That's a great idea. Ivey St. John of the Charlestown Waterfront Coalition is working on this as well. She is looking for help in convincing the BRA to include the Harborwalk at the Navy Yard's Parcel 5. She also needs help getting legislation passed as the walk itself would extend into the federal ship channel. Here is some info.

The Mayors of Everett and Somerville along with Sen. Barrios will be meeting with Commissioner Abbot on Feb 4th to discuss the status of the Mystic Crossing Project. A design scope has been prepared by DCR and hopefully will be presented at this meeting.

 

I will keep you informed. 

 

Officer Patrick Johnston

Everett Police - Marine Unit

617-905-3747

-----Original Message-----
From: Bryce Nesbitt (mailing list account) [mailto:bryce1@...]
Sent: Friday, January 21, 2005 6:48 PM
To: MysticCrossing@yahoogroups.com
Cc: Driscoll, Dan (MDC)
Subject: Re: [MysticCrossing] Meeting w/ DCR Abbot

Is it possible to widen the agenda, to reinforce the message
that Mystic Crossing is a connection, not just a project?

The connected network of projects is:

    Mystic Crossing
    MBTA bus yard path
    Undercrossing of Wellington/Route 28 Bridge

    Boston Harborwalk
    Route 99 Bridge Sidewalk
    Mystic Landing Development's Paths

    Assembly Square Orange Line
    Sullivan Square Orange Line


EPDMARINE wrote:

The Mayors of Everett and Somerville along with Sen. Barrios will be meeting with Commissioner Abbot on Feb 4th to discuss the status of the Mystic Crossing Project. A design scope has been prepared by DCR and hopefully will be presented at this meeting.

 

I will keep you informed. 

 

Officer Patrick Johnston

Everett Police - Marine Unit

617-905-3747

-----Original Message-----
From: Bryce Nesbitt (mailing list account) [mailto:bryce1@...]
Sent: Friday, January 21, 2005 6:48 PM
To: MysticCrossing@yahoogroups.com
Cc: Driscoll, Dan (MDC)
Subject: Re: [MysticCrossing] Meeting w/ DCR Abbot

Is it possible to widen the agenda, to reinforce the message
that Mystic Crossing is a connection, not just a project?

The connected network of projects is:

    Mystic Crossing
    MBTA bus yard path
    Undercrossing of Wellington/Route 28 Bridge

    Boston Harborwalk
    Route 99 Bridge Sidewalk
    Mystic Landing Development's Paths

    Assembly Square Orange Line
    Sullivan Square Orange Line


EPDMARINE wrote:

The Mayors of Everett and Somerville along with Sen. Barrios will be meeting with Commissioner Abbot on Feb 4th to discuss the status of the Mystic Crossing Project. A design scope has been prepared by DCR and hopefully will be presented at this meeting.

 

I will keep you informed. 

 

Officer Patrick Johnston

Everett Police - Marine Unit

617-905-3747

-----Original Message-----
From: Bryce Nesbitt (mailing list account) [mailto:bryce1@...]
Sent: Friday, January 21, 2005 6:48 PM
To: MysticCrossing@yahoogroups.com
Cc: Driscoll, Dan (MDC)
Subject: Re: [MysticCrossing] Meeting w/ DCR Abbot

Is it possible to widen the agenda, to reinforce the message
that Mystic Crossing is a connection, not just a project?

The connected network of projects is:

    Mystic Crossing
    MBTA bus yard path
    Undercrossing of Wellington/Route 28 Bridge

    Boston Harborwalk
    Route 99 Bridge Sidewalk
    Mystic Landing Development's Paths

    Assembly Square Orange Line
    Sullivan Square Orange Line


EPDMARINE wrote:

The Mayors of Everett and Somerville along with Sen. Barrios will be meeting with Commissioner Abbot on Feb 4th to discuss the status of the Mystic Crossing Project. A design scope has been prepared by DCR and hopefully will be presented at this meeting.

 

I will keep you informed. 

