ABQjournal: Communication Guru Sends a Mixed Message
By Autumn Gray, Of the Journal

Frank Luntz, called one of America’s best “communication professionals,”… said he sees Albuquerque being left behind, in the wake of Phoenix, Denver and San Diego, largely because local politics is getting in the way of development that could spur careers, rather than just jobs.

Luntz suggested developers get more involved with the political process and hold politicians as well as themselves accountable for why the city does not have many of the same business opportunities other cities have.

Albuquerque should be delighted to be left behind by Phoenix & Denver. mjh

Duke City Fix — FRAME GAMES by Marston Moore

It was Luntz who came up with much of the language for Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America.

When Bush talks about initiatives like ?Clear Skies? (translation: Gut the Clean Air Act) or ?Healthy Forests? (translation: log it like there?s no tomorrow), that?s LuntzSpeak. …

?Never, ever refer to yourselves as ?developers? he warned the developers. (The term doesn?t poll worth a damn; voters think they’re the bad guys.) ?You are designers! You are creators!?

Out West, a Paradox: Densely Packed Sprawl
By Blaine Harden, Washington Post Staff Writer

Odd as it may seem, density is the rule, not an exception, in the wide-open spaces of the West. Salt Lake City is more tightly packed than Philadelphia. So is Las Vegas in comparison with Chicago, and Denver compared with Detroit. Ten of the country’s 15 most densely populated metro areas are in the West, where residents move to newly developed land at triple the per-acre density of any other part of the country. …

Open space in the West has always seemed endless. But deserts, mountains, huge tracts of federally owned land and a pervasive lack of water make much of the region unlivable. As such, it has remained the most rural part of the country in terms of land use while becoming the most densely urban in terms of where people live.