On Tues., March 3, 2009, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden unveiled an official logo to designate projects funded by the ARRA. You can read the official notice on the recovery.gov Web site and watch the President’s speech by clicking here.
We Are Public Works Network
Visit We Are Public WorksLast month, the American Public Works Association (APWA) launched an online network for those of us working in the public works industry. Since beginning late in February, WEAREPUBLICWORKS.ORG has grown to over a hundred members. And even though APWA launched the site, you don’t have to be a member of APWA…
How Attending an APWA Workshop Saved Our City $1M
As management teams work on their budgets over the next few weeks, some might look at trimming expenses by cutting back on staff training. But my experience has been that a little bit of education can go a long way. Come, travel down memory lane with me, and I will show you how one workshop…
Public Works Industry Starting to Blog
Over the last few years, I have been on the lookout for blogs and other social media related to the public works industry. Up until lately that trough has been a little dry, but fortunately that seems to finally be changing. As I was working on a presentation I am giving in March in Springfield,…
Stimulus Money Won’t Stimulate?
I am disappointed to have to write this blog post but wanted to make sure others were aware of what is happening due to the language of the Recovery Bill with respect to road construction. So far, from what I have been told by DOT employees, the only roads that will be eligible to receive…
Frozen Meters Exposed – Don’t Try This at Home
A water meter usually sits in a basement or crawlspace off in a corner, forgotten, and often ignored. But when temperatures start to dip below 0° F, and the water in the meter freezes because no one thought to keep their meter nice and toasty warm, this water measuring device starts to get a little…
Reaction Grid: Building Community, Nurturing Business, and Throwing Tomatoes
Back in 2006, I decided to join and explore the Second Life community in order to find out how it could help me as an engineer. I was also interested in finding out how it could help promote our community. As I became more involved, I realized there was even more potential to virtual worlds…
Your Social Media Journey Begins Here
So how many times have you tried to convince your friends and colleagues that they should be on Twitter or LinkedIn? Are you the person making the rounds in your office showing everyone Second Life and trying to convince them of the benefits of virtual worlds. I know I am one of those people shouting…
Stimulus Package Status Report
If your community is like ours, you have received very little information about the much publicized economic stimulus package currently under consideration by our legislators and President-elect Obama. For a small town, this is frustrating because if this does happen, the opportunity will be a once-in-a-lifetime deal. So we sit on the edge of our…
Lose the Politician
While I don’t normally like to touch too strongly on politics in any article or blog I write, I saw something today on the GovLoop site (posted by Andrew Krzmarzick) that is so potentially life-changing, you need to see it. This very short video presents a thought-provoking and powerful message about how government is and…