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Sunday, July 31st

Flight Of The Creative Class Webcast
See Richard Florida talk online! Author and Economist Richard Florida launched his new book "Flight of the Creative Class: The Global Competition for Talent" at The U.S. Conference of Mayors at a “Forum on the New American City” in April. Click to view

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 07.31.05 @ 19:36PST

Saturday, July 30th

Another Auto Story
I've been having problems crossing East North Avenue for almost two years now. Most often I cross at Middle Street. This part of East North Ave is one block from the I-279 onramp. There's a school and a daycare center, plus an apartment building and a church at the intersection. There's a "yield to pedestrians" sign, but it's placed half a block away and up so far on the pole no attentive motorist, let alone one distracted by the radio and cell phone, could notice it.

I've written to my city councilman several times. Each time he says that an appropriate department is looking into it. I imagine they've launched an expensive and extensive study or are exploring the use of eminent domain to take the sign from one city department and give it to another.

Yesterday a car hit a utility pole at the intersection. Several small children, safely inside the aluminum fence of the daycare center looked out at the excitement. I don't know what caused the accident, perhaps a distracted motorist swerved to miss a pedestrian. I couldn't help but wonder whether the kids had any idea that utility pole could have just saved their life.

With any luck, this incident will result in better signage at that intersection.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 07.30.05 @ 08:23PST

Friday, July 29th

Stupid Car Tricks
I just witnessed the most astounding display of self-centered clueless stupidity I have seen in decades....

A middle-aged woman was driving along Hollywood Blvd. in front of the office when her car stalled. It stalled about 30 meters from the corner, where there is a service station in plain sight. So what does she do but dial 911 and call the paramedics, who duly arrive in an ambulance and fire truck. Poor fellows, they actually tried to restart the car for her, but to no avail. After a few minutes, having better things to do, they lit a long diagonal line of flares in the lane behind her car to divert traffic, got in their trucks, and left.

That's when the fun really began...almost immediately, a car drove over the flares and crowded up behind the stalled car. Then another and another. Dozens upon dozens of them drove over the line of flares and closed in behind the stalled car--which also had its four-way blinkers on. The car was in the through lane, so some of the folks in line drove out into opposing traffic to get around it, while the others nudged back into the one clear lane. Some just sat and honked. Over and over again, sedans, sports cars, and SUVs alike, they drove over the flares and crowded behind the stalled car.

Meanwhile the owner of the car stood in the shade of a scrawny street tree and watched. Made no move toward the gas station on the corner.

It's obvious here that too much time spent in your car is as bad for your brain as for your soul.

Vive la velorution!

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 07.29.05 @ 15:59PST

Congress Approves Alternative Transportation Program for National Parks
The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) recently praised the passage of the Transit in Parks Act, which authorizes approximately $24 million annually for six years to develop new and expanded mass transit services, pedestrian walkways, and bike paths within and near the national parks and other public lands.

Led by Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (news, bio, voting record) (D-Md.) and Rep. Nick Rahall (news, bio, voting record) (D-3-W.Va.), the Transit in Parks Act provides an average of $24 million annually starting in 2006 for national parks and public lands to adopt shuttle bus transportation systems or even pedestrian walkways, bike paths, and waterborne access. The Park Service currently allocates, on average, $8.5 million annually for alternative transportation programs from a meager $165-million construction and road maintenance budget funded by the Federal Lands Highway Program.

As the number of park visitors has increased over the years, national park budgets have failed to keep pace, causing visible stress on park resources and infrastructure. NPCA's new report, Faded Glory: Top 10 Reasons to Reinvest in America's National Park Heritage, points out that insufficient funding limits the ability of the Park Service to manage traffic congestion, maintain roads and trails, and provide visitors with safe transportation options such as bike paths.

For example, at Grand Canyon National Park, nearly 6,000 vehicles may arrive in a single summer day, competing for 2,400 parking spaces. At Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most popular national park in the country, 9 million people annually crowd park roads. It can take visitors as long as four hours to drive the 11-mile loop road through the picturesque and popular Cades Cove area of the park-which is a 40-minute trip in the off-season.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 07.29.05 @ 13:08PST

Cities Win Fight Over MTBE Provisions in the Energy Bill
The National League of Cities (NLC) applauded recent action by Congress to adopt an Energy bill that rejected offending language that would have imposed a multi-billion dollar unfunded mandate on local governments by preventing municipalities from suing the producers of the gas additive, Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE), a major contaminate of drinking water. NLC successfully lobbied for new language that preserves the ability of cities to bring their legal suits in state court and while permitting MTBE producers to request that their cases be heard in federal court.

