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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 - .15
Blogging about Regional Communities … 12.01 - .05
Announcements and Regional Links … 13.01 - .04
Financial Crisis …14.01 - .03
Custom search: region, regions, regional communities … 15.
Bold Italic highlights phrases relating to regional communities.
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Top Regional Community stories
1. RITA Could Be Catalyst For Growth -
RITA is learning to walk.
Once the Regional Intermodal Transportation Authority masters that, local officials hope it can carry transportation infrastructure improvements that will bring positive change and jobs to the
…
Through his job as intermodal manager at the Western Arkansas Planning and Development District [http://www.wapdd.org/], Mat Pitsch does much of the administrative work for RITA.
…
“If you look at both (the
Fred Abousleman, National Association of Regional Councils executive director, said regionalism — cooperation between cities, counties and states — is growing. It’s an efficient way to leverage scarce resources in a recession and maximize strengths.
Transportation is a natural fit for regional cooperation because its transportation infrastructure that connects cities, counties and states, he said.
… RITA is the central circle in three concentric circles. Outside the Crawford and Sebastian counties that fill the center circle is another that surrounds
A third encompasses those and parts of eastern
If transportation improvements and regional cooperation are catalysts for future growth, then those circles one day may define a “megaregion” — a buzz word used to describe clusters of cities with interlocking economies, common natural resources and shared transportation links.
When RITA celebrates its birthday in 2020, a megaregion may be in the process of being born.
http://www.swtimes.com/special_reports/article_f81e30ca-b791-11df-aa49-001cc4c03286.html
2. Metro pushes transit for Surrey, not UBC - The Vancouver Sun -
…
Metro
Under the regional growth strategy, Metro is proposing to develop more "urban centres" with office, retail, community and cultural space, and higher density housing to keep people living and working closer to home or along transit corridors.
Metro has been struggling for years to concentrate development in these centres, and to curb sprawl from extending into rural areas.
…
"Our transit network is very poor," she said, adding that
…
"That
Carline said it
The draft regional growth report -- the fifth to be released since the 1960s -- has been in the works since 2002. …
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Metro+pushes+transit+Surrey/3481310/story.html
3. Dove: Future bright for development in Northeast Georgia - Online Athens - Athens Banner-Herald -
Despite the economic crunch of the latter part of this decade, the region continues to grow its population base. The 12-county region, Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Jasper, Madison, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe and Walton counties, had a population of 438,300 in 2000. U.S. Census Bureau estimates the population at 584,008 in 2009, an increase of 33 percent from the previous census. …
This population surge continues due to several factors. …
The state Department of Labor provides work force statistics utilizing the boundaries of the state
With the emphasis on industrial and commercial recruitment and expansion by industrial development authorities, chambers of commerce and elected officials, jobs continue to be created in our region. …
Work Ready Certificate attainment through July in our 12 counties is as follows: …
Economic development in the region is positively impacted by many of our municipalities relative to downtown redevelopment.
In summary, the
A meeting recently was held to learn more regarding advantages of participating in a regional transportation sales tax. A 10-county solid waste management plan recently was drafted. And the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission recently began efforts to prepare a regional comprehensive plan that will serve as a blueprint for policymakers through 2035. This region is viewed by state and federal officials as one where cooperation and building partnerships are an everyday occurrence.
• Jim Dove is the executive director of the
http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/090510/bus_704373562.shtml
4. MERHOFF: Regionalism according to Yoda - Indianapolis Business Journal -
…
Like most regions throughout the country, central Indiana has been trying for years to plan and act regionally, following the success stories of the Charlottes, Denvers and Louisvilles of the world. It isn’t easy.
For one, there’s our natural bias for what we see as ours, and what’s “ours” is pretty close by. If a neighboring community has a problem that doesn’t directly affect us, then it’s their issue. We tout our own community’s success stories and deride others’. If the amenity isn’t in our city, then it’s foolish, ill-conceived or at least in the wrong place. We draw mental lines between cities when real barriers no longer exist.
Second, we presume a hierarchy exists, when a collaborative leadership network is the goal. Recently, Roland Dorson, president of the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, convened a regional group to hear a review of central
Third, like most people everywhere, we tend to work together only when things reach a crisis level. We’ll collaborate on a plan to leave the platform only after it’s already on fire.
