Sam Gould

My grandpa has been watching the Valkeries play recently and just called me to ask if I knew where Valhalla was. He said the team talked about playing there a lot but he hasn't heard of that place before since he's not very familiar with the Bay Area. 😭😭😭

Want “Paris density”? Let’s legalize six-storey single-stair apartments on every residential lot in every major city.

This informative chart was shared by staff at last week's Oakland bike/walk commission meeting. The next time someone tells you "protected bike lanes are too expensive", remind them it's probably not the bikeway driving up the project cost, but all of the other non-bike-specific project elements.

I keep coming back to the basic problem that if people lose their damn minds at the thought of not being able to drive on one single street next to the ocean, how are we supposed to cope with these kinds of much bigger changes that are inevitable and imminent?

70 affordable homes. Steps from BART. Good union jobs. Innovative construction. None of it happens w/o state investment, housing reforms & local leaders saying YES to more homes. Loved welcoming @xavierbecerra.bsky.social to El Cerrito to see what's possible when we get this right! 📸 @bart.gov

Reading headlines of a California newspaper e-mail is 100%: - "Driver runs over kids on bikes, flees" - "Driver shot in front of kids by other driver after crash" - "Man shot to death in car after road rage" And our elected officials won't lift a finger to stop it. Driving mandates, at all costs.

ultimately it's shit like this that makes the decline of birth rates and resulting demographic skewing towards old people self-reinforcing. Greedy, wealthy retired people voting to destroy the funding for public services they relied on throughout their life now that they no longer need them

Insurance Commissioner is the single statewide race that has me the most worried this year, and that includes ballot measures. I think Jane Kim getting elected could lead to genuine disaster. Please vote Allen and tell your friends and family to do the same. patrickwolff.substack.com/p/vote-ben-a...

This is Tommy. Tommy had a question about my allegiances. Listen to the end to hear about his.

Jurisdictions (even those who don't write their own building codes) could also proactively issue AMMR bulletins stating that they'll allow them. Let me know if you know of any who do it.

Notice to Voters The voter registration deadline is October 19, 2026 Local Measure BB is on Your November 3rd Ballot On July 21, the Emeryville City Council unanimously placed Measure BB on Emeryville's November 3rd Municipal Election ballot. More Info: www.instagram.com/p/DekDt3DGvS...

this goes incredible places and I love everyone involved

Show some love for your local skate park! Join us at Joseph Emery Skate Park for a community clean-up dedicated to keeping our parks clean, welcoming, and enjoyable for everyone. Date: October 25 Time: 9AM - 11AM Location: Joseph Emery Skate Park RSVP: bit.ly/loveyourparkscleanup

Yes building housing is lowering rents in other places, but it's not going to magically lower rent in California because *reasons*

Thank you to everyone who joined us today, to celebrate the start of construction for the East Bay Greenway segment on San Leandro Blvd in San Leandro!
 Special thanks to the City of San Leandro, Alameda CTC, MTC, and Caltrans for helping to make this project possible.

The main difference I’ve noticed between West Coast NIMBYs and East Coast NIMBYs is that the former will tell you that they’re worried about gentrification, overpopulation and out of control capitalism, and the latter will just say the thing.

Major gotcha moment from the NBC Los Angeles mayoral debate: Mayor Bass says many supporters of Nithya Raman's campaign are advocates for bike lanes!! Duh!! Of course! Bike lanes save lives! 🚲🌴

Bike lanes coming out, with

Bay Area leftists and libs do this thing a lot where they take extreme conservative positions and dress them up in pseudoprogressive newspeak. it’s a problem everywhere to some extent but seems especially bad here.

Major AC Transit Cuts Possible, Input Needed by Oct 14 AC Transit is facing a $200 million, four‑year deficit. If no sustainable, long‑term funding is secured by December 2026, the agency will be forced to cut service by up to 16 percent. More info: www.emeryville.org/News/Major-A...

A new example of the unique brainworms found in the San Francisco left: DSA-SF has apparently refused to take a position on Proposition G, which would destroy Sunset Dunes park and reopen the Great Highway to cars. Why? It doesn't achieve "working-class justice."

It's genuinely remarkable (and extremely frustrating) how much better the left has gotten on housing production and zoning in virtually every big city other than San Francisco

Somehow never noticed this awesome bike box/queue jump at 53rd and Hollis. Let's you safely get in front of the cars so you aren't pinched by the curb extension. Obviously a protected intersection would be better, but this is a cool solution.

I, personally, would not go on the record with a reporter to announce I’m in favor of destroying the playground my kid is currently loving because I drive to work once a week (and the road still wouldn’t go there anyway), but everyone lives their lives differently I guess

I don't think people really understand how they are being influenced by people that have no idea what they are talking about on things like measure RTM. The East Bay Times for example argues "The measure would further drive up the region’s cost of living". Except cutting service is what does that.

train

Overheard a conversation where people were talking about how much the love the Emery-Go-Round. This fuels me.

Also a lot of the angst over transit funding efficiency is *because* there is more scrutiny, governance & oversight, compared to freeway spending. Same people mistake the imbalance in access for a difference in outcomes. They don’t question what they don’t get to see.

It’s so cool how the modern conservative movement is antithetically opposed to property rights when it comes to legalizing homebuilding

The City of Emeryville received the 2026 Helen Putnam Award for Excellence in Economic Development Through the Arts for the Rotten City Cultural District at the League of California Cities Annual Conference. www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPnJ...

@nextdoorsv.bsky.social this resolution from the League of California Cities had some great content around it.

it is very cool (read: very not cool) that "What if the entire regional economy immediately exploded?" is a ballot measure in the bay area because we are in the 'touching the hot stove' era of american history. if you live in the bay area you should vote for the regional transit measure.

Settle down, Lyft Bike! That's a lot of trips!

Rents for new leases of regulated 1-bed and studio apartments in Berkeley ticked down a bit in September '26, sequentially and annually, to a median $2098/month. That is the lowest of any September in a decade. Even in nominal dollars, that's lower than 2019.

Election mail is so boring...but not this! Great concept and execution. Good messaging, too!

This tragedy occurred on a street where the county recently completed a “pedestrian safety” project, but which local advocates pushed back against due to the lack of physical traffic calming & bike infrastructure. The warnings were ignored.

This building going up in San Jose is so funny. It's like if you stretched a standard 5 story apartment building up another 20 floors. As one commenter said, the final boss of massing breaks and facade articulation. sfyimby.com/2026/10/new-...