 

Officer Patrick Johnston

Everett Police - Marine Unit

617-905-3747

BoatU.S. Life Jacket Loaner Program
Welcomes New Marinas, Boat Clubs
Deadline February 21, 2005

Now through February 21, 2005, the BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety & Clean Water is looking for new locations to become lending sites for its free Life Jacket Loaner Program.  The program loans out children's life jackets - from readily accessible sites such as marinas, boat clubs and other waterfront businesses - to boaters who have a temporary need for a kid's life jacket for the day or weekend.  There is no cost to become a loaner site.

Presently, over 328 clubs and businesses participate as Life Jacket Loaner Program sites, which have loaned out life jackets over 50,000 times since the program began in 1997. The loaner life jackets come in kits of 12 jackets in a protective container, signage and easy-to-use sign-out sheets to track usage.  Three sizes are included for kids up to 90 pounds.

Ruth Wood, President of the BoatU.S. Foundation said, "Each year, we are excited to see this program grow - it means we are successfully educating boaters about the importance of life jackets and saving lives."

To download an application to become a Life Jacket Loaner Program site or for more information on the laws in your state, please visit http://www.BoatUS.com/Foundation/LJLP   Applications that have been approved will be announced in spring 2005.

The BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety & Clean Water is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit education and research organization primarily funded by the voluntary contributions of 575,000 members of BoatU.S., the nation's largest recreational boat owners association. The Foundation has more than a dozen programs including the only accredited, free, online general boating safety course, a low-cost EPIRB rental program, the "Help Stop the Drops" clean fueling campaign, and grants for nonprofit groups for boating safety and environmental projects.
Peter J. Urgola
Chief, Vessel Examination Dept.
USCG Auxiliary

To Subscribe or Unsubscribe from this list, visit http://safetyseal.net/index3.asp and use the link near the bottom of the page that says "Join or Leave Our Mailing List"

This afternoon Governor Romney fired the leader of the Department of
Conservation and Recreation, Katherine Abbott, and named as acting
director Steve Pritchard.  Ms. Abbott is very well-respected in the
environmental community.  To remove her from office as the merger of
the former Metropolitan District Commission and Dept. of Environmental
Management is finally beginning to settle sets back the progress of
creating a world-class parks system and protection of the environment
in Massachusetts.

The DCR manages a significant portion of the open space in Somerville,
including Foss Park, the Alewife Brook Parkway, Dilboy Field, Blessing
of the Bay Boathouse and the Mystic River Basin land in Ten Hills.
The leadership of that agency matters to our community.  For example,
this morning Ms. Abbott met with representatives from Somerville,
Everett, state representatives, and environmental and walking/biking
advocates about creating a walkway across the Amelia Earhart dam [and
a link for Charlestown behind the MBTA facility]. The project was
moving forward.  What will happen now to this important resource for
our community?

Please let Governor Romney know that this action does not serve the
best interests of Massachusetts.  You can send him a message by going
to this website:
http://www.mass.gov/Agovwebmail/WebMailPageControl.ser?level=101

Jennifer Hill

I've sent the following letter to the Governor.  Of course, I'm sure it
won't play well in the areas served by the former MDC, but it cuts to the
core problem in Massachusetts.  Is walking [or biking] a transportation use?
Or is it merely a recreational activity?

Dear Governor Romney,

Putting the recreational  agency in charge of sidewalk plowing instead of
the transportation agency is shameful enough, but you've compounded it by
hiding behind slick marketing campaigns like 'Fix it First'.

Why not 'fix' the obvious and make transportation agencies in charge of
transportation and the play agency in charge of recreation.

Of course for that to happen you would have to get to the point where the
transportation decision makers in the state would actually see walking [and
for that matter biking] as a transportation mode.

With your inappropriate firing of the head of DCR, instead of taking-on the
obvious, 'broken' components of the transportation agencies, I guess it is
clear that we're not there yet.



Craig Della Penna
62 Chestnut St
Florence, MA  01062
413-585-8559

Now this 'take' on the subject might be seen as heresy, but quite frankly,
the best maintained trails, paths and sidewalks are ALWAYS those maintained
by the TRANSPORTATION agencies.  NOT the RECREATION or PLAY agencies.

