John J. Parman
@j2parman.bsky.social
📤 143
📥 47
📝 506
Writer-editor based in Berkeley
"Round up the usual suspects."
4 days ago
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@idothethinking.bsky.social
analysis of SB79 leads me to retract my wholesale opposition to it. It has more nuance than I realized. The way legislation is communicated divides between all-in and total rejection, I realize. Owens' approach cuts through that.
open.substack.com/pub/darrello...
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California Passes Mass Transit Upzoning
Senate Bill 79 is the third version of a transit-oriented upzoning law. After eight years of failed attempts, the proposal will soon be signed by Gavin Newsom and become law.
https://open.substack.com/pub/darrellowens/p/california-passes-mass-transit-upzoning?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
7 days ago
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"Round up the usual suspects."
7 days ago
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My new sparring partner re: housing uses the name of a high king of Ireland as his nom de guerre, I just learned.
8 days ago
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Sense of place has a long been an implicit goal of city-making, but it seems now to be seen by some as a Boomer plot to deprive others of housing. But sense of place is entirely possible at different scales, as can be seen in many cities.
8 days ago
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The ancient regime had its uses.
on.ft.com/4psBZ4O
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The artist who befriended Marie Antoinette, and me
Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, portraitist to the last queen of France, was wildly successful in her day, outstripping the earnings of any male peer
https://on.ft.com/4psBZ4O
8 days ago
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Amoebanality from Studio KDA. I assume it's the developer, because some of their work is first-rate.
www.berkeleyside.org/2025/08/28/a...
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Amoeba Music plans to build apartments above its Telegraph Avenue store
The record store would move into the ground floor of the new development and will preserve the People’s Park mural on its Haste Street wall.
https://www.berkeleyside.org/2025/08/28/amoeba-music-telegraph-avenue-berkeley-new-apartments-plan
25 days ago
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N: Anchorage E: Manila W: Hanalei Bay S: Melbourne
about 2 months ago
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Cuba still draws a crowd, I observe.
about 2 months ago
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The new print issue of "ARCADE" in digital form. I co-edited it with Camila Szabo and it was designed by Finn Schneider.
www.arcadenw.org/all-magazine...
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Materiality
https://www.arcadenw.org/all-magazines/materiality
about 2 months ago
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Mid-semester report on
@jackiefielder.bsky.social
, who I admire. Her persistence on behalf of homeless families paid off.
about 2 months ago
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Gutting rule of law as they go.
theintercept.com/2025/07/23/f...
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Feds Make It a Crime to Give PPE to ICE Protesters
The Trump administration is targeting nonviolent acts like identifying masked agents and aiding LA’s anti-ICE protests.
https://theintercept.com/2025/07/23/feds-criminalize-protests-masked-ice/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The%20Intercept%20Newsletter
about 2 months ago
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Only in Berkeley.
www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/07/24/c...
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Berkeley to close homeless camp by giving street to Bayer
Citing public safety concerns, including repeated fires, Bayer said it plans to close the street to the public and build a stormwater treatment feature.
https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/07/24/community/berkeley-homeless-camp-closure-bayer-carleton/?ref=tbs-today-newsletter
2 months ago
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Does the "Black" in Black Sabbath refer to the Black Country?
2 months ago
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Epstein posthumously brings down the House.
2 months ago
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Wisconsin export experienced tech issues.
www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/art...
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US hitwoman wore niqab in attempt to kill shopkeeper, court told
Aimee Betro is accused of flying in from the US to Birmingham to carry out a revenge shooting planned with two co-conspirators after a long-running feud
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/us-hitwoman-wore-niqab-in-attempt-to-kill-shopkeeper-court-told-vn8fqttj6
2 months ago
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One fork in the road has Dickens' 19th century in view.
add a skeleton here at some point
2 months ago
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"Stay away" is sometimes good advice.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
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Paranormal investigator dies on US tour with allegedly haunted doll Annabelle
New England Society for Psychic Research announced the ‘sudden’ death of Dan Rivera, 54, the organization’s leader
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/16/paranormal-investigator-annabelle-tour-dies?CMP=share_btn_url
2 months ago
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Ir's clearly time to crowdsource the Epstein list (or AI can do it for us).
2 months ago
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"Threat to humanity"? El Jefe has that well covered.
add a skeleton here at some point
2 months ago
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If I worked at Swan, in the Era of ICE, I would want a MAGA hat handy.
sfstandard.com/2025/07/09/s...
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Swan Oyster Depot review-bombed over alleged Trump support
Swan Oyster Depot, a Polk Street seafood counter with intense customer devotion, has faced accusations of anti-Asian racism in the past.
https://sfstandard.com/2025/07/09/swan-oyster-depot-trump/?utm_source=bluesky_sitebutton
2 months ago
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Why ordinary people instinctively dislike bureaucrats.
sfist.com/2025/07/07/s...
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SF City Hall Not at All Pleased With Those ‘Guerilla Benches’ That Some Renegades Placed at Bench-Less Muni Stops
A month after a group of transit activists installed “guerilla benches” at SF bus stops that had no benches, the city’s Public Works Department says they will demand that these activists remove the un...
https://sfist.com/2025/07/07/sf-city-hall-not-at-all-pleased-with-those-guerilla-benches-that-some-renegades-placed-at-bench-less-muni-stops/
3 months ago
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"National security" - like "terrorism," it's all-purpose for tyrants.
open.substack.com/pub/kenklipp...
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Trump’s Threat to Deport Mamdani Isn’t a Joke
New York election now an ominous matter of “national security”
https://open.substack.com/pub/kenklippenstein/p/trumps-threat-to-deport-mamdani-isnt?r=13p&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
3 months ago
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Grifters.
sfstandard.com/2025/07/02/o...
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Owners behind 50-story tower in the Sunset file for bankruptcy
A controversial couple have been trying to redevelop the site blocks from Ocean Beach for years, pissing off both NIMBYs and YIMBYs. Now, they're filing for bankruptcy.
https://sfstandard.com/2025/07/02/outer-sunset-skyscraper-owners-bankruptcy/?utm_source=bluesky_sitebutton
3 months ago
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A decisive victory! Glad to see Cuomo get trounced.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
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The Most Detailed Map of New York City Mayoral Primary Results
See neighborhood-level election results from the first round of the mayoral race.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/06/24/us/elections/nyc-mayor-primary-results-precinct-map.html?campaign_id=190&emc=edit_ufn_20250625&instance_id=157240&nl=from-the-times®i_id=64016006&segment_id=200635&user_id=1afd9f0d9e0b664b328efd2b34f06ec0
3 months ago
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WSJ questions a developer subsidy, arguing that it raises costs and fails to produce affordable housing.
www.wsj.com/opinion/low-...
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Opinion | The Housing Lobby’s Tax Boondoggle
Republicans may expand a credit that subsidizes real-estate developers.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/low-income-housing-tax-credit-house-republicans-developers-subsidy-f6d5a1c2?st=Amfkeq&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
3 months ago
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Weathervane.
sfstandard.com/2025/06/09/c...
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How politics and PR took over the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Current and former staffers spill on what brought Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan's personal philanthropy to abandon its progressive values
https://sfstandard.com/2025/06/09/chan-zuckerberg-initiative-politics-pr/?utm_source=bluesky_sitebutton
3 months ago
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Ruling by "emergency" is Erdoğan's playbook. His opposition's playbook is absolutely pertinent - in Congress, in every statehouse, and in the streets.
4 months ago
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Reagan playbook in LA, but the DC thing is Moscow all the way.
4 months ago
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This is a mistake.
missionlocal.org/2025/06/sf-l...
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Mayor Lurie proposes shifting $89M earmarked for housing to fund homeless shelters instead
Mayor Lurie is taking steps to redirect $89M meant for housing to instead pay for shelters under his “Breaking the Cycle” initiative.
https://missionlocal.org/2025/06/sf-lurie-housing-shelter-propc-money/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=0fe28eacb3-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_06_06_06_22&utm_source=Mission+Local&utm_term=0_-0fe28eacb3-220956097
4 months ago
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Marianela d'Aprile on the friction or lack of it (by design) in everyday life.
open.substack.com/pub/theimmen...
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full of friction
A couple of weeks ago I went to see Sinners, which I liked and thought was a good movie despite the great amount of gore that left me queasy for at least a few hours after I stepped out of the theater...
https://open.substack.com/pub/theimmensewave/p/full-of-friction?r=13p&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
4 months ago
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MAGA dogfight.
4 months ago
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"Nothing to see here."
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
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Whenever I read about Calexit, I wonder if we could be a constitutional monarchy. While we're at it, let's revive Hawaii as a monarchy and emulate the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
www.thetimes.com/uk/royal-fam...
