Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · 22h

A retired L.A. Fire Department battalion chief faults the agency for not coordinating with the city's water utility to prepare for the extreme fire weather that was forecast days before the deadly blaze swept through Pacific Palisades.

After Palisades fire hydrants went dry, LAFD faced costly delays in getting more water

A report reveals additional ways fire crews were stymied in efforts to get enough water to fight the Palisades fire in January. The call didn't go in for tanker trucks and when these arrived, there wa...

www.latimes.com

Reposted by Dan Brekke

bartfare.bsky.social @bartfare.bsky.social · 4d

@bart.gov Audio Click:
Bart plans to Encrypt its 🚓Police radio channels
on October 12, 2025
The BART police radio is not available online.
The cheapest radio to reliably listen to it costs $770
@danbrekke.bsky.social

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Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · 4d

"The fact and truth businesses are suffering economic headwinds driven by the bullshit and rhetoric businesses. The current administration is hostile to facts that conflict with the president’s claims and is driving his base’s distrust in any outlet that’s in the business of generating facts.'

You can’t get anti-institutionalists to trust an institution

I will stipulate at the outset that I do not know how to reverse the long trend toward distrust in traditional American news sources. There's probably a solution out there, likely something involving ...

www.pbump.net

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Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · 5d

Taking time out from our current slew of manmade disasters to consider one that could be much, much bigger:

San Andreas, Cascadia faults could combine to produce back-to-back earthquake disasters, new research suggests

New research offers the theory that the San Andreas fault and the Cascadia subduction zone could produce devastating back-to-back earthquake disasters.

www.latimes.com

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Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · 11d

@bart.gov's ridership in September topped 5 million, the first time that's happened since February 2020.

Ridership for the month was up 9.7% over September 2024.

Weekday average ridership: 195,057. That's 45.8% of BART's pre-pandemic September benchmark of 426,300. #transit

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Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · 12d

"The stakes are high: The Presidential Memorandum makes clear that DOJ intends to target tax-exempt organizations and their funders for investigation and potential criminal prosecution, including based on activities that have historically been viewed as protected by the First Amendment." #NSPM-7

Turning Powerful Post 9-11 Counterterrorism Tools Onto Domestic Policy Targets | Enforcement Edge | Blogs | Arnold & Porter

Arnold & Porter

www.arnoldporter.com

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Reposted by Dan Brekke

Ken Klippenstein @kenklippenstein.bsky.social · 13d

🚨 NSPM-7 🚨

Ken Klippenstein @kenklippenstein.bsky.social · 14d

🚨 New directive NSPM-7 targets "anti-capitalism," “anti-Christian,” and “anti-American" opinions as indicators of extremist violence, authorizing an army of 4,000 counter-terrorism officers to prevent crimes that haven't happened:
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trumps-nsp...

Trump’s NSPM-7 Labels Common Beliefs As Terrorism “Indicators”

New order targets “anti-Christian,” “anti-American,” and “anti-capitalism” opinions

www.kenklippenstein.com

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Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · 12d

Some 511,877 vehicles in the state have active clean-air vehicles decals, according to the DMV. Forcing all of them to merge into general traffic will likely create gridlock.

But the CHP has already announced a 60-day grace period before they'll begin ticketing solo CAV drivers in carpool lanes.

It started as a Larry David joke. Now the era of EVs in the carpool lane is ending

The era of driving Priuses or Teslas in carpool lanes ending this week is no joke for drivers who counted on the coveted perk. But, oddly, the idea for this program came from comedian Larry David.

www.sfchronicle.com

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Reposted by Dan Brekke

David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 16d

In the US, even a “cheap” transit bus costs 2-3x more than in Asia or Europe -- and one agency may pay twice as much as another for nearly identical vehicles.

In Bloomberg, I explored a ripe opportunity to improve transportation by applying Abundance-coded, supply-side reforms.

🧵

Why US Cities Pay Too Much for Transit Buses

A new paper argues that lack of competition, demand for custom features and “Buy America” rules have driven up costs for transit agencies in the US.

www.bloomberg.com

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Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · 13d

This was at the north side of the intersection of Dearborn and Wacker if you're keeping track at home. ...

David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 13d

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Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · 14d

I don’t remember being shocked. He had said in 2016 he might not be bound by election results.

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Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · 15d

"After a retired senior officer, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, tweeted that German generals were 'called to a surprise assembly in Berlin' in 1935 and 'required to swear a personal oath to the Führer, the defense secretary responded with sarcasm.

“'Cool story, General,' Hegseth wrote.'

