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Editorial: Shop, think locally
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We know how busy you are today. If you've just grabbed today's paper off a darkened stoop, you may be getting ready to sally forth and brave what we fervently hope are huge crowds for a Black Friday of holiday shopping. Or maybe you're taking a quiet moment alone with your laptop, perusing QCOnline.com, your aching feet on the ottoman, and a soothing cup of tea in hand, at the end of a busy day at the mall or one of the Quad-Cities many big-box stores. In that case, more shopping may be the very last thing you wish to think about. We urge you, however, to fight the impulse and plan tomorrow to lace up your sneakers once again to observe Small Business Saturday. While it's important to the national economy, our local community, and these newspapers, that major retailers do well on Black Friday, the success of local and small businesses is even more vital to the economic health and quality of life of our community. That's important to consider, not just on the eve of this year's Small Business Saturday, but throughout the holiday season. The reasons remain compelling. We've outlined them before, but they're worth repeating this year and every year: -- Small businesses are job-creating machines. In the last 20 years, they created 65 percent of net new jobs in America. The money you spend in your community stays there. Various studies show that when consumers choose to spend locally, $68 of every $100 spent remains in the community compared to $43 of every $100 for non-locally owned business. -- Local businesses use local resources, they employ local people and pay local taxes. When they thrive, it reduces the property tax burden on the rest of us. -- Homegrown retailers and businesses support the things in your community like schools, police and fire protection, clean water and garbage collection. That doesn't happen when you shop online. And those companies also don't pay local sales tax or give to local charities. -- Indeed, local business owners and their families always are among our community's most active cheerleaders and generous donors of money, goods and services. The Quad-Cities is fortunate to have a wide range of stores to choose from, the big box retailers who carry a wide variety of items to the local and specialty stores with one-of-a-kind hard-to-find gifts. If you don't sample the local inventory, you'll miss out on many unique local bargains such as Isabel Bloom's unique figurines, Lagomarcino's marvelous confections, certificates for pampering at local salons and spas. The possibilities are endless and they are all right here, in the community and often can be tailored to your gift recipient's specific needs by local merchants happy to help. What could be more personal than a locally purchased present carefully chosen with the recipient alone in mind? Our message is not entirely altruistic, of course. Your newspaper has a huge stake in the success of Quad-Cities retailers -- our advertisers. We are proud of the support they give us and the service they provide to you. The newspaper you're holding in your hands or the website you're reading wouldn't be possible without their advertising dollars. So, when faced with a choice of whether to buy an item online, at a shop out of town or locally, we urge you to pick the local merchant. Remember, too, many of them have convenient Websites, too. Just Google them. Local businesses are the lifeblood of our community. Reward them for supporting the Quad-Cities by supporting them. Shop locally this Saturday, throughout the holiday season and all year. 
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Today is Tuesday, May 21, the 141st day of 2013. There are 224 days left in the year.
1863 -- 150 years ago: On Monday the 11th inst. on Center Ridge in Mercer County,some citizens got out their cannon to celebrate the taking of Richmond. The gun wasoverloaded and burst. No one was injured, but one 30-pound piece went though thesecond story of a house.
1888 -- 125 years ago: The old folks concert at the Harper Theater last night to benefit St.Luke's Cottage Hospital, attracted a large audience.
1913 -- 100 years ago: Unless depredation by vandals in Rock Island parks is halted,special policemen will be assigned to night duty to protect the flowers and other property.
1938 -- 75 years ago: Station WHBF has received a special citation from Washington forits participation in Air Mail Week, which was observed this week throughout the nation.
1963 -- 50 years ago: A 10-year high in employment in the Quad-City area was reachedat the end of the last quarter, according to an industrial employment barometer releasedtoday.
1988 -- 25 years ago: Pee Wee teams will be able to play baseball and softball as usualon Diamond Three at Dorrance Park this summer, but after that, the ball field is doomed.County crews have put the diamond back in shape after heavy trucks marred the playingfield earlier this spring. Illinois Department of Transportation crews drove onto it to makeborings for the relocation of the junction of Illinois 84 and the Port Byron-Hillsdale road.
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