From elevating roadways in Nebraska to moving wastewater treatment plants away from flood plains in Iowa, proactive measures before flooding can provide a major return on investment, according to a new report from the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS).

The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania's (BFTP/NEP) Board of Directors has approved the investment of $486,250 in support of regional economic development. BFTP also invested a total of $50,000 in business incubators comprising the Ben Franklin Business Incubator Network.

The startup, Blue Forest Conservation, launched by University of California, Berkeley business school graduates and backed by the World Resources Institute, works to raise money to save the forest through a public-private partnership. To do so, it created the first "Forest Resilience Bond."

Much of the money is likely to fund construction and operation of solar farms that Duke purchases or runs. The funds can also be used for other clean-energy efforts, such as Duke's plans to install hundreds of million of dollars worth of battery storage in the Carolinas over the next few years.

This is the first Smart Incentives blog that will focus on understanding the details of Virginia's, New York's and Tennessee's state and local incentive packages. Blog posts will be looking for good practices and lessons learned that can be applied in other economic development programs.

The Opportunity Zones incentive provides attractive tax benefits for investors with capital gains that, unlike other federal incentive programs, can be combined with the Investment Tax Credit ("ITC") and Production Tax Credit ("PTC") for facilities located in geographic areas that are designated as Opportunity Zones. 

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority approved a record 61 applications for the state's Angel Investor Tax Credit Program during the third quarter. The approvals will bring nearly $21 million in private capital to 13 technology and life sciences companies.

Unusually ambitious projects around the country are moving forward because of their place in Opportunity Zones. Nationally, there are over 8,700 such census tracts, nominated by states for their combination of economic distress and growth potential and approved by the U.S. Treasury Department and IRS earlier this year.

Governor John Carney has announced a new interactive website highlighting Delaware's Opportunity Zones. Opportunity Zones are an economic development tool designed to attract private investment and create economic opportunity in economically-distressed communities across Delaware.

The disclosures underwriters provide to issuers at the beginning of a deal could become shorter under a proposal to revise interpretive guidance on the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's fair dealing rule. Specifically the MSRB is reviewing proposed amendments to the application of its Rule G-17.

Chicago will kick off its $8.5 billion, airline-approved terminal makeover of O'Hare International Airport with a $1.85 billion bond issue in early December with plans to return in the coming years with billions more. The issue marks the city's first use of an initial $4 billion of borrowing approved by the City Council earlier this year.

Understanding market forces at play in the capital markets is essential to successfully operating a bond financing program. Whether you issue one bond a year or hundreds in multiple categories, it's important to follow the conversation among economists and analysts as they evaluate monetary policy, changes in the capital markets, and movements in stock market indices. What about that flattening yield curve? And will tariffs affect the markets? This webinar will share insights on today's capital market, including insight and the role rating agencies play in the capital market. 

Champion and lead the development and execution of Community LIFT's economic development plans through its affiliate River City Capital Investment Corporation within its targeted neighborhoods of Upper South Memphis, Greater Binghampton, Frayser, and Whitehaven. The EDD specifically will manage the River City Capital (RCC) Small Business Loan Fund and business retention and expansion efforts.

The Council of Development Finance Agencies seeks a motivated, well-organized and energetic individual to fill the position of Coordinator, Research & Technical Assistance. This position is responsible for assisting with CDFA's research projects, resource collection, information sharing, newsletter publications, headlines review and educational efforts.

The Council of Development Finance Agencies seeks a motivated, well-organized and energetic individual to fill the position of Manager, Education. This position is responsible for leading and managing the highly acclaimed CDFA Training Institute as well as other CDFA educational offerings.

The Council of Development Finance Agencies seeks a motivated, well-organized and energetic individual to fill the position of Coordinator, Programming. This position is responsible for assisting with CDFA's various events including state conferences, training courses, webinars and the CDFA National Summit.

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The Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: 2017 Interim Report by the National Institute of Building Sciences shares the results from the first of a multi-year project. The purpose of this new study is to help decision makers to build a mitigation strategy so they can protect lives, property, and assets. The findings are intended to inform future code changes to make communities more resilient, help jurisdictions make decisions on what codes to adopt and enforce, and assist policymakers in developing effective federal programs that support pre-disaster mitigation.

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