Regional Community Development News - Top Stories - June 28-29, 2011
1. A New Threat to Regional Government & Environmental Quality at Lake Tahoe « Legal Planet: Environmental Law and Policy
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It seems extremely unlikely that California will accede to Nevada’s political demands. (As noted above, it was California’s insistence that the Tahoe Compact be made more environmentally protective that produced the revised, 1980 bi-state Compact. Environmental preservation of Lake Tahoe continues to draw widespread, bipartisan support among Californians.) So unless Nevada blinks and repeals this unfortunate act of political extortion, nearly a half century of bi-state cooperation and environmental leadership will end in 2015, when Nevada withdraws from the Tahoe Compact. What happens thereafter–and whether the Tahoe Basin’s fragile environment can be preserved–is anyone’s guess.
2. Addressing Regional Skill Gaps « EMSI | Economic Modeling Specialists Inc.
So the topic du jour is the skills mismatch in the US, which is all about how employers are having a hard time finding appropriately skilled employees during a time of abundant unemployment. It’s an odd phenomenon, and one that has folks at all levels flummoxed.
So why is this happening? There are a bunch of explanations – economic change has revealed that the American workforce: 1) has a lot of out-of-date skills and training; 2) vocational institutions and higher education aren’t equipping students with what employers want; 3) rapid advances in technology and business have created skills needs that very few possess; 4) as businesses become more lean, they want more out of their employees.
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Below are a series of steps that EMSI recommends. From a best practices standpoint, our clients have taken the critical information identified through this process to execute new strategies, invest in innovative practices, and adjust to rapidly changing economic environments.
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3. A Restructuring of Census Bureau Regional Offices - The Director's Blog
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The regional offices are a key part of our work, and we have been deliberating since April 2010 on how best to organize them for the future. Our goal is to prepare the Census Bureau for the changing landscape of statistical data collection we see coming.
We have decided to transition from a Regional Office design of 12 offices to one of 6 offices. The transition has begun and will be fully completed by January 2013. The new design strengthens and unifies the supervision of field representatives and increases the number of supervisory staff working out of their homes. Simultaneously, we are reviewing the technical and administrative organization within the headquarters offices in order to assure that we have both a strong technical skill mix and a cost efficient administrative organization, matching that of the new regional structure.
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4. Create a network of regional European news agency | Social European Journalism Blog
This proposal was submitted to us by Jean Lemaître ( Director of IHECS International and Further education) and Thomas Lemaigre ( Director of Alter Agency ).
Around 800 European journalists are accredited to European Institutions. They do a hard and necessary work. But they generally favour political and institutional information and often find themselves isolated from their national and regional editors, who compartmentalise European information without leaving sufficient breathing space for the local dimension.
Furthermore, fewer and fewer media can afford the taxes and expenses to maintain a journalist in Brussels. With a few exceptions, they are essentially national media.
At the same time, dozens of thousands journalists work in the 27 Member states, on regional and local areas, close to citizens: local radio and televisions, town and associative newspapers, Internet…...
Our proposal:
We offer to set up a network of regional European press agencies which:
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5. Plan unveiled to build region's 'Culturescape' - The Cornwall Standard Freeholder - Ontario, CA
The regional culture plan ... recommending that a special committee be formed to consolidate resources, including the creation of a central arts facility, in the hopes of boosting economic spinoff opportunities.
The plan, called Building the Culturescape in Cornwall and the Communities of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, was presented to about a dozen municipal politicians and close to 100 members of the public ...
High amongst the recommendations is a cultural council, which would be the glue toward embellishing cultural pursuits in the region, ...
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One of the recommendations cited the role for municipalities to establish a "funding envelope" which moves the plan forward consistently. Oftentimes, some money is needed to "leverage" provincial and federal grant programs.
Another recommendation, to create a cultural map listing as many activities and venues as possible, is needed.
6. Thinking regionally: Great Lakes Bay collaboration growing - Midland Daily News:
Collaboration is growing in the Great Lakes Bay Region, according to attendees at a first-ever community update on regional efforts.
The Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance organized the event Tuesday at the Midland Center for the Arts, bringing together leaders from Midland, Bay, Saginaw and Isabella counties.
Terry Moore, CEO of the GLBR Alliance, said councils have been formed to improve advocacy efforts, economic development, education and arts and entertainment in the region. The organization also runs the GLBR Leadership Institute, now 171 graduates strong, to spread the message that the communities in the region are stronger together than alone."
Together, we are enough," Moore said. "We're able to do what needs to be done and we are in the process of doing it."
Moore welcomed Isabella County into the alliance at the event.
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"Regional cooperation and collaboration are key elements in a thriving regional economy," ...
7. 'Vision' folly | Press-Enterprise Editorials | PE.com | News for Inland Southern California
Spurring greater regional cooperation in San Bernardino County requires more than feel-good public relations symbolism. Yes, collaboration by local governments can be effective at addressing common needs. But innocuous generalities will not build a countywide partnership; city and county officials need to develop practical approaches to reach that goal.
Local government officials plan to adopt a new shared "vision" for the county at a June 30 meeting of the San Bernardino Associated Governments. ...
... developing a coordinated strategy requires something more substantial than the banal results of a "visioning process."
San Bernardino County should focus on functional ways to meet countywide needs, not on rhetorical gestures. Riverside County, for example, has a uniform transportation fee for development and a multi-species habitat conservation plan, which attempt comprehensive solutions to regional issues. Words are no substitute for steps that offer real, practical progress.
