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Electoral Politics |
Created by a former legislator, the website townhall.info provides an engaging and accessible way for election candidates to introduce themselves to residents in about 20 towns in north-central Connecticut. Representatives from the website interview local candidates, asking them why they are running for office and other key questions, and then provide web links to the videotaped interviews. The site, which provides a range of community information, averages more than 13,000 hits a day.
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Community Development |
Over the past five years, U.S. libraries have reinvented themselves to cater to an increasingly sophisticated population and are experiencing record attendance as a result. Along with traditional book-browsing, patrons come to surf the Web, watch a film, buy a coffee in a bookstore-like cafe, take a life-skills class, participate in civic meetings, and check out a DVD. Currently, many libraries are experimenting with online library services with which patrons can download e-books and audio books to their home computers for free. Municipalities, recognizing libraries' expanding roles as inexpensive forms of education and entertainment for their citizenry, have directed millions of dollars to these evolving public institutions.
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Business Incentives |
To help state companies receive U.S. Department of Agriculture grants for business and technology concepts, the Maine Technology Institute (MTI) offers a specialized program in navigating the grant application process. As part of its program, the MTI hosted a USDA grants official from the Small Business Innovation Research program; applications to the program rose from an average four per annum to fifteen this year. Given that success, the program is currently expanding to help entrepreneurial firms access funding from other federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health.
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Housing |
To encourage workers commuting from distant areas or out-of-state to become Maryland homeowners, the state's Department of Housing and Community Development has created House Keys 4 Employees. Under the program, eligible employees can receive up to $15,000 towards a down payment and closing costs, including a state match of up to $5,000 of a participating employer's contribution in the form of a 0% deferred loan. Johns Hopkins Hospital and the City of Annapolis have already signed up, and other large employers and small businesses are expected to take advantage of this partnership with the state's housing department.
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Procurement |
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), recognizing the growing size and scope of goods and services contracted out by local, state, and federal governments, has issued a best practices primer to advise acquisitions officials. A Framework for Assessing the Acquisition Function at Federal Agencies synthesizes knowledge gained by the GAO through its procurement auditing and guides agencies in: improving the alignment of their organizations with their acquisition needs; ensuring that transparent policies are implemented consistently; managing data in a timely and accurate manner; and investing in their workforces. Agencies may use the framework to undertake assessments and real-time analyses of their own acquisitions processes and avoid oft-repeated pitfalls.
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Higher Education |
Virginia Tech has created "Funds for the Future" to stabilize the cost of higher education steady for low- to moderate-income families. Beginning in the fall of 2006, students from families making less than $30,000 will not pay any tuition or fee increases during their four years of study, and those families making between $30,000 and $100,000 will receive other types of financial support. School officials predict that the program will help a third of all students at the university, and approximately 1,800 will receive full benefits. Several other universities have implemented similar programs, recognizing that this is a great way to recruit and retain a diverse student body.
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E-Government |
The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy has received the Web Content Managers Best Practice Peer Award, for its DisabilityInfo.gov website. A collaborative effort among 16 federal departments and agencies, the online resource provides timely disability-related information about government programs related to civil rights, community life, education, employment, housing, health, income support, technology, and transportation. The award, which recognizes successful web practices that can be replicated across government, was conferred by the Web Content Managers Forum, a peer group comprised of more than 900 federal, state, and local government web managers.
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Energy Resources |
Students at the New York Institute of Technology have built a house that is heated, cooled, and powered completely by solar energy. NYIT is one of 18 colleges and universities chosen to compete in an annual competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. The school's house is an interdisciplinary project involving more than 70 students from a range of departments, including engineering, culinary arts, interior design and communications. It is the only submission that uses environmentally friendly hydrogen fuel cells.
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Banking |
In an effort to lower costs and streamline the process for originating Federal Housing Administration mortgages, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has created the Lender Insurance Program. Under the program, high performing lenders can endorse FHA mortgage loans for themselves, bypassing a pre-endorsement review by HUD; this reduces processing time by one third and decreases direct insuring expenses by as much as 25%. Officials believe that the savings will help lenders offer more affordable housing opportunities to eligible American families.
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Homeownership and Comprehensive Neighborhood Revitalization
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On Oct. 19, join this online discussion presented by KnowledgePlex in partnership with the National Association of Counties. It will focus on the challenges and opportunities for creating quality affordable housing and broadening access to homeownership. |
Smart City Radio with IAG Award Winner
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Last week, Harvard University's Stephen Goldsmith joined Smart City host Carol Coletta in a discussion about natural disaster emergency planning with Innovations in American Government Award winner, OK-First. Go to Smart City Radio to hear this program.
Newsletter produced by: Joe Morgan, Vanessa Ruget, and Brendan St. Amant (researchers and writers); Joellen Secondo (editor). |
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