How about a bookstore of ... books?
Observer - 31 Mar 2008
... NOTRE DAME, IN - I sometimes wonder if the proposal for Eddy Street Commons really is going to create the "college town" atmosphere it's supposed to. After all, the centerpieces of the development are supposedly the two hotels and the condominiums in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, which most people here don't really need and probably can't afford - unless the goal of the developing company is to try and recreate the Granger experience closer to campus.

But questionable residential choices aside, it seems that the real potential for creating that college town feel is in its retail sector. And the cornerstone of any college town is its bookstore. Of course, Notre Dame already has the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore, and by all accounts it's doing quite well for itself. After all, it just put up that billboard right up the road from Barnes & Noble on Grape and it's expanding its southern wing so that it will soon have over 2,500 more square feet, which will be used to create dedicated space for, among other things, Steiner Sports Marketing & Memorabilia Inc., Adidas apparel, a gelato machine and pretzel bar for the café ...

Moe: Back off, Boulder: We're still No. 1
Wisconsin State Journal - 31 Mar 2008
... MADISON, WI - This was the headline: "Twenty-five square miles surrounded by reality."

Those words were above a New York Times Style Magazine feature on Boulder, Colo., which means that around here, those were fighting words.

Madison has long prided itself on being "surrounded by reality." I used the phrase as the title for a collection of my newspaper columns. Many city residents appreciate the progressive mind-set and colorful characters that can lead rubes in northern Wisconsin to say Madison is "surrounded by reality." ...

City plans use of parish hall land
Press-Citizen - 31 Mar 2008
... IOWA CITY, IA - With St. Patrick's Catholic Church moving to the east side of Iowa City, the city purchased the church parish hall and parking lot and plans to create a parking, residential and commercial structure ...

The residential space in the facility is targeted to serve as middle income housing for members of the workforce, such as employees at the county courthouse, teachers and police officers, he said. A two to three bedroom condo unit in the building is projected to cost $150,000 to $275,000, Davidson said.

Davidson said the city does not intend for the condos to become student housing because that is an area the private market has focused on ...

Good neighbors
Brown Daily Herald - 31 Mar 2008
... PROVIDENCE, RI - Inviting the heads of the College Hill Neighborhood Association and the FPNA to speak during first-year Orientation could add some much-needed context to students' experiences as four-year guests here. With off-campus housing and loud drunken carousing, neighborhood leaders should have the opportunity, if they'd like, to speak directly with students about their concerns. It could help alleviate town-gown friction while also giving students a better idea of whom their behavior affects ...

A turf war over Towson
Neighbors at odds with students living in residential areas near the University
Towerlight - 31 Mar 2008
... TOWSON, MD - President of the Greater Towson Council of Community Associations Ed Kilcullen said that last week three drunken young men stumbled past his home on Burke Avenue. As one of the young men urinated in the street, another relieved himself on a neighbor's front yard and the third leapt on top of Kilcullen's car.

Kilcullen could not confirm these three men were Towson students living in the residential community, but he said the behavior is in line with that of many off-campus students.

As the growth institution of the University System of Maryland, Towson has increased overall enrollment each year, leading to a housing crunch on campus. With more students and the same number of beds, a greater number of students have been forced to find housing off campus, filling local apartment complexes.

"There are more students every year. And when Kenilworth and the Colony and those places all fill up, where are we supposed to live?" ...

Finding Old Europe in Guanajuato, Mexico
Daily Press - 31 Mar 2008
... GUANAJUATO, MX - Spain, Italy, France? It would be easy to mistake this university town in the mountains of Central Mexico for a medieval city in Europe.

Substitute the easy-on-the-wallet peso for the pricey euro, and nearly year-round springlike weather, and you’ve got a bargain travel destination where the U.S. dollar still buys more ...

Food Price Inflation Changes How We Shop
AP - 31 Mar 2008
... USA - The jump has been even higher at the Central Missouri Food Bank's pantry in Columbia, a college town halfway between Kansas City and St. Louis.

The food pantry served 7,200 people in 2007, an increase of more than 50 percent over two years, said executive director Peggy Kirkpatrick.

Columbia used to be considered inflation-proof because of its high-paying university jobs and proximity to the state capital, 30 miles away in Jefferson City ...

University towns offer investors 'great opportunities'
SafeStorage - 31 Mar 2008
... UK - "You have that summer period where it is going to be empty, so you can do repairs or lease it out further to the tourist trade."In 2007, Halifax found that 20 university towns in the UK had recorded an increase in house prices of 20 per cent or more over the past year ...

Davidson coach takes unique path
Eagle - 30 Mar 2008
... DAVIDSON, NC - McKillop, who took his big city roots -- he won five state high school titles at two Long Island schools -- and relocated to a town of 9,000 near Charlotte. He lives in a house across the street from the Davidson campus and can walk to work ...

