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Lauren

@lpangborn.bsky.social
462 followers 216 following 754 posts

Product designer in tech Aspiring real estate developer 🏢 Urbanist and bike advocate in Spokane Columnist for @rangemedia.co

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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 9h
So proud of my friends!
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Spokane Rising @spokanerising.com · 21/09/2026
Some people are trying to use the Spokane Complex Fires as an opportunity to reopen past decisions the city has made on housing density and transportation infrastructure. Don’t listen to them.
spokanerising.substack.com
Some notes on recent news and the Spokane Complex Fires
Don't use this as an opportunity to reopen debates on housing density or road widening.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 22/09/2026
Sen. Susan Collins helped steer millions in federal defense contracts to Navatek, whose CEO illegally funneled thousands of dollars to her campaign. The FBI sought to launch a probe and was eyeing Collins and other lawmakers. Then Trump gutted the unit in charge. THREAD 🧵
Martin Kao, CEO of defense contractor Navatek, poses next to Sen. Susan Collins for a photo. Collins is holding a model of a boat in her hands. Behind them is a large sign with the Navatek logo.
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Kenneth Trease @kptrease.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
sooooo.... if someone paints colorful circles on a street using some secret method to make them impossible to remove, the street has to become a pedestrian street? That's what I'm hearing here. Does anyone knows the method used and wants to spill details...? www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
seattletimes.com
35 circles and 5 thick white lines are painted on this downtown street. It won’t come off
A block of Ninth Avenue can’t reopen until the colorful design is gone. The center has tried graffiti remover and pressure washers, but the work is ongoing.
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Republicans want your kids to have asthma
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Designing society to be car oriented is turning out great
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
This idea is why this graphic bothers me so much. I want safer land use to be 50%, safer roads to be 40%, and everything else can share the remaining 10%. Having appropriate infrastructure for the land use means the others become nearly irrelevant
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Some news: I’ve been appointed to Spokane’s Plan Commission. I’ve been involved in transportation advocacy at the city level for several years now, but I’m switching the focus of my advocacy to land use and development.
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Jason @jrock08.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
This story about sound transit quickly fixing a problem killing fish reminds me that we still haven't banned the use of 6PPD in car tires despite knowing it's killing salmon since 2022. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
seattletimes.com
Federally protected Chinook salmon among dead fish under I-90 light rail
Investigations focus on how underwater anode cables, which carry a low-level electrical current, might have killed fish — and how many of which species died.
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I’m starting up a new project related to trails in Spokane, and have been selected to pitch it at Spokane SOUP, where the winner walks away with the door money! Buy your tickets here so you can come vote for us: www.spokanesoup.com/attend PS I will bribe you with these secret stickers
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
It’s time to bet on the river cities. I certainly am! (Spokane Falls looking awesome 😍 here) substack.com/@billfulton/...
substack.com
It’s Time To Bet On Those Smaller River Cities
Big cities aren’t adding population. But smaller river cities that are regional centers may be the future of American urbanism.
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
STA CEO @pedestrianman.bsky.social moving his own office to the plaza sends such a wonderfully positive statement about the building and its location downtown to those who decry both. Another great example of Karl leading from the front. www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...
reddit.com
From the Spokane community on Reddit: Getting there: Spokane Transit Authority to remodel downtown Plaza.
Explore this post and more from the Spokane community
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Daniel Moser @dmoser.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Pollution levels in London after 10 years of advancing sustainable transport.
Map showing Lower Pollution levels in London after 10 years of advancing sustainable transport.
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The Onion @theonion.com · 03/09/2026
Google Maps Introduces Crawling Directions For Cyclists Hit By Truck theonion.com/google-maps-introduces…
Google Maps Introduces Crawling Directions For Cyclists Hit By Truck
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Lower East Side Open Streets are amazing. The first was being used by Nike for an organized foot race, right next to folks eating in cafe seating. Thank god these blocks aren’t wasted on cars. Love this city WHOSE STREETS
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
📣 I’m starting a new project with my wife and a few friends called Inland Discovery Trails. We’ve been selected as one of four projects to compete for a grant from a community event called Spokane SOUP. Winners are selected by the attendees, so we’d love your support! www.spokanesoup.com/attend
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
📣 I’m starting a new project with my wife and a few friends called Inland Discovery Trails. We’ve been selected as one of four projects to compete for a grant from a community event called Spokane SOUP. Winners are selected by the attendees, so we’d love your support! www.spokanesoup.com/attend
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kxly.com @kxly.com · 27/08/2026
The City of Spokane is moving forward with its Division Street Transit-Oriented Development Plan.
kxly.com
Spokane proposes major changes to Division Street to improve walkability and transit
SPOKANE, Wash. — The City of Spokane is moving forward with its Division Street Transit-Oriented Development Plan.
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Spokane is set to upzone significantly around high performance transit lines!! You can dive into the draft map here: storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/...
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
A fire was started in the river gorge today, not far from where I live. It happened in an area that is full of dry brush and trees. It’s also an area where I see folks camping every time I go through it. Tbf, I don’t know that this fire was started by the homeless, but it’s certainly plausible.
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Sam @samd.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
i genuinely think that the way this admin is treating Canada will be looked back on as of the most shameful chapters of modern US history far too many people are laughing it off as unserious but the reality is that they’re spitting in the face of our closest ally for no reason
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Oh right because cops previously had the ability with thirty seconds of effort sitting at a desk to figure out what time their ex-wives left for work this morning Come onnnnnnn
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Having lots of fun designing a subway-style map for a new project 👀
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Okay I have learned my lesson re: video compression on Bluesky, so instead, please enjoy this single frame of a beaver trying to join me on my paddleboard
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I spotted something very interesting 👀 in the new Master Bike Plan draft that has been published as part of Spokane's Comp Plan draft. The route is of such quality that if I were a park planner, I would reroute the Centennial Trail onto it (and maybe that's already the plan!).
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Jake Anbinder @jakeanbinder.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
The key difference IMO between flock and speed cameras is the former creates new channels for abuse of power whereas the latter automates a law enforcement task in a way that is more equitable. But I do worry that the importance of this distinction is lost on both sides.
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Fietser @americanfietser.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Helmets are often misinterpreted as the solution to safety. Put simply, they aren't. Helmets protect your head from an uncontrolled fall. Proper infrastructure is what protects you from multi-ton vehicles. Don't conflate the two, they are worlds apart.
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kxly.com @kxly.com · 18/08/2026
With the first day of school less than a week away, the Spokane Valley City Council is weighing a safety measure that could change how drivers navigate streets near schools year-round.
kxly.com
Spokane Valley considers permanently lowering school zone speed limits to 30 mph
SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — With the first day of school less than a week away, the Spokane Valley City Council is weighing a safety measure that could change how drivers
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Sarah Taber @sarahtaber.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
The ag lobby really, really, really, really, really, really, really wants you to think AI is the reason reservoirs are going empty. It's not. It's agriculture.
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Spokane Rising @spokanerising.com · 18/08/2026
My latest for @inlander.com is a dive into the successful response to the Spokane Complex Fires, which should be seen as a model and ensured zero deaths or serious injuries. I actually started this piece––focused more generally on preparedness––before the fires broke out. Here’s the summary:
inlander.com
The Spokane Complex Fires showed even the most competent public safety response still needs more policy and planning
The National Weather Service reserves its rare “Particularly Dangerous Situation” (PDS) statements for particularly life-threatening, dangerous weather events that go beyond the usual thresholds for w...
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Spokane’s speed and red light cams are the *sole* funding source of traffic calming projects, which are incredibly popular, politically. There is clear daylight between Flock and the speed and red light cams here — namely, the latter only take photos of guilty parties and are highly regulated.
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
I talked with someone this morning who lives far enough outside the urban core to own horses and is able to own just one car in her two-adult household because she has a cargo ebike.
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
TIL there is a squirrel bridge (and Ferris wheel??) in Perry. Little quirky things like this appear when a space is beloved, and they in turn make the space *more* beloved. Warms my heart
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Gas prices are up 24.6% from a year ago and still significantly higher than they were before the Iran War. Meanwhile, the world's 8 biggest oil companies have made a $93B profit windfall in just the last three months. Big Oil is raking it in as the world burns — and we're paying for it.
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anna martin @revannamay.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
anything to keep the likes of Sean Feucht and his ilk out of our town. Tragedy vultures www.rangemedia.co/tragedy-vult...
rangemedia.co
Tragedy vultures
From chem trails to data centers, conspiracy theories are distracting from the real stakes of what’s happening in our community.
