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So here's the deal. We all know that local politics are where a lot happens. But with the dearth of in-depth local reporting, it's really hard to disseminate information about local politics - city council meetings, zoning commission, school board meetings, local court cases, etc.
No one has the energy to follow it all - but maybe you can go to a meeting once in a while, and crowdsource other information.
The idea is:
- This is a place to put your notes, news, and info.
- It's fairly anonymous - nothing is ever perfectly safe, and absolutely use caution - but unlike other social media sites, Dreamwidth isn't owned by a rich jackass, has pretty robust and well-documented opinions about privacy, and accounts don't have to be tied to your real name or identity.
I recommend thinking very carefully before tying anything here to your other accounts or handles - consider whether it could lead to doxxing, and remember that the internet is forever. Could this affect your job interviews? If your boss, neighbors, or parents found out about anything you said here, would you be okay?
- Dreamwidth also is a bit more designed for long-term archival and searching than Tumblr or many other sites. If you need to find out what happened in your county two years ago, you don't have to scroll through pages of irrelevancies or wonder what was flagged as porn by the automod.
- Submissions and discussion welcome. Fascist bullshit will not be entertained. Don't be stupid, and don't say anything that's going to get you in legal trouble.
And, well... we'll see if this is anything, or if it's just a dead blog. It's the new year, so... let's see if we can change the world a little.
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withleftbeef12/17/24 - Woodland, CA - City Council Meeting
Just to start out, I want to put a plug in for communities still livestreaming and recording their routine meetings. For people like me, who have trouble going out, it makes a huge difference in our ability to engage with local politics and policy discussions. It also means that those with busy schedules (also sometimes me) can catch up on current events a little late when necessary.
Y’all do not have to be as longwinded as me - but my hope here is to share “what’s going on locally” for folks who can’t or don’t want to actually watch these two-hour council meetings themselves. In particular, I wanted to capture some of the nuance which is only discussed verbally, and which is easy to miss when you just read the agenda.
Feel free to skip to parts you care about; I’ve tried to add a tl;dr on longer sections as well. Feel free to comment - I’ve done a little editorializing, but I’m far from infallible and happy to discuss.
(And of course, feel free to discuss your own local meetings, politics, and events - this community is open for anyone to post to.)
The big highlights:
- New city ordinances were approved for mobile food vendors (food trucks, carts, etc.)
- Waste Management gave their annual updates and request for rate adjustment.
- City staff gave their annual reports on how sales tax funds were spent.
Meeting information online, including the livestream recording, agenda, and attached items.
( Read more... )
As a note on doxxing, as well - I’m going to again recommend that folks use caution about connecting their other online handles or real names to these discussions. The internet is forever. I’m personally using this handle (withleftbeef) because… frankly, it’s not hard to work out that the person who made the community is the first poster, and it’s probably useful to know that I, as the admin, am contributing.
I’m also fairly insulated from public opinion - I’d like to have some plausible deniability in case any neighbors take issue with my opinions, but my big reason for privacy is that I can’t make public political statements under my own name, as a condition of my job. Since this is pseudonymous, I’m not tying my job’s public reputation to any political opinion, and I’m relatively in the clear.
(Also, honestly, anyone who doesn’t like my politics will probably really not like my queer ass in person - so the added risk is relatively limited.)
However, this is a calculated risk. You can infer what town I live in, and that’s a concern.
I’m not tying this identity obviously to any account where I talk about say, childhood trauma, photos of my house, my physical movements, or anything else that might make me vulnerable if someone finds this account, doesn’t like my politics, and tries to doxx me.
It’s unlikely, but the internet is forever. Better to be careful.
Just to start out, I want to put a plug in for communities still livestreaming and recording their routine meetings. For people like me, who have trouble going out, it makes a huge difference in our ability to engage with local politics and policy discussions. It also means that those with busy schedules (also sometimes me) can catch up on current events a little late when necessary.
Y’all do not have to be as longwinded as me - but my hope here is to share “what’s going on locally” for folks who can’t or don’t want to actually watch these two-hour council meetings themselves. In particular, I wanted to capture some of the nuance which is only discussed verbally, and which is easy to miss when you just read the agenda.
Feel free to skip to parts you care about; I’ve tried to add a tl;dr on longer sections as well. Feel free to comment - I’ve done a little editorializing, but I’m far from infallible and happy to discuss.
(And of course, feel free to discuss your own local meetings, politics, and events - this community is open for anyone to post to.)
The big highlights:
- New city ordinances were approved for mobile food vendors (food trucks, carts, etc.)
- Waste Management gave their annual updates and request for rate adjustment.
- City staff gave their annual reports on how sales tax funds were spent.
Meeting information online, including the livestream recording, agenda, and attached items.
( Read more... )
As a note on doxxing, as well - I’m going to again recommend that folks use caution about connecting their other online handles or real names to these discussions. The internet is forever. I’m personally using this handle (withleftbeef) because… frankly, it’s not hard to work out that the person who made the community is the first poster, and it’s probably useful to know that I, as the admin, am contributing.
I’m also fairly insulated from public opinion - I’d like to have some plausible deniability in case any neighbors take issue with my opinions, but my big reason for privacy is that I can’t make public political statements under my own name, as a condition of my job. Since this is pseudonymous, I’m not tying my job’s public reputation to any political opinion, and I’m relatively in the clear.
(Also, honestly, anyone who doesn’t like my politics will probably really not like my queer ass in person - so the added risk is relatively limited.)
However, this is a calculated risk. You can infer what town I live in, and that’s a concern.
I’m not tying this identity obviously to any account where I talk about say, childhood trauma, photos of my house, my physical movements, or anything else that might make me vulnerable if someone finds this account, doesn’t like my politics, and tries to doxx me.
It’s unlikely, but the internet is forever. Better to be careful.
