A weekly compilation of news links about and for regional communities pursuing local and regional development.
Published on line since November 11, 2003.
________________________________________________________________________
Contents
Top Regional Community stories of the this week … 1. – 9.
U.S. Regional Communities - sub-State, State or multi-State – news articles … 10.01 - .29
Other Regional Community News for Our Local Planet … 11.01 - .25
Blogging about Regional Communities … 12.01 - .20
Announcements and Regional Links … 13.01 - .07
Subscription access news stories … 14.01
Top Regional Community stories of this week
1. House says yes to sales tax for regional transportation projects - Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
The state House of Representatives on Thursday approved a measure to allow regions in Georgia to seek voter consent to a penny sales tax for transportation projects.
The resolution won 16 more votes than the two-thirds of the House it needed as a constitutional amendment. The Senate has passed a similar version (SR 845), so the proposals now go to a conference committee to work out the differences.
Thursday's vote followed an impassioned speech from the well of the House by Speaker Glenn Richardson.
"We've been stifled for too long with doing nothing, " Richardson said. From those who oppose it, he demanded to know what they planned instead. "If you've offered nothing, shame on you. It's time to do something."
The remarks seemed aimed at Gov. Sonny Perdue, who expressed misgivings about the referendums but mostly stayed on the sidelines, until Wednesday.
...
Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said the governor is concerned about the equity of a sales tax, since rural people shop in urban areas and their sales taxes flow to the cities instead of their homes. Those rural shoppers use the urban transportation systems when they spend their money, but Brantley said the cities would still benefit disproportionately. He said he didn't have figures to demonstrate that.
...
The Senate's version would allow counties to group together, while the House version divides the state into regional development commissions. Amendments in the House version would exempt airplane fuel and allow counties to decide to opt out of a regional tax, potentially punching holes in whatever transportation projects the region hopes to build with its tax.
However, "I think the real broader issue is granting taxing authority to an RDC, " said Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. "That's never been done and there's great concern on the Senate's part with that."
2. Counties must unite to unsnarl the region - Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
Chicago couldn't do it. Neither could Salt Lake City, Denver or Dallas. None of these metro regions was able to develop a viable solution to congestion without taking a multicounty funding approach, and neither will metro Atlanta.
Senate Resolution 845, a measure under consideration in the Georgia General Assembly, would grant regions across the state the authority to levy a sales tax of up to 1 percent to fund a specified list of transportation projects.
That list of projects —- and the sales tax to support it —- would be adopted in a regional referendum, and all the money raised in the region would be spent in that same region. The impact would be $700 million in annual revenue for roads, transit, bike lanes and sidewalks for the 10 core counties in metro Atlanta —- about one-third more than the total spent on transportation projects in the same area each year.
Chicago, Salt Lake City, Denver and Dallas all use dedicated multicounty sales tax revenues to support their growing transportation needs. Although Atlanta is one of the fastest-growing metro regions in the nation, Georgia spends less money on transportation per capita than any other state.
That one-two punch has staggered the metro area, crippling our ability to compete when it comes to recruiting employers. Our air quality and our quality of life have both taken blows.
Although SR 845 is not the single remedy for decades of underinvestment, it represents the best chance we have to stop the bleeding. Atlanta's traffic snarls span municipal boundaries and county lines, and so must our transportation projects. We need regional solutions for regional problems, and this could be our only shot at the sustainable transportation funding mechanism the metro area has been yearning for. …
RC: Atlanta Regional Commission
3. Council unveils radical supercity plan - New Zealand Herald - New Zealand
The Auckland City Council has unveiled a radical plan for a single supercity made up of 26 members to run Auckland, including an elected Lord Mayor.
The region of 1.3 million people, stretching from the Waikato in the south to Warkworth in the north, would lose 90 per cent of its 264 elected local politicians representing seven territorial councils and the Auckland Regional Council.
The plan, outlined by Auckland City chief executive David Rankin, is the first draft of a submission to the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Auckland Governance.
It will go to the regional governance committee on Thursday for councillors to consider, but has already been criticised by City Vision councillors upset at the loss of local democracy.
Mr Rankin defended the officers' bold plan to reduce local democracy in Auckland to one council only slightly bigger than the present 20-strong Auckland City Council, saying it would be accountable and accessible at the local level.
Under the supercity proposal, a Greater Auckland Council would be made up of an elected Lord Mayor, four area mayors based on the Auckland City, North Shore, Manukau and Waitakere city councils and 21 neighbourhood councillors.
The Lord Mayor, four area mayors and two neighbourhood councillors would sit on a civic board to provide collective leadership for the region, including the development of key plans and a link to central government.
There would be area committees - chaired by the area mayors and including the neighbourhood councillors for each area - to provide the connection between local areas and the region.
…
“There is huge, widespread support for better regional governance on the big picture items.
"The area for greatest debate will be around the local community. … Also 12.14 below
4. Seeing the light - Coalition offers bright ideas - Daytona Beach News-Journal - Daytona Beach, FL, USA
A robust if fledgling regional partnership is shining new light on growth in Central Florida while challenging seven counties, 86 cities and seven school boards to work together on four ambitious goals:
· Conservation: Establish a "green" footprint through mid-Florida from the Atlantic coast to Polk County.
· Countryside: Preserve and sustain rural lands and open landscapes around cities.
· Centers: Promote growth within existing cities, towns and villages and identify centers where additional population might be appropriate.
· Corridors: Connect the "centers" with a balance of roads and transportation options, including commuter rail.
The Congress of Regional Leaders -- a coalition that grew from the Orlando-based Myregion.org (a public-private partnership of governments, planning councils and business/civic leaders) -- raises hope that governments will cooperatively address growth controls on a regional basis.
If it works as outlined (and it has since its inception last year), it could alter a trend in which urban developments sprawl to the edges of government borders with little regard for the impacts on neighboring cities or counties (traffic congestion or increased water demands, for examples).
The Central Florida region extends west from Volusia and Brevard counties through the Orlando area to Polk County. (Flagler County has been contacted as a potential partner.)
The 4-Cs growth principles weren't pulled out of a hat. They were developed after a series of public meetings (called "How Shall We Grow?") in which about 20, 000 residents outlined what they want the region to be like in 2050. Representatives of all the cities, counties and school boards adopted the principles in 2007, and created the Congress to implement them.
…
The Congress of Regional Leaders has organized goals for maintaining a long-term high quality of life in East Central Florida. Here are ways individuals can make an impact:
CONSERVATION
…
5. A singles map of the United States of America - Boston Globe - United States
WHICH OF THESE two decisions do you think has a bigger impact on someone's life: finding the right job, or finding the right significant other? No one's going to argue with the notion that where you live affects your employment prospects. But the place you call home has a lot to do with your chances of finding the right partner as well. Having an enticing "mating market" matters as much or more than a vibrant labor market.
It's not just that some places have more singles than others. If you're a single man or a single woman the odds of meeting that special someone vary dramatically across the country.
By far, the best places for single men are the large cities and metro areas of the East Coast and Midwest. The extreme is greater New York, where single women outnumber single men by more than 210, 000. In the Philadelphia area and greater Washington, D.C., single women outnumber single men by 50, 000. …
Greater Boston is unusual among large metro areas. It is one of the very few with a near perfect balance of singles - having just 1, 600 or so more women than men - 604, 960 men to 606, 580 women. And this may be part of the reason why the region ranks third for young singles on a ranking of more than 150 metro regions ...
The ability to attract young singles also bodes well for regional economies. Singles are a large and growing segment of the population and the workforce. …
6. City and county officials express support for regional jail - Kansas City Star - MO, USA
Jackson County and Kansas City officials confirmed their support for a regional jail Wednesday, but they acknowledged it could take several years to complete.
County Executive Mike Sanders said the county is seeking responses by April 11 for information from firms knowledgeable about building such regional facilities.
Meanwhile, Kansas City Councilwoman Cathy Jolly said she will introduce a resolution today directing the city manager to develop a plan for how the city can participate in a regional correctional system.
The county jail holds about 800 people, but Sanders said the county needs more capacity. The county also has 17 municipalities that require some type of facility for dealing with municipal ordinance violators. Kansas City has a municipal correctional institution that holds up to several hundred inmates at a time.
All those bureaucracies could save money and improve public safety by combining into one facility, Sanders said.
“This is a watershed moment, ” Jackson County Prosecutor James Kanatzar said at a news conference announcing support for the concept.
Jolly said the idea of a regional jail has been discussed for years, but the right people are in place now to make it happen. The discussions are also involving Independence, Lee’s Summit and smaller cities within Jackson County.
… RC: Mid-America Regional Council
7. Regional cooperation a must - The Independent Weekly - Durham, NC, USA
As the founder of the weekly Spectator in 1978 and the Triangle Business Journal in 1984, I founded the editorial engine that covered the rising tide of Triangle identity ("The breaking point, " by Bob Geary, cover story, March 5). Then, each city recognized it needed the others to create a metropolitan footprint, adding quantitative muscle to the region's obvious qualitative demographics. Ironically, as the cities of the Triangle grew, the less they relied on each other for their growth and prosperity.
But Durham exacerbated the breakdown of regional unity. In the early '90s, the Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau, under the leadership of Reyn Bowman, set out to separate Durham from Triangle cooperation, including a campaign to assert Durham's identity whenever he felt the Bull City was slighted.
Instead of being ranked in the top 30 U.S. urban areas, Raleigh is now designated as Raleigh-Cary and ranked 59th. No wonder the Federal Transportation Authority looks askance at regional rail transit.
Geary states that Research Triangle Park helped create a "hole" in the center of the Triangle donut since its founders did not allow …
RCs: Triangle J Council of Governments, Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments,
Mid-Carolina Council of Governments, Research Triangle Regional Partnership - History
8. Officials preach cooperation at transportation summit - The Coloradoan - Fort Collins, CO, USA
Gov. Bill Ritter, Colorado's two senators, county commissioners and others who spoke during a transportation summit Wednesday in Loveland said local leaders must put aside their personal goals and start working together to plan for the future.
…
The North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization sponsored the annual summit ..
Two efforts to form a regional transportation authority to provide transportation funding in Northern Colorado have failed, the most recent last year with a proposed sales tax, which never made it to the ballot for lack of county and municipal support.
Many have said last year's attempt failed because local leaders didn't want to see tax dollars paid by their constituents go to projects in other parts of the region.
Such delays have resulted in Northern Colorado falling financially behind on transportation funding for new interchanges, roads and possibly even a rail system.
…
"The no-action alternative is not an option, " Sen. Ken Salazar said. "We have to do something."
Salazar said federal transportation dollars won't funnel into Northern Colorado if municipalities do not have a cooperative system to allocate those dollars.
Colorado has received billions of dollars from the federal government to fund the FastTracks rail and T-Rex road projects in the Denver-metro area because of the Regional Transportation District organized to handle the money, Salazar said.
"That's why they are willing to keep writing those checks, " he said.
About 500 people participated in the summit, which included a session where mayors, city administrators and county commissioners hashed out transportation dilemmas with members of the public.
Fort Collins Mayor Doug Hutchinson told his group that an anti-growth sentiment among his fellow city councilmen led to the city dropping support for the regional transportation authority. … See also 10.14 below
9. The Hope of RAES - EMS Magazine - College Park, MD, USA
Since the development of modern-day EMS, Americans have witnessed stunning reductions in sudden cardiac death, trauma and burns. This prevention allows many more Americans to lead productive lives, but also predictably results in a population that develops diseases of older age. These diseases have exacerbations that inevitably lead to the need for emergency care, and our economic system has not been adequately prepared to account for the cost of providing care to an aging population with more chronic illnesses.
We were certain to arrive at a time where the consequences of our prevention success met the realities of resource shortages. Recognizing the stresses in the emergency system, authorities at the Institute of Medicine prepared a report, Emergency Medical Services at the Crossroads, which they delivered to Congress in 2006. In it they said:
The Committee believes the challenges that exist in the system today can best be addressed by building a nationwide network of regionalized, coordinated and accountable emergency care systems. They should be coordinated in the sense that, from the patient's point of view, delivery of emergency services should be seamless. To achieve this, the various components of the system—9-1-1 and dispatch, ambulances and EMS workers, hospital EDs and trauma centers, and the specialists supporting them—must be able to communicate continuously and coordinate their activities…The system should be regionalized in the sense that neighboring hospitals, EMS and other agencies work together as a unit to provide emergency care to everyone in that region. A patient should be taken to the optimal facility within the region based on his or her condition and the distances involved.
…
EMS is our frontline medical resource and a vital extension of our hospital emergency departments. Twenty percent of patients arriving in EDs come via EMS. …
10. U.S. Regional Communities - sub-State, State or multi-State - in news articles.
Bold font words are Google search terms. Bold italic words considered worth noting. In this and section 11, 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
.01 Key Metropolitan Areas Growing, but More Slowly
New York Times - United States
Fewer people flocked to the nation’s fastest-growing metropolitan regions last year compared with the year before, the Census Bureau is reporting …
Note: Map of gains & losses with article.
.02 The Rise of the Aerotropolis
Next American City
... As aviation-oriented businesses cluster at and near major airports, a new urban entity is emerging: the Aerotropolis. Similar in shape to the traditional metropolis of a central city and its commuter-heavy suburbs, the Aerotropolis consists of an airport city core and an outlying area of businesses stretching fifteen miles along transportation corridors....
.03 Make way for bikes and pedestrians too
The News Journal - Wilmington, DE, USA
According to the Wilmington Area Planning Council, roughly 0.5 percent of transportation funds in the 2009-2012 Transportation Improvement Program will be spent on pedestrian and bicycle safety projects. This is about 1.5 percent less than the 2 percent of residents who make efforts not to rely on cars....
.04 Merging Verona – An Editorial
The Capital Times - Madison, WI, USA
We're always dubious about the rush to merge towns and nearby villages and cities. In our view, town government is an essential building block of Wisconsin's democracy, which wisely keeps the governments that provide basic services small and close to the people who rely on those services. … Unfortunately, they have not sorted out a lot of the basic details of the merger, including a proposed intergovernmental agreement….
