Stevenfalk
@stevenfalk.bsky.social
Career city manager. CalBerkeley faculty. Portfolio manager. California Story writer. Painter who takes pictures. Once had a Velvet Underground cover band.
We saw the movie Companion last night. Can recommend. The first 45 minutes are terrific.
We're back home now from trekking in Torres del Paine, and it's everything they say it is, just one super superlative after another. A few photos:
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/19/u... via @NYTimes Same is true for Oakland. Someone should write an article about it.
The L.A. Fires Expose a Web of Governments, Weak by Design
Who’s in charge? The muddled jurisdiction of Los Angeles leaves a critical question in doubt.
nytimes.com
TIL: Chip is a nickname for a guy named after his dad ("Chip off the old block"). Skip is for a guy named after their granddad ("skipped" a generation). Trip(p) is for a third in line with the same name as his dad and granddad ("triple").
I won’t For the rest of my life Forget the winter That we rode bicycles Through the orange groves in Portugal. The sun shined bright On the white houses in the villages And on the turquoise sea And on the two of us And we were happy again.
Gatekeeper at St. Peter’s just now getting over his confusion after some dude showed up and said “Rickey has arrived!” RIP King! You were the greatest lead off hitter of all time!
This is a very important and thoughtful piece for Oakland residents to read. It's written by former acting City Administrator Steve Falk. The problem is not just the people elected, it's also an unusual government structure that lacks logical lines of authority. The result: No one is in charge.
Opinion: Broken Oakland needs more than a new mayor — what’s wrong and how to fix it
Insider’s perspective: No matter who is elected, the mayor will be weak, councilmembers frustrated, city administrator torn and city attorney conflicted
eastbaytimes.com
Little bit of #JonathanRichman playing at the Ivy Room last night.
Perfect late autumn day with old friends at Briones Reservoir.
Half dozen people have now asked me what’s the deal with the city manager who got fed up and ran for mayor. 👀 www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
Voters swept out progressives in this Bay Area city. Can new leaders solve its problems?
A shift toward more conservative leadership underscored just how far voters in Antioch were willing to go to address concerns over public safety and corruption.
sfchronicle.com
This is the guy who won the Timothee Chalamet lookalike contest.
