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WASHINGTON — A young man showed up last summer at the Omaha-area headquarters of a federal summer jobs program and was asked for a photo I.D.
The young man said he'd just been released from jail, had no driver's license and no money to get one.
The next day, he came back with a copy of his police mug shot, which had his photo, name and date of birth.
It worked.
“And this troubled man got a job where he otherwise couldn't,” Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle told a hotel conference room of fellow mayors Wednesday.
Suttle was speaking at a U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Washington. He shared the mug shot story while making the case for federal funding of youth jobs programs again this year. Last summer's program was part of the $787 billion economic stimulus bill.
Suttle also said he hopes to take advantage of federal funds to get a streetcar plan rolling in Omaha.
Some questioned the economic impact of the Summer Youth Program, which involved many make-work jobs such as pulling weeds, but Suttle said Omaha saw the benefits after signing up more than 500 people last summer.
The program helped reduce the city's gang violence and put troubled youths back on the right track, Suttle said.
The mayor wants another youth jobs program, but twice as big, for Omaha this summer. Congress could include money for such programs in an expected jobs bill or other legislation.
Jobs and the economy probably will be a dominant theme this year in Washington — and in Omaha.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors released a report Wednesday with economic forecasts for the the hundreds of metropolitan areas across the country. The report was prepared for the group by IHS Global Insight, a company that analyzes economic data.
According to the report, the Omaha-Council Bluffs area had the lowest unemployment rate of any metropolitan area at 4.9 percent, while the Des Moines area had the 13th lowest at 6.7 percent.
The report forecast that Omaha-Council Bluffs would return to its pre-recession employment peak by the end of 2011, Lincoln by early 2012. Des Moines is expected to return to its peak by mid-2012 and Sioux City by early 2013, according to the report.
That shows Omaha's in a better position than many other cities, and Suttle said he's optimistic about the future. Still, the city's own projections show 2010 being about the same as 2009 in terms of economic activity.
“I want to see if we can do some bold things to advance our return to a robust economy,” Suttle said.
High on his list? Streetcars.
Suttle said he doesn't have a clear timeline for streetcars just yet but noted encouraging news from U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood about changes in the government's criteria for funding transit projects.
LaHood said last week that the government is abandoning a narrow emphasis on reducing commuting times in the most cost-effective way possible.
Instead, the government will give consideration to other factors, such as a project's potential economic development. That could help a city such as Omaha land federal dollars for a streetcar system.
Suttle said bringing streetcars to Omaha likely would cost between $200 million and $250 million, but could mean $1 billion in development.
The possibility of streetcars in Omaha has been discussed for many years.
“Enough talk,” Suttle said. “Now it's time for a ribbon cutting.”
Contact the writer:
202-662-7270, joe.morton@owh.com
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