Ohio Hub of Innovation and Opportunity

Last week, Governor Ted Strickland announced exciting plans for Dayton, Ohio! Dayton has been designated as the state’s first Ohio Hub of Innovation and Opportunity in recognition of its aerospace and technology assets.  The state program was created to revitalize Ohio cities and regions as centers of commerce and community.  The Dayton Hub will allow for stronger partnerships with local universities, businesses and government to  support growth and attract high-tech jobs. The state hopes to announce three more specialty designations by year’s end.

For the complete story, go to

http://www.flyernews.com/articles/volume/57/issue/4/id/5039/category/news

10th Annual Ohio Farmland Preservation Summit

Registration is now open for the 10^th Annual Ohio Farmland Preservation Summit. Greater Ohio’s Co-Director Gene Krebs will be in attendance at this event which will take place on November 5, 2009. For this landmark anniversary, there is an exciting and information-packed agenda.  To celebrate a decade of gatherings, The Ohio State University President, Gordon Gee, will give a welcome and USDA Deputy Secretary, Kathleen Merrigan, will provide an address via video.  There will also be exhibition space and a fresh produce market with live music in the afternoon.

You often hear that farmland provides services beyond food and fiber production. The morning panel will begin by addressing the question: How can we begin to value these services, such as carbon sequestration and nutrient management and what selling and trading of these services mean for farmland protection? The afternoon session focuses on the role of farmland protection in balancing growth and restoring prosperity to Ohio.

Breakout sessions are available on a variety of topics ranging from the basics of preserving the farm business, adapting to climate change through soil management, using surveys to gauge support for farmland protection, results from the latest census, to food policy and Ohio farmland.

For more information about session and speakers, please visit the following page:  http://cffpi.osu.edu/summit09_speakers.htm

The planning committee for this conference includes: Office of Farmland Preservation, Ohio Department of Agriculture; Center for Farmland Policy Innovation, Ohio State University; Otterbein College; American Farmland Trust; Western Reserve Land Conservancy; Ohio Farm Bureau Federation; Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts; Denison University; Ohio Township Trustees Association; Ohio Environmental Council; Ohio Farmers Union; County Commissioners Association of Ohio; Countryside Conservancy; Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission; and Tecumseh Land Trust.

Visit to Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio

By Katherine Buckingham On Wednesday September 9, Co-Director of Greater Ohio Lavea Brachman and I traveled to Springfield, Ohio for Wittenberg University’s Opening Convocation Ceremony.  A year after introducing its groundbreaking Center for Civic and Urban Engagement, Wittenberg welcomed urban policy expert and author David Rusk as the featured speaker for the Witt Series-sponsored Opening Convocation of the university's 165th academic year.  We listened to David Rusk’s opening convocation speech in Wittenberg's historic Weaver Chapel.  He discussed Springfield Ohio, the role of Anchor Institutions, and other urban policy issues.

Rusk’s speech kicked off two days of innovative educational opportunities centered on urban issues.  This is where Greater Ohio came in.  Lavea Brachman was asked to make a presentation for the afternoon breakout session on Universities and Hospitals as Anchor Institutions.  Other panelists in this session included Mark Erickson, President of Wittenberg University and Mark Weiner, CEO of Community Mercy Health Partners.  The session was moderated by Springfield Mayor Warren Copeland.  It was a very interesting and informative day.  Check out pictures from the day on Greater Ohio Policy Center’s Facebook Page.

Columbus ranked one of the best cities to find a job

Given the current state of Ohio’s economy and the long term decline of its manufacturing sector, it is easy to paint a negative picture of Ohio’s future. By dwelling on disheartening stories and statistics, we too often minimize Ohio’s successes. To help curb this tendency, today’s post highlights positive press that Columbus recently received. A couple of weeks ago, U.S. News & World Report, released a study that listed the Top 10 cities in America for finding a job. The report listed Columbus, Ohio as one of the best cities to find a job in 2009. Being the state capital and home to a large university has helped Columbus fair better than other cities. The report also points out that Columbus’ diverse economy plays an equally important role. The strength of the city’s technology, distribution and healthcare industries has allowed Columbus to remain resilient during these tough times.

