1. France offers subsidies to keep research groups at home - International Herald Tribune – France

 

In a bid to keep research-based industries in France, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin announced plans Tuesday to spend ?1.5 billion on nearly 70 industrial projects spanning technology-heavy sectors from aerospace to medicine.

 

The $1.8 billion effort focuses on creating rivals to hubs like Cambridge in Britain and Silicon Valley in California, where academic researchers mix with entrepreneurs. More than 100 applicants entered regional and municipal proposals for funding — a combination of tax breaks and other credits for research and development — to be doled out between 2006 and 2008.

...
Patrick Dubarle, an analyst for regional development in Europe with the Paris-based Organization for Cooperation and Development, said the French initiative was probably the largest of its kind in Europe and stood a good chance of helping French companies take risks on uncertain technologies.

...

 

 2. Residents ponder regional commission for Sempra issues – Twin Falls Times-News - Twin Falls, ID, USA

...

Because Idaho lacks state oversight in the process of locating, or siting, large power plants, the final say on such matters falls to county commissioners. Residents, like Halper, believe that power plants pose issues that cross county lines.

 

Sen. Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum, who was unaware of Halper's interest in forming a regional commission, said that Idaho statutes allow for joint planning and zoning commissions.

 

"There is an ability to form a joint agreement between counties," Stennett said

 

Joint committees have been formed in siting landfills, Stennett said. The provision has also been used to encourage cooperation between government entities over 911 dispatch services, he said.

 

Stennett has been working to craft legislation that would establish state oversight. He hopes to introduce a bill that would include an emergency clause that would affect Sempra. The intention of such legislation would allow input from neighboring counties and state agencies.

 

"I think this is a legitimate state issue," he said.

 

However, in lieu of a state siting commission, Stennett considers a regional commission the best alternative.
...

 

 3. ACOA announces $708 million to help develop region's economy - The Guardian - Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

The federal government renewed its regional development efforts Monday with a $708-million investment aimed at the Atlantic Canadian economy.

 

ACOA Minister Joe McGuire moved into the Slemon Park headquarters of Atlantic Turbines International in order to announce a five-year program — The Second Wave — with targeted investments in innovation, communities, people and improving the business climate.

 

“You don’t just automatically get money like this from the budget cabinet,” McGuire told reporters.

 

“You have to be able to get in and convince them that this money is going to make a difference that’s region-wide.”

...

  4. . Success of mid-term census hangs on regional commission numbers - Northwest Arkansas Times - Fayetteville, AR, USA

 

When the Fayetteville City Council agreed this month to pay almost one million dollars for a special midterm census, it based its decision on estimates of the city’s growth since the last census.

 

If the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission is correct in its estimate that Fayetteville has grown since 2000 to the extent that its population is now closer to 70,000 than 58,000, it could mean an additional $3.5 million in revenue for the city.

 

The NWARPC projected its population estimate on dwelling units added since 2000 as recorded by the city itself in the number of residential building permits.
...

  5. Roh Willing to Curb Presidential Powers - Chosun Ilbo - Seoul, outh Korea

 

President Roh Moo-hyun said Thursday he was ready to curb the power of the presidency for the sake of a more Parliament-centered system that could correct “structural problems” in Korea’s political structure. Roh also called for discussion on ways of fighting regionalism in Korea.

 

Roh was responding to questions in a meeting with newspaper editors at Cheong Wa Dae. A Cheong Wa Dae official provided the customary gloss on presidential remarks, saying regionalism was what Roh meant by "structural problems.” ...

 

Turning to the idea of coalition government that has lately been at the center of debate, Roh said coalitions “are a legal and appropriate political act accepted globally and universally... Even in Korea, you can attempt to form coalitions publicly or secretly." Asked why he had brought up the idea, he said, "It would be an initial success if the citizens come to understand that 'coalition' is not a dirty word." ...

 

 6. EDITORIAL: Tallahassee Memorial Hospital's plan to re-establish trauma center - Fort Wayne News Sentinel - Fort Wayne, IN, USA

...

According to a University of South Florida report on trauma care throughout the state, four Big Bend counties in the Greater Tallahassee area - Jefferson, Wakulla, Gadsden and Leon - had the highest death rates in 2003 for those injured in car crashes (the most common cause of trauma) where there was no nearby trauma center.

 

It doesn't require a medical degree to understand why.

 

Trauma centers are highly specialized, expensive operations. The closest ones to the capital are at least 140 miles away. In life-and-death emergencies, longer distance equals time - and frequently lives - lost.

 

Tallahassee Memorial once maintained a trauma center, but closed it in 1989 for financial reasons. The USF report - which recommends new trauma centers here and in Bay County - prompted TMH to start planning a new trauma center.

 

Regional problem - and solution

 

But that's only the first step - and public officials throughout this region must not view this issue as someone else's problem.

 

It is commendable that TMH already has begun to confront the problem, but it can't be expected to shoulder all of the financial burden. Local and state governments - that is, the taxpayers - have to pitch in.

 

That means regional cooperation.

 

You've heard us use that phrase before, in different contexts. You'll hear it more in the future, because it's becoming increasingly important in several respects.

 

In virtually every case, growth is driving the need for regionalism - in transportation planning, environmental protection and now, obviously, health care.

...

 

Florida RC: Apalachee Regional Planning Council - Region II

 

 7. Our Opinion: Transportation finally gets a regional look - Tucson Citizen - Tucson, AZ, USA

 

It's an impressive piece of work. But is it what Tucsonans want?

 

That's the big question that will be answered in the next few months as residents review a plan to improve transportation over the next 20 years.

 

The specifics of the plan will take time to examine and digest. But after an initial look, there is much to be optimistic about.

 

Most encouraging is the process. Both the city and the county have tried - separately - for more than a decade to persuade voters to OK tax increases for transportation. And all those efforts flopped - mainly because voters said they want a plan that is regional is scope, without regard for jurisdictional boundaries.

 

This is a plan that addresses that concern. It was drawn up by the Regional Transportation Authority, created by the Legislature to allow all local governments to work together on a plan and on a funding source.

 

The funding source would be a half-cent increase in the sales tax, which would add a penny to every $2 purchase. As with the current sales taxes, food and medications would be exempt.

...

 

 8. Bryant exits PRA for Charlotte - Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Pittsburgh, PA, USA

 

Ronnie Bryant, president and chief operating officer of the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, is leaving his post to head a similar, but larger, Charlotte, N.C., economic development group that works with 16 counties straddling two states.

 

The Charlotte Regional Partnership yesterday tapped Bryant as its next president and chief executive officer, taking the economic development professional and one of the region's highest-profile black executives from one former US Airways hub with seven Fortune 500 companies to an existing US Airways hub that claims nine firms on the Fortune 500.

 

... As he exits, Bryant believes it is a good time for the PRA and the Allegheny Conference to take a look their roles in regional development. ...

 

RC: Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission

 

  9. Firemen sound alarm over consolidation talk - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh, PA, USA

 

DERRY--Pennsylvania invented the volunteer fire company, but a shortage of manpower and money, along with an ongoing problem with jealousy and turf wars, threatens the network of firefighters that protects the Commonwealth. Calls for consolidation of some of Pennsylvania's nearly 2,500 fire companies face a tough battle against some firefighters' unwillingness to work with their neighbors.

 

In June the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, a joint committee of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, issued a report calling for just that kind of consolidation, saying the state simply can't afford so many fire companies.

...

One of the biggest problems that volunteer fire companies face today is a decline in membership and interest. The number of active firefighters in Pennsylvania has declined from 300,000 in 1976 to only 72,000 today.

 

Pennsylvania has 2,448 fire departments--2,354 of those are volunteer-based, 72 are a mix of paid and volunteer, and 22 are career, or all-paid departments.

 

Pennsylvania has 12 percent of the nation's 200,000 all-volunteer fire companies, more than any other state. Twenty-seven counties in Pennsylvania have 30 or more all-volunteer fire companies; four have more than 100. Westmoreland County has the second most volunteer-based fire companies with 126--just behind Allegheny County, tied with Schuylkill.

...

 

 9. Valley's middle class: growing but troubled? - Vail Daily News - Vail, CO, USA

 

Middle-class life is hard to define, but folks know it when they live it.

 

"We're a country that considers itself middle class," Colorado Springs-based economist Tucker Hart Adams said. The group of people who consider themselves "middle class" can range from those barely scraping by to successful business owners and professionals who "scrape by" at a higher level.

...

"People have the most difficult time living a middle class life," said Venturoni, a researcher for the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments, a research and lobbying organization that represents local governments in the state's northwest corner.

...

 

11. Acronyms' Creep Into Gov-Speak Draws FLAK - Los Angeles Times - CA, USA

...

To the uninitiated, government-speak can sound like a secret language — and not one a sensible person would willingly decode.

 

It's gotten so bad, a Contra Costa County supervisor last month got his counterparts to ban acronyms and abbreviations in written reports to the Board of Supervisors. A cheat sheet of 83 frequently used acronyms and abbreviations now is attached to each board agenda.

...

Internet-savvy anti-acronym activists have vented their own frustration by posting ever-growing lists of alphabet soup. Both real and fictitious, the listings include AAAAA, the American Assn. Against Acronym Abuse.

 

"It's a shorthand," said Toni Young, president of the Southern California Assn. of Governments, whose 76-member council represents dozens of local governments across six Southern California counties.

