Note: Character codes may show in this version for YahooGroups. No fix for this anomaly. Digital technologies – our high maintenance friends.  

Blog option at  http://regional-communities.blogspot.com/  Ed.

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Regional Community Development News – June 24, 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 - .40

Other Regional Community News for Our Local Planet … 11.01 - .28

Blogging about Regional Communities … 12.01 - .16

Announcements and Regional Links … 13.01 - .09

Financial Crisis …14.01 - .03

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

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Top Regional Community stories

  1. More regional planning needed, report finds - The Daily Sound - Santa Barbara, CA, USA

Unparalleled challenges face the residents of Santa Barbara County, from increasingly clogged commutes and expensive housing to shrinking open space and agricultural land.

…

No other agency or organization in the county is more fit to seek out and implement solutions to those challenges than the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments , according to a recent County Grand Jury report.

But the organization, known as SBCAG, has not done enough to focus on comprehensive regional planning, the civil jury found, and instead has focused on road projects rather than other critical issues that impact residents, such as the jobs-housing imbalance and land use planning.

“There is no existing, documented, overarching framework to guide or anchor the decision-making process,” according to the report. “In its review of SBCAG meeting videos and minutes, the jury confirmed reluctance on the part of the board to adopt a collaborative approach to countywide problems. Rather than treating issues as opportunities for collective decision-making, the typical approach has been to frame them as threats to local autonomy, particularly if the state was involved.”

Several elected officials who sit on the SBCAG board — a 13-member panel comprised of the five county supervisors and mayors from each municipality — acknowledged there is work to be done on the regional planning front.

…

The board itself has acknowledged that fact on numerous occasions, according to the grand jury report, including in a 2004 study that spelled out the necessity for tools to deal with challenges that don’t follow political boundaries.

“Regrettably, SBCAG essentially shelved the report and its recommendations,” the grand jury found.

In its own set of findings and recommendations, the jury lobbied for a fully integrated regional plan and aggressive pursuit of any state funding to develop such a blueprint.

…

And while the SBCAG [ http://www.sbcag.org/] board is starting to take baby steps, as Kemp termed them, toward regional planning, the executive director said the public also plays a critical role in the process.

“The community needs to support this kind of planning or it will be an uphill battle the whole way,” Kemp said.

http://www.thedailysound.com/061609sbcagreport

   2. Tunnel idea forces local officials to juggle - Glendale News Press - Glendale, CA, USA

The prospect of a Long Beach (710) Freeway tunnel bringing more trucks and other vehicles onto the Foothill (210) Freeway and into city streets is becoming a flashpoint for local residents.

It also has caused headaches for the city of La Cañada Flintridge, which earlier this year filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Transportation Authority challenging the use of Measure R funding for a project that has not yet been subjected to the California Environmental Quality Act.

So it’s no surprise La Cañada Councilman Dave Spence is in a difficult position.

He represents only his city constituents, but also serves on several regional governmental bodies, including as president of the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments [  http://www.sgvcog.org/ ], one of four sub-councils to the Southern California Assn. of Governments, [ http://www.scag.ca.gov/ ] which supports the 710 extension.

Therein lies a delicate line Spence and other officials have found themselves in as stakeholders begin to entrench themselves over the proposed project.

“It’s a tricky position,” La Cañada Mayor Laura Olhasso said of Spence’s governmental roles. “I know as a leader of San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, Dave wears a regional hat. The majority of the members of that body have voted in support of an extension of the 710, and that’s the position that body has. But Dave, as a member of this council, has voiced strong opposition. That’s the hard thing about wearing multiple hats.”

Glendale City Councilman Ara Najarian has found himself in a similar position. In his city role, he has repeatedly voiced opposition to the project, but he is also scheduled to become chairman of the MTA later this summer, placing him in a powerful position at a county agency that would control millions in funding for the tunnel.

Spence, who is up for reelection to the regional council …

http://www.glendalenewspress.com/articles/2009/06/20/politics/gnp-spence20.txt

  3. New Rail Lines Spur Urban Revival - New York Times - United States

...

