from the Brookings Institution's Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy.
• A lack of investment in the downtown cores contributed to the decline and now cities across the nation are trying to figure out how they can take their urban centers from vacant to vibrant. Experts suggest three main strategies: create an organization to bring together business leaders and city officials; design a masterplan to encourage investment; and develop a way to leverage any special attractions in the downtown core.
• Consider Phoenix, Ariz. - in the late 1980s, the city's core was in "dire straights," according to Don Keuth, president of the Phoenix Community Alliance, a non-profit organization that is focused on center city redevelopment. "Our downtown was really a no man's land," he recalls. "We didn't have any kind of well- funded community organization or governmental entity that stepped up to take ownership."
• That's when several community leaders decided to create an organization that would be funded by member dues and whose goal was to foster and promote redevelopment of Phoenix's urban core. Thus the Phoenix Community Alliance was born.
• "Our first step was to assess how bad the situation was," Keuth recalls, adding that the organization partnered with the Arizona chapter of the American Institute of Architects to craft a new masterplan for the multi-block area known as the Capitol District. Along with all of the state government buildings, Phoenix's Capitol District also houses most of the city's human services organizations.
• As part of the revitalization, Phoenix Community Alliance created a program for the development of three new state office buildings and partnered with Maricopa County to develop a $22 million human services campus that consolidates all the social service agencies that were spread out over a five- block area. The cornerstone of the campus is the Day Resource Center that houses about 20 agencies that provide a variety of social services including housing assistance, job training and medical care.
• These revitalization efforts have encouraged private sector development including the $46 million headquarters facility for Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), a private, non-profit research institute and the International Genomics Consortium (IGC), a private, non-profit medical research foundation that employs 450 people.
• Like Phoenix, the City of Spokane also created an organization to lead its urban revitalization. The organization, dubbed the Downtown Spokane Partnership, was formed 12 years ago. Its first step toward revitalization was the creation of the business improvement district, which is comprised of 1,800 businesses and property owners.
• The Downtown Spokane Partnership is funded by annual assessment fees and its main function is the management of the business improvement district, according to Marty Dickinson, president of Downtown Spokane Partnership. The business improvement district keeps the downtown area clean and safe and it also advocates smart development through its downtown masterplan.
• Since the inception of the Downtown Spokane Partnership and the business improvement district, Spokane's urban core has been completely transformed. For example, the city's turn-of-the-century Davenport Hotel was renovated and reopened after years of neglect, and its historic Fox Theater just had its grand re-opening last month.
• "We have learned that if you can make your downtown a clean, safe and inviting place for residents and visitors, it breeds more revitalization," Dickinson adds.