iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I’ll definitely look closely into this. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

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Joshua Foust 🪖🎮 @joshuafoust.com · 19/09/2026

It should be illegal to buy a company with debt and then sell it off to a foreign owner, but that fight was lost long ago. Anyway, now the Saudis own a truly distressing portion of American entertainment, from Hollywood to Video Games to Sports. This is not neutral behavior. Anyway.

arstechnica.com

FCC lets Paramount sell 49.5% equity stake to Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar

FCC rejects concerns about repressive governments buying influence over CBS owner.

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Cole Donovan @colesci.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Not enough people take seriously "funding delays"/"bureaucratic nonsense can kill people" but here it is right here. If I was mad when a patient died because it took a few extra months for lawyers to try to look for a legal basis for an international data transfer, I'm incandescent, now.

cnbc.com

NIH funding cuts delayed a promising childhood brain cancer trial. Patients lost time they didn't have

A delayed clinical trial underscores the stakes of federal research funding cuts for children with DIPG, a deadly brain tumor with few treatment options.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I should also note we already sort of do this with rideshares, but it’s limited to trips that start in Somerville. I’d prefer to drop that for something that more accurately captures the cost burden—especially considering the majority of our VMT is through traffic.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I hear you! The hard part is it would require us to compel private citizens to track and share precise location which has surveillance concerns. My presumption is that Waymo and the rest are already tracking this and that it’s somewhat trivial to anonymize taxi company data.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Bus cameras are about to enforce the bus lanes; just last night I was joking with my wife that a sibling program for bike lanes is next.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

So while I'm staying curious and optimistic, I'm also not willing to let Waymo drive both the cars and the public policy regulating them.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

finally we need: - taxes that go to public transportation and the communities they are driving in—and I mean in. As in a tax on the number of miles driven in the city. Somerville is a city of through traffic. Oour roads get worn out fast because of it. We shouldn't have to subsidize Google's biz

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

continued: - laws requiring the cars to follow the law (not replicate bad behaviors) and establishing a legal baseline for how the cars must behave - laws making clear who is responsible in an injury or death and ensuring a person isn't bled dry by heavily lawyed companies with infinite money

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

continued: - they drive around barriers closing streets and into markets Somerville is one of the most walkable/bikeable cities in the country. There's no rush for this kind of service. Before we go further we need to: - know how to ticket a car without a driver - laws making safety data public

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

continued: - they drive around a lot without anyone in them which increases congestion and is bad for the environment - they are being trained to park in bike lanes - they are competing with public transit without paying for the infrastructure they are wearing out - they slow roll into crime scenes

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Waymo has a lot of reports saying their cars are great. I'm glad mom says the cars are handsome, but I want third-party reports based on open data access. What we know for now: - in SF the number of vehicle miles travelled - SF accidents increased during that same time (correlation or causation?)

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Waymo is far safer than Telsa, but that's the problem. We don't have a standard. I also question the wisdom of ceding transportation to the same company that controls a large portion of the internet, homes, media, phones, etc. That said, this is not even my primary set of concerns.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Oh man, Bluesky posts are probably not the right format for this. Here's the shortest version I can share on my perspective: I'm not fully against the idea of a driverless car. I'm extremely concerned that we are rolling these out giving too much deference to the companies pushing them.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Wow, so many typos. I’d pay for the ability to edit. …many of which aren't doing the required work. A regional cost is being passed onto Somerville and Cambridge residents is an untenable inequity.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

1: Please tell your state legislators to amend the MWRA enabling legislation to empower them to address stormwater. Find your legislators here: malegislature.gov/Search/FindM... 2: Tell the MWRA to create a stormwater body, comments go to: UpdatedCSOControlPlan@aecom.com

malegislature.gov

Find My Legislator

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The pipes are used by regional cities, many of whihc aren't separating doing the required work. A regional cost being passed onto Somerville and Cambridge residents is an untenable inequity. The solution is an MWRA stormwater body

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The result is that Somerville and Cambridge are being asked to foot most of the bill to solve the CSO problem because they are the end of the line for the region and Boston dodged a bullet. Even if Somerville spent a billion dollars to separate every sewer today, we'd still have a problem. Why?...

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This is obviously bad for the environment, public health, and is plain old gross. It's easy to agree on the problem. The question is whose? Decades ago the EPA decided that outflow pipes in Cambridge and Somerville belong to those cities *but also* that outflow pipes in Boston belong to the MWRA.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Why do we need the plan? Many MA cities and towns have combined sewers: stormwater and sewage go into the same pipe. In normal conditions that's okay, but when there's a lot of rain (like we just had for multiple days) it means that the system gets overwhelmed and sewage ends up in our waterways.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

A Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) plan for Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) control is currently taking comment until Oct 30. Water & sewer bills in Somerville are the highest in the state and are set to double and CSO is why. Here's a short explainer and what you should do.

voice.somervillema.gov

Combined Sewer Overflow Control Planning Program - Joint efforts by Cambridge, MWRA, and Somerville

The Draft Plan is here! Submit comments by October 30, 2026. The City of Cambridge, the City of Somerville, and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority are proud to present the Draft Updated Combi...

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Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

"Meanwhile, what we need to demand from universities far and wide is clear: Cease to be a place where sexual assault is often subject to less punishment than protesting and plagiarism." www.thecut.com/article/what...

thecut.com

What It Feels Like at Cornell Right Now

As a professor at the Ivy League school, Kate Manne has known many, many victims. There’s a palpable feeling on campus, she writes, that this is big.

