Safer Streets, Protected Elections, and Land Returned

In this episode of Good News for Lefties, host Beowulf Rochlen shares stories of strong election campaigns, worker organizing, safer streets, and community efforts to protect democracy and the land. A new Univision-YouGov poll finds Democrat James Talarico leading Republican Ken Paxton 50% to 45% in Texas’s U.S. Senate race, with Talarico gaining ground among younger Latino voters. In South Carolina, former governors David Beasley and Jim Hodges—one Republican and one Democrat—have endorsed Democrat Annie Andrews, saying the state deserves leadership focused on making things better, not deepening political divisions. At MIT, graduate student workers have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. The union says it has been bargaining without a contract since June and is seeking wage increases, back pay, affordable health care, and protections for international employees. Beowulf also highlights a wildlife crossing on Interstate 25 in Colorado. Since the $15 million system of an overpass, underpasses, and fencing opened, just two animal collisions have been reported—down from roughly one a day on that stretch of highway. New York City recorded its lowest number of pedestrian traffic deaths for the first nine months of any year since recordkeeping began in 1910. The 67 deaths mark a 15% decrease from the same period last year, offering encouraging signs for the city’s Vision Zero safety efforts. Plus, Ohio’s election protection groups are mobilizing poll monitors, hotlines, and legal support to help voters cast their ballots safely, while the Penobscot Nation celebrates the return of about 11,000 acres of ancestral land in Maine, with plans for conservation and habitat restoration. Beowulf also shares a recommendation for Band Camp, a comedy podcast exploring banned books, and closes with more good news headlines. Read the stories linked in the episode description, and share this episode with a friend to help spread a little optimism.