8. LOWELL MURRAY: You do not govern, you hold to account those who do | iPolitics
Below is a speech Sen. Lowell Murray, the longest serving senator still sitting, delivered at a conference honouring prominent Acadian scholar Donald Savoie held earleir this month at Le Pays de la Sagouine in Bouctouche, N.B.
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Canadians, especially those who live in or come from the slower growth regions, tend to take for granted and to seldom acknowledge how federal government transfers to persons such as pensions and Employment Insurance contribute indirectly to the maintenance of decent incomes and living standards in those regions, and make possible the existence at any viable level of seasonal industries such as fisheries and tourism. Likewise intergovernmental transfers — not just Equalization but transfers for health, post secondary education and social programs — help maintain national standards and prevent the massive rate of disinvestment, outmigration and depopulation that would occur in the absence of such standards.
Then of course there are the direct federal investments in ports, airports, military bases and various infrastructure that contribute very significantly to the economy of those regions. All this is today part of the Canadian fabric, ...
9. Anglican-Lutheran dialogue examines service and witness - ENInews
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The commission, which was established in its current form in 2004, will recommend that the next phase of Anglican-Lutheran international work be a coordinating committee, rather than a theological group, to encourage cooperation in regional work. Theology, however, would still be part of its mandate, ....
The meeting heard of the difficulties faced by Christians in the Holy Land, where much of the Palestinian population faces daily restrictions and lack of jobs and opportunities. The meeting also heard from Christians from Tanzania, South Africa, Argentina, Botswana and Japan, whose general message was "an emphasis on getting on with mission," Barnett-Cowan said.
Regional cooperation could take the forms of challenging the stigma of HIV/AIDS or working together to combat climate change, she noted. In Jerusalem, "there had been a full communion commission and the bishops pledged to re-activate that," she said.
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Webinar June 29,Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program 4:30 pm EDT
From: Sustainable Communities
Sent: Monday, June 27, 2011 4:58 PM
To: Sustainable Communities
Subject: Announcing the Second Webinar on the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program
To: Sustainable Communities
Subject: Announcing the Second Webinar on the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program
As announced earlier this month, HUD’s Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities and EPA’s Offices of Sustainable Communities, Water, and Brownfields and Land Revitalization have issued a joint Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Program.
HUD and EPA will be hosting a second webcast to discuss this funding opportunity and answer questions related to the NOFA on Wednesday, June 29, at 4:30 pm Eastern Time.
In order to participate in the webinar on the Capacity-Building NOFA you will need both to call in by phone and to log in online. Instructions are as follows.
Telephone Access
In order to hear webinar audio, please call (800) 762-7308. There is no passcode—an operator will ask for your name and other optional information, and then connect you to the call.
Internet Access
In order to view the webinar, please visit https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/hud/join?id=7GRGCR&role=attend. You can log on up to 30 minutes before the meeting start time. If that link doesn’t work for some reason, you can go to https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/hud/join and enter the meeting ID, 7GRGCR.
We urge you to check beforehand to ensure that LiveMeeting works on your computer.
We look forward to your participation.
We will send out an email with the access information shortly.
Applications for the NOFA are due July 8, 2011. Nonprofit organizations, local or state public agencies, for-profit organizations, nationally recognized and accredited Universities or Colleges, or any combination of eligible entities as a Capacity Building Team are eligible to apply for funding. For more information on how to apply, including recently posted FAQs, please review the NOFA by clicking here.
For more information on this funding opportunity, please visit hud.gov/sustainability, or contact Rachel Kirby in HUD’s Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities at rachel.t.kirby@hud.gov.
Regional Community Development News - Top Stories - June 27, 2011
1. New Report: Most Aging Baby Boomers Face Poor Mobility Options : Center for Neighborhood Technology
CNT provided the analysis for the new Transportation4America report, Aging in Place, Stuck Without Options, out today on the cities that have worst mobility options for seniors. Large cities with the poorest transit access for seniors included Atlanta, Riverside-San Bernardino (CA), Houston, Detroit, and Dallas-90% of seniors in Atlanta will lack transit access in 2015. Medium-sized cities (1million-3million) with the poorest transit access for seniors are Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Fort Worth-Arlington, Nashville, and Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill. By 2015, 88% of seniors in Kansas City will have poor access to public transit.
CNT Research Director Peter Haas ... “As you see in the cities that top the worst mobility options for seniors, urban form is more spread out. Baby boomers by and large were raised in more dispersed communities where auto-dependency was the favored mode of transport. As the boomers age in these areas, they will be most affected by lack of public transportation.”
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2. Nevada law shifts balance of power on Tahoe planning agency - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee
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The law is a manifestation of Nevada's mounting frustration with Tahoe development restrictions. Though critics say TRPA has rarely balked at any major development project at the lake, cumbersome regulations often produce years of delay and extra compliance costs.
"It's an issue about the pace of work that gets done," said Maureen McCarthy, executive director of the Tahoe Science Consortium. "Nevada's position is driven heavily by the economic climate. The state is broke, and by comparison to California, Nevada is really broke."
McCarthy's group helps government officials understand the science that affects Tahoe. She said TRPA has been invaluable in that regard because it welcomes that science and incorporates it into decisions.
... "We don't want to see the baby thrown out with the bath water, and the baby is science."...
California state Sen. Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, supports the new Nevada law. His district includes the California portion of Lake Tahoe, ...
3. Senecas seek bigger role as area developers - Business - The Buffalo News
The Seneca Nation of Indians wants to be a bigger player in economic development across Western New York and into Pennsylvania.
The nation hosted a meeting of economic development officials from both states Thursday in its Seneca Allegany Casino to learn what each other has to offer and how they can work together in the future.
“For the longest time, I’ve wanted to get all the IDAs and development agencies in this region together in one room to discover and discuss what we have in common,” said Robert Odawi Porter, the Seneca Nation president.
“Let’s see how we can all work together to foster and build economic development options to benefit all our people, whether they live within Seneca, New York or Pennsylvania boundaries,” Porter said. “Good business knows no boundaries.”
... meeting was one of the first times that economic development officials from the Seneca Nation and five New York and two Pennsylvania counties had gotten together to talk about economic development.
4. EDITORIAL: Charting the course for economic growth - Northwest Indiana
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's major study of the greater Chicago area -- from southeast Wisconsin to Northwest Indiana -- is one more effort to chart a course for the area's future.
The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce is leading the Paris-based OEDC's tri-state study to analyze the region's economic impact. In the process, the chamber will gauge the area's economic competitiveness, attractiveness, sustainability and political climate compared to other major cities around the world.As a major study, the effort includes amassing an army of data. But it's also a call to arms for people and organizations to improve the situation here.
The Gary and Region Investment Project ...is a similar undertaking for Northwest Indiana....
"I think people are recognizing that we could be in trouble unless we take steps to act," Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Foundation President .... "There's a recognition on a global scale that regional approaches ... make sense."
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5. Next American City » Magazine » The Enabling City
We face massive challenges … and we are inspired.” This is the opening line of what until a few years ago would have been considered an improbable urban manifesto. Crafted in 2006 by the Social Silicon Valley collective, Towards City 2.0 is a compelling call to arms that was submitted to an international ideas competition launched by officials in Helsinki, Finland. Confronted with the need to address issues of rapid population growth and environmental change, 14 towns and municipalities in the Helsinki Metropolitan Region turned to the public, looking for solutions that would address their residential, land use and transportation needs of the future. In six incredibly insightful pages, City 2.0 details the collective’s vision for a city that doubles as an innovation hub. Here, hyperlocal ideas are connected to the larger city fabric through a “social innovation mayor,” a political figure responsible for driving long-term structural changes by unlocking the capacity of others to ...
6. Human Transit: that influential texas "urban mobility report"
.. Congress for the New Urbanism conference in Madison ... a small but sharp audience gathered to hear Tim Lomax of the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) debate Joe Cortwright of CEOs for Cities. Tim was there to defend TTI's influential Urban Mobility Report (UMR), an annual compendium of statistics that are widely used to define how US cities think about mobility problems and to benchmark these cities against each other. Joe was there to attack TTI's methodology as biased against compact, sustainable cities.
The technical core of the argument is simple. TTI's Travel Time Index, one of their more quoted products, is a ratio of peak congested travel times by car against uncongested travel times by car. In other words, travel times are said to be "worse" only if they get much longer in peak commute hours than they are midday.
This ratio inevitably gives "better" scores to cities where normal uncongested travel times are pretty long -- in other words, spread-out cities. ...
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7. Regional committee to go the distance - Australia
A new Ministerial Advisory Council is to be established to advise the Minister for Regional Australia on issues affecting country communities.
The Minister, Simon Crean said the new Council would give regional communities even stronger backing at the highest level of government.
Mr Crean said $4.3 billion was budgeted for key investments in regional communities including health and hospitals, skills, higher education and infrastructure.
He said the Government had strengthened the role of the nation’s 55 Regional Development Australia Committees and was driving a new place-based approach to help deliver local solutions to local issues.
“We are determined to make sure regional communities can meet the challenge of an economy in transition and reach their full potential,” Mr Crean said.
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8. Development Blueprint For County Clare Is Launched - Ireland
The Mayor of Clare launched the Clare County Development Plan 2011-2017 today describing it as a “window of opportunity for the County to foster innovation, creativity and new sustainable, inclusive development.”
Councillor Christy Curtin joined Council officials as well as Clare’s 31 other Elected Members at the official launch in Aras Contae an Chláir.
The Clare County Development Plan 2011-2017 sets out an overall strategy for the proper planning and sustainable development of the functional area of Clare County Council. The six-year blueprint replaces the existing County Development Plan 2005 and is the sixth such Plan since 1964.
... Mayor Curtin stated: “The primary goal of this Plan is to position County Clare as a driver for local and regional growth through harnessing the potential of its unique location, quality of life, natural resources and other competitive advantages. Ultimately, the Plan seeks to make County Clare a better place to live in, work and visit.”
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9. Cisco CEO Keynotes at 2011 Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Conference
John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems
Enhancing capabilities through regional collaboration. The tech community has provided the opportunity to enhance our communications and coordination.
What is changing? Market transitions don't wait for anyone. Security and safety is another piece of this. Think about what social media brings to the table, but in a secure fashion. The public sector is going to get leaner and meaner. Today it is a network economy feeding on information. Now you have so much data that you need to access the relevant data. Dynamic is the way to think about it. Interagency coordination is needed.
Constant change is going to be tough. Collaboration is the answer, not command and control. Need to outthink and outmaneuver the events that are going to impact us. We used to function in the PC world. Today it is all about mobile. By 2013 there will be 1 trillion devices connecting people across the world.Getting these all to work with a seamless interface is the key...for future collaboration.
10. Carl Zimmer: A Planet of Viruses - The Long Now Foundation - FORA.tv
The Earth's atmosphere is determined in large part by ocean bacteria; every day viruses kill half of them. Every year in the oceans, viruses transfer a trillion trillion genes between host organisms. They evolve faster than anything else, and they are a major engine of the evolution of the rest of life. Our own bodies are made up of 10 trillion human cells, 100 trillion bacteria, and 4 trillion very busy viruses. Some of them kill us. Many of them help us. Some of them are us. Viral time is ancient and blindingly fast.