While the credit crisis has halted many housing developments — notably subdivisions and stand-alone condominium buildings — some projects that are going forward are linked to broader revitalization or transit-related efforts.

“People have rediscovered cities and urban living,” said Shelley Poticha, the president of Reconnecting America, a nonprofit organization focused on integrating transportation systems with communities they serve.

…

Many cities are inspired by the success of Denver; Charlotte, N.C.; Portland, Ore.; Salt Lake City and others in combining transit and development to revitalize downtowns and suburbs.

...

“It’s been transformative,” said Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation. He anticipates 50 transit-oriented developments to be built around FasTracks over the next decade.

Urban-style development may be the brightest spot in a generally gloomy market. A recent survey of developers and investors by the Urban Land Institute for its annual Emerging Trends in Real Estate report found that urban redevelopment had the best prospects among all types of housing, while urban mixed-use properties and town centers scored high among niche property types. “These are the places that will be creating and holding value,” Ms. Poticha said. She said proximity to public transit could raise property values significantly.

“It’s moved from being an interesting idea to a core investment,” said Jonathan F. P. Rose, the president of the Jonathan Rose Companies, …

The most successful projects do more than build housing near transit stations. They take pains to create livable neighborhoods, with parks, paths, retail stores and places for people to gather. “Place-making is key,” Ms. Poticha said.

That often requires collaboration between local governments and private developers. Local governments might invest in transit, parks and infrastructure, revise zoning laws and offer financial incentives in return for a developer taking the risk of building in an unproven area.

...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/realestate/14sqft.html

  4. Dodging a Bullet (Train): When DART's More About the "Area" Than About "Dallas" - Dallas Observer - Dallas, TX, USA

The concept of regionalism is a Trojan horse designed to gut the city in favor of the 'burbs. If you ever doubted that, take a look at the very close bullet that downtown Dallas just dodged yesterday ... we hope.

For 26 years, ever since the founding of Dallas Area Rapid Transit, downtown Dallas has been waiting to get a direct rail link into Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. A month ago, DART announced it was thinking of not building a line into the airport after all. Maybe ... instead ... perhaps they just might bypass the airport and bend the line out into the high-growth suburban sprawl areas out by Southlake as a way of helping developers out there sell more houses.

Oh, right.

Just what the city should do with a quarter-century's worth of financial and political capital: help fund more sprawl and screw downtown. Crazy, right?

But it almost happened, which means it could happen again. Make that: will happen again.

People with a stake in downtown Dallas have always assumed that DART would build its Orange Line through Irving up into the airport as soon as it had the money. … "For years now we have been promised there would be a direct connection with Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. There has been close to $6 billion in mixed-use development that has been planned or is already constructed in anticipation of that connectivity. That's what's been promised since day one."

Imagine the shock, then, when DART revealed during the recently ended session of the Legislature that it was thinking of not going into the airport but bending the Orange Line west, into the furthermost 'burbs instead. It seemed to make no sense.

…

Keep your eyes peeled for regionalism. They say it walks by night.

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2009/06/_the_concept_of_regionalism.php

  5. Scottsdale may pull out of light-rail group - Arizona Republic - Phoenix, AZ, USA

Will Scottsdale keep riding as a member of the Metro light-rail board of directors, or will the city get off at the next stop?

The Scottsdale City Council will consider that question at a meeting next week.

Scottsdale pays $50,000 a year to belong to Metro light rail, the group that operates and plans the Valley's light-rail system.

However, Mayor Jim Lane wonders if it is worth the investment of money and staff time to remain involved with Metro if the city doesn't have light rail.

Lane said he is reviewing all of the city's memberships and contributions to regional planning efforts to make sure Scottsdale is getting the most bang for its buck during these rough economic times.

But some are concerned that pulling out of the group would cut the city off from talks about how to connect Scottsdale to the regional transportation system in the future - whether by streetcar, bus, trolley or light rail.

Regional transportation discussions are already covered through the Maricopa Association of Governments and Valley Metro, which Scottsdale is "intimately involved with," Lane said.

"We need to look at whether or not it is important for us to be involved with (Metro light rail) since we don't have any track, we don't have any vote and we're to discuss things that don't impact us at all," Lane said.

Scottsdale does have a vote on the Metro board, but it is weighted at the minimum of 3 percent, like other member cities that don't have light-rail tracks.

...

The question of light rail in Scottsdale has been a divisive topic for years.

Supporters view light rail as a way to boost revitalization and relieve congestion.

But opponents say the system is too costly and could corrupt the character of the city's Western-style downtown.

…

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/06/13/20090613nesrtransit0613.html

  6. Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities: DOT, EPA, HUD - US DOT – Press release

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Ray LaHood, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson today announced a new partnership to help American families in all communities –- rural, suburban and urban – gain better access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs. 

DOT, HUD and EPA have created a high-level interagency partnership to better coordinate federal transportation, environmental protection, and housing investments and to identify strategies that:

    * Provide more transportation choices.  Develop safe, reliable and economical transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce our nations’ dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote public health.

    * Promote equitable, affordable housing.  Expand location- and energy-efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races and ethnicities to increase mobility and lower the combined cost of housing and transportation.

    * Enhance economic competitiveness.  Improve economic competitiveness through reliable and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services and other basic needs by workers as well as expanded business access to markets.

    * Support existing communities.  Target federal funding toward existing communities – through such strategies as transit oriented, mixed-use development and land recycling – to increase community revitalization, improve the efficiency of public works investments, and safeguard rural landscapes.

    * Coordinate policies and leverage investment.  Align federal policies and funding to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding and increase the accountability and effectiveness of all levels of government to plan for future growth, including making smart energy choices such as locally generated renewable energy.

    * Value communities and neighborhoods.  Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe and walkable neighborhoods – rural, urban or suburban.

The HUD/DOT/EPA partnership will:

    * Enhance integrated planning and investment.  ...

http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2009/dot8009.htm

  7. East Texas Council of Governments forms Citizens' Advisory Team - Kilgore News Herald - TX, USA

East Texas Council of Governments [ http://www.etcog.org/ ]  has formed a Citizens' Advisory Team to advise staff regarding the area's position on federal and other funding, as well as to prioritize regional transportation project needs.

The team will advise staff on the development of a Rural Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO).

Citizens' Advisory Team members include: Harrison County Judge Richard Anderson; Jeff Austin III, chairman of the Northeast Texas Regional Mobility Authority; Smith County Judge Joel Baker; Randy Brogoitti, MB Construction Management, LLC; Randy Hopmann, TxDOT Tyler District; Griff Hubbard, AMTRAK; Bobby Littlefield, TxDOT Paris District; Robert Ratcliff, TxDOT Atlanta District; Gregg County Judge Bill Stoudt; Tim Vaughn, East Texas Corridor Council chairman; and staff members John Hedrick, director of transportation, and David Cleveland, executive director.

Staff and team efforts would place the region in front of proposed state legislation that would encourage RTPOs being linked to Councils of Governments. The team will consider best practice alternatives with the goal to present the ETCOG executive committee an RTPO framework that will strengthen the region's transportation, planning, consensus building and advocacy activities.

"ETCOG is always looking for ways to address regional needs. As a regional planning organization for nearly 40 years, this project is a perfect fit for us," said David Cleveland, ETCOG executive director.

…

ETCOG serves as the Rural Transit District for its 14-county region, providing public transportation services for Anderson, Camp, Cherokee, Gregg, Henderson, Harrison, Marion, Panola, Rains, Rusk, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt and Wood counties.

It also provides administrative support for the East Texas Corridor Council, which is seeking higher-speed rail along the I-20 Corridor.

…

http://www.kilgorenewsherald.com/news/2009/0620/news/016.html

  8. Regional agency opposes Tulsa area code plan - Associated Press

A regional planning agency for the Tulsa metropolitan area is opposing a plan to create a new telephone area code for the region within the existing area code's territory.

In a letter to members of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission last week, the Indian Nations Council of Governments, a voluntary association of 50 municipal and five county governments in the Tulsa area, said the so-called overlay option for the proposed new area code would create a "continuing and undue burden" for telephone customers in northeastern Oklahoma.

