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Mass transit wins big in ballot initiatives

by MaryanneParkins Posted on November 10, 2016

In an otherwise rough election for cities, poor people, and the environment, all three got a bit of good news from state and local ballot initiatives funding mass transit. Across the country, voters approved a majority of measures to expand bus and rail lines.

Smart Growth America, the pro-transit and urbanism advocacy group, compiled a list of the biggest transit initiatives on Tuesday’s ballots. Of the 27 measures tracked, 19 passed. And of the eight that failed, five received majority support but fell short because local tax increases required a supermajority.

Among the biggest successes were a sales tax increase to build new light rail in Seattle, a property tax to pay for repairs and maintenance on the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system, and a slight sales tax hike to expand bus and rail services and upgrade bike lanes and sidewalks in Los Angeles County.

It wasn’t only the famously eco-friendly cities of the Left Coast that supported mass transit. Even in the South — the country’s most conservative region, with some of its most car-dependent metro areas — voters approved taxes for transit. Wake County, North Carolina, passed a half penny per dollar sales tax increase for new services, including three bus rapid transit lines and a commuter rail line. Atlanta passed two separate sales taxes for biking and walking trails, street and sidewalk improvements, and bus upgrades and rail expansions.

There were also positive results in smaller cities in the Midwest and Interior West. In Eastern Washington, the conservative side of the state, Spokane passed a 0.2 percent sales tax to fund more bus service and launch the area’s first bus rapid transit line. Indianapolis and surrounding Marion County voted for a 0.25 percent income tax to increase bus service. (The Indianapolis area has long had Republicans who support transit, such as former Mayor Greg Ballard and Carmel, Indiana, Mayor Jim Brainerd.)

The Center for Transportation Excellence, a pro-transit think tank, kept track of all transit-related ballot measures and found support for mass transit in small and mid-sized cities, too. Kansas City, Missouri, passed a 3/8-cent sales tax increase to build light rail, while Greensboro, North Carolina, voted for a transportation investment bond to fund new sidewalks.

There were also some disappointments. Measures to expand transit in Broward County, Florida, and in southeast Michigan failed. But, overall, the results were evidence that most Americans — even Trump voters — are willing to pay for greater, greener mobility.

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Mass transit wins big in ballot initiatives

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Theoretical vs. Experimental Physics: Quien Es Mas Macho?

by FrankieMarx Posted on January 23, 2016

Mother Jones

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Warning! I have not followed Deflategate except in passing.1 I don’t have the kind of grassy knoll knowledge of what happened that lots of people seem to. The naive question that I’m about to pose may inspire jeers in those of you who have immersed yourselves in it.

Anyway: the first thing that I and thousands of other geeky types thought of when Deflategate first burst onto the scene was the Ideal Gas Law. I didn’t actually try to calculate anything, but I remember vaguely thinking that the temperature probably dropped about 5 percent between the locker room and the field, so the pressure in the footballs might plausibly have dropped about 5 percent too. Then again, maybe the volume of the footballs changed slightly. Hmmm. Then I got sick and didn’t care anymore—about Deflategate or anything else. Joe Nocera writes about this today:

John Leonard is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology….When the Deflategate story broke after last year’s A.F.C. championship game between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts in January, he found himself fixated on it….“Of course, I thought of the Ideal Gas Law right away,” Leonard says, “but there was no data to test it.”

….In May, the data arrived….Numbers in hand, Leonard went to work. He bought the same gauges the N.F.L. used to measure p.s.i. levels. He bought N.F.L.-quality footballs. He replicated the temperatures of the locker room, and the colder field. And so on….The drop in the Patriots’ footballs’ p.s.i was consistent with the Ideal Gas Law.

By early November, he had a PowerPoint presentation with more than 140 slides….A viewer who watched the lengthy lecture edited it down to a crisp 15 minutes….It is utterly convincing.

