Ben Ross
@benrosstransit.bsky.social
Transit advocate. Environmental scientist. Social Democrat. Author of Dead End: Suburban Sprawl and the Rebirth of American Urbanism.
A common theme of Stevens-El Sayed, Mamdani-Cuomo, Malinowski-Mejia etc. The people most insistent that Democrats need to run centrists to win elections haven't figured out that to win a Democratic primary, you need to run someone in the party's center & not its right flank.
Thomas HD@degolierthomas.bsky.social · 6h agoYeah McMorrow would probably cleaned up in a 1v1 vs Abdul or vs Stevens
Meanwhile, with 16% of the vote in, Wesley Bell is crushing Cori Bush by 4 to 1.
Here's Victor Hugo in Notre Dame de Paris describing how the grandeur of Gothic Paris has been defaced by the second-rate architecture of the Invalides and the Pantheon.
How Zohran Mamdani's rhetoric is helping Bibi Netanyahu's reelection campaign. forward.com/news/841862/...
Netanyahu drags Mamdani into his reelection campaign as face of antisemitism
The Israeli prime minister's latest campaign video casts New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as a perpetrator of anti-Israel ideology in his bid to rally Israeli voters
forward.com
This is the way to do it. Replace 60-year-old 2-story office building with 5-story apartment building. 1/3 mile from light rail station. Expedited approval process. bethesdamagazine.com/2026/07/29/r...
This is about AI. It could just as well be about battery-electric buses - just look at the complete lack of interest in electric trolleybuses & only slightly more interest in electrifying existing rail lines.
Heather is 🎶 for Science 🎶@heatherwgaona.bsky.social · last wk.People are just out there using the new shiny cool thing, no fucking clue
Stephen Miller said just the other day that all asylum claims are "fake." A couple deported from the U.S. to Guatemala were gagged, bound, and shot dead. Their 14-month old found crying next to their mother's body. People like Miller don't care though because this is the point: ethnic cleansing.
Overland couple shot dead in Guatemala after local ICE stop led to deportations
The couple’s 14-month-old daughter was found crying beside her mother’s body in a sugarcane field last week, according to Guatemalan authorities and media.
stlpr.org
GAO: We think you should do something about drivers being unable to see people walking and cycling. USDOT: Nah, not interested.
Newly retired chief of IDF's Political-Military Bureau slams Netanyahu. “Strategically, this war is a resounding failure.” Says next government must reach diplomatic breakthroughs with Syria & Lebanon and re-engage with Egypt & Jordan. www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_ent...
In rare interview, outgoing defense chief pans war’s strategic ‘resounding failure’
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timesofisrael.com
The Year of Motion continues. Live-wire testing is now underway in Montgomery County between the Lyttonsville Operations & Maintenance Facility and Bethesda Station. Another big step toward opening. Stay off the tracks and station platforms and stay alert. #PurpleLinePoweredUp
So Trump had to stop shooting at Iran because our air defenses are running out of ammunition, the Iranians have announced that the Strait of Hormuz "remains closed," and there are no negotiations between the US & Iran. And the price of oil is down 7 dollars???? www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_ent...
Iran says US not involved in talks with Oman over Hormuz strait
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timesofisrael.com
So @darializaforny.bsky.social says: The domination of the United States over Puerto Rico should end by separation rather than combining them into a binational state. The domination of Israel over Palestine must end by combining them into a single state rather than separation. Where is the logic?
So if I understand this correctly, Iran & the US have stopped shooting at each other. Leaving Iran in control of the Straits of Hormuz, able to blockade or charge tolls as it wishes. But since this is "temporary," Trump still can say he won the war. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/26/w...
U.S.-Iran War Pauses for 2nd Straight Day With Both Sides Holding Off on Strikes (Gift Article)
President Trump put off plans to escalate the fighting in part because of dwindling stockpiles of interceptor missiles, American officials said.
nytimes.com
Head of @mdsha.bsky.social safety office says Prince George's County has more traffic deaths than Montgomery because “more opportunities for people to be involved in motor vehicle crashes.” No. MoCo population is 11% larger. It's your own agency's road designs. marylandmatters.org/briefs/road-...
Road deaths down in Maryland in 2026, officials hope trend continues - Maryland Matters
Traffic fatalities fell from 252 as of June 20, 2025, to 213 on the same date this year, according to data from the Maryland Highway Safety Office, a trend that state and local officials are hoping to...
marylandmatters.org
Not good for getting a pro-transit president. Six car-brained states, with only the partial exception of Northern Virginia.
The DSA IC opposes US & NATO military aid to Ukraine. international.dsausa.org/ukraine/ It opposed a Biden admin effort to deliver food aid to Gaza. international.dsausa.org/statements/g... It called for lifting sanctions against the Assad regime in Syria. international.dsausa.org/statements/l...
