Sustainable Communities

• Christie, Democrats Reverse Roles in New Jersey Tax Battle
• Source: NorthJersey.com   |   New Jersey   |   July 17, 2012
• This summer, it’s Gov. Christie, a Republican, who is urging the Democrats who control the Legislature to authorize more spending on one of his priorities: a new income tax credit he wants on the eve of the 2013 gubernatorial contest.

• Alaska Gov. Parnell Seeks Disaster Declaration for Fisheries
• Source: Alaska Dispatch   |   Alaska   |   July 16, 2012
• Gov. Sean Parnell sent a letter to acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank, requesting a disaster declaration in the wake of particularly dismal 2011 and 2012 Chinook salmon runs on the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers.

• Chicago Hires Advertising Consultant
• Source: Chicago Tribune   |   Chicago   |   July 16, 2012
• Company will be paid $144,000 to help craft marketing plan for municipal property.

• Transit Accessibility to Jobs for Metro Areas Examined
• BY: Mike Maciag   |   July 16, 2012
• A Brookings Institution study shows jobs are largely inaccessible to the nation's suburban workforce via transit. View data for 100 metro areas.

• Michigan’s Transportation Solution: Make Canada Pay
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   July 13, 2012
• Our northern neighbor is paying for a new international bridge between Detroit and Canada. Is it too good to be true?
• 6 Comments

• House Farm Bill Threatens California Animal Welfare Laws
• BY: McClatchy News   |   California   |   July 13, 2012
• The House Agriculture Committee has moved to block states from imposing their own standards for agriculture products on producers from other states, which could jeopardize California laws to protect chickens as well as one to ban foie gras.

• High-Speed Rail's International Leaders Offer Thoughts on U.S. Approach
• BY: Eli Richman   |   Nation   |   July 12, 2012
• Members of the International Union of Railways came to Capitol Hill to discuss the progress of high-speed rail worldwide.

• Salt Lake City Transit Tops Nation in Connecting People to Jobs
• Source: Salt Lake Tribune   |   Salt Lake City   |   July 12, 2012
• A new study shows 64.1 percent of the area’s residents can reach a typical job within a 90-minute transit ride. The study reported a 27 percent average among the nation’s top 100 metro areas.
• 4 Comments

• D.C. Museum Explores Design with Miniature Golf
• BY: Ryan Holeywell,Lauren Henry   |   District of Columbia   |   July 11, 2012
• Miniature golf will draw those in Washington, D.C., to explore design while having fun at the National Building Museum.

• Cut Taxes or Restore Services? States Face Tough Choices
• Source: New York Times   |   Nation   |   July 11, 2012
• As state governments begin to emerge from the long downturn, many are grappling with a difficult choice: should they restore some of the services and jobs they were forced to eliminate in the recession or cut taxes in the hopes of bolstering their local economies?

• How ‘Ideation’ Is Growing Business in Memphis
• BY: Neil Kleiman   |   July 10, 2012
• The Tennessee city’s Innovation Delivery Team launched a collaborative effort to generate and implement ideas to spark commerce in struggling neighborhoods.

• Proposed Zombie Theme Park Unappetizing to Detroit Officials
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   Detroit   |   July 9, 2012
• A Detroit businessman wants to turn some of the city's vacant land into the realm of the living dead, but city officials aren't hungry to see it happen.
• 1 Comments

• Jobs Report: Government Employment, Jobless Rate Relatively Unchanged
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   Nation   |   July 6, 2012
• The U.S. economy added 80,000 jobs in June, unemployment remained steady at 8.2 percent and state and local governments added another 4,000 jobs, according to Friday's monthly employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• 1 Comments

• Stretching Dollars to Nurture Factories
• BY: Charles Chieppo   |   July 3, 2012
• The Seattle area is leading the nation in a manufacturing renaissance as its governments make strategic investments that build on the region's strengths.

• Alabama Attracts Airbus Manufacturing Plant
• BY: Lauren Henry   |   July 2, 2012
• Airbus will bring 1,000 new jobs to Alabama.