Contents
Top Regional Community stories … 1. – 9.
U.S. Regional Communities - sub-State, State or multi-State – news articles …10.01 - .40
Other Regional Community News for Our Local Planet … 11.01 - .19
Blogging about Regional Communities … 12.01 - .14
Announcements and Regional Links … 13.01 - .04
Financial Crisis …14.01 - .02
Custom search: region, regions, regional communities … 15.
_________________________________________________________________________
Top Regional Community stories
1. Our View: Transportation fix will take full cooperation - Atlanta Journal Constitution -
We’re big on boundaries.
By drawing lines on a map, we seem to think we can separate our problems from their problems, our resources from their resources. And the smaller the governmental entity, the more control we feel we have over what takes place within its borders.
That’s the theory, and in many cases it’s valid. Local control does have benefits.
However, lines and borders can also produce the opposite effect. Sometimes, they reduce our ability to tackle problems and make the most of opportunities. That’s because problems and opportunities sprawl across boundaries, and we often lack tools properly sized size to address them.
That’s certainly part of metro
Outside the Legislature, however, something important may be stirring. The Metropolitan
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2009/05/03/metroed_0503.html
2. In local-option transportation issues, a pull between region and state - Southern Political Report -
One of the South’s emerging political tension points is the competition between the traditional prerogatives state governments and the growing aspirations of “regions,” which in most cases can be defined as an assortment of local governments, united by a traffic jam.
This tension can be traced in the legislative battles in
For the second year in a row, the Georgia General Assembly failed to agree on a comprehensive plan to fund the state’s growing transportation needs. The traditional rivalry between the House and Senate and the jostling over next year’s governor’s race were the big sticking points, but this was also a state-region problem. The House wanted to have a statewide sales tax to fund a comprehensive statewide roads program, while the Senate wanted to allow counties and cities to join together to put local option sales taxes on the ballot in their jurisdictions.
Over the past three decades, local option taxes for transportation have become common across the
…
Emerging regions can also be threatening to the cities and counties being swallowed up in them. One criticism of the
The
This year, the bill has passed …
http://www.southernpoliticalreport.com/storylink_428_849.aspx
3. Guest columnist: ‘Reality Check' opened eyes - Anderson Independent Mail -
A joint initiative of Upstate Together and the Urban Land Institute (ULI)
As a member of the Upstate Together steering committee that hosted the event, I had high hopes for a well-attended and engaging event. It far exceeded my expectations.
The representation from the 10-county region was tremendous. Almost every municipality was present, and it opened the door for many of those who in the past were on the sidelines. At each table, leaders from all levels of the political field, people from businesses and private citizens explored hundreds of ideas in handling projected growth over the next 20 years.
...
The top three guiding principles that the collective group identified at the event were to improve education opportunities and job creation, to improve regional transportation and leverage existing infrastructure and to promote regional linkage. And the priorities moving forward include working to foster effective regionalism and regional leadership and addressing infrastructure funding shortfalls.
The next steps plan will be driven by these results, and it has already begun with the formation of a new regional organization called Ten at the Top. The 40-plus members of our original Upstate Together task force will be expanded to include even more people from throughout the Upstate to form a new Ten at the Top board. In addition, an executive director will be hired to ensure that there is someone dedicated to continuing the efforts of regionalism. ...
http://www.independentmail.com/news/2009/may/03/guest-columnist-reality-check-opened-eyes/
Regional Councils -
S.C. Appalachian Council of Government - Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens,
Upper Savannah Council of Government - Abbeville,
Catawba Regional Council of Governments –
4. Editorial: Regional authority needed to operate Bay Area carpool, toll lanes - Inside Bay Area -
THE WORSENING traffic congestion in the Bay Area is having an increasingly negative impact on the quality of life in the region. The millions of people who commute to work daily lose valuable time, waste gasoline and add to air pollution. Businesses suffer and new enterprises are discouraged from locating in the area, harming the Bay Area economy.
Fortunately, there is a plan that promises to ease traffic congestion and raise revenues needed for transportation improvements. It's a regional $3.7 billion proposal for an 800-mile network of carpool and toll lanes.
The emphasis here is "regional." Too often in the past local transportation agencies have been at odds with each other and the regional Metropolitan Transportation Authority over which projects to build, how to pay for them and how to distribute funding.
Finally, there is a truly regional approach to Bay Area transportation needs. It calls for more high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes that would be open for carpools, buses and, in some places, for individual motorists willing to pay tolls.
These High Occupancy Toll, or HOT, lanes would have varying rates depending on the level of congestion. They would be collected using FasTrack transponders like the ones now used to collect bridge tolls.
The problem with much of the HOV lanes in the Bay Area is that they are not continuous. Carpool drivers too often have to merge into regular highly congested lanes in certain areas, particularly intersections of major highways.