DSA: Peace In Ukraine
The war in Ukraine calls for a global anti-war response to push back against calls for escalations and to demand a diplomatic resolution.
international.dsausa.org
The foreign-policy "weirdos" in DSA are hardly fringe. They dominate the organization's official International Committee. It opposes economic sanctions against North Korea. international.dsausa.org/korea/ It supported a pro-Russian military coup in Niger. international.dsausa.org/statements/n...
DSA Korea Solidarity
DSA calls for an end to the US travel ban on North Korea, lifting of sanctions, and moving to end the Korean War and US military presence.
international.dsausa.org
A look back at MoCo's 25-year record of bold policy declarations and timid action about road safety. montgomeryperspective.com/2026/07/24/v...
Vision Zero or Faulty Vision? - Montgomery Perspective
Guest column by Larry Cole. The Montgomery County Council adopted its Vision Zero Resolution No. 18-390 on February 2, 2016, establishing the county’s goal of...
montgomeryperspective.com
Annapolis kicks off traffic calming on its suburban-arterial-like roads with a speed limit reduction. All of it as a prelude to urbanizing the corridors with denser development. www.thebanner.com/opinion/colu...
The speed limit is dropping on Annapolis’ Forest Drive. Get your tickets now.
COLUMN | Anne Arundel County is lowering the speed limit on Forest Drive in Annapolis from 40 to 35 mph on Monday, the first big step in a $10 million plan to make this dysfunctional back door to Mary...
thebanner.com
An addition to a building in this historic district "has to be something special." What does special architecture on new construction have to do with historic? This is (to the extent it's not just nimbyism) a fancy architecture district, not a historic district. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/22/r...
A ‘Disgustingly Beautiful’ Glass-Brick Renovation Makes Its Mark (Gift Article)
A historic building in TriBeCa stood out for its short stature. A glass-brick addition was the unconventional solution.
nytimes.com
A case study in how nimbyism is NOT about property values. The fiercest nimbyism comes from the neighborhoods whose homes would gain the most value from upzoning. (And yes, those neighborhoods also have some residents who'd like to cash in, but they are a quiet minority.)
Ben Christopher@frombenc.bsky.social · 2w agoAn interesting (in the wild!) example of how upzoning can affect land values. Here's a comparable home for sale, also in the Palo Alto Caltrain station's SB79 zone, selling for 1/4 as much. Unless I'm missing something, the difference is the first one vested its SB 79 app before the window closed.
It's like an ancient Greek math paradox. Trump will keep fighting Iran until gas costs $5. The oil market won't bid the price of gas up to $5 bc they know that will mske Trump stop the war, the price will go down, and the $5 bidders will lose money. Only solution: Gas at $4.50, long lines to buy it.
I get so angry when I see those yimbro developer shills trying to gentrify San Mateo County.
Jordan Grimes@cafedujord.bsky.social · 2w agoFor the last 4 (!) years, I've been chronicling the journey of a 40 unit 100% affordable housing project for senior farmworkers in Half Moon Bay, California. Despite being approved in May, the journey sadly isn't over: a measure has qualified for the ballot this November to stop the project. 🧵
Current condition of the bus stop that won Streetsblog's 2016 Sorriest Bus Stop contest (Colesville Rd/29 at Crestmoor Dr), one month after a hit & run driver killed a pedestrian on the other side of the road.
Action Committee for Transit@actfortransit.bsky.social · 4w agoNext bad bus stop: Colesville Rd/29 at Crestmoor (RideOn 21, 22; Metrobus M52, M54). Winner of Streetsblog's 2016 Sorriest Bus Stop contest. SHA had a meeting about this fatal intersection last night: there will be a traffic signal there, some day🥧☁️, as part of the BRT.🤷 bsky.app/profile/actf...
I just counted 10 vehicles (3 trucks, 7 cars) parked in one block of bus lane. Southbound Wisconsin Ave between South Park Ave & Willard Ave.
Double standard at work. How can this guy say it's Islamophobic to question El-Sayed's positive comment about Khameini, when he insists that even strident antizionism is not antisemitic? bsky.app/profile/mero...
the abbot of unreason (an archaeologist)@merovingians.bsky.social · 2w agoTapper finally getting his absolutely open Islamophobia thrown back in his face is so immensely satisfying holy shit.
Somehow, running “a guy that looks like he’s a union working-class guy” doesn't seem to work out as well as running a guy that **is** a working-class union leader. Type A: Graham Platner, Nathan Sage Type B: Dan Osborn, Bob Brooks, Brian Poindexter, now Troy Jackson www.politico.com/news/2026/07...
‘Professional malpractice’: The Platner fallout engulfs the operatives who made him
A string of early missteps, like rejecting an offer for a deeper vetting of Platner, has cast doubt over his young consultants’ future in Democratic politics.
politico.com
