SYDNEY, Australia

“Sydney is a global city with an amazing range of things to see and do, but that doesn’t mean we can’t improve it,” the Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, said.

“When we asked residents what they wanted for their city at night, they said ‘more diversity and new options, from pop-up events to art shows, cafés and bars’.

Workshops will guide existing and potential small-business operators and event organisers through the approval process for concerts, one-off shows, outdoor dining and other activities.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP said these workshops would help further energise Sydney’s cultural scene and boost creativity.

“Businesses told us they wanted to bring more street dining and live music to the city, but the paperwork was complex and time consuming, and they were discouraged.

“These latest workshops will help transform great ideas into reality and improve the city for everybody.”

The City is hosting  six “101″-style workshops:

• Food businesses – already held
• Development applications – already held
• Small bars – Tuesday 12 June, 6.30pm-8.30pm
• Live music – Tuesday 10 July, 10am-noon
• Development applications – Tuesday 7 August, 6pm-8pm
• Pop ups – Tuesday 2 October, 6pm-8pm

The workshops will feature guest speakers from the City and industry, and include case studies given by business operators who have been through the process.

Commenting on this initiative, Executive Director of innovation agency 2thinknow, said: “We encourage other cities to follow cities lead. Make it easier for small innovative businesses. Because these cool, small whirlwind businesses are the type that spark the creativity of the global cities movement.”

“Think experimental ideas, for the next big innovation, that may create a 1000 jobs 5 years from now.”

The series builds on the momentum and positive feedback generated by workshops last year which attracted more than 100 businesses, as well as the workshops conducted for the City’s small bars program.

Gaye Valtilla and her partner Joop van Heusden were working in the advertising industry when they decided to change direction and open Absinthe Salon, a unique concept bar in Surry Hills that specialises in the aromatic and mysterious aperitif.

“It was a steep learning curve for us to manoeuvre through the alien territory of applications and licensing,” Gaye said. “The small bar seminar held by the City of Sydney helped put us in contact with the right people to ask the right questions, and to get the right answers.

“We highly recommend anyone starting out on a new venture to attend any workshops held by the City of Sydney,” she said.

Suzie Matthews, the City’s Late Night Economy Manager, said the workshops are about stimulating new experiences in the city that are unusual, interesting and fun.

“We know that getting approvals for a new venture can appear to be a daunting task,” she said. “We want to help people with the process so they can get on with coming up with creative ideas.”

2thinknow innovation analysts added that a late night economy “works for cities like Sydney with favorable conditions for a global economy.”

By attending the workshops, potential small bar owners, event organisers and others can gain a greater understanding of the consent process while also learning exactly what their obligations are on things like health standards and noise compliance.

People can also learn why premises may come to the City’s attention, something that is important for them to avoid any pitfalls.

“Workshops like this are all about supporting small businesses so they can bring more and different options for Sydneysiders late at night,” said the Lord Mayor.

SOURCE: City of Sydney, http://www.sydneymedia.com.au/html/5017-making-business-in-the-city-easy.asp, and 2thinknow innovation analysts.

PHOTO SOURCE: https://secure.flickr.com/photos/kevincure/3022272758/

2thinknow is an innovation agency, and publisher of this journal.

The new platform is available as a cloud-hosted SaaS model at www.magicboxinc.com

2thinknow innovation analysts identified this as a further example of business inellectual property and communication assets moving into the cloud — and web-based control. “The web is fast becoming the plumbing of corporate assets”, said Christopher Hire, for 2thinknow.

According to the vendors, “We’re making digital signage more affordable and more manageable by leveraging the efficiency of platform maintenance and security in the cloud,” said Tom Searcy, Vice President, Digital Signage Business.

“With easy to use web based software applications, you can upload and access your content while managing your signage network from a single centralized location or multiple remote locations. As organizations grow, the SaaS model provides the most affordable and secure way to scale their signage network with a powerful web-based software solution.”

The MagicBox WebSuite incorporates several new applications, including content creation and asset management inside of the browser for a comprehensive design to verification experience. With the new applications, multiple users can simultaneously create and edit multiple projects.

