___________________________________________________________________________________

 

Regional Community Development News – February 14, 2007  [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. If Spitzer leads, regionalism can work for New York - Buffalo News - Buffalo, NY, USA

When Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer said in his State of the State speech that New York has a few thousand too many municipalities, I saluted. For the first time in my recollection, a governor said what scholars and policy professionals have been saying for decades - that New York State is choking on too many little governments.

The Brookings Institution has identified fractured, duplicative local government as a major culprit in the economic decline of upstate New York.

Sprawl without growth, which is endemic to upstate, results from what Cornell University scholars have identified as localized land-use planning practices that are preserved by all those villages, towns and cities that keep zoning local rather than regional.

Get him or her into a safe place, and every county executive from Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady, Albany and Binghamton will admit that regional government is the only way to go. It seems we now have a governor who thinks the same way. I can't wait to help him make regionalism a reality, because the only way that consolidation can happen is if the governor makes it happen.

Here's what a governor can do for starters:

...

In the late 1990s, many of us watched Ontario's provincial government act with alacrity to force a merger of the old steel city of Hamilton with its county. A few years later, we watched in delight as Ontario helped Hamilton-Wentworth merge with six suburban townships to become the Regional City of Hamilton. Regionalism works. Regionalism made Toronto into the Greater Toronto Area. Regionalism took five boroughs and turned them into the global colossus called New York City.

...

  2. Regionalism becoming a necessity - Albany Times Union - Albany, NY, USA

In a New York Times op-ed piece about New York City losing its "pedestrian touch, " author Robert Sullivan declared "the city is the new suburb."

Families, he noted, are returning to the city from suburbs and bringing their love of cars with them. Half of the drivers in Manhattan live in the city and "more city residents than suburbanites drive to work every day." The result is a less pedestrian and bicycle friendly city.

The migration of retirees and families to cities is good news, but great care must be taken to make sure cities don't lose their good qualities in the process. Suburban-born expectations for auto use that come with suburban immigrants to cities can destroy attributes of city living like being able to walk to work and to a corner store, or having good mass transit.

As some cities are feeling suburban like pressures, the suburbs are facing urban-style challenges.

...

National trends often come slowly to the Capital Region and one has to look carefully to find the signs of the morphing of city and suburb here. However, some retirees and young families are moving into the city and the number of aging residents in our suburbs is increasing. Affordable housing is an acknowledged problem, for example, in Saratoga Springs as its housing prices skyrocket.

Poverty and especially the needs of the working poor and the aging population are not just issues for Albany, Schenectady and Troy. They are regional issues that call for regional solutions. Having this area known for a high quality of life is also a matter regional in scope, whether it involves protecting environmental quality or fostering walkable neighborhoods with mixed uses.

"Blueprint BUFFALO" calls property disinvestment a "regionwide problem that calls for regional solutions." ...

Streetsblog » The City That Never Walks by Robert Sullivan

   3. California Split New York Times, NY [Subscription registration required]

SOMETHING interesting is happening in California. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger seems to have grasped the essential truth that no nation — not even the United States — can be managed successfully from the center once it reaches a certain scale. Moreover, the bold proposals that Mr. Schwarzenegger is now making for everything from universal health care to global warming point to the kind of decentralization of power which, once started, could easily shake up America's fundamental political structure.

Governor Schwarzenegger is quite clear that California is not simply another state. "We are the modern equivalent of the ancient city-states of Athens and Sparta, " he recently declared. "We have the economic strength, we have the population and the technological force of a nation-state." In his inaugural address, Mr. Schwarzenegger proclaimed, "We are a good and global commonwealth."

Political rhetoric? Maybe. But California's governor has also put his finger on a little discussed flaw in America's constitutional formula. The United States is almost certainly too big to be a meaningful democracy. What does "participatory democracy" mean in a continent? Sooner or later, a profound, probably regional, decentralization of the federal system may be all but inevitable.

A recent study by the economists Alberto Alesina of Harvard and Enrico Spolaore of Tufts demonstrates that the bigger the nation, the harder it becomes for the government to meet the needs of its dispersed population. Regions that don't feel well served by the government's distribution of goods and services then have an incentive to take independent action, the economists note.

Scale also determines who has privileged access to the country's news media and who can shape its political discourse. …

  4. Regional leaders call for more efforts to combat global warming - Vermont Guardian - Winooski, VT, USA

Gov. Jim Douglas and Quebec Premier Jean Charest are calling for the adoption of a host of energy measures to combat global warming.

In opening remarks at the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers forum on energy and the environment, Douglas said the region should be proud of the work completed to date.

