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A compilation of news links about and for regional communities pursuing local and regional development.
Published on line since November 11, 2003.
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Contents
Top Regional Community stories … 1. – 9.
U.S. Regional Communities - sub-State, State or multi-State – news articles …10.01 - .22
Other Regional Community News for Our Local Planet … 11.01 - .12
Blogging about Regional Communities … 12.01 - .14
Announcements and Regional Links … 13.01 - .06
Financial Crisis …14.01 - .03
Custom search: region, regions, regional communities … 15.
Bold Italic highlights search terms and/or phrases of interest.
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Top Regional Community Stories
1. Rays' regional stadium plan may fall victim to cities' rivalry
The
Here's Stuart Sternberg's answer to how his
Sounds simple in theory, but the history and envy between
"When you have two cities of comparable size, you get competition, not cooperation," said Roger Noll, an economics professor at
Days after Sternberg called for regional cooperation to find a better location than Tropicana Field to draw fans and generate more revenue, no one has stepped forward to kick off the discussion.
...
Regionalism could work in the
A history of rivalry
That may be easier said than done.
Complicating the chances for regional cooperation here is the long-standing rivalry between
...
The two major communities in the Bay area have united in the past for a common cause. The best-known example was creation of Tampa Bay Water in 1998. The utility, successor to the West Coast Regional Water Authority, ended the decades-long water wars between
..., the recession and slashed city budgets may actually foster regional cooperation, Noll said, because competition is more heated when times are flush.
Baker, the
"People need to want baseball in their community," he said, "no matter what city it's in."
--
RC:
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jun/28/280952/rays-call-regional-discussion-may-fall-victim-city/
2.
It is a lovely plan.
Thoughtfully conceived and written, up-front strategically and tactically, well-bound and organized, colorful and graphically engaging.
Persuasive, with the labor of volunteer workhorses behind it, maybe even noble.
In its pages, members of what's called The Greater Lincoln Region pound their stake into the ground and define a line inside of which 12 counties, their governments and business organizations are supposed to cooperate, instead of coveting and competing, to help each other achieve prosperity by attracting investment and new, well-paying jobs.
And it should not matter whether the people go to work in Wahoo or Waverly,
Yeah, right, some boosters of Whateverville might sneer.
Regional cooperation is and has been for years the accepted wisdom of local economic development, especially for groups of smaller communities.
The plan ranges far and deeply in terms of strategy, tactics, education, business creation, workforce development and organization along regional lines.
But self-interest, the auto-pilot a mayor or chamber of commerce sets to get the jobs and tax base for their town, not yours, is still a very powerful force.
"We're all chasing property tax base," Lincoln Urban Development Director Dave Landis candidly told the annual …
Jason Smith used to live in a smaller community.
The vice president of the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development has been nurturing the young regional partnership along and sympathizes with his partners from outside
"The budget constraints are enormous and trying to prioritize is difficult," he said. "You hope to gain consensus that if you leverage each other's resources and strong points, we create a stronger region that creates jobs for people in your community, or 20 miles away.
"It's been an extremely challenging process," Smith said. "It takes a long time to build trust."
http://journalstar.com/business/local/article_45f00660-7b11-11df-8693-001cc4c03286.html
3. Local firemen prove regionalization can work
The Dispatch - The Upper
Of all the legacies left by small coaltown provincialism, who knew this: fire companies from town to town used different couplings and fittings on fire hydrants and fire hoses.
Fearing theft, volunteer firefighters back in the day were protective of their equipment and figured different hose couplings would be a deterrent to theft.
… This wasn’t a problem relegated to the past. Different thread couplings still exist today and adapters are still used in some cases.
…
The need for a fix came to a head in May of 2007 at an accident scene on I-81 … Hoses from one department could not be hooked up to a fire engine from a different department when supplying water. …”
The departments agreed to apply for a regional grant. Lampman was appointed to write the application. It was a competitive process with an estimated three million requests for the available $550 million. The regional grant prepared by Lampman was approved in November of 2008. Lampman said it was like winning the lottery.
The federal share of the $242,000 was $231,000. The departments had to come up with the remainder: $12,000.
…
The new hoses are color-coded and with lightweight nozzles are easier to handle. “The old nozzles were good for making lamps,” Lampman said with a chuckle, “but not for firefighting.”
Buoyed by their success, the departments and Lampman prepared another regional grant application for improved radio communication. It was approved for $203,000 … Lampman said the regional concept works well.
“It’s opening up projects departments could never do on their own. It’s a gateway to go from stand-alone to family, if you will. We’re proud of our success,” Lampman said. “We feel obligated to defend our turf by bringing money back home for local services.”
…
RC: Northeastern Pennsylvania
4. Should the governments of
Sun Star Courier - Cleveland.com
Perhaps not, but it does not hurt to talk about it, according to Bill Purcell, the former mayor of Nashville, Tenn., who spoke June 11 at the South Franklin Circle Dialogues series.
…
Purcell, the director of Harvard’s
The City of
Purcell said a similar structure might not work for
“I didn’t come here to prescribe a course of action to you,” he said. “My role, I think, is to talk about what I know best and leave your future and your hopes and your dreams to you.”
He said people have long known the functions and services of government have little to do with administrative boundaries, citing regional transit systems, libraries, planning organizations and utility districts.
According to Purcell, there are three things a city or region must provide in order for it to attract and retain residents — education, safety and quality of life.
He said bigger is not always better, but these things can often be provided cheaper if they are not duplicated and are shared regionally.
“There are clear advantages in shared values, in engagement and in ownership of those things as well,” Purcell said. “You share the benefits across a larger area, you advance together within the area and you stop competing with each other across individual boundaries that no one quite knows where they are. At the end of the day you rise together.”
His other main argument was that, historically, the outlying areas of a region can not succeed if the core goes bad.
…
http://www.cleveland.com/chagrinsolonsun/index.ssf/2010/06/former_nashville_mayor_speaks.html
5. Region’s vulnerability to disaster a development deficit, says IICA official
The West Indies News -
Regional disaster risk management planning must break the “cycle of vulnerability” as without effective strategies to mitigate the risks linked to the agriculture sector, poverty reduction would not occur.
These sentiments were expressed … at the Caribbean Regional Disaster Management Symposium … by Dr Vincent Little, Coordinator of the Caribbean Technical Agenda of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). … speaking on the current situation and outlook for agricultural risk management in the
“Hazards do not necessarily become disasters, it is the combination of hazards and the level of vulnerability that intensify the impacts of disasters,” he said, adding that the Region’s vulnerability to natural disasters was a development deficit.
Dr Little stated that the development of appropriate mechanisms to reduce the Region’s vulnerability to disasters was crucial as the Region was characterised by Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Low Lying Coastal States (LLCS). Leaving no room for comfort, he said, was the fact that 70 per cent of all economic activities took place within a two-mile radius of the coastline, and 60 per cent of the population resided in the coastal zone.
Given these realities, Dr Little stressed the need for an institutional framework to build resilience in the agriculture sector. Past experiences of the impact of disasters on the sector- the US$ 54.4 million in losses to flooding in
“The Region cannot continue to rely on costly extra-regional development assistance for reconstruction after a major catastrophe,” Dr Little stated, adding that this “reactive stance” was costly.
… Symposium … presented a “defining moment” in ascertaining the role of the sector as a “fundamental mean of alleviating poverty and as an engine of growth.”
...
6. Beebe, state officials talk jobs at press association conference
The City Wire -
States with success in economic development must focus on regionalism, retaining existing jobs, workforce development and the appropriate use of incentives.
Such was the message from Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, Matt Kisber, head of the Tennessee Department of Community Development, and Gray Swoope, head of the Mississippi Development Authority, during a tri-state meeting of the
Beebe spent several minutes talking about his overarching philosophy of economic development, which is that an educated workforce is a state’s best development tool. He said state officials in
“You get those things right, all the other issues are easier to solve,” Beebe said.
Swoope said state officials must also find a way to work with nearby states when recruiting new jobs. He predicted multi-state regionalism “is going to be more and more a factor in economic development.” For example, Swoope said
Beebe agreed with idea of keeping jobs nearby, saying he would much rather see
Beebe also said cities within states must work regionally to land new jobs. He said the successful effort to bring Hewlett-Packard to central
Swoope said the other thing states must do is build relationships with other countries. He said the recession has forced many states to reduce or end their overseas marketing operations. With many of the new plants and jobs in the
“We cannot just turn our back on international activities and hope to survive,” Swoope explained.
…
http://www.thecitywire.com/?q=node/10520
7. Giering: Are libraries an area to use regionalism to keep a vital service and save dollars?
Press & Guide -
A few months back, I wrote about the need for privatization. Running a close second, is the need for regionalism.
Libraries would serve as a great first step in this effort. In
Perhaps we should investigate a consortium of libraries to reduce expenditures and increase programming in order to sustain their existence. We could use Wayne County RESA as a model for this new organization.
According to their website, “Wayne RESA is a regional educational service agency that provides a broad spectrum of services and support to
Why is this important to the business community? Strong communities = strong businesses!
http://www.pressandguide.com/articles/2010/06/15/business/doc4c17b53c141d5860665053.txt
8. Guest blogger: Transparency needed from transit agencies
Last year,
Despite all the open-government reforms that have taken root in
Of the state's 10 transit authorities, just six post their budgets online and six do likewise with financial statements. None post a check register online. Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART ) deserves partial credit for posting budgets and financial statements, although it is labeled under "investor information." But the Fort Worth Transportation Authority ("The T"),
That this level of obscurity exist in today's digital world is unacceptable - especially considering that some transit authorities have bigger budgets than some small states. But it is even worse considering how other
The Texas Comptroller's
With the public largely in the dark about how transit authorities spend billions of dollars every year and a seemingly cavalier attitude among local transportation officials towards basic concept of financial transparency, the time has come for the Legislature to protect taxpayers.
...
http://transportationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/06/guest-blogger-more-transparenc.html
9. Panel tweaks growth management suggestions
CoastalCourier.com -
Regional growth management partners on Tuesday reviewed a draft of final recommendations for handling anticipated growth throughout Bryan, Liberty, Long and Tattnall counties and Fort Stewart.
The draft recommendations focus on specific areas affected by growth including land use, workforce development, transportation, public services and education, and were suggested both by regional stakeholders and the Fort Stewart Growth Management Partnership [ http://www.growfortstewart.com/ ], which has helped drive the study for the past year.
One area that remains high on the list to be successfully managed and developed is regional housing. Stakeholders recommended a tracking system for housing trends and growth management data, and an additional implementation grant is being pursued to help the partnership take the reins to manage that data and provide it to area developers.
