Claremore Daily Progress

Our View

March 5, 2010

Selling out for Google

Randy Cowling Managing Editor

CLAREMORE — To what extent should a community go to attract new business?

Economic development experts have varied opinions, including tax incentives, land give aways, pre-built buildings and even cash payout to draw major corporations to boost a local economy.

Earlier this week officials in Topeka, Kansas may have made the ultimate sellout in an attempt to lure on the fastest growing industries to Northeast Kansas.

Topeka Mayor Bill Bunten signed a proclamation on Monday calling for Topeka to be known as “Google, Kansas — the capital city of fiber optics.”

The idea emerged from a visioning group “Think Big Topeka” who saw the idea of putting Google on the map in Kansas as a way of getting the Internet company to make the capital city a proving ground for its new ultrafast Internet services, which are about 100 times faster than anything out there.

So for the month of March, Topeka is to be known as Google, Kansas.

A local barbeque joint joined the name change wave going from Boss Hawg’s Barbeque to Boss Hawg’s Google-Q. Even Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins jumped on board by tweeting “Can’t wait to get home to Google this weekend.”

Will the name transformation make a difference? It has gotten national media attention. It has brought together more than 7,000 local residents.

Getting attention is a first step, but economic development gurus also say a community needs great schools, low crime rates and a trained workforce.

Just changing a city’s name to get Google seems to be more of a sellout. How far would our community go to bring Google to town?

n Randy Cowling is managing editor of the Claremore Daily Progress.

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