After a month of operations, the new Downtown Ambassador Cleaning Team has made significant progress in pressure washing sidewalks, removing graffiti, painting lamp posts and other fixtures, weeding tree wells, sweeping and picking up litter.

To date, the Cleaning Ambassadors--in their very recognizable neon yellow uniforms--have removed 4,100 pounds of trash, and power washed 7,800 linear feet of sidewalks.

To read more about the Downtown Berkeley Cleaning Team progress, view the Downtown Berkeley Association Newsletter

A clean-up has begun in downtown Berkeley, part of a larger campaign to improve the area's environment and boost economic development. It is being funded to the tune of $1.2 million by the Property Based Business Improvement District (PBID) that was passed by 71% of local property owners last June.

Last Friday, following three days of training, ten members of the new Downtown Berkeley Association (DBA) Cleaning Team in their neon yellow shirts hit the streets en masse. The first day was spent painting furniture and fixtures, and general litter removal and weeding. On Sunday, the team started pressure washing sidewalks on Shattuck north of University.

Read more at Berkeleyside.com.

Carin Cardone has joined Block by Block as New York City Regional Vice President, according to Blair McBride, Executive Vice President of Block by Block.

"We are ecstatic about Carin joining the Block by Block team," said McBride. "We fully believe the combination of Carin's expertise in all things related to the local market combined with our understanding of service delivery will be the recipe for creating a fantastic new option for sanitation and cleaning services in NYC!"

In the newly created role of Regional VP for New York City, Carin will be responsible for strengthening existing customer relationships in the greater New York City area and applying the Block by Block operating model to help our customers get the most out of their investment into their sanitation, safety, and hospitality budgets.

In 2007, Cardone joined the Union Square Partnership as Deputy Director leading growth through the management of diverse initiatives including budget planning, branding strategy, economic development, technology implementation and project management.

In addition to the Union Square Partnership, Cardone has worked for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, New York Convention Center Development Corporation, Administration for Children's Services (ACS), and the Office of the District Attorney of New York County. She led corporate-wide tourism and marketing efforts and actively promoted the revitalization of Lower Manhattan in the wake of the September 11th attacks.

Carin is a member of the Historic South Village Preservation Project Advisory Board. She has also worked with the Greenwich Village Society for Historical Preservation from 2004-2008 toward the successful land-marking of the I.M. Pei designed Silver Towers apartment complex, as well as joining the Board of Directors for Mitchell-Lama Cooperative in 2003-2005 as a liaison to New York University, elected officials and community groups.

Cardone completed her undergraduate studies at Fordham University with a BA in American Studies.

Sponsored by the Downtown Raleigh Alliance, the Downtown Ambassadors are the eyes and ears of the city, working together to make our city an attractive place to live, work, and visit.

Read more at Raleigh Downtowner: Volume 7, Issue 11.

Downtown Akron Partnership (DAP) unveiled its new brightly wrapped safety vehicle at a meeting of Downtown Akron's Special Improvement District (SID) last week. This highly visible truck will enhance the ability of DAP's ambassadors to provide safety services downtown, said DAP President Suzie Graham. Read the full story from Akron.com.

After years of watching Westwood Village deteriorate into a zone of overgrown trees and empty storefronts, retailers here said they saw a glimmer of hope recently as cleaning crews began power-scrubbing the district's grimy sidewalks. A new business improvement district – Westwood's first in nearly a decade – has begun having trash picked up, freshly trimmed branches decked with lights and thousands of inky chewing-gum splotches scrubbed off the walkways.

The newly-formed Westwood Village Improvement Association has swung into action, with the first visible results now on the streets of the village: blue-shirted ambassadors who will be responsible for patrolling the streets, some clean up and being generally helpful to visitors. "It's a presence," said Andrew Thomas, executive director of the association. "It's a maintenance presence, it's a hospitality presence." As many as 15 people have been hired to act as ambassadors, according to Eric Norton, spokesman for the association. Continue reading

In five months on the job, the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District says it has hauled away 32,000 pounds of trash and removed 1,500 graffiti sites. It has organized art displays, jazz performances, car shows, and restaurant crawls. And the BID has hired 31 highly visible employees who wear orange shirts and serve as street-level ambassadors for the downtown area.

Read the rest of the article from COMMONWEALTH MAGAZINE here.

Members of the Downtown Jackson Business Improvement District have voted to reauthorize the management agency responsible for downtown development.

Downtown Jackson Partners has secured another five years of operation, said Ben Allen, DJP president.

Read the rest from the rest of the article from the Jackson Free Press HERE.

