Thanks to the many of you who have responded to the Call for Proposals for the 2019 ITGA City & University Relations Conference. To see the tracks and submission details, click here. As a reminder, proposals must be submitted by February 1. Early registration rates end the same day. Click here to register. There are numerous town-gown success stories, so please plan on attending. This year's conference will be led by a great lineup of keynoters, to be announced soon, and experienced panelists/presenters who are leading our communities and campuses. Please consider registering you or your colleagues for the Certificate Level I or II workshops offered Sunday before the conference begins. If you have any questions, contact Beth@itga.org and we'll see you in May!

When asked how to build a world-class city, the late U.S. Senator from New York Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously answered, "build a university-and wait 200 years." It's a quote that ECONorthwest President John Tapogna points to when discussing the economic impact that universities have on their hometowns, and the opportunities that higher education presents to local economic development agencies. "There's no question it's a critical part of their economic toolbox," Tapogna said. There are the tangible benefits, jobs and employee salaries, spending on goods and services, and the intangible, a pipeline of educated workers and innovation from university researchers. To get a sense of the impact Oregon colleges and universities have on their home cities, we put a series of questions to economic development specialists in college towns across the state. Portland Business Journal

A University of Virginia group charged with identifying ways to improve the school's town-gown relationship has opened a survey to help rank the area's most pressing issues. The Community Working Group, formed in October, has identified seven key issues facing the area: affordable housing; jobs and wages at UVa; youth and education, law enforcement and criminal justice reform; UVa's institutional accountability; transportation; and public health care. The survey asks respondents to rank the three most important of those issues to help UVa focus its efforts in the next five years. The group contains representatives from UVa, Piedmont Virginia Community College, the Charlottesville School Board and other local organizations and nonprofits. The Daily Progress

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has launched Communities Talk: Town Hall Meetings to Prevent Underage and High-Risk Drinking with a special focus on higher education. The 2019 Communities Talk registration cycle is now open. SAMHSA will send an invitation link with a unique registration URL to potential town hall meeting sponsors. To request an invitation, campus/community representatives can provide contact name, affiliation, and e-mail address to info@stopalcoholabuse.net and copy Tomc@silvergategroup.com. SAMHSA is offering $750 planning stipends to organizations hosting a Communities Talk: Town Hall Meeting before December 31, 2019. The number of stipends is limited. SAMHSA will distribute them on a first-come, first-served basis. Communities Talk

Governor Cuomo announced a new proposal to raise tobacco and e-cigarette sales age from eighteen to twenty-one, which will be included in the 2019 budget. This is part of the governor's comprehensive legislation to curb tobacco and e-cigarette products. Sale of tobacco and electronic cigarette products would be banned in pharmacies. Vapor New York of Elmira said some may have a hard time digesting the news if it comes into play. Most of their profits ironically come from people trying to kick the smoking habit. Right now there are six states across the nation where you need to be twenty-one to smoke or buy tobacco products. Those states are California, Oregon, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts and New Jersey. MyTwinTiers.Com