2010 | Ghost of Midnight

Hard-pressed to communicate with constituents?

Posted on Sunday, October 31, 2010 by Michael • No comments yet

“Helping neighbors connect”… that’s what Front Porch Forum is all about.

But, as is becoming increasingly obvious, FPF is used in other ways too. Local businesses, city employees, colleges and hospitals, charities and others use FPF every day to communicate with their communities.

Some local public officials enjoy wide access to FPF across many neighborhood forums. This can create a heavy load of neighborhood-level conversation for them to keep up with… but a surprisingly high number do just that. This just in from one State Rep…

FPF has made such a difference in creating a sense of neighborhoods. It does make more work and takes up more of our time, just like email actually, but its value way outweighs its demands, for me. I can’t tell you how many people during my door-knocking thanked me for my postings. Without FPF, I’d be hard-pressed to communicate with constituents. So, really, a BIG thanks to all of you.

Hinesburg Political Debate

Posted on Sunday, October 31, 2010 by Michael • 2 comments

What are the boundaries of discussion for an online forum? In each neighborhood/town Front Porch Forum, the members who participate decide what to talk about by the nature of what they post. With the Nov. 2 election, politics has moved front and center in many FPF neighborhoods recently. This pleases some folks and troubles other. Here’s a typical exchange… this time from Hinesburg this week…

We thought Front Porch Forum was designed to trade information with neighbors, not to serve as one more place for people to post political editorials. Len’s piece in today’s forum, while well written, was out of place. Statewide and local election coverage is available through a plethora of channels and we did not sign up for FPF to be lectured at or editorialized to. We signed up to learn what our neighbors needed, and to share what we needed. Is this what we can expect from FPF? It is bad enough that the candidates invade our homes with phone calls at all hours without regard to whether or not we want to hear what they have to say.

And a neighbor countered with…

I would contend that FPF is exactly the place for an open discussion about all issues facing our community including political ones. Why would a person read an editorial or a political post if it disturbs them? I would suggest averting your eyes until you can scroll down to the next post. I for one enjoy knowing different perspectives from my neighbors, including where the next garage sale will be and why certain politicians might be or might not be good for our town…

Good points all around. Regardless, experience shows that, a day or two after the election, FPF will return to neighborly postings about lost cats, babysitters, car break-ins, helping neighbors in need, etc.

More towns vying for e-Vermont resources

Posted on Thursday, October 28, 2010 by Michael • No comments yet

Ken Picard wrote a good piece about e-Vermont for Seven Days this week…

E-Vermont’s mission is to help rural schools, businesses and municipalities make the most of the new digital tools at their disposal. Funded largely through a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the project is also supported by a coalition of local philanthropists, businesses and nonprofit organizations.

In May, 12 Vermont communities were selected from more than 40 that applied to receive technical and educational assistance in maximizing their broadband usage. Over the next few weeks, more towns across the state will line up to be considered for the next round of assistance.

They’ll be vying for 12 open spots that come with a variety of free services, including new computers for their elementary schools, training and consulting services for small businesses, web-design instruction for town governments and a host of other community-building tools.

“Community building”… that’s where Front Porch Forum comes in. We’re a proud e-Vermont partner. In fact, FPF is now available in 50 Vermont towns, thanks in part to e-Vermont. Anyone wanting FPF in their Vermont town should apply for the second round of e-Vermont awards by Nov. 17, 2010.

Over the last few months, e-Vermont convened a series of meetings in each e-Vermont town to create a list of town-specific priorities.

Many of the goals spelled out in the town plans use 21st-century technologies, such as email, Facebook, Nixle and Front Porch Forum, to reinforce old-fashioned Vermont values: connecting young people with elders; helping Vermonters stay in touch with friends and family out of state; finding new ways to increase civic participation; and helping Vermonters identify neighbors who live alone, are disabled or need someone to check on them periodically.

Another common theme that emerged from all the town plans is a desire to use the Internet to create a stronger local identity. For example, the 3600 residents of Pownal actually live in three separate villages — Pownal, Pownal Center and North Pownal — that are several miles apart.

One of Pownal’s goals is to use… Front Porch Forum to boost community cohesion and spark livelier dialogue among its residents. The framers of Pownal’s plan say this could be an especially useful tool as plans move forward to convert the former Green Mountain Race Track in Pownal into a renewable energy park.

#BTV #VT ‘s Mealtrain in Mothering Magazine!

