Idea Initiative aids downtowns
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development is partnering with two federal agencies to launch “IDEA Initiative” to assist Cleveland, Cookeville, Dayton, McMinnville, Sweetwater, and 22 other small Tennessee towns boost their downtown retail activity.
The new $121,500 program for Tennessee’s Main Street communities is designed to “Ignite Downtown Economic Action” (IDEA) by helping to fund community studies and programs that boost small town activity.
The National Main Street Center will utilize Barman Development Strategies, LLC to help each community identify the strengths of its downtown, market position and a specific development need or opportunity that exists. The process will include public workshops in each community throughout 2014.
“Vibrant downtowns are valuable community assets because of the way they contribute to local economies,” Tennessee Main Street Director Todd Morgan said.
Two plead guilty in fraud scheme
Two California residents have pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money derived from a scheme to defraud Nissan North America.