Science journalist Carl Zimmer's wrote "A Planet of Viruses" and explains in this presentation what is known about the viruses. SARS, HIV and H1N1 are covered, as well as the need for an annual vaccination, since viruses mutate so rapidly. The other Long Now Foundation videos at this site are worth a look. Steward Brand, publisher of "The Whole Earth Catalog" is the founder and moderator for questions after the presentation.
More links: http://www.delicious.com/I.see.regions.work
Regional Community Development News - Top Stories - June 26, 2011
1. Gaylord and stock show project has some in Denver and Aurora taking sides - The Denver Post
Denver and Aurora are gearing up for a modern-day border war over the biggest deal to be announced in the region in a decade.
At issue is a planned Aurora hotel and theme park that could get the largest public subsidy the state has ever awarded, and the possible relocation of one of Denver's most beloved institutions — the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo.
It's a tale rife with all the drama of the Wild West, ...
"The challenge with regionalism is you can't create a doughnut. If we keep shipping our tax base and our cultural institutions to cities in the ring around us, there won't be anything left to support Denver itself," ... president of the Lower Downtown Neighborhood Association.
Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown said the development proposal and resulting tension suggest a fracture in the mostly cooperative dealings among economic developers and business advocacy groups.
"It reveals that regionalism and intergovernmental cooperation look great on a bumper sticker or in a speech, but actually we're all territorial animals," he said.
Absent from the debate is Gov. John Hickenlooper, who during his eight years as Denver mayor touted regionalism as critical to the health of the city and surrounding communities. ...
2. East Side suburbs must consider police, fire, trash services; video: residents, businesses react | cleveland.com
Moreland Hills picks up trash once a week. Woodmere collects twice. Orange pays a garbage contractor. Pepper Pike ...
Trash -- perhaps the most regular, most visible chore municipal governments perform -- is something all residents worry about. And it's one of many issues the four East Side suburbs must study before asking voters to consider merging.
The communities' mayors announced Wednesday they are studying a merger in the most significant step toward regionalism Cuyahoga County has ever seen. Now comes the tough stuff: comparing police staffing, mapping fire coverage, negotiating tax rates and compromising on employee benefits.
The suburbs were once part of Orange Township. Now, they share schools and recreation programs. The villages of Moreland Hills, Orange and Woodmere collaborate for dispatch services, and all four communities contract for income tax collection.
But integrating the four into one city of 13,500 residents and 18 square miles? That's a daunting proposition.
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3. After the quake: old new town solution for new overspill problem - Cities Matter
Our vision
The long-term shape of Auckland could be a 100 km-long 'city'. It would retain one clear major centre – a green CBD – but there could be a dozen secondary city centres. They would lie from north to south – like pearls on the chain – along a natural central spine. They would be urban in appearance. They would be separated by the greens of farmland, town belts, and parks, but well connected by private and public transport.
This alternative vision builds on reality: Aucklanders live on an isthmus and that shapes our choices. (Some live on an isthmus within an isthmus). The completion of the western ring motorway and planned investment in the rail – if it happens -- will only reinforce the north-south development of the city, its region, and its hinterland. It is hard to imagine planning policies that could force change on this natural geography without compounding congestion and costs.We can have a future in which settlements of various sizes (towns, villages, ...
4. Bencini Balks At Board’s Rush To Summer - re: Piedmont Triad Council of Governments (PTCOG)
... Bencini, who's been a major backer of regionalism, and of the county's participation in the PTCOG, still had a number of questions.
Bencini said publicly in the days before the meeting that he'd heard from some sources there were other duties the county would have to either contract for or hire additional county staff to handle if the county were not a member of PTCOG.
Bencini asked if Guilford County would need to hire any additional staff to take over other duties formally performed by COG.
"We should not have to contract anything else," Fox said.
Commissioner Kay Cashion asked county staff if the county's membership was still a possibility at some point in the future.
"The door is still open," Fox said.
Gibson said he didn't support the motion to contract out the service for $52,000 instead of joining the organization the county had been a member of for 40 years.
"We talk big talk about regionalism and working with other governments in this area," Gibson said.
He said it seemed now like all of that was just lip service, since the county was no longer going to be a member the group.
"I think that's the wrong thing to do," Gibson said.
Bencini and Gibson couldn't find any support on the board, which voted to pay the COG $52,000 to administer the grants as a service for non-members.
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Regional Community Development News - Top Stories - June 25, 2011
1. Nonprofit partnerships work to jumpstart economy | Richmond Times-Dispatch
Can one region "JumpStart" a national economy?
However unlikely the proposition, the Northeast Ohio region of 4 million people is giving it a real whirl.
First, it's leading by practice. Drawing on the region's historically large foundation resources, since 2004 it has had a "Fund for Our Economic Future" focused on such goals as connecting cutting-edge industries.
"This is regional, collaborative and for the long haul," says its president, Brad Whitehead. He cites the sparks of creativity and growth potential in such innovations as taking "a Rolls-Royce facility in fuel cells in North Canton, hooking up with Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, with polymer technology in Akron, and then materials and metal strength in Youngstown."
Now, the Ohioans' signature job-producing nonprofit — JumpStart, a 7-year-old organization that invests public and private funds in entrepreneurial startups — is "going national" with a new affiliate, JumpStart America, which aims to raise ...
