If you live in a city experiencing some of the growing pains that can be associated with the rapid growth of downtown dining and entertainment zones, then you will be interested in the work of the Responsible Hospitality Institute (RHI) and its upcoming 2020 Vision Leadership Summit” at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago.

Participants in the December 6-9 meeting in Chicago include city teams from 12 US and Canadian cities, representing hospitality, safety, development and residential perspectives. They may choose to attend sessions on a variety of topics, including managing split-use districts, setting up a Hospitality Resource Panel, managing magnet projects like a new arena or stadium, and modernizing regulations. Participants will also receive copies of RHI’s new “Practical Guide to Planning, Managing and Policing Hospitality Zones,” which encapsulates 5 years of research and practice in these areas.

RHI is a non-profit organization that helps businesses and communities create safe and vibrant places for people to socialize.  The organization provides resources to facilitate cooperation and consensus-building among key stakeholders to maximize economic, employment and social benefits while reducing risks to public safety and impacts on the residents. RHI is at work in 13 U.S. and 3 Canadian cities. RHI receives major funding from Diageo, the Diageo Foundation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

A pair of new government reports covering teen and college student drinking rates has hit the streets. There’s good news and not-so-good news.

Here’s the good news: The proportion of youth ages 12-17 who consume alcohol dropped over six percent (6.25%) between 2004 and 2005. That was the finding of the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) conducted by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

On the other hand, despite the fact that a great deal of attention has been devoted to underage college student drinking, the drinking rate for full time college students aged 18-20 remained essentially flat from 2002-2005. This is according to a just-released NSDUH short report. This report also notes that almost 60% of full-time 18-20 year old college students live in a household with a parent or grandparent.

It has been pretty well established that parents of teens have a significant impact on teenage decision-making about whether to drink or not. Perhaps it is time to devote renewed attention to the parents of 18-20 year olds, and especially those with kids still at home, to give them more tools like this one from the Century Council to help their kids make the right choice.