I just got back from the City of Bellflower, annual State of the City address.  This year's theme was "Reaching for the Stars/Growing Together".  Bellflower is such a wonderful example of small town USA stuck in the middle of the big cities that surround it.  I love this event because it always feels like old home week.  One of the handouts at the luncheon table was a reprint of an article in American City & County magazine their December 2008 issue.  In this issue they name the top 10 list of The 2008 Crown Communities Award winners showcase local government ingenuity.  Bellflower made the list.  Now that's impressive.  In the article they tell how the awards recognize innovative projects and programs that local governments have completed in the last year.  The winners represent the best that local governments have to offer and exhibit how creative problem solving and collaboration produces impressive results.  These winning efforts made at a local level have earned the City National attention.  Also featured at the luncheon was a second grade teacher, Pam Leestma from Bellflower's Valley Christian School along with some of her students.  These students participated with NASA to become the first-ever school in California to talk live through a downlink to the astronauts aboard NASA's International Space Station.