Aug 30 - Sept. 22
Frankenstein: Or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley is this year's choice for the annual reading program, One Community, One Story. Join us downtown for a traveling exhibit that takes you even deeper into the scientific advances proposed by Mary Shelley. The display, created by the National Library of Medicine in collaboration with the American Library Association, proposes new questions about science and medical ethics while unlocking the secrets of an era gone by. Other special events include reading and discussion groups and screenings of the original 1931 movie with Boris Karloff , and the Mel Brooks comedy, Young Frankenstein. >Link
Aug. 27 - Sept. 25; opening reception, 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday 8/27
Weatherhead Gallery, University of Saint Francis, 2701 Spring St.;
call 434-3100 for more information. >Link
Last fall, the American Planning Association joined the Enterprise Foundation, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the American Institute of Architects, in launching the Green Communities Initiative. GCI is a multi-year program with an ambitious goal: to transform the way people think about and build affordable housing in America.
With the support of a dozen prominent philanthropic and financial institutions, the Green Communities Initiative will invest more than $550 million over the next five years to create 8,500 environmentally friendly affordable homes across the United States. These homes may be newly constructed or renovated, single or multifamily, for rent or ownership. The entities that produce them may be for-profit or not-for-profit. But they must all meet rigorous criteria in the areas of energy and resource efficiency; healthy materials and systems; and smart, sustainable development. Housing providers that meet the test will receive design and planning grants, loans, and equity. The initiative will also include training and technical assistance to community-based groups and homebuilders participating in the program.
While helping address the critical lack of affordable housing in the country, the Green Communities Initiative also seeks to engage public, private, and non-profit sectors in an effort to ensure that the neighborhoods surrounding these affordable homes are also "green" in a number of ways: how they handle stormwater, how they provide transportation alternatives, and so forth.
During the life of the program, APA and its partners will work to encourage elected leaders at local, state, and national levels to create a more supportive climate for these kinds of homes and neighborhoods by revising existing regulations and incentives where necessary and crafting new, innovative programs and policies.
That is why we need your help!
Because we know that the low-income housing tax credit is a major tool for attracting private investment into the affordable housing market, the Enterprise Foundation is currently gathering information on the way that every state frames its annual Qualified Allocation Plan for the credits. In some states, the QAP awards extra points to affordable housing projects that will use environmentally-friendly materials, reduce homeowner's monthly energy costs, etc. This research will enable us to celebrate states that are in the vanguard, share their techniques, and identify opportunities for advocacy.
At the same time, we would appreciate hearing from you whether your city or state has additional policies, programs, or incentives to promote green affordable housing -- or green building, landscapes, and neighborhoods in general. We seek to identify states and cities that have such policies in place, as well as those that may be open to adopting them. So please take a few minutes to copy the following questions into an e-mail and send your information to gci@planning.org.
We will compile the results, share the information with our partners in this initiative and also provide it to APA's Merriam Research Library in Chicago, where our Planning Advisory Service staff will be able to make use of it in responding to PAS inquiries from across the country.
In terms of the Green Communities Initiative itself, having an overview of green-friendly state and local policies – particularly those that may be relevant to affordable housing and neighborhood development -- will help inform subsequent activities, including communications, education, advocacy, and, possibly, targeted demonstration projects.
Please note that we are not asking for extensive documentation. If you can simply point us in the direction of a relevant policy or program -- perhaps giving us a web address, an e-mail contact, or the name and number of an appropriate person for follow-up -- that will be a great help.
1. Does your city or state have any affordable housing polices or programs that advance green, smart and sustainable development?
If so, please provide a brief description, a web citation, or any other relevant information.
2. Does your city or state have such policies or programs that are not explicitly limited to housing, but which may be applicable?
If so please provide a brief description, a web citation, or any other relevant information.
3. Have your state or local leaders -- elected or appointed -- identified energy and resource efficiency, healthier environments and/or smart growth and development as priorities?
