Not a good week for big ideas

St. Lawrence County has a penchant for trying to reel in the big economic development fish. Just in my nine years in the North Country, here’s a short list (off the top of my head; I’m sure there are a lot more) of big plans and their statuses (stati?):

• the Rooftop Highway – ongoing study
• the St. Lawrence River Aquarium – dead – $$ and megawatts going to an economic development agency that leaders have been fighting over for more than a year
• 20,000 cow feedlot/ethanol plant – on hold indefinitely
• NASCAR-style racetrack/casino/resort/golfcourse/kitchen sink – see below
• St. Lawrence River pump and electricity storage project – see below

Well, it wasn’t a good week for the big ideas. The NASCAR-style racetrack (you can’t actually call it a NASCAR ractrack or they might sue you) and the pump storage thingy both died, according to the Watertown Daily Times. Well, the ractrack project didn’t actually die, but bankruptcy doesn’t sound good.

Wait! I just remembered the mother of all huge projects in St. Lawrence County! Weren’t they going to build the world’s largest supercollider underneath the Brasher forest or something? I’m not kidding.

They did build the St. Lawrence Seaway 50 years ago, though.

Anyway, happy Passover and Easter to all!

Tags: economy