Yearly Archives: 2008
Community-building chorus in Winooski
An uplifting story from Matt Sutkoski at the Burlington Free Press today…
The city of Winooski needed more music, more songs, Maria Rinaldi decided earlier this year.
At about the same time, the same thought crossed the mind of Sister Pat McKittrick of the Sisters of Providence. “I wanted something to lift spirits and bring people to the community. I really believe music is healing,” she said.
The two women’s thoughts culminated recently in the inaugural concert of the Winooski Community Chorus. About a dozen chorus members entertained about 125 people Dec. 6 at the Sisters of Providence chapel. McKittrick said that was many more people than expected…
McKittrick and Rinaldi recruited chorus members by posting messages on Front Porch Forum and in church bulletins and by talking the chorus up to friends and relatives…
Maria Rinaldi
Serving your nation, your community or your neighborhood
Craig Newmark writes in the Huffington Post today…
Deep in the Barack Obama platform, there’s a reference to “a craigslist for service.” It’s humbling to see our name in there, but I’d prefer to see that as only a metaphorical reference to the need for greater service to others, with the spirit and culture of trust of craigslist. Obama is inspiring millions of people to consider service to others, and to innovate for service. Check out what Barack says at change.gov
“When you choose to serve — whether it’s your nation, your community or simply your neighborhood — you are connected to that fundamental American ideal that we want life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness not just for ourselves, but for all Americans. That’s why it’s called the American dream.”
Sounds like a description of how many folks use Front Porch Forum.
Snow Blower Fairy
Northwest Vermont had its first good snow storm of the season today. Hannah of South Burlington posted the following to her neighbors on Front Porch Forum this afternoon…
Hey neighbors! – I just wanted to thank the snow blower fairy who took care of my driveway and walkway this morning. This act of kindness really made my day and spared my back. If you want to let me know who you are I’d really like to make a plate of cookies or something. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
“The planet does not need more ‘successful’ people”
Another outstanding quote provided by a Front Porch Forum member. Thanks to Annie Dunn Watson in Essex…
“The plain fact is that the planet does not need more ‘successful’ people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every shape and form. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these needs have little to do with success as our culture has defined it.” –David Orr
Zip Codes and Polygons
Defining physical boundaries of neighborhoods is a cornerstone of Front Porch Forum. So we’re interested in local boundaries generally. Vermont-based Maponics shares a good primer today about ZIP Codes and carrier routes (and they have neighborhood polygons too)…
The ZIP Code and carrier route coding system was specifically developed by the United States Postal Service (USPS) in order to make mail delivery more efficient. This means that what the average person refers to as a “ZIP Code”, is actually a collection of addresses that have the same 5-digit code assigned to them. The USPS then further splits up each of these ZIP Codes into smaller blocks of addresses: carrier routes. A carrier route literally corresponds to the group of addresses that an individual mail service employee is responsible for delivering to each day.
There are roughly 43,000 ZIP Codes in the US. These are divided into approximately 600,000 unique carrier routes with, on average, 15 carrier routes per ZIP Code. Fifty percent of these are PO Box-based carrier routes which do not have actual delivery areas.
ZIP Codes and carrier routes do not tie in to any other US geography. Because of this, they frequently cross city, census tract, county and even state boundaries. The USPS does not provide maps or map data for ZIP Codes and carrier routes. Businesses looking for postal map data to inform their sales territory tracking, direct marketing and other initiatives have to turn to private map data compilers for this information.
Read the full post…
Front Porch Forum in Two Slides
Here’s Front Porch Forum boiled down to two slides…
About Blog
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more
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