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Focus Archive - November 2006

Please note that Focus section links were valid at the time of their original posting. However, since Web sites and addresses change frequently, we cannot guarantee that all links will remain operative.

Seattle's Plan to Implement Sustainable Affordable Housing (November 22)
Listed on Forbes.com as the most overpriced place in the United States for two consecutive years, the city of Seattle has responded by making a concerted effort to promote affordable housing. More from Breakthroughs.

A Review of Community Plans to End Homelessness (November 22)
A recent report from the National Alliance to End Homelessness is the first nationwide examination of local plans to end homelessness. More from the National City Network.

Risk Management - Seeing Is Believing (November 22)
A technique called Vigilance Voice can help lifeguards identify problems at your pool. More from Parks & Recreation Magazine.

Voters Restrict Eminent Domain Powers, Nix TABOR Laws (November 22)
While the country’s eyes were fixed on the change of power at the federal level, voters also cast their ballots on a variety of significant initiatives, referendums and constitutional amendments. More from NACo's County News.

The Billboard Shakedown Scheme (November 22)
Over the past few years, there has been a sharp spike in the number of lawsuits filed against municipalities seeking to strike down the entirety of a municipal sign code. More from The Commissioner.

Coast Guard Offers Free Hazardous Materials Resource CD (November 22)
The United States Coast Guard has published a free resource CD-ROM that brings comprehensive chemical information to the fingertips of fire and safety service personnel responding to a hazardous materials incident. More from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Phone Banks (November 22)
Since the late 1990s, a growing number of local governments have built 311 call centers to field customer service requests. Until recently, most operated their own, stand-alone 311 systems, but that approach may be changing. More from Government Technology.

Who Works in Big Cities? (November 22)
What kinds of work will be done in center cities in the future? A recent publication by the University of Pittsburgh offers a clue. More from Civic Strategies.

Smart City - Transportation is Fundamental (November 22)
This week's Smart City guests talk about current trends in transportation planning. More from Smart City.

Moving Toward High-Performance Infrastructure (November 22)
In places where communities struggle with ever-expanding areas of impervious pavement and degraded water quality—and where flooding and drought are becoming a larger part of the picture—earth-based landscape approaches can have a measurable benefit. More form Urban Land (Adobe Acrobat Document350 KB).

Citizens Cast Ballots to Control Their Future (November 14)
Despite influence and pressure from various non-resident groups, citizens in several states voted to control their own futures on Election Day last week. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.

A Search for Fairness in the Disciplinary Process (November 14)
There are few issues among law enforcement personnel that can raise more concern, debate, rancor, and sometimes outright dissension than that of employee discipline--both the manner in which agencies investigate specific allegations of employee misconduct, and the way in which disciplinary penalties are determined. More from The Police Chief.

Emergency Management - Now Hear This (November 14)
Because the public has changed how it communicates and accesses information, local officials are devising a variety of ways to notify people of impending crises whether those relate to homeland security or natural disasters. More from Federal Computer Week.

Suburban Transit Services Guidebook Available (November 14)
The Transportation Research Board's (TRB) Guidebook for Evaluating, Selecting, and Implementing Suburban Transit Services examines the current status of suburban transit services and land-use environments and the relationship between the two. More from the TRB.

America's Young Adults Make Their Mark (November 14)
According to the Harvard University Institute of Politics 11th Biannual Youth Survey on Politics and Public Service, the "9/11" generation sees a distinction between community volunteerism and political engagement, with a majority finding a more effective role as a volunteer. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.

Smart Decline (November 14)
In 40 years, Youngstown has lost more than half its population. Those people aren't coming back. But shrinking doesn’t have to mean dying. More from Governing.

How Cultural Heritage Organizations Serve Communities (November 14)
Across the United States, nonprofit cultural heritage organizations serve communities by helping people to remember their shared experiences and aspirations, building and sustaining a sense of community through fairs, folklife programs, public celebrations of music, food, and holidays. More from the Urban Institute.

The Politics of Play (November 14)
The "creative playground" movement eschews the homogenous regulated space of contemporary recreational areas in favor of diverse open-ended "playscapes." More from Metropolis Magazine.

Economics 101: What Travel and Tourism Mean for Your County (November 14)
The American Hotel and Lodging Association reports that tourism is currently the nation’s third largest retail industry, behind automotive and food stores, and one of America's largest employers. More from NACo's County News

Search City, Town, County and Newspaper Web Sites (November 09)
If you haven't seen MRSC's new search engine, check out the new options including the ability to sort sample documents such as ordinances and contracts by form of government. Now you can also search all Washington city and town, county, or newspaper Web sites simultaneously. In the near future, watch for additional "Beyond MRSC" customized searches by subject.

Performance Measurement - Speed Limits (November 08)
Response time is the easiest but not necessarily the best measure of performance. More from Governing.

Web Sightings - Public Safety Links (November 08)
This month we’ve selected a few examples among the many information-rich Web sites addressing public safety topics, including police, fire, and law and justice issues:

General Information and Research Sites

U.S. Federal Agencies and Associations

Washington State Agencies and Associations

Washington Local Governments

Police Officer Recruitment: A Public-Sector Crisis (November 08)
Law enforcement agencies throughout the United States are having difficulty filling peace officer positions while each year more baby boomers are completing their law enforcement careers and leaving the force. More from The Police Chief.

Capital Improvement Plans and Budgets Primer (November 08)
A paper from the Lincoln Land Institute, "Capital Improvement Plans and Budgets," (Adobe Acrobat Document 257 KB) describes the components of the CIP and budget and then outlines the major steps in the preparation of these documents.

Managerial Perception Gap (November 08)
According to a recent survey, most public managers rated their management performance as either "excellent" or "good." Unfortunately, their employees don't rate them quite as highly. More from Bob Behn's Public Management Report.

NIMS Guide for County Officials (November 08)
The National Incident Management System (NIMS) Guide for County officials (Adobe Acrobat Document 534 KB) explains the key points of NIMS and how they apply to county governments, including adoption, implementation, training, disaster and emergency response planning, test exercises, resource management, and communications.

Making Healthy Cities (November 08)
The city is a reflection of its people --- their beliefs, their skills, their relationships. This week's guests on Smart City are working in very different ways to improve the city by improving the lives of the people who live there.

Green School Design Makes Kids Smarter and Healthier (November 08)
A new national report, Greening America’s Schools, reveals that building energy-efficient schools results in lower operating costs, improved test scores and enhanced student health. More from the American Institute of Architects.

Attracting Development To Brownfields Sites (November 08)
Deteriorated infrastructure, out-of-date zoning, and overly complicated local approval processes often can severely hinder a brownfields redevelopment project. With many key approvals for these projects needed at the local level, local governments are in a great position to level the playing field and better attract developers to these properties. More from Public Management Magazine.

Cities and Counties in the News (November)
Here are the latest news clippings from around the state highlighting current events, trends and other news affecting Washington city and county governments: