Valley Futures Forum: "Re-imagining Our Cities" on October 21

Re-imagining Our Cities: To increase choice, encourage better health, and reduce public and private expenses with Martin Dreiling

Most California cities have two development patterns: pre-World War II and post-World War II. These development types look and function differently. Pre-War development is usually more compact, better integrated, walkable and includes tree lined streets, lower traffic speeds and a variety of attractive houses
and commercial buildings that serve needs at the neighborhood and community scale.

Post-War development often demands car use via wide streets with speeding traffic.  Residents and customers feel less safe, experience block after block of similar houses and commercial and retail resources located in seas of parking.

As we sprawl ever outward are we missing development opportunities within our cities that could make our lives better and our economy stronger? Is it possible that the growth we anticipate could occur on streets we have already built and in neighborhoods we already love? Is there a future where we build more neighborhoods and fewer strip malls?

October 21, 2010
5:00 - 6:45 pm

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

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

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

About Martin Dreiling:
Martin Dreiling is an architect, planner and president of Dreiling Terrones Architecture, with offices in Burlingame and Healdsburg. DTA provides Program Management, Architecture and
Construction Management services to public agencies. Martin is also cofounder of Townworks,
assisting public agencies with strategic planning, climate action plans, and resilient town planning.

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

Register Now for the Sacramento Valley Forum - Oct. 27 in Chico

GROW YOUR OWN: Home grown solutions for the Sacramento Valley, focuses on tapping local resources to find solutions and new ways to tell the story of Sacramento Valley’s assets, amenities and natural beauty.

Date and Time:
October 27, 2010
9am to 3pm 

Location:
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Chico, California

COST:
Early Registration $45
thru Oct. 15 (includes sessions, exhibits and buffet lunch)

Topics include: Developing the Sacramento Valley food culture, Developing future health care leaders, and a Preview of the Environmental Indicators Report (State of the Great Central Valley Indicators Series)

Featured Speakers:

• Dr. Don Hilty, University of California Davis Medical School, Rural-PRIME
  Producing physician leaders who are trained and committed to caring for rural and underserved communities
• Ben Ratto, Thumbs Up Farms
  A growers collaborative connecting local farmers to regional distribution 

About the event
The Sacramento Valley Forum is an annual event focused on the issues and interests of California's Sacramento Valley. Learn more

New book takes a look at the future of the Central Valley

The Turlock Journal
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
By Alex Cantatore

In 2009, the Great Valley Center pulled out a crystal ball and asked five notable speakers to take a look into the future.

The Great Valley Center asked, where would the Valley be in the year 2020? What could be done to create a better, more sustainable future?

The speakers’ responses at the 2009 annual conference in Sacramento – looking forward to the future of transportation, agriculture, and water – were nothing short of groundbreaking; chock full of ideas to lead the Valley forward. The new book “2020: Visions for the Central Valley,” edited by Amy Moffat, gathers the transcripts of those visionary speeches.

“The stakes are enormously high for the Central Valley,” said Moffat, who serves as Great Valley Center director of Research and Communications. “While all five speakers point out serious challenges and discouraging concerns, they are also deeply optimistic that any action taken today will lead the Central Valley toward a better future.”

The speakers whose presentations are included in the book are nothing short of experts in their respective fields.

The book opens with a transcript of “The Sustainability Imperative,” a speech delivered by L. Hunter Lovins, founder of Natural Capitalism Solutions. The speech lays the groundwork for the rest of the book, explaining the Valley’s need to reach a sustainable balance between growth and agriculture.

A. G. Kawamura, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, goes on to address the future of farming in greater detail through his speech “A Thriving Agriculture in the Twenty-First Century.” Water, crucial to farmers, residents, and wildlife alike, is discussed by Jeff Mount, director of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, in a section called “The Delta’s Age of Reason.”

Quentin Kopp, the former chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, addresses the Valley’s aging transportation infrastructure and “Designing the Transportation of the Future.” The Valley’s dire lack of health care is taken up by Richard Pan, pediatrician at the UC Davis Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care.

Following each transcript, the book lists ways readers can help make the Valley sustainable. The book also includes resources for readers interested in locating additional information on the topics, along with discussion questions encouraging discussion on everyday choices that can drastically affect the valley.

