ASC's Intersections Newsletter — September 17, 2026
🎧 Listen to this article
Nora's Note
Small Businesses Need a Voice. I have written before about the importance of giving small businesses a seat at the table. This is one of those moments.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) is considering changes to the size standards used in federal contracting. The issue may sound technical, but the effect on women-owned firms like ASC could be significant. These standards help determine which companies compete for work reserved for small businesses. If they change, small firms could find themselves competing against companies with far greater resources.
Small business owners know their markets. We know our competitors, the challenges of growth, and the difference one federal contract can make. That experience should be part of the record. The U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce has created a tool to help business owners submit comments to the SBA. Comments are due Monday, September 21.
If your business could be affected, I hope you will take the time to comment. The SBA needs to hear directly from the small businesses these rules are meant to serve.
Transportation
Twenty-five years after 9/11, Lower Manhattan’s transit network reflects how reconstruction reshaped the area’s daily movement. The attacks destroyed the World Trade Center PATH station and Cortlandt Street subway station. In the years that followed, the Oculus, WTC Cortlandt, and Fulton Center rebuilt successfully, channeling in a new era for the region’s transit systems. Read more about how the rebuilding transformed downtown transit: the costs, challenges, and design choices behind it. (Source: AMNY)
Gothamist: New renderings of the MTA’s IBX project serving Brooklyn, Queens are out
Streetsblog: A Brooklyn dad reflects on five years of safe streets advocacy
Mass Transit Magazine: FTA awards $233M in new ASAP funding for station upgrades across five states
Climate
Heatwaves are the deadliest climate event worldwide, killing an estimated 489,000 annually, and their danger is getting worse with climate change making heatwaves more frequent and severe. Cities amplify the danger by replacing natural areas with paved roads and concrete buildings that trap and radiate heat in a phenomenon called the heat island effect. So, cities around the world came together for the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) “Beat the Heat” initiative to share low-tech and low-carbon solutions to ease extreme heat by up to 8 degrees Celsius. Learn more about the cities beating the heat here. (Source: Happy Eco News)
Inside Climate News: How Alabama Power escaped a push for tighter regulation with record profits intact
Grist: More than 70% of new solar is being built in states that voted for Trump
Canary Media: Balcony solar is this year’s clean energy superstar in the US
Economic Development
As New York City expands its free childcare program for 2-year-olds (2-K), Mayor Zohran Mamdani has named Erica Phillips to lead the Education Department’s early childhood division. Phillips brings experience leading childcare nonprofits and helping providers navigate city contracts, as more than 5,700 families applied for just over 2,000 seats this application season. The expansion aims to allow more parents to work while easing financial pressure on families. Read more about the program here. (Source: The City Reporter)
Smart Cities Dive: Renters benefit from energy-efficient appliances through Orlando program
Planetizen: San Antonio announces $2.5B plan for public housing
Brick Underground: Community Opportunity to Purchase Act moves closer to a vote
Digital
Texas is expanding access to cybersecurity tools as public agencies face growing needs to protect their systems and data. The Texas Department of Information Resources’ Cooperative Contracts Program will make contracts available for services including encryption, threat monitoring, backup and recovery, and biometric authentication. Learn more about the state’s upcoming cybersecurity procurement and its broader schedule of technology solicitations today. (Source: GovTech)
Route Fifty: Environmentalists push Michigan lawmakers to forge ahead on moratorium and regulations for data centers
TechCrunch: What’s behind the AI industry’s latest warnings of doom?
Forbes: Physical AI is making waves with maritime recreational vehicles
About Arch Street Communications
At ASC, we help government agencies, corporations and nonprofit organizations across the globe communicate issues that affect people’s lives. We’re the bold, nimble, women-owned small business (WBE) that has supported strategic communications programs to build stronger communities for 30 years.
Ready to find the “simple truth” solutions to build a better future? We want to hear from you! Get in touch to learn how our signature approach can work for you.
Subscribe to Arch Street Communications' Newsletter Intersections
