July 23, 2008

Green Energy Financing OKd ; The State Allows Cities To Offer Low-interest Loans For Solar Panels And Other Upgrades In Homes And Businesses.

By: Los Angeles Times
Margot Roosevelt, Times Staff Writer

Berkeley and Palm Desert may be poles apart when it comes to politics. But the two cities are pioneering a new path to solar energy.

Pushed by these unlikely municipal bedfellows, California on Monday enacted a law that allows...

July 23, 2008

LOCAL ECONOMY; A New Look Finds Wealth In Inner City; L.A. Areas Viewed As Poor Can Support -- And Deserve -- Big Retailers, A Report Says.

By: Los Angeles Times
Sam Quinones, Times Staff Writer

Sydney Bradford doesn't own a car, so when she needs to shop, she jumps on a bus. Then she gets on another one, and another.

"To get to the nearest pharmacy, I take three buses," she said.

Bradford's odyssey reflects the...

July 22, 2008

REAL ESTATE; Returning Landmarks' Luster; Wayne Ratkovich's Restoration Projects In The L.A. Area Have Helped Change The Attitude Of The Local Industry

By: Los Angeles Times
Roger Vincent, Times Staff Writer

Developer Wayne Ratkovich had little idea 30 years ago when he and his partners bought an unwanted office building in downtown Los Angeles that a forgotten gem lay waiting.

The office market at the time was hot for glass and...

July 20, 2008

Growing Cities, And Growing Problems; If Western Regions Including Vegas And Phoenix Are To Skirt California's Pitfalls, They'll Need Federal Help, A Think Tank Says.

By: Los Angeles Times
Ashley Powers, Times Staff Writer

As outlying sagebrush was quickly devoured by starter homes and chain stores, Las Vegas began grappling with the kinds of problems that long have vexed California: Crowded classrooms. Packed freeways. Not enough water....

July 15, 2008

ICBA Releases New Survey on Community Bank Efforts to Serve Customers in Emerging Markets

By: Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA)

Washington, D.C. —A new survey by the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) shows that community banks recognize the importance of serving emerging consumer demographic markets. The 2008 ICBA Community Bank Survey:...

July 10, 2008

Midwest Gets Lift As More Stay Put; Housing Crisis Slows Stream To Sun Belt

By: USA TODAY
Charisse Jones and Paul Overberg

Parts of the Midwest experienced a modest population resurgence last year as the nation's housing crisis disrupted a long-term migration by Americans to the Sun Belt, a USA TODAY analysis of new Census data shows.

July 22, 2008

Transit Needs New Solutions; As Area Commuters Grow More Reliant On Mass Transportation, Federal Funds Must Buy Long-lasting Solutions

By: Newsday (New York)
BY ANDY DARRELL. Andy Darrell is vice president for Living Cities at the Environmental Defense Fund, a member of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Sustainability Advisory Board and a former member of the New York Traffic Mitigation Commiss

While the price of gas may drop a few cents here or there, it doesn't look like it's going below $4 a gallon again, and New Yorkers - from suburban commuters to business owners - are struggling to pay at the pump. The fuel...

July 20, 2008

Is Growth Over?; California's Continuing Water Crisis May Mean The End Of The State As We Have Known It.

By: Los Angeles Times
Cary Lowe, Cary Lowe is a land-use lawyer and urban planning consultant.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's recent executive order certifying that California is in a drought and directing state agencies to start thinking about what to do about it is only the latest sign that a way of life built on cheap...

July 14, 2008

A Private Power Grab On The Public's Greenway

By: The Boston Globe
SHIRLEY KRESSEL - Shirley Kressel is a landscape architect and urban designer.

WHILE POLITICIANS dithered about responsibility for the Rose Kennedy Greenway - an environmental mitigation for the Big Dig - a Greenway Conservancy formed, promising to save the public park with private money. But under...