Regional Community Development News - September 20, 2006
[regions_work]



A weekly compilation of news links about and for regional communities
pursuing local and regional development. Published on line since
November 11, 2003.





1.
<http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060917/OPIN
ION03/609170311/1110/OPINION03> Push mergers for efficiency, vibrancy
- DesMoinesRegister.com - Des Moines, IA,USA

Elected officials who opposed merging city and county governments in
Des Moines in 2004 insisted they supported mergers, just not that
particular version. Following the voters' rejection of the proposed
merger, city and county officials demonstrated their sincerity by
discussing voluntarily merging city and county functions.

Two years later, there is virtually nothing to show for those
discussions. It turns out merging government functions is not as easy
as it might have seemed.

Reducing Iowa's redundant governments was the subject of an article in
Governing magazine in July, "
<http://66.23.131.98/archive/2006/jul/mergers.txt> Little Mergers on
the Prairie," which we excerpt below today. The Governing article
offers valuable perspective on this issue, but it provides a more
optimistic assessment of progress than perhaps is justified.

It is right to give credit to Gov. Tom Vilsack and state legislators
for a bipartisan effort during the 2005 legislative session to propose
some bold new ideas for encouraging local governments and schools to
consolidate. Unfortunately, the proposals that emerged from that
process - such as requiring all communities in the state to meet in
regional groups and at least study the idea of mergers - went nowhere,
and the bipartisan legislative group disbanded.

It would be a mistake for the Legislature to give up, ...



2.
<http://www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060917/NE
WS01/609170320/1002> Apartments don't crowd classrooms, study says -
Norwich Bulletin - Norwich, CT,USA

A recent study of the housing impact on local school districts has
busted a longtime myth.

Jeff Sattler, executive director for the Southeastern Connecticut
Housing Alliance, was stunned to see proof increased multifamily
housing construction has not caused significantly more students in
local school districts.

"In fact, the places that allow the greatest density -- like Norwich,
New London and Groton -- have the lowest percentage of children,"
Sattler said.

The study of school districts included in the
<http://www.seccog.org/> Southeastern Connecticut Council of
Governments showed 67 percent of Norwich homes, 70 percent of New
London homes and nearly 63 percent of Groton homes do not have any
school-age children. Salem recorded almost 49 percent of homes had
children and almost 48 percent of Colchester homes have children, the
study says.

...

3.
<http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/metroeast/story/43A
668820CE46F31862571EE00206A3A?OpenDocument> Panel urged for study of
bridge - St. Louis Post-Dispatch - MO, United States

The year-old impasse over how to pay for a new bridge between St.
Louis and the Metro East area has the chairman of the St. Clair County
Board pushing to get the project out of limbo.

Mark Kern is building support for an independent study to determine if
a toll bridge approach makes financial sense, he said Monday, and he
wants to convene a panel of national experts to review the project.

Kern asked St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay for his support on the
recommendations, expected to be voted on at the Sept. 27
<http://www.ewgateway.org/> East-West Gateway Council of Governments.
East-West Gateway serves as the United Nations of transportation
planning for the St. Louis area and its staff developed the
recommendations. Slay serves as its board chairman.

...

4. a)
<http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_469542.html
> Regional marketing to use a 'brand' new name - Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh, PA,USA

Local leaders and economic development groups will present a marketing
campaign today to tout the benefits of living and working in the
region -- all in one message, with a logo.

"The object of the campaign is to send a single message," said J.
Bracken Burns, chairman of the <http://www.spcregion.org/>
Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission and a Washington County
commissioner.

"We're trying to bring this under one umbrella, so we're all on the
same page" about local economic development and tourism opportunities,
Burns said. Currently, the 10 counties in the region and the
municipalities in them handle their own marketing.

Officials yesterday declined to discuss details of the project, but a
request for proposals sent in March to advertising companies outlined
a marketing effort to be done in three phases and projected to cost
almost $2 million. It's designed to brand a communications plan for
the Pittsburgh region that will leverage the celebration of the city's
250th anniversary in 2008.

...

b)
<http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/realestate/s_
470212.html> Time will tell if regional marketing goal is reached -
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh, PA,USA

When regional leaders announced a multi-year, $3 million marketing
campaign for Western Pennsylvania on Sept. 8, they fulfilled a goal
that was set more than 11 years ago.

In 1995, four economic development organizations -- the Greater
Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, Penn's Southwest Association, the
Regional Industrial Development Corp. and the World Trade Center of
Pittsburgh -- announced an agreement to create the
<http://www.pittsburghregion.org/public/cfm/homepage/index.cfm>
Pittsburgh Regional Alliance.