Applications included in the MagicBox WebSuite are:

• Composer – flexible application to manage assets, custom-build layout, schedule & publish projects
• Ad Logger – for network and verification impression analytics
• Audio Manager – for audio playlist creation and management software

Additionally, the WebSuite offers enterprise-class user access controls for efficient planning and added security.  These administrative applications include:

• Library – to upload and support content repository management
• User Manager – for administering user roles and security levels
• Player Manager – to set up and organize signage players on the network
• Remote Update – for signage player firmware updates

ClearOne designs, develops and sells conferencing, collaboration, streaming and digital signage solutions for audio, video and data multimedia communication. MagicBox enables end users to combine text, graphics and multi-media content from any location.

2thinknow innovation analysts comment on the latest innovations, and are publishers of this journal.

SOURCE: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/clearone-launches-new-saas-cloud-hosted-digital-signage-software-platform-148963735.html and companies

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/80098386/sizes/n/in/photostream/

So centralized energy is part of the equation, along with electric vehicles.

From the vehicular side of the equation, one city, Vancouver in Canada has been supporting electric vehicles, as part of its goals to be the greenest city in the world in the following ways:

• In February 2012, the City launched its $800,000 Charge And Go Vancouver electric vehicle infrastructure trial that will install at least 67 chargers for use at home, work and ‘on-the-go’ by the end of 2013. The trial, funded by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Province of BC, BC Hydro and the City will provide knowledge and understanding of different charge stations, their installation needs and the suitability of different sites, while increasing the opportunity for EV owners to charge their vehicles – which will help inform future work.
• Through Project Get Ready Vancouver, a collaboration between BCIT, the Rocky Mountain Institute and the City of Vancouver, a ‘menu of actions’ has been developed to guide the City’s efforts in removing barriers to wide-scale use of electric vehicles.
• Supporting electric vehicle (EV) car share opportunities. The local car co-op Modo has included a Nissan Leaf in their car share network to be used by both City staff and Modo members. The City has installed the electric vehicle charger and owns a Mitsubishi iMieV that was used to test out car sharing using EVs with City staff;
• Developing and testing an EV charging network trial for homes, workplaces, and public spaces including fuel stations, community centres and parking lots, in partnership with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, BC Hydro, BC Government, Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association and other stakeholders;
• Requiring all new single-family homes and off-street bicycle storage rooms to have dedicated electric plug-in outlets; Requiring charging infrastructure for 20% of all parking stalls in new condo buildings;
• Leading an electric vehicle charging infrastructure pilot program for home, work and on the go as part of a broader conservation collaborative with BC Hydro;
• Encouraging all major automakers to bring their new electric vehicles to Vancouver as soon as possible;
• Owning the first Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) deployed in a Vancouver Fleet. It is a stock Toyota Prius Hybrid with a Plug-In Conversion Module that increases the car’s electrical capacity by more than ten times;
• Signing a non exclusive agreement with Mitsubishi, BC Hydro and the BC Government to test what Mitsubishi describes as the world’s first production-ready, highway-capable electric car to be produced this year in Japan. The i MiEV has joined the City’s fleet in Nov 2009 for demonstration and evaluation purposes. Read letter from Vancouver’s Mayor to Mitsubishi factory workers; and
• Working with representatives from Renault-Nissan, the Province of BC, and BC Hydro to identify opportunities to promote the use of zero-emission vehicles in Vancouver and other areas in BC. Discussions will also explore the establishment of charging infrastructure in Vancouver.

2thinknow analysts expressed the view, that some of these ideas may be of interest to other cities consider electric car initiatives.

They also cautioned that for new electric vehicles to be truly green, electricity sources must be truly green. And added that electric vehicles may in future provide value as a competing market alternative to gasoline/diesel vehicles.

SOURCE: http://vancouver.ca/sustainability/electric_vehicles.htm#1 and 2thinknow

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rnddave/4941304511/sizes/n/in/photostream/

The forum was presented by Enterprise Toronto at the North York Civic Centre on April 24.

The event featured a full day of free seminars, presentations and information sharing among arts-business professionals. Subjects ranged from grants and contracts to business planning and social media.

“The arts business has a large impact on Toronto’s economy,” said Councillor Michael Thompson (Ward 37 Scarborough Centre), Chair of the City’s Economic Development Committee. “Our cultural sector employs nearly 133,000 people and annually generates $9 billion in GDP. Events like this help arts-based businesses to achieve their full financial and artistic potential.”

The day’s keynote speaker, Charles Pachter, is an inspiring example of how to build a sustainable business over five decades with integrity and passion. One of Canada’s leading contemporary artists and an Officer of the Order of Canada, Pachter is a painter, printmaker, sculptor, designer and lecturer. Born in Toronto, he continues to live downtown near Grange Park. His works are on display in the gallery adjoining his home.

Pachter’s works have been exhibited at the Royal Ontario Museum and Art Gallery of Ontario, and he is represented in public and private collections in Canada, the United States, Europe, Japan and India. His “Hockey Knights in Canada” mural is seen daily by thousands at the College Station subway, while his flag paintings hang in the Canadian Embassy in Washington, in the Parliament Buildings and the Prime Minister’s residence.

The Small Business Arts Forum featured seminars and presentations by some of Toronto’s most innovative, successful practitioners in the city’s arts and culture sector. This educational and networking event is geared toward Toronto artists and cultural businesses to increase their awareness and access to business support and resources. The event provides skill-building opportunities for entrepreneurs and small businesses in need of marketing, financing or operational assistance.

Produced and presented by Enterprise Toronto, the Small Business Arts Forum is an initiative of the City of Toronto’s Economic Development and Culture Division.

SOURCE: http://wx.toronto.ca/inter/it/newsrel.nsf/7017df2f20edbe2885256619004e428e/53295fbbe1f55c46852579df005e3087?OpenDocument

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mshades/415411088/sizes/n/in/photostream/

The device features battery backup in the event of a power failure, childproof settings, and can be password protected by a caretaker. If the patient misses a dose of medication, it signals the caregiver to alert them of the situation.

“With Dispense-A-Pill we are able to dispense up to eight different medications per day without limiting the number of dispenses. This is great for people with Parkinson, AIDS, and other diseases that require many dispenses,” said Jason Seyler, who is Automated Security Alert’s Director of Life Safety.

The device is designed to assist those with chronic health conditions.

Automated Security Alert technology enables seniors, physically-challenged persons and recovering patients to maintain an independent lifestyle in their homes.

SOURCE: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/4/prweb9366810.htm

PHOTO CREDIT: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/4/prweb9366810.htm

Local jails, unlike prisons, are confinement facilities mainly operated by a local law enforcement agency. Jails typically hold inmates while they await court action or serve a sentence of one year or less.

In midyear 2011, the jail incarceration rate dropped to the lowest level since 2002. Jails confined 236 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents in June 2011, down from 238 inmates per 100,000 in June 2003.

The decline in confined population in the largest jails—those with an average daily population of more than 1,000 inmates—accounted for more than half (53 percent) of the total decline of 13,127 inmates that occurred during 2011. An overall decline was also observed in the jail jurisdictions with an average daily population of fewer than 1,000 inmates.

Jails were operating at 84 percent of their rated capacity at midyear 2011, the lowest percentage since 1984. The total rated capacity for all jails nationwide reached 877,302 beds at midyear 2011, up from 866,782 beds at midyear 2010, about a 1 percent increase in the number of beds.

At midyear 2011, about 61 percent of inmates were not convicted, but were in jail awaiting court action on a current charge—a rate unchanged since 2005. About 39 percent of inmates were sentenced offenders or convicted offenders awaiting sentencing.

During the 12 months ending midyear 2011, local jails admitted an estimated 11.8 million persons, down from 12.9 million persons admitted during the same period in 2010 and 13.6 million in 2008. The number of persons admitted in 2011 was about 16 times the size of the inmate population (735,601) at midyear 2011. Nearly four in 10 admissions during the last week of June 2011 were to the largest jail jurisdictions.

Small jail jurisdictions holding fewer than 50 inmates accounted for about seven percent of all jail admissions. However, the number of inmates admitted to these jails was about 32 times the size of their inmate population on June 30, 2011.

Jail authorities were also responsible for supervising 62,816 offenders outside of the jail facilities, including 11,950 under electronic monitoring, 11,369 in weekend programs, 11,680 in community service programs, and 10,464 in other pretrial release programs. An additional 17,353 offenders were also supervised through home detention without electronic monitoring, day reporting, treatment programs, and other unspecified programs.

The report, Jail Inmates at Midyear 2011 – Statistical Tables (NCJ 237961), was written by BJS statistician Todd D. Minton. Following publication, the report can be found at http://www.bjs.gov. After release of the report, the public-use data set for the 2011 Annual Survey of Jails will be available at the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data at http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR33722.v1.

