PrintFebruary 15, 2004
San Francisco Hustles for Business
It's difficult to maintain an attitude of arrogant superiority when entire million square—foot office buildings stand nearly vacant and are sold for half of their original construction cost, when local unemployment rates remain well above national averages, as the rest of the economy picks up speed, and when downtown sidewalks reek of urine and feces, courtesy of the homeless beneficiaries of America's most extensive support infrastructure.
San Francisco, 'the city which knows how' (to sneer at lesser burgs, unblessed with scenery, climate, sex and pot clubs, and far left politics), is pulling out all the stops to lure new business — make that one new business — to the city. The lucky company is Virgin USA, the planned domestic airline offshoot of Virgin Atlantic, the World's Coolest Airline. Noticing the success of low fare airlines such as Southwest and Jet Blue, the canny and stylish entrepreneur Richard Branson is willing to bet a lot of other people's...(Read Full Article)
