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The Clock is Ticking, West Virginia. Are You Registered and Ready?

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If you are one of the more than 300 people that have already registered for New Story this Friday and Saturday, kudos to you. Put your feet up.

(Of course, if you’re not one of the more than 300 people already registered for New Story, you better get on that.)

Here’s some last minute info about parking, food and directions etc, to make sure you’re good to go.

WHERE TO GO

WVU’s Reed College of Media Innovation Center is on the 4th Floor of the Evansdale Crossings building, next to the Rec’ Center off Patteson Drive. Here’s the link to google maps directions to the building.

PARKING

There’s a few options.

Parking at the Coliseum (basketball stadium) at 3450 Monongahela Blvd is free. It is about a 400 meter walk from the Coliseum parking lot to the Evansdale Crossings building.

Parking in the 2 Short Term (ST) lots closest to the Evansdale Crossings building (ST 4 and ST 9) is $1.25/hour.

Parking in ST 1, about 100 yards closer to Patteson Drive, is 50c/hour.

Here’s WVU’s map of parking options.

And here’s information about accessibility parking at WVU.

FOOD

You’re responsible for keeping yourself sufficiently fed and happy in the belly during New Story.

The restaurants on the ground floor of Evansdale Crossings will be open from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Friday, and will be closed on Saturday.

So we’re bringing in some local mobile food businesses to give you some options before and during the Happy Hour.

On Friday from 4:30 – 7:30, Cody Thrasher’s Hash Browns & New Grounds and Clarksburg’s own My Little Cupcake (also serving pepperoni rolls, cookies and some gluten-free options) will be parked outside the center.

We are working on bringing in other food trucks for Saturday lunch. Stay tuned to our facebook and twitter feeds between now and Friday for updates.

From Evansdale Crossings you are a short walk (or very short drive) from a number of food options including Black Bear Burritos (yay!), Beanery American Grill and the standard chain options (booo!).

Repeating the key point: we won’t be feeding you at New Story, but we will provide some options to buy food on site. Please plan your tucker accordingly.

UPDATES

We’ll be emailing everyone who has registered tomorrow morning with this info.

But we’ll also be using The Hub’s facebook and twitter feeds to share New Story info in the next few days. So make sure you like and follow us (links in previous sentence) so you don’t miss any important updates.

If you haven’t registered yet, time is running out. We’ll have to close the (virtual) doors on Wednesday night.

New Story is free.

For more information about the sessions, and to register now, visit: newstory17.splashthat.com/

In Morgantown, Meet The Minds Behind Pittsburgh’s Creative Revolution

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Photo: www.facebook.com/groups/artandtech/

This is the latest post about the myriad of people you’ll meet at New Story in Morgantown, June 16 & 17.

It’s a free event hosted by the West Virginia Community Development Hub and our friends at WVU’s Reed College of Media.

Space is limited. Register now at newstory17.splashthat.com

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

This saying was coined by comedians and satirists in order to make them feel okay about doing (not very flattering) impersonations of people. Or by plagiarists.

But to builders, makers, entrepreneurs and people who like to make good things happens, it is a reminder to pay attention to what has worked elsewhere, learn from it, copy what you can, reinvent what you need.

The reality is that Pittsburgh has well and truly rebounded from its industrial doldrums, and is now widely regarded as one of the best places to live and work in America.

In the practice of our work helping some of West Virginia’s most struggling communities find new hope, theft is one of our most powerful strategies – stealing good ideas and implanting them in new places. We actively coordinate and encourage that whenever we can.

And more often than not, the victims of the crime are more than happy to be willing participants.

For example, it’s why our friends behind the remarkable resurgence of an arts and culture community in Princeton, West Virginia, have made trips to their compadres in Welch and Grafton recently, freely passing around the secrets to their success and sprouting new imitators across the state.

And it’s why the folks behind the nationally-renowned creative industries and maker-culture in Pittsburgh are coming down to Morgantown later this month to spearhead one of the feature sessions at this year’s New Story event.