 

"If you say 'Southern California Association of Governments' every time you want to say SCAG, you are going to be driven crazy. People will stop saying anything at all."

...

 

12. Money, political will needed to clean up Great Lakes - MLive.com, MI - Jul 8, 2005

 

WASHINGTON -- It will take a multibillion-dollar initiative to clean up Great Lakes sewage, restore wetlands and close the lakes to invasive species, a report now up for public comment concludes.

 

The proposed cleanup blueprint was issued Thursday by the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration (GLRC), a broad coalition of local, state and federal officials called into action by President Bush after a federal report found existing cleanup programs disjointed and ineffective.

 

``This collaborative strategy, bringing together resources and ideas from our partners, is the next step in ensuring the Great Lakes remain an international treasure,'' said Stephen Johnson, the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is leading the effort.

...

 

13. Straight from Google.

 

      a) The Future of Cohesion Policy after the European Council - EUROPA (press release) - Brussels, Belgium

... Meanwhile, the Commission has launched a public consultation, and I strongly encourage all those who are interested to visit DG Regional Policy's website and ...

 

      b) Size matters in remapping state legislative boundaries - San Francisco Chronicle - San Francisco, CA, USA

... But while a more neutral drawing of legislative district boundaries may lessen the symptoms of California's political disorder, it won't cure the disease. ...

 

      c) AU Ponders Free Movement for African Citizens - AllAfrica.com – Africa

... of ministers is thus urging member states to ensure that the process of facilitating free movement must be implemented at bilateral, sub-regional and regional levels, from which an Africa wide framework would be developed ...

 

      d) Biosafety: a West African Regional Approach - Checkbiotech.org (press release) - Basel, Switzerland

... the protocol [Cartagena ] states that (1) countries may enter into bilateral, regional and multilateral agreement regarding intentional transboundary movement of transgenic organisms, ...

 

      e) 'Culture hype skews tourists' view of Wales' - ic Wales - Cardiff, UK

... "As a nation we are privileged to be blessed with a rich culture, heritage and environment, one that is a real attraction to visitors. ...

 

      f) Moose Lake area looks for an EDGE - Cloquet Pine Knot - Cloquet, MN, USA

... to do to gain the attention of community leaders and ... To be effective, some sort of organization must be set ... sewer system and the future of the region's three ...

 

RC: Arrowhead Regional Development Commission

 

      g) Banking regionally - Reuters – USA

 

Regional banks play an integral role in communities and can also be a vital part of your portfolio. ...

 

      h) Projects director out as funds dry up - The Powell River Peak - Powel River, BC, Canada

 

Powell River Regional Economic Development Society (PRREDS) will not be renewing a contract with its waterfront projects director. ...

RC: Powell River Regional District

 

      i) Economic Strategy Adapted - Lakeland Radio - Kendal, UK

The Northwest Regional Development Agency, who launched the consultation document, is inviting partners from the public, private, community and voluntary...

 

     j) Regional black heritage task force being formed - WKYT - Lexington, KY, USA

-- A regional task force is ... The group is being organized by the Kentucky African-American Heritage Commission and the Kentucky Heritage Council/State Historic ...

 

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

 

      a) Triangle Tomorrow merges with Research Triangle Regional Partnership  - dBusiness News

 

Triangle Tomorrow has merged with the Research Triangle Regional Partnership (RTRP) in a move designed to ensure close alignment of both organizations’ activities to improve the quality of life and economic competitiveness of the 13-county Research Triangle Region. ...

 

RCs: Triangle J Council of Governments  Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments

      b) City says Stop Trashing policy makes a difference - Houston Chronicle - Houston, TX, USA

... The $250,000 grant from the Houston-Galveston Area Council for the Stop Trashing Houston campaign expires this month, Voltz said, stressing the importance of ...

 

     c) Leaders hopeful arguments hit mark - Norwich Bulletin - Norwich, CT, USA

... Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission to thwart Pentagon efforts to close the Groton Submarine Base... members of the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments  ... 

 

     d) Moton goes on a tirade - Clarksdale Press Register - Clarksdale, MS, USA

... fees. Moton wants the grant writing to be handled by the North Development Planning and Development District rather than Coker. ...

 

RC: North Delta Planning and Development District, PO Box 1496, Batesville, MS 38606-1496

 

      e) TCOG begins training for elected officials - Sherman Denison Herald Democrat - Sherman/Denison, TX, USA

A few veteran public servants joined some newly elected ones Friday at the beginning of Texoma Council of Governments' series of trainings for elected officials ...

 

      f) Regional incubator wins state grant - Rocky Mount Telegram - Rocky Mount, NC, USA

 

The N.C. Department of Commerce has awarded the city of Wilson a $355,000 Community Development Block Grant.

