As of November 11, 2011, this newsletter has been going eight years – since 2003. The commitment is until 2013. It will continue using delicious links. Article text is trimmed to the delicious 1000 count limit. The geo-code system and topic tags included are a work in progress. "re:" is used a pre-tag meaning: region/regions/regional. They link to the collection of related items. The reader feed was reset. Please use the subscribe link on the blog to subscribe.
- 1http://www.carboncapturejournal.com/displaynews.php?NewsID=8...- Injection field tests conducted by the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) suggest that geologic capacity exists to permanently store hundreds of years of regional CO2 emissions in nine American states.
MRCSP’s just-released Phase II final report indicates the region has likely total storage of 245.5 billion metric tons of CO2, mostly in deep saline rock formations, a large capacity compared to present day emissions. … CO2 emissions in the MRCSP area, over half of the emissions come from large, stationary sources such as power and industrial plants. These units account for nearly 700 million metric tons annually.
MRCSP is one of seven Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs) established by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) to determine the best geologic and terrestrial storage approaches and apply technologies to safely and permanently store CO2 for each partnership’s specific region.
… - 25 minutes agohttp://insights.wri.org/news/2011/11/report-finds-regional-g...A new report finds that the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) has had a positive economic impact on the region. According to the report by the Analysis Group, RGGI, a carbon dioxide cap-and-trade program for large power plants in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, has injected $1.6 billion into the region’s economy, and created 16,000 jobs since the program launched in 2009.
So, what do we take from this? First, despite low allowance prices, the program has been a success, as the states have built a robust program design that still delivers benefits to the region. Second, this report provides further evidence that properly designed climate policies can boost the economy, and so we don’t need to choose between the economy and the environment. Finally, the report shows that states can still serve as “laboratories of democracy” by testing new ideas and policy proposals.
The Analysis Group found that RGGI led to a small 0.7 percent increase in electricity prices. … - 59 minutes agohttp://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=%2Fprogram_offices%2...U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced the recipients of the 2011 Sustainable Communities Grants, totaling over $97 million. Twenty seven communities and organizations will receive Community Challenge grants and 29 regional areas will receive Regional Planning grants. The goal of the Sustainable Communities grants is to help communities and regions improve their economic competitiveness by connecting housing with good jobs, quality schools and transportation.
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ResourcesPress Release
List of FY2011 Community Challenge and Regional Planning Grants
Summaries of FY2011 Community Challenge and Regional Planning Grants
Map of FY2011 Community Challenge and Regional Planning Grantees - 1 hours agohttp://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20...… Vision 2020, a regional effort for improvement in northeast Indiana. … “five pillars,” areas of focus with great potential to improve the economy: 21st-century talent, competitive business climate, entrepreneurship, infrastructure and quality of life. The goals … increasing the proportion of Northeast Indiana residents with high-quality degrees and credentials to 60 percent by 2025. … Encouraging entrepreneurship through Quick Start … Improving regional internet access … Improving access to the Interstate … Continuing to streamline the permitting and zoning processes … create a more business-friendly climate. Increasing flight frequency … Pursing riverfront development in downtown Fort Wayne to help create a vibrant and dynamic metro center for the region. … “The mission of Northeast Indiana is to develop, attract and retain talent.” – and guiding vision: “The vision is for Northeast Indiana to become a top global competitor, exceeding the expectations of businesses and residents.”
- 1 hours agohttp://www.tahoebonanza.com/article/20111121/NEWS/111129998/...The good news for northern Nevada in the much-publicized 181-page economic development agenda unveiled by Metropolitan Policy Program of The Brookings Institution and SRI International:The region already shows strength in five of the seven economic sectors that researchers say are likely drivers of Nevada's effort to free itself from the muck of the recession.Even better news: The researchers say innovation will be among the key factors spurring recovery, and northern Nevada already is home to the bulk of research and innovation activity and investment in the state.The bad news: Even with all this, the region's economy remains unbalanced — it's only half as diverse as the national average — and Reno, Sparks and Carson City have suffered what the researchers called “severe and protracted dislocations” during the recession.
... - 1 hours agohttp://baltimorerealestate.citybizlist.com/14/2011/11/20/Reg...… despite city limits, voting districts and state lines on maps, in the real world of air and water, of urban transportation and economies, city regions function in ways our American political systems may not recognize. Although environments, economies and living patterns create very real urban regions, those geographic areas don't exist in the basic structure of the government of the United STATES. Under the Constitution, states have powers; cities don't. So is it possible to invigorate meaningful efforts to manage city regions as regions? … several days chewing over that question … plenty of good ideas taking place at the regional level. … In today's grim economy, state governments should recognize their enlightened self-interest in helping, not hampering, their city regions. … With or without a formal regional government, smart metro areas will - often led by the business community - start working together. … a regional approach may not be the answer, but should always be a question
- 21 nov 2011http://www.costaricanewssite.com/fire-departments-build-regi...Costa Rica Fire Department started the building in Los Chiles, Alajuela of the first of six new stations it plans to open next year in locations away from the Central Valley.
In addition to Los Chiles, the institution will have a permanent presence in Talamanca, Cariari (Pococí), Monteverde (Puntarenas), Puerto Jiménez (Golfito) and Carmona (Nandayure).
Melvin Calderon, chief of Fire Department added that the plan is to open Los Chiles Station in July, in which will be invested approximately ¢ 1.500 million in building and equipment.
The official explained that the building will have 824 meters square. The station will have an extinguishing machine, a rescue machine, 10 permanent firefighters and 15 volunteers.
Calderón highlighted the fact that the municipality donated the land.
Thanks to a charge on electricity bills, which equates to 1.75% of energy consumption for homes, businesses and industry, the Fire Department expects to collect ¢ 8,000 million more annually. - 21 nov 2011http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2011/11/are_thre...Saginaw, Bay and Midland counties staked out their territorial boundaries decades ago, but to Marc A. McGill, the political divisions on the map don’t mean that’s the best way for the counties to govern in a new century.
The Saginaw County controller and his counterparts in Bay and Midland counties expect to form a tri-county committee in the Great Lakes Bay Region searching for common ground and ways to share services as budgets and property values shrink.
“The business practices have progressed beyond boundaries, and the three counties and possibly other municipalities could combine services ... and reduce the cost,” McGill said. …
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder’s call to tie state funding to examples of regional government cooperation has pushed the idea ahead. In practice, the three counties have cooperated for years but never set up a committee to steer collaboration.
… - 21 nov 2011http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=6283...
- 21 nov 2011http://www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk/news/local-headlines/ci...A MAJOR document governing land use in the region during the next 20 years which has just gone out to public consultation has been branded “a nonsense” by Borders Party leader Nicholas Watson.
For the strategic development plan (SDP) has come not from Newtown, HQ of local government in the Borders, but from SESplan, the strategic development planning authority for Edinburgh and South-East Scotland – the so-called Edinburgh City Region.
It will replace the structure plans, not only of Scottish Borders Council (SBC), but of the five other constituent local authorities – City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, West Lothian, Midlothian and Fife. And the Borders, for the purposes of land allocations for housing, business and other developments, is lumped together with Midlothian to form one of five sub-regional areas.
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“This is exactly what I feared … This is an Edinburgh-focused plan that barely acknowledges the special strengths and needs of the Borders.
… - 21 nov 2011http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nathan-gardels/a-blueprint-to-...… the Think Long Committee plan seeks to modernize California's system of governance … three parts:
* LOCAL EMPOWERMENT. Returning decision-making power and resources where appropriate from Sacramento to localities and regions where the real economy functions and government is closer to the people --- and thus more responsive, flexible and accountable. By helping to cover the costs of devolving public safety from the state to the counties, our plan will also help reduce the high costs associated with prisons - on which we absurdly spend more these days than on higher education. The Think Long plan would dedicate new revenues annually to counties for public safety and as block grants to cities for infrastructure and other locally determined uses.
* AN INDEPENDENT CITIZEN'S WATCHDOG Creating an independent watchdog for the long-term public interest as a counterbalance …
* A MODERN BROAD-BASED TAX SYSTEM. … to mirror the real composition of our modern service and information economy - 20 nov 2011http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20111119/NJOPINION03/...The governor’s State Strategic Plan promotes sprawl and overdevelopment in the Highlands and Pinelands regions by usurping and weakening the Regional Plans of both areas. The Strategic Plan turns New Jersey over to developers and dismantles environmental protections related to land use. Increased development in these environmentally sensitive areas undermines drinking water protections and will mean more flooding, more traffic and higher property taxes as we subsidize sprawl and overdevelopment. The Strategic Plan was adopted by the State Planning Commission on Monday without any public oversight or public comment period.The governor is using the State Strategic Plan to undermine and weaken protections in the Highlands and Pinelands. This is a very cynical move to get rid of protections in two of the most environmentally sensitive areas in New Jersey. The governor is doing the bidding of the developers, trying to undo 30 years of environmental protections ...