Learn more about New Story, and register now (it’s free) at: newstory17.splashthat.com

Largely thanks to a college football rivalry, many people in West Virginia have an unflattering nickname for this once downtrodden steel city to the north.

But the reality is that Pittsburgh has well and truly rebounded from its industrial doldrums, and is now widely regarded as one of the best places to live and work in America.

It has done this in no small part by focusing on arts innovation and creative tech.

And so we will welcome to New Story on Friday, June 16, the architects of Pittsburgh’s Creative Industries Network and the locals behind many of the city’s coolest and most engaging creative spaces and maker initiatives.

Here’s some info about the Pittsburgh contingent that will be sharing ideas with their West Virginia counterparts at New Story.

Nina Barbuto, Founder and Executive Director
ASSEMBLE – a community space for arts + technology

Nina’s passion for art, new media and social learning led her to found Assemble in 2011.

Nina works in a variety of media including architecture, film, sound, and installation.

She also co-founded I Made It! Market in 2007. An idea based on urban acupuncture, (using small-scale interventions to transform the larger urban context) this nomadic market partners with community, arts and nonprofit organizations to raise funds and awareness to improve their communities while allowing local artists and crafters to sell their wares.

Nina holds degrees in architecture from Southern California Institute of Architecture and Carnegie Mellon University, where she is also adjunct faculty.

Ashley Cecil
Artist and Creative Entrepreneur

Ashley is an artist and illustrator, and part of the pilot-year cohort of the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s Co-CREATE Business Ignition Program.

She’s a working artist who has grown her passion for art into a thriving entrepreneurial creative business. Before moving to the Pittsburgh region, Ashley studied with accomplished master painters in London while earning her master’s degree at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art.

Kim Chestney, Founding Director
Pittsburgh Technology Council’s Creative Industries Network

Over the past 10 years, Kim Chestney has built Pittsburgh’s Creative Industries Network to a nationally-benchmarked initiative.

Kim has been establishing programs to support creatives at the intersection of creativity and innovation, including: the annual CREATE Festival in Pittsburgh; the Co-CREATE Business Ignition Program for Creative Entrepreneurs; Creative Clash, Design Matters, DIY Creative Business and CMO Insights event series; Innovation City, creative tech party at SXSW Interactive; Inclusion, Innovation and Integrative Design, 2014 & 2016 Creative Industries Research Studies with Carnegie Mellon University and Richard Florida’s research team at the University of Toronto.

Jim Denova, Vice President
Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation

Jim Denova is Vice President of the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, and directs economic development projects in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Jim has been part of the Creative Industries Network’s leadership team since its inception in 2009, and has been instrumental to the network’s establishment as a national leader in the creative industries. Jim holds a Ph. D. from the University of Pittsburgh with a concentration in social research, and has over 35 years of experience in nonprofit administration and philanthropy.

Ryan Lammie, Founder
Radiant Hall Studio Environments for Working Creatives

Radiant Hall founder Ryan Lammie was born in Pittsburgh and educated at the Pratt Institute in New York. In 2011 he was selected for the Yale / Norfolk Summer Residency in Connecticut and graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

As an entrepreneur, Lammie has built Radiant Hall into a nonprofit venture that supports over 50 Pittsburgh artists at three locations city-wide. Radiant Hall has become a framework for creative community building, and has served as a host for school tours, arts patrons, film/photo location scouts, corporate events, interns, nonprofit leaders, and neighbors.

“The Pittsburgh Session” will take place on New Story Friday at 12:40 p.m.

To learn more about this, and all the other sessions happening at New Story, visit newstory17.splashthat.com

Cool Stuff Made By Local Folks – Hello, Experience West Virginia

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Photo by The Hub

In August of 2016, Brittany Anderson and Amanda Cunningham launched a group called Create Bridgeport/Clarksburg.

The two community organizers spent months in weekly “open to all” community meetings, speaking with residents from North Central West Virginia.

Among the many ideas and issues being shared, they noticed one consistent theme. Residents, business owners, and event organizers felt it was a challenge to reach their audience while the audience expressed they were having a difficulty finding them.