"There's a sense of intimacy about Davidson College that I believe is unparalleled," McKillop said. "It's unparalleled because we're in a sequestered, small town with 9,000 people that's sort of a town-and-gown environment where the community and the college are married together.

"You have 1,700 students on campus, and they know each other in a very personal way.... We've always sold the fact that when Davidson wins, we all win. Everyone at Davidson College and the Davidson community are now winning because of what we've done, so they share this ride with us."

UGA group kicks off community development activities
Banner-Herald - 30 Mar2008
... ATHENS, GA - Ethel Lee Collins used to cook for a University of Georgia fraternity, so she's used to being around students.

Usually, though, they weren't up on her roof.

About 50 volunteers with a new UGA chapter of Home Works, a Christian group that fixes houses for low-income homeowners, re-shingled the roof and made other repairs to Collins' aging Rocksprings home Saturday ...

Letter: Preserve Chico's charm in General Plan
Enterprise-Record
... CHICO, CA - After poring over numerous General Plan update meeting minutes, it's abundantly clear that preserving whatever makes Chico "special" is the most common theme. That sentiment echoes what I've heard on the Planning Commission over the years, which is usually expressed as some physical component in our community. Like downtown, charming neighborhoods, trees, and so forth.

If you believe the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, then these individually identified components are pieces in a larger puzzle. Solving the puzzle requires understanding why the whole is special.

First and foremost, Chico is geographically isolated, off the beaten path of I-5, surrounded by open space. This isolation is precisely what gives Chico a true sense of place, imparting the small-town feel, in spite of already being a 100,000-person metro area ...

EDITORIAL: City must tackle student housing
Good guidelines could benefit businesses, landlords and residents
Press & Sun-Bulletin
... BINGHAMTON, NY - As Vestal residents debate the merits of a new off-campus student housing complex on Bunn Hill Road, Binghamton residents should be wondering if the city will ever get its act together on student housing.

Vestal officials have to decide whether The Grove -- an 11-building complex with 192 rental units aimed at Binghamton University students -- would be a boon or a blot. A North Carolina company, Campus Crest, is seeking approval to build the complex and wants to break ground as early as this summer.

On the other side of the campus, The University Plaza Apartments have proved popular with students, or at least those who can afford the rent. And Campus Crest appears confident that a similar complex would rapidly fill as well.

But in Binghamton, which for a long time had a near-monopoly on off-campus student housing and still stands to benefit by offering lower-cost alternatives to the "upscale" complexes, thumbs continue to twiddle.

Three years ago, then-Councilman Joseph Sanfilippo tried for the second time to introduce legislation that would bring some sense of order to student housing. Naturally, he was immediately labeled "anti-student," mostly by landlords who prefer the status quo.

What Sanfilippo was trying to do was preserve nice neighborhoods on the city's West Side -- which attract students in the first place -- and ensure that students would be able to live in safe housing, backed by strong code enforcement, and not be piled into oddly divided homes that resemble beehives more than apartments ...

Study sizes up Fort Collins
Analysis, visitor materials among branding project results
Coloradoan - 30 Mar 2008
... FORT COLLINS, CO - It's a place where people can start anew, try something different and find success.

It's a town with an educated population, outdoor recreation and the arts.

It's a community that caters to small business and young families.

It's Fort Collins.

College Town
Telegram & Gazette - 30 Mar 2008
... WORCESTER, MA - FIX IT! FUND IT! AFFORD IT! is the theme of the first Public Higher Education Week in Massachusetts. Gov. Deval L. Patrick has proclaimed the event for March 31 to April 4, reportedly the first time that any Massachusetts governor has honored public higher education in this way. Fitchburg State College will host the first in a series of statewide events that spotlight the affordability and accessibility of public higher education in the state ...

Drink-fuelled antics? Not our fault, say students
College leaders have attacked firms organising pub crawls. But the companies say it is student unions themselves that foster the worst excesses
Guardian - 30 Mar 2008
... UK - students putting forward the argument have become embroiled in a row after they criticised companies organising pub crawls in university towns, arguing that they encouraged young people to binge-drink. In particular, they named one night known as Carnage UK, which is staged in 15 different cities and will host 300,000 students over the next university year. The students said the company and others like it were putting 'hurdles' in the way of their attempts to encourage responsible drinking ...

For many, alcohol ‘just goes along with going to college’
Times West Virginian - 30 Mar 2008
... FAIRMONT, WV — New college students often arrive on campus full of enthusiasm for everything the experience will offer: interesting classes, new friends, academic events, sports, and, in some cases, alcohol.

“I think for a lot of students, that just goes along with going to college,” said Kat Stevens, student services counselor at Fairmont State University. “That’s the mindset.”

Not only does that first break from the parents provide a sense of newfound freedom, but some consider parties and football games a rite of passage that would not be complete without beer or another type of booze.

Off-campus housing in Edwardsville debated
Concerns about complex near grade school
News-Democrat - 30 Mar 2008
EDWARDSVILLE, IL - A proposed housing development expected to have 350 to 400 college students living in one area is being met with opposition and support from nearby neighbors ...

Partnership formed to fund dorm complex
Bethlehem Area Moravians Inc. to finance $25M Moravian College project.
Morning Call - 29 Mar 2008
... BETHLEHEM, PA - Bethlehem Area Moravians Inc., which has built the largest senior housing development in the city, has struck up a partnership with Moravian College to finance the $25 million dorm and classroom complex planned for the historic downtown ...

Drinking solution not age
Free Press - 29 Mar 2008
... LONDON, ON - "Lowering the drinking age is a solution," says Seaman, reached at his home in Westchester, N.Y. "Keeping the drinking age at 21 (as it is now in the U.S.) is a mistake."

Seaman spent two years investigating a dozen U.S. colleges, and discovered big differences between drinking behaviour there and at McGill University in Montreal, where the legal drinking age is 18.

"The students at McGill were much saner and much more civilized in their drinking behaviour than their American counterparts," ...

Bidding for Biohazards: The Madness of Bushenomics
CounterPunch - 29 Mar 2008
... USA - Every potential location for the bioterror facility lies close to large human and animal populations. In Manhattan, Kansas, for example, the lab would be located not only in an agricultural region, and not only in the nation's second most tornado-prone state, but also within hailing distance of a senior-citizen home, a student housing area, an affordable-housing complex, a student recreation facility, a football stadium, and a basketball arena ...

In Pursuit of Ivy: The "Bargain" of In-State Tuition
BlogCritics - 28 Mar 2008
... ILLINOIS - Actually, U of I is a great school, ranked in the top 50 of the highly coveted US News college rankings. The business and engineering colleges are ranked amongst the best in the country. It has always been known as a great value for Illinois residents (which we are). When our daughter applied in 2004, the tuition and room/board total was less than $15,000 per year, literally one-third the cost of comparable private schools. The actual tuition was $6,000 (room and board are pretty standard no matter which college you want to attend — public or private). A terrific value, no?

Imagine our surprise when friends with a high school senior daughter mentioned the other night that although their daughter was admitted to U of I, the costs placed it as more expensive as their daughter’s first choice, SUNY (State University of New York) at Binghamton. Yes, you heard right. Out-of-state tuition for this highly ranked, excellent university in New York is actually less than in-state tuition for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign! ...

Miami University Helps Miami Tribe Reclaim Language
WCPO - 28 Mar 2008
... OXFORD, OH - A project supported by Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and Miami University in southwest Ohio is helping the tribe reclaim and keep its language and culture alive.

Linguists have said about half of an estimated 7,000 languages spoken in the world today are in danger of disappearing in this century.

A long-standing relationship between the Miami tribe and its namesake university helped lead to a tribal initiative in 2001. That created the Myaamia Project to preserve the language, culture and history of the small, non-reservation tribe.

The project will hold a conference tomorrow at the university in Oxford, about 40 miles northwest of Cincinnati. It will highlight the project's latest language revival and educational efforts ...

Community to host forum on underage drinking
Miami Student - 28 Mar 2008
... OXFORD, OH - In an effort to bring underage drinking into the spotlight, Oxford's Coalition for a Healthy Community will be holding a meeting to evaluate concerns over the dangers of underage drinking.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. April 1 at Talawanda High School.

The 2008 Underage Drinking Prevention Town Hall meeting will be the coalition's third year participating in the event, which asks participants to hold the town hall meetings during the months of March and April ...

24 bands 2 stages all local, Tuscapalooza
News 28 Mar 2008
... TUSCALOOSA, AL - When folks hear that 24 local bands will play today's Tuscapalooza, there's one common reaction:

'People ask, ‘We have 24 local bands in town?'' said Tim Neunzig, station manager for WVUA FM, 90.7 The Capstone, which is putting on the all-day event.

Actually, there's a whole lot more than two dozen local music acts working locally, everything from one-man bands to hip-hop to indie rock, and many points in between. Twenty-four is just what Neunzig and 90.7, the University of Alabama's campus radio station, could fit onto two stages over 12 hours at the Bama Theatre ...

Town-gown discussion Breakfast focuses on student, city links
Record-Courier - 28 Mar 2008
... KENT, OH - Kent business, community and educational leaders woke up early Thursday to hear Record-Courier Publisher David Dix discuss a relatively new topic for the twice-yearly Bowman Breakfast " town-gown relations.

Dix catalogued a brief history of the connections between Kent State University and city and called for further involvement from leaders on both sides in re-establishing a sense of community, in part, through physical links between the downtown and campus.

"The thinking of urban planners has changed a lot over the last 40 years," Dix said. "They realize that a sense of community creates synergy, but that a sense of community depends upon spaces that are pedestrian-accessible, interesting once you're in them, and bring people together." ...

New 'private dorm' struggles to find tenants
Pricey but plush apartment complex has only filled 20 percent of rooms
Michigan Daily - 28 Mar 2008
... ANN ARBOR, MI - When North Campus's newest housing option, The Courtyard, opens this fall, the apartment complex marketing itself as a "private dorm" might be quieter than expected.

So far, just 20 percent of the complex's available units have been rented for the fall.

The luxury apartment building, located across from Bursley Hall, is currently under construction. Once completed, The Courtyard will consist of three five-story buildings and offer 896 bedrooms, but only just one of those buildings is expected to be ready for the fall ...

University House sale hits record
Business Journal - 28 Mar 2008
... BIRMINGHAM, AL - It's not every day a 162-unit apartment complex sells for $31 million - but that's exactly what happened with the University House in downtown Birmingham in 2007 ...

The 496-bed student housing community sold for more than $191,000 per unit, or approximately $62,500 per bed ...

When the Bowdoin bubble bursts, prepare for a real world collision
Orient - 28 Mar 2008
... BRUNSWICK, ME - I suppose there's really no stopping it, perhaps only making a commitment to cherish a little more in the way of our college lifestyles. You may kiss your weekend benders and subsequent all-nighters good-bye, but hang on a little longer to your sense of self here at the College. You weren't just an athlete or a Sarah and James Bowdoin Scholar for nothing. Surely there is the idea of progress, to not let this single moment define you and to grow and learn past our (now numbered) days in school, but certainly we've made headway here, too. In any case, I would hate to think that I might lose that part of me that has made its home here. I'd rather take it with me—wherever I end up ...

Walking in the Shoes of Pre-frosh
Eclipse goes undercover to re-experience a C.U. campus tour
Cornell Daily Sun- 28 Mar 2008
... ITHACA, NY - Among top universities competitive for the best and brightest high school students, campus tours are an integral recruiting tool. At Cornell, there is a multi-tiered interview process just to become a tour guide for Campus Information and Visitor Relations, the group that runs campus tours, which reflects the significance of the job. This week, The Sun decided to go undercover as a high school student to discover the truth, and lies, of campus tours at Cornell ...

Come to Western for the 'Wild Wings'
Western Courier - 28 Mar 2008
... MACOMB, IL - Of course, most high school graduates have already looked into reasons why one school is better than another, but just like the real estate business says, the most important rule in searching for a college is "Location, location, location."

But what should you look for in a location? You may notice, at least in the Midwest, most colleges are strategically hidden in the center of the largest area of nowhere possible. Inside this mass of nothingness (i.e., corn), you will find a college town much like Macomb ...

George Mason U Plans Faculty Housing
University to begin building hotel/convention facility late this summer.
Connection - 27 Mar 2008
... FAIRFAX, VA - George Mason University is developing a faculty-staff housing project adjacent to the Aspen Grove subdivision on Roberts Road. Representing the university, Tom Calhoun explained the ability to provide faculty housing as a recruitment tool. "While we’re in the hiring mode, we’re able to compete on salary in many cases, but we’re often stymied by the high cost of entry into the housing market," he said.

The housing will be developed through a separate non-profit entity, Mason Housing, Inc. The artist’s renderings shown to the council included 155 townhomes, with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The area was described as a walking neighborhood, with garages and alleys behind the units. GMU’s goal was to make the homes available to faculty at slightly below-market rental rates ...

Ann Arbor: Great Place, Bad Times
Fortune Magazine Lists City As Among 100 Best For Business
News - 27 Mar 2008
... ANN ARBOR, MI - The Washtenaw County college town was the only community in Michigan to make the list this year. On the "con" side of the entry, the magazine cites the state's struggling economy.

Singled out for praise in Fortune's write-up are Ann Arbor Spark, a public-private partnership that supports energy startups, and a statewide Pre-Seed Capital Fund that targets tech companies ...

Who's Your City?: Richard Florida And The Geography Of Talent
Metromode - 27 Mar 2008
... USA - The places in the mega region that are really at an advantage are places like Ann Arbor. I have long thought of Ann Arbor as one of the best buys and one of the best places to live in the United States, across the board. So, the college towns in that mega region have a particular advantage ...

Planned partnership under fire
Initial proposal for Penn, Drexel to partner with a renovated U. City High criticized at public forum
Daily Pennsylvanian - 27 Mar 2008
... PHILADELPHIA, PA - The talks with Penn and Drexel so far have involved the creation of a hybrid school, part neighborhood and part magnet. In the hypothetical school, 70 percent of students would be taken from the neighborhood and 30 percent from the rest of the city, as in a magnet school.

School district Chief Academic Officer Cassandra Jones said discussions with Penn involved the creation of a focused curriculum dealing with international studies, an idea that was not popular among the crowd ...

Downtown area important to college community
Ithacan - 27 Mar 2008
... ITHACA, NY - The downtown area and Ithaca College are integrally linked. A healthy downtown benefits the college and its students. A healthy downtown could spell the difference between a student or a faculty member choosing Ithaca or opting for somewhere else. I can only relate a recent personal experience with my own daughter. Looking at a New England-based school, she toured the downtown area and pronounced that this was not the type of place she wanted to live. in We moved on ...