For additional information about the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ statistical reports and programs, please visit the BJS website at http://www.bjs.gov/. More information about OJP can be found at http://www.ojp.gov.

SOURCE: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-jail-population-declines-for-third-consecutive-year-148905325.html

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/derekskey/3219876744/sizes/n/in/photostream/

On June 5, 2012, the planet Venus will move across the face of the sun. Such transits of Venus are among the rarest of planetary alignments, and they come in pairs that are eight years apart but separated by more than a century. ”Only six such events have occurred since the invention of the telescope,” said NASA astrophysicist Sten Odenwald, at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Odenwald will discuss “A Rare Astronomical Event: Transit of Venus” at 11:30 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 8, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not needed.

The illustrated lecture, the third in a series of programs in 2012, is presented through a collaboration between the Library’s Science, Technology and Business Division and NASA Goddard. The collaboration is in its sixth year.

According to Odenwald, transits of Venus inspire public fascination and scientific activity. Historically, this rare alignment is how scientists have measured the size of our solar system, specifically the distance between the Earth and the sun, which is now identified as the “astronomical unit.”  During the 1761 transit, observers noticed a fuzzy halo of light surrounding the dark spot of Venus, visible only when Venus was at the sun’s edge. Scientists of the time concluded that Venus must have an atmosphere, and later scientists confirmed that it does: a dense atmosphere of mainly carbon dioxide with clouds of sulfuric acid.

Odenwald is an astrophysicist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and senior scientist with ADNET Systems, Inc. He received his doctoral degree from Harvard University in 1982, and has been involved with investigations of star formation, galaxy evolution and the nature of the cosmic infrared background. He is a book author and writes articles for magazines. Odenwald participates in many NASA programs in space science and math education and has appeared on National Geographic TV specials. He is currently chronicling the historical impact on humans of space weather such as solar storms.

The Library of Congress maintains one of the largest and most diverse collections of scientific and technical information in the world. The Science, Technology and Business Division provides reference and bibliographic services and develops the general collections of the Library in all areas of science, technology, business and economics. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/.

The Library of Congress, the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world, holds nearly 151.8 million items in various languages, disciplines and formats. The Library serves the U.S. Congress and the nation both on-site in its reading rooms on Capitol Hill and through its award-winning website at www.loc.gov.

SOURCE: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasa-astrophysicist-sten-odenwald-to-discuss-a-rare-astronomical-event-transit-of-venus-may-8-149127835.html

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brostad/3553989470/sizes/n/in/photostream/

Most water footprint calculators use volume of water as the indicator to assess impact on the water resource.  Water use can range from human consumption to manufacturing processes and agriculture production.  Volume-only calculators are insufficient for making operational decisions to reduce the impact on a water resource because they do not consider other equally important variables such as water quality or availability.

The WIIX Calculator expands upon current volume-based water calculators by also taking into account water resource stress factors and water quality.  Paired with a traditional cost analysis to identify the ideal return on investment, the WIIX Calculator represents a truer measurement of impact on a local water resource. It also offers insight into reducing that impact and can lead to potential cost savings.

One of the goals of the calculator is to foster greater collaboration and continued dialogue around water and carbon measurement, and the calculator can complement a carbon footprint analysis. Viewing water and carbon together provides a more comprehensive picture of the challenges to sustainability.

“The WIIX Calculator will be helpful to anyone wanting to make a water or wastewater process or system more sustainable and efficient,” said Ed Pinero, chief sustainability officer of Veolia Water North America.  “This applies to both municipalities and industry. Using the calculator, decision makers can better assess the impact on local water resources and take steps to minimize that impact while potentially saving money.”

Developed from Veolia’s Water Impact Index, which was released in 2010, the free calculator is designed to be used by those who have an operational understanding of water and wastewater systems and are familiar with water chemistry and the energy-water nexus.

The tool can be found at http://growingblue.com/footprint-tools/water-impact-index.

With the calculator, users can input specific facility and water resource data, including water withdrawal, water released, chemicals used, waste produced and energy consumed.  This information is used to generate a report that indicates where the most significant impacts to the water resource occur.  When the results are used in conjunction with a traditional cost analysis report, decision makers can determine process changes and upgrades that will have the most positive impact on the water resource and the highest ROI.