2. Call for Participation: Special Session on Regional Economic Development and Growth at the 58th Annual North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International (NARSC) & Second Conference of the Regional Science Association of the Americas (RSAmericas)
The economic recession, coupled with the ongoing global economic restructuring, has made researchers and policy makers question their assumptions about how to generate regional economic growth. There is a growing realization that a one-size-fits-all approach to economic development may not work; and that, instead, tailored local and regional strategies may be needed. Given this, regional economic development practitioners want to know what strategies will lead to sustainable economic growth. Among the questions they must consider are: how do they foster the development of human capital, which is essential to innovation; how do they develop an environment that supports entrepreneurship formation and firm and employment growth; and what types of transportation and communications infrastructure are needed?
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2. Bicycle and Pedestrian Trails Focus of Recent Active Transportation Summit - Norristown, PA Patch
The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) hosted an “Active Transportation Summit” on Thursday, June 23, at the Cira Centre in Philadelphia. The conference, co-hosted by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC), was aimed at raising awareness of the local regional trail network, its successes and the ongoing work needed to complete it.
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“A regional trail network is a key element for multi-modal transportation,” said DVRPC executive director Barry Seymour.
The DVRPC has a regional trails council that brings different groups together to work on the entire trails project.
Say what you will about our region's leaders - and we've probably said just about everything - they certainly have a passion for improving the Grand Strand and leaving it a better place than they found it.
Rebuilding and revitalization fever seems to have swept through our region, from Horry County's decision to dedicate new money to the Regional Economic Development Corp. to Georgetown County's study of local industry. Perhaps it's all a reaction to coming out of recession, taking a deep breath and wanting to quickly put contraction in the rear view mirror. Perhaps the stars just aligned and we found a number of business-building leaders in place all at the same time. Whatever the reason, plans are being made, funds are being raised and optimism is in the air all around us.
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5. Budget cuts create battle inside region’s planning agency, but whose job is in trouble? » Naples Daily News
The executive director of the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council laid off three planning staff members to cut the budget and then put one of them on administrative leave.
Now he’s under fire and trying to keep his own job.
The planning council’s executive committee, in an emergency meeting Thursday, nearly placed executive director Ken Heatherington on administrative leave without pay.
But Heatherington buckled to the panel’s requests to re-examine his budget cuts.
Heatherington will bring alternative budget options to the regional council’s budget-finance committee on Wednesday in preparation for the council’s next session, on Thursday.
One budget option still includes the layoffs, Heatherington said.
The decision to lay off staff ultimately lies with the executive director. The regional planning council’s board consists of elected officials in the six-county region.
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Regional Community Development News - Top Stories - June 24, 2011
1. Cornell expert says hydrofacking already affecting New York State
Reflecting on lessons learned and questions yet to be answered about the hydrofracking and the economy, a Cornell expert today told members of the Tompkins County Council of Governments (TCCOG) that New York State is already being affected by such shale gas drilling, even though wells are not yet permitted here.
Economic Geographer Susan Christopherson, of Cornell’s Department of City and Regional Planning, has been studying the economic effects of hydrofracking, looking at the experience in nearby Pennsylvania and effects in New York. Since there is “no border fence between New York and Pennsylvania,” she said, drilling produces a regional industrial effect, and cautioned there will be “important impacts to Tompkins County”—from such aspects as heavy truck traffic, water resources, and waste disposal— even if a single well is not drilled here. She maintained State officials are showing “willful ignorance and disinterest” in failing to address those issues and, because of that, the state is unprepared.
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2. Seneca president says territories are open for business - ObserverToday.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - Dunkirk | The Observer
Seneca Nation of Indians President Robert Odawi Porter wants others to know the nation's territories are "open for business."
It was a message officials from Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Erie, Niagara counties, Warren and McKean counties in Pennsylvania and the Southern Tier West Regional Planning and Development Board heard at a nation-sponsored economic development meeting ...
"We're integrated in Western New York," said Porter about Seneca businesses he wants to do well. Therefore, he said he wanted to bring together others and start a dialogue to make sure Seneca and neighboring businesses thrive. The Thursday meeting was a way to begin that discussion, agreed officials gathered who said they shared information about Industrial Development Agency structures, and how the governments can work better together.
For instance, Porter said, the nation can offer advantages such as attracting tourism, tax abatements, working with nation regulations instead of those of New York while other area governmental officials offer their own advantages, resulting in potential business partnerships.
"We are all a little unique and different," said Michael Kimelberg, nation chief planning officer with David Kimelberg, chief executive officer of Seneca Holdings, adding learning offerings each can contribute was the order of the day. In the end, officials said, all who came to the economic development meeting want the same thing: for the region to do well.
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3. Parisi outlines plan for controversial regional planning commission - Madison, WI
... outgoing Dane County Executive ... calling for the Capital Area Regional Planning Commission to disband.
Incoming Executive Joe Parisi vowed to talk with stakeholders to determine the future of a body that is paid for entirely by the county at a cost of $700,000 a year.On Thursday, Parisi put out a memo outlining his plan for retaining and reforming the commission.
"We do need some type of process to manage our growth," Parisi said Thursday. "We are one of the fastest growing counties in the country and we need to manage that. So the question for me was, is CARPC the best vehicle to manage that growth or is some other alternative better? Or is a reformed CARPC better?"
After meeting with environmentalists, developers and representatives from the county, the city of Madison, the Cities and Villages Association, and the Dane County Towns Association, he decided to give the commission a chance to fulfill its original charter....
4. State, local and native corporation reps discuss Integrated Resource Plan - Petersburg Pilot - Alaska
There are dark clouds, storms and train wrecks on the horizon for Southeast Alaska’s utility needs ...
