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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 - .18
Other Regional Community News for Our Local Planet … 11.01 - .13
Blogging about Regional Communities … 12.01 - .12
Announcements and Regional Links … 13.01 - .03
Financial Crisis …14.01 - .05
Custom search: region, regions, regional communities … 15.
Bold Italic highlights research terms and/or phrases of interest.
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Top Regional Community stories
1. Transportation Investment Act of 2010 -
With Governor Perdue’s signing of the Transportation Investment Act of 2010, the future of transportation in
The bill divides the state into 12 regions, along the same lines as Regional Commissions. Local leaders in each region will develop a list of projects that could be funded by a one percent sales tax. The transportation funding referendum will appear on the ballot in the 2012 primary elections. All potential revenue collected in any one of the 12 regions would stay in that region. Residents will have a chance to review their region’s project list and know exactly what they’re voting for before going to the polls. Breaking the state into regions enables local jurisdictions to make funding decisions that benefit their communities, while also working with state transportation officials to support the larger statewide strategic transportation plan. There are also provisions specific to MARTA and other transit services, as well as rural and human services transportation.
Request for Review and Comment on Draft Criteria: For the Development of Transportation Investment Act's Investment List
As required by the Transportation Investment Act of 2010, the Georgia Department of Transportation Planning Director has developed draft criteria for development of a list of projects and programs to be funded by the proposed sales tax. The Planning Director has mailed these draft criteria for comment to every county, city and metropolitan planning organization in
* August 3, 2010 letter from the Planning Director (pdf)
* Attachment A: Regional Transportation Sales Tax Referendum Summary (pdf)
* Attachment B: Timeline for the Creation of Investment Criteria and Lists (pdf)
* Attachment C: Draft Criteria for
* Attachment C1: Draft Criteria for Special Tax Districts outside of Atlanta Region (pdf)
* Attachment D: Preliminary Draft Revenue Estimates (pdf)
http://www.atlantaregional.com/transportation/transportation-investment-act-of-2010
2. Could
There are many serious policy lessons worth studying in the context of bilateral exchanges between
In the
… creation of a strategically driven regional body that received its grant funding from a single government budget, as in the
But in a display of political gamesmanship, the new
What are the development lessons behind these political shenanigans that might be of use for a country like Indonesia, which is both ready for a second generation of provincial decentralization policies and laws and a grouping together of provinces into larger regions?
For
…
Regional development agencies could play an important role in ensuring that the natural skew of the land does not result in unmanageable inequalities between regions.
…
While a UK-type model would not solve everything, it could be adopted as a coordinating structure to provide an effective interface between
…
3. .
Disappointed at the slow pace of regional development, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday vowed to make amends by disciplining regional leaders who failed to perform.
“I have to have the tools to discipline regional heads so that they perform their duties well,” he said during a cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace.
“After six years leading the nation, it is time to correct this, otherwise we will stray further down the wrong path.
“Democracy doesn’t mean unlimited freedom. We must exercise responsibility in running the country, in order for the people to get the maximum benefit from the system we chose,” he said.
Yudhoyono added he had received information regarding poor regional governance through letters and text messages, as well as through visiting the regions in question.
“Our Constitution states that the president holds the authority to govern,” he said.
“Although regional leaders are elected directly, be they governors, district heads or mayors, they’re still part of the government and the president is the one who holds sway over them all.”
Yudhoyono added that it was his obligation to ensure that regional leaders were fulfilling their duties.
“The right policies, the large budgets, our seriousness — all of this would mean nothing if at the implementation stage things are missing here and there,” Yudhoyono said.
He said that regional leaders, especially at the district and municipal levels, often adopted policies that later turned out to negatively impact many sectors, citing the case of coal mines that polluted the environment.
“Regional budgets that have been approved by local legislatures often miss the target and are excessive,” he added.
…
The minister declined to elaborate on the possible form the punishment might take.
…
4. Restoring prosperity in
I recently became aware of incorrect information published in a column by State Sen. John Carey, R-17th District, in your newspaper … I would like to set the record straight.
