Albuquerque Journal, February 7, 2014 Independent businesses in communities that have “buy local” campaigns saw revenues grow by 7 percent in 2013, triple the growth rate of businesses in areas without such efforts, a new study says. The revenue growth rate for businesses in areas without “buy local” efforts was 2.3 percent, said the study by … Read More
Info World, February 6, 2014 When Time Warner and Embarq (now named CenturyLink) couldn’t provide affordable, high-speed broadband, the residents of Wilson, a small town in North Carolina, decided to do it themselves. In 2006, Wilson built a municipally owned fiber-to-the home network that offers television, telephone, and broadband services at relatively low cost. In response, … Read More
Credit Union Times, February 6, 2014 As the number of credit unions supporting small businesses through cash mobs continues to grow, the industry’s interest may be in line with communities that favor patronizing local shops. According to a survey of 2,602 small business owners conducted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit research and … Read More
Kansas Capital-Journal, February 5, 2014 The strong signal of political blowback — not an avalanche of snow suspending Capitol activity for two days — buried a cable industry bill imposing a statewide ban on local municipalities building broadband networks. The Senate Commerce Committee scheduled a public hearing Tuesday and a vote Thursday on Senate Bill 304, … Read More
ArsTechnica, February 5, 2014 Kansas isn’t the only state considering legislation that would limit the growth of government-funded broadband networks that threaten incumbent Internet service providers. The latest such attempt we’ve learned of is a Utah House bill called the “Interlocal Entity Service Prohibition,” which would prevent a regional fiber consortium from building infrastructure outside the … Read More
City Wire, February 3, 2014 Wal-Mart has plenty of fans and critics when it comes to the retailer’s sustainability initiatives. When former CEO Lee Scott boldly announced the retailer’s sustainability platform eight years ago, there were doubters that Wal-Mart would stay the course. While the journey to a Green Wal-Mart is a long one, there is … Read More
BoingBoing.net, January 31, 2014 When Kansas lawmakers tabled a bill outlawing municipal broadband network, there was no sponsor’s name on it: rumor has it that’s because it was written by a lobbyist called John Federico, who is president of Kansas Cable Telecommunications Association. The bill masquerades as a pro-competition measure (pro-competition initiatives from the cable industry! … Read More
Daily Kos, January 30, 2014 The State of Kansas could often be said to be one of those places where torturing your residents just makes sense. While the work against women, children, the disabled, schools and others continues, the state of Kansas Legislatures took on a new target: Stop Google Fiber. And not just google fiber, … Read More
Shreveport Times, January 30, 2014 After more than 20 years in business, another neighborhood restaurant will close its doors Friday. Cafe Pierremont, known for its fresh vegetables and daily lunch specials, joins the handful of local restaurants that have closed in the past few months. “It’s time to turn the page,” said owner Barbara Landman, who … Read More
