1. Select Greater Philadelphia taps veteran - MSNBC 

 

As managing partner for the Greater Washington Initiative, Thomas G. Morr, the newly named president of Select Greater Philadelphia, did what still seems unthinkable here.

 

In a geographic region that breathes and bleeds politics, Morr rallied state and local officials, as well as business leaders from three jurisdictions, to focus on one thing -- making Washington, D.C., and its environs an attractive place for companies to move to and expand within. The region under his purview included 25 separate jurisdictions crossing over two states and Washington, D.C.

 

Morr got results. During his more than six years at Greater Washington Initiative, he helped to encourage 87 new companies to move into the Greater Washington area. ...

...

RCs: Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission      Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce  

Greater Philadelphia Global Partners  Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance

 

From the website: “Select Greater Philadelphia has launched a $16 million fundraising campaign to build a strong regional business marketing organization. Branding Greater Philadelphia as a progressive, modern business center on the move and a great place to locate and build a business will help our region grow substantially and compete effectively in the global economy.”

 

The Official Internet Portal of the Greater Philadelphia Area

 

 2. ADVISORY for Monday, May 23 – Philadelphia  - More Than 1,000 Leaders, Advocates to Attend National Summit to Explore Strategies for Economic, Social Inclusion for Low-Income, Working Families in America ... – Newswire.AScribe.org

 ...

  "The people coming to the summit," says Angela Glover Blackwell, founder and CEO of PolicyLink, summit co-sponsor, "are ready to share experience, knowledge, and information to help build true inclusion in America by challenging 50 years of neglect and sprawling development patterns that have been supported by vast public and private investments."

 

       Summit participants include foundation executives, nonprofit leaders, community organizers, business leaders, developers, academics, and advocates who are determined to make equality, social justice, and smart growth accessible in America's cities, suburbs, and rural communities, and Blackwell continues, "who are ready to deliver on a truly inclusive agenda, one that is rooted in lessons learned from hard work in neighborhoods all across America."

...

 

 3. The Wi-Fi Debate: Should Cities Be in the Business of Broadband?  Knowledge@Wharton

The city of Philadelphia's grand experiment to blanket its 135 square miles with wireless high-speed Internet access is being closely watched by municipalities across the U.S. that are pursuing similar initiatives. While Philadelphia's project, which edged closer to reality with an announcement on April 7, is more than a year away from completion, it has sparked an intense debate over such questions as: Are broadband services better handled by the public or private sector? Can a wireless broadband network, commonly known as Wi-Fi, be used to help more low-income people gain online access? Should Internet access be viewed as city infrastructure, like telephone poles or city streets?

 4. Big Blue Grids Cleveland - InternetNews.com –

 

IBM (Quote, Chart) is intent on shifting grid computing from the research lab to commercial deployments.

 

The Armonk, N.Y., company Wednesday debuted its Economic Development Grid, a plan to bring advanced computing to government agencies, universities and local businesses.

 

For the last several years, grid computing has been confined to research labs in various parts of the country, where computer whizzes crunched numbers on groups of machines operating as a hive mind to perform complex computations.

 

In the last few years, vendors such as Sun Microsystems (Quote, Chart), Cray (Quote, Chart) and SGI (Quote, Chart) have looked to break grid computing out of its research mold and into governments.

 

But no vendor has put so much emphasis on the evolution as IBM. The systems vendor said in a statement that governments, health care, life sciences, software development, digital media, manufacturing and petroleum industries are seeking the advanced computing grid can provide.

 

For the Economic Development Grid, IBM first set its sights on OneCleveland, a non-profit agency funded by government, educational, research and health care groups that provides broadband networking services. The group is an enabler of computing networks by piping gigabit-speed Internet access.

 

IBM worked with OneCleveland to help health care, education, research and government organizations use grid computing technology to better collaborate on projects. The idea is that the sophisticated computing will eventually help the region lure new businesses and professional talent, as well as provide more jobs.

...

RC: Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA)

 

 5. EU helps China train 14,000 experts in village affairs - People's Daily Online - Beijing, China

 

The co-director of the EU-China Training program on Village Governance said Wednesday that the program has made a "significant first step" in training more than 14,000 Chinese government officials since May 2001.

 

"This might appear a modest achievement if measured against the needs in the country, but it is significant when seen as a first step in a cascading process through which participants in the program training courses are transmitted skills and tools ...down to the village level," said William Massolin.

 

He said at the ongoing National Conference on Village Self-Governance that the program has been working closely with the key institutions in charge of village governance at the central level by providing financial and technical support in the past four years.

...

 

External Relations – EU – China

 

 6. Election changing the face of North Highline council - Seattle Post Intelligencer - Seattle, WA, USA

 

The bickering going on among some of its council members resembles small-town politics, except it isn't a town -- yet.

 

The unincorporated area wedged between Seattle, Burien and Tukwila -- which includes White Center and is home to 32,000 residents, nearly half of them racial or ethnic minorities -- could be annexed or incorporated.

 

That exploratory process, still in the early stages, promises to generate considerable debate. But first comes another shift in the community: tomorrow's election of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, which will dramatically change the makeup of the advisory panel.

 

RC: Puget Sound Regional Council

 

 7. MAG audit editorial - Provo Daily Herald - Provo, UT, USA

 

MAG auditis a good thing

 

When a marriage is heading toward the rocks, it's a good idea to get a third party to mediate. A neutral party can help bring a couple back together or make their parting more amiable.

 

In the case of the estrangement of Utah County and Mountainland Association of Governments, professional help is coming from the state. 

The Legislative Management Committee authorized its audit subcommittee to determine whether MAG misused $1 million in federal grant money. This is a big bone of contention for the Utah County Commission.

 

Commissioners voted earlier this year to withdraw from the regional planning organization, citing what they said was a lack of accountability, excessive administrative costs and not receiving the county's share of federal funding through MAG, which also represents Summit and Wasatch counties. They have contended that MAG improperly used federal Community Development Block Grant money -- which is usually earmarked for economic development and social programs that benefit low-income families -- to build its Orem headquarters. MAG insists there was no impropriety.

 

The audit by the Legislature is the best way to resolve the question. The state is an independent entity as far as this dispute is concerned, and it can review the facts without the emotional baggage that seems to be present in Utah County. The audit will also look at MAG's budget process to see if that is working as it should.

...

 8. a)  Governor signs stadium bill – IndyStar.com

 

Gov. Mitch Daniels today signed House Enrolled Act 1120 into law, providing the authorization for key projects in Northwest and Central Indiana, including a new stadium for the Indianapolis Colts.

 

Local officials, state lawmakers and federal officials joined the governor at the Gary/Chicago International Airport for the bill signing that creates the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority (NIRDA) and authorizes financing for a Colts stadium and expanded Indiana Convention Center in Downtown Indianapolis.

...

The Regional Development Authority will develop and fund airport expansion at the Gary/Chicago airport, regional rail and bus transportation projects and facilities as well as shoreline and economic development capital projects.

...

 

      b) Porter County Council needs to support NIRDA - Munster Times - Munster, IN, USA

 

The Porter County Council has before it a way to bring two major benefits to Porter County -- property tax relief and a stake in the region's economic development.

 

What it requires is the courage to increase the economic development income tax from 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent.

 

The General Assembly this year made the choice easier for the council members and the taxpayers. If the county income tax is increased, the first $3.5 million of the increase goes for a seat on the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority board. Everything above that amount gets used for property tax relief.
...

 

RC: Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission

 

 9.  North County's share gets fairer- North County Times - Escondido, CA, USA

That was the good news Tuesday from leaders of the San Diego Association of Governments, the regional superagency in charge of curing our crippling traffic woes.

In November, voters narrowly passed the 40-year extension of the TransNet sales tax. Key to the measure's passage was support in North County, where nine elected officials pledged to use their clout at the agency to direct more money for local freeways and streets.

 

Six months later, the North County Nine are showing signs of keeping that promise.

...

 

10. McGuinty Government and Toronto Release Progress Report - Canada NewsWire (press release) – Canada

...

The joint document details the progress officials from the province and the City of Toronto have made in developing recommendations for a new legislative framework for Canada's largest city. There will be further work and analysis over the coming months. The province has committed to the introduction of legislation by the end of the year.

...

    The JTF has held substantive policy discussions on a broad spectrum of

issues over the past several months. General consensus has been reached by the

JTF on various items related to each of the following "envelopes" of issues:

 

    -  Principles of city government

    -  Principles of city-provincial relations and intergovernmental

       relations

    -  City purposes

    -  Democratic control and council accountability.

...

11. Is Giambra Right About Control Board & Regionalism? WIVB - Buffalo, NY, USA

...

While there is still a push for a merger by those who believe in the concept of a Greater Buffalo regional government, others believe the county's fiscal unraveling may have put more than a damper on the idea.

...

 

12. Despite perceptions, region 'wants to grow' - Roanoke Times - Roanoke, VA, USA

 

Darlene Burcham suggested a vocal minority sometimes hobbles efforts to foster regional cooperation and economic and population growth in the Roanoke and New River valleys.

 

The observation by Burcham, who is Roanoke's city manager, followed Dr. Ed Murphy's report Wednesday about a survey (click here  to download the report) commissioned by Carilion Health System, for which Murphy is president and chief executive officer. Murphy addressed a morning meeting of the business committee for the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership and other businesspeople and local leaders.

...

Murphy said telephone surveys of residents and businesses in the region found general support for population and economic growth. He said related numbers contradicted anecdotal reports and conventional wisdom that suggest widespread resistance to growth and its perceived threat to quality of life.

 

And although many survey participants saw little evidence in the Roanoke and New River valleys of a burgeoning spirit of regionalism, their responses indicated general support for the concept. Responses about the regional importance of arts and cultural offerings were divided about equally between "very important" and "somewhat important."

 

But only 6 percent of business leaders surveyed in the New River Valley said the Roanoke Valley's arts and cultural offerings were "very important" to the New River Valley.

...

Roanoke County businessman Victor Iannello, who has been in the thick of efforts to encourage economic cooperation between the Roanoke and New River valleys, said business leaders can help by adopting and promoting the year-old regional brand, which is "NewVa."

 

But Aric Bopp, director of business development for the New River Valley Economic Development Alliance, said he worries the NewVa brand might be more of a wedge separating the regions than a catalyst for cooperation.

RCs: Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission   New River Valley Planning District Commission

 

 

13. Straight from Google.

 

      a) Biosciences district bill advances - 2TheAdvocate - Baton Rouge, LA, USA

A bill to create a biosciences economic-development district in New Orleans squeaked out of a House committee Tuesday despite concerns about its broad powers. ...

 

      b) Police review regional boundaries - News.gov.hk - Hong Kong

The proposal is one of several options being considered to change boundaries within the Kowloon East Police region, Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee told ...

 

      c) Varying Perceptions On Resource Control - AllAfrica.com – Africa

... While the first four geo-political zones mentioned are clamouring for regionalism and resource control, the Northern bloc is opposed to regionalism and ...

 

      d) Telangana: CPI wants regional councils restored - Hindu - Chennai, India

 

... The Communist Party of India on Monday suggested that the Government take steps to restore regional councils and other measures to solve the problems of the Telangana region, ...

 

      e) GUUAM will be renamed - Ukrainian foreign minister -Interfax.ru - Moscow, Russia

The regional organization GUUAM will be renamed and will possibly be called the Commonwealth for Democracy and Development, said Ukrainian ...

 

      f) Remote population drop sparks call for infrastructure boost - ABC Online – Australia

The Remote Area Planning and Development (RAPD) Board says it is not surprised with new statistics showing two thirds of Queensland is declining in population. ...

 

      g) Census Bureau Stops E-mail Scam; Shuts Down Fake 'Census' Web Site - U.S. Newswire (press release), DC

 
... $5 instant cash reward to participate in a bogus online "Operation Iraqi Freedom 2005 Survey." The survey, however, was not a legitimate Census Bureau survey. ...

