Parker's predictions

For the past ten years, Rochester Business Alliance President Sandy Parker has peered into her crystal ball and unveiled her predictions for the New Year. Her hopes this year include help for upstate and help for several big projects.

 “More collaboration and really more focus on what the issues are...”

This year Rochester Business Alliance President Sandra Parker is calling for greater cooperation locally and with lawmakers in Albany.     

“I hope my prediction about a calmness in Albany actually happens I think unless that happens Albany is gonna continue to be in a gridlock state and that's not gonna help any of us.”

Parker predicts we'll see movement on two of the biggest economic development projects in Rochester: the demolition of Midtown to make way for the new PAETEC Headquarters and the Renaissance Square project.

“We will see movement if we begin to see more of a sharing of information in terms of how the performing arts center is going to be financed and how much its gonna cost to sustain the entire facility”

Parkers also calling for cooperation within the Rochester City Schools.   

“The end goal should be a common one that of increasing the graduation rates among kids that attend the city school district that's absolutely very important to the economic well being of our region.”

For Parker the predictions are a whimsical way of addressing some of the serious issues facing the region. Now the challenge will be making these predictions come true. 

“Clearly we've seen significant amount of increase in the way various organizations and leaders are working together we need to see more of that.”

And Parker did have a prediction in the presidential race. She thinks on the Democratic side it will be a tight race between Senators Obama and Clinton. In the end she thinks it'll be Obama....on the Republican side she's predicting McCain will win his party's nomination.