To a degree this is because the transportation agencies always have more
money, but it also cuts to the core of the mission of the agencies involved.
Moving people for valid (transportation) reasons or hosting people for
recreational purposes.

To see a trail so highly thought of for TRANSPORTATION uses, that it is
plowed, go to www.trailcam.org .  This trail is maintained by the City of
Northampton's DPW not the Parks Dept for the obvious reason---kids use it to
bike and walk to school.  Transportation uses--not recreational uses.

Ironically, in yesterdays Daily Hampshire Gazette and the Spfld Republican
there were articles about the City of Northampton's DPW agreeing to take the
lead and plow the Norwottuck Rail Trail bridge over the CT River.  This is
because MassHwy doesn't do sidewalks and DCR doesn't plow because it is
outside their core mission of recreation-and they don't have the money.

Finally, it is doubly ironic that this tragedy that precipitated this
debate,  took place in West Rox where a despicable sell off of a former RR
corridor owned by the  MBTA to politically connected adjacent landowners is
about to happen. This is the only place in Mass where this is being allowed
to happen.  Pretty sad that all these bad things happen in West Rox.

Craig Della Penna

Can anyone remember when the times were not hard and money was not scarce?

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Craig P. Della Penna wrote to Governor Romney:

>...
>
>Why not 'fix' the obvious and make transportation agencies in charge of
>transportation and the play agency in charge of recreation.
>
>
>
and later noted after the letter to the governor:

>Finally, it is doubly ironic that this tragedy that precipitated this
>debate,  took place in West Rox where a despicable sell off of a former RR
>corridor owned by the  MBTA to politically connected adjacent landowners is
>about to happen. This is the only place in Mass where this is being allowed
>to happen.  Pretty sad that all these bad things happen in West Rox.
>
>
>
It has been suggested by some that the reason that Romney took the issue
of a plow
running into pedestrians, which is really a traffic offense which itself
is not being pursued
as strenuously as it should have been, to the head of the DCR  is to
wrest control of the
parkways from the DCR to the MHD.  It has been my experience after the
blizzard
that the DCR did a pretty good job of plowing the *parkways*.  The
sidewalks and
bikepaths are another issue.  It is my feeling that the MHD is not
likely to do a better
job of plowing the paths around Boston than the DCR did.  Part of the
plan to transfer
the parkways to the MHD would be to transfer the meager maintenance
staff along
with the parkways.  Park maintenance would go down from its already
abyssimal
state as there would be almost no maintenance staff left in the DCR.
Maybe the
sidewalks along the parkways would be plowed, but bikepaths which are not
along parkways would have no one left to plow them.

-Doug Mink (who is trying to figure out ways to keep the MBTA from breaking
                      up the West Roxbury right-of-way)

Looking at the Globe articles it appears that Romney wants parkway
plowing turned over to the MHD but have sidewalk snow removal remain at
DCR.  I'm not sure how that solves the sidewalk problem.

Further, if the DCR is responsible for sidewalks along the parkways,
who's responsible for sidewalks along state highways (e.g., Rt 60 )?  If
the MHD is responsible, then how are they performing?

Also, is Rt 28 DCR or MHD responsibility?

Thursday is predicted to bring 6 to 12 inches around Boston.  It'll be
interesting to make note of (and photograph) what happens.

> Further, if the DCR is responsible for sidewalks along the
> parkways, who's responsible for sidewalks along state highways
> (e.g., Rt 60 )?  If the MHD is responsible, then how are they
> performing?
Presumably whomever is responsible for the roadway, although
they will often deflect responsibility to the property owner or
tenant for areas that run along private land (public land, in
those situations, appears to never get covered).

Rte 60 in Medford is local responsibility. 28 is DCR.

http://web.mit.edu/jfc/www/maps/towns/



__________________________________
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Take Yahoo! Mail with you! Get it on your mobile phone.
http://mobile.yahoo.com/maildemo

From: "Friends of the Fells" <friends@...>
Date: February 9, 2005 10:20:54 AM EST
To: "FOF" <friends@...>
Subject: Romney Underfunds Park System


Romney Underfunds Park System


 


Dear Friends,


On February 4, citing poor performance in parkway snow removal operations, governor Romney demanded that Commissioner Kathy Abbott resign as head of the Department of Conservation and Recreation. He said that she had adequate resources to do the job and failed to do her job properly.