…
Drake said the study conducted found not only a surplus of housing but also a need for more diverse types of housing, and that in the future developers could benefit from access to market-based housing data to accommodate residents who live outside the gates of
…
To fully understand the potential for growth, the study recommends regional entities improve their local planning capacity, primarily through the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to map areas of open space and "know where infrastructure opportunities will be for the regional community," Drake said.
Sean Martin, assistant director for the partnership, said the entity acknowledges it may not be feasible for individual municipalities to employ a full-time planner but the recommendation invites the possibility for such a position to be shared across the region. "One of the themes is to try and promote collaboration," Martin said.
That collaboration may well extend into the development of unified planning ordinances, which Drake said could prove challenging but could help ensure seamless development regionwide.
...
RCs: Coastal Regional Commission - Counties -
Heart of Georgia Altamaha Regional Commission -
http://www.coastalcourier.com/news/article/22636/
10. U.S. Regional Communities - sub-State, State or multi-State - in news articles.
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 HUD Regional Planning Grants
Rural Transportation.org
HUD has released its Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the $100 million in FY2010 funding for the regional planning grants under the Sustainable Communities Program. This $100 million in new money is in addition to the $40 million for HUD community challenge grants and U.S. DOT TIGER II grants announced earlier this month. As noted in the HUD announcement: “The Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program will support metropolitan and multijurisdictional planning efforts that integrate housing, land use, economic and workforce development, transportation, and infrastructure investments in a manner that empowers jurisdictions to consider the interdependent challenges of: (1) economic competitiveness and revitalization; (2) social equity, inclusion, and access to opportunity; (3) energy use and climate change; and (4) public health and environmental impact. Today’s notice announces the availability of approximately $100 million for Sustainable Community Regional Planning Grants. Of this amount, $2 million will be reserved for capacity support grants distributed separately, and not less than $25 million shall be awarded to regions with populations of less than 500,000.” Read the full announcement for specific eligibility requirements. The document notes that for applications covering "non-defined areas," RPOs or rural COGs that exist in the region must be included in the applicant consortia, and in metropolitan areas, the MPO must be included.
http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/nofa10/scrpg.cfm
http://www.ruraltransportation.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=60460&articleId=14522U
.02 Transit plans will stall again without leadership, compromise
The Big Four will confer with top leaders in the state House and Senate soon on plans for a much needed regional transit authority for southeast
.03 Gordon and Wagner: ‘Glaring example of inefficiency,’ Teterboro should be dissolved
NorthJersey.com - NJ,
State Sen. Bob Gordon and Assemblywoman Connie Wagner represent the 38th Legislative District of Bergen County. THE CURRENT budget crisis has focused attention on the need to reduce the cost of government at all levels. Since local aid represents much of the state budget, the governor has made severe cuts in funding for schools and municipalities. … We can take the first step here in
http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/teterboro_gordon_wagner_062910.html?page=all
.04
Tauton Daily Gazette - Taunton, MA, USA
Tears of relief were shed by teachers and school supporters at the
http://www.tauntongazette.com/news/x1143335166/Berkley-officials-delighted-by-override-results
.05 Opinion: Non-profits blaze regionalization trail
The Sun Chronicle -
… This space has frequently contained words of encouragement for regionalization of public services. To say the results have been mixed would put it too kindly. The recent agreement for regionalized Norton-Easton veterans services is a rare triumph, and a small one. A similar proposal for Foxboro and Walpole was dropped last week in the face of veterans' protests. Situations like extending the King Philip regional school system to grades K-12, which is frequently mentioned and always put off, are more common. Legislation has been passed to encourage and make regionalization easier, we noted here last week. We'll see. But non-profit organizations have seen the regionalization light. Our area's Chambers of Commerce and
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2010/06/28/opinion/7583506.txt
.06 GUEST COLUMN: Area regional sewer plan progressing
The Sun Chronicle -
BY REP. F. JAY BARROWS - Across the commonwealth, cities and towns are faced with shrinking municipal budgets while still having to provide a multitude of basic services. Regionalization, the idea of sharing local resources between neighboring towns to save money without sacrificing the standard of living for residents, has become more widely embraced by town officials over the last few years as a potential cure to these fiscal woes. Foxboro, Mansfield, and Norton saw the potential early on in regionalization. I have had the pleasure of working as a facilitator between the three communities as they embarked on an attempt to regionalize the sewer plant to not only expand its capabilities but lessen the financial burden on ratepayers and taxpayers. The Regional Sewer Study Commission began in 2007 when all three communities expressed the desire to find a way to expand capacity for homes and businesses while keeping sewer bills reasonable for everyone. As state representative for the three communities on this project, I worked to secure a waiver to the Inter-Basin Transfer Act by the state Water Resource Commission, a first in
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2010/06/28/columns/7587681.txt
.07 Community Foundations Merge
SmartRegion.org -
The Southeast Virginia Community Foundation has formed as a result of the merger of The Portsmouth Community Foundation (PCF) and The Heron Foundation (HF). This collaborative, regional, non-profit community organization is committed to helping the people of southeast
http://smartregion.org/2010/06/community-foundations-merge/
.08 Community Foundation Leaders Participate in Regional Learning Forum
The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties’ President & CEO Peggy O’Shea and Director of Philanthropy Corinne Ribble recently participated in a Regional Learning Forum on Community Leadership at The Boston Foundation. The forum was presented by national bodies: The Council on Foundations and CFLeads. Attendees came from throughout the Northeast and consisted of more than 100 community foundation senior staff and trustees. The forum focused on the leadership roles many community foundations are undertaking. This trend is largely due to community foundations’ unique ability to bring together representatives of not-for-profit organizations, businesses and municipalities to work together toward common goals and to provide financial support to achieve those goals. The Community Foundation has most recently played crucial roles in literacy assessments for both Herkimer and
...