The Alliance's main purpose was to be a kind of "one-stop shop" for
businesses looking to expand or locate operations here.

One of its major priorities also was "to develop a unified regional
marketing plan and a regional business retention strategy," said the
1995 annual report of the Allegheny Conference on Community
Development.

The Regional Alliance now is an affiliate and the main marketing arm
of the Allegheny Conference, a multi-county economic development
agency traditionally led by the region's top corporate and community
leaders.

And since that announcement 11 years ago, its efforts have aided at
transforming the region's former steel-driven economy to one that is
more diverse, led by segments such as health care, advanced materials
and technology.

While the Regional Alliance and other groups have used various means
to "pitch" the region's attributes, it's been tough to change the
rust-belt, smoky city perceptions of the Pittsburgh area held by
others.

That was one of the admissions during 2002's "Image Gap" initiative, a
sometimes panned $200,000 effort to craft a new identity for the
region, designed to help change those persistent and outdated images.

...

5.
<http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/local/15515323.htm>
Regional summit good discussion, action planning - Aberdeen American
News - Aberdeen, SD,USA

Northeast South Dakota has a tremendous number of assets, but we need
to better utilize them to maximize their benefit for the region and
show growth on the next census.

At least, that's the consensus of about 100 area leaders who gathered
this week at a Regional Development Summit to determine how to best
position the region for its future growth and development - and they
are right.

Advancing as a region is good thing and it can be done, but it is a
tough job that needs committed partners with diverse backgrounds and
common interests.

Bernie Moran, director of South Dakota's Labor Market Information
Center, said declining population trends can be reversed, but it will
take a broad, sustained effort to do so.

Organizers of - and participants in - the Regional Development Summit
say this is a long-term initiative, and they used the summit as a
springboard for both discussion and action on a number of issues vital
to ongoing regional growth.

...

RC: <http://abe.midco.net/necog/index.html> Northeast Council of
Governments



6.
<http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/09132006/mainenews-ph-y-summit.htm
l> NH, Maine talk economic power - Portsmouth Herald News -
Portsmouth, NH,USA

The governors of both New Hampshire and Maine pledged to encourage
cross-border cooperation in the Seacoast at a two-state economic
summit Tuesday.

Govs. John Lynch and John Baldacci joined former Maine Gov. Angus King
and both states' top economists at the event, sponsored by a
consortium of Maine and New Hampshire planning commissions, chambers
of commerce and university systems.

The summit grew out of efforts last year to keep the Portsmouth Naval
Shipyard open. Organizers said they wanted to start now creating
sustained economic prosperity in the region before the next round of
base closures begin.

"I strongly applaud your efforts, and that is why my administration
has lent its strong support to this summit," said Baldacci. "In
today's fast-paced global economy, state and regional boundaries are
no longer impediments to the flow of capital and labor."

"Imagine what we can do if we work together. The region won't thrive
if we don't," said Lynch, who added that for the first time in recent
memory the governors of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont -- northern
New England -- are getting along. "I'm committed to making this
(regional cooperation) happen."

The governors suggested cooperation in areas such as higher education,
broadband infrastructure, alternative energy sources, expanded
transportation models and health care.



7.
<http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/06
/502&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en> "Cohesion Policy
2007-2013: Supporting the competitiveness of mountain areas" - EUROPA
(press release) - Brussels, Belgium

...

HOW TO PROMOTE MOUNTAIN AREAS IN THE NEW COHESION POLICY?

For the mountain areas, geography, climate and demography combine to
present a particular set of challenges and opportunities to the
Union's efforts to promote balanced development. The challenges and
opportunities are not everywhere the same and we need to treat each
mountain area according to circumstances. There is no one-size
fits-all for mountain areas, nor for any other type of area.

Our studies conform what you yourselves know only too well. Many
mountain areas, lack of easy physical access is compounded by the fact
that populations are small and spread over relatively large areas.
Consequently, residents in mountain areas often have to travel far to
access basic services such as in education or health.

Many mountain areas have built much of their prosperity and identity
on agriculture and forestry. Since production is often small-scale,
and because producers have an interest in the long-term, it is
generally very sensitive to the need to preserve unique ecosystems.

...



8. <http://www.wtwo.com/news/default.asp?mode=shownews&id=6891>
Expert Brings Insight to the Valley - WTWO - Indianapolis, IN,USA

Some very big ideas were presented Tuesday, as part of a regional
conference on workforce and economic development.

One expert at the conference at Ivy Tech says rural economies will
only succeed if they can band together and work at a regional level.