Douglas said a greater reliance on conservation, efficiency and renewable sources of energy is a key component of the entire region's economic and environmental future.

The five eastern provinces of Canada and the six New England states have worked together on many issues for more than three decades, Douglas said. And, that partnership faces new challenges.

"The issues may seem more vexing, " Douglas said. "Certainly global warming and greenhouse gases have become increasingly pressing issues. But this forum is an important step in acknowledging our common needs and our common goal of a unified regional plan on energy and the environment."

Douglas' remarks come as governors in the United States and premiers in Canada are taking it upon themselves to combat the ever-increasing emission of greenhouse gases and the effects they have on the environment and the economy.

Douglas pointed to Vermont's leadership in tackling these issues.

…

  5. Backward thinking can keep Avon, region from moving forward - The Morning Journal - Lorain, OH,USA

A wise saying goes like this: ''A rising tide lifts all boats.'' One interpretation of that saying is that cooperation helps everyone.

When it comes to economic development, cooperation among governments on a regional basis yields new business and jobs and makes the entire region more prosperous. The economic tide rises across the region and all communities benefit.

That is the kind of regional development at work in some states south of Ohio. Those are the states we see in the headlines as they get new factories and auto assembly plants and thousands upon thousands of jobs. Meanwhile, the headlines across Northeast Ohio mostly cite lost jobs and lost opportunities.

Despite the promising talk we hear about regional cooperation, the communities in this region still stumble around and claw at one another like people fighting to get out of a burning building.

...

  6. Cooperation will boost region - Wisconsin State Journal - Madison, WI, USA

An economic development corporation is off and running in south-central Wisconsin - and none too soon.

The Collaboration Council and its economic development arm, known as REDE, this week announced it had exceeded its fundraising goal of $2.4 million.

That means the group of business, education, government and civic leaders has enough money - $2.6 million from more than 150 donors - to operate an office with several employees for three years.

The office will research, brand and market south- central Wisconsin, including Dane and several surrounding counties. One of its first tasks is to launch a dynamic Web site that caters to people looking for the perfect location to launch or expand a business.

Most of the money for the effort has come from private donors. Yet local governments, including Madison, have wisely chipped in to ensure credibility.

The key goal is to promote the region as one place. That's because modern companies often decide where to locate jobs based on the qualities of a region - before considering more local factors.

...

  7. A new jail for Richmond - Richmond Times Dispatch - Richmond, VA, USA

…
Wilder said city officials are talking with Prince William and Powhatan counties about building the new jail as a regional facility. When cities and counties join together to build a jail, the state will cover 50 percent of the construction costs, instead of the 25 percent it pays when local governments go it alone.

Prince William County Executive Craig S. Gerhart did not return a call from The Times-Dispatch.

Regional jails need not necessarily serve contiguous cities and counties -- Richmond and Prince William in Northern Virginia, for instance, already participate in a regional facility for low-risk inmates along with Alexandria and the counties of Arlington, Caroline and Loudoun.

Powhatan is interested in the idea because the county does not have its own jail now. It houses some inmates at the state prison in Powhatan and contracts for beds at Piedmont Regional Jail, said Sheriff Lynn T. Woodcock and county Finance Director Stephanie Davis.

Richmond also is talking to the U.S. Marshals Service about participating in the new facility. The marshals, who are responsible for transporting federal prisoners and finding fugitives, are interested in a temporary detention facility and might be interested in providing funds for the new jail, Woody said.

He said a public-private partnership also is a possibility. Such deals usually involve a private firm that builds a facility and then leases it to a city.

  8. New Brunswick Maine, ink pact on electricity - Central Maine Morning Sentinel - Augusta, ME, USA

The leaders of Maine and New Brunswick agreed Friday to explore ways to enhance cooperative efforts to expand their electrical interconnections.

Gov. John Baldacci and Premier Shawn Graham signed a memorandum of understanding that lays out a timeline for such cooperation.

The two leaders also were on hand for the signing of an agreement enabling residents of the region to enroll at lower tuition rates in programs offered by community colleges on both sides of the border.

The electricity agreement came as Maine has been looking at the possibility of leaving the New England power grid and establishing power-swapping arrangements with neighboring provinces in Canada.

"Both Premier Graham and I have the privilege of living in communities rich in natural resources, like wind and tidal energy, that can generate emission-free electricity, " Baldacci said.

"We also both produce an electricity surplus and want to ensure that we pay competitive prices for electricity, " he said.

Baldacci said that despite Maine's surplus, it has been forced to shoulder the burden of transmission and capacity costs for other New England states.

He said that because of inequities in the current arrangement with power grid manager ISO New England, he has a responsibility to think beyond the six-state region and look to Maine's neighbors to the north.

  9. Michigan Townships Are Leading the Way in Intergovernmental Cooperation - Business Wire (press release) - San Francisco, CA,USA

In last night's State of the State address, Governor Jennifer Granholm called for increases in revenue sharing to municipalities involved in cooperative programs with neighboring communities. Michigan's townships have long been at the forefront of intergovernmental cooperation and look forward to being the model for future cooperative ventures by other local entities.

At a recent event held by the Michigan State University (MSU) Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, Dr. Eric Scorsone, a state and local government professor with the MSU Extension Service, said his studies show local governments are sharing resources, but often don't get the credit they deserve.

"There seems to be an idea, especially in the media, that there's no cooperation," he said. "There is a significant amount of cooperation going on."

For example, statistics from the Michigan Townships Association (MTA) show that just over 500 of Michigan's 1,242 townships operate their own fire departments. However, more than 280 townships operate a joint fire department with another municipality, while another 340 provide fire services through a contract with another unit of government. Many other services are also often provided cooperatively, including police protection, library services, emergency medical services, assessing, water and sewer systems, and recreational programs.

…

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. 

    .10 Windsor panel begins regional plan rewrite
Rutland Herald - Rutland, VT, USA
The regional plan, a Bible for grant writers and planners, as well as the blueprint for growth and natural resources conservation in southern Windsor County, is being updated this year. ... Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission has started the process ...

    .11  Expanded symphony programs come with strings attached
Pottstown Mercury - Pottstown, PA, USA
... "We are a regional asset, " Dougherty said. "We feel very strongly about the future of this region and we want to bring this organization to the next level, but to do that, we need this region's support." ...

 
    .12 New stormwater runoff rules spur municipalities to team up
Onalaska Life - Onalaska, WI, USA
While the eight La Crosse-area communities have only formally banded together to meet the public education component of NR 216, more collaboration is ...

 
    .13  State Funding for Regional Center for Advanced Engineering and Research
PR Newswire (press release) - New York, NY, USA
... Region 2000 ... regional research and development center ... Local employers in existing industry clusters will benefit from the competitive advantages resulting from technological research tailored to their needs. ...

 
    .14  Dinegar Encourages Regional Thinking
Leesburg Today - Leesburg, VA, USA
… cross-jurisdiction involvement to improve the international image of this region. District crime and school statistics reflect on the suburbs "because people in England couldn't find Reston on a map. To them it's DC, "

 
    .15  Officials discuss quake preparedness
Skieston Standard Democrat - Sikeston, MO, USA
Because the seismic waves will travel further, an earthquake would impact a multi-state region, he said. According to Palmer, scientists believe within any ...

 
    .16  Regional economy projects endorsed
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette - Fort Wayne, IN, USA
... Regional economic development is incredibly important, " ... "This effort allows communities from throughout the state to band together on larger projects benefiting the whole area." ...

    .17 Acting regionally
Fort Wayne News Sentinel - Fort Wayne, IN, USA
... argue competing interests and to agree on regional priorities would be another important step toward thinking regionally as we adapt to a changing economy. ...

    .18 Regional Policing Back In Spotlight
Jamestown Post Journal - Jamestown, NY, USA
The concept of regional policing is taking a step back into the limelight ... ''We're living in a different world today than when these departments were organized. There are new issues in society that need a different approach to fight them, '' ...

    .19  Workshop to focus on water
Rome News-Tribune - Rome, GA, USA
… a daylong workshop on regional water planning. The event is hosted by the Northwest Georgia Regional Water Resource Partnership, a 15-county coalition of governments, industries …

     .20  Transit system prompts regional talks
Appleton Post Crescent - Appleton, WI, USA
Grand Chute Town Chairman Mike Marsden said a regional committee, formed last March by the East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, ...

     .21  City-county merger plans - in Virginia
Hagerstown Morning Herald - Hagerstown, MD, USA
Instead of asking panel members to determine whether a merger of governments should take place, they were told instead to consider how the departments under ...

     .22  Tourist spots love NY
Business Week - USA
Nearly a quarter of the nation's departing overseas flights in 2005 left from the metro region's three airports. While many campaigns target the metro ...

     .23  Trails nominated for National Geographic map
New River Valley Current - Christiansburg, VA, USA
The map, a partnership between National Geographic and the Appalachian Regional Commission, will feature two driving trails from each of the 13 states in ...

    .24  Cairo board hears about grants
Moberly Monitor Index - Moberly, MO, USA
Robin Fitzgerald, Mark Twain Area Council of Government, was present for the public meeting held at the beginning of the Village of Cairo regular monthly ...

    .25  Survival Tactics for Farm Marketing in Suburbia
Lancaster Farming - Ephrata, PA, USA
... Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention ... secrets for successfully operating a farm market in suburbia. ... "farm marketing in the age of high speed computers, cell phones and a global marketplace requires a whole new set of survival tactics." ...

    .26  Regional Fire Plan Could Add Firefighters
Desastres.org - Peru
Burin said, "Depending on how much of a regionalization it is, it will preserve jobs and could possibly enhance the number of professional firefighters." ...

     .27  Realtors host site straight to lawmakers
The Missoulian - Missoula, MT, USA
The Missoula Organization of Realtors often meets with local nonprofits, developers, builders, homeowners, renters and others with a stake in the region's housing market and the legislative process that impacts that market. ...

     .28 Key to biodiversity map
Goshen Chronicle - USA
Black Dirt — Much of the black dirt region has been too heavily disturbed (through drainage, substrate compaction, and other factors) to support a diversity ...  Note: Straus Newspapers Coverage Area – NJ-NY-PA

     .29 Gear goes to group
The Express Times - Easton, PA, USA
The gear-up grew out of an idea county Emergency Services Coordinator Tom Nervine had pitched to the Lehigh County Congress of Governments formed last year. ...

     .30 Reno-Tahoe group plans 2018 Winter Olympics bid
North County Times, CA 
A Reno-Tahoe coalition has begun building support for a possible 2018 Winter Olympics bid around Lake Tahoe, the site of the 1960 games. ... region would need $1.6 billion in improvements ...

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

     .10 India 360: Regionalism rules?
CNN-IBN - New Delhi, India
... Thus some people believe that perhaps regional protests are a necessary evil in a democracy. Though protests need not be violent and disrupt public life. "If regional sentiments are suppressed too forcefully, the cure will be worst than the disease, " said Guha.

 

     .11 Towards Greater Transport Integration
Bru Direct - Brunei Darussalam
... It is vital to create a more liberal environment of expanding airfreight and passenger services in Asean for enhanced trade, investment and tourism opportunities in the region, ...

     .12  York garbage collection by city workers touted as way to save millions
Inside Toronto - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
"Really since amalgamation we've been trying to take advantage of the economies of scale the city gives us, " he said. "We have always wanted to reroute the ...

     .13  Acting locally, thinking creatively
The Australian - Sydney, Australia
"What Lyndon hasn't done is make a strong enough distinction between community theatre and professional regional theatre." Nor do regional theatres ...

    .14  The Internationalization of Planning
Planetizen.com
With new bilateral accreditation agreements on the horizon, planners have a whole world of professional opportunities before them. But new training programs are needed to help planners learn the social and cultural context present in a different country.

     .15  Boxing for regional integration
Trinidad News - Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
JAMAICAN boxer Muhammad Dawes wants to initiate a reciprocal boxing contest with Trinidad and Tobago which he said will accelerate the regional integration ...

     .16  German communities cash in with micro-currencies
MiamiHerlad.com
In protest of globalization, some communities in Germany have taken to printing their own cash to bolster local economies. ... The Berliner, issued by a local environmental group, is one of around 20 local currencies that have begun circulating over the past five years in Germany. ...

    .17  Leave regional partisanship behind as we all move forward
Ancaster News - Ancaster, Ontario, Canada
... For the time being, then, the suburbs deal with what appears to be a disproportionate tax burden and a reduction in local services from pre-amalgamation, hoping in good faith that we will all benefit in the future. ...

    .18 EU and US boost environmental research cooperation
Cordis News - Brussels, Belgium
Collaboration between European and American environmental researchers ... new agreement signed by the European Commission and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ...

    .19  Road map to good governance - the nine 'I' model
The New Nation - Bangladesh
Democracy cannot flourish in the absence of good governance. The pre-condition for good governance is effective democratic institutions for democratizing ...

     .20   Tourism sector must plan in order to develop: Deputy PM
Viet Nam News - Hanoi, Vietnam
The sector also aims to enhance competitiveness and boost integration into the regional and international tourism markets. ...

     .21   Ghana: Joseph Project to Attract More Africans in Diaspora to Central Region
AllAfrica.com - Washington, USA
The Joseph Project, which has been introduced by the Tourism and Diasporan Relations Ministry, is expected to boost tourism in the Central Region this year ...

    .22  Caucasus-Caspian Commission to hold first meeting
Payvand - Iran
The Caucasus-Caspian Commission has outlined four priority areas on which it will focus its attention: regional economic cooperation, frozen conflict ...

