The Wyoming Project is a story with a most intriguing cast of characters: Bad Elvis, Pirate, Smoke, Hippie, Zoomer, Mia, Starlet, and the middle-aged, eccentric, and perhaps crazed institution icon, Uncle Rich. This wonderfully witty tall tale illuminates the paths of their lives lived, living, and to be lived with all roads leading to The Macadamia Ranch, Wind River, Wyoming. Invoking sandlot rules from days gone by, Uncle Rich issues a writ to his closest friends, The Electric Seven, requesting a most vital formal gathering. “Busy busy bees are my friends. Ah, but they have lives to live. Well intentioned we are to get together, alas we never do. By damn, it’s time to take the bulls by the horns and the cows by the teats! They have left me no choice. This is the year the calendar stops! It’s conclave time!” To insure no one dare attempt to back out of this compulsory meeting, he enlists the help of his reluctant nephew Jimmy, an ex-Army logistics specialist, to covertly manipulate the schedules of the eclectic group and to hand deliver summons to each. Jimmy is unaware that he is the focal point of his uncle’s carefully crafted plan. The Electric Seven are unaware of the duties that await them. With its endearing plot, uproarious scenes and dialogues, not to mention a nostalgic twenty-five song soundtrack featuring Bob Seger, Sir Elton John, Gnarls Barkley, Queen, The Pretenders, Alice Cooper, U2, The Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers et. al., The Wyoming Project is a book that readers will find hard to put down.

The mutual love affair between people and their place is one of the most powerful influences in our lives, yet rarely thought of in terms of a relationship. As cities begin thinking of themselves as engaged in a relationship with their citizens, and citizens begin to consider their emotional connections with their places, we open up new possibilities in community, social and economic development by including the most powerful of motivators-the human heart-in our toolkit of city-making.The book explores what makes cities lovable, what motivates ordinary citizens to do extraordinary things for their places and how some cities, such as New Orleans, Detroit, and Cleveland are using that energy to fill in the gaps that "official" city makers have left as resources have disappeared. Meet those amazing people who are truly "in love" with their cities and learn how they are key to the future development of our communities. Praise for the book: What Kageyama has done is to introduce the vital piece into the urban discussion-- the matter of love; the piece without which all city building must fail, for "love" the corner stone of civic citizenship. It takes some bravura and acumen to champion the subject of love in the urban forum that wants to quantify, when only love qualifies and justifies the discussion of cities. Mr. Kageyama goes one step further. He provides precious indicators. Many city thinkers will follow suit, but for the time being, this is the essential book. Pier Giorgio Di Cicco Poet Laureate Emeritus, Toronto, Ontario Author of Municipal Mind: Manifestos for The Creative City For the Love of Cities succeeds in putting an exclamation point on the exceptional value of deepening the relationship that city dwellers feel for their neighborhoods by adding amenities such as parks, outdoor cafes, art galleries, trees, flowers and even sidewalks to create a meaningful sense of place. It also explores the often hidden added value of creative entrepreneurs in creating a sense of place that attracts, nurtures and retains citizens. The book is a love note from Author Peter Kageyama to cities everywhere that will prompt you to more closely examine your own relationship with where you live, work and play. Diane Egner Publisher and Managing Editor, 83 Degrees Media Former Book Editor, The Tampa Tribune For the Love of Cities is a must read for city changemakers. Jeff Slobotski Silicon Prairie News & Founder, Big Omaha Peter has captured something very important... love. When we love a city, we are committed to it, we engage with it, we care for it, we give our best to it. A city that is loved also gives back. It makes those who live there feel enriched. And so you have a virtuous cycle. Charles Landry Author of The Creative City: A Toolkit for Urban Innovators and The Art of City Making

On October 7, 1998, a young gay man was discovered bound to a fence in the hills outside Laramie, Wyoming, savagely beaten and left to die in an act of hate that shocked the nation. Matthew Shepard’s death became a national symbol of intolerance, but for the people of Laramie the event was deeply personal, and it’s they we hear in this stunningly effective theater piece, a deeply complex portrait of a community.

What is Project Independence? The sources and uses of energy in the United States have changed dramatically in the last several decades. As a result, in just one generation, we have shifted from a position of domestic energy abundance to a substantial and continually growing reliance on foreign energy sources. Project Independence is a wide-ranging program to evaluate this growing dependence on foreign sources of energy, and to develop positive programs to reduce our vulnerability to future oil cut-offs and price increases.