 GARDENING THE GREEN WAY There are a lot of advantages to green gardening, including conserving resources, reducing yard waste and protecting the quality of local streams and lakes. To encourage green gardening, Seattle is joining a handful of cities in offering its residents big savings on high-quality compost bins. By offering the discounts, the city is hoping to make it easier for Seattleites to garden in a more natural way while building healthier soils. The two compost bins available include a green cone food-composting bin that turns food scraps into nutrient-rich compost and a yard-waste compost bin, which transforms discarded plant waste into a natural soil builder. The bins respectively cost about $100 and $70 each, but Seattle residents can purchase each for $25 from the city. Residents can also purchase a rain barrel for $65, which lets gardeners capture Seattle's spring and summer rains for watering their gardens. Posted May 19, 2008
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THROWING A FOSTERWARE PARTY Clark County, Nev., has roughly 3,000 children in foster care, and only about 1,000 licensed foster families. To recruit more families, the county department of Family Services held a "fosterware" party. Just like a Tupperware party, a host or in this case a foster family invites friends, family and neighbors to their home to hear a pitch from a DCFS recruiter about becoming a foster parent. Recruiters bring food, drinks and a gift for the host. Hosting foster care parties at a current foster family's home gives invitees a change to see what it's like to foster a child, and gives them a contact for foster-parenting advice should they decide to become a foster parent. Those interested in becoming foster parents still need to complete many hours of classes in order to become licensed. To learn more about this idea, call the Clark County DCFS at 702-455-0181. Posted May 15, 2008
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 BIKE-SHARING IN THE BELTWAY Starting this month, our nation's capital will launch North America's first bike-sharing program. The program, SmartBike DC, signs participants up for a $40 annual membership in exchange for access to 120 bikes kept at 10 stations throughout the city. Stored at computerized racks, users simply scan their access cards, and can use the bike up to three hours at a time before returning it at any SmartBike station. Since the program is part of the District's bus-shelter contract with Clear Channel Outdoor, the D.C. Department of Transportation isn't spending any money to set it up. However, the city is likely to get a smaller percentage of revenue from bus-shelter advertising because of the costs associated with SmartBike. Clear Channel, which already runs bike-sharing programs in 13 European cities, is also working with Arlington County, Va., and San Francisco. If the program is popular, District officials plan to expand it. Last year, Idea Center featured a free bike loan program in Annapolis. Posted May 12, 2008
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 ELECTRONIC EYES ON THE ICU The need to increase access to health care in rural America is a big priority for state and local governments. A new program to electronically monitor intensive-care patients in rural hospitals may be an idea worth keeping an eye on. The program, known as Maryland eCare, is made up of six rural Maryland hospitals facing a shortage of emergency room doctors. Using a system developed by the medical technology company Visicu called eICU, doctors and nurses at a remote monitoring center will oversee as many as 150 patients at the six hospitals overnight via a video camera and computer terminal positioned in each patient's room. The eICU system sends vital signs, test results and other information to the remote center, enabling doctors to alert on-site nurses of any physical changes and recommend corrective action. Funded by a $3 million grant, the program's monitoring center is based at Christiana Care Health System in Wilmington, Del. For more information, contact the hospital's eCare ICU Telemedicine program at 302-623-0600. To read about another unique rural health idea, check out a recent feature here on a new electronic prescribing pilot program in Tennessee. Photo courtesy of VISICU, Inc./Posted May 8, 2008
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 BEFORE DISASTER STRIKES Just in the past month, floods, tornadoes and earthquakes have put Aroostook County, Maine, Suffolk County, Va., and Reno, Nev., in the headlines. Preparing for and managing natural disasters, terrorist attacks and other emergencies are the subject of a 1991 book, just out in a new addition, that provides context, shares experiences and offers insights into emergency management challenges. Emergency Management: Principles and Practice for Local Government, has been updated with the latest ideas, strategies and standards for emergency management planning, organization, staffing and training. The 360-page book, published by the International City/County Management Association, still serves as an essential resource on how to secure funding for local initiatives; build relationships with public, private and nonprofit entities; and adapt plans to circumstances, innovate, and improvise when necessary. Posted May 5, 2008
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 SLOW DOWN, EMIT LESS Vehicles account for about 30 percent of Denver's greenhouse-gas emissions. That's one reason the city has agreed to participate in a new public-private initiative, Driving Change. Sponsored by EnCana Oil and Gas, the pilot program seeks to demonstrate once and for all that there is a correlation between driving behaviors and CO2 emissions — and, along the way, persuade drivers to change their aggressive-driving ways. Staring today, devices in 400 cars — 200 driven by city and county employees and 200 by volunteers — will begin tracking how driving patterns such as speeding, idling and fast stopping affect fuel consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions. The devices wirelessly transmit the data to a secure Web site where drivers can see how much greenhouse gas emissions their vehicles generate. The site suggests strategies tailored to each driver's habits to improve their behavior and reduce their emissions. The primary goal of the pilot is to produce up to a 20 percent reduction in CO2 from each pilot vehicle. Posted May 1, 2008
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 FOLLOWING THE MONEY Between 24 and 33 percent of the population searches online for information on how government is generating and spending money, according to a January survey by the Association of Government Accountants. To aid in their searches, AGA launched its first blog to promote government accountability and transparency through daily discussions. The blog aims to engage state, local and federal government financial managers in daily discussions on a wide variety of topics that include transparency, reporting, accountability, federal fiscal affairs and more. The AGA has already invited a slew of "celebrity" bloggers to participate, including government financial management experts such as federal chief financial officers, state and local auditors and comptrollers. Posted April 28, 2008
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 CERTIFYING PRISONERS AS DRUG COUNSELORS It is estimated that about 70 percent of the U.S. prison population committed a drug- or alcohol-related crime. California's San Quentin State Prison is part of a unique and innovative response that aims not only to reduce drug-related crimes, but to reduce in-prison drug and alcohol abuse, the significant costs of prison addiction treatment programs and recidivism. A first-of-its-kind program, Addiction Counselors Training turns prisoners into certified drug and alcohol counselors. The 18-month curriculum of intensive classes and a 4,000-hour internship within the prison are led and overseen by volunteer treatment professionals and professors. These classes ready the trainees for certification by the California Association of Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Counselors, a well known and highly respected certifying organization. Upon certification, ACT inmate counselors receive job placement counseling and referrals for employment in the addictions treatment field when they leave San Quentin. In June 2007, nine out of 11 men from the first group passed the CAADAC test, a much higher percentage than the national rate. There is a waiting list for the next ACT training, which has been temporarily postponed until classroom space and funding is secured. ACT is operated by the nonprofit Full Circle Addiction Recovery Services, which plans to expand the program statewide. Posted April 24, 2008
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WHEN THE BUSES ARE PARKED People stuck working odd hours — early morning or late night — are usually out of luck if their ride is public transportation. Outside of New York City and Chicago, where the transit systems run 24/7, most systems close overnight, leaving anyone without a car stranded. Using a $40,000 grant, the Bay Metropolitan Transportation Authority in Bay County, Michigan, has expanded its on-call service, Dial-A-Ride, to provide rides to early-morning and late-night commuters. Formerly reserved for seniors and people with disabilities, Dial-A-Ride charges users $1 per ride, while the grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation's Job Access Reverse Commute Program picks up the rest. Officials hope that in addition to helping people get to work, Dial-A-Ride will also help some low-income county residents transition off welfare and into the workforce. About 850 people have taken advantage of the service since it began in October — about 60 rides a week. The program will run as long as state funding is available. To learn more, contact the BMTA general manager's office at 989-894-2900. Posted April 21, 2008
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 WETLANDS CONSERVATION STATE BY STATE Each year, the United States loses about 60,000 acres of wetlands. With limited federal resources for wetland protection, the responsibility to conserve these fragile ecosystems has increasingly fallen to the states. A new report out from the Environmental Law Institute examines the core elements of all 50 state wetland programs—regulation; water quality standards; monitoring and assessment; restoration programs; public-private partnerships; coordination among state and federal agencies; and education and outreach—and highlights best practices. Funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, the report breaks down each state's program, giving officials the ability to analyze their programs, identify areas for improvement and develop strategies to address gaps in wetlands protection and management. The report concludes with a discussion of model state approaches, which include programs that fill gaps in federal protection, develop wetland-specfic water quality standards, strengthen non-regulatory program elements, and improve monitoring and assessment programs. The report, State Wetland Protection: Status, Trends & Model Approaches, can be downloaded for free at the ELI Web site. Posted April 17, 2008
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 GROWING JOBS IN THE INNER CITY Small firms with fewer than 20 employees are the greatest source of new net employment in inner cities, and account for 80 percent of total employment in the economy. However, the job-growth rate in inner cities still lags behind the rest of metropolitan areas. To accelerate inner-city job growth, the Small Business Administration is testing out a new pilot project that focuses on small, poised-for-growth inner-city companies. The Emerging 200 initiative will work with 200 companies in 11 cities to develop a winning expansion strategy for each business. To qualify, participating companies must be headquartered in the inner city, must be at least three years old and must have achieved $400,000 in revenue. These companies will have the opportunity to work with experienced mentors, attend workshops and develop connections with their peers, city leaders and the financial community. In particular, the program will focus on connecting companies to state and local resources already in place. The hope is to expand the initiative to a broader set of inner cities in 2009. The 11 pilot cities are Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Atlanta, New Orleans, Memphis, Chicago, Des Moines, Milwaukee, Albuquerque and Oakland. Posted April 14, 2008
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 OLD IDEAS REVISITED At Idea Center a lot of the programs and trends highlighted here are written about while they're still being piloted, and before they even catch on. Below are a few quick updates on three programs featured in the past that have been making headlines lately:
FED UP WITH GUNS Last year, Wilmington, Delaware, launched the joint law enforcement program Operation Fed-Up to prosecute convicted felons caught carrying guns in the city in federal court. During the past year, the program has resulted in 50 felons prosecuted, 55 guns confiscated and a 95 percent conviction rate. The city has also seen gun-related homicides drop 37 percent, from 16 to 10. With the first year a success, the city has created a fellowship to pay for the program into 2009. The fellowship will pay the U.S. Attorney's office to hire a lawyer to prosecute Fed-Up cases. To learn more, contact the police chief's office at 302-576-3940.