 

14. Other U.S. regional communities in news articles.

 

      a)  Growth strains water resources - MetroWest Daily News - Framingham, MA, USA

 

HUDSON -- Rapid development in the towns surrounding the Sudbury, Assabet and Concord rivers is threatening the water resources in the SuAsCo Watershed, officials at an annual conference reviewing the health of the rivers said last night.

 

     "It is not only a stressed basin...but it is extremely important because of the level of growth here. That level of growth will surely put more pressure on our water resources," said James Stergios, undersecretary for policy at the state Executive Office of Environmental Affairs.

  

     Between 1990 and 2000, the population in the 36 SuAsCo communities rose nearly 10 percent to 701,693, said Martin Pillsbury, regional planning manager of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.

...

 

      b) Eastern Kentucky Program Awarded Thousands of Dollars  - WKYT - Lexington, KY,USA

The Kentucky River Area Development District (KRADD) has just received state funding to help pay for local projects.

 

The Area Development Fund grants will be used for KRADD projects.

...

 

15. Other in the news:

 

      a) Environmental Heresies - Technology Review - May 15, 2005 - By Stewart Brand

 

Over the next ten years, I predict, the mainstream of the environmental movement will reverse its opinion and activism in four major areas: population growth, urbani­zation, genetically engineered organisms, and nuclear power.

 

Reversals of this sort have occurred before. Wildfire went from universal menace in mid-20th century to honored natural force and forestry tool now, from “Only you can prevent forest fires!” to let-burn policies and prescribed fires for understory management. The structure of such reversals reveals a hidden strength in the environmental movement and explains why it is likely to keep on growing in influence from decade to decade and perhaps century to century.

...

 

      b) The Emerging Water Wars - Global Politician - Brooklyn, NY, USA

...

The UNDP believes that half the population in Africa will be subject to wrenching water shortages in 25 years. The environmental research institute, Worldwatch, quoted by the BBC, recommends food imports as a way to economize on water.

It takes 1000 tons of water to produce 1 ton of grain and agriculture consumes almost 70 percent of the world's water - though only less than 30 percent in OECD countries. It takes more than the entire throughput of the Nile to grow the grain imported annually by Middle Eastern and North African countries alone. Some precipitation-poor countries even grow cotton and rice, both insatiable crops. By 2020, says the World Water Council, we will be short 17 percent of the water that would be needed to feed the population.

...

      c) BRAC: What happens next? - USA Today – USA

 

What's next in the Base Realignment and Closure process:

...

 

Spring/Summer: BRAC commission holds regional public hearings around the country.

 

July 1: Deadline for the comptroller general to submit an analysis of the Pentagon's list.

 

Sept. 8: BRAC commission must send its "findings and conclusions" to the president by this date.

...

 

      d)   The finer points of desktop dining - San Jose Mercury News - San Jose, CA,USA

 

Once upon a time, people worked at their desks and got up for lunch. Now we know better. We can sell stuff on eBay and appear to be working, or we really can work every minute and look so stressed that people will think we're important.

 

In any case, cubicle dining quickly becomes the norm in times when workers feel insecure about their jobs. But there are social and psychological consequences and, as when cell phones first swept the land, a need for new rules of etiquette. We consulted experts in those three fields.

...

 

16. Announcements

       a) Education for knowledge societies - ONU (Communiqués de presse) - New York, NY, USA

 

May 18, 2005 – (UNESCO) Education for Knowledge Societies is one of the key issues to be discussed this week at an international UNESCO conference in St. Petersburg, the Russian Federation.

 

The three-day conference « UNESCO between Two Phases of the World Summit on the Information Society” opened yesterday. It is one of UNESCO’s thematic meetings in preparation for the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (Tunis, Tunisia, 16-18 November 2005).

...

       b) Call for Nominatnons -  2nd Annual Regional Excellence Awards – June 3, 2005 - Honoring individuals, businesses, organizations or communities with a strong commitment to fostering regional thinking and action in Southeast Florida

The South Florida Regional Resource Center (SFRRC) is a partnership between the Center for Urban & Environmental Solutions at Florida Atlantic University, the Collins Center for Public Policy, Inc., and the South Florida and Treasure Coast Regional Planning Councils. ...

