u/FGGF

New interactive tool just launched from the Economic Security Project. You can track several costs around housing (mortgages, rent), food (bacon, coffee), bills (car insurance, electricity), health care (ACA, childcare) and more. I like the options to put things into historical context by selecting "pre-COVID" and "since January 2025", there's a limited amount of stats per state, and you can do some comparisons.

• The practice of trawling has come under fire from members of the public, fishermen, lawmakers, tribal leaders, and environmentalists. They point to concerns about trawling bycatch and the impact trawling has on the Alaskan fishing industry, the health of the state’s waters and local economies.
• The issue has made national headlines in the race for the Alaska Senate seat now held by Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. Mary Peltola, the Democratic candidate running against Sullivan, became the first Alaska Native member of Congress after winning the state’s only U.S. House seat in a special election in 2022. Peltola’s House campaign largely centered around salmon and addressing bycatch.
• Critics of Sullivan have gone after the senator for accepting contributions from the trawling industry, which federal data shows has given about $280,000 to Sullivan since he took office in 2015. Trawl industry executives and an industry political action committee made contributions totaling about $10,000 to Peltola after she was elected to the House in 2022, according to Alaska Public Media. This year, Peltola received $500 from a trawling industry executive but is returning that contribution, according to reporting from Alaska Public Media.

• The Army used AI that hallucinated multiple times, creating the false impression that Trax’s bid was weaker than rival Southwest Range Services’ successful bid of roughly $450 million, a complaint filed in late July alleged.
• Contractors will likely continue to scrutinize federal agencies’ use of AI in evaluating bids, according to David Timm, a partner at Burr & Forman.
• “More bid protests are likely to come as the ungoverned and undisclosed use of GenAI tools results in errors throughout the procurement, but if agencies do not comply with the [Office of Management and Budget] rules it will complicate how contractors prove their allegations,” Timm wrote in the op-ed.

Direct consequences of the Republican Tax Law (H.R.1). Millions losing insurance, hospitals closing, and health care costs rising to pay for tax breaks for the rich.

Almost half a million people on New York’s Essential Plan could lose healthcare this week.

More are likely to be cut off from Medicaid because of stricter work requirements starting in January. Both are the result of changes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law last summer.

Some healthcare experts are warning that dozens of hospitals in New York are at risk of closing.

Hi all!

Thought I’d share something joyful in the middle of all the difficult news our city has been dealing with lately.

Several years ago, our community decided enough was enough with the state of our alley. What was once filled with abandoned cars, trash, illicit activity, overgrown weeds, mud, and potholes has been transformed through thousands of volunteer hours and generous financial support from neighbors and local nonprofits.

Together, we turned a neglected space into a community space with swings and toys for kids, a Little Free Library, native plant gardens, space for events like the annual Alleyween, and more.

It’s been incredibly heartwarming to see new faces every week enjoying the space and the sense of community that’s grown around it.

Enjoy and Happy Friday!