     .23  Regional cooperation by rail
Messenger.ge - Tbilisi, Georgia
"A new silk road", "A geopolitical revolution", was how President Saakashvili described the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project on February 8. ...

     .24   Global Mobile Technology Users Overwhelmed by Device Features
Telephony World (press release) – USA

"Function Fatigue" is afflicting mobile technology users worldwide and tops several consumer issues negatively impacting the embrace of new wireless devices and services, ... milestone study of some 15, 000 consumers in 37 countries, shows that "too many functions I did not use" is the number one device problem in all regions of the world. ...

12. Blogs: Highlighted words are Google search terms.

    .10   Parochialism And Particularism Have Their Place
By Kleinheider
Regionalism is an attachment that breaks down and fights against social class division. Without it attachment to place, and with the increasing divide between rich and power, we are becoming two Americas. ...

     .11  Case Study Pittsburgh
By globalburgh(globalburgh)
The search of the notions of progressive regionalism should deal with the problematic of shrinking cities. This could offer a window of opportunity to discuss ... A post over at Null Space does indicate regionalism afoot in Pittsburgh. ...

     .12 Papers from the Future Frameworks for Regional Rail
By Administrator
Transforming Canada's Rural Railways (Presentation, pdf 3Mb), Ed Zsombor (Rail Projects Saskatchewan Highway & Transport Agency); Regionalism, Railways and Local Government (Presentation, pdf 792kb) by A/Prof Ian Gray (Charles Sturt ...

     .13  Climate Change II
By ahmedn8
Economic development is primarily regionally oriented and per capita economic growth and technological change more fragmented and slower than other storylines. B1. The B1 storyline and scenario family describes a convergent world with ...

    .14 Economic tailwind powering Asia's Travel Industry to new heights
By ayahfikri
"Regional differences in economic growth are the strongest predictors of regional ... Regional travel dynamics are also beginning to feel the positive effects of the return ... connecting cities that were not previously on the air map. ...

    .15  Quick read of Fattah Transportation Plan
By Dan
Candidates who use this tactic forfeit all credibility for talking about "regionalism." Perhaps if we talked about radically restructuring the region's funding for SEPTA by doing away with the current system and working with the 4 ...

     .16  The Strategic Role of Law Enforcement in the "GWOT"
By Adriano Barbosa(Adriano Barbosa)
... the grandiosity of 9/11 attacks showed up that a national effort including local, regional and federal actors would be necessary to halt the terror threat. ...

     .17  Plan the region's future
By C. Briem(C. Briem)
The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission is conducing a networked town meeting for their Project Region: The Southwestern Pennsylvania Plan. If you care about transportation planning or regional economic development in general, ...

     .18 expanding your region
By t_co
But now my city looks like the inner 10 square miles of a huge metropolis, and I want to expand my regional boundaries to put in some suburbs around the city and a decent looking airport... could i add additional city tiles to the ...

 
 13. Announcements and Regional Links

     .10 Senate Agriculture Committee – Rural Development Hearing Testimony
NADO News
The committee, led by Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA), is holding hearings to explore issues related to reauthorization of the 2002 Farm Bill, which is set to expire on September 30, 2007.

     .11  Integration of Biodiversity Into Regional NRM Planning: Case Study Mallee
Australian Government
This project contributes to all six objectives of the draft Mallee Native Vegetation Plan (Mallee CMA, 2000) by increasing awareness and appreciation of native vegetation, protecting and enhancing remnants, encouraging landholders to integrate native vegetation management into agricultural practices and utilising native vegetation to rehabilitate degraded landscapes.

     .12  Regional accreditation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Each regional accreditor encompasses the vast majority of public and nonprofit private educational institutions in the region it serves. ...

 14. Subscription

  The Myth of the Superstar Cities - National Center for Policy Analysis, TX –

With a remarkable concentration of very high-earning families who can bid up real estate, along with regulatory and tax regimes which greatly limit the production of housing and job opportunities, places like New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and others -- the so called "superstar cities" -- are forcing the trend of American urbanism toward younger, more affordable and less self-regarding places, says Joel Kotkin, senior fellow at the New America Foundation.

As a result, over the past 15 years, it has been opportunistic newcomers -- Houston, Charlotte, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, Riverside -- that have created the most new jobs and gained the most net domestic migration.  For example: ...

 15. 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 work." 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  The term "Development" was added to the name in January,  2006.

For a free subscription use this email link – no additional information required:

            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. www.regionalintelligence.com or www.regions.ws ____________________________________________________________________