As oil prices fluctuate around the world and locally, Southeast’s access to clean available hydropower has driven residents to convert from oil to electric heat at an unprecedented rate. And as the available resources dry up, planning for the future by integrating all the region’s projects into one plan has begun.
... in the Petersburg City Council chambers, members of state and local agencies as well as regional native corporations came together to discuss plans for an Integrated Resource Plan, due to be drafted and released later this year.
The plan discussed Tuesday is meant to examine the region’s energy needs for the next 50 years, so that future projects can be prioritized and developed with a unified voice.
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5. Strengthening entente cordiale with Wales’ Celtic Cousins - News Wales
The special relationship with Brittany was given a further boost today when First Minister, Carwyn Jones, addressed the Breton Regional Council in Rennes, renewing the Welsh Government’s commitment to further cooperation between the two countries.
The First Minister was invited to Brittany by Monsieur Jean-Yves le Drian, President of the Regional Council.
Reflecting on the common ties between Wales and Brittany, the First Minister will praise the co-operation between the two countries on areas including culture, language, health, agriculture and sustainable development.
He said that the partnership is continuing to deliver real mutual benefit and continued:“By working together we shape and influence policy on an international stage and further promote the role of regional governments. Wales and Brittany are both longstanding members of The Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR).
... CPMR is an example of how regional cooperation can have real benefits."...
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Regional Community Development News - June 21-23, 2011
1. Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Foundation Announces Groundbreaking Economic Study of Metro Region -- CHICAGO, June 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --
The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Foundation today announced that it has undertaken a ground-breaking economic study of the Tri-State Chicago Metropolitan Region to be conducted by The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This is the first study of a U.S. metro area and will encompass a dynamic geographic and economic area that includes parts of southeast Wisconsin, northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area, creating a comprehensive understanding of how a more integrated economy will enhance the region's global competiveness. "This study will provide invaluable insight to the three states and encourage cross state participation, something that has been difficult to achieve," ...
"The Tri-State Chicago Metropolitan Region is a unique review, because not only is it the first Territorial Review in America, but it presents the challenge of having three separate governments to work with.
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2. Official: Growth Management Lives On After Legislative Changes | TheLedger.com
The death of growth management in Florida has been greatly exaggerated, a state official contended at a conference in Polk County on Wednesday.
"I was a little surprised at the obituaries written about growth management," said Billy Buzzett, secretary of the soon-to-expire Florida Department of Community Affairs, referring to media reports on changes to state law in the 2011 legislative session. "Growth management is not dead."
... The current DCA will expire on Oct. 1 and will become part of a new agency called the Department of Economic Opportunity.
Growth management may not be dead, but the Legislature massively shifted the responsibility for approving new residential and commercial development from the state to the county and municipal level, according to DCA officials.
...Buzzett and other DCA officials didn't criticize the new growth management law, but they indicated the Legislature did not always accept their proposals.
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3. New Policy Paper Calls for Creations of Regional and Local Collaborative News Networks -- WASHINGTON, June 23, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation released a new policy paper that calls on leaders of local print and broadcast media to spearhead the creation of regional and local collaborative news networks that meet the information needs of their communities. These interactive news networks are part of a broader set of strategies for re-inventing local journalism that are aimed at addressing the need for media policies that foster innovation, competition and support for business models that provide marketplace incentives for quality journalism.Re-Imagining Journalism: Local News for a Networked World, by Michael R. Fancher, outlines five strategic areas that are critical for reforming local journalism and calls upon for-profit media, not-for-profit and non-traditional media, higher education, community and non-profit institutions, libraries, researchers, government at all levels, and citizens to each play a role ...
4. Four East Side communities will study merging, with county help | Cleveland
Decades ago, they split apart. Now, Moreland Hills, Orange, Pepper Pike and Woodmere are considering merging in the most significant step toward regionalism Cuyahoga County has ever seen.The four East Side suburbs -- which along with Hunting Valley once made up Orange Township -- already share a school district, recreation programs and senior services. Last year, they studied sharing police, fire and public works. And Wednesday they announced they will study whether joining together could save their residents serious money....Planners and other good-government advocates have long viewed Cuyahoga County, with its 59 communities, as ripe for mergers, collaborations or tax-sharing agreements.
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The latest merger proposal grew out talks four years ago about sharing services, said Moreland Hills Mayor Susan Renda. The idea took on added urgency this year, when the state announced big cuts in aid to cities and the county offered assistance.
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5. Orange Mayor Kathy Mulcahy speaks out on regionalism | Cleveland
Mayor Kathy Mulcahy welcomes neighboring communities to stop talking about regionalism and actually do something about it.
Mulcahy has talked of regionalism several times during council meetings and with other public officials. She said Orange is in the perfect position to be a leader in testing the municipal theory of “regionalism.”
“We have well-seasoned, long term, well known department heads. ... “Their community roots are very deep. They know most of the key players in the Chagrin Valley. They place us in a good position to be a leader for regionalism.”
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She said the Baldwin Wallace study conducted last year in hopes of offering regionalism recommendations to Pepper Pike, Orange, Moreland Hills, Hunting Valley and even Woodmere has given the village a great body of knowledge to follow up on.
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Mulcahy said the communities need to quantify what regionalism means in terms of economic benefit.
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6. A zoo for all of us - Toledo Blade
Wood County commissioners refused Tuesday even to ask their constituents whether they would be willing to pay the same property tax to support the Toledo Zoo that Lucas County residents have paid for years. So much for regional cooperation to support a regional asset.
