As strange as it sounds, it can happen, according to this recent story in the Pittsburgh City Paper.
“Even today, Cranberry retains some rugged rural terrain amidst the strip malls and drive-throughs. Cranberry may be a synonym for “suburban sprawl” for many, but local officials are trying to preserve those places — and environmentalists give them high marks for the effort.
Still, finding a connection with nature is a lot like my coyote encounter: If you blink, you may miss it,” the author writes.
What did the Pittsburgh-area suburb of Cranberry do? …

Transparency International, a global coalition against corruption, offers this interesting piece about the economic costs of corruption.

According to economist Sanjeev Gupta, national corruption lowers economic growth and per-capital income, despite the argument that a certain amount of corruption can “grease the wheels” of the economy by circumventing bureaucratic regulations.

“Corruption increases the cost of investment for entrepreneurs who need to devote their scarce time and resources to fulfilling government regulations and bribing officials,” Gupta writes. “This cost can be high for small and medium-sized enterprises.”

The organizers of Pittsburgh’s annual Bike Fest might have been happy about conditions in downtown yesterday. The streets were closed to local traffic starting late Wednesday, and will remain blocked until the G-20 summit closes later this evening. The majority of the Golden Triangle is still open to pedestrians and bicycles though, and if you’re able to ignore mounted police, state troopers in riot gear, SWAT cars, and helicopters, the streets feel like an organized bicycle cyclovia.
The following photos were taken throughout the day yesterday in downtown Pittsburgh. For good coverage of the …

The city of Pittsburgh can hardly wait for the G-20 summit to begin. Along with humidity, constant rain, and murky skies, the atmosphere is a mix of anticipation, dread, annoyance, and excitement.

In fear of the destruction that could occur between police and protesters, some businesses are boarding their windows and glass doors. Others have chosen to remain open. In the Strip District, a few shops, including restaurants and art galleries, have posted signs in the windows announcing, “Will be open for G-20.” Much of downtown, though, has chosen to board-up.

For the past few months, local officials, the media, and most anyone else with some kind of an audience locally, has been speaking out about

Dayne Walling, the former Rhodes Scholar, has done it. He won the special mayoral election in Flint with more than 60% of the vote.

I like this guy. He’s ambitious. He’s got his work cut out for him. Never underestimate the power of good leadership.
-AS

more about “Video: Flint’s New Mayor“, posted with vodpod
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I saw an interesting ad recently, previewing the Sundance Channel documentary Brick City.
The show will focus on Newark, New Jersey (a city that while not in the Rust Belt, has certainly had its share of problems), Mayor Cory Booker, and other city officials and residents, such as the chief of police, a gang member, and a youth counselor.
You can watch a number of clips from the show and read a bit about it on the web site.
We’ve written about Mayor Booker and his efforts to turn the city around on …

In honor of his 100th day in office, NPR ran a story yesterday on Detroit Mayor Dave Bing.
The former NBA star is contesting with a $275 million deficit, a potential municipal strike, school and transportation systems that are tetering on collapse.

According to NPR some are questioning whether Bing, a political novice who replaced Kwame Kilpatrick, is up to the job.
Bing won a recent primary with 70 percent of the vote. But his opponent Tom Barrow, a C.P.A., says Bing is in over his head.
“He just doesn’t understand how municipal finance …

Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, has said she will make Ohio’s cities a priority if elected to U.S. Senate in 2010.
Ms. Brunner made her speech at Cleveland City’s Club Friday, according to 90.3 WCPN.
From Ideastream:
Brunner outlined three main goals that she’d pursue as Senator, starting with overhauling the way the Department of Urban Development, or HUD, approaches rehabbing low income housing.  She said she wants to see HUD become a leader in green building practices, and collaborate more with the department of Labor to train and create jobs for …

A study by a University of Michigan researcher has confirmed what we already knew: City residents pay more taxes.

“Workers in expensive cities in the Northeast, Great Lakes and Pacific regions bear a disproportionate share of the federal tax burden, effectively paying 27 percent more in federal income taxes than workers with similar skills in a small city or rural area,” according to The Atlantic.

The study asserts that city residents have higher incomes than their rural counterparts, but also contend with higher cost of living. This holds for not only pricey cities like L.A. and New York, but also Detroit.

As goes the Rust Belt, so goes the nation?
According to The Washington Post’s The Fix, that may be the case in the 201o midterm elections.
The Post cites four key governor’s races: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Pennsylvania that make our region “the central proving ground for both parties heading into the 2010 midterm elections” as well as Senate contests in Ohio and Illinois.
Five of these six states currently have Democratic governors, according to the paper.
Why are we so important? Four of the six are among the top 20 states unemployment-wise, all …