Article
filed under
General
| Written by
Brenda Platt
|
| Updated on
Jun 24, 2009
The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/san-francisco-toughens-recycling-laws-creates-iphone-app/
San Francisco recently accepted more responsibility for its waste by increasing recycling requirements.
The Board of Supervisors passed new recycling and mandatory composting rules on Tuesday in a 9-to-2 vote. The city already diverts 72 percent of the 2.1 million tons of waste its residents produce each year away from landfills and into recycling and composting programs. The new ordinance will help the city toward its goal of sending zero waste to landfills by 2020, said Jared Blumenfeld, director of the city’s Department of the Environment.
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Article
filed under
Independent Business
| Written by
Stacy Mitchell
|
| Updated on
Jun 23, 2009
The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/death-category-killers/
Borders Books is on "death watch," according to one industry observer. Virgin shut down its last U.S. record store this month. Office Depot and Staples are struggling. Circuit City is gone. Best Buy has launched a desperate ad campaign.
While the decline of independent businesses has leveled off, the rest of the retail sector is undergoing dramatic consolidation as a small number of massive companies become ever more dominant. This is an ominous trend for manufacturers and consumers, and it exposes serious flaws in U.S. antitrust policy. Continue reading
Article
filed under
Broadband
| Written by
Christopher
|
| Updated on
Jun 17, 2009
The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/smart-infrastructure-starts-planning-community-level/
Montana’s Great Falls Tribune has an article that examines a community success story from Cleveland and the greater NE Ohio region.
Instead of going to Hollywood to see what the future may hold, go to Cleveland. It’s here you’ll find an example of a community with five years of experience in creating a regional fiber-optic network that connects more than 1,000 organizations — hospitals, school districts, governments, museums, libraries and other public and nonprofit organizations.
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Article
filed under
Energy
| Written by
John Farrell
|
| Updated on
Jun 16, 2009
The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/california-may-miss-33-rps-target-due-focus-centralized-generation/
In a nutshell: On paper, California could meet its targets, provided it can afford and build $12 billion in new transmission lines and higher electricity costs. In reality, the state probably won’t make the target, concludes the California Public Utilities Commission in its latest analysis of the state’s clean-energy quest…
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Article
filed under
Broadband
| Written by
Christopher
|
| Updated on
Jun 15, 2009
The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/department-homeland-security-helps-local-state-fed-gov-open-source-software/
The Department of Homeland Security has started funding a program to help all levels of government better understand open source options for computer software.
DHS’ Science and Technology Directorate will fund the Homeland Open Security Technology (HOST) project, which will start with a one-year, $1.5 million contract and possible additional years to follow. The University of Southern Mississippi and the Open Source Software Institute (OSSI) will conduct the work, and the Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command will handle the contracting and help with guidance for the program.
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Article
filed under
Independent Business
| Written by
Stacy Mitchell
|
| Updated on
Jun 12, 2009
The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/walmart-create-22000-jobs-and-destroy-many-thousands-more/
Wal-Mart announced that it would create 22,000 new jobs in the U.S. to staff new and expanded stores. But, in all likelihood, Wal-Mart’s expansion will make the U.S. employment picture worse, not better. Continue reading
Article
filed under
General
| Written by
admin
|
| Updated on
Jun 11, 2009
The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/eminent-domain-documentary-creating-buzz-indie-film-circuit/
More than nine years in the making, the independent film ”Begging For Billionaires: The Attack on Property Rights in America” was selected as a “Best of Fest” feature by the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival and won “Best Documentary” at the Texandance International Film Festival. In 2005, a divided U.S. Supreme Court gave city governments the authority to take private homes and businesses by eminent domain and transfer ownership to private developers for the purpose of building things like shopping centers, corporate office towers, luxury condominiums and professional sports arenas.
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Article, Rule
filed under
Energy
| Written by
admin
|
| Updated on
Jun 11, 2009
The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/rule/municipal-financing-for-renewables-and-efficiency/2830-2/
In 2008, the Berkeley City Council approved an amendment to the Berkeley Municipal Code (BMC) and created the Special Tax Financing Law. The Special Tax Financing Law is the implementing legislation that allows for the creation of the Sustainable Energy Financing District, by which the City would help property owners finance solar installations and energy efficiency improvements by creating a special tax that is paid through their individual property tax bills. Continue reading
Article
filed under
Broadband
| Written by
Christopher
|
| Updated on
Jun 10, 2009
The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/chattanooga-announces-largest-us-community-fiber-network/
Chattanooga’s Electric Power Board, a public power agency, has been building a fiber-to-the-home network to greatly increase community access to fast broadband. They have just announced the network will be completed sooner than originally expected, connecting everyone in the community.
EPB officials announced today their plans to expedite the deployment of their 100% fiber optics network.
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Article
filed under
Broadband
| Written by
Christopher
|
| Updated on
Jun 10, 2009
The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/ilsr-submits-comments-fcc-national-broadband-plan/
ILSR, a member of the Rural Internet and Broadband Policy Group, submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission on the matter of a national broadband policy. Our comments highlight the importance of long term investments that will prioritize local ownership and control as well as open access networks. The absentee-ownership model has proved detrimental to many rural communities.
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