Commissioners rejected zoo officials’ request to place on November’s ballot a 0.85-mill, five-year levy that would have cost the owner of a $100,000 home 50 cents a week. A renewal of that operating levy for the zoo will appear on the Lucas County ballot this fall.
The zoo’s benefits, economic as well as educational and cultural, transcend Toledo and Lucas County. Zoo officials said they needed help from Wood County because of rising costs of animal upkeep and staff, and dwindling revenue from a deteriorating Lucas County tax base.
In a typical year, the number of Wood County residents who visit the zoo equals more than half the county’s population. ...Wood Countians would have gotten one day a week of free admission ...
7. Area biotech path could lie through Richmond | Daily Progress
Though Robert T. Skunda considers Virginia only middle of the pack compared with other states’ biotech programs, the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park president hopes the state’s biotech industry will grow stronger, including the improvement of regional collaboration.
Effective collaboration is among numerous ingredients that could help the industry thrive in the coming decades. Commitment from universities to advance biotechnology is also key, experts contend, in addition to securing stable funding streams.
As both Richmond and Charlottesville are positioned to continue developments in the biotech industry, Skunda says, solid ties between the cities could advance the interests of both.
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8. Regional planners in turmoil || Gulf Coast Business Review | Tampa Bay, Bradenton, Sarasota, Fort Myers, Naples
Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council members considered suspending Executive Director Ken Heatherington at an emergency executive committee meeting Thursday afternoon. But his job is still not safe, and he could be fired by the end of the month.
Council Chairman and Marco Island Councilman Chuck Keister called the meeting, and issued an email about the subject only two hours prior. Keister recommended the suspension following a public outcry that ensued after Heatherington terminated three staff members because of budget cuts and put another on administrative leave for violating department policies. Three of the four are planners: David Crawford, Jason Utley and Dan Trescott. Trescott is accused of the policy violations.
The controversy evolved from a decision by Heatherington to move forward with the layoffs that were to be effective at the end of June, rather than present alternatives to Keister and the council first.
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9. Bike-sharing network may expand to Rockville - The Washington Post
Those sturdy red bicycles that have woven their way into the urban landscape in the District and Arlington could make their debut in Rockville by next year with the help of a $1.9 million federal grant approved Wednesday by the regional planning board.
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More than 1,100 bikes offered by the Capital Bikeshare program already are being used by commuters, shoppers and tourists in Washington and across the river in Arlington, with riders choosing bikes from more than 110 secure docking stations.
The funding, approved by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board during a regular meeting, would be used to add 200 bikes and 20 docking stations in Rockville and Shady Grove. Because it’s unlikely that many people would pedal from Rockville into the District, most of those bikes would be used around town or to commute from home to Metro stations.
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10. New research provides analysis of operational costs in trucking | Canadian Transportation and Logistics
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has released the findings of its 2011 update to An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking. ...
"Given the essential role that trucking plays in freight transportation, quantifying the value of proposed infrastructure improvements depends on real-world industry data. As a result, ATRI's operational costs data will be a critical input to the transportation planning process," said Ted Dahlburg, manager of freight planning for the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Philadelphia-Camden-Trenton region.
ATRI identified 2008, 2009 and first quarter 2010 cost per mile and cost per hour figures stratified by fleet size, sector and region of the country. ... The average marginal cost per mile was $1.45 in 2009 and $1.49 in the first quarter of 2010 for the for-hire segment of the industry.
... "Fleets are extremely sensitive to even the smallest change in operating costs
11. Mississippi coastal tourism going regional | The Associated Press | Entertainment | Washington Examiner
A new regional tourism partnership created to help administer a $16 million grant from BP may soon replace individual tourism bureaus all along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The Mississippi Coast Regional Partnership was created earlier this year after the state and BP agreed to award Mississippi $16 million for tourism.
The partnership is made up of two representatives from Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson counties respectively, and seven appointments from the Gulf Coast Business Council....
"At the end of the day, we feel like it will make it better for Hancock County," Pullman said. "If we get on the backs of Harrison and Jackson counties, there is going to be a lot of spill over, and a lot more opportunities."
Local tourism officials, however, say they are not sold on the regional approach.
Beth Carriere of the Hancock County Tourism Bureau said creation of the partnership means the end of the local bureaus....
12. Opinion: Regional strategy key to clean energy - Rep. Lois Capps - POLITICO
Last week, President Barack Obama traveled to Durham, N.C., to tour Cree Inc. — one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of energy-efficient lighting. He spoke with employees and met with his Jobs and Competitiveness Council to discuss initiatives and policies to spur economic growth, promote job creation and accelerate hiring across the United States.
A major point of agreement is that one of the most effective models to achieve these goals is regional innovation clusters that focus on developing and commercializing clean energy technologies, accelerating regional economic development and creating jobs. Another is that strong federal support for energy research is critical to developing technologies that will allow the U.S. to transition away from imported oil, reduce carbon pollution and build a world-leading clean energy industry.
Research funding alone, however, is insufficient to address the commercialization needs and economic development opportunities available ...
13. Quality of life issues align in 5 ET counties » Knoxville News Sentinel
While five East Tennessee counties span areas as diverse as downtown Knoxville in Knox County to rural farmland in Union County, they share much in common, a special report released Tuesday shows.
Ninety percent of the residents of Knox, Anderson, Blount, Loudon and Union counties spend nearly half their incomes on housing and driving, according to that "State of the Region" report.
Common health concerns include heart disease, diabetes and childhood obesity, it states.
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Issued by the Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission, the report is the benchmark for an ambitious, multi-year study of the region about to be launched by a team of professional consultants.
