A city taxing large retailers 1% to fund community solar, free AC for low-income households, and clean energy job training. Turns out when communities design the policy, they build things that actually help people. vist.ly/55wve via Monica Samayoa at WGLT

How one Oregon city has raised a billion dollars for climate change

The Portland Clean Energy Fund has raised a billion dollars for climate change action via a retail tax on large corporations in the city. Other cities are starting to shape similar funds.

wglt.org

A new podcast from @ilsr.bsky.social takes listeners to the communities that the data center boom is upending. inequality.org/article/i-st...

I Was Already Suspicious of the Data Center Boom. Then I Stood In Data Center Alley

Pockets of opposition to the data center boom are emerging all over the country.

inequality.org

Can you guess how much Amazon paid to sponsor the U.S. Small Business Administration's Small Business Week? Take a guess. Seriously. Before you read further, reply with your guess.

1. Amazon has built powerful pricing algorithms that have learned how to steer prices upward — not just on Amazon, but across the web. I have a new piece on how these algorithms work, and how they help sustain Amazon’s monopoly.

How Amazon’s AI Algorithms Raise the Prices You Pay

Amazon can steer market-wide prices without ever colluding—exposing a gap in antitrust law that the FTC is now fighting to close.

washingtonmonthly.com

We organized a special issue w/ @liberation-gen.bsky.social "The Corporate Power of It All" — and it's now live! Seven conversations with organizers, researchers, and frontline leaders on how corporate power shapes our lives and how we fight back. Read it here: forgeorganizing.org/issues/corpo...

Who is the constituency demanding we let Live Nation and Ticketmaster keep robbing everyone with the ridiculous fees and terrible service? Kudos to the states for taking up the mantle and not selling the people out.

People around the world are hungry for economic systems change. Reclaim the Economy Week is a new moment for us to amplify and showcase the many ways we can redesign our economies. Find events near you, communication kits, and more at: www.reclaimtheeconomy.org #postgrowthalliance

1. New York’s affordability crisis flows from a deeper problem: essential systems — groceries, energy, Internet, banking, healthcare — have consolidated in the hands of distant corporations. Today, ILSR sent the Mamdani team a memo laying out policies to reclaim local control.

A Local Self-Reliance Agenda for New York City: ILSR's Memo to Mamdani |

The Mamdani administration has a crucial opportunity to reverse New York City's affordability crisis; this ILSR policy memo suggests strategies to do so.

ilsr.org

1. For at least 10 years, Pepsi has conspired with Walmart to force up grocery prices. That’s the shocking evidence made public today in an unsealed FTC lawsuit. The suit was abandoned in May by the Trump FTC just before it was to be un-redacted. We went to court to get it unsealed & won.

This morning, we drove around and checked the price of a 12-pack of Pepsi at three different places. At an independent grocery store in Columbus, Ohio, it was $11.99. At a nearby Kroger, it was $10.99. Then, at the closest Walmart, it was $7.28. No surprise, right? But why the discrepancies? 🧵 1/

In 2023, Amazon charged some schools $13 for a case of markers, while other schools paid $74 for the exact same product -- a difference of 469%. It's time for local gov'ts to break up with Amazon. RSVP for the Jan 8th webinar with @ilsr.bsky.social to learn how: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Break Up with Amazon: A Citizen’s Guide to Ending Amazon’s Government Contracts. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the ...

A recent investigation by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance has uncovered that Amazon is capturing billions of dollars in government purchasing in cities, counties, and school districts across the...

us02web.zoom.us

Too many state and local governments blindly trust Amazon to offer low prices on things like school supplies. In reality, the site's dynamic pricing means schools can pay wildly different prices for items purchased on the same day. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

US schools face big price swings for basics under Amazon’s ‘dynamic pricing’, report claims

Amazon calls the report ‘flawed and misleading’ and says it offers lower prices than competitors

theguardian.com

1. Amazon has become a major force in how cities, counties & schools buy basic supplies. Our new report finds Amazon is using opaque pricing algorithms to drive up costs and eliminate transparency—while harming competition by pushing out better-performing independent suppliers.

Turning Public Money into Amazon’s Profits | Independent Business

Amazon has quietly captured a growing share of government purchasing. This major report explains how, and what to do about it.

ilsr.org

Why did 19 rural communities in Western Massachusetts collectively create the most geographically dense cluster of municipal fiber networks in the United States, resulting in world-class Internet access, often at a fraction of the price charged by telecom monopolies? 🧵 1/

Longtime California bookstore chain Books Inc. filed for bankruptcy in January 2025. In September, Barnes & Noble announced plans to acquire Books Inc., keeping the store's brand identity intact and retaining employees. This is good news, right? Well, it's complicated. 🧵 1/

Our Local Energy Policy Toolkit is now available to all lawmakers and advocates who want to build clean energy economies in their community — without waiting for Congress. Check it out: ilsr.org/energy/local...

Local Energy Policy Toolkit | ILSR Energy Democracy Initiative

Find policy tools, examples, and interactive stories from cities and towns taking action to promote local, clean energy and fight corporate control.

ilsr.org

Students shouldn’t have to park outside McDonald’s to access WiFi. Reliable internet isn’t a luxury—it’s a basic need. Read our Q&A with @ilsr.bsky.social on "connection insecurity," the growing digital divide leaving too many college students behind. hope.temple.edu/hope-blog/ke...

As @wired.com points out in a new cover story, Big Tech has abandoned any semblance of progressive culture and politics in favor of bending the knee to the Trump administration. It's as if Facebook went from leaning in to bowing down. 🧵 1/ www.wired.com/politics-iss...

ALL HAIL THE TECHNOCRACY

Tech went all in on Trump this year. It's just the beginning.

wired.com

Are local governments capable of handling something as complex as building and maintaining broadband networks? If history is any indication, they absolutely are. For more than a century, local governments have managed and maintained significant engineering projects.

🌟 🌟 Congratulations to our co-director, John Farrell, on receiving @mnseia.bsky.social Melissa Hortman Lifetime Achievement Award — a recognition that carries deep meaning.

ILSR's John Farrell to Receive Melissa Hortman Lifetime Achievement Award

The recognition celebrates Farrell's contributions to solar energy adoption, particularly through rooftop and community solar programs.

ilsr.org

What does the Jimmy Kimmel saga have to do with corporate consolidation? Quite a bit, turns out. 🧵 1/

Superior, Wisconsin, recently launched its ConnectSuperior broadband infrastructure to bring more reliable, more affordable Internet connectivity to the city. How it works: Superior provides the infrastructure for the network, and private companies compete to provide customers with access. 1/

72 percent of electricity customers in the United States are served by monopoly investor-owned Utilities. Aside from being stuck with high rates and poor service, what else does electricity provided by an investor-owned utility get you? 1/

1. Today, ILSR filed a motion in federal court to unseal the FTC’s antitrust complaint against PepsiCo. The case bears directly on high grocery prices and food deserts — and would've marked a crucial revival of the long-neglected Robinson-Patman Act. But the public may never get to see it.

Deadline extended! Make sure to get your application in by Friday, August 1 ➡️ bit.ly/C4Cminigrants

Institute for Local Self-Reliance@ilsr.bsky.social · last yr.

The social, environmental, and economic benefits of local composting can transform neighborhoods. That’s why we’re awarding $10,000 grants to up to 15 composting projects serving historically excluded communities in New England and NYC! Apply by July 25 ➡️ bit.ly/C4Cminigrants

A new law made it harder for low-income families to stay connected, cutting internet costs from SNAP eligibility. As @gbsohn.bsky.social says in @prospect.org: this bill forces families to choose between food and internet. More from @ilsr.bsky.social's Sean Gonsalves: prospect.org/health/2025-...

The Big Beautiful Bill’s Ugly Choice: Internet or Food?

The Republican budget bill cuts food assistance benefits to households that pay for internet access.

prospect.org

Public power advocates! @ilsr.bsky.social just released our Public Power Handbook, with step-by-step guidance on how to municipalize (take over) a private electric utility: ilsr.org/articles/pub...

A Handbook For Public Power Campaigns - ILSR Energy Democracy Initiative

A one-stop resource for public power advocates preparing campaigns to take over their electric utility.

ilsr.org

Calling all climate advocates and activists! If you’re fighting for clean energy, energy efficiency, and climate legislation in your community, you’re probably facing resistance from a monopoly utility company. 1/2

A great time to re-up this article -- How to Break Up with Amazon: ilsr.org/articles/its... @ilsr.bsky.social @kennedysmith.bsky.social

It's Time to Break Up with Amazon. Here's How. - Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Shop Local, Amazon Alternatives

ilsr.org

Public Citizen@publiccitizen.bsky.social · last yr.

A friendly Prime Day reminder that there are over 7 ongoing investigations into Amazon's illegal practices and worker safety violations. Jeff Bezos is worth over $236 billion and yet can’t bring himself to protect his employees or pay them a livable wage.

Don’t miss @ilsr.bsky.social's July 17 webinar featuring climate activist @billmckibben.bsky.social on how electric utilities are using their monopoly power to block climate progress — and how to fight back. ilsr.org/articles/how...