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Regional Community Development News - April 22, 2009 [regions_work]

 

A compilation of news links about and for regional communities pursuing local and regional development.

Published on line since November 11, 2003.

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Contents

Top Regional Community stories … 1. - 9.

U.S. Regional Communities - sub-State, State or multi-State – news articles …10.01 - .39

Other Regional Community News for Our Local Planet … 11.01 - .22

Blogging about Regional Communities … 12.01 - .10

Announcements and Regional Links … 13.01 - .06

Financial Crisis …14.03

Custom search: region, regions, regional communities … 15.

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Top Regional Community stories

  1.  Spain's Bullet Train Changes Nation -- and Fast - The Wall Street Journal – USA

To sell his vision of a high-speed train network to the American public, President Barack Obama this week cited Spain, a country most people don't associate with futuristic bullet trains.

Yet the country is on track to bypass France and Japan to have the world's biggest network of ultrafast trains by the end of next year, figures from the International Union of Railways and the Spanish government show.

The growth of the Alta Velocidad Espanola, or AVE, high-speed rail network is having a profound effect on life in Spain. Many Spaniards are fiercely attached to their home regions and studies show they are unusually reluctant to live or even travel elsewhere.

But those centuries-old habits are starting to change as Spain stitches its disparate regions together with a €100 billion ($130 billion) system of bullet trains designed to traverse the countryside at up to 218 miles an hour.

"We Spaniards didn't used to move around much," says Jose Maria Menendez, who heads the civil engineering department at the University of Castilla-La Mancha. "Now I can't make my students sit still for one second. The AVE has radically changed this generation's attitude to travel."

…

Critics say the AVE will never stop losing money. Even its backers say high-speed rail can only be economical if the state bears much of the construction costs. But they say the train's benefits-lower greenhouse-gas emissions, less road congestion and, in Spain's case, greater social cohesion and economic mobility-make it an investment worth making.

"The country is becoming far more intertwined," says Jose Maria Urena, a professor of city and regional planning at the University of Castilla-La Mancha. "In a country that tends to separate out somewhat, that can only be a good thing."

…

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124018395386633143.html

  2. SunRail Promoted as Key to Regional Economy - The Ledger - Lakeland, FL, USA

Completion of the SunRail commuter rail project is key to making the region economically competitive, Shelley Lauten told the Polk County Commission Wednesday.

"We're the 15th largest economy in the world, but we don't act that way," said Lauten, president of myregion.org, an Orlando-based regional visioning effort, explaining that the region that extends from Daytona Beach to Tampa is deficient in a regional transportation network that includes various forms of transit.

"We can't compete without transit,'' she said.

SunRail is a 61-mile, $1.2 billion proposed commuter rail route stretching through Volusia, Seminole, Orange and Osceola counties intended to become an alternate to Interstate 4 for daily commuters.

But commissioners Jean Reed and Randy Wilkinson said questions have been raised about the SunRail project's effect on regional transportation because the rerouting of freight trains through parts of Polk County may make some commuter links impractical.

Lauten said those issues can be worked out and shouldn't delay the SunRail project, which is under consideration in the Florida Legislature.

She said delaying the project because of those concerns may be short-sighted.

"If we wait to solve every issue on every front, the $400 million (in federal transit funds) will be invested in another community,'' she said, explaining that a recent trip by an Orlando delegation to Charlotte, N.C., reinforced that point.

Charlotte received money that would have gone to Orlando if its transit project had been ready to go forward and built a light-rail system that has generated $1.9 billion in economic development, she said.

She said Charlotte and other communities are watching how the SunRail project goes in Florida and are ready to go after the federal transit money if legislators kill the SunRail project.

"Other communities are watching us, hoping we make the wrong choice,'' she said.

...

RC: East Central Florida Regional Planning Council http://www.ecfrpc.org/

 

http://www.theledger.com/article/20090408/NEWS/904085045/1338?Title=SunRail-Promoted-as-Key-to-Regional-Economy

 3. Littlefield Calls For Regional Water And Sewer Authority; Unified City/County Services - The Chattanoogan - Chattanooga, TN, USA

Mayor Ron Littlefield, launching his second four-year term, on Monday called for the creation of a new water and sewer authority similar to the Electric Power Board. ... Here is his speech:

I've just returned from Germany - just last night. I was there with County Mayor Claude Ramsey and Trevor Hamilton of the Chamber of Commerce. …

It was a gathering of potential suppliers and others seeking opportunities related to Volkswagen and more. The subject was economic development in the Southeast U.S. and - without being boastful - Chattanooga is in the spotlight. Currently, we are the stars.

