#and we were at this Known busy intersection that has a pedestrian crossing for people coming up from the river going into town | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

orbemnews · 3 years

Link

Taking Art to the Streets, Just Look Down This article is part of our latest special report on Museums, which focuses on reopening, reinvention and resilience. When Brad Carney sketched the plan for a 15,000-square-foot ground mural in downtown Reno, Nev., he wove in design elements from the area’s railroading heritage, and pulled hues and motifs from nearby buildings and landscapes, including the state flower and the famed Reno Arch. “I wanted to make it specific and unique to its place, so that this mural couldn’t exist anywhere else,” said Mr. Carney, an artist based in Philadelphia known for his playful, large scale and brightly colored public works. “When I design murals,’’ he added, “I like to become a vessel for a community and a neighborhood, and not bring too much of myself until I find out what they’re looking for. The point of public art, to me, is the process of involving the community.” Locals have weighed in with ideas and feedback. Volunteers from nearby art schools and organizations will be on site in early June to assist with drawing the outline, and 300 local volunteers — about 60 a day — have signed up to help paint during the week-long installation. “If this wasn’t Covid” Mr. Carney said, “I would ask anyone who was walking by, ‘Hey, you want to paint with me?’” Reno is one of 16 small and midsize cities across the country where artists and local residents are taking to the streets — from crosswalks to underpasses — to add new color to old blacktop and pavement with eye-catching urban art as part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Asphalt Art Initiative. Grants of up to $25,000 are helping cities create and implement relatively low-cost public art projects to revitalize their streets and public spaces by making them more beautiful, more inviting and safer. “Locomotion: A City in Motion,” the Reno mural, will be painted in ReTRAC Plaza, a little used concrete and dirt space once covered in train tracks being developed as a hub for local events, Mr. Carney said, from music festivals and farmers’ markets to movie nights. “We want to try and help cities do wonderful things to their public realm,” said Kate D. Levin, who oversees arts programs for Bloomberg Philanthropies and was commissioner of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. And especially now, as cities reopen, “there’s a social cohesion goal that I think has only gotten more urgent,” she said. “Why not use projects like this to actually let people be involved, create a sense that public space belongs to everyone?” The goals are to support local working artists, community groups, businesses and government on collaborative infrastructure projects to make streets safer; to activate public space in ways that are “as robust and reflective of local identity and aspirations as possible,” Ms. Levin said; and to promote community engagement, “because a streetscape isn’t theoretical, it runs through people’s lives.” The initiative was inspired by improvements in the Times Square area during Michael R. Bloomberg’s tenure as mayor of New York. “When we closed Broadway to cars and opened it to pedestrians in 2009, we saw the potential hidden in 2.5 acres of gray asphalt,” said Janette Sadik-Khan, a former commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation and now transportation principal at Bloomberg Associates, the pro bono consulting arm of Bloomberg Philanthropies, which advises mayors around the world. “Streets make up more than 80 percent of a city’s public space, so they’re really the front yards for millions of Americans.” Three cities began or completed installations in late 2020: Kansas City, Mo; Saginaw, Mich.; and Norfolk, Va. The remaining 13 are expected to finish their projects this year. Through mid-May, the cities have transformed a combined 26,000 square feet of streetscape with artwork and engaged more than 1,500 residents and 72 artists in the design and installation process. Themes range from unity and improving police and community relations to diversity. Sioux Falls, S.D., plans to feature minority artists who will design vinyl wraps for 25 utility boxes throughout downtown. Troy, N.Y. intends to beautify an underpass. “So many U.S. cities have underpasses that, whatever the original intent, turned into real barriers, and divided neighborhoods in ways that often aren’t very positive,” Ms. Levin said, expressing hope that the art projects “can create a gateway instead of an impediment.” Teal Thibaud, director of the Glass House Collective, a nonprofit that works in an underserved neighborhood in East Chattanooga, Tenn., said even small improvements could help spawn others, especially in an area that had received limited infrastructure investment in recent years. The Bloomberg-funded mural, completed in April, helped beautify the area, and several grants from local foundations, which increased the overall project budget to $60,000, enhanced the area in other ways. A new street park next to the asphalt mural that created a safe gathering space, fence art to slow traffic near the elementary school, and painted stencils on sidewalks to encourage school children and other residents to follow the safest local routes were among the projects, said Ms. Thibaud. “We’re starting to see it all work together.” Last fall, Kansas City, Mo., redesigned a busy, dangerous four-way intersection where cars rarely stopped for pedestrians, said DuRon Netsell, founder and principal of Street Smarts Design + Build, an urban design firm that focuses on walkable communities. “People were just flying through the intersection, significantly over the speed limit.” Stop signs and traffic-calming measures like bollards and planters to extend the curbs and narrow the driving lanes, and the community-painted mural “blended into a unique project that is not only beautiful, but also drastically improved safety,” said Mr. Netsell, who worked on the project in partnership with the Kansas City’s Public Works Department and Midtown KC Now, a nonprofit local community improvement organization. Soon after installation, foot traffic increased, overall vehicle speeds declined by 45 percent, street crossing times for pedestrians were cut in half, noise level dropped by about 10 decibels and the share of pedestrians who said they felt safe crossing the intersection increased to 63 percent from 23, Mr. Netsell said. Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg Associates issued the Asphalt Art Guide, a free manual with tips, checklists, and case studies of successful projects around the world to encourage more cities to develop visual art projects. In March, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced a second round of up to 20 grants, open to all U.S. cities. “Safety doesn’t have to be mundane and boring,” Mr. Netsell said. “We’ve proven that we can make our intersections and streets much safer, but we can also make them really fun and vibrant. It’s something that all local communities can do.” Source link Orbem News #Art #streets

0 notes

quepasta · 3 years

Text

Never Gave Me a Reason (non fanfic short story)

**WARNING: IM PUTTING THIS HERE SO PEOPLE WILL SEE THIS. THIS IS NOT A FANFIC. THIS IS AN ACTUAL REALISTIC FICTION SHORT STORY I WROTE IN RESPONSE TO A PROMPT I WAS GIVEN. My new fanfic is still coming out tomorrow though :)**

The Prompt: Write a story that takes place across ten seconds (from Reedsy Prompts)

(I should also say that there is death, alcohol, car accident, and injuries mentioned in this story.)

One

I’m sitting in the back of the taxi, headphones in and forehead against the window. Letting the cold seep into my forehead as the music fills the silence, I close my eyes. I’m trying to remember if I had grabbed my mother’s present from my desk, or if I was going to have to buy a back up gift when I arrived in Denver, again. How many airport ornaments could I give her before she stopped letting me in the door? The answer was that there was no limit, but by now she should have known how terrible of a child I was. I should have been able to remember her gift the one time a year I visited home. But it appears I failed this year too.

Two

My phone rings which causes me to open my eyes. It’s your sister, she still calls to tell me Merry Christmas. She always told me that I was her favorite sibling, and I would laugh as you pretended to be offended. Now that I am no longer around, are you her favorite again? I plan on letting the call go to voicemail. I will call her back. Later. Probably. Maybe not. This year it feels harder to fake being nice and cheery, and there is that added layer of awkwardness of talking to anyone in your family. But maybe it's harder now because it’s been a year now since I last saw you? Maybe it’s because I never really liked the holidays, and now I don’t have anyone to fake it for.

Three

The phone continues to ring, cutting off my music. Outside the taxi, the Christmas lights glisten. They shine in red, blue, green, pink, white, and golden hues. I tried to remember when that rainbow last made me happy as a kid. Running outside as the snow fell. Laughing with the neighborhood kids as we made snowmen. My nose running from the cold as I came inside to warm up with peppermint hot cocoa with Mom and Dad. All of that truly feels like another lifetime ago.

Right now I see kids sprinting on the sidewalk with their parents, pulling them along to see the christmas lights in front of the busy store fronts. My Christmases were spent out in the country, next to a Christmas tree farm. These kids celebrated in the concrete jungle, their holidays spent in the loudest city in the world. Maybe it was poetic that I went back to the same home I had as a kid every year for Christmas. Or maybe I was forever chasing fleeting memories.

Four

The taxi comes to a halt as pedestrians cross the road. I check the time, if the traffic doesn’t clear up soon I am going to be late for my flight. I am reminded of another time when I was late to the airport. Your birthday. I was flying back from a business trip, nothing had gone right that day. Most of all, I ended up missing my flight. Missing your birthday. I left you waiting in the hallway, with your friends and a birthday cake in hand. Candles unlit and a stack of presents on the table, except the one from me. The fallout as I called you back when I finally had the chance to, how you told me about the party while trying not to cry. I should have been there. I’m sorry.

My phone is still ringing, your sister calling me like she had when it was obvious I wasn’t going to make it to the party. She had been furious. How many times had she called me? I remember I had at least 20 very loud voicemails from her. I give up, I hit the decline button. I wait for her to call again, but it looks like she will only call me once this time.