In today’s connected world, none of these impediments to regional thinking makes any sense. Ted Abernathy, executive director of the Southern Growth Policies Board, spoke recently at the American Chamber of Commerce Executives convention to a large, national audience of chamber leaders hungry for advice on how to create successful collaboration and regionalism. The fact that areas acting regionally are winning the economic development game is not lost on chamber executives.
…
http://www.ibj.com/merhoff-regionalism-according-to-yoda/PARAMS/article/22049
5. Salaries surprising in the St. Petersburg-Tampa sibling rivalry - St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Now here's something interesting when it comes to the simmering sibling rivalry between
No, I'm not talking about where the Tampa Bay Rays may one day play. I'm not even talking about that regional nickname, "
But if it seems like all
In fact,
Take that,
…
Iorio doesn't worry about pay disparity. "The pay is just not what it's all about," she says.
Foster wasn't aware of it, and has only good things to say about his next-door neighbor.
In fact, when it comes to rivalry, everyone's sounding awfully hands-across-the-bay these days, talking regional rather than parochial.
The Republican National Convention? Foster's glad
And though others in her town might think differently, Iorio expresses no interest in luring the Rays. "I believe in regionalism, and I believe the assets of the region belong to all of us," she has said.
Meanwhile, he's taking her to lunch and to see a recent feather in
And she's looking forward to it.
"I've always said what's good for
Except, of course, when it comes to where the Rays will ultimately play.
But, hey, that's another sibling rivalry story for another day.
6. Regional and local government - Association of Corporate Counsel -
Our comment:
The Coalition has effectively abolished the regional tier of government in
Nonetheless, there is little doubt that the current changes are politically driven. Regionalism is a concept much loved by the European Commission, and therefore not much loved by many in the Coalition. And the RDAs are being abolished in spite of general support for their work within the regional business communities, and recent research by PricewaterhouseCoopers suggesting that their investments represent good value for money. It is questionable whether the new LEPs, for which the budget will be significantly lower than that which has been available to the RDAs, can hope to have a similar impact.
Ultimately, whether this amounts to a recentralisation of power in
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=d5ec458e-bd42-4cad-bc4e-cb2e2ab93652
7. Two-state regional plan proposed - Rome News Tribune -
The Floyd County Commission is expected to discuss Tuesday if it will join a 25-county consortium in Northwest Georgia and
The partnership — spurred by the economic ripple effect of
The U.S. Transportation Department and Environmental Protection Agency also are involved in the competitive new program that could provide as much as $5 million to the region.
“The more counties that participate, the more points the grant application will get,” County Manager Kevin Poe said. “I’m not sure right now how we’d directly benefit, but there is speculation that the feds will want regional efforts for future grant awards.”
The trend is apparent in
The state legislature also addressed a transportation funding shortage this year by creating a mechanism for each district to come up with a package of projects to be funded through a regional sales tax.
“They’re forcing us to be regional,” Commission Chairman Eddie Lumsden said. “It’s the carrot-and-stick.”
The 15-county Northwest Georgia Regional Commission and the 10-county Southeast
If awarded, the 3-year grant will fund a long-range plan to integrate housing, land-use, economic and workforce development, transportation and infrastructure investments.
The goal is for one jurisdiction to be able to easily leverage another jurisdiction’s resources.
Poe said regional efforts have benefited the county in the past.
…
8. Area leaders take step toward regionalism - The Natchez Democrat -
The Miss-Lou got another step closer to achieving a united front against many social and economic problems at the regionalism luncheon Tuesday.
The chairperson for each of the four sub-committees set up by the Miss-Lou Steering Committee spoke at the luncheon, outlining future goals they had for their groups.
Natchez Mayor Jake Middleton opened the luncheon in the
“It is great to have three chambers of commerce working together to move this area forward,” Middleton said.
The four areas in which the steering committee is working on improvement are health care, education, economic development and community development.
Sarah Smith, chairperson for the subcommittee on health care, said there are many areas of health care in which the Miss-Lou is in need of help.
“Our public needs to be educated on health care options that are available to them,” she said. “We need to work on getting health care information out to the public.”
Smith said encouraging physicians to come to the area and also encouraging patients to stay in the area for treatment are two of the biggest goals for the committee.
“Sixty percent of patients leave the Miss-Lou for health care,” Smith said. “We need our hospitals to work together to convince patients to stay in the area to be treated.”
Smith said her committee is working on ways of getting the public aware of health care options.
“In the spring we are looking at having a regional health care event,” she said. “We are going to have physicians come in and talk to the citizens about health care.”
Ruth Nichols, chairperson for the subcommittee on education, said the subcommittee is working on ways of waiving the out-of-state tuition fees for students in the region.
“We have made some progress on this,” she said. “
Nichols also said the group was working on educating the parents in the area.
“If the parents are educated we will have more support for the school systems,” Nichols said. “With help from Alcorn, we are going to be doing community surveys to help get a true report of issues and concerns in the region.”
http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/news/2010/aug/31/area-leaders-take-united-step-toward-regionalism/
9.
“Regionalization with other counties is something we’re exploring,” said Human Services Director John Dinsmore to members of the
… He pointed out three major changes.
The first, said Dinsmore, is the use of technology via scanning/document imaging to enable more efficient work processes. Next is utilization of what he terms as “out-of-class assignment positions.” This would involve rehiring of former employees via a temporary employment agency, and the use of a recently developed phased retirement enabling eligible employees to work up to 20 hours per week as part-time employees.
A third option, said Dinsmore, is exploration of the possibility to hire or reassign other county workers from within county government’s other departments to serve as financial workers.
“We’ve begun to analyze implementation of an alternative caseload management system,” he said, “referred to as the case bank approach. Program areas include health care, cash and food stamp service, family services, adult services and child care.”
Dinsmore told commissioners that the traditional caseload management model has become increasingly less viable. He said that program growth and corresponding caseload sizes have steadily and significantly increased in the past three years. At the same time, the agency’s workforce has been reduced by 12 full-time equivalent staff positions.
…
http://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/news/2010/aug/17/county-hr-explores-regionalization/
RC: West Central Initiative - Region 4 http://www.wcif.org/
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 Interstate 81 session may mull transportation, bring 6 states together in
The
Representatives of all six states along the nearly 900-mile Interstate 81 corridor would gather in the
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/259137
.02 The Smart-Growth Set
WashingtonCityPaper.com -
Most fights among D.C. residents somehow involve parking. So you could argue that David Alpert’s introduction to local political warfare was only typical. Alpert’s position in the fracas, though, was somewhat unique. Where most Washingtonians tend to kvetch about how difficult it is to snag a street spot, Alpert wanted less parking, not more. Back in 2008, as the District’s Zoning Commission started work on a comprehensive rewrite, Alpert embraced the idea of decreasing the number of parking spots required for new developments. “That was my first exposure to the antis,” Alpert says, employing his general label for people who oppose change on principle. “Because I went to these meetings, and there were these people, like Barbara Zartman from the Committee of 100. She was there to fight hard for keeping the zoning the way it was, basically, against the efforts of the Office of Planning to upset the apple cart of these prohibitions on lots of things.” Alpert took to the blog he had started earlier that year, Greater Greater Washington [ http://greatergreaterwashington.org/ ], to launch his counterintuitive counteroffensive. For 10 days, he posted one reason per day why parking minimums were bad: They make housing more expensive and render good commercial development projects unfeasible, he argued. They increase traffic. They’re a reason, in other words, that locals pay so much in rent, have so few places to shop, and spend so much time in traffic. ... “David has given us the best in the nation in terms of blogging communication,” says Stewart Schwartz, president of the 13-year-old coalition. “It taps into some very smart people in the
.03 New tool helps consumers see how location impacts transportation costs
Initiative for Sustainable Communities and States – Washington,
Land located on the fringe of an urban region is often less expensive than land located closer to downtown. Many planners and sustainability leaders know, however, that those land prices can hide higher costs of transportation. The cost of driving long distances to reach work, school, or the grocery store can add up fast. An updated tool from CNT provides a straightforward way for local governments to market downtown housing and help consumers make their housing choices with as much information as possible. With Abogo, simply enter an address [http://abogo.cnt.org/ ] and see the estimated monthly household transportation costs. Compare different locations within your region to get a clear picture of how much money can be saved with an efficiently located home.
.04 Local leaders discuss regional sustainability
Local leaders in the fields of politics, business and environmentalism gathered in
http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/35734/Local_leaders_discuss_regional_sustainability
.05 A Win for Regional Innovation
ScienceProgress.org
... pioneering Energy Regional Innovation Cluster program represents a whole new level of interagency coordination rarely before seen from the federal government—a triumph for the Obama administration and the Recovery Act. The Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and Small Business Administration, the Department of Labor, the Department of Education, and the National Science Foundation will all coordinate new and existing programs to deliver grants, services, and programmatic support to the researchers, builders, and entrepreneurs of the new innovation cluster. The hope is that by bringing together diverse public and private sector actors to solve a problem collaboratively, the sum of the whole will exceed the sum of the individual parts. The diverse group of organizations in the winning consortium, which goes by the name Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster or, GPIC, includes 11 academic institutions, two DOE laboratories, five high-profile industry partners, and federal and regional economic development agencies. Not all members of the consortium are local. Some are multinational corporations such as IBM Corp., or are located as far away as Lawrence Livermore National Lab in
http://www.scienceprogress.org/2010/08/a-win-for-regional-innovation/
.06 Mapping Troubled Housing Markets
Creative Class Exchange
... While the
http://www.creativeclass.com/creative_class/2010/09/03/mapping-troubled-housing-markets/
.07 We say ... Let’s be regional friends
Bluffton Today -
Noteworthy overtures for
http://www.npaper-wehaa.com/bluffton-today/2010/08/29/#?page=8
.08
GOVMONITOR -
Building on the Patrick-Murray Administration’s efforts to strengthen partnerships with cities and towns across the Commonwealth, Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray announced a total of $450,000 in regionalization planning and implementation grants that will be distributed to eight school districts statewide. The grants will help school districts explore efficiencies in budgeting through expanded partnerships and increased capacity to improve teaching and learning in schools. The Patrick-Murray Administration has focused on school district regionalization as a way to help school districts discover new opportunities for shared budgeting to purchase goods and services, build teaching capacity and share best practices and educational approaches to help all students access a 21st century education. ...
.09 Cumru agrees to study of regional firefighting
Reading Eagle -
A proposal to study a regional fire department for the Gov. Mifflin area got a boost Tuesday from
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=242360
.10 Coloring
... Heidelberg Project, which is on
http://americancity.org/buzz/entry/2549/
.11
OregonLive.com -
When Executive Director Bruce Ziegman left a watch party the night of a vote to raise the
.12 Scientists search for invasive marine species
A team of 25 scientists surveying piers, docks and coves on the region’s coast for invasive pests is documenting the growing problem of sea squirts as well as a newcomer, red alga, that has been spreading in southern
http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/Portland/Scientists-search-for-invasive-marine-species,150195
.13 Get Out the Shovel: Metro Wants Regional Connector Underground
LA Curbed -
Metro kept to their deadlines and released both environmental impact reports for the Regional Connector project and the Westside subway extension by putting them out before the end of summer (just under the wire). More on the subway soon. The Regional Connector is a two-mile link which "would include several new stations downtown and would allow continuous train operations between Long Beach and Azusa and from East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley to Santa Monica without the need to transfer," according to the EIR. Metro looked at four options--building nothing, connecting trains with at-grade stations downtown, connecting trains with a mostly underground route downtown, and finally, doing the whole darn thing underground (image is of a typical underground station). They chose the last option, supported by downtown locals, as their recommendation. Metro is planning to use a mix of local, state, and federal funds to pay for the $1.24 billion project, with the bulk of the funding from Measure R. ...
.14 Audit of regional centers finds nepotism, fear of retaliation
A nonprofit executive awarded state funds to her sister even though the service was available at a lower cost. A chief executive breached a confidential police tipline. And workers spent $900,000 on transportation - purposely spiking the budget to ensure more money the next year. Those were some of the findings in a Bureau of State Audits report about state oversight of regional centers, nonprofit organizations that spend about $3.4 billion annually to serve 240,000 Californians with developmental disabilities. The state’s Department of Developmental Services oversees the 21 regional centers throughout the state, which contract with other nonprofits that render direct services to clients such as in-home care and transportation. ... audit found that the regional centers did little to justify or create an objective base for setting rates for services, a responsibility that state DDS overseers say is not in their purview. ... Department of Developmental Services deputy director Rita Walker said in an interview that the agency has sent directives to the regional centers reminding them to shore up policies and procedures related to contracting, service purchasing and conflict of interest. However, DDS took exception with an audit recommendation that it do more to oversee vendor selection and cost-benefit analyses among competing vendors. The state said such a role is best filled by the regional centers. ...
