NewsWatch: Sustainable Communities -- Rural Smart Growth

New ICMA Publication on Rural Smart Growth
ICMA has recently released a new publication on policies and practices to guide smart growth in rural communities. "Putting Smart Growth to Work in Rural Communities," examines challenges facing rural communities and focuses on smart growth strategies that can help guide new growth in rural areas, while protecting natural and working lands and preserving the rural character of existing communities. ICMA

High-Speed Rail Could Hurt Freight Traffic
The problem with America's plans for high-speed rail is that even this limited ambition risks messing up the successful freight railways. Their owners worry that the plans will demand expensive train-control technology that freight traffic could do without. They fear a reduction in the capacity available to freight. Most of all they fret that the spending of federal money on upgrading their tracks will lead the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the industry watchdog, to impose tough conditions on them and, in effect, to reintroduce regulation of their operations. The Economist

Wind Farm Mega-Project Under Way in Mojave Desert
It's being called the largest wind power project in the country, with plans for thousands of acres of towering turbines in the Mojave Desert foothills generating electricity for 600,000 homes in Southern California. And now it's finally kicking into gear. The multibillion-dollar Alta Wind Energy Center has had a tortured history, stretching across nearly a decade of ownership changes, opposition from local residents and transmission infrastructure delays. Los Angeles Times

Delaware Drinking Water at Risk
Tainted groundwater is spreading across thousands of acres in northern Delaware and has reached the Potomac Aquifer, which supplies drinking water to people across much of Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. In some areas of the upper Potomac near Delaware City and New Castle, concentrations of benzene, vinyl chloride and chlorinated benzenes are so high that exposure poses an immediate health threat. Elevated levels of these industrial byproducts significantly increase the risks of cancer. Delaware Online
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Idaho Geotherml Energy to Benefit Schools
Idaho's in hot water -- and that could be good for the state's schools. There's been a run on geothermal leases on state lands -- 80 applications in the past month and a half -- and now Idaho's retooling its geothermal lease rules in hopes of eventually making millions for schools, the main beneficiary of earnings from the state's endowment lands. Two North Idaho lawmakers laid the groundwork for this two years ago with legislation to promote all kinds of alternate energy development on state endowment lands, from wind on the plains to biomass in the forests. Spokane Spokesman-Review

Speed Bumps for Tesla
The federal loans didn't land in Tesla's coffers until this year, and the factory, like two before it, fell through. Still, the company has made some concrete strides. It recently bought a closed Toyota-G.M. plant in Fremont, Calif., and Toyota invested $50 million in Tesla as part of a partnership to jointly develop electric cars. New York Times

New York Subway Getting Wired