Keeping a community alive and healthy after the loss of an important employer-whether that employer is the military or some other governmental entity; a large, private sector business; or a tourist attraction-requires a major effort to fashion a new kind of place, a different community built on a different basis. Managing Local Economic Development: Cases in Decision Making: Nothing Concentrates the Mind Like the Threat of Death discusses the challenges the community leaders of Northport faced to devise and implement a strategy to chart such a new economic development strategy.