We are in a unique position at The Desert Sun. Most people in the Coachella Valley see us as their largest provider of local news and advertisements.

Our newspaper, Web sites and other products, in fact, reach more than three-quarters of the adults in our market during an average week.

But The Desert Sun's responsibility to the community goes beyond providing information to readers and messages from our advertisers, as important as those are.

Our success as a business depends on the success of the Coachella Valley as a whole. We strive to be community leaders in our words — and in our actions.

The importance of community leadership was highlighted at the recent Economic Summit hosted by the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership (CVEP) and the Desert Lyceum of UC Riverside's Palm Desert campus.

Economist John Husing pointed out that every region needs key businesses — he called them Tier 1 businesses — that draw dollars from outside the market to support the service and retail economy that surrounds them, which he called Tier 2.

In recent years, the Tier 1 industries for our region have been primarily tourism and real estate construction.

The economic downturn has not been kind to construction. Housing permits in Coachella Valley declined from a peak of 7,808 in 2004 to a low of 685 last year — a whopping 91 percent decline.

No surprise, then, that sales growth from retail businesses in Tier 2 declined dramatically as well.

Sales went from a year-over-year growth rate of 14 percent in 2004 to an estimated net loss of 4 percent for 2008.

We went from gaining 9,108 jobs in 2004 to losing nearly 5,000 in 2008.

Diversification is needed in valley

The problem is clear: We are too reliant on a couple of sectors. It is why we tend to boom and bust with the business cycle. It is also why we must diversify our economy.

CVEP was formed in 1994 to address this very issue. This year, CVEP — along with the cities of the Coachella Valley and UCR-Palm Desert — sponsored the creation of a new Economic Blueprint for our Valley.

Mac Holladay, founder of the nationally recognized firm Market Street Services, unveiled this Blueprint at the Economic Summit.

The plan lays out a roadmap for attracting new growth industries and building on our valley's strengths.

The Blueprint targets industries that make sense for our area: alternative energy; health care; creative arts and media; and transportation and logistics.

We have natural advantages in each of these sectors.

However, the Blueprint process also made clear that we are falling behind in the economic development arena.

There are regions of this country that have been spending serious dollars on economic development for years.

Many of these regions are targeting the same industries that we want.

To be competitive, we must up our investment in a regional economic development strategy.

We've begun a campaign: $12million over five years — $6 million for economic development and $6 million to continue the workforce and education programs that have already drawn funding from national foundations.

It sounds like a daunting task in this economy. But the need is more urgent now than ever.

The Desert Sun was a founding member of CVEP.

We are stepping up our investment in the new Economic Blueprint strategy. We're doing this because we believe in the long-term potential of this valley.

We believe that growth in good-paying professional and technical jobs will pay back big benefits. Unemployment goes down and property values go up. Retail and service businesses grow.

Young professionals bring their creative talents. Our beautiful valley can become an even more special place to live.

When I moved to the Coachella Valley last year, I was amazed at what a generous and charitable place this is.

Millions are donated each year to worthy causes like hunger, homelessness, disease research and the creative arts.

I firmly believe that the development of good-paying professional and technical jobs ranks right up there with the best charitable causes.

It's going to take some serious community leadership to build up our base.

The Desert Sun will be there to cover the stories and to commit to the process of leadership. I hope you will join us.

For more on the Economic Blueprint, visit mydesert.com or www.cvep.com/blueprint.

Richard Ramhoff is president & publisher of The Desert Sun and mydesert.com. He also is vice-chair of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership. Each month he will write about a community leadership topic. He can be reached at richard.ramhoff@thedesertsun.com or (760) 778-4501.