Nation's Cities Weekly

Browse past and current articles from this publication.

NLC members encouraged to lobby Congress on city issues during August recess.
NLC legislative priorities for the 111th Congress of economic recovery, transportation, health care reform and climate change continued to dominate the Congressional agenda as lawmakers returned hom . . .

House, Senate leave Washington without passing health care reform legislation.
While the House and Senate made steady progress on the health care reform front, they failed to meet the President's goal of passing health care legislation in their respective chambers by the end o . . .

NLC builds partnerships with corporations, White House.(National League of Cities)(Executive Office of the President. Chief of S
Last month, I had the honor of hosting the NLC Board of Directors in Denver and quickly saw a common thread that wove the meeting together--partnerships. I kicked off the meeting highlighting the re . . .

Water trust fund bill introduced in House.
With local governments facing a crisis, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) has introduced legislation that would provide new sources of revenue to meet the Environmental Protection Agency-estimated fundi . . .

At Summer Conference, NBC-LEO focuses on helping communities through tough economic times.
NBC-LEO President Daisy W. Lynum was pleased to welcome members of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected officials (NBC-LEO) to its Annual Summer Conference, "Signed, Sealed and Delivered," hel . . .

New directions for neighborhood democracy.
The question of how local governments interact with the neighborhoods they serve has become an increasingly important question over the last few years. Many local officials are concerned about new t . . .

Three municipal leagues present awards for outstanding achievements.
State leagues in Mississippi, New York and Minnesota gave out honors last month for outstanding achievements that improved the lives of citizens. Mississippi Seven Mississippi municipalities wer . . .

September is National Preparedness Month.
September marks the nation's sixth National Preparedness Month. To raise awareness, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is urging local governments, private sector partners and not-for-pr . . .

NLC urges Congress to move health care legislation.
When the House adjourned on July 31, all three committees of jurisdiction had passed their versions of health care reform legislation; when the Senate adjourned on Friday, August 7, only the Health, . . .

Learn, network, lead: a preview of the 2009 National Summit on Your City's Families.
Municipal leaders can now get a sneak preview of the 2009 National Summit on Your City's Families by viewing a preliminary program--including full workshop descriptions--at www.nlc. org/iyef/yefsumm . . .

House passes Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Spending bill.
The House recently approved a $123.1 billion bill that would provide $75.8 billion to the Transportation Department and $47 billion to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Both amounts a . . .

Obama cabinet officials kick off urban road show.
Is the Obama Administration's urban policy ready for prime time? In Philadelphia on July 23, it looked that way. White House Urban Affairs Director Adolfo Carrion led an impressive entourage of fe . . .

Correction.(Correction notice)
In the July 27 issue of Nation's Cities Weekly, the article "34 Cities Selected as Finalists for the 2009 Awards for Municipal Excellence" incorrectly listed a city. The City of Sierra Vista Waterti . . .

Small cities council focuses on economy, green technology.(National League of Cities. Council Steering Committee )(Conference ne
How small cities are responding to the economic crisis and how green technology can provide solutions to a range of city challenges topped the agenda for the NLC Small Cities Council Steering Commit . . .

DOJ celebrates 45th anniversary of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
"Simple justice requires that public funds, to which all taxpayers of all races contribute, not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidies or results in racial discrimination," . . .

Webcast to focus on latest flu information, preparedness.(Department of Health and Human Services. Education, and Homeland Secur
On Tuesday, August 4, from 3 to 4 p.m. Eastern time, the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS), Education, and Homeland Security (DHS) will hold a webcast entitled "Know What to Do about H1 . . .

Vice President, Attorney General announce $1 billion in recovery act grants for cops.(RECOVERY NEWS)
At a press conference in Philadelphia on July 28, Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder announced the allocation of $1 billion in new Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) . . .

2009 Congress of Cities & Exposition: what is the ideal meeting for local leaders?(National League of Cities)(Conference news)
If you could create an ideal meeting for a local leader, what would it look like? What would make it the one meeting you had to attend in order to gather all the information you needed to help you . . .

Housing issues a top concern for excellence award-winning cities.(National League of Cities)
As the economic crisis continues to play out in America's cities and towns, housing has become a major concern for citizens and municipal leaders alike. How can communities make sure that residents . . .

34 cities selected as finalists for the 2009 Awards for Municipal Excellence.(National League of Cities)
NLC received 192 nominations from cities and towns from 39 states for the 2009 Awards for Municipal Excellence. Thirty-four projects and programs, listed below, have been selected by a panel of ju . . .

Cities make progress in building afterschool systems.(National League of Cities)
Municipal officials participating in NLC's City Leaders Supporting Afterschool and a New Day for Learning project continue to make progress toward creating citywide afterschool systems. The project . . .

The world as 'a city'--but how to shape it?(Column)
The world is on a path of "blind urbanization." And the issue is not just in sheer numbers, the amazing country-to-town migration that last year pushed cities to a majority of mankind, roughly 3.4 b . . .

Obama Urban policy ideas likely to have consequences.(EMERGING ISSUES)
"Ideas Have Consequences." That title of Richard Weaver's conservative classic reminds us that the way we think will shape what we do. So, what are the ideas that are shaping the Obama Administrat . . .

NLC resolutions and policy amendments due August 14.(National League of Cities)
NLC invites all member cities to submit resolutions and National Municipal Policy (NMP) amendments for consideration as part of NLC's annual policy development process. The deadline for submissions . . .

Filling the financing gap: local strategies to support entrepreneurship and small business development.
This is the first article in a series focusing on entrepreneurship and small business development. This part highlights strategies that local governments can use to help finance these enterprises. . . .