- 19 nov 2011http://www.buffalorising.com/2011/11/regional-economic-devel...The Western New York Regional Economic Development Council unveiled its recommended Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits priority projects. … potential to create and retain 833 jobs with a total project cost of nearly $100 million. The companies have requested $26.58 million in state assistance.
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"What is driving this proposal is a vision for creating a vibrant region that is a worldwide destination for people to live, learn, work and visit--and for entrepreneurs to invest their time and capital," said Western New York Regional Council co-chair and President of the University at Buffalo … "We have recommended these eight companies for immediate state support because we think encouraging them to expand in and relocate to New York can be a significant catalyst in this regard. The projects represent critical opportunities to build upon the region's strengths and competitive advantages, and they have the potential to immediately accelerate job creation and economic growth. - 19 nov 2011http://www.cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2011/11/16/sk...The Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council, co-chaired by President David Skorton, unveiled on Monday the final version of its strategic plan to stimulate economic growth and generate job creation in the region.“This blueprint for economic growth employs strategies for attracting businesses, enhancing agriculture and health care, expanding the industrial base and rebuilding our infrastructure,” Skorton said in a press release Monday. “It is the result of input from our community leaders, who came together for the greater good of our region, as well as thousands of local citizens. It is a plan worthy of our region’s support.”The Southern Tier is one of 10 regional development councils Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) created to find ways to improve New York State’s troubled economy. The council began formulating the proposal in September in response to Cuomo’s challenge to develop regional plans to stimulate economic growth.
... - 19 nov 2011http://blogs.umsl.edu/news/2011/11/16/tech-conf/Last week, faculty from all over the St. Louis region spent two days learning new ways of enhancing a centuries-old profession. The 10th annual Focus on Teaching and Technology Regional Conference attracted 330 faculty members from 33 campuses to the two-day event at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.
“The exchange of information is always exciting,” said Margaret Cohen, academic director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, organizers of the event. “This year’s keynote speaker offered participants a foundation for understanding how people learn. The workshop that followed conveyed the value of helping students acquire the metacognitive (learning how to learn) skills they need to be successful learners. More than one workshop and concurrent session also focused on this theme, helping faculty from different campuses tie the sessions together as they learned which technologies might support student learning.”
The nine pre-conference workshops ... - 18 nov 2011http://www.emg.rs/en/news/region/168974.htmlThe implementation of the Police Cooperation Convention for South East Europe has contributed to the promotion of the regional fight against crime and enforcement of laws, Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic stated Thursday.The Convention was the turning point for police cooperation in the Western Balkans and the South East Europe, Dacic pointed out in a statement after the session of the Committee of Ministers of the Convention member states, held in the Bulgarian town of Pravec within the Salzburg Forum.He stressed that Serbia is giving a maximum contribution to the improvement of regional police cooperation, which compared to the political cooperation of regional countries, is at a much higher level.Dacic reiterated that Serbia was one of the first countries to join the Convention, which was ratified by the Serbian parliament, adding that Serbia has its representative within the Secretariat of the Committee of Ministers seated in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
... - 18 nov 2011http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/96539/dilg-hopes-to-bring-back-...In a bid to restore the pristine waters of Manila Bay, the Department of Interior and Local Government-National Capital Region (DILG-NCR) is spearheading a massive clean-up campaign of Metro Manila waterways interconnected to the bay through an event tagged “One Day, One Bay.”
... - 18 nov 2011http://www.yorkregion.com/news/article/1245403--region-plans...The region is set to hire two full-time staff members to remove illegal signs posted and pasted along its roads.
The idea of hiring staff, at a cost of $145,000, arose last February in response to the numerous companies that hire people to place ads for potlights, duct cleaning and other services on regional lawns, lampposts and other property.
Prosecuting the companies is virtually impossible since they don’t place the ads there themselves and because the Supreme Court has recognized the right of individuals to advertise with posters. - 18 nov 2011http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?202420/Regional-cooperation-o...Regional adaptation to extreme weather events and the impacts of climate change on endangered alpine species like snow leopards featured prominently at a WWF-led session in the lead up to the Climate Summit for Living Himalayas today, a high-level event that aims to work out a ten year regional framework on climate change adaptation for the Eastern Himalayan nations of Nepal, India, Bhutan and Bangladesh.“Climate change is placing extraordinary pressure on the Eastern Himalayas – its people, iconic landscapes and species are all being hit hard by changing weather patterns,” said Minister Dr. Pema Gyamtsho, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Bhutan. “The Eastern Himalayas is now in urgent need of a regional framework of cooperation that combines expertise from governments, NGOs and civil society. Himalayan nations must act now to avoid the worst impacts of climate change,” he continued.
... - 18 nov 2011http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_213755.aspThe three teams of planners vying for a lucrative contract to facilitate a 40-year regional growth planning process for the Chattanooga SMSA got a chance to outline their respective concepts to the public Thursday during a meeting at the Chattanoogan hotel sponsored by the chamber of commerce.Officials said the meeting is part of a process intended to include members of the public in the planning process from the beginning, rather than completing a proposal behind closed doors and then going public with it.The finalist teams – all of which include local businesses ...
- 18 nov 2011http://www.suffolknewsherald.com/2011/11/17/warning-flags-fo...For years, “regionalism” has been the buzzword among the intelligentsia in the communities that comprise the area formerly known as Tidewater. Hampton Roads, as the regionalists insist we refer to it, can never compete with the Northern Virginias, the Research Triangles, the Chicagolands or the other mega-metropolitan areas throughout the nation unless its separate cities band together toward common purpose.
During the latter part of the 20th century, several initiatives grew out of that press for a regional approach to life in Hampton Roads. And as those initiatives have matured — and in some cases, reached or passed middle age — the push continues for an ever-broader acceptance of an approach toward regionalism that assumes no difference between the opportunities and the challenges that face the people of Suffolk or Portsmouth or Virginia Beach or Norfolk or Chesapeake.
But two of those early experiments in regionalism are perfect cautionary lessons … - 17 nov 2011http://bikeportland.org/2011/11/15/blumenauer-warns-regional...United States Congressman Earl Blumenauer spoke during a rare appearance at an influential Metro committee last week, doling out some tough love over the groups' inability to come together around a regional vision for transportation investments. It was a rare showing of straight talk that speaks to a larger issue facing metro Portland's elected officials and transportation leaders:
To achieve a new vision of transportation it will take big and bold projects that the entire region supports... But what projects fit that bill? And are regional leaders capable of agreeing to a single priority over pet projects in their own backyards?
Metro's 17-member Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation … recently submitted five projects to the U.S. Department of Transportation's TIGER III grant program.
In his speech to JPACT Blumenauer blasted that scattershot approach, telling the committee that it hurts their competitiveness in winning major federal funding. … - 16 nov 2011http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wamc/news.newsmain/article...The North Country's strategic economic plan would create or retain 13-hundred-fifty jobs, and lead to 256-million dollars in capital investments and 40-million dollars in state investment. Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Gary Douglas, co-chair of the North Country Regional Council, says the strength of the plan lies in the region's diversity.
In submitting the plan to Empire State Development, the council states that the North Country region has been "ill-served" by past one-size-fits all state economic plans. Gary Douglas says the regional approach allows targeted development accommodating the region's uniqueness.
The report states that "The North Country Will Lead The Economic Renaissance Of New York State's Small Cities And Rural Communities." …
The North Country Regional Economic Development Council report covers potential economic development in an 11-thousand square mile region. … - 16 nov 2011http://www.wktv.com/news/local/MV-Regional-Economic-Developm...The Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council today submitted its final strategic plan and priority projects. On November 9 the council finalized and adopted these items for the region, which is composed of Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Oneida, Otsego and Schoharie counties.
The Final Strategic Plan, which can be found at www.nyworks.ny.gov/content/mohawk-valley, is guided by the region’s vision statement and its five strategies: enhance regional concentrations; workforce alignment and education; innovation enabling infrastructure; increase spatial efficiency; and strengthen government and civic effectiveness.
“The members of this Council and all who contributed to the plan we have submitted have done something truly remarkable,” said President of the SUNY Institute of Technology and Council co-chair Bjong Wolf Yeigh. “By creating a unified vision that builds on our unique diversity, our region is poised to take important steps toward economic revitalization.”
… - 16 nov 2011http://www.theafricareport.com/index.php/2011111650175398/ex...Idit Miller, EMRC International VP and founding member, speaks to The Africa Report about how the business of agriculture must be carried through by Africa's small scale farmers, if it is to be successful, and why the private sector and governments must wake up to this reality.
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Is there a critical need to further engage and unpack regional initiatives regarding shared resources (like water basins) or even issues like logistics?