If so, please provide pertinent citations or contact information.
4. Would you be interested in participating in efforts to make your city's or your state's affordable housing greener, smarter and more sustainable?
If so, please provide us with your contact information and we will keep you informed of the Green Communities Initiative and future opportunities for involvement.
Again, please copy these four questions into the body of an e-mail and send it together with your answers to gci@planning.org. Thanks for your help!
Click here for more information on APA's involvement in the Green Communities Initiative.
For more information on how you or others in your community can submit affordable housing construction and renovation projects to GCI for consideration, see: www.enterprisefoundation.org/resources/green/index.asp.
Copyright 2005 American Planning Association All Rights Reserved
Saturday, August 20, 8:30am to noon. 334 E. Berry St.
RESTORE rather than replace those great wood windows! Ron Zmyslo from Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana will be conducting a workshop on the restoration of wood windows at the McCulloch-Weatherhogg house at 334 E. Berry St. Call ARCH at 260-426-5117 to reserve a space. Cost is $10.
It's surprisingly simple.Over the past 30 years Project for Public Spaces has evaluated more than 1,000 public spaces, and informally investigated tens of thousands more. From all this we have discovered that most great places--whether a grand downtown plaza or humble neighborhood park--share four key qualities:
Paying attention to these qualities can help you evaluate the public spaces in your own community, and make the changes that can transform them into great places. >Link
- It is accessible and well-connected to other important places in the area.
- The space is comfortable and projects a good image.
- People are drawn to participate in activities there.
- It is a sociable place where people like to gather, visiting it again and again.
Young group to open Barr Market for local vendors
By Ryan Lengerich
A lost piece of downtown history will be revived when a group of young professionals opens the Barr Street Market next month.
Farmers will sell their produce and vegetables for four straight Saturday mornings beginning Sept. 10 thanks to the efforts of Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana. It marks a renewal for the once booming market that served Fort Wayne for more than a century. The market slowly crumbled as downtown changed after World War II and suburban sprawl made such marketplaces less relevant.
"The focus of the market is to provide people a place to come downtown and buy some products they can't get anywhere else," said Andrew Thomas, an organizer with Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana.
Young Leaders, a volunteer group that formed this spring, has about 400 members who promote youth involvement. At the group's first meeting members discussed the need for a downtown market. Breathing life into the Barr Street Market seemed a natural fit, and the group had the members to pull it off.
Opened in the 1830s, the Barr Street Market was a downtown staple until it closed in 1957. It opened again in a smaller capacity in the 1970s but never enjoyed the same prominence again.
The land is owned by the Allen County/Fort Wayne Historical Society, which operated the market in the early 1990s, but the society did not have the staff to keep it open, said Julie Morrison, marketing director for the History Center.
Thomas has secured verbal commitments from about eight vendors. Dan Flotow, a certified organic farmer in Allen County, might sell his produce on Barr Street if his schedule permits.
"Fort Wayne is underserved, that is the biggest thing," Flotow said. "In other cities the same size as Fort Wayne there are several farmers markets -- and (they are) downtown."
Vendors will set the prices, though they may not be as cheap as they were in 1925, when cottage cheese was 25 cents per quart.
Thomas said arts and craft vendors may set up shop, but he is seeking quality food vendors.
"A lot of the people we have polled have been excited about this. We want to make sure we have a quality product," Thomas said. Feedback will determine whether Young Leaders will open for a full season from spring through fall next year.
"We will not be another festival or event," he said. "What we want to do is create a reoccurring event."
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Visit the Barr Street Market
- What: A revival of the once prominent downtown marketplace
- When: 8 a.m.-noon Saturdays from Sept. 10 through Oct. 1
- Where: Historic Barr Street Market, corner of Barr Street and Wayne Street, downtown
- Organizers: Young Leaders Northeast Indiana ( www.ylni.org)
- Sponsors: Area businesses will sponsor the market, said Andrew Thomas of YLNI.