The Wabash Valley has done that for years with the inception of the
<http://www.westcentralin.com/> West Central Indiana Economic
Development District in 1965... but there is always room for change
and improvement.

Doctor Mark Drabenstott addressed education leaders, small business
owners, and area officials at Ivy Tech about banding together as a
region to create a tough competitor in the global economy. He emphases
growing entreprenuers and answering one very big question: What is it
that this region can do absolutely the best?

Many look instantly to the fields where Indiana`s wealth is buried in
farmland.

"We`ve got to grow our economic future in our own backyard," says
Drabenstott.

...

9. a) <http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N19122086.htm>
Schwarzenegger guru says CO2 plan starts at border - Reuters AlertNet
- London, England,UK

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's environmental adviser said his
mission to change federal policy on global warming by getting vast
regions of the United States to regulate greenhouse gas emissions will
start with states on the Mexican border.

Terry Tamminen is working with Schwarzenegger, a Republican, and Gov.
Janet Napolitano, a Democrat in neighboring Arizona, to spearhead an
effort to spread rules like California's to cut greenhouse gases to
other states.

In the absence of federal regulation on emissions of gases scientists
link to global warming, the California legislature passed rules two
weeks ago that require the state to reduce greenhouse gases about 25
percent by 2020.

b)
<http://today.reuters.com/stocks/QuoteCompanyNewsArticle.aspx?view=CN&
storyID=2006-09-18T163855Z_01_N18466018_RTRIDST_0_ENERGY-CALIFORNIA-RE
GISTRY.XML&rpc=66> Calif. climate registry seeks national expansion -
Reuters - USA A California registry, which companies use to attempt to
secure credit for voluntarily cutting greenhouse gas emissions ahead
of laws limiting them, is seeking to expand in the United States, a
source at the group said on Monday.

"We're in discussions with about 30 states in creating a multi-state
greenhouse gas emissions reduction registry," the source told Reuters
in a telephone interview. "We're only in discussion stages, but
agreements are probably a year away."

The California Climate Action Registry was set up by the state in 2001
at the urging of companies that believed gases linked to global
warming would at some point be regulated either on a state or federal
level. ...



10. U.S. regional communities - sub-State, State or multi-State - in
news articles. Highlighted words are Google search terms. In this and
the following section, links to websites of organizations are added to
the news excerpt when this is the first time an organization has been
found. A goal of this newsletter is to find every regional council in
the U.S. in a news story. In most cases, where a full name is present
a Google search will quickly get one to that organization.



a)
<http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200609
10/OPINION0101/609080381/1012/OPINION> ALABAMA VOICES: Community
colleges unite to strengthen region
Montgomery Advertiser - Montgomery, AL,USA
... Eight community and junior colleges in west Alabama and east
Mississippi have joined together to get people to think differently
about our region, our leaders ... An enterprise-ready region can have
lots of competitive communities that work hard to support local
initiatives and industry but know how to pull together and unite for
the good of the region. ...



b)
<http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200609
17/OPINION02/609190301/1039/OPINION> In eastern New York's 'Tech
Valley,' collaboration pays off
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - Rochester, NY,USA
... In upstate New York's history, collaboration has been a long,
uphill battle because of our political, historical and geographic
structure. The rise of corporate towns such as Schenectady with
General Electric and Green Island with Ford did little to encourage
regional thinking. ...



c)
<http://www.azcentral.com/community/gilbert/articles/0909mr-wgaretreat
ed0909Z12.html> New geographic name is likely for Gateway
Arizona Republic - Phoenix, AZ,USA
Its not expected to play well in Mesa, but Williams Gateway Airport is
likely to get a name change to reflect its proximity to Phoenix. ... A
move to rename the airport in 2002 crash-landed after the authority
failed to settle on a new handle amid protests in the community...



d)
<http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060911/COMMUN
ITIES/609110318/1203/NEWS01> Master plan for Highlands may be hard to
come by
Dailyrecord.com - Parsippany, NJ,USA

... work session of the New Jersey Highlands Council offered a glimpse
of some of the protections being considered for the 800,000-acre
region and how difficult it's likely to be to gain consensus on a
master plan. ... A key point of contention is the question of how
large the buffers -- areas that could not be developed -- around
lakes, rivers and other

water bodies should be. ...



e)
<http://www.waxahachiedailylight.com/articles/2006/09/16/dailylight/ne
ws/01-09-17-ttc.txt> 'Watch' keeping eye on TTC
Waxahachie Daily Light - Waxahachie, TX,USA
... Corridor Watch, which was founded by Linda and David Stall of
Fayetteville, is "first and foremost an educational entity," said
David Stall, who added that the group's "biggest concern is stopping
the Trans-Texas Corridor."