…
Sen. Carey says our report, "Restoring Prosperity: Transforming Ohio
Recommendations from Restoring Prosperity apply equally to metropolitan areas and rural areas, and both have much to gain from each other
Greater
You can find more examples about the importance of Appalachia and rural
Just as I relied on test plots from OSU to determine which varieties of corn to plant to get the maximum yield when I farmed, Greater Ohio has been running test plots on public policy by meeting with local community groups, civic organizations and elected leaders to hear their best practices and share state level policy reforms. The research speaks for itself. Restoring prosperity to
5. CRDA study finds gaps, bright spots in region
…
The Charleston Regional Development Alliance presented results of a recent research project, which analyzed the
The study, conducted by
…
The study noted a slight increase in
“You are very successful in being a magnet for talent,” Hughes said, adding that part of that is reflective of the technical education system.
Mary Graham, senior vice president of public policy for the chamber, said the region suffers because there is a gap between what workers are paid and what it costs to live in
“We’re doing well with employment rates, but earnings aren’t keeping up,” she said.
Hughes said crime pulled
“The business community needs to think about what you can do to lift up those kinds of places,” he said, adding that such change will not happen suddenly. “Maybe you can move that needle and begin to work on these kinds of issues.”
Hughes said place-based strategies that help people and businesses in depressed areas have helped alleviate crime issues in other regions. He emphasized that the
…
6. Finances cause
As
The Shawnee Library System, a collaborative organization serving libraries in Illinois’ 32 southern counties, was forced to eliminate three staff positions at its July 15 board meeting, and is making plans to consolidate with three other Illinois systems by the same time next year.
...
There are currently nine systems throughout the state serving as interlibrary exchange services. Merger negotiations are underway between the northern five, which serve the
All of the mergers are expected to take place by July 2011, Popit said, and then two library systems will be left to govern services for the entire state.
During the most recent Shawnee Library System board meeting in July, the board agreed to enter a cooperative planning process with the other southern systems, the Lewis and Clark Library System, the Lincoln Trail Libraries System and the Rolling Prairie Library System.
A planning panel was appointed and the board endorsed the goals and outcomes of the cooperative, which is to form a new organization to serve
Beverly J. Obert, executive director of the Rolling Prairie Library System, commented on the new collaboration in a post on the group’s website in late May.
“The future appears uncertain,” she said. “However, I believe that the commitment, knowledge, and spirit of collaboration found in the
http://thesouthern.com/news/local/article_9f676212-a111-11df-935f-001cc4c002e0.html
7. Time to Learn From Neighbor’s Success - The Memphis News –
Somewhere between the xenophobia and unblinking regionalism that Memphis’ economic development planning seems to run to and from is a middle ground where the attributes of our neighbors can be used in our interest and where our advantages over our neighbors can be coupled with those attributes.
It’s called marketing, and Olive Branch knows how to do it.
This isn’t about downing Olive Branch or anyone in
The problem is all north of the state line.
So much of economic development these days is about state government helping.
… we must have our act together for the governor or anyone else outside the county to back us. And we don’t as things stand now.
Getting to that spot begins with a city-county division of economic development and a director who reports to one of the two mayors – not both – with that mayor speaking for both governments. This may be asking too much. But it is certainly not expecting too much.
…
In too many cases, our local governments have become a kind of tollgate that business leaders must pay to cross into a community that has a lot to offer.
…
Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. has been saying this for the last year. Local government has become a part of the cost of doing business, something for a business owner to endure in considering
That cannot continue.
Neither can the false argument that
http://www.memphisdailynews.com/editorial/Article.aspx?id=51938
8. Closing off
First, I want to say I respect Bob Harper. ... He spends countless hours working on behalf of and responding to residents in
...
But scaring off development will mean residents end up footing the bill through higher taxes unless the county is friendly to growth.
That
More than 36,000 people -- 34.3 percent of the
Closing off the border to outsiders and frightening business growth with undue requirements will ultimately hurt
And the best tool for both
Residents in
Not only does the money go to build regional infrastructure, it triples the money through state and federal matching grants. Killing the RDA would end the quarter-penny tax, but it wouldn
...
http://www.post-trib.com/news/opinion/2551070,rjackson0801.article
9. Cost of regional projects uncertain - Centre Daily Times -
The future for local programs was on the table Monday night as Borough Council interpreted the funding cuts and multimillion dollar parks project fogging the crystal ball.
