DATES TO REMEMBER:
LETTERS OF AGREEMENT, WORKPLAN, ETC SHOULD BE IN OUR OFFICE. PROGRAMS THAT HAVE NOT SUBMITTED THE REQUIRED PAPERWORK BY THE DEADLINE (OR HAVE NOT SPOKEN WITH US EXPLAINING THE NEED FOR AN EXTENSION) WILL NOT BE SUCCESSFUL GRANT APPLICANTS.
MARCH 30-APRIL 2 – NATIONAL MAIN STREETS CONFERENCE, PHILADELPHIA, PA
April 24 – PRESERVATION CRUSTACEANS – ANNUAL CRAWSFISH BOIL TO BENEFIT THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION ALLIANCE OF ARKANSAS – NLR 6:30 PM
OCTOBER 6-8, DESTINATION DOWNTOWN, BAY ST. LOUIS, MS
October 21-25 - National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference, Tulsa, OK
The Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas’s annual Ramble is March 29. This year’s destination is the Arkansas Delta. Please contact HPAA at office@preservearkansas.org for more information or call 501.372.4757 More information here:
http://www.preservearkansas.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=13&cntnt01returnid=51
The Alliance is also accepting nominations to Arkansas’s Most Endangered Places list. Nominations are due April 25. More information here:
http://www.preservearkansas.org/index.php?page=most-endangered-places
Main Street Arkansas Calendar March 17-21
***************************************************************************************************************
MONDAY
TUESDAY Cary - Helena
WEDNESDAY Cary – Helena; Susan & Mark – Rogers, Window Display Workshop
THURSDAY Cary – South Arkansas; Susan & Mark – Rogers, Window Display Workshop
FRIDAY Cary – Arkansas Delta; Cary – off
***************************************************************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
DeltaMade Press
Main Street Rogers Press
Main Street Texarkana update
Downtown Fort Smith Parking
Walnut Ridge & the Arkansas Downtown Network
Main Street Programs Using Google Earth
The Walkability Revival
What Do City Rankings Really Mean
NPR’s New Series on Sprawl
Maryland Backs a Preservation Brawl
Wal Mart CEO: “We’re Not Green” (but we’re trying)
Fayetteville, Sprawl & Education
***********************************************************************
Great DeltaMade Press:
http://www.todaysthv.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=62379 (look for the photo of Missy)
http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/?cid=67212
http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=4d62b505-4eb0-47ae-a3c6-1918647f4d52
- the Arkansas DeltaMade Market Place held at the Clinton Center yesterday was a tremendous success! Marvelous turnout, a great venue and terrific products. Great work by Beth, the Clinton School & the RHDI.
Good Main Street Rogers Press:
http://nwanews.com/bcdr/News/59702/
Main Street Texarkana Keeps Good Communication with their State Rep.
http://www.underthedome.com/2008/03/main-street-texarkana.html
- we appreciate all the support Rep. Steve Harrelson gives Main Street
Downtown Fort Smith Parking Story
http://www.kfsm.com/Global/story.asp?S=8007479
Walnut Ridge May apply for ADN
http://www.thetd.com/freepages/2008-03-12/news/story4.php
Check out the Google Earth 3D rendering of downtown McMinnville, TN here:
http://www.mainstreetmcminnville.org/invest/technical_assistance/downtown_3d.php
Nancy went to a Google Earth 3D seminar at a recent conference & can give you more information if you have questions. Or you can attend McMinnville’s session at the National Conference April 1.
- this is a project of Main Street McMinnville
The Walkability Revival
http://www.governing.com/articles/0802assess.htm
Do You Really Want To Be The Best?
