A weekly compilation of news links about and for regional communities pursuing local and regional development.
Published on line since November 11, 2003.
1. County and cities move toward regional planning - Idaho Mountain Express and Guide - Ketchum, ID, USA
COOPERATION
Regional planning effort stresses cooperation
Blaine County's commissioners and the mayors of the county's five cities took the first steps Friday toward forming a regional planning organization.
Usually called councils of government, or COGs for short, such organizations have become common in many states, including Idaho. The local organization has been named the Blaine Regional Leadership Council.
During a summit meeting Friday, April 20, at the Old Blaine County Courthouse, attended by about 30 people, Ketchum City Administrator Ron LeBlanc said regional planning organizations address a wide variety of issues, including transportation, clean water, housing, public safety and agency services. County Commissioner Tom Bowman mentioned highway planning, flood control and the airport as issues of local importance. Ketchum Mayor Randy Hall added KART and fire department consolidation.
"The county is behind regional cooperation to get things done, " Bowman said.
The leadership council is envisioned as a means of coordinating plans, rather than as a decision-making body. Meeting participants agreed that decisions requiring expenditures of money would have to be referred to the various city councils and to the County Commission.
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One regional planning body cited as an example for Blaine County was the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments, which includes the mountain resort towns of Aspen, Vail, Steamboat Springs and Breckenridge. In interviews with the Mountain Express, several of the people involved with that organization cited its effectiveness.
"It's absolutely a fabulous organization, " Eagle County Commissioner Peter Runyon said.
Among other things, the group has addressed water distribution and planning for Interstate 70, obtained grants for home insulation and small business startups, and prompted the introduction of federal legislation to combat mountain pine beetle infestation. …
2. a. Regionalization gets the thumbs down - Campbell River Mirror - Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada
… Vancouver Island Health Authority’s plan to build a new regional hospital at Dove Creek to serve Campbell River and the Comox Valley.
“If we all join together on this extremely important issue we can make a difference and make sure North Island people get the best health care possible, ” Jarvis said.
She said the proposed regional hospital is not acceptable because it’s too far away.
“This is definitely not the kind of health care delivery we want to see for the residents of the North Island, ” she said. “The lives of people will be placed at greater risk because of the extra distance.
“The extra distance could result in permanent damage or even be fatal.”
She said the distance will also discourage volunteers from spending time at the new hospital and will also likely discourage financial donations by the ladies’ auxiliary, which has contributed to to the Campbell River Hospital for decades. Jarvis helped start the First Open Heart Society in Campbell River, which has helped heart patients and helped the hospital with donations for many years.
Jarvis was one of five speakers at the meeting, which attracted an audience of about 100. The keynote speaker, Dr. Trina Larsen Soles, traveled from Golden, B.C. to speak about the pros and cons of regionalization, the trend of grouping communities in regions to share health care services, specialists and costs.
“I don’t think regionalization is inherently bad – I think the way we’ve done it has been short-sighted, ” she said. “I think one of the problems is our regions are too big.”
Soles said that B.C. has five health regions compared to Nova Scotia’s 15. B.C.’s health regions are too big and require a big bureaucracy to operate, she said, and big bureaucracy overlooks the needs of small communities.
…
b. Centralization and Regionalization - National Rural Health Association
…
One of the most damaging practices in state government is the centralization of state resources. It remains a minor problem in the good economic years, but in difficult times and budgets, it is devastating. The scenario goes like this:
1. State departments and divisions are asked to cut back jobs.
2. Sometimes there are vertical cuts with loss of entire programs. More commonly those in control make horizontal cuts that impact the entire department with offices across the state.
3. The end result of centralization is the loss of state jobs in rural areas as jobs and duties are consolidated into centralized regional locations.
In countries such as Canada regionalization is already identified as a major problem for rural areas. This is a common practice in business, where a competitive edge is necessary and the movement of employees has few consequences. However, continued movement of state jobs and employees to more urban areas contributes to progressive decline in rural economics, population, and services. In health care the difficulties mount when you consider the critical mass of physicians needed to sustain a hospital, or to support each other for call. Beyond a 4 primary care doctor (usually FP) threshold, this is difficult.