SOURCE: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-water-calculator-launched-by-growing-blue-148112405.html

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/free-stock/4999891543/sizes/n/in/photostream/

The country-based Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for Australia was unchanged in February, remaining at 126.0 (2004 = 100), following a 1.0 percent increase in January, and a 0.4 percent decline in December.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index (CEI) for Australia, a measure of current economic activity, was also unchanged in February, remaining at 119.1 (2004 = 100), following a 0.3 percent increase in January, and a 0.2 percent decline in December.

The Conference Board LEI for Australia has declined in four of the last six months. As a result, the six-month growth rate for the index continued to decline through February, at the nation macro-level. The Conference Board is an independent business membership and research association.

Meanwhile, The Conference Board CEI for Australia has been growing on a slightly rising trend since mid-2011, and the rate of growth has remained fairly stable so far. Taken together, the recent behavior of the composite indexes suggests that moderate economic growth is likely to continue in the near term.

Composite economic indexes are the key elements in an analytic system designed to signal peaks and troughs in the business cycle. The leading and coincident economic indexes are essentially composite averages of several individual leading or coincident indicators.

They are constructed to summarize and reveal common turning point patterns in economic data in a clearer and more convincing manner than any individual component – primarily because they smooth out some of the volatility of individual components.

The seven components of The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for Australia include:

Yield Spread, 10 year minus Policy Rate
Share Prices, All Ordinaries
Money Supply, M3
Rural Goods Exports
Sales to Inventory Ratio
Gross Operating Surplus, Private Non-Financial Corporations
Building Approvals

Innovation agency, 2thinknow, create composite indexes of cities, and foresaw a more spiky economic future for Australia cities.

2thinknow analysts were quoted as saying that “A lack of economic activity and reform in the big cities of Melbourne and Sydney has caused a relative decline in these Australian economic powerhouses. Stagnant government in some folio areas like transport and infrastructure is causing well below optimal economic growth, in our view in the 2012-2014 corridor.”

2thinknow provide city indicators and composite indexes to clients for cities as part of their City Benchmarking Data and Innovation Cities Program. Annually, 2thinknow publish the Innovation Cities Index of over 331 cities worldwide.

SOURCE(S): http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-conference-board-leading-economic-index-lei-for-australia-remains-unchanged-148975135.html, http://www.conference-board.org/data/bcicountry.cfm?cid=7, http://www.conference-board.org/data/bci.cfm, www.innovation-cities.com

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcsamsom/5454721366/sizes/n/in/photostream/

“I applaud the initiative taken by Facebook and partners Microsoft, McAfee, Symantec, Trend Micro, and Sophos on their forward-thinking approach to making it easier for Facebook users to stay safer and more secure online.”

“Helping computer users avoid websites that are known to distribute malware or steal personal information and providing them with easy access to robust security software is a tremendous service.  Any infected computer is a risk to other computers on the Internet.  Therefore, this effort will have a positive impact well beyond the Facebook community.”

Social media is a new threat vector for security, and sites like Facebook have become access points for social engineering, viruses and malware.

The National Cyber Security Alliance is a non-profit organization. Through collaboration with the government, corporate, non-profit and academic sectors, the mission of the NCSA is to empower a digital citizenry to use the Internet securely and safely protecting themselves and the technology they use and the digital assets we all share.

NCSA works to create a culture of cyber security and safety through education and awareness activities.NCSA board members include: ADP, AT&T, Bank of America, EMC Corporation, ESET, Facebook, Google, Intel, McAfee, Microsoft, PayPal, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Trend Micro, Symantec, Verizon and Visa.

For more about the program, visit www.staysafeonline.org or www.stopthinkconnect.org for more information and join the group on Facebook at www.facebook.com/staysafeonline.

SOURCE: U.S. Government, http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/national-cyber-security-alliance-executive-director-michael-kaiser-releases-statement-on-partnership-of-facebook-and-antivirus-providers-148939915.html

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ttc_press/5007618104/sizes/n/in/photostream/

“Getting a business started in Chicago too often requires navigating a maze of rules and red tape.  This complexity favors those with the money and connections to hire insiders that can show them the way, leaving small businesses to fend for themselves,” said Mayor Emanuel.

