152 NATIONAL CIVIC REVIEW [March

Citizen Action . . Kim Taylor, Editor

Public Defender Urged in Virginia

New Appellate Court Is Also Suggested

OLID support for a public defender S system and creation of an intermediate appellate court were voiced at the Vir- ginia Citizens Conference on the Courts in Williamsburg in January. Sponsors of the two-day conference were the Vir- ginia State Bar, Virginia Bar Association, Virginia Division of Justice and Crime Prevention, and the American Judicature Society. Co-sponsors were the League of Women Voters of Virginia and the state chamber of commerce.

The Virginia State Bar has recom- mended that a public defender pilot project be authorized by the General Assembly during this year’s session. The public defender system is an alternative to the court-appointed attorney for those unable to afford counsel. The Virginia Court Study Commission recommended that the appellate court be an intermedi- ate between the courts of record and the state supreme court. This might relieve the overload of cases on appeal before the supreme court.

Conference delegates, who included leaders of business, industrial, profes- sional and social organizations through- out the state, were divided into three discussion teams to explore court organ- ization and administration, courts of limited and special jurisdiction, and ju- dicial personnel.

An immediate outgrowth of the con- ference was election of a 12-member steering committee to organize a per- manent group of Virginia citizens which will study and recommend continuing ac- tion for improvement of the court system.

The committee is also expected to present to the General Assembly views on ju- dicial administration and personnel stem- ming from the conference.

ALVA W. STEWART College of William and Mary

Local Civic Groups Form Action Council

The Council of Civic Associations (CCA) was formed in 1970 to help solve problems in Middletown, New Jersey. The council works through its member associations to channel resources to spe- cific troubles. Members are organized into two functional groups: the voting class includes civic organizations whose dele- gates attend CCA meetings ; non-voting associates are those with special talents who help on technical tasks.

The CCA has three specific goals- to work with officials to assist in plan- ning efforts, to provide a forum for dele- gates from all parts of the township to act and consult on matters of common interest, and to take some action on town- ship problems according to priorities de- cided on a t monthly meetings.

To determine a policy position the or- .ganization forms study groups. Cur- rently CCA groups are reviewing the master plan, the administrative code for implementing the new charter approved by the voters last November, and the prob- lems associated with apartment construc- tion. The study committees submit their findings to the general meetings so that each report is circulated among the en- tire membership.

Sometimes the findings differ from the officially accepted policy, as in the case of a recent confrontation over an industrial park ordinance, when the township board did not heed the recommendations of a CCA study group. Now, according to the

19721 NEWS IN REVIEW

Red Bank Register, the Middletown Vil- age Civic Association has threatened to file suit against the ordinance. The CCA will act as an intermediary between the local groups, the industries and the vil- lage government.

The 15-member CCA has also been meeting with township officials. The Register reports that the township com- mittee and the executive committee of CCA have been consulting in unpublicized caucuses which the newly elected mayor plans to continue.

Private-Public Cooperation Aide Trenton Housing

Eight needy Trenton, New Jersey, families will soon own newly renovated homes, compliments of North South East Trenton ( N E S T ) , a nonprofit housing organization. The project to turn 60-year- old row houses into safe units was funded by the federal and state govern- ments and private sources. Their com- bined efforts have already made eight houses habitable, with 33 more awaiting action.

The New Jersey Department of Com- munity Affairs provided interest-free loans for pre-rehabilitation planning and structural improvements, The New Jer- sey National Bank in Trenton provided the mortgage loans with F H A guarantees from Government National Mortgage As- sociation funds. A final grant from the Community Affairs Department to the families through N E S T covered down payments and closing costs. As a result of this cooperation the purchase price is less than the rehabilitation costs.

Trenton groups organized N E S T to use public and private resources to stimu- late redevelopment of low- and moderate- cost housing in the area. The state department believes that more coopera- tive efforts like this one could spur the construction of housing for all economic and social groups while giving them a vital interest in their community.

