@nithyaforthecity.bsky.social is neck-and-neck for second place with right-wing MAGA asshole Spencer Pratt in the LA mayoral primary. Polls show she can beat Bass head-to-head in November if she can beat Pratt in the primary. secure.actblue.com/donate/nithy...

Which candidate will will fix Caltrans so it stops doing stupid things has not been addressed in the gubernatorial debates.

The data showing some vaccines offer substantial reduction in the risk to develop dementia has further generalized to most vaccines seeming to have a preventative effect. Even more wild: that effect appears to be dose dependent for the yearly flu vaccine, with a higher dose having greater impact.

Great news on the e-bike front! The two bad e-bike bills, ones that would have truly threatened the e-bike industry in California, are dead in the Appropriations Committee.

If enough progs can get in behind Steyer we can absolutely shut Republicans out of the race in November, which will not just guarantee a Democratic win, but will depress Republican turnout across the board

Folks! Have you gathered signatures for Connect Bay Area and/or Stronger Muni for All? May 17 is the last day you can turn in signatures! We still need what you've gathered, and have posted a ton of turn-in events across the five inner Bay Counties this week. Find them here: luma.com/connectbayarea

Reactionaries on Twitter having a normal day.

Do you care about biking and E bikes in California? There is a terrible bill in the state assembly that will cripple the e bike industry and one of SF's representatives, Matt Haney, is a sponsor. This law is so severe our current bike share bikes would be banned

Folks! Have you gathered signatures for Connect Bay Area and/or Stronger Muni for All? May 17 is the last day you can turn in signatures! We still need what you've gathered, and have posted a ton of turn-in events across the five inner Bay Counties this week. Find them here: luma.com/connectbayarea

Happen to be in NYC this Friday? You should go to this.

Polls in the CA gubernatorial primary show some interesting bi-modal results, and I wish I had time to dig in and figure out why. Half the polls show Becerra coming out on top of a close race with Hilton. The the half show Hilton coming in first with Steyer coming in close second.

”You weren’t there” is a hauntingly accurate way to describe local politics. Constituent power is dominated by: 1. Homeowners looking to minmax their property investment 2. Businesses lobby groups + select rich power players …and they tip the scales pretty hard against the needs of everyone else.

One of the most BARTable trails in the Bay Area, the Ironhorse, is a great day trip from anywhere BART runs. Lots of food along the way! A nice beginner level longer bike ride. I need to go back!

it is incredible to see folks complain that good people don't run for office, that lawmaking is a hobby for the rich, that our state legislators are run by car dealership freaks, and then insist that we shouldn't pay lawmakers any more than we do.

Sorry SF pols, but associating with with AEI is either a tell you don't understand national politics at all and who AEI is, or that you see AEI as acceptable. You look bad either way. Here's AEI's homepage today. missionlocal.org/2026/05/cons...

NEW: Queer S.F. leaders blasted Marie Hurabiell—congressional candidate & Mayor Lurie ally—for a video she made attacking rival Scott Wiener. They called her remarks homophobic. It's a bridge too far for Lurie, who also condemned his erstwhile ally. missionlocal.org/2026/05/sf-m...

Awesome to see this effort back, and nice to see the PDF writing code in action again, I suspect in the capable hands of @bryanculbertson.com. It's vital we get politicians on the record about how they do (or don't) support/understand public transit and transportation.

You commonly see disbelief that other local residents could disagree, and thus they have to be "paid" and are "imposing themselves." Notably, the status quo is never seen as imposed as it's assumed by the special interests that they represent the majoritarian view.

For better or worse, Steyer has become the clear choice. We don't need four more years of approaching climate like we can respond on a timeline we want, rather than the one so clearly posed to us by physics.

Viva MUNI! GOOOOOAAAALLLLLL!

SF Gov TV broadcasting the congressional debate at 480p is very SF. Home of tech, and the tech from 2008 has fully penetrated government.

Scoop from WIRED's @aarianmarshall.bsky.social: First responders have warned feds that Waymo is backsliding. Head of San Francisco emergency mgmt: “We are actually seeing something interesting: backsliding of some things that had [been] improved upon. They are committing more traffic violations.”

Would love for this to be recognized more, as it helps orient toward problem solving.

“If you’re in the Bay Area, one of the absolute most important things you can do for the climate is get yourself a signature packet, talk to neighbors, get some signatures, help us save our transit,” says Carter Lavin, co-founder of @transbaycoalition.bsky.social. 🧵 2/3

“California is preparing to share with an outside organization detailed information about driver’s license holders, including immigrants who do not have legal authorization to live in the U.S. That breaks a promise the state made a decade ago…”

Yes, let's build a "narrow" 50 mile damn, up to 300 feet deep, in very rough ocean waters. That's the reasonable course of action instead of spending the same money to expedite action to eliminate carbon emissions.

