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Great Valley Center News Blog

Monday, March 28, 2011

Helping Central Valley Cities Reduce Greenhouse Gasses

HealthyCal
March 24, 2011
by

California cities face a daunting deadline. Within nine years they must make a significant reduction in the pollutants that create the state’s carbon footprint. The target of 2020 to make a 15 percent cut in greenhouse emissions may seem a long way off. Yet the Great Valley Center, a Modesto-based not-for-profit, wants to help cities take action now.

They recently launched the Green Communities program, which helps city governments create plans to reduce their emissions and increase energy efficiency. The initiative, funded by PG&E and the California Public Utilities Commission, will help cities and counties acquire a detailed list of greenhouse gas emissions and identify ways to reduce them.

“We recognize the smaller cities don’t have the money, the staff or the resources to say, ‘Hey we want to look at climate change’ and start addressing this issue,” said Stacey Shepard, the program coordinator.

Many smaller municipalities do not have the kind of resources or personnel available to undertake a large-scale inventory of their energy usage, Shepard said. Finding solutions often takes years of research and changes to city operations, something that smaller communities don’t necessarily have the staff power to handle.

The legislation that is driving this initiative is known as the Global Warming Solutions Act (also referred to as AB 32). Its aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in California back to 1990 levels. The California Air Resources Board includes a broad definition of emissions targeted for reduction, such as electricity generation, large industrial sources, transportation fuels, and both residential and commercial use of natural gas.

Read more: http://www.healthycal.org/helping-central-valley-cities-reduce-greenhouse-gasses.html

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Join us for the CA Connects Program Launch on March 23 in Sacramento


The Great Valley Center and the Foundation for California Community Colleges cordially invites you to the official launch of California Connects on March 23 at the American River College in Sacramento.

California Connects is a three-year program that will increase digital literacy and broadband access in underserved communities throughout the state by deploying community college Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA) program students and representatives from the Great Valley Center to teach members of the community how to access and navigate the Internet for educational, health, and economic purposes.

Please join us and our participating local colleges, partners, and students on March 23 for this historic event. The launch will also be broadcast live via the Internet to California Community College MESA program students throughout the state and community partners in the Central Valley.

Our keynote speaker is Assemblywoman Susan A. Bonillas, representing California's 11th Assembly District.

EVENT DETAILS

Date: Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Time: 10–11 a.m.

Location: American River College Theatre
(Fine & Applied Arts building)
4700 College Oak Drive, Sacramento, CA 95841

Watch the live broadcast

RSVP by Friday, March 18, 2011
Please con firm your attendance by emailing CAconnects@foundationccc.org or
contacting Sally Vue at 916.498.6705.

The program is funded by a $10.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration for Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and administered by the Foundation for California Community Colleges in partnership with the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Offi ce and the Great Valley Center. Additional details about California Connects are available at www.CAconnects.org.

Be a part of the CA Connects community on Facebook

Monday, March 14, 2011

GVC leads Central Valley component of California Connects, new statewide digital literacy initiative

GVC is leading the Central Valley component of California Connects, a statewide initiative that offers a multi-pronged approach to increasing digital literacy and broadband access for underserved communities. We will recruit individuals into libraries and public computing centers in 18 Central Valley counties to provide in-person training on basic digital literacy skills.

California Connects
is a three-year program that will increase digital literacy and broadband access in underserved communities throughout the state by deploying community college Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA) program students and representatives from the Great Valley Center to teach members of the community how to access and navigate the Internet for educational, health, and economic purposes.

The program is funded by a $10.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration for Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and administered by the Foundation for California Community Colleges in partnership with the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Offi ce and the Great Valley Center. Additional details about California Connects are available at www.CAconnects.org.

Be a part of the CA Connects community on Facebook

Population gain mostly Hispanics; group makes up 42% in Stanislaus

Modesto Bee
March 8, 2011
by

The population grew 19 percent in the Northern San Joaquin Valley from 2000 to 2010 despite a sour economy in the latter part of the decade, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

The gains came mostly from Hispanics, who increased from 32 percent to 42 percent of Stanislaus County's population and gained in Merced and San Joaquin counties.

Non-Hispanic whites made up 47 percent of Stanislaus' population of 514,453 in 2010, the bureau reported. It was the first time this group slipped below majority status in the once-a-decade tally.

The figures are from a home-by-home count of the population as of April 1, 2010. They provide far less detail than the bureau's more frequent surveys of social and economic conditions, but they are important nonetheless. The results will be used to distribute certain federal funds and to redraw legislative districts.

The increased number of people brings challenges for schools and other public bodies, said Dejeuné Shelton, interim executive director of the Great Valley Center in Modesto.

"It pulls on the services we have available at a time when all of our services are being reduced because of budget cuts," she said.

But the numbers also show that the region attracts people despite its poor rankings on variousnational lists, Shelton said.

"If you look at the population, you can see that they are coming for a reason," she said.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

National Parks Institute Executive Leadership Seminar Convenes April 2-16, 2011

National Parks, Reserved Lands the Focus of Leadership Seminar 

MERCED, Calif. — From California's Sierra foothills to Sweden's Tyresta forest, the problems facing the world's national parks and reserved lands are immense and require a new way of thinking.

Park leaders from across the globe are being brought together in April for an intensive, 12-day leadership program to address central issues like climate change, habitat loss, encroachment, budget constraints and rapidly changing leadership.

The program is hosted by the University of California, Merced, the National Park Service, the Institute at the Golden Gate, the Great Valley Center and the National Parks Conservation Association's Center for Park Management.

Quick Facts
  • More than two dozen park leaders from across the globe will take part in UC Merced's second National Parks Institute Executive Leadership Seminar.
  • Participants will discuss effective leadership training for stewarding the world's natural and cultural heritage.
  • Pulitzer Prize-winning scientist E.O. Wilson and National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis will be among those presenting.
Press Release:  http://www.ucmerced.edu/news_articles/03092011_national_parks_reserved_lands.asp

Learn more: http://parkleadership.ucmerced.edu

Monday, March 7, 2011

Valley Futures Forum 3/17: "Sustainable Communities Initiative: A New Direction for America"

Sustainable Communities Initiative: A New Direction for America with Shelley Poticha, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Ms Poticha will describe what it means to be sustainable and why sustainability is important for Valley communities. Then she will explain why the Sustainable Communities Initiative was developed and what HUD, DOT, and EPA expect the program to achieve. Among the regions that received a Sustainable Communities Initiative grant is the San Joaquin Valley represented by 14 co-grantee cities.

March 17, 2011
5:00 - 6:45 pm

Great Valley Center
Community Room
201 Needham St.
Modesto, CA

Fee for the Forum: $10 (payable at the door)

Register online: http://events.greatvalley.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=6

For more information, please visit our new website at www.valleyfuturesforum.org or email nuplanner@gmail.com

About the Valley Futures Forum (VFF):
The VFF is a dynamic conversation on development issues in the San Joaquin Valley. The VFF is held on the third Thursday of each month at 5:00pm, from January through November.

The VFF is presented by:
American Planning Association, Central Section; Building Industry Association of Central California; Congress for the New Urbanism, NorCal Chapter; Great Valley Center; Local Government Commission; Modesto Chamber of Commerce.

Download a flyer