Just read @pluralistic 's blog post about the difficulty that @2600 is having, both with its publication and producing the #HOPE con. This is tragic - I've never attended HOPE, but I've seen many videos and read so many recaps and articles inspired by it. Support 2600 today!
Today I learned that “sundown towns” with their daily siren blasts that remind non-white people to leave town STILL EXIST.
This Nevada town stopped their daily sirens only LAST YEAR, and only because Nevada had passed a law that prohibits their use. Their Town Board Chairman even entertained both-siding the issue during a session. How many more of these towns still exist that carry on this explicitly racist practice?
The enshittification of email has led to their announcement emails getting filed to spam by Google etc al. (We run our own mailserver and have been wrestling with this for years, but at least our livelihoods don't depend on it!)
But after the 2018 HOPE, the Hotel Pennsylvania was demolished to make way for the Penn15 (no, really) skyscraper, a vaporware mega-tower planned as a holding pen for luxury shopping and empty million-dollar condos sold to offshore war-criminals as safe-deposit boxes in the sky. The developer, Vornado (no, really) hasn't actually done all that – after demo'ing the Hotel Pennsylvania, they noped out, leave a large, unusable scar across midtown.
“People speak of hope as if it is this delicate, ephemeral thing made of whispers and spider's webs. It's not. Hope has dirt on her face, blood on her knuckles, the grit of the cobblestones in her hair, and just spat out a tooth as she rises for another go” —CrowsFault
Advocates for the unhoused, police, and healthcare providers all agree that the best thing we can do to address homelessness is provide housing and services.
Last night the City Council did both when it unanimously approved plans to construct a Navigation Center on a city-owned, undeveloped lot in an industrial area of Newbury Park.
The facility will feature 30 tiny homes with room for up to 20 additional units and on-site services. This center is part of the city's ongoing efforts to address homelessness. It's a big step in improving everyone's lives.
With an aggressive construction schedule, we hope to have this facility occupied late this year.
How you #sell hope to #exploit people? #Technically, it just seems more hopeful than if you just ask for money. Apart from a very few assumptions, it's not an investment for people only #hope.
Despair's cure? Hope, say experts. A powerful mindset, essential and learnable, even when darkness looms. "Hope is how we think," argues psychologist Chan Hellman. "We can nurture it, not just find it."
❄️With other dedicated volunteers, we're not just offering a haven from the cold, but a hand of hope, a bridge of connection, and a resounding reminder: you are not alone.
🧦We also provide winter clothes and essential toiletries, but that's just the start. We look beyond circumstances, recognizing the unique dignity in every guest we serve.
🎯Together, we can ensure that no one faces the chill alone.
> When picturing humanity's future, dark visions are everywhere - but are there alternatives? Historian Thomas Moynihan explores what we can learn from forecasters 100 years ago.
This poem by W.S. Merwin reminded me that every single day starts a new year.
Excerpt from "To the New Year" by W.S. Merwin
so this is the sound of you
here and now whether or not
anyone hears it this is
where we have come with our age
our knowledge such as it is
and our hopes such as they are
invisible before us
untouched and still possible
Caring for our community takes a collective efforts 🧤❄️
Here, alongside dedicated volunteers at the Malden Warming Center, we offer much more than just shelter during harsh winter months. We offer hope, connection, and a reminder that they are not alone☕️
🤝🏽 Being of service isn't just about what we do, but about the ripples of hope we set in motion.
We live in an era in which multiple probes work at the same time around Mars!
This seems to be the same dust storm that you can see above in this thread from a more distant point of view. I'm not an astronomer - but it's the same area and at the same time.
#Economy#Hope
For much of the economic recovery from Covid-19, prices have increased faster than paychecks, which means real wages, adjusted for inflation, shrank.
However, the trend has started to shift recently, with paychecks catching up to inflation.
“As time goes on here and inflation remains low, incomes will catch up and pass inflation,” Zandi said. “People will start feeling better about things.”