Category Archives: Good Government

Local and Libraries

Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 by • No comments yet

Municipal libraries are a cornerstone of local America.  While they’ve been hit hard by budget cuts in many locales, they continue to play vital roles.  So I was pleased to see Front Porch Forum treated well today by Charles at Dewey and Main.

Many small town librarians participate on the FPF neighborhood forums in their towns.  They post announcements about programs and new books, as well as address specific issues that come up in the various neighborhoods.  And, I would guess, they learn a bit about what’s going on around town and use that information to shape what they provide.

Neighborhood Planning Assemblies Online

Posted on Saturday, August 18, 2007 by • 2 comments

Two of Burlington’s Neighborhood Planning Assemblies are now online…

All of the NPA Steering Committee members deserve thanks from the citizens of Burlington for the volunteer work they do on our behalf. About 25 of these good folks also participate on their neighborhood’s Front Porch Forum and have access to all of the neighborhood forums in their ward.

Kudos in particular to Basil Vansuch (Ward 5) and Lea Terhune (Wards 4 and 7) for creating these NPA blogs and thanks for mentioning Front Porch Forum on them.

National Night Out Award for FPF

Posted on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 by • No comments yet

South Burlington’s National Night Out celebration seemed a great hit today. I know our kids had a great time. And it was a real honor to accept the event’s community award on behalf of thousands of local folks who are using Front Porch Forum to build community within their own neighborhoods. (See here and here for past postings about this event and award.)

And here are a couple photos of us (Michael and Valerie) accepting the award from Vermont Governor Jim Douglas (top) and Police Chief Trevor Whipple and Sgt. Tom Fraga.

Thanks to all these folks for the recognition!

Real Crowd from the Virtual

Posted on Friday, August 3, 2007 by • No comments yet

Need a crowd to show up for an important local issue? Just got this note…

Thanks to Front Porch Forum we were able to get over 70 people out on a hot night to discuss the zoning rewrite issues. News does travel fast with Front Porch Forum!!! -Linda, Village Green Neighborhood Forum

Front Porch Forum Team Earns Award!

Posted on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 by • 2 comments

As reported by the Burlington Free Press yesterday…

South Burlington – This year’s recipient of the Community Appreciation Award, which is given out each year at National Night Out, will go to Michael and Valerie Wood-Lewis, who founded Front Porch Forum. The Front Porch Forum is an email based service organized by neighborhoods, where neighbors talk about topics from baby-sitting to vandalism.

The Community Appreciation Award “recognizes someone in the community whose efforts have made a difference in our community” and who has worked toward crime prevention and youth services, said National Night Out coordinator Catherine Welch. The Wood-Lewises will receive the award at 7 p.m. on Aug. 7 at the Dorset Park band shell. Gov. Jim Douglas will present the award.

“After only a half-year of operation, more than 5,000 Chittenden County households have joined Front Porch Forum,” Michael Wood-Lewis said in a press release. “FPF hosts 130 contiguous online neighborhood forums covering the entire metro-Burlington area. People use the free service for many ends, including finding a babysitter or lost cat, selling a canoe, recommending a plumber, announcing a school play, reporting a car break-in, organizing a block party and so much more. And, the best part of it, all of these activities are done with clearly identified nearby neighbors, so the sense of community in each neighborhood grows.”

Wood-Lewis said he and his wife are “humbled” to be nominated for the award and they will share it with the thousands of local Front Porch Forum members, volunteers and sponsors.

By all means, this award is shared with the more than 5,000 local FPF participants… definitely a group effort.

I encourage local folks to attend the various National Night Out events… sounds like a fun bash (and free!) taking shape… carnival, parade, fireworks, live music, rides, food and more. We’re taking our kids. August 6 at 6:30 PM at Dorset Park, and then the main event on August 7 from noon until 10:00 PM at the park (rain date is August 8 ).

Update:  Details about the event are now available on the South Burlington Police Dept. website.  Also, Sgt. Tom Fraga and organizer Catherine Welch recorded a Channel 17 TV show about it all the other day.  Click here and then select “South Burlington’s National Night Out Preview Show (7/17/07)” under Special Events.  They mention Front Porch Forum at 22:40 into the 30-minute program.

Boston Police hand out 40,000 Nametags

Posted on Monday, July 16, 2007 by • No comments yet

Here’s an interesting piece…

With the help of more than 150 volunteers, the Boston Police Department, in honor of National Night Out 2007, will distribute 40,000 nametags at Fenway Park to attendees at the Red Sox – Blue Jays Game on July 15. The Boston Police Department’s Neighborhood Crime Watch Unit is embarking on this “Nametag Day” to encourage fans in attendance to get to know their neighbors. Neighbors who know each other are more likely to care for and watch out for each other. This reduces crime and strengthens their community. Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis will welcome the crowd and officially kick off National Night Out Boston 2007. This year’s theme is “Unity through Community,” which is made possible when neighbors get to know each other simply by learning each other’s names. More information about National Night Out Boston 2007 can be found at www.BostonCrimeWatch.com.

The use of nametags comes from Joseph Porcelli’s (BPD Neighborhood Crime Watch Unit) “Nametag Project.” Joseph and others in the United States and Canada have been wearing nametags since January 1, 2007, everyday, all the time, everywhere they go to encourage people to get to know their neighbors and speak to each other. The project has received national recognition. For more information on The Nametag Project visit www.thenametagproject.com.

