Brian F. Kelcey
@stateofthecity.bsky.social
Was @stateofthecity on Twitter. Veteran of a B-Grade, Film Noir genre of politics known as "local government." Current gig: second tour of duty in the Winnipeg Mayor's Office. Hometowns: Victoria, Winnipeg, Toronto. Working on 'Debt City' (see debt.city)
Vancouver, BC mayoral race
Another entrant in Vancouver’s 2026 mayoral campaign likely happening tomorrow.
Amanda Burrows, Executive Director of First United Church, is holding an event and has offered up a not so subtle clue on her Instagram account.
All signs point to running for the OneCity nomination.
Amanda Burrows, Executive Director of First United Church, is holding an event and has offered up a not so subtle clue on her Instagram account.
All signs point to running for the OneCity nomination.
December 1, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Vancouver, BC mayoral race
Iqaluit, Nunavut
This will become the world's most northerly transit system, ~35 km near the pole than Trondheim, Norway.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Iqaluit Transit plans to officially launch new bus service in mid-January | CBC News
The bus service will have 18 stops and will run from Apex to the airport. The exact stops haven't been announced yet.
www.cbc.ca
December 1, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Iqaluit, Nunavut
Indian real estate
Japanese property giants deepen their push into a booming Indian market reut.rs/3M7oQ1K
Japanese property giants deepen their push into a booming Indian market
Japanese real estate developers are wading further into a tricky Indian market and more of their peers are expected to get their feet wet, drawn by rising rents in a rapidly growing economy as well as low construction costs.
reut.rs
December 1, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Indian real estate
Some guy you follow once said, "CAPACITY is the great policy issue of the 2020s"
The head of German utility EON said Europe’s largest economy should slow the pace of wind and solar expansion, saying the country’s power grids are struggling to cope with the surge in new renewable projects.
Eon CEO Urges Germany to Slow Wind, Solar Push Amid Grid Strain
The head of German utility EON SE said Europe’s largest economy should slow the pace of wind and solar expansion, saying the country’s power grids are struggling to cope with the surge in new renewable projects.
bloom.bg
November 30, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Some guy you follow once said, "CAPACITY is the great policy issue of the 2020s"
Philadelphia, PA
As activists critique demolition-first plans for East Market Street, two Councilmembers in different parts of Philadelphia are considering legislation that would require property owners to pull building permits before that are allowed to raze a structure www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
Is a vacant lot better than a decrepit building? Inside Philly’s latest debate over aging buildings.
Councilmembers Jeffery “Jay” Young and Jamie Gauthier have introduced similar legislation to prevent demolition of buildings without a redevelopment plan.
www.inquirer.com
November 30, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Philadelphia, PA
Hong Kong, where echoes of the UK's Grenfell disaster are already starting to be heard.
Residents of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po spent more than a year trying to raise the alarm about use of substandard construction materials. They were ignored.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/w...
Officials Had Been Warned for Over a Year Before Hong Kong Fire
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Hong Kong, where echoes of the UK's Grenfell disaster are already starting to be heard.
Manchester, et al and "branded residences." My use of quotes can be taken as a sign that I find this all a little bit too Conde Nast for my tastes, but it is urban news, so here it is.
The restaurant-turned-hospitality brand co-founded by the actor is riding the branded residences boom — and the pipeline stretches from Manchester to Mexico
on.ft.com/4oGvklX
on.ft.com/4oGvklX
Robert De Niro: ‘the sky’s the limit’ for Nobu residences
The restaurant-turned-hospitality brand co-founded by the actor is riding the branded residences boom — and the pipeline stretches from Manchester to Mexico
on.ft.com
November 30, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Manchester, et al and "branded residences." My use of quotes can be taken as a sign that I find this all a little bit too Conde Nast for my tastes, but it is urban news, so here it is.
New Delhi, and air quality
New Delhi wakes up to toxic smog and goes to sleep in the same harmful conditions. The 30 million residents of India’s capital region trudge along with chronic headaches and itchy eyes, symptoms of a failure to provide a most basic need: breathable air. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/w...
India Is a Rising Power, but Its Capital Is a Lethal Gas Chamber
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 3:11 PM
New Delhi, and air quality
I'm finding I get to use this wisecrack with colleagues and counterparts more and more:
"Imagine politics without sociopaths."
It's hard to do, isn't it? And yet, if that was even remotely possible, it would change everything, far more than any partisan or ideological shakeups ever could.
"Imagine politics without sociopaths."
It's hard to do, isn't it? And yet, if that was even remotely possible, it would change everything, far more than any partisan or ideological shakeups ever could.
November 30, 2025 at 1:34 PM
I'm finding I get to use this wisecrack with colleagues and counterparts more and more:
"Imagine politics without sociopaths."