Instead, INCOG is recommending the commission create a geographic split where a line is drawn through the area's existing area code. The old area code would remain the same on one side of the line while the new area code would be in effect on the other side.

The three-member commission, which regulates utilities and the oil and gas industry, is considering a new area code for northeastern Oklahoma. The North American Numbering Plan Administration, which works with the Federal Communications Commission, has predicted that the existing 918 code will run out of telephone numbers by late 2011.

…

INCOG's letter, dated June 16, states that the overlay method, which would place the new area code over the existing area code territory, would require every telephone customer within the 918 area code to dial 10 digits for all local calls, regardless of which area code they were assigned.

NANPA updates their estimates of when area codes are expected to run out of numbers several times a year, but it can be hard to find the information.

"Electronic dialing systems such as fax machines, alarm systems and speed dials would have to be reprogrammed," according to the letter, which is signed by INCOG [http://www.incog.org/ ] chairman John Selph.

…

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/06/23/ap6576038.html

  9.  Ahead of the curve - The Gazette (Montreal) - Quebec, Canada

We are living through a great turning point in world history. In  just a few short months, our economy and our society are on their way to being transformed.

…

With credit tight and in some cases unavailable, the real economy, real people and real creativity replace finance capital as the new coin of the realm. Montreal has this in spades.

…

Montreal has a broad structural economic advantage in being part of the fifth-largest mega-region in North America and 12th-largest in the world. The future will be defined by the mega-regions – urban agglomerations  …

Creativity is in the region’s DNA. More than just about any other region, Montreal has the underlying capacity to broaden the reach of the creative economy to service business, manufacturing plants, and even agriculture.

But the city and the region need a government that can help get them there. Governmental structures in Montreal and most other places are not up to the task. They are fractured and fragmented and filled with contradictions – complicated and clumsy. Hardly anyone who isn't involved full-time can understand them. In Montreal, there are local boroughs, municipalities, the agglomeration council, and a regional administration as well.

I saw similarly overbearing structures in Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., and many other places. It leads to what people in Montreal call “immobilisme” – the tendency for nothing significant to happen because governments, business, social groups and unions are so at odds and so stuck in their ways that no one can provide clear direction and make anything happen.

..

But today’s regions are too complicated for top-down, single-leader strategies. The key is to create a broad shared vision that can mobilize the energy of many groups – an open-source approach that can harness the energy and ideas of  networks of people.

…

http://www.montrealgazette.com/Ahead+curve/1021904/story.html

Note: This just came as a Google news alert. Though dated December 2, 2009, the content remains current for those involved in  the long term arc of regional community building and community resilience. Ed.

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  Could Metro crash also happen here? Most SEPTA, PATCO lines have crash-prevention systems

Philadelphia Inquirer - Philadelphia, PA

In the earliest stages of its investigation into the Washington crash, the National Transportation Safety Board focused yesterday on why the passenger compartments within the subway cars fared so poorly. The NTSB raised alarms in March 2006 about older-model subway cars after one of the cars in Washington's system collapsed like an accordion in an accident. The safety agency urged the Federal Transit Administration to develop crash standards that would address the telescoping of older cars and come up with a plan to remove aging trains that couldn't be structurally reinforced. The nation's seven largest transit systems, including Washington's and SEPTA, depend on older cars for more than one-third of their fleets, according to a federal study published this spring. The older cars are either near or past their usefulness, the report said. Old subway cars experience the worst damage - a loss of what the NTSB calls "survivable space" - in crashes because most aren't adequately reinforced for impact. … The oldest Regional Rail cars date from 1963, and the newest from 1989, Diggs said. SEPTA is buying 120 new Silverliner rail cars to replace 73 of its oldest cars. … "The key," Diggs said, "is to have systems in place so they don't run into each other."

