Fiber opportunity is worth the risk in North St. Paul

Date: 20 Feb 2009 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Fiber opportunity is worth the risk in North St. Paul By Christopher Mitchell, originally published in St. Paul Pioneer Press, February 20, 2009 Come Tuesday, North St. Paul residents have the opportunity to become the first metro-area community with a nextgeneration network connecting every home and business. This network will offer a unique experience in the … Read More

Fiber opportunity is worth the risk in North St. Paul

Date: 20 Feb 2009 | posted in: information, MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Come Tuesday, North St. Paul residents have the opportunity to become the first metro-area community with a nextgeneration network connecting every home and business. This network will offer a unique experience in the Twin Cities, an advanced broadband network similar to what tens of millions use on a daily basis across the rest of the developed world.

North St. Paul has asked its citizens to approve $18.5 million in bonds to build a fiber-to-the-home network called PolarNet. Bonds will be repaid by the revenue from citizens subscribing to phone, television, and its blazing fast Internet connection provided by an established company based in Minnesota.

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Years of Subsidizing Retail and Nothing to Show for It

Date: 18 Feb 2009 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Despite an enormous commitment of public funding to support retail development, neither taxable sales nor retail employment has grown significantly in the St. Louis, a new report finds. The report concludes that development incentives have done nothing to boost tax revenue in the metro and "the overall fiscal health of local governments in the region is increasingly tenuous.… Read More

Obama’s Renewable Energy Initiative May Not Bring Power to the People

Date: 6 Feb 2009 | posted in: From the Desk of David Morris, The Public Good | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Obama’s Renewable Energy Initiative May Not Bring Power to the People By David Morris, originally published in Alternet, February 6, 2009 The new mantra in energy circles is “national smart grid.” In the New York Times, Al Gore insists the new president should give the highest priority to “the planning and construction of a unified national … Read More

Obama’s Plan to Help Renewable Energy May Backfire and Aid Big Coal

Obama’s plan for a "national smart grid" needs closer examination. An expanded national grid would be anything but smart. In the New York Times, Al Gore insists the new president should give the highest priority to "the planning and construction of a unified national smart grid. "President Barack Obama, responding to a question by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, declares that one of "the most important infrastructure projects that we need is a whole new electricity grid … a smart grid."

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Tax Reform and Community Based Renewable Energy

Date: 5 Feb 2009 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Tax Reform and Community Based Renewable Energy By John Farrell, originally published in Renewable Energy World, February 5, 2009 The federal tax credits for renewable energy have been a major barrier to widespread ownership of renewable energy. The production tax credit, for example, can only be taken against passive income, a type of income that very … Read More

Broadband to Nowhere? That is the Status Quo

Date: 3 Feb 2009 | posted in: information, MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In a misguided column entitled "Congress Approves Broadband to Nowhere," L. Gordon Crovitz suggests other countries have been more successful than the U.S. in expanding access to fast broadband but then rejects the approaches they took and encourages more of the same policies that have led to U.S. downfall. 

In response, I submitted the following letter to the editor at the Wall Street Journal:

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Zero Waste Planning Information and Resources

Twenty-five years ago, many solid waste planners thought no more than 15% to 20% of the municipal waste stream could be recycled. Today numerous communities have surpassed 50% recycling, and many individual establishments — public and private sector — such as office buildings, schools, hospitals, restaurants, and supermarkets have approached 90% and higher levels. A handful of … Read More

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