I mention this now because in this time of financial turmoil and economic distress, we are seen as a special place with much to look forward to....

I mention this because we are seen as a community entering an age of opportunity; and age of change - but change for the better; an age of unselfish cooperation and teamwork.

It's not just about Volkswagen or Alstom Power or other recent successes; it's about a community that stands to gain an entirely new family of enterprises - entirely new avenues of investment.

…This is a unique time in our history - our greater community. Consider these points:

1. Political restructuring is inevitable. In fact, it is legally required and the task will involve the city, county and state legislative offices.

2. We have the "pull" of economic opportunity during a time of rather sever economic distress - providing a "push" toward focused effort to promote positive change

..

People will say, "Oh my goodness. He's talking about Metro Government." Not necessarily, but I am talking about refinements in our local government to be more efficient, effective and economical. I'm talking about more representative, modern and responsive government.

…

RC: Southeast Tennessee Development District http://www.sedev.org/www

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_149344.asp

  4. Saving our region: Nice plans, but... - Crosscut.com - Seattle, WA, USA

A candid look at the efforts to preserve Puget Sound and surrounding lands discovers inconvenient truths. Population growth is not going where planned. Studies replace courageous action on Puget Sound. And land use loopholes invite blockbuster developments in rural areas.

Looking past transient economic tremors, the big questions for our region’s appeal and prosperity two and three decades in the future haven’t gone away: Can the region grow without despoiling both our intimate and grander landscapes? Can we protect Puget Sound’s rich flora and fauna — native plants and wildlife on land and in the water — against decline and disappearance in the face of the rapid, profound changes we are working across the region?

…

Start with the important actors in this play. Our four-county regional planning organization, the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) [http://www.psrc.org/index.htm], tries to fashion strategies that achieve the goals of Vision 2040, adopted about a year ago. Vision 2040 believes the best pattern for growth is to locate new populations and jobs in regional centers. That puts transportation systems to efficient use and preserves rural areas for agriculture, recreation, and preservation of the natural environment.

Next, enter the Puget Sound Partnership, which issued its Action Agenda for saving Puget Sound last December. It found the top two immediate threats to Puget Sound are the alteration and loss of natural habitat and on-going pollution.

However, at these high levels of oversight and generality, gears engage slowly on specific problems. Caution constrains bold speaking. Our instincts seem to be to hide in a morass of process rather than take dramatic action for fear of making a mistake, or worse, a foe. ...

In this spirit of bold speaking, what is the news on growth in recent years? Simply put, it’s not cooperating with the plan.

…

http://crosscut.com/2009/04/16/real-estate/18957/

  5. Georgia biz leaders upset with state lawmakers - Atlanta Unsheltered

...

To ensure continued economic growth, business leaders say the state needs to reduce congestion around Georgia, a move that would require a new source of revenue.

The need to devote more money to solve transportation woes is so acute that leaders from Walton, Barrow and other counties far outside of central Atlanta said they would support more funding for MARTA, the city’s mass transit system, according to Sam Olens, chairman of the Atlanta Regional Commission [http://www.atlantaregional.com/arc/html/]. After the Legislature declined to provide more funding to MARTA, the ARC offered money to help the transit system close a funding gap created by falling sales tax revenue.

“The single biggest impediment to economic development is transportation,” said Hertz, whose distribution company employs 1,200 people at sites in Atlanta, Savannah, Albany and other cities in Georgia.

…

It’s unclear what the business community’s next step will be; most of the issues will have to wait for the next legislative session, which begins in January. Hertz said Get Georgia Moving may have made a mistake by not endorsing one plan over the other, and he thinks that next year the key to winning the bill’s passage may be support for a plan that authorizes regional taxes for regional projects, rather than a statewide tax.

In the meantime, some economic leaders already have plans to engage in some much-needed “damage control.”

“We are going to have to explain it to prospects,” said Blumenthal, with the Metro Atlanta Chamber. “A lot of prospects know we have traffic, and many cities have traffic. The difference is in Atlanta we are perceived as [not] doing anything about it. We don’t even have a plan.”

http://atlantaunsheltered.com/2009/04/14/georgia-biz-leaders-upset-with-state-lawmakers/

  6. Yearwood defends recent ARC vote - Barrow Journal - Winder, GA, USA

The staff of the Atlanta Regional Commission came to the defense of embattled county chairman Danny Yearwood this week, who has taken it on the chin politically for his vote last week to divert $25 million in federal stimulus dollars to the regional transit system instead of preserving the money for local communities, including Barrow.