The discussions were among six uncertainties in the Centre Region Council of Governments’ [http://www.crcog.net/] annual program plan, which prioritizes goals for COG’s six member municipalities for the coming year.
One COG concern, the 9 percent cut in state aid to libraries, will subtract $42,000 from Schlow Centre Region Library’s $2.2 million total budget in 2010-11 year.
“If it’s economically feasible for the municipalities to replace part of that state cut, I think we ought to do that,” said Councilman Peter Morris.
Monday night, State College Borough Council members commented on the document. Input from Centre Region municipalities will be reviewed at the Aug. 23 COG General Forum meeting.
Councilman Don Hahn praised COG municipalities for footing a large slice of the library’s budget.
“For better or for worse, the state’s portion of aid to the library is actually less than half the region’s,” Hahn said.
Through a fundraising campaign launched two weeks ago, Schlow hopes to raise $60,000, about $20,000 more than last year’s efforts, to compensate for the state funding drop.
Another looming uncertainty, COG has yet to develop a funding scheme for a regional parks system …
Staff also recommended that COG as a whole, not solely the borough, bear the costs of replacement for capital items at the Alpha Fire Company building on
“In the long run, if it’s going to be a regional program, those facilities should be owned and maintained regionally,” said Borough Manager Tom Fountaine.
Councilman Tom Daubert disagreed.
“That means they’re going to say that the fire station no longer belongs to the borough,” Daubert said. “I can’t see giving that up for a few dollars.”
http://www.centredaily.com/2010/08/03/2128728/cost-of-regional-projects-uncertain.html
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 City manager: Take water system regional
Cincinnati.com -
Growing
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100728/NEWS0108/7290364/Dohoney-Take-water-works-regional
.02 Regional Governance Ed. Note: Articles about the dangers of regionalism:
SweetLiberty.org
Regionalism: Sneaking
A thumbnail sketch of "the method whereby would-be world rulers intend to control every aspect of our lives. Without the full implementation of Regional Governance, their plan for world dominance cannot succeed."
Beware Metro Regional Government - By Phoebe Courtney, 1973
This out-of-print book is so important we transcribed its entire contents for your reading. A must read to understand how regional governance is being implemented; by whom; and for what reason. A complicated system explained simply and thoroughly.
...
http://www.sweetliberty.org/region.htm
.03 Planners oppose transfer of federal road funds by state
Planners from the
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/state/s_692116.html
.04 Europe
Philly.com -
In Europe, fast trains are transforming the continent, bringing cities and countries within a few hours of one another, erasing centuries-old regional divisions, resuscitating long-dormant towns, cutting air pollution, creating new economies and manufacturing jobs, and, in a reversal of 20th-century fortunes, making some air travel obsolete. Is this
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/100206649.html
Series: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/99572559.html
.05 Economic development grants now available
BurlingtonFreePress.com -
.06 States go deeper into debt
CNNMoney.com
The states are broke, and like many consumers, they
...
http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/30/news/economy/state_debt_levels/index.htm
.07 Tourism panel optimistic despite no-growth budget
The tourism industry says it is emerging from economic darkness, and
.08 Regional Wayfinding Interview
UpNorthLive.com -
Mark VanderKlipp, president of Corbin Design in
http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?id=489238
.09 Colchester,
Leaders from 10 Eastern Connecticut towns met Wednesday in
.10 White House Focuses On Building Regional Energy Innovation Clusters
GOVMONITOR -
Through a series of energy conferences, and by fostering Regional Energy Innovation Clusters the Administration is bringing these key players together to create a critical mass of information, human capital, and financial resources. These clusters are organic communities of entrepreneurs, investors, scientists and engineers, able to work in a spirit of collaboration to create new technologies, and make them an everyday reality. ... the path to clean energy and oil independence ran through the American heartland. Entrepreneurs, business leaders, investors, university researchers, non-profits, along with local government and White House officials met together in
.11
WKBW-TV -
Five towns, one village and one county. All have recently been downsized in
http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/Downsizing-Advocate-Targets-State-Legislature-99367544.html
.12 RESORT TOWNS BECOMING NEO-COMPANY TOWNS
NewGeography.com
Resort towns face growth-related issues not usually associated with such perceived idyllic settings. Many of these involve concerns over sprawl, workforce housing and lack of basic infrastructure. In the wake of the financial fallout that has affected both primary and second homes, there is an opportunity to address a quiver of such issues. Resort communities are still hard pressed to provide adequate housing stock for their workers, despite vacancies and stalled projects throughout their respective regions. Most stalled or dead projects were geared to higher-end buyers searching for second, or third or fourth, homes. As the lenders and creditors seize these assets and write down their values after taking heavy losses, perhaps there is an opportunity to reposition them and solve both worker housing demand and over supply of second homes. ...
http://www.newgeography.com/content/001703-resort-towns-becoming-neo-company-towns
.13 County releases updated regional bike map
http://tucsonvelo.com/news/county-releases-updated-regional-bike-map/
.14 Mayor Newsom Announces Regional Food Policy for
Health Information -
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom issued the first ever comprehensive food policy for
http://www.llojibwehealth.com/2010/08/mayor-newsom-announces-regional-food-policy-for-san-francisco/
.15 35 Americans, 35 Japanese discuss the concept of regionalism
pal-item.com -
The Japan America Student Conference (JASC) has spent its time in
http://www.pal-item.com/article/20100804/NEWS01/8040316/1008
.16 As the Regional Flight Market Shrinks, Airlines Need New Strategies to Survive
BNET.com -
Republic (RJET) CEO Bryan Bedford outlined why the regional business is a brutal one in my interview last week. It’s a mature industry with little to negative growth and shrinking margins. With that kind of challenging environment, the regionals have had to step out of their comfort zones to find a business model that works. ...
.17
Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana -
The Gary Public Transportation Corp. voted for a second time to defer its decision on consolidating with the
http://www.post-trib.com/news/lake/2571074,nu-gptc0806.article
.18 BU scientists release alarming data on regional bat populations
Science Codex
A new study led by Boston University College of Arts & Sciences researchers predicts that one of North America's most common bat species, the little brown myotis, will be all but extinct in the Northeast in 20 years due to an emerging disease affecting hibernating bats in eastern North America called White-Nose Syndrome (WNS). ... research shows that the regional population of little brown myotis is expected to collapse to less than 1% within 20 years of what its population size was before WNS, even if mortality slows through time. They conclude that loss of so many bats may result in unpredictable changes to ecosystem structure and function and will most likely become a nation-wide problem as the disease spreads further west and south and into
http://www.sciencecodex.com/bu_scientists_release_alarming_data_on_regional_bat_populations
11. Other Regional Community News for Our Local Planet Contents
.01 District View
LocalGov.co.uk
One of the immutable laws of government is that in July, there is a plethora of White Papers and policy statements rushed out before the summer recess. … We can look forward to addressing the democratic deficit in policing through the election of commissioners. We will see, over the next few years, the biggest change in the provision of health services since 1948.
Some of us will look back wistfully of building relationships from scratch with the soon-to-be-abandoned primary care trusts, and wonder quite how partnership working will work at the local level. But, if it works, the costs of change will be a price worth paying. The dismantling of regionalism does prove some particular challenges and opportunities at local level. The swiftness at which the ‘quango’ landscape can change will surprise some, but structures are easy to dismantle – less easy to build. … The LEPs will cover planning and housing – but not too much please, local transport, infrastructure and employment, enterprise and the transition to a lower-carbon economy. The groupings will need to cover functional economic areas, and this is very much in tune with the localist and district agenda. But can we move away from the terminology that partnerships would include groups of ‘upper-tier authorities. … The message to business and all councils is to get on with developing future economic areas and start moving these local enterprise partnerships forward. I know from contacts both locally in the
http://www.localgov.co.uk/index.cfm?method=news.detail&id=90928T
.02 The best-laid plans
TheLawyer.com -
Planning lawyers and their clients are in the midst of the biggest shake-up of the planning system for more than 50 years. It may be said that new governments are elected to make changes and that the direction of travel was clear from the Conservatives’ pre-election Open Source Planning green paper, which asserted that the current planning system is “broken” and that the current regime of top-down national and regional housebuilding targets would be scrapped and replaced by a more “localist”, neighbourhood-based approach. However, the current pace and absence of consultation on the detail is surprising to many. On 6 July the new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles revoked all regional strategies and announced that all current national planning policy statements (set to be reviewed and amended to become a single national planning framework) should now be read as no longer containing any reference to regional planning. The announcement was accompanied by a short Q&A document. A number of us have expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of detail. For example, the national planning policy statements were written in the context of a system that had regional strategic planning at its core. How are policies now to be applied?... In
http://www.thelawyer.com/the-best-laid-plans/1005247.article
.03 Collaboration holds key to temple spat, says academic: Nationalism derided as being of no help
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/190144/collaboration-holds-key-to-temple-spat-says-academic
.04 ASEAN Regional Forum At 17: The Curse Of
Eurasia Review -
The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) celebrated turning 17 this July by fêting “ASEAN Centrality” at its annual confab in
http://www.eurasiareview.com/201008036335/asean-regional-forum-at-17-the-curse-of-ad-hoc-ism.html
.05 Commentary: Regionalism: The
Carribean Net News - Grand Caymen,
It is evident that individual islands within our region cannot stand alone; therefore we need regional integration into every aspect of our system. However, it must be noted that there are some islands in the region that are doing well. The Bahamas, Barbados, the British, American, French and Netherlands overseas territories, states and departments have sustained economies; British and US Virgin Island, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, the ABC Islands, Guadeloupe and Martinique. Conversely,
...
http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-24051--6-6--.html
Part 2 - http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-24089--6-6--.html
.06 CBSA joins Regional Task Force to fight crime
Standard Freeholder,
It wasn
http://www.standard-freeholder.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2686014
.07
GOVMONITOR -
Regional and Rural Development Minister Jacinta Allan said the Victorian Government’s Regional Aviation Fund was delivering vital upgrades to further position key regional and rural airports to house larger planes, attract more import and export-related business investment and boost aerial emergency response. “More than ever before, it is vital that our regional airports have the facilities that can house aircraft for emergency medical, health, fire and rescue services,” Ms Allan said. “The Brumby Labor Government is committed to supporting regional airports to capitalise on their potential and that’s why we have invested more than $26 million in the Regional Aviation Fund. …
.08 Coalition’s tourism boost to strengthen regional economy
MySunshineCoast.com.au
“We live in a great part of
.09 An opportunity to de-militarize public diplomacy
MountainRunner.us
The website www.Magharebia.com was started in 2005 by U.S. European Command (EUCOM) to "reach out to a younger audience in the North Africa region with news, sports, entertainment, and current affairs about the
http://mountainrunner.us/2010/08/surrogateweb.html
.10 French Polynesia Vice-President wants better regional integration for
tahitipresse.pf -
French Polynesia Vice-President Edouard Fritch told Pacific Leaders a better regional integration is necessary for Tahiti at the 41st Pacific Islands Forum meeting in
.11 Marine Biodiversity and Biogeography – Regional Comparisons of Global Issues, an Introduction
PLoS ONE - accelerating the publication of peer-reviewed science
The Census of Marine Life grew out of a series of global concept meetings, following a 1995 U.S. National Research Council report indicating that no nation in the world could list the species that live in its offshore exclusive economic zone, as required under the Convention on Biological Diversity. A series of “Known, Unknown, Unknowable” meetings convened in every ocean region enabled the Census Scientific Steering Committee to compile information and enlist people from around the world to form a network of National and Regional Implementation Committees in support of a global effort to resolve this knowledge void. This collection represents the assembled results of their activities. As these data are incorporated into the Census' Ocean Biogeographic Information System and made available through its new home at the UN's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, they will be the best records of most countries' marine biodiversity. The people, technologies, and associations of the Census will play a key role the UN General Assembly's future Regular Marine Assessments. This collection is a major legacy of the Census' US$650 million “Decade of Discovery” to be released in
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0011871
.12 Regional newspapers must adapt to changing technology – James
Stabroek News -
Carimac Director Dr Canute James says that while the traditional newspaper will continue to exist in the
.13 Kangaroo
Stock Journal -
...