"It is Planning 101," Mark Donaldson, MPC's executive director, said of the report. "We figure out where we are as a region, where we want to go, and how to get there."
The regional planning effort even has a catchy title: Plan East Tennessee, or PlanET for short.
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14. Gov. Scott makes appointments to regional planning councils | Saint Petersblog
Governor Rick Scott today announced nineteen reappointments and two appointments to eight regional planning councils throughout the state.
Apalachee Regional Planning Council, Region Two ...
The overall level of world peace world fell for the third year in a row, according to the latest version of the Global Peace Index produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace. Most of this trend was driven by the increased “social and political turmoil in the Middle East and North African Nations during the early part of 2011,” the report notes.
But what are the factors that shape the relative peacefulness of nations? And, what is the connection between peace – or its opposite – on their economic growth, well-being, and prosperity?
This map charts the Global Peace Index (GPI) scores for 153 countries worldwide. The GPI is based on 25 separate indicators of internal and external conflict, including wars and external conflicts, deaths from external conflicts, militarization, weapons exports, homicides, access to weapons, violent political demonstrations, prison populations, and police presence.
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16. ‘Adventure capital of the UK’ - News & Star
LEADERS from Cumbria’s tourism industry met to discuss how they can better co-ordinate marketing activity to provide a boost to the region’s visitor economy.
There are growing fears over the ability of the region to promote its “world class” tourism offer in light of public sector funding cuts and the phasing out of the Northwest Regional Development Agency, which heavily supported the sector.
Tourism experts believe the physical make-up of the region means it requires a unique marketing strategy.
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17. Five Regional Cities And Economic Corridors To Propel Transformation Agenda - BERNAMA
Transformation programmes will be formulated and implemented for five regional cities and economic corridors in recognition of their importance and potential to propel the economic growth of the country.
In a statement Tuesday, the Performance Management & Delivery Unit (PEMANDU), said the transformation programmes for the five will build on the excellent work done to-date.
"It will take the development achieved to-date to the next level to build out regional and global hubs in their economic areas of specialisation," it said.
The five are -- Georgetown and the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER); Johor Baharu and Iskandar Malaysia and East Coast Economic Region (ECER); Kuching and Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE); and Kota Kinabalu and Sabah Development Corridor (SDC), it said.
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18. The former Yugoslavia: Let's hear it for the Yugosphere | The Economist
Two years ago I coined the term "Yugosphere" in an article for The Economist. I thought the word encapsulated some of the dynamics I had seen developing in the former Yugoslavia in recent years. ...
... the idea also has political application. I expect to see ever-more co-ordination among the states of the former Yugoslavia. ...
First, the Yugosphere was simply a way of describing the renewal of thousands of broken
bonds across the former state.
Call it the Yugosphere, call it the “region”, the “zone”, the Adriatic or whatever. No one outside the area cares. In fact, given everything else that is going on in the world few people outside the Balkans care about the region at all. Look at the Yugosphere. Disastrous demographics, low productivity, comparatively poor infrastructure, suffering from a long-term decline in education standards. And a combined population barely the size of Shanghai. In a world like this more co-operation is surely in everyone’s interests.
19. Health tourism on the Hungary, Croatia borders
An EU funded project, ‘The Role of Health Tourism in Improving the Competitive Strength of the Rural Areas in Hungary and Croatia’ is a trans-border project that aims to define factors necessary for the improvement of the competitive strength of the rural trans-border area through health tourism. The research results will be available soon.
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Health tourism is one of the oldest types of tourism in Croatia. It is the use of comparative natural and healing advantages arising out of the climate, with the purpose of maintaining and improving health and quality of life. The basis of health tourism is the use of natural healing factors that can come from the sea, spa, or climate. Geothermal sources are an extremely important resource in Hungary, so health tourism is also important there. The social impact of health tourism on the standard of living, employment and education will be determined.
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20. Future cohesion policy could have 51 ‘intermediate’ regions - Europolitics
The creation of a category of intermediate regions in the EU’s future cohesion policy, for regions with GDP of between 75% and 90% of the EU average, is still at the heart of debates on Structural Funds. ...
... The new status would entitle all of them to the same treatment, whether or not they were previously convergence regions (today, those exiting the convergence objective receive more money than those never under the objective, even if they have the same GDP).
According to the commissioner, 51 European regions out of 271 could be concerned by the new category (figures to be confirmed, ...). According to a Commission working paper consulted by Europolitics, affected will be one region in Austria, four in Belgium, nine in Germany, four in Spain, one in Finland, ten in France, six in Greece, four in Italy, Malta, two in Poland and nine in the United Kingdom, for a total of 48 regions in ‘old’ member states of the 51 concerned (51 less Malta and the two Polish regions).
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21. Growth management a major municipal topic - Cochrane Eagle
How to manage a rapidly growing population is on the minds of both Cochrane town council and the Calgary Regional Partnership (CRP).
Mayor Truper McBride said Cochrane will not pursue an annexation of land anytime in the near future and will pursue a growth management strategy — including laying out goals for housing density.
“We have a 30-50 year supply if managed well,” he said.
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22. Task force wants to scrap NEDC - St. Catharines Standard, Niagara Region, Sun Media - Ontario, CA
A Niagara Region task force has recommended the Niagara Economic Development Corp. be disbanded.
In its place would be a single economic development system working out of one Niagara Region department.
Its report, released Wednesday, would ultimately mean folding together the economic development activities of all 13 Niagara municipalities into a single unit.
The result would be "one-stop shopping" and less confusion for businesses seeking to stay in, expand or move to the region.
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