Maryland, New Mexico Become Latest Blue States to Ban Local Contracts with ICE - Bolts Governors Lujan Grisham and Moore signed laws barring local sheriffs and police from partnering with ICE’s 287(g) program, joining a string of eight states with similar prohibitions.

“We’re all very well aware of the risks of the administration lawlessly directing resources at political retaliation. They’re building an immigrant internment camp in western Maryland. If that’s the kind of thing we were trying to avoid, well, it’s coming.”
boltsmag.org/maryland-new...

In Bay Area, Felony Charges Against Student Protesters Prompt Free Speech Concerns - Bolts German Gonzalez grew up about an hour south of Stanford University, in a dusty California farming town where the apples for Martinelli’s sparkling cider are juiced and packaged. In high... Read More

As we witness the punishment of protest across the US, a timely lesson from the Palestine US campus movement: at Stanford, student protesters were not only arrested and suspended from school, some were charged with *felonies* by the Santa Clara DA—a chilling escalation.
boltsmag.org/stanford-san...

Home | Skylight A digital media publication dedicated to documenting New York’s transition to clean energy

Check out the full suite of stories at Skylight.nyc!

Tyrone Thomas: “Stay engaged, even if they’re upset” | Skylight Tenant engagement, specialized support, and independent oversight were key to managing the retrofit at Harlem River Houses, even as it remained a…

And finally, at the center of all this work is, of course, people. It's clear staff at HRH truly cares about the residents, and cares that they experienced this transition with dignity and input.
www.skylight.nyc/articles/edi...

How nonprofit developers financed Harlem River Houses’… | Skylight To complete the multi-million-dollar retrofit, partners on the project leveraged a mix of public and private funding sources

Developers got creative too with how they paid for it all. They turned Harlem River Houses' biggest hindrance--its historic site designation--into an advantage.
www.skylight.nyc/articles/edi...

A heat pump that slots into the façade and is pack(aged)… | Skylight More retrofit projects are shifting toward the use of packaged terminal heat pumps, or PTHP units, as an energy- and cost-efficient way to upgrade a…

And Natasha Ishak did deep dives into how this monumental project was pulled off. My favorite details how architects used a new facade to facilitate heat pumps-- a creative way to double down on efficiency
www.skylight.nyc/articles/edi...

At the Harlem River Houses, HVAC gets a history lesson | Skylight A historic NYCHA development leaves behind steam heat for clean energy as part of a suite of new upgrades

Over at @skylightnyc.bsky.social, we start the year with a fascinating package of stories proving that energy-efficiency can adapt to NYC buildings' storied past. Deep, nuanced reporting from @johnsurico.bsky.social
www.skylight.nyc/articles/edi...

Americans by Name, Punished for Believing It - Bolts In a small Alaska town, American Samoans face prosecution for voting in the only country they’ve ever known. They live in a limbo, created by colonial expansion, that now confuses even public official...

If you were born on US soil, have a US passport, SSN, you can vote in US elections, right?

Not those from American Samoa. They're unique in not having birthright citizenship, something one Alaska town found out the hard way.

Can't-miss story by @burness.bsky.social

boltsmag.org/prosecuted-f...

Among many other takeaways: Spanberger will now inherit the power to decide whether Virginians returning from prison should have their voting rights restored. Youngkin has bucked his predecessors by using this power to deny voting rights to many thousands of people.

This Is Who Charlie Kirk Was | Defector Certainly the dead tend to be thought of more fondly than they were in life. Still, it’s quite disorienting to watch American institutions obediently line up to display the utmost solemnity for a…

This is who Charlie Kirk was: defector.com/this-is-who-...

Let that number sink in: *80* percent of Louisiana's death sentences between 1976 and 2015 were later reversed⬇️

"The Mayor Is Not in Charge of the Jails Anymore" - Bolts Ten years after Kalief Browder’s death by suicide, his story lingers as a reminder of both the horrors of New York City’s Rikers Island and the cascading consequences of solitary... Read More

Advocates have worked for years to end solitary at Rikers, but the practice has persisted. What will happen now that the feds are taking over the jail?

Philadelphia Measure Would Bolster Oversight for the City’s Deadly Jails On May 20, Philadelphia voters will choose whether to create an independent body to investigate dangerous conditions that have plagued the city’s jails for decades.

NEW: Today, Philadelphia voters approved the creation of an independent body to investigate the dangerous conditions that have long plagued the city’s deadly jails.

Local advocates hope this will bolster oversight, Bolts had reported: boltsmag.org/philade...

Newsletter Get the latest news about New York’s clean energy transition delivered straight to you. Sign up for our monthly newsletter!

A reminder that when I'm not writing and edition about the criminal legal system, I'm editing and writing about climate action at @skylightnyc.bsky.social ! Check out the website and sign up for our newsletter here:
www.skylight.nyc/newsletters

In the South Bronx, this co-op sets a high standard | Skylight How one working-class cooperative took an incremental approach to improving efficiency, and found savings along the way

This latest edition at @skylightnyc.bsky.social is we just published is maybe my favorite so far: a group of working-class co-op owners in the Bronx completely revamped their building, complete with solar panels, LED lights, and more!
www.skylight.nyc/articles/edi...

