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The Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s podcast to break monopoly power.
Helping Communities Achieve True Self-Determination
Weekly interviews focused on community owned networks and Internet policy.
This bi-weekly podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance shares powerful stories of local renewable energy, from mayors discussing their city’s commitment to 100% renewable energy to tales of innovative community owned solar to questions about the the best rooftop solar policy. Join host John Farrell, the director of the Institute’s Energy Democracy Initiative, as he asks if the 100-year-old monopoly market structure for electricity delivery makes sense in an on-demand, distributed ...
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Local Energy Rules
1
Minneapolis Health Department Splits the Bill with Green Investors
43:08
43:08
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For this episode of the Local Energy Rules podcast, host John Farrell and guest Patrick Hanlon discuss Green Cost Share: a program that promotes public health by matching investments in solar and energy efficiency projects.… Read MoreBy Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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Community Broadband Bits Podcast
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Loveland Pulse Races Ahead – Episode 443 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
26:31
26:31
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The Front Range in Colorado has been a hotbed of activity recently, and just before Christmas we wrote about how Fort Collins, Estes Park, and Loveland are all pursuing projects to bring better connectivity to residents in the region. This week on the podcast, Christopher talks with Fiber Manager Brieana Reed-Harmel andMarketing and Communications …
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Community Broadband Bits
1
Loveland Pulse Races Ahead – Episode 443 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
26:31
26:31
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26:31
The Front Range in Colorado has been a hotbed of activity recently, and just before Christmas we wrote about how Fort Collins, Estes Park, and Loveland are all pursuing projects to bring better connectivity to residents in the region. This week on the podcast, Christopher talks with Fiber Manager Brieana Reed-Harmel andMarketing and Communications …
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Building Local Power
1
Should Big Utilities Pay for Their Bad Choices? — Episode 117 of Building Local Power
49:36
49:36
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49:36
John Farrell, Co-Director of ILSR, interviews Leslie Glustrom, founding member of Clean Energy Action about how we can equitably transition to a clean energy future. … Read MoreBy Jess Del Fiacco
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Community Broadband Bits Podcast
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Finding Our Way with the Help of Digital Navigators – Episode 442 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
31:35
31:35
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31:35
In August we first covered the National Digital Inclusion Alliance’s new Digital Navigator’s program, which provides a best-practices model for organizations looking to use local resources to help neighbors learn the skills and overcome their reluctance to getting online. This week on the podcast Christopher welcomes Paolo Balboa, Program Manager a…
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Community Broadband Bits
1
Finding Our Way with the Help of Digital Navigators – Episode 442 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
31:35
31:35
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31:35
In August we first covered the National Digital Inclusion Alliance’s new Digital Navigator’s program, which provides a best-practices model for organizations looking to use local resources to help neighbors learn the skills and overcome their reluctance to getting online. This week on the podcast Christopher welcomes Paolo Balboa, Program Manager a…
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Local Energy Rules
1
A Portland Fund, Collected from Corporations, Finances Community Benefits
35:55
35:55
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35:55
For this episode of the Local Energy Rules podcast, host John Farrell speaks with Jaimes Valdez about the Portland Clean Energy Fund: a climate action fund for racial and social justice.… Read MoreBy Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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Community Broadband Bits Podcast
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Predictions for 2021, Year in Review for 2020 – Episode 441 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
49:47
49:47
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49:47
2020 is nearly over, and it’s that time of the year we sit back with a cold glass of eggnog and reflect on what was, what is, what might have been, and what will be. In this episode the Community Broadband Bits podcast the MuniNetworks team cranks up Zoom for the zillionth time this month to review our previous years’ predictions to see who swung t…
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Community Broadband Bits
1
Predictions for 2021, Year in Review for 2020 – Episode 441 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
49:47
49:47
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49:47
2020 is nearly over, and it’s that time of the year we sit back with a cold glass of eggnog and reflect on what was, what is, what might have been, and what will be. In this episode the Community Broadband Bits podcast the MuniNetworks team cranks up Zoom for the zillionth time this month to review our previous years’ predictions to see who swung t…
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Community Broadband Bits Podcast
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Building Digitally Equitable Communities – Bonus Episode Ten of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
40:20
40:20
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40:20