A city in action: the San Buenaventura Jobs and Investment Fund.
For the last several decades, most growth in the City of San Buenaventura, Calif., had been either residential or retail/commercial. The only middle class jobs that had been growing were in public e . . .

Mobile workshop profile: Haven for Hope is a transformational campus.(National League of Cities)(Conference notes)
To combat the seemingly intractable challenges facing homeless families and individuals, supporting organizations and government entities are finding that offering one-stop locations offers benefits . . .

Leadership in changing communities: the impact of paradigms upon perceptions.(National League of Cities Leadership Training Inst
The following is a preview of one of the topics to be covered during Leadership Training Institute seminars at the Congress of Cities, held November 10-14 in San Antonio. Within American communiti . . .

Struggling families can benefit from federal nutrition programs.(Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program )
As millions of family incomes fall due to the effects of the recession, food insecurity--or the inability to meet basic food needs due to a lack of financial resources--appears to be on the rise. Ho . . .

Effective councils and boards: avoiding the board trap.(National League of Cities. Leadership Training Institute)(Conference not
The following is a preview of one of the topics to be covered during Leadership Training Institute seminars at the Congress of Cities, held November 10-14 in San Antonio. City halls, elected offic . . .

NLC Board focuses on meeting needs of cities.(National League of Cities)(Conference news)
Addressing the immediate needs of cities in the current economic crisis and discussing the future of metropolitan America with the White House topped the agenda for the NLC Board of Directors at its . . .

Obama launches Metropolitan initiatives.
Declaring that cities and suburbs "now come together" and that rural and urban are "interdependent," President Barack Obama announced on Monday "the first comprehensive interagency review in 30 year . . .

NLC will not raise dues for 2010.(National League of Cities)(Brief article)
During consideration of the FY 2010 budget for the organization, the NLC Board of Directors approved a decision to eliminate any dues increase for NLC member cities or state municipal leagues for th . . .

Biking and walking: our secret weapon?(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)(Column)
More fitness. America's obesity epidemic curbed. Less gasoline burned, fewer carbon emissions. Safer streets. Improved access to public transit. Those are just some of the reasons why biking and w . . .

Health care reform moves forward as NLC continues to push its health care agenda.(National League of Cities)(Law overview)
The health care reform debate in Congress moved forward last week as a Senate committee approved legislation moving through the Senate and House Democratic leadership presented its own plan for refo . . .

Transportation authorization takes another step forward.(Congress. Senate. Committee on Environment and Public Works)(Executive
On Wednesday, July 15, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee adopted an 18-month extension of federal surface transportation programs supported by the White House, while House members he . . .

The strength of leadership and the resilience of community.(National League of Cities)(Conference notes)
This is the fourth in a series of articles revolving around the topics that will be presented at the 17th Annual Leadership Summit, which will be held September 10-12 at the Brown Hotel in Louisvill . . .

Mother Nature Network names eco-mayors.(Brief article)
Mother Nature Network, a website launched in January by Rolling Stones keyboardist and activist Chuck Leavell, has recognized seven mayors for significantly shifting the sustainability landscape in . . .

Eustis, Fla., rebrands around sculpture.(Brief article)
In an effort to rebrand, the City of Eustis, Fla., has adopted a new logo featuring the silhouette of a 14-foot tall stainless steel sculpture of a blue heron. The monumental sculpture, commission . . .

Greensboro, N.C., receives public art project.(Brief article)
Greensboro, N.C., has received a public art project designed to celebrate its unique history and role in advancing the American civil rights movement. The Coffee Cup Collaborative project consists . . .

Savannah, Ga., transitions to curbside recycling.(Brief article)
Black and yellow carts, accompanied by a packet containing a recycling guide, pickup schedule and other useful information, were delivered to 48,000 Savannah, Ga., households in December as the city . . .

City trends and the resilience of communities.(National League of Cities)(Conference notes)
This is the fifth in a series of articles revolving around the topics that will be presented at the 17th Annual Leadership Summit, which will be held September 10-12 at the Brown Hotel in Louisville . . .

Transportation bill inches forward.
The future of funding for federal surface transportation programs, due to expire on September 30, was muddled further last week when House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James . . .

Local officials encouraged to get involved in health care reform debate.
This is the third article in a three-part series focusing on health care reform. This part focuses on the prognosis for the passage of health care reform. Health care analysts seem to be all over . . .

Are states obsolete?
Quarrelsome, politically hamstrung, dancing on the edge of bankruptcy: Are America's state governments becoming obsolete? Ten states reached the end of the fiscal year on June 30 still deadlocked . . .

Economic recovery guidance updates.(RECOVERY NEWS)
HUD Collaborative Funding The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is continuing to work with other federal agencies to identify opportunities for local leaders to combine different f . . .

Webinars to provide information on reporting of recovery funds.(RECOVERY NEWS)
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Recovery, Accountability and Transparency Board will hold a series of webinars the week of July 20 to provide information for recipients . . .

Early registration deadline this week for the 2009 National Summit on Your City's Families.
Early registration discounts for the 2009 National Summit on Your City's Families are available between now and July 17. These low rates are available not only to NLC member city officials and munic . . .

U.S. cities consider congestion pricing.
The social and economic costs of lost productivity and wasted fuel from traffic-choked streets are estimated to be $87 billion a year, according to the Texas Transportation Institute's 2009 Urban Mo . . .

Mobile workshop profile: designing world class parks.
Designing world class parks takes coordination, a thoughtful long-term plan and strong citizen support. Participants in the City of San Antonio's mobile workshop on "Designing World Class Parks," wi . . .