Building community is fun, and getting around by bike really gives you perspective. This is Bike Church ATL rolling through Westwood Terrace earlier today.

The Eastside Trail rail project is shovel ready. Why did the mayor do a 180 in March and scrap it? Why is ABI pushing for a low capacity autonomous pod pilot? GDOT is about to throw $9.5 billion (with a B) at a project on 285/400, so spare me the argument about the cost of rail. youtu.be/02y4_fd8jvY

A synopsis, if I may: Build the freaking rail on the Beltline, which we voted for and have been promised repeatedly. AND we need more/better pedestrian and bike infrastructure to/from points of interest all over town so that there will be more places LIKE the Beltline… 1/

Funny but also insightful. I’d broaden that out to small businesses that fight infrastructure projects that would benefit the common good. There are businesses in Atlanta I won’t patronize because their selfish, short-sighted owners, who don’t know what’s good for them, are fighting Beltline rail.

Nothing to worry about here, just @justinling.ca reporting on Pete Hegseth's plan to cut up to 75 percent of workers who stop the spread of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. Sure it'll be fine www.wired.com/story/pentag...

I continue to be astounded by how much of the DC media is just credulously providing stenography for Trump — treating the simple fact that Trump LEGALLY can’t achieve what many of his EOs “order” as an aside.

Errors and/or lies?

Some people were pretty incredulous when we published this before the election www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...

Having served as a Moscow correspondent in the early days of Putin's reign, this reminds me of how the Kremlin took over its own press pool and made sure that only compliant journalists were given access.

Just as he tried to redefine "hoax" to mean true stories that he didn't want people to believe, Trump is trying to redefine "fraud" to mean government spending that he doesn't like.

Too many journalists think we should interview the asteroid and entertain its talking points.

Good. Didn’t expect Hochul to push back forcefully if at all. Every patriotic politician should be holding up that visual of “the king.” Every American should be extremely worried about what’s happening. Every journalist must take it on without bothsidesism and false equivalency.

Keeping an eye on how this plays out. Congestion pricing has been wildly successful in NYC.

Amazing numbers

Atlanta needs a new city charter.

Musk and his unvetted minions already have collected so much data, and God only knows what else they’ve done while playing beat the legal clock.

“Marshmallows are for team players, Dylan. They don’t just hand them out.”

I linked DOGE staffer Marko Elez to a deleted X account that advocated repealing the Civil Rights Act, backed a “eugenic immigration policy,” and wrote, “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity." He just resigned. www.wsj.com/tech/doge-st...

Is Trump carrying pictures of Chairman Mao? The terrorizing of bureaucrats, Orwellian moves on language, attacks on universities, and a cult following have some historians seeing eerie parallels to Mao's 1966 cultural revolution. Can this one be stopped? My column www.inquirer.com/opinion/trum...

This is insane. nymag.com/intelligence...

I’ve always known in my heart that if I had lived in Nazi Germany, I would’ve fought Hitler tooth and nail. But what’s happening here is pretty different and I’ve got bills to pay so…

Not surprised

Alarming af

Indeed it is. saportareport.com/rail-transit...

A US appeals court threw out consumer protection rules adopted by the Biden administration to ban bait-and-switch tactics and prohibit auto dealers charging for add-on costs that do not benefit new car buyers reut.rs/3PQfjuD

And even if the firings are, in fact, legal, can't we also focus on what it says about Trump's unwillingness to subject the conduct of his administration to even the most minimal oversight that he removed even inspectors general who *he* previously appointed? Neither of these points should be hard.

And for as cynical as many have become about #SCOTUS, if *I* were trying to get the constitutionality of the Impoundment Control Act before this Supreme Court, the absolute *last* way I would do it is through an across-the-board, wholesale freeze accomplished via a thinly reasoned 2-page memorandum.

To play this out, there will be literally dozens of lawsuits challenging what OMB is doing on the ground that it violates the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. Trump’s DOJ will argue that the Act is unconstitutional. And this will quickly get to #SCOTUS, where it will be the biggest case of the term.

No biggie, I’m sure. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Looking at you @andreforatlanta.com

Every year, the World Economic Forum at Davos reports on the consensus of risks facing the world. In the short-term, it's DISINFORMATION. Long-term, it's CLIMATE CHANGE. And, guess what, they're linked!

@willbunch.bsky.social alone makes the Philadelphia Inquirer worth the subscription, but here is a gift link for those who don't have one. share.inquirer.com/XYSvBa

The price of eggs in the US is spiking, mostly due to #H5N1 bird flu. Solving the problem requires urgent, important communications from the CDC & FDA* and rapid development of research by the NIH** * Currently paused by Executive Order ** Grant reviews now all canceled www.kcur.org/news/2025-01...

It's obviously too early for officials to take a victory lap — a safe one, that is — but a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation said the agency was "pleased" by Streetsblog's number-crunching, though added, "It’s too soon to draw conclusions." nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/01/23/c...

GenXer and ebike commuter here. I’d love to ditch my car completely. www.autoblog.com/news/nearly-...

The amount of water in the atmosphere hit a record high in 2024 with 4.9% above the 1991–2020 average. This trend heightens the potential for extreme rainfall events. Explore the Global Climate Highlights 2024 report: bit.ly/40kQpcz #C3S #GCH2024

In 2020, we mapped out the danger zones that will close in on Americans over the next 30 years — combining climate data with wildfire projections by US Forest Service researchers. See what changes are in store for your county. By @shaw.al , @abrahm.bsky.social & Jeremy W. Goldsmith

“I see a difference, definitely,” said Tony, who has spent 18 years as a bus operator for the MTA. “There have been no delays the entire week, and when I look to my left and right down the avenues I can see all the way down – I’ve never seen it like that.” nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/01/10/m...

“When municipalities implement traffic safety initiatives, media coverage often frames the story in terms of inconveniences for drivers. The attention is on the potential nuisance rather than a life-saving intervention.” H/t @urbanismspeakeasy.com

Nowhere is safe and most people are still oblivious. If I hear one more person complain about having to pay for parking I will lose my damn mind.

Folks: please be diligent about not disseminating Ann Telnaes' cartoon in a way that she's not getting the clicks on it (until she says differently). Her IP matters now more than ever. Make it go viral but make sure she benefits. anntelnaes.substack.com/p/why-im-qui...

As ever, the loss of something good and useful for Americans is framed as a loss for Democrats — in the mass media, everything becomes just a political football to be kicked back and forth instead of examined for its impact on everyday citizens regardless of political party.

Car dependency in the U.S. is a major cause of so many serious societal problems, and poor mental and physical health are definitely on the list. We’re making ourselves miserable in our metal cages on wheels, but so many of us are so afraid of change we can’t fathom another way.

Want to watch me explain public transit planning in a smooth professional video? The first of my 2 online courses is free at Planetizen Courses thru the end of January. Happy holidays! humantransit.org/2024/12/two-... @planetizen.bsky.social

Charlotte is leaving Atlanta in the dust. Beltline Rail Now! @beltlinerailnow.bsky.social youtu.be/aQ6tMD8-cvk

Firetrucks don't have to be huge, which means city streets don't have to be so wide. Narrow lanes are safer for all road users. www.wired.com/story/sanfra...

Atlanta’s city council has shelved the proposed data center carve-out. Here’s how it went down.

@jasondozier.bsky.social you’re a real one.

It’s easy for Amick to be a NIMBY. He has his own little goldmine on the Beltline and doesn’t seem to care about equity or Atlanta’s future. Let’s stop letting these people call the shots.

BikeChurching with BikeChurch ATL