For the tenth episode of our special podcast series “Why NC Broadband Matters,” we’re talking about the innovative Building a New Digital Economic (BAND-NC) grant program, which provides funds to support devices, subscriptions, and digital skills training to communities across North Carolina. The program disbursed its first round of money to 29 pro…
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Community Broadband Bits
1
Building Digitally Equitable Communities – Bonus Episode Ten of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
40:20
40:20
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40:20
For the tenth episode of our special podcast series “Why NC Broadband Matters,” we’re talking about the innovative Building a New Digital Economic (BAND-NC) grant program, which provides funds to support devices, subscriptions, and digital skills training to communities across North Carolina. The program disbursed its first round of money to 29 pro…
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Local Energy Rules
1
In Seattle, Corporations Must Pay Their Fair Share to Support Climate Justice
36:01
36:01
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36:01
For this episode of the Local Energy Rules podcast, host John Farrell speaks with Jill Mangaliman and Abigail Juaner about Jumpstart Seattle: a corporate payroll tax that will fund housing and Green New Deal initiatives.… Read MoreBy Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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Community Broadband Bits Podcast
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The Truth is in the Numbers: How RS Fiber Brings Broadband to the Farms and Families of Rural Minnesota – Episode 440 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
33:15
33:15
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33:15
We’ve written a lot about RS Fiber, a broadband cooperative operating in two rural counties in south-central Minnesota. This week on the podcast Christopher talks with two representatives from the cooperative which serves almost three thousand members in Renville and Sibley counties. Our first guest is Jake Reiki, a corn and soybean farmer and Boar…
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Community Broadband Bits
1
The Truth is in the Numbers: How RS Fiber Brings Broadband to the Farms and Families of Rural Minnesota – Episode 440 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
33:15
33:15
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33:15
We’ve written a lot about RS Fiber, a broadband cooperative operating in two rural counties in south-central Minnesota. This week on the podcast Christopher talks with two representatives from the cooperative which serves almost three thousand members in Renville and Sibley counties. Our first guest is Jake Reiki, a corn and soybean farmer and Boar…
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Building Local Power
1
A Vision for Landfills that Challenges the Status Quo
42:16
42:16
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Host Jess Del Fiacco is joined by Neil Seldman and Captain Charles Moore, author of Plastic Ocean, to discuss Moore's his vision for turning landfills into "resource recovery parks."… Read MoreBy Jess Del Fiacco
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Community Broadband Bits Podcast
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Organizing for Change in Kaysville, Utah – Episode 439 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
41:24
41:24
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This week on the podcast Christopher talks with Michelle Barber and Andre Lortz. Both serve on the Kaysville City Council and are members of the group Citizens for Kaysville Fiber, but today they join us to talk as regular citizens of the city of 30,000 in Utah. Kaysville has been working to improve Internet access for years — some residents have g…
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Community Broadband Bits
1
Organizing for Change in Kaysville, Utah – Episode 439 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
41:24
41:24
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41:24
This week on the podcast Christopher talks with Michelle Barber and Andre Lortz. Both serve on the Kaysville City Council and are members of the group Citizens for Kaysville Fiber, but today they join us to talk as regular citizens of the city of 30,000 in Utah. Kaysville has been working to improve Internet access for years — some residents have g…
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Local Energy Rules
1
A Solar Settlement for the Good of the Grid
28:46
28:46
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28:46
For this episode of the Local Energy Rules podcast, host John Farrell and Vote Solar’s Thad Culley discuss a net metering settlement underway in the Carolinas: a compromise benefitting the utility, customer-generators, and the electric grid.… Read MoreBy Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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Community Broadband Bits Podcast
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Building Momentum with CityLink in Wadsworth, Ohio – Episode 438 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
34:30
34:30
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34:30
This week on the podcast Christopher talks with Steve Lange, IT Manager for the city of Wadsworth (pop. 26,000) in eastern Ohio, which built its hybrid fiber-coax municipal network CityLink back in 1997. The two talk about the history of the network, its push to bring more competition to the town, and its operational structure — the network, unlike…
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Community Broadband Bits
1
Building Momentum with CityLink in Wadsworth, Ohio – Episode 438 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
34:30
34:30
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34:30
This week on the podcast Christopher talks with Steve Lange, IT Manager for the city of Wadsworth (pop. 26,000) in eastern Ohio, which built its hybrid fiber-coax municipal network CityLink back in 1997. The two talk about the history of the network, its push to bring more competition to the town, and its operational structure — the network, unlike…
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Building Local Power
1
A Cornucopia of Policy Opportunities in the New Year — Episode 115 of Building Local Power
49:00
49:00
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49:00
From small business relief to a solar homes stimulus, we look ahead to policy opportunities in the new year and beyond in this episode of Building Local Power. … Read MoreBy Jess Del Fiacco
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Community Broadband Bits
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Broadband Access is a Health and Social Justice Issue — Episode 437 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
30:42
30:42
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30:42
This week on the podcast, Christopher is joined by Jennifer Hawkins, President and Executive Director of One Neighborhood Builders (ONB), a community development organization based out of Rhode Island. She talks about about the Olneyville neighborhood, situated on the west side of Providence, and how significant health disparities in that community…
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Community Broadband Bits Podcast
1
Broadband Access is a Health and Social Justice Issue — Episode 437 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
30:42
30:42
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30:42
This week on the podcast, Christopher is joined by Jennifer Hawkins, President and Executive Director of One Neighborhood Builders (ONB), a community development organization based out of Rhode Island. She talks about about the Olneyville neighborhood, situated on the west side of Providence, and how significant health disparities in that community…
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Local Energy Rules
1
Voices of 100%: Louisville’s Clean Energy Pledge Takes On Multiple Crises
30:16
30:16
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30:16
For this Voices of 100% episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell talks with Brandon Coan and Gretchen Milliken about Louisville, Ky.'s 100% renewable pledge and how it intersects with the fight for racial justice.… Read MoreBy Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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Community Broadband Bits
1
Alabama Makes a $100 Million Commitment to Getting Students Online — Episode 436 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
32:14
32:14
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32:14
This week on the podcast, Christopher talks with Maureen Neighbors, Energy Division Chief of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, about the state’s one-of-a-kind, $100 million voucher program designed and deployed for the current school year to help get and keep economically vulnerable students connected. She tells Christopher …
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Community Broadband Bits Podcast
1
Alabama Makes a $100 Million Commitment to Getting Students Online — Episode 436 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
32:14
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32:14
This week on the podcast, Christopher talks with Maureen Neighbors, Energy Division Chief of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, about the state’s one-of-a-kind, $100 million voucher program designed and deployed for the current school year to help get and keep economically vulnerable students connected. She tells Christopher …
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Community Broadband Bits Podcast
1
Episode 1 of Connect This! – Community Broadband Bits Podcast Bonus Episode
1:02:28
1:02:28
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1:02:28
Despite repeated reminders from the rest of us thatHollywood will only ever give the late night slots to guys named James,Stephen, or Conan, Christopher is determined that if he just hosts enoughthings he’ll be able to break into the business and leave us all behind. Inthat spirit comes a new series here at the Community Broadband Networksinitiativ…
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Community Broadband Bits
1
Episode 1 of Connect This! – Community Broadband Bits Podcast Bonus Episode
1:02:28
1:02:28
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1:02:28
Despite repeated reminders from the rest of us thatHollywood will only ever give the late night slots to guys named James,Stephen, or Conan, Christopher is determined that if he just hosts enoughthings he’ll be able to break into the business and leave us all behind. Inthat spirit comes a new series here at the Community Broadband Networksinitiativ…
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Community Broadband Bits Podcast
1
Sacred Wind Goes Technology Agnostic To Serve the Navajo Nation — Episode 435 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
29:43
29:43
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29:43
This week on the podcast Christopher talks with Catherine Nicolaou, External Affairs and Marketing Manager for Sacred Wind Communications, a rural local exchange carrier in NW New Mexico that has been focused on serving the Navajo Nation communities there. She shares the history of Sacred Wind, from buying copper infrastructure from Century Link 13…
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Community Broadband Bits
1
Sacred Wind Goes Technology Agnostic To Serve the Navajo Nation — Episode 435 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
29:43
29:43
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29:43
This week on the podcast Christopher talks with Catherine Nicolaou, External Affairs and Marketing Manager for Sacred Wind Communications, a rural local exchange carrier in NW New Mexico that has been focused on serving the Navajo Nation communities there. She shares the history of Sacred Wind, from buying copper infrastructure from Century Link 13…
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Building Local Power
1
Voters Turn Out to Support Climate, Broadband, Other Local Initiatives in 2020 Election
50:43
50:43
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50:43
Host Jess Del Fiacco is joined by ILSR staff members John Farrell, Christopher Mitchell, and Ron Knox to discuss the 2020 election and what the results may mean for ILSR's work.… Read MoreBy Jess Del Fiacco
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Local Energy Rules
1
The Post-Election Potential for a 30 Million Solar Rooftop Stimulus
30:56
30:56
