Ouch!!!!

Ouchey !!!


Yesterday I raised the storm window, then tried to raise the screen, causing the storm window to fall back down like a guillotine on the tip of my index fingers. Both tips broken, one almost cut off. Doc sewed it back together.


Not my brightest of moments. Wish I had not done that.


Ouch!!!


Now this is not economic development and city planning news, but entertaining.


I generously share this story with you so that you can see that you are clearly brighter than I am. Good for your self esteem.

Is US Manufacturing Disappearing?

William Strauss: Is US Manufacturing Disappearing? – “The manufacturing sector remains vibrant and innovative. Manufacturing output has been rising at a solid pace over time. Most of this growth, especially over the past 30 years, has been achieved by improving productivity. Of course, for some workers and towns, this increase in productivity has been a double-edged sword, since highly productive operations can achieve their output goals using fewer workers.”


Read the full article on the link below:


http://midwest.chicagofedblogs.org/archives/2010/08/bill_strauss_mf.html

Navy Marine Corps Team Helping Pakistan

Click Below for more info:

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B-keWl9gtw6LODI3YzQ5OGUtZWI5ZC00MDY0LTg3ZDctZTJiOTI3ZGY2MDhi&hl=en

BUILD AMERICA NOW

BUILD AMERICA NOW

Proposal

Federal Guarantee Municipal Bonds

Infrastructure Stimulus

The Federal government should guarantee

municipal bonds in 2010 and 2011 to accelerate public works construction. This would encourage local governments to improve needed roads, sewer & water, curbs and sidewalks, schools, and other important infrastructure this year when we need the stimulus. 

Put America back to work. Build America now!

More info on the link below:

http://buildamericanow.blogspot.com/

New Urbanism

Interesting article on Planners Who Talk versus Planners Who Draw.  He seems to think that the architects and urban designers are the real planners. He confuses urban design,  development, and redevelopment with city planning - they are different. Both are important, and you can't have one without the other. 


I think he forgot about the Planners Who Do - people who get things done, and are able to get government to accomplish things. That is not easy. And the people who are able to do this can come from a design or a policy or a political background.

Beyond the Priesthood The New Urbanists refer to themselves as "planners who draw." They call the others "planners who talk." The differences in product and process are stunning. Read Full Story: http://www.planetizen.com/node/45549

ICMA in Afghanistan

The new RAMP UP program will continue the "learning by doing" approach that ICMA has employed in Afghanistan.

Through a newly funded partnership, the International City Management Association (ICMA) will continue and expand its successful approaches to strengthening municipal government capacity in Afghanistan.

ICMA will be a significant player on a team that has been awarded up to $150 million by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to undertake a major new local government capacity-building project over three years in 14 provincial capitals in the Eastern region of Afghanistan. This new program builds on ICMA’s successful implementation of local government programs in the country starting in 2004. The award is made for one year at a time with two performance-based option years.

Read more on the link below:

 

http://icma.org/en/icma/newsroom/highlights/Article/100533/New_Funding_RAMP_UP_in_Afghanistan

Five Keys for Economic Success

Good article on the International City Managers Association Web Site

"The current fiscal crisis has many 
communities focused on maintaining current programs with shrinking budgets. But recovering from the economy also requires strategic planning to position your community for economic growth in the future."

Read the full article on the link below:

http://icma.org/en/icma/newsroom/highlights/Article/100500/Five_Keys_to_Positioning_for_Economic_Success

The Glen in Glenview Illinois

The Glen in Glenview, Illinois is a beautiful master planned community. It was formerly the Glenview Naval Air Station, where I served in the Marine Corps Reserve for over 13 years.


When the Federal Government closed the Air Station the Village took charge of redeveloping the site. The entire development is over 1200 acres, and boasts a new METRA station, new urban development, a lake, parks, and a golf course.

http://www.theglentowncenter.com/


http://www.hangarone.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Air_Station_Glenview

Social Connectivity = Economic Sustainability?

SOCIAL CONNECTIVENESS THEORY OFFERS NEW MEANS FOR REINVENTING LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

Interesting discussion on Chuck Eckenstahlers blog.



The power of social networks is explained by Sean Strafford author of “Why the Garden Club Couldn’t Save Youngstown“.  






Read more at:


http://chuckeckenstahler.wordpress.com/ 

Top Twenty Urban Planning Success Stories

The top twenty urban planning success stories of all time, according to this blog.


http://www.masterinpublicadministration.com/top-20-urban-planning-successes-of-all-time.html

The City of Oswego, New Your has published their Sustainable Economic Development Plan

http://www.co.oswego.ny.us/pdf/FinalSustainableEcon03_10-2-03.pdf

Costs of Federal Government

Interesting article by the Congressional Budget Office about the increasing cost of the Federal Government. Medicare costs have been increasingly rapidly, and are projected to continue to grow rapidly. Defense expenditures have declined substantially as a per cent of GDP. The article shows the need to get control of spending, although I believe we need to get our economy humming again before we attach the growth of the deficit. 


Click below for more info.

http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=3521&type=0

http://www.cbo.gov/

Seeking tourists, states try to recast their image

Interesting article in USA Today about attracting tourism. The focus was on Michigan, but it applies to any State.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-08-09-1Astateimage09_CV_N.htm

The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Century's Sustainability Crises.

Chapter One: Beyond the Limits to Growth

Richard Heinberg is happy to announce the forthcoming book,
The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Century's Sustainability Crises.

The chapter, “Beyond the Limits to Growth,” outlines the sustainability crisis of the 21st century, and describes what must be done if we are to avert ecological and societal collapse. It provides an overview of the book as a whole, and shows why the converging problems of climate, water, energy, food, population, and environmental decline are far more immediate than is generally assumed--they are ours to solve, not our children's or grandchildren's. 

A PDF of this chapter is available here for free.


Expanding on the chapter, The Post Carbon Readerexplores key drivers shaping the 21st century, from renewable energy and urban agriculture to social justice and systems resilience. The book features important thinkers and activists: Bill McKibben, Wes Jackson, Sandra Postel, David Orr, Stephanie Mills and Michael Shuman, among others.



The Post Carbon Reader will be available in October 2010 from Watershed Media. The distributor, University of California Press, is providing a 20% pre-order discount to my network.
 

Yours,

Richard Heinberg

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American Planning Association Economic Development

Click to view this email in a browser

Dear Craig: Job creation remains a key measure of success for economic development efforts. But the era in which nearly any job was a “good job,” to a certain extent, is over. Growth in the economy is becoming increasingly bifurcated, with high-tech, high-wage jobs on one hand and low-wage, largely service-sector jobs on the other. Economic developers find it increasingly challenging to create jobs that deliver the kinds of wages and benefits that were standard in the industrial era.  This week's blog post, authored by guest contributor Louise Anderson of International Economic Development Council (IEDC), reports on a recent IEDC study, Creating Quality Jobs – Transforming the Economic Development Landscape, that shows how economic development is transforming in response to a changing economy. Read more about the report and its key findings on the EDD blog at: http://apaeconomicdevelopment.blogspot.com As always, please contact me if you have any questions or concerns regarding the blog. We appreciate your comments and contributions! Shana R. Johnson EDD Secretary-Treasurer --- Shana R. Johnson Principal, Civic Synergy, LLC 7001 Loisdale Road, Suite C Springfield, VA 22150 Email: sjohnson@civicsynergyllc.com Web: http://www.civicsynergyllc.com Blog: http://apaeconomicdevelopment.blogspot.com Twitter: @shana_johnson

Chase The Storms Photo of Vivian, South Dakota, My Fathers Town

Above:  Hail Storm Photo of Vivian, South Dakota

http://ChaseTheStorms.com

My Father's Home Town

Hail Stone Photos sent by my cousin taken by his friend Keira in Vivian South Dakota