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20090624_Most_SEPTA__PATCO_lines_have_crash-prevention_systems.html

    .02  Emergency response to Metrorail crash shows post-9/11 gains

The Christian Science Monitor - USA

First responders' effective handling of Monday's rail accident in Washington, coupled with the smooth rescue after a Hudson River plane crash in January, may indicate that the post-9/11 demand for better, faster emergency response is being met – at least in some of the nation's big cities. "The regional response that is required during extraordinary incidents (Hudson and Metro being two good recent examples) has, in my opinion, significantly improved since 9/11," Daniel Kaniewski, deputy director of George Washington University's Homeland Security Policy Institute, ...

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0624/p02s21-usgn.html

    .03  Dayton-area officials endorse regional government

Dayton Business Journal - Dayton, OH, USA

Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley and Dayton City Commissioner Joey Williams both endorsed the idea of having a regional form of government Tuesday morning at the Montgomery County Regional Development Forum. … All five panel members agreed the region needs to move towards a regional economic development approach, with strong central governance. Proponents of regional government say the model would make the Dayton region more attractive to outside investment as well as retaining businesses. ...

http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2009/06/22/daily13.html

    .04  Temple City votes to rejoin San Gabriel Valley Council Of Governments

Pasadena Star-News - Pasadena, CA, USA

City officials have voted to re-join the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, four years after withdrawing from the organization. The city of Bradbury's decision last month to re-join the COG had left Temple City as the only municipality in the San Gabriel Valley that was not a paying member of the umbrella agency, which lobbies on behalf of area interests. "I think we're better in than out, and I don't think it's going to cost all that much out of our general fund," Councilman Fernando Vizcarra said at Tuesday's City Council meeting, when officials unanimously approved re-joining. ... Because the COG requires returning cities to pay membership dues for those years they were inactive, Temple City will have to pay about $60,000 to re-join. Officials hope to pay 60 percent of that with Proposition A transportation funds from the county. …

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_12620535

    .05  Aerotropolis idea takes flight with signed agreement

The Detroit News - Detroit, MI, USA

Nine local governments signed an agreement today that seeks to turn the area surrounding Wayne County's airports into a multibillion dollar economic engine. The Aerotropolis concept, taking cues from airport cities such as those in Dubai and Amsterdam, could create up to 64,000 new jobs and bring $10 billion in annual economic impact to the region. Supporters hope the initiative could entice manufacturing, e-commerce and aviation-related businesses to the region. … The communities of the Aerotropolis Development Corp. have agreed to pay initial fees ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 and have committed to paying further public relations costs to help develop the project over the course of 25 years. ...

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090617/METRO/906170424/1361/Areotropolis-idea-takes-flight-with-signed-agreement

    .06  Chicago, City Without Limits

The Wall Street Journal - USA

In the history of American urban planning, Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago stands alone not only in its innate elegance but also in its astonishing ambition. With near hubris it counseled that the people of Chicago “must ever recognize the fact that their city is without bounds or limits,” and that they themselves are “a population capable of indefinite expansion.” More astonishing, much of it was implemented. Today’s Chicago is a living monument to the plan—which called for replacing the chaos, filth and congestion of industrial turn-of-the-20th-century Chicago with a formal downtown of skyscrapers, an accessible 20-mile public park along Lake Michigan, and a necklace of parks and handsome boulevards uniting neighborhoods. Linkages and flow were said to be crucial to producing an integrated city. ... Because Chicago’s transportation infrastructure was so congested—the railroads, harbor and streets were a disorganized mess—the plan analyzed the city within a 60-mile radius, proposing boulevards connecting the center to the outlying suburbs and the suburbs to one another. While the full street system was not built, the ... As Chicago looks forward to the uncertain times ahead, it can be confident that its 100-year-old plan will again prove to be a sure but supple guide.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052970204482304574217771125507970.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

    .07  New Report Says National Energy Policy and Midwest Economic Competitiveness are Inextricably Linked

Chicago Council on Global Affairs - Press release

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs released a task force report, Embracing the Future: The Midwest and a New National Energy Policy, that calls upon the Midwest to turn the challenge of energy and climate policy creation to its economic advantage. ... The report shows that the Midwest economy is significantly more carbon intensive than the national economy. ...  At the same time, the region is likely to be disproportionately affected by a new national energy policy, and thus has a considerable stake in its development. ... “The fate of the environment and the economic competitiveness of the Midwest are inextricably linked,” said Sally Mason, president of the University of Iowa and task force co-chair. ...

http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/media_press_room_detail.php?press_release_id=101

    .08  Council of Governments translates into strength in numbers - Gettysburg Times - Gettysburg, PA, USA

Banding together often is seen as a solution to problems faces by multiple people, businesses or other entities. The approach, which is on its way to becoming the Adams County Council of Governments, allows the power of a large organization with the ability of its members to maintain their individuality and autonomy, Cumberland Township Supervisor and COG temporary president Barbara Underwood said Tuesday morning. In development for about a year, the informal organization has representatives from about 15 municipalities, two school districts and the county. “I think this is the right time for this,” Underwood said. “Folks seem very interested in sitting at the table and talking with one another.” She began working to create the organization about a year ago, after reading about the concept in the Township News, a magazine for township supervisors. A similar organization already is functioning in Franklin County. ...

http://www.gettysburgtimes.com/articles/2009/06/18/news/local/doc4a38ccd770dce978117278.txt

    .09  Intergovernmental committee to take up several issues

Jacksonville Daily Record - Jacksonville, FL, USA

The summer meeting of the Legislative Committee on Intergovernmental Relations ... The committee consists of four members of the State House of Representatives, four members of the State Senate and seven members appointed by the governor. The gubernatorial appointments are from all over the state. "We sit as a legislative body and look at all governmental issues," said Colvin, who is based out of Tallahassee. Colvin called the reaction to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the New Orleans area, the "mother of all failures" in regards to intergovernmental cooperation. He said Florida is pretty good about dealing with hurricanes, which must be addressed on three levels: federal, state and local. ...

http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=52586

    .10  Ayer turnout thin for regionalization forum

Nashoba Publishing - Ayer, MA, USA

"Embedded in our culture is the sense that we want to educate our kids in our home commmunities and when you regionalize you loose a piece of that, there's no question," Frost said, "but what's becoming more and more obvious to those involved in the day-to-day function of the schools is that the sustainability of increasing budgets is becoming a challenge." The Regional Planning Board's presentation is available at: http://www.alsregion.org./ 

http://www.nashobapublishing.com/ci_12618362

   .11  Regional development agency cuts staff, freezes salaries

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh, PA, USA

The Allegheny Conference on Community Development eliminated nine positions as a result of a restructuring to better match staffing with resources, a spokeswoman said today. Six people were laid off Thursday, and three other positions were eliminated which were currently vacant, said Catherine DeLoughry, senior vice president of communications. As a result, the group now employs 47 people. The conference, which focuses on regional economic development and public policy, also froze salaries and cut "some discretionary expenditures," said DeLoughry. The organization's current budget is about $9 million. ...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_629322.html

    .12  Coachella Valley officials discuss energy efficiency funding program

The Desert Sun - Palm Springs, CA, USA

Coachella Valley and Riverside County officials are exploring a regional energy efficiency funding program similar to Palm Desert's groundbreaking model. The loan program, if implemented, would make it easier for residents to pay for the often costly, high-efficiency home improvements. Riverside County officials have expressed an interest in spearheading the effort, with collaboration from the Coachella Valley Association of Governments and the Western Riverside Council of Governments. ...

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20090613/NEWS07/906130316/1013/news07

    .13  Shrewsbury opts to join council of governments

The Hub - New Jersey

The Borough Council has approved a resolution in favor of joining the Central Jersey Council of Governments (CJCG), a bipartisan organization focused on making government more efficient for the residents of Monmouth County and New Jersey. ...  Cooperhouse said the CJCG membership costs $300 and would entitle the borough to participate bring in any of the programs. The CJCG was formed to provide a forum for officials from Monmouth County's 53 municipalities to plan for common needs, cooperate on topics of mutual benefit, develop large-scale shared services, apply for grants and coordinate matters of regional importance. The council meets monthly at locations throughout the county.

