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Ben (he/him)

@bikelaneben.bsky.social
162 followers 638 following 47 posts

Former fish researcher, current Master of Urban Planning student, bike person, concerned citizen.

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Reposted by Ben (he/him)
Jessica Valenti @jessicavalenti.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Please don't give the DA reopening the Cornell case any cookies. District Attorney Matthew Van Houten all but called Jane Doe a liar today. He said that in Doe's initial statement, she described "her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious, and consensual.” CONSENSUAL
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Qagggy! @qagggy.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
It doesn’t have to be fancy or over-programmed, just a pedestrian square in the heart of every neighborhood, one designed for the people who live nearby.
Piazzetta Dino Sarti in Bologna. Lots of bikes and a few trees. Photo by me.
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Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
She's also wrong on the facts. America didn't "choose developers over people," we made it illegal to build housing in the places people want to live.
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Seattle Bike Dad 🚲 👨‍👧 @seattlebikedad.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Montlake “HOV” exit on the lid: every car but one is single‑occupant and illegally slowing down buses. If we’re not going to enforce traffic law, we should make this exit bus‑only.
Montlake hov exit
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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
58 total homicides in 2024, 37 in 2025. So an 86% clearance rate in 2025 is 32 homicides, and a 57% clearance rate in 2024 is 33 homicides. And again, those are homicides everywhere in the city—cameras were only installed in limited areas, and only in the second half of the year.
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Kashana @kashana.blacksky.app · 07/04/2026
Armageddon is terrible, but our only other option was diversity trainings at work.
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Climatologist49 @climatologist49.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
ERA5 data confirmed that March 2026 was the warmest March on record. An amazing 38% of the Contiguous U.S. had it's warmest March in 2026.
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West Seattle Bike Blob @westseattlebikeblg.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
SDOT recently narrowed the Airport Way PBL and it is so emblematic of the Seattle bike advocacy experience photo by @bobco85.bsky.social
Reconstructed Airport Way protected bike lane showing the narrower PBL resulting in the concrete protection covering up part of the outside bike lane's previous directional arrow due to it being so much narrower
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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
So what this describes is ethnic cleansing www.nytimes.com/2026/04/01/w...

But behind the scenes, Israeli officials have conveyed a more targeted message.