The action is a major victory for taxpayers and for the National League of Cities, which worked fiercely on behalf of cities and towns across America to protect their rights to seek damages for the clean up of drinking water sources polluted by MTBE -- costs estimated in the range of $25 to $85 billion. During the past two years, NLC opposed numerous efforts by the House to limit the liability of MTBE producers -- efforts that would have ultimately passed along billions of dollars in clean- up costs to the taxpayers. MTBE has been known to contaminate large quantities of surface and ground water through leaking underground storage tanks and pipelines to ground and surface water. More than 28 states have detected MTBE contamination in their water supply with the most extensive contaminations found in California, New England and the Mid-Atlantic states.

In April, the House of Representatives included the MTBE provision in its version of the Energy bill over the objections of local governments, water utilities, and the Senate, which had twice rejected the language under the threat of filibuster. Most recently, NLC and coalition partners worked to defeat a deal brokered between House Energy and Commerce Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Rep. Charles Bass (news, bio, voting record) (R-NH) that would have invalidated any MTBE-related lawsuit filed by localities since September 5, 2003, with the exception of Bass' home state of New Hampshire, which would have retained the right to sue. The Barton-Bass deal would have also preempted the ability of states to ban MTBE, forced all claims into federal court, and placed a financial cap on the amount that cities and water utilities could collect from the MTBE producers.

MTBE came under common use following the adoption of the Clean Air Act Amendments in 1990. Court suits brought by states and localities against MTBE manufacturers have already resulted in settlements of more than $320 million in California and Texas, and more than 100 other cases are outstanding. In one of those lawsuits, documents produced in the trial proved that MTBE producers have known since the late 1980s that MTBE contaminated the water supply and knew it was enormously expensive to clean up.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 07.29.05 @ 13:06PST

Tuesday, July 26th

HUD STUDY SHOWS PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES FACE DISCRIMINATION IN UP TO HALF OF RENTAL INQUIRIES
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently released a groundbreaking study, Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities - Barriers at Every Step, that showed people with disabilities are often discriminated against when trying to rent apartments. The agency plans to use the comprehensive study to educate consumers and landlords on their rights as well as provide fair housing advocates with new guidelines and strategies that will allow them to investigate and detect discrimination against people with disabilities. In addition, the study will assist the agency in continuing to monitor the progress of discrimination against persons with disabilities in the Chicago area and nationwide.

In the Chicago-based study, hearing-impaired people were discriminated against approximately 50 percent of the time when using a telephone-operator relay to search for rentals. Mobility impaired people using wheelchairs faced discrimination about a third of the time when they visited rental properties.

The study, conducted for HUD by The Urban Institute, is the most comprehensive effort to date to measure the extent of housing discrimination in the United States against people with disabilities. It specifically provides statistically valid measures of the level of discrimination faced by two groups in the Chicago metropolitan area: deaf persons using a TTY (text-telephone) relay system to inquire about apartments advertised for rent and persons in wheelchairs visiting rental providers in person in response to an advertised rental unit.

Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities - Barriers at Every Step uses "paired testing," where researchers compare the treatment of the person with a disability against a similarly qualified non-disabled person inquiring about the same advertised unit. Analysts look at objective measures, such as whether or not they were told the advertised unit was available, how many units they were told about, and if they were offered an application to complete.

Highlights of the study include:

*Deaf people using the TTY system to inquire about advertised rental units were refused service in one out of four calls. When leasing agents accepted TTY calls, users received significantly less information, than comparable hearing customers, about the application process.

*People with disabilities are frequently denied their requests for reasonable modification and reasonable accommodation necessary to make the available housing fully accessible.

*Both wheelchair users and deaf people using the TTY system received significantly less encouragement to pursue a rental agreement and were less likely to be offered a rental application than non-disabled customers.

*Nearly 20 percent of housing providers with on-site parking refused to make the reasonable accommodation of providing a designated accessible parking space for a wheelchair user.

Discrimination is not the only obstacle that people with mobility impairments face in searching for rental housing. At least a third of the advertised rental properties in the Chicago area are not accessible to wheelchair users.

Based upon the methodology and results, HUD is releasing with this report, Guidance for Practitioners for fair housing advocates and include the study as part of the Fair Housing Academy's core curriculum. The findings of the study were also a major consideration when HUD recently decided to continue running its highly successful fair housing public service announcements.

HUD has also placed a greater emphasis on combating disability discrimination in recent years. The Department has invested over $5 million in the Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST initiative, which has trained over 3500 builders, developers, and others on the how to design and construct apartments and condominiums with legally required accessibility features. Earlier this month, the Department announced a landmark settlement of a disability discrimination complaint, where a California developer will pay $1.2 million to help retrofit units and common areas at San Diego condominium complex that allegedly failed to comply with the accessibility provisions of the Fair Housing Act. Under its authority to enforce Section 504, the Department has also conducted over a hundred compliance reviews of recipients of HUD funds in the past eighteen months, resulting in the creation of thousands of accessible dwelling units.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 07.26.05 @ 15:24PST

Census: Georgia and Florida Dominate the List of 10 Counties With Fastest Housing Gains
Georgia is home to four of the 10 counties with the highest rate of growth in the number of housing units, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released today. Next, with three counties among the group, is neighboring Florida.

The estimates cover the July 1, 2003 to July 1, 2004 period and show the four Georgia counties to be Henry (ranking fourth), Newton (fifth), Paulding (ninth) and Fannin (10th). Henry, Newton and Paulding counties are located in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta metropolitan area. Fannin is situated along the border with Tennessee and North Carolina.

The county that ranked first on this list was Flagler, Fla., where the number of housing units increased 13.9 percent. The two other counties in Florida that made the top 10 were St. Lucie, ranked seventh, and Sumter, eighth. Rounding out the top 10 were Madison, Idaho (second); Loudoun, Va. (third); and Pinal, Ariz. (sixth).

The United States had an estimated 122.7 million housing units as of July 1, 2004. That represented an increase of 1.7 million, or 1.4 percent, since July 1, 2003. The increase since Census Day (April 1, 2000), was 6.8 million, or 5.8 percent.

Maricopa (Phoenix), Ariz., was the biggest numerical gainer among counties, adding 45,000 homes over the period. It was followed by Harris (Houston), Texas; and Clark (Las Vegas), Nevada, which gained 38,000 and 35,000 units, respectively. (See Table 2. [Excel])

At the state level, four of the five states that had the most rapid housing growth are located in the West: Nevada (first with a growth rate of 4.5 percent), Arizona (second at 3.0 percent), Utah (third at 2.6 percent) and Idaho (fifth at 2.5 percent). Florida, with a 2.5 percent increase, ranked fourth. (See Table 3. [Excel])

Florida topped the list of the states adding the highest number of housing units, gaining nearly 200,000 homes over the period. Following Florida were Texas (173,000), California (169,000), Georgia (89,000) and Arizona (70,000).

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 07.26.05 @ 05:17PST

Friday, July 22nd

Attacking Sprawl
At the risk of discussing terrorist attack strategies, I would like to counter Rick Risemberg's take on whether it's easier to do more damage in an urban or suburban target.

It is true that people in urban areas can walk if public transit stops working. It's the damage that can be done from a single bomb. Risemberg compared a the truck bomb in the Oklahoma City situation to a subway bomb. While the truck bomb might have done more damage, that's likely due to the size of the bomb (while not a large city, that bomb was set off in an urbanized area where it could cause considerable damage). A larger bomb will do proportionately more damage where there is more to damage, ie more in Manhattan than in some cul-de-sac or Wal-Mart parking lot. That can go for freeways too, but then again terrorists aren't likely to choose Interstate 80 in Wyoming to target when an explosion can do more damage in LA.

If you begin to discuss chemical warfare or attacks by air, the argument becomes more compelling (and to many, the city more frightening).

I'm not suggesting we can live without cities. I'm not suggesting anyone move to the suburbs. I am frustrated when, particularly in the United States, the federal government has done little if anything to protect urban transit systems. Each attack has occured in a city and it would seem our cities are most vulnerable. If people don't feel some sense of safety in a subway, in a city, they will do whatever they can to avoid it.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 07.22.05 @ 13:04PST

Safety in Sprawl?
My colleague Eric Miller questioned yesterday in these pages whether the recent attacks on London's public transit system would serve to drive yet more development of supposedly safer sprawling cities...and given the limitations of popular perception, it may indeed have that effect. But are sprawling cities really safer from this sort of attack?