.09 Region may have model, ally in downstate agency
Gary Post Tribune -
Creation of a Regional Transportation Authority was one of the recommendations to come out of a 1999 study on regionalism for central
http://www.post-trib.com/news/2413430,cirta.article
.10 Leadership, unity focus of regionalism meeting
In order for
http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/news/2010/jun/18/leadership-unity-focus-regionalism-meeting/
.11 Rep. Clark Seeks to Revive Regional Wastewater Treatment Bill
WFPL - Lousiville, KY, USA
The number two man in the Kentucky House is among a bipartisan coalition of
http://www.wfpl.org/2010/06/23/rep-clark-seeks-to-revive-regional-wastewater-treatment-bill/
.12 Proposal would merge three
TwinCities.com - MN,
Miles of bike and walking trails tie together
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_15331056
.13 Carnegie Mellon University And Bombardier Join Forces To Launch
The New
... "This is a wonderful opportunity for both industry and the state as we move forward to highlight this region as a hotbed for advanced infrastructure technology and the jobs these technologies will create," said State Senator Jay Costa, (D-43rd District) a primary sponsor of the RACP grant. Matthew Sanfilippo, executive director of the PSII, said: "Tomorrow's infrastructure will blend traditional concrete-and-steel physical infrastructure systems with cyber-infrastructure systems such as computers, networks and sensors in ways that are just emerging.
http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2010/June/june24_bombardierinfrastructure.shtml
.14 Regional Stewardship extends grants to community, outreach grows
Murry
After two successful years of project work, helping over 16,000 people in the 2009-10 academic year alone, Murray State University’s Office of Regional Stewardship & Outreach will now be accepting applications from regional organizations for grants to be used toward programs focused on improving the quality of life in the region. Projects demonstrating the strongest alignment with “educational attainment” will be selected for funding. Examples of Regional Stewardship’s past projects, from 2009-2010 academic year include 10 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) initiatives which extended programs throughout the region to over 4,000 students. The
.15 EDUCATION: The
City Newspaper,
I would like to thank City Newspaper and Tim Macaluso for keeping abreast of the progress of The Regional Academy as reported in the June 2 edition. For over two years, more than 150 people from all sectors of the City of Rochester and Monroe County, professions as diverse as college professors, attorneys, teachers, legislators and students have volunteered their time to serve on committees designing the Regional Academy. ...
.16 Regional development strategy touted
Just as the Business Development Corporation for a Greater Massena is considering reorganizing as a local development corporation, town Supervisor Joseph D. Gray said he thinks it is time to ditch the region's alphabet soup of economic development agencies and start fresh. He said he envisions doing away with groups such as the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency and Massena's own BDC to come up with a better solution for bringing jobs to the region. "Countywide, we spend a lot of money on economic development and unfortunately we haven't had the kind of results we've hoped for," Mr. Gray said. "I don't know why that is and I don't know that anyone has asked the question." ... Instead of having scores of independent development groups "holding onto their turf in desperate hope that 'something big' will come to town and rescue their shrinking tax base," Mr. Gray advocates clearing the tables, cutting down on the number of "balding and gray-haired men" sitting on development boards and bringing in more young people and women, and creating one "super agency" to cover the entire county "without regard for turf and jurisdictions." Mr. Gray also is looking for agencies to move away from "our obsession with manufacturing and the 1960s mind-set of industrial development." He said he hopes to soon gather representatives from the village, town, BDC, Greater Massena Chamber of Commerce and the new St. Lawrence River Valley Redevelopment Agency. ... "We need to do some self-examination as a community," he said. "Do we continue to sit back and say, 'Boy, I hope somebody comes to utilize the GM plant to create 300 jobs,' or do we say, 'We can't sit back anymore. We have some things a lot of other places don't have. We are open for business, and you should come to our town'?"
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20100628/NEWS05/306289982
.17 Regional planners reaffirm
istockAnalyst.com
The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, in a letter to a regional business group, reaffirms its recommendation that
http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4258742
.18 New planning commission on
Hilton Head Island Packet -
A new regional planning commission with representatives from the town of Port Royal, city of
http://www.islandpacket.com/2010/06/28/1290158/new-planning-commission-on-beaufort.html
.19 Civic Tourism, and the Importance of Place
Planetizen.com
...
With civic tourism ... we're focused on developing the skills and tactics that produce constructive involvement. We have years of research on designing and implementing community forums on explosive social and political issues – everything from immigration in the Southwest to logging in
http://www.planetizen.com/node/44717
.20 MetroMonitor: Tracking Economic Recession and Recovery in
Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program Update -
Two and a half years after the Great Recession began, the nation’s economic recovery remains jobless and seems more fragile than ever. Inflation-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a moderate 3.0 percent annual rate in the first quarter of 2010, down from a 5.6 percent annual growth rate in the last quarter of 2009. Housing markets weakened, and the expiration in April of federal homebuyer tax credits could lead to further weakness later this year. ... The MetroMonitor, an interactive barometer of the health of America’s metropolitan economies, looks “beneath the hood” of national economic statistics to portray the diverse metropolitan landscape of recession and recovery across the country. It aims to enhance understanding of the local underpinnings of national economic trends, and to promote public and private sector responses to the downturn that take into account metropolitan areas’ distinct strengths and weaknesses. This edition of the Monitor examines indicators through the first quarter of 2010 (ending in March) in the areas of employment, unemployment, output, home prices, and foreclosure rates for the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas. It finds that: All of the 100 largest metropolitan areas had growth in output in the first quarter of 2010, but the rate of output growth declined in 90 metropolitan areas.
...
http://www.brookings.edu/reports/2010/0615_metro_monitor.aspx
.21 EVEN in today’s uncertain real estate market, family-size apartments are having something of a baby boom in
The New York Times -
Sales of three- and four-bedroom apartments swelled last year, even as sales of smaller places declined, and the trend has since persisted. The increased sales are another sign that
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/realestate/27cov.html?hpw
.22 The Burden of Home Ownership
The Atlantic -
The Future of the City - An eight part video series featuring Richard Florida.
11. Other Regional Community News for Our Local Planet Contents
.01 Budget: Regional Development Agencies to be scrapped
BBC News -
The nine regional development agencies (RDAs) across
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/10391326.stm
.02 RDAs vow to work through ‘unsettling time’
New Start Magazine -
About RDAs: http://www.englandsrdas.com/about-the-regions
http://www.newstartmag.co.uk/news/article/2925/rdas-vow-to-work-through-unsettling-time
.03 East
Voice of
Members of East African Community will formally begin Thursday the process of integration. Despite some reservations from smaller countries, analysts believe the union will greatly benefit the region. The Common Market Protocol - signed last November by members of the East African Community - will take effect officially on July 1, as the region moves closer to the dream of a politically and economically unified East Africa. That's when Community members
.04 SAARC: Building trust between member countries
The Economic Times -
The fundamental premise of regionalism among South Asian countries lies in the recognition that challenges confronting the region cannot be resolved through action in national domains alone. It is imperative to develop and forge regional cooperation in different areas, even though implementation would primarily have to be done nationally. ...
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6096566.cms
.05 We need good luck next year, says Jonathan group
The Nation Newspaper -
... “We, especially Nigerians of the Northern extraction who are below 50 years of age, are totally disappointed at the stand of these self anointed Northern elders who are by far in the minority. They have had the opportunity of leading this country and bungled the opportunity to turn the country around. “We totally reject any leadership anchored on the narrow and unrewarding path of regionalism, ethnicism, and religious bigotry. Let the best emerge through transparent, free and fair elections,” he stated. Gulak added that Nigerians need a President who irrespective of where he comes from, could deliver on electoral promises.
http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/news/3421.html
.06 Back to governance school
Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation -
Imagine this assembly: Richard Gomez and wife Lucy Torres-Gomez, Lani Mercado, Christopher de Leon, Alfred Vargas, Roderick Paulate, Angelica Jones, Daisy Reyes, and comedienne Ai Ai De Las Alas. This is not a casting for a new movie, but a list of celebrity students who are currently enrolled at the University of the
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/263335/back-governance-school
.07 Regional council to focus on community engagement
Scoop.nz -
In the future Environment Bay of Plenty will focus on better community engagement that aligns to its priorities, rather than on environmental education. Policy and Planning Chair Raewyn Bennett said at a meeting today that a review on the regional council’s role in environmental education showed the Council was on the right track, it just needed to align its work better to achieve its community outcomes and focus on priorities. “The use of education is an important part of our services and activities for achieving social change and our community outcomes,” Councillor Bennett said. “The review recommended it continue to use education as a tool but better aligned with our priorities and refocusing on community engagement of which education is just one part,” she said. ...
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1006/S00198.htm
.08
The provincial government has launched a sweeping administrative review of its persons with developmental disabilities program that clients and service providers recognize is necessary, but fear will erode care and centralize decision making. Some agencies and opposition parties worry the initiative is an attempt to disband the six regional community PDD boards into a single Edmonton-based superboard, and to chop some of the 220 service providers provincewide, including about 40 in Calgary. ... PDD agencies said they strongly support the government's attempts to streamline administrative costs, but note many service providers are already stretched to the limit. ...
.09 Prospects of Waterway Development as a Catalyst to Improve Regional and Community Socio-Economy Level -
American Journal of Economics and Business Administration 2 (3): 233-239, 2010
Abstract: Problem statement:
http://www.scipub.org/fulltext/ajeba/ajeba23233-239.pdf
.10
Mysunshinecoast.com -
The Regional Achievement & Community Awards for
.11 Premier Announces Major Milestone for Fledgling LNG Industry
Mysunsihecoast.com -
The State Government has today granted conditional approval to QGC Pty Limited's multi-billion-dollar Queensland Curtis Liquefied Natural Gas project (QCLNG) near
.12 Invincible Apple: 10 Lessons From the Coolest Company Anywhere
FastCompany.com -
{8} Turn Feedback Into Inspiration
Steve Jobs has often cited this quote from Henry Ford: "If I
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/147/apple-nation.html
12. Blogging about Regional Communities Contents
.01 Vision 2020
Leadership
Wednesday, June 23rd saw what some are calling the largest pep rally
http://blog.leadershipfortwayne.org/?p=150
.02 The Creative Class in Rural Areas
CreativeClass.com
One of the most frequent questions I’m asked is: How can rural areas best cope and thrive in the increasingly spiky creative economy? New research by economists David McGranahan and Timothy Wojan of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Dayton Lambert of the
http://www.creativeclass.com/creative_class/2010/06/28/the-creative-class-in-rural-areas/
.03 A Regional Exchange: Kix.com
CreativeClass.com
At the heart of effective economic development is regional cooperation. In 2004, the Department of Labor launched WIRED Initiatives across the
Creative Class Group (CCG): Tell us about Wired65. What communities make up the region?