Not only do these bottlenecks delay carpool drivers, they are a major hindrance to express buses. If the Bay Area had a continuous network of highways with HOV and HOT lanes, express buses offering monthly passes could operate far more efficiently.
…
http://www.insidebayarea.com/opinion/ci_12201394
RC: Association of Bay Area Governments – ABAG - http://www.abag.ca.gov
5. Survey: Transportation, education top list of priorities for D.C.-area residents - Washington Business Journal -
Residents view transportation, education and the economy as the top long-term issues facing the region, according to a survey released Friday by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. [http://www.mwcog.org]
But schools, safe streets, good jobs and access to health care are the top agenda items that area residents want their tax dollars to flow into.
“The individual jurisdictions across our region have unique personalities and needs. This survey examines some of those differences,” said Sharon Bulova, Greater Washington 2050 Chairman and Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman. “But what sets this effort apart is the identification of ideas that are held in common by citizens all across the region, areas where they are urging greater regional effort to make this a better place to live for years to come.”
Greater
Producing high quality schools is the most urgent of the sixteen priorities for the future tested. The second top priority for the long term is locking down safe streets and neighborhoods.
Traffic is the leading long-term issue, but it is not where the public would put the most resources into.
By a large margin, traffic and transportation are listed as the top long-term challenges facing the area, and the worry is particularly acute in parts of
A large number of the region’s residents would like to see more problems addressed regionally across state and county lines, said 43 percent, and that figure goes up among people who want specific …
2050 Report: http://www.greaterwashington2050.org/eupdates.html
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/04/27/daily91.html
6. Property tax forum promotes regionalism and 'smart growth' - Bridgeport News -
Rising property taxes in the suburbs could be what finally convinces suburban public officials that more regionalization efforts make sense, according to state Rep. Brendan Sharkey of
That — and money — could help bring about change, Sharkey told an audience at a forum on property taxes and so-called smart growth at the Burroughs Community Center in Black Rock last week.
“Bribe them with money,” Sharkey joked, referring to a proposal to legally share taxes from certain new development among towns that agree to a regional pact.
Sharkey, a Democrat, heads up a statewide smart growth task force that include state legislators, business leaders and community representatives.
…
Grogins said having municipalities cooperate on regional issues makes sense. “It’s about cities and towns working together to cut costs,” she said, adding this would allow nearby communities to better strategize on where and how to encourage development.
Something must be done to lower taxes in Bridgeport, Grogins said, which has a limited tax base and has seen much of the commercial development in recent decades take place in surrounding towns.
“In Black Rock and Brooklawn, we pay the highest property taxes in the city and the state, and some of the highest in the nation,” she said.
…
“We develop big houses on big lots, often with no sidewalks,” said Green, noting the amount of land covered by structures and asphalt is increasing seven times faster than the population in
“
Begin with small steps
The legislators said regional cooperation could begin with less controversial actions such as buying items in bulk to get economies of scale; purchasing employee health-care coverage together; and sharing certain equipment, legal services and payroll software services.
…
Regional Planning Organizations (RPOs): http://www.ct.gov/opm/cwp/view.asp?a=2986&q=383046
7. A merger or a hostile takeover? - The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com -
A merger or a hostile takeover? I've been kicking that around ever since Cleveland Heights City Councilman Mark Tumeo fired the shot heard 'round the Heights March 24.
Tumeo stood up at a meeting of the University Heights Charter Review Commission and said the two cities should "start a dialogue" about merging. (Heights people never "talk." They "dialogue.")
How curious, I thought.
As
UH Mayor Beryl Rothschild was downright suspicious. She didn't even get a courtesy call from Tumeo before he opened his mouth, and she thinks he's sniffing for a bail-out. Her city has money in the bank, while
Some alliances do merit a bit of "dialogue," like consortiums for purchasing salt and health insurance, and Cleveland Heights Mayor Ed Kelley's call for a single regional fire department. But if you think bigger is better, then move to
..
At a recent dinner, I was seated with a couple who moved here from
"You have community here because each suburb has an identity," they said. "People love and embrace their own communities."
It's not like that in
…
Collaboration? Absolutely. Merger? No.
http://www.cleveland.com/sunnews/reflections/index.ssf?/base/columnist-0/1241100453136830.xml&coll=4
8. Baby steps' toward regionalism - Sun News - cleveland.com -
Councilman Kevin Patrick Murphy believes suburbs interested in collaboration need to start with small steps.
To discuss a merger of cities or a regional fire district -- two recent ideas -- is premature, he said.
"For years, we've heard a lot of talk about regionalism, but nothing really ever happens," Murphy said.
"We're just not capable of undertaking a broad regional effort until we start working together, on a micro level, by taking these small steps that lay the groundwork."
Murphy has organized a meeting at 7 p.m. tonight at
…
Murphy's goal is to apply for a share of grant money being offered by the Fund for Our Economic Future's EfficientGovNow program. [ http://www.futurefundneo.org/ ]
The program will offer as much as $300,000 to fund up to three projects that promote collaboration and efficiency among northeast
"This is a great starting point," Murphy said. "We can all agree there are little things we can do together, with an eye toward saving larger dollars in the future." Apples to apples'
Murphy believes the cities should pursue shared methods of accounting, a unified system of monitoring contracts with unions, suppliers and service providers; and a policy to manage the cities' collective capital expenditures.
Those three topics will be the focus of tonight's meeting.
"Given the budget constraints most inner-ring suburbs are facing, we will, in the very near term, need to change the way our cities operate," he said.
"Right now, some cities collaborate on group purchasing programs and joint dispatch programs, but it's simply not enough."
With a shared accounting methodology, cities will be comparing "apples to apples," Murphy said.
…
http://www.cleveland.com/sunnews/news/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1241104026139620.xml&coll=4
9. SLU's RegionWise Joins Forces with Two Local Universities to Create New Research Opportunities -
The Applied Research Collaborative will serve as a regional data and public policy clearinghouse.
The Applied Research Collaborative (ARC), joins SLU's RegionWise group, the Institute for Urban Development at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and the Public Policy Research Center at the University of Missouri-St. Louis to serve as a data clearinghouse, provide regional indicators and perform commissioned research projects, including trend analysis reports.
The program is being undertaken by the universities as a way to provide support for community improvement through greater collaboration and more active engagement in key issues facing the
Robert Mai, Ed.D., director of RegionWise, said the collaboration will provide new avenues of research for leaders seeking to respond to the needs of the metro
"What community leaders from across the region have told us is that there's a great need to help organizations -- public, private and nonprofit -- not just acquire access to data, but to think with data." Mai said. "Thinking with data is what ARC aims to do, and to help planners and decision makers in our region as well."
…
"The
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 U.S. in a news story as well as recognizing other regional organizations. In most cases, where a full name is present, a Google search will quickly get one to that organization. News reports do not always get the organization name correct. Contents
.01 Slay continues call for regional cooperation in State of the City
KWMU -
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay used his State of the City address Friday to repeat his call for stronger regional cooperation. "Until we start speaking in unison,
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kwmu/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1503674§ionID=1
.02 Groups urge regional approach for planning growth, sharing tax revenue
The Star Beacon -
... the need for collaboration among northeast
http://www.starbeacon.com/local/local_story_119193721.html
.03 Getting Communities to Collaborate is a Challenging Task – [audio 4 min.]
90.3 WCPN ideastream® -
An update now on a story we brought you several months back. The Fund For Our Economic Future put out a challenge to northeast
http://www.wcpn.org/index.php/WCPN/news/26010/
.04 EDITORIAL: Regionalism takes step back
... We know it’s politically unpopular to come to the financial rescue of Lucas Oil Stadium, Conseco Fieldhouse, Victory Field and the
http://cms.ibj.com/ASPXPages/6iframes/FrontEndArticlesDetailPage.aspx?ArticleID=35736&NoFrame=1
.05 User fee hikes urged to aid towns and cities
The communities would get to keep most of the money, although about $15 million would be placed into an account used to promote regionalization. "We're trying to encourage regionalization of municipal services, everything from public safety to public health, from education to libraries and road maintenance," said Senator Stanley Rosenberg, a Northampton Democrat and cochairman of the Special Commission on Municipal Relief. "We have 351 cities and towns, and most of them are well under 30,000 people."...
.06 Closer Look at Sharing Town Services
New York Times -
Mark Muro, a fellow and policy director at the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said that Westchester towns would benefit most from collaborating on a county or regional level. “More and more of the challenges that communities face are on a regional scale,” Mr. Muro said. “Local municipalities are simply too small to provide responses to the kind of issues that are bedeviling communities. Your village cannot shape traffic patterns.” ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/nyregion/westchester/03townswe.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1
.07 DC now the hub of a region awash in ... happiness?
Happy days are here again, according to a new study by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, commonly known as COG. Really? Swine flu is bearing down on our
.08 Better Pandemic Planning
http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/news8787.html
.09 Pleasant Prairie balks at planning document
The Village Board will consider approving a planning document Monday, even though local officials have called it “lame” and “a train wreck.” Specifically, the board will consider the “Intergovernmental Cooperation Element” of the Multi-Jurisdictional Comprehensive Plan for
http://www.kenoshanews.com/news/pleasant_prairie_balks_at_planning_document_4872876.html
.10
In spite of their misgivings about consolidation, the suburban mayors suggest there are opportunities to expand cooperation between local governments on a smaller scale, such as a joint commission that could alleviate the need for businesses to work with separate governments when they are considering locating in
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/may/03/memphis-conversation-lisa-huffstetler-trust-at/
.11 In Hard Times,
The Wall Street Journal -
A bright orange P decorates the business card of Mayor David Cicilline. He is the man who decided that
.12 Piedmont Triad Partnership To Lead Regional Aerotropolis Initiative
dBusinessNews Triad - NC,
The Piedmont Triad Partnership (PTP) has announced that it will lead a new regional initiative to position the Piedmont Triad as the global logistics center of the United States East Coast. This new initiative will combine two existing initiatives—the Global Logistics Task Force of the Piedmont Triad Leadership Group and the Logistics and Distribution Roundtable of the Piedmont Triad Partnership. ... David Congdon, President and CEO of Old Dominion Freight Line, will chair a new Aerotropolis Leadership Board of approximately twenty-five Piedmont Triad leaders, ...