But what he did next clearly showed that he didn't believe his own story. On February the 5th Romney ordered the MA Highway Department to take over plowing operations on selected parkways. If DCR indeed had adequate resources why didn't the governor just order the agency to do the job?


And why didn't Romney order a full investigation to uncover the real reasons for poor snow removal operations along the parkways?


Why indeed!


Such an investigation would point directly at the governor, who has presided over a steep drop in funding for our park system. Since 2001 the budget for DCR has been slashed an additional 37%. The environmental share of the total MA budget in 2005 was the lowest in memory.


A thorough investigation would reveal this scandalous fact: Currently the state of Massachusetts spends a mere .69¢ (a fraction of a penny) out of each budget dollar on the environment. This places the Commonwealth near the bottom -- number 48 out of the 50 states -- in environmental spending as a proportion of the total state budget.


In the Middlesex Fells we see first hand what this means. There is no management plan, vandalism is rampant, paint balls litter some trails, bikes and motorized vehicles destroy hiking trails at will. One ranger, citing lack of personnel, remarked that the Fell is like the "wild west." Lack of staffing means there are serious public safety issues in the Fells and in all parks and campgrounds.


When Romney appointed Commissioner Abbott to her post a year and a half ago he boasted he was creating a "world class park system" (see the DCR website). The Commissioner traveled across the state connecting with Friends groups. As a former park ranger and head of the Harbor Alliance she had decades of experience and offered vision and ideas for restoring our park system, a vision she shared with Fells region citizens at a forum in Melrose on January 22nd.


But the governor would not fund this vision, and now he has removed a most effective park manager.


And we will see him attempt to use the issue to ram through his special project: to commercialize the parkways by turning them over to MA Highway Department.


These policies are wrong.


Here is how a citizen who lives in the Mystic River watershed recalls Abbott's dedication:


"A few personal observations...Kathy Abbott is a rare politician, one that took personal responsibility for her actions and those of her subordinates. But it wasn't her actions that caused the VFW parkway not to be plowed. I remember meeting Kathy at a meeting of the Cambridge Pedestrian and Bicyclist Committee when she first took the reins of the new DCR. I observed her interactions with the committee and thought that she was a keeper. One of the concerns of the group was the plowing of Memorial Drive sidewalks so that the people of Cambridge could bike and walk. Her reply was that she only had 2 sidewalk plows for all the former MDC roads and she couldn't get any money to buy more plows.


Kathy Abbott "got it". She understood the needs of the people of the Mystic River watershed and while she couldn't make a silk purse from a sows ear she did return phone calls, she did attend meetings, she did TRY and she did care. The loss of Kathy Abbott will not be felt any deeper than here in the Mystic Watershed.


This snowstorm was one of the top 5 in the last century. If the practice of firing those responsible for unplowed sidewalks continues there won't be a DPW Director in Eastern Massachusetts with a job. Kathy wasn't fired because the sidewalks of the VFW Parkway were unplowed. I wonder what the real reason is?"


Throughout the Commonwealth Park advocates are outraged at Commissioner Abbott's dismissal.


Since the governor shows no interest in uncovering the real story behind this, legislators have called a public hearing at 1pm this Friday, February 11th in Room 222 at the statehouse.


There is much we can do:

Let the governor, legislators, the Environmental Affairs secretary and the press know that Romney was wrong to dismiss Abbott, is wrong to under fund our park and parkway system and wrong to push for the MA Highway Department bureaucracy to take over our historic parkways.


Email, copy emails and send as letters, and call:


•Governor Romney: Email: http://www.mass.gov/Agovwebmail/WebMailPageControl.ser?level=101


State House


Boston MA 02133

 


•Ellen Roy Herzfelder, Secretary email: env.internet@...


Executive Office of Environmental Affairs


100 Cambridge Street Suite 900


Boston MA 02114

 


•The Boston Globe


P.O. Box 2378


Boston, MA 02107-2378


E-mail letter@...