This is what’s always puzzled me. You don’t need to be an MIT professor of Measurement and Instrumentation to get a good sense of what happened, and you don’t need to spend a year pondering the minutiae of the Ideal Gas Law and writing 140 slides about it. Get a bag of footballs, inflate them to 12.5 psi, and take them outside on a 50-degree day. Wait an hour and measure them again. Maybe do this a few times under different conditions (wet vs. dry, different gauges, etc.). It would take a day or two at most.2 The league office could have instructed the referees to do this quick test just to see if 11.3 psi footballs were plausibly legal, and that might have been the end of it. Why didn’t that happen? Why didn’t lots of people try this? Even if you only have one football to your name, it wouldn’t be hard to at least get a rough idea. Inflate it, put it in your refrigerator for an hour, and then remeasure it.

Since I wasn’t paying attention, it’s quite possible that lots of people did this. Did they? Did the league? What happened here?

1Yuk yuk.

2Because I’m an optimistic guy, I’m just going to assume that this would be done in at least a minimally rigorous way. Nothing that would be necessary for publication in Nature. Just good enough to satisfy Mr. Lantz, my high school physics teacher.

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Theoretical vs. Experimental Physics: Quien Es Mas Macho?

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The Freewheeling Fun of Jazz Guitarist Wes Montgomery’s Live Concerts

by RochelleSisley Posted on May 25, 2015

Mother Jones

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Wes Montgomery
In the Beginning
Resonance

Near the end of his life, jazz guitar virtuoso Wes Montgomery (1923-1968) caught the ear of pop audiences with a series of records that were slick and sophisticated, but a little dull. This vibrant two-disc set is far more satisfying. Spanning 1949 to 1958, In the Beginning is dominated by live performances from Montgomery’s hometown of Indianapolis, in small-group settings that often featured brothers Monk (bass) and Buddy (piano), along with underrated tenor sax player Alonzo “Pookie” Johnson. The recordings aren’t perfect technically, and the playing isn’t always razor-sharp, but all concerned sound like they’re having a great time, especially Wes, who swings and struts with a freewheeling joy missing from his later work. Also included are five polished studio tracks produced by none other than a 22-year-old Quincy Jones, although these pale next to the spontaneous sounds of Wes Montgomery onstage, finding himself and having fun.

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The Freewheeling Fun of Jazz Guitarist Wes Montgomery’s Live Concerts

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This Letter From a Gay Veteran’s Brother Is the Most Heartbreaking Response to Indiana’s Law We’ve Read Yet

by EddieStreeton Posted on April 1, 2015

Mother Jones

On Tuesday morning, Indiana’s largest newspaper, the Indianapolis Star, published a full front-page editorial calling on Gov. Mike Pence to repeal the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the new bill that has incited national furor because it allows businesses to refuse service to gay people, citing their religious beliefs.

Tuesday’s Indianapolis Star. @markalesia/Twitter

By the end of the day, the paper received a heartbreaking letter from Nick Crews of Plainfield. Crews writes about walking his dogs to the local market that morning to pick up two copies of the day’s Star, something he never does. He continues:

With the papers under my arm, I walked to Plainfield’s Maple Hill Cemetery, and found my brother’s grave. My brother, who had been a troubled Vietnam War vet, was gay at a time when being gay was a very difficult thing to be. When he died of AIDS in 1985 in a far-off city, his refuge from his closed-minded native state, some in our family were sufficiently ashamed that his cause of death was not discussed.

At the grave I opened the Star. I said, “Well, Charlie, times have changed, thank God. It turns out you were on the right side of history after all.” Then I read aloud as much of the paper’s editorial as tears would let me get through.

And today I’m doing what I never thought I’d do. I’m renewing my subscription to the Star. I’m doing this because, if for no other reason, I believe we must all support those who stand against discrimination and for inclusiveness. I do it too as thanks to the Star whose courage and right-mindedness on this issue made this moment of personal closure possible for me.

Read his entire letter here.

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This Letter From a Gay Veteran’s Brother Is the Most Heartbreaking Response to Indiana’s Law We’ve Read Yet

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10 Shots From an Incredible New Trove of Depression and World War II Photos

by Tabitha92B Posted on September 6, 2014

Mother Jones

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Between 1935 and 1944, the Farm Security Agency-Office of War Information dispatched photographers to all ends of the United States to document life during hard times and wartime. Many of their photos, taken by now-legendary photographers like Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans, have become iconic representations of America during the Depression and World War II. But most of the hundreds of thousands of negatives, collected in what became known as “The File,” were never seen by the public.

No longer. Yale University’s Photogrammar has just made more than 170,000 of the FSA-OWI photos easily accessible online. You can browse and search by photographer, location, date, or subject. Even a quick visit to the site turns up surprising, searing photos that feel like they should be in history books, on the cover of old LIFE magazines, or hanging in art galleries. Here are 10 that caught my eye as I looked through the massive collection—including one taken less than a block from the Mother Jones office in downtown San Francisco.

Riveter at a military aircraft factory. Fort Worth, Texas, 1942 Howard R. Hollem/FSA-OWI Collection

“Wife of Negro sharecropper.” Lee County, Mississippi, 1935 Arthur Rothstein/FSA-OWI Collection

“Backyard slum scene” with the US Capitol in the background. Washington, D.C., 1935 Carl Mydans/FSA-OWI Collection

Deserted mining town. Zinc, Arkansas, 1935 Ben Shahn/FSA-OWI Collection

“Longshoremen’s lunch hour.” San Francisco, California, 1937 Dorothea Lange/FSA-OWI Collection

Japanese-American women interned at the Tule Lake Relocation Center. Newell, California, 1942 Unknown photographer/FSA-OWI Collection

“A shore patrol man and military policeman at the Greyhound bus terminal.” Indianapolis, Indiana, 1943. Esther Bubley/FSA-OWI Collection

A third-grader plays Adolf Hitler in a school production. New York, New York, 1942. Marjory Collins/FSA-OWI Collection

Army tank driver. Ft. Knox, Kentucky, 1942. Alfred T. Palmer/FSA-OWI Collection

“Monday morning, December 8, 1941, after Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.” San Francisco, California, 1941 John Collier/FSA-OWI Collection

The same intersection today Dave Gilson/Mother Jones

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10 Shots From an Incredible New Trove of Depression and World War II Photos

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Is Oil Money Turning the NRA Against Hunters?

by Myrna Posted on April 30, 2014

Two new reports examine how America’s “number-one hunter’s organization” takes oil money and lobbies for anti-conservationist policies most hunters oppose. Eduard Vulcan/Thinkstock Last week, as the National Rifle Association geared up for its annual meeting in Indianapolis, a spokesman summed up the group’s base. “Everyone thinks our strength comes from our money. It doesn’t,” Andrew Arulanandam told the Indianapolis Star. “Our strength is truly in our membership. We have a savvy and loyal voting bloc.” The NRA regularly cites its devoted 4-5 million members as evidence of its clout and relevance. Yet while the gun lobby publicly extols its grassroots supporters, it has also been overlooking their interests while catering to those of the oil and gas industry. The NRA calls itself ”the number-one hunter’s organization in America.” But two new reports published by the Center for American Progress (CAP) and the Gun Truth Project and Corporate Accountability International show that, following contributions from oil and gas companies, the NRA lent its support to legislation that would open up more federal public lands to fossil-fuel extraction, compromising the wilderness that many hunters value. In 2012, six oil and gas companies contributed a total of between $1.3 million and $5.6 million to the NRA, according to CAP. (The companies are Clayton Williams Energy, J.L. Davis Gas Consulting, Kamps Propane, Barrett Brothers Oil and Gas, Saulsbury Energy Services, and KS Industries.) Read the rest at Mother Jones. View article:  Is Oil Money Turning the NRA Against Hunters? ; ;Related ArticlesNo, New York Times, Keystone XL Is Not A “Rounding Error”Germany’s Key to Clean Energy Is…This Coal Mine?Watch Live: Darren Aronofsky Discusses “Noah” and Climate Change ;

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Is Oil Money Turning the NRA Against Hunters?

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NFL Apprehensive About Its First Openly Gay Player

by CeciliaMiljanov Posted on February 10, 2014

Mother Jones

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Michael Sam, a defensive end who was projected to be a mid-round choice in the NFL draft this year, announced today that he’s gay. So how did the league react?

“I don’t think football is ready for an openly gay player just yet,” said an NFL player personnel assistant. “In the coming decade or two, it’s going to be acceptable, but at this point in time it’s still a man’s-man game. To call somebody a gay slur is still so commonplace. It’d chemically imbalance an NFL locker room and meeting room.”

All the NFL personnel members interviewed believed that Sam’s announcement will cause him to drop in the draft. He was projected between the third and seventh rounds prior to the announcement. The question is: How far will he fall?

“I just know with this going on this is going to drop him down,” said a veteran NFL scout. “There’s no question about it. It’s human nature. Do you want to be the team to quote-unquote ‘break that barrier?'”

….The potential distraction of his presence — both in the media and the locker room — could prevent him from being selected. “That will break a tie against that player,” the former general manager said. “Every time. Unless he’s Superman. Why? Not that they’re against gay people. It’s more that some players are going to look at you upside down. Every Tom, Dick and Harry in the media is going to show up, from Good Housekeeping to the Today show. A general manager is going to ask, ‘Why are we going to do that to ourselves?'”

The former general manager said that it would take an NFL franchise with a strong owner, savvy general manager and veteran coach to make drafting Sam work. He rattled off franchises like Pittsburgh, Green Bay, San Francisco, Baltimore and Indianapolis as potential destinations. The former general manager added that a team with a rookie head coach would not be an ideal landing spot.

Moral of the story: Yes, we’ve made progress. But we still have a ways to go.

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NFL Apprehensive About Its First Openly Gay Player

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An Indiana utility would like some of your money for creating less pollution

by Myrna Posted on December 4, 2012

An Indiana utility would like some of your money for creating less pollution

By Philip Bump

Coal’s value proposition these days is this: 1) It is cheap, and 2) it is getting cleaner so it’s OK to use. Point 1 is hard to argue with; it is artificially cheap though getting more expensive. Point 2 is easy to rebut — coal itself is no cleaner than it ever was. But people are slowly waking up to the dangers of coal and demanding that the burning of it actually get cleaner. (Those people include the EPA.) Turns out, though, that making it cleaner 1) isn’t 100 percent effective, and 2) raises the cost of coal. It’s a conundrum!

llnlphotos

The best part is that the mandated and socially desired push to get coal cleaner introduces new points of pressure for people who want to phase out the use of coal, something that must be deeply annoying to coal companies (and, therefore, amusing to everyone else).

Case in point: an action in Indianapolis last week. The public utility, Indianapolis Power and Light, needed to upgrade some coal-burning power plants to bring the promise of “clean coal” a microscopic bit closer to reality. But activists rightly note that it’s ridiculous for ratepayers to bear the cost.

From Midwest Energy News:

In September IPL filed with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission [PDF] to recover $606 million in investments in pollution controls.

At [a Nov. 28] rally, about 30 demonstrators wore T-shirts with the Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” logo, and chanted slogans on the steps of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in downtown Indianapolis. They demanded the utility shut down two aging coal plants, particularly the controversial Harding Street plant, which was opened in 1954 and sits seven miles southwest—and often upwind—from downtown Indianapolis.

Then the groups delivered a petition with more than 2,000 signatures opposing those planned rate increases and asking IPL to invest instead in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The purpose was “to send the message to IPL that ratepayers are not satisfied with multimillion dollar upgrades to aging coal plants,” said Megan Anderson of the Sierra Club, who organized the event.

What’s amazing about this is how it makes clear the externalization of coal costs, both directly and indirectly. Residents are frustrated with the air pollution from the plants — a cost incurred not by coal companies or IPL but by Hoosiers in increased medical costs and, eventually, by everyone in the world due to carbon dioxide emissions. But it’s also an explicit passing of the buck. IPL is charging the community not to poison them. I had a restaurant that worked that way once; I did 20 years in Sing Sing for extortion.

This protest points the way for other activists. If coal plants have to upgrade to be allowed to operate, it suggests to ratepayers another opportunity to twist the electricity provider’s arm.

And it’s a wind gust for coal companies as they try and make their way across a very shaky tightrope.

Source

Critics: Don’t charge ratepayers for Indianapolis coal plant upgrades, Midwest Energy News

Philip Bump writes about the news for Gristmill. He also uses Twitter a whole lot.

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An Indiana utility would like some of your money for creating less pollution

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