Gene Krebs in the Columbus Dispatch

Yesterday Greater Ohio’s Co-Director Gene Krebs was quoted in a Columbus Dispatch article about growth policies in Columbus, Ohio.  The article was titled, “City shouldn’t push outward, critics contend.”  The article discussed the need to re-think growth policies. Krebs discussed the need to focus on the vitality of the core of Columbus.  He also drove home the point that smart growth relates back to efficient use of taxpayers’dollars.  For more information, read the full article.

Greater Ohio Policy Center on Facebook

We have recently been revamping our facebook outreach.  Greater Ohio now has a fan page entitled “Greater Ohio Policy Center.”  If you’re on facebook, you should become our fan!  We’ll keep you posted with pictures, events and other news.  And it’ll also be another venue to post your comments and let us know what’s going in your area too.  This is just another way to bolster our communication with supporters like you.  Check it out! http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Greater-Ohio-Policy-Center/98817441132?ref=nf

We’ve also recently added a lot of pictures from the Cleveland Mini-Summit, our Peer to Peer Workshop, and the Harvard Landbanking Seminar.  If you were at any of these events, see if you can find yourself in the crowd.  Feel free to tag yourself and others in the pictures too, if you’re so inclined.  Most of all, have fun with it!  And keep us posted with other suggestions about how Greater Ohio can do a better job staying in contact with supporters like you.

Urban Farming Made Profitable

Urban farming and urban gardening is an idea that has been talked about it for a while.  In fact, we wrote a blog entry about it back in July.  But a new finding proves that it’s more than just a good idea.  Roxanne Christensen of Philadelphia set out to prove that urban farming could be a profitable venture.  Her goal was to take a half acre lot and make a profit of $50,000.  In her fourth year of planting 60 types of vegetables and high value crops that grow quickly, the gross sales came to $68,000.  This is very interesting news because it indicates that urban farming and urban gardening could become a practical business model.  This is especially relevant to Ohio’s shrinking cities with excessive amounts of vacant land.  Urban farming in these areas is a possibility that could be not only good for the land, but also it could create jobs and become a lucrative profession. Roxanne Christensen is also the co-founder of Small Plot Intensive Farming or SPIN-farming.  For more information about SPIN-farming, check out their website.  To read more about this story, read Governing Magazine’s article on Urban Harvest.

Stranded at the Station

As we continue to press for additional public transportation options in Ohio, Transportation for America released the following report detailing the rising demand for transit access across the country.  The report also highlights the prevalence of recent transit cuts while stressing the need to ensure ongoing operating support for transit systems.   This is a must read for those concerned about the future of public transit. Stranded at the Station: The Impact of the Financial Crisis in Public Transportation

The Competition for Federal Rail Funding

On Monday states submitted their application to receive federal funding for rail, beginning the new federal stimulus program created to increase high-speed rail in the United States.  States were ready with a slew of funding requests.  California alone submitted 42 applications, totaling $1.1 Billion.  North Carolina asked for $76 million and Virginia asked for $75 million.  The Federal Railroad Administration grants will be awarded in late September or early October.  One factor that could influence the Federal Railroad Administration's decisions is how much money the states themselves are willing to contribute. While there is a lot of enthusiasm for rail, it will take America a long time to catch up with Japanese and European counterparts with trains that travel up to 200 mph.  Many of the FRA grants may go to rail projects with trains traveling at 79mph.  FRA Administrator Joseph Szabo explains that this is just the beginning of a lengthy undertaking, similar to the decades-long process of building up the U.S. Interstates Highway system.  The administration ‘intends to transform the way Americans travel.’

For more details, read the full WSJ article.  If you want to share your opinion about rail in Ohio, take the Ohio 3C Survey.

3-C Passenger Rail Survey

Over the past year, there has been a lot of discussion throughout the state about the proposed 3-C Corridor project. For those who are unfamiliar with the project, the 3-C Corridor is a plan to reintroduce passenger rail connecting Ohio’s three largest urban areas: Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. Additionally, to serve a greater number of Ohioans, the plan includes a stop in Dayton. Currently, the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) and others are working to finalize the 3-C Corridor’s application for passenger rail stimulus funds. In order to gather supplemental information for the 3-C application, ORDC has posted a survey on their website. Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey and voice your opinion about passenger rail in Ohio.