Virgin NIMBYs: "No new residents unless they jump through hoops to show that they are desirable! And they must live in fire zones." Chad YIMBYs: "You get a home! YOU get a home! YOU GET A HOME! With windows and natural lighting! Near a park and jods and play! Elevators might be a bit smaller..."

Not picking on Shawn here, because he's absolutely right. But part of the problem is that we (the voters!) have segregated our dollars into different types of dollars, in sometimes the wrong amounts, and into different jurisdictions that control them. It makes governing that much more difficult.

Accountability post: My hypothesis from November turned out to be both hilariously wrong and hilariously almost correct. 🧵 1/x

Many such cases

🫡

This is the energy I want from elected Democrats dealing with the federal government.

This (about Canada) succinctly states a thesis I’m hoping to probe next month in a country that tried: New Zealand

The Epstein Ballroom is such a postmodernist building: The north facade is a clean copy of Hoban's windows. The portico mirrors one on the Treasury Department, and they've just bumped it from six to eight columns to match exactly. None of this has much relation to the interior. Decorated shed.

You know who could design a barrier-free asymmetrical portico and make it echo from eternity? That's right, Sigurd Lewerentz.

There are lots of important books about concentration camps; two that I have used in my own teaching are "KL" by Nikolaus Wachsmann and "Illness and Inhumanity in Stalin’s Gulag" by Golfo Alexopoulos.

GM: Charisma check. Mamdani: [rolls natural 20] GM: that’s a d6 how did you Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊

that’s RIGHT

In New York we projected a 40% increase in speed out of, in descending order of importance, stop consolidation, dedicated lanes, and all-door boarding with prepayment.

I don't know the stopping penalties on the Toronto streetcars, but I know the ones on New York and Vancouver buses, and on those, stop consolidation is the single biggest factor behind speeding up traffic. Its impact is the same as that of dedicated lanes even taking into account longer walk times.

An urban style Costco in the Lloyd District would be a dream

Can they do one better and just ban reselling at higher-than-purchase price?

Lots of folks in Portland who seem to think this would be okay because of "safety" may need to think beyond that kind of propaganda, and consider far more important aspects of the situation. @councilorgreen.bsky.social more information in your fight to stop these!

As always, be sure to read all the interesting perspectives and ideas about this story in the comment section bikeportland.org/2026/02/05/a...

Release the Owendoff files!

When are we going to collectively wake up and realize that it's all a scam and the main (sole?) purpose is crime?

Alleged transparency. Here is the Scope of Work for the outside counsel hired by the City of Portland to negotiate the Portland Police Association contract. (Public Records Request appeal is underway.)

Received just now: "It appears that fulfilling this request would only benefit you, not the wider public. Claiming that Dan Ryan has been using his personal cell phone "to avoid scrutiny and likely skirt the City's lobbying laws" appears to be your own opinion and not that of the wider public."

No, he's not. Because the attractiveness of cities will never lie in having low taxes. For that you can go to Idaho. The attractiveness of cities will always be about being in places full of opportunity that function well. And that doesn't happen if we starve essential services. 3/

This is good news and the correct result, but it's only the first baby step. This is a resolution ONLY to gather some documents and hold a hearing on a very specific topic. The oversight hasn't happened yet. Some quick reflections from today's Council session. 🧵 1/

Hello wonderful neighbors! Our next happy hour is TOMORROW, February 5th at Migration brewing on Williams from 6-8PM! We are excited to announce that we will be joined by members of Portland's Bureau of Planning and Sustainability who are working on the Central City Code Amendments project!

A large part of council apparently want to work themselves out of a job. They don't want to do oversight, they want the mayor to choose their president, etc.

This is brilliant. I'm so grateful for this testimony. I've transcribed it to use in letters I'm writing. Sharing the full transcription here (see alt text to copy/paste it):

Imagine explaining to someone in the ‘90s that the federal government would be suing Nike for being too progressive www.oregonlive.com/business/202...

Should we...bring back wide brim hats?

From 1982-2018, the Republican National Committee was barred from "ballot security measures" because of their record of using state actors to intimidate minority voters. (H/t @rickhasen.bsky.social) www.npr.org/2018/01/09/5...

I can't speak to whether it is actually bortac and whether it is actually mortar launchers but I mentioned in my piece yesterday that I had witnessed tear gas being launched in the air in an arc over people's heads. This video I found on IG shows what I described

the ancient world just intuitively understood that hot beverages taste better when poured out of a little dude. we had the technology before, and we can again.

Stancil-posting is over. We're doing cappuccino-in-the-afternoon discourse again. My take is that the Italians are wrong, and that I will drink a cappuccino whenever I damn well please.

"Prohibits local governments from regulating, imposing a tax or fee on or requiring a license or permit for on-demand autonomous vehicle networks" Yeah, that's gonna be a no from me. Why is McClain the worst?

"There was also no observable difference between trans women and cis women in their maximal oxygen consumption (VO₂ max), a key fitness measure." Can't wait for World Athletics to ignore this.

So, apparently Gresham doesn't mail home report cards any more? Is it like that at other schools?

Some background: we used to live right across the street from this darn place. They were lousy neighbors and revved shit everyday. Today as my wife biked by the car dealer bro yelled at her “you can just go around, it’s not hard”

Respectfully, @councilordunphy.bsky.social, we can't excuse this just because it wasn't malicious. The system of accounting was chosen and managed by City leadership who are still there. If they're incapable of effectively managing government funds, they're not qualified for their positions.

Is...is donkey Jesus caked up?

"Who really belongs to the movement, wine moms who brunch or undercover feds acting as agent provocateurs," the longest thread in Bluesky history

BREAKING: Judge issues TRO reining in tactics against peaceful protesters and journalists at Portland OR ICE facility. Judge Michael Simon bars use of crowd control munitions against people who don't pose physical threat. Doc: https//www.documen...

I’ve met him. He’s a constituent of mine and spends his time and resources caring for those who need help, especially those who have been victims of assault by our Fed government and other fascists. This person is no more leader of antifa than you and I are.

once again these things boil down to “is your group a bohemian cultural identity” or “is your group actually trying to do things?” and the key tell is whether your activity centers on policing of in-group behavior or whether it centers on, again, tangible goals

The western U.S. faces its lowest snowpack on record despite average or above-average rainfall. Warmer temperatures mean more precipitation falls as rain rather than snow, and will worsen droughts in areas like the Pacific Northwest and the Colorado River Basin. science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-...