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Transportation Choices Coalition @transpochoices.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
The Yes for Buses campaign in Spokane has officially declared victory! Despite an opposition campaign that raised more than $288,000 from a few wealthy donors, voters renewed a sales tax to keep STA's buses and paratransit running for working people, students, seniors, and people with disabilities
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Columbia Climate School @climate.columbia.edu · 08/08/2026
State-run last-resort insurance plans push rates up for everyone, reduce incentives for fire-resistant homes and development, and can’t substitute for long-term solutions, write Lisa Dale of @climate.columbia.edu and Kelly Pohl of Headwaters Economics. Via Governing. bit.ly/4xwO6Ru
bit.ly
The Holes in States’ Wildfire Insurance Safety Net
State-run last-resort insurance plans push rates up for everyone, and they reduce incentives for fire-resistant homes and development. The plans can’t substitute for long-term solutions.
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Dr Grace S Peng @gspeng.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
If you want lower insurance rates and electricity prices, then you have to do managed retreat from fire-prone areas and densify the safer ones. There is no magic trick that can avoid managed retreat. Then those people need somewhere to go.
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Alexandra (Alex) Duggan @alexdugganreports.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
My firsthand account of what I saw during the Spokane Old Trails Fire, which razed hundreds of homes and forced the evacuation of more than 60,000 people. www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...
spokesman.com
I was one of the first reporters on Spokane's devastating Old Trails fire. This is what I saw
As smoke and flames encroached on a neighborhood near Indian Trail Elementary School during Spokane’s most devastating fire, a Spokane police officer raced to the home of a couple in an attempt to sa...
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Spokane Rising @spokanerising.com · 08/08/2026
I can now comfortably say that the measure to extend a 0.2% sales tax that funds ~40% of Spokane Transit’s service hours will pass! Yes: 51,687 (51.78%) No: 48,108 (48.19%) Yes for Buses successfully overcame the third-largest “no” campaign for a transit measure in Washington State history.
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Hey quick question CAN WE STOP LIGHTING SHIT ON FIRE
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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
New: Flock planned to use cameras in hundreds of thousands of Uber, Lyft, and delivery driver vehicles as a way to collect more license plate data. Pitched the idea to an Attorney General. Would basically turn Uber/Lyft into roaming surveillance vehicles www.404media.co/flock-pitche...
404media.co
Flock Pitched a Plan To Turn Uber and Lyft Drivers Into Roaming Surveillance Vehicles
A Flock presentation shows the company planned to use around 350,000 Uber, Lyft, and delivery drivers to collect license plate data for its surveillance system.
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West Seattle Bike Blob @westseattlebikeblg.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
I am an urbanist in part because every suburb built puts hiking and mountain biking trails that much further away from us
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Spokane Rising @spokanerising.com · 07/08/2026
After the third day of counting, the measure to extend a 0.2% sales tax that funds ~40% of Spokane Transit’s service hours has extended its lead to almost 2.5 points! Yes: 42,754 (51.15%) No: 40,811 (48.82%) There are ~41,000 ballots left to count, though not all of those are in the PBTA.
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Arsonist admits to starting 25 OTHER FIRES in the Spokane area. I have no words. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
seattletimes.com
Spokane arson suspect tells prosecutors he started 25 other fires
By Wednesday, detectives had corroborated evidence indicating he started at least four of the 25 fires he had described, prosecutors said in a memorandum.
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Alexandra (Alex) Duggan @alexdugganreports.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
BREAKING: Court records say the Spokane arson suspect confessed to detectives he planned to set the blaze two weeks in advance and waited for a day with high winds. MORE: www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...
spokesman.com
Detectives say Spokane fire suspect confessed, planned the fire in advance and researched arsonists
The man suspected of starting Spokane's devastating wildfire confessed to detectives he planned to start the blaze two weeks in advance, according to court records.
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Erik Lowe @eriklowe.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
The "Yes" campaign was outspent by the "No" campaign nearly 4 to 1. Over $200k was spent by just two people, Larry Stone and Gerry Dicker.
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Jarrett Walker @humantransit.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
When you ask voters to approve taxes for public transit, what you mostly get is a map of residential density. Here's the latest from Spokane, WA where the measure narrowly leads at the moment.
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
I hope these people get massive fines. They absolutely deserve them.
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
New: Police in Wisconsin used Flock to create a pretext to search a man's car for weed. Their justification? He drove from Wisconsin to Michigan, a “known source state for marijuana as it is legal there,” and Flock showed he "travels to Michigan frequently." www.404media.co/cops-used-fl...
404media.co
Cops Used Flock to Track a Man Across State Lines to Create Pretext to Search His Car for Weed
"The vehicle travels to Michigan frequently which is a known source state for marijuana as it is legal there," a probable cause justification reads.
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