http://triad.dbusinessnews.com/shownews.php?newsid=182406&type_news=latest
.13 New Study Shows Airport's Impact
The study's findings bolster business and civic leaders' concept of
http://www.memphisdailynews.com/editorial/Article.aspx?id=42249
.14 Local suburbs and
News Sun - Cleveland.com OH,
Cleveland Hopkins' neighboring communities are hoping to use the airport to land lucrative developments. Much like a metropolis and its surrounding suburbs, an aerotropolis features a core airport with outlying aviation-linked businesses.
http://blog.cleveland.com/newssun/2009/04/local_suburbs_and_cleveland_ar.html
.15 Anti-poverty ‘road map' unveiled
... Rather than laying out a policy agenda, the 77-page plan largely focuses on expanding or improving many of the 129 programs the city runs to help low-income residents, with “collaboration” and “partnerships” the buzzwords to improve coordination between groups. Henry Louis Taylor Jr. of the University at Buffalo's urban and regional planning department, who was introduced as the coordinator of the new task force, said models of collaboration would be a significant step forward if accomplished. “What’s radical is getting people to work together — to come out of their silos and form real collaborations,” ...
http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/656428.html
.16 Agenda '09: Area cooperation, development key
GoErie.com -
Early on,
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090507/NEWS02/305079916
.17
Convincing Hamilton County's water utility districts to agree to consolidation will prove difficult for ... Mr. Littlefield set the goal of creating a regional water and sewer authority that would eliminate “unnecessary complexity and sometimes confusion about who provides service.” ...
http://timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/03/chattanooga-mayor-faces-upstream-swim-win-over-wat/?local
.18 MSBA official: Now is the time to regionalize
The MSBA approved beginning negotiations for a
http://www.heraldnews.com/news/x1931071119/MSBA-official-Now-is-the-time-to-regionalize
.19 Town selectmen resist regional dispatch center
The
By Mike Stucka DANVERS — Selectmen argued for three hours last night against joining a regional 911 dispatch center planned for Middleton. ... "We do support something. Just at this time, this project, we can't support," Selectman Dan Bennett said. Distrust was also evident, as selectmen criticized the selection of Sheriff Frank Cousins as the administrative overseer of the dispatch center. Selectman William Clark Jr. described Cousins as a "massive ego" building a "mini-empire," a theme echoed by others. ...
http://www.salemnews.com/punews/local_story_118234642.html
.20 State officials get earful from locals in
.21 CAFA draws the line between millage and regional fire service
Dexter Leader -
Participants in the CAP/DART meeting from eight western Washtenaw municipalities discussed the topic of regional fire service feasibility. During that discussion, consultant Dave Boerger, of Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, presented the first steps in combining the Chelsea Area Fire Authority, Dexter Area Fire Authority and the Scio Township Fire Department. Boerger concluded that the project was "complex" and was asked to measure the savings of a regional fire department. ...
http://www.dexterleader.com/stories/043009/loc_20090430011.shtml
.22
WMTW.com -
Twenty members will combine to form the Southern Maine Regional SWAT Team, which will consist of 10 members from
http://www.wmtw.com/news/19368660/detail.html
.23 Economic leaders work on working together more
Regionalism, a fancy word for working with your neighbors, will be the buzzword today as state and regional economic developers descend on
http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/news/2009/apr/21/economic-leaders-work-working-together-more/
.24 Workforce Development Key For Calhoun
Moon and John Baas, director of governmental affairs for the Mississippi Manufacturers Association, were featured speakers at the CEDA meeting last week at the courthouse in Pittsboro. The Calhoun County Republican Party provided refreshments. Moon said “regionalism” is the second key to achieving success. “You can't make it on your own,” Moon said. “You have to reach out and form a multi-county area.” Moon said
.25 Grocery plays up regional products
WatertownDailyTimes.com -
Besides dairy products, Hannaford will feature other local and regional foods in the "Close to Home" event. ... Some dairy representatives and producers of the products will attend to give out samples and answer questions. Throughout the store, regional products are highlighted by Close to Home signs.
