I'm on my first vacation  in 8 years, so (cross fingers) this won't be long.  After a volatile week in the news about our Green Jobs Pledge initiative in Kingston ("Green Pledge Makes Mayor See Red") the Daily Freeman has put forward a most thoughtful and supportive editorial suggesting that choosing an identity and an organizing strategy will help the City to be favored by smart people - which is indeed one of the many points to the initiative.  This encouraging editorial can be read at this link:

http://www.freemanonline.com/articles/2009/06/25/opinion/doc4a42fa867170...

But the message isn't just "green is good."  Mayor Sottile, in his vocal criticism of the Pledge recently, made the point that Kingston is not exactly jumping, so we want to avoid dangerous idealism (!)  Furthermore, having recently embraced a digital/ creative strategy, and having just hired a Main Street Manager from the arts community, the City should be embracing the widest possible range of knowledge-based, creative, value-adding economic options, and advancing them in the greenest possible way.  What we really need, in Kingston and all our small cities, is a value-added knowledge economy that builds markets for its products and services by focusing on solutions to actual problems.  

What does that look like?

It might look like a stimulus proposal for "horticultural infrastructure" to fund a bunch of green roof, rain gardens, pocket parks and greenhouses in central Kingston and hire the technicians from Kingston's high school, community organizations, and the community college.  

It might look likea partnership between area artists and entrepreneurs in energy and green building, to propose clean energy retrofits block by block using visually exciting approaches such as arty little rooftop wind turbines and solar tiles.   

It might look like a focused effort to increase the energy performance of the city's oldest building stock by maxxing out the programs of NYSERDA, Central Hudson et al, and hiring local technicians to get the work done.

It might look like a renovation of one commercial block or building complex (visualize the Millard Building across from the Y) to be a Green Depot outpost and arts complex combined.

All these things use green expertise, digital expertise, and creative arts expertise.  

No one project builds an economy, but each innovative project builds an environment, a work force, a network of entrepreneurs, and an improved look & reputation for Kingston.