Top Regional Community stories of this week

 

  1. Wars between the states: When borders become barriers to regional cooperation - The Star-Ledger - NJ.com - Newark, NJ, USA

...

The Supreme Court has now decided, in Delaware's favor, producing, as expected, a decision that is not based on needs and interests to be sure--for it's clear that the LNG facility could make a considerable contribution to meeting future energy needs of New Jersey and, yes, those of Delaware as well--but on interpretations of an earlier compact between the states and historic boundaries.

It need not have come to this. Both states did, after all, have the opportunity to settle their dispute before the Supreme Court rendered its decision. And, in a way, they still do. As the Star Ledger's lead editorial argued today, plans for the facility should go forward: "Delaware's win should not be New Jersey's loss."

A negotiated solution is only likely, though, if the tug of war over the river is framed in a way other than on property grounds. As it is now, Delaware thinks it owns the river by virtue of a land grant from King Charles II to Quaker William Penn in 1682. New Jersey argues that it has "riparian rights" (the use of water by those who own land around it), which allows it to build a pier to make its property accessible.

Reconciling these positions, framed this way, is unlikely in an adversarial process. Indeed, a win-lose outcome is all but assured. And that's what we got.

Going forward, on this project and on others that are likely to surface--after all, New Jersey and Delaware have appeared three times before the Supreme Court (over fishing rights, oyster beds, and now a natural gas plant, all variations on a border theme)--we might try another approach. ...  

Why not try to find a way to treat the river as the regional resource that it is? ...

  2. Group seeking borderless area - Joplin Globe - Joplin, MO, USA

During an afternoon trip from Northpark Mall in Joplin to Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Okla., there is an invisible line.

A similar line also exists between the Joplin airport and the Chili’s restaurant in Pittsburg, Kan.

There are no guard boxes or barbed-wire fences marking the boundaries between Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas, yet they limit funding, communication and job creation.

“Geography says that there are state and county lines, but the reality is that we are already linked, ” said Rob O’Brian, president of the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce. “Now we need to become borderless.”

That idea of creating a “borderless” region of Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas brought together more than 100 people from 13 area chambers of commerce Wednesday at the Joplin Holiday Inn.

By the end of the meeting, the group of economic developers, educators, elected officials and business leaders created a steering committee to file the paperwork for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that would serve as a regional chamber of commerce. The group also formed eight other committees to deal with regional issues including education, community appearance, infrastructure, tourism, marketing and economic development.

O’Brian said the groups will meet again in June to discuss their progress, and again in August for a session with state and federal legislators.

The borderless region will require support from lawmakers in all of the states involved. O’Brian said some of the group’s ideas toward regionalism need state and federal legislators to pool resources, and actually change laws to allow money and information to flow across state lines.

“We’ve never heard of anything like this before, ” O’Brian said. “As far as we know, it’s fairly groundbreaking. It could be a historic effort.”

Unique suggestions

The session produced some unique suggestions, …

See one perspective on the region: Four State Growth Summit – Regional Economic Development Center

  3. Loss of NASA jobs isn't just Brevard's problem; it's regional concern - Orlando Sentinel - Orlando, FL, USA

For the past six years, leaders have traveled across the entire Central Florida region, talking about linking regional assets, exploring regional opportunities, and supporting a regional agenda that will benefit the seven counties in our region: Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole and Volusia.

The recent Sentinel editorial concerning the projected loss of jobs as a result of the end of the space shuttle program in 2010 asked: "What should the Space Coast (Brevard County) do to reduce its dependence on the space industry?"

The old model of putting cities and counties into silos, working alone instead of working together for a common goal, is a failing framework. Through myregion.org, "How Shall We Grow?" and now the newly created Central Florida Partnership, we are working to communicate and collaborate on a regional basis; this is the new model of civic architecture.

Working together to preserve our regional assets, advocating regional strategies, and celebrating successful regional outcomes is the new pathway to success. The dramatic loss of jobs projected in Brevard County is not just "their" problem. It is a challenge for the entire region.