.05 Bi-state port brings together confluence of commissions
Beaufort Gazette - Beaufort, SC, USA
Once the Georgia Ports Authority, the SC State Ports Authority and Georgia Department of Transportation entered into an intergovernmental agreement Jan. ...
.06 Tourism doesn't have to 'use' community, expert says
Deseret News - Salt Lake City, UT, USA
... concept of "civic tourism" is preferable to the industrial-age tourism that has long prevailed around the world. "Civic tourism preserves and enhances a community rather than uses a community, " ... The state, he pointed out, committed to the related concept of geo-tourism last year. Rhode Island joined Arizona, Guatemala, Honduras and Norway by signing a Geotourism Charter with the National Geographic Society ...
.07 National Geo project maps more than geography
The Missoulian - Missoula, MT, USA
National Geographic defines “geotourism” as “tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place - its environment, culture, aesthetics, ...
.08 Think, act regionally
Toledo Blade - Toledo, OH, USA
…The truth is that development in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan can benefit the City of Toledo no matter where it's located, and development in Toledo benefits the entire region as well. Whether this relationship is symbiotic or parasitic depends on the attitudes and approaches of the parties involved. …
.09 Regional panel to disband
Chester DailyLocal.com - PA, USA
The work of the commission is near complete; all six collaborating municipalities — Phoenixville Borough and Schuylkill, Charlestown, East Pikeland, and East and West Vincent townships — approved a regional plan that the commission proposed and a common agreement to implement it. By the terms of that agreement, the commission will be replaced immediately by the Phoenixville Regional Planning Committee, a successor body charged with coordinating the implementation. ...
.10 Guest Opinion: Palo Alto's next manager should follow Frank Benest's regionalism
Palo Alto Online - Palo Alto, CA, USA
Excellent points, Russell. We do need more regional collaboration in Silicon Valley around land-use planning, affordable housing, reclaiming El Camino Real ...
.11 Transit bill passed by committee
Bradenton Herald - FL, United States
"I'm continuing to get feedback from colleagues that it's time to think regionally and fund transportation regionally, " Galvano said. ...
.12 Event stresses cross-border cooperation
Crain's Detroit Business - Detroit, MI, USA
... that has since spawned several efforts toward regional economic cooperation and to raise awareness of regional issues in the 2008 presidential election. ...
.13 Telluride Foundation Invites Participation in Planning Process
Telluride Watch - Telluride, CO, USA
Foundation has contracted with the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to conduct an Alternative Futures Study. … principal objectives of this study are to understand and model regional scale economic, ecological and community interactions ...
.14 Governor, senators urge regional cooperation to find solutions to transportation problems
ReporterHerald.com - Loveland, CO, USA
“Unless you organize yourselves in some regional way, there are going to be huge opportunities lost, ” said Sen. Ken Salazar, who spoke at a regional summit at The Ranch. Sen. Wayne Allard and Gov. Bill Ritter echoed Salazar’s statement during the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization-sponsored summit, “Time Out! For a New Tomorrow.”
.15 Learn regionally, act locally
Petaluma Argus-Courier - Petaluma, CA, USA
Editor: The recent tragic bicycle incident in Cupertino has triggered many news stories, and rightly so. On that same weekend, there was another less-covered accident in San Francisco, resulting in a critically injured cyclist and the death of her dog. … Now let’s apply this information to Petaluma, specifically the proposed Kenilworth property shopping center. …
.16 Bus rapid transit now being projected for 5600 West
Salt Lake Tribune - United States
Bus rapid transit on 5600 West now is part of the Wasatch Front Regional Council's transportation plan. On Thursday, the council approved adding mass ...
.17 Ranchers turn conservation award over to area ranchers' alliance
The Prairie Star - Great Falls, MT, USA
... Ranchers' Stewardship Alliance.... From that good will in the community between ranchers, TNC and a team of collaborative consensus facilitators formed a partnership that became the RSA. RSA supports cost-effective, sustainable conservation that features private and public cooperation. They encourage collaboration, education, innovation and sound science in the conservation and enhancement of natural resources. ...
Batesville Herald Tribune - Batesville, IN, USA
... , “If we're not thinking regionally, we're missing it. Because most of us live that way, ” residing in one town, but going to another for work, medical care or culture. ... One of Harter’s questions resonated: “Are you really a community if you're not interacting?”
.19 Development rights transfer program discussed
Beaufort Gazette - Beaufort, SC, USA
... proposal, discussed at a meeting of the Northern Beaufort County Regional Plan's multigovernment planning committee, is to create a government-certified market for buying and selling private development rights, known as a transfer of development rights program. ...