Cities see both benefits and drawbacks to being ranked a top place to live.
http://www.governing.com/articles/0802places.htm
Money Magazine’s 2007 Best Place to Live
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2007/
- no Arkansas cities are listed in the Top 100
NPR’s New Series on Sprawl and the difficult choices confronting communities as they cope with change and try to shape a better future:
http://www.shifting-ground.com/Home.html
Maryland Backs a Preservation Bond
http://www.governing.com/archive/2008/feb/finbrfs.txt
In an effort to save and grow its affordable housing stock, Maryland's Department of Housing and Community Development is putting up $75 million. Developers can tap that money, which will be raised through tax-exempt bonds, if they agree to preserve existing but deteriorating market-rate rental housing. The $75 million represents half of the tax-exempt debt the department can issue this year.
Wal Mart CEO: “We are not green” (but we’re trying)
http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/2008/03/13/walmart-we-are-not-green/?mod=googlenews_wsj
Interesting story on sprawl, education in Fayetteville
http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/print.aspx?ArticleID=9d921a2a-83e6-48ce-ac53-3e882913f09b
Monday, March 17, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Main Street Arkansas Update - March 10, 2008
DATES TO REMEMBER:
MARCH 15 – LETTER OF AGREEMENT, WORKPLAN, ETC DUE TO MSA
The MSA grant period opens March 14. Each successful applicant will have met this deadline.
MARCH 30-APRIL 2 – NATIONAL MAIN STREETS CONFERENCE, PHILADELPHIA, PA
April 24 – PRESERVATION CRUSTACEANS – ANNUAL CRAWSFISH BOIL TO BENEFIT THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION ALLIANCE OF ARKANSAS – NLR 6:30 PM
OCTOBER 6-8, DESTINATION DOWNTOWN, BAY ST. LOUIS, MS
October 21-25 - National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference, Tulsa, OK
Please have all appropriate paperwork postmarked by March 15.
The Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas’s annual Ramble is March 28-29. This year’s destination is the Arkansas Delta. Please contact HPAA at office@preservearkansas.org for more information or call 501.372.4757
Main Street Arkansas Calendar March 10-14
***************************************************************************************************************
MONDAY Cary, Caroline & Susan – Governor’s Conference on Tourism
TUESDAY Cary, Caroline & Susan – Governor’s Conference on Tourism; Greg – Batesville, Year End Review with Carol Weisman
WEDNESDAY Greg – Blytheville; Year End Review with Carol Weisman; Cary & Susan – Return from Governor’s Conference, in the office by 12:00
THURSDAY Caroline – Helena, Year End Review with Carol Weisman; Cary – alt.Consulting seminar, Little Rock
FRIDAY Cary – Federal Reserve Bank’s Trends in Neighborhood Unemployment
***************************************************************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
New Grants Blog
3 Grant Opportunities
Call for Nominations
Vacation in a Frank Lloyd Wright Home
National Trust’s New Grants Blog
http://nthpgrants.blogspot.com/
- this is a nice collection of grant opportunities, but you’ll note that each one listed (as of this writing) has already been made available to you via this Monday email and have long been available on our blog at www.mainstreetarkansas.blogspot.com
Home Depot Foundation Invites Applications for Awards of Excellence for Affordable Housing Built Responsibly
Deadline: March 31, 2008 (Letters of Inquiry)
Now in its fourth year, the Home Depot Foundation's ( http://www.homedepotfoundation.org/ ) Awards of Excellence for Affordable Housing Built Responsibly program seeks to identify, recognize, and showcase the outstanding and innovative work of nonprofit housing development corporations engaged in green building/healthy home construction and rehabilitation.
The awards program is designed to share with local, state, and national stakeholders the exemplary accomplishments of the non- profit sector in combining affordable housing construction with the guiding principles of green home building so that low- and moderate-income families have access to quality housing they can afford to own, operate, and maintain.
Projects eligible for award consideration must have been developed by a 501(c)(3) organizations and completed and placed in service between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2007. Homeownership projects must contain at least five units that were sold to families earning 80 percent or less of the area median income.
Rental projects must contain at least twenty units, with at least 80 percent of the units occupied by families earning 80 percent or less of area median income. Group home and transitional housing projects are not eligible for award consideration.
There are two award categories, homeownership and rental. Within each category, five grants will be awarded: $75,000 to the winning project, $25,000 to the second most competitive project, and three Honorable Mention grants of $2,500 each.
For complete application guidelines, see the Home Depot Foundation Web site
U.S. Green Building Council Commits Additional $1 Million to Fund Green Building Research
Deadline: March 6, 2008 (Pre-proposal Submissions)
The U.S. Green Building Council ( http://www.usgbc.org/ ), a nonprofit membership organization whose vision is a sustainable built environment within a generation, has doubled its funding commitment for green building research grants to be awarded in 2008 to a total of $2 million. Of the additional $1 million in grants, $500,000 has been allocated for K-12 school facility research related to occupant impacts.
The Green Building Research Fund was created to spur research that will advance sustainable building practices and encourage market transformation.
Matching funds from other sources are encouraged in order to maximize the potential of USGBC's contribution toward filling critical research gaps. The research will result in knowledge, policies, technologies, and tools that have an immediate and positive impact on sustainable building development, design, construction, and operation.
A portfolio of projects will be selected. Several grants will be awarded in two general ranges: $50,000 to $150,000, and $150,000 to $250,000 (total one-time, non-renewable grant distributed throughout the project timeline). A quarter ($500,000) of the $2 million total is reserved for K-12 school research relating to occupant impacts.
Academic, nonprofit, and other research institutions are the primary recipient audience for the grants. For-profit entities are permitted to apply but are strongly encouraged to partner with academic or nonprofit institutions and must clearly describe public versus private benefits.
Grant pre-proposals will be accepted from February 12 through March 6, 2008. Selected applicants will be asked to submit comprehensive proposals for the final phase of the selection process.
Visit the Green Building Council Web site for the Request for Proposals and application procedures.
Company Community Programs Supported
Target Local Store Grants
The Target Local Store Grants support nonprofit organizations in the communities throughout the country where the company's stores are located. The Target grant program focuses on three areas: Arts, Early Childhood Reading, and Family Violence Prevention. Arts grants are awarded to programs that bring the arts to schools or make the arts accessible to children and families, such as school touring programs or field trips to the theater or symphony. Early Childhood Reading grants support programs that foster a love of reading and encourage children, from birth through age 9, to read together with their families, such as weekend book clubs and after-school reading programs. Family Violence Prevention grants support programs that strengthen families and communities by keeping them safe, such as parenting classes and family counseling. Applications may be submitted online from March 1 through May 31, 2008. Visit the website listed above for application guidelines
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS 2008 BEST OF THE SOUTH PRESERVING SOUTHERN ARCHITECTURE
SESAH seeks nominations for the Best of the South: Preserving Southern Architecture Award. This annual award honors a project that preserves or restores an historic building, or complex of buildings, in an outstanding manner and that demonstrates excellence in research, technique, and documentation. Projects in the twelve-state region of SESAH that were completed in 2006 or 2007 are eligible.
Nominations should consist of no more than two typed pages of description, and be accompanied by hard copy illustrations and any other supporting material. A cover letter should identify the owner of the project, the use of the building(s), and the names of all the major participants of the project.
Send four (4) copies to Jennifer Baughn, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, 100 S. State Street, Jackson, MS 39201. Questions: 601-576-6940 or jbaughn@mdah.state.ms.us. The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2008.
Winners will be announced at the 26th SESAH Annual Meeting in Greensboro, North Carolina, from October 1-4, 2008.
Rent a Frank Lloyd Wright Home for Vacation
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/travel/02cultured.html?th&emc=th
- this house was moved from Illinois to near Pittsburgh
MARCH 15 – LETTER OF AGREEMENT, WORKPLAN, ETC DUE TO MSA
The MSA grant period opens March 14. Each successful applicant will have met this deadline.
