The Salt Lake Tribune published this op-ed championing local investment in Internet infrastructure on December 11, 2015. Op-ed: Spanish Fork’s success shows municipal Internet networks work By Christopher Mitchell For nearly 10 years, large telephone and cable companies have claimed municipal Internet networks are so risky that local government authority should be restricted. But after … Read More
The Hill, December 11, 2015 In his 1790 Report on Manufactures, Alexander Hamilton argued that America’s “infant” industries needed to be protected from competitors in Britain and France in order to achieve what we now call economies of scale. Hamilton’s report was subsequently used to justify the imposition of huge tariffs on U.S. imports, many of … Read More
Governing Magazine, December 2015 With Uber and Airbnb, money flows out of a community. Co-ops could counter that. Propelled by the idea of “the Uber of everything,” many people are predicting that ever-proliferating “network companies” will radically change the older ways of doing business in all sorts of new fields. Something like that certainly seems to … Read More
Santa Cruz Sentinel, November 28, 2015 If local business owners see a surge in shoppers Saturday, they can thank Barbara Mason. As the county’s economic development coordinator, she recruited more than 800 local retailers, restaurants and service providers to join Santa Cruz County Small Business Saturday. In October, her goal was 500. “If you’re looking for … Read More
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 28, 2015 Shortly after the doors opened on Saturday for the Urban Garage Sale — about the time the disc jockey was cranking up The Mighty Tom Cats’ version of “Soul Makossa” — a line of people snaked around two sides of a city block waiting to get in. Turner Hall Ballroom in downtown Milwaukee can accommodate … Read More
Portland Phoenix, November 25, 2015 What a difference a year makes, especially in the life of a grocery cooperative. Nearly a decade ago, the Portland Food Co-op was little more than a meeting topic among hopeful residents. But the last year has been a doozy for the cooperative. Its retail grocery store at the base of … Read More
Sonoma News, November 23, 2015 In 2009, a new independent coffee house opened in downtown Seattle. 15th Ave Coffee & Tea featured heavy wood furniture, exotic Darjeeling, live folk music and impromptu poetry readings – it was everything Starbucks wasn’t: A throwback to indie neighborhood coffee houses of the pre-chain era – soulful, authentic and, most … Read More
Wall Street Journal, November 15, 2015 What’s going to happen when a huge incentive to invest in solar power shrinks or vanishes? At the end of next year, the 30% investment tax credit for solar and other renewable power is set to expire for residential systems and plunge to 10% for commercial installations. Boosters are calling for … Read More
The Roanoke Daily Herald published this op-ed about local government action for broadband networks on September 25, 2015. We were responding to an earlier Op-Ed, available here. Christopher Mitchell wrote the following op-ed. It is stunning any legislator can look at the constituents they serve in rural North Carolina and think, “‘These people don’t need the … Read More
