January 17, 2020

Weekly Reader

Friday, January 17, 2020

Economic Development
The CWCOG Economic Development District and the Cowlitz Economic Development Council and holding a kickoff meeting for a local investment network. Click here for more information on the February 5 event designed to encourage local investors to invest in local businesses.

According to the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) “Save.Your.Town has released the results of its Survey of Rural Challenges, which asked rural people what challenges they most want help with and what actions they are taking to address them. The results don’t match the common themes in media coverage and policy conversation around rural communities. For all the discussion around small business lending, people say usable buildings are harder to find than loans in small towns. Despite the media coverage of factory and mine closures, rural people are more interested in their downtowns. Defying the crisis of the moment pessimism, rural people are focused on solutions. Click here to learn more about the results of the survey.”

Also from NADO “The Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group and Housing Assistance Council are conducting a survey to better understand the landscape of organizations doing development work in rural America. The information you share will shine light on what it takes for practitioners of rural development to do what they do and will help better tailor the work of the Aspen Institute and Housing Assistance Council’s organizations to address current situations, concerns, and opportunities. Access the survey here.”

Transportation
The Final report from the Washington State road Usage Charge Assessment is available for review on the Washington State Transportation Commission website.

Washington Department of Ecology has extended the due date for the funding opportunity to Purchase and Install EV Charging Infrastructure along High-Traffic Transportation Corridors in Washington. Applications are now due Tuesday, March 10^th at 5pm PST. Here are links for Ecology’s grants and loans webpage and grant Guidelines.

According to the National Association of Regional Councils report on a recent American Transportation Research Institute report, federal and state governments are falling way behind automated vehicle (AV) technology. On January 13th, ATRI released a report titled “Redefining the Role of Government Activities in Automated Trucking,” which highlights actions the government has not taken to get automated trucks on the road. In its report, ATRI recommends stronger federal leadership in establishing national policy and AV standards. The institute recommends the federal government determine the top decision-making agency for AV policy and establish a clear hierarchy for regulatory agencies. ATRI also proposes that states coordinate with each other to develop a standardized product liability policy for AV technologies.

Here is a recent article from Marketplace providing details on driverless delivery vehicles being allowed on California streets.

Here is an article that suggests more federal funding is needed to increase Americans’ active transportation habits.

Community Development / Other
Poverty Guidelines were published this week. Click here to access details relating to the information below.

Census Resources – the Washington Nonprofits census page has developed a number of Census resources including toolkit. The resources have a non-profit focus but might provide thoughts on how you might be able to positively impact the Census Day 2020 participation rate.