It's hard to do, isn't it? And yet, if that was even remotely possible, it would change everything, far more than any partisan or ideological shakeups ever could.
"Imagine politics without sociopaths."
It's hard to do, isn't it? And yet, if that was even remotely possible, it would change everything, far more than any partisan or ideological shakeups ever could.
More fatalities confirmed, in Hong Kong
BREAKING: The death toll in the Hong Kong blaze has risen to 146 as more bodies are found in the apartment complex, authorities say.
Hong Kong mourns as deadly fire claims 128 lives and sparks safety crackdown
A devastating fire in a Hong Kong apartment complex has killed at least 128 people. The blaze started Wednesday and took until Friday to extinguish.
bit.ly
November 30, 2025 at 9:28 AM
More fatalities confirmed, in Hong Kong
I think I'm gonna piss some people off tomorrow.
November 30, 2025 at 12:03 AM
I think I'm gonna piss some people off tomorrow.
'tis the Season
for the streetcar
for the streetcar
November 29, 2025 at 10:47 PM
'tis the Season
for the streetcar
for the streetcar
Had a nap, and the world got ninety minutes worse while I was away.
November 29, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Had a nap, and the world got ninety minutes worse while I was away.
Minneapolis, MN
The Minneapolis City Council’s progressive wing has proposed cutting the budget for Mayor Jacob Frey’s office by 44%.
Among other things, the proposed budget amendments include $700,000 to build eight public restrooms downtown.
Among other things, the proposed budget amendments include $700,000 to build eight public restrooms downtown.
Budget battle brewing between mayor and outgoing Minneapolis City Council
The council will vote in December on a raft of proposals, including one that would dramatically cut money for the mayor’s office.
bit.ly
November 29, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Minneapolis, MN
To warn those with younger kids: there will be an age where your kid shouts out the brand names on every commercial sign you see driving down every commercial road. Every single one, as if each is a revelation.
I warned you!
I warned you!
November 29, 2025 at 6:22 PM
To warn those with younger kids: there will be an age where your kid shouts out the brand names on every commercial sign you see driving down every commercial road. Every single one, as if each is a revelation.
I warned you!
I warned you!
At Fort Whyte Alive with our kid for their Santa thing. The boardroom was where I told CBC reporters in a staff seminar that they should expect Wpg Police HQ construction scandals would be a 10-yr story based on details leaking at the time. IIRC, that was mid-2012... I was under by at least 4* yrs.
November 29, 2025 at 4:40 PM
At Fort Whyte Alive with our kid for their Santa thing. The boardroom was where I told CBC reporters in a staff seminar that they should expect Wpg Police HQ construction scandals would be a 10-yr story based on details leaking at the time. IIRC, that was mid-2012... I was under by at least 4* yrs.
Reposted by Brian F. Kelcey
Demolishing the East Wing of the White House before finalizing plans for what will be built above its ruins is a near-perfect metaphor for Trump's approach to economic policy. The only difference is the wrecking crew doesn’t claim the rubble is evidence of unprecedented growth.
November 29, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Demolishing the East Wing of the White House before finalizing plans for what will be built above its ruins is a near-perfect metaphor for Trump's approach to economic policy. The only difference is the wrecking crew doesn’t claim the rubble is evidence of unprecedented growth.
Toronto, co-oping it
City of Toronto breaks ground on Canada’s largest co-op housing development in a generation. 612 units in #scarborough #kennedygreen
News release: www.toronto.ca/news/city-of...
News release: www.toronto.ca/news/city-of...
November 29, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Toronto, co-oping it
New York State's 2025 local election cycle
“This November was only the second time since 1989 that Democrats won mayoral races in each of the state’s five largest cities.” www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Forget Mamdani. New York’s real political shift happened everywhere else.
Democrats flipped over 50 county legislative seats across the state. Republicans flipped one.
www.politico.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:56 PM
New York State's 2025 local election cycle
It's only 0748 and the lesson of the day is already that "enshittification" is totally real
November 29, 2025 at 1:49 PM
It's only 0748 and the lesson of the day is already that "enshittification" is totally real
Hong Kong
HK police have said that their special unit found no bodies on Saturday after completing a search of two blocks of the Wang Fu Court residential complex, which was hit by a massive fire this week. In full: buff.ly/MN0LViI
Hongkongers mourn at Tai Po fire site; police sweep finds no bodies at 2 blocks
HK police have said that their special unit found no bodies on Saturday after completing a search of two blocks of the Wang Fu Court residential complex, which was hit by a massive fire this week.
buff.ly
November 29, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Hong Kong
Toronto, regulatin' and signin'
November 29, 2025 at 3:49 AM
Toronto, regulatin' and signin'