http://hub.gmnews.com/news/2009/0611/front_page/006.html

    .14  Two Johnson County country clubs plan to merge

Kansas City Star - MO, USA

Squeezed by the recession, two mainstays of the Johnson County country club scene plan to merge their operations. ... Meadowbrook, which was founded in 1954, has about 250 golf members. Brookridge, which was founded in 1959, has about 200. The clubs are about 3½ miles apart. Mike Bray, president of Meadowbrook, said both clubs had “significant debt” amounting to several million dollars and had not been able to maintain enough membership to service their debt. “We both need at least 300 members” for adequate cash flow,” he said, “and we don’t have that. With the recession the way it is, most of the private clubs in the Kansas City area are struggling. There are about 12 private golf courses within a 20-mile radius of this area, and this area just can’t support that number of golf clubs." A recent survey by the National Golf Foundation said that up to 15 percent of the nation’s 4,400 private clubs are reporting serious financial challenges and at least 500 are scrambling to increase their cash flow. ...

http://www.kansascity.com/business/story/1260342.html

    .15  City looks to merge services with Trumbull Sheriff's Office

Warren Tribune Chronicle - Warren, Ohio, USA

... , vice president for government affairs for the Regional Chamber, said the chamber supports regionalization and would eventually like to see a Metro police force in Trumbull County. ''A metro force is more of a long-range effort, but we can look at small things like establishing a uniform reporting system and radio system so that all the departments can talk to each other. I told all sides we would be willing to help facilitate this process," Paglia said.

http://www.tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/523598.html?nav=5021

    .16  Commission Looks at Merging Paducah, McCracken Co.

West Kentucky Star - News

A commission will spend the next year looking at the pros and cons of merging the Paducah city and McCracken County governments. The 21-person commission held its first meeting Thursday. Judge-Executive Van Newberry, the chairman, ... The recommendations will eventually be put on a ballot for voters to decide. A Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce study on the issue concluded that the merger would benefit economic development and attract industries. ...

http://www.westkentuckystar.com/News/Local---Regional/McCracken-County/Commission-Looks-at-Merging-Paducah--McCracken-Co-

    .17  The Next Page: For a New Allegheny County- 26 school districts, 26 municipalities

Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Pittsburgh, PA, USA

A statewide effort to reduce the number of school districts, combined with a countywide consolidation of municipalities, presents a golden opportunity: We can do both at once. The promise of such a far-reaching effort is to create more cost-effective, economically competitive and efficient governmental bodies. As a jump-off to this discussion, I offer the following plan to reduce the number of school districts and municipalities in Allegheny County to 26. ...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09172/978701-109.stm

    .18  Inside the Newsroom: Time to consolidate city county

Commercial Appeal.com - Memphis, TN

Fly over Memphis at 30,000 feet and the answer is clear. Memphis and Shelby County aren't two regions. We're bound together, a single urban entity, all living next to one another, working together, alternately fearful and hopeful about the challenges here. Yet we've got duplicated government at every level. Two big, separate law enforcement entities. Two sets of executive suites with deputies for this-and-that, assistants for functions and offices that essentially do the same thing in two bureaucracies operating just a few miles apart. Yet mention the words "consolidate governments" and you would think the cry was "yellow fever outbreak." But that's the bigger story than the 3 percent wage increases. In the next 18 months Greater Memphis will again try to thrash through the thicket of how to unite this one region under a unified governmental structure. The potential for efficiencies is obvious. ...

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/jun/14/inside-the-newsroom-time-to-consolidate-city/

    .19  Regionalism Leader Calls Legislature 'Bloated'

Jamestown Post Journal - Jamestown, NY, USA

Residents in two Western New York towns voted to downsize their respective town boards in recent days, a path unavailable for Chautauqua County residents who favor a smaller County Legislature. In both Evans and West Seneca, voters overwhelmingly approved a measure eliminating two of four seats on both town boards. The effort was spearheaded by civic leader and Buffalo attorney Kevin Gaughan, who was catapulted into the spotlight after a series of conferences on regionalism and government efficiency at the Chautauqua Institution in the 1990s. Gaughan has become the leader of a grassroots movement in Erie County that seeks to downsize town boards and dissolve village governments anywhere possible to save taxpayers money. According to Gaughan, the same problem he is fighting in the