Amanda says word of mouth was how they got their insider tips on good things to do, and places to stay.

“Now we rely on local and state news sites, Facebook, and much more” she says. “By the time we piece together all the events happening around our state and local communities it’s usually after the events have taken place.”

And so these two ambitious young locals launched Experience West Virginia, an online platform that aims to connect and engage residents and state visitors with fun local & statewide events, community meetings and special business offerings.

The statewide community calendar focuses on big and small events in each region. If you have an event, special promotion or non-profit meeting, you can post it there.

“There is no lack of creative business owners in our state,” Brittany says. “However, there is a lack of consistent, easy-to-use centralized communication that promotes the efforts of these individuals and what they have to offer on a local scale.”

Learn more about Experience West Virginia at www.experiencewestvirginia.com, or email info.expwv@gmail.com for more information.

Next Pittsburgh: 12 Day Festival in PA, WV To Explore a Brave New World of Hands-On Learning

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Photo by Anthony Musmanno/Next Pittsburgh

By Amanda Waltz/Next Pittsburgh

For 12 days in May, Pittsburgh will become the showcase for an education revolution when Remake Learning Days returns to the region.

“All sorts of families—rich and poor, black and white, urban and rural—will have truly special opportunities to experience in great ways how learning is changing.”

From May 15-26, the Remake Learning Network and various partners will present more than 350 free or low-cost events at schools, museums, libraries and other spaces across southwestern Pennsylvania and in West Virginia.

What’s described as “the world’s largest Open House for hands-on learning” encourages children and their families to make, create, build and interact with cutting-edge innovations.

“With more than 350 events all across our region, all sorts of families—rich and poor, black and white, urban and rural—will have truly special opportunities to experience in great ways how learning is changing and, importantly, to identify ways to support their kids in modern learning that will prepare them for brilliant futures…”

Read the full story at www.nextpittsburgh.com

Win Some, Lose Some: The Wrap-Up Of Community Development Proposals From This Year’s Session

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Photo by Perry Bennett/WV Legislature Photography

The West Virginia legislative session wrapped up on April 9, and we were wondering what happened to those proposals introduced that pertain to community development.

So here’s our rundown on what happened to bills pertaining to abandoned buildings and property redevelopment, and what the new Home Rule legislation might mean for local municipalities.

And below is all the pertinent info about the other community development-related proposals that were in the mix.

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HB 2453- Expanding Industrial Hemp

House Bill 2453 passed the Senate and House unanimously this session. The bill, sponsored by Delegates Eldridge, Butler, and Summers, alters the 2014 Industrial Hemp Development Act to allow the West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture to expand licensing of more qualified individuals and state institutions of higher learning to grow or cultivate industrial hemp in West Virginia.

Americans already safely purchase $580 million worth of hemp-based products imported each year. Now West Virginia is a step closer to tapping into that market. Interested in learning more? Here’s our deep dive into the Industrial Hemp proposal.

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HB 2724- Creating a Public Health Pilot Program

House Bill 2724 was introduced by Minority Leader Tim Miley and Speaker Tim Armstead at the request of Governor Justice, and passed both chambers to become law this session.

The legislation will result in the creation of a community-based pilot program to address poverty, substance abuse, and other determinants of health. The pilot project aims to develop a comprehensive model which be utilized to promote public health in communities throughout the Mountain State.

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HB 3093- Establishing Broadband Expansion and Enhancement Policies (BEEP)

House Bill 3093 passed both the House and Senate, however, the proposal has yet to receive the Governor’s seal of approval. Given that West Virginia ranks 48th in the nation in broadband access, the Hub believes this bill is crucial to pass this session.

The revenue-neutral proposal aims to increase access to broadband across the state by allowing municipalities and counties to form nonprofit broadband cooperatives, expand the role of the state Broadband Council to collect a range of meaningful data, identify innovative solutions, and posit policy recommendations.

The bill would also aim to eliminate barriers to broadband installation by ensuring ready-pole access and the use of micro-trenching techniques, while safeguarding consumers by prohibiting internet providers from advertising or contracting for “up to” speeds.

