Category: Articles
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Government’s Role in the New Economy
Whatever your opinion of government, whether you fall into the pure free-markets, “less is more” camp or the hands-on government camp, there should be one thing we all agree on: government has quite an influence on our state. With up to 52% of our state economy somehow connected to government spending (yes, the highest in…
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Building Our Collective Creativity
Our rallying cry for Create West Virginia is provided by legendary communications guru and author George Lois: “Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything.” So how exactly do we embrace this mantra and develop our collective creativity in West Virginia? How do we apply this…
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What is West Virginia’s Brand?
What does the name West Virginia stand for in the minds of most people? For those in the business world, this is often referred to as our “brand.” One definition of the term brand from BusinessDictionary.com is: Unique design, sign, symbol, words, or a combination of these, employed in creating an image that identifies a…
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OneWVU – Getting Proactive in the Fight Against Bigotry
With some of the recent concerns over racial discrimination in our state, it is important to identify and celebrate examples of people taking a stand against bigotry. OneWVU was developed after a WVU soccer player, who is black, was harassed with a racial epithet on campus. WVU’s soccer coach, Marion LeBlanc, who is also black,…
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Economic Gardening
Way back in 1987, the City of Littleton, Colorado pioneered an entrepreneurial alternative to the traditional economic development practice of recruiting industries. This demonstration program, developed in conjunction with the Center for the New West, was called “economic gardening.” The belief was that “economic gardening” was a better approach for Littleton (and perhaps many other…
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“Teach to Test” – not in the 21st Century.
State School Superintendent Steve Paine’s recognition that “we’ve relied too heavily on standardized tests to improve student performance” and that standardized tests like WESTEST are “not good as a tool to improve individual student achievement” (Daily Mail, Jan.2) is a welcome start to making education relevant again for students. Emphasizing fine arts, wellness, global awareness,…
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WV State U Extension Site is Fabulous!
Just ran across a new site today after seeing a comment on Bill Gardners’s Oncee@Blogger blog. By the way, if you’re into blogging and facebook and in the Charleston area, you ought to check out the Charleston Area Bloggers facebook group. So in response to the post Bill wrote about Sarah Winn’s Gazette article on…
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Vote for Berkeley Springs – #1 Small Town Art Destination
From our friend Jeanne Mozier, artistic promoter extraordinaire: Dear Folks, It’s that time of year again…an appeal to ONCE AGAIN VOTE FOR BERKELEY SPRINGS as the #1 art destination in America among small cities and towns. Last year we dropped to #12. It was embarrassing — or maybe we should feel proud that other towns…
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MLK Day Thoughts: How Do We Overcome?
It sometimes seems odd to greet someone with a “Happy Martin Luther King Day” greeting, doesn’t it? The seriousness of the topic of equality and justice, and the recency of Dr. King’s life and death (Were they really hosing kids in Alabama and segregating people all over this country when I was in elementary school?…
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Measuring Return on New Economy Investment
The recent proposal by Governor Manchin to essentially mimic Kentucky’s “Bucks for Brains” program on a smaller scale is an encouraging sign that our state is ready to think beyond traditional economic development boundaries. While it would be great if West Virginia were someday on the leading edge of creative initiatives like Bucks for Brains,…