WILDLIFE CROSSINGS GO HIGH-TECH In 2006, Arizona began testing a new system that detected wildlife along roadsides and alerted motorists to their presence. When Idea Center featured the electric "wildlife crosswalk," it had already resulted in an 83 percent reduction in collisions between wildlife and motorists. Today, the reduction is at 92 percent, and the cutting-edge technology is the recipient of the 2008 National Environmental Excellence Award for Environmental Stewardship from the National Association of Environmental Professionals. It has also spawned similar efforts in Minnesota and New Jersey. For more information, e-mail Norris Dodd of the Arizona Game and Fish Department at doddnbenda@cybertrails.com.
THE YELLOW ARROW DEBUTS The flashing yellow arrow, which allows waiting motorists to make a left-hand turn after yielding to oncoming traffic, was first piloted by Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon and several other states in 2006. Two years later, Michigan's Department of Transportation has gone a step further, mandating it throughout the state to replace its flashing red left-turn signals. It is also being piloted in North Carolina this year, indicating the flashing yellow arrow may be coming to an intersection near you. Posted April 10, 2008
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 GIVING LIFE THE HIGH-TECH WAY Every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood, according to the American Red Cross. But only 5 percent of the eligible population donates blood in any given year. In an effort to draw more people in, the Indiana Blood Center recently introduced two new high-tech measures it hopes will streamline the donating process and make it more enticing. The first was the launch of DonorPoint, an online portal that allows registered donors to schedule appointments, check their cholesterol levels, monitor their profiles and save up donation points to redeem for awards that include gifts like pedometers, USB flash drives and stadium blankets, and for frequent donors premier concert tickets and elite access to special promotions. The second measure is the implementation of fingerprint scanning to identify donors. The technology better protects a donor's privacy by allowing their records to be tracked without using social security numbers, and it reduces the chance of duplication ensuring a safe, constant and stable blood supply. To register, donors simply present photo identification, scan their fingerprints and answer several questions. Once in the system, donors need merely scan their fingerprint each time they donate. Posted April 7, 2008
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TAKING E-HEALTH RURAL Physicians practicing in rural areas typically have little or no access to high-speed Internet, and as result can't take advantage of the latest breakthroughs in medical technology. To help rural physicians in Tennessee increase clincal quality, reduce unnecessary costs and streamline workflows, TennCare and Shared Health, a private health IT company, have launched a pilot program to provide electronic prescribing tools at no cost to 50 rural physician practices in 13 counties. The pilot provides everything they'll need to get started, including Internet connections, training and support, as well as e-prescibing software. The software connects physicians to a medication database, and provides prescription histories, drug interaction data, dosage levels and real-time notificiation of formulary status. The pilot will run until June 30, when TennCare and Shared Health plan to analyze the program, and determine whether to expand it. To learn more, contact Shared Health at 423-535-2900. Posted April 3, 2008
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ECOTOURING THE KEYSTONE STATE Ecotourism is big business in Pennsylvania, where more than $2 billion is spent annually on outdoor activities. Yet the state park system, which doesn't charge admission fees, sees very little of that money. To grab a piece of the pie and appeal to new outdoor-user groups, the state's park system has begun hosting its own ecotours. In January, the M.K. Goddard State Park hosted two days of activities that included cross-country skiing, ice fishing, snowshoeing, four meals, seven guides and instructors, private accomodations and transportation for just $100. For $150 to $185, the Ohiopyle State Park is hosting Keels, Heels and Wheels in June. The event will include moonlight canoeing, a nine-mile bike trip, a hike, whitewater rafting, a winery tour and a hayride. Proceeds from the tours are reinvested in the parks program that hosted the event to help them pay for additional educational events and other needed amenities and services. To learn more, contact the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks at 717-787-0377. Posted March 31, 2008
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