A collaborative effort among the public media organizations in Pennsylvania called Keystone Crossroads has focused on Tamaqua in its most recent report.

Keystone Crossroads is a statewide initiative launched in January 2014 and funded through a two-year, $1.5 million grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.Its March 17 report on Blueprint Communities, written by reporter Kate Lao Shaffner, takes a look at Tamaqua's progress.The Schuylkill County town took part in the first-ever Blueprint Communities project in 2005, along with Hamburg, McKeesport, Wilkinsburg and Waynesburg.At the time, Tamaqua already had completed 10 years of visioning, planning and revitalization through the Tamaqua Area 2004 Partnership, the first visioning program in Schuylkill County.The Blueprint Communities program helped to train leaders in the steps of revitalization, a step toward developing a core team of leadership and a long-term strategic plan.In the report, Tamaqua Borough Council President Micah Gursky said this of the Blueprint Communities initiative:"It's a lot of work and it takes a long time and dedication. If you think it's going to be quick and easy, you're going to be sorely disappointed. But if you stick at it for a long-haul, you can really change your community."The article describes Tamaqua as a success story in that the town has made strides in meeting goals it set a decade ago, citing the new arts center as a significant achievement, along with some key examples of adaptive re-use of existing buildings."The Hazle Street and Liberty Hall Complexes are shining examples what used to be blighted historic buildings are now multi-million dollar affordable housing complexes ... both were completely funded by tax credits and other outside sources," states the article.Gursky said the Blueprint initiative gives leaders training on how to apply for funding and also provides connections that can lead to funding opportunities."In fact, for Gursky, the most beneficial part of the Blueprint initiative was the connections it provided to other communities and agencies that are in the same boat as Tamaqua," states the article."Gursky clearly loves his town he's served on countless committees, boards, and is now borough council president but he's a realist," states the article."For Gursky, it's enough to just make Tamaqua a nice place to live."The article is part of an ongoing dialogue presented under the title "Keystone Crossroads: Rust or Revival?."It can be seen in its completion at:

http://bit.ly/1B8EdGv.The effort examines urgent challenges faced by Pennsylvania cities.Keystone Crossroads uses multimedia to issue its reports, including radio, web, social media,television and newspapers, and through public events.