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Meghan’s delivery-room dance with Harry in new video
The post comes after the Duchess of Sussex also released black-and-white photographs on Instagram to mark Lilibet’s birthday
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/royal-family/article/meghan-lilibet-birthday-picture-photo-x9h8jkdqf
4 months ago
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FYI.
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
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Connect those dots.
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Trump official who shut down counter-Russia agency has links to Kremlin
Darren Beattie, who alarmed the State Department with his pro-Moscow views, is married to a woman whose uncle has ties to Vladimir Putin
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025/06/03/trump-official-shut-russia-propaganda-unit-kremlin-ties/
4 months ago
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Overlooked (but not by
@edwinheathcote.bsky.social
)
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
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As I've been saying.
on.ft.com/4kpgizG
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America needs to make its cities family-friendly again
The pandemic accelerated an urban exodus that was already well under way
https://on.ft.com/4kpgizG
4 months ago
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Fuck no.
www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...
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Alcatraz doesn’t need a new prison, it needs a new colossus
A colossal statue — a Colossus of Justice — should be built on Alcatraz Island to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/trump-alcatraz-colossus-20337412.php
4 months ago
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Tech philanthropy, episode 1,561.
sfist.com/2025/05/20/t...
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That $1B Pledge to Build Housing That Facebook Made Six Years Ago? It's Basically Dead
Back in his philanthropy era, Mark Zuckerberg made a grand pledge to put $1 billion toward building new housing, to combat the affordability crisis in California that companies like his had contribute...
https://sfist.com/2025/05/20/that-1b-pledge-to-build-housing-that-facebook-made-six-years-ago-its-basically-dead/
4 months ago
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I wish we had someone on Berkeley's Council as willing to raise questions and then push for answers.
missionlocal.org/2025/05/sf-s...
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In wake of nonprofit’s implosion, Fielder calls for audit of S.F. parks department
District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder will today submit legislation calling for an audit of San Francisisco’s Recreation and Parks department.
https://missionlocal.org/2025/05/sf-supervisor-jackie-fielder-calls-for-audit-rec-and-parks-department/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cb2f6f5bef-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_05_20_06_19&utm_source=Mission+Local&utm_term=0_-cb2f6f5bef-220956097
4 months ago
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Taking the writer's prompt to new heights.
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
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ICE is Trump2's Goon Squad. Democrats in Congress and Democratic State Governors need to act.
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
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Trump's DOJ ups the ante on lawfare. Is side-eye assault, or was it something she said?
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
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Joe Biden had annual medical exams at Walter Reade. Did they fail to screen for prostate cancer (a blood test)?
4 months ago
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Inconvenient facts?
@idothethinking.bsky.social
may have an opinion.
www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/05/18/m...
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The Bay Area has hundreds of below-market rate apartments sitting vacant
Some new moderate-income units offer little discount to market-rate rents. Some question whether we should prioritize building them at all.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/05/18/moderate-income-housing-vacant/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=nextdoor.com&utm_campaign=nextdoor_news
4 months ago
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"The law west of the Pecos," episode 1,411.
missionlocal.org/2025/05/da-j...
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DA Jenkins ‘lied to the State Bar,’ retired judge says — and should face discipline beyond diversion
Pair of appeals says State Bar’s offer of ethics diversion for S.F. DA is too light
https://missionlocal.org/2025/05/da-jenkins-lied-to-the-state-bar-retired-judge-says-and-should-face-discipline-beyond-diversion/
4 months ago
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I wrote an appreciation of Chuck Davis, architect of Monterey Bay Aquarium (and much else).
johnjparman.medium.com/chuck-davis-...
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Chuck Davis: An Appreciation
Charles Medley Davis, aka Chuck, was the youngest of the four founders of EHDD, the firm that grew out of Joseph Esherick’s eponymous…
https://johnjparman.medium.com/chuck-davis-an-appreciation-c531b478efe0
5 months ago
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Berkeley has its own version of this.
oaklandside.org/2025/05/08/o...
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Oakland’s political divide between the hills and flatlands is complicated
The majority of voters in the flatlands are often at odds with most voters in the hills. We spoke to some.
https://oaklandside.org/2025/05/08/oaklands-political-divide-between-the-hills-and-flatlands-is-complicated/
5 months ago
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Breaking: Carney counters with "11th Province" offer for Florida.
5 months ago
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