In an April 13 letter read at Tuesday’s meeting of the Barrow County Board of Commissioners, the chief of the agency’s transportation planning division clarified that Yearwood’s vote did not affect the $1 million in funding designated since 2004 for a county project. …

Yearwood said that his April 9 vote as a member of the ARC did not give away any funds earmarked for Barrow County and that none of the initial $119 million in federal stimulus funds for transportation in Georgia had been headed this way.

The dispute erupted after Yearwood attended a meeting of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Transportation and Air Quality Committee, which is comprised of representatives of local governments from around the region.

He voiced his concerns about being put in the awkward position of having to give up potential federal funding for Barrow in order to salvage MARTA’s operating budget, but he went along with the committee’s unanimous vote, saying he understood the importance of the transit system to the region’s economy.

…

He said Tuesday night that Barrow “cannot cut our nose off to spite our face,” because the ARC controls transportation planning in the metro region that includes the county.

“If we are going to get anything, we have got to be a part of that process and a member of that (committee),” the chairman said. “It would suit me if we could come out of it. But we can’t.”

http://www.barrowjournal.com/archives/1368-Yearwood-defends-recent-ARC-vote.html

  7. Transportation board would aid regionalism - Gary Post Tribune - Gary, IN, USA

A four-county transportation board is a significant step to advance regionalism in Northwest Indiana.

The proposed board, which has been approved by the Senate Transportation Committee and faces further scrutiny in the full Senate and the House, would oversee public mass transit in four counties: Lake, Porter, LaPorte and St. Joseph.

The board would have the ability to levy an income tax of up to 0.25 percent and bond for major projects. If passed, it would raise $52 million a year in a relatively painless way. Importantly, it would take the votes of three of the four counties to proceed on any project.

Of course, the proposal -- patterned after the mass transit system in the greater Chicago area -- has some local politicians up in arms. "No more taxes!" they shout. "We don't need progress!" they argue. "Not in my back yard!" they scream.

It is for these very reasons the Senate proposal is a positive step forward for the region.

The failure of our local politicians at every turn to take measures to improve the region is why this bill exists.

The key strength of the proposal is …

RC: NWI Regional Planning Commission http://www.nirpc.org/

http://www.post-trib.com/news/opinion/1510166,edit.article

  9. Leaders across region decry Porter County vote - Munster Times - Munster, IN, USA

Community and political leaders across Northwest Indiana say the Porter County Council's Wednesday vote to exit the RDA has the potential to undo four years of progress and set back economic development in the region.

"I am abjectly disappointed in the council’s decision since their vote ensures that Northwest Indiana will fall further behind in our efforts to create jobs and a vibrant economic future for our children," stated U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky via e-mail immediately after the vote.

The chief executive officer of the region's lead private economic development group said perceptions of the region will be shaped by the vote in Porter County.

"This meeting actually had nothing to do with the RDA," said Northwest Indiana Forum CEO Vince Galbiati immediately after the vote. "What it had to do with is whether communities are ready for economic development."

Galbiati said his organization was "not surprised, but was certainly deeply disappointed" by the council's 4-3 vote.

Krieg DeVault partner and former Bank Calumet CEO Calvin Bellamy said the region still appears to lack consensus on major issues, and that Wednesday night's Porter County Council vote was emblematic of that.

"When we don't go down to Indianapolis with a unified vision, things will continue to be done to us and not for us," Bellamy said.

The Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority was formed in 2005 under legislation passed by the Indiana General Assembly as a way to boost the region's fortunes. The legislation was pushed at various times by political heavyweights such as Visclosky, Gov. Mitch Daniels and even Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.

...

http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2009/04/09/news/top/doc18df90565f603b9a86257593000e5fe8.txt

  9. Report Assesses Regional Possibilities in Recovery Act - Nation's Cities Weekly - Washington, DC, USA

A new paper from the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program finds that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is limited in its support for creative regional implementation, but that it delivers critical investments and holds out significant opportunity for regional and metropolitan empowerment and problem-solving.

To produce real prosperity, the paper argues, local leaders require ways to enhance the fundamental “drivers” of productive growth — innovation, infrastructure, human capital, and quality places. But metropolitan actors also need the discretion and power to aggregate, link, and coordinate those drivers to maximize their impact.