If you’re interested in advocating for this proposal, here’s how you can tell Governor Jim Justice to sign it into law.

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SB 341- Establishing WV Business Growth in Low-income Communities Tax Credit

Sponsored by a bipartisan group of Senators, Senate Bill 341 unanimously passed a vote by the full Senate and was sent to the House, where it passed the House Small Business, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development, and was sent to House Finance. It was never placed on the House Finance agenda and died in committee.

If passed, SB 341 would have established a tax credit program available in West Virginia’s low-income communities, aimed at spurring economic growth and business activities.

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SB 27- Permitting sale of Home-based, Micro-processed Foods at Farmers Markets

Following unanimous passage in the Senate, Senate Bill 27 was ordered to the House on March 21 and sent to the Health and Human Resources Committee, where it was amended and sent to the floor.

The House passed the bill and sent it back to the Senate, where it was amended once again. The Senate then requested the House concur with their amendments, however, the chamber failed to respond and the proposal died.

SB 27 would have permitted farmers market vendors to apply for a microprocessor permit to allow for the sale of certain micro-processed foods like jams, jellies, honey, pickles and sauces at West Virginia farmers markets.

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SB 294- Community Sustainability Investment Pilot Program

Senate Bill 294 passed the Senate unanimously on Crossover Day. Subsequently, the proposal was ordered to the House on Wednesday, March 29. In the House, the bill received a single reference to House Finance, where it failed to prevail in a very competitive process to be placed on the Finance agenda.

The proposal would have created a matching community development grant fund designed to “foster the implementation of innovative planning strategies to develop and expand communities that can maximize emerging economic opportunities and environmental challenges and thrive in the Twenty-First Century.”

Funding could have been used to provide tech advances, develop community centers, arts, cultural and recreational facilities, aesthetic improvements to existing community entities and infrastructure, diversity programming, as well as the development of renewable or alternative sources of energy.

PolicyLink: In Kentucky, the Beginnings of a New Appalachian Creative Economy

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Photo by Mountain Tech Media

By Alexis Stephens/PolicyLink

Last November, voters in Kentucky expressed confidence that President Trump could deliver on his promise to revive the coal industry, and he carried the state with 62 percent of votes.

But in the heart of Appalachia, there’s a strong network of businesses and nonprofits that are looking beyond coal, and embracing equity-focused regional economic development for marginalized communities — creating employment opportunities in technology and innovation, and arts and culture, as even more promising growth industries for the region.

“We’re thinking about ways to move forward in a post-coal economy.”

In rural Letcher County, Kentucky — population 23,000 — just 12 percent of adults age 25 or older have a bachelor’s degree, and 33 percent of residents live below the federal poverty level.

But Letcher County is also home to creative entrepreneurs and artists working to cultivate a more equitable economy. “We’re thinking about ways to move forward in a post-coal economy,” said Jeremy McQueen, CEO and co-founder of Mountain Tech Media, which provides technology and digital design services out of its base in Whitesburg.

“Companies like ours are really offering solutions for workers and communities that used to rely on coal to be able to participate in an economy that’s thriving…”

Read the full story at www.policylink.org

One Final Step – Urge Governor Justice To Sign New Broadband Law

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This moment has been years in the making.

For much of the past decade, West Virginia’s patchy and outdated internet infrastructure has been identified as one of the biggest things holding the state back.

But now, West Virginia is on the verge of taking a historic step forward with the passage of House Bill 3093 which would give communities, consumers, and internet providers a range of tools to support innovative and creative ways to increase broadband access across West Virginia.

With a transformative victory for the state so close, we need you to take this simple action.

Both the senate and the house have passed the bill.

Just one more thing has to happen. Governor Jim Justice has to sign the bill into law.

With a transformative victory for the state so close, we need you to take this simple action to urge Governor Justice to take the final step and sign House Bill 3093.

West Virginians of all ages depend on the internet for work, education, and healthcare. Broadband access is imperative to creating the kinds of jobs and communities West Virginia requires in the 21st century.

Tell the Governor you want him to sign the bill!

LEEP Act Would Create Jobs and Grow West Virginia’s Energy Economy

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Photo courtesy chooseenergy.com

The Local Energy Efficiency Partnership Act (LEEP) is a bill designed to lower small businesses’ operating costs and promote job growth throughout West Virginia.

Local energy efficiency partnerships help small businesses save money on energy. They use private financing, like loans from small banks, to pay for upgrades to make small businesses more energy efficient.

If LEEP passes, businesses wanting to use LEEP to upgrade their buildings will create a market for energy efficiency companies to grow.

The loans then pay for themselves, with the money the business owners save on their energy bills.

LEEP also protects business owners, because the loan is attached to the building, not the borrower. That means the person paying for the energy efficiency upgrades is the person using the upgrades. No business owner will get stuck paying for upgrades to buildings they no longer occupy.

If LEEP passes, businesses wanting to use LEEP to upgrade their buildings will create a market for energy efficiency companies to grow. This will create local jobs and help our economy. That sort of job creation has happened in Ohio, Kentucky, and 30 other states that have adopted this kind of legislation.

You can urge our state’s legislators to pass the Leep Act and create energy efficiency jobs in West Virginia.

Thanks in large part to the bill sponsor in the Senate, Senator Craig Blair (R, Berkeley), Senate Bill 480 LEEP passed the Senate unanimously and is headed to the House of Delegates.

We are hopeful the House will give the bill the same kind of support. With public outreach, you can show the House Government Organizations committee that LEEP is a positive step toward a strong economy in West Virginia.

Please send an email to the committee members, mentioning these positive aspects of LEEP:

  • LEEP makes it easier for businesses to stay in West Virginia by lowering their costs and improving their buildings.

  • The LEEP Act will grow energy efficiency businesses in the state, creating a new job market in West Virginia.

  • LEEP is entirely voluntary, so if a local government doesn’t want to offer LEEP financing, they won’t have to.

Here is a link that makes it easier to email the committee members:

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/grow-energy-efficiency-jobs-pass-the-leep-act-4?clear_id=true

How LEEP works

Businesses that want to lower their energy costs seek out an energy audit to find the inefficiency in their buildings. This audit is often provided by an Energy Service Company (ESCO), a company that provides energy savings through efficiency. 

Then, the ESCO recommends upgrades to the building. For example, if it audits a building with an old, inefficient furnace, the ESCO might recommend a new furnace, but also identify other issues like inefficient lighting and air leaks. The business chooses which of the upgrades they want to make and contacts their local government.

The business then finds funding for the project through local banks, national finance companies that invest in these sorts of projects, or other avenues. Often, the financing is done through bonds that are backed by the assessment on the building. No taxpayer dollars, state or local, are used to fund LEEP upgrades. The business owner then makes payments that are lower than the amount of money the business saves on energy costs.

Please take a moment to remind the House Government Organizations committee that LEEP is a positive step toward a strong economy in West Virginia.

The Daily Yonder: Could Fiercer Competition Reboot the Sluggish Progress of Rural Broadband?

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Photo courtesy The Daily Yonder

By Jonathan Chambers/The Daily Yonder

Each year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) directs the collection of approximately 18% of companies’ revenues from interstate and international telephone services and redistributes $4.5 billion of the funds to telephone companies offering mostly slow and limited internet access in rural areas.

Rather than promote the best that technology has to offer, Connect America Fund is a form of insurance – insurance for incumbent telephone companies against competition.

The one mechanism never tried by the FCC was competitive pressure.

When I worked at the FCC, folks at the agency seemed simultaneously confident and puzzled about certain phenomena. Confident that it was too expensive to build fiber optic networks throughout rural America, and puzzled about how best to encourage the telephone companies to improve their networks.

The one mechanism never tried by the FCC was competitive pressure. Though the agency was once headed by a man who repeated as his mantra “Competition, competition, competition,” neither he nor his predecessors employed competition as a tool to spur investment in rural broadband…

Read the full story at www.dailyyonder.com