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JR Mayer

@jrmayer.bsky.social
486 followers 502 following 292 posts

Starry-eyed realist, anti-racist, transportation policy wonk, Mom to 2 boys, wife to an amazing woman.

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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 7h
Brings new meaning to "A Streetcar Named Desire."
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Hannah Krieg @hannahkrieg.bsky.social · 17h
NEW: WA Ferries wanted you to think their workers are whiny babies who make $350k. The truth is more complicated and more sympathetic --- workers making $65k, engine room paid 20% less than above deck, and those making the big bucks working 70 hour weeks. www.theburnerseattle.com/post/washing...
theburnerseattle.com
Washington State Ferries Tried To Turn You On Their Workers By Posting Eye-Popping Salary
Ferry service has returned mostly to normal after 23 Ferry engine room workers called out sick, shutting down 13 out of 18 vessels on Monday. While there’s no official confirmation workers coordinated...
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I have a way lower opinion of state legislatures...perhaps I am too pessimistic. Maybe ALEC will put model legislation through, realizing how bad chaos would be for business. But if it becomes a MAGA thing, logic might go out the window.
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Arizona is manageable because it's one state and has been the same for a long time. Hawaii also doesn't have worry about neighbors. But what if DST changed frequently, like sales taxes? It would impose a burden on anyone operating across different states, to have to track and manage it.
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The thing I fear is that cities would want to make sensible decisions to align themselves to their neighboring states' metro areas and state legislatures (especially GOP-dominated ones) would make decisions that would mess up metro areas. And what if legislatures kept changing it?
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I think part of the reason Arizona works moderately well as an outlier is none of its major metro areas is near another state. If Oregon and WA decide different things, what happens in the Vancouver/Portland area? Time changes when you cross a bridge? Spokane/Idaho?
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
There would be absolute havoc with all forms of interstate commerce - from meetings to plane flights to trains - if every state got to pick its own approach for DST.
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
I called it a "book unfair," with kids without $ unable to order...then having to watch other kids get load of stuff when it arrives. Painful. Here in Seattle, Page Ahead has kids pick 12 books to take home. Free. pageahead.org
share.google
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Cool interactive circuit board of seattle rail and ferries. www.seattletransitlive.com
seattletransitlive.com
Seattle Transit Live | Real-Time Seattle Transit on a Custom PCB
Seattle Transit Live is a custom PCB map board with 383 LEDs that tracks regional ferries, rail, water taxis, fast ferries, and the Seattle Monorail.
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Subverting democracy isn't new to John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, or Amy Coney Barrett. All three were on George W. Bush's "Florida Recount Team," which lay the groundwork for stopping vote counting in Florida—and Bush v. Gore, the politically-motivated SCOTUS decision that gave Bush the election.
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Celeste Headlee @celesteheadlee.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"You might expect something like this in countries where women don’t enjoy equal rights. But in a country where the Secretary of Defense is a testosterone-pushing reactionary who was credibly accused of rape and whose own mother publicly denounced him for mistreating women? Color me surprised."
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Kat Tenbarge @kattenbarge.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Just a reminder that people don’t always realize they were raped in the immediate aftermath. It can take hours, days, months, and even years to realize you were raped, and it doesn’t make it any less true. There are many kinds of responses, including fawning and trying to appease your rapist
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Jerome Alexander Horne @jahorne.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Selfishly, part of my "why" in urban planning is personal: when I grow older, I want to preserve my independence, dignity, and mobility. By building better cities with abundant transit and housing, we create an accessible world—not just for our future selves, but for generations yet to come.
