Create West Virginia

The Milken Institute recently published their report, "North America’s High-Tech Economy: The Geography of Knowledge-Based Industries." Says Ross DeVol, Director of Regional Economics at the Institute and author of the report: “High-tech industries are an important and sustaining anchor for...

HB 109 was passed this week and opens the doors for communities to create fundamentally different schools.   read mo

Rick Remish of Imagine West Virginia pointed out this powerful reference on the influence of the creative class on communities that have thrived despite the global economic downturn:  read mor

Kiplinger's has released their version of the "Best Cities" list. Notice anything interesting?  No. 1: Huntsville, Alabama No. 2: Albuquerque, New MexicoNo. 3: Washington D.C.No. 4: Charlottesville, VirginiaNo. 5: Athens, GeorgiaNo. 6: Olympia, WashingtonNo. 7: Madison, WisconsinNo...

Well, perhaps Frito Lay isn't shaking in its boots yet, but West Virginians do seem to make some mean salsa. Two of the most award-winning salsa suppliers are Maggie's Salsa of Charleston and Blue Smoke Salsa of Ansted...

Strolling through the WV State Capitol Complex during the 33rd Vandalia Gathering yesterday, I couldn't help but ponder how our particular "West Virginia Culture" was developed. read more

Last evening the Create Huntington team held a public meeting to review their long-term strategic plan. Vaughn Grisham, the noted community development guru and socioligist from Mississippi, was on hand to share his observations...

The Governor of Minnesota recently signed into law, a K-12 Omnibus Bill, that has several "Innovation" elements, particularly Site-Governed District Schools (see below.)  This is a perfect template for WV to copy as we try to get the idea of "Innovation Zones" as a tool in our public education...

Forget the white Christmas; I’ve been dreaming about a Charles Town tweet up! read mo

We recently Tweeted (what, you aren't on Twitter yet?) about how small towns are missing out on a great opportunity to promote themselves with free or inexpensive social media and "Web 2.0" tools. A reader asked us to elaborate, so here are some thoughts on the topic. read mor

The Charleston Gazette reports that West Virginians' poor health is tied to lower education levels, citing a study that showed correlation between self-reported health levels and their educational attainment...

There is a lot of buzz this week about young professionals and young people in general in West Virginia...

Congratulations to Jeanne Mozier & team in Berkeley Springs, Morgan County, WV! read mor

When Create WV was formed approximately two years ago, a clear strategy was adopted to empower local communities to understand and adopt "creative community" principles that would lead to new economy growth. This couldn't be another state-mandated, top down strategy...

Few regions of the country have experienced as much economic pounding as McDowell County, WV. Once a booming coal county with close to 100,000 people in the mid-20th century, it has been pummeled by coal industry job losses and flooding through the years. The latest 2007 census estimate was 22,000...

For two years, Create WV has gathered leaders and interested citizens from business, education, government, non-profit and arts/cultural worlds together to talk about this thing called the "new economy." To our surprise and delight, the response has been overwhelming, with 254 attendees at the...

There were some important bills before the State Legislature this 2009 Spring Session relating to creative communities and new economy growth. However, there didn't seem to be a sense of urgency to get things done in important areas such as education and health...

One of the most fun aspects of participating in Create WV is to find wonderful creative talent like Alexis Cunningham of Huntington, WV. Enjoy her original music on YouTube or Myspace...

The School Innovation Zone Act did not pass this legislative session.  The discussions and debates about  how this could positively motivate teachers and students,  create new learning models and schools and start the disruption in K-12 our kids, teachers, state and country desperately needs...

I, too, sing West Virginia, sing America. read more

The African American Arts and Heritage Academy (AAAHA) offers students 13 to 18 years of age one week of concentrated study each year in the discipline of their choice at the West Virginia University campus in Morgantown...

We are extremely excited to visit Mercer County again this Friday, April 10, 1pm - 5pm for the Southern WV Regional Summit. If you live anywhere near Princeton, WV, or would like to take a brief trip to find out what this creative community stuff is all about, we encourage you to attend. read more

Read the Daily Mail article about Innovation Zones http://tinyurl.com/cguczp  Now you see the basic flaw in the bill.  Innovation is not a Kumbaya moment, it is disruptive, not everybody will like it and support it.  Dr. Johnson says it best: read m

The opportunity for West Virginians to carve a unique cultural niche that combines simple/rustic with high-tech is one we should fully develop. The blacksmith artist Jeff Fetty, of Spencer, WV, is a wonderful example...

Public K-12 education "tipped" this legislative session, an "idea has crossed a threshold, started to tip and begun to spread."  Many of you recognize this reference to Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point and how it applies to what we have been discussing. read mo

Charleston, WV -- A statewide survey of what West Virginians think and do relating to their communities, technology, education, social diversity, and entrepreneurship provides a snapshot that contradicts many widely held assumptions about who the state’s citizens are and what they think. read mo

The folks in Mercer County are taking this Creative Community thing seriously! That's one of the reasons why we're holding the Southern West Virginia Create WV Summit at the RiffRaff Arts Collective in Princeton, WV, on April 10 from 1pm - 5pm...

On March 19, at the Charleston, Marriott, WV TechConnect shared their blueprint for West Virginia's Innovation Economy.  The three hour event was highlighted by a visit by Governor Manchin. read mor

A lot of people don't realize how important local cuisine is to a cultureand sense of place. Our country has been so oversaturated with national chains and franchises that much of the local "flavor" has been lost. read more

Colleges and universities have always been major economic drives in their communities. However, in today's new knowledge and innovation-based economy, their role as lynchpins of creative community building via diversity, education, technology and quality of place has increased. read more

We here in West Virginia have a unique knack for generating, um, interesting media coverage for our fine state...

Layoffs. Trillions of stimulus funds. More layoffs. The Kauffman Foundation reminds us again that the historic reason for and future answer for economic growth lies in entrepreneurship...

Honestly, I don't have the energy to react much to the latest hubbub over West Virginia's image, which was generated by the Newsweek article "Hillbilly No More." You can read the article and judge for yourself whether the tone was cynical or not, and read the back-and-forth comments on the message...

PROMISE is an acronym. It stands for Providing Real Opportunities for Maximizing In-State Student Excellence, and it is defined as a merit-based scholarship; lately, it seems to have acquired a reputation for being a literal “promise” to send West Virginia’s kids to college, and under this...