Sprawl can exist only with almost total dependence on car travel, and so is consequently dependent on highways, freeways, and intersections into and through which all those cars are channeled. Destroy just one of those intersections, and not only can't the suburbanites get to work, but food and other necessities can't get to them...in London, when authorities closed several of the subway lines, people just walked home and went to work on foot or by bike the next day, or on a different line. And rail infrastructure, even underground, is far easier to repair than roads, especially freeways.

Remember the Murrah Building bombing? Home-grown Christian "jihadists," if you will, assembled a truck bomb out of ordinary agricultural chemicals, set it off by the federal building in Oklahoma City, and killed many hundreds more than the subway attacks. Three or four such bombs set off at rush hour at select Los Angeles freeway interchanges, for example, would kill hundreds also, and paralyze the economy of the city for months (or of the suburbs, depending on where the damage occurred). A couple of bridges collapsing during the most recent large earthquake showed us how vulnerable any western car-dependent city is to a relatively small amount of damage, as opposed to a compact city with a variety of mobility options.

Remember the Ho Chi Minh Trail? During the Viet Nam war, US B-52s dropped hundreds of thousands of tons of bombs on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in an effort to stop the movement of soldiers and supplies along it...and failed. Because the Trail wasn't an expressway, but a network of small paths, and much of the movement of men, women, and goods along it went by bicycles, which are not stopped by clutter, craters, and the like.

Perhaps we should return to bicycle-based transport, not just to eliminate easy targets for terrorists, but to improve the personal and collective health of our people, our communities, and our economy...and I'm not joking. It would also nearly eliminate US dependence on Middle Eastern (or any other) oil, at least for mobility.

For more on bicycle commuting, see The Bike People.

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 07.22.05 @ 09:41PST

Thursday, July 21st

Food for thought
"It's not what France gives you, it's what it doesn't take away." Gertrude Stein

With new explosions today on the London underground and bus system, I can't help but think the continued attacks on urban areas could have an unfortunate detrimental impact both on the urban form and on public transit.

The international highway system in the United States, built after World War II, had a military component to it. Sprawling cities are not the good targets dense ones are. Little we can do will change that. It's unfortunate (for civilization itself), but while I can wish its not so, I can't help but suspect this is going to play into the psyche of urbanites and planners today.

They are savages who would destroy civilizations and seek to play on the fears of city dwellers. They have been with us throughout our urban history. Two historical anecdotes come to mind. One is socialist candidate for U.S. President Eugene Debs call for workers to abandon the city. The other I can't find off-hand, but it laments the attacking of the idea of "civilization" by the Khmer Rouge rather than a particular city.

I fear these are the elements we're up against.

We can discuss what has been done to lead us to this place, and the policies that have been reactions to the terrorist attacks in London, Madrid and New York. What we can't deny is the situation that is presenting itself. If we question our safety in a place each time we go there, eventually we stop going. (I recently heard a story about a steep rise in telecommuting after 9-11).

It's also hard to forecast what the reactions will be. A move to small towns or smaller cities (seems like that is occurring to some degree, but my guess is it's because of economics rather than terrorism), more telecommuting? More suburbia? What will it add up to?

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 07.21.05 @ 08:18PST

Monday, July 18th

Changing World
Sunday afternoon, middle of July, so I decided to bicycle down to Playa del Rey and people-watch from the bridge over Ballona Creek. As I sped down the path along the creek, the wind became stronger and stronger; I was in full racing posture for the last several miles to the shoreline.

When I got there, the scene was almost eerie: a flat, steel-grey sea, the sky pale grey with mist, a cold wind shaking the reeds by the water...I should have been wearing wool pants and a cloth cap and riding a 3-speed over the moors of Scotland, rather than a racing bike in LA.

Three in the afternoon in July, in "sunny Southern California." Indeed, something is changing.

I detoured to the nearby Marina for a snack, and could hardly wind the slim little bike through the chaos of cars in the parking lot...engines whirred while heavyset shadows slumped in the seats with plaintive expressions, awaiting a parking spot. Invisibly changing the world on a cold July day in LA....

