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4 years in, Trump fondly recalls Trump Tower campaign launch

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Tens of millions without power in South America

<p>Alice in Wonderland author, Lewis Carroll, is famously quoted saying, &#8220;If you don&#8217;t know where you are going, any road will take you there.&#8221;</p><p>The story of The Institute is an interesting one and founded on a similar belief.</p><p>Fifteen years ago, a Wilkes University graduate and innovator who had become a man of means, came back to downtown Wilkes-Barre and asked, &#8220;What happened?&#8221; Like other downtowns across America, ours had experienced a downturn.</p><p>The 1970s were considered &#8220;The Me Decade,&#8221; but they were also &#8220;The Mall Decade.&#8221; As malls sprung up across the country, the businesses that kept downtowns vibrant began to relocate, leaving vacant storefronts and empty buildings in their wake. That, coupled with the added layer of misfortune provided by Hurricane Agnes, our downtown suffered greatly.</p><p>Leaders in the higher education and business communities knew that we would need a roadmap to return our downtown to greatness and decided that data would help pave the way. The Institute was born from the belief that in order to fix our problems, we needed to accurately identify and understand them. The research, data and information helps us do just that. For 15 years, they have been driving decisions that are helping to fuel economic growth and raise the standard of living in Northeastern Pa. Over time, The Institute broadened its scope from Wilkes-Barre to encompass the entire region.</p><p>There are people and organizations, however, who are focused solely on revitalizing downtown Wilkes-Barre. Diamond City Partnership Director Larry Newman is one of them. With an office overlooking the square, Larry&#8217;s focus for the past seven years has been to work with partners to transform the downtown into a great place to live, work and visit. And the data shows that he is doing a great job.</p><p>In the past six years alone, 216 new market-rate lofts and apartments were built and another 48 units are currently under construction. Downtown Wilkes-Barre is home to more than two dozen different tech startups and one-third of all the information sector jobs in the region. Public Square, the center-point between King&#8217;s and Wilkes&#8217; campuses, has seen major improvements in recent years. You can find it brimming with college students and people walking to their destinations to enjoy the shops, galleries, businesses and the many restaurants in its footprint.</p><p>Revitalization also means reinventing. Downtown Wilkes-Barre may never have three department stores again. Newman believes that our future lies in innovation and the experiences a downtown offers. It also means relying on the data. &#8220;Revitalization has to be grounded in good data,&#8221; says Newman. The downtown&#8217;s strategic plan has been consistently implemented for the past 15 years and has helped fuel the improvements that have come over time. &#8220;Ours is a long-term strategy, but we are getting there one project at a time.&#8221;</p><p>Lewis Carrol also said, &#8220;It&#8217;s no use going back to yesterday because I was a different person then.&#8221;</p><p>Should the gentleman who so generously provided much of the initial funding for The Institute come back to the area, he would find it much improved. We were different people then too. It&#8217;s because of people who care, like Larry, that we will not be following Alice down the rabbit hole and can look forward to a new kind of vibrancy and prosperity in our future.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Susan Magnotta</p><p>Institute Insights</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Susan Magnotta is Director of Community Outreach at The Institute. Her column appears every other Monday. Institute Insights appears every other Monday.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Institute Insights: Newman has helped downtown follow the right roadmap