Our Towns Civic Foundation Newsletter

Share this post

Our Towns Flyer October Edition

ourtownsflyer.substack.com

Discover more from Our Towns Civic Foundation Newsletter

Towns and cities nationwide are today’s incubators for ideas that will tell the modern story of American renewal. People are experimenting in innovative ways that drive progress. We share their stories here.
Continue reading
Sign in

Our Towns Flyer October Edition

Goodbye to gas-powered leaf blowers. Community-based craft spirits.

Oct 12, 2022
Share this post

Our Towns Flyer October Edition

ourtownsflyer.substack.com
Share

Starting out with the best news of all from Washington, D.C. this early autumn: The gas-powered leaf blowers are officially gone! And unofficially, we D.C. residents estimate that about 90% of people have gotten the message that gas-powered leaf blowers are illegal here. Imagine heading out for a walk and expecting it to be quiet on the streets and sidewalks. The law was very long in coming – 3 years in the making, and 3 years of warning. But it was worth the wait.

And one more thing about the leaf blowers: Last year at this time, Jim would say, “I can’t stand it; we need to move out of D.C.” Now he says, “We can never move away. There’s no place else we can go.” I know that what he actually meant to say was: “We can’t wait until more places follow this example!” Plenty of other towns are starting to. We urge everyone to hop on to this bandwagon.

In the same spirit of progress, we are making some changes at Our Towns. For the most scrutinizing followers among you, you’ll have noticed that our home page is different. We are presenting two themes that we believe in most strongly: Communities That Work and Reports From America.

In the first section, you’ll find the stories of citizen-driven initiatives that are changing towns for the better. On the landing page for “Communities,” you’ll find rotations of our favorite topics, from the environment and sustainability to youth-in-action to libraries-as-pioneers, and how they affect the life of towns.

In the second section, you’ll find stories from all across the country. They are real stories, from real people, representing real America. And they really come from all over the place. On the landing page for “Reports,” you’ll find storymaps that signal a new kind of journalism, or student newspapers that are taking up the mantle as city papers, or how beer is changing life one brew at a time.

We have a big mission here: we are trying to balance out the stories we hear too much about every single day with stories we don’t hear nearly enough of. Balance the true bad news with true positive news. Ultimately, we are pushing – urgently – toward a new, more inclusive portrait of America.

Connect the dots from battery-powered leaf blowers to the story of America. Make your own dot!


REPORTS FROM AMERICA

A person wearing an orange top and red pants blowing leaves with a battery powered leaf blower
ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY

WHAT’S THE QUICKEST WAY TO MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE, THROUGH A LITTLE STEP? IT’S RIGHT THERE IN THE BACKYARD.

BY JAMES FALLOWS 

It’s time for the dirtiest machinery still in legal use, gas-powered leaf blowers, to go away, making way for battery-powered leaf blowers (like the one seen above in Washington, D.C.). News from communities across America indicate that the shift away from these machines is happening, and it is speeding up.

READ MORE >

REPORTS FROM AMERICA

ANOTHER LOOK INTO THE ‘HEART’ OF AMERICA

BY JAMES FALLOWS 

What's the 'center' of America? Jim Fallows writes about a new Census Story Map that highlights the story of America’s changing geographic center – and the country's struggle to recognize ways in which it is changing. 

READ MORE >

PODCAST

INSIDE OUR TOWNS: ALLEN CARROLL AND STORY MAPS

BY EVAN SANFORD 

Allen Carrol, the creator of Esri's story maps, discusses the origin and evolution of the innovative storytelling tool with Evan Sanford.

READ MORE >


COMMUNITIES THAT WORK

ENTREPRENEURS & MAKERS

UPLIFTING AMERICAN SPIRITS

BY CARL W. HUNT 

From reusing local honey barrels to feeding spent grain to livestock, Branch & Barrel Distilling, in Centennial, Colorado, shows how an interdependent community-based economy can raise spirits for an entire region.

READ MORE >

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

A DELICATE BALANCE – MARRYING RECREATION AND PRESERVATION IN IOWA

BY RACHEL CRAMER, The Daily Yonder 

Local climbing coalition and authorities found a way to collaborate and keep access to a popular climbing area and preserve the environment.

READ MORE >

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

UW STUDENT PROJECT AIMS TO SPUR CLIMATE CHANGE CONVERSATIONS

BY DUSTIN BLEIZEFFER, WyoFile.com 

One way to tone down contentious discussions about climate change is to include new voices. A new website encourages people to take part in conversations about a changing environment.

READ MORE >


UPCOMING EVENTS

ONLINE

WHAT DO COLLEGES DO FOR THEIR COMMUNITIES - AND THE COUNTRY?

WEDNESDAY, OCT 12 AT 1:00P.M. EDT

'What can colleges do for the country?' is an important question to ask, and a powerful theme explored in The Washington Monthly's annual college rankings issue. 

Tune into a conversation hosted by New America featuring James and Deborah Fallows alongside Dr. Pam Eddinger, Illias Gomez, Paul Glastris, and Michelle Asha Cooper.

REGISTER NOW >


IN-PERSON

BETSY K. MCCREIGHT LECTURE IN THE HUMANITIES

THURSDAY, OCT 20 AT 7:30P.M. EDT

On Thursday, Oct. 20, Deborah and James Fallows will be in Charleston, West Virginia to deliver the Betsy K. McCreight Lecture in the Humanities. The event honors the late Board of Directors founding member of the West Virginia Humanities Council. Past presenters include Ken Burns, Joyce Carol Oates, Joseph Ellis, Sylvia Nasar, Henry Louis Gates, Elaine Pagels, Gordon Wood, James McPherson, Edmund Morris, and Annette Gordon-Reed.

LEARN MORE >


IN-PERSON

OUR TOWNS - CEDAR RAPIDS METRO ECONOMIC ALLIANCE

WEDNESDAY, OCT 26 AT 9:30A.M. CST

In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Jim and Deb will be the featured guests during an hour and a half panel with Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell and Downtown SSMID (Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District) leadership. The event, held on Wednesday, Oct. 26 in the Downtown Cedar Rapids Public Library, will touch on the lessons the Fallows have learned from their travels and shared through their storytelling.

REGISTER NOW >


IN-PERSON

HOW AMERICA'S TOWNS ARE WRITING THE FUTURE OF THE COUNTRY - AND MORE

THURSDAY, NOV 10 AT 7:30P.M. EST

Our Towns is proud to showcase our latest reporting in person in Erie, Pennsylvania at the Jefferson Educational Society’s Global Summit. We will focus on local heroes who are part of change and renewal in communities in a panel discussion featuring Community Heart & Soul members.

Our Towns is working with the JES, a community-based think tank headquartered in Erie, to help grow the Global Summit’s reach. This includes a series of programs in Redlands, California – the inaugural site of the Summit’s in-person expansion, as well as live-streaming options.

The Summit launches in Erie in October, and in Redlands in November. We will be sharing more details on our website soon.

REGISTER NOW >

Share this post

Our Towns Flyer October Edition

ourtownsflyer.substack.com
Share
Previous
Next
Comments
Top
New
Community

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 Our Towns Civic Foundation
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing