Chester, Pa. received in early September what Trenton needs today \u2014 a Sugar Daddy advocate \u2014 as Gov. Josh Shapiro\u00a0launched a new effort to invest in and revitalize the financially distressed municipality. Sweet!<\/p>\n
Developed in close coordination with the local community, the revitalization effort is being launched with nearly $100 million in public and private investments in Chester. The monies will fund improvements to local road and pedestrian infrastructure, increase support for violence prevention initiatives, expand blight remediation efforts and cultivate new opportunities for economic growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the past few years, my Administration has been working closely with local leaders in Chester to invest in public safety, local schools, and the City\u2019s main streets \u2013 and thanks to that work, we were able to pull together nearly $100 million to support the city of Chester moving forward,\u201d said Governor Shapiro.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the Commonwealth\u2019s significant support, we have a plan to invest in Chester, build on our progress, and help this city reach its full potential. Chester\u2019s elected officials, private sector leaders, and educational institutions are all behind this plan \u2014 and together, we will write the next chapter of this city\u2019s story.\u201d<\/p>\n
A key component of almost any urban investment initiative demands that residents receive a fair share of the $100 million pie. Opportunities for employment remain key to real change and improvement in Chester. Trenton enjoys several high profile development and redevelopment projects although most involve out of town companies whose workers have no connections to our city.<\/p>\n
Trenton could use one hundred million to spark downtown small businesses which continue to shutter. Slammin Brew Caf\u00e9 left town and the Downtown Deli apparently ended a long run on South Warren St. The much talked about Rojo Roastery, an offshoot of The Gingered Peach owned by Joanne Canady-Brown in Lawrenceville, seems months away from startup in the old Starbucks building.<\/p>\n
Former Gov. Phil Murphy passed on being Trenton\u2019s Sugar Daddy. Maybe Gov. Mikie Sherrill can be our Sugar Mommy, find some smart money, smart growth people who believe in the capital city.<\/p>\n
*********<\/p>\n
Hear Isles, Inc. founder Marty Johnson is back in the capital city to troubleshoot problems at the popular non-profit. In August, Isles had to layoff 39 employees.<\/p>\n
Isles, Inc. CEO Sean Jackson confirmed the dismissals saying the organization faced \u201cchallenging financial headwinds.\u201d Hopefully, Johnson reboots an organization that impacts many Trenton residents through various initiatives.<\/p>\n
*********<\/p>\n
As the Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center moves toward completion near Five Points in Trenton, one realizes what a horrible decision officials made to put this building near the crowded Battle Monument area.<\/p>\n
L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist. Find him on Twitter @LAParker6 or email him at LAParker@Trentonian.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chester, Pa. received in early September what Trenton needs today \u2014 a Sugar Daddy advocate \u2014 as Gov.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290460,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29,120533],"class_list":["post-290459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-trenton-needs-a-sugar-daddy-like-chester-pennsylvania-l-a-parker-column"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290459\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}