 

The grant will assist with the development of the Upper Coastal Plain Business Development Center, ... The Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments has authorized $54,000 in the first year of operations ... on behalf of their local governments in the five-county planning region. ...

 

      g) Agencies collaborate to reduce wildfire risk - Summit Daily News - Frisco, CO, USA

... and the creation of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan, said Gary Severson, executive director of Northwest Colorado Council of Governments, which formed ...

 

      h) Regional planner to help Litchfield temper its growth - Kennebec Journal - Augusta, ME, USA

Bill Najpauer of the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments is to address selectmen at their regular meeting, which begins at 7 pm in the Town Office. ...

 

      i) A new blueprint: Region's future hinges on 'bolder' ideas, cooperation - Davis Enterprise - Davis, CA, USA

... a car pool, then are spent steering planning for the region's six counties and 22 cities as executive director of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments. ...

 

 

15. Other in the news:

 

      a) The Logic of Suicide Terrorism: It’s the occupation, not the fundamentalism - Asian Tribune, Thailand 

 

The American Conservative: - - : Your new book, Dying to Win, has a subtitle: The Logic of Suicide Terrorism. Can you just tell us generally on what the book is based, what kind of research went into it, and what your findings were?

Robert Pape: Over the past two years, I have collected the first complete database of every suicide-terrorist attack around the world from 1980 to early 2004. This research is conducted not only in English but also in native-language sources—Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, and Tamil and others—so that we can gather information not only from newspapers but also from products from the terrorist community. ...

 

      b)  SD leaders cool to governance report - San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego, CA, USA

A report issued yesterday by the RAND Corp. on San Diego's Jan. 1 shift to a strong-mayor form of government was intended to spur City Hall into immediate action, but it appeared to generate more criticism and indifference among city leaders than genuine interest.

 

Commissioned by a group of San Diego business executives and civic boosters, the report offers recommendations as the city prepares to shift to a government system that will give the next mayor broad powers.

 

Researchers with the Santa Monica-based think tank briefed City Council staffers yesterday on the $150,000 report, largely funded by real estate magnate Malin Burnham and Padres owner John Moores.

...

 

     c)  Researchers at Joggit.com develop model for rating industries in U.S. Metropolitan Areas  - PRWEB - Chicago, IL 

 

The researchers at Joggit.com have developed a model for rating industries for 936 Metropolitan Areas in the United States. The approach starts by rating each industry using a series of economic variables. The model then goes one step forward by identifying other key industries required to develop a strong industry cluster in the region. The "tightness" of each cluster is then rated and ranked among all the regions in the United States.

 

What the developers of Joggit.com have provided is a comprehensive market analysis for all regions in the United States. With the use of Joggit.com analytical data, business leaders will better understand which regions are best equipped to meet their competitive needs. Local government officials can be better prepared to market their region to potential businesses and understand which industries their market can best facilitate. Lastly, individuals will be better informed about where job markets are the strongest for which industries they want to be employed.

 

     d) Would-be nation-builders hunt for land - Boston Globe - Boston, MA, USA

 

Gregory Green is between countries these days. In 1994 he founded The New Free State of Caroline, a small nation-state based on a speck of coral in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. But he lost it five years later in a custody battle with Kiribati, a country that only came into existence itself in 1979.

 

So now Green, a conceptual artist by trade, is preparing to start again by claiming a pair of small islands in the Indian Ocean. Though he's cagey about exactly where they are.

 

Unclaimed territory is hard to find these days. Virtually every square inch of the planet's terrestrial surface has been carved up by the world's 199 officially recognized nations, leaving nothing for those who want to start their own countries except a few barren rocks sticking out of the Arctic Ocean and maybe a handful of extremely remote coral atolls.

 ...

 

16. In Passing       

 

Beverly Nykwest, a long term National Association of Regional Councils (NARC) staffer and tireless advocate for regional councils, passed in her sleep July 8, 2005. According to NARC, visitation and services will be held at the Smith Funeral Home, 404 North Main, Morgantown, KY  42261.  The phone number is 270-526-3532.  Visitation will take place on Saturday, July 16, at 6:00 p.m.  The service will take place on Sunday, July 17, at 3:00 p.m. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the ASPCA or ACLU. 

 

ASPCA, Donor Services, 424 East 92nd Street, New York, NY  10128

ACLU, Donations, 125 Broad Street, New York, NY  10004

 

Cards and letters may be sent to the NARC offices, 1666 Connecticut Ave., Suite 300, Washington, D.C.  20009  Attn: Sylvia Bryant

 

A memorial gathering is also being planned for her family and friends in the Washington area for Wednesday, July 20, at 11:00 a.m.   Contact Robert E. Sokolowski,

Executive Director  rsoko@...