- No admission price; vendors determine market prices.
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Vendors needed
- E-mail Andrew Thomas at impact@ylni.org. There is no vendor fee.
- Types of products that may be offered include but are not limited to: fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, herbs, spices, cheeses, jams, salsa, pasta sauces, soups, honey, maple syrup, breads, noodles, pastries
Northeast Indiana’s premier quarterly lifestyle magazine highlighting the best in upscale living in the region has announced a name change to better reflect its focus and personality.
Beginning with the August 2005 issue, the former Fortitude magazine will now be known as Fort Wayne Living.
“Fortitude has been successful since its inception,” explains Dan Copeland, publisher. “As the magazine has evolved, however, it has become evident that the name doesn’t quite fit. We believe Fort Wayne Living is the perfect name for a lifestyle magazine aimed at active readers throughout northeast Indiana.”
Since its first issue debuted in November 2003, Fortitude has published a lively and informative mix of riveting feature stories, colorful profiles of local and national personalities, travel recommendations, the latest in men’s and women’s fashion, the best in regional arts and entertainment, and much more. Such comprehensive offerings will only get better with Fort Wayne Living.
Fort Wayne-based Michiana Business Publications publishes Fort Wayne Living, along with its monthly business magazine, Business People; it’s semi-annual wedding guide, planning your wedding; and a number of annual and custom publications.
Issues of the latest issue of Fort Wayne Living (as well as Business People) are available at three Fort Wayne locations: Barnes & Noble in Jefferson Pointe; Borders on Coldwater Road; and the downtown Riegel’s on Calhoun Street.
Subscription and advertising information is available through the company’s Web site, businesspeople.com, or by calling (260) 497-0433.
By William J. Kole
Associated Press
VIENNA, Austria -- Vienna's prestigious Leopold Museum is usually a pretty buttoned-down place, but on Friday, some of the nudes in its marble galleries were for real.
Scores of naked or scantily clad people wandered the museum, lured by an offer of free entry to "The Naked Truth," an exhibition of early 1900s erotic art, if they showed up wearing just a swimsuit -- or nothing at all.
With a heat wave sweeping much of Europe, pushing temperatures into the mid-90s in Vienna, the museum decided that making the most of its cool, climate-controlled space would spur interest in the show.
"We find a naked body every bit as beautiful as a clothed one," said Elisabeth Leopold, who founded the museum with her husband, Rudolf. "If they came only out of lust, we have to accept that. We stand for the truth."
Peter Weinhaeupl, the Leopold's commercial director, said the goal was twofold -- to help people beat the heat while creating a mini-scandal reminiscent of the way the art works by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka and others shocked the public when they were unveiled a century ago.
"We wanted to give people a chance to cool off, and bring nakedness into the open," he said. "It's a bit of an experiment. Egon Schiele was a young and wild person in his day. He'd want to be here."
Most of those who showed up in little or no attire Friday opted for swimsuits, but a few hardy souls dared to bare more. Among them was Bettina Huth of Stuttgart, Germany, who roamed the exhibition wearing only sandals and a black bikini bottom.
Although she used a program at one point to shield herself from a phalanx of TV cameras, Huth, 52, said she didn't understand what all the fuss was about.
"I go into the steam bath every week, so I'm used to being naked," she said. "I think there's a double morality, especially in America. We lived in California for two years, and I found it strange that my children had to cover themselves up at the beach when they were only 3 or 4 years old. That's ridiculous."
For years, the Austrian capital has been known for a small but lively nudist colony on the Donauinsel, an island in the middle of the Danube River where people disrobe, often startling unsuspecting joggers and cyclists who happen upon them.
Overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Austria has always been somewhat more conservative than many other European countries. The Viennese were scandalized when native art nouveau masters like Klimt -- best known for his sensuous "The Kiss" and the subject of an upcoming film starring John Malkovich -- began producing works some critics panned as "indecency," "artistic self-pollution" and borderline pornography.