April 2004

April 14, 2004

• During the BOT/CPC meeting in May, ASLA honorary memberships will be presented to the following individuals: Philip J. Arnold; The Honorable Earl Blumenauer; Nancy Callister Buley; Clarence “Buck” Chaffee; The Honorable Richard M. Daley; Mary L. Hanson; and Thomas D. Seifert.
  
  
• EVP Nancy Somerville and Public Relations and Resource Development Director Ann Looper met with Urban Land Institute (ULI) staff on March 31st to discuss the proposed study of the economic value of landscape architecture and other possible collaboration opportunities. ASLA partnered with ULI on the 1994 Value By Design study, which was published by ULI.
  
  
• ASLA and McGraw-Hill representatives are discussing: an online bookstore partnership; inclusion of ASLA publications in McGraw-Hill’s digital library; ASLA membership recruitment support; and an ASLA books council to advise on publication priorities.
  
  
• The home page of the ASLA website is now being updated weekly to ensure it is current and promotes the latest ASLA news.
  
  
• The House and Senate have begun negotiations on TEA-LU/SAFETEA legislation. This could take some time, and another extension of TEA-21 is expected. The current extension expires April 30.
  
  
• On April 1, Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and Rep. Don Young (R-AK) introduced legislation to establish a permanent source of annual funding for local governments, states, and federal agencies to encourage physical activity and recreation in urban, suburban, and rural areas. The Get Outdoors Act (GO) responds to numerous studies showing that people are more likely to be physically active if they have access to nearby recreational opportunities. Studies have appeared in the American Journal of Public Health, the American Journal of Health Promotion, and the American Journal of Preventative Medicine. ASLA supports this legislation and has been working with Reps. Young and Miller to ensure that the legislation covers our high priority issues. This bill will also help put pressure on the appropriators to fund the programs in this bill (like UPARR) at a higher level. The GO Act funds UPARR at $125 million annually. ASLA is helping to find cosponsors for the bill.
  
  
• ASLA is partnering with the American Planning Association, the American Institute of Architects, National Institute of Building Sciences, and The Infrastructure Security partnership to put on the conference: Safe Spaces: Designing for Security and Civic Values. The symposium is scheduled for July 25-27 in Chicago.
  
  
• The Surface Transportation Policy Project, along with AARP and the American Public Transit Association, have released a report entitled “Aging Americans: Stranded Without Options,” on the topic of livable communities and aging. The report is available on www.transact.org.
  
  
• Public Relations has been working to identify an ASLA member as on-air talent for a new television series, Grounds for Improvement. Dean Hill, ASLA, has been selected to be the landscape architect on the series. In the first episode, Hill will turn a patio into an outdoor kitchen. Filming began yesterday and the show will begin airing on the DIY (Do it Yourself) Network in October.
  
  
• Between 4.5 and 8.5 million listeners heard the series of radio interviews with Joanne Westphal, MD, ASLA, on March 30, on Design for Active Living. An excerpt from one of the interviews has been posted on the ASLA website: http://www.asla.org/lamonth/radio_schedule.html.
  
  
• The Closing General Session speaker will be Peter Walker, FASLA. The meeting’s web area is live. It has the complete registration form, ticketed events and full meeting information.
  
  
• The Council of Fellows nomination deadline is Friday, May 7.