Providence Business News production artist Christopher Medeiros puts in overtime laying out Grow Smart's 10th Year Anniversary special insert that will appear in its April 7th issue.
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Board of Directors
Deming E. Sherman
Chairman of the Board
Susan Arnold
William Baldwin
Rebecca G. Barnes
Samuel J. Bradner
Kenneth Burnett
Joseph Caffey
Robert L. Carothers
Jen Cookke
Trudy Coxe
Dennis DiPrete
Stephen Durkee
Stephen J. Farrell
John R. Gowell, Jr.
Akhil C. Gupta
Michael S. Hudner
Stanley J. Kanter
Howard M. Kilguss
Dennis Langley
James Leach
Roger Mandle
The Rev. James C. Miller
Thomas V. Moses
George Nee
William M. Pratt
B. Michael Rauh, Jr.
Gary Sasse
Richard Schartner
Pamela M. Sherrill
Curt Spalding
James F. Twaddell
Directors Emeritus
Arnold "Buff" Chace
Louise Durfee, Esq.
J. Joseph Garrahy
Michael F. Ryan
Frederick C. Williamson
W. Edward Wood
Board Listing with
Affiliation
Staff
Scott
Wolf
Executive Director
Sheila
Brush
Director of Programs
John
Flaherty
Director of Research &
Communications
Katrina
Deutsch
Land-Use Training Coordinator
Leslie
Denomme
Executive Assistant for Finance
Dorothy
Dauray
Office Assistant
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Upcoming Workshop"Making Good Land-Use Decisions" Starting April 23, 2008
Check out our Smart GrowthResource Directory
Browse e-brief archives and press releases
Visit CommunityConnectionRICalendar
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Dear John,
You're among the 3,550 civic leaders,
state & local officials, development professionals,
journalists and visionary citizens getting the latest
news, happenings and trends in the smart growth
movement from Grow Smart
Rhode Island.
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May 2nd 'Power of Place Summit' agenda, registration now available online |
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Gathering will focus on strategies for advancing
sustainable prosperity
Grow Smart's inaugural Power of Place Summit in
2006 drew nearly 500 opinion leaders, state and local
officials, academics, development professionals,
investors, journalists and citizen activists for the
launch of Rhode Island's new smart growth oriented
state land-use plan.
This upcoming Summit will take a closer look at how
the growth and development choices we make today
will impact our economy, quality places, public health,
environment, the efficiency of state and local
government and the taxes we pay. We'll look at what's
working and what needs to be improved to grow our
innovation economy, revitalize our walkable centers,
ensure agricultural viability, promote healthy lifestyles
and reduce global warming pollution, among other
key goals for a prosperous and sustainable future.
Exhibit space still available
Early bird registration discounts apply through
4/18.
Click
HERE for Summit Details.
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Katz, "Blueprint for Prosperity" to headline Summit gathering |
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Founder and Director of Brookings'
Metropolitan Policy Program will deliver morning
keynote address
Bruce Katz will present the Brookings Institution's
recently released "Blueprint for American Prosperity,"
and its implications for Rhode Island's economic
future. The Blueprint makes a compelling case that
the assets needed to prosper today are rooted in
our metropolitan areas. The blueprint calls for
a new federal partnership with state, local and
private sector leaders to strengthen
metropolitan economies, build a strong and
diverse middle class and to grow in
environmentally sustainable ways.
Panel
Response *
Following the keynote address, a
one-hour panel discussion reacting to the
presentation will be moderated by Providence
Business News editor Mark Murphy. With
audience participation, the panel will discuss the
Blueprint's application to Rhode Island and
what tactical strategies are most needed to
better position the Ocean State for long-term
sustainable prosperity. Also to be discussed
are the relevant results of Richard Seline's
recently completed economic research on
behalf of the Greater Providence Chamber of
Commerce and the Providence
Foundation.
* Governor Carcieri invited
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Historic Tax Credit changes expected as House Finance considers Supplemental Budget for FY '08 |
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Action expected at April 1st meeting
The House Finance Committee's hearing and/or
consideration of the Governor's proposed FY-2008
Supplemental Budget, scheduled for April 1, could
give the first indications of the historic tax credit's
future. Article 20 of the Governor's Supplemental
Budget (H-7204), beginning on page 102,
calls for a $20 million retroactive cap on historic tax
credits for Fiscal Year 2008 and a cap of $40 million
for Fiscal Years 2009-2017. Grow Smart and the
Coalition for Neighborhood and Economic Renewal
(CNER) have
testified (02/05/08 Testimony) in two
House Finance Committee hearings that at a time
when the state's general economy and the
construction industry are already weakening, the caps
would shut down projects in the pipeline and prevent
planned projects from moving forward. The CNER
also noted that a retroactive cap would severely
damage Rhode Island's reputation as a good place to
do business.
The House Leadership, House Finance Chair
Stephen Costantino, and the House Fiscal Office have
been meeting over the past week with various
members of the development community in an effort
to craft an alternative to the caps that would honor the
state's commitment to developers and tax-credit
purchasers while at the same time helping to address
the FY 2008 budget deficit and reduce the "cost" of the
tax credit to the state going forward. As this e-brief
goes out, all parties are hopeful that language will be
ready for the Finance Committee's consideration
tomorrow (April 1, 2008).
"Given the State's fiscal crisis, we must unfortunately
expect significant changes," commented Grow
Smart's Executive Director Scott Wolf. "However, until
every vote affecting the tax credit has been taken, tax-
credit supporters need to continue to work with
legislators to craft the best possible solution - a
solution that considers program costs and benefits
going forward, commitments already made by the
State, and the impact that any major cutbacks to the
tax credit program could have on the depth and
duration of our current recession."
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Report calls for 'new transportation future' |
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Expanding the regional mass transit system would
yield big savings in energy, time, money and
greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report
released this morning by the Rhode Island Public
Interest Group.
The downtown train station was the setting for the
release of the report by RIPIRG analyst Phineas
Baxandall, co-author of "A Better Way to Go: Meeting
America's 21st Century Transportation Challenges
with Modern Public Transit," sponsored by the U.S.
PIRG Education Fund. Joining him for the 10 a.m.
news conference were government and
environmental leaders including Mayor David N.
Cicilline; R.I. Sen. Daniel P. Connors, D-Cumberland
and Lincoln, co-chair of the Special Legislative
Committee to Study Public Transit in Rhode Island;
and Chris Wilhite, director of the Sierra Club's Rhode
Island Chapter.
Read [MORE] from Providence Business News
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Choosing a Place to Live |
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Why it's as important as picking a spouse. A Q&A with
Richard Florida
The world is not flat, says Richard Florida, contrary to
the bestselling book by New York Times writer
Thomas Friedman. Florida, author of his own
bestselling book, The Rise of the Creative
Class, and a professor of business and creativity
at the University of Toronto, argues that while
Friedman is correct in saying that technology has
reshaped the world, it has not created a level playing
field. With newly accumulated data to back him up,
Florida argues in his upcoming book Who's Your
City? that the world is, in many ways, spiky-with
population, opportunity, innovation, and money
increasingly coalescing in metropolitan areas
worldwide.
That means pursuing a career and staying close to
family and friends are often at odds. Deciding what
makes you happy, he argues, must go hand in hand
with deciding where you want to live. Recently, Florida
spoke with U.S. News.
[MORE]
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