“Chicago’s licensing code contains nearly 120 license types.  That is more than Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Atlanta combined, and many of these licenses don’t make sense for a 21st century city. Cutting this red tape reduces confusion and saves business owners time and money that they can spend on growing their businesses and creating jobs.”

Businesses will need to obtain fewer licenses, saving them money and time. These new reforms mean fewer business owners will be fined for having the wrong license.  All in all, over 10,000 small businesses will see an annual savings of over $2 million.

Innovation Analysts at 2thinknow commented that, “We highly recommend other cities follow Mayor Emanuel’s lead — and standardise license and regulation complexity for high growth businesses.”

Too often, Chicago business owners pay for licenses they either do not need or should not have to get.  For example, pet store owners not only have to get a pet shop license to sell gold fish, but they also need an additional license to sell a fish bowl or fish food.  Some auto repair shops obtain as many as four licenses:  one to work on cars, one to store chemicals, one to hold tires, and one to sell windshield wipers.

The smarter licensing reforms will allow city inspectors to spend less time citing businesses for having the wrong licenses and more time focusing on problem businesses.

The new proposal also includes additional tools inspectors can use to crack down on irresponsible business owners, including those that sell tobacco to minors, deceive and defraud consumers, and violate the law.

The proposal gives city government the flexibility to act as more of a partner to new and emerging businesses, like Logan Square Kitchen where the Mayor made today’s announcement, by authorizing the city to provide novel businesses with a temporary permit that allows them to get up and running while the city figures out how best to license them.

Christopher Hire, Executive Director of 2thinknow, commented that “Licensing reform simplifies life for small business, but also high growth businesses that improve sustainable job creation, and people skills development.”

Hire added, “Reduced licensing stops City Hall tripping up the raging bull that is the innovation economy!”

Rosemary Krimbel, Commissioner of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP), said “This approach gets government out of the way of innovation and gives Chicago’s entrepreneurs a shot at success.”

Over the past several months, the Mayor’s Innovation Delivery Team and BACP heard directly from business owners from across the city through a series of neighborhood business roundtables hosted by the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago, local chambers of commerce and business associations for Albany Park, Chatham, Lakeview East, Little Village, and Portage Park.  Numerous surveys and interviews were conducted with over 100 small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Mayor Emanuel’s proposal also draws from successful approaches to licensing in place in other major cities.  The Innovation Delivery Team canvassed cities across the country and spoke directly to the licensing departments for New York, Atlanta, and Philadelphia to learn from their experiences.

Innovation Delivery Teams help mayors develop and deliver powerful solutions to major urban challenges. Situated in a mayor’s office, these teams of top performers bring rigorous focus and best-in-class practice to identifying powerful solutions, developing implementation plans and then managing for results. Chicago is one of five cities to receive an Innovation Delivery Team grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Through these investments, Bloomberg Philanthropies seeks to both support grantee cities to achieve impact as well as establish a model that can be used by mayors anywhere to develop and drive innovation over time. The Mayors Project spreads effective programs and strategies between cities.

Finally, 2thinknow’s Christopher Hire added, “Cities should can stimulate the innovation economy by emulating Chicago, and removing the contradictory maze of business licensing.”

What do you think?

SOURCE: City of Chicago, 2thinknow, http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2012/april_2012/mayor_rahm_emanuelannounces60percentreductioninlicensetypestohel.html

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/drbeachvacation/4437592356/sizes/n/in/photostream/

Disclosure, 2thinknow is publisher of this journal.

The Council approved the sponsorship to Social Innovation in Western Australia (SiiWA) to enable it to establish “Spacecubed” –– a co-working, collaboration and innovation hub at 45 St Georges Terrace.

SiiWA’s mission is to facilitate the co-creation of resilient Western Australian communities through innovation, partnership and collaboration.  It aims to support entrepreneurs, communities and businesses to deliver social good through innovation.

The Spacecubed co-working project is expected to facilitate about 500 members with space for 50 co-workers at any one time.  Spacecubed supports professionals in the three sectors of:
> Technology and Creative.
> Social and Environmental.
> Government and Corporate.

The co-working space will offer two types of low-rent tenancies:
> Shared, or ‘hot’, desks in a common area accessible to members on an ‘hours per month’ basis.
> Permanent desk space in an open environment which belongs to one individual or an organisation.