MARCH 30-APRIL 2 – NATIONAL MAIN STREETS CONFERENCE, PHILADELPHIA, PA
April 24 – PRESERVATION CRUSTACEANS – ANNUAL CRAWSFISH BOIL TO BENEFIT THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION ALLIANCE OF ARKANSAS – NLR 6:30 PM
OCTOBER 6-8, DESTINATION DOWNTOWN, BAY ST. LOUIS, MS
October 21-25 - National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference, Tulsa, OK
Please have all appropriate paperwork postmarked by March 15.
The Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas’s annual Ramble is March 28-29. This year’s destination is the Arkansas Delta. Please contact HPAA at office@preservearkansas.org for more information or call 501.372.4757
Main Street Arkansas Calendar March 10-14
***************************************************************************************************************
MONDAY Cary, Caroline & Susan – Governor’s Conference on Tourism
TUESDAY Cary, Caroline & Susan – Governor’s Conference on Tourism; Greg – Batesville, Year End Review with Carol Weisman
WEDNESDAY Greg – Blytheville; Year End Review with Carol Weisman; Cary & Susan – Return from Governor’s Conference, in the office by 12:00
THURSDAY Caroline – Helena, Year End Review with Carol Weisman; Cary – alt.Consulting seminar, Little Rock
FRIDAY Cary – Federal Reserve Bank’s Trends in Neighborhood Unemployment
***************************************************************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
New Grants Blog
3 Grant Opportunities
Call for Nominations
Vacation in a Frank Lloyd Wright Home
National Trust’s New Grants Blog
http://nthpgrants.blogspot.com/
- this is a nice collection of grant opportunities, but you’ll note that each one listed (as of this writing) has already been made available to you via this Monday email and have long been available on our blog at www.mainstreetarkansas.blogspot.com
Home Depot Foundation Invites Applications for Awards of Excellence for Affordable Housing Built Responsibly
Deadline: March 31, 2008 (Letters of Inquiry)
Now in its fourth year, the Home Depot Foundation's ( http://www.homedepotfoundation.org/ ) Awards of Excellence for Affordable Housing Built Responsibly program seeks to identify, recognize, and showcase the outstanding and innovative work of nonprofit housing development corporations engaged in green building/healthy home construction and rehabilitation.
The awards program is designed to share with local, state, and national stakeholders the exemplary accomplishments of the non- profit sector in combining affordable housing construction with the guiding principles of green home building so that low- and moderate-income families have access to quality housing they can afford to own, operate, and maintain.
Projects eligible for award consideration must have been developed by a 501(c)(3) organizations and completed and placed in service between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2007. Homeownership projects must contain at least five units that were sold to families earning 80 percent or less of the area median income.
Rental projects must contain at least twenty units, with at least 80 percent of the units occupied by families earning 80 percent or less of area median income. Group home and transitional housing projects are not eligible for award consideration.
There are two award categories, homeownership and rental. Within each category, five grants will be awarded: $75,000 to the winning project, $25,000 to the second most competitive project, and three Honorable Mention grants of $2,500 each.
For complete application guidelines, see the Home Depot Foundation Web site
U.S. Green Building Council Commits Additional $1 Million to Fund Green Building Research
Deadline: March 6, 2008 (Pre-proposal Submissions)
The U.S. Green Building Council ( http://www.usgbc.org/ ), a nonprofit membership organization whose vision is a sustainable built environment within a generation, has doubled its funding commitment for green building research grants to be awarded in 2008 to a total of $2 million. Of the additional $1 million in grants, $500,000 has been allocated for K-12 school facility research related to occupant impacts.
The Green Building Research Fund was created to spur research that will advance sustainable building practices and encourage market transformation.
Matching funds from other sources are encouraged in order to maximize the potential of USGBC's contribution toward filling critical research gaps. The research will result in knowledge, policies, technologies, and tools that have an immediate and positive impact on sustainable building development, design, construction, and operation.
A portfolio of projects will be selected. Several grants will be awarded in two general ranges: $50,000 to $150,000, and $150,000 to $250,000 (total one-time, non-renewable grant distributed throughout the project timeline). A quarter ($500,000) of the $2 million total is reserved for K-12 school research relating to occupant impacts.