Debbie Wesslund: Wired65 is an initiative that brings together civic leaders in a 26-county, bi-state area around the need to support its human capital – or “talent.” This region is anchored by the
...
http://www.creativeclass.com/creative_class/2010/06/24/a-regional-exchange-kix-com/
.04 The Future of Cities
Of Two Minds Blog
The energy consumption of cities will certainly decline in the coming decades, but cities may not disintegrate as many expect. Among those who understand Peak Oil and the fragility of global supply chains, it is widely assumed cities will quickly become hellholes of squalor and extreme violence once liquid fuels are no longer cheap and abundant. Perhaps, but history suggests cities are highly resilient adaptations. What never ceases to amaze me is how few people who expect cities to implode have any grasp of the size and scale of cities which thrived for hundreds of years without any fossil fuels. Fernand Braudel's masterful three-volume history of European Capitalism (Civilization & Capitalism, 15th to 18th Century) The Structures of Everyday Life (Volume 1), The Wheels of Commerce (Volume 2) and The Perspective of the World (Volume 3) is in effect a history of trade and the rise of urban centers.
...
http://www.oftwominds.com/blogjun10/future-of-cities06-10.html
.05 The Density of Smart People
CreativeClass.com
Clusters of smart people of the highly educated sort that economists refer to as “human capital” are the key engine of economic growth and development. The standard way economists measure this is to take the percentage of people in a country, state, or metropolitan area with a bachelor’s degree or higher. ... most scholars measure human capital in terms of population, not in terms of its geographic concentration. So I was intrigued by this fascinating analysis by Rob Pitingolo (h/t: Don Peck) which takes this question head on. To get at the issue of human capital clustering, Pitingolo compiled a neat measure of what he calls “educational attainment density.” Instead of measuring human capital or college degree holders as a function of population, he measures it as a function of land area – that is, as college degree holders per square mile. As he explains: ... important question about the distribution of human capital within a metro region, calling attention to the issue of ”human capital sprawl.” As he defines, this occurs when human capital density is lower in the central city than its surrounding county. He finds preliminary evidence of this type of human capital sprawl in five places - Louisville, Jacksonville, Oklahoma City, Nashville, and Indianapolis – and notes that: “This preliminary result is particularly worrisome if you believe that metro areas need strong central cities and strong central cities need a lot of smart people.” ... Comments: … Did you intend the title about the “Density” of “Smart People” to be a double entendre? …
http://www.creativeclass.com/creative_class/2010/05/29/the-density-of-smart-people/
.06 Regional Orchestras no good?
Violinist.com Blog
... The simple fact is, it all starts with the money -- or lack of it. With a shrinking budget, many regional orchestra boards immediately think of cutting two things -- rehearsal time (the single biggest expense) and music rental. Of course, this leads to vanilla programs and mediocre performances, which causes a dip in attendance, which shrinks the budget, causing the board to cut rehearsal time...... it's a death spiral. The most successful regional orchestras I've seen in my neck of the woods rely on two things -- innovative programming and a commitment to keeping the product on stage at a high level. It requires guts from a board to commit to those things, but I see it as the best way to keep an orchestra vibrant and relevant in the community. There is a valid point to be made that regional orchestras can't (or maybe shouldn't) compete with the major symphony around the corner. Why should a potential audience member hear Pasadena play Beethoven 7 when they can just as easily hear LA Phil do it a few weeks later -- or to put it in another region, why should the audience hear the Macon Symphony when they just as easily go to an Atlanta Symphony performance? For me, the future for regional orchestras lies in the programming. Bringing new music to the audiences, bringing performances they _can't_ hear anywhere else, and presenting the standard repertoire in innovative ways
http://www.violinist.com/blog/MichaelMachine/20106/11358/
.07
The Urbanophile
... Some of these thoughts are the beginnings of a major project I have in mind called “The State of Chicago.” ... In assessing
http://www.urbanophile.com/2010/06/20/chicago-and-the-epicenter/
.08 Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space
Really good article on tourism marketing
Was in last week's Baltimore City Paper, "Happy?:
http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2010/06/really-good-article-on-tourism.html
.09 CPD Video Conversations: Nation Branding at Expo 2010
As part of CPD's Nation Branding at the Expo Shanghai 2010 project, Jian (Jay) Wang, CPD University Fellow and Associate Professor of strategic communication at USC Annenberg, is leading a research team in
http://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/index.php/research/shanghai_expo_blog/P2/
.10 Regional Development Strategy
Harbinger Consultants Blog
Harbinger Consultants has commenced work on a strategic planning project which will involve the preparation of a regional development strategy. With a focus on the strengths and opportunities in the
http://harbingerconsultants.wordpress.com/2010/06/23/project-regional-development-plan/
.11 Important info for people in regional
Tony Serve Blog
During July 2010, the Western Australia Council of Social Service (WACOSS) will be conducting consultations with regional and remote community service organisations and communities. WACOSS is interested in listening to local people and learning more about the issues that affect your community, as well as discussing with you the best strategies to address these issues. More than half a million Western Australians live outside of metropolitan Perth in an area spanning a quarter of a million square kilometres. As the peak body for the community services sector across WA, WACOSS is committed to addressing the unique issues faced by regional and remote communities, as well as the isolation and the socio-economic disadvantages associated with living outside of
.12 Spatial Data Infrastructures [SDI] exchange experiences at the INSPIRE Conference 2010
GEOSPATIAL
… The aim of the workshop was to highlight outstanding SDI best practices as examples of successful local and regional SDI developments and intensify the dialogue in the GI and INSPIRE community. It attracted an international audience of about 60 participants. SDIs from very local to cross-border scale were presented at this workshop. ...