In private calls to local leaders across southern Lebanon, Israeli military officials have assured several Christian and Druse communities that they could remain in the evacuation zone. They have pressed them, however, to force out any Lebanese from neighboring Shiite Muslim communities who have sought refuge among them as Israeli bombardment flatten Shiite towns, according to local Christian, Druse and Shiite leaders who spoke to The New York Times. The Shiites make up the majority of southern Lebanon.
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Dr. Samantha Hancox-Li @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com · 01/04/2026
someone should write about this www.liberalcurrents.com/the-crisis-o...
liberalcurrents.com
The Crisis of Gender Relations
We need to put the final nail in the coffin of the Patriarchal Bargain and find new ideals we can live by.
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s. e. smith @sesmith.lol · 28/03/2026
Really love how all software is a subscription basis now you want me to pay $19.99/month to fill out .pdfs are you fucking kidding me.
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Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
"Countries heavily reliant on US aid see a 10.5% increase in maternal mortality following a switch from a Democratic to a Republican administration—about 44.7 additional deaths per 100 000 live births." gh.bmj.com/content/11/3...
gh.bmj.com
US Presidential Party switches are mirrored in global maternal mortality
In this observational study, we provide estimates of the impact on the maternal mortality ratio of swings in US aid for family planning and reproductive health driven by changes in the implementation ...
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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
They’re cutting your healthcare to pay for a war that’s raising your gas prices.
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
This is why it’s important to study what the planet might look like under RCP8.5, even if the model scenario that gets us to that forcing is outdated: because the most extreme climate impacts might emerge at a much lower level of warming than previously assumed.
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Walker Bragman @walkerbragman.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Something that burns me, still, every time I think about it: As soon as it became clear that COVID was mostly killing demographics we think of as the least economically productive, this country abandoned efforts to control its spread—under the guise of being “realistic” and recognizing trade-offs.
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Bryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 23/03/2026
The "Four/Five" Vancouver Special Single Stair Accessible Flats on a 50' lot. This version, with the stair on the side, has ~2000sf floor plates that can be 1, 2 or 3 units per floor. If building 1 unit per floor you'd have 4 large townhouse flats with a smaller penthouse unit.
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Share the Cities Collective @sharethecities.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
What banking products do we need in the US to have more flexibility on shared ownership models like CLTs and limited equity cooperatives? Who is working on the financial lending side of these issues? In US? In WA State?
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
a government for abusive men, by abusive men
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Mike Eliason @holz-bau.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
<looks around> insane housing costs insane childcare costs poor health care constant inflation poor quality of life exploding inequality the most bleak and irresponsible political leadership this country has ever seen gee, why aren't people having kids?? www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Many US adults are skipping parenting or having fewer kids – and it’s forcing schools to close
As the US birthrate has declined dramatically, schools are becoming emptier and districts are getting less public funding
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 16/03/2026
We're implementing the largest expansion of Sammy’s Law in city history: lowering speed limits to 15 MPH at all eligible school locations by the end of our first term. And we’re not waiting to start. In 2026, we’re reducing 800 locations to 15 MPH, for a total of nearly 1,300 School Slow Zones.
An NYC DOT worker puts up a street sign that reads: SCHOOL SPEED LIMIT 15 FINES HIGHER PHOTO ENFORCED
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Daniel Swain @weatherwest.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
The seasonal anomalousness, as well sheer spatial extent, of upcoming record-shattering Western U.S. heatwave is genuinely startling. This will be associated with, by far, the strongest ridge ever observed during (at least) any Nov-Mar month. #CAwx #AZwx #NMwx #NVwx #UTwx #COwx
Map, from polarwx.com, of ECMWF model's forecast for 500mb heights later this week and their rank relative to the historical record for March over North America. A giant pink blob is visible over western North America, indicating an absurdly large area of record-breaking 500mb GPH.
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Molly Knight @mollyknight.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Every member of Team USA is free to quit their lucrative career playing sports and go join the military like Pat Tillman did. This is all just cosplaying eyewash. It's a game. It's entertainment. It's supposed to be fun, not joyless, humorless war.