12. Blogging about Regional Communities Contents
.01 The Brainpower Map
Creative Class
The most powerful factor in economic growth is human capital – the level and concentration of skilled, energetic, and productive people. Charting the human capital levels of nations and regions is all the rage today, but Adam Smith long ago argued that human capital constitutes a critical fourth factor of production alongside land, labor, and capital. Human capital is the key factor in both national and regional growth, according to careful empirical studies. Most regional economic analyses measure human capital across metropolitan regions. But metro regions – which are made up of central cities and their surrounding suburbs – come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. ... hunch was that regions with more concentrated human capital would have some advantage over others where the distribution was flatter or more similar across the metro. When his article came out, a number of prominent economists more or less said the same thing. But we all added that we couldn’t be sure; most studies focus on human capital at the metro level and few, if any, have looked at the distribution of human capital within metros – that is, between the urban center and its suburbs. So what about the distribution of human capital within metropolitan regions: Does it matter? ...
http://www.creativeclass.com/creative_class/2010/08/03/the-brainpower-map/
.02 Does Dense Make Sense? Part 6. Recommendations
The Blue Line -
...
Pillar I: Provide Alternative Transportation
Alternative transportation is an integral component of regional growth as all communities in
Pillar IV: Create Housing Diversity
As Boulder rapidly approaches buildout, it is important that the City develop methods of creating affordable housing that do not rely as heavily on new development. ... Finally, regional housing choice is still poorly understood.
http://www.boulderblueline.org/2010/08/10/does-dense-make-sense-part-6-recommendations/
.03 US Opposition to New Development is Not Regional – Saint Index
SaintBlog
Years ago, we primarily saw opposition to commercial real estate projects on the coasts due to population density and market maturity. Now it can be just as tough to build in
http://tscg.biz/saintblog/2010/08/us-opposition-to-new-development-is-not-regional-saint-index.html
.04 Location, Regional Accessibility and Price Effects: Evidence from Twin Cities Home Sales
The Transportationist
Regional location factors, with measures of regional accessibility foremost among them, exert a strong influence on urban property markets. While accessibility represents an important regional-scale factor, more local influences such as proximity to urban highway links may also positively or negatively influence the desirability of a location. In this paper, we use a cross-section of home sales in Hennepin County, Minnesota from the years 2001 through 2004, along with a set of disaggregate regional accessibility measures, to estimate the value of access to employment and resident workers. We also estimate the (dis)amenity effects of locations near major freeway links that have recently undergone, or were scheduled to undergo (as of the time period covered by the home sales), major construction to add capacity. ...
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/levin031/transportationist/2010/08/location-regional-accessibilit.html
.05 Exports, competitiveness and regional clusters
The Intangible Economy
... Brookings released a new report on exports and metro areas. While the report contains good analysis and recommendations, I fear its scope is too limiting. ... International exports are only one part of the equation. Every metro area has "exports" regardless of whether those goods and services leave the boundaries of the
.06 To 2040 and Beyond: A Burnham Plan for the 21st Century
Thom Cmar’s Blog
As every native Chicagoan learns in elementary school social studies, over 100 years ago Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett crafted a plan to make
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/tcmar/to_2040_and_beyond_a_burnham_p.html
.07 About the Committee
Asian Carp Control
AsianCarp.org is an official web site established to coordinate the implementation of control and management of Asian carps in the
http://asiancarp.org/Wordpress/about-the-committee/
.08 How Islamic
Food Blog
Contemporary world politics make it necessary for nations to integrate into international unions in the interest of their own national security and economy. In these international unions, which are usually based upon geographic location, such factors as natural resources, trading blocs, and even cultural values play an important role. Many neighboring countries combine their resources under the auspices of such organizations, create defensive alliances, and cooperate on a wide array of issues. The goal of such unions is to preserve peace, control the arms race, resolve disputes through diplomacy, promote socioeconomic development, and protect fundamental human rights and democracy. … Member nations protect their economic and military interests, and also acquire a stronger regional and international position. Even the developed world perceives the necessity of such partnerships. The creation of free trade zones, regional trade agreements, abolished customs controls, and even a common currency (as in the EU) safeguard the future of member states. Defensive pacts enable member states to reduce military expenditures and to divert those resources to cultural and educational fields. A similar organization will provide considerable benefits to Muslim nations. ...
