This makes no sense whatsoever. If cops can tell the difference between Class 1 and Class 2/3 e-bikes, so they can give tickets to unlicensed Class 2/3 bikes, why can't they instead just give tickets to e-motos masquerading as e-bikes?

The city of Los Altos plans to convert two downtown parking lots into a public park, a real park, with grass and trees and benches. Opponents prefer the scenic beauty of parking lots. Take a stand for public land used (beautifully) to store cars!

Economists seem to assume that expensive cities have a high proportion of college-educated workers because they attract a lot of them. They don't. The high proportion comes from less educated workers moving away because of housing. 3/

Alexandra: Build this project so I don't have to live in my car. Neighbors: But what about paaaaaarking?

Summers in private: endlessly scheming with the world's most famous pervert to get a young female colleague whom he calls by a racist nickname to fuck him at conferences. Summers in public: "I don't see that many women in my field, it must be because they're bad at math"

@siegman.biz San Mateo needs someone like you, to deal with parking struggles.

In honor of the City finally releasing the Corridor maps, this sketch illustrates why living on an arterial is not the same as being close to transit.

He wants to make homes more affordable by driving up prices. Got it.

"If we have to hunt you down, the way they hunted down Nazis for decades, we will find your identities. We will find you. We will achieve justice. And we will do so under the Constitution and laws of the United States." www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ft1...

Can we raise money for MN by selling packs of Minnesota Hero trading cards?

I wonder if church membership will go up because of this crisis, as decent people look at the leadership of faith leaders and say to themselves, maybe that fellowship is what I want.

This this this. You know how many times I've worked on a union organizing campaign and relied on people who want a union but whom I otherwise would cross the street to avoid speaking with? Take any help you can get to accomplish the task at hand, worry about other things later.

The world may be burning down around us, but thankfully San Mateo homeowners are laser focused on the real issue of our time: getting the city to rip out bike lanes in favor of more parking

"When the city is threatened, why do the people not throw down their tools and flee? Have they somehow acquired dignity? Is it possible they see themselves as citizens?"

A video of Alex Pretti reading out the final salute of an unnamed veteran he cared for until the end of his life in the ICU, posted to Facebook by his son.

This is courage. Looking a masked, government fascist dead in the eye, face to face, knowing full well that your life is on the line. If elected officials had 1/10th of Alex Pretti's resolve, we would have far fewer troubles.

The check-in area didn’t make eye contact or wear bright enough clothing…

We took the cute little preschooler to McDonalds! After we kidnapped him and before we sent him 1500 miles away to a concentration camp. We are so very kind. What's the problem here?

"Caught up in operations" means "was brown in public."

"Violation of a court order" now qualifies someone as the worst of the worst? So then the Trump administration is the worst of the worst, because they violate court orders all the time. OK, that checks out.

Federal agents are pulling over off duty cops based on the color of their skin. This is not a serious operation to enforce immigration law. It’s a performative show of force and it’s gotten way out of hand.

Excuse me, what, Google NHL Standings?

So the bike lane opponents meet at the Nazi church in Minneapolis, the one with the pastor who is also the local ICE director. Makes sense.

Why do they need simulations here? Are they trying to figure out how long it will take someone to starve if dinner is only 300 calories every day? What’s breakfast, a Cheerio and a blueberry?

"Papers please" used to be the way we identified Nazi regimes. And it still is. Here we have ICE goons stopping a woman and asking her for ID, for no reason other than (I assume) that she wasn't white.

You lying piece of shit. I chaired the Minnesota DFL for all three of your runs here. I watched you lose. Three times. Minnesota never bought your con. And now, as Chair of the DNC, I’m looking forward to ending Trumpism for good in 2028 — not with lies, but with votes. Again.

"Watch this video of a woman trying to deescalate an angry thug who then murders her and calls her a fucking bitch. It totally exonerates him."

Car-brain, at its most extreme: Me: Not everyone needs a parking space for their apartment and we shouldn't make them pay for one if they won't use one. Car-brain: Parking is a basic human right. @nextdoorsv.bsky.social

A heck of a chart: in every single one of the 10 major US cities that built the most housing between 2017 and 2023, rents for older, existing units fell—often by quite a bit.

Name Brand vs Dollar Store Knockoff

You can just ignore the “Maduro was a bad guy” crap Democrats, you know, because Trump HAS ALREADY PARDONED CONVICTED DRUG KINGPINS! (Who literally used to run other Latin American countries) www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

I am usually not strongly compelled to weigh in on a run-off election in a year that has been politically....exhausting. Rishi is a hugely motivating factor to ensure that my family and neighbors speak up for Neysa. I mean, her campaign slogan should simply be "I'm not RIshi"

🚨 🚨 🚨 “Today’s decision effectively puts an end to [Huntington Beach’s] policy of blocking affordable housing for its residents.”

Do you wonder whether a city's consultants just say whatever the city wants? Last week Los Altos Hills told the State of California and HCD that vacant land there costs $1M/acre. This week Los Altos told a state court of law that vacant land there costs $12M/acre. Hmm. 🧵 1/3

Happy birthday to Jane Austen, and to this very on-brand Economist chart www.economist.com/christmas-sp...

Prefab buildings are cool. I have no idea whether this is cheaper, probably not, but it's cooler. The first floor is concrete poured on site, and took awhile, but the other four floors were prefab, craned into the building in a week.

Consultant: Here is the feasibility study. Me: The prototype in the study isn't actually feasible. Consultant: But a different prototype might be feasible. Los Altos Hills: Adopts feasibility study unanimously. Details in thread. 🧵

Reverence

Astonishing disingenuousness: In a feasibility study purporting to show teeny units are feasible on a certain set of properties, Los Altos Hills values the properties as if they were vacant lots, even though they have houses on them. They say, the developer wouldn't want the houses. 🧵

When cameras are installed, they issue many violations in the first month, followed by a steep decline in the second month. This suggests that the cameras effectively deter speeding by changing underlying driver behavior rather than relying on sustained revenue extraction.

Feasibility study nonsense: The town of Los Altos Hills put out a "feasibility study" for the housing element rezoning for their one buildable site. They say the site's feasible. Looking closely, the envisioned project is legally infeasible, financially infeasible, and physically infeasible. 🤡 🧵

Builder friends: What does tuck-under parking mean in the case of three story new construction apartments? This is in a prototype pro forma for construction in Santa Clara, CA. How is it different from podium construction? (page 12) citiesassociation.org/documents/sa...

An American and a non-American fall in love and get married. The non-citizen does everything right to get a green card, but the US drags its feet. Then when the newlywed non-citizen comes in for their very last interview, despicable goons from ICE snatch them.

Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷

Why do grocery stores have garbage bike racks?

What problem does this solve? People with pre-existing conditions not being allowed insurance? No. People not being able to afford insurance? Nope. Costs too high for 55-64 year olds? Also no. It would do nothing.

You should build bike lanes for people who are not currently biking and build housing for people who don't currently live in your neighborhood.

I’ve been incredibly angry for several days now about the story of ICE agents entering a day care in Chicago to detain a teacher. Eventually I wrote that anger down, and got some encouragement to share it. open.substack.com/pub/samtheda...