 


•The Boston Herald:


One Herald Square, PO Box 55843,


Boston MA 02205


E-mail: letterstotheeditor@...

 


•Rep Paul Donato, Medford, Malden


State House Room 448, Boston MA 02133


Rep.PaulDonato@...

 


•Rep Mike Festa, Melrose, Wakefield


State House Room 473F, Boston MA 02133


Rep.MikeFesta@...

 


•Sen. Richard Tisei: Melrose, Stoneham, Malden, Wakefield


State House Room 313-C , Boston MA 02133


Richard.Tisei@...

 


•Rep Christopher Fallon, Malden


State House Room 136, Boston MA 02133


Rep.ChristopherFallon@...

 


•Sen. Thomas McGee, Melrose, Saugus


State House Room 413-C, Boston MA 02133


Thomas.McGee@...

 


•Sen. Charles Shannon, Winchester, Medford, Somerville


State House Room 511-A, Boston MA 02133


Charles.Shannon@...

 


•Rep Paul Casey,Stoneham, Winchester


State House Room 236, Boston MA 02133


Rep.PaulCasey@...

 


Thank you,

Mike Ryan

Executive Director

Friends of the Middlesex Fells Reservation

 

The Friends of the Middlesex Fells Reservation     4 Woodland Rd     Stoneham MA 02180

www.fells.org     friends@...     781-662-2340

Unsubscribe instructions for regular Fells emails: Please send an email to unsubscribe@...  and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.


 

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I'm interested in scanning local libraries' historical maps of Medford
and surrounding areas.  Does anyone have experience with or heard about
any really good document scanning services willing to do on-site work at
a reasonable price?  If not I'll just hit the yellow pages, but that
feels kinda like a crap shoot.

Or, what the heck -- does anyone have the right equipment I could
borrow?   ( I'm guessing a really big scanner or a hi-res digital camera
on a precision mount ).

I'll be paying for this out of my own pocket, so cost is a factor
(cc'ing MysticCrossing because high geek factor there )

Thanks in advance.

> I'm interested in scanning local libraries' historical maps of
> Medford and surrounding areas.  Does anyone have experience
> with or heard about any really good document scanning services
> willing to do on-site work at a reasonable price?  If not I'll
> just hit the yellow pages, but that feels kinda like a crap
> shoot.

I used to work for a document management company. On-site work
was not the sort of thing that one would pay for out of one's
own pocket as a hobby.

> Or, what the heck -- does anyone have the right equipment I
> could borrow?   ( I'm guessing a really big scanner or a
hi-res
> digital camera on a precision mount ).

Digital camera probably wouldn't be good enough. There has been
some discussion among the Project Gutenberg Distributed
Proofreaders and consensus is that, at this point, the results
from the best cameras get barely OCR-able text. I can't imagine
a map would be accurately reproduced.

You're probably looking for an "orbital scanner" or "planetary
scanner," where the picture-taking equipment is above the
material on a rigid mount. It's similar in principle to the
digicam idea but much less chewing-gum-and-baling-wire.
Sheet-feed large format scanners probably aren't appropriate for
historical maps.



__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - 250MB free storage. Do more. Manage less.
http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250

Ugh.  Orbital -- Minolta PS7000 and BookEye -- both run about $15k and
can only handle about 17"x23"

Wide-format sheet-feed scanners are similarly pricey.

I'm starting to think hack -- a flatbed scanner & something like enblend
( http://enblend.sourceforge.net/ )

Jon Niehof wrote:

>I used to work for a document management company. On-site work
>was not the sort of thing that one would pay for out of one's
>own pocket as a hobby.
>
>
>Digital camera probably wouldn't be good enough. There has been
>some discussion among the Project Gutenberg Distributed
>Proofreaders and consensus is that, at this point, the results
>from the best cameras get barely OCR-able text. I can't imagine
>a map would be accurately reproduced.
>
>You're probably looking for an "orbital scanner" or "planetary
>scanner," where the picture-taking equipment is above the
>material on a rigid mount. It's similar in principle to the
>digicam idea but much less chewing-gum-and-baling-wire.
>Sheet-feed large format scanners probably aren't appropriate for
>historical maps.
>
>

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/02/21/green_mov
ement_pales_in_bay_state/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+City%2FRegion+News

Officer Patrick Johnston
Everett Police-Marine Unit
617-905-3747

I grew up near Louisville and my parents are still there.  If they can do
it, why can't Boston and Massachusetts do so as well?  I can tell you it's
not because Kentucky has more money than Massachusetts, that's for sure.