Spacecubed hosts will manage and animate the co-working space with events, programming and initiatives to add value to its members.

Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi said the mix of tenancy types was unique to the project and was based on a belief that different people and organisations have different workspace needs.

“The project works on the premise that, collectively, members can achieve so much more than a single organisation working in isolation,” Ms Scaffidi said.

“Co-working spaces bring together a number of freelancing professionals, students, researchers and small businesses that look to capitalise on the synergy that can be generated when a group of creative and innovative people are co-located.”

SiiWA’s founder, Brodie McCulloch, explained:  “It is SiiWA’s aim that the space does not become a research centre, but a place where an idea turns into real action.

“By pooling resources, members are also able to access office amenities such as boardrooms, kitchen facilities, super fast fibre internet, photocopiers and other equipment as well as an in-house business advisory service.

“The project promises to be the centre of innovation and collaboration in the CBD and will help diversify its business base.”

The Lord Mayor said she liked the idea that the hub would activate the former Reserve Bank building in St Georges Terrace, which retains features of its previous use, such as the old vaults.

Half of the City of Perth sponsorship will go towards the building’s fit-out and the balance will help fund an in-house business advisory service.

SOURCE: http://www.cityofperth.wa.gov.au/web/Media-Centre/?article=747

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brown_family_album/6761804011/sizes/n/in/photostream/

WASHINGTON 

Driven by consumer choice, the U.S. organic industry grew by 9.5 percent overall in 2011 to reach $31.5 billion in sales. Of this, the organic food and beverage sector was valued at $29.22 billion, while the organic non-food sector reached $2.2 billion, according to findings from the Organic Trade Association’s (OTA’s) 2012 Organic Industry Survey.

“The U.S. organic sector continues to show steady and healthy growth, growing overall by 9.5 percent during 2011, and, for the first time, surpassing the $30 billion mark,” said Christine Bushway, OTA’s Executive Director and CEO.

She added, “Consumers are increasingly engaged and discerning when they shop, making decisions based on their values and awareness about health and environmental concerns. For them, it matters whether foods are genetically engineered, or produced using practices that are good for their families. Price is still an issue, but with the wide availability of private label products and many venues for organic products, they have many choices for where to shop and a variety of products from which to choose.”

Overall organic product sales growth of 9.5 percent continued to outpace total sales of comparable conventionally produced food and non-food items, which experienced 4.7 percent growth. The growth in organic sales is proof the consumer is willing to pay for value-added products.

Organic food sales experienced 9.4 percent growth in 2011. The easing of the recession, consumer price inflation due to input price increases, and consumers’ increasing desire for convenience products were all factors that elevated growth for the year. The organic food sector grew by $2.5 billion during 2011, with the fruit and vegetable category contributing close to 50 percent of those new dollars. The fastest-growing sector was the meat, fish & poultry category, posting 13 percent growth over 2010 sales, but still remaining the smallest of the eight organic food categories.

Meanwhile, organic non-food sales, which reached $2.2 billion in 2011, experienced strong 11 percent growth, while total comparable non-organic items grew only 5 percent.

Prospects for 2012 and 2013, as indicated through the 2012 survey results, indicate that organic food and non-food sales will continue to sustain growth levels of nine percent or higher.

“With 94 percent of organic operations nationwide planning to maintain or increase employment in 2012, the organic sector will continue to fuel jobs, rural economies and consumer choice,” said Bushway.

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is a large membership-based business association for organic agriculture and products in North America.

SOURCE: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-consumer-driven-organic-market-surpasses-31-billion-in-2011-148513325.html

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/monkeypuzzle/5704873068/sizes/n/in/photostream/

Those are some results announced in the annual air travel survey of more than 1,000 U.S. respondents, recently released by travel site TripAdvisor.

Here are some observations:

Mobile Use Takes Off
There has been a significant increase in mobile device usage for air travel among survey respondents.

• Nearly half of all fliers now use a smart phone to check flight status, up from 30 percent from last year’s survey.
• 30 percent report using a device to check-in to a flight, up from 17 percent.
• Use of tablets and iPads in-flight are up 15 percent, with more than one in four travelers now calling theirs a carry-on essential.

Fliers seem skeptical about the need to shut off their beloved mobile devices.

