Governor Rick Snyder has released another of his policy driven special messages to the Legislature, this time on talent development.

The Governor's message is that Michigan must "reinvent the way in which we prepare children for fulfilling careers, reshape how Michiganders look for work and redesign the way in which employers obtain the skills they need. "Tomorrow's opportunities cannot be realized with yesterday's skills," the governor was quoted as saying.

And as part of that effort the Governor used the message to re-emphasize the importance of "enhancing quality of place" as a means of encouraging talent attraction and retention.

The Governor's message once again recognizes that investing in place-based strategies will create the kinds communities that people are seeking to live, work and play in. The League has been pushing for such policies for several years through our "Center for 21st Century Communities" program, and most recently with the publication of our book, "The Economics of Place".

Arnold Weinfeld is Director of Strategic Initiatives and Federal Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 or by e-mail. 

Through a grant from EPA's Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program, two non-profit organizations are offering free technical assistance to communities looking to improve their sustainability and physical design.

Livability Solutions, a coalition of cutting-edge planners that includes the Project for Public Spaces, Dan Burden's Walkable and Livable Communities Institute, the Center for Neighborhood Technology and the Congress for the New Urbanism, is offering one or two-day workshops "intended to provide communities with strategies to enhance livability, to create lasting economic and environmental improvements, and to effect positive change for their residents. We will focus on helping communities reach a tipping point or overcoming a significant hurdle in reaching a particular livability or sustainability goal. Coalition members will work with selected communities to identify the tool or palette of tools that will best help them achieve their livability and sustainability goals, building off of each community’s unique character, culture, creativity, and effort." Applications are due Nov. 22.

Global Green USA is offering "sustainable neighborhood design technical assistance" based on the US Green Building Council's LEED for Neighborhood Design system. For more information and the application, which is due Nov. 18, visit http://globalgreen.org/leedndtechassist.

EPA is offering a webinar to explain more detail about these and other assistance opportunities Nov. 9 at 2pm, click here to register

Luke Forrest is Project Coordinator with the Center for 21st Century Communities. Contact him at 734-669-6323, lforrest@mml.org or @l4est

Wayne County’s data center went from ‘Flintstones to Jetsons,’ according to a recent article on the Government Computer News (GCN) website. County officials are said to have “forged a unique partnership" with data center operator Secure-24 to "build a state-of-the-art facility" and “struck an innovated deal with a technology provider [OpenText] to help the county build an integrated platform that automates paper-driven processes and connects systems across agencies that support the delivery of essential services,” including web-based taxpayer services, according to the article. 

Wayne County had been using the same old paper-driven data services and business procedures for 50 years. Their system was generally out of date and their facility wasn’t in good shape (it was located in a basement with flooding problems). Wayne County CIO Tahir Kazmi didn’t find this acceptable and the county embarked on a successful effort to move into better facilities and adopt up-to-date technologies and procedures. 

The article outlines "5 steps to going from 'Flintstones to Jetsons,'" based on what Wayne County did to "turn around its IT systems." You can also read a related post about Wayne County's use of OpenText technology on GCN's website, which goes into greater depth about exactly how they are using it.

Jennifer Eberbach is a professional journalist and writer. Find contact information on her website www.jenthewriter.info.

Come April, Detroit City Council plans to Skype their public meetings. According to the Detroit Free Press, "City Council plans to allow Skype users a chance to address members with a Web cam during the public comment period of regular meetings," Steve Neavling reports. Detroiters with a web cam or networked cell phone (e.i. iPhone, Android, etc.) can contribute comments to City Council meetings mobily. 

This could be an interesting development in the realm of messaging & technology, one of the Center for 21st Century Communities' (21c3)'s "eight assets" that make for vibrant communities. Many government agencies and public officials across the U.S. are getting more into social networking and web communications sites like Skype. I recently blogged about how Facebook changed its terms of service to make it easier for State and local governments to join. 

Council President Charles Pugh told the Free Press he "expects the technology to spur more interest in local government among young people, who rarely attend meetings and are the least likely group to vote," in Neavling's own words. Depending on how much the public ends up taking advantage of the option to comment through Skype, it could potentially encourage more Detroit residents to participate in City Council meetings - young and old. "In a city of 750,000 people, fewer than a dozen residents typically speak out during the comment period," according to the Free Press.

Jennifer Eberbach is a professional journalist and writer. Find contact information on her website www.jenthewriter.info.