Traffic to this blog is reaching record highs, and I think that’s an indication that people are increasingly interested in the retail drain that is the latest problem to plague Billerica from right now. D’Angelo’s, Friendly’s, and now OfficeMax and Fashion Bug early next year — all closing with a few months’ time. Meanwhile other towns in the same region, with similar highway access and socioeconomics, and in the exact same recession, are successfully attracting new, strong, and exciting business growth.
What else will we lose next year? Is there anything we can do about it?
Yes, there is. Here is how you can change this town for the better, starting in 2012.
1. Pay Attention
Being fully aware of what is going on is the first step to changing it. The traditional media outlets (Billerica Minuteman, Lowell Sun, occasionally the Boston Globe) are decent news sources. Most of us read at least one of these. But it’s not enough. Newer media is attempting to fill in the gaps. Billerica.org has reporting like a newspaper, but its staff are residents, many of whom are elected officials. Local blogs are expanding. Facebook, Twitter, and other social media do contain a lot of noise, but you can find some good nuggets of news. Some rumors you hear this way turn out to be true. Finally, the Board of Selectmen meetings and Town Meeting sessions are all covered to start to finish by Billerica Access Television. BATV is probably our most valuable form of communication, and we need to take better advantage of it.
Equally important to paying attention to what is happening is paying attention to what is not happening. For example, we are not attracting new business or land development. By learning about what is happening around the region, we find out what is missing from our own town’s growth.
