In the first episode of our new podcast series, “Building Local Power,” Chris Mitchell, the director of our Community Broadband Networks initiative, interviews Olivia LaVecchia, a research associate with our Community-Scaled Economy initiative, about her work on the “dark store” strategy that big-box retailers have been using to slash their property tax assessments.… Read More
On August 17, 2016 David Morris was interviewed on the It’s Our Money radio show, hosted by PRN.FM (the Progressive Radio Network). This conversation was a follow-up on a piece written by David on the history of the Non-Partisan League in North Dakota. Here’s the link to the Public Banking Institute’s website, they run the It’s Our Money radio show.… Read More
Last week, Christopher was a guest on the Unanimous Dissent Radio Show. Sam Sacks and Sam Knight asked him to share information about the details on state barriers around the country. The guys get into the nitty gritty on state level lobbying and anti-muni legislation. They also discuss how a growing number of communities are interested in the local accountability, better services, and improved quality of life that follows publicly owned Internet infrastructure.… Read More
On August 12, 2016, Community Broadband Networks initiative director Christopher Mitchell was interviewed by Mike McIntee of AM950 in Minnesota. Download or listen to the audio file and you can find a transcript below.… Read More
With the release of ILSR’s new report, “Mighty Microgrids,” ILSR is releasing two podcasts with the developers and regulators of microgrids in the United States. This is the second podcast.
In 2014, Chris Villarreal helped write the white paper, Microgrids: A Regulatory Perspective. As a regulatory analyst with the California Public Utilities Commission, he outlined the regulatory questions of microgrid development at a time when the state was mulling over how to allow more distributed, renewable energy come onto the grid.… Read More
In 2014, on ILSR’s 40th anniversary co-founder David Morris sat down with Siobhan Kierans and Tom O’Connell, co-hosts of TruthToTell, a weekly public affairs program on KFAI radio in Minneapolis to talk about our history, our approach and our decentralist perspective. TruthToTell Description: AIRING MONDAYS @ 9:00 a.m., TruthToTell is produced by CivicMedia/Minnesota as part of … Read More
Ready … set … get local net! Chris recently spoke to OEMG Occupy Radio about the hundreds of community broadband networks providing some of the best Internet service in the country. He encouraged citizens to look at municipal ownership, cooperative ownership, or non-profit models. Listen to the conversation below. Chris’s segment begins at 11:55. Enjoy! Occupyeugenemedia.org describes itself … Read More
Monica Webb, long-time spokesperson and current chairman for Massachusetts’ WiredWest, recently spoke with John Hockenberry on The Take Away. Monica briefly described why the coalition of local communities chose to take control of their own connectivity with a regional municipal effort. Fittingly enough, Monica describes how she had to drive 20 minutes in order to access … Read More
After the FCC decisions to remove barriers to community networks and to reclassify Internet access as a Title II service to enforce network neutrality rules, Lisa and I spend some time discussing the decision and reactions to it. We also discuss my presentation at Freedom to Connect, where I offer some thoughts on what communities can … Read More