New York firm to head master plans of tract redevelopment
Daily Texan - 27 Mar 2008
... AUSTIN, TX - The UT System Board of Regents unanimously approved a motion Wednesday selecting a New York firm as the master planner for the redevelopment of the 345-acre, UT-owned Brackenridge Tract ...

Cooper, Robertson & Partners LLP has worked on projects at Harvard, Johns Hopkins and Yale universities.

"One thing Harvard discovered was it's easier to get good faculty when you have opportunity outside of the classroom. The Brackenridge Tract has opportunity," ...

Former student’s death brings awareness about fires video
Tribune - 27 Mar 2008
... LA CROSSE, WI - “We are not just talking about smoke detectors and batteries, but real people,” Tim Talen said. “The number of students that die every year in fires is astonishing, and you don’t think about it until it affects your life personally. People don’t think about it, but we do every day.”

In his previous job as Nebraska Wesleyan University interim president, Gow donated a $24,000 farewell bonus to a fund to install sprinklers in campus fraternity houses after a fire in one house killed a 19-year-old student ...

OSU could follow OU's dorm example
The Lantern - 27 Mar 2008
... COLUMBUS, OH -As university officials work out the details of the president's proposal for sophomores to live on campus, they might look to Ohio State's southeastern neighbor for guidance.

Ohio University in Athens has a policy that requires students to live in university-owned housing for their freshman and sophomore years.

Students must live in the residence halls until they either reach 90 credit hours or complete six academic quarters ...

Local leaders struggle to keep underage drinking under wraps
Alligator - 27 Mar 2008
... GAINESVILLE, FL - With kegs, beer bongs and drinking games galore, house parties can easily lead to binge drinking because alcohol consumption is the main attraction.

"Most high-risk drinking takes place off campus," Glassman said.

At parties, high-risk drinking can lead to poor choices and high levels of noise.

That's when Operation Party Responsibly, more commonly known as Party Patrol, steps in ...

Borough facing tough decision on university garage
Daily Local - 27 Mar 2008
... WEST CHESTER, PA - We’re beginning to wonder whether West Chester Borough is doing the wrong thing — and for the wrong reason.

On Tuesday night, the borough’s planning commission voted to recommend to Borough Council approval of the proposed 452-space parking garage at South New and West Nields streets for West Chester University in a 5-2 vote.

The zoning in the area is residential, which doesn’t allow a parking garage. But, since the borough is building the garage, the borough can override the underlying zoning if it is for a municipal use ...

Towson stakeholders surveyed about growth
Students, faculty, staff and community take part in University's deliberative polling process
Towerlight - 26 Mar 2008
... TOWSON, MD - Roberts developed the focus of the survey based on current issues the University is involved in. Towson's continued growth has led to an increase in the number of students housed in nearby apartments and houses in the community. It has also added stress to departments that have larger numbers of students joining the program each year.

"We are trying to find out what effects a growing metropolitan university has on the area and on the university community itself," Roberts said. "We are going to be getting up near 25,000 students. This is an opportunity to find out what people think about this, identify some of the issues and then we will deliberate and find how to make the progress better." ...

The day the music died
Schoolkids falls to downloading
News - 26 Mar 2008
... CHAPEL HILL, NC - Independent music lovers, say goodbye to one of your most beloved music stores. Schoolkids Records on Franklin Street has closed.

The Chapel Hill store that has been around since the '70s -- with sister stores in other independent-music-loving places like Athens, Ga., and Morgantown, W.Va. -- shut its doors Saturday ...

"I do hate to see Schoolkids close, because I remember a time when we had four record stores here when I was in school -- and that was 10 years ago," he said. "The rents on Franklin Street are ridiculously high; I know that can't have helped down the street. There are a lot more factors than just downloading music that went into [the closing]."

He said decreased retail sales in general probably also contributed.

"I just hope we can keep making it work, because I can't imagine Chapel Hill without record stores. That'd be a really strange thing," said Richardson, who also plays drums and bass in the band Kingsbury Manx. "It's still a really great place to learn about music and to network, for musicians and for people who are fans. We'll definitely be missing something with no record stores." ...

Top Suburbs To Live Well
Forbs - 26 Mar 2008
...USA - income and education level of the neighbors are also important. Those with higher incomes and education levels are more likely to demand top restaurants, shops, entertainment venues and parks, say demographers. Evanston, Ill., and Cambridge, Mass., are two examples of college towns that made our list as great examples of places where you'll find high-quality restaurants, parks and entertainment, with local residents flocking to lecture series, art galleries and music venues ...

City puts brakes on rental licensing plan
Council may revisit proposal in future.
American-Statesman - 26 Mar 2008
... SAN MARCOS, CA - The San Marcos City Council put the brakes Monday night on a plan to require residential landlords to register each property with the city, open apartments to annual inspections and pay an annual fee.

