Note/prayer: For London and all - may regional cooperation contribute to a peaceful world. Ed.

 

 1. Olympics offers London a facelift - Aljazeera.net, Qatar 

...

"Long-awaited regeneration of parts of London will now proceed, including the much needed upgrade of the public transport system."

 

Manny Lewis, chief executive of the London Development Agency, a local body charged with aiding regeneration and development, added:

 

"The Olympic Games and Paralympic Games provides us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform one of the most deprived parts of the capital... for the benefit of all those that live and work there"

 

Manny Lewis, chief executive, The London Development Agency: "The Olympic Games and Paralympic Games provides us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform one of the most deprived parts of the capital ... for the benefit of all those that live and work there. 

... 

 

 2. Olympics 'worth £600m to region' - BBC News, UK 

 

Yorkshire Forward hopes to attract Olympic teams to the region to use its world-class sports venues for training.

 

Agency chairman Terry Hodgkinson said: "We intend to maximise the opportunity for this region.

 

"Our own research shows that we are set to gain from £600m worth of economic benefits on the back of the Olympics."

...

 

 3. Maricopa County Stands to Gain Millions of Dollars with New Census - KPHO Phoenix - Phoenix, AZ, USA

 

PHOENIX (AP) -- With shares of a large pot of money at stake, Maricopa County will be counting its citizens this year to update population figures that haven't been refreshed since 2000.

 

Mayors and city managers from 24 Maricopa County cities got together through the Maricopa Association of Governments three years ago and agreed to fund the special census, MAG spokeswoman Rita Walton said.

 

U.S. Census Bureau officials say Arizona's most populous county is the only large metropolitan area in the nation conducting a special census this year and the only jurisdiction using a sampling technique to do it.

...

 

 4. KENT BAIN: Heritage area seeks to build on people - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal - Tupelo, MS, USA

 

The Mississippi Hills Heritage Area is Northeast Mississippi, its people and communities, working together to overcome common obstacles, to compete effectively with surrounding states, to improve our collective future by capitalizing on a rich common heritage.

Yet, the heritage area seeks first and foremost to build on our greatest asset - not our heritage, but our people, so many of whom are working so hard to make Northeast Mississippi a better place to live, learn, and work. ...

 

RCs: Northeast Mississippi Planning and Development District   Three Rivers Planning and Development District

 5. a) One Falls as a role model for the other - Buffalo News - Buffalo, NY, USA

 

NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. - Imagine a city where 10,000 new jobs have been created during the last 10 years, where the population quadrupled in the last four decades, where the unemployment rate fell from a staggering 14.2 percent a dozen years ago to 6 percent today.

 

This isn't some Sun Belt paradise. It's Niagara Falls, Ont., boomtown, part of a vibrant region, some of whose biggest success stories sit 25 minutes from downtown Buffalo.

 

"I was born and raised here," said Mayor R.T. "Ted" Salci, "and sometimes I just can't believe what I'm seeing."

 

Neither can planners on the American side of the border. Growth in Southern Ontario has captured their imaginations, and has raised calls to more closely align the fortunes of Buffalo and Niagara Falls, N.Y., while pursuing development as a region.

...

Proposed projects in Hamilton need to clear one level of approval: the City Council. In Niagara Falls, Ont., there are two: the City Council and the Regional Council.

 

Every Thursday in Hamilton, all city department heads, planners, conservationists and anyone else with a stake in a proposed development meet in City Hall and discuss pending projects.

 

"The Council has delegated as much as possible to the staff," said Stephen Robichaud, manager of Hamilton's Strategic Initiatives Department. With professional staff and only one level of approval, projects get the go-ahead in weeks, instead of the years it can take in Western New York.

 

Erie County has three cities, 25 towns and 16 villages, for a total of 44 individual governing bodies. Niagara County has three cities, 12 towns and five villages, for a total of 20.

 

On the Ontario side of the border, in an area about the same size, there are 12 municipalities governed by the Regional Municipality of Niagara, including the cities of Niagara Falls and St. Catharines. The City of Hamilton is an amalgamation of six towns. That means 13 municipal bodies, compared with 64 in Erie and Niagara counties.

 

"All the municipalities you have to work with on the American side of the border," said Robichaud, "that would be a nightmare."

...

      b) Is Regionalsim (sic)Push Failing? - WGRZ-TV - Buffalo, NY, USA

For a while it seemed like the idea of regionalism was gaining momentum, but now it seems like it's headed in the opposite direction. ...