Five

My phone beeps as I see a voicemail from her. Persistent, she is. I will listen to it later. And I will call her back. Maybe. I know if you were here you would laugh at me, tell me stop being antisocial. You would tell me that it’s polite to answer phone calls, especially around the holidays. But you always secretly enjoyed my social awkwardness. I am still haunted with the knowledge of what you find funny.

I still know your favorite color, your favorite food, favorite book, favorite kind of car. How you liked to drink warm apple cider when you were upset and would go feed the ducks when you were angry. You were the hardest person to get to go to bed, your creative mind coming alive at night. But when you finally went to sleep you were the hardest person to wake up in the morning, tricking me into staying in bed longer by pulling me closer to you.

Where do you put all of this knowledge when it's over?

Six

I am now one hundred percent sure I did not grab my mother’s present. It’s fine, it wasn’t that good of a gift anyway. Maybe I can just ship it to her for her birthday next year. You were much better at picking out gifts for her. She knew it was you, but she would thank us both anway. I added “stop by random airport kiosk” to my to-do list.

I thought about the smile she would give me as I walked into the door. How she would have a cup of eggnog ready for me in my favorite mug. The orange one with the chip in the handle. I smile as I think about when the chip happened. The first time you visited home with me, we had gone downstairs after she went to bed. We mixed bourbon with our eggnog, which slowly turned into just drinking bourbon.

We got way too drunk, you spilled your bourbon out of the orange mug. I had let you use it that year. I said something stupid, I don’t remember. You laughed and dropped the mug. It hit the ground with a thud, and we waited for my mom to run downstairs to see what the noise was. When we realized she wasn’t coming, we fell to the ground in drunken laughter. You scrambled to pick up the mug, distraught when you saw the little chip in the handle. I told you it was okay, that it made it more special.

Maybe I would ask for a different mug this year.

Seven

The taxi finally pulls forward, and I am on my way again. I go through my packing list in my head, making sure I packed everything else. I think I may have forgotten to pack socks and my toothbrush. I shrug, Mom usually had extras waiting for me because she knows how forgetful I am. I tried not to think about the fact that I was using the suitcase you got me for my last birthday, but of course I am thinking about it now. It didn’t make sense to buy a new one, it was a good set you bought me. And I hadn’t used it yet. It’s just a suitcase.

It’s just the last gift I have from you.

Eight

We pass 8th Ave, and I see our favorite restaurant. It’s packed on this chilly Saturday. I wonder if you are there now, taking someone else to taste their amazing cuisine. But of course you’re not there. I know you well enough that you haven’t stepped foot in that restaurant since the last time we were there and probably would never go back. Neither will I.

But a part of me wants to jump out of this taxi, sit down at our table and talk to you. I want to laugh with you and forget about what happened last winter. Forget about the ring in my fingers, you shaking your head and telling me to put it away. My face dropping into my hands as you told me you couldn't say yes.

You never gave me a reason, did you?

Nine

I have a headache now, so I turn off the music. I am suddenly struck by the realization that as long as I am in this city, I will always think of you. Part of me wants to always think of you. To always hold on to the love that slipped away, grasping the tiny threads between my fingers before it’s all gone.

But the truth is, it’s gone. And has been for awhile. Doesn’t mean you don’t still live in my head, but the reality of you has vanished. Everywhere I go, you’re there. This city has your name on every street, as far as I am concerned. Maybe I need to move, a new place to start over. But then I would truly never see you. This may be a big city, but it’s a small world.

I keep hoping eventually I’ll run into you.

Ten

I think that’s why I see you now. As the taxi crosses the intersection, I notice the headlights of another car coming at us. But I don’t really see the car coming. I don’t hear the driver yelling an obscenity, or the screech of the car that ran the red light trying to stop. I don’t hear the gasps or screams of the people on the sidewalks. I hear your laugh. I see you smiling, the corners of your eyes crinkling. Your cheeks rosy, eyes a little droopy. Just like they were the night we drank bourbon while laying on my mom’s kitchen floor.

I see the mug fall to the ground, and it cracks at the same moment the window in front of my face shatters.

As I feel the metal and glass hit my skin, all I can see is your face.

#short story #writing prompt #my wriitng #mine #quepasta #content warning #blood #alcohol #injuries #death #car accident #lost love #pining #can you tell that some of this was influenced by songs on Evermore?#non fanfic #non fandom #story prompt #ten second story #Did I even follow the prompt? Idk lmao

0 notes

lindoig1 · 6 years

Text

Hitting the Wall - Day 3

Another early start. Good job, we are still jet-lagged and waking early.

Up, showered, dressed, gorged silly over our smorgasbord breakfast and under the care of our guide Mary and driver Lee by 8am. I had booked this tour separately so we weren’t sure what to expect, but it worked out fine.

We went to the Wall - the Great Chinese Wall - via a couple of other stops, starting with the Jade Garden factory. It was a real eye opener and the work there was fandangtastic! Jade comes in a veritable rainbow of colours, from the traditional green through greys and brown to pristine, transparent white, but there are also a range of pinks and oranges, even stark blues and yellows and we saw them all. And it is carved into an endless variety of exquisite and extraordinarily beautiful objects. These may be tiny figures, often of animals, probably weighing in at 20 gams or so - or lions and elephants weighing as much the real thing, certainly at least a few tonnes, all carved and polished from a single stone. They had a couple of jade ships that were composed of many interlocking jointed pieces that were several metres long - I think they said the larger one took 70,000 hours to complete.

The drive out was quite interesting with small commercial areas, collections of larger business offices, many from well-known brands and huge conglomerates of residential towers. No skyscrapers anywhere – maybe a 25-floor ceiling right across Beijing, but groups of 30 or 40 towers in quite a lot of places. One feature I found interesting was that the road was lined with dense areas of trees on both sides – and a fringe of spectacular rose bushes for maybe 50km at the edge of the road in both directions.

Traffic flowed pretty well, but marked lanes seem quite superfluous, ornamental even, because everyone is constantly in the process of switching from one part of the road to another to try to get ahead of someone else – but nobody seems the least perturbed by it and there is only a very occasional toot – there are very few indicators in use, but once a vehicle gets its nose half a metre in front, it can simply merge into the next line/hodge-podge of traffic in the expectation that following vehicles will give way. Scary, but it seems to work fine. In the city, the traffic is denser (but nowhere has it been as dense as I expected) but road rules seem to be observed in the breach. No seat belts or crash helmets, just an occasional indicator, few lights at night (at least on the 2- and 3-wheelers). Most of the cars drive on the wrong side of the road (the right side) but not necessarily all. Parking is not a problem – nor is double parking. If you want to stop for a chat or consult a map or go into a nearby shop, you do so – at least it seems that way – but again, it doesn’t seem to bother anyone much. You would not, however, stop to use your phone: it seems mandatory to do that whilst driving, despite the signs forbidding it. (Our guide disputed some of my observations, but indicated that the very few fines handed out were hardly a deterrent – maybe less than 10% of ours.) There seems to be a separate section of road for bikes and motorbikes, but they often prefer the footpaths and seem oblivious to any signs, the existence of pedestrians or other vehicles. Crosswalks are entertaining board-games of skill – how many vehicles can cross simultaneously (or drive along the crosswalk) without hitting a pedestrian? Most traffic lights are colourful street art, bright areas of colour to entertain bored drivers – although there seems to be a handful of intersections where the rules do count for something.

One of the jade factory’s specialties is what they call family balls, concentric spheres with holes in them to allow the craftsmen (and women) to carve another ball inside the outer one/s. The simplest is perhaps 4-5cm in diameter and has 3 spheres, but we saw some about 20cm across with 9 concentric spheres, all independently movable inside each other. Apparently, families buy them and hand them down from generation to generation and they increase in value as they age. There is a massive showroom with tens of thousands of items available for purchase – up to the 3-metre high articulated urns costing hundreds of thousands of US dollars each. (We settled on a 3-sphere ball that we were able to purchase within our credit limit.)

Another thing we saw in the factory was a corridor of the most beautiful silk pictures: exotic figures and scenes tapestried into glowing, shimmering silken works of art – at least hundreds of hours must have gone into each one, maybe many hundreds, even thousands! The whole factory was quite wonderful and it is truly amazing what the human hand can create given the raw materials, the skills and limitless time and patience – far beyond my imagination.

We then drove on the Ming Tombs – we have been drowned in information, very little of which I can recall, but all the Ming Emperors and Empresses are buried in separate widely-dispersed tombs in the area – several square miles at least. Only one is open to the public and quite a bit of it has been restored since ‘The Great Leader’ attempted to destroy all vestige of pre-Mao powers. From the carpark, it is a reasonable walk with very steep areas and hundreds of stairs. Heather has been struggling with shortness of breath and the pollution here probably exacerbated that, so she didn’t make it all the way to the top. She returned to the base of the ‘mountain’ under which the tomb is located, but I made the grade and returned with photos to explain it to her – not that there was much to explain because the tomb area was rather plain – most of the relics recovered are in an exhibition area near Heather’s retreat and that was in an arbour – lots of very old trees, some more than 500 years old.

Then it was on to the Wall at Mutianyu, but lunch at the foot of the mountain first. That was included in the tour and it was adequate, but by no means anything more. We had settled on going up on the cable car rather than climbing all the way up. Good job too, because we had to stop for a breather several times on the steep ascent to the cable car station. It was a little adventure soaring above the trees on the way up and looking down on the intrepid souls tobogganing down the ‘luge’ rather than using the cable car to return to base. Unfortunately(?), there is a 65 year age limit on the toboggans so we missed out on that. Equally fortunately, they closed the toboggan rides just before we were ready to descend – it was starting to drizzle and maybe they didn’t want the younger people to get wet on the way down – wet pants maybe, but only from the thrill of the ride.

I never imagined I would walk on the Great Wall, so that is another tick on my Bucket List. Not really, because I never had that one on my List – but it was still an experience to remember. The views are astounding and the bloody history and feats of engineering are quite staggering – 18800km of Wall and tens of thousands of workers buried inside it, just bricked in where they fell, not to mention the savagery of the many wars. But it worked! China is still here, safe and sound on both sides of the Wall. The structure snakes along the ridge of the mountains – and pretty rugged they are at that! – and bifurcates to follow separate converging ridges in numerous places. Near where we were was a huge area of cleared mountainside with giant Chinese characters embedded saying ‘In Honour of Chairman Mao’ but I don’t think he really had anything at all to do with its construction all those thousands of years ago.

When we got back to the bottom of the mountain, Lee, our driver, asked Mary if we would mind another passenger in the car on the way back to the city. She had been on a large tour with a different company, but wanted to go back before the rest of the tour. Gullible us said it was OK, but she was the Dragon from Hell (Germany we think). She was furious that her tour would not take her back when she wanted to go and even more furious because our guide charged her a modest fee for the taxi ride. She then got really shitty because she wanted to sit in the front seat so she could take photos and the rear windows were tinted. Our guide put her in her place very courteously so she sat behind us fuming and ranting about the evils of the tourism industry. She wanted to go back to her hotel to collect her bags, then be taken to some institute of traditional medicine and then to the airport. Not sure she really expected us to take her, but she constantly hassled our guide for assistance on a raft of related issues and how to achieve them. Mary eventually got onto this woman’s tour company who reimbursed our tour company with the cost they had charged this woman for the ride and she quietened down a little when they gave her money back to her. But she kept on pestering for directions, how to do things and so on and when she was finally convinced that it would not be possible for her to do all she wanted on the day, she still kept on because she said she would be back in Beijing in a few weeks’ time and would tick off the rest of her objectives then. In the end, Heather told her to shut up and do her own research before she came back – it was our tour and we didn’t want to listen to any more of her harpy vitriol. She did keep quiet for the next hour or so with only occasional interruptions, allowing us to ask our own questions and receive the tourist information we had paid for. We eventually dropped her off near a Metro station with written instructions how to get to her hotel and she left with bad grace and nary a thankyou. We were all glad to see the back of her, but Mary had to give her her card because she intends milking Mary for everything she wants when she returns to Beijing. Lee was annoyed with her too and he was fun. He speaks no English but was very solicitous of us, giving us drinks and lollies, but quite ostentatiously, not for dragon lady! He held Heather’s hand and guided her very carefully over rough patches and was really a delightful gentle guy – as well as an excellent very smooth driver.

The final stop for the day was a traditional tea ceremony/buying opportunity where were served a variety of teas with a rapid fire patter about how good they all were before being ushered into the large shop and pressured into shelling out for things we didn’t want. The moment it became clear that we were not in the market, our highly solicitous tea-lady turned and walked away – message accepted both ways!

We were dropped back at our hotel a bit before 6pm, quite exhausted, but after a brief recovery, decided to eat in the hotel restaurant rather than walk any further. The meal was quite nice, but left a faint aftertaste when we paid the bill. Back to the room for a shower and crash into an exhausted sleep.

1 note · View note

advicearcher92-blog · 5 years

Text

NELA Livable Streets Roundup – June 2018

Pic of the month: Arguably the best protected bike lane in all of Los Angeles can now be found on South Figueroa Street in Downtown LA.

As we hit the halfway mark in the year, several modest livability improvements surfaced seemingly out of nowhere. Is it coincidence or a sign of growing momentum?

Alhambra Avenue Safety Road Diet Completed

The biggest news this month is NELA livability has to be the completion traffic safety improvements made to Alhambra Avenue between Lowell Avenue and Brawley Street (1.25 miles) in El Sereno. (We hope to do a more detailed post about this project in the coming days). For those not familiar with the project, the package of improvements include:

Traffic signal, crosswalk, and curb extension at Lowell Avenue

Flashing crosswalk at Hollister Avenue

Upgrading all existing crosswalks to high visibility markings

Bike lanes

Dedicated center turn lane

Speed feedback sign

New sidewalk next to El Sereno Arroyo Park

What remains most fascinating about this particular project is the urgency and smart coordination with which it was implemented. The first in a series of community meetings for the project was hosted in March 2017. Just over a year later, the project was completed in tandem with routine street resurfacing, which means the bike lanes, crosswalk upgrades, and center turn lane all were achieved for free since the street gets re-striped when it is resurfaced anyway.

“My Figueroa” (Partially) Protected Bike Lanes A Reality

In Downtown LA the most high-profile bike lane project that has been in the works for roughly a decade is finally (mostly) completed. Although there are continuity gaps, there are now bike lanes along Figueroa between 7th Street and Exposition Boulevard by USC, part of a project known as “My Figueroa.” The design is far from perfect but was a huge undertaking and will finally provide safer accommodation for people walking and biking along the Figueroa corridor. In contrast to the Alhambra Avenue project, My Figueroa has dragged its feet and cost over $1 million per mile. Our view is that we should focus more on the cheap, nimble Alhambra Avenue type projects that can be implemented at a rate of 10 to 1. Yes, the gold-plated My Figueroa is a nice addition, but at what cost? There are hundreds of miles of streets that need safety improvements and the only way such can be realized is through swift implementation of re-painting streets.

Hollywood and Vine Pedestrian Scramble “Coming Soon”

The Militant Angeleno tweeted a sign that a pedestrian scramble crossing is coming soon to the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. Seeing as a similar scramble has successfully cut the number of crashes at nearby Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, this improvement seems to be a no-brainer for a street filled with foot traffic as Hollywood Boulevard. Let’s hope the scramble is celebrated with the red-carpet treatment once it finally arrives and improves safety.

Avenue 26 and Humboldt Street Traffic Signal

Traffic signals are a costly measure that only really work to slow people down when the light turns red. When the light is green, speeding will still be an issue. So it is with mixed feelings that we celebrate the coming of a traffic signal to the intersection of Avenue 26 and Humboldt Street. And of course, it only came after someone died attempting to cross Avenue 26. What Avenue 26 would really benefit from is an Alhambra Avenue style road diet to tame traffic. The redeeming benefit of this particular signal is that it facilitates crossing at a small neighborhood hub– there are bus stops, street vendors, a recurring street sale and a few businesses centered around here. The signal also makes Humboldt safer to travel along as a bicyclist. Humboldt is an informal bike route used alongside a series of other minor streets to go between NELA and DTLA while avoiding freeway ramps and the madness at North Figueroa Street.

Could E-Scooters and Dockless Bikes Be Coming to Eagle Rock?

(Ofo Dockless Bike-Share and Bird E-Scooter sightings in Eagle Rock. Bird picture via Eagle Rock Facebook Group)

On a local Eagle Rock facebook group, residents recently debated the merits of bringing dockless e-scooters such as Bird to the neighborhood. Shortly after the discussion, a couple residents shared that they had signed up to serve as “nests” (households that charge e-scooters when they run out of battery) and a handful of e-scooters were even sighted outside of Swork Coffee. Around the same time, the yellow dockless bikes from company Ofo appeared near the intersection of Colorado Boulevard and Townsend Avenue. Would an abundance of publicly accessible rental bikes and scooters help locals ditch the car for neighborhood trips? There’s only one way to find out, and maybe Eagle Rockers will get a chance to test it out. If proven successful, maybe “Bird” scooters should be re-branded as “Eagles”?

Political Courage For Livable Street on Local and State Level

The Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council (ERNC) scheduled for their July 5th meeting an agenda item to follow up on an earlier request for safety improvements on Yosemite Drive. Also on the agenda is a motion to support The Eagle Rock Association’s (TERA) Rock The Boulevard grant application.

The City Council released the list of transportation projects that will seek State-level funding to implement. Included on the list are NELA projects:

Rock The Boulevard/ Eagle Rock Boulevard protected bike lanes

Eastern Avenue pedestrian improvements in El Sereno

After getting some negative publicity regarding faded markings on a bike route in East LA, County Supervisor Hilda Solis – a longtime champion for walking and biking – announced:

I am committed to installing, expanding, and maintaining high-quality and safe bike lanes where appropriate. Currently, our neighborhood streets in East Los Angeles are under construction with roadway improvements that include maintenance and new bike routes that improve safety for all commuters. These enhancements include smoother riding surfaces and clear sustainable markings. When complete, I’m excited to see even more East LA residents take advantage of these new bike paths!

