Thinking
- Exercises good financial stewardship of the monies entrusted to the City by its residents
- Thinks to the future on how to lay a foundation on which residents can build true community
- Promotes a spirit of unity and collaboration
- Serves as a personal connection residents can reach out to for answers and to know that their voice is heard
“50 Best Places to Live in US”? #1 Silver Spring, MD
After evaluating 2,000 cities across almost 200 data categories, Fortune Magazine found Silver Spring, Maryland as #1.
Here’s a great 3-minute video synopsis of their findings:
Categories they looked at included: livability, financial health, resources for aging adults, education, and wellness. The winners are communities that are sustainable for their youngest and oldest residents – including many fast-growing suburbs and edge cities that find creative ways to improve people’s well-being
“What people are looking for is that balance of ‘I can afford to live here, so I don’t have to work all the time, but then in my free time, there are actually people to connect with and things to do.”
Of course, I can’t help but notice parallels to our own town here in Laurel, and that makes me smile. The video and accompanying article also gives me thoughts on directions where we as a City can enhance further (i.e., not rest on our ‘Laurels’). 😉
“We know that health isn’t just what’s happening inside your body,” says Rickles. “It’s your social connections, your perceptions of safety, and there’s a lot that goes into what makes a city well.” The index is a “person-centric” metric and considers social determinants of health, such as access to transportation, green spaces, parks, libraries, and community.
When 51-year-old Pazit Aviv walks her dog in her Silver Spring, Md., neighborhood, it takes an extra 30 minutes as she inevitably gets lost in an impromptu chat with a neighbor.
A great vision for what a city can be!
Amazing, surreal, honored
Amazing, surreal, honored. Three of the many emotions I felt tonight in the process of being selected to fill the vacant Ward 1 seat on the City Council.
Thank you to the Council for your confidence. And thank you to the voters and residents for your support in last fall’s election - Although we came up just short at the time, your strong support in the last election cycle (highest among all unseated candidates) was a major factor in tonight’s result. Please accept my heartfelt thanks! :)
During my closing statement, I shared my vision for the role of a Councilmember - One who:
I now take it as my task to live these out on behalf of you and our City. And I want to encourage us all to continue building our friendships, churches, neighborhood organizations, small businesses, hobby clubs, civic organizations, and more — Each one of the small moments shared between people is truly what makes Laurel great!
And happy 4th of July! :)
(Photo credit: City of Laurel)