An example of how regional collaboration can work is evidenced by the extensive sharing of ideas, by thousands of citizens, elected officials, business and community leaders who came together and developed a regional growth vision for Central Florida. This led to the unprecedented formation of the Congress of Regional Leaders, representing Central Florida's counties, school boards and municipalities now working to implement that vision.
…

Likewise, the aerospace industry in Central Florida is much more than space exploration. It is about research and medical science; it is about quality of life; it is about a powerful and positive economic impact; it is about homeland security and space tourism. And, most important, it is about the future of the Central Florida region.

RCs: Central Florida RPC      myregion.org

  4. Regionalism key for future of Toledo, northwest Ohio, College of Law conference speakers say - UToday News – Toledo, OH

Education, an entrepreneurial culture and a regional approach to economic development are the keys to securing northwest Ohio’s place in a changing world economy.

That was the consensus that emerged recently as some 125 attorneys, local government officials, community leaders and economic development officials attended a program, “Successful Economic Development in the 21st Century: Revitalizing Center Cities in an Era of Globalization, Technology and Channing Legal Regimes, ” sponsored by the College of Law and organized by The University of Toledo Law Review.

The conference’s main theme was that while Toledo and northwest Ohio are in a period of economic transition and that jobs in the manufacturing sector are disappearing and may never return, Toledo and northwest Ohio, nevertheless, can successfully compete in the world economy by moving from an industrial to a knowledge economy, in which intellectual property and innovative ideas fuel business and job growth.

College of Law Dean Douglas Ray opened the conference, saying it was “an important time for the topic” and that he “sensed a resurgence of hope” in the region. …

Toledo and its surrounding communities should take a cue from progressive cities such as Louisville, Indianapolis, and Charlotte, N.C., and merge city and suburban county governments, according to UT President Emeritus Daniel Johnson, who is working on a book about economic development.

In addition, the region needs a “global strategy” and an “engaged university focusing on economic development, ” he added.

The region’s economic potential is getting choked by the myriad agendas of cities, municipalities, townships, counties and economic development agencies that instead of working together are often in competition. True regionalism means sharing authority in managing issues such as transportation, economic development, water and sewer, education and poverty.

In the flat globalized world, Toledo and northwest Ohio competes directly for talent, investment and buzz …  

RC: Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments

  5. Debate over transportation tax opens old wounds in legislature - Examiner.com – Dallas, TX

Any proposal to raise taxes Virginiawide to pay for transportation projects as part of an upcoming General Assembly session designed to address regional road and rail funding threatens to magnify the divide between Northern Virginia and the rest of the state.

Democratic leaders say lawmakers must think statewide, not regionally, in their effort to replace $300 million in annual taxes ruled unconstitutional because the state is staring at more than a $1 billion deficit in other transportation needs.

But Republicans say that is a ploy to force an unnecessary tax increase that provokes the decades-long argument over how Virginia divvies up its transportation dollars.

Northern Virginia Republicans won’t support a gas tax that would send a percentage of local tax dollars to other regions, while Republicans from other parts of the state risk losing funds that could help their economies.

“It is the continuing problem of the two Virginias, ” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington.

“People in Northern Virginia are tired of paying a time tax to get around, ” he said, while in other parts of the state, “a lot of Main Streets have seen better days. When people in those communities look at the resources Northern Virginia enjoys, they are not sympathetic to sending more state resources north of the Occoquan River.”

Gov. Tim Kaine has said he will call a special session of the General Assembly when an agreement is near, but leading lawmakers say they will not compromise on their diametrically opposed positions.

“The Republican delegates better get used to the fact they ain’t going to get a regional package, ” Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax, said, adding the state must address its statewide transportation deficit.

But Republicans argue a regional solution can work.

...

  6. GO TO 2040 "first truly regional" plan - Oak Brook Business Ledger - Naperville, Illinois

A 30-year-plus plan that is truly comprehensive and regional makes the latest long-range development strategy different from previous ones, says the head of the area’s top planning agency.

The proposed “GO TO 2040” program is different in that it will focus on overall strategy and what it takes to get it done, said Randy Blankenhorn, executive director of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP).

It also marks the first time that such a long-range plan for the area has been focused on policy.

“This is the first truly regional planning effort, ” Blankenhorn said. “Other good plans have been written by other groups and win awards, but nobody reads them.”

Another difference is that other plans have been written on individual subjects such as transportation, the environment and housing. This latest one, he said, will be much more comprehensive.

To that end, and a key to the success of the CMAP plan, is the attempt to get suburban government officials and business leaders to buy into the notion that that Chicago and the suburbs are one economic entity.

“We really need to get them to think alike, ” Blankenhorn said, pointing out that in the battle for new business it’s not the city vs. the collar counties nor one county here vs. another but rather the entire region competing with other parts of the country or even other nations.

That concept needs to be embraced by many more local leaders than are found in other parts of the country. ...

  7. Could regional services stop tax overrides? - Milford Daily News - MA, USA

…

"Clearly, in this day in age, the cost for individual small towns is becoming impossible to manage, " said Hopedale Town Coordinator Gene Phillips. Hopedale is talking with its neighbors about regionalizing fire and other town services, such as public works.

"Regionalization has to become the focus of attention, " he said.

Local fire chiefs, however, said regionalizing departments would be a massive undertaking that might not save the amount of money people expect.

…

Hopedale considered last year combining dispatch units with neighboring Milford, but abandoned the plan when it learned there would be no real savings, Phillips said.

…

Ward 2 Councilor Paul Ferro said he envisions a set up similar to regional schools in Massachusetts, where the regional fire department would be overseen by a board comprised of people from each member community.

"Independence costs money, " said Ferro.

Mauro said many departments operate as a de facto regional department, keeping a few firefighters on staff for day-to-day operations and relying on mutual aid to battle a fire.

…

"Fire Departments are 150 years of tradition not impeded by progress, " said Moran, who lost his bid for a selectman seat. "(Regionalization) is going to be driven financially. If Natick had not passed a ($3.9 million tax) override, it would have forced the issue."

…

In Marlborough, much of the regionalization discussion was born of the city's need to purchase a new ladder truck for the Fire Department and whether the city could share the truck, which costs anywhere from $650, 000 to $1 million, with a nearby town or towns.

Marlborough Fire Chief David Adams said he is not opposed to regionalization but thinks the city should not view it as a short-term way to lower the cost of a new ladder truck.

…

  8. Roberts: Tie Municipal Aid to Efficiency This Year, Not Next - PolitickerNJ - NJ, USA

New Jersey Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr. (D-Camden) today called for a Fiscal Year 2009 municipal aid distribution plan that would treat all municipalities fairly and equitably through efficiency performance measures.

"I share the Governor's dual goals of enacting a State Budget that does not live beyond its means and encouraging a more rationale local government structure through consolidation and shared services, " said Roberts.  "However, performance, not population, must be the benchmark against which government is judged."

Speaker Roberts noted the Legislature enacted legislation last year requiring the development of municipal performance efficiency standards that would be used to calculate state aid. Those standards have yet to be developed.

"Expeditious establishment of the statutorily required measures must be a priority for the State, " Roberts said.  "We cannot let another fiscal year - another opportunity for a true effort to redefine local government - go by without a reasonable plan in place."

The Governor's proposed budget would reduce Consolidated Municipal Property Tax Relief Act (CMPTRA) aid by $62 million, but the lion's share of the cut would fall on towns with less than 10, 000 residents.

Roberts proposes modifying the Governor's recommendation by linking municipal aid to benchmarks to be established by the Department of Community Affairs for Fiscal Year 2009.

The Speaker said his proposal would "make each municipality - from the smallest town to the largest city - the State's partner in enacting a budget that recognizes fiscal reality.  At the same time it puts all towns on notice that the State can no longer subsidize inefficiency at any level of government."

"Towns must seek out new ways to share services and reduce residents' tax burdens, " said Roberts.  "Reducing the size and cost of government through shared services and regionalization is imperative to realizing substantial, long-term property tax savings."

 

  9. The Future is in Our Past - Beacon - Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

…

     Prior to the 1960s, healthcare professionals were regarded as gods. Patients believed the regimented system could do no wrong and followed orders. Change to this class system was inevitable, as more people became formally educated. Briefly and simply, transformation came in the form of less direct contact with government through regional oversight boards, designed to curb the absolute power of healthcare professionals.

    The type of management that came with oversight boards was radically different from the previous management of healthcare. Before regionalization, people in rural communities felt that the hospitals were there for them; they took pride in ownership. Regionalization erected a barrier between the patient and a system managed by some distant entity, a regional board.

    Experience with oversight boards, at the national, provincial and local levels, has given me an insider’s view of how boards operate. In my opinion, oversight and accountability are words carefully crafted to impress, albeit without merciless intent. In the case of healthcare, the regional board structure is not fashioned to be accountable and deliver the vision.

    One serious flaw in board structure is that virtually all boards are staffed by volunteers. That sets up a rift between full-time paid management and fleeting unpaid overseers. In a society where money and the investment of time are king, it is inevitable that unpaid Board members aren’t deemed important, are most times seen as nuisances and are kept in the dark.
No one actually sits down and decides to keep boards in the dark. The structure, which determines this outcome, is an accepted part of the culture. Not being on the job full time, the board chairs feel that most of what’s happening is foreign to them. Not being professionals from within, nor trained about what to oversee, it’s inevitable that important issues will be missed.

As volunteers, boards don't feel that they have to force themselves to dig into the unknown. Thus, from the start, they are ready to accept passively what is presented to them by the executive directors. Intentional, or not, that is a fact of life. Board chairs communicate with executive directors and boards assemble to rubber stamp the decisions of fulltime paid management.

Management closes ranks when the system is threatened …

10. U.S. Regional Communities - sub-State, State or multi-State - in news articles.

Bold font words are Google search terms. Bold italic words considered worth noting.  In this and section 11, 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 as well as recognizing other regional organizations.  In most cases, where a full name is present, a Google search will quickly get one to that organization. News reports do not always get the organization name correct.   Contents

    .01  Cooper Notification Launches Nation's Largest Regional Alerting System
Earthtimes - London, UK
... Philadelphia and five surrounding counties, including Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery, Pa., and Gloucester, NJ, launched the patent-pending Roam Secure Alert Network™ (RSAN™), known as ReadyNotifyPA (www.ReadyNotifyPA.org) for emergency mass notification. The interoperable regional alerting system can alert more than 5 million citizens residing in the nation’s fifth largest metropolitan area. ...

 

    .02  Editorial: Regional purchases a tough sell
MetroWest Daily News - Framingham, MA, USA
Voters can be loyal to a fault, protecting their town's autonomy even if regional cooperation could bring better, cheaper, more professional services. ...  Comment (2 of 5) Pile It On - We had a strong regional form of government once, which provided cost effective shared services to the communities in the administration of the courts, in corrections, in highway planning and design, in agriculture, in canine registration and control, in recreational facilities, and other aspects of government where a town was just too small to pay for the service. It was called Middlesex County, and it worked very well for about 300 years, or until the Legislature gave financial control to the municipalities. How'd that work out?

 

    .03  Report: Bay Area faces tough challenges to maintain status in global economy

Bizjournals.com - Charlotte, NC, USA

The Bay Area's economic strength is rooted in its high concentration of talented and highly educated workers that produce an average of $122, 000 of goods and services each year, 30 percent higher than the U.S. average. … "Despite the very good news about the region's competitive positioning, high costs are a serious concern, " said Henry Gardner, executive director of the Association of Bay Area Governments. "Working together, the region simply must build more housing closer to where the jobs are and produce housing which is considerably more varied and affordable than it is today. If we don't, transportation congestion will worsen and our environmental and energy problems will worsen."

 

    .04  Group asks if regional land use planning process needed here - Billings Gazette - MT, USA

The project covers 25 counties, split into six subregions, in the Yellowstone-Teton region across Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. The project aims to address tri-state growth patterns and associated problems, and opportunities, identified in the Yellowstone Business Partnership report "Turning on the Off-Season, " which was released a year ago. The local region includes Yellowstone, Carbon, Stillwater and Sweet Grass counties in Montana and Park County, Wyo. Group members hope to find a college or university to conduct the research. Part of the work will be considering existing plans and ongoing planning efforts in the area. …

    .05  Transportation issues cross boundaries
Elmira Star-Gazette - Elmira, NY, USA
The challenge of responding to the transportation needs of rural residents is universal, Schuyler County officials learned last week. Two representatives of Midtrafik, a regional transportation authority based in Aarhus, Denmark, spent a busy day in the county and surrounding region last week asking questions and sharing stories....