You can see the plan at
http://www.loukymetro.org/department/metroparks/parkland.asp

Jennifer


******************************
Jennifer Hill
Executive Director
Groundwork Somerville
PO Box 441033
408 Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02144
617.628.9988 (v)
617.623.5943 (f)
www.GroundworkSomerville.org
Changing Places, Changing Lives

-----Original Message-----
From: Jason Cissell [mailto:jason.cissell@...]
Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2005 5:02 PM
To: urban.parks@...
Subject: (Urban.Parks) Louisville's Mayor unveils "City of Parks" vision


Abramson unveils Louisville's 'City of Parks' vision

Thousands of acres, 100-mile trail build on Olmsted heritage

LOUISVILLE (Feb. 22, 2005) - Mayor Jerry Abramson announced a $20 million
initiative today that will create a wealth of new recreational opportunities
across the community and make Louisville Metro a "City of Parks."

Abramson announced a far-reaching "greenprint" for Louisville, a multi-year
vision that includes the addition of at least 2,000 acres of park land in
the Floyds Fork watershed, continued expansion of Jefferson Memorial Forest,
a hiking trail around the Louisville Metro perimeter, and a major upgrade of
the city's existing parks.

It will be the largest expansion of the community's park system since the
expansion of Jefferson Memorial Forest in the 1970s.

Thanks to major contributions from Humana Inc. co-founder and chairman David
A. Jones, his family and others, a significant portion of the land needed
for the expansion already has been acquired. Jones will lead a fundraising
effort to continue buying land.

Already known nationally for the majesty of its public parks, Louisville
Metro is embarking on a new park land project as ambitious and grand as what
came before, Abramson said.  "A century ago, world-renowned landscape
architect Frederick Law Olmsted laid out his plans for Louisville's first
park system, a superb network of green spaces linked together by tree-lined
parkways that became one of his greatest achievements," he said.

"Mr. Olmsted's excellent parks continue to serve as a major asset in our
city's quality of life.  Now the time has come for us to revisit that
tradition of excellence and extend his great vision to all parts of our
community.  Residential growth continues strong in the Floyds Fork area.  We
have a window of opportunity to preserve land there for our children and for
generations to come.

"At the same time we must also live up to the legacy Mr. Olmsted created by
making our existing parks the very best they can be."  Abramson emphasized
that the City of Parks initiative will take years to complete.

>> Jones leads partnership to raise funds
The mayor praised Jones' leadership in developing a public-private
partnership, greatly reducing the project's reliance on public funds.  "We
could not have begun this important journey without the generosity and deep
personal commitment of David Jones, his son Dan, and the rest of the Jones
family," the mayor said.

"We also appreciate and respect the foresight and community-mindedness of
Dr. Steve Henry," Abramson said, referring to the former lieutenant governor
and Jefferson County commissioner who helped create a land-conservation
foundation, Future Fund, buying hundreds of acres along Floyds Fork in the
1990s.

David Jones and his family have committed $5 million to the City of Parks
effort. They consider this an opportunity to do for 21st century Louisville
what the Olmsted parks did for the 20th century.  Jones has also committed
to raising another $15 million from a variety of private and public sources.


Abramson also announced that the James Graham Brown Foundation just last
week made a commitment to this effort in the amount of $3 million.  And Sara
Shallenberger Brown has made a $1 million gift to the project.

The mayor said he will propose $1 million to $2 million in the Louisville
Metro budget for each of the next few years.

The public will have a chance to pitch in too.  A non-profit organization,
21st Century Parks, has been formed and is seeking federal 501(c)(3) status
in order to accept tax-deductible donations.  In the interim, the Louisville
Olmsted Parks Conservancy will accept donations.

The Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit land-conservation
organization, has been instrumental to the initiative, helping negotiate
with landowners on behalf of Metro Parks in both the Floyds Fork corridor
and the Forest.

