Published in 2000, The Hometown Advantage examines the impacts of chain retailers and provides a guide to reviving your community’s local economy. Continue reading
Forty years ago, two roads diverged in the chicken industry. Sick of being squeezed by processors, Canadian poultry farmers asked their local governments to construct a system that provided them with bargaining power. In the U.S., efforts to create similar systems failed. And that has made all the difference. By Brian Levy Continue reading
Cultural protection laws allow many countries to encourage local creations–such as films–that might otherwise disappear in the face of Hollywood’s hunger for global markets. Even with the laws, most countries’ own films only account for a small percentage of the entertainment dollar. Still, the U.S. distributors call the laws a barrier to trade. By Simona Fuma Shapiro Continue reading
What does it take to get a group of polite Midwesterners riled up enough to propose an amendment to their state constitution? Michigan legislators can tell you it’s not too difficult: just pass a series of laws that weaken local authority. By Daniel Kraker Continue reading
Feature Stories:
When The Farmer Makes the Rules —The Culutre Thief — Preempt This! Michigan Cities Fight Back — Setting a Slow Table. Continue reading
This Facts to Act On describes local initiatives to spur extended producer responsibility such as networking with industry in a voluntary approach, passing local resolutions, banning products that harm the environment, and developing purchasing protocols that encourage environmentally sound products. Efforts in Los Angeles, the Pacific Northwest, Minnesota, and elsewhere are covered. Includes links to… Continue reading
Salt Lake City officials now routinely consider how their decisions might impact locally owned businesses, thanks to the work of a new independent business coalition and the election last year of Mayor Rocky Anderson.
The Salt Lake Vest Pocket Business Coalition was launched in early 1999 and now includes more than 150 local businesses.
One might be tempted to think that the rise of giant chain bookstores has been a boon to authors. After all, the typical Barnes & Noble or Borders superstore stocks upwards of 150,000 titles, compared to an average of 20,000 for an independent.
Not so, according to a new study written by David Kirkpatrick on behalf of the Authors Guild. Midlist titles—serious nonfiction and literary fiction books which typically sell fewer than 10,000 copies—are more available now than ever before.
No one knows what effect genetically modified foods will eventually have on the environment or on human bodies, but one thing is certain: the benefits of using GM seed will accrue mainly to a handful of corporations. The top-down ownership structure of biotechnology is in stark contrast to the burgeoning organic foods movement, which embraces independent farms and supports local economies. By Brian Levy Continue reading
Microradio supporters who cheered the FCC’s January decision to license up to 1,000 low-watt stations watched in disbelief as the House caved to pressure from the NAB and passed the shamefully misnamed Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act. By Simona Fuma Shapiro Continue reading
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