Alexander and Associates Inc.

I recently ran across this 2008 column that was published in the Idaho Statesman. The original Statesman page is no longer available, but the Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho has kept it up (see Statesman reader comments here). While we clamor for more transit, cities like Boise simply haven’t required the kind of development style that transit needs.

Growth of the past 15 years is not conducive for transit
READER’S VIEW: Public Transportation
Idaho Statesman, January 23, 2008

By Martin Johncox
I’ve been following the discussion of local-option taxation and transit in the editorial pages of The Statesman. While I support local-option taxation and transit, there’s been little discussion if cities have been preparing their built environment to support transit.

From what I can tell, cities have a spotty record on enforcing the kind of development needed to make transit feasible. This lack of transit-oriented development undermines the cities’ otherwise good arguments in favor of local option taxation.

Transit lacks point-to-point flexibility. To make up for that, people must bridge, on foot or bike, the distance between the transit stop and their destination. To get people to do this, you must build a human-scaled environment, where buildings come right to the sidewalk; things are stacked on top of each other to conservedistance; and homes, offices, shopping centers, schools and other destinations are directly connected with sidewalks.

The best examples of this kind of development locally are from a century ago: the historic neighborhoods and the downtowns of Treasure Valley cities, developed when cars were scarce and the locations of tracks and train stops determined what got built and where. Transit friendly is necessarily pedestrian friendly.

But we’ve built just the opposite in the past 50 years. Giant parking lots, absent of sidewalks, encourage people to drive from one parking lot to the next; subdivisions are fenced from each other and neighboring shopping centers; and very long blocks and cul-de-sacs lengthen pedestrian trips.

In such an environment, people will not walk to the nearest transit stop, even if they could find it. If a train dropped off people by the mall, they would be in the middle ofsome of the most pedestrian-hostile development in Idaho. Could we expect a rider to catch a train or bus stopping 100 feet from their home, when it’s in a shopping center on the other side of a fence and the only other way is a half-mile walk out of the subdivision? No amount of local-option taxation flexibility will fix this.

To be fair, it’s been less than 15 years since Boise and other cities awoke to the need to build for transit. Indeed, for most of the past century, transit-friendly Main Street America was illegal to build under zoning codes. Only relatively recently have local governments become receptive to Smart Growth principles.

Yet in those past 15 years there’s been precious little progress toward enforcing transit-friendly development. Boise’s 1997 comprehensive plan was a visionary statement of urban planning that, unfortunately, has not been followed diligently enough to improve opportunities for transit. There are very few examples of shopping centers built in Boise in the past 10 years, for example, that are truly
transit-friendly. Shopping centers still have huge parking lots between the stores and the street. Cul-de-sacs are still common and many subdivisions still have just one or two ways in and out. Pedestrian- and transit-friendly development styles are mandated downtown only.

We’ve made some improvements, like mico-pathways in subdivisions and pedestrian networks inside parking lots. But from a practical, on-the-ground perspective – and compared to the examples people a century ago bequeathed us – transit remains a vestigial part of our built environment. (See “The Next American Metropolis” by Peter Calthorpe to learn how transit oriented developments can work in modern times.)

I fully support the vision for transit in the Treasure Valley and I believe local-option taxation authority should be granted. But we should realize that for more than a decade, we have had the local mandate to require transit-friendly development and have made little apparent progress.

Martin Johncox is a former Statesman reporter who covered local government and
urban planning. He is currently a public relations consultant at Alexander and Associates, focusing on land use and public policy.

One of our clients, Dr. Errol Fife at  Harrison Dental, has stopped taking Medicaid patients and has decided to direct his charitable efforts in other directions. Given the news media coverage about Idaho’s ongoing difficulties with its state budget, and its Medicaid program in particular, this is worth reading.

Mashable has a very good blog entry about a security problem in Facebook. I had noticed this myself but not thought much of it – a new admin can boot old admins, effectively stealing the page from its creators. Social media and public relations consultants need to be aware of this and be very, very careful in grant admin permissions. Apply this standard: If any one admin booted off all the other admins, would your client still be in good hands?