Posted on Friday, October 22, 2010 by Michael • 1 comment

Congratulations to Burlington’s own mealTrain.com … featured in Mothering Magazine recently. This is a great service. Our family has used it successfully several times to support friends in need (new baby at home, etc.) or just as a pick-me-up from a group of friends to one happy recipient.

From their site…

Friends and family have always shown support and compassion after significant life events through the delivery of meals. However, this generosity has not been without challenges. Often the giving party is wondering, “When is the best time to start giving meals? Which nights are most helpful? What meals are most liked? What foods have already been shared? How many should I cook for? Is anyone in the home allergic to food types?” or “When is the family ready to start cooking on their own?”

mealTrain.com is a free solution that simplifies the organization of giving and receiving meals. By allowing the giving party to take into account the recipient’s preferred meal times, food preferences, and available days, the site helps ensure that the recipient gets the meals they enjoy on the days that are most helpful.

Vermont’s own FPF featured in U.S. News & World Report

Posted on Thursday, October 21, 2010 by Michael • 3 comments

U.S. News & World Report focuses on giving back in its Nov. 2010 issue, including an article examining Front Porch Forum! Thousands of Vermonters have been doing great things through FPF since 2006… kudos to all!

I can’t find the piece online yet, but here’s a PDF version:

UPDATE: Here’s the online version!

Red Richmond Bridge?

Posted on Tuesday, October 19, 2010 by Michael • 2 comments

#VT’s Burlington Free Press reported today…

Richmond’s landmark green bridge on Bridge Street should be painted red, the town’s selectboard voted Monday night. The vote reflected the majority preference of several hundred residents who had responded to an informal survey last month — but does not automatically guarantee the color scheme, said Town Administrator Geoffrey Urbanik…

Urbanik, in an email to the Richmond Front Porch Forum, reported town residents’ straw poll preference: Red (170 votes); green (103); silver (15) and black (7). Two residents stated a preference for gray; write-in votes for copper and gunmetal totaled one apiece…

This has been a lively topic among Richmond’s 1,500 households, more than half of which use FPF.

IF YOU SEE THIS CAT, PLEASE DO NOT FEED HER

Posted on Monday, October 18, 2010 by Michael • No comments yet

Posted on FPF by Susie in South #BTV today…

My lovely, large and luxuriant kitty, Dulce Meow, has been on a diet for months and is getting even LARGER! If you see her on the street and she begs you to buy her an ice cream from the Good Humor man (or woman), please don’t do it. If she shows up at your doorstep and convinces you that she is starving, don’t believe her, SHE LIES! Dulce has a very compelling look in her large green eyes but you must refrain from feeding her, please, not even a small treat, SHE IS NOT PREGNANT!

Thank you in advance for your help. She’s a sweet, very fat, kitty and I want her to live a good long life.
Your neighbor, Susie

#VT Police and Social Networking

Posted on Thursday, October 14, 2010 by Michael • No comments yet

Andy Bromage writes in this week’s Seven Days about VT police use of digital tools… interesting stories. He closes with…

Burlington police do closely monitor the neighborhood Front Porch Forums, replying to questions and concerns posted by residents. But they do not maintain a Facebook page because, in Schirling’s words, “It is one more thing to maintain with limited resources, and our website is quite comprehensive.”

One innovative solution to two vexing neighborhood problems

Posted on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 by Michael • No comments yet

Speeding cars and dog poop. We see postings on those two topics nearly every day in one neighborhood or another on Front Porch Forum. Well, at last, thanks to a fast-thinking Massachusetts woman, we may have a single solution (Burlington Free Press, Oct. 6, 2010)…

Belmont, Mass. — A Massachusetts woman is facing assault charges after Belmont police said she hit a motorist in the face with a bag of dog feces.

Police said Tuesday that the woman, whose name has not been released, admitted tossing doggie dung at the drive because she believed he was speeding.

The woman was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, vandalism to property and disorderly conduct. No arraignment date has been set.

Seattle’s Super-Duper Neighborhoods – Jim Diers’ Lessons Learned

Posted on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 by Michael • No comments yet

From Matt Leighninger at Deliberative Democracy Consortium…

Last month, the city of Santa Rosa (CA) held a neighborhood summit to help people think through how they wanted residents, public officials, community organizations, and other stakeholders to work together. Jim Diers, former director of the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, gave a stemwinding keynote presentation that you can view here.

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One innovative solution to two vexing neighborhood problems

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