Neighborhood Link
Raymond Robinson
303-830-0123 x111
pr@neighborhoodlink.com
www.neighborhoodlink.com
APPA/Hometown Connections
Madalyn Cafruny
202-467-2952
mcafruny@APPAnet.org
Neighborhood Link and Public Power to Offer Community Organizations Free Web Sites
DENVER and WASHINGTON, D.C., April 5, 1999 - The nation’s community-owned electric utilities will be able to provide free interactive Web sites to local neighborhood and civic organizations through a partnership formed between Hometown Connections, a subsidiary of the American Public Power Association (APPA), and Neighborhood Link, (www.neighborhoodlink.com), an Internet-based community network. The partnership allows Hometown Connections to offer Neighborhood Link’s services to public power utilities at a discount.
Web sites on the Neighborhood Link community network provide useful information, such as listings of civic and neighborhood events and meetings, local school activities, and online newsletters, along with discussion areas for neighbors and hotlinks to city services and officials such as the mayor’s office, city council members and the local police department.
Neighborhood Link maintains all hardware and handles all network infrastructure and programming for the neighborhood Web sites. A local neighborhood coordinator needs only a computer and Internet access, and the ability to point, click, copy, and paste in order to customize Neighborhood Link templates. Through community partnerships with city officials, local police and schools, Neighborhood Link becomes the primary resource for civic communication and information.
“Our goal is to help fuel civic communication in our members’ communities,” said Alan H. Richardson, APPA executive director. “This partnership gives public power utilities an opportunity to support the infrastructure needs of the communities they serve by facilitating their connections to the information highway. The utility customers benefit by having access to this powerful civic resource to disseminate and receive information.”
Even the smallest public power systems, whose communities may not have had such access to the Web in the past, will be able to offer the free Web sites since Neighborhood Link provides individual service tailored to each communities’ needs.
“Neighborhood Link is the only service of its kind dedicated to being a civic resource and communication channel, and we are thrilled that Hometown Connections has decided to offer this cutting-edge tool to public power communities,” said Ted Pinkowitz, CEO of Neighborhood Link. “The synergy that makes this an outstanding partnership is that Neighborhood Link’s strength as a civic communications tool perfectly compliments public power’s position as a trusted public entity.”
About Neighborhood Link
Neighborhood Link (www.neighborhoodlink.com) is an Internet-based community network that enables neighborhoods in participating metropolitan areas to create their own free, interactive Web sites. Neighborhood Link, which launched in 1998, becomes fully integrated into communities through partnerships with local governments, neighborhood groups and community organizations, including public schools, libraries, police departments and community newspapers. Denver-based Neighborhood Link serves twelve U.S. metropolitan areas - Colorado Springs, Columbus, Denver, Jacksonville, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Phoenix, Portland/Vancouver, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, Tampa and Tucson - and plans to be in more than 20 markets by July 1999. For more information about obtaining free neighborhood Web sites, call toll-free 1-888-241-0123.
About Hometown Connections
Hometown Connections (www.hometownconnections.com) provides competitive advantage to public power systems by delivering lower priced, value added products and services to its members. It offers public power systems a national public opinion research product and local market research through RKS Research and Consulting in North Salem, NY; local market research services through Satisfaction Development Systems, in Salt Lake City, Utah; customer information software from Harris Computer Systems, in Nepean, Ont.; meter reading solutions through Itron, in Spokane, Wash; energy improvement services through EMC Engineers, a Denver, Colo., based company; Panamax and TESCO surge protection products through Power & Telephone Supply, Memphis, Tenn; and appliance and home warranties through Warrantech Home Service Company, Euless, Texas. The American Public Power is the service organization for the nation's 2,000 community- and state-owned electric utilities. It is located in Washington, D.C.