 

 6. Towards a new deal on infrastructure? - On Line opinion – Australia

 

When the State Treasurer announced a budget surplus earlier this year of one billion dollars - considerably more than expected - it was followed by calls to spend that surplus on new “mega” or “iconic” projects that are often all about visions and image and not much about functions and real economic value. Now that the latest budget indicates a doubling of that surplus, the pressures on government to spend it on such new “megaprojects” has increased further. While there is sometimes a place for such “megaprojects” Queensland, like the rest of Australia, is suffering from an infrastructure deficit.

 

Although Queensland has historically provided more money for infrastructure than other states, funding has not kept up with the state’s above average growth - now estimated to be twice the national average. ...

 7. Asian Highway Network Agreement comes into force from tomorrow - Deepika - Kottayam, India

 

New Delhi, July 3 (UNI) In the midst of preoccupation with low-cost airlines, prospects of a cheaper road transport may catch the fancy of trans-continental travellers as The Inter-governmental Agreement on the Asian Highway Network, spanning 32 Asian countries, including India, with linkages to Europe, comes into force from tomorrow.

 

The landmark agreement, slated for completion in 2010, will enable direct travel from Tokyo to Istanbul, facilitating trade and tourism, and opening up land-locked countries through the multi-pronged 140,000-km highway corridor.

 

To be known as the Asian Highway 1, the highway will start in Tokyo and pass through North and South Korea, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Armenia before terminating in Istanbul.

 

''The Agreement marks a major milestone in regional cooperation that will substantially improve opportunities for trade and tourism,'' Bangkok-based Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Executive Secretary Kim Hak-Su said in a statement.

...

 

 8. New bridge council formed - Adrian Daily Telegram - Adrian, MI, USA

 

MADISON TWP. - A new regional bridge council could make decisions in September that will affect state funding for local projects that include fixing the Rodesiler Highway bridge in Deerfield and replacing a bridge on Benner Highway.

Proposed bridge projects in a 10-county region that includes Lenawee County are to be rated at a meeting in September of a new regional bridge council, said Orrin Gregg, Lenawee County Road Commission managing director, at the agency's board meeting Friday.

Gregg is one of four local government representatives on the five-member bridge council for a region covering south central Michigan.

A system using regional councils to help decide where Michigan's bridge money is spent is to go into effect Oct. 1, replacing the state's Critical Bridge Program where all decisions were made in Lansing.

 

RC: Region II Planning Commission  Michigan DOT Regional Bridge Councils 

 

 9. Consultants vie for recruiting contract - Tracy Press - Tracy, CA, USA

 

The San Joaquin Council of Governments has received proposals from 10 recruiting firms that will compete for a contract to find a successor for outgoing director Julia Greene.

 

The proposals range from $18,500 to $28,000 to conduct a nationwide search. About a third of these charges would be for expenses such as travel and telephone calls; the rest consist of the fee.

 

The council brought Greene in via a similar search seven years ago. She was hired from the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.

 

Greene announced her retirement at the end of May, but the council has offered her a $60,000 contract as a consultant that would run through next April. Greene’s annual salary was $133,307, according to SJCOG chief financial officer Steve Dial.

...

 

10. a) Vision plan focuses on Triad growth - Winston-Salem Journal - Winston-Salem, NC, USA

 

The Piedmont Triad Partnership urged regional leaders yesterday not to let a newly unveiled vision plan for economic growth collect dust on a shelf.

 

The five-goal plan was publicly discussed for the first time at the partnership's annual meeting at the Airport Marriott. The meeting drew about 550 business, civic and government officials.

 

Each of the state's seven economic-development partnerships was given a mandate in November by the General Assembly to develop "a vision plan" for initiatives over the next four years.

 

The goals of the Triad plan are:

 

1. Develop a highly skilled and well-trained work force.

 

2. Build trust and communicate better to maximize regional cooperation.

 

3. Diversify the economy through industry clusters.

 

4. Emphasize infrastructure improvements.

 

5. Improve the quality of life.

...

      b) Joint efforts help region, leaders say - Greensboro News Record - Greensboro, NC, USA

... And if the region wants to avoid evolving into a haven for smog and "urban sprawl" -- economic disasters -- it needs to approach development decisions as a team ...

 

      c) Not just lip service for regional goals - Greensboro News Record - Greensboro, NC, USA

... Triad's 12 counties. Wooing Dell last year to Forsyth County brought out the best and worst in regional cooperation. Rather than a ...

 

RCs: Northwest Piedmont Council of Governments    Piedmont Triad Council of Governments

 

11. Big grant for Boys & Girls may dry up - Auburn Journal - Auburn, CA, USA

...

Steve Heath is the CEO of the United Way California Capital Region, which serves Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties.