.15 SHINING LIGHT AWARD WINNERS: 4 work tirelessly as region boosters
FREEP.com -
Four metro Detroiters who spend their lives forging partnerships that have improved the region are this year
http://www.freep.com/article/20100905/NEWS05/9050534/1001/News/4-work-tirelessly-as-region-boosters
.16 Praise for
The
.17 Registry adds value to regional data exchange
Healthcare IT News -
CareSpark, a nonprofit regional health information organization (RHIO) serving Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, is proving the value of health information exchanges through several projects that rely on its provider registry. As a participant in the Social Security Administration (SSA) pilot project, CareSpark receives patient authorization requests from SSA and forwards the necessary provider records to SSA through secure messaging. This electronic process reduces the turnaround time for disability determination from weeks to hours, according to Pat Pope, provider relations coordinator for CareSpark. As a result, both patients and healthcare providers get paid more quickly. "We
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/registry-adds-value-regional-data-exchange
.18 Sixth Annual Regional Infrastructure Conference Set
Central
The Central Fort Bend Chamber Alliance (CFBCA) and the organization’s Infrastructure Department, chaired by Justin Ring of Edminster Hinshaw Russ & Assoc., have just released the schedule of speakers for their Sixth Annual Fort Bend Regional Infrastructure Conference. ... Now known as one of the leading resources for updates, forecasts, technical information and project leads on area roads, highways, rail, ports, natural resources and environmental issues, and attracting some of the state’s foremost authorities on those subjects, the conference relocated to a larger venue this year in order to accommodate the high attendance demands. ... Three keynote speakers will anchor the event with information focused on varying aspects of infrastructure in
RC: Houston-Galveston Area Council - http://www.h-gac.com/
11. Other Regional Community News for Our Local Planet Contents
.01
World Blog MSNBC News –
... The mega-backup on National Expressway 110 (or G110) had begun on August 14. ("Expressway" is a rather exalted name for what at times, far away from the capital, was no more than a two-lane dirt path.) Even under the best circumstances, the G110 is susceptible to gridlock. Every day, thousands of trucks, carrying eight tons or more, bear down on the expressway. The G110 also attracts commercial vehicles because it
http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/08/25/4965830-chinas-monster-traffic-jam-gone-for-now
.02 The Inconvenient Truth About Traffic Math: Progress Is Slow
The Wall Street Journal -
This month
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575453921039632134.html
.03
In the three decades since Deng Xiaoping declared that China’s economic development would necessarily involve some people becoming rich before others, inequalities have risen steadily across (and within) China’s provinces and regions. To some extent, this outcome has been the natural consequence of market forces in a large developing economy; the historical and geographical advantages of the east ensured industrialisation would occur there first. Deng’s Open Door Policy and Coastal Development Strategy compounded these advantages with a range of preferential policies explicitly promoting the development of the eastern region. Yet Deng insisted that there would be no polarisation of rich and poor in the longer term, and that people elsewhere simply needed a little patience, referring to the ‘two great situations’ in which coastal provinces would be given advantages during the early reform years but would subsequently be expected to subordinate their interests to interior areas. ...
http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2010/08/31/chinas-prospects-for-diminishing-regional-disparities/
.04 Fire services 'wasted millions on new look control centres'
Telegraph.co.uk -
Nine regional “super control centres” built to replace smaller units have been empty for up to three years partly because of problems with IT systems. Taxpayers have been left footing a rent bill of more than a £1 million a month. The nine control centres were constructed as part of a government project, known as FiReControl, to revamp and regionalise the fire service and reduce the number of centres that handled emergency calls. Scheduled to cost around £340 million, costs have since swollen to £423 million. The centres were established after concerns were raised about the lack of capabilities for authorities to react to major disasters. However, some problems with computer systems, installed by European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) mean certain new centres may not be in operation until 2013. ...
