The Guardian explains why Governor Gavin Newsom’s approval of AB 857, the Public Banking, is such a big deal. The bill will allow city and county governments to create or sponsor public banks.
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Offering asides, recommended links, blogworthy quotations, and more, In Brief is the Northwest Progressive Institute's microblog of world, national, and local politics.
The Guardian explains why Governor Gavin Newsom’s approval of AB 857, the Public Banking, is such a big deal. The bill will allow city and county governments to create or sponsor public banks.
LaunchWatch a tsunami wave simulation for Washington State from a hypothetical magnitude 9.0 earthquake (L1) scenario on the Cascadia subduction zone.
Launch“It’s become our new reality… I don’t like to say ‘normal,’ because that sounds like a plateau, and we’re on a trajectory where we’ll get more and more fire.”
LaunchHere’s a roundup of coverage pertaining to Frontier Communications’ plan to sell off all of its assets in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.
Launch“To many inhabitants, San Francisco has become unrecognizable in a decade, as though it had gone on a cosmetic surgery bender,” writes Karen Heller.
LaunchIn this piece, Erick Trickey takes a look at “how a fast-growing city has invested heavily in mass transit alternatives to keep a lid on gridlock”.
LaunchForget CNN — turn to France 24 English for a French perspective of the catastrophic events of Monday, April 15th, 2019 at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France.
LaunchWe can’t build our way out of future floods with better levees, just as we can’t build our way out of traffic congestion with wider highways.
LaunchThe New York Times reports on the important work that cities like Seattle and Los Angeles are doing to expand their transit systems following a trip by New York City Transportation Commissioner to California.
LaunchThey have imbued autonomous vehicles with the possibility to solve every problem that was ever created in transportation since the beginning of time… That might
LaunchSurvivors of the horrific attack on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student body have announced plans to march on the nation’s capital next month to demand stronger gun safety laws.
Launch“The whole mess is like a metaphor for how the entire federal government is run today. There is talk about big needs, even as they cut taxes on corporations and the wealthy, making it harder to address those needs. We the people are distracted by our borrowed bonuses. The crippling disconnect from reality isn’t even acknowledged.”
LaunchBig cities don’t function without transit, and that means transit has to be allowed to succeed. That means it won’t go to your door, or
LaunchSchematic shows where Amtrak Cascades 501’s rolling stock ended up after derailment
LaunchHonestly, I think the real number of fatalities tied to cell phones is at least three times the federal figure… We’re all addicted and the
Launch“In our own minds,” writes Knute Berger, “Seattle is a gleaming model of progressivism. But folks look at homelessness, housing prices, affordability, crime, taxes and traffic and, at the very least, have their doubts. They shake their heads, and some sneer: This is the progressive city on the hill?”
Launch“Mexico City and Seattle have a lot in common when it comes to earthquakes. One example, the soil the cities sit on can actually amplify the effects and length of the shaking. KING5’s Glenn Farley is here to talk about what that means for us here in the Pacific Northwest.”
Launch“September has, in one sense, been an unlucky month for Mexico. But there are few places on the planet besides Mexico where the bad luck of a severe earthquake and a hurricane might actually converge,” The Washington Post’s Philip Bump explains.
LaunchAmtrak, America’s passenger railroad, has been facing the prospect of deep service cuts ever since Donald Trump and his minions rolled out their first budget proposal. But, buoyed by Congress’ refusal to (so far) implement the proposed evisceration of its long distance routes, Amtrak this week rolled out a brand new ad campaign that brilliantly showcases the advantages of rail travel, called Break the Travel Quo.
LaunchThis National Weather Service radar mosaic shows Hurricane Irma’s movement through Florida and into Georgia. Irma first made landfall in the Keys before moving up Florida’s west coast. The storm is now a Category 1 hurricane, but still very dangerous. (NOAA/NWS animation)
LaunchInterstate 84, Oregon’s main east-west link, is closed indefinitely in stretches between Hood River and The Dalles due to the Eagle Creek Fire and unstable slopes produced by the fire. That’s hurting truckers like David Cassidy, whose livelihood is made possible by the availability of public infrastructure paid for by taxpayers.
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