Governor Rick Snyder has released another of his policy driven special messages to the Legislature, this time on talent development.

The Governor's message is that Michigan must "reinvent the way in which we prepare children for fulfilling careers, reshape how Michiganders look for work and redesign the way in which employers obtain the skills they need. "Tomorrow's opportunities cannot be realized with yesterday's skills," the governor was quoted as saying.

And as part of that effort the Governor used the message to re-emphasize the importance of "enhancing quality of place" as a means of encouraging talent attraction and retention.

The Governor's message once again recognizes that investing in place-based strategies will create the kinds communities that people are seeking to live, work and play in. The League has been pushing for such policies for several years through our "Center for 21st Century Communities" program, and most recently with the publication of our book, "The Economics of Place".

Arnold Weinfeld is Director of Strategic Initiatives and Federal Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 or by e-mail. 

“Imagine for a moment that you are an immigrant to the United States. You hope to make this new country your home, and yet, many of the customs and culture confuse you,” blogs Michelle Burgess of the National League of Cities’ Municipal Action for Immigrant Integration (MAII). You just relocated your family to a new and unfamiliar country. You may or may not speak much of the language or know the customs. You want to integrate into your new community and familiarize yourself with your new city’s programs and services. But how will you access the information and resources you need?

According to a new “best practices” report by Burgess and Ricardo Gambetta of the MAII, “Immigrant Integration: Resource Access and Cultural Exchange,” there are a lot of things community outreach programs can do to help immigrants access important city information, find basic things like health care, jobs, and education, and better engage in community life. The report profiles a number of outreach programs across the country that are helping immigrants to better “connect” with their new communities.

Jennifer Eberbach is a professional journalist and writer. Find contact information on her website www.jenthewriter.info

The annual National Main Streets Conference is quickly approaching. The National Trust for Historic Preservation is holding this year’s conference May 22-25, 2011 in Des Moines, Iowa. If you cannot make it to the big show in person, you can still be a "Virtual Attendee" on its website - which will soon feature live streams, tweets, and blogs.

Main Street programs exist across the U.S., which engage in “preservation-based economic development,” as well as small business growth and other issues that impact main streets and downtowns. The annual conference will include training, an expo, plenty of networking opportunities, and "mobil workshops that focus on revitalization in Des Moines and surrounding Main Street Iowa communities," according to online conference information. 

“In Des Moines we will focus on recruitment, retention, strengthening and supporting your local businesses; showcase how being green and open to all will help with these efforts; and, of course, learning about the Main Street Four Point Approach from the basics to the new, cutting-edge ideas that are being put in to practice in our Main Streets across the country.”

Two Michigan communities, Boyne City and Old Town Lansing, are in the running for “Great American Main Street Awards (GAMSA)" along with eight other semi-finalists. Winners will be announced at the conference. Read a previous 21c3 blog by Arnold Weinfeld about the honor.

You can read my previous blog about how the Michigan Main Street Program reports progress in Michigan. Or if you are in the mood for something light and delightfully cheeky, check out this viral video that Main Street Iowa made in commemoration of their 25th anniversary. 

Jennifer Eberbach is a professional journalist and writer. Find contact information on her website www.jenthewriter.info

Michigan State University Museum is hosting the Great Lakes Folk Festival this weekend, August 13 - 15, in downtown East Lansing. Museum director Gary Morgan talked with News Talk 760 WJR’s Kirk Heinze about this year’s “Grassroots Green” theme, which seeks to encourage environmental consciousness and celebrate the long “heritage” of green practices. According to its website, “The festival encourages cross-cultural understanding of our diverse society through the presentation of musicians, dancers, cooks, storytellers and craftspeople whose traditions are rooted in their communities.” On top of 55 performances (from blues to hawaiian ukelele), the festival will include things like art made from recycled materials, green activities for kids, sustainable food, and the accompanying Bookfest will focus on sustainability.

Gary Morgan makes a good point that green practices and the idea of environmental sustainability aren't anything new. “As we go forward as a community and as the world explores how it will achieve that sustainable future, some of the deliverables will be with cutting edge technology, new discoveries every day....but we mustn’t forget that notions of greening and sustainability go back a long, long way. A lot of the traditional practices and a lot of the folk traditions of Michigan, and more broadly, are all about that relationship with place and that relationship with an environment. What “Grassroots Green” will be doing is providing every visitor with an opportunity to just think about that. Look at some of the traditions in music and story telling, in art, and so forth, which all have had strong influence from the notion of people’s relationship with a sustainable environment,” Morgan told Kirk Heinze.

Jennifer Eberbach is a professional journalist and writer. Find contact information on her website www.jenthewriter.info