Is there is a good chicken factory to work in - anywhere? It strikes me as a horrible for both chickens and humans. [Spotlight WVA] In one of the most dangerous workplaces in West Virginia, a poultry giant has profited from immigrant labor for decades mountainstatespotlight.org/2024/06/05/p...

GENERATION ON THE RISE Host Eden Ratliff leads the team into networking and mentorship, both the good and the bad. Bad mentoring advice, when to leave the nest, how to network and the unwritten map to local governments that only peers understand…. open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

“...private ownership is the single biggest factor in higher drinking water rates among large systems, playing a larger role than aging infrastructure or drought.” inthepublicinterest.org/under-pressu...

Better things come to those who wait: The importance of patience in diagnosing labor force participation rates and prescribing policy solutions www.epi.org/publication/...

James C Scott suggests that people everywhere, even those who’ve never heard the word “anarchism,” quietly act out its principles through cooperation, autonomy, and mutual aid. open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

Long before we understood the way the world works, we were hearing stories ... fairy tales, folktales, myths and faith traditions that left us wide-eyed, mystified, and captivated. These stories were the beginning of our sense-making skills in the world. open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

We've been told a story about human progress: people invented agriculture, settled down, built cities, and life got better...not so fast. Adaptation and resilience are not new challenges. They're the foundation of what local government has always been about. open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

Experimental gene therapy for Huntington’s markedly slowed disease progression in key trial www.statnews.com/2025/09/24/h... via @statnews.com

I love living amongst remnants of an industrial history. Within walking distance from my house is the land where my Grandad was an apprentice potter (Drayton Brothers Pottery), and where my Uncle made parts for Sunshine Harvesters (H V McKay).

It’s Irish oatmeal season again in New England. Like so many seemingly ‘simple’ things, the variance between awful and amazing is huge. It was not until instructed by an older Irish woman that I figured out how to make - and enjoy - oatmeal.

Everyone should read this, from the best writer in the transit/urbanism space

"A man who is pious and wise will know that a real victory is won only when integrity is safeguarded and greatness kept intact." -Montaigne munisquare.substack.com/p/whether-th...

When organizations meander… Do we look at the river and see it as the same river every day, or do we really observe it closely, noticing the sounds, smells, and currents of the water? How often do we do the same thing in our own lives and organizations? open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

I have been guilty in my life of what I call flat thinking.... open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

Rivers Are “Good to Think With” - James C. Scott, In Praise of Floods open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

"Patrol officers, already inundated with sensory input and required to act decisively under pressure, face significant risk when policies are overly detailed, overlapping, or ambiguous." open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

Tom Bryer writes: I invite you to join me and my students in our reading, reflection, and discussion, and help others across our communities and country understand that the "off-ramp" is not a fictional path towards a dream land that will never exist. open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

The river is a changing living organism that will never be contained by humans because of the natural connection to a larger system over which we have no control. open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

A more in depth view of local government efforts to obtain warning system. Still no answer as to why cabins were allowed to exist in flood way on FEMA map. Gift article. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/p...

Nigeria's foreign minister on why they refuse to take deportees from the US: “We already have enough problems of our own. We cannot accept Venezuelan deportees in Nigeria, for crying out loud." Then he quotes Flavor Fav: "I can't do nothin' for you, man.” www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

"...each of the long canoe-like boats in the race has, as part of its large crew, a Tukang Tari who dances and provides inspiration for the rowers." Gift article from The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/10/s...

Mike Baumwoll on why human-connected communication matters in local government. #PCCLocalTime pcc-local-time.captivate.fm/episode/mike...

Designing for Safety: Rethinking Crime Prevention with CPTED open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

We don't pay enough attention to growing privatization of our water systems. Read on to learn why you should care about public management of local water systems; and how privatization impacts your rates and even your access to water. arcg.is/0fyrSW

The pictures are worth the read. "The garden programs were specifically designed to improve the mental and physical health of city dwellers" www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/w...

“Nothing about us without us is for us.” Local governments, most especially, must speak plainly so that we can inquire openly. Like the bullfighter who lifts the muleta, let the bull pass. Do not let the aggression stir us as a community. Speak plainly and work with each other.

The islands have faced shortages of police officers, health care workers and teachers because high housing costs, which protest organizers largely attribute to overtourism, have made it difficult to attract public sector workers. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/15/t...

Nancy J Hess 5m One of the central questions for MuniSquare as a publication and project is to investigate or re-examine the role of local government. Declining birthrates signals a future that we need to vision, but who will do it and how will it take place?

Is housing over regulated? Https://substack.com/@klausphilipsen/note/c-121517194?r=zi8ao

America is an idea. David Brooks - I’m Normally a Mild Guy. Here’s What’s Pushed Me Over the Edge. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/o...

The dining and lounge cars were where we spent a lot of our time...

Does this framing make sense to you? open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

We are all citizen scientists. Mapping our local environments helps us build a connection to our communities and strengthens our sense of place. open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

“The key is to have a strong vision — but be flexible enough to adapt while still moving toward it.”– Vicente del Rio on what makes cities truly sustainable. “The role of government is to enable people to do what they want to do — to be enablers of communities.” #PublicSpace #LocalGov

What happens when the civic spaces we trust—universities, public parks, and shared institutions—become flashpoints in a cultural conflict? This clip focuses on the importance of modeling inquiry and integrity in the academic setting.

Today I talk with Mike Rowe about different leadership styles for different times, the intersection of #policing and #urban design, and individual discretion versus the environment in which it is exercised.

🚨 New on Substack: Bristol’s Interwar Council Housing: John Betjeman described 'a surprising beauty showing off in the evening sunlight; and vistas of trees and fields and pleasant cottages' in the Sea Mills estate. municipaldreams.substack.com/p/bristols-i...

Honor and shame from no condition rise. Act well your part: there all the honor lies. open.substack.com/pub/munisquare/p/stay-the-course?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=zi8ao

On culture change, gender, and well being in #policing #community #localgovernment open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

... yet does the World reproduce itself in the miniature in every event that transpires, so that all the laws of nature may be read in the smallest font. [Ralph Waldo Emerson, Personal Journals, November 13, 1834] shorturl.at/SRFBx

🚨 New blog post: Book Review and Author Interview: Rob Clayton, Provision – Architecture of the Post-War Consensus municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2025/03/25/b...

"Move fast and break things"? Not so fast. munisquare.substack.com/p/failure-is...

CAN TRUMP TRUMP SANCTUARY COMMUNITIES? Probably not... Guest contributor John Kincaid explains why. open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

What if we moved knowledge and learning closer to our communities? @christaamhoj.bsky.social is helping us to rethink public management and redefining the role of universities through place-based learning. open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

I worked at the Australian Red Cross getting bums in seats, he was something of a legend around the office, and his selflessness and committment were an inspiration to us all. Vale Harrison, you will be remembered.

A healthy community is where each person can be equally involved In their community, no matter their standing in that community and that they will be treated fairly no matter their standing in that community. - Peter Buck munisquare.substack.com/p/peter-buck...

Our Dirt: Why We Leave and Why We Might Stay Building Connection to Place through Civic Inclusion open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...