The city, prompted by renewed complaints about loud parties, drunken drivers and litter from residents living near a street of duplexes mostly rented by Texas State University students and other young people, had assigned a citizens committee to consider such a proposal in the fall ...

Downtown Glassboro plan will upgrade community
Courier-Post - 26 Mar 2008
... GLASSBORO, NJ - Rejuvenating Glassboro's downtown and connecting it with the Rowan University campus have been on the planning board for years. Now, it has finally received a green light, Mayor Leo McCabe announced Thursday. At a time when credit is hard to get and Wall Street is jittery, the Glassboro project is moving forward on the strength of numerous partners, loans and grants. The project also is moving forward because of the tenacity of borough officials and Rowan University President Donald Farish, who kept pushing to turn a proposal into reality ...

‘We're still here’
Alamosa fights to stay open for business
Pueblo Ccjieftain - 26 Mar 2008
... ALAMOSA, CO - They're still open for business and this small college town is fighting to stay that way.

Some businesses, although few in numbers - mainly from the motel and restaurant industries - have succumbed to the surge of salmonella swirling in the city's water supply that has sickened townsfolk and cast everyone into a thirst for bottled water.

The majority of shops, cafes and grocery stores are still open, though ...

The Comics Conclave
Fort Collins is home to an unlikely group of superheros: successful, established comic-book authors
Fort Collns Now - 26 Mar 2008
... FORT COLLINS, CO - When he came to Fort Collins, he hoped to find a local group of people who work in the comic book industry—an industry that has had plenty of ups and downs over the years. Though it took some time, he eventually connected with Mike Baron and The Fort Collins Comics Collective, a group of several successful authors and artists.

“We do a little networking. We discuss things, yell at each other and drink,” Baron said. “The goal of the group is of course, to get work. In that sense, I think we have been very successful.” ...

Hello to all in the Troy area
The Messenger - 26 Mar 2008
... TROY, AL - I thought living in a college town would be great, and I have only been here two days, but so far it is everything I was expecting.

On my first day here I got to go out and cover a Pike County High School vs. Goshen High School baseball game.

There is nothing like coming to a new job and being thrown right into the mix ...

Privately owned apartments to be constructed
SU leases land for state-of-the art student housing
Daily Orange - 26 Mar 2008
... SYRACUSE, NY - Starting in August of 2009, Syracuse University students will be able to live in a co-ed apartment complex complete with a tanning bed, surround-sound theater and a state-of-the-art fitness center.

Recently, SU has leased university property to private contractors that will build two apartment complexes to fill the housing needs of an estimated 650 upperclassman.

"Because the two-year university housing policy will remain, the new developments will be available only to juniors, seniors and graduate students," ...

University plan may have limited impact in city
Diamondback - 25 Mar 2008
... COLLEGE PARK, MD - the university's recently released 10-year strategic plan is roughly in line with their own vision for revamping the Route 1 corridor and downtown College Park.

The plan envisions boosting the available student housing in the city and turning Route 1 into "a pedestrian-welcoming, retail-active boulevard that supports the desired 'Main Street' function."

But in interviews since the plan's release this month, city officials say the plan's impact will be limited because the city is already on track to implement the major elements and because the university hasn't earmarked any money to get it done. Most said any changes to the plan the College Park City Council votes to recommend will be minor ...

In college towns across USA, record stores bite the dust
WLOS - 25 Mar 2008
... USA - From State College, Pa., to Chapel Hill, N.C., record stores in college towns are making their last sales.

The owner of City Lights Records in State College says it's only a matter of time before he closes his storefront and sells online only. Rival State College record stores Arboria and Vibes have closed as students increasingly download their music ...

Declining enrollment options focus of Eureka forum
Press-Tribune - 25 Mar 2008
... DAVIS, CA - Long the envy of school districts throughout the state for its high student achievement and involved parents, the Eureka Union School District is now confronting a possibility no district relishes: closing one or more schools in the face of slackening student enrollment.

That’s just one idea expected to be presented at a community forum next week as officials grapple with the problem. Other potential changes to the district, which would go into effect for the 2009-2010 school year, include reconfiguring grade levels at individual school sites and starting an elementary charter school to attract more students from outside the area ...

College-Town Record Stores Shuttering
Associated Press - 25 Mar 2008
... CHAPEL HILL, NC — You need a college, of course, but that's not the only ingredient in a good college town. You need quirky bookstores. Coffee shops — preferably not all chains. A diner. An artsy cinema. A dive bar.

There's one other thing you need, and it's getting harder to find: a local record store. The kind of place with poster-covered walls, tattoo-covered customers, and an indie-rock aficionado at the cash register, somebody in a retro T-shirt who helps you navigate the store's eclectic inventory.

A few years ago on just one block of Chapel Hill's Franklin Street, the main drag in what's been called America's ideal college town, four or five such places catered both to locals and University of North Carolina students.

But with the demise of Schoolkids Records, the last one is gone ...

Downturn's impact on college town mixed
Slump affects commuters, budgets but highlights value of getting education
The State - 25 Mar 2008
... CLEMSON, SC — At the giant public university here, officials are bracing for likely state budget cuts. They hope fundraising can help make up any gap so that students won’t feel the brunt.

At the community college and at the small Christian college just outside town, commuting students are having to work extra hours to cover the surging cost of gas.

The national economic downturn is certainly felt in college towns like this one, home to three very different institutions within a few miles of each other and situated in a region still smarting from thousands of textile job losses ...

Conquest removes suggestive ads
A billboard promoting housing on Figueroa Street showed women in bikinis.
Daily Trojan - 25 Mar 2008
... LOS ANGELES, CA - A billboard advertising Conquest Student Housing that has gained negative attention from USC and the North University Park community was removed Friday for unknown reasons.

The advertisement, which had been posted for about a month at the intersection of Figueroa Street and Adams Boulevard, read that Conquest was "Housing the hottest student bodies."

The billboard also depicted three smiling young women wearing bikinis ...

College of the future is coming to Chaska
Plans calls for a high-tech campus unlike anything in the world with students taking classes from many different higher-ed institutions.
Star Tribune - 24 Mar 2008
... CHASKA, MN - The college campus of the future is expected to break ground in Chaska this year, turning the small Carver County community into a college town and perhaps transforming higher education in the process.

The EdCampus Twin Cities will have the traditional library, student center, cafeteria and administrative offices on its 50-acre grounds ...

Close to Home: Boulder, Colo., stays healthy
USA TODAY - 24 Mar 2008
... BOULDER, CO - Despite the chill in home sales across the nation, Boulder, Colo.'s mortgage market remains warm and healthy.

The city, nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, shows why there is no national real estate forecast, just as there is no national weather forecast, says Veronica Precella, president of the Boulder Area Realtor Association.

Boulder is unlike many cities. Its homeowners are seldom victims of foreclosure because homes have not been extremely overvalued. Almost as soon as a home is available, it's sold, ...

U-M mulls adding dorms
School officials at the Dearborn campus hope to house 500 by working with a developer.
Detroit News - 24 Mar 2008
... DEARBORN, MI - University of Michigan-Dearborn officials are contemplating adding dormitory-style housing for up to 500 students near campus.

The 8,600-student university has lacked student housing since 1993, when one- and two-bedroom apartments became faculty offices during space shortages. Proponents say housing could be an asset, attract more students and benefit those who have a difficult time finding apartments ...

 

The Corner's chain reaction
Are quaint, local businesses on the Corner destined for the coroner?
Cavalier Daily - 23 Mar 2008
... CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - The truth is, the Corner is already on the road to becoming a shopping district that could be found in any college town across the country, regardless of whether or not CVS makes its move. It is already in the process of becoming a pre-packaged consumer haven rather than a collection of local businesses whose owners aim to serve students and local customers.

I have a feeling -- a fear, really -- that when I return to the University years from now for a college reunion, the Corner as it currently exists, even with its small collection of chains, will be completely unrecognizable. Students will no longer grab a bite at Little John's or browse the bookshelves at Brillig Books. Instead, they will enjoy an afternoon at Barnes & Noble before picking up a green book at CVS and then meeting for dinner at Applebee's.

The point is not that Little John's and Brillig Books should stay here forever but, instead, that a tradition of local ownership and operation should be maintained at a location so important to the University community. We can't simply antagonize the local owners who are willing to sell out to chains because they struggle to keep their own businesses afloat. Students and other community members should make it a point to frequent local companies in an alliance against corporate chains, even if it means paying more money for condoms and toothpaste. Otherwise, there will soon be a Corner in every college town in America ...

A spring break with a mission
Globe - 23 Mar 2008
... BOSTON, MA - While other college students are enjoying spring break, Merrimack College senior Franklin Miguel is returning to his native Dominican Republic this week for a different reason. He is leading a team of fellow civil engineering students in an effort to design safe and economical housing for the residents of Luz Consuelo.
more stories like this

Miguel will be joined by five fellow seniors, including Dennis Rugg of Marshfield.

The project is funded by the college's Experiential Learning Davis Grant, which is designed to encourage participation in unique educational experiences that enhance community and civic responsibility.

On campus, the students have been evaluating building codes, design scenarios, and economical and sustainable building materials. While in the Dominican Republic from tomorrow through Saturday, they plan to survey existing structures and materials, collect field data regarding design constraints, and meet with residents to gain an understanding of their needs ...

City Council candidates debate neighborhood integrity
Development policies dominate discussion
The State - 23 Mar 2008
... Columbia, SC - City Council candidate Belinda Gergel uses her restored 1920s home in Pendleton Street’s historic University Hill neighborhood as a campaign promise.