f)
<http://news.kypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060918/NEWS02/609
180367/1014> They raise their kids' kids
Kentucky Post - Covington, KY,USA
... Jennings will share some of that acquired wisdom at the
Grandparents and Relatives Raising Children conference ... Northern
Kentucky Area Development District ... every other year since 2000.
... "The best part is you meet other grandparents who are doing the
same thing. I just enjoy sharing with others and listening to others."
...

g) <http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1158225309/4> Roundtable
committee to examine water, growth
Pueblo Chieftain - Pueblo, CO,USA
A committee to look at growth and mitigation for interbasin water
transfers was formed Wednesday by the Arkansas Basin Roundtable. The
committee is an outgrowth of Las Animas Mayor Lawrence Sena's comment
three months ago that municipal growth should be tied to a city's
ability to supply water. ...



h) <http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060912/1062946.asp>
Region's 4 bridges tighten up
Buffalo News - NY, United States

The Buffalo Niagara region's international border is a much tighter
place for legal and illegal crossings than it was five years ago. And
perhaps in part because of that, the Buffalo Niagara region - with its
many potential targets - has not been the site of a single terrorist
arrest involving a plot to harm the region. ...



i)
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/17/AR200
6091700406.html> Bluegill on Guard in Region's Water Supply
Washington Post - United States
... for water in the national capital region," said Stuart A.
Freudberg, director of environmental programs for the Metropolitan
Washington Council of Governments. ...



j)
<http://www.enidnews.com/localnews/local_story_262001140.html> MAPC:
Ethanol site plan leaves unanswered questions
Enid News & Eagle - Enid, OK,USA
A proposed site plan for Oklahoma Ethanol was tabled by the
Metropolitan Area Planning Commission Monday because of some
unanswered questions. ...



k)
<http://www.midwestbusiness.com/news/viewnews.asp?newsletterID=15454>
Purdue: Regional Collaboration Key to Major Midwest Economic Growth
MidwestBusiness.com - Chicago ,IL,USA

...more than 200 national, regional and local economic development
professionals at the first-annual Purdue University conference
entitled "Regional Development For Local Success: Innovations in
Economic Development and Governance". ...



l)
<http://www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1158033
740149230.xml&coll=2> Bangor council votes no on regional police plans
The Express Times - Easton, PA,USA
Borough council Monday pulled out of Slate Belt regional police plans.
Council members say they will pursue contractual agreements with
neighboring East Bangor and Roseto



m)
<http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/custom/growth/orl-owgrow2006sep20
,0,7236837.story?coll=orl-news-growth-headlines> Myregion org studies
Polk
Orlando Sentinel - Orlando, FL,USA
If Polk County residents could decide where and how local growth
occurs, high-density centers would be located along Interstate 4. ...



n)
<http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/tech/article/0,2777,DRMN_23910_
4984951,00.html> New Web site appeals to local geospatial industry
Rocky Mountain News - Denver, CO,USA
... getting tapped as a trial locale for a federally funded Internet
site meant to shine a spotlight on jobs and other opportunities in the
geospatial industry here ....

o) <http://www.kfmb.com/story.php?id=63471> City & County Form
Alliance To Keep Chargers In San Diego
KFMB - San Diego, CA,USA
A new alliance could keep the Chargers in the county, even if the team
doesn't stay in San Diego. The city and county now plan to proceed
with a joint Memorandum of Understanding. The partnership could help
develop a new stadium for the Chargers, and keep them from leaving the
area after 2008....

p)
<http://www.telluridegateway.com/articles/2006/09/08/news/news03.txt>
Voters to decide on Mountain Village merger of governments
Telluride Daily Planet - Telluride, CO,USA

... a town of roughly 1,000 souls, one gondola and no gas stations.
And yet, it is governed by not one or two, but three entities. This
unusual governing structure is the result of an evolution of a ski
resort into a full-fledged town, ... A plan has been hatched to
dissolve one of these entities, the Mountain Village Metro District,
and merge its duties ...



q)
<http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060908/BUSI
NESS/60907066/1122/ARCHIVES> Daily Briefing
Asheville Citizen-Times - NC,USA
The Land-of-Sky Regional Council is inviting all ABC permit holders in
Buncombe, Madison, Henderson and Transylvania counties to a focus
group ... to help address new legislation in North Carolina requiring
all ABC permit holders to recycle beverage containers by January 2008.
...