.05 Pacific Women Call for Stronger Regional Processes to Accelerate Equality
Solomon Times Online -
The 11th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women held at SPC headquarters in
Regional agencies also continue to operate without sufficient gender expertise in their staffing structures to ensure that women's needs and perspectives are front and centre in all development dialogues. ...
http://www.solomontimes.com/news.aspx?nwID=5505
.06 Global financial crisis may hamper African health development
Afrique en ligne
The WHO regional Director for
.07 Time running out for regional food security
Stabrock News -
Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud ... time is running out in the
http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/news/stories/12/01/time-running-out-for-regional-food-security/
.08 Leaders of the West must plan region’s economic growth
Peace FM Online -
Members of Parliament, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) from the Western Region have been urged to work together to strategize and plan the region’s development towards accelerated economic growth. Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, Western Regional Minister, who made the call, expressed worry that though the region produces the bulk of the nation’s resources it is among the least developed. He, therefore, impressed upon its political leaders to consider it expedient to jointly identify, examine and map out strategies to deal the with the problems militating against the region’s development. The Minister made the call at the opening of a three-day retreat, organized by the Western Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) for the MPs, MMDCEs and heads of departments to deliberate on the unfortunate situation and find solutions to them. Traditional rulers also attended the retreat. ...
http://news.peacefmonline.com/social/201009/78558.php
.09
OpenDemocracy.net
As the endgame in
...
http://www.opendemocracy.net/ehsan-azari-stanizai/iran-reinvigorates-strategy-for-regional-dominance
.10 Arms Race on the Caspian?
The-Diplomat.com
The Caspian Sea, an oil-rich body of water on the border of Iran and the former Soviet Union, has seen an unprecedented amount of naval activity this year: Iran has launched its largest ship yet into the Caspian, Kazakhstan has declared plans to start construction of six new ships by the end of the year and Turkmenistan announced the creation of its first navy. This military build-up, though so far still modest in scope, has observers wondering if the stage is being set for an arms race on this heretofore quiet sea. The stakes in the
http://the-diplomat.com/2010/08/31/arms-race-on-the-caspian/
.11 Regional Committee a milestone for
infonews.co.nz
http://www.infonews.co.nz/news.cfm?id=56959
.12 Councils pull out of regional body
The Chronicle - Toowoomba QLD,
TOOWOOMBA’S grand plan for the region is in tatters this week after it was rejected by all but one of south-west
http://www.thechronicle.com.au/story/2010/08/31/Councils-pull-support-of-regional-body/
.13 Work begins on five regional museums: SCTA
ArabNews.com
The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities has begun building regional museums in Dammam, Abha, Hail, Tabuk and Baha, Prince Sultan bin Salman, chairman of the SCTA, said on Sunday. “We have also completed studies on renovating six museums in Domat Al-Jundal, Taima, Al-Ula, Hufouf, Sabya and Najran,” he said, stressing SCTA’s efforts to make museums part of Saudi culture. Prince Sultan commended Mohammed Jameel, president of Abdul Latif Jameel Group, for donating SR10 million to develop the
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article119024.ece
.14 NATO: 60 Year of Regional Politics
Grandonk Dot Com
May 2009, is a remarkable year in history of Regional politics. The most successful military alliance in world politics completed its 60 years. Since 1945, one of the remarkable development took places in the International Politics is the proliferation of supranational and regional organizations. In the Cold War period, there is a remarkable flowering of regional arrangement. As a concept of Politics, regionalism means, organizing states and dependent areas on a regional basis or association of states, which are bound by ties of common interests as well as of geography. To quote Stoessinger, “it is a grouping of three or more states whose goal is the formation of a distinct political entity”. The existence of regionalism in world politics is seen form the Greek period, with the establishment of Athenian League as early as Fifth Century BC. In modern context it got its impetus in the wake of Napoleonic Wars. But it was few and less organized. It was only after the World War II, that regionalism evolved as a striking force. Significantly, the United Nations Charter permits such organizations on regional basis. Article 52 of the UN charter allows regional arrangement for collective self defense. ...
http://www.grandonk.com/hot-news/nato-60-year-of-regional-politics.html
.15 Niehaus Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Regional
Scholarships-positions.com
Fellowship program in the
12. Blogging about Regional Communities Contents
.01 Great Recession Geography: Unemployed Migration
Burgh Diaspora
I figure most people underestimate the dear costs of geographic immobility. Hence the obsession with impeding outmigration. Perhaps some data will change a few minds: According to the 2010 Corporate Relocation Survey conducted by Evansville, Ind.-based Atlas World Group, 56 percent of companies saw employees decline an opportunity to relocate in the past year, with a third of companies saying the number of employees who declined a transfer increased over the previous year. Of those who declined transfers, most cited housing or mortgage concerns as their primary reason, the first time any reason besides “family ties” was cited since Atlas began asking the question in 1983. ... Penn said the mobility crunch is “more of a problem now than it was in the last couple of recessions,” thanks to the national emphasis on homeownership. ... You can find the Federal Reserve Bank study here.
http://burghdiaspora.blogspot.com/2010/09/great-recession-geography-unemployed.html
.02 The future of regional policy
The Endless Track
The debate about the future of regional policy (or cohesion policy) in the 2014 to 2020 budget period is beginning to heat up. EUobserver reports that Polish diplomats are being told to vigorously defend the Cohesion Fund, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Social Fund (ESF), a significant proportion of which are currently directed to
http://theendlesstrack.wordpress.com/2010/08/24/the-future-of-regional-policy/
.03 UNESCAP: New Regional Decade on Disability Starting from 2013
Rolling Rains Report
A United Nations meeting held in
.04 Regional Funding Differences And The Distribution of Great Art(s)
Real Clear Arts
When it comes to viewing great art, Americans face a disparity of opportunity -- a fact that has always troubled me. It may be politically incorrect, but it shouldn't be controversial to say that most of the best visual art in the
http://www.artsjournal.com/realcleararts/2010/08/regional-funding-differences.html
.05
THE ISN BLOG
Although it has a booming economy and holds a strategic position in the Asia-Pacific,
* An Analysis by Fergus Hanson that examines the strategically important but still weak Australia-Indonesia relationship.
* A Podcast with Andrew Shearer of the Lowy Institute in
* Security Watch stories on the recent elections in
* Publications, housed in our Digital Library, including a Lowy Institute paper on Australian investment in
* …
http://isnblog.ethz.ch/isn-weekly-theme/australias-regional-reach
13. Announcements and Regional Links. Contents
.01 Sustainable Regions: States and Localities Working Regionally in the Mid-Atlantic - 7th Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Roundtable - September 30- October 1 –
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Roundtable fosters communication and coordination between regions on transportation issues. “This conference not only provides an important opportunity to discuss how we want our region to grow and develop, it offers the opportunity for coordination among the many stakeholders and citizens of the Mid-Atlantic region,” said Tigist Zegeye, Executive Director of WILMAPCO the host agency. Paul Schmid, Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator, Thomas Carper will present the keynote speech.
On September 30, a Riverfront Walking Tour will showcase
The October 1 program includes a variety of sessions for transportation planners, elected and appointed officials, and private sector professionals, to dialogue about critical gaps and opportunities for regional coordination of transportation and related planning issues. The focus will be on sustainable regional planning and strategies needed to align states and regions with future federal transportation legislation, which will have a greater emphasis on sustainability and clean transportation. This important forum will also showcase sustainable transportation oriented development and high-speed rail.
There is no registration fee due to sponsorship. For the detailed agenda and to register, please visit: www.wilmapco.org/mid-atlantic
.02 4th Global Entrepreneurship Research Conference - 30 September - 2 October - Imperial College Business School -
Sponsors:
We particularly invite policy and business practitioners to attend the conference and debate the implications of latest research data for the design and implementation of policies to support economic dynamism. The conference debates research papers on themes related to entrepreneurship, economic development and public policy, with submissions on the following topics:
* Entrepreneurship dynamics in stages of economic development
* Culture and entrepreneurship
* Economic institutions and entrepreneurship
* Networking and entrepreneurship
* Gender and entrepreneurship
* Entrepreneurship and innovation
* Finance and entrepreneurship
* Global entrepreneurship and development indicators
For more information and to register online: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/business-school/research/innovationandentrepreneurship/events/gerc
Professor Erkko Autio
QinetiQ-EPSRC Chair in Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship
South Kensington Campus
E: erkko.autio@imperial.ac.uk
E: rose.shaddock@imperial.ac.uk (for queries regarding registration)
.03 The Journal of Regional Analysis & Policy, Vol. 40, Number 1 - Mid-Continent Regional Science Association
Regular Articles:
A Spatial Econometric Approach to Measuring Pollution Externalities: An Application to Ozone Smog C.-Y. Cynthia Lin
Evaluating
An Examination of Domestic Migration from California Counties Ronald J. Gunderson and David J. Sorenson
Costs of Defending Against
The Impacts of Local Innovation and Innovative Spillovers on Employment and Population Growth in the
States’ Nonagricultural Employment at the 3-Digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Level Edward Nissan and George Carter
The Income Distribution Effect of Natural Disasters: An Analysis of Hurricane Katrina. Timothy M. Shaughnessy, Mary L. White, and Michael D. Brendler
JRAP is an open access scholarly journal sponsored by the Mid-Continent Regional Science Association. One can access the newest issue and the entire JRAP catalog here: http://www.jrap-journal.org/
.04 About the UN Regional Commissions - un.org
The Regional Commissions are the regional outposts of the United Nations in their respective regions. They are also an integral part of their regional institutional landscape. Stationed in five regions of the world, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA) share key objectives aiming to foster economic integration at the subregional and regional levels, to promote the regional implementation of internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and to support regional sustainable development by contributing to bridging economic, social and environmental gaps among their member countries and subregions. To achieve these objectives, the five Regional Commissions promote multilateral dialogue, knowledge sharing and networking at the regional level, and work together to promote intra- regional and inter-regional cooperation, both among themselves and through collaboration with other regional organisations.
