NEWS AND UPDATES
Archived, February 2005
State Comments on January 2005 PLUS Projects
Posted
The state comments collected for land use change proposals reviewed
in January 2005 through the Preliminary
Land Use Service (PLUS) have been posted to the 2005
PLUS Projects page. The PLUS comment letters now include an executive
summary section that gives an overview of state agencies' comments
on projects reviewed through PLUS.
(Posted 2/28/05)
Meeting Summary for February 25 DGDC
Meeting Posted
A draft
meeting summary (PDF) of the February 25 meeting of the Delaware
Geographic Data Committee (DGDC) is now on-line. Please forward
suggested corrections to Mike
Mahaffie.
(Posted 2/28/05)
University of Pennsylvania Offers Masters Program
that Combines Planning Analysis and Spatial Data
The University of Pennsylvania will offer a new one-year, 9-course,
professional masters program that applies the science of geospatial
analysis to the problems of business and public sector decision-making.
The Master
of Urban Spatial Analytics (MUSA) will be offered in the fall
of 2005. It is designed for professionals, current doctoral students
and recent college graduates and will focus both on the tools of spatial
analysis and on the context in which these tools can be used in several
disciplines including economic and community development, education,
local and state government; real estate and land use, transportation,
and urban demography. (MUSA
Brochure, 10 Pages, PDF)
(Noted, 2/25/05)
Okay Folks, Here's the Deal With the DGDC
Meeting and All This Snow
The February 25 meeting of the Delaware
Geographic Data Committee (DGDC) will "flex" to match
any delays in the opening of State government caused by the snowy weather.
The DGDC meeting is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. If State government opens
an hour late, the meeting will start at 10:00 a.m. If State government
opens two hours late, the meeting will start at 11:00 a.m. If the delay
is three hours, the meeting will start at noon. If the delay is longer
than three hours, or if State government should be closed for the day,
this meeting will be cancelled.
(Not panicking, 2/24/05)
Environmental Concern, Inc., Offers Wetlands
Courses for Planners
Environmental Concern, Inc., is offering three courses on wetlands
for planners in the spring an early summer. Environmental
Concern is a public non-profit corporation based in St. Michaels,
Maryland, dedicated to wetland education, restoration, and research.
The courses are designed for planners working in the coastal plain,
who need to keep up with wetland issues. Courses offered in 2005 are:
- Constructed Wetlands for Waste and Storm Water
Treatment
April 28-29, at the Delaware Aquatic Resources Education Center, near Smyrna, DE
Cost: $375 - Wetland Law and Policy
June 2-3, at Environmental Concern, St. Michaels, MD
Cost: $375 - Endangered Species Act
July 29, at Environmental Concern, St. Michaels, MD
Cost: $185
More
information is available on-line at the Environmental Concern web
site.
(Noted 2/22/05)
Draft
Agenda Posted for February 25 DGDC Meeting
A draft agenda (PDF) has been posted for the February 25 meeting of the
Delaware
Geographic Data Committee (DGDC). The meeting, the first quarterly
meeting of the DGDC for 2005, has been set for Friday, February 25,
starting at 9:00 a.m., in the state training room of the Paradee Center,
on Transportation Circle, in Dover. Please note the change of date
for this meeting, from February 24 to February 25.
(Posted 2/15/05)
Delaware GIS 2005 Registration Opens
On-line registration is now available for Delaware
GIS 2005: Creating Information, Sharing Knowledge, the statewide
(and regional) GIS Conference focused on the use and sharing of spatial
data. The conference will be held at the beautiful Atlantic Sands
Hotel, in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Thursday, April 21, 2005. On-line
registration can be reached from the registration
page of the conference web site. The registration fee is $80 per
person before April 8 and $100 per person after April 8. Students
registration is $50 before April 8 and $70 after that date.
(Announced 2/11/05)
Draft Agenda Posted for February 14 Meeting
of the Governor's Advisory Council on Planning Coordination
A draft
agenda (PDF) has been posted for the next regularly scheduled
meeting of the Livable
Delaware Advisory Council. The Advisory Council will meet starting
at 1:00 p.m., February 14, at the Paradee Center at 69 Transportation
Circle, in Dover.
(Posted 2/8/05)
Delaware Council on Housing to Meet on February
16
The Delaware Council on Housing will meet on February 16, starting
at 2:00 p.m., in the Buck Library at the Buena Vista State Conference
center, on Route 13 in New Castle. The agenda
includes an executive session at the beginning of the meeting, followed
by a public session that includes a presentation by the Delaware Rural
Housing Consortium.
(Noted 2/8/05)
Delaware Educators Encouraged to Enter GIS
In Education Contest; Nominate GIS in Education Leaders
The GIS in Education Working Group of the Delaware
Geographic Data Committee has sent packets of information to Delaware
schools seeking entries to the 2005
K-12 GIS Contest and seeking nominations for the Fifth
Annual Delaware GIS in Education Award.
The K-12 GIS Contest invites individuals, small groups or classes to study one of the many natural disasters that occur on earth, with a focus on the geographic extent of the disaster and its effects on people and communities. Judging of entries, in three different grade groupings, will take place as part of Delaware GIS 2005: Creating Information, Sharing Knowledge, the statewide GIS conference on April 21, 2005.
Educators are also being asked to nominate candidates for the Delaware
GIS in Education Award, which honors an individual or group of individuals
who have been instrumental in furthering the use of spatial information
inside or outside the classroom through geographic information systems
(GIS) in Delaware. The award will be given at the 2005 GIS Conference.
(Noted 2/7/05)
Sharing the Knowledge: Delaware Compact Development Study Cited
in Florida/Georgia Report
A research paper created for the Office of State Planning Coordination
by Troy D. Mix of the University of Delaware's Institute for Public
Administration is cited in a report on preserving agricultural land
and open space in Florida and Georgia. In 2003, Troy Mix published
Exploring
the Benefits of Compact Development (PDF). His work has now been
cited in The
Value of Agricultural Lands and Open Space (PDF), a report focused
on the Red Hills Region of Southwest Georgia and North Florida.
(Noted 2/6/05)
February PLUS Review Meeting Agendas Posted
Agendas have been posted for the meetings to review land use change
proposals submitted for February review under the Preliminary
Land Use Service (PLUS). Both the February
23 meeting (PDF) and the March
2 meeting (PDF) will be held in the Facilities Management Conference
Room on the first floor of the Thomas Collins Building, in Dover,
starting at 8:30 a.m. The full list of PLUS
projects for 2005 is posted as part of the PLUS section of this
web site.
(Posted 2/4/05)
Delaware Geographic Data Committee to Meet on February 25
The first quarterly meeting of the Delaware
Geographic Data Committee (DGDC) for 2005 has been set for Friday,
February 25, starting at 9:00 a.m., in the state training room of
the Paradee Center, on Transportation Circle, in Dover. The DGDC is
an open-membership body of GIS professionals and the users of geospatial
data. It gathers on a regular basis to share information, coordinate
data creation and maintenance efforts, and support the increased sharing
of data and information among state and local governments, the private
sector, and the educational sector in Delaware.
(Announced, 2/3/05)