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 07.18.05 @ 10:49PST

Friday, July 15th

At Least Someone's Minding the Store
While US citizens continue to bumble along their ten-lane highways like herds of metallic sheep, with the steering wheel in one hand, a Big Mac in the other, and right-wing hate rants on the radio, other countries have begun to take their responsibilities as world citizens, and as lovers of their own good lives, more seriously. France, for example, much scorned by the US for not supporting its oil war in Iraq, has not only written powerful environmental commitments into its constitution, but has also, in part at the behest of its citizens, greatly reduced its emissions of greenhouse gases and its use of energy in general.

According to a recent article in Grist Magazine, French "citizens have valued natural foods and non-industrial farming since long before the organic craze got traction in the U.S.; food labels go so far as to describe the type of sustenance served to chicken or cattle. When it comes to energy, a French person consumes only about half the BTUs of an American, and the nation has cut its emissions of carbon dioxide by 20 percent since 1980, to the lowest levels in Western Europe. (By contrast, emissions have increased in the U.S. by about 22 percent in the same period.)"

To read the complete article, go to Grist.

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 07.15.05 @ 07:30PST

Tuesday, July 12th

American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Calls on the Senate to Fund Transit Security with Needed Billions of Dollars
The American Public Transit Association recently called on the Senate to address a critical aspect of national security and fund transit security at the level needed to ensure that transit riders are as safe as possible. APTA President William W. Millar commented that there is no excuse, especially after the terrorist attacks on transit systems in London and Madrid, not to vote for adequate funding for public transportation.

Milar said making public transportation systems safe is a national security issue and that the federal government is responsible for national security and should make transit security a top priority

Last year, transit agencies from across the country participated in an APTA survey on security needs. The survey results showed that U.S. transit agencies need $6 billion to better protect transit riders. APTA has called on Congress and the Bush Administration to fund transit security at $2 billion for FY 06.

Last year, Congress provided $150 million for transit and rail security grants. Last month the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to cut transit and rail security grants by one-third to $100 million in the 2006 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations bill.

This week the full Senate is considering the 2006 DHS Appropriations bill and APTA is asking that instead of the $100 million the Committee recommended, the Senate include $2 billion for transit security in this year's DHS appropriations bill.

Milar said public transportation riders should not be treated as second-class citizens by the federal government when it comes to security funding. Since 9/11, the federal government has allocated only $250 million for transit security. In contrast, the aviation industry has received $18.1 billion from the federal government for aviation security in the period from September 11, 2001 through May 31, 2005.

Americans take public transportation 32 million times a day -- 16 times more often than they travel on domestic airlines. Last year, people took 9.6 billion trips on transit.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 07.12.05 @ 04:40PST

Sunday, July 10th

Federal and State Tax Policies Pose Big Problems for Cities
In anticipation of the upcoming release of findings from the President's Commission on Tax Reform, officials from the National League of Cities (NLC) will release a report at a news conference, July 14, 11 a.m., at the National Press Club, showing widespread disapproval of how federal and state officials are handling budget and tax issues.

Speaking at the news conference will be NLC President Anthony Williams, Mayor, Washington, DC, and Second Vice President Bart Peterson, Mayor, Indianapolis, Ind. The report, Local Budget and Tax Policy in the U.S.: Perceptions of City Officials, surveyed city officials on a variety of financial and budgetary issues. In addition to highlighting major trends and issues that are affected by fiscal policy, city officials say they disapprove of federal and state tax policies and that the federal deficit, in particular poses a problem for cities.

The news conference will kick off a meeting of the NLC Board of Directors, hosted by NLC President Anthony Williams, Mayor of Washington, DC. The NLC board meeting will include discussions of the recent Supreme Court ruling on eminent domain, the impact of rising health care costs on municipalities as employers, and progress on appropriations in Congress for key local programs including the Community Development Block Grant. The board meeting will be held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 1300 Maryland Ave., SW, Washington, DC, from July 14-16.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 07.10.05 @ 20:56PST

Saturday, July 9th

Voucher Program Helps In Chicago
Families with housing vouchers are 52 percent more likely to move to low-poverty neighborhoods if they receive housing search assistance, a new study from the nonpartisan Urban Institute shows.

The study, which looked at Chicago's Housing Opportunity Program (HOP), provides the first evidence that mobility-counseling programs can help families move out of high-poverty neighborhoods.

Researchers Mary Cunningham and Noah Sawyer, co-authors of "Moving to Better Neighborhoods with Mobility Counseling," found that

*Black households are 62 percent less likely to move to "opportunity neighborhoods," where less than 23.5 percent of the residents live below the federal poverty level, than white and Hispanic voucher holders.

*Voucher holders receiving welfare assistance are 21 percent less likely to move to an "opportunity neighborhood" than those not receiving welfare.

*Public housing families are 18 percent less likely to move to low-poverty neighborhoods than other voucher holders.

*Households with wage earners are 13 percent more likely than their unemployed counterparts to move to "opportunity neighborhoods."

*As household size increases by one bedroom, the probability that a family will move to a low-poverty area declines by 11 percent.

While HOP has been effective, Cunningham and Sawyer caution that "many participants in mobility programs may find it difficult to adjust to new neighborhoods and choose to return to their former communities."

HOP and similar efforts can help more families make successful transitions, the researchers suggest, by targeting economically stable households, offering intensive housing-search assistance to families who have more difficulty moving, focusing on follow-up services for those who have moved, and providing services that help participants gain access to jobs and education opportunities.

The Housing Choice Voucher Program, a federal-local effort begun in 1974, serves almost 2.1 million households and ranks as the largest program providing affordable housing to America's poor families. Voucher holders pay 30 to 40 percent of their monthly income on private-market rental units and utilities. The federal government makes up the difference. Since HOP's 1999 creation by CHAC Inc., the private contractor managing Chicago's voucher program, approximately 10,000 voucher holders have enrolled, making it one of the largest mobility-counseling programs in the country.

To help families move to "opportunity neighborhoods," HOP provides housing search counseling and unit referrals, free credit reports and budget counseling, transportation to view units, expedited housing inspections, workshops on landlord-tenant law, and post-move support and house visits. It also manages a loan fund for making security deposits.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 07.09.05 @ 18:55PST

New Building Embraces A Green Future
Frito-Lay announced recently it will officially open the doors to its new state-of the art, environmentally responsible distribution center in Rochester, NY. This is Frito-Lay's first exclusively "green," environmentally friendly building and will serve as a model of resource conservation through innovations in renewable energy, alternative lighting, energy efficiency standards and environmentally intelligent choices.

The Frito-Lay distribution center has been certified by the U.S. Green Building Council and was granted LEED Gold status, one of the highest energy efficient standards in the industry. The LEED standard (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Designs) was created in 2000 and the new Frito-Lay facility is one of only two buildings in the state of New York to achieve LEED Gold Certification - and is one of only 50 LEED Gold Certified facilities in North America.

From the site selection of where the facility was to be built -- to its everyday operations, the new Frito-Lay distribution center in Rochester was developed with environmental and resource conservation as a priority. The facility is named in honor of former Frito-Lay Senior Vice President of Operations, Jim Rich, who had been with the company for 28 years and laid the groundwork for many of Frito-Lay's energy conservation programs.

Features of the new facility include responsible site selection and development, environmentally responsible construction management and materials, renewable energy sources, a reduction of the facility's "Heat Island" effect, water efficiency, atmosphere and air quality measures, alternate transportation for employees and facility recycling programs.

The new facility was developed by Frito-Lay with support from William McDonough and Partners, the project lead and designer, the Haskell Company, which served as the lead builder and Stantec Architecture.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 07.09.05 @ 18:50PST

Thursday, July 7th

Retail Workers Find Housing Options Severely Limited
Retail sales workers cannot afford to rent housing in most major metropolitan areas without spending a disproportionate share of their incomes, according to new analysis of Census data of primary wage earners conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

NAHB found that the vast majority of apartments—about 92 percent—in the top 25 metropolitan areas were beyond the reach of retail salespeople, counter clerks, cashiers and other retail workers unless they spent at least 30 percent or more of their income on rent.

Moreover, in the few neighborhoods where retail sales workers could afford to rent, NAHB found that the housing was older and more likely to be vacant, suggesting that there may be problems with its quality.

The study is based on analysis of the most recent Census data for primary wage earners in the Census-defined categories of cashiers, counter and rental clerks, parts salespersons, and retail salespersons. NAHB economists used the workers’ median earnings to calculate the share of rental units that they could afford in the nation’s largest 25 metro areas.