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Mitch Jackson ⚖️ @mitch.social · 29/09/2026

Republicans in Congress got hours of free airtime in front of the American people. They spent it stating false facts as true and calling Jack Smith a dirtbag and a villain. Here's all you need to know, under oath.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

To quote Indian Jones: “it belongs in a museum”

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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

"Are we kinda being pricks?" Volume 2. The Winthrop Edition.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

It was, but they are so unimportant they aren’t even worth mentioning.

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Chris Dwan (he/him) @somershade.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Mark your calendars: @smoorearch.bsky.social, me, and several others are planning a great night of music on Friday, December 11 at the Crystal Ballroom as a benefit for the Dana-Farber cancer care access program. I hope to see many of you there.

An event flier for a concert called "Let's Rock Cancer" on December 11 at the Crystal Ballroom in Somerville, MA.

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Reposted by jonlink

Lorenzo Salgado, jr. @oznezol.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

One step closer to justice for my dad, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

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Ulrike Franke @rikefranke.eu · 29/09/2026

I don’t claim to understand the financial market but reading about a loss-making company that warns its product might wipe out humanity does not motivate me to buy their shares.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

“I will follow the law” is more or less the exact line that every person who tried to make abortion legal has used. It’s a slimy response and hopefully everyone can see through it at this point.

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Reposted by jonlink

Luke LeBrun @lukelebrun.ca · 26/09/2026

Tech companies suddenly decide they can, in fact, moderate content on their platforms after all

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🎃🔪KNIFER🔪🎃 @knizer.toot.boston.ap.brid.gy · 23/09/2026

ooh yafa opening up a second location in the old posto location in #davis #SomervilleMA csindie.com/yafa-bakery-cafe-looks-…

csindie.com

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Somerville friends, do you have an opinion about Davis Square? You've got until Sunday to share your thoughts for "baseline" visioning.

cityofsomerville.jotform.com

Davis Square Neighborhood Plan Survey

Please click the link to complete this form.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

This will hurt city budgets. Please let the governor know what you think of this plan.

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Reposted by jonlink

Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

This is an attack on public education, on public transportation, on everyone who worked on Fair Share, and on the will of the voters.

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Wtaf is this question my university just asked me about my project?

Does the project involve any work that could be interpreted as promoting DEIA, climate change research, or non-compliant to any Presidential Executive Orders?

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Reposted by jonlink

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 24/09/2026

The GOP keeps talking about “phantom patients” hoarding Affordable Care Act cash. But the real story is more complicated.

motherjones.com

JD Vance is coming for your Obamacare

Are you really young and healthy—or are you a "phantom patient" trying to con Dr. Oz?

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

What a horrific way to spend money meant to improve all the infrastructure and institutions we’ve neglected.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Very true. The rain predictions are not looking good for Saturday or Sunday right now.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Davis Square is getting its first community yard sale. Put on by the Davis Square Neighborhood Council & city. Buy cool stuff on: Sunday, Sept. 27, 1-5pm (Rain date: Sunday, Oct. 4, 1-5pm) Live in Davis? Sellers can sign up to sell from your home or statue park. Sign up: bit.ly/4HDUULM

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Somerville is working on a home rule petition. Give your input into how the city should preserve creative spaces.

form.jotform.com

Build your Ideal Somerville Municipal Cultural Trust

Please click the link to complete this form.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Please support local 26 as they fight to get fair pay better healthcare from an organization making tens of millions of dollars in profit. Workers deserve to live lives with dignity.

Jon Link (aka me) speaking on the picket lines at Encore in support of the Union there, local 26, fighting for dignity through fair compensation for their labor.

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Popcornbender Spatch @spatch.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Thanks to the Somerville Library's online newspaper archive I discovered other businesses in the Hobbs Building when the Somerville Theatre opened Some we knew about, like the bowling alley and the auditorium/ballroom, but nobody knew about the undertaker who maybe worked where theaters 2 and 3 are

A column of ads from June 12, 1914, a month after the theater opened. Three of the four are for Hobbs Building businesses: the Hobbs Bowling Alley, which featured six of the "latest type loop the loop alleys" and 4 pool/billiard tables and a "special provision for ladies"; the Somerville Auditorium (which IIRC would later be renamed Hobbs' Crystal Ballroom) advertising "glide and modern dancing parties" every Wednesday and Saturday evening; and one Alfred E. Mann, Undertaker.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I agree that’s a real problem. I view it the same as unsafe driving—we need a multitude of approaches. Protecting the lanes better, designing for short term parking / loading zones, and easier ways to enforce safety when all the other means have failed.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Cambridge brought back ShotSpotter after someone was tragically murdered, but it didn't do anything the next time there was gun violence. Pleas to give up varying degrees of privacy for the sake of security don't just ask us to ignore abuse, they also skip past the efficacy of surveillance tech.

csindie.com

ShotSpotter didn't hear the gunfire that killed a man in Central Square, first incident since reactivation, police say - Cambridge | Somerville Independent

The ShotSpotter gunshot detection system, which was returned to service Aug. 17, didn't detect the fatal shooting of William Woodworth on Friday by police.

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Four Somerville households lost their homes in Tuesday's fire on Dartmouth Street. Everyone is safe, but they're starting over with nothing. Clothes, medicine, groceries, a place to sleep. Give what you can to the Homeless Coalition's Emergency Fund: secure.qgiv.com/for/emerfun

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jonlink @jonlink.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Not just pedestrians, even! Bike lanes increase safety for all road users. Bike lanes reduce the number of people going to the hospital, suffering life-altering injuries, or being killed. They save families from tragedies that can be felt for generations. govfacts.org/housing-infr...

Screenshot from govfacts.org

“Data from New York City shows that when protected bike lanes are installed, injury crashes for all road users – drivers included – typically drop by 40% to 50%.

A multi-year study that looked at 12 cities concluded that protected bike lanes reduced traffic deaths and serious injuries by nearly half for everyone on the road.”

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