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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today invited communities to apply for technical assistance to foster sustainable growth in their area. Communities that adopt sustainable growth strategies have been shown to expand economic opportunity and protect people’s health and the environment. EPA is offering assistance through the Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program, which offers tools that can be applied in rural, suburban, and urban areas, including:

Come join us at the Common Ground Country Fair this Friday, Saturday and Sunday and enjoy all that rural living in Maine has to offer! And now, the 7th reason you should join us in Augusta on October 23!
#7!

MAINE BUSINESS

How do Maine businesses factor into the intersection of economy, environment and community? Summit 2012 asserts that Maine businesses succeed with access to private and public capital and that when we target these investments we establish sustainable prosperity. In the morning breakout session hear from Jim Nimon, Economic Development Director of Sanford; Jeff Hewett, Director of Economic and Community Development at the Town of Skowhegan and D’Arcy Boyington, the Director of Economic Development at City of Brewer and learn how Maine communities are leveraging private-sector investments with public funds in a discussion moderated by moderated by Judy East of Washington County Council of Governments. In an afternoon session, Charlie Spies of CEI Capital Management, LLC; Greg Paxton of Maine Preservation and Josh Benthien of Northland Enterprises, LLC will discuss how everyone wins with the use of private funds to promote public benefits in a session led by John Moore of Bangor Savings Bank.

We've been highlighting the successes of some of the companies who will be represented at the Summit on our Facebook page, check it out! In the meantime, here is the 8th reason you should join us in Augusta on October 23!
#8!

COLLABORATION

Maine succeeds when we make connections across communities. Summit 2012 is about the entire state of Maine - not one region or a handful of communities and these breakout sessions will look at how partnerships can amplify individual impact. In the morning “Communications, Collaboration and Collective Impact” session, attendees will discover how making connections across our workday boundaries increases the impact of all individual efforts. Roger Millar of Smart Growth America will moderate and Jessie Seymour-Perkins of the Bethel Area Nonprofit Collaborative, Susan Corbett of Mighty Women of Washington County and Roxanne Eflin of the Maine Downtown Center, a partner of the Maine Downtown Coalition, will contribute to the discussion. In the afternoon, “National Initiatives with Statewide Impact” reports on Maine’s participation in national efforts to increase the impact of individual work through the Sustainable Solutions Initiative and the HUD Sustainable Communities Initiative. Explore the benefits and implementation of these initiatives under the guidance of Geoff Anderson of Smart Growth America and with the panelist expertise of Linda Silka and Karen Hutchins of the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, Carol Morris of Sustain Southern Maine and Ryan Pelletier, Director of Workforce Development for the Northern Maine Development Commission.

Summit 2012 Breakout Sessions allow you to explore in-depth the topics and issues that are important to you. At each session a moderator will introduce the topic at hand with panelists providing a brief overview of their work in the relevant area. Plenty of time will be devoted to Q&A and discussion with the audience.

School's in session and everyone's glad it's Friday again. We know you are anxious to find out the 9th reason you should join us in Augusta on October 23!
#9!

GROWTH AND GROWTH MANAGEMENT
Maine is changing--and Summit 2012 will examine how Maine can prepare in light of recent growth patterns. A breakout session led by Dana Totman of Avesta Housing and with Erin Cooperider of Community Housing of Maine, John Gallagher from Maine Housing (invited) and Senator Chris Rector will explore the tension between the current housing supply and today’s housing demands and will discuss how we can ensure that Maine will have appropriately diverse housing in the future. At a second breakout session entitled “Downtowns are Cool Again” Ed Cervone of the Maine Development Foundation will preside over GrowSmart Maine’s Kim Ballard, who serves as Outreach Director for the Maine Forest Service’s Project Canopy, Community Financial Literacy’s Claude Rwaganje and Jeff McCarthy from Maine Fiber Company as they look at the recent shift toward residential market demand in Maine’s downtowns and assess the degree to which our downtowns are ready to accommodate this demand.

Summit 2012 Breakout Sessions allow you to explore in-depth the topics and issues that are important to you . At each session a moderator will introduce the topic at hand with panelists providing a brief overview of their work in the relevant area. Plenty of time will be devoted to Q&A and discussion with the audience.

We won't belabor the point - enjoy your holiday weekend! Here's the 10th reason you should be sure to join us in Augusta on October 23. 

On a sunny summer Friday, we are getting ready for weekend picnics, fairs and festivals, but we didn't want you to forget about GrowSmart Maine Summit 2012!  As we get closer, we'll be reminding you of the top 12 reasons you should be sure to join us in Augusta on October 23.  Here's...

While it feels like October is a lifetime away, rainy grey days like today remind us that it is just around the corner.  But on the bright side, October means the GrowSmart Maine Summit 2012!  As we get closer, we'll be reminding you of the top 12 reasons you should be sure to join us in Augusta on October 23.  So without further adieu...

PORTLAND- Registration is now open for GrowSmart Maine’s Summit 2012 to be held on Tuesday, October 23rd at the Augusta Civic Center. Visit growsmartmaine.org/summit to sign up now for a full day of inspiring ideas and stimulating discussion about ongoing efforts to improve Maine’s economy, revitalize our downtowns and conserve our working and natural landscapes. The day promises to energize and engage attendees in looking forward to the next steps in growing the state’s economy and protecting Maine’s unique quality of place.

I fully believe in the need to focus our investments on projects that will benefit Mainers in two ways; immediate job creation and improvements that will endure beyond the life of the original investment. With that in mind, GrowSmart Maine supports the following proposals:

This is not about preserving the current structure. There is support for some components of reshaping the SPO, sending some portion of its role to departments where the work is completely encompassed in the mission of the agency. You’ve also heard opposition over the two prior days. Our coalition has been working together to address concerns, and have developed a proposal, presented to you with my testimony.