http://unsdihu.blogspot.com/2010/06/eurogi-took-over-esdinetplus-network.html
.13 Book Review: "Prospero's
PhiloBiblos Blog
Walter W. Woodward's Prospero's America: John Winthrop, Jr., Alchemy, and the Creation of New England Culture, 1606-1676 (UNC Press, 2010) is a captivating and necessary new study of John Winthrop, Jr. - skilled political leader, well-regarded alchemist, entrepreneur, and advocate of toleration in religion. This excellent reinterpretation of
http://philobiblos.blogspot.com/2010/06/book-review-prosperos-america.html
.14 The Technological Revolution and the Future of Freedom – Part 1
The Global Realm
... Anne-Marie Slaughter, currently the Director of Policy Planning for the US State Department, … In 1997, Slaughter wrote an article for the journal of the Council on Foreign Relations, “Foreign Affairs,” in which she discussed the theoretical foundations of the ‘new world order.’ In it, she wrote that, “The state is not disappearing, it is disaggregating into its separate, functionally distinct parts. These parts—courts, regulatory agencies, executives, and even legislatures—are networking with their counterparts abroad, creating a dense web of relations that constitutes a new, transgovernmental order,” and that, “transgovernmentalism is rapidly becoming the most widespread and effective mode of international governance.” ...
http://theglobalrealm.com/2010/06/28/the-technological-revolution-and-the-future-of-freedom-part-1/
13. Announcements and Regional Links. Contents
.01 Innovative Approaches to Addressing Aviation Capacity Issues in Coastal Mega-regions - Transportation Research Board - Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 31
Innovative Approaches to Addressing Aviation Capacity Issues in Coastal Mega-regions examines the aviation capacity issues in the two coastal mega-regions located along the East and West coasts of the
http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/acrp/acrp_rpt_031.pdf
.02 7th Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Roundtable – September 30 – October 1 –
Sponsored by: Regional and Intergovernmental Planning Division, American Planning Association and APA State Chapters - Hosted by: WILMAPCO - Wilmington Area Planning Council - For information contact: Tom.Christoffel@gmail.com
.03 Call for Papers: A workshop on the spatial organization, structure, performance and planning of contemporary urban systems - 16 - 17th September 2010 -
Sponsored by the Regional Studies Association Research Network for Regional Urban Systems And Their Performance. Deadline for papers: 31st July 2010
Information: http://www.regional-studies-assoc.ac.uk/research-networks/current/rusp.asp
.04 Call for Sessions: Location and Spatial Modeling Oriented - 57th Annual North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International (NARSC 2010 Conference) -
We are organizing location and spatial modeling oriented sessions for the North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International (NARSC 2010 Conference) again this year. These sessions have a continued and sustained presence at past RSAI meetings and we hope to continue this tradition with a strong showing again this year.
If you would like to contribute to this stream of sessions, please submit your abstract online (http://www.narsc.org/newsite/?page_id=64 ) and then email us the title, abstract, author information and contact details as soon as possible. Email materials to: locationmodeling2010@gmail.com
Please note that the deadline for abstract submission is August 1, 2010.
Contact Details:
Tony H. Grubesic,
Email: tony.grubesic@gmail.com
Timothy C. Matisziw, Department of Geography and Civil & Environmental Engineering
University of Missouri-Columbia,
Email: matisziwt@missouri.edu
.05 GEOProcessing 2011: The Third International Conference on Advanced Geographic Information Systems, Applications, and Services - February 23-28, 2011 – Gosier,
General page: http://www.iaria.org/conferences2011/GEOProcessing11.html
Call for Papers: http://www.iaria.org/conferences2011/CfPGEOProcessing11.html
.06 Academic Institutions Links from - The
American Society for Public Administration
National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration
Other Institutes and Centers for Government - A link to UNC-Chapel Hill’s list of Institutes of Government across the country.
http://www.uni.edu/slgp/academic.html
14. Financial Crisis. Contents
.01 More States May Create Public Banks
Yes Magazine -
By 2011, only one state will have escaped the credit crunch that is pushing other states toward insolvency:
Now, several states are either studying the prospects of a state-owned bank or are considering legislation to make one possible.
Five states have bills pending—
...
http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/water-solutions/more-states-may-create-public-banks
The State Bank of
HJ62: Banks; joint subcommittee to study whether to establish those to be operated by State.
HJ62
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 62
Offered January 13, 2010
Prefiled January 11, 2010
Establishing a joint subcommittee to study whether to establish a bank operated by the Commonwealth. Report.
----------
Patron--
----------
Committee Referral Pending
----------
WHEREAS, the Commonwealth does not currently engage in the business of banking or own, control, or operate a bank; and
WHEREAS, the state of North Dakota currently engages in the business of banking, owns, controls, and operates a bank known as the Bank of North Dakota; and
WHEREAS, the Bank of North Dakota was established pursuant to North Dakota Century Code 6-09-01 for the purpose of encouraging and promoting agriculture, commerce, and industry; and
WHEREAS, the Bank of North Dakota is not a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation but pursuant to North Dakota Century Code 6-09-10, all deposits in the Bank of North Dakota are guaranteed by the state; and ...
http://www.secretofoz.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=126
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+HJ62+pdf
.02 The New Road to Serfdom: A Guide to the Coming Real Estate Collapse (May 2006) - Michael Hudson - Center for a World In Balance
Note: This ancient history is worth a read. Also at this link is an audio for the presentation “ Real Estate: Growth, Crash, or Soft Landing? (8 December 2006). Other writings, interviews and talks by Dr. Hudson up through 2010 are available from this page link. Ed.
Even men who were engaged in organizing debt-serf cultivation and debt-serf industrialism in the American cotton districts, in the old rubber plantations, and in the factories of
—H. G. Wells, The Shape of Things to Come
Never before have so many Americans gone so deeply into debt so willingly. Housing prices have swollen to the point that we’ve taken to calling a mortgage—by far the largest debt most of us will ever incur—an “investment.” Sure, the thinking goes, $100,000 borrowed today will cost more than $200,000 to pay back over the next thirty years, but land, which they are not making any more of, will appreciate even faster. In the odd logic of the real estate bubble, debt has come to equal wealth.
And not only wealth but freedom—an even stranger paradox. After all, debt throughout most of history has been little more than a slight variation on slavery. Debtors were medieval peons or Indians bonded to Spanish plantations or the sharecropping children of slaves in the postbellum South. Few Americans today would volunteer for such an arrangement, and therefore would-be lords and barons have been forced to develop more sophisticated enticements.
The solution they found is brilliant, and although it is complex, it can be reduced to a single word—rent. Not the rent that apartment dwellers pay the landlord but economic rent, which is the profit one earns simply by owning something. Economic rent can take the form of licensing fees for the radio spectrum, interest on a savings account, dividends from a stock, or the capital gain from selling a home or vacant lot. The distinguishing characteristic of economic rent is that earning it requires no effort whatsoever. Indeed, the regular rent tenants pay landlords becomes economic rent only after subtracting whatever amount the landlord actually spent to keep the place standing.
...
http://worldinbalance.net/opinion/archives/michaelhudson-2006.php
.03 States and cities on the "verge of system failure"
Docudharma - Blogging the Future
The 2011 fiscal year for 46 states begins in ... days. In many cases it is a countdown to financial doom.
Despite what you may have heard from conservative sources, state and local government have been cutting and cutting. 231,000 state and local government jobs have vanished since August 2008 - 22,000 in just the past month. Most of those jobs were at the local level, such as police, firefighters, and school teachers.
The fat has already been trimmed. The muscle has been cut into. There is nothing left to cut but bone.
At least 19 states are getting the saws ready, because knives won't cut bone.
According to Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody's, states are facing a budget gap of $180 billion next year. The shortfall could lead to the destruction of 900,000 jobs at the state level, an employment source that is often thought of as an economic safety net.
Up to 300,000 of those laid off will be school teachers, and some estimate the total number of government workers to be let go in the 1-to-2 million range.
…
This is only the start. Cities and counties up and down the state are openly debating bankruptcy.
...
Systemic Failure
You can't just keep cutting and cutting services and manpower before the system stops working.
Case files piling up by the thousands, phones ringing off the hook, forced midweek courthouse closings and occasional brawls as frustrated citizens queue for hours to pay parking fines.
"People think we're becoming a Third World country," said Ms. Sims, 55.
"We are on the verge of system failure," warned Jean Ross, executive director of the
At a certain point the potholes don't get filled, the police don't respond (at least not in poor neighborhoods), sewer systems break and don't get fixed, kids can't get into college, people get "lost" in the judicial system, and eventually citizens simply give up on the government.
We are facing the threat of losing something very basic - our idea of what
…
Revisiting the Perfect Storm
When I wrote A perfect storm for unemployed a month ago, I never dreamed that I had underestimated the problem.
…
http://www.docudharma.com/diary/21824/states-and-cities-on-the-verge-of-system-failure
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 over 1,200 regional related sites.
http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=000551187207053117963:m1gvkhigkeo&hl=en
My name is Tom Christoffel. I
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
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 Google Search services. 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. Regional Community Development News is published bi-monthly based on news reports as of the publication date.
For the Blog and RSS feed go to: http://regional-communities.blogspot.com/
Phrases/stories of note as found via Twitter: http://twitter.com/tomchristoffel
Delicious Bookmarks: http://delicious.com/I.see.regions.work
Questions, comments or items to feature in Regional Community Development News?
Please email the Editor: Tom.Christoffel@gmail.com
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
Tom (Thomas J.) Christoffel, AICP - http://www.regional-communities.com/
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