This is a great discussion on helmets. Only in America must we wear protective equipment because it’s widely assumed that biking is an inherently dangerous activity that requires protective equipment. Driving 30 miles an hour near other cars driving 30 miles an hour is inherently more dangerous!

The War on Cars@thewaroncars.bsky.social · 2d ago

NEW! "Fine, We're Doing a Helmet Episode." After Mayor Mamdani posted a video showing him wearing a bike helmet, social media exploded. But what are helmets designed to do? Who sets the standards? And what is it about the mere mention of them that causes people to lose their minds? bit.ly/4gFMJub

NEW! "Fine, We're Doing a Helmet Episode." After Mayor Mamdani posted a video showing him wearing a bike helmet, social media exploded. But what are helmets designed to do? Who sets the standards? And what is it about the mere mention of them that causes people to lose their minds? bit.ly/4gFMJub

A reminder to Portland bike folks: there are probably going to be lots of new folks commuting by bike over the next few weeks. This is a good thing, even if they don’t know all the (very undefined) local bike etiquette

OPB@opb.org · 10h ago

The Portland area commute turns upside down on Sept. 11 as the state closes parts of I-5 for repairs, sending trucks and cars on alternative routes. Authorities are trying all kinds of tricks to make it as painless as possible, but freight haulers and commuters are bracing for major delays.

"Marshall, a Republican seeking re-election this fall, filed lawsuits against more than 700 patients with outstanding bills ... Marshall's lawyers garnished patients’ paychecks and bank accounts. They routinely charged patients an 18% annual interest rate."

Roger Marshall Sued 700 Patients for Debts; 81 Were Arrested. Now He’s a Senator. (Gift Article)

Patients sued by Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas were routinely charged 18 percent interest, The Times found. Some had bank accounts garnished.

nytimes.com

This is important journalism (in part) because it reflects very personal, uncomfortable, and often exasperating experiences that me and my friends who grew up in the Bay have with our aging parents. For many of our parents, there is no crisis because Prop 13 means they are still living in 1993.

Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈@maxdubler.com · 2d ago

Three great reported essays on the inter generational conflict over housing and active transportation, particularly in Northern California: First, a Berkeley-raised writer’s exploration of his parents’ generation’s complicated feelings about the proposed apartments and the Hopkins bike lane:

It really annoys me when people defending car dependency try to minimize the importance of mobility for children. Kids both want and deserve the freedom to move around their communities and they should be able to do so safely.

I had read a little about Jacob maybe a year or so ago but reading this now, I see a little bit of all of us who have had the “luck” of getting gassed by the feds and PPB at protests in Jacob. It was just by luck we didnt act on our visceral anger, and it was just by luck that Jacob did.

Portland Mercury@portlandmercury.com · 5d ago

Portlander Jacob Hoopes recently began a 30-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to throwing a rock at a federal officer during a heated protest outside Portland’s ICE facility last summer.

I avoid biking with my kids on one of PDX’s greatest pieces of bike infrastructure because it’s so dangerous. When you aren’t almost getting doored by someone getting out of their car, you might be almost getting hit as they swerve over the bike lane into a parking spot or driveway (or turn lane).

Bike Lane Uprising@bikelaneuprising.bsky.social · last wk.

[ Received from Portland ] “drove three blocks right down the bike lane”

As an aside: where is the policy panic? "WE NEED TO REGULATE CARS AND CHANGE STREETS, NOW!!!" Bet you won't hear a peep from our leaders about this because we have accepted it as normal.

Brandon Mullen@brandonmullen.com · 2w ago

A person on a bike was killed by a car. In broad daylight. On a quiet residential street (see photo). Choosing how to get around shouldn't be a gamble with your life, or with the life of your children. www.oregonlive.com/crime/2026/0...

Ironically, there's something about bike helmets discourse that causes people's brains to turn off. Bike advocates: "Helmets are great, but they are literally not designed to save your life if you're hit by a car." Everyone else: "Why do you oppose bike helmets??"

I love how ebikes spark the moral panic while I, on an ebike, am constantly getting my doors blown off by exercise bros trying to set a new personal best on our shared path system using nothing but their leg power.

I am beyond frustrated at what is going on here. The City of Portland owns & operates this, and affordable lessons are available on the city website. The City is privatizing it - they're selling it off to the USTA and when it finishes the refurbishing, it's not going to have public lessons anymore.

