One of a kind IE

I recently read the Fast Company article titled "2011 City of the Year." The winner was Houston and it was described as "'one of the world's next great cities.'" Some of the reasons they chose it was because it has a vibrant business community, supports cultural diversity and embodies a sense of opportunity. The article also discussed how Houston was trying to fight its "redneck" stereotype. All this reminded me of our beloved IE.

We might not be exactly where Houston is but we're taking the steps to get there. Here is a little of what I have in mind:
- We currently have a population of over 4 million people and it's the 14th largest metropolitan area in the US. In 2015 we will have almost 5 million.
- We have three international airports: Ontario, Palm Springs and San Bernardino.
- The IE has the potential to become the trade gateway of Southern California.
- There are 27 colleges and universities.
These are just a few things but there are a lot more where that came from!
(Sources: IE Wiki page, Inland Empire Outlook)

Despite the fact that we are currently going through an economic struggle the bullet points above inspired me to create a new column for the blog and a new features list for the site that's currently in the works (launch is looking like this summer, folks...eek!): "One of a kind IE." It's an opportunity to point out unique IE spots or events. Something that's entirely our own like Kickback Jack's with two locations only in the IE serving delicious breakfast for over 50 years (no paid endorsement here, just a die-hard fan).

The creative juices are flowing and I'm going to start this list! I've reached out to a few friends for suggestions and going through my own memory bank. If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them.

Till next time...