We heard at the just ended EMRC forum in Durban that at least 25 percent of the costs involved in trade is simply transport, it is logistics. We need to have more regional collaboration to lower these costs, exporting, for instance, to our neighbours, rather than solely importing and exporting to European countries. The potential for regional trade is vast and is being developed - if we look at the SADC and other agreements. We need better and more focused rules on regional interaction whether it is regarding shared regional resources or logistical issues.
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- http://www.theglobeandmail.com/partners/advvln1111/regional-...Community foundations have become key components of community-building across Canada, addressing needs by channelling donor funds into a broad range of local priorities.
“Community foundations bring together assets, funds and people in communities and then distribute and utilize those assets in different ways in order to make a positive difference and build value,” … Community Foundations of Canada (CFC), an umbrella group that provides a wide range of support services to emerging and existing community foundations.
“Our members built this network so they could benefit from each other’s experience and expertise,” … community foundations in Canada now administer an astounding $3 billion in capital.
“CFC is also here to help build-out partnerships and cross-community initiatives that require collaboration and co-ordination, … It involves using statistics to measure the quality of life in Canadian communities, identify trends and then share opportunities for action. - 16 nov 2011http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505248_162-57324530/delta-commun...The head of the Delta Regional Authority … urged communities to work together to find ways to improve the economy of a region that lags so much behind the rest of the country that it's viewed as a "poor nation within a nation."
"Gone are the days when, outside of college football, Arkansas could view Louisiana as its competitor and opponent," Delta Regional Authority Chairman Chris Masingill told a crowd of more than 500 people at the authority's policy conference in downtown Little Rock. "Instead, we need to maximize regional partnerships to compete against China and India, and even against Seattle and Boston and Chicago."
Created by Congress in 2000, the agency provides economic development programs in 252 counties and parishes in parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.
Masingill said the authority is increasingly focusing on regionalism and is shunning funding projects that don't focus on partnerships within the Delta region.
… - 16 nov 2011http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2011/11/15/forum-...Leaders of an effort to improve the region’s economy sought feedback from members of the business community Tuesday during the first of three public meetings for Next Economy.Next Economy is a collaborative effort to revive the six-county region’s economy by creating jobs and sparking investment.Participants said the region must support entrepreneurs, and any key to growing the region’s economy in large part is tied to education.While training the work force was identified as important, Judith Kjelstrom, director of the biotechnology program at the University of California Davis, pointed out that her program has a “glut of PhDs" who want to stay in the region, but there aren't enough jobs to support them.“We need to find the new cluster that will lead” the region out of the lingering local recession, said Susan Peters, a member of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors. …
- 16 nov 2011http://www.sacbee.com/2011/11/15/4055791/workforce-intellige...The Workforce Intelligence Network (WIN) for Southeast Michigan launches today with the goal of assessing the area's workforce needs and supplying metro Detroit employers, educational institutions, workforce development agencies, and policy makers with the information they need to further cultivate and transform the region's workforce.Funded by a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the New Economy Initiative, WIN is a region-wide collaborative effort between metro Detroit's eight community colleges, seven workforce boards and economic development partners to assess and serve three primary roles for southeast Michigan: …
The New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan (NEI) is an innovative philanthropic effort to accelerate the transition of metro Detroit to an innovation-based economy that expands opportunity for all. Ten national, regional and local foundations have committed $100 million to this unprecedented eight-year initiative, … - 16 nov 2011http://www.thecitizen.com/blogs/cal-beverly/11-15-2011/falle...After incumbents get beat unexpectedly — at least unexpected by the incumbents — pundits usually feel compelled to pundificate on “what it all means.”
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A tip of the hat to old Tip O’Neill, who immortalized the truism, “All politics is local.”Local. Not regional.Let me repeat that for the benefit of some other local office-holders who are ready to pick up that fallen regional banner from the last two champions of that new Georgia religion: Regionalism. It’s local, not regional.If Ken Steele had minded his own business — meaning Fayetteville’s business, defined as contained within the existing city limits of Fayetteville — he would still be mayor in 2012.But Steele got caught with both hands and feet and his whole heart in the regional cookie jar — defined as influencing decisions in the Atlanta Regional Commission, …
In order to have influence at those exalted levels, a regionally ambitious mayor (and county commission chairman) has to “go along to get along” …
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0000 - Earth
0900 - Arctic Ocean
1000 - Europe
2000 - Africa
3000 - Atlantic Ocean
4000 - Antarctica
5000 - Americas
6000 - Pacific Ocean
7000 - Oceana
8000 - Asia
9000 - Indian Ocean
"Global Region-builder Geo-Code Prototype" ©
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