Focus Archive - Parks

Please note that Focus section links were valid at the time of their original posting. However, since Web sites and addresses change frequently, we cannot guarantee that all links will remain operative.

Keeping Fitness Fun (October 28)
The newest trend in fitness facility equipment is mixing entertainment with exercise. More from Parks & Recreation.

MRSC Services Survey (October 21)
MRSC is conducting a brief survey to assess whether or not our existing services are meeting your needs and to determine your interest in any additional services. We would appreciate your taking a few minutes to respond to these nine questions. Thank you.

A Safer Place to Play (October 14)
Comprehensive background checks demonstrate the commitment of park and recreation agencies to their communities. More from Parks & Recreation.

Cities Work with Schools to Remedy Park Shortages (October 07)
Working with schools gives parks departments a way to use rare open space that might otherwise be sitting vacant after school hours. More from American City & County.

Trimming Waste (September 16)
A greener, cheaper way to deal with garbage - solar-powered trash receptacles/compactors. More from Slate.

Parks and Rec Online (June 03)
San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, are making it easier for visitors to give parks and recreation departments a heads-up on maintenance issues. More from Governing.

MRSC's In Focus e-Newsletter for Councilmembers and Commissioners (May 20)
MRSC's bi-weekly In Focus e-newsletter is an excellent way for your elected officials to stay informed about the latest news, research, events and trends affecting Washington city and county governments. Sign them up today.

Into the Woods (May 13)
Video games and too much TV are leaving kids with little appreciation or understanding of nature. Who will advocate for our parks in generations to come? More from Parks & Recreation.

KaBOOM! Playspace Finder Assists Cities in Charting Public Parks, Playgrounds (May 06)
Taking constant detailed inventory of public parks can develop into a difficult task for cities large and small, but it’s also an undertaking that can produce unforeseen benefits. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.

Parks & Recreation - The Play Predicament (May 06)
Structured play may be casting a shadow over the more creative-and elusive-free play. More from Parks & Recreation.

Smart City - Connecting a City Through Greenways (May 06)
This week's guest on Smart City tells us how greening a city can help build community and civic engagement.

Celebrating 75 Years of Research and Services! (April 23)
MRSC proudly continues the program begun as the Bureau of Governmental Research and Services in 1934 at the University of Washington. In honor of our organization’s 75th anniversary, we hope that you will enjoy a multimedia slideshow containing highlights of our history. Also see “Twenty-Five Years of Governmental Research and Service” prepared in honor of the Bureau’s 25th anniversary in 1959.

MRSC Blog: Selected Local Government Press Releases (April 22)
We have launched our blog containing selected local government press releases to keep you informed on new Washington local government programs and initiatives. Each entry is assigned a category (finance, planning, etc.) and a tag (wetlands, urban forestry, etc.) so you can sort them by topic. If you have not already done so, please add blog@mrsc.org to your agency's press release distribution list.

Clogged by the Law (February 26)
Overflowing with obstacles and confusing requirements, a new pool drain law makes compliance tough for pool operators. More from Parks & Recreation.

Pool Drain Safety Law Now in Effect (January 08)
The deadline has arrived for complying with a new federal law requiring businesses and cities with swimming pools and hot tubs to use anti-drowning drain covers to prevent children from getting trapped under water. More from The Californian.

Welcome Home Soldier (December 18)
Local agencies team up to help wounded war veterans to heal. More from Parks & Recreation.

Testing the Waters (November 20)
Looking to introduce a bit of innovative programming at your aquatic center? It may be time to consider the options. More from Parks & Recreation.

Parks and Recreation Departments Lead Community Wellness Efforts (November 07)
Parks and recreation departments in cities across the country are going beyond their traditional roles to promote community wellness through access to quality afterschool programs and other strategies. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.

Information on New Pool Drain Safety Rules (October 16)
New federal requirements affecting public pool drains will go into effect on December 19, 2008. To address questions from their members, The National Recreation and Park Association recently posted an Overview, Clarification, and Frequently Asked Questions page on their Web site.

Good Question! (October 02)
Regular users of this site know that we feature an "inquiry of the week" on the MRSC home page (see right-hand column). We have now incorporated a compilation of these questions and responses into the MRSC Index. The MRSC Index is a one-stop listing of all web pages, documents and inquiries that we have on any given topic. Browse the index by topic or search it by keyword.

Local Government Budget Library (October 02)
MRSC maintains an extensive collection of local government budgets organized by city, county and special purpose districts. We also link to online budgets (along with other documents and services) within the profiles that we maintain for each city and county.

KaBOOM! Announces the 2008 Playful City USA Communities (September 18)
Sixty-seven communities in the United States have been designated as “Playful Cities” by KaBOOM!, a national non-profit organization that wants every child in America to have a place to play within walking distance of their home. More from KaBOOM!

Proposed Changes to Americans with Disabilities Act (September 11)
Some proposed changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are aimed directly at state and local governments and could amend the definitions of discrimination in the use of government services and facilities. More from American City & County.

New Feature - National News Clippings (September 04)
We've added a new feature to our "Local Governments in the News" section below. Now, in addition to our regular local news source clippings, we will also be featuring news clippings from various national news sources highlighting current events, trends and other news affecting Washington city and county governments and special districts.