One of her opponents, Brian Boyer, has his own restored home on Shandon’s Monroe Street — a 1940s triplex converted into a four-bedroom house that preserves the craftsman-style architecture, which, in Boyer’s words, is the “tell-tale sign of Shandon.”

In a district that includes five historic neighborhoods and four others included in the city’s interim measures — provisions that give temporary protection to neighborhoods seeking historic designation — the candidates for City Council’s District 3 seat are trying to one-up each other with their commitment to “neighborhood integrity.” ...

Pink Sugar Boutique brings sweet selection of shoes to Edmond
Oklahoman - 23 Mar 2008
... EDMOND, OK - One of the cutest (and most chic) shoe stores I've ever stepped foot in has opened in Edmond.

"My first goal was to be high-end, then I decided to bring in some lower-end, too,” she said. "Edmond is a college town. I wanted to have something for everyone. Most of the shoes are higher-end, $100 up to $500, but we do have a selection of more moderately priced (shoes).” ...

Plant felled for Xavier Square
Enquirer - 23 Mar 2008
... CINCINNATI, OH - It took only seconds Saturday to bring down the six-story Zumbiel Packaging plant in Norwood, to make way for a new development at Xavier University.

Once the site is cleared of a 30-foot pile of rubble, Corporex, the developer, is expected to begin construction on Xavier Square, a 20-acre extension of the campus that will include student housing, a hotel, restaurants, a fitness club and a student bookstore. Groundbreaking will be late this year or early next year ...

At the Gribbin House next to Canterbury Chapel, the Episcopal church and student center at UA, efforts to reduce the building's carbon footprint began at the start of the school year.

'Greening' the church
For some local Christians, Easter is a time to go green.
News - 23 Mar 2008
... TUSCALOOSA, AL - Historically Gribbin House was the church rectory, but for decades Gribbin has been devoted to student housing. Five are now living there.

Built in the 1940s, the house is outdated and energy- inefficient, creating huge heating and cooling costs.

The congregation at Canterbury had known for a while that the house needed to be refurbished, and when they set out to do the work, they decided it was an opportunity to employ green building concepts.

'We wanted to take advantage of the unique opportunity to combine the need to fix the house up and the desire to exemplify the church mission of being stewards of our environment,' said William Hooper, one of the five students living in Gribbin ...

Augustana College: School’s initiative has lots going on
Times - 23 Mar 2008
... DAVENPORT, IA - At Augustana College, food service is getting sustainable, too.

Gary Griffith, the director of dining services recently hired away from a job in San Diego, is brimming with ideas to make his operations more environmentally friendly.

They include using biodegradable packaging for take-out food, purchasing more “local” food and — this is big — collecting food waste for composting on a Rock Island County farm.

Buying “local” food is environmentally friendly because it doesn’t have to be shipped as far, reducing energy use in the transport, and it supports the Quad-City-area economy, Griffith said.

To make students aware of the connection between food and producer, he expects to create “bio boards” for the dining areas that would have pictures of the farmers and the farms where the food was produced ...

“I’m excited,” Griffith said. “I think the students are ready for it.” ...

Design contest challenges artists
FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Saturday, March 22, 2008
By Elizabeth Shaw
eshaw@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6311

QUICK TAKE
Smart Commute Bicycle Rack Design Competition
Journal - 23 Mar 2008
... FLINT, MI - When is a bike rack not a bike rack?

When it's also a piece of art.

This summer, Flint's sidewalks could become home to some of the strangest - and most beautiful - bike racks ever made, thanks to a unique design contest sponsored by the Safe and Active Flint Coalition and the University of Michigan-Flint Green Arts Project.

Imagine a coiling metal vine snaking around the wheels of a bicycle.

Or a figure made of old car parts grasping a handlebar.

Those are just two of the ideas local artists are tossing around as word spreads of the competition that officially opened this week ... www.greenartsproject.org

Developer plans student housing complex near BU
192-unit, 11-building project proposed on Bunn Hill Road
Press & Sun-Bulletin - 23 Mar 2008
... VESTAL, NY -- A North Carolina development group will present plans for a 192-unit student apartment complex on Bunn Hill Road during a town board work session Monday night, town Supervisor Peter Andreasen said.

Campus Crest, based in Charlotte, N.C., is seeking approval to construct an 11-building complex , just south of the West Access Road into the Binghamton Univer-sity campus. The complex would be made up of two- and three-bedroom apartments that could become home to about 800 students, Andreasen said. The company wants to break ground this year, he said.

"Apparently, they figured this would be a good place when they realized SUNY was still going to grow," he said. "They're not coming asking for Empire Zone or a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes). They're going to come in straight up and say, 'It's taxable.'" ...

Campus Crest professes to offer "fully loaded college living," according to its Web site. The company plans to build 10 student housing complexes in 2008, in addition to the $100 million of housing it has already developed in other parts of the country ...

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