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The major platforms—Facebook, YouTube, and X—are all refusing to show the trailer for the upcoming documentary that eviscerates the ridiculous pest Elon Musk. So I guess we have to do our part to make sure it is seen. www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY_8...
youtube.com
Musk | Official Trailer | Bleecker Street
YouTube video by Musk
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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Here's my coverage of the full timeline (based on documents and contemporaneous messages, not a comment in a meeting), which shows that the vast majority of the delay was due to SPD personnel who put out no information for many hours after posting about a mass shooting. publicola.com/2026/09/04/m...
publicola.com
Messages Show SPD Primarily Responsible for Information Gap After Bite of Seattle Shooting - PubliCola
The messages also reveal that Mayor Wilson was indecisive about going to the scene of the shooting while advisors…
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
syso.org/programs/cad...
syso.org
Cadenza | SYSO
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
If you have a 4th or 5th grader string musician, an after school Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra program called Cadenza could be a possibility. Sliding scale/pay what you can. Meets Wednesdays at Rainier Beach High School, 3 to 4:15pm.https://syso.org/programs/cadenza/
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Justice (Gerechtigkeit) fuer Ampelmann! This is my favorite of them all.
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HistoryLink.org @historylink.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
#OnThisDay in 1972, King County voters approved the creation of Metro Transit. historylink.org/File/1998
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Nicolas Hénin @nicolashenin.net · 17/09/2026
Nice campaign by the Norwegian Consumer Council about the declining lifespan of products. Enjoy!
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Qagggy! @qagggy.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
YES THIS IS AMAZING DO IT NOW. Also, it should include landmarked streets not necessarily located in historic districts (such as Queen Anne Boulevard, where the Landmarks Board rejected a fully funded safe routes to school project). @alexis4seattle.bsky.social
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
"True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.” —FDR, 1944
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Let me know if you have other errors - will try to pass it on.
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Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 11/09/2026
Just did a quick look around and I don't see very many headlines about the President of the US making people pledge allegiance to him personally while telling everyone to commit election fraud and "cheat like hell" to support his party. Seems like it should be a story?
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
How about "i don't care about your creepy obsession with Trans people? I am more focused on gas and food prices, jack booted thugs locking up American citizens, and a White House that is getting crazier and more corrupt by the day."
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Past projects I am talking about were adding lanes to reduce congestion. Congestion reduction-if it happened- would often disappear in months from induced demand. Somehow traffic engineers never factored that in projections. I do expect benefits of bus lanes to last(but would love data to prove it).
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I try to pass along good explainers but would love to have before and after data/videos on this lane. It used to frustrate me when I worked at FHWA when traffic projections for prospective projects would show reduced congestion- that would always go away after. At some point isn't that malpractice?
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I think it's a common misconception - that eliminating regular lanes will cause massive congestion. Remember the "Carmaggedon" that was going to happen when the Viaduct went down? Traffic evaporation is real, as is induced demand. Even people who I otherwise respect often don't get it.
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Ryan Packer @typewriteralley.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
In which WSDOT plans to add bike lanes to just 0.8 miles of a 2.75 mile repaving project and "defer" the rest, in spite of the 2022 Complete Streets mandate. Why? Because the department doesn't want to touch the existing lane configuration.
Map of SR 525 with a bike lane just at the southern end
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
I wish there were a car company that focused on avoiding touch screens. Give me a knob for the radio dial, and a manual alternative to anything that's electric, from keys to windows to locks. Almost got stranded coming back from a hike when my fob battery died.. Manual key couldn't start car.
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Truck and bus drivers can see all (from their higher vantage points). Every one I have talked to about it says that non-professional drivers are looking at phones in the car constantly. Most of the CDL drivers who drive big vehicles are prohibited from doing so (and many have cameras watching them).
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Washington State has a statewide immunization registry that everyone reports into. Makes life sooo much easier..I can print off vaccine records for schools and camps.
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Goldy @goldy.horsesass.org · 31/08/2026
The article mentions the area was once home to dozens of strawberry farms owned by Japanese immigrant families who were dispossessed of their land during their WWII internment. It fails to mention that Freeman's grandfather founded the Anti-Japanese League that advocated for internment. Weird.
seattletimes.com
Bellevue's retail core is for sale after 80 years of family ownership
A whopper is hitting the real estate market: The Bellevue Collection, a 5.5 million-square-foot mixed-use complex in downtown Bellevue.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
I wrote about Dolly Parton in my latest @nytopinion.nytimes.com column. Thank you. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Greatest Story Dolly Parton Ever Wrote Was Herself (Gift Article)
She didn’t see herself as a saint; she identified as something we needed even more: a writer.
