Sustainable Communities

• Seattle City Council Gives Sports Arena Big Assist
• Source: Seattle Times   |   Seattle   |   September 25, 2012
• The Seattle City Council approved an agreement to build a new sports and entertainment center with up to $200 million in public bonds.

• America's Hidden Unemployed Would Raise Jobless Rate to 10.5%
• Source: Reuters   |   Nation   |   September 24, 2012
• Economists, analyzing government data, estimate about 4 million fewer people are in the labor force than in December 2007, primarily due to a lack of jobs rather than the normal aging of America's population.

• New Jersey Unemployment Rate Reaches Highest in 3 Decades
• Source: Newark Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   September 21, 2012
• The state’s unemployment rate has been climbing since January, when Gov. Chris Christie began boasting of a "Jersey Comeback."
• 1 Comments

• Indianapolis Mayor Heads to Australia for New Business Opps
• Source: Indianapolis Star   |   Indianapolis   |   September 21, 2012
• It's the second overseas trip for Greg Ballard in a month. He led a group that traveled to China and Taiwan in August. He traveled to United Kingdom and Germany in June.

• Mayors Urge Washington to Stop Sequestration
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   September 20, 2012
• Automatic spending cuts would slash important grants and hurt metro economies, mayors say.
• 1 Comments

• Chicago Alderman Reverses Opposition to Chick-Fil-A
• Source: Chicago Tribune   |   Chicago   |   September 20, 2012
• The restaurant has agreed to include a statement of respect for all sexual orientations in an internal document and promised that its not-for-profit arm would not contribute money to groups that oppose gay marriage.

• Jobless Feel Pain as Michigan Cuts Unemployment Workers
• Source: Detroit News   |   Michigan   |   September 19, 2012
• The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency answered less than 10 percent of more than a million calls to its customer service lines in August, even as the agency gets ready to lay off more of its staff.

• Mississippi Re-Entered Recession, Economists Say
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Mississippi   |   September 18, 2012
• Mississippi re-entered a recession earlier this year, state economist Darrin Webb told legislative leaders.

• Leveraging Federal Flexibility to Innovate
• BY: John Kitzhaber   |   September 18, 2012
• One state that is leading the way in building bottom-up solutions is Oregon, which is providing a roadmap on issues from health care to infrastructure to a "clean" economy.
• 2 Comments

• Georgia Gov. Deal Resists Drought Declaration
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Georgia   |   September 17, 2012
• Gov. Nathan Deal and much of the business community contend that there is no drought. The state's resistance to more drastic measures stems from its desire to protect its business-friendly image, critics say.

• ASCE: Investment in Ports, Airports Critical to Economy
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   September 14, 2012
• Engineers say failure to maintain and expand facilities will make American goods more expensive.

• Miami Taps into Organic, Local Food Movement to End Homelessness
• BY: Brian Peteritas   |   Miami   |   September 13, 2012
• A community just outside the city offers homeless people a paycheck and place to live in exchange for work on a sustainable urban farm.

• Amazon to Start Collecting Sales Tax in California
• BY: McClatchy News   |   California   |   September 12, 2012
• The move will erase some of the price advantage Amazon enjoys over brick-and-mortar stores. But it will allow Amazon to blanket the state with distribution centers.

• Local Government Employment Declines for 12th Month
• BY: Mike Maciag   |   September 7, 2012
• Friday's jobs report marks a year of declining local government employment. Some, though, think the end of cuts is near.
• 1 Comments

• Georgia Refuses U.S. Orders to Pay Seasonal Workers Unemployment
• Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution   |   Georgia   |   September 7, 2012
• Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler is defying Washington by refusing to restart jobless benefits to seasonally unemployed teachers and bus drivers, setting up a showdown between state and federal officials.