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What Your Community Does When Government Isn’t Looking

MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess @munisquare.bsky.social · 10d

James C Scott suggests that people everywhere, even those who’ve never heard the word “anarchism,” quietly act out its principles through cooperation, autonomy, and mutual aid. open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

(Part 6 of the James C. Scott Series: The Anarchist Squint)

Empathy, Reason...and the Stories That Shape Us

MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess @munisquare.bsky.social · 11d

Long before we understood the way the world works, we were hearing stories ... fairy tales, folktales, myths and faith traditions that left us wide-eyed, mystified, and captivated. These stories were the beginning of our sense-making skills in the world. open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

Balancing the Head and the Heart

munisquare.substack.com/p/the-limits...

MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess @munisquare.bsky.social · 14d

MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess @munisquare.bsky.social · 17d

We've been told a story about human progress: people invented agriculture, settled down, built cities, and life got better...not so fast. Adaptation and resilience are not new challenges. They're the foundation of what local government has always been about.
open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

[Series] Reading Like a River – Part 4

Lessons from Uruk: The Stat(e)ness of Being

substack.com/@jeremybney/...

MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess @munisquare.bsky.social · 20d

Jeremy Ney (@jeremybney)

Not nearly enough reporting on this colossal change

substack.com

MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess @munisquare.bsky.social · 21d

Experimental gene therapy for Huntington’s markedly slowed disease progression in key trial www.statnews.com/2025/09/24/h... via @statnews.com

Experimental gene therapy for Huntington’s markedly slowed disease progression in key trial

An experimental gene therapy slowed the progression of Huntington’s disease by 75% after three years — study results likely to support the first approval of a genetic treatment for the condition.

www.statnews.com

Reposted by MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess

Fiona Tribe @fionatribe.bsky.social · 23d

I love living amongst remnants of an industrial history. Within walking distance from my house is the land where my Grandad was an apprentice potter (Drayton Brothers Pottery), and where my Uncle made parts for Sunshine Harvesters (H V McKay).

That’s not my Uncle. No suit and hat for him. This is one of many images archived showing the H V McKay Harvester. H V McKay was one of (if not the) first Australian companies to export globally.

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Reposted by MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess

Rachel Happe @rhappe.bsky.social · 24d

It’s Irish oatmeal season again in New England.

Like so many seemingly ‘simple’ things, the variance between awful and amazing is huge.

It was not until instructed by an older Irish woman that I figured out how to make - and enjoy - oatmeal.

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Reposted by MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess

Ray Delahanty | CityNerd @nerd4cities.bsky.social · 24d

Everyone should read this, from the best writer in the transit/urbanism space

Jarrett Walker @humantransit.bsky.social · 26d

I have a major piece in Bloomberg Citylab today. Should the US let transit fail, as Pennsylvania is already doing? And if not, what are the arguments we need to let it succeed?

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Should We Let Public Transit Die?

Urban-rural hostility is fueling a public transportation crisis in US cities. But demands to abandon bus and train riders ignore the economic and social costs of cutting service.

www.bloomberg.com

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MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess @munisquare.bsky.social · 24d

"A man who is pious and wise will know that a real victory is won only when integrity is safeguarded and greatness kept intact." -Montaigne munisquare.substack.com/p/whether-th...

Whether the governor of a besieged fortress should go out and parlay...

... leadership during crises

munisquare.substack.com

Reading Like a River, Part 4

MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess @munisquare.bsky.social · 24d

When organizations meander…

Do we look at the river and see it as the same river every day, or do we really observe it closely, noticing the sounds, smells, and currents of the water?

How often do we do the same thing in our own lives and organizations?

open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

When Organizations Meander

Reading Like a River, Part 3

MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess @munisquare.bsky.social · Sep 14

I have been guilty in my life of what I call flat thinking.... open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

Considering Local Government Through the Eyes of James C. Scott

READING LIKE A RIVER, PART 2

MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess @munisquare.bsky.social · Sep 13

Rivers Are “Good to Think With” - James C. Scott, In Praise of Floods
open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

Considering Local Government Through the Eyes of James C. Scott

Designing Policies for Real-World Policing: From Compliance to Cognitive Accessibility

MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess @munisquare.bsky.social · Sep 13

"Patrol officers, already inundated with sensory input and required to act decisively under pressure, face significant risk when policies are overly detailed, overlapping, or ambiguous." open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

Guest post written by Dr. Rudolph B. Hall Jr., Hall and Harrison Solutions, and Dr. Brian Sprowal, Future Policing Institute Fellow

Responding to the Political Assassination of Charlie Kirk

MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess @munisquare.bsky.social · Sep 13

Tom Bryer writes: I invite you to join me and my students in our reading, reflection, and discussion, and help others across our communities and country understand that the "off-ramp" is not a fictional path towards a dream land that will never exist.
open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

The Civic Off-Ramp

CONSIDERING LOCAL GOVERNMENT THROUGH THE EYES JAMES C. SCOTT

MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess @munisquare.bsky.social · Aug 29

The river is a changing living organism that will never be contained by humans because of the natural connection to a larger system over which we have no control. open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

READING LIKE A RIVER

Did the Texas Floods Have to Be This Deadly?

Reposted by MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess

Nancy J Hess @nancyjhess.bsky.social · Jul 15

A more in depth view of local government efforts to obtain warning system. Still no answer as to why cabins were allowed to exist in flood way on FEMA map. Gift article. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/p...

www.nytimes.com

‘Can’t do nothin’ for you, man’: Nigeria rejects U.S. pressure to accept deported Venezuelans

Reposted by MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess

Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · Jul 11

Nigeria's foreign minister on why they refuse to take deportees from the US:

“We already have enough problems of our own. We cannot accept Venezuelan deportees in Nigeria, for crying out loud."

Then he quotes Flavor Fav: "I can't do nothin' for you, man.”

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

Nigeria’s foreign minister has delivered a pointed rebuke to the United States, rejecting what he described as mounting pressure from Washington to accept deported Venezuelan nationals — including som...

www.miamiherald.com

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MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess @munisquare.bsky.social · Jul 13

"...each of the long canoe-like boats in the race has, as part of its large crew, a Tukang Tari who dances and provides inspiration for the rowers." Gift article from The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/10/s...

What Is ‘Aura Farming’? This Tween Will Show You.

www.nytimes.com

Mike Baumwoll: Why human-connected communication matters in local government.

MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess @munisquare.bsky.social · Jul 12

youtu.be/NPtEZFESZyg?...

YouTube video by MuniSquare

youtu.be

MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess @munisquare.bsky.social · Jul 12

Mike Baumwoll on why human-connected communication matters in local government. #PCCLocalTime pcc-local-time.captivate.fm/episode/mike...

Mike Baumwoll on why human-connected communication matters in local government. - PCC Local Time

In this episode of PCC Local Time, Nancy Hess talks with Mike Baumwoll, co-founder and CEO of Rep’d, about how short-form video and authentic communic...

pcc-local-time.captivate.fm

MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess @munisquare.bsky.social · Jul 12

Designing for Safety: Rethinking Crime Prevention with CPTED
open.substack.com/pub/munisqua...

Designing for Safety: Rethinking Crime Prevention with CPTED

Dr. Francia Doñe Henry and Gary Wong

Flowing Back to the People

MuniSquare hosted by @nancyjhess @munisquare.bsky.social · Jul 12

We don't pay enough attention to growing privatization of our water systems. Read on to learn why you should care about public management of local water systems; and how privatization impacts your rates and even your access to water. arcg.is/0fyrSW

Community Action for Preserving Public Management of Local Water Systems

arcg.is