THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 12, 1996 TAG: 9604120565
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEX MARSHALL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
Center cities are in style again, Mayor Paul D. Fraim told a Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday, and the region needs to pull together to make both Norfolk and Hampton Roads prosper.
To be ``urban,'' Fraim told the luncheon crowd at the Waterside Marriott, is not an insult. But for too many, he said, the word has come to mean being in ``distress or decline.''
In an upbeat ``State of the City'' speech delivered to a crowd of several hundred, Fraim said Norfolk and other cities would conquer their troubles and again be places of ``creativity and collaboration.''
``Norfolk is a proud old seaport town,'' Fraim said, ``that has grown to be the cosmopolitan hub of this region.''
As those in surrounding cities realize that they cannot flee the crime and social problems associated with inner cities, they will start to support measures to deal with such problems, he said.
``We forget, as Abraham Lincoln said, that we cannot escape ourselves,'' Fraim said. ``We rise and fall together.''
The region faces big challenges, Fraim noted. Military cutbacks have meant the loss of thousands of jobs, both in the armed services and in industry.
``We are going to be more on our own than ever before,'' Fraim said.
To prosper, the region needs to end the bickering and work together. Hampton Roads has regional sewer and trash authorities, a regional Chamber of Commerce and a few other regional institutions, Fraim noted.
``But after 50 years, this is modest,'' Fraim said. ``After all, what is it that divides us - a line on the map, a law on the books, fear, doubt?''
As the crowd of business leaders ate roast beef, Fraim praised several recent regional initiatives: the state Urban Partnership, which seeks to have the state encourage regional cooperation; Hampton Roads Partnership, a coalition of prominent leaders; and the Virginia Waterfront Campaign, a joint advertising effort for Norfolk, Williamsburg and Virginia Beach.
Returning central cities to thriving, energetic centers of culture, commerce and ideas also depends on beating some of the fundamental problems that caused much of the middle class to flee to suburbs 30 years ago, Fraim said.
Norfolk is taking those steps, the mayor said.
Crime, Fraim noted, is down 30 percent since 1992. Murder is down by almost 40 percent in the same period, he added.
Said Fraim, ``To continue to thrive, cities must be safe.''
Fraim's ``State of the City'' address in the past has been given to civic league leaders and volunteers rather than business executives at a paid luncheon. Fraim and the chamber said anyone wishing to attend for free could do so, but it was not clear Thursday whether anyone accepted the mayor's offer. by CNB