Matthew Roth
Recent Posts
Jon Stewart’s Stinging Rebuke of Presidential Promises to Get off Oil
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The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c An Energy-Independent Future www.thedailyshow.com Jon Stewart fired one of his more brilliant salvos last night, synthesizing 40 years of political posturing around energy independence and America’s addiction to foreign oil in just under eight minutes of pointed satire. Using President Obama’s Oval Office […]
Clipper Card Transition for Bay Area Transit is Now Official
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MTC Commission Chair Scott Haggerty announcing the launch of the Clipper Card. Photos: Matthew Roth. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which sets the Bay Area’s regional transportation and land use policies, officially announced the transition from the Translink card to the newly branded Clipper smart card for transit trips today. The new blue card with eight […]
Community Rallies Around Fisherman’s Wharf Public Realm Plan
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Rendering of Jefferson Street at Powell Street. Images: Dario Schoulund/SF Planning Dept. After several years of planning, including intense negotiations between merchants, property owners and neighbors who didn’t always see eye-to-eye, the San Francisco Planning Department unveiled a comprehensive draft plan last week to revitalize public space and pedestrian amenities around Fisherman’s Wharf, the second […]
Advocates: Brentwood Sprawl Measure a Litmus Test for SB 375
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The ongoing struggle to contain growth within urban boundaries will likely move to San Ramon this November. Photo: cjaureque While municipal planning organizations around California try to develop the metrics and models required to meet the goals of SB 375, a law mandating smarter growth, a local voter initiative in Contra Costa County is being […]
Mission Community Market Hopes to Revitalize Dormant Street
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Organizers of the nascent Mission Community Market hope to transform an underutilized block of Bartlett Street in the Mission into a thriving weekly market, where vendors sell their goods and kids play in the street after school. As an initial test, the Mission Community Market Collaborative (MCMC) is throwing a block party and fundraiser on […]
Thief Steals Special Needs Tandem Bike, Cops Ask for Help Recovering It
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Thanks to a thief, one SF girl can’t have fun on her Buddy Bike like this kid. Photo: SF Citizen. I don’t have particularly strong feelings about notions of Karma or Hell, but if there is something to them, I know a particular bike thief is going to have it rough come judgment time. The […]
SFMTA to Hold Hearing for Additional 1310 Parking Meters
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Photo: Thomas Hawk. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has scheduled an administrative hearing later this month so it can move forward with the installation of 1310 new single-space parking meters that accept credit cards, while extending time limits at those meter locations to four hours. The meters are expected to net the agency […]
Bamboo Bike Studio Fabricators Make a Pit Stop in San Francisco
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Bamboo Bicycle Studio bike. Photos: Matthew Roth. On the way to a local caffeination recharging station near Mint Plaza last week, I locked my bicycle next to two very odd rides: The frames were bamboo and the bamboo tubes were connected with fiberglass. The frames looked solid, but seeing a bike that wasn’t made of […]
Hit-and-Run Rampage Suspect Arrested After Reporting Vehicle Carjacked
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SFPD Chief Gascon with a battered bicycle displayed behind him. Photo: Matthew Roth Investigators from the San Francisco and Albany police departments have arrested the suspected driver of an SUV who went on a rampage and targeted four cyclists in San Francisco Wednesday night. The unidentified man, described only as a 40-year-old white male, was […]
SFPD Arrests Suspected Driver Who Assaulted Cyclists in San Francisco
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Photo: Troy Holden. The San Francisco Police Department has arrested the suspected driver of a blue Nissan Rogue who careened into four cyclists in the span of several minutes in the Mission and Potrero Hill neighborhoods of San Francisco Wednesday night, before fleeing on foot and triggering a manhunt. Three of the four cyclists were […]
California Assembly Passes Personal Car-Sharing Insurance Bill
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Photo: Scott Beale/Laughing Squid The California Assembly voted unanimously yesterday to support AB 1871, a bill that would allow car owners to share their personal vehicles in coordination with car-sharing services without voiding their personal auto insurance. The bill opens the door to redefining car ownership, leading to economic, environmental and traffic congestion improvements, according […]
Mayor Newsom Condemns Driver Who Assaulted Cyclists, SFPD Seeks Help
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Mayor Gavin Newsom has released a statement in coordination with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and the San Francisco Police Department condemning the vehicular assault on four cyclists in San Francisco by a driver who went on a rampage last night, injuring four and sending three to the hospital in the span of a few […]