NRPA Funding Analysis of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan
from NRPA
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was created to stimulate and add balance to the economy by investing in job creation and important infrastructure improvements. The bill, which totals $787.2 billion, provides significant funding opportunities for park and recreation infrastructure and programming. This bill provides funding opportunities for park and recreation agencies in various categories including youth employment, transportation enhancements, energy efficiency, and various competitive grant programs, including special education services, childcare services, and community development block grant programs. Additionally, there will be funds available to remove and clean up environmentally damaged and abandoned industrial sites called brownfields which could benefit park and recreation agencies. More

Public/Public Partnerships: Making Your Resources Go Further
from NRPA
An ever-tightening economic climate requires that you and your agency get creative in finding new ways to fund programs and services. The National Recreation and Park Association is pleased to bring you a webinar that will discuss the critical need for collaboration between public sector organizations, especially during these times of limited resources. We will also present six important steps for building successful partnerships and offer a variety of examples for you to learn from. This interactive forum will also allow for participants to ask questions and receive answers from an industry expert. Please join us Thursday, Feb. 26 from 2:00pm to 3:30pm EST for this exciting event! Hurry! Registration ends tonight at midnight! More

California Cities Get Creative to Help Generate Funds
from the Sacramento Bee
Facing budget shortfalls, layoffs and cuts, California cities are coming up with creative ways to generate funds. "Cities are really forced to be innovative," said Dan Carrigg, legislative director of the League of California Cities. "They have a lot fewer revenue-raising options than, say, the state Legislature." More

Benefits Outweigh Cost of Sports
from the Packet & Times
Although Matt Brown has been laid off from his automotive job for the last two months, he was sure to keep money aside to enroll his two children in sports for the upcoming seasons. "They need to be active, so it's kind of a non-issue," Brown said. "No matter the cost they still have to play because it's beneficial to them more than anything else." More

Silent Sunday' Draws Outdoor Enthusiasts to Phoenix Parks
from KNXV-TV
Some cyclists, hikers, skateboarders and families are discovering one of the Valley's secrets twice a month. 'Silent Sunday' is hosted by the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department at South Mountain and North Mountain parks, one Sunday each month. The day-long events give bicyclists, tots in strollers, in-line skaters and wheelchair users a chance to call the parks' roadways their own. More

Bill Requiring Gender Equity Concerns Local Parks Officials in Washington
from The News Tribune
More than 30 years after Title IX of the Civil Rights Act required school athletic programs to provide equal opportunities for women, a bill in the state Legislature aims to make parks and recreation departments do the same. But local parks officials, including those in Lakewood, Puyallup and Pierce County, Wash., worry the bill would create a nightmare of gender-equity reporting requirements for their shrinking departments. More

San Antonio Volunteerism Shines in Basura Bash Campaign
from MySanAntonio.com
In about two weeks, thousands of San Antonians will become trash collectors. This huge exercise in spring cleaning shows the value of volunteerism during hard times, but residents have been doing it since 1995, during good times and bad. Coordinators expect thousands of volunteers to pitch in, and judging from previous years, the amount of work they will put in — and the volume of trash they will pick up — could be almost staggering. More

Volunteers Plant Trees at Texas Park
from the Sugar Land Sun
An estimated 30 to 40 volunteers recently pitched in to plant trees at Freedom Tree Park in Missouri City, Texas. The 6-plus acre park was filled with bags of mulch, wheelbarrows, shovels and watering tools as volunteers spent several hours planting 50 trees on the site. Employees from the city’s parks and recreation department and area Home Depot stores joined with resident volunteers in the project. More

Coupons May Help Wisconsin Golf Course Swing a Profit
from the Post Crescent
Parks and recreation officials are reaching out to travelers and local businesses to bring more business to Reid Municipal Golf Course in Appleton, Wis. Hotels and motels as well as local businesses are targeted in two coupon programs being developed in time for play this spring and summer, said parks and recreation director William Lecker. The programs are aimed at letting course pay off its bills. More

Inspiring a Lifetime of Health
from Recreation Management
A full third of American children are overweight or obese. Eighty percent of obese teens will become obese adults. To reduce that percentage, early intervention and education is vital. Parks and recreation departments and facilities are uniquely poised to address the childhood obesity epidemic because their programs are affordable and far-reaching, and providing opportunities for kids to be active is part of their mission. More

Chattanooga, Tenn., City Council Sees Details of 'Greener' City Park
from the Chattanooga Times Free Press
The concept of a neighborhood park built with environmentally sustainable elements such as a community garden and composting toilets eventually could become a standard in the city of Chattanooga, Tenn. More

Going to Bat for Special Baseball Field
from the Holmen Courier-Life
Sixteen-year-old Danny Alderman likes to play baseball so much, he’ll play any position. He and his teammates have been playing together for five years through a program at the YMCA. Soon they’ll have the distinction of being part of the Miracle League and playing on a specially designed field funded by the Harmon Killebrew Foundation and the Miracle League. More

Bad Economy Can't Beat Nature
from the Deseret News
As the economy has soured, visits have soared at Utah's national parks and monuments, as more locals apparently are vacationing nearby to spend less on travel. The 13 National Park system units in Utah reported 8.8 million recreational visits overall in 2008. That was up by a quarter-million visits over 2007 (or 3.2 percent), and up by more than a half-million visits over 2006 (or 6.8 percent), new data shows. More