Rain forest moving on

And now something more local...

What are the community leaders of Pella, Riverside, Grinnell, and Tiffin thinking? Did they miss the aggravation Coralville went through when dealing with the people involved in this Rain Forest Boondoggle? What I love best about the article, and by love I mean despise, is the headline: Rain forest finalists named. It makes it sound like these cities are close to winning some sort of contest when really all their winning is misery. Check out this part of the article:

The focus of the next six weeks, at least for the selected communities, appears to be the ability to raise the requested $25 million.

The project leaders' plan calls for a two-tiered approach of community-driven and project-driven private financing, which would go along with federal funds and potential state funds. The community would be expected to raise money first before the project signaled their private financers, Oman said.

Ha, ha, ha! This is rich. The community has to raise the money and then Oman will get those mysterious private financers to throw in with it. Ha, ha, ha! Listen carefully, Grinnell, Riverside, Pella, and Tiffin. There are no private financers. It’s not going to happen. Get out now while the getting’s good.