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20090429/NEWS03/304299991/-1/NEWS
.26 Tri-state area leaders brainstorm how to revive economy
WREX-TV -
The key to reviving the
http://www.wrex.com/Global/story.asp?S=10276441
.27 Editorial: A call to regionalism
Central Penn Business Journal -
Five bridges span the Susquehanna River from
.28 Pinched cities of
TwinCities.com - MN,
Armed with statistics from a just-completed study, a coalition of governments from three of the state's biggest cities is pushing "the revenue side of the equation" as the key tool to fix a cascade of budget crunches from the state level down to local libraries. ... The coalition —
http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_12277420?source=rss
.29 Fire districts join forces to save
Seven years after approving a merger of the Grand Mound and
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/839138.html
.30 Army goes green for community
FayObserver.com -
More than 300,000
http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=325043
.31 Regional ambulance idea gains traction with decision by
Barre Montpelier Times Argus -
Acute interest in participating in a regional discussion of public safety services with all three of the communities vying for
http://www.timesargus.com/article/20090422/NEWS01/904220352/0/SEARCH
.32 My View: Regional dispatch is regionalization done wrong
The
The biggest problem with this plan is that it does not represent regionalization. It's no different than a city or town hiring a subcontractor who, in this case, will be state employees managed by the sheriff, to perform a job with which this agency has no experience. This current proposal results in a single dispatch center, with no plan for redundancy. …
http://www.salemnews.com/puopinion/local_story_118222331.html?keyword=secondarystory
.33 LEED V3 Adds New Grading Scale, Regional Certification
Environmental Leader -
A new component of the ratings system includes LEED 2009 credits for regional environmental priorities. “Because environmental priorities differ among various regions of the country-the challenges in the Southeast differ from those in the Northwest, for example-regionally specific credits give LEED a way to directly respond to diverse, regionally grounded issues,” said Brendan Owens, Vice President of Technical Development, USGBC ...
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/05/07/leed-v3-adds-new-grading-scale-regional-certification/
.34 Editorial: A region on the fast track
Even though President Obama said it wasn't pie-in-the-sky stuff, most regions around the nation can only dream of a future in which high-speed rail plays a significant role. But then there's lucky
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20090423_Editorial__A_region_on_the_fast_track.html
.35 Our View:
The Obama administration has committed to spend $13 billion over the next five years jump-starting high-speed rail projects. But it’s an opportunity that
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2009/05/10/hispeeded_0510.html
.36 Equal Time: Transportation hype inflates facts and figures
The prospect of a time-saving bullet train between
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2009/05/10/equaled_0510.html
.37 Gorge Local Currency Cooperative (GLCC) River HOURS
American Chronicle -
River Hours is a vibrant community currency for the Columbia River Gorge area. Patterned after Ithaca Hours, member of this community feel their currency project has had a great deal of success in the years it has been in operation. ... Your mission statement from the bylaws reads: The Gorge Local Currency Cooperative (GLCC) seeks to create and sustain a local currency system in order to build community, promote regional economic independence, support local business and trade, encourage entrepreneurship, honor diversity, and enhance the local minimum wage in the Mid-Columbia region. ...
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/99452
.38 West
When stacked up against similar regions throughout the country,
http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2009/05/west_michigan_receives_mixed_m.html
.39 Road-use Fees Could Solve Our Transit Woes
Brookings -
... solution that would address both the congestion and financing problem would be road-use pricing that varies with congestion. Drivers would directly pay for the costs they impose on others. These charges would vary with VMT, the level of congestion, and the type of vehicle. ... The federal government should test a road-use pricing program in a major metropolitan area before introducing it nationally — and the
.40 Identity Crisis? City-County Boundaries Confuse SCV Residents
LAist -
Mike Murphy, the city’s intergovernmental relations officer, explains the boundaries for the City of
http://laist.com/2009/05/04/identity_crisis_city-county_boundar.php
11. Other Regional Community News for Our Local Planet Contents
.01 The Revenge of Geography
Foreign Policy
... , to embrace geography is not to accept it as an implacable force against which humankind is powerless. Rather, it serves to qualify human freedom and choice with a modest acceptance of fate. This is all the more important today, because rather than eliminating the relevance of geography, globalization is reinforcing it. Mass communications and economic integration are weakening many states, exposing a Hobbesian world of small, fractious regions. Within them, local, ethnic, and religious sources of identity are reasserting themselves, and because they are anchored to specific terrains, they are best explained by reference to geography. Like the faults that determine earthquakes, the political future will be defined by conflict and instability with a similar geographic logic. The upheaval spawned by the ongoing economic crisis is increasing the relevance of geography even further, by weakening social orders and other creations of humankind, leaving the natural frontiers of the globe as the only restraint. ...
