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)
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'
Capitulation architecture
November 29, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Capitulation architecture
Yay @cheknews.ca. Delighted to find my hometown TV station is now on BlueSky (or maybe they were all along?). They even aired one or two hits from my early troublemaking career back in the day.
Best slogan ever: "CHEK 6. CHEK it out." They better not have changed that since... er, the 1990s? 🤔🫵😄
Best slogan ever: "CHEK 6. CHEK it out." They better not have changed that since... er, the 1990s? 🤔🫵😄
November 29, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Yay @cheknews.ca. Delighted to find my hometown TV station is now on BlueSky (or maybe they were all along?). They even aired one or two hits from my early troublemaking career back in the day.
Best slogan ever: "CHEK 6. CHEK it out." They better not have changed that since... er, the 1990s? 🤔🫵😄
Best slogan ever: "CHEK 6. CHEK it out." They better not have changed that since... er, the 1990s? 🤔🫵😄
Retail, in Busan
A 24-hour shop in Busan. No employees. Just an open door and a self-checkout kiosk on the corner. And a sign saying everything is being recorded on CCTV. 🤯
November 29, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Retail, in Busan
New York City. There are very few articles I've reposted here in any given month that I also circulate to colleagues and community partners in my day job. This is one of them.
nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/09/23/t...
nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/09/23/t...
'Treated and Streeted': How The City's Safety Net Fails Homeless People in the Subway - Streetsblog New York City
The Big Apple’s $30-billion social safety net cannot reliably get a homeless person in psychiatric crisis out of the subway and into a hospital bed, a Streetsblog investigation has found.
nyc.streetsblog.org
November 28, 2025 at 9:05 PM
New York City. There are very few articles I've reposted here in any given month that I also circulate to colleagues and community partners in my day job. This is one of them.
nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/09/23/t...
nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/09/23/t...
So, basically it's winter now. This is unacceptable.
November 28, 2025 at 2:52 PM
So, basically it's winter now. This is unacceptable.
Hong Kong: the revelations start to pour in
The fire alarms in the residential estate buildings ravaged by Hong Kong's deadliest blaze in decades were malfunctioning, the city's fire service chief says at a press conference.
In full: buff.ly/6HVaFLa Video: AFP.
In full: buff.ly/6HVaFLa Video: AFP.
November 28, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Hong Kong: the revelations start to pour in
Not sure about the value of this sort of valuation, but FWIW...
Estimating the value of 220,000 cities worldwide. High-value cities have stronger agglomeration and better worker allocation, with migration gains largest in developing countries, from Aakash Bhalothia, Gavin Engelstad, Gaurav Khanna, and Harrison Mitchell www.nber.org/papers/w34503
November 28, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Not sure about the value of this sort of valuation, but FWIW...
🍁$
NEW: Data released today shows the Canadian economy returning to normal growth after the massive trade-war hit in Q2, with GDP growing 2.6% annualized in the third quarter
Consumption dropped & investment/government activity were flat though—the entire rebound was in net exports
Consumption dropped & investment/government activity were flat though—the entire rebound was in net exports
November 28, 2025 at 1:56 PM
🍁$
This morning, there are roughly a dozen things in my feed that I denounce. Please accept this post in lieu of denunciations because I'm just too exhausted to say "that's bullshit" or "that's poison" or "that's shortsighted" when it so obviously is all that, and saying so is so obviously ineffective.
November 28, 2025 at 1:48 PM
This morning, there are roughly a dozen things in my feed that I denounce. Please accept this post in lieu of denunciations because I'm just too exhausted to say "that's bullshit" or "that's poison" or "that's shortsighted" when it so obviously is all that, and saying so is so obviously ineffective.