.20 SANDAG to unveil strategic job plan
San Diego Union Tribune - United States
By Dean Calbreath Concerned about the growing gap between rich and poor in the county, the San Diego Association of Governments will unveil a strategic plan ...
.21 Study linking health, locale suggests more questions than answers
Kentucky.com - Lexington, KY, USA
Even within Appalachia, there are differences: People live longer in the northern reaches of the region than in the southern. "Part of it's health care access. Part of it's behavior. Part of it's culture. Part of it's diet, " ... "There's a whole range of issues that vary from place to place."
.22 Regional Roundup
Dallas Morning News - Dallas, TX, USA
The North Central Texas Council of Governments said Thursday it will indefinitely delay the release of its 2008 population estimates. ... in light of recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates and the economic slowdown, the council wants more time to review how it reports growth from year to year. ...
.23 The Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce is right on the need for a county manager
The Birmingham News - Birmingham, AL, USA
THE ISSUE: The Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce is right about the need for a county manager. Financially troubled Jefferson County, reaping the result of years of mismanagement, needs a county manager. Saying so doesn't warrant an attack in response. ...
.24 Dempsey report - March 28, 2008
Rome News-Tribune - Rome, GA, USA
Currently in Georgia, there are Regional Development Centers that exist and under another measure would be changed to Regional Development Commissions made ...
.25 All 159 counties sign pledge: 'We're with you, USS Georgia'
Rome News-Tribune - Rome, GA, USA
Martin said officials with the 16 regional development centers in Georgia hand-delivered the state flag to the seat of every county government in the state, ...
.26 FARMINGTON A DYNAMIC DOWNTOWN
Central Maine Morning Sentinel - Augusta, ME, USA
Farmington is located in the western mountains in Franklin County and is the service center for the region. Routes 4 and 27 pass through its picturesque, ...
.27 Is Compact Answer to Federal Regulation?
BloodHorse - Lexington, KY, USA
Martin noted other industries with cross-jurisdictional issues employ federal interstate compacts to carry out business. The pari-mutuel industry, ...
.28 Rock The Tot On the Levee
Kentucky Post - Covington, KY, USA
This contest will pit competitors regionally against one another in a challenge to eat the most tater tots possible inside of six minutes. ...
.29 Report: Nation's Gentrified Neighborhoods Threatened By Aristocratization
| The Onion |
According to a report released Tuesday by the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank, the recent influx of exceedingly affluent powder-wigged aristocrats into the nation's gentrified urban areas is pushing out young white professionals, some of whom have lived in these neighborhoods for as many as seven years. … Note: Not quite the news, but entertaining. Ed.
11. Other Regional Community News for Our Local Planet Contents
.01 Business sense has made Edinburgh the best in Britain
Scotsman - United Kingdom
THE 1980s were not just a period for bad haircuts and some great music, for Edinburgh it was a bleak period. … In the mid-80s, that changed. The leadership of both the then district council and Lothian Regional Council started working with the business community. One far-sighted official, Bill Ross, the district council's director of economic development, started two extremely important developments that would kick-start the transformation – Edinburgh Park and the Exchange Financial District. …
.02 Councils to spearhead 'sweeping reforms' for England's most deprived areas
24dash - Hereford, UK
Under proposed new legislation, top tier councils would be given a duty to assess the economic conditions of their area, including employment and skills needs, and the infrastructure needed to support sustainable economic growth - including housing and transport investment. These councils and Regional Development Agencies would then use this as the basis for regional strategies, covering the future for housing, skills, transport and regeneration in their region, to encourage greater economic growth. …
.03 Government consultation launched on future of Regional Development
PublicTechnology.net - UK
... Regional Development Agencies like Yorkshire Forward could drive greater economic growth in the English regions was launched by Government yesterday. ...
.04 Project is hailed for cultural support work
The Northern Echo - Darlington, UK
... set up in 1999 to support business startups, growth and achievement.... executive director of Arts Council North- East, said the CBV had played an important role during what has been a crucial time for the region's creative economy. ...
.05 Languages and Caribbean regionalism
Jamaica Observer - Kingston, Jamaica
Now the time seems appropriate to employ this rich and illustrative history to the larger cause of Caribbean regional cooperation and to prepare its ...
.06 Spit and polish for middle power
Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Traditionally, middle powers have relied on alignment with one or other of the great powers for security, and Australia has been no exception to this rule. ... a middle-power strategy suggests a strong regional focus. ...
.07 Norway: good governance, better discipline
Trinidad & Tobago Express - Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
The key is governance." Pause. Think. It's not a matter of how much oil or gold or gas you have, although it might be good to have such resources. ... "Some of it, as Norway has shown, is just straightforward economic fundamentals: sound monetary policy, open trading and investment regimes. Enforced laws against corruption are basic." ...