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3. Regionalism and recovery - The Saginaw News - Saginaw, MI, USA
THIS NEWSPAPER HAS LONG supported regionalism and its first cousins -- cooperation and collaboration -- within Bay, Midland and Saginaw counties. We've interchangeably called the region mid-Michigan, the Tri-Counties and the Saginaw Valley for ages.
A new round of discussions about branding the region as one, seeded by Dow Chemical Co., took off last week as more leaders and residents within the "Tris" come to the conclusion that we need to work together to survive.
Given the times and challenges, as we've pointed out consistently in this space, territorial turf wars are counterproductive to the region's economic growth and quality of life.
A strong region offers the best path for attracting and retaining the talent and the jobs that lift everyone's standard of living. Each community has something unique to offer potential employers and residents.
Yet making it happen will require more than the region's leaders joining hands and singing "Kumbaya." That's where Dow and its interests in a strong region entered the dance. The Midland-based chemical giant hired the Global Environment & Technology Foundation, an Arlington, Va.-based outfit, to find out if there is sufficient interest and eagerness among business and community leaders in Bay, Midland and Saginaw counties to work together. …
RC: East Central Michigan Planning & Development Regional Commission
4. Regional cooperation is the ticket - Milwaukee Small Business Times - Milwaukee, WI, USA
After serving almost one year as mayor of Waukesha and attending two Milwaukee 7 meetings, it is clear to me that there are unique and historic opportunities for regional cooperation for southeastern Wisconsin. The two issues that cry out for a 21st century new vision are water and transportation. I believe they are key for both economic development and real regional cooperation.
Most people know that the City of Waukesha is seriously investigating whether Great Lakes water is our best long-term water source. Few know the fact that in the last 19 years, while our city has grown 17 percent, our water use has actually gone down 25 percent.
...
Waukesha is also studying whether return flow to a Great Lakes tributary like the Root or Menomonee River can be done in an environmentally positive way for the river, the Great Lakes and southeastern Wisconsin. If we eventually do decide to apply for a Great Lakes diversion, our goal would be to submit a role model application that would prevent 98 percent of the world from access to Great Lakes water. It would set a high standard of conservation and return flow that other communities in eligible counties would have to follow.
In this scenario, if we were able to negotiate with the City of Milwaukee for the purchase of water after a successful Great Lakes application, we could accomplish an historic win-win solution for both our cities and the region. It would be a stark contrast to the water and annexation fights that former Mayor Frank Ziedler outlined in his book on local government and the antiquated conflicts that have historically been the norm.
Once we can envision regional cooperation on water, the next logical issue would be addressing the long needed action on transportation.
...
RC: Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission
5. Karmanos takes knife to sacred cows -- unions, schools, regional cooperation
DetNews.com - Detroit, MI, USA
George Jackson, president Detroit Economic Growth Corp., said today he's encouraged that Michigan's sacred cows of unions, public schools and suburban-city cooperation were finally being openly discussed.
Compuware CEO Peter Karmanos took a knife to those cows in the same conversation this morning. He called for Michigan to be a right-to-work state, said Detroit and its suburbs should form a regional school district and public safety service, and even called out Detroit lawyers who drive foreign cars.
"Anyone who lives in West Bloomfield and thinks they are not part of Detroit lacks brains, " he said at the Michigan Chronicle's Pancakes & Politics breakfast.
Karmanos said the decision to move his technology company's headquarters from Farmington Hills to downtown Detroit proved to be a wise one, and he said others have and will join him in efforts to revitalize the city.
...
RC: Southeast Michigan Council of Governments
6. The Folly of Southern Hospitality - By info@reason-com (John F. Sugg)
…
Jurisdictions across the nation offer such inducements, which include tax abatement, land acquisition, construction subsidies, training subsidies, and outright cash grants. …
It’s hard to get a precise total of the dollars involved, but almost every major business relocation in the South is accompanied by a cornucopia of publicly funded grants, despite ample evidence that the subsidies have little impact on corporate site selection. Other regions of the nation, especially ones experiencing protracted economic downturns, are increasingly emulating the South. The politicians involved rarely consider broader tax and regulatory changes that would make their states more attractive to all businesses, outside and homegrown.
“Historically, the South has always led in offering incentives, ” Holladay says. “Other regions—particularly the Midwest, which is suffering through recession—are becoming more aggressive. I’m talking about Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. But the most aggressive states are still in the South, along with border states such as Kentucky.” The South also offers the most inventive subsidies, he adds. “In Alabama, South Carolina, and Kentucky, ” he says, “officials are now calculating what a new business would pay in unemployment taxes and giving that to companies as a cash bonus. That shifts the burden to other employers in the state.”