Meanwhile, on the State level, Assemblymember Laura Friedman, representing our neighbors in Glendale and Atwater area, discussed how lower speed limits can improve safety. Around the corner from Glendale, NELA’s very own assemblymember, Wendy Carrillo, announced that the LA State Historic Park will receive $500,000 to develop a plan to provide safe access to the park.

Livability in Pasadena and Beyond

Fresh bike path markings along the Arroyo Seco Bike Path

Mission Street Sharrows in South Pasadena: Mission Street in South Pasadena is a pleasant bicycle street lined with local shops and minimal traffic. The far west and far east ends of the corridor have bike lanes but the bulk of the corridor has nothing. The City recently installed “sharrows,” street markings reminding drivers to expect bicyclists. Like Avenue 26, what is really needed on Mission is a road diet, but sharrows are a step in the right direction.

Pasadena Traist Sunday Service Returns: After a 10 year absence, Sunday service has returned to Routes 10, 20, 31/32, 40 and 51 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

NELA’s Not-Yet-Built Taylor Yard Bike Bridge Up for Design Award: Once built, the Taylor Yard Bike and Pedestrian Bridge will connect communities to the Rio de Los Angeles Park and LA River. However, the bridge has already been nominated for a design award. One should be weary of such awards because the final product may not look like the rendering, but if it does NELA will have a beautiful, award winning bridge design!

Cellphone Service Coming to Gold Line Stations: Metro announced: “Cell service… in the Gold Line’s underground stations in Pasadena and East Los Angeles is scheduled to become available towards the end of [2018].”

Arroyo Seco Bike Path Re-Striped: In mid-June the edge markings and center line striping on the Arroyo Seco bike path were refreshed after what appeared to be decades of neglect.

Advertisements

Source: https://walkeaglerock.wordpress.com/2018/07/04/nela-livable-streets-roundup-june-2018/

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

0 notes

animelow7-blog · 5 years

Text

Should you move to Chicago?

Thinking about moving to the Windy City? First off, don’t call it that. Only tourists do. But for background, the nickname refers to our weather and our windbag politicians, although people more often think about the weather when they think of Chicago. Here’s what it’s really like: The winter is brutal and long. The windchill is sometimes as low as minus 40 degrees, but the summers are glorious—that same wind makes it less humid.

Chicago is the third-largest city in the country (behind New York City and Los Angeles), but it’s simple to navigate. Our skyscrapers are concentrated in the downtown area called the Loop, while more residential neighborhoods fan out to the north, south, and west, with Lake Michigan to the east. If you’re coming from a smaller area, Chicago might feel like an easy place to learn the ropes of city living. Plus, affordable living costs and comprehensive, reliable public transit give Chicago a leg up on most other major cities.

We are the birthplace of the skyscraper and have influenced architecture on a global scale. But we also have plenty of nature: The lakefront trail is 18.5 miles long, and we have 600 parks. There are some cons of city living here, though. We have one of the highest tax rates in the country, crippling state debt, significant segregation, and concentrated areas of deadly gun violence.

To help you make your decision about whether to move to Chicago, below are 18 things you should know about living here.

1. We’re not second rate.

In addition to being known as the Windy City, Chicago is also called the Second City, but that doesn’t mean we’re not as good as other metropolitans. Some say the moniker refers to our population size, which was growing rapidly in the late 19th century and, at one point, came close to New York City’s. It could have also been made up by malicious New Yorkers when the two cities were competing against each other to host a World’s Fair. Regardless, the name stuck after a writer for the New Yorker, who hated the city, published, in 1952, a book about Chicago called The Second City. Chicagoans hated the book, and a few years after it came out, Second City improv reclaimed the nickname by using it for its nationally renowned comedy spot.

Don’t let a misguided stereotype color your perception of the city—Chicago is a leading city in so many ways. We are the birthplace of gospel music, improv comedy, and the skyscraper. Our city was the first to honor and recognize the LGBTQ community in its streetscape, doing so with rainbow pylons in Boystown. And we rank nationally as one of the best sports cities, restaurant destinations, and places to bike.

2. You can get anywhere in the city–on time–for $3.

No nightmare commutes here. Unlike in NYC and LA, you can easily get across town on time on a train or bus. Our subway is called the L, which comes from train cars running on elevated tracks. All L trains stop downtown in the Loop, where many people work.

Beyond that, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has eight train lines and 140 bus routes that run often and on schedule. It’s cheap, too. A single pass costs $2.50, and a transfer to another train line or bus is just a quarter more. Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel boasted about our transit frequently, citing near-perfect stats for on-schedule trains and buses. His administration invested more than $8 billion into transit and upgraded older stations, like the Red Line’s 95th Street terminal and the Blue Line’s Belmont Gateway.

You might even find yourself wishing for a delay, since about 70 percent of transit stations have significant architecture or art installations. But the ride’s nice too: Being above-ground lets you peer down at backyard chicken coops or watch the busy LaSalle Street bridge as you cross the Chicago River.

Our transit is reliable, but that doesn’t mean we’d advise a daily commute from one end of the city to the other. There aren’t many east-west train lines, and Chicagoans often complain about long trips if they have to transfer to trains or buses. Another grievance is that the Red Line, which ends at 95th Street, doesn’t reach neighborhoods on the Far South Side.

3. Midwestern niceness is real.

Moving to the Midwest is like joining a club that wants you as a member. No one will shove you out of the way when they are in a rush. You can ask for directions, get a thorough answer, and not feel like you’ve annoyed the person you asked. If you take the L long enough, chances are you’ll run into that happy morning conductor who announces the day’s forecast, graciously explains delays, and sings “good morning” as you step off the car. All of the niceness adds up to a kind of camaraderie that makes it easier to get through the day together.

4. Discover a world in a city

You might be surprised to learn that Chicago is incredibly global and diverse. We have 28 sister cities, an initiative that was launched by former Mayor Richard M. Daley, to grow global business relationships and exchange cultures through educational programs. And the neighborhoods reflect the communities that built them: Pilsen’s Mexican food and murals, arts programming at the American Indian Center, stunning Northwest Side Polish-style cathedrals, the Stony Island Arts Bank’s archive of black culture and records in South Shore, Vietnamese noodle shops on Argyle Street, and Indian and Pakistani restaurants on Devon Avenue. If you want to learn more, we have 40 cultural heritage museums, and there are plenty of city organizations that regularly have film screenings, art shows, and history exhibits about various cultures.

5. Chicago is extremely walkable, and it’s hard to get lost.

We are a walker’s paradise! The terrain is flat and sidewalks are pristine. Plus, our easy-to-follow street grid makes navigation straightforward. The intersection of State Street and Madison Street is known as “zero, zero”—everything is calculated based on that. All addresses to the east or west of State are labeled according to if they fall east or west, and all addresses to the north or south of Madison are labeled if they fall north or south. The address numbers increase depending on their distance in miles from “zero, zero,” and there are about eight blocks to a mile, so something in the 800 block is about a mile away.

There are also plenty of places to walk other than the sidewalk. The 606, a former elevated rail line and now linear park, begins in Bucktown. Downtown, there’s the vibrant Riverwalk. The Lakeview Low-Line turned space underneath the L tracks into an artwalk, and the Burnham Wildlife Corridor in Oakland has miles of trails and art installations. And more is coming: A planned trail along the North Branch of the river near Irving Park, 312RiverRun, will have the longest pedestrian bridge in the city, and Pilsen’s Paseo Trail will transform four miles of an old railroad corridor into a linear park.

6. Biking is part of the culture.

Chicago is a great city for biking—there are over 248 miles of protected and conventional bike lanes, such as the one on Milwaukee Avenue, which gets flooded with cyclists during rush hours (and is called the “hipster highway” because of this). Even if you don’t have a bike, Divvy bike share provides 6,000 bikes at 570 docking stations. A single, 30-minute bike-share ride is just $3.

When it snows, major streets are cleared, but bike lanes often aren’t. But, while it’s not the easiest winter ride, bikers are still out pedaling. In 2018, on the coldest day in 34 years, when the temperature was minus 23, 191 people traveled on Divvy bikes. There’s just something about riding in subzero degree weather and seeing a fellow biker. It’s an instant connection, even just in passing.

7. Chicago’s violence isn’t always conveyed accurately in media.

Crime and violence in Chicago is a very complicated—and for many Chicagoans, very personal—issue that goes well beyond often misguided and overhyped stories in the media and national news. In 2016, there was a concerning spike in the city’s homicide rate. However, the following two years saw double-digit declines in homicides and shootings. Like every major city, Chicago has a difficult and painful history of redlining, segregation, disinvestment, and police brutality and abuse. It also has neighborhoods, especially on the city’s South and West sides, such as West Garfield Park and Englewood, that have been disproportionately impacted by the legacy of those problems. Racial oppression and concentrated poverty are more important factors to address than gangs, according to a University of Illinois at Chicago study on the city’s crime patterns and violence prevention. It found nearly 40 percent of Chicago residents live in areas with chronic and concentrated joblessness and poverty, a figure higher here than it is in NYC or LA. Historically, Chicago has prioritized policing over neighborhood investment. However, that strategy is starting to shift as organizations like Mothers Against Senseless Killings, Kids Off the Block, and Chicago CRED create neighborhood watches, start sports leagues, and find kids summer jobs.

8. Winter is long and brutal, but it brings Chicagoans together.

Winter doesn’t mean months spent indoors as long as you get a good coat: Most Chicagoans wear a style that looks like a sleeping bag with a hood. The weather is unpredictable, and winter is rarely over when you think it is, so it’s better to just prepare and accept it. Subzero temperatures for 52 straight hours? Fine! A snowstorm immediately followed by a sunny, warm day in April? Sure. Fifty degrees in February? We’ll take it.

No matter how cold it is, our city has tons to do. Wintertime events include Pitchfork’s Midwinter music festival, beer fests in heated tents, Lincoln Park Zoo’s festive light display, the wooden German market stalls of Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza, and even a polar plunge into Lake Michigan. One long-held tradition sure to entertain is Dibs season. After a big snow, Chicagoans populate their shoveled-out street-parking spots with foldable lawn chairs, inflatable pools, vacuums, traffic cones and even the occasional recliner and end table.

9. And actually, the winter is beautiful.

On average, the city sees about 36 inches of snow a year. Our first snowfall usually happens in November, and then, there’s silence. In the stillness, all you can hear is the squeak of your boots on the snow. When there’s freezing rain, it coats everything in a layer of ice, which makes the trees look white instead of dark and dormant. The ice sticks like powdered sugar to even the tiniest branches. As winter progresses, the wind, waves, and low temperatures create eerie ice art on lakefront. All along the shoreline, tree branches turn into “crystal” chandeliers and bushes become globs of ice. Benches, light poles, and piers look like they’ve been carved out of ice too.

10. The city bursts with energy during the summer.

No one takes a summer day for granted. If the weather is warm (Chicagoans think 50 degrees is shorts weather), people will be at a park, a beach, or a neighborhood festival.

The Park District goes all out—it hosts hundreds of outdoor movies, concerts, yoga classes, volleyball leagues, stargazing walks, summer camps, fishing at Northerly Island, migratory bird watching, and plant sales. Tour de Fat celebrates bikes and beer, opening day for the Cubs and Sox is like a holiday, and there are endless music festivals (Lollapalooza, Pitchfork, Chicago Jazz Festival, and Riot Fest, to name a few). The beaches and outdoor public pools are packed, and the Lakefront Trail is a constant stream of runners and cyclists.

11. Our city lives for its sports teams and players.

Chicago has eight major league sports teams: the Cubs and White Sox (baseball), the Bulls and Chicago Sky (basketball), the Blackhawks (hockey), the Bears (football), and the Chicago Fire and Chicago Red Stars (soccer). If you’re into college sports, there’s Northwestern University, DePaul, Loyola, Chicago State, and UIC. Plus, the Chicago Marathon happens every fall.

It’s exciting to follow sports in a city with diehard fans, even if you’re not one. When the Bulls were on a hot streak in the ’90s, everyone talked about Michael Jordan and wanted to “be like Mike.” The Blackhawks won Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013, and 2015—the victories brought millions to the celebration rallies, where fans danced to the team’s “Chelsea Dagger” song. When the Cubs won the World Series in 2016, thousands of fans swarmed the streets around Wrigley Field to celebrate the end of the longest championship drought in professional sports. And for weeks afterwards, fans lined up for merchandise at Wrigleyville stores (a record $70 million in retail was sold in the first 24 hours after the win), and the championship parade was the seventh-largest gathering in human history.

But if you’re not enthusiastic about gamedays, don’t live in Wrigleyville, which is home to Wrigley Field and, really, the center of the city’s sports culture. Thousands come to the neighborhood to watch the Cubs and revel at the local bars and restaurants. Avoid the areas around Soldier Field, the United Center, Guaranteed Rate Field, and Wintrust Arena, too.

12. There’s always something free to do.

The city has thousands of events, activities, and places you can go to for free. If you’re an Illinois resident, there are designated days when museums, including the Art Institute and Shedd Aquarium, waive admission costs. The Lincoln Park Zoo, National Museum of Mexican Art, Garfield Park Conservatory, and Cultural Center are free every day. The iO Theater, known for improv, has free weekly performances. The Park District started a series of programming called Night Out in the Parks with thousands of free events in every neighborhood, like movie screenings, theater and dance performances, circuses, yoga classes, and nature walks.

13. We love pizza and hot dogs, but our restaurants have Michelin Stars too.

Outsiders believe our contribution to the dining scene begins and ends with the Chicago-style hot dog and deep-dish pizza. And we do love those staples. Go ahead and try an all-beef dog in a poppyseed bun topped with diced onions, sweet relish, tomato wedges, a pickle spear, spicy sport peppers, celery salt, and mustard. Or get down with a thick slice of cheesy deep dish with a buttery crust. But know that our food scene doesn’t end there.

We have famous tavern-style thin-crust pizza, chicken-fried steak, jibaritos, and Italian beef sandwiches. Chicago is a beer city, but we have a decent reputation when it comes to cocktails too. We’re a city of immigrants, so our global food is also worth checking out—go to Pilsen for Mexican cuisine, Devon Avenue for Indian and Pakastani, and Argyle Street for Vietnamese. To get started, take a look at Eater’s guide to Chicago food.

You should also know we’re home to the James Beard Awards—the Oscars of food. It’ll be held at the Lyric Opera through 2027 and has helped distinguish Chicago as a dining city. Bon Appetit voted Chicago the best restaurant city of the year in 2017, and our restaurants have earned 22 Michelin stars.

14. You can find a home for cheaper than you can in other major cities.

Compared to major coastal cities, you can generally get more space for less money. The median rent for a one-bedroom is $1,821, and a two-bedroom is $2,189. Rent might drop even further as more people buy homes (data suggests homeownership is increasing), a good thing, since rent is currently at a historic high. However, affordable housing for low-income renters is shrinking, and research shows that might be causing people to leave the city, according to a recent report.

If you’re looking to buy a home, the median sale price for a house is $260,000 and properties are spending less time on the market compared to last year. Millennials are the least likely to buy, but in Chicago, 31 percent of millennials own their homes, and the median age for first time homebuyers is 34.

15. It’s easy to find nature in the city.

Chicago’s lakefront is beautiful, but you don’t need to live near it to experience the city’s greenery. There are 600 parks, 70 nature and bird sanctuaries, and a total of 8,800 acres of green space. Chicago has a long history of making the city greener, and even committed to making sure every child was within a 10-minute walk of a park or playground. In the last eight years, the Park District has built or improved more than 1,000 acres of parkland and 377 playgrounds.

Some areas along the Chicago River have been transformed from industrial to recreational with projects like Wild Mile, 312 RiverRun, and Ping Tom Memorial Park. Plus, all around the city, old rail tracks are being turned into vibrant linear parks, like the 606 and the forthcoming Paseo Trail. Our parks have bird sanctuaries, nature preserves, walking paths, art installations, historic fieldhouses, conservatories, and even outdoor pools.

16. Living here will give you an education in architecture.

Chicago embraces its architectural history and is home to major players that shape design conversations. In 2015, the city launched a massive, three-month Chicago Architecture Biennial. The global architecture festival, soon beginning a third edition, invites practitioners and the public to engage in the field’s future through citywide exhibitions and programming. Another architecture festival unlocks the city’s sacred spaces, private mansions, and grand halls: For a weekend, the Chicago Architecture Center’s Open House gives visitors access to hundreds of sites rarely open to the public.

Getting to know Chicago through its buildings is like taking a course in architecture. The skyline is iconic, and is not only home to the first skyscraper, but also the country’s tallest skyscraper (if we’re ignoring One World Trade Center’s controversial symbolic spire). In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire burned down the city and turned it into a blank canvas for ambitious architects, including those who developed the first steel-framed high-rise, which led to the construction of skyscrapers today. Witness the works of Daniel Burnham, Holabird & Roche, Louis Sullivan, Dankmar Adler, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, as well as new visionaries like Jeanne Gang, who just landed on Time’s list of the 100 most influential people.

Our residential architecture throughout the city is fascinating too—check out the beautiful, castle-like greystones, the modest workers’ cottages, Chicago-style bungalows, the Bohemian Baroque craftsmanship in Pilsen, the Prairie School-style homes in Oak Park, and Victorian-era mansions on Beer Baron Row in Wicker Park. Each building reflects a part of Chicago history.