r)
<http://www.medfordnews.com/articles/index.cfm?artOID=332433&cp=10996>
ODOT Workforce Alliance Seeks To Expand Job Opportunities In ...
MedfordNews.com - Medford, OR,USA

The Oregon Department of Transportation's mid-Willamette Valley region
is forming an active Regional Workforce Alliance to increase
apprenticeship and training opportunities and boost the numbers of
minorities and women in the highway construction trades. ...



s) <http://www.dailydemocrat.com/news/ci_4343502> Tuleyome
celebrates achievements Saturday
Daily Democrat - Woodland, CA,USA

... Tuleyome was founded in 2002 as a volunteer advocacy-oriented
nonprofit organization that is focused on protecting both the wild and
agricultural heritages of the Putah-Cache bioregion, including all or
parts of Yolo, Lake, Napa, Colusa and Solano counties. ...



t) <http://www.northcoastjournal.com/091406/news0914.html>
Books and hills on fire
North Coast Journal - Arcata, CA, USA
... science of fire; how fire occurs across the state from bioregion
to bioregion; and how people have dealt with fire ... "The role of
fire changes over time, climate changes, technology changes and human
use of fire changes. The thing that concerns me is, the decision
makers may be looking for simplistic solutions to what is a complex
problem."



11. Other in the news: Highlighted words are Google search terms.



a) <http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/1312> Mapping the New
Europe
Brussels Journal - Brussels, Belgium
... European spatial development has increasingly gained in importance
over the last years. The continuing European integration mandates a
European vision for the concept of area development. In this context,
a European spatial development concept has been worked out and has
been passed into legislation by the informal Area Planning Ministerial
Council in Potsdam in 1999. ...



b)
<http://www.thisisguernsey.com/code/shownewsarticle.pl?ArticleID=00113
3> Tourism's Future
Guernsey Weekly Press - Vale, Guernsey, UK

THE States lacks the will to consolidate the tourist industry. Former
States director of visitor economy Stuart Pinnell added that switching
emphasis from quantity to quality was long overdue in the trade.
Closing some hotels would enable others to upgrade, but he said that
some politicians did not see it that way. ...

c)
<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060915.RALBERTA15/
TPStory/Business> Alberta's boom starts to rival China's
Globe and Mail - Canada
Alberta is getting so rich that its boom-and-bust cycle could be a
thing of the past, with forecasters saying even lower oil prices are
unlikely to end its run of prosperity. A new study by Statistics
Canada shows that Alberta's economic boom is unprecedented in Canada,
and has put the province's expansion in a league with China's. ...

d) <http://www.mykawartha.com/article/4147> Regions host
meetings over plan to burn trash
Lindsay This Week - Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
After months of studies and public meetings, Durham and York regions
have completed work on the first phase of their joint plan to
incinerate waste. ... For more information, visit
<http://www.durhamyorkwaste.ca/> www.durhamyorkwaste.ca



e)
<http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/market-alternative-to-water-ratio
ning/2006/09/18/1158431643617.html> Market alternative to water
rationing
Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
... The emphasis of governments has long been on encouraging - or
forcing - consumers to save water, rather than new sources of supply.
...



f)
<http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layou
t/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1157753409224&call_pageid=970599119419>
US academia can now talk rationally about 9/11
Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada
... win. No one, of course, thinks terrorism is a non-issue. It is the
job of governments to protect us from threats of all kinds. But ...



g-1)
<http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10400271>
Supercity: One for all ... and all for one
New Zealand Herald - New Zealand
Should Auckland become a single city? Brisbane is about the same size
as Auckland and has had a single council for years. ... a vast
enterprise unique in Australia, embracing most of the nation's
third-largest city in one municipality with a single set of
regulations, and planning, development and infrastructure policies. It
is also a model ...



-2)
<http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10400269>
Supersize my city - do you want politics with that?
New Zealand Herald - New Zealand
Brisbane City Council is local government on steroids. It rules over
the single biggest population grouping in Queensland - by far - and an
economy that dominates air, sea and land transport and provides 10 per
cent of the state's jobs within 3km of the main downtown post office.
With this has come real political power....



