Sustainable Communities and the Valley

Join us for September's Valley Futures Forum:

Sustainable Communities and the Valley
with Susan Handy of UC Davis

September 17, 2009
5:00 - 6:45 pm

Great Valley Center
201 Needham St.
Modesto, CA

Fee for the Forum: $10 (payable at the door)
For more information e-mail nuplanner@gmail.com

About the upcoming program:
UC Davis' Sustainable Transportation Center director Susan Handy is one of the authors of "Achieving Sustainability in California's Central Valley," a recent UC Davis report that identifies paths for cities to attain their sustainability goals. Dr. Handy will explore what motivates cities to pursue best practices in sustainability, and the barriers that exist to adopting them.

About the Valley Futures Forum (VFF):
The VFF is a dynamic conversation on development issues in the San Joaquin Valley. The forum takes place at 5:00pm on the third Thursday of each month, 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 here

→ Download UC Davis' Achieving Sustainability in California's Central Valley report here

San Joaquin Valley Photography Contest: Prize Money Available!

Attention Photographers!

$500 - Theme Show Contest - $500

The San Joaquin Valley Project: Year I

The Photographers’ Gallery is pleased to announce a special event.

Our next scheduled theme show, The San Joaquin Valley Project just got more interesting. $500 in prize money was recently donated to insure that we get the best pictures possible which depict and celebrate our Valley. We will be looking for images that portray the full range of life in our little corner of the world, for example: the people (e.g., culture, events), the places (e.g., landscapes, cityscapes), the things (e.g., architecture, machinery), the flora (e.g., farming, nature), and the fauna (e.g., wildlife, domestic animals).

Prize Money: The prize money will be awarded in the following manner:

1^st Place: $175

2^nd Place” $100

3^rd Place: $ 50

Honorable Mentions (7) $25

Entry Requirements: Because of the shortened time available to announce this contest, the event will be conducted as per our usual theme show requirements, which include, by date:

September 7: Submission of jpgs (online to galleryguru@yahoo.com) or on a CD brought to The Photographers’ Gallery. You may submit up to 10 images. These images will then be juried by judges of the contest. You will be notified as to which ones have been chosen to hang in the show.

September 11 & 12: Accepted images will be received at the gallery. (10 am to 5 pm Friday, and 11 am to 2pm Saturday). All entries must be framed and ready to hang with a wire hanger. No saw-tooth or hook hangers will be accepted.

September 16: Judging of entries.

September 17: Reception for artists and awarding of prizes. (6:00-9:00 pm)

All Photographs must have been taken in one of the following counties: Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, or Tulare.

Hanging Fee (entry fee for accepted work) $10 per image.

The Photographers’ Gallery, 13 & J Streets, Modesto, CA 95354

www.modestophotographersgallery.com galleryguru@yahoo.com

209 402-6092

Form-Based Codes: A Planning Tool for Healthier Communities

This month's Valley Futures Forum will be something a little different: a full day workshop on form-based codes, an increasingly popular approach to achieve healthy, vibrant communities, where people live, work, and play. Here are the details:

Form-Based Codes: A Planning Tool For Healthier Communities
Modesto Workshop
Thursday, August 27
8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
*Check-in from 8:30 to 9:00 a.m.
Doubletree Hotel
Grand Ballroom 1, 2, & 3
1150 Ninth Street

**Lunch provided**
AICP credit available

The old adage “form follows function” describes the common approach behind land use regulation. Form-based codes turn that relationship on its head by emphasizing the cohesiveness of the public realm and defining the appearance and quality of the built environment.

Form-based codes can be applied to new growth areas, existing neighborhoods, in wholesale code revisions for entire communities or limited to special districts.

The program will include presentations by form-based code experts Dan Parolek and Stefan Pellegrini with Opticos Design, and discussions based on real-world examples in California. The workshop is not just for planners, but anyone interested in building better, more predictable and healthy communities, civic leaders, practicing professionals, and community members.