>> Effort includes park upgrades, new parks, loop trail
Besides adding new park land, Abramson said Louisville Metro is investing in
its existing parks as well. Since merger took place in January 2003, Metro
Parks has completed 67 construction and enhancement projects totaling more
than $16 million, including a major restoration of the Iroquois
Amphitheater, upgrades of Shawnee Park's "Dirt Bowl" basketball courts,
improvements to Sun Valley Park's soccer fields, and new playgrounds in
several parks, such as Charlie Vettiner Park and Riverview Park.  More than
100 additional projects are planned or already under way in parks all over
town.

In the Floyds Fork corridor, nearly 2,000 acres have been acquired or put
under option, with more to come.  The corridor will include several major
"nodes" for future parks, linked by additional green space.

The City of Parks plan includes a hiking and bicycling trail that will
eventually form a loop around the entire county - 100 miles or more in
length - and connect Olmsted parks along existing parkways.

Abramson said many of the concepts contained in the City of Parks initiative
were envisioned n Cornerstone 2020, the comprehensive land-use plan adopted
in 2000. Louisville and Jefferson County were projected to need over 8,800
acres of new park land by the year 2020.  The subsequent merger of city and
county governments helped make the project feasible, he said.

"A little over two years ago we united our government, and the greenprint we
present today will unite our neighborhoods and our people, with a trail that
will help connect all parts of our community," Abramson said.

"Parks draw people together who might not otherwise encounter one another,
bridging the gaps between city and suburb, between rich and poor, between
white and black.  Parks raise property values and make our community more
attractive to new residents, businesses and visitors.  Parks preserve
irreplaceable landscapes.  Parks give our kids a place to play, and they
allow each of us to take a break from the daily hustle and bustle."

Many details about the City of Parks effort have yet to be determined, such
as the specific uses of any new land and the extent and timing of the
expansion of Jefferson Memorial Forest. Abramson said the public will have a
chance to give its input at future meetings.  But while the project may take
as many as 15 years to complete, he said, he wanted to announce the effort
now, in order to build community support and involvement.

David Jones said he got involved because Louisville is his hometown, and he
believes in the lasting value of a well-planned park system.  "By acting
now," he said, "we can acquire and preserve land along the Floyds Fork
corridor and at the same time encourage adjacent development that is in
keeping with the vibrant Olmsted park neighborhoods. If we don't act now, we
will lose this wonderful opportunity."

Dr. Henry said: "Growth is fundamentally changing the character of our
community. Future Fund is dedicated to green spaces and good planning. I
support development but I want it to happen in a way that protects what
green spaces we have left. Land set aside for parks and open spaces is the
smart way to grow our city. I truly appreciate the many people who have
supported our efforts over the years, especially Mr. Jones and his family. I
want to especially thank Mary Bingham, a special lady who believed in this
project from the beginning."

Denise Schlener, Director of the Trust for Public Land's Chesapeake and
Central Appalachians Field Office, praised Louisville for being aggressive
in improving its parks.  "The path-breaking land conservation efforts
announced today put Louisville in a league of its own nationally," she said.
"As Louisville did a century ago when Frederick Law Olmsted was asked to
design a world-class park system for a growing population, today's leaders
are acting now to ensure that future generations will have parks, streams,
and forests to enjoy forever."

For graphic images, a detailed map and other information, please visit
www.metro-parks.org or dial MetroCall at 311 or (502) 574-5000 / 574-4091
(tdd).

###

    JASON A.C. CISSELL
    Public Information Officer, Metro Parks
    502/456.3253 (office)
    502/744.0549 (cell)
    www.metro-parks.org


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
become a member - visit our websites
www.pps.org / www.pps.org/upo

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
To send a message: urban.parks@...
To subscribe: urban.parks-subscribe@...
To unsubscribe: urban.parks-unsubscribe@... or see the unsubscribe
link at the bottom of any message.
To read the archives visit: http://www.topica.com/lists/urban.parks/read

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Hi All,

The below grant must be submitted by a NGO and must address issues in
multiple mediums(air, water, land). A couple of possible projects:

1. Mystic Crossing at Earhardt Dam - addresses "air" pollution and
public access to "water" (is that pushing it a bit?)in EJ Communities.

