I am really frustrated that the press is discussing the destruction of USAID as something that has happened rather than an illegal action that will likely be undone in two weeks when courts tell the world that it was illegal.

Massachusetts new Housing Plan has set a housing production goal of 222,000 units by 2035.

A 22,000-unit average would require us to build at a pace not seen since the 1980s, with annual permits likely needing to exceed 22,000. MA issued 11,600 permits in all of 2023.
www.mass.gov/doc/a-home-f...

🚧 2024 was tough for MBTA riders. The T asked a lot from us while shutting down each line for repairs. But the T successfully removed all slow zones!*

📉 After each shutdown, our Labs team monitored the T’s progress. Check out the team's analysis here: transitmatters.org/blog/labs-20...

The time to end exclusionary zoning is here. It’s taken 5 years and hundreds of meeting but we’re almost there!

Public comment tomorrow at 5pm cambridgema.gov/Departments/...

Single most important day.

Email your testimonies to [email protected] & [email protected] too

Today we dropped off our first zoning amendment petition!

This amendment will simplify & streamline regulations for building or renovating dormers, removing multiple onerous rules that make it difficult or impossible for folks to modify their homes to better suit their ever-changing needs.

Now that the T is slow zone free, what’s the biggest thing you want @transitmatters.bsky.social Labs to look into next year.

What info about the T do you lack data for?

Return-to-office (RTO) mandates lead to abnormally high employee turnover, especially for female/more senior/more skilled employees.

It also takes significantly longer to fill these job vacancies after RTO mandates.

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Newly elected Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Greg Casar is already cooking
www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

I’m excited for @gregcasar.bsky.social’s leadership at the Progressive Caucus. He’s going to be great.

In 2018 Dems elected the largest class to Congress since Watergate, ~60 seats.

A lot of it was, yes, Trump backlash. But the winners also had another thing in common, despite a wide range of differences: most rejected corporate PAC money.

It’s a hugely compelling factor to voters & underdiscussed

Effectively no more slow zones on the Red Line, the last 14s are likely just ops which will clear tomorrow.

Exciting stuff! All heavy rail is (almost) slow zone free!

✅ Fixed Slow Zone 🎉
---------------------
🔴 Central → Kendall/MIT
🗓️ 503 days ⏳ 32.0s ⬆️ 20.38%

Check it out in our Data Dashboard: https://dashboard.transitmatters.org/red/trips/multi/?from=70069&to=70071&startDate=2023-06-27&endDate=2024-11-26

Slowzone bot is now on BlueSky

We loved this piece in Banker and Tradesman from @abundanthousingma.org board member Jonathan Berk (@berkie1.bsky.social) on the importance of action on housing. No one will take action for us, so we have to take the initiative to make more housing happen! buff.ly/3Ocoi8r

“We have to think bigger & be bolder when it comes to solutions to our region’s greatest challenges. These changes require all of us to take an open mind to rethinking the last 60 years of unsustainable sprawl & embrace more walkable, infill housing (again!).”
commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/walk...

www.somervillema.gov/news/mayor-k...

Great news for #somervillema

Go save money and decarbonize the local electric grid!

Everyone should make sure to call and email their reps, and the governor to ask them to finally be proactive instead of just being reactive to the right wing government.

They need to protect our rights, healthcare, education, and everything else BEFORE Trump tries to mess with it

#mapoli

Ask Somerville to Remove Parking Minimums, Enact Maximums & Expand Dedicated Bus Lanes.

actionnetwork.org/petitions/as...

We don't need parking minimums, we need maximums!

#somerville #parking

Everything Phil Eng said in this interview is incredibly promising. Especially considering Single tracking! Single tracking is super valuable to maintaining the tracks into the future with minimal disruption to riders. Really good stuff here
www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...