→ Register here

Redding Record Searchlight Article: How should Shasta county grow?

Monday's Redding Record Searchlight featured an article on the blueprint planning process happening right now in Shasta County. Reporter Scott Mobley did an excellent job representing diverse views about the planning process which has run into some controversy as it works to set a path for land use and transportation planning for the next 40 years.

This article was sparked by the opening of a poll that residents can participate in to select their preferred growth scenario. The poll is available online here.

Great Valley Center President David Hosley is quoted in the story.

"How we accommodate people is the question of our time. How far we are willing to go? Do we want to build up, not out? What kind of choice will people have getting from place to place? We are really talking about the quality of life we are passing on to our granchildren," Hosley said.

→ Read the entire article here

→ Learn more about the Shasta Forward and participate in the poll here

We Want to Hear From YOU!

Participate in our Website Feedback Survey!

In the coming months the Great Valley Center will be updating our entire website. We'd like to hear about how we might improve things for you.

Please help us by taking our Website Feedback Survey. It will take less than 10 minutes of your time. The survey is anonymous and all questions are optional.

Any and all feedback is welcome and appreciated!

→ Participate in the survey here

Great Valley Center Launches “Inside Look” for Indicator Report

MEDIA ADVISORY
Great Valley Center launches “Inside Look"
A virtual Preview of the 2009 Indicator Report, "The Economy, 2nd Edition"

What:
Great Valley Center launches "Inside Look" - a virtual preview of the 2009 Indicator Report, " The Economy, 2nd Edition." The report, sponsored by Citi and Kaiser Permanente, is part of the State of the Great Central Valley Indicators Series, an ongoing regional initiative tracking conditions in one of California's fastest growing regions: the 19-county Great Central Valley.

"Inside Look" will provide participants with advance copies of the indicator report, opportunities to choose a new indicator not previously reported, and special announcements.

How:
To join "Inside Look," go to www.greatvalley.org or to Great Valley Center's fan page on facebook.

Why:
Great Valley Center produces an annual indicator report in the State of the Great Central Valley series. The data presented are a snapshot of information providing tools for measuring the community well-being of the Valley. The reports offer data, analysis, and structure which can be used as a benchmark for assessing the progress of the Central Valley, providing valuable comparative information at the county, subregional, regional and state levels.

Media Contact:
Amy Moffat
amy@greatvalley.org
(209) 522-5103

→ Download a pdf of this media advisory here

→ Learn more about our funders: Citi and Kaiser Permanente

→ Check out additional Great Valley Center publications here

Applications for IDEAL 2010 Available Now!

The Great Valley Center is currently accepting applications for the 2010 class of the Institute for the Development of Emerging Area Leaders (IDEAL).

What is IDEAL?
The IDEAL program is a six-month fellowship opportunity where emerging leaders from the Central Valley will spend two to four-day weekends learning about the important drivers that will shape our future – demographics, the economy, water, agriculture, health, education, the environment, and a variety of other issues facing the region.

What are the dates of the program?
The upcoming IDEAL program will take place from January to June 2010. Full and partial scholarships are available for some participants. Applications are due on Friday, October 2, 2009 and are available at www.greatvalley.org. Please contact Manuel Alvarado, IDEAL Program Manager, at (209) 522-5103 or email manuel@greatvalley.org for more information.

Who should apply?
The Great Valley Center is looking for candidates with a wide variety of perspectives, particularly emerging regional leaders from underrepresented and rural communities. If you know of an individual with great leadership potential, who may not normally take advantage of such an opportunity, please let them know about the availability of the application and encourage them to apply for the IDEAL program.

→ Get more information and apply here

Join us on October 28th in Chico for the Sacramento Valley Forum, a day-long annual event focusing on issues in California's Sacramento Valley.

Water: More than a Peripheral Issue

This year's theme focuses on how communities can balance the changing economic, recreational, agricultural and environmental needs for one of our most precious resources.

