|
Your Boy Fancy posted:Metro expansion is near and dear to me. Turning non-rail hours into night-owl bus hours would be a game changer. I want to love metro so bad but it seems so horrifically mismanaged. I moved down here in 2010 and over the past 9 years I've seen it completely implode and decay. They killed a woman back in 2015 and the collective response was a giant shrug even though the Inspector General's investigation revealed all sorts of horrific things (e.g. employees forced to work 60 hours/week on a regular basis because no one else knows how to do the job). Remember MetroForward? Where Metro spent something like 50 million to put up (sexist) ads in stations about how they're fixing everything when in fact nothing got fixed? Remember when they said ATC (automatic train control) would be coming back in 2013? It's 2019 and they still aren't back on ATC yet. Remember when the Silver Line to Dulles was supposed to be done by now? They seem to be in a death spiral where they constantly have to raise fares and cut service, which leads to more people not using metro which leads to more fare increases/service cuts. As a huge transit supporter it's so disheartening that Metro is so poorly run. I'm hoping dedicated funding will fix things but I'm pessimistic because Metro seems to be a black hole where good ideas go to die. I feel bad for the employees too as it seems like a lot of the anti-Metro hatred is directed at them when I really think the problem is a management culture that doesn't give a gently caress. axeil fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Feb 11, 2019 |
#
?
Feb 11, 2019 17:23
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 23, 2024 09:29 |
|
|
axeil posted:I want to love metro so bad but it seems so horrifically mismanaged. I moved down here in 2010 and over the past 9 years I've seen it completely implode and decay. They killed a woman back in 2015 and the collective response was a giant shrug even though the Inspector General's investigation revealed all sorts of horrific things (e.g. employees forced to work 60 hours/week on a regular basis because no one else knows how to do the job). Remember MetroForward? Where Metro spent something like 50 million to put up (sexist) ads in stations about how they're fixing everything when in fact nothing got fixed? Remember when they said ATC (automatic train control) would be coming back in 2013? It's 2019 and they still aren't back on ATC yet. Remember when the Silver Line to Dulles was supposed to be done by now? Good point. I have been pushing for a serious push to make Metro get its loving act together for a while, bringing it up at the Q and A would be valuable.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2019 18:12
|
|
|
friendbot2000 posted:Good point. I have been pushing for a serious push to make Metro get its loving act together for a while, bringing it up at the Q and A would be valuable. Thank you! I'm not really sure what is to be done to "fix" Metro as its problems are so deep and baked into the very operating structure. You would probably need to make the Board of Directors directly elected instead of appointed. Right now if you're pissed at Metro and want to change its leadership you must convince the following groups as they all get to appoint members: D.C. City Council - 2 members Montgomery County, MD - 1 member Prince George's County, MD - 1 member Arlington County/Alexandria City/Fairfax County/Fairfax City/Loudon County/Falls Church City, VA - 1 member VA State Government - 1 member US Secretary of Transportation - 2 members That's insane. And not only do you have to replace them but you need to make sure they appoint the proper person. It's why reform has failed to take hold as you need 3 of the 5 of DC/NoVA Government/VA State Government/MD Suburb Government/Federal Government to be on board and it's just not realistically going to happen absent an absolutely massive campaign. axeil fucked around with this message at 19:43 on Feb 11, 2019 |
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2019 19:39
|
|
|
Honestly management not giving a gently caress is 99% of most business problems. From non profits to fortune 500.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2019 21:06
|
|
|
Maryland devolves much, much, much more authority to county government on land zoning and use. It's one of the main reasons that state has done so much better at managed growth - the people doing zoning planning are shielded from electoral politics, and there's way less ability to pit jurisdictions against each others or develop on the margins. This is also why their metro board membership looks the way it does compared to Virginia. Who exactly is on the call? What's the precise jurisdiction? What is its exact purpose? I may be able to get you some resources if it touches DC or MD land use or zoning issues- I know someone who was heavily involved in those areas in the 90s. Discendo Vox fucked around with this message at 21:49 on Feb 11, 2019 |
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2019 21:39
|
|
|
Discendo Vox posted:Maryland devolves much, much, much more authority to county government on land zoning and use. It's one of the main reasons that state has done so much better at managed growth - the people doing zoning planning are shielded from electoral politics, and there's way less ability to pit jurisdictions against each others or develop on the margins. This is also why their metro board membership looks the way it does compared to Virginia. We have a member of the D.C. WMATA board, Alexandria city council members, Coalition for Smarter Growth, and a few other YIMBY Advocacy groups signing on. That is just what some of my contacts in local gov have told me, there are definitely more. It is a panel discussing land use across the DMV area. So Northern VA, MoCo, and D.C. would be the targeted areas. Any resources you can put me in touch with would be highly appreciated!
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2019 16:50
|
|
|
friendbot2000 posted:We have a member of the D.C. WMATA board, Alexandria city council members, Coalition for Smarter Growth, and a few other YIMBY Advocacy groups signing on. That is just what some of my contacts in local gov have told me, there are definitely more. It is a panel discussing land use across the DMV area. So Northern VA, MoCo, and D.C. would be the targeted areas. Any resources you can put me in touch with would be highly appreciated! Is this more a strategic meeting or a tactical one? Because if it's strategic I'd be curious to hear what they thought about building more metro lines in the area. We need another Rosslyn tunnel to go to Georgetown to ease the Metro congestion caused by the Silver Line (  Blue Line) at bare minimum. I think we also need a lot of other routes and stops in NoVA because if you want to get from say, Falls Church City to Alexandria it's a really long trip. If they added in a line or lines that connected NoVA together that'd help. We probably also need some small connecting lines in the city to connect the Red Line.The thing is, I think we arguably need those now and that's going to cost a crazy amount of money and I'm not sure the appetite is there after the Silver Line appears to be a massive flop (that isn't even done yet). If they're not talking about starting to build these things until 2030 or later it's going to be bad news as the Rosslyn Tunnel has been running at capacity since the Silver Line opened back in 2013 or whenever it was. Tactically we need to figure out how to get Metro to consistently run every 4-5 minutes even on weekends. Metro is basically unusable if you need to make a connection and it's outside of rush hour because the train wait times are so extreme. I recall when I lived in Clarendon that it took nearly 90 minutes to go from my house to U Street on a Saturday evening because of how long the train wait times were. I'd have been better off trying to walk once I got to L'Enfant. My friends and I stopped using Metro entirely on the weekends because even though an Uber/Lyft would be 10-20 bucks, we at least would get there in a reasonable amount of time. A 3 hour round-trip commute to go out in the city on the weekend isn't a system that's usable and I haven't even touched on them killing off late night service which makes it even worse. I don't know anyone in my age/socioeconomic group (30something middle class people in the closer part of NoVA to DC) that use Metro outside of getting to work. Everyone would rather drive themselves or take Uber/Lyft. We need that to change and make Metro an attractive alternative instead of a last resort. Not to mention the horrific number of delays/breakdowns/etc. make it almost impossible to hit those marks during rush hour (plus the Metro management constantly lying and manipulating the data/targets so their on-time rates look better than they are in reality) I'm thinking of my trip to Berlin and how literally everything was only 3-4 blocks from an U-Bahn or S-Bahn station and the trains ran every 4-5 minutes. That's what we should be aiming for in the long-term. axeil fucked around with this message at 17:43 on Feb 12, 2019 |
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2019 17:31
|
|
|
In Utah news the Republican legislature is poised to overturn almost all of the voter approved progressive initiatives we passed in November. They started with reducing medicare expansion and throwing a work requirement on it and it looks like they'll be going after our medical  and independent redistricting next.I've been trying to get involved with the UT Dems but haven't gotten alot of response. How can I make waves?
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2019 19:05
|
|
|
Lil Peeler posted:In Utah news the Republican legislature is poised to overturn almost all of the voter approved progressive initiatives we passed in November. They started with reducing medicare expansion and throwing a work requirement on it and it looks like they'll be going after our medical Have you tried just showing up at the meeting and declaring yourself in charge? Believe it or not that sometimes works with moribund DTCs.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2019 19:26
|
|
|
Lil Peeler posted:I've been trying to get involved with the UT Dems but haven't gotten alot of response. How can I make waves? What have you been doing so far? How are the UT dems organized?
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2019 19:27
|
|
|
https://www.richmond.com/news/virgi...a76698792d.htmlquote:Federal court orders Virginia to adopt redrawn House of Delegates map Good news for once.
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2019 22:34
|
|
|
Your Boy Fancy posted:https://www.richmond.com/news/virgi...a76698792d.html Taking the seat of the Speaker of the House of Delegates after that projected 32 point Dem swing from redistricting would be quite wonderful. 
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2019 22:38
|
|
|
BREAKING: COURT ORDERS IMMEDIATE LITERAL RELIEF FOR VIRGINIA
|
|
#
?
Feb 15, 2019 16:28
|
|
|
Thank God they can elect more people who do blackface
|
|
#
?
Feb 15, 2019 16:42
|
|
|
mandatory lesbian posted:Thank God they can elect more people who do blackface I'm surprised you think they wouldn't be doing that no matter the map.
|
|
#
?
Feb 15, 2019 20:10
|
|
|
mandatory lesbian posted:Thank God they can elect more people who do blackface I mean what it actually means is that the power of black voters in Virginia's urban areas isn't concentrated into like two districts, so in fact it means the opposite of that thing, but sure. e: More seriously, this is really good and makes it substantially more likely that we take the House of Delegates this fall; take the House of Delegates and we can start actually passing legislation and implementing policy rather than just watch it die in a Republican-run committee that nobody pays attention to. It means it's easier for new Democratic politicians to rise up through the ranks; one of the problems with having a few safe Dem seats and basically nothing else is that you get a bunch of party loyalists who can only lose their seats if they lose a primary, and it's almost impossible to make an impact as a newcomer. That system is way harder to keep stable when there's a lot of seats to contest, so you get Danica Roems and Lee Carters and some percentage of those people go on to make an impact higher up as well. And since they had to fight to do it, there's less chance they've got skeletons in their closet that can emerge and suddenly traumatize your voters. 
Quorum fucked around with this message at 22:11 on Feb 15, 2019 |
|
#
?
Feb 15, 2019 22:02
|
|
|
Discendo Vox posted:What have you been doing so far? How are the UT dems organized? They have a chair and board structure, with an executive director overseeing staffing. I've emailed/called him a few times (don't want to piss him off) and also reached out to another staff member who might be heading a mayoral campaign and stopped by the offices with an interest in volunteering to start. I'm taking a brief hiatus in SoCal for a few months but before that I also volunteered at the ACLU offices here.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2019 01:36
|
|
|
My local DSA is trying to pressure the San Antonio government to phase out coal power by 2025. I’m gonna try and attend one of the meetings to submit public comment and report back.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2019 01:58
|
|
|
Lil Peeler posted:They have a chair and board structure, with an executive director overseeing staffing. I've emailed/called him a few times (don't want to piss him off) and also reached out to another staff member who might be heading a mayoral campaign and stopped by the offices with an interest in volunteering to start. I'm taking a brief hiatus in SoCal for a few months but before that I also volunteered at the ACLU offices here. Have they researched the local power infra and holdings? Are they getting members on the CAC and Board? Power infrastructure is not that flexible, and a six year transition period is...extremely tight. Wikipedia also tells me that the area is being served by a coal plant opened in 2010, so that's a massive sunk cost to address. Discendo Vox fucked around with this message at 02:30 on Feb 16, 2019 |
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2019 02:25
|
|
|
Discendo Vox posted:Have they researched the local power infra and holdings? Are they getting members on the CAC and Board? Power infrastructure is not that flexible, and a six year transition period is... The city already has a plan to shut down one of two plants and is presenting a plan to be carbon neutral by 2050. The plan is to pressure them to move their time tables up and create plans to shut the other plant down. Separately, they’re looking to make proposals for public transportation.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2019 02:27
|
|
|
mandatory lesbian posted:Thank God they can elect more people who do blackface "You might as well not vote ever", Very Smart Person Says.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2019 03:21
|
|
|
Vincent Van Goatse posted:"You might as well not vote ever", Very Smart Person Says. I think they were just being glib about the seemingly nonending number of VA politicians who have worn black face, not saying dont vote. This is a bit unfair.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2019 03:50
|
|
|
friendbot2000 posted:I think they were just being glib about the seemingly nonending number of VA politicians who have worn black face, not saying dont vote. This is a bit unfair. to be honest i am a bit more then peeved at my home state about it, but yeah i don't think not voting is the correct option. I'm sure there are plenty of candidates who have not done blackface or something equally regrettable, they just need to be supported. I do wish there was some way to force Northam out but even then his replacements have also done blackface or (allegedly) are rapists. Hopefully that was cleared up as a lie or something but last i heard prospects weren't good
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2019 04:49
|
|
|
Just no more politicians who were in frats
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2019 04:54
|
|
|
No more politicians with faces
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2019 05:04
|
|
|
mandatory lesbian posted:to be honest i am a bit more then peeved at my home state about it, but yeah i don't think not voting is the correct option. I'm sure there are plenty of candidates who have not done blackface or something equally regrettable, they just need to be supported. I am loving furious at Northam, Herring, and Fairfax. Yeah, it is appearing more and more than Fairfax is a monster and personally I believe his victims. I feel so drat betrayed. We just need all the olds out of politics period...
|
|
#
?
Feb 17, 2019 06:15
|
|
|
God that is so infuriating to hear about fairfax. What's the line of succession where Lee Carter gets to be governor, since apparently everyone in the top spots is a loving chode
|
|
#
?
Feb 17, 2019 13:33
|
|
|
mandatory lesbian posted:God that is so infuriating to hear about fairfax. What's the line of succession where Lee Carter gets to be governor, since apparently everyone in the top spots is a loving chode Well, Northam can appoint him LG and then resign. That most definitely won't happen, but you can dream.
|
|
#
?
Feb 17, 2019 21:06
|
|
|
mandatory lesbian posted:God that is so infuriating to hear about fairfax. What's the line of succession where Lee Carter gets to be governor, since apparently everyone in the top spots is a loving chode Lee Carter is my boi and I loving love that square headed socialist ginger.
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2019 05:12
|
|
|
WV legislature has been trying to push through a bill introducing charter schools and other things. Teacher unions have voted to have another strike starting tomorrow (recall the wildcat strikes last year). here's a local story on it https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/...b4cbef671a.html
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2019 04:17
|
|
|
Tommah posted:WV legislature has been trying to push through a bill introducing charter schools and other things. christ
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2019 04:20
|
|
|
Chilichimp posted:christ That would be the science curriculum they want, yes.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2019 16:02
|
|
|
https://twitter.com/_ericblanc/status/1097914729836687360 That was quick.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2019 23:38
|
|
|
Found this map of the composition of every state legislature in the U.S., thought it might be useful here: https://www.azavea.com/blog/2019/02/12/2019-legislator-map/
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2019 00:45
|
|
|
SoggyBobcat posted:Found this map of the composition of every state legislature in the U.S., thought it might be useful here: https://www.azavea.com/blog/2019/02/12/2019-legislator-map/ Ok so dunno if this is a one off, but that map has CT-23 with the right State Senator (Dennis Bradley) and..... uh gets his party wrong. So I'm wondering how many mistakes we have on there.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2019 01:01
|
|
|
unions still on strike because they do not trust the leadership to keep the bill dead https://twitter.com/jake_zuckerman/status/1098006238837788672
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2019 02:00
|
|
|
SoggyBobcat posted:Found this map of the composition of every state legislature in the U.S., thought it might be useful here: https://www.azavea.com/blog/2019/02/12/2019-legislator-map/ This is awesome, just what I was looking for earlier. Grape posted:Ok so dunno if this is a one off, but that map has CT-23 with the right State Senator (Dennis Bradley) and..... uh gets his party wrong. Thanks for the heads up, sounds like a good reference point but good to verify.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2019 02:26
|
|
|
We don't deserve teachers like this.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2019 02:41
|
|
|
Admiral Joeslop posted:We don't deserve teachers like this. We desperately need them though.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2019 04:00
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 23, 2024 09:29 |
|
|
Grape posted:Ok so dunno if this is a one off, but that map has CT-23 with the right State Senator (Dennis Bradley) and..... uh gets his party wrong. Yeah, I'm looking at my state and there are quite a few errors.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2019 09:01
|
|
