@ihppod.bsky.social Delegate Marc Korman’s commentary on the misuse of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices is one of those things that seems abstruse and small-bore, but it’s actually a massive problem for public safety. Kudos to him for raising the alarm—and to you for amplifying them!

MCPS hasn't closed a school since the 1980s, but the superintendent says it's time to close Silver Spring International MS, citing declining systemwide enrollment, rising costs, and a 90-year-old building originally built as a high school– bethesdamagazine.com/2025/10/13/m...

@dcbeer.com Do we know why no Snallygaster beer list has been released, yet? Is one coming? I always look forward to your rankings and recommendations!

a dad in Kensington tried to get sidewalks built for his disabled son. Montgomery County basically said it was his job to win over his neighbors, who lashed out at *him* for the proposal. this is simply not how government should work– www.thebanner.com/community/lo...

But to get an ample supply of old buildings with low rents (for both apartments and businesses), we have to build new buildings and let them age. Eventually, many of those new buildings will become dingy, gritty, run-down buildings, with low rents for local entrepreneurs (and their employees).

And.... we're live: www.thebanner.com/montgomery/

@ihppod.bsky.social Your podcast got a very nice shout-out on the latest Slate Political Gabfest episode (at the very end). slate.com/podcasts/pol...

Hardest secret I’ve ever had to keep — today is my first day as the Montgomery County Government and Politics Reporter for Baltimore Banner’s new Montgomery County bureau! I couldn’t be more excited to join this incredible team while continuing to cover the county. Stay tuned for our launch date! 🗞️

@kedseconomist.com You got a shout-out on the Ezra Klein Show today. Nice! It was a very Optimist Economy-style episode.

"Private equity is causing the housing crisis" is a very common take that mixes up cause and effect. Single-family homes are an attractive investment vehicle for private equity because there's a shortage of them, not the other way around.

really feels like housing affordability is one of the most important political issues of our time, affecting nearly every aspect of our lives, and everyday our mainstream political discourse is about whether sour cream is woke or not

A new paper by Vincent Rollet at MIT replicates Li's 2022 finding that new construction reduces rents within a 500-foot radius in NYC vrollet.github.io/files/city_s...

You know that post btw a car’s windshield and side window? It’s called an A-pillar – and it’s becoming a problem. A-pillars are expanding, enlarging driver blind zones and concealing pedestrians at crosswalks. Blame car bloat, as well as ill-conceived federal rules. Me, in Bloomberg 🧵

Just a minor side effect of car dominance.

@ncibpodcast.bsky.social Beautiful day for a parade! Just saw the Thunderbolts go by. Hanging out near the co-op. Give me a shout if you’re set up somewhere close!

@ncibpodcast.bsky.social I hope y’all talk a little bit about the start of the AUSL this week. It’s been fun to see it streamed/televised on MLB.tv (and sometimes ESPN).

@ncibpodcast.bsky.social Any advice for checking out a Baysox game? I’m taking my extended family to a game in May; we’ll have several young kids with us. I’ve never been, before. Any tips on seats, parking, food, fun stuff?

Montgomery County Police report that crime in downtown Silver Spring has decreased by 7.6 percent over the past year, including a significant reduction in carjackings and robberies.

Remember that the point of flex posts is that cars can easily drive over them with no consequences. They don't serve any other purpose.

The real enemy of affordability isn't high-end, "luxury" apartments which, evidence shows, can actually help keep rents down. Prices skyrocket when we refuse to expand housing options & force people into bidding wars over existing homes.

Our #prohousing reframes cheat sheet & a bunch more stuff for talking about zoning for affordability, equity and sustainability here: www.sightline.org/2019/12/31/a...

Well this is a bit dark

The take I am most certain of that gets me in the most trouble is just "The reason homes are so expensive is because there are not enough of them, so we really really really need to build more of them."

I don't think I have ever seem a norm go from widely accepted to completely irrelevant as quickly as the importance of minimizing conflicts of interests

(speaking as an individual) The requests for a pause on moving forward on attainable housing strategies disturbs me. Our housing shortage is inextricably linked to a lot of other issues that we need to address here. This includes education, economic development, tax rates, & more.

Great @jerusalem.bsky.social podcast on political psychology of NIMBYism. NIMBYs are opposed to housing because they don't like density, whereas YIMBYs do. Corollary is that YIMBYism is a flywheel: building new housing generates support for new housing. www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/arc...

fascinated by a rhetorical strategy i see all the time now, which is making up an extreme edge case to argue against doing anything for the public good, and doing this from the putative left.

I truly believe that NIMBYism, the ensuing crisis of housing supply in America’s cities, and its manifold, rippling, ramifying effects, amounts to slow seppuku by the Democratic Party.

Absolute bullshit. You prevent it with properly spaced and rated bollards. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01...

The truck used in the New Orleans terrorist attack is a Ford F-150 Lightning, which is perfectly designed for this kind of attack. It weighs more than 6000 lbs, accelerates to 60 mph in just 4 seconds, and the battering-ram-shaped front is nearly 5 feet tall. Deadly by design.

WHO PICKED THIS FONT?!?! THIS IS LIKE A POWERPOINT FROM 1997.

Because safety doesn't sell, and we have almost zero effective regulatory tools in the US to require that cars (regardless of who is driving them) actually operate in a safe, lawful manner. So, it's literally irrational to expect Waymo or any other AV to protect anyone but its occupants.

READ: How can EVERYONE resolve to help improve their city? With #NewYearsEve approaching, heading into what will be an extra challenging year for our cities, re-read my “25 simple #NewYearsResolutions to improve your city” in @fastcompany.com. What would YOU add? www.fastcompany.com/90287193/25-...

This was a choice. Not by the person walking but by the decision makers who refuse to prioritize them. Photo Credit: D_S_J_

It turns out the most effective tool to get more housing built might just be: stop forcing people to build parking…. Parking Reform Alone Can Boost Homebuilding by 40 to 70 Percent www.sightline.org/2024/12/10/p...

Kids don't always want to be on screens, they just need spaces and places to live, grow and play independently.

The pro-car advisor responsible for the death of multiple public transit improvements being taken down for bribery over a Porsche is literally a Hollywood-style ending to her career. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/n...

“It's amazing how pollution has dropped in #Paris in 15 years. @annehidalgo.bsky.social has filled the city with bike-lanes & not only has she reduced pollution by 40% but she’s also been re-elected.” Trading car space for green space, bike space, kid space…trading pollution for people. Good trade.

“…disabled people are actually less likely to drive than nondisabled people and more likely to get around by walking and rolling and taking transit. Car-heavy cities are also disproportionately dangerous for disabled folks…” @nondriver.bsky.social in @motherjones.com #Accessibility

Vaccine exemptions in Michigan have nearly doubled since 2020, increasing from 3.2% to 6.2% in 2023. Cases of whooping cough in Michigan are currently higher than they’ve been for 20 years. This is what happens when vaccine misinformation flourishes. www.bridgemi.com/michigan-hea...

“Between July ‘23 and June ‘24, first-time home buyers purchased less than 1/4 of the homes that sold, the lowest share since 1981. The ones who did buy were older than ever, with a median age of 38. In the 1980s, first-time buyers were generally in their late 20s.” www.nytimes.com/2024/12/11/r...

Not a media basher generally, but "martial law misstep" is genuinely an insane headline

there is really something fascinating about a politician from lower Manhattan complaining about shadows tall buildings. you chose to live in the densest place in the country! if you don’t like it, the other 99.9% of the U.S. is there for you!

One of the most subtly insane aspects of the unrelenting car dependency we’ve deliberately built across North America is the incredible reluctance we have to remove the driving privilege, even from those who clearly are a danger to themselves & others, because “people have to drive.” #CarDependency

From day one, car apologists have framed the car as a freedom-providing, status-improving comfort machine. Reality, it would seem, tells a different story. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

People have been asking, “How could we have passed hundreds of housing laws and still not see a major uptake in production?” Zoning tells us what is possible and it will take more reforms to make housing construction happen. These themes are in no particular order: