lorimt.bsky.social

57% of all ad spending by Republicans in the Virginia governors race was on anti trans ads. Just an incredibly mismanaged campaign. Anti-trans politics are a losing issue.

Who I am Voting for (and why Who I am Voting for (and why!) 2025: Cambridge There’s an election in Cambridge. November 4. You should vote. For starters, here is a cheat sheet. You do not need to read beyond the first page. You p...

Who I am voting for, and why, Cambridge 2025.

(Easy chart on the first page, then 7 pages of word salad, which is still more comprehensible than some of the school committee candidates' websites)

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

(Also obligatory fuck off Tim Flaherty)

😍 Boston, you are beautiful. #NoKings

NEIGHBORHOOD MULTIFAMILY UPZONING What does Cambridge's New Upzoning, passed in February 2025, actually mean for residential neighborhoods? A quide with facts for 2025 voters. WHAT DOES THE NEW ZONING ACTUALLY CHANGE? • Allows multifamily housing in all Cambridge neighborhoods (most already have multifamily homes, but new construction was banned for decades) • Promotes more housing, especially adding more affordable housing units built within a larger, market-rate development • Removes barriers like minimum lot sizes, unit limits, and floor area restrictions WHAT REMAINS UNCHANGED: • Climate Resilience requirements • Inclusionary Housing requirements • Green Building requirements • Historical Commission review • Tree Protection Ordinance • Building, codes fire safety, sanitary, energy ALL CURRENT PROPOSED PROJECTS IN RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS (3): Three projects currently in design review with city of Cambridge utilize the multifamily housing zoning for residential neighborhoods (none under construction): • 60 Ellery Street - demolition approved, project will include 20% inclusionary unit, 6 stories • 84-86 Ellery Street - demolition not approved, development will repurpose existing building project will include 20% inclusionary unit, 6 stories • Spears Funeral Home - demolition approved, construction likely 2027, project will include 20% inclusionary unit, 6 stories

NEIGHBORHOOD MULTIFAMILY ZONING OTHER BENEFITS • Homeowner flexibility: Possible to change your home to add rental units for income or to house home caregivers (previously required difficult variances) • Housing ladder: Helps residents transition from shared housing to family homes, from shelters to homes, and more • Affordable housing stock: Encourages developers to build affordable units that are rented to qualified people and rents are set at 30% of household income for families. • Housing crisis: A step forward in addressing local, regional and national housing shortage POLITICAL REALITY After years of meetings and community input, the final zoning petition passed in the council 8 to I. • Extensive compromises negotiated by all councillors and through community engagement resulted in : ⁃ Market-rate buildings: max 4 stories ⁃ 6 stories only if: 20% inclusionary, 5,000+ sq ft lot, 30% green space, larger setbacks ⁃ Buildings over 3 stories require community meetings • Pro-housing is a popular policy position and pro-housing candidates took 68% of the #1 votes in 2023 • In 2023, pro-housino candidates ran on supporting at least 4 stories in neighborhoods Sources: Cambridge CDD

#CambMA #housing #MApoli

Lots of fear mongering and misinformation being given to voters about what exactly the February 2025 rezoning meant for #CambMA.

Here are the facts!

My top 6 picks for City Council are those endorsed by both A Better Cambridge and Cambridge Bike Safety.

Incumbents
- Marc McGovern
- Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler
- Burhan Azeem
- Sumbul Siddiqui

Challengers
- Dana Bullister
- Ned Melanson

If you want more housing and safer streets, you want these 6!

Priorities.

"The AI infrastructure build-out is so gigantic that in the past 6 months, it contributed more to the growth of the U.S. economy than /all of consumer spending/" - @mims.bsky.social

My takeway is that The US has gone ALL IN BET OF THE 21st Century on AI, while China has gone all in on green tech

It is fucking insane that we had a decade of people complaining about the dangers of cancel culture, and now literally hundreds of thousands of people are being purged from government jobs for ideological reasons, but that is not cancel culture.

a sign that says vote for affordable housing is above a house Alt: a sign that says vote for affordable housing is above a house

What has the #CambMA @abciepac.org‬ Pro-Housing City Councilors Accomplished?

Check it out www.abciepac.org/aho-accompli...
and while you are at it, please consider donating to and/or volunteering for ABC IEPAC so we can ensure our progress is not rolled back.

if you've been thinking about an e-bike and the cost has been holding you back, this closeout sale is worth a look. this might be the lowest price i've seen for a UL-listed e-bike with a dealer network.

Actually, reading more closely, this is a newer study. I know one key study I've seen cited a lot was retracted. I don't know anything al about this one.

