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He is risen

nuzzi / lizza misconduct imo enabled the destruction of so much public health & scientific research — and a resurgence in measles in the US. this is not petty tabloid gossip or inside baseball. that they went undetected or were rewarded while great reporters were laid off? it’s a huge system failure

Victory! SBCTA is cancelling the ONT Tesla Tunnel project - which would have duplicated BRT with an tunnel for cars - after construction costs escalated to $1-2 B. Time to pivot to electrification and 15 minute service on the San Bernardino line, planning for future multi-use heavy rail to ONT.

It was possible to ride the route & avoid the pop-up activations if one was not a fan of the show. Otherwise it was a spooky, quirky, vintage 80s vibe that went well with Melrose. If the sponsorship/tie-in makes sense, do it! While urging Metro to continue funding regular Open Streets 🚴‍♂️🚴‍♀️

LA County — which has no official role in the upcoming Olympics and Paralympics — now has a website for 2028. You know who still doesn't have one? THE CITY THAT HOLDS THE HOST CONTRACT AND IS FINANCIALLY ON THE HOOK FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE GAMES LA County's website is here: lacounty.gov/olympics/

Interesting to contrast this well-reported piece that accurately describes the situation (“unproven”) with the previous story on Archer that was basically a LA28 press release

Good episode of LA podcast, featuring @awalkerinla.bsky.social and @sammyroth.bsky.social that includes a discussion about the Dodgers reliance on oil money, as well as the gondola project. www.thinkforward.la/its-raining-...

It’s pretty obvious that our car-centric culture is a bigger danger than large entertainment companies. I’m a little troubled by how many of my fellow angelenos here in the comments don’t realize that

Slam dunk! Can we please do as many open-streets events as possible? If corporate sponsorships make it easier to do more of them, I’m onboard. Also, lots of kids love “Stranger Things.” Shouldn’t we be tailoring active transportation events to their interests to engage them?

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Had a great time co-hosting LA Podcast with @awalkerinla.bsky.social & @mikebonin.bsky.social! We talked water politics, the end of coal power and the Great Green Bin Apocalypse. Listen in: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...

It introduced a lot of new people to CicLAvia, which I applaud. But, I worry that it will become an excuse by elected officials to not fund future open streets events. We can't allow open streets to become like bus shelters, built only where advertisers can find the wealthy bsky.app/profile/gspe...

I didn't even hear about this event since I'm east of the river, but a few months ago Netflix was promoting something at our farmer's market and giving away free coffee. And they bought out the usual coffee vendor to do it, so no one lost business. If they do it like that, it is less harmful.

Torched readers know a major concern for 2028 is that the city of LA/state of California are on the hook for Olympics overages this time around. Could LA28 (with IOC approval) offer to relieve us of our financial duties to backstop the games? Very interesting analysis by Rich Perelman

Yes, anytime a street is closed to let people not in cars use it (and not just for a movie shoot or Hollywood premiere) is a good thing. Even if it is covered with corporate shock, I will take it.

My 13-yr-old loved it, and they employed a lot of Angelenos today. I'm more into the live local musicians along the route, and businesses setting up tables and doing their own thing. Like it would be fun to see a more open-ended theme that's not a specific corporate brand/property.

The more people who participate, the better. If Netflix was able to get higher turnout… I’m all for it.

I mean, it's not ideal and at an excess can become gross and distracting. That said, the nation is falling apart (so this is not a high priority complaint). And CivLAvia is so nice and it's good to be outside and see so many people out and ... eh, wtvr ; )

The hubs were Stranger Things only and it wasn’t for me. But a lot of fans seemed to be having fun.

I went because it might be the last one in a while but it was def more of a Netflix event than a ciclavia event. I had more fun off of the route and with my group feeder ride and my ride home than at the event itself.

CBOs get exposure; businesses can get a boost; govt does outreach; organizers + political candidates can get people involved in causes/campaigns; people temporarily get free recreation, better air, and safer streets in park poor LA; There’s a lot to like. And our bike share is still publicly run 😇

It was fine. Maybe I’d prefer it if it meant MORE events instead of the it being the only way to have them. The fans were out in force and they seemed happy. Biggest disappointment was that my free Stranger Things(tm) bike light doesn’t play “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”

I didn’t participate but I had to go to a store on Melrose today. Making my way down, it seemed like a pretty normal Ciclavia to me.