2. Feasibility Study of Water Based Transportation in the
Lower Mystic/Chelsea Creek. - addresses "air" pollution and "water"
transportation in EJ communities.

If one you NGO's wants to apply I will be glad to talk with you about
partnerships.


Officer Patrick Johnston
Everett Police-Marine Unit
617-905-3747



-----Original Message-----
From: Wysin.Davina@... [mailto:Wysin.Davina@...]

Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2005 6:28 PM
To: Wysin.Davina@...
Subject: EPA Soliciting Environmental Justice Small Grant Applications


**NOTE:  IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE REMOVED FROM THE EPA NEW ENGLAND
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE LIST SERVER, PLEASE REPLY TO THE SENDER WITH THE
WORDS "REMOVE FROM EJ NEWS" IN THE SUBJECT.

EPA Soliciting Environmental Justice Small Grant Applications; Three
Calls Scheduled in March Covering Eligibility The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency has announced a request for applications (RFA) for the
Environmental Justice (EJ) Small Grants program, and the EPA's New
England office is sponsoring a series of conference calls for potential
applicants in March on eligibility criteria.

Under this new funding opportunity, projects are sought from
community-based organizations that address a community's exposure to
multiple environmental harms and risks. This program will fund two types
of projects: (1) projects that address pollution in more than one
environmental medium (i.e., land, air and water), called multi-media
projects; and (2) research projects specific to hazardous substances
defined under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and
Liability Act or "Superfund," called CERCLA research projects. Note that
only community-based organizations that are nongovernmental,
not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organizations located in the affected community
are eligible for the EJ Small Grants program. The focus of this year's
program, however, is on collaborative partnerships, and applicants must
demonstrate how they plan to collaborate with other entities (e.g.,
businesses, academic institutions, environmental organizations and
federal, state and local governments, among others) to complete their
proposed projects.

A total of $750,000 is available to support EJ Small Grant projects
nationally, $250,000 of which is available for CERCLA research projects
only. Funding is being divided equally among the 10 federal regions, so
EPA New England expects to award three $25,000 grants, including one
CERCLA research project. Note that funding levels for this fiscal year
do not permit the Office of Environmental Justice to fund both the EJ
Small Grants program and the Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative
Agreement program. Therefore, EPA chose to fund the EJ Small Grants
program in order to provide funding to more community-based
organizations across the country.

The deadline to submit completed application packages for the 2005 EJ
Small Grants program is midnight on Monday, April 4th, 2005.

UPCOMING CONFERENCE CALLS
EPA's New England office is sponsoring three conference calls on the
following dates and times in March to go over eligibility criteria for
the EJ Small Grants program:

Tuesday, March 8th at 2:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 10th, at 10:00 a.m.
Wednesday, March 23th, at 1:00 p.m

To sign up for any of the calls listed above, contact Davina Wysin at
Wysin.Davina@... or 617-918-1020. Please note that space is limited
for each call, so register early.

MORE INFORMATION
For detailed information about the EJ Small Grants program, including a
copy of the current application and profiles of past projects, please
visit the EPA's Office of Environmental Justice website at:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ej/grants/ej_smgrants.html

A Spanish version of the RFA will be made available on the website
shortly.

Check out the Feb. 24th entry:

http://www.owczarek.com/blog.html

Tom Brady is the Conservation Administrator and Tree Warden for the Town of Brookline and Past President of the MA Tree Wardens and Foresters Association, Eastern Extension Center.

Just a quick news blip- Check out the first page of the City Weekly
section of March 27 Boston Globe- "What's with that?" One of the five
local landmarks explained is the Amelia Earhart dam!

--
Lisa Brukilacchio
Community Engagement Specialist,
Lincoln Filene Center for Community Partnerships
University College of Citizenship and Public Service
Lincoln Filene Hall
Tufts University
Medford, MA  02155

Tel. 617-627-3076
Fax 617-627-4124
www.uccps.tufts.edu
lisa.brukilacchio@...