The DC Office of Planning announced the release of the Retail Action Roadmap, a guide to retail opportunities and resources that exist in the District for small businesses, residents, entrepreneurs and investors. The strategies laid out in the Roadmap will help the District promote vibrant retail areas; leverage planning efforts and guide investments; expand small and local retail; provide residents, workers and visitors with a greater selection of goods and services; and help the District recapture more than $1 billion of retail spending that leaks out of DC annually.

“The District offers one of the strongest retail markets in the nation with a daytime population of more than 900,000; a vibrant downtown, as well as historic and emerging neighborhoods that feature attractive and walkable commercial districts; and a unique international and cultural presence, with 180 foreign missions and embassies, 90 museums, and more than 16 million visitors annually. With the Retail Action Roadmap, the District - along with private and non profit sector partners - can ensure retail businesses grow and thrive in our neighborhoods,” said Director Harriet Tregoning.

To review the Retail Action Roadmap, click here.

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention recently issued a report recommending that federal transportation policy should promote public health, safety, and environmental protection by providing Americans with a wider array of transportation choices.

According to the CDC a shift in transportation policy away from automobiles could prevent some chronic diseases and reduce vehicle-related injuries such as those suffered in bicycle, pedestrian and vehicle collisions. There is also potential to improve environmental health conditions such as air quality degraded by greenhouse gas emissions, which often disproportionately impact on poor and communities of color.

The report, "CDC Recommendations for Improving Health through Transportation Policy," urges adoption of transportation policies that encourage healthy community designs, active transportation and more public transportation.

Maybe fewer cars would reduce the rates of respiratory illness in urban areas.

Click here to obtain a copy of the report.

DEVELOPMENTS IN SENATE CLIMATE NEGOTIATIONS

Will the Senate take up immigration reform before climate and energy legislation? During today's OnPoint, E&E reporter Darren Samuelsohn discusses the latest developments in the Senate climate debate. He explains how Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans to proceed with climate negotiations and talks about alternatives to the Kerry-Graham-Liebermann. Link to video here. »

An article about a recent visit by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to New Jersey, where she met with communities in two of the most contaminated Superfund sites in the country - Diamond Alkali and Pompton Lake - reminded of Toms River, NJ. For years, Union Carbide Company admittedly discharged san trimer into the town's water supply. San trimer is a known carcinogen, and a suspected contributor to the high rate of brain and central nervous system cancer in Toms River.

In a meeting on Capitol Hill with Toms River residents, government officials and UCC refused to assign blame for the cancer cluster on San Trimer. The best they did was to acknowledge there might be a correlative, but not a causal relationship between the cancer and San Trimer. Apparently, it takes science a while to keep up. The room was filled with sick people and people with sick children and loved ones. It was among the most difficult meetings I have facilitated.

This year, CQ Press placed Toms River at number 23 on the list of the safest communities in America. Based on the numbers that means you needn't worry about a quick death by a gunshot, but should be concerned about an agonizing death by brain cancer. Where is the justice?

Collaborative Strategies Group, in partnership with Kittleson Associates, Inc. and Toole DesignGroup, was just selected by the DC Department of Transportation to lead the public involvement efforts for a study to identify how transportation improvements can encourage the development and growth of vibrant mixed-use neighborhoods.



Study boundaries include most of Ward 7:

Eastern Avenue to the north
East Capitol to the south
Anacostia River to the west
Southern Avenue to the east

Hopefully, this Far NE Livability Study will support findings of other planning and development projects that are underway or completed in Ward 7. Collaborative Strategies Group has been involved in a number of the previous studies. They include, corridors in the Great Streets Project, New Communities Initiative, DC Public Library Capital Program and the Deanwood Strategic Development plan. The project kicks off this week and completion is expected this fall.

May 10: I suppose it had to be said, so in a recent report the Congressional Budget Office projects job losses in the energy sector policies, such as cap and trade, take effect. The report, How Policies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Could Affect Unemployment. Coal mining, natural gas extraction and oil production would all experience losses. Full report here »