 

    .06  REGION: Preserving wildlife corridors
North County Times - Escondido, CA, USA

A coalition of environmentalists and scientists has come up with an ambitious blueprint for restoring and preserving animal travel corridors connecting the region's wildlands. … One of the group's most glamorous goals is the construction of a bridge over eight lanes of I-15 between Temecula and Fallbrook. The bridge would be designed exclusively to accommodate mountain lions, deer and badgers.

 

    .07  Region meet tumbling to town
The Huntsville Times – al-com - Birmingham, AL, USA
The city of Huntsville is ready to step up in gymnastics competition. Huntsville has been selected as the host for the 2008 Level 9 & 10 Women's Regional Championships. … A regional board accepted Huntsville's bid to serve as host for this year's meet. In 2006 the city was host for the Level 8 region championships. "The fact we did such a good job on the Level 8 championships certainly helped, " …

 

    .08  For Region Ten, more money means more responsibility
C-Ville Weekly - Charlottesville, VA, USA

Spurred by last year’s mass shooting at Virginia Tech, state legislators this spring unanimously passed a package of bills that will bring more people into a mental health care system that is already stretched thin. ... decision made at the state level will trickle down to community services boards (CSB), the local providers for mental health services. Region Ten serves as the CSB for the city of Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Louisa and Nelson. ...

    .09  Editorial: LI needs new planning blueprint
Newsday – New York, NY, USA

Long Island Regional Planning Board took a first step yesterday toward that kind of plan. It looked westward to New York City, whose PlaNYC is a model of both crunching the numbers and laying out doable recommendations. ...

 

    .10  Rising to the top
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin - Ontario, CA, USA
Gary Ovitt …  San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors … is also president of the Regional Council for the Southern California Association of Governments, vice president of San Bernardino Associated Governments and a board member of both the South Coast Air Quality Management District and Omnitrans. …

 

    .11  REGION: County violent crime hits 25-year low
North County Times - Escondido, CA, USA
The violent crime rate in San Diego County dropped to a 25-year low in 2007, but robberies in the region are on the rise, according to a report released Monday by the San Diego Association of Governments. ...

 

    .12  Forest Service to update its Tahoe Basin plan
Nevada Appeal - Carson City, NV, USA
“The regional vision is like a view from high above Lake Tahoe — a broad look across boundaries or jurisdictions, ” Norman wrote in his E-mail. ...

 

    .13  OUR VIEW: Now the real work begins
SouthCoastToday.com - New Bedford, MA, USA
Regionalization, another important area of reform, should receive serious consideration, not only in Dartmouth but around the region. ...

 

    .14  Officials differ over airport regionalization
GoErie.com - Erie, PA, USA
Brosious said his group would prefer Erie City County and Erie County Council work out their own deal to regionalize the airport board instead of having one imposed by the state. ...

 

    .15  Report predicts growth in suburbs, decline in Detroit
DetNews.com - Detroit, MI, USA
A Southeast Michigan Council of Governments report released Friday indicates that Metro Detroit's suburban population will continue to grow ...

 

    .16  Southwest Ohio's Regional Leadership Priorities Day will focus on global opportunities
Wilmington News Journal, OH - Wilmington, OH, USA
“Think Global! Act Regional!” is the theme for the third annual Regional Leadership Day that will take place April 17 at Roberts Centre. Sponsored by the community leadership programs of Clinton, Warren and Clermont counties,  ... Panelists ... Mark Policinski, executive director of Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments; Bob Steinbach, Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission; ...

 

    .17  Region's technology sector No. 2 in nation
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte, NC, USA
According to AeA's "Cyberstates 2008: A Complete State-by-State Overview of the High-Technology Industry, " if the DC region -- DC, Virginia and Maryland -- was considered a single state, it would trail only California, which had 940, 700 tech jobs in 2006. ...

 

    .18  Wayne State University Launches Research Center to Improve Human Conditions Locally, Regionally, Nationally and Internationally

PR Newswire (press release) - New York, NY, USA

    "This center exemplifies one of our major strategic initiatives – to promote the university's engagement with the urban environment, " said Wayne State President Irvin D. Reid. "Through collaboration with government, businesses and other external organizations, Wayne State University will reach into Detroit, Southeast Michigan and beyond to confront difficult issues affecting the lives of people throughout the region." ...

11. Other Regional Community News for Our Local Planet  Contents

    .01  'Regional' Nuclear War Would Cause Worldwide Destruction

Wired Science

Beyond the local human tragedy of such a situation, a new study looking at the atmospheric chemistry of regional nuclear war finds that on the hot smoke from burning cities would tear holes in the ozone layer of the Earth. ...

 

    .02  EU gives Athens trash warning
Kathimerini, Greece

A European Commission official warned Greece yesterday that Athens needs to sort out its waste management problem quickly or risk finding itself in the same position as Naples, which has run out of places to dump its trash…. “It is important that national and regional waste disposal planning is updated to take account of climate change and the new technology that is available, ” … .

 

    .03  What makes Scotland so sick
Sunday Herald - Glasgow, Scotland, UK
It may be the sick man of Europe, but Scotland is better off and better educated than other similar regions – and they are improving all the time. ...

 

    .04  A healthy economy is impossible with closed borders
The Observer - UK
Such a policy would not distinguish between immigrant and native portions of national product; it would recognise that an open economy and national wealth go hand in hand, as do closed borders and closed minds. Note: Article commentary is interesting. Ed.

 

    .05  Size of Regional council needs to shrink
Niagara Falls Review - Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
Niagara's regional council is the largest in six regions and has the worst structure. Dropping a tier of 18 Regional-only councillors, leaving 12 municipal Mayors as councillors would eliminate problems this tier caused. The chairperson should be elected at-large. ...

 

    .06  Tories consider super health authority
Calgary Herald - Calgary, Canada
Alberta's nine health regions might be replaced by a single super-authority covering the whole province, says Health Minister Ron Liepert. ...

 

    .07  PM calls for setting up regional center for studying natural phenomena
Yemen News Agency - Yemen
… exchanging information and researches among the region's states about the geological activities, noting that earthquakes do not know boarders or barriers and Tsunami is the best example for this fact as its effects have reached our southern coasts. …

 

    .08  Tourism challenges ahead
Jamaica Gleaner - Kingston, Jamaica
He also feels that the industry itself has not yet fully understood its centrality to regional development, the responsibilities that go with this, or the need for it to more fully participate in broader regional and external policy related discussions....

 

    .09  SAARC Regional Poverty Profile 2005
Telegraphnepal-com - Kathmandu, Bagmati, Nepal
The SAARC Regional Poverty Profile (RPP) has been published since 2003 on regular basis. The main aim, as the secretary general claims, of the profile is to ...

 

    .10  Tourisme Montreal goes green
Exchange Morning Post - Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Meanwhile, the recent recognition of Montreal by the National Geographic Society for being the first city in the world to sign the Geotourism Charter, ...

 

    .11  Buffalo Bills to face Pittsburgh in first game of eight-game series in Toronto

The Canadian Press -
"As we move forward people understand this is part of our regionalization plan in building our brand above the border in a tremendous market as Toronto is. ...

 

    .12  Life is Local
Tamworth Northern Daily Leader - Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia

“The TRC experience is that the general purpose regional council model of providing water and sewerage services has proved to be very cost effective, ” …

 

    .13  Anger over plans for regional pay levels
ic Wales - United Kingdom

The Government is introducing regional pay for court service staff, with those working in West Wales and the Valleys on the lowest pay bands. Those areas have received £1bn in EU funding in a bid to improve their low GDP, but MPs warn those efforts could be wasted if differential pay becomes the norm. …

 

    .14  Re-align?
Barossa Herald - Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia

“I want people to understand that I am not saying councils should amalgamate, ” … “I simply believe it makes sense in regards to keeping industry and residents within the same council area, and members of the same communities within the same council region. …

 

    .15  Falls surgeons call for OR closures in Fort Erie, Port Colborne
Niagarathisweek.com - Thorold, Ontario, Canada
"It's constant: every day people are coming to me about health care, " said Craitor, who has called for a review of how health care is delivered by the NHS throughout the region. " … "The real question is, what is the right alignment of services the Niagara Health System can supply to all Niagarans at all sites?" Shragge said. ...

