Streetsblog

Tuesday’s Headlines From Around the Nation

Cities across America begin curfews to prevent people from expressing outrage over the murder of George Floyd. Plus the rest of the news.

By Kea Wilson

12:01 AM EDT on June 2, 2020

Multiple cities announced curfews to prevent residents from protesting the murder of George Floyd and systemic police brutality, including New York (NYT), Ferguson, Mo. (St. Louis Fox 2 Now) and particularly stringent 6 p.m. curfews in Los Angeles (LA Times) and Seattle (Seattle Times).
And President Trump basically said he’d use the U.S. military against his domestic enemies. (NYT)
NYC’s curfew will allow essential workers access to the streets in their cars, but the city is cutting off access to micro mobility services like Citi Bike and Revel scooters. (Streetsblog NYC)
A 7 p.m. curfew in Washington, D.C. will limit access to polling places, which close at 8 p.m on Tuesday. (Slate)
Vehicle-ramming attacks are becoming disturbingly common at protests, and both the police (Streetsblog NYC) and civilian counter-protestors (Vox) are behind the wheel.
No one should have to find out what being hit with a rubber bullet feels like, but this black photo journalist who was assaulted by the Los Angeles Police offered a detailed description (The Cut). Another photo journalist lost her vision in one eye to a rubber bullet shot by a police officer in Minneapolis (Daily Mail). And an Indiana journalist lost an eye completely when an officer assaulted him with a tear gas canister. (The Hill)
Dozens of cities from Minneapolis to Miami enacted full or partial public transportation shut-downs over the weekend in response to protests, leaving vulnerable workers stranded and cutting off access to protest spaces. (Trains, Streetsblog Chicago)
A group of medical professionals authored an open letter advocating for an anti-racist public health response to protests during the COVID-19 pandemic, including specific recommendations for keeping protestors safe from virus transmission through modifications to public space and the policies that govern it. (NPR)
The murder of George Floyd is prompting some long-overdue soul-searching among white planners about how their profession contributes to structural racism, and Planetizen has a good roundup of resources that mostly center people of color. (Planetizen)
The Federal Transit Administration announced the recipients of its annual Capital Investment Grants program, including major rail and bus rapid transit expansions for Los Angeles, Phoenix, Lake County, Ind. and more. (Metro Magazine)
Some are predicting that a surge in telework will lead to a surge in neighborhood corner stores that will help make walkable life possible for more Americans. Fingers crossed. (Treehugger)
Remember Trump’s promise to make drive-through coronavirus testing available at every Target and Walgreens in America? Yeah, that didn’t really work out — and it wouldn’t have helped non-drivers much anyway. (NPR)
Remember all those predictions that COVID-19 would lead to a mass exodus from the cities to the suburbs? Yeah, not so much on that, either. (CNBC)
Here’s a common-sense explanation in under three minutes for why a plunge in transportation emissions hasn’t cut overall carbon emissions as much as you’d think. (Digg)

Kea Wilson

Kea Wilson is Senior Editor for Streetsblog USA. She has more than a dozen years experience as a writer telling emotional, urgent and actionable stories that motivate average Americans to get involved in making their cities better places. She is also a novelist, cyclist, and affordable housing advocate. She lives in St. Louis, MO. For tips, submissions, and general questions, reach out to her at kea@streetsblog.org, or on Bluesky @keawilson.bsky.social.

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