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e Likewise, we must complete the airport expansion, lengthen the runway, and seek fares and schedules that will be competitive with those of Portland International Airport, We can study the lesson of the city of Boise. Boise became a site for corporate headquarters because it built an airport and airline services that were competitive. Our airport can be a gateway for new economic opportunities in trade, industry, and tourism if only we will devel- op and nurture its promise. A part of that promise can be the creation of jobs on the industrial sites adjacent to the airport and around the Awbrey-Meadowview area, which offers convenient access to air and rail transportation. But to realize that part of the promise, we must also bring Highway 99 up to standards that are effi- cient, modern. and safe. Another important piece of our economic agenda must be our downtown. We need a vibrant downtown. For citizens in this area, downtown is now a scattering of fascinating pieces like those on a colorful game board: the stores and services on the Eugene Mall that serve us, the unusual Fifth Street and Old Town area that delights us, our world-class Hult Center for the Performing Arts that entertains us, Skinner Butte and its beautiful riverside park that relaxes us, the City Library that educates us, and the historic Shelton- McMurphey House that puts us in touch with our past. For motorists on Interstate 5, meanwhile, our downtown is composed of the neon invitations of restaurants, motels, service stations, and other retail establishments in the Gateway area of northwest Springfield. e Right now, the "real" downtown Eugene is eagerly anticipating major develop- ments at 8th and Willamette, at 11th and Willamette, and on Oak Street be- tween 6th and 7th avenues. I know you are as excited by these possibilities as I am. But I say to you, our excitement must be complemented by an enhanced vision of downtown as a cohesive commercial, cultural, and tourism center. To capture that vision, let us begin pulling the reality and the perception of downtown into a single economic unit that will at once capture the imagina- tion of our citizens and attract the attention of those who are traveling. As we succeed in fighting crime, as we strengthen our economy, and as we bring unity and excitement to our city, our success may bolster our efforts to employ the jobless and to shelter the homeless. But even as we cannot wait passively while a better economy trickles down to our unfortunate neighbors, neither can we expect our good intentions alone to extend the Eugene lifestyle to our minority citizens. We dare not assume that fairness and tolerance exist toward all people. Just before Christmas, I had the opportunity to spend an evening in the McNutt Room with more than 30 black leaders. They reminded me once again that they often do not feel a part of our community, even if their white, liberal friends believe they do. They reminded me that Eugene is a tale of two cities: one white and one nonwhite. They told me they are asked ques- ~ tions that trouble them and that also trouble me. State of the City Address Jeff Miller January 9, 1989 Page 4