A Facebook security flaw — or, perhaps, a misunderstanding — lets Page administrators boot original Page creators from admin status, effectively enabling new admins to hijack Pages, the blog Naked Security reports.

One could argue that this is working as intended. If the creator of a Facebook Page lets someone else in as admin, they should have equal administrative rights, correct? Wrong. Facebook’s FAQ clearly states that “the original creator of the Page may never be removed by other Page admins.”

Unfortunately, as evidenced in the video embedded below, a newly appointed Page admin can remove the Page creator’s admin status, which can be very nasty in certain cases. Today, Facebook Pages are more than fun, they’re a serious part of business promotion and losing administrative access to a Page can lead to host of problems.

Is it a security flaw or simply an error in Facebook’s FAQ? According to the Register, it’s the latter. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter, because the discrepancy between the FAQ and reality creates confusion either way.

We’ve reached out to Facebook for further clarification on the matter and will update this post accordingly.

In the meantime, we’d like to hear about your experiences with the flaw. Have you ever had a Facebook Page hijacked by another admin? How was it resolved, if at all?

I’m pretty conservative when it comes to language. I’ve never called anyone a “guru” or “rockstar,” I think architects should stick to designing buildings and I believe too much “360-degree thinking” will make you dizzy. If you’re “out of the box,” you’re likely in some other box which may or may not be better than the one you just escaped from/were kicked out of.

So in a world filled with pompous marketing jargon, “Oatmeal vs. Bacon: How to Differentiate in a Generic World” is a refreshing read and a succinct guide to creating and growing loyalty in your product or service. I put it on par with Seth Godin classics like “Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable,” and you can read “Oatmeal vs. Bacon” in a half-hour at a coffee shop. Foster is known for lift-off-the-top-of-you-head-and-expose-it-to-the-air one-liners and this book has many. But the quips just keep it readable as you absorb the content. (Click here for the book’s Facebook page and here to follow Foster on Twitter).

Oatmeal is stodgy and unappetizing and requires lots of time, money and effort to make it taste better, or appear to be something other than oatmeal. Bacon, on the other hand, needs little fluff, has transparent packaging and people even wrap other foods in bacon to make them taste better. Foster’s book shows us how the analogy really holds with branding and marketing, whether it involves a company, product, event or yourself.

Foster’s delivery makes his book readable, but he is really talking about time-honored principles of customer loyalty – things people understood in ancient Mayan marketplaces as well as they do at Apple headquarters.

• Have a great product. If your product sucks or customers don’t like you, you are doomed, no matter how big your marketing budget is.
• You will know your product is great because you don’t have to spend time or money getting people to believe it is something else.
• You will know you have a good brand when people generate much positive word-of-mouth and rise to your defense.

Foster discusses the concept of “pull” vs. “push.” Selling oatmeal requires push – interruptive advertising in print, online and broadcast media, as well as display advertising. “Pull” is based on two things: be interesting and tell stories. Interesting stories include such things as the brand’s internal culture, over-the-top customer service or the experience of using the product (assuming, of course, you really do have an interesting internal culture, over-the-top customer services or great customer experience stories).

Above all, bacon companies never lose sight of why people love their brand and they are disciplined and use restraint in their marketing. Bacon companies don’t often provide discounts; they set trends; they are good places to work; and they are heavily connected in their communities.

Even if you are bacon, you still need to “cook” – to exercise your marketing plan. That includes having the courage to accept the pressure of being different, as well as performing when you’re under the most scrutiny. Foster also advocates using the success of one product to promote everything else you do.  When in doubt, be memorable, and never tolerate mediocrity. To increase sales, some companies change the essence of their product, or hide their bacon, hoping to reach more customers. Don’t do it! Discovering why people like your company creates the foundation for all your other marketing efforts.

After your bacon is cooked, you need five tools to get it in the hands of your audience:

• A decent logo.
• A decent Web site
• Social media presence
• Storytelling
• 500 people who love you. Communicate with them through newsletter, events, forums or just pick up the phone and call them. The idea is to make them evangelists for your brand.

Foster has been very influential in regional marketing and social media circles through associations with BlueLine and Tricycle and he’s helped me form ideas and approaches in my own public relations practice. I would not be surprised if some slick New York branding firm plucked him from the farm fields of Caldwell, Idaho, like a UFO abductee, because his brain is worth dissecting. It’s pure bacon.

Looking for something rewarding to do? Providing treatment foster care might be just for you
PATH Idaho cites competitive reimbursement, on-the-job training and the greatest benefit of all: Helping children with significant needs

For more information, contact
Bobbi Geiger, 208-570-5625
Martin Johncox, 208-658-9100
www.pathidaho.org
www.facebook.com/pathidaho
www.twitter.com/pathidaho

When a child cannot be placed in traditional foster care, where can they go? Treatment foster care is one option and PATH Idaho is recruiting “professional parents” in the Moscow-Coeur d’Alene area who are up to the challenge.

PATH Idaho currently provides treatment foster care to 35 children, up from three this time last year, and is now expanding into the Coeur d’Alene area and recruiting foster families.

“While treatment foster care reimburses parents more than traditional foster care, becoming a foster parent is a serious commitment and a desire to help must be the first motivation,” said Bobbi Geiger, Executive Director for PATH Idaho. “We are looking for parents who would like to put to use their experiences in working with kids.”

Children in treatment foster care have more difficult behavioral and emotional issues than typical foster kids. Typically, they have a history of abuse, running away, significant trauma and serious behavioral problems. Treatment foster parents are paid more per child than typical foster parents and treatment parents undergo more training and have more support to cope with the demands.

“The reimbursement is very good, especially compared to traditional foster care, and that certainly helps. But no amount of money is worth it, if you do it just for the money,” said Marlene Cleverley of Twin Falls, who has been a foster parent since 1980 and has a 17-year-old foster son through PATH. “You need to offer unconditional love and support, plenty of patience and good judgment in a treatment setting – and there’s no way that can just be purchased.”

PATH kids are as young as 3, but they generally tend to be adolescents because that’s when the most difficult behaviors tend to manifest themselves. Most of PATH Idaho’s children come from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Prospective parents may successfully complete the training, background checks and home inspection in a couple of months.

“Statewide, we have a waiting list of 22 children and 12 in the Coeur d’Alene area,” Geiger said. “These are children who are ready to be placed in a treatment foster home and the only thing holding us back is a lack of qualified and trained parents.”

During June, Geiger is spending more time away from her Boise office for an advertising/promotional campaign, giving media interviews and holding meetings for prospective parents. Kimberly Lee, a former Children’s Mental Health Clinician with Health and Welfare, runs PATH’s Coeur d’Alene office. The next informational meeting will be held in Moscow at noon Saturday, May 21st  at Best Western University Inn Centennial Room, 1516 W. Pullman Road and it includes a free lunch. A second meeting that same day will be held at the same location from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. and includes free dessert. For more information, go to pathidaho.org or facebook.com/pathidaho.

While treatment foster care costs the state more than standard foster care, it is actually a money saver because most treatment-level children would have to be institutionalized at of cost of $100 to $300 a day.

“If not for treatment care programs like PATH, more children would be institutionalized, at a greater cost to the state and with less desirable outcomes for the children,” said Kathy James, a retired 33-year veteran of IDHW who most recently oversaw child protection programs in the Wood River and Magic valleys.

“Foster care like PATH also frees up social workers to spend more time doing mandated services, such risk assessment and working with families,” said James, who now serves on PATH Idaho’s advisory board. “In terms of foster care and child protection, its saves money to have an outside entity provide treatment foster care services.”

PATH is a private 501c(3) non-profit business that has provided treatment foster care and child and family services since 1972 and has offices in Minnesota, North Dakota and Idaho. PATH started providing services in Idaho in 2010 2009 and has opened offices in Twin Falls and, in February, Coeur d’Alene.

