Internet Sales Tax Bill Will Help Independent Businesses and Local Economies
Stacy Mitchell, director of ILSR’s Independent Business Initiative, Discusses the Bill’s Impact … Read More
Executive Ulman Opens Alpha Ridge Composting Facility
Howard County, April 22, 2013 Howard County Executive Ken Ulman opened a state-of-the art composting operation today that will allow the County to double its curbside food scrap collection to 10,000 households, the largest in Maryland. The facility will operate at the Alpha Ridge Landfill in Marriottsville, diverting up to 400 tons of material a year … Read More
Howard County’s Expanded Composting Facility Opens on Earth Day
Columbia Patch, April 22, 2013 It’s easy to think nothing of throwing carrot or potato peels into the trash or down the garbage disposal. They quickly decompose. But Howard County announced on Monday that residents can participate in an expanded pilot program that composts food scrap and yard waste. A new composting facility at the Alpha … Read More
Municipal Broadband Contenders: Wilson, N.C.
Fierce Telecom, April 10, 2013 In a state where municipal broadband is largely unwelcome–thanks to a Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) and CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL)-supported bill pushed through in 2011–Wilson, N.C., is notable in providing residents with 10 to 100 Mbps symmetrical speeds via its fiber to the home network. Lit in 2009, the city’s network … Read More
VICTORY against Maryland’s “Waste Portfolio Standard” — the Latest Creative Way to Prop Up Incinerators
What does an incinerator industry do when they can’t compete? Change the rules. Biomass and trash incinerators are the most expensive way to make energy, and trash incineration costs more than directly landfilling the waste. These industries survive to the extent that they can change the rules to get monopoly waste contracts, become ‘renewable’ energy in state mandates, or as we’re seeing in Maryland: worse.… Read More
Google Fiber In Austin: Has Real Competition Returned to Broadband Internet Service?
Tech President, April 9, 2013 Is pressure at the margins of the high-speed Internet industry in the United States finally making incumbent providers feel the heat? Google announced Tuesday that Austin, Texas, will be the second city to get its Google Fiber service. Google first launched the service, which it says offers Internet access 100 times … Read More
We Built This City: How Communities Can Get Better Broadband
National Conference for Media Reform, April 6, 2013 Communities around the country are facing the same problem: The broadband service available to their residents is too slow and too expensive, and incumbent telecom companies have no incentive to improve speeds or reduce prices. Some communities, like the Colorado city of Longmont, have taken matters into their … Read More
Are Feed-in Tariffs a ‘Subsidy’ for a Small Group of Utility Customers?
Midwest Energy News, April 5, 2013 When a business or homeowner lowers their electricity bill by installing solar panels or wind turbines, do they drive up other customers’ utility bills? That’s the perennial claim made by utilities that oppose policies that would require them to compensate customers for electricity they generate. Most recently in Iowa, utilities … Read More
Piece of Mind: We Need a Boston Tea Party
Alamosa Valley Courier, April 4, 2013 The Boston Tea Party is an iconic event in American History. Unlike today, the citizens of Boston had few options but to express in action their frustration with British Parliament policy. Today, the bulk of “actions” taken in opposition to something are done with a keyboard or touchscreen. This is … Read More