Academic, nonprofit, and other research institutions are the primary recipient audience for the grants. For-profit entities are permitted to apply but are strongly encouraged to partner with academic or nonprofit institutions and must clearly describe public versus private benefits.
Grant pre-proposals will be accepted from February 12 through March 6, 2008. Selected applicants will be asked to submit comprehensive proposals for the final phase of the selection process.
Visit the Green Building Council Web site for the Request for Proposals and application procedures.
Company Community Programs Supported
Target Local Store Grants
The Target Local Store Grants support nonprofit organizations in the communities throughout the country where the company's stores are located. The Target grant program focuses on three areas: Arts, Early Childhood Reading, and Family Violence Prevention. Arts grants are awarded to programs that bring the arts to schools or make the arts accessible to children and families, such as school touring programs or field trips to the theater or symphony. Early Childhood Reading grants support programs that foster a love of reading and encourage children, from birth through age 9, to read together with their families, such as weekend book clubs and after-school reading programs. Family Violence Prevention grants support programs that strengthen families and communities by keeping them safe, such as parenting classes and family counseling. Applications may be submitted online from March 1 through May 31, 2008. Visit the website listed above for application guidelines
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS 2008 BEST OF THE SOUTH PRESERVING SOUTHERN ARCHITECTURE
SESAH seeks nominations for the Best of the South: Preserving Southern Architecture Award. This annual award honors a project that preserves or restores an historic building, or complex of buildings, in an outstanding manner and that demonstrates excellence in research, technique, and documentation. Projects in the twelve-state region of SESAH that were completed in 2006 or 2007 are eligible.
Nominations should consist of no more than two typed pages of description, and be accompanied by hard copy illustrations and any other supporting material. A cover letter should identify the owner of the project, the use of the building(s), and the names of all the major participants of the project.
Send four (4) copies to Jennifer Baughn, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, 100 S. State Street, Jackson, MS 39201. Questions: 601-576-6940 or jbaughn@mdah.state.ms.us. The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2008.
Winners will be announced at the 26th SESAH Annual Meeting in Greensboro, North Carolina, from October 1-4, 2008.
Rent a Frank Lloyd Wright Home for Vacation
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/travel/02cultured.html?th&emc=th
- this house was moved from Illinois to near Pittsburgh
Monday, March 3, 2008
Main Street Arkansas Update - March 3, 2008
DATES TO REMEMBER:
MARCH 9-11 – GOVERNOR’S CONFERENCE ON TOURISM, ROGERS
MARCH 15 – LETTER OF AGREEMENT, WORKPLAN, ETC DUE TO MSA
MARCH 30-APRIL 2 – NATIONAL MAIN STREETS CONFERENCE, PHILADELPHIA, PA
OCTOBER 6-8, DESTINATION DOWNTOWN, BAY ST. LOUIS, MS
October 21-25 - National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference, Tulsa, OK
Nancy will be off until March 10.
Susan’s on vacation this week.
Main Street Arkansas Calendar March 3 - 7
***************************************************************************************************************
MONDAY Mark M. out A.M.
TUESDAY Caroline, out A.M., Greg, Batesville (board meeting, P.M.)
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
***************************************************************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
TV SHOW ON REBUILDING GREENSBURG, KS, TOTATTLY DESTROYED BY A TORNADO
LISTSERV HIGHLIGHTS
ONLINE PROPERTY LISTINGS ON CRAIGSLIST
MCMANSIONVILLE THE NEXT SLUM?
INVITATION TO A DISCUSSION ON URBANISM
GRANT OPPORTUNITY
FUN QUOTES
The Greening of Greensburg
http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/02/the-greening-of.html
If you don’t subscribe to the Main Street listserv, you’ve missed out on a great discussion of “Best Fundraisers Ever” some examples include:
The Cash Party is an evening of elegance that is not only a major fundraiser.
Showcases the enhancements and improvements of our Main Street Evening includes cocktails and dinner, along with a silent AND live auction. Auction items include framed prints, jewelry, weekend getaways, beach vacations and more. There is a grand prize of $10,000 given away at the end of the evening.
