At every level of government, the “B-word” is getting a lot of use these days – and it’s usually followed closely by the “C-word.”
Budget crisis. Or rather crises: at the city, state and federal levels, the mandate is to tighten belts without losing momentum on economic recovery. President Obama and Gov. Quinn highlighted the need to cut and invest in their budget addresses last month. And as Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel prepares to take office in May, the Civic Consulting Alliance is finalizing a city budget transition report that recommends cuts as well as ways to provide better services, department by department. As Commercial Club of Chicago CEO Tyrone Fahner told the Chicago Tribune, our new mayor "has to step back and take a fresh look at…
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Photo by Emily Cikanek
Tom Korder, brewery operations manager, Goose Island Beer Company
The March edition of the What Our Water's Worth (WOWW) e-newsletter is hot off the presses, and it features a topic that's, well, cheery: beer.
Read on for a sneak preview of the story, and visit Chicagolandh2o.org to subscribe to WOWW, which highlights a story each month about a person or organization using water in a remarkable way. Other ways to stay in touch with WOWW: Subscribe to our blog, "like" us on Facebook, and share your own stories, ideas and water-related information with us at info@chicagolandh2o.org.
Goose Island's Green Line Project makes brew 'blue'
by Nick Bastis
Chicago has some of the nation's least expensive and highest quality water—and that good fortune isn't lost on Goose Island Beer Company. After all, the cost and quality of a beer directly…
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New Orleans’ St. Joseph Rebuild Center. Dan Pitera, the center's director, is one of many speaker's at this years Structures for Inclusion conference.
By Guest Author - Annie Lambla- March 4, 2011
Guest author Annie Lambla serves on the steering committee for Structures for Inclusion. She's a former research assistant at MPC, and is store manager at Hyde Park's Open Produce.
Inspiration Kitchens, in Chicago's Garfield Park neighborhood, is a holistic solution to hunger, homelessness and poverty in the form of a community kitchen and community center. It illustrates the value of good design and partnerships with residents dedicated to making change in their neighborhoods. Housed in a new LEED-certified building, it promises hope and stability for the people of Garfield Park, in west Chicago.
Like much of MPC’s work, the success of Inspiration Kitchens is based on the confidence that a neighborhood’s residents are the best investors in positive community growth. …
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As a friend of the Metropolitan Planning Council, you care about economic recovery and quality of life in your community. That’s why I’m using my blog post this week to ask for your help to stave off threatened cuts to the Sustainable Communities Initiative and other critical resources that support local and regional economies.
The Partnership for Sustainable Communities was formed in 2008 by U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secy. Shaun Donovan, U.S. Dept. of Transportation Secy. Ray LaHood, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson. At MPC’s 2009 Annual Luncheon, these three agency leaders talked about their joint initiative, through which they have committed to:
make smarter federal investments that support livable…
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Don’t be alarmed if you’re driving on I-55 and a bus passes you on the shoulder. It’s part of a new two-year demonstration project that will allow Pace busses to travel in the shoulder lanes during peak travel times to avoid congestion, reduce travel times, and have a more consistent schedule. The demonstration project will begin in November on Pace routes 755 and 855, which make stops at park-and-ride lots between the southwest suburbs and downtown Chicago along I-55. The 30-mile I-55 corridor was selected because of frequent peak time congestion and wide shoulders.
The Regional Transit Authority (RTA) will monitor the new service to determine the effects on traffic, safety, and transit service quality. If the two-year demonstration project is successful, the…
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