Of the 21,000 Census tracts that comprise the top 25 metropolitan areas, NAHB was able to identify only 1,000 tracts in which at least half of the rental stock would be affordable to a household supported by a retail sales worker spending 30 percent or less of their monthly salary on rent.

In the majority of the metro areas included in the study, fewer than 8 percent of all census tracts were considered “affordable” for families supported by retail sales workers. And in the San Diego area, not a single Census tract could be classified as “affordable.” NAHB classifies a unit as affordable if its gross rent does not exceed 30 percent of household income, a standard often applied in government housing programs.

The city friendliest to the retail sales workforce was Kansas City, where 26 percent of the Census tracts were designated “affordable.” The next most affordable cities were St. Louis (21 percent), Dallas (19 percent), Minneapolis (16 percent), Atlanta (14 percent), and Chicago (8 percent).

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports about 15 million people were employed in retail sales as of 2002, a number that has grown at about 1.6 percent per year since 1992, and which, BLS projects, will continue to grow at about 1.3 percent per year until 2012.

Ways to increase access to workforce housing in communities across the country include smart growth and balanced land use policies that take into account the ongoing demand for housing created by a growing economy and population. Too often, local governments exclude affordable housing through large-lot zoning, urban growth boundaries or other slow-growth mandates that constrain the supply of land and drive up its cost.

Restrictions on multifamily housing development and high impact fees and regulatory costs only add to the problem.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 07.07.05 @ 21:32PST

Tuesday, July 5th

Another Fourth Dimension
A cemetery doesn't seem like a celebratory place to ring in our nation's birthday, but that's exactly where some friends and I headed that evening.

I had known about the view from the old German cemetery atop Pittsburgh's Spring Hill. I'm a city person. I like to be near people and amenities, but for some reason crowds distrurb me. I suggested watching the fireworks from the cemetery.

I imagined it could be closed and we'd have to climb over a fence and walk quietly in the darkness up the hill. When we got there, Spring Hill, not one of the usual or even published spots to watch fireworks was abuzz with the motion of neighbors and visitors finding the ideal spot.

The cemetery was at least filled with as many living souls as deceased.

That's nothing compared to the 60,000 who headed to the Point and the untold numbers who headed for Mount Washington. Fourth of July Fireworks have become a part of Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh has become a destination for them. Folks come from Ohio and West Virginia, probably New York State and Maryland too.

It's a beautiful city and I can't blame them for wanting to be here too.

The sites from Spring Hill were also stunning. Not only could the most notable fireworks from the Point be viewed, but at least twelve seperate celebrations were visable from this hill. We imagined the poor living souls who had to carry caskets up here and dig holes in January and the cold bodies that were lowered into them, and then stretched out on the blanket and looked to the lights in the warm sky.

The main event started as the first lights shot into the sky. "That's the 1812 Overture," my friend said recalling seeing the show as the symphony played in the park in previous years. About half way through the smoke from the fireworks became thick. The breeze on my cheeks and the itch in my nose told me the wind was blowing off the river toward us. This is why the rich built the mansions on the flat and the workers lived on these hills, I recalled. Smoke rises. The smoke obscured all but the red lights, along with an occasional blue or white for those sparks that made it above the smog.

The crowd cheared, the smoke cleared, and there she was, the beautiful city emerged again in the quiet, crisp night sky.

I thought for a moment that such a beautiful spot was wasted on a cemetery, but then again, it's a beautiful view and I can't blame them at all for wanting to be here too.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 07.05.05 @ 20:53PST

Going Fourth
Yesterday we joined friends at the Redondo Beach Pier (on Santa Monica Bay) for the 4th of July festivities. The crowds were happy, the food was good, kites and bicycles spun around us, and as darkness fell we settled in for the fireworks.

Then a cold fog rose out of the sea and blew in over the breakwater. The sky lowered till it was barely over the lampposts, and when the fireworks started, all we could see were red, white, and blue flashes in the mist, like heat lightning, or reflections of a distant battle.

I used to sail a great deal in the bay, and I don't recall fogs like that in high summer. Perhaps another portent of global warming, another reminder of the distant oil war that distracts us from the battle against our own collective gluttony here at home.

