Damien Newton
Recent Posts
#DamienTalks 30 – SCAG’s Hasan Ikharta and the Pilot Program That Could Slay the Gas Tax
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Today, #DamienTalks with Hasan Ikharta, the executive director of the Southern California Association of Governments about the pilot program that could be the second step in replacing the state’s gas tax with a vehicle miles traveled tax. Last week, the state announced it was looking for 5,000 drivers to participate in a pilot program to […]
Falling Gas Tax Revenue Leads to Slash in State Transportation Money
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The timing seems less than coincidental, announcing a cut in transportation funding days after announcing a pilot program to study road users’ fees–but the message is just as stark. The State of California is running out of money to fund transportation. Last week, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) slashed its own estimates of what the gas tax […]
Meet Roger Rudick at the First Streetsblog SF Happy Hour of 2016 on Jan 25
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Join Roger Rudick and Damien Newton at the first Streetsblog San Francisco happy hour of 2016 on Monday, January 25th at Virgil’s Sea Room, 3152 Mission Street, starting at 6 pm. Stop by and talk about the latest news, meet the new editor, and support staff for Streetsblog SF. Virgil’s Sea Room will be donating 10 percent of […]
#DamienTalks Episode 26: Getting to Know Roger Rudick
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Today, #DamienTalks with Roger Rudick, a long-time contributor to various Streetsblogs and the incoming editor of Streetsblog San Francisco. In the interview we cover varied ground including how Rudick’s world travels inform his writing at Streetsblog and elsewhere, his views on some of the major stories breaking in the Bay Area, and some get-to-know-you questions […]
Roger Rudick Is the New Editor of Streetsblog SF
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Thanks for your patience, Bay Area readers. The blog posts will soon be flowing like you’ve come to expect, because after a competitive search, we’re pleased to announce that Roger Rudick is the new editor of Streetsblog San Francisco. Roger is an experienced transportation journalist and activist who’s impressed us with his deep understanding of […]
Support Streetsblog San Francisco This #GivingTuesday
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By now you’ve gotten at least a dozen emails about #GivingTuesday asking you to donate to an important and worthy non-profit. Today, throughout California staff are working on stories and podcasts to cover and explain issues both locally and statewide. In Los Angeles, Joe is doing a deep-dive on a new report on car parking […]
Cartoon Tuesday: Calvin and Hobbes Turn 30
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Last week, TIME Magazine reported that Calvin and Hobbes was first published thirty years ago this month. For a lot of people my age, the story of a precocious and imaginative young boy and his stuffed tiger/best friend was a daily treat. For me, it was how I spent my last couple of minutes before […]
#DamienTalks Special Edition: Aaron Bialick
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Every week, Streetsblog California broadcasts a podcast, #DamienTalks, where I (Damien) interview someone about something in California. Our guest list has included advocates, Assemblymembers, planners and Councilmembers. However, we thought we’d do a special one to honor our former colleague, the great Streetsblog San Francisco editor Aaron Bialick. I’m not going to try and speak […]
Governor Signs Bill Banning Tolls on Bridges for Bicyclists and Pedestrians
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Yesterday, Governor Jerry Brown signed A.B. 40, legislation that bans tolling bicycle and pedestrians on bridges that have tolls for cars throughout the state. While this is a statewide ban, all toll bridges in California are located in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Golden Gate, the Antioch, the Benicia-Martinez, the Carquinez, the Dumbarton, and […]
Brown Signs Law Making Muni’s Transit-Only Lane Enforcement Permanent
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Earlier this week, Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1287, introduced by San Francisco Assemblymember David Chiu, making permanent the Transit-Only Lane Enforcement (TOLE) program which helps keep parked cars out of Muni-only lanes. The program was set to expire at the end of the year. “Muni has to go faster than eight miles an hour,” […]
#DamienTalks #16: EDF’s Tim O’Connor on Reducing Petroleum Use
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Maybe you’ve seen the mailers, or the insane websites, or have heard a rant on talk radio. The petroleum industry is coming for S.B. 350, legislation that would set standards to help the State of California reduce its petroleum use by 50 percent in the coming decades. Today, #DamienTalks with Tim O’Connor, an analyst with the […]
Caltrans: Don’t Forget, California’s Highways Were First Built for Bicycles
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“Did you know the movement to create a state highway system came not from automobile drivers or manufacturers, but bicyclists?” As part of Caltrans’ 125th Anniversary, the agency is creating a video series about the history of the state’s agency. The first video highlights Caltrans’ current shift away from auto-centric planning to multimodal planning by acknowledging that the […]