According to the Great Valley Center, the texts included in “2020: Visions for the Central Valley” will help local governments, non-profits, business leaders, and academics plan for another decade of unprecedented growth in a sustainable manner.

“2020: Visions for the Central Valley” is available through bookstores or online at www.heydaybooks.com.

To contact Alex Cantatore, e-mail acantatore@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2005.

Migrant Farmworker Housing Bus Tour

You are invited to join the CA Office of Migrant Services and the Great Valley Center as we tour the current state of migrant farm worker housing on Tuesday, September 21, 2010 from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm.  

Thanks to a generous grant from CITI there is no charge, but seating is limited.  RSVP Now!

Mexican and Mexican American migrant farm workers expected conditions like those pictured above as they sought farm work in California and other states in the early 1900s. At that time, the Mexican Revolution and the series of Mexican civil wars that followed pushed many Mexicans to flee to the United States. Many U.S. farm owners recruited Mexicans and Mexican Americans because they believed that
these desperate workers would tolerate living conditions that other workers would not.  Over time, conditions have changed considerably for these hard working families.

Date & Time
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
8:30 am to 3:30 pm

Location
The bus will depart from and return to the Great Valley Center at 201 Needham Street in Modesto, CA.  The trip includes a tour of Patterson, Los Banos and Atwater.

Cost
FREE (seating is limited)

RSVP to Lori Smith at the Great Valley Center by email at lori@greatvalley.org or call (209) 522-5103

Download flyer

Great Valley Center leader leaving; interim head named

Modesto Bee
Friday, Sep. 03, 2010
Bee Staff Reports

The president of the Great Valley Center is stepping down to focus on his responsibilities for the University of California at Merced.

David Hosley has been carrying out two sets of job duties, as UC Merced's vice chancellor of university relations and as the leader of the Great Valley Center, for the past six months, the Great Valley Center said in its announcement Thursday.
 
Dejeuné M. Shelton is to take Hosley's position as interim president of the Great Valley Center, a Modesto-based think tank that advocates for the Central Valley. It was founded as an independent nonprofit, but now operates in a partnership with UC Merced.

Shelton is a Patterson city councilwoman and a senior program manager at the Great Valley Center.

"We're looking forward to Dejeuné stepping into this role for this valleywide organization" said Great Valley Center board President Kathy McKim, who also is vice president of external affairs for AT&T in the Central Valley. "She has been the senior program manager for two years now, and her enthusiasm and leadership skills will help us as the Great Valley Center meet its mission to help improve the quality of life in our region."

Hosley joined the Great Valley Center in early 2008 after former Modesto Mayor Carol Whiteside's decision to retire from the organization she founded in 1997. Previously, Hosley was general manager of Sacramento PBS affiliate KVIE-TV.

Read the full article →

More Coverage:

• New leader named for Great Valley Center - (9/2/10, Central Valley Business Times) 
• Great Valley Center leader leaving; interim head named - (9/2/10, Sacramento Bee)
• Nonprofit names councilwoman as interim leader - (9/9/10, Patterson Irrigator)

Valley still scores less federal cash

Modesto Bee
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
By Michael Doyle

WASHINGTON — The San Joaquin Valley still lags behind the rest of the country when it comes to getting a piece of the federal pie, spending reports show.

Thanks largely to the big stimulus package, federal spending in the valley increased by about 6 percent between fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2009. Nationwide, federal domestic spending increased 16 percent.

"The valley is growing at a much faster rate than other areas, but the federal funding is not reflecting that," John Lehn, president of the Kings County Economic Development Corp., said Tuesday.

The news is consistent with past reports, despite leaders stepping up efforts to bring the valley more money, said David Hosley, president of the Modesto-based Great Valley Center.

"I think we are getting better at asking," Hosley said. But he acknowledged that valley applications for large foundation funding are not as competitive as those from metropolitan regions.

 Read the full article  →

New Interim Great Valley Center Leader

Dejeuné Shelton New Interim Great Valley Center Leader

Modesto, CA (September 1, 2010) – Dejeuné M. Shelton has been named interim President of the Great Valley Center, a Valley-wide nonprofit organization devoted to regional planning and action.  She begins her new responsibilities September 1.

“We’re looking forward to Dejeuné stepping into this role for this Valley-wide organization” says Great Valley Center Board President Kathy McKim, VP of External Affairs for AT&T in the Central Valley.  “She has been the senior program manager for two years now, and her enthusiasm and leadership skills will help us as the Great Valley Center meet its mission to help improve the quality of life in our region.”

Shelton steps in for Dr. David Hosley, who has been serving as both the GVC President as well as interim Vice Chancellor for University Relations at UC Merced for the past six months.  Having joined the center in early 2008, Dr. Hosley will now focus full-time on his university relations duties.

Prior to joining the Great Valley Center, Shelton was president of the Westside Community Alliance, a community resource center in Patterson, where she is currently a member of the City Council. She holds a B.A. in Sociology from California State University, Stanislaus and is a graduate student at CSU Stanislaus in Public Administration.

The Great Valley Center is in partnership with UC Merced, and puts on a number of annual conferences to bring Valley residents together to discuss economic and social issues in the region.  The organization also collects data about the Valley, and issues annual reports on key issues having to do with growth and the changing demographics of the region.  The primary program areas of the center include leadership, community health, access to technology, renewable energy and sustainable land use.  Shelton will oversee a staff of 15.

Shelton has particular familiarity with the GVC’s leadership programs. A graduate of the Great Valley Leadership Institute for elected officials in 2007, she also attended the Center’s IDEAL program for emerging Valley leaders in 2005 and currently is participating in the year-long American Leadership Forum program.

About the Great Valley Center: Founded in 1997, the Great Valley Center is a non-profit organization that works in partnership with the University of California, Merced to support organizations and activities working to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of California’s Great Central Valley.

###

MEDIA CONTACT:
Amy Moffat
(209) 522-5103
amy@greatvalley.org

UOP President Elected to Great Valley Center Board

THE UNIVERSITY OF PACIFIC PRESIDENT ELECTED TO 
GREAT VALLEY CENTER BOARD

Modesto, CA (September 1, 2010) – The University of Pacific President Pamela A. Eibeck has been elected to the board of the Great Valley Center, a regional planning and action nonprofit serving the Central Valley.

The Great Valley Center, which is in partnership with UC Merced, works with community organizations and local governments to improve the quality of life for residents of the 19 counties in the region. Its 12-member board is composed of business, government and education leaders.

Kathy McKim, Vice President of AT&T External Affairs for the Central Valley, and chair of the Great Valley Center board, announced the election. “President Eibeck's strong leadership in the San Joaquin Valley and her commitment to the community will be a great addition to the GVC board.”

Now in her second year as president at Pacific, Eibeck made community engagement a priority. She launched a series of public forums called “Beyond Our Gates,” to explore ways to better connect the University with its community. Eibeck leads a University of nine schools and colleges enrolling 6,500 students on three campuses in Stockton, Sacramento and San Francisco. She is the former dean of engineering at Texas Tech University and held academic posts at Northern Arizona University and UC Berkeley. Eibeck holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering from Stanford, and is the first woman president at the university.

“I admire the Great Valley Center for the leading role it has played in shaping thought, policy and planning for major issues in the Central Valley,” said Eibeck. “University of the Pacific is eager to be a part of that discussion, and it is an honor for me to become involved in this important work as we prepare our communities to thrive in the 21st century.”

In addition to conferences and briefings on regional growth issues, the Great Valley Center is a resource for information about the Valley, including a daily e-letter on renewable energy and a weekly public television program seen throughout the region. The Modesto-based center, in cooperation with Heyday Books, recently published a book on Valley trends over the next decade, titled 2020: Visions for the Central Valley. University of the Pacific has joined with the Great Valley Center and other organizations in starting a new network for leaders in the northern San Joaquin Valley called the American Leadership Forum Great Valley Chapter.

About the Great Valley Center: Founded in 1997, the Great Valley Center is a non-profit organization that works in partnership with the University of California, Merced to support organizations and activities working to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of California’s Great Central Valley.

###

MEDIA CONTACT:
Amy Moffat
(209) 522-5103
amy@greatvalley.org

More Coverage:

• UOP Leader Joins Great Valley - (9/3/10, Sacramento Bee)
• UOP Leader Joins Great Valley - (9/3/10, Modesto Bee)