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4862
.02 Like it or not, regionalization is coming - Court
Telegraph-Journal -
In five years,
http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/city/article/645784
.03 Communities in Upper East asked to develop database on “Sources of Conflict"
ModernGhana.com
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Wayongo on Tuesday asked communities in the region to discuss and identify the potential sources of conflict to help them develop a database on it. He stated this during a two day workshop on the theme; “Sustainable Peace for Sustainable Development,” organised by the Tamale Ecclesiastical Provincial Pastoral Conference of the Catholic Church and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, a German Political Organization working to promote political development and good governance. ...
http://www.modernghana.com/news/212372/1/communities-in-upper-east-asked-to-develop-databas.html
.04 The road headache in Mahalapye East
Mmegi Online -
Once upon a time, there was so much fascination with socialism, capitalism and even internationalism. But with the Cold War era gone, many believe that the ashes from the smouldering fire have now gone cold. Nobody cares about isms anymore! In Mahalapye East, if all isms are dead, regionalism is the one oddity. Regionalism is alive. English writer John Priestly must have had Mahalapye East in mind when he observed that the real flowers belong to regionalism. "The mass of people everywhere may never have used the term. They are probably regionalists without knowing it. ...
http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=6&aid=27&dir=2009/April/Thursday30
.05 Going glocal
Times of
The verdict is in before the verdict is in: before the five-phase polling process is over, most political commentators have predicted — surprise, surprise — a fractured mandate yet again. ...
The villain of the piece is generally acknowledged to be regionalism. ... The growth of regional parties or legional parties, as their number seems to be legion has been a process parallel to that of the formation of new, smaller states. Smaller states were largely welcomed as they would lead to a devolution of centralised power and provide for more responsive local governance, which is the aim of genuine federalism. ...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Editorial/SUBVERSE-Going-glocal/articleshow/4431403.cms
.06 'Intellectuals should play active role in poll campaign'
Indopia -
... N L Tiberewal, former Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court ... At an interactive session with a group of intellectuals, Tiberewal said the country was passing through critical situation due to terrorism, regionalism, communalism, poverty and economic meltdown and in such crisis the need of stable government was a must. Tiberewal said forty to sixty per cent of intellectuals even do not cast their votes which was most unfortunate. ...
http://www.indopia.in/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/560511/National/1/20/1
.07 New train design agreed - let the building begin!
Scoop -
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0904/S00368.htm
.08 Back to nature
"In 1983, the United Nations stated that within each bioregion, a minimum of 12 per cent of the landscape must be kept in its natural state," says Phil Darrell-Smith, acting coordinator of communications and event organizer at ERCA. Presently, in
http://www2.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=79159f5a-9039-4683-b836-c6006073df84
.09
Reuters -
http://in.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idINT3428120090512
.10 An Era of Unprecedented
UN Chronicle -
... The oil price shock also affected agricultural markets via the transportation sector. Average freight rates doubled within a one-year period beginning February 2006. Ocean freight rates for grains from the
http://mail.google.com/mail/?account_id=regional.tom%40gmail.com#inbox/120eac31daed5922
.11 ADB to set up 3 bln dlr fiscal spending fund
AFP
The Asian Development Bank said Saturday it will establish a three-billion-dollar fund to boost developing member countries' fiscal spending capacity amid the global economic crisis. ... "A number of governments in the region have boosted spending to spur domestic consumption to counter falling offshore demand, but not all governments are able to do so," it said. "Moreover, with the global downturn likely to be deeper and longer than previously expected, economies in the region are likely to come under increased pressure." ...
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jr9IzNtEI_7xWNh1iILeTDO6k-BQ
.12 [Editorial] By-elections Show
The Dong-A Ilbo -
The by-elections also showed that
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=080000&biid=2009043021768
.13 Audit Office asked to investigate council
Business Day - Stuff.co.nz
The battle between Northland Regional Council (NRC) and Mike Daniel, the former chairman of Northport, took a new twist this week with Daniel asking the Auditor-General to investigate the council's investment policy, including its majority stake in publicly listed Northland Port Corporation. ... NRC holds a 52 per cent stake in the port company. Daniel, as chairman, had long urged the council to sell this shareholding, arguing it was the safest strategy for ratepayers. ...
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/2358511/Audit-Office-asked-to-investigate-council
.14 Controversial sewage plant part of Region's wish list for stimulus funding
The Standard -
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1547035
.15
Stuff.co.nz -
... back to the same old megaphone diplomacy, threatening
http://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/columnists/2384967/Fiji-needs-help-not-hindrance/
.16 Asian regionalism: How does it compare to
... history shows that major steps to enhance regionalism are usually taken as a reaction to shocks—while the Second World War prompted the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, the ASEAN +3 Finance Ministers Meeting was established in response to the crisis of 1997/98. And while a global crisis requires a global response, closer regional cooperation can be useful to enhance the effectiveness of global action. ...
http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2009/04/21/asian-regionalism-how-does-it-compare-to-europes/
.17 Despite Setback, Asean Has Important Role
YaleGlobal Online - CT,
Asean should not pretend to drive the region ahead regardless of these obstacles. It can, and has, instead to manage the difficulties and differences, and move ahead as and when politics permits. Socializing the states to a greater sense of regionalism is a long haul and a difficult undertaking; one that Asean takes seriously. Those who recommend abandoning Asean must bear the burden of showing that there is a ready alternative. They risk pulling apart a truly indigenous effort at regionalism and pushing Asean closer to those, like China, which has said it will still support Asean. ...
http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=12303
.18
FirstLanka.com
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is funding a two-year program called Supporting Regional Governance (SuRG) to strengthen local governance in conflict-affected areas of the East. Participating local authorities from the
.19 The Regional Response to Disasters
Platinum News Online - Virgin
... The regional body that supports Caribbean States in disaster management is the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA). The agency’s main function is to make an immediate and coordinated response to any disastrous event affecting any
http://www.bviplatinum.com/news.php?section=article&source=1242052158
12. Blogging about Regional Communities Contents
.01 Regional Failure by Local Design
By Bruce Fisher
... Town of
http://artvoice.com/issues/v8n18/regional_failure
.02 Ed Morrison · BFD Learning Moment:
Brewed Fresh Daily
We’ve been using Strategic Doing with a number of different initiatives in
http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/
.03
SaportaReport
A delegation of 100-plus Atlantans just landed today in Minneapolis-St. Paul for the annual LINK where local leaders will explore how other cities address a variety issues facing the region. ... The Atlanta Regional Commission, which organizes the trip, puts the flight out for bid; ...
http://saportareport.com/blog/?p=756
.04
SaportaReport
Imagine a state with exceptionally high taxes and almost no economic development strategy — that’s
http://saportareport.com/blog/?cat=5
.05 Maybe regional government isn't the Answer.
One of our favorite blogs Antiplanner.com is often referenced here on Tucson Choices. The author brings forth great arguments and ideas. He tackled regional government a while back and I thought it would be worth posting it. I’m not sure if regional government is the answer here in
Glaeser Stumbles on Regional Governments ...
http://tucsongrowup.com/2009/04/29/maybe-regional-government-isnt-the-answer/
.06 Capital Region Board: Growing Forward
connect2edmonton
I wondered why more people are not discussing the Capital Region Board. Seems like this board is making great strides in the last 6 months, but the news is rarely talked about. I consider the development of this board a huge cornerstone for
http://www.connect2edmonton.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=12765
.07 When is Destination Branding Really Destination Blanding?
BrandCulture Talk
... Turning your location into a brand isn’t simply a marketing effort. It’s the product of deep soul-searching, consensus-building, defining what your community really is all about, and aligning what you really are with what visitors really want. You may not figure it out overnight, and you may not end up with a clever slogan. But take your time, do it right, and you just might get a brand.
http://brandculturetalk.com/2008/06/02/destination-blanding/#more-11
.08 High-Speed Rail: Richard Florida Weighs In
TreeHugger
In the main, the proposed high-speed rail routes map pretty well to
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/richard-florida-high-speed-rail.php
.09 Comment: Should Gordon Brown Hold a Referendum on the
Citizen Europe
... This doesn't excuse the democratic deficit and public relations failures of the EU, but I genuinely think it's time for academics and politicians to start talking honestly about the chronic and arrogant lack of engagement on the part of much of civil society. ...
http://citizen-europe.blogspot.com/2009/04/comment-should-gordon-brown-hold.html
.10 Rob Thomas: Taking the Local out of Local Government
The Standard
http://www.thestandard.org.nz/rob-thomas-taking-the-local-out-of-local-government/
.11 That could save something in the region of…
The Local Government Officer
... My general view is that at the moment the “regions” (RDAs, GORs, SHAs, and assorted other smaller regionalised Quangos) generally do the job they’re given adequately, but there’s no particular logic to them. Certainly there’s no reason it couldn’t mostly be accomplished either at a county level without spending any extra money (and sometimes by spending less) or centrally, since the limited devolution that the regions represent often doesn’t add anything in terms of real accountability. ...
.12
ThunderBayTourismPartners
A few month's back, the Ontario Ministry of Tourism unveiled the blueprint to revitalize
I encourage industry representatives to submit their input … To help you craft your submission, follow the following questions that have been posed at the various input sessions.
Determining criteria for regional boundaries resulting in successful regional tourism management.
Think about: A region being destinations that work together.
Question 1: What criteria should be used to determine regional boundaries?
Think about: Iconic attractions within an area, A well established brand, Tourism travel patterns, Minimum level of tourism activity, The potential for travel packaging ...
http://thunderbaytourismpartners.blogspot.com/2009/05/ontarios-competitiveness-strategy.html
.13 What is in a name?