17. Travel to either coast is quick.

It’s easy to fly to anywhere in the contiguous U.S. when your homebase is Chicago. There are two major airports: Midway International and O’Hare International, which is the busiest airport in the country when ranked by the number of planes flying in and out each day. And more than 105 million passengers passed through both our airports last year. So if you need to get somewhere, there’s definitely a flight. Or a train! Amtrak runs out of Union Station and is the busiest hub in the Midwest.

18. It can be easy to find your place in Chicago.

Like so many other major cities, Chicago has its challenges. But spend time here and you’ll start to see why Chicagoans love their city: the clear and open lakefront, affordability, and abundant transportation options. Each neighborhood has something to love, from historic theaters to community gardens to baseball stadiums. There are secrets to discover that make living here fun—like where the chocolate-scented air comes from in River North, how to find the tamale man in Logan Square, and what part of Jackson Park has a cherry blossom grove. Chicagoans have a kinship that makes winter survivable and summer incredible, and that you’re welcome to be part of too. If you embrace Chicago, it will love you back.

Source: https://chicago.curbed.com/2019/6/5/18644825/move-to-chicago-guide-advice

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

0 notes

abcnewsgathering-blog · 7 years

Text

DRAMATIC MOMENT FOR ABC CORRESPONDENT COVERING TRUMP INAUGURATION AS FAR-RIGHT ACTIVIST PUNCHED DURING INTERVIEW

(Far-right activist Richard Spencer was punched during an interview with North America correspondent Zoe Daniel - click here to watch the video)

Washington bureau chief Zoe Daniel led the ABC News team covering the inauguration of Donald Trump as President. In a dramatic moment, far-right activist Richard Spencer was punched in the face as Zoe was interviewing him at an anti-Trump protest. The video was posted online quickly and went viral. Back Story asked Zoe about the incident, what was involved more broadly in covering the inauguration and the challenges for journalists reporting on a President who has declared he’s in a ‘running war’ with the media.

(North America correspondent Zoe Daniel covering the inauguration of President Trump - Photo: Global Media Services)

BEARING WITNESS TO HISTORY

ZOE DANIEL: “All inaugurations are conducted under very tight security and this was no exception. In addition to the usual security issues, authorities also had to take into account the protests planned around the event. Much of the city was shut down the day before with the Capitol building, White House and National Mall all inside a gigantic security cordon which was closed to most vehicles.

(Cameraman Brad Fulton, Zoe Daniel and producer Brooke Wylie at the Capitol building on inauguration day - Photo: Brad Fulton)

“On inauguration day it took us around an hour and a half to get the Capitol rather than the usual 10 minute drive. We then carried our gear in via various security checkpoints, into the Capitol, down through one of the tunnels that connects the various office buildings and then finally up into the open air again. We were lucky to be right up the front of the crowd so we were able to get some great shots of the scene and talk to supporters of the new President as well as witness his speech at close quarters.”

(President Trump speaks to the crowd - Photo: Zoe Daniel)

“It was a very heavy sky over DC that day, almost misty and as Donald Trump came to the lectern to deliver his speech big drops of rain began to fall. I tend to keep my reporter notebooks - I have every one of them since I began my first posting in Africa - and I remember thinking that in years to come I would leaf through that notebook and remember that moment between the lines of my smudged notes.”

(Rain blurred Zoe Daniel’s notes of Donald Trump’s speech - Photo: Zoe Daniel)

“It's been described as a 'dark' speech and in that sense it was no different to many that he gave during the campaign, much of which tapped into the fear and loss of control and political influence felt by many Americans. The quote that really stood out for me was "this American carnage stops right here and stops right now" and "from this day forward a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward it's going to be only America first".

(The crowd at the inauguration - Photo: Zoe Daniel)

“I certainly felt a sense of bearing witness to history but there was no festive atmosphere on inauguration day. I'd describe it more as quietly intense. Many oppose Donald Trump, he's a historically unpopular incoming President, but even his supporters were quiet and possibly a little awed by the fact that he had actually cleared that last hurdle. There's been much talk about the crowd being smaller than usual and I definitely agree with the fact that the Women's March crowd on the Saturday was much bigger, but there were still hundreds of thousands there on inauguration day and it was an impressive scene.”

(Zoe Daniel and Brad Fulton covering an anti-Trump protest - Photo: ABC News)

“The main logistical issue that we had on the day was lack of mobile signal. We were unable to use the Live U to do crosses and had no phone data service throughout the inauguration. In fact we couldn't even make calls and texts were taking a few minutes to go through. Obviously lots of people were on their phones but it's possible the Secret Service was also scrambling the signal. We made do with ‘As Lives’ sent back via Associated Press WiFi and eventually crosses via the AP fibre.”

(Cameraman Brad Fulton and Zoe Daniel - Photo: Brooke Wylie)

“When we left the Capitol to walk to the White House for my next cross we were unable to get through due to pedestrian roadblocks so we ended up catching the train with the sea of people leaving the inauguration. We emerged near the White House where we encountered a few thousand protesters, some singing and dancing and painting banners, others smashing cars and burning trash in the street. Police were using tear gas and flash bangs to control the group so we had to use caution, placing ourselves near the edges of the group where we had a clear exit and spending only a short amount of time in each location. Correspondent Steph March was carrying a couple of gas masks from the office for her and cameraman Nick Castellaro but in the end they weren't needed.”

(Brad Fulton filming a protest sign featuring the image of Richard Spencer being punched which Brad shot - Photo: Brooke Wylie)

FAR-RIGHT ACTIVIST RICHARD SPENCER PUNCHED DURING INTERVIEW

ZOE DANIEL: “As we were walking up to the intersection where the protest was at its most heated ABC producer Brooke Wylie pointed out a young woman whose face was covered in white tear gas residue. We stopped to interview her and while we were doing that a man ran from across the street and hit far right activist Richard Spencer who was standing nearby. Richard Spencer is the head of the National Policy Institute, a white supremacist who first coined the term 'Alt-right'. He's a well known supporter of Donald Trump and although he denies being a fascist and a Nazi, many describe him as such.”

(Richard Spencer being interviewed by Zoe Daniel just before being punched - Photo: ABC News)

“I moved over with Brooke and cameraman Brad Fulton to ask Richard Spencer for his reaction to being hit and also to ask why he was there given that a heated anti-Trump protest was happening so nearby. While we were talking to him the masked man who had hit him the first time came running in again and hit him much harder and then ran off. Richard Spencer reeled from the punch but seemed to be OK. We decided it would be wise to leave the immediate vicinity and continued up the street to film protesters smashing a limousine and burning bins in the street.

(A damaged limo near an anti-Trump protest in Washington - Photo: Zoe Daniel)

“Aware that this would get significant attention because Richard Spencer is such a divisive figure, I asked Brad to send the vision straight away while Brooke and I ran up to the White House to clear security for another cross from another AP spot. I called Steph and told her what we had filmed so she knew she would have it for her protest package. I was busy for a few hours after that doing live crosses and finalising that night's news coverage, so it was only when I got back to the office that I was made aware of the internet reaction to the video. National Security correspondent Andrew Greene who was giving us a hand over the inauguration had taken carriage of getting it up online as quickly as possible. It's now been viewed millions of times, has been on all of the major TV networks and has spawned a flood of memes and musical treatments as well as appearing on SNL's weekend update. The New York Times wrote a piece looking at the reaction and whether it's Ok to punch a Nazi.”

(Producer Brooke Wylie and Zoe Daniel at a reporting position overlooking the White House - Photo: ABC News)

CHALLENGES OF REPORTING ON TRUMP PRESIDENCY

ZOE DANIEL: “White House press secretary Sean Spicer's briefing on Saturday night after the inauguration was extraordinary in that not only did he dress down the media, accusing organisations of deliberately downplaying the size of the crowd at the inauguration, he countered those reports with a series of easily refutable falsehoods. Throughout his campaign Donald Trump attacked the credibility of the media as part of a deliberate strategy to erode trust which makes it easier for him to control the national conversation. Saturday's spray at the press put a dent in that because what was said was so easily proven untrue. Since then the local networks have had reasonable access, with pool camera sprays of key moments involving the President and lengthy daily briefings from the press secretary.

As international media we're still having some difficulty navigating the new White House protocols, partly because it's unclear what they are and key staff are still not in place. There will be many challenges covering the Trump years due to the level of extra fact checking that's required, the lack of detail that's often given, the limited access that's available to international press and the fact that Americans selectively consume the media that they agree with therefore they have an inbuilt and increasing distrust of any alternative viewpoint. The other key challenge and priority is to report without assumptions. Much of the media was badly caught out by an inbuilt expectation that Donald Trump couldn't possibly win the election. I'd like to think that our coverage was a lot more nuanced that that and we will approach coverage of his Presidency in a similar way, by talking to people across the spectrum of backgrounds, places and perspectives.”

More stories from Zoe Daniel here.

Click here to return to the Back Story home page or catch up on stories from the past four yeas on our archive page.

