The 2016 Independent Business Survey finds that independent businesses experienced brisk sales and a sharp increase in hiring in 2015, but that biased policies and other obstacles are limiting their success.… Read More
Contact: Alice Madden Alice@communitypowermn.org 206-372-8471 To: Christopher Clark, President, Northern States Power Company – Minnesota January 26, 2016 Dear Mr. Clark, Community Power, a tireless advocate for clean, affordable, and equitable energy systems, is excited about Xcel Energy’s upcoming supplement to its Integrated Resource Plan illustrating alternatives to replacing Sherco … Read More
Contact: Rebecca Toews Rebecca@ILSR.org 612-808-0689 Amid the hype of online and big-box shopping this weekend, it’s easy to overlook the growing popularity of independent retailers. I invite you to contact Amazon.com’s greatest nemesis, Stacy Mitchell, for a story about Main Street’s Black Friday Takeover. You’ve probably seen Stacy’s research on TedTalks, Bloomberg, and The Wall Street Journal, where she … Read More
ILSR’s forward-thinking, bottom-up solutions have never been more needed. Please help us expand our impact in 2016 by making an online tax-deductible donation to ILSR. Since our founding, building equity has been a core value and aim of our work. The word “equity” originally meant fairness or equality. Today the term has degenerated into a narrow … Read More
Contact: Rebecca Toews Rebecca@ILSR.org 612-808-0689 Ten years after pledging to become an environmental leader, Walmart still relies heavily on dirty energy and derives just 3% of its U.S. power from its renewable energy projects and purchases. With Walmart executives preparing to mark the 10-year anniversary of the company’s sustainability pledge at an event Tuesday, the Institute for … Read More
Amazon is on a building spree, and many local officials are eager to bring one of its giant fulfillment centers to their own backyard. But a new analysis from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) indicates that communities are losing more than they gain in these projects. Contact: Stacy Mitchell, 207-232-3681 Co-Director, Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 1, 2015 CONTACT: Rebecca Toews rebecca@ILSR.org (612) 808-0689 Public Rooftop Revolution In Public Rooftop Revolution, ILSR estimates that mid-sized cities could install as much as 5,000 megawatts of solar—as much as one-quarter of all solar installed in the U.S. to date—on municipal property, with little to no upfront cash. Solar energy is in the news … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 13, 2015 CONTACT: Rebecca Toews, rebecca@ILSR.org, (612)808-0689 Key Passages and Arguments From The FCC Decision to Remove Barriers to Municipal Networks in TN and NC The Federal Communications Commission has released the order that allows Chattanooga and Wilson, as well as many other cities in North Carolina and Tennessee, to build, … Read More
Two southern cities today persuaded the Federal Communications Commission to recognize their right to build their own publicly owned Internet networks where existing providers had refused to invest in modern connections. The 3-2 FCC vote removes barriers for municipal networks in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Wilson, North Carolina, to extend their high-quality Internet service to nearby areas. … Read More
