Nimble Imby: R Street Institute Acquires In My Backyard Blog

• August 15th 2013

by UrbanTurf Staff

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Michael Hamilton’s IMBYdc blog has found a supporter in a like-minded DC-based think tank.

On Thursday, The R Street Institute announced it had “assumed responsibility” for In My Backyard – D.C., a blog that the Columbia Heights-based Hamilton started to counterbalance the NIMBY or Not in my Backyard movement which, he told UrbanTurf back in March, “leads a small group of active opponents to sometimes derail developments that the more-silent majority may favor.”

In addition to acquiring the blog, Hamilton joined R Street as an associate policy analyst, but will be keeping his day job. R Street president Eli Lehrer told UrbanTurf that the organization plans to modestly increase the frequency of the site’s content in the near term and host events publicizing the blog starting in October. The organization will also promote IMBYdc through its public relations channels.

The R Street Institute is a conservative think tank founded in June 2012 by former employees of the Heartland Institute’s Center on Finance, Insurance and Real Estate. The organization’s mission statement states support of “free markets; limited, effective government; and responsible environmental stewardship.”

“In My Backyard is in line with our mission,” Lehrer said. “We liked the work that Michael had been doing and it seemed like a good cause that was worth supporting.”

Hamilton started IMBYdc after reading about the proposed liquor license moratorium centered on U Street. The site has not been updated very frequently, but we imagine that will change in the coming months.

Update: Michael Hamilton emailed UrbanTurf about the acquisition:

IMBYdc won’t change at all in terms of perspective or policy goals. I will be the sole person at R Street contributing to the blog. Partnering with the think tank is important because it will give me greater resources to work on a wider scope of issues than I have been able to in the past.

My role will be largely the same, but I’m working on adding new features to the site that will better connect IMBYdc supporters with each other so that we can cover a lot of ground together. Readers should expect more work on specific development projects, and more coverage of NIMBYism around the District.

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This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/nimble_imby_r_street_institute_acquires_in_my_backyard_blog/7462.