Penn State and State College Borough have been selected to host the 2019 ITGA's City & University Relations Conference. The conference will take place at Penn State's University Park campus and in downtown State College from May 19-22, 2019. "It's an honor to have been chosen to host this conference, which is dedicated to examining best practices and critical roles town-gown alliances play within higher education communities," said Penn State President Eric Barron. Tom Fountaine, State College Borough Manager said, "This will be a great opportunity to showcase to the ITGA community the great work that is being done as a result of the relationship with the University. Penn State News

The roots of "town-gown" go back to the middle ages, when many university students held clerical status and wore black gowns with hood and cap. It gave them a different look vs. the townie of that distant era, thus the creation of "town and gown." Unfortunately, there remain folks in some U.S. college towns who are stuck in the past when it comes to town-gown relations, preferring to dwell on conflict over collaboration. Here in Ithaca, affordable housing, infrastructure, public schools, health care, economic development, the environment and diversity are daily drivers, as they are all over America. Through various community-campus programs and initiatives, Cornell University invests on all fronts, in concert with our neighbors, for the common good. P3 Higher Ed Resource Center

Lisa Dvorak, Community Liaison for the City of San Marcos, was elected President of the ITGA and will begin her year-long tenure on July 1. "We are excited to have Lisa serve as the incoming ITGA President,' said Beth Bagwell, Executive Director of the ITGA. "Lisa's innovative ideas demonstrate her ability to lead at an international level to help improve the quality of life in campus communities around the globe." Dvorak is a veteran police officer who retired at the rank of Assistant Chief of Police and went on to lead ACT San Marcos, a collaboration between the City and Texas State University. The program is an internationally recognized problem-oriented policing effort that focuses on shared responsibility in resolving conflict and disorder in town and gown communities. SM Corridor News

Two years after the social host ordinance took effect, a Baltimore County initiative designed to quell disruptive and loud college parties in residential neighborhoods, residents say they are seeing positive results. The 2015-2016 school year saw 51 total complaints about off-campus student gatherings. Two years later, in the 2017-2018 year, there were just 12 complaints. Under the ordinance, the host party can be fined $500 and required to perform 20 hours of community service while property owners are given a warning. The second violation increases to $1,000 for the host and $500 for the landlord. After a third offense, the landlord rental license can be suspended or revoked. Towson University is also notified about student citations. The Baltimore Sun

The Yomes Initiative, whose digital product helps tenants gain intelligence on properties they're considering renting, has opened access to all Nova Scotians as it plots its expansion into larger markets. Until now, Yomes has been open to users on an invitation-only basis, but it is now allowing any tenants in Nova Scotia to use the site without being invited. Outside Nova Scotia, the website is still available by invitation only, through founder and CEO Oleg Lights said it is gaining surprising traction in the Greater Toronto area. Lights has been working on Yomes for about four years, since he moved to Halifax after working in the venture capital industry in Israel. The Chronicle Herald Canada