 

    .16  Worries over LSC transition
H&V News - London, UK
“Increased regionalisation of funding will need some sort of re-alignment from our sector, ” he said. “However, we have pre-empted this by forming regional ...

 

    .17  Young workers in Halifax region are "greenest" commuters: new census data
The Canadian Press – OTTAWA

Young workers in the Halifax region are more likely to pick "green" commuting options than their older co-workers, the latest census information shows. ...

 

    .18  Gympie Regional Council to merge planning schemes
ABC Regional Online - Australia
The chairman of the Gympie Regional Council's development committee says it could take up to a year to finalise a consolidated planning scheme. ...

 

    .19  Special regions for information technology investment
By India eNews
The government Thursday approved the creation of information technology investment regions (ITIR) equipped with integrated townships, special economic zones, and industrial parks.

 

    .20  Region offers emergency preparedness resources for people with special needs
Burlington Post - Burlington, ON, Canada
Halton Region is helping those with special needs and disabilities prepare for emergencies and their consequences. The municipality officially unveiled its new emergency preparedness public education resources Tuesday. ...

 

    .21  We should pay more for food
Ottawa Citizen - Ontario, Canada
However, the growth in demand is being tempered by global concerns about the quality of food, diseases that can be transmitted across boundaries, ...

 

    .22  Regional Jet Showdown in Japan, China and Russia
Finanzen.net - Germany
Emerging economies are preparing to compete in a swelling market for regional jets. The term regional jet or RJ refers to a range of short-haul turbofan ...

 

    .23  A tainted election
Joongang Ilbo - Seoul, South Korea
Another thread in the Wednesday election is the revival of regionalism. The public thought that regionalism was finally gone after the three giants

 

    .24  Severe Spanish drought sparks regional fights over water
IAEM Europa News
The worst drought in decades in Spain is leading to regional disputes over scarce water resources with areas with more reserves resisting transfers to more parched zones. There has been 40 percent less rain than normal across the ...

 

    .25  Marketing Operations and the New Marketing Challenges
American Chronicle - Beverly Hills, CA, USA

The need for marketing operations has also become more pronounced in view of regionalization and globalization as companies need to coordinate the marketing function closely with regional and global marketing groups. This is essential in coordinating campaigns across regions and continents, particularly to have a unified message and to leverage costs. …

 

    .26  IBM to host private Second Life regions
Reuters - USA
IBM said on Wednesday it would become the first company to host private regions of the virtual world Second Life on its own computer servers. … Linden Lab … providing software and services to corporate customers who want to use the virtual world for collaboration and teleconferencing. …

 

    .27  Barcaldine council pushes for name change
ABC Regional Online - Australia
The new Barcaldine Regional Council wants to change its name to help give the council a new identity to better reflect its region. ...

 

    .28  Eco-towns threaten infrastructure crisis say South East England Regional Assembly

eGov monitor - London, UK
The Assembly argues that eco-town proposals must now be tested through the regional planning process to check their viability and cost - a system they have ...

12. Blogging about Regional Communities  Contents

    .01  Blog Release: GLUEsletter
By Jim Russell(Jim Russell)
And if that's not enough, GLUE HQ in Pittsburgh was popping with excitment around a recent op-ed in the Post-Gazette, calling for cross-border Great Lakes regional cooperation.  See 13.01 below

 

    .02  Community Self Esteem and Wholeness: An Alternative Approach
BFD Brewed Fresh Daily
▪Domain 4: Trust - regionalism fails; we have forgotten how to trust other human beings, don’t connect frequently in neighborhoods; corruption and the stealing of ideas. ▪Domain 5: Authenticity - we forget our history, our culture, ...

