The competition for a coveted spot on the 2008 list of the 100 Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania has officially been launched.  Nominations for these valuable awards are now being accepted online at http://www.bestplacestoworkinpa.com/.

The Best Places to Work in PA program, created in 2000 and awarded annually, is modeled after Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Places to Work.” The 2008 Best Places competition is a public/private partnership among Team Pennsylvania Foundation; the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED); the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry; and the Central Penn Business Journal.

 

While making the list alone is a prestigious honor, participating companies gain additional benefits. Each participant receives the results of both their Employee Satisfaction Survey and their Employer Questionnaire. The latter summary collects data on workplace philosophy, practices, systems, and demographics. Some general comparisons of a company’s data to the rest of the field are also included. Most past participants have agreed that the information they receive after the process is nearly as valuable as finding themselves on the final list.

“Team Pennsylvania Foundation is proud to be a founding partner and annual supporter of the 100 Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania,” commented Foundation Board Co-chair, and CEO of ASK Foods, Wendie Dimatteo Holsinger. “This award has become an established benchmark for great businesses in Pennsylvania . It is a standard of achievement and a distinction that makes your business more attractive to both clients and employees.  I encourage every business in the Commonwealth to go online and go through the nomination process.”

Designed to recognize two types of businesses, the program ranks 50 medium-sized companies (25-250 employees) and 50 large-sized companies (251 employees or more). A company’s participation often leads to valuable and unique long-term benefits for its corporate climate and for its employee recruitment efforts.   

To be eligible, participating companies must meet the following criteria:

•Be a for-profit or not-for-profit business.
•Be a publicly or privately held business.
•Have a facility in Pennsylvania .
•Have at least 25 employees in Pennsylvania .
•Be in good standing with all Commonwealth agencies under the Governor’s jurisdiction.
•Meet the nomination deadline: May 30, 2008

Sponsors of the 2008 Best Places to Work in PA program include; Team PA Foundation, Sovereign Bank, E.K. McConkey & Co., Inc., bmc (Beard Miller Company), Wendt Partners and JPL Productions.

For more information on the Best Places to Work in PA and for a list of the 2007 winners, please visit www.bestplacestoworkinpa.com. 

Team PA Foundation’s vision is to make the Commonwealth a national leader in economic growth. For more information please visit www.teampa.com.

 

---

 

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is accepting applications for free technical assistance under the Smart Growth Implementation Assistance Program. This program provides contractor support to
communities, regions, or states  that want help with either policy analysis or public participatory processes.  Selected communities will receive assistance in the form of a multi-day visit from a team of
experts organized by EPA and other national partners to work with local leaders.

The application deadline is May 8, 2009. The application for assistance can be downloaded at: http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/2008_sgia_rfa.htm

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is accepting applications for the seventh annual National Award for Smart Growth Achievement.  This competition is open to public-sector entities that have used smart growth principles to improve communities environmentally, socially, and economically.  Award categories include: Overall Excellence in Smart Growth; Built Projects; Policies and Regulations; Equitable Development; Colleges, Universities, and Medical/Hospital Research Institutions. This year, private-sector entities may also apply in the Built Projects and Colleges, Universities, and Medical/Hospital Research Institutions categories.

Applications are due on April 7, 2008.  For more details about the National Award for Smart Growth  Achievement, including application forms for each category, visit: http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/awards.htm

---

 

 

"WalkScore.com calculates a home’s walkability “score” and encourages walking by identifying the closest schools, grocery stores, and other businesses. WalkScore.com is also a great way to find out if that new house you’ve been eyeing meets your needs as a walkable neighborhood."

 

"According to Sightline Institute, recent studies show that residents of compact areas—where homes are mixed with stores and services and the street network is designed for walking—are less likely to be obese; suffer substantially fewer chronic illnesses such as diabetes, lung disease, and hypertension; and have a lower risk of dying in a traffic accident because they drive less. The air they breathe may even be cleaner than their suburban counterparts’, especially if they spend less time in the “pollution tunnel” of busy highways.

 

Some users of WalkScore.com are comparing their neighborhood’s Walk Score as an emblem of local pride and of their lifestyle choices. Step by step, walking can help you stay well. And walkable neighborhoods mean enough people to support good mass transit, a reduction of gas use and green house gas emissions, and increased support of local businesses."   

 

---

 

 

The Urban Land Institute has just published "Developing Sustainable Planned Communities" .  "This practical guide provides down to earth, reality based insights into designing and developing sustainable planned communities that are environmentally responsible, attractive to the market, and profitable."  For more information, click here.

 

---

 

Get Strategies to Turn Around Inner Ring Suburbs

---

 

 

Water-quality specialists in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, anticipating a need for Pennsylvania citizens to better understand pollution-credit trading, have authored "A Primer on Water Quality Credit Trading in the Mid-Atlantic Region," a publication explaining water-quality trading programs.

 The pamphlet explains how dischargers may buy and sell credits that are generated by reducing pollution beyond state and federal requirements. Publication was made possible by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Water Program, a collaboration among Penn State, the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, the University of Maryland, the University of Maryland — Eastern Shore, Virginia State University, Virginia Tech University, West Virginia University and West Virginia State University.

 The primer provides information needed to understand the benefits and challenges of water-quality credit trading, the mechanics of a trade and the questions that should be asked as states develop their programs. The publication is coauthored by Charles Abdalla, associate professor of agricultural and environmental economics, and Kristen Saacke Blunk, agricultural environmental policy extension associate, with Tatiana Borisova of West Virginia University and Douglas Parker of the University of Maryland.

 The audience for this publication includes farmers, citizens and local officials says Dawn Olson, Monroe County Extension director. These are all people who can help shape public policy by understanding trading — its potential and limits. How well does water-quality credit trading work and whose interests are being considered? The answers to these and other questions will depend on a state's policies for encouraging trading. The primer offers questions that citizens may want to ask of their public officials to understand how their state's program is developing and what options are available to participate in policy-making.

 Pennsylvania's program will allow point-source dischargers such as municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants to purchase "credits" from non-point sources, such as farms and other entities where precipitation and terrain influence the movement of pollutants into streams and rivers. Initially, point sources and non-point sources that reduce nitrogen and phosphorous beyond the current requirements will be eligible to generate credits for sale or trade. Abdalla says buyers are likely to be point sources that can reduce pollution more cost effectively by purchasing credits generated by others.

 Pennsylvania and Virginia are among the first states in the Mid-Atlantic region to institute a water-quality credit trading program. In October 2005, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection released the "Interim Final Policy and Guidelines for Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Credit Trading," also referred to as Pennsylvania's Nutrient Trading Program. Pennsylvania is expected to release revised guidelines for its trading program by the end of 2006.

 An electronic copy of this publication is available on the Web at http://agenvpolicy.aers.psu.edu/. Single copies of "A Primer on Water Quality Credit Trading in the Mid-Atlantic Region" can be obtained by Pennsylvania residents free of charge through county Penn State Cooperative Extension office , 724 Phillips St., Stroudsburg.

 

---

 

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) has released a new guide that takes a comprehensive look at farmland preservation in the Chesapeake Bay region. A Guide to Preserving Agricultural Lands in the Chesapeake Bay Region: Keeping Stewards on the Land provides state-specific details on easements, development rights, planning and zoning regulations, and state and federal land preservation programs. For a copy of the report, visit http://www.cbf.org or call April Sheesley at (443) 482-2150.

 

 

 

The Department of Community and Economic Development announced the availability of guidelines for the FY 2006 Community Revitalization Program. Please click here for the announcement.  The program provides grants for community revitalization and improvement projects to improve the stability of the community; promote economic development; improve existing and develop new civic, cultural, recreational, industrial and other facilities; assist in business retention, expansion, stimulation and attraction; promote the creation of jobs and employment opportunities; or enhance the health, welfare and quality of life of citizens in PA. Grants will be made in three funding rounds during the fiscal year, with September, 29, 2006 as the first application date. Guidelines for the program may be obtained at http://www.newpa.com/ or by contacting the Department of Community and Economic Development, Customer Service Center, Commonwealth Keystone Building, 400 North Street, Fourth Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17120-0225, (800) 379-7448, ra-dcedcs@state.pa.us.

 

---

 

 

To facilitate a greater understanding of community planning tools and natural resource “Best Management Practices,” a group of educators has developed a 65-page guidebook Design Guidelines to Enhance Community Appearance and Protect Natural Resources that compares traditional development to a more visually appealing approach that also protects natural and cultural resources. Tools to accomplish the recommended approach are suggested.  Please click here for more information.

 

 

 

Please click here for more information.