Look Away, Dixieland
The National Association of Economic Development Agencies compiles and analyzes information on relocation incentives. Its president, Miles Friedman, says it’s difficult to make broad state-to-state comparisons due to the variety of incentives and the different types of organizations involved. Nonetheless, he says, “it’s accurate to conclude that the South has the widest array of incentives and Southern states are the most experienced and aggressive in offering them. In dollar terms, the South leads.”
Public bankrolling of private companies has been an American staple for more than 200 years. …
7. Benefits of regional partnerships highlighted - Hickory Daily Record - Hickory, NC, USA
Counties surrounding Knoxville, Tenn., often competed to recruit the same large business developments.
That was about five years ago, before a regional partnership effort took hold.
Leaders from Knoxville visited Lenoir on Thursday to explain the successes they’ve enjoyed to an audience of about 150 business and government people from the four-county Hickory area.
The Knoxville folks said there were difficulties in getting various counties and cities to buy into the concept initially. But now, Knoxville leaders see the value in the saying, “A rising tide raises all ships.”
A local group of education, business and government leaders saw the benefits during a tour of Knoxville in October.
Some of the successes include a new jobs creation program termed JobsNow!
The effort includes financial contributions from several counties and cities in the Knoxville area.
In five years, JobsNow! has created more than 20, 000 jobs, increased wages and helped spur $2.5 billion in capital investments.
The morning meeting at the J.E. Broyhill Center, which lasted more than three hours, was time well-spent, according to David Horn, chairman of the Caldwell County Chamber of Commerce.
Stories of richer counties investing in surrounding counties for economic development purposes made an impression, he said.
“It is important that we not try to gain at someone else’s expense, ” he said. “We need to work to identify how the region can promote itself.”
Danny Hearn, president of the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce, said surveys dispersed Thursday to those in attendance will help set the course as the chamber moves forward with promoting regionalism. That could entail one Hickory region branding effort or pooled economic development resources.
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RC: East Tennessee Development District
8. Horse preserve idea rides off into the sunset - Gallup Independent - Gallup, NM, USA
The idea may have worked if county officials had come up with a way to get horses to eat less food.
But horses being the way they are, the McKinley County Commission agreed Tuesday to drop the idea of a horse preserve here.
The idea was first brought up several years ago by Patricia Lundstrom, director of the Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments.
She had been getting phone calls, she said, from people upset about all of the abandoned horses in the area. At the same time, she had been hearing of reports of other areas in the nation setting up horse preserves and making it profitable.
So she wondered if a horse preserve would work in McKinley County. The state provided some money for a feasibility study and the county set up a horse preserve task force to look at the idea. She thought it also might become a tourist attraction, as it was in other parts of the country.
But Evan Williams, a planner for the Council of Governments, said the feasibility study indicated a horse preserve would cost more to operate than it would bring in. So unless the county could get some state grants or figure out some way to subsidize it, the idea wasn't feasible.
Billy Moore, chairman of the commission, said Wednesday he was skeptical about the idea from the beginning.
Taking care of horses, he said, can be expensive, considering feed bills and vet bills.
It takes, he said, about 40 acres of land to feed one horse per year. Otherwise, you have to purchase supplemental feed, and that becomes expensive.
The feasibility study came up with the annual operating cost for such a horse preserve here at about $302, 550 for the first year with projected revenues of about $35, 200. That's a $267, 350 loss just for the first year.
The study only projected $7, 500 from tourists paying a fee to tour the preserve and $16, 000 in souvenirs purchased at the gift shop.
The study pointed out that there would not be competition since the closest horse preserve to here is in Lompoc, Calif., some 900 miles away.
Then there's the land issue.
The only area that could feasibly work, commissioners said at Tuesday's meeting, was Fort Wingate.
The study said that the only way to make the project work was probably going the way of Lompoc, which is operated by a nonprofit organization called the Return to Freedom Wild Horse Sanctuary. It operates on a budget of about $755, 000 and raises much of its revenue from programs such as "Sponsor a Horse" or "Sponsor an Acre." In 2004, the organization had 22, 000 individual donors and raised $680, 000 toward the expenses.
