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ONE BOOK, ONE COMMUNITY 2011 WILL BE REDISCOVERING KINDNESS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Allegheny County Library Association is asking readers across the region for book title suggestions related to kindness for One Book, One Community 2011.  Emerging from suggestions ACLA received from book clubs, community partners and library staff, the overarching theme for One Book, One Community 2011 will be rediscovering kindness and civility in an era when they frequently appear to be forgotten. 

Local Secret Agent L (Laura Miller) who lives in and loves Pittsburgh is excited to be the One Book, One Community honorary kindness ambassador in the coming year.  The Secret Agent L Project began with a single hydrangea flower on the windshield of a car here in Pittsburgh.  Her project has blossomed into an international phenomenon of anonymous acts of kindness.  

Through Friday, October 15 share your book title suggestions in keeping with the theme of kindness and civility.  Post your thoughts as a comment on the One Book, One Community blog: http://onebookallegheny.blogspot.com or email acla@einetwork.net with ‘One Book’ in the subject line.  Register your book club for One Book news at http://bit.ly/onebookclubs.  Each spring beginning in April events and programs are held in local public libraries and throughout the community.

Begun in 1996 in Seattle, Washington, the One Book concept was developed to create a community of readers with a shared love of reading, writing and expressing ideas. In 2003, Allegheny County chose To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, as its first One Book.  Since then various titles and themes have been discussed.

The Allegheny County Library Association, a federated library system comprised of 45 libraries, pursues, provides and promotes the highest quality public library service possible for all residents of Allegheny County through collaboration, cooperation and coordination.

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One Book, One Community 2011

Emerging from suggestions of book clubs, community partners and library staff, the overarching theme for One Book, One Community 2011 will be rediscovering kindness and civility in an era when they frequently appear to be forgotten. How do we define these concepts in the modern world?

We are seeking book title suggestions in keeping with this theme. Post your thoughts as a comment below.

Partner Update: Sustainable Pittsburgh

10th Annual Southwestern PA Smart Growth Conference:
Regional Collaboration: Investing in Sustainable Communities

Friday, October 15
David L. Lawrence Convention Center, downtown Pittsburgh
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Lunch provided.
Early registration: $25; After 9/23: $45. Free for elected officials.
For exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities contact: cgould@sustainablepittsburgh.org
Click here to REGISTER.

Enter the TIPPING POINTS FOR SUSTAINABILITY Competition!
More information here. Deadline to enter September 24.

For this 10th anniversary, the conference will be a milestone for the high stakes surrounding the region's capacity building for smart growth. Focus will be on alignment with the Obama Administration's Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities (comprising federal DOT, EPA, and HUD) in supporting integration of housing, transportation, water infrastructure, energy conservation, and land use planning and investment. As such, this one-day, conference will identify barriers and solutions to cross-jurisdictional coordination for regional smart growth and sustainable community development policy and implementation. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan hit home the need and opportunity of our times in recently stating, "Our challenge now is to bring that holistic view of community development into the mainstream -- to help build sustainable neighborhoods, communities and regions that are as interconnected as the challenges they face."

The conference will again serve as a public input session to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission's process of updating the region's Long Range Transportation and Development Plan. This update will be distinguished by addition of enhancements appropriate to a regional sustainable development plan per the six "Livability Principles" prioritized by the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

The conference will feature:

• Mariia Zimmerman, Deputy Director, HUD Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities
• Representatives of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will discuss the U.S. government's interagency partnership to support and promote sustainable communities.
• Keynote address by Peter Calthorpe, Principal, Calthorpe Associates - Urban Designers, Planners, Architects
• Allen Biehler, Secretary of PA Department of Transportation 
• John Hanger, Secretary of PA Department of Environmental Protection 
• SPC public process per the region's sustainable development plan 
• Four pressing issues interwoven in deliberations: Transportation Funding Crisis, Water & Sewer Infrastructure, Marcellus Impacts, Affordable Housing
• Panel strategy session with: Steve Bland, Port Authority of Allegheny County; Caren Glotfelty, The Heinz Endowments; Doug Hill, County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania; John Schombert, 3 Rivers Wet Weather
• Formal presentation of competition results – “14 Essential Tipping Points for SWPA Sustainable Community Development" (Learn how to enter the competition)
• Launch of the online Sustainable Community Essentials Rapid Assessment
• Learn what federal and state agencies are looking for in capacity and qualification for sustainable community investment 
• Identification of actionable steps whose implementation will position our region to accelerate sustainable development and be a priority place for investment 
• Crafting of a summary of participants' input and resulting action plan for presentation to the candidates for Governor, other candidates and incumbents, and community leaders

Southwestern PA is a contemporary proving ground for hastening the new American dream found in revitalizing livable, sustainable communities through smart growth policies that discourage sprawl, congestion and pollution. Come be part of continuing the region's sustainability renaissance for economically competitive, environmentally sustainable, opportunity rich communities. More than a one-time event, the conference will be a point of acceleration and innovation for the region's positive path.

Human Health and the Environment Workshop

Join the Pennsylvania Resources Council and UPCI Center for Environmental Oncology for Human Health and the Environment workshops designed to foster awareness and encourage action concerning the issue of toxins in our environment.

WHEN & WHERE:

Wednesday, August 4th 2010
6:30 – 8pm
Ohio Township Municipal Park

325 Nicholson Road, Sewickley, PA 15143

Wednesday, August 11th 2010
6:30 – 8pm
CCI Center

64 South 14th Street, Pgh, PA 15203

COST: $20 per person (all participants receive a comprehensive green cleaning kit for attending)

DETAILS:
In 1962 Rachel Carson stated that for the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death. This statement was true then and continues to be true today. We all are exposed to a number of different chemicals, carcinogens, and toxins in our environment on a daily basis, but while we may have no control over some exposures, there are many that we do. These exposures can come from our cell phones, parabens in our personal care products, or BPA in our plastics – so how can we seek these out and avoid them?

The Health and the Environment Workshop is designed to heighten awareness and encourage action around the issue of carcinogens and toxins that we come into contact with daily in our environment through the products we use and the food we eat. The workshop also focuses on the consequences of these toxins on our health and how we can avoid exposure. The program provides the public with practical solutions such as safe alternatives and healthy lifestyle choices.
In an effort to reduce one’s exposure to toxins and to reduce the amount of toxins in our environment, all workshop participants will receive a non-toxic green cleaning kit. If you are interested in attending the workshop please contact Sarah Alessio at saraha@ccicenter.org or by registering online at http://www.formspring.com/forms/?778591-U8dy0IJ89i.

The Pennsylvania Resources Council’s mission is to lead and promote individual and collective actions to preserve Pennsylvania’s environmental resources for each generation

Thank you to Sarah Alessio of the PA Resources Council for sharing this event.