New Detroit Funds Urban Action Analysis

New Detroit, Inc. ( N D I ) has funded a new project, Urban Action Needs Analysis (UANA) , t o systematically study the city’s social and economic prob- lems and needs for the current decade. After goals, objectives and resources are reviewed, NDI believes that corrective programs will be more effective.

N D I has designated 14 study areas for the volunteer community and profes- sional leaders. Each committee will file a report to be compiled for the final U A N A report in the late spring. This should be the first comprehensive, factual study for Detroit, says Region, a publication of the Metropolitan Fund, and it will reflect four levels of quantifying. Besides deter- mining needs the project will see which ones will extend through the decade if present conditions continue unaltered ; what ideally could exist in Detroit in the next decade if funds and cooperation back realistic plans: and what needs can be met in the next decade, taking into ac- count all logical inhibitions.

Helping with the study are the Wayne State Center for Urban Studies, Comar and Urban Design Development.

Citizens Union Program “NO fault” auto insurance and a bill of

rights for prisoners have been endorsed by the Citizens Union as major goals for the 1972 New York legislative session. The nonpartisan civic group in New York City has included these in the list of policies which it considers vital to the public interest and which the legislature should act on. The Citizens Union’s 11- page program includes items dealing with public finance, constitutional revision, election reforms, housing and labor.

American City Presents 1971 Merit Awards

The 12 cities receiving 1971 American City Magazine Merit Awards were an-

154 NATIONAL CIVIC REVIEW [March

nounced in the January 1972 issue. Cities do not formally enter a contest ; the editors review operating and administrative techniques employed by governing agen- cies of various cities presented in stories each month. There is no prospectus, nor are attempts made to generate local sup- port, so that the only criterion examined is the agency’s performance in improving community services.

SAN DIEGO was cited for its waste- water treatment. Officials there engaged in research and development for seven years before developing a plant process producing good water from raw sewage. The goal is to develop a package plant for irrigation or industrial use from any sewer trunk at a competitive price.

In ST. LOUIS, fire and police training are conducted over the city-owned T V station. The number of training personnel has been significantly reduced. The possi- bilities for future use in solving crimes, other educational programs and video- tape interrogations for insuring individual rights are still to be explored.

Street sweeping system improvements in LOUISVILLE equate sweeping tasks with the type of equipment used and have produced impressive results.

An employee-developed safety program in the KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, refuse division has significantly reduced the number of vehicular accidents. Cash and vacation bonuses are awarded to every man on teams competing for the fewest accidents. Individual awards are given to those whose teams are not in contention but whose records compare favorably with the winners.

The new Airside/Landside airport com- plex in TAMPA reportedly may well be the prototype for new airports in large metropolitan areas. All four sides of the terminal have loading facilities. Four

flanking airside terminals spaced half a mile apart are connected by an electronic shuttle system limiting the distance that any passenger must walk by about 700 feet.

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, has a new, in- terconnected “Mickey Mouse” traffic sig- nal system. The purpose of this innovation is to utilize the green time for isolated intersections by responding to lane occu- pancy.

Swimming pools in PHILADELPHIA are no longer gigantic, million-dollar com- plexes. Instead, “walk to” pools have been started. Though smaller they are less expensive to operate and provide centers for neighborhood interaction.

MADISON, WISCONSIN, is dumping milled refuse at its disposal site rather than sanitary landfill. There is no dust there, fewer disposal truck tires are punctured and few fires occur.

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, solved some of its refuse problems by using ground rubber tires with sand and asphalt to maintain the streets. This material is used as a stress-relieving intersurface and in- creases allowable movement before sur- face cracking by 440 percent.

In city planning goals, BLOOMINGTON, MINNESOTA, 10 years ago adopted an es- thetic treatment program for all public buildings. Now city officials believe that beautification has paid off. Attractive public facilities have improved community attitudes and the quality of private de- velopments.

Neighborhood residents in SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, objecting to a convention- ally designed high-rise water tower, de- signed their own. City officials and resi- dents are pleased that the controversy arising over the original design was so easily settled, without the loss of the necessary facility.

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