Solar-Powered Trash Can Demonstration Project (August 13)
Philadelphia's Department of Streets recently began testing a new solar-powered trash receptable and compactor that can store four to six times the volume of ordinary litter baskets and cut fuel use and greenhouse-gas emissions from garbage collection by 80 percent.

How Does Your Garden Grow? (August 07)
Many urban park and recreation agencies have created community gardening programs that allow urbanites to interact with one another, working the soil and playing a vital role in growing the produce that graces their tables. More from Parks & Recreation.

Parks & Recreation - Climbing-Wall Creative (July 17)
Indoor climbing walls are no longer a recreation center oddity. Have your programming ideas kept pace with this ubiquitous amenity? More from Parks & Recreation.

Quick Links to City/County Information (July 17)
MRSC recently expanded the types of key documents (e.g., budgets and comp plans) and services (e.g., council broadcasts and online service request forms) that we track in our "city profiles" page. Use these profiles for quick access to city and town documents and services. For county information, see our "county profiles" page.

Waterfront and Center (June 12)
With renewed interest in revitalizing their waterfronts, many cities are turning their attention to parks and green spaces as critical elements to success. More from Parks & Recreation Magazine.

Receive RSS Feeds of In Focus (May 23)
We’ve added another option for you to receive information from MRSC: RSS Feeds. Simply click on the RSS button to create an “MRSC In Focus” folder in your email program or RSS reader. You will automatically begin receiving updates to our main Focus page, “Local Governments in the News,” the four Advisor columns, and our “What’s New” section. You can unsubscribe at any time by simply deleting the folder from your RSS reader or email program.

The (Big) Green Apple (May 15)
The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation is considering the environment around every turn. More from Parks & Recreation Magazine.

Parks & Recreation - A Level Playing Field (May 09)
When it comes to playground surfacing, acessibility is the name of the game. Our experts show you how to answer the question, What is considered an accessible play surface? More from Parks & Recreation.

Locate Sample Ordinances, Contracts, RFPs (March 13)
You can use MRSC's search system to locate a wide variety of local government documents. Note the new options to the right of your search results that allow you to limit your results by agency type, population range, region, form and class of government. Watch a brief tutorial to learn more about using our advanced search features.

Parks & Recreation - Short Courses in Success (January 24)
Successful golf courses exceed standards for customer service and atmosphere. More from Parks & Recreation.

Cities' Programs Aim to Un-Paint the Town (January 24)
Buildings and other areas defaced by graffiti vandalism can be early signs of urban blight, dwindling property values and poor quality of life for residents. More from American City & County.

American Pastoral (January 17)
The biggest landscaped municipal park to be built in more than a century reveals much about how American attitudes to open space have changed. More from The Economist.

Trail-Building Toolbox (January 09)
The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is building the most comprehensive resource for rail-trail development, the Trail-Building Toolbox, an online tool that includes an index of topics to help inform and assist trail managers, advocates, and builders.

Exercising Their Right to Play (January 09)
Calorie-counters say playground adventures keep kids fit. More from Parks & Recreation.

Parks & Recreation - Walk this Way (November 20)
Starting a walking program only takes a few easy steps. More form Parks & Recreation Magazine.

Cities Change Course on Golf Operations (October 23)
A recent decrease in the number of rounds played — a key barometer in determining golf course profitability — has some municipalities searching for ways to bring golfers back, alternative uses for the land, or private companies to take over the property. More from American City & County.

City-School Joint Use Agreements Maximize Space, Minimize Costs (September 05)
Joint use agreements between cities and schools have been gaining popularity as local governments and school districts recognize the cost and space benefits of facility sharing. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.

Budding controversy (May 23)
What do park maintenance workers who spend the summer mowing ball fields and clearing debris from trails do in the winter when parks are scarcely used? More from American City and County.

Putting Green (May 23)
Quality golf facilities are increasingly maintaining their courses and the environment. More from Parks & Recreation Magazine.

Creating a Powerhouse of Play (April 24)
An accessible playground in Virginia benefits from community enthusiasm. More from Parks & Recreation Magazine.

Down on the Waterfront (March 07)
Seattle's new Olympic Sculpture Park honors art and the urban environment, while preserving Seattle's natural resources. More from American City & County.

2007 Take Me Fishing™ Community Initiative (February 22)
The Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation and the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) have developed the Take Me Fishing™ Community Initiative to support local park and recreation agencies eager to improve the quality of their community fishing and boating programs. More from the NRPA.

Benefiting from a Cover Up (January 18)
Cities reap rewards for decking highways with parks. More from Governing.

Risk Management - Seeing Is Believing (November 22)
A technique called Vigilance Voice can help lifeguards identify problems at your pool. More from Parks & Recreation Magazine.

The Politics of Play (November 14)
The "creative playground" movement eschews the homogenous regulated space of contemporary recreational areas in favor of diverse open-ended "playscapes." More from Metropolis Magazine.

Web Sightings - Community Festivals and Fairs (July 26)
We've selected a few community festivals, fairs and events for you to check out this summer: