Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 1d

Roman tombstone found in NOLA forever immortalized in the pages of the NYT. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/u...

Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 1d

Circulate published a major report last year that informed many of the conversations in Sacramento about reforming, and making different appointments to the Coastal Commission.

Read it: www.circulatesd.org/a_better_coa...

Sacramento Report: One Coastal Commissioner’s Take on Developing the Coast

Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 1d

Hopeful commentary here from San Diego's representative on the Coastal Commission, Chula Vista Councilmember Jose Preciado.

I agree we can have special treatment of the coast, and still allow more inclusive growth and access. voiceofsandiego.org/2025/10/10/s...

The agency has been roiled in criticism for its power over housing development along California’s affluent coastline.

voiceofsandiego.org

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Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 2d

Yes. "California is Over" pieces are routinely dumb.

"California is Weird Kind of" pieces are often revelatory.

The AI Kids Take San Francisco

Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 2d

There is a particular genre of [East Coast Magazine] that captures how surreal California can be.

Brilliant, workaholic teenagers are flooding the city — and reshaping our future in their image.

nymag.com

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Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 2d

Want to see how the @CityofSanDiego is doing for housing production?

We compiled past reports for a clearer picture.

Circulate San Diego @circulatesd.bsky.social · 3d

Circulate provided feedback on the City of San Diego’s 2025 Annual Report on Homes. Circulate complied some top-line numbers from prior Annual Reports on Homes.

Read the letter here: www.circulatesd.org/policy_lette...

At Bavaria’s annual celebration of autumn and beer, new generations of partyers and new arrivals to Germany are adding their own twists to traditional fashion.

Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 7d

This was fun. 🍻
www.nytimes.com/card/2025/10...

Oktoberfest’s New Drip

Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 8d

Wishing everyone a fun and safe Oktoberfest! Prost!

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Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 8d

Wishing everyone a fun and safe Oktoberfest! Prost!

Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 11d

Congratulations to all the nonprofits and government agencies that made it through the end of the Federal fiscal year.

I hope you met all your deliverables, used your budgets effectively, and have a moment to catch your breath.

How walkable is San Diego?

Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 17d

My colleague Carlisle Dockery was on @KPBS this week talking about walkability in San Diego. Carlisle is @CirculateSD's Director of Planning and Community Engagement, and is an expert on the subject.

She did a great job! You can listen here: www.kpbs.org/podcasts/kpb...

San Diego has some walkable neighborhoods, but others — not so much. We look at what walkability looks like in our region and what is being done to address it.

www.kpbs.org

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Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 17d

My colleague Carlisle Dockery was on @KPBS this week talking about walkability in San Diego. Carlisle is @CirculateSD's Director of Planning and Community Engagement, and is an expert on the subject.

She did a great job! You can listen here: www.kpbs.org/podcasts/kpb...

How walkable is San Diego?

San Diego has some walkable neighborhoods, but others — not so much. We look at what walkability looks like in our region and what is being done to address it.

www.kpbs.org

‘He trusts her so much’: Meet Gavin Newsom's new climate chief

Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 18d

‘‘He trusts her so much’: Meet Gavin Newsom's new climate chief
www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

Gov. Gavin Newsom is turning to his senior climate adviser to lead California’s powerful air quality agency.

www.politico.com

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Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 20d

Some inconvenient polling about how voters think about housing reform.

Fortunately, common sense policies like requiring local governments to approve projects that meet clear standards still poll very well.

What Americans Think About Housing

Housing costs are too high, but Americans aren’t unified on solutions

www.searchlightinstitute.org

Chula Vista business owners push for return of COVID-era parklets

Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 20d

"Circulate San Diego celebrates Park(ing) Day in downtown Chula Vista, highlighting the potential benefits of repurposing street parking for public use."

Businesses in Chula Vista push to bring back parklets, boosting energy and commerce. Discover how outdoor spaces can transform downtown vibrancy.

www.cbs8.com

Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 21d

After last week's YIMBYtown conference in New Haven, I stopped into NYC for two nights.

It was a fun whirlwind, after a 6-year hiatus. Hope to visit again soon, and catch up with everyone.

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Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 21d

I will be speaking on a panel at the @CalTransit annual conference in November about "The Powerless Brokers: Why California Can't Build Transit. "

See the whole schedule and register at caltransit.org/Events/Annua....

California Transit Association > Events > Annual Conferences > Fall Conference & Expo > 2025 Conference Agenda

Emerging Mobility Transportation options offered across California are significantly different today than they were just a few years ago. A variety of mobility services and

caltransit.org

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Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 22d

This really is incredible. I can't wait to try them.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/t...

The New AirPods Can Translate Languages in Your Ears. This Is Profound.

The technology is one of the strongest examples yet of how artificial intelligence can be used in a seamless, practical way to improve people’s lives.

With the Em Dash, A.I. Embraces a Fading Tradition

Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 22d

A very indulgent article about writing and punctuation. Showing off really.

The debate about ChatGPT’s use of the em dash signifies a shift in not only how we write, but what writing is for.

The New AirPods Can Translate Languages in Your Ears. This Is Profound.

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Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 22d

We really are living in the future. A realtime translator in your ear has been imagined in sci-fi for decades upon decades.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/t...

The technology is one of the strongest examples yet of how artificial intelligence can be used in a seamless, practical way to improve people’s lives.

Opinion | We Can No Longer Tell Ourselves This Isn’t Really Happening

Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 23d

Abundance is a useful way of thinking, to prevent rent-seeking and build state capacity. It can apply across a lot of policy areas.

Limiting oligarchy is another. Should be applied to competition via anti-trust, and also in regulatory tools meant to promote viewpoint diversity.

Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 23d

A lot of the modern/left anti-trust enthusiasm is less about protecting competition, and more about preventing anyone from having too much power to leverage in the political and cultural spaces.

Media consolidation is the area where that has the most clear applicability.

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Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 23d

The US used to have strong rules to prevent media consolidation. We need those again.

Corporate overlords would have far less incentive to muzzle comedians and news outlets if the merger approvals they're seeking were preemptively prohibited. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/o...

Laughter is now a government-regulated product.

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Colin Parent @colinparent.bsky.social · 24d

The Campbell is a half-hidden bar in Grand Central Station. It's a very New York experience.