.08 Region among lower-cost business centres
TheRecord-com - Kitchener, Ontario
Waterloo Region is holding its own against cities in the American northeast despite the dramatic rise in the Canadian dollar, according to an international study on the cost of doing business. The region ranked as the fifth cheapest place to do business among a group of 20 cities in the U.S. northeast, Ontario and Quebec, …
.09 Africa: What Does China Think?
AllAfrica.com - Washington, USA
... more democratic could curb unaccountable regional power centres which currently waste resources through corruption and duplicated prestige investments. ...
.10 Mini Head Blogging for Africa
MediaShift - CA, USA
The importance of the two sites is twofold: First they act as bridge sites and platforms which cut across national and regional boundaries and second they provide a way to promote lesser known blogs ... Both portals have ... a strong international following. ...
.11 Lights, camera, action for New England
Armidale Express - Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
In 2007, the region’s 13 film-friendly councils, Arts North West and the Northern Inland Regional Development Board (NIRDB) joined forces to create the New England North West Film Strategy Project and develop an easy way for producers to film in the region. ...
.12 Hübner to highlight role of Research & Development, innovation ...
Edubourse-com (Communiqués de presse) - Brie Comte Robert, France
European banks, with their expertise and extensive regional networks throughout the EU, can be a significant force in promoting more investment and greater efficiency in Cohesion Policy.'
More on European regional policy in the Czech Republic: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/atlas2007/czech/index_en.htm
Further information on Cohesion Policy and Financial Engineering:
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/funds/2007/jjj/index_en.htm
.13 Balkans, Mediterranean to join forces
Turkish Daily News - Ankara, Turkey
“Our main concern is to develop regional cooperation. Within this framework, we will sign a business cooperation agreement as the Association of Balkan ...
.14 Grinding poverty plagues 7 regions
IPP Media - Guardian - Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania
Over 40 per cent of the people in each of seven regions in Tanzania live in extreme poverty, according to the National Economic ...
.15 Poor regions left out of industrial growth benefits: CSE
Thaindian-com - Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand
The benefits of modern industrial growth do not necessarily percolate to the poor regions from where the industries get their minerals, water and energy, says the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)...
.16 Government declares agricultural emergency in 14 additional municipalities
La Segunda - Chile
With $571 million pesos being allocated to the newly named municipalities in the Bio Bio Region and $153 million pesos being designated to go to those in Atacama, the total amount of resources being distributed by the Ministry of Agriculture to mitigate water-shortage effects has reached almost $21 billion pesos. …
.17 Regional Turboprops Make a Comeback
World of Airline News
In the world of extremely high and volatile fuel prices, the fleet of regional turboprops are regaining their shine in the field of civilian Aviation. The revival of the propeller-driven planes which typically consume a quarter to a to a third less fuel than equivalent jets ...
.18 House price growth down again
The Press Association - UK
The overall figure masked more gloomy regional variations, with house prices falling in seven out of 10 regions during the month. ...
.19 Namibia: Rural Communities to Link Up Regionally
AllAfrica.com - Washington, USA
RURAL communities that are seeking best practices in natural resource management should partner with organisations in a regional basis to achieve ...
.20 Central bankers pin hopes on regional trade
ABS CBN News - Philippines
"The discussions during the conference centered around regional cooperation in terms of strengthening financial market surveillance, capacity building in ...
.21 Geotube, an "outside the box" remedy to an urban and rural crisis
Pembroke Daily Observer - Ontario, Canada
This sludge will then be pumped into the Geotube for dewatering and microbial digestion. Because of the Geotube's effectiveness in reducing phosphorus, ...
.22 Black money saves financial sector
Times of India - India
A housing boom-and-bust has engulfed the US financial sector in crisis. India, too, has experienced a runaway real estate boom, which in a few areas is going bust. The share prices of real estate companies have crashed. Yet, India has no mortgage crisis or financial sector crisis.
Why not? Mainly because of the huge amount of black money in Indian real estate. …
.23 Teach a Man to Phish and He'll Feed on Fools for a Lifetime
TechNewsWorld - Sherman Oaks, CA, USA
Besides the increase in regionalized malware, more phishing attacks are tailored to different cultures and adjust the social engineering tactics to suit the ...
12. Blogging about Regional Communities Contents
.01 Richard Florida, Globalism, and Coals to Newcastle
By Scott Walters
The silver linings Longworth floats—biotechnology, proposals for regional cooperation—are meager and iffy. The Midwest's real hope, he insists, lies in a massive influx of mostly low-wage immigrant workers and in enclaves of the rich ...
.02 The Five Creative Region Initiatives: In Their Own Words
By Jeffrey(Jeffrey)
The DDN did an article on the Creative Region project a month ago, with a press report on the five initiatives that came out of the workshop facilitated by Richard Florida's consultancy. … project now has this website: DaytonCREATE
.03 Drabenstott outlines regional approach for rural innovation
By SAFER
Mark Drabenstott, Director of the Rural Policy Research Institute's Center for Regional Competitiveness at University of Missouri, discussed the importance of developing regional strategies for economic development of rural areas. ...
.04 Earll Press Release
By IanEnterline
Now I’m for regionalism, but in the sense that county government is the best vehicle for regionalism since it already exists, and another form of government does not need to be formed. Senator Earll seems to support this theory in her ...
.05 Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky March Program Update
By hhck
The six CoC’s regions have been active in pulling in their resources to generate an implementing regional strategy by June. Each of the regional issues groups in alignment with KICH’s subcommittees are working together to identify key ...
.06 Jubilee House, Immigration, and Carpooling
By jsmuckershenk
Through April 2008, public comments are being sought about the proposed 2009-2013 Transportation Improvement Plan for the Michiana Area Council of Government, and the transportation task group is seeking support for increased ...
.07 The Dallas Morning News Candidate Questionnaire
By admin
Other issues you think regional cooperation would be a benefit. Intergovernmental cooperation can work at all levels of government, and NCTCOG is a model of success. In addition to transportation planning, NCTCOG has done an excellent ...
.08 Councilman McNamara to hold Press Conference on Ohio HB 480
By LisaRenee
“Creating and protecting jobs should be every elected officials first priority. Regional cooperation is key to economic prosperity in NW Ohio. House Bill 480 harms regional cooperation and economic development because it decreases the ...
.09 Developing inter-organisational governance
By healthcaregovernance
“Our current complex and pluralistic world of health and social care requires better partnership arrangements than ever before. Boundary management and boundary bridging can now only work if it takes into account local history, culture and immediate imperatives. ...
.10 H-1B visa
WORLD Law Direct Wiki
In 2007, the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA), reported on two programs, the High Growth Training Initiative and Workforce Innovation Regional Economic Development (WIRED), which have received or will ...
.11 Capitalism: It’s Nice!
By Will Wilkinson
Researchers use economic games to investigate how people cooperate in real-life. ... differences in the way university students from different countries play one such game known as The Public Goods Game. ... students from less democratic countries ... tended to punish not only free-loaders, but also cooperative players, with the result that cooperation in their groups plummeted. ...
.12 A New 10 Regions of American Politics Map
By Patrick Ottenhoff
A group called MassINC created a map called the “10 Regions in American Politics” in 2004 and has now released an updated version. Some of the regions such as the “Upper Coasts” and “El Norte” are the same, although some other regions ...
.13 Ineffective US Senator Floats Dangerous Idea
By East Florida Gazette(East Florida Gazette)
… The founders established the Electoral College for a reason. It was to prevent the regionalism and narrow interests of large metropolitan areas from oppressing the broader cross-section of the country. Can you imagine a nation where the voters of cities of New York, Los Angeles and Chicago alone decided the outcome of a presidential election? Apparently Florida’s senior US Senator can. …
.14 Submission to the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance
By Uroskin(Uroskin)
The Auckland Regional Council should become a geographical entity that will be known as Auckland around the world. The current city and district councils should be abolished and their current competences, such as planning, environment, ...
.15 Globalization?
By amateur(amateur)
Globalization – Regionalism – The two extremes. Each they will definitely try to neutralize the other. It is difficult to imagine both of them co-exist. We talk of Globalization in almost all aspects o life. ...
.16 Contemporary Issues in Madrid
By Star Light(Star Light)
Both Madrid’s municipal and regional governments face significant issues involving welfare, primary and secondary education, and regional development. Most debates focus on the best way to manage rapid urban growth and improve the ...
.17 AsiaDHRRA publishes case study on Alternative Regionalism
By Jet Hermida
Case Study on Alternative Regionalism The case study aims to look at other models of regionalism that exist in other parts of the world that may help Southeast Asian civil society explore the potentials of regionalism in advancing the ...
.18 NESTA: Digital Innovation in Film
By Frank
The pilot, which is being developed in conjunction with national and regional development agencies, aims to uncover new ways of working that could be taken up by agencies across the UK when helping other businesses. ...
.19 2000 Bali Declaration on Barrier-Free Tourism for People with Disabilities
By RollingRains
Identify, inter-regionally and within the ESCAP region, best practices in the promotion of barrier-free tourism for wider reference and possible adaptation in the ESCAP region; 3. Facilitate, in cooperation with subregional ...
