Jeffery J. Grygier of Ridgewood, N.J., sent me a note this morning, pointing me to a recent story in the New York Times on Racine, Wisc.

The story points to Racine's approach to the changing world economy. The community is similar, in many ways to Erie. It's on a Great Lake (Lake Michigan) and has traditionally had a factory-heavy economy. It has about 196,000 people -- a bit smaller than Erie', but roughly the same size.

Unlike Erie, though, it is in the middle of the pack in areas such as income, job growth and housing values, according to the story.

"Probably the most relevant blueprint yet for what Erie could become," writes Grygier, a former Erieite, of Racine's model.