Budget housing dwindles in Tempe

Budget housing dwindles in Tempe

Herald & Review Newspaper Website - Decatur, Illinois - Central Illinois Newspaper Group (CING)

Herald & Review Newspaper Website - Decatur, Illinois - Central Illinois Newspaper Group (CING)

DHS | Department of Homeland Security | Remarks by Secretary Michael Chertoff at the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference

DHS Department of Homeland Security Remarks by Secretary Michael Chertoff at the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference

Local Government Leadership Academy

I was honored to be asked to be the luncheon speaker to the West Virginia Local Government Leadership Academy, held at the Radisson Hotel in Morgantown, West Virginia. This program is one of the best in the country as a way for local city and county officials to learn about their respondsibilties as elected and appointed officials. I enjoyed seeing many old friends and meeting a good number of new friends from throughout West Virginia. I liked the idea of having county and city officials in the same classes, as it gives everyone an exposure to what our friends in county government have to deal with.

My speech centered on the impact of the Inclusive Communities Program in West Virginia. From the comments after my speech, I can say that there is great interest in the program and I am sure that we will see some new applicants signing up. Council Vice-President Sharyn Tallman of Parkersburg, West Virginia told me that Parkersburg is working on a new sign to highlight the Inclusive Communities Program. I think we need to look at Inclusive Communities as an economic development program that can have a dramatic effect on prospective businesses that want to locate in your community. Dr. Kevin Leyden, the Interim Director of the Leadership Academy, told me a story about a young fellow from India that left Morgantown for another opportunity, primarily because of the lack of cultrual diversity in West Virginia. We cannot continue to lose quality people because of our lack of sensitivity or percevied lack of sensitivity in West Virginia.

Lacrosse Scores: Duke 0 Character -50

While it is hard to get a handle on what the true story is as it relates to the alleged rape of a young lady in Durham, North Carolina, it does place the boorish behavior of a group of privileged young men on display for the world to see. It is hard to believe that not one young man stood up and did the right thing. Even if a rape did not occur, the racial slurs and disgusting e-mails by members of the lacrosse team seem to indicate that there is a lot of work to do to instill character in the lives of these young men. Every time it seems that we have moved away from the degradation of the poor and racially different, we see how much work there is to do. I always had a lot of respect for Duke and it would seem that a young person lucky enough to attend this $45,000 tuition per year school would recognize that this placed some degree of social respondsibility for those who have received so much.

I wonder how and when racial tolerance and respect is taught as part of the education at Duke. When one of these young men graduates and takes a job as personel director at a Fortune 500 company, do we presume that they suddenly become a person who makes hiring decisions based on a fair evaluation of the applicant's qualifications.

This is a sad chapter in the lives of dozens of young men and one young woman, not to mention the family turmoil that is taking place in Durham and the elite enclaves of the lacrosse families. We'll probably hear a lot about the poor character of this young woman while disecting the pedigrees of young men who were "just boys being boys".

I wonder what the story would have been if the team was an all black basketball team and the girl was white? Just wondering. We may never hear the true story from either side, but it's a shame that we have to deal with this at all.

Lafayette, Colorado An Inclusive Community???

I received a call from Jay Ruggeri, a councilmember from Lafayette, Colorado who is interested in adding his city to the list of Inclusive Communities. Jay has a special interest in disabled citizens and is working hard to make his city more inclusive for those with disabilities. The City Council will take up the Inclusive resolution next week and I hope that they follow through and join the campaign. Jay taught me a new term, "visitability". It is the concept that houses should be built so that persons with disabilities can visit. This means wider doors and a bathroom on the first floor. I think this is a great idea and I have personal experience that really drives the point home. When my brother became disabled I learned how difficult it is for a person in a wheelchair to attend family events. I wish that my house was constructed with "visitability" in mind.

What is really great about the Inclusive Community Program is the learning that takes place. This backs up something that I thought when we initially started working on this topic. I believe that most people want to do things right. When we provide needed information, I believe that we will be headed in the right direction.

Jay is on the right track and I hope the other councilmembers will support his efforts. I wrote a letter of support today and sent it to Jay.

