The Diamondback, by Michael Brice-Saddler

University of Maryland police launched their Community Police Academy, giving a mix of 22 university students and staff a chance to walk in the shoes of University Police officers. After the deaths of Micheal Brown and Freddie Gray highlighted instances of police misconduct and poor community relations, University Police Chief David Mitchell wanted to create an environment in which students felt at ease around officers. The police academy aims to build trust with students and staff and demonstrate how the department protects the campus, Mitchell said. The inaugural class was at University Police's training faculty. Eighteen students, as well as four university faculty and staff members, will meet every Wednesday, until their graduation cere-mony. There is no full-time academy instructor. Instead 22 University Police instructors will take turns leading the academy over its duration.  

Wyoming Public Radio, by Alanna Elder

The City of Laramie has hired a consultant to convince shops and restaurants to set up storefronts there. City Manager Janine Jordan said in a press release that even though Laramie is a thriving downtown, the community had room for more retailers, especially compared to other college towns. The local government sent out a RFP last fall, and chose a Texas and Mississippi based company called The Retail Coach. The firm's plan is to identify "retail gaps" in Laramie that usually cause people to leave town for goods or services. They will then recruit individual businesses to fill those gaps. "Our goal in working with the city is to try to reduce the leak-age by maybe 10 to 20 percent," Retail Coach Senior Vice President Aaron Farmer said. More retail options could make life easier for residents and boost the city's tax base. The company will start recruiting businesses within the next few weeks.  

The Newsstand, by Meredith Mims McTigue

The Lee Gallery at the Clemson University Center for Visual Arts and the Arts Center of Clemson will host the popular and unique celebration of the arts with the sig-nature town-gown event "Passport to the Arts." Now in its seventh year, "Passports to the Arts," which contin-ues to see a sold out crowd year after year, remains a popular "town and gown" event in Clemson. It is an evening full of art, entertainers, live music, drinks and exceptional food showcased at four different locations. Attendees receive a "passport" at an announced starting location and stamp their books at several venues as they travel on provided transportation. There will be an opportunity to view more than 200 works of art by more than 80 artists. Many of the pieces are for sale and being debuted for the first time in the four gallery venues. At each venue, a new batch of local food, music and art will be on display.   

The Sacramento Bee, by Cathie Anderson

Since Chico-based Pocket Points was first featured in Inside Business last August, the startup has won busi-ness from national advertisers such as Office Depot, Panda Express and NBA teams and has more than doubled its revenue. The company developed a mobile phone app that allows students to earn points by lock-ing their phones during class and use them for dis-counts around campus or even online. Co-founders Mitch Gardner and Rob Richardson launched the app in 2014 as students at Chico State. Its success was so phenomenal that angel investor Chris Friedland, the founder of build.com, approached them to make an investment, and last year Folsom-based venture capital firm Moneta Ventures sank $600,000 in the firm. NBA teams around the nation signed deals with Pocket Points after seeing their app scored for the Sacramento Kings in the 2015-16 season. 

Centre Daily Times, by Lesley Kistner

In May 2015 Penn State and the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County signed a formal MOU to work collaboratively on economic development. As the largest employer in Centre Country, Penn State has always been a source of economic strength in the region. With the arrival of President Eric Barron and the advent of Invent Penn State-the university's statewide initiative to promote opportunities for partnerships and startups that will create jobs and help students and communities prosper-the university set a course to also be a driver of economic growth. A recent success story was the announcement in July about a Carbon Science Center of Excellence location in Centre County. A multimillion dollar investment aimed at creat-ing a world-class research facility and create a range of highly skilled re-search jobs over the next few years. The agreement is the first global in-dustrial partnership formed through Invent Penn State. 

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