Save Money: Early Bird Registration for AIA 2009 National Convention Web Site Ends February 17
Register now for the convention—April 30-May 2 in San Francisco—for the best rates
You can now register online for the AIA 2009 National Convention and Design Expo to take place April 30-May 2 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The Web site has some cool new features this year, including an interactive convention guide and enhanced seminar schedule that allows AIA members to design their convention curriculum using new keyword and drilldown search options. Themed “Diversity: Practice in a Complex World,” the convention offers more than 360 continuing-education opportunities including some 70 fabulous tours. Visit the AIA Convention Web site for more information and register now. Register on or before February 17 to take advantage of early-bird rates and get your first choice of programs and hotels. (And this year, we’re offering an additional 5 percent discount to all AIA members who register by February 17 using the promo code, “MEMBER.”) See you in the City on the Bay.

Emerging Professionals: Design a House That You Can Afford!
The “In the Pursuit of Housing” design competition, co-sponsored by the Boston Society of Architects and Architectural Record, invites young professionals and students to think critically about the housing issues facing their generation by designing housing that they themselves could afford. The biennial competition gathers and displays a wide range of housing designs for urban, suburban, and rural communities—with an emphasis on socially progressive and sustainable designs for multi-unit and single-family dwellings that can serve as prototypes. Undergraduate and graduate students currently in architecture school anywhere in the world and individuals who have earned their architecture degrees within the last five years (after 2003) are invited to enter the competition. Entries are due March 3; find a detailed call for entries on the BSA Web site.

Eight Architects Declare Candidacy for Three Offices
Elections for the Institute’s next first vice president/president-elect, vice presidents, and treasurer will be held in April at the AIA 2009 National Convention and Expo in San Francisco.

kiplinger connection
Bonds • State Taxes • Green Regs
Bonds: Junk defaults will soar in 2009.
State Taxes: Will budget woes lead to service taxes?
Green Regs: Fly ash may be designated toxic waste.