American Hero's in Austin

Had the opportunity to attend a Bronze Star Award Ceremony at the Army Reserve Ambassador Conference in Austin, Texas. A young, Army Reserve soldier received the award and his wife and family were by his side. It was a very touching ceremony as they described the battle where he distinguished himself by upmost bravery. Also got to spend some time with a Silver Star Medal recipient. He is James McEachin, a veteran of the Korean war and a well-known actor, having appeared years ago in Perry Mason. He has a long list of credits and is a published author. He is a great guy and someone who is very dedicated to the well being of our soldiers.

There were over 70 of the 85 U.S. Army Reserve Ambassadors from throughout the country in attendance at the conference. There were a lot of interesting sessions and I presented a session on Tuesday morning dealing with connecting the Army Reserve with Local Governments. The session went well and I received a lot of requests for more information on the National League of Cities and our Inclusive Communities program. We had a great cookout on Monday night and I was able to enjoy the great Texas weather. It was very warm with a slight breeze.

Unfortunately, several of the Army Reserve Ambassadors that I have known for several years are suffering from physical ailments. Lots of heart problems and other types of prolems. They are a great group of friends and I enjoy spending time with them. We have been able to travel to military bases throughout the United States and visitied with our Army Reserve troops. One of the nice things is that most of them have a great deal of military experience and very seldom do they talk about some of the very distinguished things that they have done.

Also got to speak to General Vincent Brooks, who was the spokesman for the Iraqi War operation. He was on television almost every night and is now in charge of Civil Affairs for the entire U.S. Army. He gave a very interesting briefing on the way that the Army is working to insure our country's safety and security.

All in all, a very interesting trip. Didn't get to see much of Austin, but everyone said it was a really great place. Several people visited the LBJ Library and some were going to travel to the LBJ Ranch, which is about 70 miles from Austin. One interesting thing that I heard about was a bridge in Austin where millions of bats live and fly out around 6:30PM each evening. They say that there are so many bats that it looks like smoke coming from under the bridge. One day I hope to get to see the "bats".

Flights were great but I forgot my IPod and didn't get to listen to my music. Was happy to get back and answer about 50 e-mails.

So long for now...............

Army Reserve National Ambassador Conference

I am leaving today for Austin, Texas to speak to the Army Reserve Ambassador National Conference. The Ambassador Conference is an effort to connect with our Army Reserve soldiers and provide support to both the soldiers and families. I have had the honor of serving as the Army Reserve Ambassador for West Virginia for the past seven years. As an Ambassador, I have attended numerous activities throughout the United States to see the Army Reserve in the field. I have also attended mobilization ceremonies where our young soldiers were preparing to leave for the Iraq War. These ceremonies are heart wrenching and it gives a true picture of the cost of war. Young families hugging and crying as the young soldiers, both male and female, prepare to leave for what might be the final time of their life. I have attended several Welcome Home Warrior Ceremonies at Camp Dawson in Kingwood, West Virginia. These ceremonies are the celebration of the completion of a successful mission.

I should seem obvious why I feel that serving as an Ambassador is an important use of my time. I hope to stress to the other Ambassadors in Austin that there is much that cities can do to assist in supporting our soldiers. I have led a few national efforts to bring attention to the needs of our soldiers. At the National League of Cities Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana our delegates signed large banners that stated, "America's Leaders salute America's Heros". These banners were sent to the war zone and were displayed in mess halls and activity centers and I have been told that many soldiers found comfort when they found the name of a mayor or councilmember from their home town or state.

I hope that the meeting in Austin will assist the many Army Reserve Ambassadors in their work of assisting soldiers and their families.

Off to Austin......................

Clarksburg City Council meeting

Sometimes you feel you are really making progress and that "local government really works". Tonight was one of those nights. We covered a lot of issues and made a lot of progress. We also had some great presentations, including one by Kate Turner, the young lady who introduced First Lady Laura Bush in Washington, DC.

