Category: Articles
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Money is No Object
Money Is No Object From time to time, I hear rumbles that the concept of a creative community is, well,……perhaps the word is high falutin’. Somewhere along the line, creative thinking and wanting something beautiful and expressive became all mixed up with elitism. I have two simple examples of how profoundly off-base this idea is.…
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Lessons to Learn From Finland?
Did you hear about the school whose students rate the highest in the world in science and close to the top in math among the top 57 countries? And oh, by the way, assign very little homework, don’t have school uniforms, no “achievement award” programs like honor societies, very little standardized testing and wait until…
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West Virginia Says YES to Entrepreneurs
Last night in Morgantown, Martinsburg, Charleston and Fayetteville, dozens of young entrepreneurs gathered to launch the YES Network (Young Entrepreneurs Support). It was an energizing and inspirational milestone for the Vision Shared Entrepreneurship team – congratulations! It is YES Network’s goal to: provide active, consistent programming that spurs the development of peer to peer and…
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Creative Communities Resolution
In preparation for future legislation in support of building creative communities for the new economy, the West Virginia House of Representatives passed House Concurrent Resolution 63 (HCR63) in Wednesday. This is an exciting step towards building the awareness and insight among our state legislators on how to draft legislation to support creative economy activity and…
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Talent or Taxes? Where Should We Become Leaders?
If you were the Governor, or a leader in the Legislature, where would you place your bet for future economic development in West Virginia? Would you prioritize the development and recruitment of talented, highly-educated workers, researchers and teachers to build up our state’s brainpower, or take a much more aggressive whack at eliminating what are…
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Planners as Case Workers for Communities
A Guest Post by Calah Young, AICP, Terrell Ellis & Associates: As a practicing planner and consultant in West Virginia I often find myself playing the role of social worker to communities in trouble. According to Wikipedia the main tasks of social workers are “casework (linking clients with agencies and programs that will meet their…
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Elkins: A Creative Mountain Community
After spending a couple of days in Elkins, it is easy to grasp the creative potential of one of West Virginia’s larger small towns. With its Vision 2010 plan, it has developed an impressive roadmap for the future. Sitting in the heart of West Virginia’s mountain highlands, natural beauty is a given. License plates from…
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Research, Innovation, Commercialization…Growth
The innovation economy continues to pop up its head in West Virginia. While still not quite up to the growth rate found in other states, West Virginia’s technology, biomedical and related R&D-driven industries are beginning to share the impact they are having on our prosperity. The most recent update was from WVU, supported by the…
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Cafe Cimino Brings Quality to Sutton’s Place
If you asked a business consultant for an ideal location to place a high-end, nationally recognized restaurant and country inn, Sutton, WV, in Braxton County, may not show up on the list…or at least not near the top. createwv.typepad.com However, Tim and Melody Urbanic, the entrepreneurs who started Cafcreatewv.typepad.come Cimino nine years ago, turned their…
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Rural Broadband Education Workshops
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will conduct four educational workshops focused on rural broadband during 2008. The workshops will provide an opportunity for communities and organizations in rural America seeking to bring the benefits of broadband to their communities to learn about the resources, programs, and policies of…