Good news - this study has a cataloging error, and it's results are incorrect. At least statistically, this isn't a pattern.

Poll Finds Strong Support for More Housing Development Voters strongly support land use policy changes that would make multifamily development easier in Massachusetts, according to a statewide survey commissioned by Abundant Housing Massachusetts (AHMA).

Our new poll for @abundanthousingma.org is out this morning. "Poll Finds Strong Support for More Housing Development."
bankerandtradesman.com/survey-finds...

Thousands of people gathered in Boston Common

Gigantic protest in Boston

@cambridgemass.bsky.social has a housing crisis. Yet unaccountable "Neighborhood Conservation Districts" (NCDs) run by the city drastically decrease housing construction and increase down-converted unit losses compared to equivalent parcels outside NCDs.

dan-sprague.github.io/2025/03/30/ncd

I helped build a government AI system. DOGE fired me, rolled the AI out to the whole agency, and implied the AI can do my job and the jobs of the others they've fired.

It can't. But, what DOGE accidentally revealed about themselves in the process is fascinating. 🧵

This isn't deportation if they are being sent to a random country not of their origin. This is a slave prison.

I love seeing companies that make inclusion a priority.

Bunch adapts their bikes for people with disabilities at no extra charge- need a special seat? Included. Need a modification for a wheelchair? Included.

This is another example of that.

Scientists have just cured pancreatic cancer in some patients with personalized mRNA vaccines. Pancreatic cancer. And this Trump administration wants to throw it all away.

They’re throwing away a cure for cancer.

Status report: In the "Adventures In Staying Housed" department... Greetings to the Bluesky folks who've dropped by! Just to confirm what's going on: We're hoping to sign the lease on our rented house early next week, but we have some rental arrears that we're very…

Status report, "Adventures in Staying Housed" dep't: The time for lease-signing on our rental house is getting really close... but we've got some arrears we're trying hard to handle. Can we interest you in some sale-priced #ebook bundles? 🙂Details are here: www.tumblr.com/dduane/77775...

I can’t believe it - after years of advocacy, exclusionary zoning has ended in Cambridge.

We just passed the single most comprehensive rezoning in the US—legalizing multifamily housing up to 6 stories citywide in a Paris style

Here’s the details 🧵

I'm kinda Over the lazy "techies need to take liberal arts classes so that they don't turn out terrible" argument.

Peter Thiel & Alex Karp did their undergrad degrees in philosophy. Elon Musk & JD Vance both have Bachelor of Arts degrees.

A liberal arts education isn't a panacea against bad ideas.

Three frozen medicine bottles. "US foreign aid is frozen, and people aren't getting their medicine"

US foreign aid is frozen so people aren't getting crucial medication! Keep up the fight against these actions by contacting Congress. If you're in DC or one of the 22 states in the lawsuit, also contact your Attorney General. For instructions, go to: tbfighter.link/contact-congress

Hey All: Google is pulling the "automatically on for anyone over 18" bullshit with Gemini that the Dropbox did for its AI, but I can't afford to ditch Google Drive/Docs/Workspace.

If you have a personal Google Account, first go to gemini.google.com/extensions and turn everything off...

Two hammerhead sharks drawn on parchment. One is viewed from the top and has awkwardly placed googly eyes. The other is pictured from below and has similarly dorky eyes, but also a friendly smile like a Muppet.

Sometimes you find some art by someone where you can't help but mourn that they missed the internet by nearly three centuries.

Do Not Use Cue Health’s COVID-19 Tests The FDA is concerned about the risk of false results with Cue Health’s COVID-19 tests as several changes have been made to the tests without FDA review and thes

For people who were certain they were sick but their Cue tests kept coming out negative: Cue diminished accuracy of its tests August, 2022 and again in October, 2023.

Link: www.fda.gov/medical-devi...

This is huge!! An attenuated vaccine for dengue that over 80% effective against symptomatic dengue fever 🧪

Condé Nast Union Members Launch 24-Hour Walkout Amid Layoff Talks More than 400 workers at Vanity Fair, Vogue, Condé Nast Entertainment, Bon Appétit and other brands are walking out on Tuesday to protest bargaining practices the union alleges are unlawful.

Alright besties: we’ve got another union walkout tomorrow, timed with the Oscar noms announcement. Don’t click on any links from Vanity Fair, Vogue, Bon Appetit, GQ, Glamour, Self, Allure, Teen Vogue, Condé Nast Traveler, etc: ✊ www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/bus...

Some impressive things happened this year, especially around energy: futurecrunch.com/goodnews2023/