-3)
<http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10401585>
Greater Auckland plan ditched
New Zealand Herald - New Zealand

A contentious plan to restructure Auckland into three enlarged cities
under one greater council has been ditched only a week after being
mooted by the region's four big-city mayors. The Auckland Mayoral
Forum yesterday jettisoned the amalgamation plan - which Prime
Minister Helen Clark welcomed last week - but agreed on a need to
strengthen regional governance in time for next year's local body
elections. ...

h)
<http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/local/15483819.htm>
Unification gains strength
Biloxi Sun Herald - MS, USA
The Air Force, the only service opposed to the creation of a Unified
Medical Command, saw its arguments rejected during Wednesday's meeting
of the Defense Business Board, ... recommended ... immediately appoint
a task force to oversee establishment of a Unified Medical Command by
Jan. 1, a year sooner than Defense officials had planned. ...

i) <http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1053407>
High-rises only 'alternative'
Daily News & Analysis - Mumbai, India
... is very little that these residents can do to protect their
<http://www.macalester.edu/courses/geog61/espencer/chawls.html>
chawls," said an official of the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional
Development Authority, requesting ...



j) <http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1363632006> EU
demands a £20m refund for 'botched' Highland projects
Scotsman - United Kingdom
... The Highlands and Islands area received about £100 million from
the European Regional Development Fund between 1994 and 1999. After
...



k)
<http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layou
t/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1158617412160&call_pageid=968332188492&c
ol=968793972154&t=TS_Home> Election buzz moves to 'burbs
Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada

Step aside, Toronto. The spotlight for this fall's municipal elections
is shifting to the suburbs. And that's a good thing. The burgeoning
cities and towns just outside Toronto hold the keys to solving many of
the GTA's problems of traffic gridlock, garbage disposal, urban sprawl
and immigrant settlement. ...



l)
<http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/06
/486&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en> A European vision
for the oceans and seas: Giving citizens a stake in the creation of a
Maritime Policy for Europe
EUROPA (press release) - Brussels, Belgium

On 7 June 2006, the Commission issued a Green Paper entitled "
<http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/pdf/com_2006_0275_en_part2.pdf>
Towards a future Maritime Policy for the Union: A European vision for
the oceans and seas." [Link to Green Paper PDF] ... a one-year
consultation ... to develop an all-embracing maritime policy aimed at
enhancing Europe's maritime economy in an environmentally sustainable
manner. ...



m) <http://idw-online.de/pages/de/news174048> ScanBalt - new
strategic partner of the Council of the Baltic Sea States
Informationsdienst Wissenschaft (Pressemitteilung) - Bayreuth, NRW,
Germany

... ScanBalt takes an active involvement in the region and aims to
build up a thorough knowledge in life sciences in the region,
implemented through its project of ScanBalt BioRegion, to increase the
competitiveness of the Baltic Sea region in the world. ... Council ...
political forum for regional intergovernmental cooperation ...



n)
<http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Helsinki+uses+threats+to+pressure+Si
poo+to+change+boundaries/1135221654668> Helsinki uses threats to
pressure Sipoo to change boundaries
Helsingin Sanomat - Finland
Helsinki's highest leaders tried to use threats to push neighbouring
Sipoo to allow Helsinki to annex part of its territory. ... if Sipoo
does not agree voluntarily to relinquish an area of 25 square
kilometres to the Finnish capital, Helsinki would go through the
national government to get an area twice as big. ...



o)
<http://www.india-forum.com/articles/148/1/India-and-Geopolitics---Par
t-I/print/148> India and Geopolitics - Part I
India-Forum - USA
... Without controlling the Indian Ocean, no one can conquer the
world. India considers itself as a regional power in the Indian Ocean
region. ...



p)
<http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143958439>
Kibaki promises self-sufficient metropolis
Standard - Nairobi, Kenya
... The Nairobi Metropolitan Regional Development Board would also
coordinate planning, environmental management, enforcement compliance
and promote the metropolis ...



q)
<http://www.politics.co.uk/press-releases/economy/industry/industry/uk
ooa-collaboration-key-uk-subsea-expansion-$449827.htm> UKOOA -
Collaboration key to UK subsea expansion
Politics.co.uk - London, UK
Collaboration will be the key to expanding the UK's already dominant
presence in the world's subsea markets, claimed a senior oil executive
at UKOOA's ...



r) <http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/2059> UN Ties
Prosperity to Good Governance
Asian Tribune - Bangkok, Thailand
The economic success stories of the world's 50 poorest nations are
also predicated on "good governance", including multi-party democracy,
rule of law, gender empowerment, respect for human rights and
transparency and accountability, according to the United Nations. ...



s)
<http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=/2-0&fp=451172c908bf1d8b&ei=8
eARRfjSIcCSHMjf1Y4E&url=http%3A//www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPoli
cy/PublicHealth/tb/4084&cid=0> Longevity Rates Differ Greatly in
'Eight Americas'
MedPage Today, NJ
... Depending on which of the eight Americas one inhabits can make the
difference between the possibility of living until age 90 or dying at
55, according to an analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau and
the National Center for Health Statistics by epidemiologists at
Harvard and the University of California San Francisco....



