This is a really good overview of the energy costs of using AI by @zekehausfather.com www.theclimatebrink.com/p/the-real-e...

The real energy use of agentic AI

Agents use about 600x more energy than simple AI prompts

theclimatebrink.com

Hi, can anyone talk to me about the NYC Acquisition Fund and/or SF Housing Accelerator Fund

Very excited for this new podcast from Community Investment Corp and LISC Chicago! builtdifferentchicago.com

Oh no www.chicagobusiness.com/politics-pol...

American factory construction continued declining in official data released today as CHIPS Act projects finish, IRA projects get cancelled, and tariffs weigh on nearly all industries Total US factory construction is down 32% from its 2024 highs and 22% over the last year alone

We're working with @metroabundance.bsky.social to collect cost drivers in California building codes and standards above and beyond national model codes/standards. See here for more – please circulate among architects, engineers, etc. in the state! admin.centerforbuilding.org/wp-content/u...

What I think Mamdani and others have tapped into is the necessity of communicating that you take operational excellence—the exact word he uses—seriously, along the margins of money, time, and quality. If people don’t trust you to do that they’re not going to be on board with ambitious programs

It’s both true that there are a lot of inefficiencies, and that they manifest in money, time, and quality of services; and that it’s not really the case that there’s a big meaningful chunk of the budget that can just be cut without affecting services.

Wild how far this has gone as a memed policy

Protect Bridgeport Bicyclists@stevevance.net · 3d ago

Alexi Giannoulias talks about adopting #singlestair and pre-approved housing designs

The 4700 block of Lincoln’s quasi pedestrianization (one lane of traffic, one direction, angled parking on one side, plaza at the intersection of the side street) is so wildly successful it’s weird the city never did it again

Mid-century modern two-flats on Park Avenue in Cicero, Illinois

Noodling with permit data: It appears that the 2019 building code change to allow three-story buildings to be built with wood coincided with a threefold increase in the proportion of three-flats built on the South and West Sides

The City of Chicago Department of Technology and Innovation is hiring a Principal Data Analyst! Per a post on LinkedIn I believe this position is on the team that manages the open data portal. Deadline to apply is listed as 8/12. chicago.taleo.net/careersectio...

I'm sorry but what on earth is the CPS board doing?

Peter Nickeas@peternickeas.bsky.social · 6d ago

"CPS Chief Budget Officer said she wouldn't consider the amended budget balanced as required by state law ... no precedent for Springfield allocating new $ midyear ... even if approved ... wouldn’t be until next fiscal." “If we count on this revenue and it fails to come ... will be a disaster."

Prisciliano Trejo Ricano came to the U.S. at 3yrs old. ICE took him this June. He was 29. He told his family he didn't feel right but ICE wouldn't give him medical attention. After a month, ICE finally moved him to a hospital Prisciliano died five days later enlacelatinonc.org/en/Young-Mex...

A young Mexican man living in Durham died in ICE custody.

News in Spanish about politics, immigration and community issues for Latinos in North Carolina.

enlacelatinonc.org

Noodling with permit data: It appears that the 2019 building code change to allow three-story buildings to be built with wood coincided with a threefold increase in the proportion of three-flats built on the South and West Sides

If you don't have a copy yet of the first edition: This one has lots of photos!!

Stephen Jacob Smith@stephenjacobsmith.com · last wk.

Hey, congrats to @danielkayhertz.bsky.social and @atrubek.bsky.social on the second edition of The Battle for Lincoln Park! Must-read book (and not that long) on the history of gentrification in Chicago beltpublishing.com/products/the...

Hey, congrats to @danielkayhertz.bsky.social and @atrubek.bsky.social on the second edition of The Battle for Lincoln Park! Must-read book (and not that long) on the history of gentrification in Chicago beltpublishing.com/products/the...

The Battle of Lincoln Park, second edition

Urban Renewal and Gentrification in ChicagoBy Daniel Kay HertzWith a foreword by devin michelle buntenAugust 25, 2026 Now with photos! “A brief, cogent analysis of gentrification in Chicago . . . an i...

beltpublishing.com

Aww thank you!!

Stephen Jacob Smith@stephenjacobsmith.com · last wk.

Hey, congrats to @danielkayhertz.bsky.social and @atrubek.bsky.social on the second edition of The Battle for Lincoln Park! Must-read book (and not that long) on the history of gentrification in Chicago beltpublishing.com/products/the...

Skocpol. Skocpol. Skocpol. We have forgotten what politics is. It is not policy. That is not what moves people.

Omar Wasow@owasow.bsky.social · 2w ago

Why has DSA grown? One argument from this research: not just ideology, but organization. Strong membership plus ongoing and continuous participation in social movements creates credibility, committed volunteers, political skills, and durable electoral capacity. www.niskanencenter.org/inside-the-d...

Saturday night is the perfect time to note that I finally published the historical Chicago zoning data I put together a few years ago danielkayhertz.com/zoning

Sort of can't believe they're putting a 46 story tower on Goose Island chicago.urbanize.city/post/full-bu...

Full building permit issued for Halsted Pointe Phase 1

A full building permit has been issued for the first phase of Halsted Pointe, a mixed-use 46-story tower at 931 N. Halsted. Planned by Onni Group, the overall development will replace the former Greyh...

chicago.urbanize.city

The NYT piece notes SNAP use doubled since the early 2000s to explain cuts. But SNAP take up was artificially low. In the 90s ~80% of the eligible received benefits. This dropped to 52% by 2002. Bush admin worked on it. We were back at ~90%. We're about to see take-up among the eligible plummet.

Andrew Russeth@russeth.bsky.social · 2w ago

"Four months into an appeal, Ms. McDonald, a cancer survivor who weighs 69 pounds, bustles to food banks, stretches ground turkey with oatmeal, and skips meals to feed three teenage boys." www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/u...

Multiple conversations with different reporters: "why are housing prices so out of control in Oregon?" "we've got problems but actually, this is something Oregon is doing well at, here are the numbers" "huh OK well that's not a story I can tell. Nobody would care" Frustrating!

About 1 out of 4 Blue Line runs still aren't going out, not sure why that isn't a five-alarm fire in and of itself

Alex@acannon.bsky.social · 3w ago

cta rail headcount is up again, much to the benefit of the Purple Line. Still a ways to go before we reach the 880 benchmark again.

At 7 AM the AQI was 211 , the dominant pollutant was PM2.5 and the air quality is very unhealthy PM2.5 = 211 or 136.24 µg/m³ PM10 = 91 or 136.2 µg/m³ NO₂ = 21 or 22 ppb SO₂ = 4 or 2.67 ppb O₃ = 40 or 42.89 ppb CO = 3 or 0.3 ppb

This is the direct consequence of Trump's policies to move resources from Medicaid to tax cuts. When RFK Jr. and Vance say they are eliminate fraud in the healthcare systems, these are the types of families affected.

Lizzy Lawrence@lizzylawrence.bsky.social · 3w ago

Powerful, important read from @rosebroderick.bsky.social. As states absorb Medicaid funding cuts, family caregivers face financial ruin: www.statnews.com/2026/07/13/f...

State capacity is going to be a huge issue as housing advocacy moves beyond zoning. Zoning codes are relatively simple, and reform can often involve dramatically simplifying administration – e.g., cutting entire sections for minimum parking requirements. Building codes though (ROAD includes some...

A big issue to the ROAD to Housing Act is that much of it asks HUD to do things, which it will struggle with since staffing is down 30% in the DOGE cuts www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

New report from me at National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders (NAAHL) breaking down what happens now that the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is law. Key takeaways: -No provisions in the…...

New report from me at National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders (NAAHL) breaking down what happens now that the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is law. Key takeaways: -No provisions in the ...

linkedin.com

A theme in ICE shootings is putting their bodies in front of vehicles. This practice is dangerous for the officers and manufactures a reason for them to shoot drivers if they make one wrong move. One witness says the victim said, "I tried to stop" before dying. www.pressherald.com/2026/07/13/b...