Launched my first website 🎉 Right now it allows you to select street segments and chart out traffic crashes. Hoping to expand it more to other data sources and include street changes. sfmapdata.com

🚌 ICYMI, TENUOUS TRANSIT: SFTMA has approved a budget that hinges on two ballot measures to keep buses running. If those don't go through, reports @alariosj.bsky.social, it's SF's senior citizens who could bear the brunt of service cuts. Read the story: thefrisc.com/san-francisc...

I will take AV advocates more seriously when they grapple with the fact the primary AV company, Waymo, has no interest in following the laws they believe can be broken without penalty. This suggests their commitment to safety is for marketing and liability, not a fundamental commitment.

I've met Nithya, and she's the real deal. If you're in LA and value transit and housing, she's your candidate. We need more left-leaners with a positive vision and who are willing to do the very hard work within very imperfect systems to lead to better outcomes. The politics of no lead nowhere.

I need a ELI5 on WTF is going on the Fed Chair confirmation hearings. Did I miss Powell stepping down? Are they trying to appoint even though there has been no resignation? What is going on here?

“If you haven’t gathered signatures yet, it’s a great time to jump in as we approach our final push,” wrote @cyrushall.bsky.social . “Every event includes training, so it’s easy to start. And you can earn a ‘Fund the Bus’ hat and other swag by gathering.” luma.com/connectbayarea

An under-regulated Waymo will be a disaster for cities just like under-regulated TNCs were. This has been staring us in the face for tears. There are real safety problems here. But trying to make safety the main/only framing is distracting from the biggest structural risk: an explosion in VMT.

The year is 2192. The voters of San Francisco are voting on the Great Highway opening up to cars again. No one remembers where this tradition originated, but every year it attracts many tourists from all over the world.

Bay Area transit is at a turning point. BART warns of major cuts without new funding, and Muni, AC Transit, and Caltrain may follow. Cuts to one system affect all. A November funding measure could prevent a transit crisis. transformca.org/ac-transit-m...

Sleep well y'all.

The feds under President Trump have tried to send more than 1,300 people in San Francisco to 3rd countries to pursue their asylum cases. For many, that has pushed them over the edge: Hundreds here are now choosing to self-deport, & give up seeking refuge. missionlocal.org/2026/04/sf-i...

Infilla has a great team and leadership. If you're looking for a position and are interested in helping a company with a mission to make permitting easier to understand, Infilla is worth checking out!

Tomorrow (4/13/2026) is the CA Assembly Transportation Committee's hearing on Asm Papan's AB1557, proposing reduced 16 mph Class 1 & 2 e-bike top speeds (down from 20 mph now), starting 2027. I sent my comments opposing the bill (attached) & you can too, here: calegislation.lc.ca.gov/Advocates/fa...

More barriers for teens to access legal e-bikes will mean more teen drivers, & increased likelihood of tragedies like these. 3 teen drivers were killed in Walnut Creek car crashes in 2 years. But the mayor came out only to support an e-bike license bill, w no action wrt the actual fatalities

The US has been selling the concept of precision strikes for 30 years. It's a fantasy - you can't constrain the blast of a massive explosion to just the building you're targeting. And as the article makes clear, often the weapons don't hit the inferred intended target.

Love seeing Muni and BART with the highest rail ridership growth in the US. If we pass @connectbayarea.bsky.social measure, ridership growth will continue. If we don’t, service will be slashed and ridership will plummet - Bay Area way of life and economy will crumble. We must pass this measure!

So we talked to the author of the 25th amendment. (89 years young!) And we went through the text. It solved a real problem, but it wasn't the problem we have right now. I'd like a deus ex machina for what we're going through too, but this ain't it. From Moe Tkacik and I: prospect.org/2026/04/07/w...

Mission Local is GROWING! You don't need to be a particularly close reader to know we've been reporting beyond the Mission District for some time. We're now making it official: We've launched landing pages in 5 neighborhoods, w/dedicated beat reporters in each...

I feel sick to my stomach waiting around to see what atrocity Trump has in mind for the people of Iran this evening. It's hard to fathom our other elected leaders aren't able to check him in any meaningful way. It's an indictment not just of voters but of our whole system. We're ruled by a mad king.

What a misapplication of resources. Embarrassing stuff from the city, they cannot be bothered to provide safe infrastructure for people outside of cars and now want to focus on punishing them www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/b...

Did you know the BART is running out of funding? Grateful we could spend the weekend supporting a ballot initiative to fund it — and for our 6-year-old’s talent making the poster on the left

The Moe's Books sweatshirt goes hard. Also fuck ICE.

But shall this crazed old man be tamely suffered to drag a whole ship’s company down to doom with him?