So much rural news, so little time to blog

At least while I am on vacation. So, to keep from falling even more behind, I am going to offer a few "headlines" and links to stories that friends and colleagues have called to my attention while I have been away:

Rural job losses associated with cuts in federal spending. Read more here and here. A map showing counties in which governments are the largest employers may be viewed here.

Rural Route film festival in--of all places--Queens. Read more here.

Defining rural. Farmpoliy.com reports that Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, will discuss with the White House Rural Council reducing the number of definitions of "rural" used by the federal government. One reason for doing so is to diminish confusion among rural officials when they are trying to determine the programs for which they qualify.