 

    .03 The Five Creative Region Initiatives: In Their Own Words
Dayton Pride- will highlight the region's many unique assets and diverse population through billboards, kiosks, bus signage, and window signage throughout the region. By rebuilding community pride, residents will become ambassadors ...

 

    .04  Beware of the One True Church of Regionalism
Bull City Mutterings
We need to think regionally for many things, e.g., traffic, but to be business-friendly, we need to be clear this region is polycentric, a term coined by an executive of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership.
Polycentric, he explained, means there is no dominant center here. What we call a region is family of six or more counties and 26 very distinct cities and towns. …

 

    .05  We need to have a more Regionalized approach, I am talking about the JEDDS
Fifth Ward Councilman  Paul Drennen - Youngstown
A regionalized approach and national recognition. The federal government is more apt to give funds to city's and townships that are working together for a regionalized approach rather than ones that decide they would like to be on their ...

 

    .06  Regionalization or Annexation? A difference?
By IanEnterline
The runway project has brought forth a recent discussion an even greater, underlying problem that could be the basis of all the problems the project has suffered from -that of the competing interests of local governments. ...

 

    .07  An Argument for Regionalism in Economic Development
Powesheik Development Blog
This is something we preach every day.  Political boundaries are invisible.  What’s good for Grinnell is good for Montezuma and vice versa.  But what’s good for Poweshiek County is also good for Jasper, Marshall, Marion and Mahaska counties.  We live in a world where global competition requires regional cooperation. …

 

    .08  Comment on the MORPC Regional Transportation Plan
Xing Columbus
You may not have realized it, but you have just one week left to comment on MORPC’s CapitalWays Regional Transportation Plan. What is this plan? You can read about it below, but basically it programs how the region’s transportation ...

 

    .09  New regional economic development group unveiled
Place Marketing Group
Concerning regional cooperation among economic developers, Sierra Vista Mayor Bob Strain on Monday said, “I have not been contacted by them, nor do I know anything about what their goals are. They have not talked to us.” ...

 

    .10  "New" and "Old" Regionalism Theories
Southern Affairs
Regionalism studies are those studies that focus on the middle layer of governance, between the state and the global, that emerge out of concerted processes of regional integration like the EU, the Arab League, NAFTA, CARICOM, ...

 

    .11  "Open" and "Closed" Regionalism Theories
Southern Affairs
The terms "Open" and "closed" regionalism refer to the degree in which regional blocks allow nonmember nations to access their markets. In this sense, an "open region" is one with few, if any, external trade restrictions while ...

 

    .12  Building Sustainable Communities: Getting Around Without Gasoline
First Peoples’ Bio-Regional
Maureen Mullaney, Transportation Program Manager of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, will follow with a talk about local and regional transportation initiatives such as passenger rail revival efforts and new bikeways and buses. , , ,

 

    .13  Newsletter #2, Spring 2008
Let’s Go KC – Alliance for Transportation Choice

… a coalition of individuals, local organizations and advocates who support transportation choice in the Kansas City region. We work to educate, engineer, encourage and evaluate our region in the interests of better walking, bicycling and transit opportunities. …

 

    .14  Promoting Sustainable Agriculture
By HungerForHealth
The Rural Coalition is an alliance of regionally and culturally diverse organizations working to build a more just and sustainable food system which: brings fair returns to minority and other small farmers and rural communities, ...

 

    .15  The Sweet and Sour Smell of Regional Theatre Success
By Back Stage Staff
Since studies have shown that every dollar of federal, state, and local arts appropriations has a measurable economic impact on communities, the nonprofit world -- including regional theatres -- rightly rejoiced. ... 

 

    .16  Tucson Regional Supergroup Authority
Sustainability, Equity, Development

The formation of these various regional supergroups--whether the Regional Economic Development Organization (generic name--obviously referencing TREO, although I like the acronym REDO) or the Regional Transportation Authority, or the Regional Water Authority that is coming, or the …

 

    .17  Access to the Region's Core in NY Times

Smogr
I've written about Access to the Region's Core - the new two-track rail tunnel under the Hudson River, … that will more than double, to 48 an hour, the number of