The paper finds that ARRA usefully directs billions of dollars towards significant investments in the four key drivers of prosperity. At the same time, the paper concludes that ARRA does very little to actively support efforts to bundle and align ARRA resources to foster local, regional and national recovery.

The report finds that:

The need for fast action created a bias towards “business-as-usual” delivery systems in the crafting of ARRA. That orientation limits the extent to which the Recovery Act actively supports metropolitan-area implementation. 

And yet, despite its flaws, ARRA delivers critical investments in what matters.  In this respect, Brookings estimates that nearly 43 percent — roughly $335 billion — of the total stimulus appropriation supports the main drivers of prosperity: innovation, human capital, infrastructure and quality places.

In addition, the report says that ARRA holds out significant opportunities for creative leaders to engage in coordinated, regional problem solving. The Recovery Act provides some important chances for linking resources and even for transformative governance. ARRA provides a number of avenues for coordinating its various funding streams at a metropolitan level, particularly in new competitive grant programs.

A few of the relevant provisions include: ...

http://www.nlc.org/articles/articleItems/NCW41309/recoveryBrookings.aspx

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  Metro: More affordable housing needed

Portland Business Journal, Portland, OR, USA

The Metro Council has released a report that shows that town centers and transportation corridors are among the most affordable places to live in the region, and that additional investments in affordable housing will be needed as the region grows. The Housing Needs Analysis is available at http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=29959

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/04/20/daily35.html

    .02  Atlanta Region head takes issue with Ga. DOT

WALB News - GA, USA

The Chairman of the Atlanta Regional Commission says the metro area and South Georgia must work together to improve transportation to improve economic development in Georgia. Sam Olens says the Georgia Department of Transportation has perfected bureaucratic paralysis, and is much too slow and expensive to solve the state's transportation needs. Olens said all Georgians need to work together, and not see metro Atlanta as the enemy in order to improve Georgia's roads and transportation. ...

http://www.walb.com/global/story.asp?s=10198547

    .03  Organizers call regional emissions plan a success

The Associated Press

Jeanne Fox, the head of New Jersey's Board of Public Utilities, said she hopes the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative will soon fall victim to its own success. The original idea was to serve as a national model for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions many scientists blame for global warming, she said, noting that the U.S. House now is considering legislation to create a similar national program. "It's working," said Fox, a member of the initiative's board of directors. "We've succeeded in creating a program that shows cap-and-trade can work nationwide. It's a model for what they can do in Washington." The 10-state initiative is preparing to hold its fourth auction of carbon credits June 17 for more than 200 power plants that rely on fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas. ...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i_AnuSsBScdP-6e1hjBiKTey2y9gD97J4BR05

    .04  Don’t let regionalism die with Cobo deal

Detroit Free Press - United States

Wayne County Circuit Judge Isidore Torres probably dealt a death blow to the regional plan to upgrade Cobo Hall Thursday when he ruled that Detroit Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. had no authority to veto the City Council’s disapproval of the agreement. As a practical matter, there isn’t time — or much will — to renegotiate before the April 20 deadline lapses for the transfer of the property to the regional authority created by state legislation. ... But more significant trouble is lurking. If the Cobo deal’s death also sinks the nearly unprecedented spirit of regional cooperation that produced it, there could be more casualties down the line. ...

http://www.freep.com/article/20090409/BLOG25/90409110/1069/opinion/Don+t+let+regionalism+die+with+Cobo+deal

    .05  Put people at heart of regionalism

Detroit Free Press - United States

When dealing with regionalism, we say, "They don't have a clue" if citizens don't support the opinion of suburban and outstate interests. Here's another view: If a city's greatest asset is its people, shouldn't that be the first place we start with regionalism? We should work on a regional effort for Cobo Hall, just after we start regional efforts on improving Detroit schools. Our current focus on selected regionalism makes a poor statement of our values. Does anyone else question the hypocrisy of cutting funding for the arts and schools and then wondering why Michigan and Detroit have a brain drain? ...

http://www.freep.com/article/20090415/OPINION05/904150411/1231/OPINION/Put+people+at+heart+of+regionalism

    .06  Plenty of proof regionalism works

Detroit Free Press - United States

... Here at the Huron-Clinton Metroparks, we have been providing a regional model of cooperation for nearly 70 years. Our regional park system offers 13 Metroparks, or 24,000 acres of scenic parklands in Macomb, Oakland, Wayne, Washtenaw and Livingston Counties. ... Our forefathers came together to deal with a regional problem. So can we. Regionalism can work.

http://www.freep.com/article/20090414/OPINION04/904140325

    .07  Kennedy: Competition is good, but thinking regionally is always worthwhile

Star-Telegram.com - Fort Worth, TX, USA

I didn’t move to Dallas when I got married. But it wasn’t because of some ancient feud. And that shouldn’t keep Fort Worth and Arlington from cooperating with Dallas — when we can serve our own cities better. ... Fort Worth and Arlington must continue to promote the Tarrant County region, now home to 2 million people. (We’re bigger than greater San Antonio or Austin.) But does it really help Fort Worth, Arlington and Dallas to have two or three separate organ banks? Or arts companies? Or public hospitals? Sometimes, it makes sense to team up with Dallas. ...

http://www.star-telegram.com/state_news/story/1272039.html

    .08 Logan: BRAG should be first stop for homeless

Logan Herald Journal - UT, USA

Logan would like the Bear River Association of Governments  [http://www.brag.utah.gov/]

to be the first go-to point for homeless individuals. ... Franke said BRAG completed its homelessness count for Cache County on Jan. 29. The purpose of the counts, held across the state, is to get an idea of each area’s homeless populations on one of the coldest days of the year. Franke said they identified four individuals in jail who said they had nowhere to go, one person who was living out of a car, eight people who were couch hopping and one person who had been evicted ...

http://hjnews.townnews.com/articles/2009/04/12/news/news04-04-12-09.txt

    .09  Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission names new executive director

C-Ville Weekly - Charlottesville, VA

The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission (TJPDC) announced yesterday the appointment of Steven Williams as the new executive director. ... Williams hails from New Hampshire, where, for the past five years, he was executive director of the Nashua (New Hampshire) Regional Planning Commission. Williams spent 10 years with the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments in California. ...

http://www.c-ville.com/index.php?cat=1991704080566501&act=post&pid=12032104090671470

    .10  Committee to make city recommendations

Tallahassee.com - Tallahassee, FL, USA

Tallahassee's charter-review committee will convene Monday for possibly its last meeting before making recommendations on proposals ranging from whether to have a "strong" mayor government to whether an airport authority should be created. ... Committee members also voted unanimously to give more authority to the mayor in economic development and intergovernmental regional projects, Streit said. ...

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20090412/NEWS01/904120312

    .11  Obama is urged to take the wheel on infrastructure

Los Angeles Times - CA, USA

Two prominent governors, California's Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pennsylvania's Edward G. Rendell, sent a memo to President Obama saying he needed to assert more political leadership instead of leaving it to Congress to draft a plan for improving the nation's aging highways, bridges and ports. In particular, Rendell said he was concerned that Congress -- left to its own devices -- would load up a future infrastructure plan with "earmarks" and other narrowly focused spending priorities that undermined its credibility and effectiveness. ... "It is very important that the administration be proactive rather than left reacting to congressional proposals." ...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-governors13-2009apr13,0,5314265.story

    .12  SANDAG eyes help for transit agencies

San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego, CA, USA

San Diego-area elected officials yesterday wrestled over whether to bail out local public transit agencies, perhaps by digging deeper into the money that the TransNet sales tax provides. But at a special San Diego Association of Governments meeting yesterday, county Supervisor Dianne Jacob and others said using a larger share of the money to pay for workaday operations would anger voters. ... San Diego Councilman Todd Gloria said he's not wedded to one particular solution but said it's critical that SANDAG help the public transit agencies regain their financial footing. ...

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/apr/11/1m11transnet00325-sandag-eyes-help-transit-agencie/

    .13  Alliance launches high-tech property search tool

Daily Journal - Seneca, SC, USA

The Upstate SC Alliance has launched a new navigation tool on its Web site, boasting interactive maps and dynamic data to market the Upstate of South Carolina to site consultants and businesses considering locations in the area. The new technology, which cost more than $290,000 to bring online, involves geographic information system navigation. Two-thirds of the funding came from a grant from AdvanceSC; the remainder of the development funding was obtained through the Appalachian Council of Governments and the Upstate SC Alliance. ...

http://www.upstatetoday.com/news/2009/apr/11/alliance-launches-high-tech-property-search-tool/

    .14  Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments launches stimulus information site

Washington Business Journal - Washington, DC, USA

... “This is a defining time in our history and the actions we take now will determine the region’s ability to emerge stronger and more competitive,” said David Robertson, COG’s executive director. “COG intends to be a partner in that process.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/04/06/daily92.html

    .15  Collin, Denton officials debate path of future Dallas North Tollway extension

Dallas Morning News - Dallas, TX, USA

Denton County officials accuse Collin commissioners of reneging on a written resolution in 2005 to share the extension right of way. "I was very disappointed," Denton County Commissioner Andy Eads said. "Everyone represents their own jurisdiction, but we also have to wear the hat of regionalism." The North Texas Tollway Authority alone will decide the path ...

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-dntcollin_23met.ART0.State.Edition1.4a64ac6.html

    .16  Texas Groundwater Management: Change urgently needed

Blanco County News - Blanco, TX

Surface water in Texas belongs to the state. It can only be used with the state’s permission. The management of groundwater is another rather complicated, even strange story, considering how critical and urgent groundwater conservation is for Texas. ... The management of groundwater can be improved by moving toward more unified regions and a policy framework that manages in harmony with natural systems. Until the legislature can act to achieve this objective both politically and scientifically, local control exercised through the existing framework of groundwater management can work to manage, protect and conserve groundwater. ...

http://www.blancocountynews.com/news/article/14873

    .17  Latest Plan for MTA Is Foundering in Albany

New York Times

The latest version of a rescue plan for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority appeared on Tuesday to be just as difficult to pass as earlier ones, as a group of suburban Democratic state senators said they still opposed the regional payroll tax that is its centerpiece. ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/nyregion/22mta.html

    .18  County board votes to continue Dial-A-Ride services as is

Stillwater Courier - Stillwater, MN

The Washington County Board of Commissioners … chose not to endorse an option Metro Transit offered to the county which would have placed the county in a position to directly operate or manage Dial-A-Ride services within the county. The county's comprehensive plan states that the county does not operate transit systems, said Washington County Public Works director Don Theisen. ...

http://www.stillwatercourier.com/articles/index.cfm?id=12921&section=news

    .19  Mid-America Regional Council Web site tracks area effects of stimulus

Kansas City Business Journal - Kansas City, MO

MARC intends for the new section of its Web site to help local governments understand the recovery package, identify where to apply for money and coordinate economic recovery efforts in the Kansas City area. MARC is a nonprofit association of city and county governments and the metropolitan planning organization for the bistate Kansas City region, which includes nine counties, 120 cities and more than 1.8 million people.

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2009/04/20/daily34.html

    .20  Carlsbad desalination plant virtually approved by regional board

San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego, CA, USA

The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board on Wednesday all but approved an ocean-water desalination plant ... decision brings Poseidon Resources to the brink of financing and building its $300 million plant on the south shore of Agua Hedionda Lagoon, six years after it began working its way through a labyrinthine permitting process. The decision also essentially ended a debate over whether Poseidon had under-calculated the number of fish that would be killed by the desalination process. ... Poseidon plans to begin delivering water in 2011. ...

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/apr/08/bn08desal-plant-approve/?zIndex=79578

    .21  First BCC finalist outlines his goals

Press & Sun-Bulletin - Binghamton, NY

Pushing Broome Community College as a regional community institution, strengthening its branch campuses and developing new programs in "green technology" are three things Gary Porter would focus on if he becomes the new president at BCC. ...

http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20090421/NEWS01/904210377/1116

    .22  Resource for seniors

Hickory Daily Record - Hickory, NC, USA

Miller is an aging specialist with the Western Piedmont Council of Governments' Area Agency on Aging, which serves older adults in Alexander, Burke, Caldwell and Catawba counties. Among her duties is counseling people applying for reverse mortgages. Counseling is required for reverse mortgage seekers throughout the United States, although North Carolina and Massachusetts are the only states that require face-to-face counseling. The counselor must be approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. ...

http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/content/2009/apr/19/resource-seniors/

    .23  Affordable rents tough to find in region

Times Herald-Record - Middletown, NY, USA

"We're not developing enough affordable housing in this county to meet the need," said Tony Figueroa of the Regional Economic Community Action Program, a local anti-poverty agency based in Orange County. "Nobody's actually building for that population," Figueroa said. "There's too much resistance in the municipalities." While home prices have fallen dramatically in the mid-Hudson and across the country, rents continue to climb. ...  

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090415/NEWS/904150355/-1/BIZ

    .24  A library link-up

The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - Cleveland, OH, USA

East Cleveland isn't the only library facing a rough financial future, but it's one of the first in the last few years to take a tentative step toward regionalism to solve its financial problems. It should not be the last library to do so. 

http://blog.cleveland.com/pdopinion/2009/03/a_library_linkup.html

    .25