The commissioners said, however, that the idea of a horse preserve probably would work here but left the door open in case some private individual or organization wanted to take up the cause.
9. Walworth County seeks help with new districts - Janesville Gazette - Janesville, WI, USA
No politicking will be allowed in the drawing of Walworth County's 11 new county board districts, a county committee decided.
The Walworth County Executive Committee on Tuesday chose the Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission to create the 11 new supervisory districts that voters mandated in an April referendum.
Phil Evenson, executive director of the commission, said one rule is clear: There will be no politicking.
The county committee decided supervisors should not call the commission to try and sway how lines are drawn. All concerns will have to flow through the committee.
Voters on April 3 elected to downsize the Walworth County Board from 25 to 11 supervisors. Reducing the size by more than half will pit incumbents against incumbents during the 2008 election.
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10. U.S. regional communities - sub-State, State or multi-State - in news articles. Highlighted words are Google search terms. In this and the following section, links to websites of organizations are added to the news excerpt when this is the first time an organization has been found. A goal of this newsletter is to find every regional council in the U.S. in a news story. In most cases, where a full name is present a Google search will quickly get one to that organization.
.10 Meeting marks start of regional plan
ABC12.com - Flint, MI, USA
… Mid-Michigan Regional Management System - a collection of individuals in business, government, education, people of all walks of life, who will discuss ways to enhance the region's image. …
.11 One Southern Indiana, Louisville Form Regional Partnership
Inside INdiana Business (press release) - Indianapolis, IN, USA
One Southern Indiana and Greater Louisville, Inc. have formed a partnership to cooperatively market the region and try to attract and retain businesses in the area. The two economic development organizations represent 25 counties on both sides of the Ohio River. …
.12 Arkansas To Join Multistate Initiative For Two-Year Colleges
Springdale Morning News - Springdale, AR, USA
Arkansas has been invited to participate in "Achieving the Dream, " a program to help low-income and minority students in community colleges. ... Nine states already participate in the program. …
.13 County approves intergovernmental agreement
Crossville Chronicle - Crossville, TN, USA
After tabling an intergovernmental agreement last month between the city of Crossville, Cumberland County and the E-911 district, members of the Cumberland ...
.14 Study: Crime Rates Drop Across San Diego
NBC Sandiego-com - San Diego, CA, USA
The most common crime was theft, according to SANDAG, with one reported every 10 minutes last year. The report said almost half of those reported involved items taken from cars. Analysts for SANDAG credit community-oriented policing for the overall drop. …
.15 Ozark Regional Transit Makes His Case For Founding
Springdale Morning News - Springdale, AR, USA
Ozark Regional Transit faces a 30 percent loss of funding after the next census, so its board agreed to form a committee to address also the issue ...
.16 City looks beyond its boundaries
Modesto Bee - Modesto, CA, USA
... Stanislaus Local Agency Formation Commission to approve the city's idea of where it should be able to expand. While council members have created a vision for growth, a "primary sphere of influence" defines where growth can take place. As plans unfold, LAFCO members will revisit the sphere when they consider future development. ...
.17 Williamson Opens Regional Animal Control Facility
CBS 42 - Austin, TX, USA
... regional animal shelter actually began operating five weeks ago, and in that short period of time, the $4-million-complex of kennels in Georgetown has been overrun with stray dogs and cats. ...
.18 Public urged to help protect river
Fall River Herald News - Fall River, MA, USA
... "It's the community that will keep the river alive and stewardship that will keep the river alive, " he said. ... Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District Environmental Program ...
.19 Region signs on to Clean Cities program
Rome News-Tribune - Rome, GA, USA
Fresher air and a quicker exit from the federal Clean Air Act nonattainment list are the goals of a new initiative approved by the 10-county Coosa Valley Regional Development Center ...
.20 Forester has hopes for regional strategy
One of the first things Tom Tidwell wanted to do in his new job as regional forester was to have a heart-to-heart talk with the women and men who staff the ranger stations scattered around the US Forest Service s Northern Region. …
.21 Class Act: | Charlotte: A success story
Charlotte Observer - Charlotte, NC, USA
Greater access to community resources and the community power structure is most apparent in our public education system, now one of the highest-performing ...