17. Subscription link stories 

 

      a) Pretty streets vs. bus fleets - Atlanta Journal Constitution (subscription) - GA,USA

Tensions are running high between advocates of safe, attractive and walkable city streets and those hoping to get as many commuters as possible out of their cars and onto mass transit.

 

At the outset of a six-month Atlanta Regional Commission study of how to manage the intown travel patterns of metro Atlanta's growing bus fleets, a steering committee of city and neighborhood leaders, transit system operators and the state Department of Transportation officials aired their differences.

 

No one yet has answers for how to keep increasing numbers of commuter buses from spoiling the "grand boulevard" atmosphere Midtown, Downtown and Atlanta leaders are trying to create along Peachtree Street.

 

While community advocates stressed their desire to see Atlanta's intractable gridlock addressed, they expressed their fears that the number of buses crowding narrow intown streets will undercut years of work to make intown Atlanta a more inviting place for residents, workers and visitors.

...

 

      b) Former regional planning officials plead guilty to corruption - Kansas City Star (subscription) - MO,USA

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Two former planning commissioners in north-central Missouri pleaded guilty on Tuesday to federal fraud charges for receiving thousands of dollars in unauthorized loans for companies they operated and controlled, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

 

Michael R. Johns and Denise K. Stottlemyre, both 52 and from Trenton, worked for the Green Hills Regional Planning Commission. While on the commission, they distributed unapproved federal loans to companies Johns owned and operated without the commission board of directors' approval, U.S. Attorney Todd Graves said Tuesday in a news release.

 

Johns pleaded guilty to federal program fraud, while Stottlemyre acknowledged using false documents to assist the activities.

 

Johns and Stottlemyre worked as executive and assistant director, respectively, for the planning commission based in Trenton that promoted rural economic development for 11 counties in northwest Missouri.

...

 

      c) Growth-management proposal - Orlando Sentinel (subscription) - Orlando, FL, USA

 

Posted May 12, 2005

The following is a draft of a proposed "Growth Management Policy" the School Board is scheduled to approve May 24.

The executive board of the Volusia Council of Governments is set to discuss the proposal today, followed by a review by VCOG's governing board May 23.

The School Board strongly believes that it is in the best interest of the overall community for the School Board to work cooperatively with local governments.

Recognizing that overcrowded conditions will adversely affect the educational services provided at any given school, it is the School Board's belief that local governments should give full consideration to the impacts of new residential development on existing school capacity.

Each local government should provide the school district with all the application material submitted by the applicants for rezoning and/or land use map amendments at the time of submittal.

Prior to approving any rezoning and/or land use map amendments that increase the residential density of the property, the School Board recommends that the local governments involved require that any staff report on the proposed rezoning and/or land use map amendment include a review and evaluation of the following information:

The availability of existing school capacity or any planned expansion of capacity in the next five years;

The number of students likely to be generated by the new development, as calculated by the school district;

The availability of school sites owned by the School Board and the available services to these sites.

If the staff reports that approval of the proposed rezoning and/or land use map amendment would result in the student population exceeding existing and planned school capacity, the School Board believes the local government should publicly acknowledge that approval of the proposal will have an adverse impact on the educational services provided in the area.

If the proposed rezoning and/or land use map amendment is to be granted notwithstanding an adverse report regarding the impact on school overcrowding, it would be the School Board's expectation that the local government will require the applicant to provide the school district with the means to mitigate the adverse impact of the proposal on the schools.

SOURCE: Volusia County School District

RC: East Central Florida Regional Planning Council - Region VI

 

      d) Society's Moral Boundaries Expand Somewhat This Year - Gallup Poll News - Washington, DC, USA

 

 Society's Moral Boundaries Expand Somewhat This Year - More say death penalty, embryonic stem cell research, and out-of-wedlock births are OK

 

The boundaries of moral propriety have expanded a bit in the last year, as more Americans today than a year ago say the death penalty, embryonic stem cell research, and having a baby out of wedlock are morally acceptable. At the same time, Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs survey shows no significant changes in the perceived morality of 13 other items. Adultery, polygamy, and cloning humans remain societal taboos. More generally, Americans give a poor grade to the state of moral values in the country, and express little hope that things will improve.

...