KOIN 6 News@koin6.bsky.social · 3w ago

A Portland tennis facility will be closed for several months as it undergoes needed upgrades.

trimet and pbot and the city need to be making choices with the welfare of specifically goober here in mind and i am not even joking www.oregonlive.com/environment/...

I wrote about my personal (bad) feelings about climate change and why I think “individual action” (often denigrated) is important, at least for preserving one’s own sanity:

if anybody wants to watch a cool old building downtown that was recently gutted by fire be blown up later today this random medi-spa next door is hosting a livestream lol stream.oml.clinic

stream.oml.clinic

That's right.

I was a little shocked when I put CPSC data on e-bike deaths and NHTSA data on motor vehicle deaths side-by-side www.datawrapper.de/_/HB8ZK/ CPSC data says 310 people have died in e-bike crashes since 2017 NHTSA data says 315,900 people have died in motor vehicle crashes since 2017

Gravel Influencer@gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · last mo.

People love to scream "whataboutism" when you point out that cars are still more dangerous than e-bikes/e-motos/e-scooters. But it's not whataboutism to properly contextualize the risk, especially when we are seeing a moral panic that is not commensurate with the threat posed by e-micro mobility.

this sucks. we should not accept this without a fight. the next leg session needs to fix this, and we will do it by prepping and recruiting primary candidates for any seat held by legislators who lack the spine to call the question on the ODOT boondoggles.

Catie Gould@citizen-cate.bsky.social · 4w ago

Last day taking the Green Line home from work today. Leaving on a trip tomorrow and when I get back it will service neither my office or my home. #TrimetServiceCuts

This is why we can’t have transit

City Observatory@cityobservatory.bsky.social · 4w ago

OregonDOT is #1 and #2: Per mile, the two most expensive highway expansion projects in the United States are the $3.5 billion I-5 Rose Quarter widening and the $15 billion Interstate Bridge Replacement. ODOT is utterly broke, and broke. City Observatory cityobservatory.org/bankrupt-a-3...

This is a Portland, Oregon fan account. What a wonderful place to visit, and an extraordinary place to live.

Follow the money and you’ll see what’s a priority! Can Portland just start our own bus service funded by city money? I know it leaves out Clack and WA counties but at some point doing something is better than nothing.

Khanh Pham for Oregon@khanhphamfororegon.com · 4w ago

Update from @trimet.org today: Without additional revenue, TriMet's budget deficit will ultimately force the agency to cut in excess of 33% of its total service by 2030 or 2031. This is what a 31% service could look like:

I am interested to see whether Kotek prefers votes or campaign $

Willamette Week@wweek.com · 4w ago

Major supporters of data centers, IBEW Local 48 gave governor’s campaign $400K.

the stakes of the 2027 session are existential for trimet

Khanh Pham for Oregon@khanhphamfororegon.com · 4w ago

Update from @trimet.org today: Without additional revenue, TriMet's budget deficit will ultimately force the agency to cut in excess of 33% of its total service by 2030 or 2031. This is what a 31% service could look like:

AOC: Millennials are not punk kids anymore. We're grown adults with mortgages and kids, and that generation is starting to be decisive at the polls. And there is anger at being ignored, having our economic futures mortgaged by the generations that came before us and we're taking the reins

Having kids has made me more anti-car than childless me could have imagined.

Interesting read on the dearth of color across homes, vehicles, and fashion.

The Color Recession May Be Permanent

Consumers are so afraid of getting colors wrong, they don’t use them at all.

theatlantic.com

"Throughout the Mercury’s conversations with people who received e-bike rebates, a common theme emerged. Many riders noticed their bike helped them feel more connected to the community, something they lacked when getting around in a car."

Portland Mercury@portlandmercury.com · last mo.

The Mercury spoke with several people who purchased electric bikes through Portland Clean Energy Fund's new rebate program. While the recipients’ backgrounds and transportation habits varied, everyone echoed the same general sentiment: e-bikes are game-changing.

People make arguments in favor of the electoral college like “it protects the interests of small states” and no it doesn’t. Oregon is a small state, but because we’re a reliable vote for the Democrat (and with a late primary too) our votes mean nothing.

Stephen Judkins@stephenjudkins.bsky.social · last mo.

this absolute scumbag www.oregonlive.com/wildfires/20...

This project should also be shaped to upzone the Central Eastside with an eventual target of at least 100,000 homes built. This would also require including a commitment to the infrastructure projects necessary to make that happen, such as removing I5 on the Eastbank & an MLK Transit Mall

We need HARD INFRASTRUCTURE to protect us. No more paint and good vibes. We need actual protection.