Ash borer responsible for MA senate election, MN gov not seeking third term?; St. Paul, MN

On a pitch, a ride, free beauty and more ... - TwinCities.com: "You read it here first: The emerald ash borer, a nasty invasive insect that is wrecking our ash-tree canopy, was responsible for Gov. Tim Pawlenty's decision not to seek a third term as governor. The news that the borer was boring in on Minnesota was followed quickly by the gov's announcement. The fact that there is absolutely no evidence linking the two has not stopped us from advancing this absurd theory.
We now note that the borer has let loose the dogs of war on St. Paul's fine boulevards, leading to a city decision to bring out the chain saws, stump grinders and replanting crews. Further, it is our wholly unsupported contention that the borers, emboldened by their successes, sent chewing teams to Massachusetts. That triggered a statewide panic, which convinced normally Democratic Bay Staters that they needed to vote Republican, upsetting the bid for national health care, which the emerald ash borer-lobby feared would have led to increased funding for ash-tree removal.
Thus it is the dreaded ash borers that are responsible for the upheaval in Washington, just as they were in Minnesota. Again, you read it here first.
Beware the borer!"

Voters pick newcomers over incumbents - some cite committment to protect tree canopy as deciding factor; Miami-Dade, FL

Voters pick newcomers over incumbents - Northeast Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com:
Angela Celis, 42, and Clifton Hamilton, 51, village residents for 10 years, said they voted for Cooper and Ross because their platforms included promises to preserve the village's tree canopy.
Celis and Hamilton also said they were concerned about village spending in a tight economy.
``We want them to keep the costs reasonable and make pragmatic decisions,'' Hamilton said. ``We want them to preserve the trees. This is a bird sanctuary, so the environment needs to be intact and we need to keep it as natural as possible.''
This year's elections had a greater voter turnout with just over 33 percent than the 2007 election, in which 26 percent voted.
``I'm happy,'' said Cooper, 48, inside the Ed Burke Recreation Center, where the votes were cast and counted.``I'm actually grateful for all the volunteers that made this possible. This wouldn't had happened if they hadn't help with the campaign.''
Cooper is a professor and director of collections and digital services at St. Thomas University.
Ross, a paralegal, said she was excited to start her term on the commission.
``I'm very excited about getting to work with the other commissioners, focusing on making Biscayne Park a better place to be,'' said Ross, 50, minutes after the results were announced at the Recreation Center. ``Keep it the gem that we are.''

City councilmember identifies key issues facing city as gangs, development and...UTC?; Sarasota, FL

WARD 4: Q&A with Henry and Smith HeraldTribune.com Sarasota Florida Southwest Florida's Information Leader:
WARD 4: Q&A with Henry and Smith

Published: Tuesday, October 6, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 10:37 a.m.
Considering the decline in the city’s property tax base, do you agree with its budget priorities?
Henry: At this time I haven’t seen this year’s budget. In past years, I have thought that priorities were askew. I believe the council should have more input into the making of the budget.
Smith: I agree with the budget priorities when taken in the context of the current economic situation, nationally and locally, as well as past and future budget realities. Since 2000, the city has made significant strides in reducing staff levels through increased efficiencies while raising wages, especially in public safety to help retain our employees. This philosophy of making the city run much like a business continues in the fiscal year 2010 budget. Further, the current budget, while relatively austere, will allow the city to move proactively into the uncertain times of a bad economy and potential new state funding mandates with some stability.

Seattle mayoral candidate calls for UTC goal, green jobs creation; Seattle, WA

Mallahan: Make Seattle greener:
Joe Mallahan, running against former Sierra Club leader Mike McGinn for Seattle mayor, on Monday released his environmental goals.
'I am committed to continue leading Seattle forward so we can be the premier city for environmental protection and innovation in North America. That means enacting creative, outcome-based strategies to protect Puget Sound, to create an open and accessible waterfront, to achieve and exceed the Kyoto climate goals, to improve transit options, to enlarge Seattle's forest canopy, and to generate family-wage, green-energy jobs,' Mallahan said in a statement.

Also covered in:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politicsnorthwest/2009959684_mayorenvironment.html

Blogger interviews mayoral candidate for views on conflicts between green best practices - UTC enhancement v. density; Seattle, WA

Publicola » Blog Archive » Check out Hugeasscity’s Q&A With David Miller
Dan Bertolet over at Hugeasscity has a great post up asking city council candidate David Miller some fundamental questions about density, development, and whether Miller (a neighborhood and tree activist from Maple Leaf) supports transit-oriented development in the neighborhoods.
The questions themselves are smart (if a little looooooooooooong), but what makes the post great is that Miller answers thoughtfully and at great length—and in ways that don’t necessarily acquit him of charges that he’s a NIMBY.

Debate over candidate's green positions highlight complexities of green decision making in urban jurisdictions; Seattle, WA

Strains in the green-growth coalition
The battle for candidate endorsements reveals some ideological divides between local environmentalists, developers, and independent thinkers who wonder if all urban growth is good.
By Knute Berger
People in Seattle are green green green. We're a leader on Kyoto, we hate plastic bottles and shopping bags, and our politicians often jockey over who is more green than the other. Candidates for office vie for key endorsements from groups like the Cascade Bicycle Club, Washington Conservation Voters, and the Sierra Club.
But candidates also need business support too, and Mayor Greg Nickels has led the way over the years in forging a lamb-and-lion coalition of green and development interests. You'd think these two would be more at odds, but part of the secret to Nickels' success has been exploiting an urban green paradigm that essentially equates urban development with the true green agenda.
Making Seattle into a denser city will save undeveloped outlying lands from growth; in-fill is more carbon-friendly than sprawl. In this world, high-rise office and residential towers are the way to save the planet. Density, walkability, transit-friendly, and sustainability are the watchwords. Whether a bigger, denser, light-railed Seattle will actually result in less sprawl in our region is still mostly theory, but it's accepted as gospel by many. A pro-development stance pleases greens, business, and the labor unions. And politicians."