December 2, 2002
Charleston, West Virginia: Finding New Direction Listen in RealAudio
Industrial for well more than a century, Charleston is trying, desperately to find some way to replace coal mining and other old industry jobs. We find this can lead to some pathetic and humorous attempts, for example the West Virginia Modeling Agency. We meet the two men who run the agency and two young models who aren't quite convinced by the mens' excited dreams.

December 2, 2002
Mark Zandi on Charleston, West Virginia
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Economist Mark Zandi looks back at all cities visited by Adam Davidson and Jamie Katz.

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November 26, 2002
Pocahontas, Arkansas: Factories / Manufacturing: Staying Competitive Listen in RealAudio
Locked, solidly, in the old economy, Pocahontas is working class and proud of it. Although it keeps losing factory jobs to Mexico, the Mayor continues to hunt down new factories to replace them. It's a nice place to live and, at $9 an hour, the factory jobs are just fine for residents here. We spend the day with the Mayor and the Chief of Police driving around town.

November 26, 2002
Mark Zandi on Pocahontas, AR
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Marketplace host David Brancaccio and Economist Mark Zandi run the numbers on Pocahontas, Arkansas.

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November 21, 2002
Columbus, Kansas: "There's No Place Like Home" Listen in RealAudio
In a dull Kansas farm town, economics is not the crucial factor in everyone’s lives. They don’t stay for opportunity, but because it's their home and they won't leave. For farmers, the national economy doesn't matter anyway because their livelihood is mostly dependant on weather. We meet a young woman hoping, one day, to see a big city, but knowing all the while she'll never leave; and, we spend time with a farmer who wouldn't think of being anywhere else.

November 21, 2002
Mark Zandi on Columbus, KS Listen in RealAudio
Mark Zandi of Economy.com sheds some light on how Columbus, Kansas, fits into the national trend.

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November 18, 2002
Logan, Utah: Local Businesses vs. National Chains Listen in RealAudio
Reporter Adam Davidson continues his cross-country economic roadtrip, making a pit stop in the town of Logan, Utah, to see how this once sleepy mountain town is faring in the economic downturn. Since the town has hit a population of 100,000, they're top of the list for the big retailers, who are moving in en masse. And now that Blockbuster and Home Depot are setting up shop, there's no going back.

November 18, 2002
Mark Zandi on Logan, UT: Listen in RealAudio
Rural communities find themselves at odds with urban sprawl, and the unique character of towns like Logan are being put to the test around the nation.

November 13, 2002
Logan, Utah: The Last of the Locals Listen in RealAudio
Sure, on their drive across the country, Adam Davidson and Jamie Katz have become a bit sick to death of all of those chain restaurants that have popped up in small towns nationwide. So, one night while searching for authentic local grub near Logan, Utah, they found themselves chowing down on the famous ribs at Eddie’s, one of the last local restaurants in an area over-run with corporate eateries. Can Eddie’s compete with the sheer size and marketing efforts of the chains?

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November 11, 2002
Riverside, CA: An Image of Boom Town Listen in RealAudio
Analysts often give us a bird's-eye view of the U.S. economy, but it's easy to forget that the country is actually a patchwork of small economies. Those who hit the road may be better suited to tell us about the real state of the economy. Adam and Jamie stop about 90 minutes east of Los Angeles, in Riverside. Once little more than a gas station wayside in the desert, it is now among the fastest-growing cities in the country. But on the other side of the tracks, it’s not such a rosy picture.

November 11, 2002
Mark Zandi on Riverside, CA: Listen in RealAudio
Pulling our focus back for just a minute to get a sense of how Riverside fits into the nation's overall economic picture, we talked with Mark Zandy, chief economist for Economy.com, which tracks financial trends.

November 6, 2002
Riverside, CA: The Dark Side Listen in RealAudio
In one of the nation's fastest growing economies, there is great news for high-tech office workers: jobs and financial growth at a time of nationwide near-recession. But for many of Riverside's residents -- low-skilled minorities -- there is nothing except crime and a city that ignores them. We meet some local folks in a bad neighborhood who can't stand how they're being ignored by city planners, and we meet city planners who very happily proclaim they are, indeed, ignoring the city's poor.

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