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Route 30 Master Plan


The Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County is a community-based private non-profit located at the Penn State Extension. We believe that the land we use today is being borrowed from our children and our children's children. Therefore we are guided by the principle that communities need to make good long-term decisions about where, when and how they should grow. We seek to encourage growth that improves the quality of life for our current residents and businesses, but will also insure vibrant, high quality growth for future generations in Westmoreland County.
National Bike to Work Day
Pittsburgh Celebrates Bike to Work Day -- Friday, May 18 - Join other Pittsburghers and bike to work.  What exactly is National Bike to Work Day, you ask? Well, we like to think of it as an invitation, a chance, for you to try out the many simple benefits of bike commuting. > More

Interfaith Climate Action Gathering
Interfaith Climate Action Gathering Sunday, May 20 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm (check-in 3:45 pm) Community of Reconciliation, 100 N. Bellefield Ave, Pittsburgh Cost: $5.00/person, includes light dinner For more info and to register: www.interfaithclimate.eventbrite.com Climate change is a global problem, but it has local causes and effects, too. > More

Managing Roads During Marcellus Development
Managing Marcellus: A Three-Part Training Series -- The "Managing Marcellus" training series is a partnership of Local Government Academy, Sustainable Pittsburgh, and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission. > More

Webinar - Fragrance-free Workplace Policies: What you need to know
The ingredient "fragrance" is in thousands of consumer products, but what does it really mean? Join this FREE webinar to learn about issues associated with fragrance in the workplace. > More

Clean Energy Matters
Clean energy matters. Seriously. FutureFest 2012 ends with our third hot event for a cool planet. And it’s a good one. (of course) Get excited. We’ll be displaying the hottest new technology for renewable energy and hearing from the real live green energy entrepreneurs who will be discussing how the average yinzer can make all our futures brighter by buying and/or installing clean ener > More

Small Business Sustainability Breakfast
Thursday, May 31 8:00 am - 9:00 am Carnegie Borough Municipal Building,One Veterans Way, Carnegie 15216 Cost: FREE for all attendees To RSVP, please email Phillip Wu at pwu@sustainablepittsburgh.org Join Sustainable Pittsburgh and Town Center Associates in Carnegie for a networking and educational breakfast seminar on sustainable business practices. > More

Community Forestry Management Institute
Join us for a rewarding two-day program that will help you manage and care for your community trees and forests. Plan to share your experiences as well as gain from the successes of others. > More

Creating an Implementable Comprehensive Plan
The workshop will discuss how comprehensive plans can be made more implementable. It will debunk the myth that PA planning law requires plans to be organized by functional chapters - land use plan, housing plan, etc. > More

Smart Energy Use for a Healthier Business Climate
Thursday, June 21 7:30 am - 1:30 pm Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden Cost: $45 for C4S/Sustainable Pittsburgh Members $55 Nonmembers Students: Special Rate Breakfast and Lunch Provided This program features leaders who provide insights and access to their achievements and practices for smarter ways to use energy. > More

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland 2012 Policy Summit
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland 2012 Policy Summit Housing, Human Capital, and Inequality   June 28-29, 2012 InterContinental Hotel & Conference Center Cleveland, Ohio   With neighborhoods and entire regions struggling to regain their footing in the wake of a housing crisis and economic recession, now is a critical time to implement community rebuilding strategies that work. > More

Tree Ordinance Workshop
Tree Ordinance Workshop Thursday, July 19, 2012 9:00 am - 4:15 pm Morgantown Holiday Inn, Morgantown, PA 19543 Cost: $85 ISA and PA LA ceus available Due to popular request, Dr. > More

Webinar: Cities Use Esri’s geospatial tools to promote economic development
IUP Student Chapter Hosting Webinar: Cities Use Esri’s geospatial tools to promote economic development   The IUP Student Chapter of American Planning Association will be hosting a free webinar on Friday September 15th from 2pm-3pm. > More

Arnold Palmer airport gets wheels turning on $20M expansion
By Joe Napsha Tribune-Review Published: Tuesday, May 8, 2012, 11:02 p.m. Updated 5 hours ago As the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport braces for an influx of passengers taking daily flights to Orlando, Fla., starting May 17, airport officials are considering a terminal expansion that could cost as much as $20 million and double its capacity. > More

Greater Latrobe, Derry Area students tackle Marcellus shale at Economic Exchange Day
By Dan Scifo Latrobe Bulletin Staff Writer Students at Greater Latrobe and Derry Area had an opportunity to see first-hand what happens when industry meets environment and politics, and help tackle the problem. > More

Latrobe officials float to promote use of Loyalhanna Creek
By Joe Napsha Tribune-Review Published: Friday, May 4, 2012, 10:54 p.m. Updated: Saturday, May 5, 2012 Latrobe has an underused resource that could spread economic benefits while improving the quality of life for area residents -- Loyalhanna Creek -- as it flows through the city and Derry and Unity townships, state and local officials and environmentalists said on Friday. > More