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Stan Oklobdzija @stano.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
If your state is controlled by Democrats, there is no reason that they shouldn't pass legislation allowing direct-to-consumer vehicle sales to put a significant source of Republican donations out of business for good.
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
One of my closest friends is dealing with a recurrent brain tumor and has been unable to work for the past 6 months. I know there is a world of need out there right now, but if you have any dollars to send her way, it would ease this difficult time. www.gofundme.com/f/rallying-f...
gofundme.com
Donate to Rallying for Wen: Help Her Face This Challenge, organized by Jennifer Mayer
This fundraiser is for the indomitable Wen Minkoff. Wen had surgery earl… Jennifer Mayer needs your support for Rallying for Wen: Help Her Face This Challenge
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Happy birthday! Your art is awesome!
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
The reason - many nearby households had adult children living at home (no one could afford to leave, given Seattle housing prices) but almost every adult household member had a car. With 3-5 cars per household, parking was at a premium. They didn't want teachers parking in the neighborhood.
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
I have heard that zoning requirements make it hard to locate schools near density - the rules push communities to greenfield sites, not existing parcels. When my son's Seattle elementary school was being renovated & expanded, the neighborhood wanted us to have more parking lot, less playground.
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Thank you for the heads up. Uninstalled immediately and will check out other options.
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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Another perspective on former police chief Shon Barnes: www.theurbanist.org/op-ed-police...
theurbanist.org
Op-Ed: Chief Shon Barnes Wasn’t a Martyr; He Was the Status Quo
Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes wasn’t a martyr; he embodied the status quo, and Mayor Katie Wilson was right to oust him and push for true police accountability, argues Cliff Cawthon, a longtime com...
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Time to refresh again!
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Sean Keeley @seankeeley.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
My $0.02 if you're voting in Seattle today: I found The Stranger and the Washington Progressive Voters Guide to be, at best, center-left and, at worst, moderate, in some of their choices. If you want a true progressive voting guide, I recommend the Lefty Cheat Sheet: electioncheatsheet.org
electioncheatsheet.org
Lefty Cheat Sheet — Aug 2026 Primary
A quick guide on how to vote lefty using sources YOU trust!
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Cars are safer & some get better mileage. Durability though? So many have expensive, proprietary and networked parts that are fragile and cost a lot to repair. Too many touchscreens, not enough knobs. And they're HUGE - makes it easier to get into an accident and more expensive to insure and drive.
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Good framing.
rawstory.com
Kindergarten girls targeted for invasive exams by new GOP-led ballot measure
Washington State voters will decide the fate of a ballot initiative that would require girls from kindergarten through high school to undergo sex-verification testing before playing school sports — a ...
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Rachael @r343l.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Going through my political mailers and Rep. Santos in #waleg sent one out claiming her priorities include “public transit & pedestrian street safety". Here is what she was primary sponsor of in 2025-26 session which does not show that focus: app.leg.wa.gov/bi/report/Bi...
app.leg.wa.gov
Bills by sponsor - Washington Legislature
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JR Mayer @jrmayer.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Scary how many of my FB friends are amplifying talking points on the "incompetent mayor." People I otherwise agree with on many issues calling her an unqualified "girl." The perception seems to be that Harrell lost b/c of racism instead of his lackluster performance, crony mgmt, and limited vision.
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 01/08/2026
Now this is an excellent, fair, independent story covering the events this week in a way that is comprehensive and informative. TV and corporate media could learn something from this!
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 01/08/2026
Danny Westneat joins the Seattle Times in full scale war against Mayor Katie Wilson, which is no surprise but another example of the Brandi Kruse-ification of local establishment media. They've gone from providing independent reporting and analysis to using their perches for a partisan agenda.
seattletimes.com
Seattle City Hall rarely runs smoothly. This week it hit new lows
The spectacle of the neophyte mayor and the frequent flyer police chief, both failing at their jobs when they were needed most, is not going to pass lightly.
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