Total Raised = $36,678.74
The International Cajun Joke Telling Contest was held each year during April, National Humor Month. The event featured a competition held on an evening. We had a social hour and a sit down dinner just prior to the contest. The tickets were sold ahead of time. We also had a cash bar, and we sold promotional items such as T-shirts, etc. The contest was so popular that it sold out each year. In fact, people wanted to start buying tickets for the next year's contest as soon as the present year's was over. We also included people from other states to serve as judges. The people who attended came to our little town from many different states, just for the contest. It was amazing! The contest raised a lot of money, and it also got us a lot of good publicity from all over. The contest is now twenty years old. Now it is held every other year. So, it is still going on. Again, I think being creative in your fund rising is the key to making money,
You can access this discussion thread via the listserv archives in the members section of mainstreet.org
Main Street programs using craigslist.org for property listings
See this link for an example:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/off/580675072.html
The Next Slum:
The subprime crisis is just the tip of the iceberg. Fundamental changes in American life may turn today’s McMansions into tomorrow’s tenements.
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200803/subprime?emc=lm&m=212836&l=18&v=40306
Invite to Urban Enthusiasts
Do you know someone who is not in a position of institutional leadership, but who has great ideas, passion and energy for their city or cities in general?
If so, CEOs for Cities would like to connect with them as we work to form a new network of urban enthusiasts who will help to build a collective national voice for city lovers. As part of this movement, they will be asked to respond with their views on a number of current issues and brainstorm new ideas for city strategies. Their opinions and ideas will be shared with CEOs for Cities members.
Click here to read the invitation to join this network (including a link to an initial survey for participants), and share it with anyone you know who would make a good addition to our efforts.
Economic Development Authority Community Development Grant Opportunity
http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=40747
EDA will provide Public Works investments to support the construction or rehabilitation of essential public infrastructure and facilities necessary to generate or retain private sector jobs and investments, attract private sector capital, and promote regional competitiveness, including investments that expand and upgrade infrastructure to attract new industry, support technology-led development, accelerate new business development, and enhance the ability of regions to capitalize on opportunities presented by free trade.
The Planning Program helps support planning organizations, including District Organizations and Indian Tribes, in the development, implementation, revision, or replacement of comprehensive economic development strategies (CEDS), and for related short-term planning investments and State plans designed to create and retain higher-skill, higher-wage jobs, particularly for the unemployed and underemployed in the nation’s most economically distressed regions.
From All About Cities
“Our national flower is the concrete cloverleaf”
Ahead of his time, technology historian and urban philosopher Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) grasped the paradoxes of modern life and the long term pitfalls of the urban evolution he witnessed in the 1950s and 1960s. I stumbled across some great quotes of his today:
• Forget the damned motor car and build the cities for lovers and friends.
• Restore human legs as a means of travel. Pedestrians rely on food for fuel and need no special parking facilities.
• The chief function of the city is to convert power into form, energy into culture, dead matter into the living symbols of art, biological reproduction into social creativity.
• New York is the perfect model of a city, not the model of a perfect city.
• Our national flower is the concrete cloverleaf.
MARCH 9-11 – GOVERNOR’S CONFERENCE ON TOURISM, ROGERS
MARCH 15 – LETTER OF AGREEMENT, WORKPLAN, ETC DUE TO MSA
MARCH 30-APRIL 2 – NATIONAL MAIN STREETS CONFERENCE, PHILADELPHIA, PA
OCTOBER 6-8, DESTINATION DOWNTOWN, BAY ST. LOUIS, MS
October 21-25 - National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference, Tulsa, OK
Nancy will be off until March 10.
Susan’s on vacation this week.
Main Street Arkansas Calendar March 3 - 7
***************************************************************************************************************
MONDAY Mark M. out A.M.
TUESDAY Caroline, out A.M., Greg, Batesville (board meeting, P.M.)