http://www.theagandfoodlawpolicyblog.com/how-islamic-union-will-affect-the-economic-development/
.09 Regional Shows: The New Hook-Up Spot for Booksellers and Bloggers
Follow the Reader
Can bloggers help booksellers make their way into the digital age? The Southern Independent Booksellers Association (SIBA) and New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA) clearly think so – and are opening the doors of their trade shows to bloggers this fall. Bloggers are responding enthusiastically, judging by their outpouring of excitement as they peppered both organizers with questions in our #followreader chat on Twitter ... Key Facts about the Regional Trade Shows for Bloggers: Of course, it costs money and time for bloggers to attend a trade show – so it’s best to weigh the main benefits of regional trade show attendance first: * hearing buzz on upcoming books and chance to sample free galleys * talking one on one with booksellers and publisher sales reps * interviewing authors attending the shows The next step is to see if one if you can make it to one of the nine regional book trade shows in the U.S. this fall. ...
.10 Social Media Gives Regional Brands Home Field Advantage
Absorb the Web
Big brands have dominated advertising and traditional branding spaces for as long as advertising has existed. Their unthinkable marketing budgets have the capability to reach millions of potential customers in a single ad. But the tide is turning in the marketing world. While these large brands have embraced social media, they still have a distinct disadvantage at the regional level. Regional brands have the flexibility to cater their social media campaigns directly to their regional customer base, using the same tools that large brands are using to cover a wider audience. In addition, regional tools and services are growing in popularity which are increasingly difficult for large brands to monitor and be involved with. Regional businesses who take advantage of these tools can easily develop more meaningful customer relationships and create loyal customers and brand evangelists large brands can
http://absorbtheweb.com/social-media-gives-regional-brands-home-field%C2%A0advantage/
.11 PRC Regional Hegemony and the New
International Political Economy Zone Blog
As if we needed more proof that
http://ipezone.blogspot.com/2010/08/prc-regional-hegemony-and-new-silk-road.html
.12 Regional Jets – a Chiropractor’s dream
UnRoadWarrior
For an airline, especially a regional airline like
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/unroadwarrior/2010/08/05/regional-jets-a-chiropractors-dream/
13. Announcements and Regional Links. Contents
.01 OPEN DAYS 2010 - European Week of Cities and Regions - 4- 7 October, 2010 -
Since 5th July, online registration for the OPEN DAYS 2010 seminars is open and approximately 1,000 people have already registered within the first week. Capacities provide for welcoming about 6,000 participants in total but organisers advise to register as soon as possible! Registration will be closed on 22 September.
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/conferences/od2010/index.cfm
.02 Call for Papers/Conference Announcement: WRSA Golden Anniversary Meeting, 1961 – 2011 -
A first Call for Papers has been posted on the WRSA (Western Regional Science Association) website for our upcoming February 27 – March 2, 2011 Golden Anniversary Annual Meeting to be held at the lovely Monterey Plaza Hotel on Cannery Row. It’s not too early to start thinking about a paper to submit by the traditional October 15 deadline. ... The website is accessible at: www.wrsa.info
http://www.narsc.org/newsite/?p=1325
.03 Smart Growth Toolkit - Initiative for Sustainable Communities and States
The Smart Growth Leadership Institute, through a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), developed the tools to help communities untangle the thicket of policies and procedures that get in the way of implementing smart growth strategies.
Many communities are envisioning an alternative future. They want to rebuild their existing neighborhoods and downtowns and design new ones to better respond to the needs and preferences of their citizens. They understand that communities that invest in thoughtful placemaking are also improving their ability to compete in the global marketplace for investments and talent.
...
http://www.sustainablecommunitiesandstates.org/resources/smart-growth-toolkit/
14. Financial Crisis. Contents
Ed. Note: These are some of the sources of information and perspective I subscribe to in an effort to understand the workings of the financial crisis, which has roots in the global economy’s play out during my life-time and working career, e.g., since the end of WW-II.
.01 JESSE
http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/
.02 The Market Oracle
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/
.03 The Modern Mystic
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheModernMystic
.04 Max Keiser
.05 New Economic Perspectives
http://neweconomicperspectives.blogspot.com/
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.
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Tom (Thomas J.) Christoffel, AICP - http://www.regional-communities.com/