"We've told all agencies that they need to look for other sources in addition to the United Way for long-term sustainability," he said. "That's easier said than done with competition to find funding for so many non-profits."

There is $500,000 to disperse for education in the five-county region, but those funds don't necessarily return to Placer County.

"Most donors view this as a regional community and some agencies serve multiple counties," he said. "We can't simply say the money raised here stays here."

...

 

12. WWF hopes Scottish fishing framework can become pan-European - Fishupdate.com – UK

 

WWF has welcomed the publication of the Scottish Executive's Sustainable Framework for Scottish Sea Fisheries with its vision of securing a sustainable and profitable future for the Scottish sea fishing industry. ... Scotland now has the opportunity to avoid the chronic "boom and bust" of fisheries by sustainably managing fish stocks, whilst safeguarding the health and ...

 

13. Straight from Google.

 

      a) Woolwich grapples with growth - Cherry Hill Courier Post - Cherry Hill, NJ, USA

... which had been lagging. "The growth precipitated regionalization," said Andy Lovell, Logan's EMS chief. His department has experienced ...

 

      b) Sisters of Mercy Elect New Leadership - U.S. Newswire (press release) - Washington, DC, USA

... Waskowiak moves into the position as President of the Institute from her current position as President of the Sisters of Mercy Regional Community of Burlingame ...

 

      c) Could culture revive city? - The Coloradoan - Fort Collins, CO, USA

... "Literally, it's a cultural environment that's going to outstrip anything else around," Steiner said. "Ultimately, that's the goal.". What's the catch? ...

 

      d) Winning Combination? Ithaca Times - Ithaca, NY, USA

... The successful partnership might soon be expanded. "We're looking at farther regional cooperation with Cayuga Heights - directing some of the flow from the CH ...

 

      e) Now a true city: Thornton passes 100,000 - Denver Post - Denver, CO, USA

... The city also had to apply for extra growing room within the Denver Regional Council of Governments' growth boundary, after the city said the powerful metro ...

 

      f) A regional policy for the 21 st Century - EUROPA (press release) - Brussels, Belgium

... by the way, also provided a breakthrough for European regional policy with ... hard with my services to ensure full alignment between the Commission's proposals ...

 

      g) Boom towns - Glenwood Springs Post Independent - Glenwood Springs, CO, USA

In the 59 years since Betty Clifford was born at the old Thomas Maternity Home on Second Street in Rifle, she has seen the city boom and bust. ...

 

      h) ACTC holds final communication summit - Amador Ledger-Dispatch - Jackson, CA, USA

...

The final phase of the summit was a “where do we go from here” discussion. Sutter Creek Mayor Tim Murphy, speaking on behalf of himself and not the city council, kicked this portion of the discussion off by discussing the possibility of forming a council of governments for Amador County.

 

“The reason that not as much has been done as could have been as that we leave discussions like this at the report stage,” he said. “We need to take some action and create a council of governments in this county. We have a real opportunity to make a difference now, rather than just letting this report sit on a shelf.”

 

RC: Central Sierra Planning Council and Economic Development District  -   53 West Bradford Avenue, Suite 200 - Sonora, CA  95370

      i) TCA Srinivasa-Raghavan: Regionalism: The way to go - Business Standard – India

... trenches. The growth of regionalism has in fact been one of the major international developments after the Second World War. The ...

      j) Full text of Premier Wen's speech at 2nd GMS Summit - People's Daily Online - Beijing, China

... There are still tens of millions of poor people in the country, plus an uneven domestic regional development, serious resources constraints and mounting ...

      k) Leaders must explore regional solutions - News-Herald.com - Willoughby, OH, USA

... direction was taken last week by the Lake County Mayors and City Managers Association after Wickliffe Mayor Tom Ruffner mentioned the magic word - "regionalism ...

      l) State seeks big picture on open space - Vail Daily News - Vail, CO, USA

... Right now, I don't have an easy way to access what's been protected in Grand County. Most political boundaries don't follow hydrological boundaries.". ...

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

 

      a) Farm land, rights issues at regional land use session - Allentown Morning Call - Allentown, PA, USA

 

Is the Nazareth area a farming community, or has growth and development already transformed the once-rural region into a suburban landscape? How far are municipalities willing to go to preserve open space and prime agricultural land? And, most importantly, who will pay for that to happen?

Those questions were under debate Wednesday as residents and officials of the 10-member Nazareth Area Council of Governments were presented with the fourth draft of a regional land use plan.

The plan, prepared for the COG by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, is a blueprint for how to guide development, preserve open space and retain natural features in the area through 2030.

...