t) <http://www.copcap.com/composite-9685.htm> The Copenhagen
Region continues in the super league
Copenhagen Capacity - Denmark
The Danish Capital Region holds the position among the ten European
city regions which receive most investment projects. ... With 50
international investment projects in 2005, Copenhagen ranks number
seven among the European city regions. ... In 1999 the region ranked
number 20. ...



u) <http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L04252810.htm>
Schoolkids shrug off enmities in Cyberspace
Reuters AlertNet - London, England,UK
Cyberspace get-togethers between schoolchildren in British-ruled
Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic are helping break down decades
of mistrust and could provide a model for young people in conflict
zones elsewhere.... findings from the "Dissolving Boundaries" project,
which has set up broadband computer collaborations ...



v) <http://www.gcn.com/print/25_27/41888-1.html> Internaut |
Try real service to the citizen
GCN.com - Washington, DC,USA

Improving "service to the citizen" is the one of those catchphrases
that show up in government project plans and press releases. It's
tightly coupled with e-government initiatives, which promise to make
government much more interactive and responsive. The trouble is,
service to the citizen has no clear set of deliverables. ...



w)
<http://www.varbusiness.com/sections/strategy/strategy.jhtml?articleId
=192701207> GM's Massive Outsourcing Deal Up And Running
VARBusiness - Manhasset, NY,USA
... GM announced in February the goal to create a single worldwide IT
organization instead of having disparate regional processes.... "The
issue is now no regional boundaries," GM CIO Ralph Szygenda said
Monday at the InformationWeek 500 conference ...



12. Sub-State Regions - Iowa - U.S. Census - Midwest Region; West
North Central Division, FIPS Code 19

Following is a selection of links relating to regional arrangements
in Iowa. This year each issue features a State with links to maps of
regions and regional related resources. The
<http://www.census.gov/geo/www/us_regdiv.pdf> Census Regions and
Divisions of the United States map (PDF) is being used going, region
by region from the Northeast to the South to the Midwest to the West.



a) <http://www.iarcog.com/regions.htm> Iowa Association of
Regional Councils



b) <http://www.sysplan.dot.state.ia.us/rpampocontact.htm> Iowa
RPA & MPO - Regions Contact Info



c) <http://www.iowaworkforce.org/lmi/publications/applicants>
IA Workforce Information Network Regions



d)
<http://www.traveliowa.com/travelapp/aec/aecdisplayform.asp?strProcess
=ShowDetails1&nRecType=13&strNav=travelnav.html> Iowa Tourism Regions



e)
<http://www.extension.iastate.edu/naturemapping/workshops/trainers.htm
> Iowa NatureMapping - Regions



f)
<http://www.grinnell.edu/academic/biology/cera/data/maps/includes/land
formsia.jpg> Landform Regions of Iowa



g) <http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/icm/node/231> IA Integrated
Crop Management Regions



h) <http://www.state.ia.us/tax/educate/regionsmap.html> IA Dept
of Revenue Tax Classes - Regions



i) <http://www.iowaprairienetwork.org/images/regions.gif> Iowa
Prairie Network Regions



j) <http://www.iowasnowmobiler.com/regions/index.html> Iowa
State Snowmobile Assn. - Regions



13. Announcements & Links



a) <http://www.thearda.com/> Association of Religious Data
Archives

The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) recently created a
new online feature called QuickStats. Drawing on a select group of
nationally representative surveys, QuickStats provides easy-to-read
tables and graphs with a single click on the topic of interest. The
national surveys include a host of items from the recently released
Baylor Religion Survey, the 2004 General Social Survey, the 2004
American National Studies, and many others. The topics include
religious affiliation, beliefs, behaviors, attitudes, and experiences,
and will continue to increase as more of the ARDA's holdings are
integrated into the new program.
<http://www.thearda.com/Quickstats/Qsdir.asp>
http://www.thearda.com/Quickstats/Qsdir.asp



b) <http://www.placematters.org/> PLACEMATTERS06 - October
19-21 - Denver, Colorado

* Keynote presentations by Steven Berlin Johnson, author of
"Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities and Software"
and a leading voice on the future of technology in society and Pam
Houston, Western novelist and author of "Cowboys Are My Weakness."

* Sessions and panels addressing key regional and national issues
and showcasing innovative tools and approaches, including:

- eParticipation technologies for enhanced civic engagement

- Transportation solutions for a growing West

- Tackling the big challenges of small town planning

- Tools and methods for integrating ecological and community
planning

* A creative day of participant-driven "Open Space" collaboration
where you and your colleagues drive the agenda forward.

* Use of eParticipation technologies throughout to gather feedback,
capture ideas and package an agenda for ongoing collective action.

* Presentation of the inaugural PLACEMATTERS Innovator in Place
Award with on-site award creation by artist Andrew Davis.



c) <http://sportsforum.ws/sd/factbook/docs/refmaps.html> CIA -
The World Factbook -- Reference Maps - JPG & PDF files

14. Subscription link story.




<http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2006/09/10/0911countie
s.html> Counties full of inexperienced leaders - Atlanta Journal
Constitution (subscription) - GA, USA

If you're a top elected county official in metro Atlanta, you might
not want to quit your day job.

Voters revel in throwing these folks out of office, loading up all
their anger about traffic, growth and taxes, and taking aim at the
most visible county official.

But this propensity to heave-ho the incumbent has left the region
awash in new and often inexperienced leadership - by January, only two
of 10 metro county leaders will have more than two years' experience -
and that can bog down planning as new leaders learn their jobs.

But such things aren't on the minds of residents miffed with the way
things are going in their backyards.

"People are frustrated, and the only way they can express it is at the
ballot box," said Jerry Griffin, executive director of the Association
County Commissioners of Georgia.

In most cases, the county head is the chairman of the board of
commissioners, though in DeKalb County it is CEO Vernon Jones. Many
are part-time county officials - lawyers, businesspeople, retirees -
but they are the ones often in the news explaining a tax increase or
unpopular zoning decision.

In the wider 12-county metro area, only three of the county heads have
finished a term and been re-elected to another.

This summer, four county heads lost in the primaries. Last year, five
new ones took office.

...



15.
<http://news.google.com/nwshp?tab=wn&q=Region+Regions+Regional&ie=UTF-
8&auth=DQAAAHYAAAAEAw_WyDdDUjzClcJfTEycfv7Fkwgz_jY6Bjogl6V_7uF9pXBMl5y
4DIRmgeqEkrCGBXVhd0UxmTNNDc7GXbponPTYP7wv-PIFNOMgqwH8xWKwlYbul3cR2SOaV
5Mlk3k6TUcLfXNuQc5X26uD89ZPO5NDwuIVO0Gp9TjoeXQk> Google News for
"Regional Community"



Other menu sections available from this link include: Regional
Development; Regional Council; Regional Commission; Regional America;
Regional Asia; Regional Europe; Regional Competition; Regionalism;
Intergovernmental and other search terms. They can be sorted by date
or relevance. These are among the 50 search terms I use to produce
this newsletter.



My name is Tom Christoffel. I've worked in the field of
intergovernmental cooperation since 1973. As a consequence, "I see
regions." Regional Community Development News is published weekly
based on news reports as of Wednesday. Making visible analysis and
actions at multi-jurisdictional regional scales is its purpose. "Think
globally, act locally" was innovative in its time. Today the local
scale is often too small to address today's needs and opportunities.
"Think local planet, act regionally," is my candidate paradigm. (No
one said we're only allowed one paradigm.) We can see that "regional
communities" are organized locally and now act both to avoid tragedy
in the commons and gain benefits. An effective multi-jurisdictional
regional community has DNA: it is geographically Defined; has a common
Name and its Alignment is inclusive of smaller communities and
participatory in larger communities. So, by scanning this compilation,
reading articles and checking organizations - you too will be able to
see the regional communities that already exist. News references are
found using the Google News search service. Media article links are
"fair use" to transform globally scattered reports to make regional
approaches visible. Links go to the publisher and do not compete with
it. Such publishers are likely to have related stories and thus be
seen by new customers. "Regional" is an emerging news category. There
is no charge for this service and no profit is made from its use,
though any user can become more aware of the topic itself.

To read and search previous issues go to:
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/regions_work/messages>
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/regions_work/messages The term
"Development" was added to the name in January, 2006.

For a free subscription use this email link - no additional
information required: <mailto:regions_work-subscribe@yahoogroups.com>
regions_work-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Questions, comments or items to feature in Regional Community
Development News?

Please e-mail the editor: Tom.Christoffel@...

Thomas J. (Tom) Christoffel, AICP Making regions visible for Leaders
and Problem-solvers. <http://www.regionalintelligence.com/>
www.regionalintelligence.com or <http://www.regions.ws/>
www.regions.ws



© 2003-6 Redistribute freely with attribution.

<http://www.regions.ws/>