Katie Maraqa loves her job and appreciates the people she works with. As she walked up Winter Street toward Boston Common on Tuesday morning, she paused to say hello to two co-workers cleaning the window of Jewelry Plus with Windex and a squeegee. Read the rest of the article from the Boston Globe.

Inside a cramped conference room on Arch Street, Steve Brookes plotted the rebirth of downtown Boston. Read the Rest of the Article from the BOSTON GLOBE by clicking HERE.

Paulita Elliott may be new to Bayside District, but the five-year Navy veteran, who was recently hired as operations manager of Downtown's popular Ambassador Program, is no stranger to the challenges that await her. Read the full article from the 'LookOut News'.

If you lose a laptop on the Third Street Promenade, and then six months go by, most people would say you might as well consider it gone. Especially if you've long since returned to your home in Japan. Read the full story from the Santa Monica Daily Press.

'Tis the season of giving. But this is more of a holiday tale of returning. Specifically, a Hartford cleaning ambassador's endearing mission of returning lost items to their rightful owners. In his 14 years of cleaning up after city residents and visitors alike, 62-year-old Horace Hicks has found all sorts of things — including a few unmentionables. Click here to read the full article from the Hartford Courant.

It’s the time of year again to set aside skepticism, embrace a bit of feel-good reflection and seize the impetus to count blessings. What works on a personal level, also has relevance for the city. READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE FROM THE MINNEAPOLIS DOWNTOWN JOURNAL BY CLICKING HERE.

Michael May thought that almost a year's worth of savings were gone with the wind when he left the money in a pouch on top of his car Saturday night and drove off. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE FROM THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER.

The intersection of Eastern Parkway and Bardstown Road is one of the most difficult left turns in the city. Almost every day, no matter the weather, teenage skateboarders, newlywed dog-walkers and Converse-clad hipsters stroll along the crosswalk. Click here to read the rest of the article from The Louisville Cardinal, which features downtown Louisville and includes commentary from Block by Block's Executive VP.

Minneapolis' Downtown Improvement District marked its first anniversary last month with little fanfare. That's too bad because it deserves a standing ovation. After only 13 months on the job, the DID has become an indispensible presence on downtown sidewalks. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE FROM THE MINNEAPOLIS POST

They could be characters out of an old DC Comics title. Clad in distinctive neon uniforms and wielding an arsenal of exotic tools, they prowl the streets of Downtown, looking to bust both grime and crime. READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE FROM THE MINNEAPOLIS DOWNTOWN JOURNAL.

In this video WKOI spotlights the downtown Ambassadors, who are responsible for keeping one of the United State's most frequented destination cities clean & friendly. CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE ENTIRE VIDEO FROM WKOI.

The parking attendants in your city most often have the first and last contact with a visitor. Block by Block delivered the customer service training provided to its downtown Ambassadors to downtown Providence parking attendants. The program was provided as an initiative of the Providence Downtown Improvement District in an effort to further improve the 'downtown Providence Experience'! Providence parking lot attendants urged to provide better service If your downtown parkign lot attendant doesn't look happy to see you it's easy to understand why. CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE FROM THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL

THE FOLLOWING IS A REPRINT OF AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE DOWNTOWN IDEA EXCHANGE: Ambassador programs prioritize differently, but hospitality is everyone's job Click here for the reprint of the full article from the Downtown Idea Exchange, July 2009

There was a time in history when men wearing red coats struck fear and loathing in the hearts of the American citizens. CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE FROM THE LONG BEACH GAZETTE.

The Rosslyn BID Ambassadors were hard at work during the record breaking double blizzards of 2010. CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE FROM THE ROSSLYN MAGAZINE!

ON a recent visit to Downtown Santa Monica, a Massachusetts family was in a most unfortunate situation after enjoying another day in the beachfront city. They had no idea where they had parked their car. READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE FROM THE LOOKOUT NEWS!

Walking down the Third Street Promenade in a dark blue jacket emblazoned with the words "Santa Monica Downtown Ambassadors" Shana Gadlin approached a group of tourists huddled around a map. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY FROM THE SANTA MONICA DAILY PRESS

During a visit to Santa Monica the governor spent time on the Third Street Promenade, where he took time to talk and ham it up with the Ambassadors of Downtown Santa Monica! CLICK HERE FOR THE PHOTO!

Property owners in downtown Clevleand have thrown their support -- and their wallets -- behind renewed efforts to make the center city clean, safe and attractive to businesses. READ THE FULL ARTICLE FROM THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER.

Keisha Matlock works to keep the sidewalks clear for pedestrians by the Metro Police station near the corner of Seventh and Jefferson streets. SEE THE VIDEO FROM THE LOUISVILLE COURIER JOURNAL