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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks on stage at SXSW. (Photo by Ståle Grut / nrkbeta / CC BY-SA 2.0)
Welcome back to The Weekly Wrap, our Friday roundup of stories that explain the problems oppressing people in cities and elevate the solutions that bring us closer to economic, environmental and social justice.
Have news, resources or events that should be included in a future edition of this newsletter? Let us know. We’re reachable at wrapped@nextcity.org.
AOC and Tina Smith Push Homes Act for More Affordable Housing
On Wednesday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen.Tina Smith of Minnesota introduced the Homes Act in a New York Times op-ed. The legislation would establish a new federal authority for housing development that would build “permanent, affordable housing.” It would also finance community-controlled housing, including community land trusts and housing conferred to nonprofits or tenant-controlled boards and would fund rehabilitation for existing homes. Forty percent of all housing would be set aside for extremely low-income households and 30% for low-income households. Rents would be capped at 25% of tenants’ income and rent increases would be capped. The bill calls for the authority to be financed at $30 billion annually. It builds on the growing trend of states establishing their own social housing authorities and programs to acquire and build housing.
Homeless Sweeps In San Francisco and Oakland
San Francisco began aggressive crackdowns on homeless encampments, something Mayor London Breed pushed for after June’s Supreme Court decision legalizing most sweeps. Guidance given to police officers and videos taken by journalists reveal the city is not following its own bag and tag policy or an ordinance that requires it to provide 24 hours’ notice before encampment sweeps, Mission Local reports. San Francisco is also weighing a new policy that would effectively ban RVs and other forms of vehicular living from its streets.
In West Oakland, a journalist was arrested while observing an encampment sweep. It is part of a concerning trend of journalists facing threats of arrest for observing encampment sweeps across California. Last week, more than 20 press rights and free speech organizations called for greater transparency and respect for journalists doing their jobs at encampments.
NLRB Rules Starbucks Must Reopen Closed Stores
The National Labor Relations Board ruled that Starbucks shut down two stores in Ithaca illegally last year in response to unionizing, ordering them to reopen, The Ithaca Voice reports. It comes a year after the NLRB ordered the company to open a separate store in Ithaca where the organizing drive began. That store has not yet reopened, pending an appeal, and the two other stores could also be caught up in the same process. A June Supreme Court decision in Starbucks’ favor weakened the National Labor Relation Board’s ability to apply sanctions to companies taking illegal anti-union actions. There are 440 Starbucks stores in 44 states that have won union elections, according to More Perfect Union.
Massachusetts Leads in Curbing Food Waste
Most statewide bans on commercial food waste over the past 10 years have been unsuccessful, according to a new article in the journal Science. The exception is Massachusetts, which saw a 7% reduction in food waste due to its ban, which researchers describe as having a “simplicity of regulation, sufficient infrastructure, low cost of compliance, and/or strong enforcement.” Food waste often ends up in landfills, where it releases methane gas and accounts for 8 to 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions.
Israel’s Pager Attacks Maim, Kill Lebanese Civilians
Israel is widely believed to be behind the remote detonation of hundreds of pagers with explosives that were being used by civilian members of the state’s main political movement, Hezbollah, including medics, teachers, media workers and others, Middle East Eye reports. The detonations were simultaneous and indiscriminate, killing at least 26 people at the time of writing and causing people to lose eyes, limbs and hands. Among those killed in the first day of the attacks were four healthcare workers and two children. Hezbollah was formed as a response to Israel’s illegal occupation of Southern Lebanon, which began in the 1980s and ended in 2000. The attacks came on the 42nd anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre, in which thousands of Palestinian refugees and Lebanese civilians were killed by an Israel-backed Lebanese militia.
Also this week, the United Nations General Assembly, which includes every sovereign nation on Earth, called for Israel to end its decades-long illegal occupation of Palestinian territories within 12 months in a 124-12 vote. (More than 40 countries abstained from voting.) This is not likely to happen, but marks the largest rebuke yet for Israel’s occupation.
Curated by Deonna Anderson
MORE NEWS
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Starting this fall, Massachusetts will make community college free for all students with a high school degree. Christian Science Monitor
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The Tennessee Valley Authority offers a case for public nuclear power. The Nation
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Here’s how the Supreme Court’s reversal of affirmative action has impacted university enrollment. Vox
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Ethiopia has become the first country to ban the import of gas and diesel vehicles. Le Monde
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USPS has unveiled its new delivery vehicles. Most of them are electric. AP
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What will it take to increase child vaccination rates? AP
RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES
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Policylink is accepting applications for its second cohort of Spatial Futures Fellows. Deadline is Oct. 18 at 5 p.m. Pacific. Access the app here.
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Bloomberg Philanthropies announced an expansion of its Asphalt Art Initiative, an opportunity for cities with populations greater than 50,000 in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. to apply for grants for arts-driven street redesigns that improve safety, revitalize public spaces, and engage local communities. It will award up to 10 winning cities with grants of up to $100,000. Click here to learn more about the program and apply. Apps are due by Jan. 31, 2025.
EVENTS
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Sept. 23 at 2 p.m. Eastern: The Reparation Education Project and National Black Cultural Information Trust are co-hosting a conversation about the current state of the California reparations movement, California reparations legislation, and next steps. Register here.
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Sept. 24 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern: Science Friday is hosting a conversation with Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, author of “What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures” Register here to attend in person (if you’re in New York City) or virtually.