.22 Some fire chiefs skeptical of merger
North County Times - Escondido, CA, USA
Several fire officials in North County said last week that they want to preserve the unique aspects of the institutions they have built up over the last few decades. That's why many of the backcountry fire departments targeted for consolidation into a new San Diego County regional fire agency say they want to be left out….
.23 Gov. Signs Greenhouse Gas Agreement, Climate Change Executive Order
Southern Maryland Online - MD, USA
The Governor today signed the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), in which Maryland became the 10th state to join the Northeast regional climate ...
.24 Commission established to target efficiency and competitiveness
EmpireStateNews.net - Newburgh, New York, USA
Governor Spitzer Monday signed an Executive Order creating the Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness, which will review ways that New York State’s over 4, 200 local governments can save taxpayer dollars and become more efficient by sharing services and undertaking regional collaboration. …
.25 Mayors see government cooperation as salvation
The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH
Fearing that the region is on the brink of disaster, nine suburban mayors will push for a new form of Cuyahoga County government that they say could save money and respond faster to the county's economic problems. …
.26 Regional broadband initiative receives grant money
Roanoke Times - Roanoke, VA, USA
... aimed at bringing broadband Internet connections to the New River Valley has been approved for a $100000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission. ...
11. Other in the news: Highlighted words are Google search terms.
.10 Profs visualize hotter region
Georgia Straight - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
On our land-use map for Delta, we have incorporated environmental-refugee settlements." Shaw adds: "That has created a bit of a dialogue, for sure." ...
.11 EU's Terrorism Policy Lacks Coherence
Forbes - NY, USA
The different functional and territorial roles of national police forces made cooperation with Europol complex and problematic. ...
.12 National security 'needs a rethink'
The Age - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
"The priority should go to better training as this helps people to understand other agencies, work across boundaries and build strong networks."
.13 MEP: Turkey's entry spells heavy burden on EU
Today's Zaman - Istanbul, Turkey
"The accession of Turkey would increase the area of the EU-27 by 18.3 percent and its population by 14.7 percent, while it would decrease its per-capita GDP by 10.5 percent; whereas the accession of the other western Balkan states would increase the area of the EU-27 by 4.8 percent and its population by 4 percent, while it would decrease its per-capita GDP by 3.5 percent, " ...
.14 North West Development Agency (NWDA)
The Lawyer - London, UK
Building up a team almost from scratch was a challenge that head of legal services of the North West Development Agency (NWDA) Steven Zdolyny has eagerly embraced. Since joining the agency in 2005, Zdolyny has spent the past two years recruiting a team of experienced lawyers to service the NWDA's increasing list of projects. …
.15 EC US$48M grant for Caricom economic integration
Stabroek News - Georgetown, Guyana
... extra-regional markets; it represents the best way of replacing existing trade preferences that are coming to an end under WTO rules; and the commission ...
.16 Six European regions launch renewable-energy network
EurActiv-com
The Renewable Energy Regions Network (RENREN) aims to enhance co-operation between local administrations and companies on biomass, wind, oceans, solar, ...
.17 Conference shares lessons on global city-regions
Joburg - Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
"We are examining the increasingly important role of local government in multi-level governance." …
Representatives from Chicago (USA), Toronto (Canada), Lagos (Nigeria), Madrid (Spain), Mexico City (Mexico), Delhi (India), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Sydney (Australia), Vienna (Austria) and Switzerland spoke about their specific city challenges. …
.18 We can see the causes of Cho's rampage now, so why not before?
Telegraph.co.uk, UK
Journalists' efforts to explain the Virginia Tech massacre perfectly illustrate one of the central points of an idiosyncratically brilliant new book by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable …
.19 Georgia: regional press at the heart of the urban-rural disparity
Caucaz-com - Tbilisi, Georgia
The Georgian Regional Development and Public Accountability project, initiated in 2004, is an example of what the European Commission has instituted in Georgia. The project consisted of an investigation of regional media followed by the selection of five newspapers from different regions which received financial support and training. …
.20 EDITORIAL: Pakistan’s trans-regional hub pipedream
Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
… Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), as opposed to the World Economic Forum, was founded in 2001, and challenges its invitees to think of new ways to advance trade and commerce at the global level. …
.21 China to produce “next big success” says Gates
Monsters and Critics.com, UK
Gates elaborated on his positive belief by pointing out that Microsoft built its very first research centre in Asia virtually a decade ago (today there are 20), and now finds itself investing the best part of 60 percent of its entire research and development budget in the region. …
.22 Asia should rely on 'economic and social diversity' to forge agreements
People's Daily Online - Beijing, China
As countries in the region move toward integration, they should rely on their economic and social diversity to forge multi-pronged agreements. That was one of the main points in the annual report on regional cooperation and integration (RCI) ...
.23 Governments invest in NB maple syrup
Atlantic Farm Focus - Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
The province is contributing $275168 through its Regional Development Corporation and the NB Maple Syrup Association has invested $100000. ...
.24 New threats to globalisation
On Line opinion - Australia
But this engagement and integration also requires the consent of governments. And what governments give they (or subsequent governments) may also take away. ...
.25 Microsoft Announces Commitment to Promote Sustained Social and ...
PR Newswire (press release) - New York, NY, USA
BEIJING, April 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) today unveiled a new commitment to help close the digital divide by creating new products and programs that will help bring social and economic opportunity to the estimated 5 billion people who are not yet realizing the benefits of technology. …
12. Blogs: Highlighted words are Google search terms.
.10 Regionalization, a Healthy Debate
By Mr. Damien Brown(Mr. Damien Brown)
…
In healthy regions, suburbs, cities cooperate
Bethlehem Township Manager Jon Hammer is a good guy. He is not a bad writer, either. The problem is, he didn't write a newspaper column in The Morning Call on April 14; he wrote a tall tale.
He takes over a suburban township with tons of farmland and a brand new highway running through it. The value of that land skyrockets, thanks to all of the region's taxpayers who paid for that highway. Developers of all stripes flock to the township. The township's zoning ordinance makes sure that high-density housing that is affordable for regular folks can't be built. So, huge amounts of tax dollars start to flow and precious few services are needed by the residents with their well-above-average incomes.
Then Jon writes something along the lines of, ''So, what's the matter with you cities for not being just like us?'' Well, where do I start?
First, Jon, cities and boroughs were developed in the days when the automobile wasn't so ubiquitous. High-density housing was built so that folks could walk to work, or maybe take the trolley. Consequently, today, most of the region's low-income housing is in the cities and, to a lesser extent, the boroughs.
…
.11 So I Have A Map….Now What?
By Eric Schultheis
The state appropriation committee pushed through a new $30 million fund to subsidize the construction of new supermarkets in the region. The chair of the committee reported that he “already knew that there was a problem” but “the map just ...
.12 What must we learn?
By Susan
I had the privilege today of listening to knowledgeable and accomplished business leaders talk about the opportunities and challenges of regional economic development in southeast Wisconsin. As is probably true for most economic regions ...
.13 Silicon Valley Re-booting
By Panagiotis Tsarchopoulos
The world is spiked - Click to enlarge The 2007 Index of Silicon Valley introduces the idea that “The World is Spiked” meaning that although the global competitive field is “flattening”1 regions still vary by their relative strengths ...
.14 Are People Fleeing the Pittsburgh Region?
By Harold D. Miller(Harold D. Miller)
Although the data show that the Pittsburgh Region had net domestic outmigration over the past 6 years, we’re not alone. In fact, the majority of the top 40 metro regions in the country had more US citizens move out than move in during ...
.15 Silicon Valley Re-booting
By Panagiotis Tsarchopoulos
The world is spiked - Click to enlarge The 2007 Index of Silicon Valley introduces the idea that “The World is Spiked” meaning that although the global competitive field is “flattening”1 regions still vary by their relative strengths ...
.16 Linden announces estate governance changes
By Siobhan Taylor
On their own region, it depends on the offense. For example: All fraud tickets would still come to Linden Lab. Same with Under Age Tickets. If he’s assaulting someone on his region, he has the right to do so, it’s his.“ ...
Note: Regional issues in virtual worlds. Ed
.17 Transatlantic Geometry
By Trachtman
report from the Atlantic Council ... something that might be modeled on APEC "open regionalism": like-mined countries agreeing on deeper liberalization, but extending it on an MFN basis. ...
.18 Florida Drought 2007 by Geniusofdespair
By Genius of Despair(Genius of Despair)
Connecting Water Supply and Growth "In 2005, the Florida Legislature recognized that it was critical to strengthen the link between land use and water supply planning. Building upon the water management districts’ regional water supply plan efforts, ...
.19 Seeking regional solutions
Business in the Burbs - White Plains, NY, USA
With that in mind, groups of businesspeople in Westchester and Putnam counties and neighboring Fairfield County, Conn., are exploring regional growth ...
.20 Worldmapper
By stephen
In these regions most territories reported some book borrowing. In other regions reported book borrowing was lower, and many territories reported very little borrowing. Where many people cannot afford books, it appears they often cannot ...
.21 Millennium Development Goals, agriculture and climate change in Africa
By Martin Prowse
... economic mismanagement and contraction – can contribute to a breakdown in the social contract between citizens and the state, especially when coinciding with regionally- or culturally-defined social boundaries (see Murshed 2006). ...
.22 New Blog
By Scott Hutcheson
Much of my economic development work is with the Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD). I have decided to start a PCRD blog where I can write about regional economic development. I just launched it yesterday. ...
.23 Chicago Olympics could mean more Amtrak lines
By Johnruexp
Wisconsin is backing the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, a $7.7 billion plan for a nine-state network of fast, frequent trains, including the Milwaukee-to-Madison line; new 110-mph service between Milwaukee and Green Bay; ...
.24 MicrosoftRegionalDirectors.com - new website
By nickmayhew
Interesting initiative by our global community of regional directors:. http://microsoftregionaldirectors.com/. "Welcome to The Region, global hub for the 140 software architects, developers, trainers and other professionals selected by ...
.25 FORE: Disciplines-Policy-Global Trends-Regionalization
Environmental public policy research resources. Includes introductory essays on global trends, regional analysis, policy summaries, bibliography, links, ...
.26 A Case of the Mondays: Jane Jacobs
By Alon Levy
The second, Cities and the Wealth of Nations (1984), takes the idea to the next level and talks about broader city regions, inter-city trade, the rise and fall of cities' economies, and cities in relation to nations. ...
.27 Another Study Of The Importance Of Land Use/Land Cover Change In Long term near surface air temperature trends
By Roger Pielke Sr.
This change is mainly urban expansion and cultivated land reduction in urban growth regions, both of which play an important role in regional climate change. In this paper, the variation of the urban heat island (UHI) caused by ...
.28 Glaeser on Housing Supply Limits and Regional Growth Trends
By Matthew E. Kahn(Matthew E. Kahn)
As we watch northeasters chill marathon runners, global warming starts looking less like the environmental crisis that it is and more like a good regional development strategy. This winter that would not end seems to explain the new ...
.29 Flattening Training: Consolidating Three Regional Curricula
By Marci Paino
Describe the model an organization can use to combine regional curriculums. Utilize the model through practice with a case study. Evaluate the challenges in combining curriculums. Assess the use of a third party to facilitate all or ...
.30 This post is dedicated to aspects of what is always
By Colin(Colin)
This post is dedicated to aspects of what is always labelled ‘nationalism’ here in Spain but might sometimes better be called ‘regionalism’. It all rather depends on whether independence is part of the package demanded by any particular ...
13. Announcements and Regional Links
.10 The Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America
A “social capital” reading list from Robert D. Putnam, author of “Bowling Alone.”
“Of all the dimensions along which forms of social capital vary, perhaps the most important is the distinction between bridging (or inclusive) and bonding (or exclusive). Some forms of social capital are, by choice or necessity, inward looking and tend to reinforce exclusive identities and homogeneous groups. Examples of bonding social capital include ethnic fraternal organizations, church-based women's reading groups, and fashionable country clubs. Other networks are outward looking and encompass people across diverse social cleavages. Examples of bridging social capital include the civil rights movement, many youth service groups, and ecumenical religious organizations. “ [and organizations of organizations larger area problem solving, e.g. regional. Putnam, in a BookTV interview spoke about his research in Italy where he found those regions which were more prosperous had higher levels of bridging social capital. Ed.]
.11 Rural Transportation.org Newsletter – April 19, 2007
Sign up for the Rural Transportation.org listserv to network with peers and receive the monthly e-newsletter and periodic updates from the NADO Research Foundation. Sign-up
.12 Development Magazine Online - NAIOP — The National Association of Industrial and Office Properties
.13 Economic Development Today: Growing and Keeping Your Region's Businesses - Monday, May 7, 2007 - 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm (EDT) – Economic Development Administrations
Telecast will focus on “how-to” examples that feature local, regional, state, and multi-state initiatives.
