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Midstory •

A New Federal Program Aims to Create the Nation’s Next Silicon Valleys — in the Midwest

When Silicon Valley — the iconic northern California tech cluster home to thousands of companies like Apple, Google and Netflix — started in the 1950s, it had all the right ingredients for innovation and tech-fueled growth: pioneers of the semiconductor, personal computer and internet industries, scholarship and research at area universities, and generous government funding. Now, a new federal program is trying to reproduce this recipe for the 21st century around the country — including in Am...
Midstory •

From ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’ to the ‘Great American Comeback Story’: How a Wisconsin Town Becomes the Focus of Re-Industrializing the Midwest

In 2017, Taiwanese electronic manufacturer Foxconn announced its plan to build a $10-billion, 13,000-people display factory in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. But the factory never came, and much of the land it claimed remains empty. Now, residents are hoping Microsoft will follow through with building an artificial intelligence data center at the same site.
Midstory •

In the nation’s ‘hottest housing market,’ local programs support first-time homebuyers

When Sam Diller, a manufacturing engineer who came to Toledo about six years ago, decided to purchase his first house, he didn’t expect the process to be difficult. For two months, Diller browsed real estate listing websites regularly. He toured dozens of houses with his real estate agent and made multiple “strong offers” that were turned down, he said. One house had 30 other offers.
The Daily Northwestern •

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum talks Russo-Ukrainian War, rise of autocracies at Buffett Lecture

More than 200 people filled Lutkin Hall on Wednesday to hear Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist Anne Applebaum discuss the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War and the rise of autocracies globally in an event organized by the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs.
“One of the metaphors that I like to argue against is this idea that we’re entering a new Cold War … You build a wall, and there are autocracies on one side and democracies on the other, and it’s going to be one side fighting the ot...
The Daily Northwestern •

Leveraging grants and local partnerships, Evanston Latinos looks to open community kitchen pilot in June

Growing up, chef Mario Perez said he was always fascinated by the art of cooking. “As long as I can remember — since I’m the baby of the family — I was always attached to my mom and grandma,” Perez said. “Every time they would cook, I will be right next to them still watching what they do.” As Perez grew older, he began cooking with his family, and the passion led him into the culinary business, he said. For the past 15 years, he has moved between different jobs in the industry, including a bri...
The Daily Northwestern •

City Council rejects proposal to consider shorter leases for downtown civic center, sustain 15-year lease

City Council voted 5-3 at a special meeting Thursday to sustain the city’s plan to lease downtown office space for city government operations for 15 years, rejecting a superseding resolution that would direct city staff to explore shorter leases. 
At its Jan. 22 meeting, City Council voted 6-3 to authorize City Manager Luke Stowe to sign a proposed 15-year lease — with an option to opt out after seven years — at 909 Davis St. for about $2.4 million per year. The downtown space will house city of...
The Daily Northwestern •

Downtown lease sparks concerns over cost, transparency amid discussion on Civic Center’s future

Growing up in Evanston in the 1980s, Emilio Vargas remembers the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center as the building at the center of the city. His mother would bring him to art shows, book fairs and other events. Now, as an adult, Vargas said he most recently went to the Civic Center to vote.
The city, however, is poised to leave the Georgian Revival-style building at 2100 Ridge Ave. — the building that has been the heart of Evanston civic life since 1979 — before the end of the year. 
At its Jan....
The Daily Northwestern •

Year in Review: The biggest stories in Evanston politics in 2023

With City Council gearing up for the new year, The Daily takes a look at Evanston’s biggest political stories in 2023.
March: City Council expands reparations program, allows for cash payments
Evanston became the first city in the U.S. to enact a reparations resolution for Black residents in 2019. The Restorative Housing Program, launched in 2021, initially planned to give eligible Black residents $25,000 housing grants used for mortgage payments, down payments on a new home or renovations.
But,...
Medill News Service •

After China’s surprised chip breakthrough, Washington has new worries about future of export controls

WASHINGTON – When Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was in Beijing in August to discuss trade with economic officials, she and others in the tech industry were shocked by a new smartphone, unveiled by Chinese telecom giant Huawei. The phone was named the Mate 60 Pro, featuring a seven-nanometer processor developed by a Huawei subsidiary and produced at the Chinese semiconductor fabrication plant SMIC. It immediately set off alarm bells among Western nations because it meant that China had achieve...
Medill News Service •

Officials urge economic ‘de-risking’ ahead of Biden-Xi summit

WASHINGTON – Ahead of the first meeting between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping of China since November 2022, legislators, economic officials and China experts were optimistic about reopening communication channels with China but urged the U.S. to rethink economic and diplomatic relationship between the world’s two largest economies.
“There’s broad bipartisan agreement that we need to be much more focused on how we deal with this strategic competition,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)...
Medill News Service •

Meta whistleblower, bipartisan senators call for social media regulation - Medill on the Hill

WASHINGTON – Testimony from a Meta whistleblower on the company’s reluctance to act on online safety and privacy led to a rare bipartisan push for legislation to protect children’s online safety and privacy Tuesday. 
“Meta knows the harm kids experience on their platform, and the executives know that their measures fail to address it,” said Arturo Béjar. “There are actionable steps that Meta can take to address the problem, and … they are deciding time to time again to not tackle this issue.”
Bé...
Medill News Service •

Biden signs executive order, takes ambitious step toward AI regulation

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden signed a long-anticipated executive order on artificial intelligence Monday, marking the federal government’s most comprehensive effort to rein in the technology to date. “One thing is clear: to realize the promise of AI and avoid the risks, we need to govern this technology, and there’s no other way around it,” Biden said during the signing ceremony. The executive order expanded upon a “Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights” the Biden administration issued in 2022...
Medill News Service •

Budget cut ‘catastrophic’ to cybersecurity operation, Biden officials say - Medill on the Hill

WASHINGTON — Cutting the budget of the federal cyber defense agency will severely weaken the government’s protection against foreign cyberattacks, cybersecurity officials told lawmakers Wednesday.
“A significant cut to our budget would be catastrophic. We would not be able to continue [or] even sustain some of the core functions across programs,” said Eric Goldstein, an executive assistant director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, to lawmakers on the House Homeland Securi...
Medill News Service •

Commerce official, tech leaders call for high-skilled immigration overhaul to boost semiconductor industry - Medill on the Hill

WASHINGTON – Congress needs to act on immigration reform for high-skilled workers to fill jobs in the growing U.S. semiconductor industry, a Department of Commerce director and industry experts said on Tuesday. 
“We are imposing a self-inflicted wound on our country and this industry without high-skilled immigration reform,” said David Isaacs, an executive from the Semiconductor Industry Association, a leading technology lobbying group whose clients include Intel, Nvidia and Qualcomm. 
The panel...
Medill News Service •

Congress urged to act on intellectual property, cybersecurity to help small firms - Medill on the Hill

WASHINGTON – Artificial intelligence and cybersecurity researchers urged lawmakers on Thursday to enact tougher legislation to protects American companies and their intellectual property from cyberattacks, especially those from China.
“The Chinese Communist Party, leading the PRC, is the world’s most egregious actor in terms of cyber espionage, targeting private firms,” Benjamin Jensen, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said during a hearing before the House...
Medill News Service •

Booking.com executive said company ‘not viable’ without advertising on Google - Medill on the Hill

WASHINGTON – The head of marketing at Booking.com, the online travel agency, testified in federal court in Washington on Wednesday about Google’s dominance in the search engine and paid search markets – and how companies like his heavily depend on it.
This bench trial is part of a landmark antitrust case filed by the Department of Justice and a group of states three years ago. The lawsuit alleges that Google has illegally maintained a monopoly in the online search business and stifled competitio...
Medill News Service •

Commerce secretary urges new laws aimed at Huawei, TikTok amid China tech threats - Medill on the Hill

WASHINGTON – Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told the Senate on Wednesday that recent reports on Huawei’s new smartphone are still “incredibly disturbing” and expressed support for legislation to strengthen her department’s ability to regulate foreign information and communications technology.
During Raimondo’s visit to China in August, Huawei began selling its newest phone, which reportedly contains a processor made by the Chinese chip manufacturer SMIC – an indication that China has made brea...
Medill on the Hill •

Top election officials call for stronger AI rules to safeguard elections

WASHINGTON — Election experts, including a former head of the Federal Election Commission, warned members of Congress on Wednesday of the dangers of AI-generated content in elections. 
Trevor Potter, a Republican who chaired the FEC under President Bill Clinton, said he worries that so-called deepfake content  — computer-generated videos of fabricated speech and action that seem realistic — will mislead voters.
“Unchecked, the deceptive use of AI could make it virtually impossible to determine w...
The Daily Northwestern •

Mayor Biss talks Evanston-NU relationship, economic recovery at State of the City address

Mayor Daniel Biss. The mayor chairs City Council as a mostly non-voting member that presides over council discussion and votes.

About 100 Evanston community members filled the auditorium at Evanston SPACE for Mayor Daniel Biss’ second annual State of the City address Tuesday.

This year’s event, which was free and open to all Evanston residents for the first time, was a departure from previous addresses held at the Evanston Chamber of Commerce. Biss said he wanted to make the address more intim...
The Daily Northwestern •

City Council approves Connections for the Homeless rooming house permit, signs operating agreement

Ald. Jonathan Nieuwsma (4th). Niewusma said he has been working on the operating agreement for the Margarita Inn to address residents’ concerns.

City Council voted Monday to approve a special use permit for Connections for the Homeless to operate a rooming house at the Margarita Inn.

Connections, an Evanston-based nonprofit, has been offering housing services to individuals experiencing houselessness at the five-story residential building on Oak Avenue since March 2020.

Following the city’s d...
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