Senior Researcher John Farrell presented on the benefits of local clean energy to a crowd in Boulder, CO, in April 2011 at the invitation of the local organization Clean Energy Action. The city of Boulder is currently considering municipalization of its utility. Continue reading
Thanks to Christopher Mitchell, Director of the Telecommunications as Commons Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance for contributing to this article. You can, and should follow his reporting on public networks at www.muninetworks.org. Conservatives would have us believe the public sector can’t compete with the private sector. The private sector itself knows better. Nowhere… Continue reading
In a unanimous decision yesterday, the California Supreme Court fortified efforts by cities across the state to restrict the development of big-box stores, favor small-scale retailers, and protect the vitality of downtowns. The ruling (Hernandez v. City of Hanford) upholds the authority of cities to adopt planning and zoning ordinances that have a direct impact on economic competition and that treat businesses differently based on the scale of their stores. Continue reading
A California appeals court upheld an ordinance enacted by the city of Turlock that prohibits the construction of supercenters. Wal-Mart had challenged the ordinance on the grounds that it illegally restricted competition. The court ruled that the ordinance was a valid use of local authority. Continue reading
Global retail corporations are aiming to use international trade agreements to challenge local land use and zoning regulations, according to an alarming new report from Public Citizen. Continue reading
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