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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Actually, Americans are just like you. ~20-30% of them genuinely support fascism, as in ~every 🇪🇺 country. You are just more fortunate to have political institutions & a multiparty system that prevent that 20-30% from fully capturing the center-right party, becoming 51%, & controlling the government.
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Qagggy! @qagggy.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
This NACTO/USDOT report addresses how to downsize fire trucks in cities. nacto.org/wp-content/u...
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#SeanPayton4Prison2026 @rockiesvsconnor.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
I think there is something to explore that many nations at the WBC have come showing what they love about their country (dancing, celebration, tradition) to represent the people while the American team has shown up representing and only celebrating the military
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Ambassador Ken Fairfax (ret) @portlandken.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
When a federal judge (finally) put ICE officers under oath, they admitted that they are given daily detention quotas and rely heavily on a Palantir-supplied AI tool to select targets, without warrants and without enough evidence to obtain one. They simply go into neighborhoods and round people up.
theguardian.com
ICE agents reveal daily arrest quotas and surveillance app in rare court testimony
Under oath, officers said they were told to make eight arrests a day and given special tech to help choose ‘targets’
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Kea Wilson @keawilson.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Something I think about a lot is how different our world would look if we took the $100billion+ we've invested in autonomous vehicle development alone and put into street safety infrastructure in our cities instead. And the subsidies don't stop with R&D.
futurism.com
Waymos Are a Huge Drain on Public Resources, Government Data Shows
Data from San Francisco's transit agency shows the stunning ways Waymo shirks accountability for its fleet of robotaxis.
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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
"Trump and Netanyahu killed every child in this photo. Every. Single. One. Not combatants. Not militants. Schoolkids from Minab, Iran." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Mi... x.com/sahouraxo/st...
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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
A purpose of the war on Iran might well be to provoke a terrorist attack inside the United States. This would provide Donald Trump with a pretext to try to cancel or “federalize” the coming Congressional elections. snyder.substack.com/p/the-desire...
snyder.substack.com
The Desire for Terror
And the defense of democracy
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𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕖 𝔾𝕦𝕣𝕝 @sundaedivine.lol · 10/03/2026
They scream about Socialism while their roads, hospitals, and schools are basically on a Federal IV drip.
Comparison of blue v. Red
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𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗱 @photoframd.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Key Details of 13-Year-Old Trump Accuser’s Accounts Are Verified #EpsteinCoverup www.thedailybeast.com/key-details-... via @thedailybeast
thedailybeast.com
Key Details of 13-Year-Old Trump Accuser’s Accounts Are Verified
The newly corroborated details suggest the woman was truthful about numerous aspects of her life.
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Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
NO NO NO YOU DON’T GUYS LET ME PLEASE SPREAD THE GOSPEL OF FREE TAX USA federal is free, state is $16, handles even my chaotic freelancer taxes just fine, same step-by-step “designed for normies” kind of interface as TurboTax but NOT EVIL tell everyone you know www.freetaxusa.com
freetaxusa.com
FreeTaxUSA® - Free Online Tax Filing for Federal Returns
100% free federal tax filing. E-File your tax return directly to the IRS. Prepare federal and state income taxes online. 2025 tax preparation software.
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Amy Maxmen, PhD @amymaxmen.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Newly released footage shows an ICE agent killing Rubin Ray Martinez, 23, in his car in Texas. "He was shot at point-blank range through his side window by an ICE agent who was in no danger." www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Ruben Ray Martinez: Footage shows US citizen shot by ICE agent in Texas traffic stop
The Department of Homeland Security did not disclose Martinez was shot by one of its agents until almost a year later.
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Richard Waite @waiterich.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Today the US uses about 30-40% of our corn supply and 40-50% of our soybean oil supply to produce biofuels that account for… …about 6% of our total transportation fuel. Lots of land & food/feed, small amount of energy. Solar is 100x more efficient per acre at producing energy. End of 🧵 for now.
US domestic corn use from 1980 to 2022. See if you can spot when the Renewable Fuels Standard was established in 2005.