http://www.un.org/regionalcommissions/about.html
14. Financial Crisis. Contents
.01 Is the Economy as Broke as Lehman Was? - michael-hudson.com -
...
Sidestepping the Fraud Issue: Bailing out fraudsters instead of saving
Recent federal bankruptcy proceedings have exposed Lehman’s deceptive off-balance-sheet accounting gimmicks such as Repo 105 to conceal its true position. No fraud charges have yet been levied, but this is the invisible elephant in the
So the Fed, the Treasury and the Justice Department have merely taken the timid baby step of pointing out that Lehman suffered from such bad management that no firm was willing to buy it out. Barclay’s was interested, but Mr. Fuld was so greedy that he found its offer not rich enough for his taste. So he ended up with nothing. It is a classic morality tale. But evidently not fraud.
The fraud issue lies as far outside the scope of the financial committee meetings as does the question of how the economy should cope with its unpayably high mortgage, state and local debts in the face of its inadequately funded pension obligations. Fed Chairman Bernanke testified on Thursday, Sept. 2, that “the market” itself breeds what most people would call fraud. Widening the market for home ownership necessarily involves lowering loan standards, he explained. But as the Lehman failure illustrates, where should we draw the line between “illiquidity” and insolvency on the one hand, and higher risk and outright fraud?
...
http://michael-hudson.com/2010/09/is-the-economy-as-broke-as-lehman-was/
More Michael Hudson: http://www.worldinbalance.net/opinion/archives/michaelhudson-2010.php
.02 Bill Black Says Treasury Is Lying About Kabul Bank Bailout - The Daily Bail
The New York Times, in a story entitled “Afghanistan Tries to Help Nation’s Biggest Bank” issued the following correction:
Correction: September 4, 2010
An earlier version of this article, citing American and Afghan officials, erroneously stated that the
The problem is that the “earlier version” was correct – the correction is incorrect. Kabul Bank has been revealed to be a “control fraud.” Control frauds occur when those that control a seemingly legitimate entity use it as a “weapon” to defraud. Control frauds cause greater financial losses than all other forms of property crime – combined. Control frauds can also cause immense damage to a nation because they are run by financial elites that curry favor from political elites. The result is that they are often able to loot “their” banks for years with impunity. They also degrade the integrity of the entire system.
Kabul Bank is a typical example of a crude variant of control fraud at a major bank. Systems of crony capitalism, such as
http://dailybail.com/home/bill-black-says-treasury-is-lying-about-kabul-bank-bailout.html
.03 What Really Happens After TSHTF - When Giants Fall
No small number of people have images in their heads of a post-crash
Even though by definition the ultimate objective is living, when we talk about urban survival we aspire to a minimum amount of freedom and dignity in our lives. Living as a prisoner [or] slave, or in a cardboard box under a bridge and cleaning windshields for a living, is still living, but alas, its certainly not the life quality we want. Its about maintaining the minimum standard of living we need so as to not go nuts. Nonetheless, I thought it would be interesting to [note] what actually gets you killed after an economic collapse. I think it’s an interesting exercise and it also helps [us to] reevaluate our priorities from a more realistic perspective. For this I used some statistics [from] after the 2001 Argentine crisis. It
http://www.economicroadmap.com/2010/08/after-tshtf.html
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 researched 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
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Tom (Thomas J.) Christoffel, AICP - http://www.regional-communities.com/