Yes, agreed. I didn’t go either, though I heard from folks who did and thought it was fine. To me, if it crosses the line into feeling like a Netflix event versus a Ciclavia with a partnership, that’s not something I’m comfortable with.

I didn’t know this was going on! It looks fun, though something about 80s mall culture makes me think this should’ve been in Sherman Oaks. If it attracted new people to discover the wonders of walking or biking on the street sans cars, I think that’s a win.

There’s a huge difference between corporate sponsorship and corporate takeover and I actually think it’s pretty gross that Netflix took over a whole event and made it about themselves with the Stranger Things branding. I skipped the event this year because of it.

I think it's cool, though they shouldn't do it this way too often. The last few Ciclavias I have gone to seemed a little tired, so something to shake it up is good.

Yes. Good trade.

It was a good time! I don’t think every ciclavia should be so loudly sponsored but I thought it was fun. A little crazy towards the Melrose/Fairfax intersection with the trading post going on. In my opinion, any event that draws people out to experience LA minus cars is a good thing.

I am torn. I want to see more community pedestrian focused events generally and it would be great if people who don’t normally show up come to this and then go to subsequent non-Netflix events. But if it feels more like just a corporate activation? No

It was tough. I understand the need for sponsorships and limited grants in the current political climate, but today's event could have been housed in an empty department store. Missed all the community partners and discovering the city itself. We left the route to look for murals.

💯 Studios don't pay enough in taxes, the least they could do is pour money into community events. Promotional tie-ins are whatever, we live here, we're used to it.

The problem with this is that it obfuscates the purpose of CicLAvia, which is to imagine and think about a future that does not require cars clogging every single city block. Instead, it just feels like... a Stranger Things event.

I am grateful for open street events... but this sponsorship turned CycLAvia into a mediocre sci-fi convention. I wonder whether it will turn off more people than it would attract.

While in theory I object (we should tax billionaires so we can have nice things for everyone), the simple fact is that Americans don’t love public spending on nice public things and so the only way we can have nice things is to have these kinds of sponsorships.

The branded little vehicles were too much. They were too big, and when they went through the hubs, they created even more congestion. Pedicabs are good, but kind of big branded vehicles just felt out of scale with the event.

Pros felt like a lot more people that aren’t typically at these events and a lot of pedestrians, which is always nice. The spirit of seeing branded costumes was cool and festive Con absolutely mess of hubs. They were choke points with tons of people in line, making it impossible to get through.

All love to @awalkerinla.bsky.social 💗 I challenge our city to allocate resources appropriately & demonstrate courage to create permanent open streets! We don’t need “CicLAvia brought to you by Netflix sponsored by Chipotle in partnership with Honda” our city has the money we just have no spine!

Also, uh

I didn’t mind but I do not want things like this to be a regular occurrence.

Is this a rhetorical question Alissa 😭😭😭

I skipped it precisely bc of the Netflix takeover

Angelenos, what did you think about today’s Netflix-sponsored Stranger Things CicLAvia? Would you be okay with more branded activations if it meant we’d have more open streets events? Share your photos!

The skies cleared just in time for a beautiful remembrance of Melanie Winter’s life at Rio de Los Angeles State Park, a 247-acre public space she fought to create so Angelenos could have access to their river. A mosaic bench by artist Suzanne Siegel will be restored in Melanie’s honor

What an incredible night! Thanks to @thewaroncars.bsky.social @brooklynspoke.bsky.social @sarahgoodyear.bsky.social for inviting me, @streetsforall.org for hosting, and everyone who showed up in the torrential rain 🚲 And special thanks to everyone who noticed I was wearing my crosswalk dress 🚸

The other night I got to be a part of this very cool event for the Life After Cars book tour. Thank you to the authors Doug Gordon and Sarah Goodyear for inviting me! Everyone should buy their book and have their minds opened to the tyranny of car culture and the toll it takes on all of us.

i think i just got suspended from instagram for declaring a war on cars