Event Highlights

• Local, regional and national speakers who will share their perspective on a wide range of water-related topics confronting Sacramento Valley communities.
• Sessions on flood prevention, conveyance, storage, quality, climate, conservation, and water measures that are working in Valley communities.
• Release of the Economic Indicators Report (State of the Great Central Valley Indicators Series)

Date & Location

October 28, 2009
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Chico, California

Early Registration is $50 (includes sessions, exhibits and buffet lunch)

→ Get more information and register here

Support GVC Through the Annie B's Community Drive

We have an opportunity for you to leverage your contribution to make a bigger difference in the Valley.

By making a donation to the Great Valley Center through the Annie B’s Community Drive, you take advantage of an incredible grant program from North Valley Community Foundation (NVCF). NVCF provides a partial match on all donations made to the Great Valley Center before September 30.

Please join this community-wide effort to get us through these difficult times. Make your contribution through the Annie B's Community Drive.

Questions? Contact Ellen Herod by phone at (209) 522-5103 or email ellen@greatvalley.org.

→Visit the Annie B's Community Drive and donate here

Video (below): GVC President David Hosley talks about the Annie B's Community Drive

Red Bluff Daily News article: Warming, density hot topics

This story covers the conversations during and following our energy program's Local Impacts of SB375/AB32 event in Red Bluff. The presenters and participants were fantastic. It was a great event where GVC got to do what it does best-- bring people together around the issues that are impacting our region.

More information, including the presentations, from the event will be posted soon at www.gvc-energy.org.

Tehama County officials remain concerned about the relationships between sprawl and California's global warming laws after a presentation Friday. The county lies outside the 18 Metropolitan Planning Organizations and Regional Transportation Agencies that are required to adopt plans to curb their emissions. But it will be required to take potential carbon emissions into account when it develops future Environmental Impact Reports...

→Read the full article here

Image Credit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lynnmwillis/ / CC BY 2.0

Red Bluff Daily News Article: California's global warming bills to be discussed

Today's Red Bluff Daily News features an article on our upcoming AB32/SB375 workshop in Red Bluff. The upcoming workshop, put on by the Great Valley Center Energy Program, will be an opportunity for local governments to learn more about what AB32 and SB375 mean for them.

The free workshop will take place at the Red Bluff Community and Senior Center. Registration begins at 8:15 a.m. Attendance is free, but limited to 100 participants. More information is available by calling Lindsay Buckley at 321-0817, sending an e-mail to lindsay@greatvalley.org or visiting gvc-energy.org.

Local officials may get a better idea this week just how California's global warming bills will affect future development. Deputy Attorney General Harrison Pollak will be one of several speakers giving a presentation Friday as part of a free seminar at the Red Bluff Community and Senior Center on the local government impacts of AB 32 and SB 375, presented by the Great Valley Center Energy Program and paid for in part through PG&E's state-mandated public benefit funds...

→Read the full article here

Modesto Bee article: Modesto growth policies called poor

Sunday's Modesto Bee featured a story on the recently released UC Davis study Achieving Sustainability in California's Central Valley. According to the study Modesto was ranked 55th, out of 100 Valley cities, for the best smart-growth policies. The story, written by Modesto Bee reporter Garth Stapley, features quotes from both GVC president David Hosley and president emeritus Carol Whiteside.

Disunity at Modesto's highest level on how to approach growth contributed to the city's embarrassingly low score in a recent university study. Modesto also suffers from poor public support for planning and progressive transportation policies, University of California at Davis researchers found after looking at the Central Valley's 100 cities...

→Read the full article here

Great Valley Center August Media Advisory

The Great Valley Center's August 2009 media advisory is now available. This monthly resource for members of the media and others in the community features information on what's happening with the Great Valley and throughout the Central Valley during the month.

August's advisory includes briefs on:

* Events throughout the region
* What's new at the Great Valley Center
* Reports, publications, and other resources available now
* Regional story ideas

→Download the August 2009 Media Advisory