September 13, 2004

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and his wife, Court TV's Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom, are featured in the September issue of Harper's Bazaar entitled The New Kennedys

Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez spoke at the annual meeting of the National Alliance for Community Trees held September 9-10 in Washington, D.C. In his remarks, Chavez talked about the importance that trees bring to a community and described some of his city's initiatives, including providing "green" coverage along some of the city's streets and highways. He also talked about his plans to work with other mayors within the Conference to highlight the importance of local urban forestry programs.

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson has approved on September 9 an addition to Salt Lake City's procurement policy that gives a preference to suppliers of products that contain "the maximum amount of post-consumer and/or recovered materials practicable." Preference is given to products made from recyclable materials and materials which are "environmentally preferable," meaning that they have less impact or a reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products that serve the same purpose.

"Salt Lake City purchases millions of dollars worth of products every year. Giving a preference to products that do less harm to our environment and that are made from recycled materials is another critical piece of Salt Lake City's comprehensive approach to environmental protection," said Anderson.

Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson September 3 announced a plan to direct a $1.3 million city grant to Noble of Indiana, the local not-for-profit agency that serve children and adults with developmental disabilities, like mental retardation and autism. City-County Council President Rozelle Boyd, Vice President Joanne Sanders and majority Leader Monroe Gray will spearhead passage of the plan in the council.

From six central Indiana locations, noble provides early intervention therapies for infants and toddlers, transition services for graduating high school students, and employment and day services for adults with developmental disabilities. Last year, Noble celebrated 50 years of service to children and adults with developmental disabilities.

Typically, Noble of Indiana receives $1,055,000 from Marion County to support its services in the community. Last month, funding from the county for the fourth quarter of the 2004 budget and all of the proposed 2005 budget was cut.

Although Noble receives funding from state reimbursement for services, foundations, individual donations and the United Way, the county funding accounted for about 10 percent of its budget.

The mayor's announcement will fund Noble for the last three months of 2004 and all of 2005.