IEEE Spectrum, March 28, 2013 Bright sun and high utility rates help rooftop solar energy compete with grid power. The map shows how much residential demand could be fulfilled by solar more cheaply than by the grid in 2018.  Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance Photovoltaics are still, on average, a pricey, subsidy-dependent source of electricity…. Continue reading

Wall Street Journal, March 27, 2013 The Bay Area is experiencing a rebirth of municipal Wi-Fi networks, after a decade of fits and starts in such efforts. Last week, Santa Clara launched a free public wireless network that blankets nearly the entire city of 120,000 residents, or about 19 square miles. The new network replaces… Continue reading

St. Paul Pioneer Press, March 25, 2013 Comcast is doubling the download speeds of some of its most popular Internet broadband services in the Twin Cities, the cable giant said Monday, March 25. The faster speeds for its three most popular residential service tiers — Performance, Blast and Extreme 50 — became effective at 12:01… Continue reading

The City of Refuge, (COR), was founded in 1970 to provide hope and assistance to residents of challenged neighborhoods in the middle of Atlanta. COR serves over 10,000 people annually from its 8-acre campus, including short-term transitional shelter for women and children. COR also hosts a 6th-8th grade academy for students from at-risk communities and… Continue reading

Free Press, March 21, 2013 “Solar was like a dream,” said Appleton resident Kal Winer as he recalled the first few years homesteading with his wife Linda Tatelbaum in the late 1970s. “Back in the ’70s when we had the first oil shock, I could see what I thought was a very real crisis for… Continue reading

Motherboard, March 21, 2013 Google just announced that it plans on expanding its high-speed fiber-optic service beyond Kansas City, and into another fast-growing nearby city, Olathe, Kansas, home to some 120,000 people. “The Olathe City Council approved an agreement to bring Google Fiber to their city,” Google Fiber Community Manager Rachel Hack wrote in a… Continue reading

The New York Times reports that Walmart has stepped back from its two-year, multi-million dollar campaign to open stores in New York City.  The retailer has pulled much of its advertising and dismissed its team of New York lobbyists.  This is the second time Walmart has tried and failed to break into New York.  Its first failed push… Continue reading

The Plain Dealer, March 12, 2013 A Cleveland company that has been turning scrap tires, plastics and medical waste into crude oil in its Akron plant for the past few years is planning a large-scale expansion on the cusp of a residential area on Cleveland’s East Side. Vadxx Energy intends to build a 10,000-square-foot facility… Continue reading

Forbes, March 12, 2013 Google Now may level the playing field for independent business.  Walmart is often cited as the death of main street. The big box stores are to blame for all of our job woes and economic challenges. Independent retailers taking their last breaths thanks to Home Depot, Target, Best Buy, not to… Continue reading

Silicon Beat, March 11, 2013 Walmart has about 4,500 stores in the United States (which includes retail stores, Sam’s Clubs and distribution centers). That’s a lot of big, flat roofs: perfect for solar PV. Many stores are 80,000 to 120,000 square feet in size; some are as large as 180,00 square feet.  To date, Walmart… Continue reading