Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 24/09/2026See: Mercedes-Benz and Sprinter or Mercedes-Benz Vans or whatever 120
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 24/09/2026sure, but adding anything new is a huge deal at a government level. New police cars weren't a huge issue just because cops loved their Crown Vics 000
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 24/09/2026Some municipalities are still of the "Buy American" persuasion and most others have always bought domestic brands and have existing service contracts they renew since if they do something new it starts a whole bidding process 010
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 24/09/2026that would've been fine except it probably would've had to been able to be built here and the fleet market is tough to crack. Doubt they'd get an order on the level of USPS or even CalTrans, which uses a few ID. 4s 200
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 24/09/2026Yeah I credit is as much as I credit myself for spelling "topographical" right on the first try 110
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 24/09/2026Still sold nearly twice as well as the Golf R did in the US last year so tariffs are clearly a big issue 120
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 24/09/2026Although I credit them a good bit for explaining the reason L.A. was/is smoggy is topographical, not just historically car-centric, which isn't mentioned nearly enough even by people from here 120
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 24/09/2026The theme here is like, "The system has succeeded in improving air quality significantly since the 1980s..." but... and that's something people not from CA gloss over a lot. And I've had a daily fail a smog test And what about states with real vehicle inspections? www.thedrive.com/news/smog-te...thedrive.comSmog Testing in California Is Broken. Leno's Law Won't Fix ItThe new law is being hailed as a landmark victory that will keep classic cars on the road longer. But it doesn't actually fix the systemic issues with the state's emissions testing rules. 110
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 24/09/2026You know this is really a tariff/uncertain economy thing and not an oversupply thing because as late as yesterday they were calling it MY2027 insideevs.com/news/809464/...insideevs.comVolkswagen Delays The ID. Buzz's Return To The U.S. AgainVolkswagen delayed the electric van's return by another model year. Now it comes back as a 2028 model next year. 221
Reposted by Zac EstradaMark Gongloff @markgongloff.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Larry Ellison right now: "Things have changed, circumstances, Jerry... force majeure, acts of God." (gift link) www.bloomberg.com/news/article... 4155
Reposted by Zac EstradaZac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 24/09/2026"In March 1998, at the time the strongest El Niño year on record, a debate over a sea wall off Isla Vista’s coast was in full swing. News articles at the time report decks collapsing after heavy storm conditions" Still no sea wall www.independent.com/2026/09/22/u...independent.comUC Santa Barbara Students Return to Isla Vista, Where El Niño Threatens Cliff CollapseWhat risk do Del Playa Drive residents face this year, and what are people doing about it? 111
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 24/09/2026Define "Deadline." What is dead? And line? www.latimes.com/california/s...latimes.comTroubled LAX People Mover delayed again — and it might not be the last timeThe contractor of the LAX Automated People Mover, LINXS, believes the train could open in early January. 010
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 24/09/2026Completely understand that not all of Isla Vista is on Del Playa, but a lot of students live at least two to a room in these homes, and plenty of been red-tagged in my lifetime. Where are they going to go? Neither Goleta or Santa Barbara want them 000
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 24/09/2026"In March 1998, at the time the strongest El Niño year on record, a debate over a sea wall off Isla Vista’s coast was in full swing. News articles at the time report decks collapsing after heavy storm conditions" Still no sea wall www.independent.com/2026/09/22/u...independent.comUC Santa Barbara Students Return to Isla Vista, Where El Niño Threatens Cliff CollapseWhat risk do Del Playa Drive residents face this year, and what are people doing about it? 111
Reposted by Zac EstradaJon Passantino @passantino.bsky.social · 23/09/2026NEWS @status.news: The anonymous source behind one of the stories the White House cited to justify banning POLITICO was none other than Vice President JD Vance. The full story: www.status.news/p/white-hous...status.newsThe Source Behind The BanThe anonymous source behind one of the stories the White House cited to justify banning POLITICO was none other than Vice President JD Vance, Status has learned. 17623203
Reposted by Zac EstradaMatt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 24/09/2026There are two dieticians on local TV news right now talking about how you can buy potatoes and some cheap cuts of meat to really stretch your dollar and I feel like this is more devastating than any anti-Trump ad currently running. 43691116
Reposted by Zac EstradaChris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Also, lest there be people who follow me who saw the very weird Advocate attack on the Blade doing pool duty Monday, that was a bad story. The Blade is a part of the print pool — not the TV pool — and the print pool coverage has continued this week. Here's the Blade's response to The Advocate:washingtonblade.comWashington Blade responds to concerns over White House pool dutiesInaccurate media reports create confusion but we stand with our colleagues 16512
Reposted by Zac EstradaAlex Pawlowski @apawlows.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Our long awaited panel, Albert Gore of ZETA, one of my faves, Tiya Gordon of it's electric, and Emily Pontecorvo of heatmap is on deck. With the 700 awarded in NYC, it'll bring the city to 788 curbside chargers, only 21,222 more to go to catch London! (thanks 120V street lamps and not using byoc) 111
Reposted by Zac EstradaTaniel @taniel.bsky.social · 23/09/2026News: A California DA tried Stanford students with felonies over pro-Palestine protests. Bolts reported the DA was fundraising off of this. A defense attorney dug more & filed a motion to recuse him off the cases. A judge removed him in May + gave cases to the AG. AG just dropped felony charges. 71277316
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 23/09/2026They're really trying to get people genuinely interested in this 010
Reposted by Zac EstradaJustin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Welp. According to Semafor, David Ellison has discussed bringing Elon Musk on as an investor in Paramount's merger with Warner Bros., which could mean Musk could have a stake in CBS News and CNN. www.semafor.com/article/09/2...semafor.comExclusive: Paramount weighs tapping Musk for equity investmentA cash injection from SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk could reduce investor Larry Ellison’s financial burden and bolster the deal’s investor base. 2092086795
Reposted by Zac EstradaPatrick De Haan @gasbuddyguy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026diesel prices are now over $3/gal HIGHER than a year ago in: California +$3.28/gal Michigan +$3.22/gal Ohio +$3.13/gal Indiana +$3.13/gal Wisconsin +$3.12/gal Illinois +3.09/gal KY, WV, MO and SD are getting closer. 27327
Reposted by Zac EstradaDave Lee @davelee.me · 23/09/2026"I need this vehicle to be out of here NOW, or it will be crushed." Hilarious @joemillerjr.ft.com account www.ft.com/content/9cc4...ft.comWhat to do when your Waymo holds up a Secret Service motorcadeStranded in six-lane traffic, surrounded by agents, my autonomous vehicle refused to budge 15411
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 23/09/2026"The mayor had 63% unfavorable ratings...with 28% favorable and 9% having no opinion. By comparison, 40% had a favorable view of Raman, according to the poll, while 39% said they had an unfavorable view of her and 21% had no opinion" 33% undecided right now. Wow www.latimes.com/california/s...latimes.comRaman takes big lead over Bass in latest poll for L.A. mayor's raceCouncilmember Nithya Raman is favored by 39% of likely voters in the latest UC Berkeley/L.A. Times poll, with Mayor Karen Bass at 28%. But 33% are undecided. 192
Reposted by Zac EstradaRyan Schwartz @ryanschwartz.tv · 22/09/2026Sounds like Matt Damon can rest easy. 031
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 22/09/2026Most were driving big trucks and SUVs, too, also fiscally responsible 010
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 22/09/2026"Gas station owner John Price hosted Hilton. Price said Hilton the Hilton campaign was paying for the discounted gas—up to $12 gallons, for the first 150 customers." Well, he never said how much gas or how many people would get it for $3/gallon www.newspress.com/2026/09/22/s...newspress.com'Save with Steve': Governor candidate Steve Hilton visits Fuel Depot, offers $3 a gallon gas - Santa Barbara News-PressOne motorist who filled up said, 'It's the only time we are going to get money out of a millionaire.' First 150 customers got the discounted gas 100
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 22/09/2026"State Senate President Monique Limón of Santa Barbara said the state had made a 'meaningful investment' in communities hosting the games — pointing to the $20 million for transportation and another $10 million for policing" $30 million vs. $379 million, sure www.latimes.com/california/s...latimes.comL.A. struggling to get Olympics transit money from SacramentoL.A. Metro asked the Legislature for $379 million for Olympics-related capital projects, and got just $20 million. 010
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 22/09/2026"Yet according to the Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, the U.S. ranks just 64th, behind Botswana but ahead of Panama. Norway is No. 1." dankennedy.net/2026/09/22/b...dankennedy.netBringing CBS News and CNN under one Trump-friendly roof is a disaster for freedom of the pressMy students and I were talking this morning about press freedoms in the U.S. and in other Western democracies. How, I asked, could countries like Britain, Canada, Germany and France ensure such fre… 021
Reposted by Zac EstradaSchnorkles O'Bork @schnorkles.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Iowa is absolutely going "Oh wait we voted for Obama." 723929
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 22/09/2026The end pretty much sums everything up about not just housing policies in L.A and California, but the mentality about building here. Pretty much convinced that the state isn't a multifamily one and something more than better transit will have to change that www.latimes.com/california/s... 041
Reposted by Zac EstradaOB Cycler @obcycler.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Just days after a Tesla drove down the Pacific Beach boardwalk, on the other side of PB a woman drives at me on the Rose Creek Bikeway. @joelacavad1.bsky.social our bike and walking trails need to be protected by steel bollards. 2221340
Reposted by Zac EstradaScott Nover @scottnover.bsky.social · 21/09/2026NEW: The Washington Post said it will not publish photographs of presidential events until midnight, joining a collective effort with photographers in other newsrooms covering the White House in a show of support of the banned outlets. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...washingtonpost.comMajor TV networks halt video coverage of Trump over CNN banCNN, along with MS NOW and Politico, filed a lawsuit over the ban, which the president defended as “an assault on the FAKE NEWS.” 24020
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 15/09/2026In most municipalities it's established they belong in the street with a car or truck. Enforcement, well, 110
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 15/09/2026It's very region-specific but if an e-assisted, multi-wheeled vehicle exceeds running speed of a human, it's a motorcycle, which should require a license and to be on the street with other gas-powered multi-wheeled vehicles. It's so simple www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...theguardian.comWhen is an ebike not an ebike? When it has a powerful illegal engine. Get this menace off our roads | Peter WalkerAs a cyclist I want the authorities to act with clarity. Lime bikes and renters can be annoying, but the true threat is those who dangerously flout the law, says the Guardian’s senior political corres... 100
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 15/09/2026Proof Tom Cruise has no sense of time (like I'm one to judge) 000
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 15/09/2026Barring any massive price hike, this looks like a win for Volvo and its PHEV lineup, already a long-standing hit. Yeah, it could charge more quickly but that doesn't seem to affect loyalty and as others cheapen interiors, these old Volvos are still nice inside www.volvocars.com/us/media/pre... 231
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 15/09/2026None of this dims the night's genuine milestones." All the respect to the premise of this and, lord knows, media is not kind to people of color, but the hed dims the night's milestones variety.com/2026/tv/news...variety.comEmmys So White Part 2: No Actors of Color Win Major Acting Prizes on TV’s Biggest NightThe 2026 Emmys saw no actors of color win in the 12 lead and supporting acting categories, reviving concerns over diversity in Hollywood. 000
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 15/09/2026Back to other national matters: the level we're validating our elected officials' validity to validate decisions national and internationally is ridiculous now that we know members of the three branches of government tend to live past 72 now www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/u...nytimes.comMitch McConnell Returns to Senate After Three Month AbsenceSenator Mitch McConnell, the 84-year-old Kentucky Republican and former leader, had been absent for more than 13 weeks after a health incident, fueling questions about his ability to continue serving. 010
Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 15/09/2026The equivalent of TV news doing a live shot from that one gas station that’s notoriously expensive Go somewhere else. Anywhere else 000