Trump admin tells Pennsylvania, other states to shift broadband focus to cheaper options like Elon Musk’s Starlink; ABC27, June 17, 2025

Charlotte Keith of Spotlight PA via ABC27 , ABC27; Trump admin tells Pennsylvania, other states to shift broadband focus to cheaper options like Elon Musk’s Starlink

[Kip Currier: Consider how ill-advised and short-sighted this Trump 2.0 policy maneuver is; a gambit with concerning ramifications for Internet access throughout the U.S.:

First, as part of his DEI purges, Trump terminates the Digital Equity Act of 2021 on May 9, 2025 with an executive order, claiming that the bi-partisan law, signed by Joe Biden, for expanding high speed Internet access to millions of Americans (especially rural Americans) was unconstitutional and "racist".

Now, in June 2025 Trump encourages states to sign on to billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink satellite service. Musk's DOGE cuts have decimated government services.

As the nonpartisan, nonprofit newsroom Spotlight PA points out in this article, too, Musk's Starlink Internet access and other carriers being pushed by the Trump administration rely on less reliable WiFi and satellite service, rather than "the internet via fiber optic cables, widely considered the gold standard for speed and reliability." 

Given Musk's recent tantrum during his early June dust-up with Trump in which Musk threatened to discontinue making his SpaceX Dragon spacecraft available to the U.S., does it seem like a well-advised policy decision to give Musk the power to control the Internet access of hundreds of thousands if not millions of Americans?]

[Excerpt]

"Sweeping changes are coming to a massive program that aims to bring high-speed internet to everyone in the U.S., after the Trump administration rejected one of the initiative’s key policy goals.

The new rules for the $42.5 billion program change the way states will evaluate competing proposals, which areas are eligible for funding, and how long states have to award the grants. The announcement in early June upended months of planning and left Pennsylvania officials scrambling as they race to meet a newly accelerated timeline for getting the money out.

The changes likely will result in fewer Pennsylvanians in remote and rural areas being connected to the internet via fiber optic cables, widely considered the gold standard for speed and reliability. The program originally prioritized fiber projects, but under the new rules, states must select winners based on the lowest cost. The change will make applications from wireless and satellite internet providers, including Elon Musk’s Starlink, more competitive."

Klukwan Library goes from 35 hours a week to 4 following federal funding loss; Alaska's News Source, June 15, 2025

Justin Mattson , Alsaka's News Source; Klukwan Library goes from 35 hours a week to 4 following federal funding loss

"Along the Chilkat River in Southeast Alaska lies a small, ancient Alaska Native village, Klukwan. The village of Klukwan is in the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area and has a population of around 100. It has one library that serves the community. Following the termination of their federal grant funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the needs the library met are underserved.

“With that funding, we were doing workshops such as drum making, paddle board carving, we’ve done moccasin making in the past, we were also using it to pay stipends for presenters,” Co-Director of the Klukwan Library, Jamie Katzeek, explained.

Other programs that have been cut are designed to help keep the community engaged in reading.

“Our summer reading program has been cut,” Katzeek said. “The library is the hub of our community, and so without it, there’s just a lot of intergenerational learning and activities that have been eliminated because we just don’t have the funding.”...

“We went from two staff people, part-time, we were working. The library was open 35 hours a week, and now we’re down to just myself at 4 hours a week,” Katzeek said. “The two ILMS grants that we got funded most of our staff time.”

For now, the future of the Klukwan library is uncertain, but nothing is set in stone. They have appealed the decision to attempt to have the grants reinstated and are working with the State of Alaska to help fill the void left by the loss of the federal grants."

New library branch opening inside Eastwood Mall; WKBN, June 13, 2025

Chelsea Simeon, WKBN; New library branch opening inside Eastwood Mall

[Kip Currier: With lots of heavy news occurring these days, this upbeat story about the opening of a public library branch inside Eastwood Mall in Niles, Ohio is an encouraging surprise today!

I grew up across the state border in nearby Pennsylvania and have many fond memories of family visits to Eastwood Mall where we enjoyed an occasional patty melt or ice cream sundae at the long-closed Sweet William restaurant there. (As this Niles Historical Society account of the mall underscores "Hungry shoppers could stop in Sweet Williams.")

Public libraries and their customers/patrons will increasingly feel the impacts of Trump 2.0 cuts to library services with Trump's abolition of the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) that provided fiscal assistance. Many information centers have counted on IMLS grants to help them carry out their service missions. 