 

      b)  Board of directors busy this week - Hope Star - Hope, AR, USA

... Renee Dycus with Southwest Arkansas Planning and Development District (SWAPDD) has submitted several resolutions to be considered by the board relating to the ...

 

     c) Unite or fall, area civic leaders say - Kalamazoo Gazette - Kalamazoo, MI, USA

 

... said of the Kalamazoo County Council of Governments, one of several efforts over the years that sought to be a vehicle for intergovernmental cooperation. ...

 

RC: Southcentral Michigan Planning Council (Region 3) P.O. Box 2137 Portage, MI 49081

 

      d) Tontitown Holds Off On Changing Density Law - Springdale Morning News - Springdale, AR, USA

... Jeff Hawkins of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission agreed the city can create other residential classifications. ...

 

      e) High gas prices strain city, local businesses - Hopkinsville Kentucky New Era - Hopkinsville, KY, USA

... Alisha Sutton, the administrative officer for the Pennyrile Area Development District, said their employee traveling costs have gone up by $6,000 and they're ...

 

      f) New River Valley is ahead of the game in water planning - New River Valley Current - Christiansburg, VA, USA

... The average estimated cost of production and distribution from a regional system would be closer to $1.65, he said. Commission staff member Sheila Smith ...

 

      g) Agencies Plan Social Services Coordination - Washington Post - Washington, DC, USA

... produce a more coordinated 211 hotline for the area, said Tylee Smith, manager of information referral programs for the Northern Virginia Regional Commission. ...

 

15. Other in the news:

 

      a) To Replace Oil, US Experts See Amber Waves Of Plastic; ... - Truth about Trade & Technology, IA 

 

To Replace Oil, U.S. Experts See Amber Waves of Plastic; American crops could be used in place of many products' petroleum base, some scientists say.

 

He operates 90,000 feet of hissing pipes and dozens of enormous churning vats -- an industrial jungle with a single, remarkable purpose: "Essentially," plant manager Bill Suehr says, "we've got corn coming in at one end and plastic coming out the other."

 

In a hot, noisy factory that smells of Frosted Flakes, yeast and wet farm animals, agribusiness giant Cargill Inc. has set out to lead a new industrial revolution -- one fed by the green fields of the Midwest rather than the oil fields of the Middle East.

 

Sprawled across a square mile of prairie, a series of automated assembly lines turns raw corn kernels first into sugary syrup and then into white pellets that can be spun into silky fabric or molded into clear, tough plastic.

 

The end products -- which include T-shirts, forks and coffins -- look, feel and perform like traditional polyester and plastic made from a petroleum base. But the manufacturing process consumes 50% less fossil fuel, even after accounting for the fuel needed to plant and harvest the corn.

... 

      b) Millennium Review Meeting Bulletin - Earth Negotiations Bulletin – Canada

 

SUMMARY OF THE HIGH-LEVEL DIALOGUE OF THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT: 27-28 JUNE 2005

 

The High-level Dialogue of the UN General Assembly on Financing for Development took place on 27 and 28 June 2005, at UN Headquarters in New York. This was the second High-level Dialogue to have taken place since the International Conference on Financing for Development, which met in Monterrey, Mexico, in 2002. The Monterrey Consensus, which was negotiated at the International Conference on Financing for Development, assigned a follow-up role to such Dialogues. The theme for the two-day gathering was “The Monterrey Consensus: status of implementation and tasks ahead.”

... 

      c) How Brief Drop in Cars Can Trigger Tie-Ups, and Other Traffic Tales'  - The Wall Street Journal

...

Most jams occur way before a road reaches its capacity, and the culprits are all around you. Even in heavy but moving traffic, inhomogeneities would have much less effect if drivers had faster reaction times. When merging traffic causes the driver in front of you to brake, you do so as well, unless you enjoy fender benders. But because braking takes time, the gap between you and the car ahead shrinks, explains Prof. Treiber. You slow even further until the gap reaches a size you are comfortable with. Result: You are now traveling even more slowly than the car whose braking triggered the stop-and-go wave in the first place. The car behind you does the same, and the effect propagates backward, often for miles.

 

You can lessen this effect, however. Prof. Treiber suggests looking a few cars ahead so you know when and how much to brake. "If you brake just in time, you can usually safely brake less," he says, "which improves the flow." Consider it a good deed.

 

16. Announcements

 

      a)  2005 Northeastern Community Impact Assessment Workshop - September 11-14, 2005 - Trenton, NJ.

 

The workshop will provide practitioners from the region, and throughout the country, an opportunity to discuss innovative Community Impact Assessment methodologies, practices and tools. A "Place Making" exercise will introduce Workshop participants to the "tools" and techniques used in creating "PLACES" – reflecting recognition of community values and consistent with Smart Growth.