PATH is more selective about its parents than traditional foster programs. In addition to passing stringent background checks, PATH parents must have two years of foster care or equivalent experience or education. Typical equivalent experience would include working as a standard foster parent, teacher, day care/preschool provider, youth counselor or academic training; being a successful parent alone isn’t enough to meet the experience requirement.

PATH parents must also take 30 hours of training a year (90 in their first year) and attend regular support groups. They have access to a certified social worker 24-7 to help them. PATH parents also get 14 days of reimbursed respite a year and may occasionally provide respite care to other foster parents for additional reimbursement.

PATH offers a much higher level of support to treatment foster parents than Health and Welfare is able to. Treatment foster children typically require many meetings with probation officers, doctors, counselors, psychologists and teachers for Individualized Education Plans. Most take prescription medication and that must be monitored and recorded.

“PATH is there when I need them, sometimes to assist with transporting the kids, or to be present in counseling meetings, which can be very intense,” said Cleverly, 58, who lives with her 16-year-old son and husband as well. “The support is unbelievable and it keeps me from getting burned out.”

Cleverly said that sometimes, the PATH reimbursement goes toward taking the family to an amusement park or vacation. That’s a new experience for the foster son, who had never been much of anywhere.

Cleverley credits the intensive work and dedication of her family and PATH with helping to turn around her foster son. The foster son is diabetic and had a tendency to neglect his health, using hospitalization to manipulate situations or avoid consequences.

“He’s not doing that anymore and he is taking his medication and watching his health, so we can now deal with the lying, stealing or whatever other behaviors we need to address,” Cleverly said. “It is an amazing feeling as each one of these kids responds and start to take a healthy control of their lives because they feel genuine support and concern. There is really no more rewarding thing I can think of.”

Treatment foster parents are expected to provide a higher level of guidance to children and, when appropriate, to serve as mentors to parents, who are often dealing with addiction or other problems.

Treatment foster care, like all kinds of foster care, is intended to be temporary. If children show enough improvement, they may be reunited with their families or moved to a less-intensive, non-therapeutic home. Sometimes, family reunification is not possible and the child ages out of foster care.

“If these kids don’t turn one way, they’re going to turn the other and they may never be a part of society,” Cleverley said. “We’re here to put them on the right path.”

Men’s Health Magazine has put up a ranking of the 100 top cities for social networking and Boise ranks 20th, beating out San Diego, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Chicago and New York. Also remarkable: Salt Lake City was 10th. Washington, DC was first. Boise is the smallest city in the top 20.

Interesting figures, but what’s behind the ranking?  Here’s my take as someone who has lived in Boise more than 20 years as a newpaper reporter, public relations professional and social media consultant:

1. Ingrained tech savviness. Micron Technology, the second-largest computer chip manufacturer in the world, started here.  In the early 1970s, Hewlett Packard began a major campus in Boise which developed the laser printer.

2. Suburbanization. Boise and the surrounding areas are built to automotive standards, leaving few public gathering areas; those that exist are usually in the traditional downtown areas. Yet people still crave connection, even if their environment promotes separation, and social media provide that connection.

3. Political activism. Yes, there’s a lot of that in Idaho, both from the left and the right. The Idaho Legislature is a non-stop source of, ahem, ideas that are far ahead of the times, or far beyond them, and people are bound to object to them or promote them.

4. Racial diversity. Another suprise.  Idaho is still pretty white, but quickly becoming less so, and minorities tend to use social media at higher rates than whites. According to the Pew Internet & American Life project, “Among internet users, seven in ten blacks and English-speaking Latinos use social networking sites—significantly higher than the six in ten whites who do so.” According to the US Census Bureau, the Hispanic population in Idaho increased by more than 43 percent from 2000 to 2007.

Of course, there are cities that are more political active, more racially diverse, more suburbanized and that have a more influential tradition of technology. However, the Boise area ranks relatively high in all of these and taken as a whole, I think that’s what explains Boise’s surprisingly high ranking among socially networked cities.

