Scott

i wish we had a sane and stable national politics so we could treat "lebron james sends cease and desist to AI company making pregnant videos of him" the most important story of the week that it deserves to be

I do firmly believe that refusing to outsource your basic cognitive functions to LLMs right now - as so many are stumbling over themselves to do right now, like hogs trotting to a pile of slop that’s been set up inside of a butcher’s delivery truck - will very much pay off in a few years.

Boston Critical Mass tonight was lit #BikingInBoston

Fenway Park workers launch strike before Red Sox game - The Boston Globe The strike comes after Unite Here Local 26, the union representing the workers, and the ballpark’s concession company, Aramark, failed to reach a contract agreement.

Fenway Park concession workers are launching a strike amid a contract dispute with Aramark and hours ahead of a Red Sox-Dodgers weekend series at the park.

Roundabouts don't request safe speed compliance, they demand it.

I’m fine with limiting the speed of e-scooters and e-bikes just as long as we do the same for every vehicle on our roads.

Legit so good

Cross-posting, now with direct link to request a yard sign! I mean, who doesn’t want my name in big letters sitting proudly on their lawn?

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

A selfie of me (mid 30s bearded white guy with teal hair wearing a baseball hat) next to a teal and purple campaign yard sign that reads “Scott Istvan for Somerville city councilor at large”

Have you ever thought “wow my yard/front window really just needs a hit of vibrant teal and purple and also I want to support a fun progressive city council candidate who loves #safestreets and #transit (and upzoning and small businesses)?”

WELL HAVE I GOT […]

[Original post on better.boston]

…but I thought no one bikes in the rain!

Art is inefficient. Care is inefficient. Joy is inefficient. Humanity is inefficient. Don't let them take that away.

People in casual summer attire walk, cycle, lounge, drink and dine on the “Paris Plages”, an artificial beach installed along the River Seine each summer.

People in casual summer attire walk, cycle, lounge, drink and dine on the “Paris Plages”, an artificial beach installed along the River Seine each summer.

People in casual summer attire walk, cycle, lounge, drink and dine on the “Paris Plages”, an artificial beach installed along the River Seine each summer.

People in casual summer attire walk, cycle, lounge, drink and dine on the “Paris Plages”, an artificial beach installed along the River Seine each summer.

When Hidalgo steps down next year, she'll have left an inspiring legacy: 350 km of protected bike lanes, 130,000 bike parking spaces, 300 school streets, 145,000 trees, 45 km of parks, and 140,000 fewer car parking spaces. Largely thanks to a light, quick, cheap experiment started 20 years earlier.🔚

City contractors will be paving segments of the road on Holland Street, College Avenue, and at the intersection of Highland Avenue and College Avenue. 🧵

it's also just... a bad test. The ACT is a much better practical exam; the SAT just likes to ask you trick questions that you can learn to spot by paying expensive tutors.

Huh, Zohran Mamdani’s SAT score was the same as mine, which is interesting because no one should give a flying fuck about another adult’s college entrance exam scores.

a screenshot of the notification settings on bluesky. it lists the following notification types: Bike helmet discourse is happening A non-cyclist mentioned the Tour de France A big account said we should license cyclists “Grrr bikes are for elites” “Grrr bikes are for poors” Lycra/Spandex mentioned Someone commented on your seat height UCI changed a rule "I'm an avid cyclist but..." A mutual posted a photo of them wearing sunglasses under their helmet straps

finally, notifications that everyone can use

But I also think Scottish (especially Glaswegian) and Geordie are the best accents, so my judgement is to be taken with a grain of salt.

Gotta get deep into the regional accents in the US. I love a thick Boston accent, and I think Minnesotan accents are delightful. A bit put off by many varieties of southern though.

This isn’t really about money. It’s about priorities.

Parking requirements per bedroom are a de-facto tax on “Apartments for Families”

MassDOT Reveals New Designs, Timeline for Delayed Mystic River Car-Free Bridge Project - Streetsblog Massachusetts MassDOT now says it hopes to open the bridge before 2030 – a more ambitious timeline than agency officials had reported just a few weeks ago.

MassDOT Reveals New Designs, Timeline for Delayed Mystic River Car-Free Bridge Project - mass.streetsblog.org/2025/06/24/t...

Bringing the NY campaign back to local politics: I really like the collaboration that comes with ranked choice voting. There are a lot of folks running “against” me who I think are great but the nature of the race means I probably won’t make public endorsements.

This is why traditional political power hoarders hate RCV — it encourages coalitions, doesn’t hate voters, and makes divide and conquer & demonization less effective/attractive. Scorched earth is actually a terrible planet to live on.

… wait but actually this checks out.

Zohran looking out on a victory night crowd.

In the words of Nelson Mandela: it always seems impossible until it’s done.

My friends, it is done. And you are the ones who did it.

I am honored to be your Democratic nominee for the Mayor of New York City.

It's so cuomover. We are zohback. Is this anything

Screenshot of a headline from the Wall Street journal that reads “New Yorks housing crisis is so bad that a socialist might become mayor”

Here for that Wall Street Journal Cope

Trees are pretty amazing bits of urban infrastructure. They’re basically the only capital asset that gets -better- after being in place for 20 years … and they’re wildly cross functional.

Traffic calming, cooling, beautification, air filtering …

2/?

If you have a moment today, in the heat, and you can do it without risk to your health - take a moment to stand in the shade of a tree as opposed to the shade of a building.

It’ll be perceptibly cooler under the tree because of the ‘swamp cooler’ effect from water being drawn up to the leaves.

1/?

Never been so invested in a mayoral primary in another city in a state I don’t live in before… c’mon New York! Let’s see some progressive leadership!