The Biz Buzz - The Russians are coming again

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Friday, July 18th, 2008

The Russians are coming again – to University Place

Posted by C.R. Roberts @ 02:00:26 pm

So there’s this new law in Russia – Federal Law 131-FZ – that requires, essentially, the establishment of many new cities where once there may have been villages and neighbordhoods.

But it turns out that Russians are not so familiar with the finer and more specific requirements of municipal governance.

Enter the U.S. Agency for Economic Development, the Foundation for Russian American Economic Cooperation and the City of University Place, all parties to the Municipal Partnership Program.

Beginning a week from Monday – July 28 – and lasting through Aug. 2, a delegation of six officials from the new city of Slavyanka will visit University Place to learn about what a city is and how it works. In 2009, a delegation of two officials will make a reverse trip to Slavyanka, an urban settlement of some 14,700 people. The city is located 112 miles from Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East near the borders of China and North Korea.

The agenda in U.P. calls for meetings and tours, as well as an appearance at the Volunteer Appreciation Dinner at Curtis High School on the 31st and a trip to the U.P. Festival on the 2nd.

And please, no jokes about how Slavyanka needs to recruit Crate & Barrel to its Towne Centre, or how one of its first priorities should be to get rid of the best Italian restaurant in town, or how, to be successful, the city should work toward hosting the U.S. Open golf tournament in, say, 2050.

Categories: General

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Marce Edwards is the business editor. She has been at The News Tribune for seven years and has written about technology and big businesses in the South Sound including Weyerhaeuser and Russell. Before moving to Tacoma, she worked at The Idaho Statesman in Boise. She is a Northwest native who likes to garden and refuses to use an umbrella. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and two kids.

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Kelly Kearsley has been a business reporter at The News Tribune since 2005. She covers the Port of Tacoma and international trade. Being born and raised in Spokane she’s used to living in cities with inferiority complexes and, in fact, prefers it. Prior to working at The News Tribune, she spent three years as a reporter for The Bulletin in Bend, Oregon and another year working stints for The Associated Press and Seattle Times. She graduated from Pacific Lutheran University. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and miniature schnauzer.