Monterey Park becomes the first city in California to ban "all data centers within city limits" Residents of the small enclave east of LA not only killed their city's proposed 250,000 square foot data center, they pushed city council to ban them altogether

Last night, after an hours-long public hearing, Monterey Park became the first city in California to pass an ordinance permanently banning data centers.

The city council voted unanimously to declare data centers a public nuisance, and to "prohibit all data centers within city limits."

My story:

The @cndhistassoc.bsky.social has written to Minister @JulieDabrusin to take issue with this attack on knowledge. You should too! cha-shc.ca/advocacy/cha... #cdnhist #envhist

Register here to receive the Zoom link and reading list: energyethics.st-andrews.ac.uk/cee-reading-...

📖 Join us this Wednesday for the final meeting of the @energy-ethics.bsky.social Virtual Reading Group on #EnergyHeritage! Our concluding theme is INDIGENOUS & SOLAR FUTURES ☀️; we'll be reading Kinder, LaDuke, and some #solarpunk fiction. No need to have attended prior sessions!

I'm committed to supervising / examining only students not using generative AI for any component of their thesis- or dissertation-writing. I'm a critical scholar of AI (this is an area of expertise), and I don't consider synthetic text generation to be demonstrative of any intellectual capacity or rigour and I believe it stands in contradiction to the goals of a higher education.

www.queensu.ca/filmandmedia...

21. Some cultures have produced vital advances; others remain dysfunctional and regressive. All cultures are now equal. Criticism and value judgments are forbidden. Yet this new dogma glosses over the fact that certain cultures and indeed subcultures ... have produced wonders. Others have proven middling, and worse, regressive and harmful. 22. We must resist the shallow temptation of a vacant and hollow pluralism. We, in America and more broadly the West, have for the past half century resisted defining national cultures in the name of inclusivity. But inclusion into what?

⚠️ Palantir released what it describes as a vision for “The Technological Republic” in which it argues AGAINST democratic and cultural pluralism and FOR militaristic supremacy enforced by a technocratic elite who produce AI weaponry.

These points stand out:

Ontario buys used $28.9M private jet for Doug Ford: sources A senior official confirmed that the province this week took possession of a 2016 Bombardier Challenger 650 executive jet.

Doug Ford, to students: "money doesn't go on trees!"

Doug Ford, for himself: uses your tax dollars to buy himself a private jet.

Can we stop pretending Premier "God bless the Westons" cares about everyday people in Ontario?

Repatriation and rematriation come together in two new Chilkat robes for Sitka clan Two Chilkat robes — one very old, one not yet on the loom — will soon belong to a Lingít clan as they work to rebuild their clan house in Sitka.

Good news vibes!

#AlaskaSky #Alaska

Palestine FA officials denied entry to Canada for Fifa pre-World Cup meeting Officials from the Palestine Football Association have been denied entry to Canada ahead of a pre-World Cup meeting of Fifa’s member associations to be held in Vancouver this month

Members of the Palestine FA have been denied visas to enter Canada for the pre-World Cup FIFA Congress on April 30 in Vancouver. These meetings of FIFA's member associations are the main platform the Palestinian FA use to officially raise the issue of illegal Israeli settlement clubs.

This was a good meeting, chaired by @millarlaura.bsky.social and attended by 113 people from museums, archives, libraries, historical societies, along with historians. A temporary advocacy committee is being set up to steer the work coming out of today’s discussion.

#archives #library 📚

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: A Discussion on Federal Funding Cuts to GLAMs in Canada. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting. | Laura Millar I encourage archivists, historians, genealogists, First Nations researchers and others interested in the future of archives, history, research, and accountability across Canada to join this meeting an...

I encourage anyone interested in the future of archives, history, research, and accountability across Canada to join this meeting and help identify strategies for advocacy/awareness raising for galleries, libraries, archives, and museums. April 17, 2026: 12 noon ET.

www.linkedin.com/posts/laura-...

Accessibility Should Be at the Center of Museum Education Art history departments often fail to embed disability studies into their curricula when engaging with art, politics, and identity.

Museum studies courses need to emphasize the importance of ADA compliance in art nonprofits not just as a chore, but as an essential part of an institution’s mission to serve the public.

loved editing this story by Cam Fenton about the hurdles to grizzly restoration in the Cascades. illustrations by the amazing Karlene Harvey, who reimagined grizzlies on the land:

Correctional Services Canada will be eliminating all prison librarians at federal prisons. This will save between $1.5 million and $2.5 million annually.

Parks Canada, which includes responsibility for many national museums across Canada, is “...ceasing or reducing lower priority activities, such as library services,” according to the budget.

The Canadian Museum of History and Canadian War Museum are cutting permanent staff levels by 18% over the next 3 years. Currently, they receive $78 million but at the end of four years, there will be a permanent annual cut of $5.1 million. This has resulted so far in a loss of 67 positions.

A table with monopoly-style money and game materials and players in the background

A yellow vinyl sign on the "Contact photography festival" door with details of the workshop

We had an amazing time playing MINE-O-POLIS at CONTACT Gallery yesterday--thank you to everyone who came out and for your invaluable feedback on the game. We look forward to finalizing it and making it available to all on our website 🎲

Our team got together yesterday for a final "mock play" session of Mine-o-polis before today's soft launch. A labour of love, it is genuinely good and I can't wait for it to be out into the world. If you're into critical extraction studies and alternative modes of public engagement, stay tuned!

Waitlist spots are now available!

Both parties are intent on destroying higher education in Canada, and at the same time Canada likes to make self righteous noises about what is happening in the US re immigration and detentions.
Fix your own back yard.

New special issue of academic zines! journals.library.unt.edu/index.php/un...

Printed game cards including one that says "Ministry of mines and energy"

3-printed gray hard hat and yellow pylon (game piece sized) in someone's hand

Big thanks to our Mine-o-polis team who is working hard behind-the-scenes to get game cards and pieces (3D)printed!
www.beyondextraction.ca/mine-o-polis

Printed board game cards on a table, including a yellow card with the words "Mining Matters" and a black card with the word "Exploration"

Printed Monopoly-style dollar bills with the text "Mine-o-polis" and two 3-printed hard hats

🔍 SNEAK PEEK: preparing for our upcoming #Mineopolis board game workshop this Sunday at CONTACT Gallery! Looking forward to seeing everyone there (registration is currently full but please do sign up for our waitlist) www.eventbrite.com/e/mine-o-pol...

POC Arts Nonprofits Face Severe Staffing Challenges, Survey Finds A new report by Museum Hue sheds light on the difficulties faced by dozens of museums and cultural centers led by people of color in the Northeastern states.

A new report by Museum Hue sheds light on the difficulties faced by dozens of museums and cultural centers led by people of color in the Northeastern states.

So corrupt. Remember when John Horgan retired and went straight to the board of Teck Coal? The NDP is run by corporations for their own interests. thenarwhal.ca/bc-teck-lobb...

Inside Ontario’s push to speed up mining | The Narwhal Ontario says its ‘one project, one process’ (1P1P) framework will speed mining approvals. Many First Nations leaders have questions

After four days at a mining conference with 27,000 people, @fatimabsyed.bsky.social breaks down the buzz around Ontario’s plan to fast-track mine approvals, and why some people still have questions. thenarwhal.ca/ontario-1p1p...

A painting of a prospector panning for gold

For example, you could have used this well-known painting by William Hind found in the BC Archives.

😬