Source: USDA NASS. US transportation energy sources, 2022. Gasoline more than half. Biofuels 6%. 

Source: EIA.
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Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Hegseth needs to stand trial after this as a war criminal. Between this attack and the girls' school, there's no ambiguity. He is responsible for mass murder and must be held accountable.
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Rep. Shaun Scott 🌹🤝 @organizewithshaun.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
That the removal of a corporate tax break which would have cost the state $550M survives in this final income tax proposal is great news for everyday people of our state. As more Washingtonians make use of popular programs, we must continue pressing the issue of taxing corporate and personal wealth.
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Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
The data is in: the NIH goalposts have shifted. What were once almost certain fundable scores have become coin flips and what used to be likely grants have become aspirational, leading to fewer awards. Another manifestation of how HHS policies have led to fewer awards and less science.
Graph of award probability of R35 and R01 from NIH factbook as a function of review rank percentile. As is apparent, 2025 is a significant departure, with lower award probabilities at all scores <40 and significant departures from norm, where even being in the top 10% is no longer a nearly certain indicator of success.

Data source: https://report.nih.gov/nihdatabook/report/302
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A. Zivarts @nondriver.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
This need to be called out at perpetuating sexist policies that privilege bikers without child carrying, errand running responsibilities. Caltrain would never consider banning kids from trains, why is it ok to make it impossible for parents who travel bike to use the system?
sf.streetsblog.org
As Bike Cars Overflow, Caltrain Bans Large Bikes and Panniers - Streetsblog San Francisco
New rules heavily restrict the types of bikes Caltrain users can bring on board. Years ago advocates warned Caltrain that they weren't allotting enough bike space on the new trains
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Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Incredibly illuminating to compare income and hours worked across countries and states for ***the bottom 95% of earners only***. The typical Belgian earns as much as the typical Californian but works about 24% less via sethackerman.substack.com
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
this is literally right wing propaganda. cbs news cannot be trusted.
cbsnews.com
GOP senator joins police in ejecting anti-war protester from Capitol Hill hearing
A Senate Republican assisted several police officers in ejecting a man who interrupted a Capitol Hill hearing on Wednesday to object to the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran.
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Anjali Dayal @anjalikdayal.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
“Almost all the 165 people killed in the attack were girls aged between seven and 12, according to local officials. There were around 170 girls at the school in southern Iran’s Minab at the time.“ A double-tap strike on little girls at school.
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Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Damn
Several high-ranking federal election officials attended a summit last week at which prominent figures who worked to overturn Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 election pressed the president to declare a national emergency to take over this year's midterms.
According to videos, photos and social media posts reviewed by ProPublica, the meeting's participants included Kurt Olsen, a White House lawyer charged with reinvestigating the 2020 election, and Heather Honey, the Department of Homeland Security official in charge of election integrity. The event was convened by Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, and attended by Cleta Mitchell, who directs the Election Integrity Network, a group that has spread false claims about election fraud and noncitizen voting.
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Steven @stevevance.net · 28/02/2026
I was telling @aarmlovi.bsky.social that I feel that the *Urban kchoze* blog post about zoning in Japan has not been bested and then he says that the U.S. Japan Foundation published an article about housing policies that could be useful for the U.S. Links in the 🧵
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G Elliott Morris @gelliottmorris.com · 27/02/2026
The entire Democratic strategy debate — "moderate" or move left? fight or compromise? — is based on a misreading of data. Voters don't think Dems are too progressive; they think Dems are weak. The actual math on what to do about this isn't even close! New: www.gelliottmorris.com/p/new-poll-d...
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 22/02/2026
Dems in #waleg are losing the narrative on the millionaire's tax. By bizarrely refusing to tie much of its revenue to K-12 schools, they're unable to resist pressure from Ferguson and the Times to use most of the revenue to offset other tax cuts. Yet WA needs more $$ to fund key public services.
seattletimes.com
On WA income tax, legislative Democratic leaders fail to meet the moment | Editorial
The income tax proposal could be a chance to provide meaningful relief in a state with a crushing cost of living. Proponents are still flunking that test.
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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
This case is insane: ICE shot and killed a citizen last March then *hid it for a year.* The young man they killed had no criminal history. All we know about shooting is from internal ICE docs. We don't know officers' names. We don't have footage. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/20/u...
nytimes.com
A Fatal ICE Shooting Occurred in Texas Months Before Renee Good’s Killing
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Jason @jrock08.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
If the city is going to do this much outreach and deference to business and property owners they need to actually do this much outreach to business employees and renters.
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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
This is the second account - the first being in Chicago - of DHS agents mass detaining people and then *sorting them by race*.
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Rebel with a Cause @rebelwithacause2.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Gestapos opened fire, striking Martinez 5 times in the arm, chest & both legs 1 gestapo had body cam ... Martinez has said in court that it shows an officer shouting "do something b--" The gestapo who shot her, in a group text: "I fired 5 rounds & she had 7 holes. Put that in your book, boys."
yahoo.com
'My own government attempted to execute me,' Chicago woman shot by Border Patrol testifies
Marimar Martinez said she believes that she survived her encounter with Border Patrol agents so she could share her story.
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