Local Government Academy Announces Education Program
Local Government Academy Earn CLE at Next Week’s New Tools in the Blight Fight Program   Next Week: Third Program in the Series The Magisterial Court System: The Role of the Judiciary in Assuring Community Vitality   May 11, 2012   9 AM - Noon   Crafton Volunteer Fire Department     Click here to register for this individual program   Registration Fee: $35 > More

Looking Ahead With A New Project Delivery Process
Looking Ahead With A New Project Delivery Process Jim Ritzman, PennDOT Deputy Secretary for Planning   Smart Transportation is being woven into the fabric of PennDOT’s daily business by revising the way PennDOT projects are developed and implemented.  During the last year, we have accomplished several steps toward this goal. > More

Using Cartoons to Explain Smart Growth
Using Cartoons to Explain Smart Growth Produced by Vivre en Ville, an NGO dedicated to improving the quality of the natural and living environments in Quebec communities, Saga City is an entertaining animated video which explains how past transport and land use policies contribute to sprawl and automobile dependency, the problems that result, and how smart growth policy reforms can create better c > More

Marcellus Shale Gas Development:
Marcellus Shale Gas Development: What Does It Mean for Pennsylvania Schools? Posted: March 18, 2012 Latest research brief on challenges and opportunities associated with Marcellus shale development as perceived by educational leaders     The rapid development of natural gas extraction has profound impacts on many communities.  This new fact sheet looks at local challenges and implic > More

Special Report: Power of 32 Regional Agenda
Power of 32 32 Countries: 4 States: 1 Vision Engaging thousands of citizens, pulling together leaders in business, government and philanthropy, we bridged the borders of 32 counties and 4 states to create one shared vision.  Here is the Power of 32 regional agenda, and the 14 initiatives designed to achieve our shared vision for a thriving region by 2025. > More

How is Land in the United States Used?
By Cynthia Nickerson & Allison Borchers How land is used and changes in land use have implications for commodity production and trade, soil and water conservation, bioenergy supply, climate change adaptation, and many other policy issues. > More

Local Real Property Tax Base and Marcellus Shale: 2007 to 2009
by Timothy W. Kelsey, Riley Adams, and Scott Milchak Over the past few years, Marcellus shale has been generating a great amount of interest throughout Pennsylvania. Marcellus shale development is still in the initial stages of growth, and many questions about its economic implications have surfaced. > More

Pa. study: If you get a shale check, will you stop milking?
by   Other News UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- There may be a link between natural gas development and a drop in dairy production in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale region, but the exact reasons for the decline are unclear. > More

The Progress Fund Receives Grant from Starbucks and Opportunity Finance Network's "Create Jobs for USA" Initiative
The Progress Fund Receives Grant from Starbucks and Opportunity Finance Network’s "Create Jobs for USA" Initiative Local CDFI to Help Spur Job Creation in the US   (Greensburg, PA) February 8, 2012 - The Progress Fund, a local community lender, announced today that it has received a capital grant from the Create Jobs for USA Fund, a collaboration between Starbucks and Opportunity Financ > More

Blairsville’s finding a future in its roots
Blairsville’s finding a future in its roots By Dave Hurst   “Blairsville! Why would you want to retire in Blairsville?” asked the woman with whom I’d been talking. > More

Stronger Economies Together Building New Economic Opportunities
Overview Stronger Economies Together (SET), an exciting collaboration launched in 2010 by USDA Rural Development along with the nation’s Regional Rural Development Centers (RRDCs) and their land-grant university partners, enables communities and counties in rural America to work together on a multi-county regional basis to develop an economic development blueprint that strategically builds o > More

Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions
National Endowment for the Humanities Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions Receipt Deadline: May 1, 2012 (for projects beginning January 2013)   Preservation Assistance Grants help small and mid-sized institutions--such as libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories, cultural organizations, town and county records offices, and colleges and universit > More

DEP web site a good source for natural gas information
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) website can provide a wealth of information - if you know where to look for it. When talking about natural gas drilling and activities related to the Marcellus Shale in particular, many people have some basic questions, such as what companies are drilling in this area, how many wells are being drilled, and what are those wells producing > More

StateImpact Unveils New Marcellus Shale App
  It’s the basic question everyone wants to know about Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale boom, and it’s something StateImpact’s new interactive app will help answer. > More

2012 Sustainable Communities Update
The Best CityReads of 2011
Mayor of Rust
 
New Tools in the Blight Fight: A Southwestern PA Training Program
Community Conservation Partnerships Program (C2P2) Grants Workshop
Jeannette Circles Initiative: Community Big View Meeting
 
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