Some folks compare a successful Front Porch Forum neighborhood to all the neighbors wearing name tags, since every posting include the writers full name, street and email address. A bit cumbersome, but there’s no getting around the value of displaying names.

Front Porch Forum Case Study

Posted on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 by • No comments yet

Ken Picard wrote an article in this week’s Seven Days about the assault of a woman at a Burlington basketball court when she asked some late night ballplayers to tone it down. What a terrible act against this 11-year resident.  I reported on the Burlington Free Press’ coverage here previously.

With the publication of Ken’s piece, a vivid portrait is painted of how the neighbors are using Front Porch Forum to inform each other about events, express concerns, debate underlying issues, attract official responses from local authorities, and get organized. Some excerpts…

When residents living near Pomeroy Park in the Old North End first learned about the late-night assault last month on one of their neighbors, they probably didn’t get the news from the daily newspaper. More likely, they read about it on the Front Porch Forum…

This incident, like many relatively minor crimes that occur each day in Burlington, might have gone unnoticed and unaddressed were it not for the victim’s neighbor, Samuel Press. He asked her permission to post an account of the incident on their neighborhood’s Front Porch Forum…

Press’ posting sparked a flurry of email responses from other residents of the Old North End, some of whom recounted similar experiences with unruly and foul-mouthed park users. Others expressed dismay at the Parks & Recreation department and the police department’s unwillingness and/or inability to address their concerns, which appear to have existed for years.

The online back-and-forth eventually prompted official replies from Parks & Recreation Director Wayne Gross and Burlington Police Lieutenant Jennifer Morrison… Gross wrote that he asked the Burlington Electric Department to fix the street lamp that was bleeding light onto the court, enabling late-night play to occur. Likewise, Morrison informed residents that the police have stepped up nighttime patrols of the area, and asked residents to get good descriptions of anyone else engaged in suspicious activities.

Recently, a group of neighbors met to talk about longer term solutions. FPF is all about helping neighbors connect and foster community at the neighborhood level. This is a wonderful case study of people using Front Porch Forum in just this way.

S. Burlington Night Out Aug. 7

Posted on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 by • 2 comments

South Burlington, VT will partake in the 24th annual National Night Out celebration on August 7.  The Free Press reported yesterday that the organizers are looking for volunteers.  Interested?  Contact Cpl. Ron Piper (845-4625).  Also from the Free Press…

National Night Out serves to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness while generating support for, and participation in, local crime prevention efforts, said Sgt. Thomas A. Fraga of the South Burlington Police Department. It also aims to strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships and send a message to criminals that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

South Burlington will start off the event with a movie and family bingo Aug. 6 at the rotary band shell at Dorset Park. The event at the park will continue at noon Aug. 7 with pony rides, inflatables, and displays from businesses, nonprofits and crime prevention agencies.

The parade will begin at 6 p.m. from the University Mall and progress down Dorset Street until it ends at Dorset Park an hour later. After the parade, the winners of the South Burlington Talent Show and other local groups will perform. A fireworks display at 9:15 p.m. will conclude the event.

This event meshes well with the mission of Front Porch Forum.

Kudos for Front Porch Forum

Posted on Friday, June 29, 2007 by • No comments yet

Burlington seems to be suffering an increase in break-ins, vandalism and the like.  Much is shared on the various neighborhood forums hosted by FPF.  Local officials weigh in too.  Here’s a gem that just arrived on the ONE East Neighborhood Forum from Tim this evening…

I’d just like to offer some kudos here:

* to Front Porch Forum for creating a medium for neighbors to communicate issues quickly and easily
* to the police and government officials of all types for watching and responding to this forum on a regular basis

I think I can speak for most members of the community and say this:  Whether or not we are satisfied with every response we receive, we appreciate everything our officials are doing to improve and maintain our quality of life.  We have to acknowledge that FPF has created a communication path and that its being used, successfully, by our community.

Thanks Tim!

City Councilor using FPF to Organize

Posted on Friday, June 8, 2007 by • No comments yet

Burlington Ward 5 City Councilor Bill Keogh is using Front Porch Forum to organize an initiative he calls Walk with Me…

Want to reduce your health care costs?  Start at home by (and you’ve heard this before): not smoking, watch how often you eat and how much you eat, and exercise.  Exercise is not a sophisticated endeavor.  It means you get out and walk.  Walk up and down the street, around your block.  Just walk.

With that in mind, I am looking for volunteer WWM’s!  Those are Walk With Me leaders.  You would be the person in your neighborhood who would be a leader in a neighborhood walk of, maybe 15 mins a day, twice a week.  This proposal is to get folks in the neighborhood together, to take a short evening stroll. Aha! Exercise and sociability.

By neighborhood, I’m talking about focusing around the area covered by your electronic Front Porch Forum.  The walks could be at 7 p.m. on a weekday and one day of the weekend.  If you are interested, contact me at bkeoghsr@yahoo.com for more details and support.

Good for Bill!  I know a former councilor who has done the same thing in her own New North End neighborhood through Front Porch Forum.  Another great use of this service.

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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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