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For this post-Election Day episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, John Farrell and Katie Kienbaum discuss the intersection between federal policy and 30 Million Solar Rooftops: a vision for equitable economic recovery built on climate protection and energy democracy.… Read MoreBy Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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Community Broadband Bits Podcast
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A Grassroots Effort Pushed the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative to Add Broadband to Its Charter — Episode 434 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
37:35
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This week on the podcast Christopher talks with the city of Sandwich, New Hampshire’s Broadband Advisory Committee Chair Julie Dolan and member Richard Knox. The join us to discuss the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative’s recent vote to add broadband to its charter. Sandwich is particularly poorly served in NH and they have been seeking solutions f…
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Community Broadband Bits
1
A Grassroots Effort Pushed the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative to Add Broadband to Its Charter — Episode 434 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
37:35
37:35
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37:35
This week on the podcast Christopher talks with the city of Sandwich, New Hampshire’s Broadband Advisory Committee Chair Julie Dolan and member Richard Knox. The join us to discuss the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative’s recent vote to add broadband to its charter. Sandwich is particularly poorly served in NH and they have been seeking solutions f…
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Building Local Power
1
In Seattle, Corporations Must Pay Their Fair Share to Support Climate Justice
35:00
35:00
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35:00
Host John Farrell interviews Jill Mangaliman of Got Green and Abigail Juaner of Puget Sound Sage about Seattle's JumpStart tax. The tax will be used to fund local projects centered around affordable housing and the city's Green New Deal. … Read MoreBy Jess Del Fiacco
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Community Broadband Bits Podcast
1
Dark Fiber Will Bring Value to Huntsville for Decades to Come — Episode 433 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
29:06
29:06
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29:06
This week on the podcast Christopher talks with Stacy Cantrell, Vice President of Engineering at Huntville Utilities in Alabama. Huntsville’s (pop. 197,000) municipal utility serves well beyond the city boundaries, and its electric department built a major network that gets close to every house within the city limits. Stacy shares how the 1,100-mil…
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Community Broadband Bits
1
Dark Fiber Will Bring Value to Huntsville for Decades to Come — Episode 433 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
29:06
29:06
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29:06
This week on the podcast Christopher talks with Stacy Cantrell, Vice President of Engineering at Huntville Utilities in Alabama. Huntsville’s (pop. 197,000) municipal utility serves well beyond the city boundaries, and its electric department built a major network that gets close to every house within the city limits. Stacy shares how the 1,100-mil…
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Local Energy Rules
1
Berkeley Puts Equitable Climate Action on the Ballot
22:49
22:49
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In this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell and guest Ben Paulos discuss how voting yes to a climate equity action fund (Measure HH) will advance Berkeley’s zero carbon goal — all while advancing energy equity.… Read MoreBy Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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Community Broadband Bits Podcast
1
Lessons Learned with Lyndon Township — Community Broadband Bits Podcast Episode 432
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35:15
A little over three years ago in Episode 232 we heard from Lyndon Township, Michigan just after a ballot initiative passed to fund and build a municipal network. 43% of the community turned out for the vote, and the measure passed by a ratio of two to one. Today we revisit Lyndon Township Broadband, with Christopher joined by … Continue reading "Le…
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Community Broadband Bits
1
Lessons Learned with Lyndon Township — Community Broadband Bits Podcast Episode 432
35:15
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35:15
A little over three years ago in Episode 232 we heard from Lyndon Township, Michigan just after a ballot initiative passed to fund and build a municipal network. 43% of the community turned out for the vote, and the measure passed by a ratio of two to one. Today we revisit Lyndon Township Broadband, with Christopher joined by … Continue reading "Le…
Stacy Mitchell and Ron Knox dig into the new report from the House Antitrust Subcommittee on monopoly power in digital markets.… Read MoreBy Jess Del Fiacco
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Building Local Power
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How the Baltimore Farm Alliance is Fighting Food Apartheid and Building Community Resilience – Episode 111 of Building Local Power
40:38
40:38
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Host Jess Del Fiacco is joined by Denzel Mitchell, Deputy Director of the Baltimore Farm Alliance, and Sophia Hosain, leader of ILSR’s composting work in Baltimore.… Read MoreBy Jess Del Fiacco
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Community Broadband Bits Podcast
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In Erwin, Tennessee, an Incremental Approach Has Brought Success — Community Broadband Bits Podcast Episode 431
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This week on the podcast Christopher welcomes back Lee Brown, President and CEO of Erwin Utilities, to talk about what’s been going on since we last spoke with them more than three and a half years ago. Erwin is a town of around 6,000 and the county seat of Unicoi County, Tennessee, along the state’s eastern border. The … Continue reading "In Erwin…