Patrons also count on having access to many things at libraries: not just books, but also computers, databases, programs, and much more. So, it's great to see that this new branch library "plans to offer Internet-accessible computers, printers and Wi-Fi for public use, as well as programming for children, teens and adults."

Remember that the next time someone asks what libraries provide or says that libraries aren't needed when so many people today have access to smartphones. Libraries are one of the only things left in this world that are guided by an egalitarian ethos of "Free To The People", just as that saying inscribed at the entrance to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh continues to remind us.

Keep in mind, too, all the great things that libraries provide "free to the people" the next time you vote. Support candidates who support libraries and the many life-enhancing materials and services that people and communities can access through service-centered, well-maintained libraries.]

[Excerpt]

"Warren-Trumbull County Public Library customers will soon have access to books and other library materials while shopping at the Eastwood Mall.

A new branch — the Eastwood Mall Library — is tentatively scheduled to open Sept. 2 at the mall, according to a news release from W-TCPL. 

The branch will offer access to books, technology and programming for people of all ages at a central, accessible location...

Along with materials available for checkout, the library plans to offer Internet-accessible computers, printers and Wi-Fi for public use, as well as programming for children, teens and adults."

Federal funding cuts reach Vineyard libraries; MV Times, June 12, 2025

Eunki Seonwoo, MV Times ; Federal funding cuts reach Vineyard libraries

"Due to federal funding cuts, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC), a state agency, announced in May it will discontinue freely providing 21 services, including a newspaper archive, certain peer-reviewed research journal databases, and career and education prep, after July 1. This decision followed an April announcementthat uncertainty stemming from federal cuts has led to various library services and trainings to be slashed. 

“Every library on the Vineyard is impacted,” said Allyson Malik, director of Oak Bluffs Public Library and president of the Massachusetts Library System executive board. 

The state agency’s decision stems from an executive order signed in March by President Donald Trump. The order directed a reduction in seven federal agencies, including the Institute of Museum & Library Services, which provided $3.6 million in fiscal year 2025 for Massachusetts libraries’ services and grants. The institute is also listed in Trump’s fiscal year 2026 budget request as one of several “small agencies” the president wants to defund or eliminate outright to “enhance accountability, reduce waste, and reduce unnecessary governmental entities.” The institute had also placed its entire staff on administrative leave in March."

During Wildfires, Los Angeles Libraries Offer Community Lifelines; American Libraries, January 22, 2025

Rosie Newmark , American Libraries ; During Wildfires, Los Angeles Libraries Offer Community Lifelines

"Since multiple wildfires erupted in and around Los Angeles on January 7, tens of thousands of residents have been displaced or remain on evacuation watch, as fire-fanning winds threaten to continue. The Palisades and Eaton fires, among others, have killed 28 people and destroyed or damaged more than 16,000 structures—including destruction of the Los Angeles Public Library’s (LAPL) Palisades Branch Library. Several more libraries in evacuation or evacuation warning zones remain closed.

Amid the disaster, library systems, including Altadena (Calif.) Library District (ALD), Los Angeles County Library (LACL), and LAPL, are spearheading efforts to help community members as well as library staffers through fundraising and onsite support. The American Library Association (ALA) has also set up a relief effort through its ALA Disaster Relief Fund.

In addition to physical losses, community members are experiencing the mental and emotional toll of the crisis. Across the area, library workers have witnessed people using their facilities not only as a center for resources such as internet access and recovery information, but also simply a quiet space to cry and process losses, according to California Library Association President Genesis Hansen."

Citrus County, Fla., leaders don’t like the New York Times. That doesn’t justify keeping it out of their libraries.; The Washington Post, November 9, 2019

Anthony Marx, The Washington Post; Citrus County, Fla., leaders don’t like the New York Times. That doesn’t justify keeping it out of their libraries.

"Libraries have always been at the foundation of our democracy, existing to arm the public with the information people need to make informed decisions and reach logical conclusions. Libraries are trusted sources of this information precisely because they do not judge, reject or accept the information based on politics or opinion. They provide it, and as technology has changed over the decades, they adapt to provide it the way patrons want it.

Despite all of this, the commissioners of Citrus County chose to reject the library system’s request. I am well aware of the financial difficulties public libraries face...

This is a misguided decision. Public libraries are not in place to further the political agenda of any party or position. Whether those holding the purse strings favor any particular journal or not should be irrelevant. At the New York Public Library, we offer hundreds of periodicals from all sides of the political aisle. I will tell you that I do not agree with the political slant of some of the papers we make available. And that is exactly how it should be.

Libraries give members of the public the tools they need to be fully informed participants in civic society."

Commissioners call New York Times ‘fake news,’ deny library funding for digital subscriptions; Tampa Bay Times, November 4, 2019

Josh Fiallo, Tampa Bay Times; Commissioners call New York Times ‘fake news,’ deny library funding for digital subscriptions

"Sandy Price, the advisory board chairman for the county’s libraries, told the Citrus County Chronicle she was disappointed with the commissioners’ decision to block the funding. She also said she was concerned with the reason behind the blocking, specifically citing Carnahan’s comments about the New York Times being ‘fake news.’

“Someone’s personal political view does not have a place in deciding what library resources are available for the entire county,” Price told the Chronicle on Monday. “Libraries have to ensure all points of view are represented.”

Despite all five commissioners railing against the request during the commission meeting, feedback that he received in the days after caused Commissioner Brian Coleman to loosen his stance on the request.

Coleman originally said of the funding request: “I support President Trump. I would say they put stuff in there that’s not necessarily verified."

Two days after the meeting, however, Coleman told The Chronicle he wanted to re-address the topic at a future meeting.

“Our decision should have been impartial, instead of having it become a personal thing," Coleman told the Chronicle."

A library wanted a New York Times subscription. Officials refused, citing Trump and ‘fake news.’; The New York Times, November 5, 2019

Antonia Noori Farzan, The Washington Post; A library wanted a New York Times subscription. Officials refused, citing Trump and ‘fake news.’

"“Someone’s personal political view does not have a place in deciding what library resources are available for the entire county,” Sandy Price, the chairwoman for the library’s advisory board, told the Chronicle. “Libraries have to ensure all points of view are represented.”"

Facebook and Twitter spread Trump’s lies, so we must break them up; The Guardian, November 3, 2019

Robert Reich, The Guardian; Facebook and Twitter spread Trump’s lies, so we must break them up 

"The reason 45% of Americans rely on Facebook for news and Trump’s tweets reach 66 million is because these platforms are near monopolies, dominating the information marketplace. No TV network, cable giant or newspaper even comes close. Fox News’ viewership rarely exceeds 3 million. The New York Times has 4.7 million subscribers.

Facebook and Twitter aren’t just participants in the information marketplace. They’re quickly becoming the information marketplace."

Google Maps Just Introduced a Controversial New Feature That Drivers Will Probably Love but Police Will Utterly Hate; Inc., October 20, 2019

Bill Murphy Jr., Inc.; Google Maps Just Introduced a Controversial New Feature That Drivers Will Probably Love but Police Will Utterly Hate

"This week, however, Google announced the next best thing: Starting immediately, drivers will be able to report hazards, slowdowns, and speed traps right on Google Maps...

But one group that will likely not be happy is the police. In recent years, police have asked -- or even demanded -- that Waze drop the police-locating feature."

The Supreme Court Denies Domino’s Petition in a Win for Disability Rights; Slate, October 7, 2019

Aaron Mak, Slate; The Supreme Court Denies Domino’s Petition in a Win for Disability Rights

"On Monday, the Supreme Court handed down an order announcing it would not take up a petition from the Domino’s pizza chain to appeal a lower-court decision dictating that the company must make its website and app accessible to people with disabilities. The decision is a major win for disability rights advocates, who have been arguing that the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to websites, digital platforms, and other nonphysical spaces."

Bootleg film shows Florida prison in all its danger, squalor. An inmate shot it on the sly; The Miami Herald, October 4, 2019

Romy Ellenbogen, The Miami Herald; Bootleg film shows Florida prison in all its danger, squalor. An inmate shot it on the sly

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/special-reports/florida-prisons/article235623292.html#storylink=cpy

"David Fathi, the director of the ACLU’s National Prison Project, said as technology has developed, videos and photos from inside prisons have become more common.

“This would be, to my knowledge, the first prison documentary filmed exclusively by a prisoner with a cellphone,” he said.

Fathi said the issue is paradoxical — prisons have good reason for forbidding cellphones, but the footage also increases transparency, shining daylight in a dark place and potentially exposing abuses."

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/special-reports/florida-prisons/article235623292.html#storylink=cpy