Hello readers in print and online.

The U.S. economy continues to be the subject of conversation everywhere. The big missing ingredient -- jobs. While as a nation we are apparently rediscovering our thrifty nature in terms of consumer spending, credit card debt, and borrowings, none of this actually helps the economy one bit. No, what we really need are lots and lots of jobs.

Government cannot create these jobs either but can provide tools and the correct environment for the private sector, and perhaps cities and municipalities to provide the jobs. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was exactly such a tool. Government envisioned jobs being created as a result of this bill, and this may well prove to be the case, just too soon to really say for certain yet.

As a magazine, we made an editorial commitment to only showcase American Infrastructure projects that were sustainable and green. I am pleased to report there are an abundance of green projects around the country. We will continue to bring the most interesting infrastructure to you within these pages as we move forward, showcasing recently completed projects and the successful teams behind them.

Lily Tomlin famously said, "The road to success is always under construction." Same could be said for city and municipal projects and also for magazines, like this one, which seek to serve the municipal management community. If you are reading this and feel your project would make good reading, please get in touch; we would love to hear from you.

Work hard, and I will see you here again later in the fall.

Slainte,