I'm very glad for it to now be published, and grateful to @motherjones.com for being a publishing partner, to @jacobrosenberg.bsky.social whose edits made the piece so much stronger, and @katrinajanco.bsky.social for her impeccable fact-checking.

The Human Cost of Jeff Landry’s Drive to Resume Executions - Bolts Chris Duncan’s death sentence—built on the testimony of two discredited doctors—illustrates just how faulty the system can be.

I hope you’ll take time to read what is maybe @bolts.bsky.social most ambitious story to date. @psfrench.bsky.social spent the better part of a year reporting this story, on calls with Chris, a trip to Louisiana, and sifting through hundreds of pages of documents.
boltsmag.org/the-human-co...

Louisiana is executing prisoners again. His case shows the costs. Gov. Jeff Landry stripped roadblocks to make it easier to kill those on death row. Chris Duncan's story illustrates how faulty the system can be.

Chris’ fate still hangs in the balance. His lawyers have been working furiously for years to prove his conviction should be overturned, but now that Landry restarted the machinery of execution, it underscores what could await him if they're unsuccessful.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Louisiana puts man to death in state's first nitrogen gas execution Louisiana has used nitrogen gas to put a man to death, marking the first time the state has used that execution method.

Just this week, Landry made his goal a reality: On Tuesday night the state executed Chris' friend Jessie Hoffman Jr. by nitrogen hypoxia. It was the first execution the state had seen in more than a decade. apnews.com/article/exec...

The Human Cost of Jeff Landry’s Drive to Resume Executions - Bolts Chris Duncan’s death sentence—built on the testimony of two discredited doctors—illustrates just how faulty the system can be.

But LA governor Jeff Landry, is no great fan of appeals. Since he took office, he’s been keen to resume executions and he and his AG have signalled a, let’s say, impatience with the appeals process along the way. To them, these safeguards are roadblocks.
boltsmag.org/the-human-co...

Louisiana is executing prisoners again. His case shows the costs. Gov. Jeff Landry stripped roadblocks to make it easier to kill those on death row. Chris Duncan's story illustrates how faulty the system can be.

That’s why a person’s right to appeal is so important in death penalty cases. Before the state ends a life, they have to make sure “avenues of potential innocence or procedural violation have been explored, that there is truly no room left for doubt.”
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

The Human Cost of Jeff Landry’s Drive to Resume Executions - Bolts Chris Duncan’s death sentence—built on the testimony of two discredited doctors—illustrates just how faulty the system can be.

But his case is also emblematic of how often the criminal justice system gets it wrong—and how incredibly high the stakes are when the state literally holds people’s lives in its hands. Capital convictions in Louisiana esp have sky-high reversal rates.
boltsmag.org/the-human-co...

Louisiana is executing prisoners again. His case shows the costs. Gov. Jeff Landry stripped roadblocks to make it easier to kill those on death row. Chris Duncan's story illustrates how faulty the system can be.

Chris’ story is marked by incredible twists and turns that made for a deck against him: a conviction back in the 90s based on junk science, testimony from discredited medical experts who, a jailhouse snitch who recanted—the list goes on.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

The Human Cost of Jeff Landry’s Drive to Resume Executions - Bolts Chris Duncan’s death sentence—built on the testimony of two discredited doctors—illustrates just how faulty the system can be.

This week in @bolts.bsky.social: the story of Chris Duncan—a man on Louisiana’s death row fighting to prove his innocence just as the governor ramps up executions again. It’s a monumental story written by @psfrench.bsky.social published w/ @motherjones.com.
boltsmag.org/the-human-co...

My first for Bolts, with many thanks to editor @camillesquires.bsky.social

How Chicago’s Immigrant Rights Groups Plan to Hold the Line on Sanctuary Policies As Trump threatens Chicago, organizers are bracing for raids but also hopeful that a vast suite of local protections and community trainings can limit the scale of deportations.

Chicago is an organizing town. So I'm heartened, but not surprised, to see immigrant rights advocates meet the moment as Trump threatens harmful raids. Really sound reporting from Pascal Sabino for @bolts.bsky.social boltsmag.org/chicago-immi...

As we continue to dive into the ~what happened~ postmortems, let's not forget that this election is part of a long-building backlash to progressive policies, even in seemingly "liberal" strongholds. @psfrench.bsky.social puts it brilliantly:
boltsmag.org/california-p...

If Abortion Measure Fails, Ohioans on Parole And Probation Could Face Graver Restrictions For thousands of people under state supervision who face limits on their freedom to travel, a future without abortion rights could mean a choice "between health care and liberty."

Many Ohioans are eager to weigh in on Issue 1, which would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. But for thousands of people on parole and probation, a future without abortion rights could mean a choice "between health care and liberty."
boltsmag.org/ohio-abortio...