Amy Bunton is responsible for overseeing the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) effort to support existing businesses and industry in job creation and capital investment. The TVA is the public power provider for a seven state region in the Southeast. Last year it directly contributed to the recruitment or retention of 52, 000 jobs in the region. She is the incoming president of Business Retention Expansion International (BREI), a non-profit association of economic development professionals who are working for the advancement of business retention and expansion as an economic development strategy for communities.
Terry Dickey, Director of Economic Development for the Cincinnati USA Partnership, will present a win-win approach to business retention by the use of their Regional Business Retention Committee who meets with 300-400 companies annually within the Cincinnati USA region.
Joseph McClure will demonstrate how a rural area incorporated volunteers into a program known as Business Expansion and Retention or BEAR that has evolved into a three-tier network of volunteers.
For more information email Peggy Tadej at tadej@narc.org or call 202.986.1032 ext. 224.
14. Subscription
.10 Summit plans for 2020 - Wilson Daily Times (subscription) - Wilson, NC, USA
...
Kneten said he was hoping to see a "golden future" for Wilson.
Greg Godard, executive director of the Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments, said the days of grants funding projects that won't benefit a regional area are coming to an end.
One thing that participants in the summit kept citing over and over was the number of people who attended the meeting signified progress in Wilson was a concern to a large section of the populace.
Some of the final strategies to meet the initial goals include:
* Better managing commercial, industrial and residential growth while considering and preserving open space, historic areas and farmland;
* Encouraging growth that will pay for itself;
* Creating a master plan that includes greenways and sidewalks, along with neighborhood landscaping;
* Creating village type subdivisions, which include numerous amenities within walking distance;
* Increasing the number of adults in literacy programs;
* Building active parent/teacher organizations at each school in the county;
* Lowering the county's high unemployment rate and increasing the median income;
* Increasing the enrollment at Barton College and Wilson Technical Community College;
* Reducing risky behavior in youth, including gang violence and teen pregnancy;
* Increase services for the elderly in home-bound situations;
* Increasing participation by all races at cultural celebrations in Wilson;
* Becoming known for constantly promoting positive values in media, civic involvement and government;
* Developing more transparency in how resources are allocated;
* Filling civic positions with people who have diverse perspectives and creating a leadership development program.
15. Google News for “Regional Community”
Other menu sections available from this link include: Regional Development; Regional Council; Regional Commission; Regional America; Regional Asia; Regional Europe; Regional Competition; Regionalism; Intergovernmental and other search terms. They can be sorted by date or relevance. These are among the 50 search terms I use to produce this newsletter.
My name is Tom Christoffel. I've worked in the field of intergovernmental cooperation since 1973. As a consequence, "I see regions work." Regional Community Development News is published weekly based on news reports as of Wednesday.
Making visible analysis and actions at multi-jurisdictional regional scales is its purpose. "Think globally, act locally" was innovative in its time. Today the local scale is often too small to address today's needs and opportunities. "Think local planet, act regionally, " is my candidate paradigm. (No one said we're only allowed one paradigm.)
We can see that “regional communities” are organized locally and now act both to avoid tragedy in the commons and gain benefits. An effective multi-jurisdictional regional community has DNA: it is geographically Defined; has a common Name and its Alignment is inclusive of smaller communities and participatory in larger communities. So, by scanning this compilation, reading articles and checking organizations - you too will be able to see the regional communities that already exist.
News references are found using the Google News search service. Media article links are “fair use” to transform globally scattered reports to make regional approaches visible. Links go to the publisher and do not compete with it. Such publishers are likely to have related stories and thus be seen by new customers. “Regional” is an emerging news category. There is no charge for this service and no profit is made from its use, though any user can become more aware of the topic itself.
To read and search previous issues go to: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/regions_work/
The term “Development” was added to the name in January, 2006.
For a free subscription use this email link – no additional information required:
regions_work-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Editions since April 11, 2007 can also be found at: http://regional-communities.blogspot.com/
Questions, comments or items to feature in Regional Community Development News?
Please e-mail the editor: Tom.Christoffel@comcast.net or Tom.Christoffel@gmail.com
Thomas J. (Tom) Christoffel, AICP Making regions visible for Leaders and Problem-solvers. www.regionalintelligence.com or www.regions.ws
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