What people search for, eat, and wear maps the rural-urban split almost as cleanly as the ballot does.

The Grocery Cart Divide: How Rural and Urban America Sort Themselves

We hear constantly that rural and urban America have grown apart. The 2024 presidential map made the point in the usual way, a sea of red countryside around dense blue cities, with roughly 90% of counties shifting toward Donald Trump. That divide is real, and it is well documented. What gets less attention is how far down into daily life it reaches.

dailyyonder.com

Be part of building a more affordable and welcoming Eugene! Join Sightline + @1000oregon.bsky.social for a housing advocacy happy hour August 9. RSVP: forms.gle/rndM6TY6CaLD...

It's primary election day in Washington state. Voters will start to thin out the competition in hundreds of local, state and federal races in this busy election cycle. washingtonstatestandard.com/2026/08/04/i...

It’s primary election day in WA. Here’s what you need to know • Washington State Standard

Washington voters on Tuesday will start to winnow the competition in hundreds of local, state and federal races in this busy election cycle.

washingtonstatestandard.com

“There are many differences in construction costs between the U.S. and other countries, but I’m not sure there’s anywhere else where the difference is as large as the elevator.” @stephenjacobsmith.com

Why doesn’t the U.S. have small elevators like Europe and China?

Advocates for smaller, cheaper elevators say it could spur a housing boom.

washingtonpost.com

After Alaska and Portland, OR upgraded their elections to ranked choice voting, campaigners had to pivot—but some strategies stayed the same. @alvanderklipp.bsky.social shares notes for Multnomah County (OR), Seattle, and other places soon to switch.

How to Run a Campaign Under Ranked Choice Voting, According to Those Who Have Done It | Sightline Institute

Campaign staffers and political organizers recount how they shifted strategies after voters in Alaska and Portland, Oregon, chose the reform.

sightline.org

New Sightliner alert! She's not on Bsky (yet), but you'll see her elections research here soon. Off the clock, you can find Robyn backcountry snowboarding with her dog. 🏂

"A lot can happen over 20 years. Just look where Seattle was in 2006 — with no light rail, a very different South Lake Union and nearly 250,000 fewer residents." @nickdeshais.bsky.social

Seattle City Council limits residents’ ability to challenge new zoning

For years, residents have had a fairly easy route to delay zoning changes in Seattle, putting the burden on the city to defend its plan if they have $120.

seattletimes.com

Projects are taking shape after WA's 2024 law legalized thermal energy networks for gas utilities. @emilymoore.bsky.social

WA Gas Utilities, Meet Clean Heating and Cooling | Sightline Institute

A 2024 law legalizing thermal energy networks is bearing fruit, but lawmakers can do more to harness the systems’ potential.

sightline.org

Incredible project in the works in South Dakota: seven Tribes built the Oceti Sakowin Power Authority to go big on transmission, wind, and solar. @nbcnews.com

Inside the battle for clean energy on Native American land

There’s a growing fight to develop clean energy on Native American land, which tribal leaders say could help ease the strain on America’s power grid. NBC News’ Julie Tsirkin reports.

nbcnews.com

Bellingham may be the first WA city to legalize mobile dwellings in residential neighborhoods. MDUs are the least expensive, fasted to deploy housing type there is. MDUs should be legal in all cities, which is why @sightline.org is working on statewide legislation in both WA and OR.

Catie Gould@citizen-cate.bsky.social · last wk.

"Mobile dwelling units are an important, low-cost housing option and a rare opportunity to make substantial progress toward our affordability goals." - Councilmember Jace Cotton BELLINGHAM, lets go! 😍 Read more at: www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/a...

"Mobile dwelling units are an important, low-cost housing option and a rare opportunity to make substantial progress toward our affordability goals." - Councilmember Jace Cotton BELLINGHAM, lets go! 😍 Read more at: www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/a...

Bellingham ordinance could expand RV living, tiny homes on wheels

The proposal, being discussed in a Monday meeting, would allow these housing types in residential areas of the city.

bellinghamherald.com

Insane new research. Scientists gave asthma patients free electric stoves to replace their gas stoves, then checked to see if symptoms improved. Not only did symptoms improve, ditching gas was *better than medicine.* Details in today's newsletter: www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/electric-s...

Researchers used electric stoves to treat asthma. It worked.

The latest evidence that gas is bad for your health.

climatecoloredgoggles.com

"Which Proportional Voting System Best Fits America’s Constraints?" @sightline.org's Alan Durning looks at pros/cons of different PR methods &which organizing strategies have best chance to succeed "Ultimate success likely depends on unity among proponents" democracysos.substack.com/p/which-prop...

Which Proportional Voting System Best Fits America’s Constraints?

Constitutional design still favors two major parties, no matter the PR model

democracysos.substack.com

Be part of building a more affordable and welcoming Eugene! Join Sightline + @1000oregon.bsky.social for a housing advocacy happy hour August 9. RSVP: forms.gle/rndM6TY6CaLD...

The law does not require landlords to install air conditioning units. But landlords in most cases can't prohibit tenants from installing the units.

Tenants have the right to install AC units under this new WA law

seattletimes.com

Portland temps are projected around 100 degrees today. Relevant again: Asphalt absorbs heat and radiates it back out. "If we truly want to lessen the human toll of heat islands, we should probably stop building more of them."

Sightline Institute@sightline.org · last yr.

The #PNW is hot right now – and big parking lots keep temperatures higher. @citizen-cate.bsky.social

Proportional representation would free the US from its redistricting mess. Lots of flavors to choose from—so how much does the exact type really matter? @thefulcrum-us.bsky.social

Which Proportional Voting System Best Fits America’s Constraints?

Constitutional design still favors two major parties, no matter the PR model.

thefulcrum.us

Deeply important work. Thanks to @rebleber.bsky.social and team

Center for Climate Integrity@climateintegrity.org · 2w ago

NEW: Big Oil and Gas created the myth that natural gas is "clean" — despite knowing the health and climate harms of methane decades earlier than previously reported. A major CCI investigation exposes how the gas industry deceived the public and policymakers into believing gas is a climate solution.

390,000 Oregonians and counting live in wildfire-prone areas.

Sightline Institute@sightline.org · 4w ago

The latest in @1000oregon.bsky.social's Wildfire Wednesday series: The rising risks and costs of megafires in Oregon. @rpelai.bsky.social

This web tool Fischer cooked up to visualize the effect of allowing homes near trains & buses is fun to play with! You should if you haven't. byotod.urbanpdx.blog

Bring Your Own TOD (OR)

Oregon TOD Map Builder

byotod.urbanpdx.blog

Day 2 of hearings on the ‘Villages’ plan. Reminder: Vancouver’s single stair code creates new options we haven’t seen before. (and thanks @mikeklassen.bsky.social @sarahkirbyyung.bsky.social for asking about SES and if that work can move forward even if villages gets bumped back for more work).

Sightline Institute@sightline.org · 4w ago

🚨 Eye candy alert 🚨 How do we add more homes to our existing leafy, quiet, 50'-wide residential lots? @lanefab.com has a gorgeous idea.

In the efficiency Olympics, gas heating < air-source heat pumps. Air-source heat pumps < ground-source heat pumps. And ground-source heat pumps linked to a thermal energy network (TEN) blow other options out of the water. TENs could free up the grid capacity the clean energy transition needs.

Drill, Baby, Drill!—for Thermal Energy | Sightline Institute

How ground-source heat pumps and thermal energy networks can ease Cascadia’s grid crunch.

sightline.org

Proud to be crossposting @fischer.bsky.social today at @sightline.org: The Case for a Homes-Near-Transit Bill in Oregon in 2027 www.sightline.org/2026/07/17/t...

The Case for a Homes-Near-Transit Bill in Oregon in 2027 | Sightline Institute

As illustrated by a new tool that lets you imagine your own housing scenarios.

sightline.org

“The line, if it is used by the utilities as they originally said that they were planning to use it, can help Oregon meet its clean energy goals by again bringing more clean energy into the state and sharing resources across the broader Northwest region." @emilymoore.bsky.social via @opb.org

Gold mining company sues to re-route portion of $1.5B Oregon transmission line

Builders of the line, which stretches from Boardman, Oregon to near Melba, Idaho, have already poured concrete in areas where Malheur Mining Co. says it has rights.

opb.org

"Thermal energy can help solve Cascadia’s grid woes and expand access to efficient heating and cooling," writes @sightline.org's Laura Feinstein: www.sightline.org/2026/07/15/d... 🔌💡

Drill, Baby, Drill!—for Thermal Energy | Sightline Institute

How ground-source heat pumps and thermal energy networks can ease Cascadia’s grid crunch.

sightline.org

To vote in Alaska’s primary elections, residents must register by July 19 — here’s how. Get the details from @corinne-smith.bsky.social at @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/briefs/to-vo...

To vote in Alaska’s primary elections, residents must register by July 19 — here’s how | Alaska Beacon

Alaska’s primary election just over a month away, and the deadline to register to vote in that election is Sunday July 19.

alaskabeacon.com

“This idea of harmonizing wisdom is important, and then when we speak directly to it and you experience it, it can change your heart, it can change your way of thinking, and that’s really what we hope to get out of this is.”

Underscore Native News@underscore-news.bsky.social · last mo.

Every Tuesday through July 21, “First Stories of the Salish Sea,” created by Taproot Travel Co. and the FRS Clipper, are offering a whale watching tour of Elliot Bay that highlights Coast Salish culture, both present and historic. ✍️: @nikabartoosmith.bsky.social, UNN + ICT

"A bike is magic, and an e-bike is a bike without hills and showers." @billmckibben.bsky.social #cycling #climateaction #bcpoli

Bill McKibben@billmckibben.bsky.social · 3w ago

The bike: miracle or DEI? (Or both!) open.substack.com/pub/billmcki...

Also check out this piece from @danbertolet.bsky.social at @sightline.org, which has done a ton of great work on land value taxes.

Yes, a Land Value Tax Is Possible in Washington State | Sightline Institute

A new report modeling a property tax building exemption in Spokane rebalances incentives toward community goals, encouraging homebuilding and discouraging in-city vacant land speculation.

sightline.org