Thanks to the Idaho Statesman for recently publishing our advice column on Facebook for businesses. This column was in the Feb. 1, 2011 weekly Business Insider. The Insider is a subscription-only publication so this column is only available online to subscribers. To assist, I have republished my column here. I will be submitting these columns

How to avoid common Facebook business mistakes 2-1-11 by Martin Johncox

Today’s Business Insider, a weekly publication by the Idaho Statesman, carries a great story about Fisher’s Document Systems of Boise. Fisher’s has a fascinating story to tell of how they re-cast their business and pulled it from the doldrums and reporter Bill Roberts tells it well.

About six months ago, Fisher’s hired Alexander and Associates to write a news release about their transformation. It took months of pitching to local media before a journalist realized the news value and decided to write their own story from it. With Fisher’s – as with many of our clients – a soundly crafted news release and persistence do pay off.

On Dec. 9, I went to a public hearing in support of the oil equipment shipments. Many people were there to show their support and I had hoped to testify. Unfortunately, this particular hearing was more formal, with attorneys on either side calling witnesses to speak before the Idaho Transportation Department board. I prepared some comments and I will seek another opportunity to enter them into the record. In the meantime, I have pasted them below.

Good morning. My name is Martin Johncox, (address). I have lived in Idaho 20 years. I am currently a public relations consultant and I have always been a strong supporter of business.

According to news reports, the Chinese are ready to spend $511 billion to build up to 245 nuclear reactors and are moving forward with renewable energy as well. The Chinese are now testing a bullet train to go more than 300 mph. China already has the world’s longest high-speed rail network with 7,500 miles and is ambitiously expanding it.

In America, anyone who would propose a power plant, wind farm, refinery or high-speed train will find the process long, expensive and discouraging. Maybe that’s why we have zero miles of high speed train and not enough juice to power one if we did. We’ve become a nation of consumers and borrowers, no longer a nation of builders and producers.

We are different from China in one important way, however: We have freedom and democracy, while they have oppression. And we may use our freedom to promote development and prosperity, or deny it.

The opponents of the megaloads have many valid points. The weight will stress our roads. Road closures will reduce business in the area. There are serious safety and environmental concerns. I believe Conoco Phillips and the state must address all these concerns. That means adequately recompensing people along the road and the state for any repairs it must make. We can and must hold Conoco Phillips to this standard: They must leave the road and communities along it in better condition than they found them. The good news is, this is fully doable if we choose to do it. The concerns of the residents and businesses along the route should be a template for safe and fair use of the road – not a means to kill this project.

The irony isn’t lost on me that many people at this hearing drove here in cars powered by fuel from these very same sand fields. Using gas doesn’t mean we necessarily approve any proposal, but it does obligate us to think about our shared responsibility in delivering these resources, and how important these resources are to us in this very room.

I hope these meetings conclude with a commitment to accomplishment, recompense and action, and that the shipments commence as soon as possible. Our ability to remain a prosperous, advancing nation depends on the outcomes of meetings like these.

Just a few minutes ago, I came across this: “SEC Brings Fraud Charges Against Self-Described Idaho Nuclear Power Company.” I company I have been a consultant with for nearly four years has been charged with fraud.

I had absolute faith in AEHI’s efforts to build a nuclear power plant. I worked with hundreds of people in small towns to get them to support our efforts. I worked with local news media, using our relationships built on trust. I testified at public hearings in support of this company. I’ve risked my own reputation. Now this.

The SEC complaint lays out a case that AEHI CEO Don Gillispie and Jennifer Ransom lied about selling stock and schemed to manipulate the stock price. My stock in this company, about 40,000 shares, is now worthless, as is the stock of many other people. But that’s the least of my concerns. My faith and the faith of many other people has been broken. Maybe I’ll have more to say later but right now, I’m in a state of shock.

Needless to say, my work for this company ceases immediately.