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
***************************************************************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
TV SHOW ON REBUILDING GREENSBURG, KS, TOTATTLY DESTROYED BY A TORNADO
LISTSERV HIGHLIGHTS
ONLINE PROPERTY LISTINGS ON CRAIGSLIST
MCMANSIONVILLE THE NEXT SLUM?
INVITATION TO A DISCUSSION ON URBANISM
GRANT OPPORTUNITY
FUN QUOTES
The Greening of Greensburg
http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/02/the-greening-of.html
If you don’t subscribe to the Main Street listserv, you’ve missed out on a great discussion of “Best Fundraisers Ever” some examples include:
The Cash Party is an evening of elegance that is not only a major fundraiser.
Showcases the enhancements and improvements of our Main Street Evening includes cocktails and dinner, along with a silent AND live auction. Auction items include framed prints, jewelry, weekend getaways, beach vacations and more. There is a grand prize of $10,000 given away at the end of the evening.
Total Raised = $36,678.74
The International Cajun Joke Telling Contest was held each year during April, National Humor Month. The event featured a competition held on an evening. We had a social hour and a sit down dinner just prior to the contest. The tickets were sold ahead of time. We also had a cash bar, and we sold promotional items such as T-shirts, etc. The contest was so popular that it sold out each year. In fact, people wanted to start buying tickets for the next year's contest as soon as the present year's was over. We also included people from other states to serve as judges. The people who attended came to our little town from many different states, just for the contest. It was amazing! The contest raised a lot of money, and it also got us a lot of good publicity from all over. The contest is now twenty years old. Now it is held every other year. So, it is still going on. Again, I think being creative in your fund rising is the key to making money,
You can access this discussion thread via the listserv archives in the members section of mainstreet.org
Main Street programs using craigslist.org for property listings
See this link for an example:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/off/580675072.html
The Next Slum:
The subprime crisis is just the tip of the iceberg. Fundamental changes in American life may turn today’s McMansions into tomorrow’s tenements.
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200803/subprime?emc=lm&m=212836&l=18&v=40306
Invite to Urban Enthusiasts
Do you know someone who is not in a position of institutional leadership, but who has great ideas, passion and energy for their city or cities in general?
If so, CEOs for Cities would like to connect with them as we work to form a new network of urban enthusiasts who will help to build a collective national voice for city lovers. As part of this movement, they will be asked to respond with their views on a number of current issues and brainstorm new ideas for city strategies. Their opinions and ideas will be shared with CEOs for Cities members.
Click here to read the invitation to join this network (including a link to an initial survey for participants), and share it with anyone you know who would make a good addition to our efforts.
Economic Development Authority Community Development Grant Opportunity
http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=40747
EDA will provide Public Works investments to support the construction or rehabilitation of essential public infrastructure and facilities necessary to generate or retain private sector jobs and investments, attract private sector capital, and promote regional competitiveness, including investments that expand and upgrade infrastructure to attract new industry, support technology-led development, accelerate new business development, and enhance the ability of regions to capitalize on opportunities presented by free trade.
The Planning Program helps support planning organizations, including District Organizations and Indian Tribes, in the development, implementation, revision, or replacement of comprehensive economic development strategies (CEDS), and for related short-term planning investments and State plans designed to create and retain higher-skill, higher-wage jobs, particularly for the unemployed and underemployed in the nation’s most economically distressed regions.
From All About Cities
“Our national flower is the concrete cloverleaf”
Ahead of his time, technology historian and urban philosopher Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) grasped the paradoxes of modern life and the long term pitfalls of the urban evolution he witnessed in the 1950s and 1960s. I stumbled across some great quotes of his today:
• Forget the damned motor car and build the cities for lovers and friends.
• Restore human legs as a means of travel. Pedestrians rely on food for fuel and need no special parking facilities.
• The chief function of the city is to convert power into form, energy into culture, dead matter into the living symbols of art, biological reproduction into social creativity.
• New York is the perfect model of a city, not the model of a perfect city.
• Our national flower is the concrete cloverleaf.
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