 

      b) National Forum on Regional Stewardship:  Collaborative Government--Is Your Community Ready? - Louisville, Kentucky - November 8-11, 2005 - Alliance for Regional Stewardship (ARS)

 

Civic, business, and government leaders are invited to this Forum to network and explore the many ways that local governments are saving money, improving services, and promoting economic development through collaboration. On Tuesday, November 8, Louisville Metro will host a special “Lessons from Merger Workshop” for representatives of communities that want to explore the Louisville-Jefferson County merger experience.

 

Based on topics requested by community representatives who wish to attend the merger workshop, the agenda will be designed to answer specific questions communities have about the events that led to Louisville-Jefferson County’s successful merger vote in November, 2000; the preparations made to establish a new merged government; and the challenges facing Louisville Metro government since it began operation on January 6, 2003.  The workshop also will present a diagnostic tool participants can use to analyze merger and consolidation for their communities.

 

      c) 2006 American Planning Association (APA) National Planning Conference call for session proposals - San Antonio, TX

 

Conference sessions will be scheduled from Sunday morning, April 23, 2006, through Wednesday morning, April 26, 2006. Poster sessions will take place on either Sunday or Monday. Deadline for Proposals is September 1, 2005.

 

 

17. Data & IT  

 

      a)  The future won't be secured by humans - Techworld.com - London, UK

...

Techworld: After decades of being taking for granted, security has moved to the top of people’s list of issues. Does this herald an important change in IT or is it another technological fashion?

 

Over the past decade we became increasingly dependent on information technology in business and everyday life. The availability and reliability of these technologies was taken for granted until attacks have demonstrated vulnerability. The great benefits have demanded to make these technologies more secure, evolving security from a nuisance to a business enabler. Security is no longer a technological trend, but a serious business issue. This shift from thinking of “how to prevent the bad guys” to “how to enable the good guys” builds the foundation of this important change. Increasing revenues and reducing cost are the driving factors for today’s successful security architectures.

...

 

      b) The End User: U.S. weaves tangled Web  - International Herald Tribune – France

 

PARIS Have you considered the possibility of "the Internets"? Not to be alarmist, but that is one outcome that critics are forecasting after the Bush administration changed its stance on one issue of Internet governance this week.

 

In a new enunciation of its policy, the U.S. Department of Commerce indicated that it wanted to retain control over changes to a simple text document called the root zone file. This file is the essence of the Internet addressing system, holding the master pointers for translating numbers into actual Web locations.

...

Today, no single entity has control over the 13 name servers that resolve the addresses in the master root zone file. But only three of these servers are maintained outside the United States.

 

While the smooth working of the Internet may be in everyone's interest, the administration's language has put a scare in some parts of the international community.

...

 

      c) OMB: Agencies to implement IPv6 by June 2008 - GCN

The Office of Management and Budget plans to set a deadline of June 2008 for all government agencies to transition their network backbones to IP Version 6. Once network backbones are running the new protocols, applications and connecting networks will be brought up to date.

The deadline is part of a policy memorandum OMB is preparing that will offer guidance for “an orderly and secure transition to IPv6,” said Karen Evans, OMB’s administrator for e-government and IT. “Setting this firm date is necessary to maintain focus on this important issue.”

 ...

      d) Bleak picture painted of Ottawa's tech sector - Silicon Valley North, Canada 

 

OTTAWA, ON--There has not only been a serious downturn in the number of people employed in Ottawa's technology sector but there has been a drop in the "quality of employment" as more jobs are now part-time, lower paid, with fewer benefits, and often in risky start-ups.

 

This is according to a new study released by Carleton University researchers, Edward Jackson, chair of the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation, and research associate Rahil Khan. The study is called "Steering on Black Ice: The Continuing Search for Sustainable Livelihoods in the Ottawa Tech Sector."
...

The study is available as a PDF at www.carleton.ca/3ci/

 

18. Subscription link stories 

 

Nations to form regional special forces - Miami Herald - FL,USA

 

TEGUCIGALPA - Central American leaders agreed Thursday to create a regional special forces unit to fight drug trafficking, gang violence and terrorism within their shared borders.

 

Wrapping up a two-day regional meeting, the leaders said they would also develop a Central American passport and common visa requirements for the region. The decisions were the latest steps aimed at integrating the region by opening borders from Nicaragua to Guatemala and working toward a free-trade agreement with the United States and the Dominican Republic.

 

Honduran President Ricardo Maduro said each country will develop its section of the so-called rapid-response forces, and then countries would begin joint operations. He also said countries were working to issue regional arrest warrants.

...