DJ's Growers
Originally the area which we now call the McLaren Vale Wine Region had many different names, one for each of the hamlets or groupings of farms that were settled in the 1800 and 1900’s. Overtime these names have been swallowed up into the towns we now call McLaren Vale, McLaren Flat and Willunga, but for those with a sense of history they live on if you look closely. ... What is in a name? A lot of the history of this region.
http://djsgrowers.blogspot.com/2009/04/what-is-in-name.html
.14 The Importance of Network Time Synchronization
Insurance & Technology
Computer clocks are notorious for drifting. They are typically based on inexpensive oscillator circuits or battery backed quartz crystals and can easily drift seconds per day, accumulating significant errors over time. With increasing distributed computing and our interdependence on network infrastructures, having many clocks continuously drift apart puts the networ infrastructure and the applications that run on it at risk. In particular, network operations and application related activities are most susceptible to problems related to the lack of time synchronization. ...
13. Announcements and Regional Links. Contents
.01 Global Recession: Regional impacts on Housing, Jobs, Health and Wellbeing - Regional Studies Association Winter Conference 2009 - Friday 27th November 2009,
Call for Papers now available online at:
http://www.regional-studies-assoc.ac.uk/events/winter_conf09/cfp.pdf
Deadline for abstracts is Tuesday 30th June 2009
Register at: https://www.regional-studies-assoc.ac.uk/ei/getdemo.ei?id=11&s=_4G80XDGS9
Regional Studies Association: http://www.regional-studies-assoc.ac.uk
.02 Postgraduate Programmes In Local And Regional Development -
Local and regional development is undergoing a period of unprecedented change. New debates about the 'knowledge economy' and 'learning regions', 'globalisation', 'competitiveness', 'inclusion', 'sustainability' and 'wellbeing' are profoundly changing the nature of local and regional development processes, institutions and policies. International trends towards devolution, 'regionalisation' and city-regionalism are changing administrative and governance structures at the national, regional, sub-regional and local levels.
The current recession has focused the minds of local and regional policy-makers in shaping their responses and building the resilience of local and regional economies. Together, these inter-related developments are generating new challenges and a demand to build capacity for analysis, strategy and policy-making for local and regional development amongst individuals and institutions in the public, private and voluntary and community sectors.
Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS): http://www.ncl.ac.uk/curds/
.03
.04
The Ohio Commission on Local Government Reform and Collaboration shall develop recommendations on ways to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of local government operations, to achieve cost savings for taxpayers, and to facilitate economic development in this state. In developing the recommendations, the commission shall consider, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) Restructuring and streamlining local government offices to achieve efficiencies and cost savings for taxpayers and to facilitate local economic development;
...
http://www.cpmra.muohio.edu/otaohio/commission/ota/about.html
14. Financial Crisis. Contents
.01 Summary Version - Global Financial Stability Report: Responding to the Financial Crisis and Measuring Systemic Risks - April 2009 - International Monetary Fund -
The Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) assesses key risks facing the global financial system with a view to identifying those that represent systemic vulnerabilities. In normal times, the report seeks to play a role in preventing crises by highlighting policies that may mitigate systemic risks, thereby contributing to global financial stability and the sustained economic growth of the IMF’s member countries. In the current crisis, the report traces the sources and channels of financial distress, and provides policy advice on mitigating its effects on economic activity, stemming contagion, and mending the global financial system. …
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/gfsr/2009/01/pdf/text.pdf
.02 CSPAN Q&A with Janet Tavakoli - Author of "Dear Mr. Buffett: What an Investor Learns 1,269 Miles from Wall Street" explains derivatives - Video
Janet Tavakoli is founder and president of Tavakoli Structured Finance, a Chicago-based firm that provides consulting to financial institutions and institutional investors. Her book is the story of her meetings with Warren Buffet prior to the economic downturn and how that impacted the way she views investing. She is a former adjunct professor of derivatives at the University of Chicago London
Link to video:
http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=285329-1
CSPAN Podcast site: http://www.c-span.org/Podcasts.aspx
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 2,090 regional related sites as of May 13, 2009. Entering the term emergency preparedness returned 425 items; emergency response returned 553 items.
Search engine link: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=000551187207053117963:m1gvkhigkeo&hl=en
My name is Tom Christoffel. I've worked in the field of intergovernmental and regional cooperation since 1973. As a consequence, "I see regions work.” Regional Community Development News is published bi-monthly based on news reports as of Wednesday of the publication week
Making visible such cross-boundary planning, collaboration and cooperative action at multi-jurisdictional networked regional scales, public, private and NGO is my 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 of 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 excerpts and 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 search previous issues since 2003 go to: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/regions_work/
To join Regional Community Networkers and get 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
For the Blog and RSS feed go to: http://regional-communities.blogspot.com/
Questions, comments or items to feature in Regional Community Development News?
Please email the editor: Tom.Christoffel@gmail.com
Thomas J. (Tom) Christoffel, AICP - http://regional-communities.com/
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