• 58 percent question whether shutting off electronic devices during takeoff and landing is really necessary.
• 40 percent can remember a time when they’ve left their devices on during flight (accidentally or intentionally).

Shh… Anti-social in the Air
When it comes to flying, the majority of travelers have no interest in socializing.

• 76 percent of travelers prefer to keep to themselves while in-flight.
• Only 9 percent expressed interest in trying a “social seating” program that allows fliers to choose a seatmate based on social network profiles.
• 40 percent would pay extra to sit in a designated “quiet” section of the plane.

Not even a presidential candidate could get some fliers to come out of their shell: 33 percent would not choose to sit next to Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, or Newt Gingrich, if given the opportunity.

Calling for More Comfort
Twenty-two percent of survey participants don’t enjoy a single thing about air travel, and most travelers cite legroom and seat comfort (or lack thereof) as their biggest complaint.

• 41 percent believe that more legroom is the biggest improvement airlines can make, with 30 percent citing more comfortable seating. However, 71 percent aren’t willing to pay for extra legroom on domestic flights less than four hours long.
• On flights longer than four hours, however, 35 percent would shell out $25 for more legroom.

Frequent Flier Favorites
Travelers like their frequent flier programs and, when it comes to booking, brand does matter.

• 52 percent subscribe to frequent flier programs and find them valuable.
• 58 percent say the brand of airline is important when considering which flight to book.
• 15 percent say that racking up frequent flier miles is the most enjoyable thing about air travel.
• Of the 20 percent of fliers who order an alcoholic drink on-board, 42 percent favor wine.
• Singapore Airlines tops most people’s wish lists, with 17 percent saying they haven’t yet flown with this global carrier but would like to.

Top 5 Favorite U.S. Airports:

1. Orlando International Airport, Florida
2. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Georgia
3. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Texas
4. San Francisco International Airport, California
5. Charlotte Douglas International Airport, North Carolina

Additional Air Travel Tidbits

• More than half plan to participate in TSA’s pre-check program.
• The three most popular months for air travel this year are May, October, and September.
• 27 percent would choose one airline over another if the flight offered Wi-Fi.
• 45 percent are concerned that rising gas prices will cause air fares to increase, so they plan to book travel plans early.
• 43 percent consider airplanes to be the most germ-laden travel location, more so than hotel rooms and public transportation.

“As air travel becomes more stressful, fliers flock to mobile technology,” says Bryan Saltzburg, general manager of TripAdvisor Flights. “In-flight Wi-Fi, powerful new mobile devices, and other tech carry-on essentials allow fliers to create a more relaxing and enjoyable flying experience.”

SOURCE: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/49263-tripadvisor-survey-reveals-air-travel-on-the-rise-in-2012

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimishowota/3134553815/sizes/n/in/photostream/

Twizgrid presents the visual side of Twitter in an unprecedented manner. Photos uploaded to Twitter stream into the grid-like format, transforming simple tweets into a collection of photos. Discover content by searching for keywords, browse topics in the ever-changing curated albums, or view images from individual Twitter accounts.

“With 500 million registered Twitter users and more than 175 million tweets per day, we feel there is a vast untapped resource of incredible photos on Twitter,” says co-founder Chauncey Regan. “Twizgrid provides a richly layered experience. While photos remain our ultimate focus, the inclusion of corresponding tweets and Twitter profiles provides an invaluable frame of reference for the images. It’s truly a window to the world.”

Twizgrid also offers a unique way to view photos around you. Using the integrated map, searches may be narrowed by current location or through specifying any other desired point. Users can search for food within 5 miles of San Francisco, or fashion within 10 miles of New York, providing an endlessly dynamic experience.

Photo apps have become big business. The recent acquisition of Instagram by Facebook, at a staggering $1 billion, sent shock waves throughout the tech industry. 150 million photos have been shared through Instagram, while Facebook, with an impending $100 billion IPO, boasts 250 million images shared per day. “It was shocking to us that no one had made a serious attempt at utilizing the photos on Twitter, one of the world’s leading social networks,” states Ms. Regan.

AJP Apps previously developed a photo contest app called Me+My, which was released in December 2011 and has consistently been featured among Apple’s “What’s Hot” list within the social networking category.

SOURCE: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/twizgrid-a-new-way-to-view-twitter-through-photos-148918965.html

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eldh/5858249526/sizes/n/in/photostream/