Afterwards, our friends bundled us into their hulking SUV for the short drive back to their house. We bumbled along a wide, empty street, hemmed in by the cinderblock walls of the gated "uncommunities" that afflict that part of town. Blank ramparts with faux-Spanish roofs peeking timidly over them...alongside of the curb ran a painted bike lane. No bikes on it, of course; I couldn't imagine a more boring ride than the miles between those featureless beige walls.

Invisible fireworks, empty bike lanes, and an SUV hurrying homeward ahead of the blinding fog, on this most "American" of holidays....

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 07.05.05 @ 15:37PST

Saturday, July 2nd

Portland, Kyoto, and Prosperity
NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote about Portland's success in not just meeting but exceeding Kyoto greenhouse gas emissions targets in his column today (A Livable Shade of Green).

Seems that with a little conscientious care and good planning, Portland (OR) not only drastically reduced its greenhouse gas emissions, but in doing so rendered the city a more attractive place for both residents and businesses, with the result that it is "booming economically."

Among the highlights of Portland's efforts:

• Investment in public transit, including a streetcar system and two light rail lines
• A requirement that businesses that offer employees subsidized parking must also offer to subsidize transit passes
• Transit passes for all city employees
• 750 miles of bike paths, resulting in a 10% increase in non-motorized commuting
• Incentives for the construction of green buildings

There is much more that Portland has done, with exhilarating results. For the complete report, go to Sustainable Portland. (Note: It's a PDF file, complete with pictures, charts, and tables.)

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 07.02.05 @ 17:04PST

Friday, July 1st

What We Can Make and Take From the Latest Census
"Big City Booms Now Look Like Blips" read the USA Today headline making sense of the latest census figures. People continued to leave some of the older cities, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Cincinnati. These cities haven't had an upswing in some time, so that's not really news. In some cases the flight may have slowed.

The boom cities like Chicago, Boston and San Francisco began to decline after a period of strong growth.

Detroit lost the most, followed by Cincinnati, New Orleans, San Francisco, Flint, Birmingham, Cleveland, Evansville, Pittsburgh and Dayton. Out of the top ten, there's only one city not accustomed to seeing stories about population loss: San Francisco. That's understandable considering its recent history.

Take the next ten and only Washington and Saint Paul come as a surprise. Daly City is also in that category, but of course its a San Francisco suburb (San Jose actually grew by 1 percent).

Chicago's population loss was smaller than most by percentage at 1.2 percent. Those 1.2 percent (and more by number) moved to New York.

The headlines I read lead one to believe the city boom is over.

You might think so, except Los Angeles grew by 4 percent and New York 1.2 percent. Also in the top five largest cities, Houston grew by 2.8 percent. So, out of the top five cities, Philadelphia (which has been losing population for years) lost, and Chicago (which had recently gained by had been losing, lost again). The big story from this census report was "Chicago's Blip," and yet we got these "people fleeing cities" headlines.

"Where had they gone?" The other side to these stories was "people are moving to smaller cities." Well, Sacramento gained and so did San Jose-- San Francisco's loss? Perhaps. But where did the people come from to give Omaha and Lincoln its sizeable gains? From Boston? From San Francisco? Really?

Many concluded it comes down to the price of real estate. Some of the largest gains seem to be in cities nearby big losers or at least some of the high-priced West Coast markets. Vancouver, WA gained 8 percent. Modesto, CA gained 9.5 percent. Riverside, CA gained 13 percent. Mesa, AZ gained 10 percent. Stockton, CA gained 14.8 percent. Joliet, IL gained 21.4 percent.

The facts aren't clear, but this doesn't seem to be a tale of urban loss. Some may be trading high-priced markets for a more affordable urban atmosphere (Pittsburgh could benefit greatly from this if the city could figure out how not to put her pants on backwards). I think if we looked closer, we'd also see not a central city in sight lost population, rather the fringes of cities have lost as prices rose.

We'll keep watching.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 07.01.05 @ 19:14PST

Try Central Park
There's a cartoon in the latest New Yorker. A man and woman are standing on a roof deck looking over the city. The caption reads "I wish there was a way to get out of the city this summer without leaving Manhattan." I hear silly notions like this (which relate well to our quote of the month). People suggest tearing down homes in order to create more space. "At what price?"

In response to the cartoon, "try Central Park."

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 07.01.05 @ 11:29PST