.20 Cultural revolution
Regional Development
Cultural revolutions The idea that a civilization has a culture is difficult to quantify but understanding that culture is important in international affairs. The difficulty, in part, stems from a lack of understanding of exactly what ...
13. Announcements and Regional Links. Contents
.01 2008 Excellence in Regional Transportation Awards
The Excellence in Regional Transportation Awards, a program of NADO’s RPO America and the NADO Research Foundation’s Center for Transportation Advancement and Regional Development, recognizes noteworthy projects and practices in rural and small metropolitan transportation planning.
Award winners will be honored at the Excellence in Regional Transportation Awards and Exhibitor Showcase, a special reception that will take place during the National Rural Transportation Peer Learning Conference, August 17 - 19 in Duluth, Minnesota.
NADO members, friends, and partners may nominate other for or receive the Excellence Awards. Contact Carrie Kissel at ckissel@nado.org or 202.624.8829.
.02 Conflict Mediation and the International Criminal Court: Challenges and Options for pursuing peace with justice at the regional level - The Human Security Gateway
Whilst accountability and mediation processes are largely state-focused, many conflicts and attendant human rights violations are transboundary and even regionalized. This creates difficulties for traditional political and legal mandates tied largely to territorial states. As a result broader dynamics may be missed and state focused solutions may end up neither addressing the true underpinnings of conflict or the human rights violations. …
.03 UN Environment Programme - Division of Regional Cooperation
At UNEP we are aware that global environmental policy setting and implementation in today's globalizing world can only be effective if full account is taken of regional priorities.
Environmental problems are often regional or sub-regional in scale, and thus require regionally based solutions that take into consideration geography, specific environmental conditions, cultural heritage, traditions and practices.
.04 Maps: Finding Our Place in the World
March 16–June 8, 2008 – Baltimore, MD - Walters Art Museum
Organized by The Field Museum and the Newberry Library, Chicago. The exhibition features a variety of unique, rare, and often beautiful artifacts, including maps on cuneiform tablets, medieval maps, manuscript maps by explorers, globes, maps of areas all around the earth, and maps of nowhere: utopias and imaginary maps. Highlights include three maps by Leonardo da Vinci, J. R. R. Tolkien’s map of Minas Tirith, and Thomas Jefferson’s map of the proposed contours of the states of the Union.
.05 MSR MapCruncher for Virtual Earth – Microsoft Research
The Virtual Earth API allows web developers to supplement Virtual Earth's maps with pushpins and lines. MapCruncher brings mashups to a whole new level by allowing developers to import entire maps to supplement the existing road and aerial imagery with detailed, application-specific information.
.06 regionalized.com is on auction – sedo.com
Reserve price range: 1 - 4, 999 EUR
Estimated end time: 0 day 13 hours 14 min. (Apr/03/08 02:00 PM EST)
.07 regionalism - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Date: 1881 - Definition of regionalism from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary with audio pronunciations, thesaurus, Word of the Day, and word games.
14. Subscription access news stories. Contents
.01 Airport belt in need, officials say - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (subscription) - Milwaukee, WI, USA
Jet-set administrators from around the world will convene in Dallas-Fort Worth next month to study "airport cities" - the concentration of corporate headquarters, industrial parks and travel-happy entrepreneurs that spring up around airfields.
No one from Wisconsin's busiest hub, Mitchell International Airport, plans to attend.
Mitchell may generate 245 departures a day and move 7.7 million passengers a year in and out of its terminals. But the hum of activity seems to all but stop at the perimeter fences, a handful of regional civic leaders concur.
...
Complaints of junkyards, weedy lots and dead space dominated a conference this month in Milwaukee. Witkowski convened his "airport summit" March 14 to address Mitchell's inability to spawn more than gas stations, taverns and a handful of hotels and restaurants that cater to clients on both ends of the economic spectrum.
The summit drew Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and other suburban mayors and regional elected officials. It led to the creation of a 15-member steering committee that will study the issue with the Center for Urban Initiatives and Research at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. That working group will figure out if the city and its suburban partners can take any steps.
Just as important, Milwaukee managed to thrust the issue onto the civic agenda for the first time, according to members of the Airport Gateway Business Association. ...
While more hotels are planned for the area around Mitchell, hospitality isn't the sort of 21st century economics at the heart of a modern airport city, said John Kasarda, a professor who specializes in entrepreneurship and airport-driven economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Airports are "critical gateways, " Kasarda said. "It is the first thing you see and the last thing you see. It's your calling card and your handshake."
...
15. Custom search: region, regions, regional communities Contents
To search on topics like those in Regional Community Development News use this custom search engine which utilizes regional related sites. Entering the term regional maps returned 354 items; region map returned 189 items. Please recommend links for inclusion.
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
For the Google Groups version go to:
http://groups.google.com/group/regional-community-development-news
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@gmail.com