One item that I think can really remake our city, is the TIF program for residential housing and commercial development. I think as we move forward we can develop a program that can provide new houses, money for renovation and demolition. This will take some work but it is doable. I think a great deal of our local real estate community and I believe that they will keep pushing to rebuild our great city. Council seems to be very supportive and I think people like Lou Aragona, Executive Director of the Clarksburg Housing Authority can add a great deal to the process.

We also had some great news concerning our largest commerical area, Eastpointe and Newpointe. The lighting project is complete and construction is continuing on our first StarBucks. Also, we were able to get a lot of trash picked up and the state is going to clean the streets.

All in all, a great night for Clarksburg. City Council working together to improve our city.

Decatur, Illinois

I received a nice note from Betsy Stockard of Decatur, IL concerning the inclusive communities program. Decatur is going to be holding a community meeting to discuss ideas on becoming more inclusive. They currently have signs in their community stating "Racism, Not in our Town". When we were discussing the signs, we talked about how the message should be a positive one. I spoke to a reporter in Decatur and he did a nice article about the inclusive communities program. The link is http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=110B06D0C4D3D318&p_docnum=1 Check it out. I think this is the direction that we should be going in with the inclusive communities program. Community discussions and a lot of parties at the table.

I'm excited and I look forward to working with Decatur. I promised Betsy that I would come to Decatur when they install the inclusive community sign. One more trip, but I'd like to be criss-crossing the United States as many more communities sign on for the program.

A Beautiful Day in Washington, DC

Today was one of the most beautiful days that I have ever spent in Washington. The Cherry Blossoms were unbelievable. I had the pleasure of staying at the historic Willard Hotel, one of America's treasures. The reason for my visit was to participate in the Employee Recognition Luncheon for the National League of Cities. With around 102 employees, the National League of Cities has a nice mix of veteran employees and a lot of young faces. I get to work with some employees more than others, but one consistant thing that I notice is that the employees are really dedicated to NLC. The luncheon is held in the Crystal Room of the Willard Hotel and it is quite a royal setting for the event.

Some really sad news from Dyersburg, Tennessee. Several people were killed by the tornado that swept across the mid-west. Mayor Bill Revel has been very active with NLC and we tried to reach him to express our condolences. I know his community is hurting and our prayers are with them.

Natural disasters seem to be an increasing fact of life in cities. Very few of us have dodged the bullet and most everyone realizes that it is only a matter of time until something befalls our community. A sad fact of life, but one that we need to constantly prepare for.

I picked up some riders on my way back to Clarksburg. NLC's Deputy Director Chris Becker and Janice Pauline rode back to West Virginia with me. They are doing a site visit at the Stonewall Jackson Resort in Lewis County. The resort will be the site of the NLC Summer Board Meeting. I'm looking forward to hosting this meeting. I think it will be a memorable trip and a little different from many of the sites that the board has visited. Our city is excited to be hosting this event and I want to make sure that everyone gets to participate.

I forget if I mentioned in a past post, that Atlanta, GA is the latest Inclusive Community. This is great news and I look forward to posting our sign in Atlanta. This is really taking off and I get more excited each day.

So long after another great day as NLC President.

Election Season

Recieved an e-mail from my good friend Joe Adams, the Mayor of University City, MO. Joe is up for re-election on Tuesday. I don't think he'll have a problem, but you never know. That is the one thing that I have learned in my years in elective office. Elections are like our report cards with the voters. It is difficult to know what the voters are thinking without spending a lot of time connecting in a variety of ways. I have noticed a distinct change in the past twenty years. E-mail, websites, blogs,television, talk radio, etc. have become a more important part of elective politics. That is why I have tried to keep ahead of the pack while also remembering that many of my constituents still keep in touch the old fashioned way, person to person. I started my website over six years ago and it has been an interesting experience. You may visit it at www.wvcity.com I try to keep it current and interesting. I've had a lot of comments and an increase in e-mail as a result of the site. I know it could be a lot better and I constantly try to improve it. I think the newest wrinkle is video and I think it will really have a positive impact on our communication. You will be able to watch a council meeting or zoning hearing on demand and should change the way we govern.

Good luck, Joe.