New details emerge on Hegseth’s unusual mass gathering of top brass

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has summoned hundreds of generals for what is expected to be a short lecture on the “warrior ethos.” But top brass is bracing for possible firings or demotions.

wapo.st

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Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · 19d

“What German Holocaust reparations started was to serve as a historical precedent for systematically addressing past atrocities and to say that a government is responsible for its actions or what actions it allows.” Via @kqednews.kqed.org

California Is Considering Returning Stolen Land. Here's How It Played Out In Germany | KQED

A series of reparations bills now sit on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. To better understand what these bills might mean for Californians if signed into law, KQED spoke with Bay Area residents who benefitt...

www.kqed.org

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Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · 20d

This Is the Feeling of Losing a Country. I Know It Well.

Opinion | This Is the Feeling of Losing a Country. I Know It Well.

www.nytimes.com

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Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · 24d

So now the FCC is policing "concerted efforts to lie to the American people"? Great! I can tell them just where to start.

ABC Pulls Jimmy Kimmel Off Air for Charlie Kirk Comments After F.C.C. Pressure

www.nytimes.com

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Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · 25d

What did they do — leave the carcass out there next to the tracks?

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Reposted by Dan Brekke

Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 27d

Look, the obvious solution is not to engage in an all-out campaign to deport immigrant workers & inhibit new immigration. But if you're going to support that, then the other market-based solution is to

Raise. Wages.

bsky.app/profile/mcop...

Politico @politico.com · 27d

Farmers in deep-red Pennsylvania are struggling to find workers. They're pushing lawmakers to move faster on a farm labor solution, even as Trump cracks down on immigration.

“We need people to do the jobs Americans are too spoiled to do," said one farmer and three-time Trump voter.

'The whole thing is screwed up': Farmers in deep-red Pennsylvania struggle to find workers

They're pushing lawmakers to move faster on a farm labor solution, even as the president cracks down on immigration.

www.politico.com

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Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · 27d

“Things that would normally take us years to do, like exhibit development, we’re trying to figure out how to wholesale make changes that many of us are morally opposed to in weeks,” a. park superintendent said. “It’s kind of wild.” Via @kqednews.kqed.org

As Trump Targets National Parks that 'Disparage Americans,’ Advocates Warn California History Is At Stake | KQED

Everything from national park exhibits to gift store merchandise is now under review by the Trump administration for material that "inappropriately disparage Americans." Advocates ask: What will this ...

www.kqed.org

Reposted by Dan Brekke

Daniel Swain @weatherwest.bsky.social · 27d

Quick update now but will have blog update/livestream Mon-Tue: It's looking like a very active weather week in California once again, with burst of humid heat followed by major thunderstorm outbreak (mix of wet & dry storms) as remnants of Tropical Storm Mario move overhead.#CAwx

Snapshot from ECMWF model prediction of extremely moist air in the atmosphere near the Central California coast later this week thanks to remnants of Tropical Storm Mario.

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Reposted by Dan Brekke

ProPublica @propublica.org · 28d

Many of the men deported to CECOT said they are permanently changed: struggling to sleep, drink water or leave their homes.

One man broke into tears describing how he had a panic attack the first time he walked down a busy Venezuelan street.

What I Witnessed as I Photographed the Disappearances and the Homecomings of My Countrymen

Over the past four months, a photojournalist documented the lives of five families whose sons had been imprisoned in El Salvador, including their long-awaited reunions. CECOT left a mark on the men, t...

www.propublica.org

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Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · 27d

"Lifton described a key psychological mechanism, what he called the 'thought-terminating cliché.' It’s the switch that mutes any idea that may contradict the totalist ideology. In Trumpism, Lifton believed, the Big Lie — the fiction that Trump won the 2020 election — served that function."

Opinion | Totalitarianism Can Be Terrifying. It Can Also Be Thrilling. He Taught Us Why.

www.nytimes.com

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Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · 29d

State lawmakers advanced a plan that would allow California colleges to offer preferential admission to students who are descended from enslaved people, part of an ongoing effort to address the legacy of slavery in the United States.

California lawmakers pass bill to grant priority college admission for descendants of slavery

State lawmakers on Friday advanced a plan that would allow California colleges to offer preferential admission to students who are descended from enslaved people, part of an ongoing effort by Democrat...

www.latimes.com

Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · 29d

In a rare pre-litigation settlement announced Friday, @bart.gov agreed to pay $6.75 million to a Union City woman shot by one of the agency’s police officers last year and admitted that its initial public allegation that she had assaulted an officer was untrue.

BART to Pay $6.75 Million to Woman Shot by Officer in Union City Parking Lot | KQED

As part of the settlement, the agency admitted that its police chief was wrong when he initially said the woman had assaulted an officer.

www.kqed.org

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Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · 29d

"We should not be naive. Will those of us named now be branded on a government list? Will our travel be restricted? Will our email communications be surveilled?" #ucberkeley

UC Berkeley gives Trump administration 160 names in antisemitism probe

UC Berkeley gave the Trump administration the names of 160 students, faculty and staff and details on their “potential connection to reports of alleged antisemitism” — sparking due-process...

www.sfchronicle.com

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Dan Brekke @danbrekke.bsky.social · Sep 5

Still down?

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