New Orleans begins removing white supremacist monuments
Workers dismantle an an obelisk dedicated to the Battle of Liberty Place, which commemorated whites who tried to topple a biracial post-Civil War government.
North & Central America
SF’s green energy goal is a decade ahead of target
Mayor Ed Lee on Thursday set a new goal for San Francisco that at least 50 percent of the city’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2020. That’s 10 years ahead of the target the state has set for itself.
Austin council votes to boost worker cooperatives
In late March, Austin City Council passed a cooperative business ordinance, which primarily supports the idea of worker cooperatives businesses that are owned and democratically controlled by workers
Kansas City votes to eliminate jail time for marijuana possession
Voters in Kansas City voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to eliminate the possibility of jail time for people caught with small amounts of marijuana or related paraphernalia.
Kentucky coal company announces plans to build the state’s largest solar farm
Berkeley Energy Group, the coal company behind the project, billed it as the first large-scale solar farm in the Appalachian region, which has been hit hard by the decades-long decline in the U.S. coal industry.
California is getting so much power from solar that wholesale electricity prices are turning negative
For the first time, more than half the power needs of the entire state came from solar power for a few hours that day, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Portland, OR commits to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050
Leaders from the City of Portland and Multnomah County have committed to 100 percent clean energy by the year 2050.
Wolf population in Oregon continues to grow
This week, fish and wildlife officials said the wolf population passed a significant milestone. Biologists counted at least seven or more breeding pairs in a broad swath of Eastern Oregon for the third consecutive year.
New York grants free tuition for all state colleges
New York just became the first state in the nation to make tuition free for middle class students at both two- and four-year public colleges.
Rikers Island prison to close, New York mayor says
De Blasio set a timeline of 10 years to reduce the overall jail population in the city, which he said would allow for a “complete departure of all inmates from Rikers Island.”