#zoe daniel #washington #donald trump #us election #usa #inaugurations #trump inauguration #international #richard spencer #news coverage #digital

8 notes · View notes

whereintheworldisbella · 4 years

Text

A day in the life

**From my time living and studying in St. Petersburg, Russia in the summer of 2014. Written then but posted 6 years later.**

My alarm goes off at 8am and I open my eyes to sunlight. During the summer white nights the sun would never truly set. I get dressed and head into the kitchen for breakfast, where a pot of warm kasha (oatmeal made from buckwheat) awaits. Since the tap water is undrinkable here, my host family has to boil the water before drinking it, although some families use filters. After filling my water bottle, I take the copies of my documents in my bag (in case the police stop me and request them under suspicion, as is legal) and head out the door. When I enter onto the busy street, cars scream by me and swerve around each other, trying to make a yellow light, only to be stopped by traffic on the other side of the intersection. I shake my head and make my way towards the bus stop.

I watch as marshrutka after marshrutka stop along the road to pick up more people than you think could possibly fit in a van. Marshrutkas are privately owned busses that run a certain route but will stop anywhere along that route to let you off. You just have to do is tell the driver where to let you off and hand him the money – all while he is driving. Finally, my bus comes and I step on, take a seat, and wait for the person in the orange vest to come give me a ticket in exchange for 25 rubles (that’s about 67 cents).

As I’m riding past the elaborate, baroque, yet damaged and unkept buildings, I look at the people on the bus. Some men with briefcases seem to be going to work; a boy in jeans listens to his iPod as he gazes out the window; two young women in short skirts, tight tops, and high heels sit with their large bag on their laps and sunglasses on their heads, texting on their iPhones; a young woman with a stroller stands near the door and an older woman wearing jeans sits reading her novel, as many people on transport do here; an elderly man reads the paper and two elderly women sit near the front, wearing flat shoes, long skirts, light jackets, and a scarf covering their head. They, too, hold their bags on their lap and are eyeing up the other passengers on the bus. They are known as babushkas, or “grandmothers,” and nobody messes with the babushka.

We cross two bridges, pass the baroque, blue-and-white Hermitage (one of the world’s largest museums of art), and drive a little ways on Nevsky Prospekt (the popular, main street in St. Petersburg). The bus fills up and no seats are left so some passengers need to stand. At the next stop, an elderly woman, or babushka, comes slowly onto the bus and scans her card on the machine to pay. She walks over to the young boy listening to his iPod who, seeing the old woman, rises and gives her his seat. If he hadn’t, very strong, spiteful words would have been directed at him by all the babushkas on the bus.

Finally, we reach St. Isaac’s cathedral (a Russian Orthodox Cathedral, which is the fourth largest cathedral in the world). I remember visiting the Cathedral the first week I arrived in St. Petersburg – it’s large, stone pillars and golden dome are impressive from the outside, but the inside is even more impressive – the walls and ceiling of a large, open space is covered with hundreds of colorful mosaics.

It’s my stop and I get off the bus, walking the rest of the way to Smolny College. Along the way, two Russians ask me for directions, and I do my best to answer them. I’ve been asked for directions at least three times every week since I got here – and now I can actually answer them!

I continue the familiar route to school: past the men drinking in the park, past the many buildings under construction and covered with the green tarp, past the productkiys on every block, past the workers smoking on the street (since it is illegal to smoke inside, even in your home), past the people feeding pigeons by the handful, past the food stands on the corner selling blinis (russian crepes), corn, or hotdogs, and past the delightful surprises left by dogs earlier that day.

The smells I encounter could be better: dirty gasoline used by the cars, cigarette smoke, tar or asphalt from construction sites, the sewer, garbage, and other unpleasant smells that cannot be explained. Only every now and then I smell freshly bread or pirogis (Russian pastries) wafting out from a café or food store.

When I get to the one entrance of the building, I scan my ID card and pass through the turnstile. The college is one building with two courtyards. First I have Russian grammar class for one and a half hours along with other Americans on the program, and then I have History of Russian Autocracy for three hours and twenty minutes alongside other Russian students. All of my classes are taught in Russian.

After classes I usually walk around the city or go to a café with some friends I met on the program. In the summer St. Petersburg can be very hot and filled with tourists, but in the fall the temperature is perfect, there are fewer tourists, and all the families have arrived back from their dachas (summer homes in the country where families go to escape the city every summer). Now that families populate the city, many faces I encounter on the street have changed from serious and cold faces to smiling, laughing faces. The family is the center of Russian culture, and kids are the center of the family.

St. Petersburg was built to resemble Amsterdam so there are many beautiful bridges and canals to walk along. The city also has many great museums, and some that are pretty strange. The ones I have visited include: the Hermitage (of course), Erarta (contemporary art), the vodka museum, the cat museum (St. Petersburg has a thing for cats), the Museum of Strange Things, the Freud Museum, and more. It’s also great to visit the suburbs of the city, where you can find forests, summer palaces once used by the nobility, and beaches.

I’ve been to the Church on Spilled Blood, tanned in the Field of Mars, toured numerous baroque palaces, and had picnics in many parks and gardens. I’ve seen a ballet and an opera, and I plan on seeing the circus. I’ve been to a jazz concert in a park and went spelunking in the woods with my host brother. And almost every day since I got here, I’ve seen at least one wedding.

If I were to sum up my thoughts about St. Petersburg, Russia, I would say that I feel like I stepped back 30-40 years into the past. The city and the social customs are underdeveloped compared to places in the US. For example, there are still traditional gender roles, almost everyone smokes cigarettes, running outside is unusual (but also because the city is not that pedestrian-friendly), and there’s a lack of diversity. It’s a strange and unsettling feeling.

When I get home to my host-family, the three small girls are running around naked, chasing each other and screaming. Alla (the great-grandmother) is talking to her friend on the phone in her room, Tatyana the house-keeping is cooking food, the grandfather is working on his computer in his room, the mother is playing with the kids, and the father and grandmother are still at work. I live in an apartment with 10 other people, and although it has eight rooms and two bathrooms, there’s no open space. There’s no living room – only two long, narrow hallways with rooms coming off of them. The gathering space is in the kitchen, which has a table that seats only four people, and if people aren’t in the kitchen, then they are in their room with the door shut. But being in a small room with the door shut can be extremely stuffy and hot during the summer since there’s no air conditioning and sometimes no ventilation system in buildings.

For dinner Tatyana makes traditional Russian cuisine: borsch, herring under a fur coat, chicken, cucumber and tomato salad, etc. Some things I’ve noticed about the food: Russians love to soak their food in fat, whether it be butter, oil, or mayonnaise; Russians use dill frequently, even in the strangest foods, like with carrot salad; Russians eat a lot of chicken. Basically, if you can tolerate repetition and bland cuisine, the food here is fine.

Towards the end of the summer it wouldn’t get dark out until 1am, but now the sun is setting around 9pm. After doing my homework and browsing on the computer, I lay my head down and go to bed, exhausted from the day. On the wall next to my bed hangs a brown, flower-patterned carpet that covers the entire wall. Good insulation for the winter to come.

Living in Russia has been difficult, especially being used to such a westernized way of living. Things are much more traditional here, and being a woman, that can be tough. But being here has made me realize just how much we have back in the US, and has made me appreciate everything I’ve grown up with. St. Petersburg definitely has a lot to offer, and I’ve learned so much these past three months – not just about the language and culture, but about myself, as well. Here’s to the rest of the semester – на здоровье!

#studyabroad #stpetersburg #russia

0 notes

biofunmy · 5 years

Text

Should Macy’s Build a Giant Tower in One of N.Y.’s Most Congested Neighborhoods?

Edward Assile started working for his family’s textile supply company near Macy’s landmark Herald Square store in the 1980s, when the Manhattan neighborhood was part of the garment district. Fabric shops surrounded the store and the sight of workers hurriedly pushing racks of clothing up and down the streets was common.

Macy’s still stands, but the rest of the area has been transformed. What was once a manufacturing hub has given way to an overflowing corridor of tourists and commuters cramming onto sidewalks, roadways and subway stations.

“Have you tried walking from here to Penn Station?” said Mr. Assile, 70, referring to the commuter train station. “It’s horrendous.”

Herald Square’s central location at the intersection of regional rail service and numerous subway lines has long made it one of New York City’s busiest neighborhoods. But today it is more congested than ever with 92 million people a year passing through its three subway stations, nearly double the number in the 1970s.

Now Macy’s, the epicenter of Herald Square for more than a century, wants to test the area’s limits. It plans to build an 800-foot tall office tower atop the iconic store, part of what could be the beginning of a building spree in the district.

The city is experiencing one of the greatest growth periods in its history, with a booming economy, soaring tourism and a population near a record high.

But in an era of prosperity, cracks have emerged: The forces of development pushing across many neighborhoods, like Herald Square, are taxing New York’s transportation infrastructure, from its strangled streets to its strained public transit.

A forest of office and residential towers has risen in Lower Manhattan and around Central Park in recent years, while new neighborhoods of high rises have sprouted in Downtown Brooklyn, the South Bronx and along the Queens waterfront.

The flurry of construction has added more than 40 million square feet of new office space in the city in the past two decades — roughly the equivalent of the total office space in downtown Houston.

But while the city has thrived, the transportation infrastructure that it depends on has struggled — clogged streets have pushed down average speeds in Manhattan’s business districts to under 5 miles per hour while the subway is struggling to reverse a steep decline in reliability.

“If the infrastructure falls behind, you are going to solve your own problem because people will leave,” said Nick Sifuentes, the executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a transportation policy and advocacy group.

In Herald Square, swarms of people fill every available inch of sidewalk and rush-hour traffic on West 34th Street, a main thoroughfare, is often at a standstill.

More than 140,000 employees work in the area, and a Macy’s tower could add another 6,000. The neighborhood is already home to the city’s third busiest subway station, and Pennsylvania Station is the country’s busiest train station with more than 600,000 riders daily.

At least one developer, Vornado Realty Trust, has plans to put up a super-tall tower in Herald Square, further adding to the density of people and cars.

Before Macy’s revealed its tower plans, company executives met privately with community groups and city leaders to outline their vision and gain their support. Executives also pledged that Macy’s would invest in the area’s infrastructure, such as adding new entrances to the Herald Square subway station, according to three people familiar with the company’s preliminary plans.

A Macy’s spokeswoman declined to elaborate on the company’s plans, saying that there were “a number of hurdles we need to cross before we can share more concrete details.” Macy’s would need city approval to build the tower.

“We believe the best way to unlock the store’s underlying real estate value and promote economic activity in the area is to build a commercial office tower while continuing to operate this iconic store as our national flagship,” the spokeswoman, Blair Fasbender Rosenberg, said.

Some local leaders welcomed the news. “Anything that is good for Macy’s staying healthy and in business is good for New York,” said Dan Biederman, the president of the 34th Street Partnership, a business-improvement district in Herald Square.

Still, the tower proposal, though it could take years to be realized, has already sparked concern among elected officials over the potential strain on the neighborhood.

Gale Brewer, the Manhattan borough president, said that a tower over Macy’s would “require major public improvements to the streets and sidewalks that surround the Herald Square neighborhood.”

Layla Law-Gisiko, a member of the local community board, had a pointed reaction to the idea of more people flooding into the area: “Disastrous, disastrous, disastrous.”

But Tom Wright, the president of Regional Plan Association, a transportation research and policy group, said that the sky-is-falling predictions for Herald Square were overly gloomy. He noted that several ambitious public transit projects are underway that would ease congestion both underground and aboveground.

Penn Station, which Amtrak, New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Rail Road share, is extending into the adjacent James A. Farley Post Office to serve passengers riding Amtrak. A rail project known as East Side Access, more than a decade under construction, will eventually move Long Island Rail Road passengers away from Penn Station to Grand Central Terminal.

“There is so much investment in the area that you don’t want to walk away from it,” Mr. Wright said. “Taking advantage of that sunken new investment to build new density is good public policy.”

New York is one of several cities across the country grappling with the consequences of dynamic growth. Los Angeles, Seattle and Honolulu, among others, are all spending billions of dollars to expand public transit as a way to unsnarl their roadways.

In New York, the subway system, the largest in the nation, has barely expanded in recent years, adding a new line with three stations on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and a new station to extend a line to the Far West Side of Manhattan.

Next year, New York will become the first American city to impose congestion pricing, a fee to drive into the busiest parts of Manhattan. The plan is meant to ease traffic and raise more money to modernize and improve subway and bus service.

The city’s development wave has already lapped up against Herald Square. To the west stands Hudson Yards, a city within a city with acres of gleaming glass and steel office and residential buildings. To the east, skyscrapers are rising in a part of Midtown Manhattan that has been rezoned to allow for taller buildings.

Between them are Herald Square’s collection of mostly stubby buildings, except for the Empire State Building, that developers believe could be part of a giant business district stretching across the width of Manhattan.

The challenge the city’s robust development poses for the existing transportation infrastructure is being felt beyond Manhattan.

An influx of new people in northern Brooklyn has bogged down the L train, the only line serving some of the borough’s fastest-growing neighborhoods. More than 675,000 people now live more than a mile from a subway station on the far edges of Queens, according to the city, and many use buses that often run late and slow.

A commuter ferry service run by the city recently began docking in areas underserved by public transit along the waterfront in Brooklyn and the Bronx, though it is expensive to operate and its ridership is tiny compared with the number of subway or bus riders.

Even without a Macy’s tower, Herald Square is packed. It is one of the busiest pedestrian thoroughfares in New York, with more than 11,000 pedestrians at its peak, on late weekday afternoons, filling 34th Street in front of Macy’s, according to a traffic count by the city.

Each year, more than 20 million shoppers visit Macy’s Herald Square, the company says.

“Growing responsibly means that significant development must be accompanied by investments in mass transit, parks, schools, streetscapes, libraries and all the public goods that make our city livable,” said Corey Johnson, the City Council speaker whose district includes Herald Square. “We have to find a way to grow responsibly if we want communities around the city to accept the need for growth.”

Rachel Shorey contributed reporting.

Sahred From Source link Real Estate

from WordPress http://bit.ly/2JbqLxW via IFTTT

#IFTTT #WordPress

0 notes

mobikefed · 5 years

Text

Darwin Hindman, 1933-2019: Columbia Mayor, "Father of the Katy Trail," Missouri bicycling, walking, and trails champion - funeral & memorial ride Saturday

Former Columbia Mayor and champion of bicycling, walking, and trails Darwin Hindman passed away Monday at age 86.

A memorial bicycle ride and funeral service will be held Saturday, June 22nd, 2019, in Columbia:

Mayor Hindman was an avid cyclist--and bicycle and trails supporter

The mile-long ride will begin at 11:45 a.m. Saturday at the Darwin and Axie Hindman Discovery Garden in Stephens Lake Park, 2300 E. Walnut St. The group will then ride to the memorial service at Calvary Episcopal Church, 123 S. Ninth St., which will begin at 1 p.m.

PedNet asks that as many people as possible bike to the start of the route at Stephens Lake Park, and those who drive should park in the lot off Old 63.

Hindman was one of the early champions of the Katy Trail, and worked closely with Ted and Pat Jones, who worked tirelessly with Missouri state leaders for the Katy Trail, and finally donated over $2 million dollars to help acquire the Katy and build the trail. (Ted Jones passed away in 1990, before the Katy was completed. Pat passed away earlier this year.)

Later, Hindman was instrumental in advocating for the development of the MKT Trail--the nine-mile rail-trail that connects downtown Columbia with the Katy Trail. The intersection of the MKT and Katy Trails is now called "Hindman Junction" and has a display area with information about the history of the trails and the area. The Boone County Historical Society has called Hindman "The Father of the Katy Trail."

As a citizen and as Mayor, Hindman supported many important civic projects, including Stephens Lake and the Activity and Recreation Center (ARC). He was very influential in making Columbia one of the leading cities in Missouri and the midwest for bicycling, walking, and trails. Columbia adopted a Complete Streets policy before Complete Streets had a name or a national campaign. Under Hindman's leadership as mayor, the city greatly expanded its trail network and built a comprehensive network bicycle-friendly streets at a time when most Missouri cities had not even started to think about the concept.

In 2005, Hindman played a key role in working with Senator Kit Bond to bring the $22.5 million Nonmotorized Pilot Project to Columbia. Columbia was one of just four communities nationwide to received this grant. The city used the funding to make major upgrades to it citywide pedestrian, bicycle, and trails system--proving repeatedly the value of that type of transportation and infrastructure investment for communities.

Hindman's obituary sums up some of his accomplishments:

He got his political start working on campaigns for environmental causes, such as preserving the Meramec River and Irish Wilderness. In the 1980s, he promoted the construction of Columbia’s MKT trail as a pilot rail-trail project and then became the founder and chairperson of the Katy Trail Coalition. His efforts to create the Katy trail included testimony before the U.S. Senate to promote legislation, which made rail-trails possible all over the country.

The Columbia Missourian writes:

Under his stewardship, Columbia was a “full-service city,” said Ray Beck, who was city manager for most of Hindman’s 15 years as mayor. The city didn’t just build roads, Beck said; it focused on making citizens’ quality of life better.

Mayor Hindman (center) and his son-in-law, Ian Thomas of Pednet, receives the first-ever National Outstanding Achievement Award from Andy Clarke of the League of American Bicyclists at the National Bike Summit in 2010

“He had a real vision for what Columbia could be,” said Chris Janku, who served on the City Council from 1991 to 2008.

“He thought people’s goal in life should be to have a productive, happy, satisfactory life,” Axie said. “As a member of the City Council, he felt that should be one of the goals of the city.”

Hindman was Columbia's longest-serving mayor--15 years and five terms.

The Columbia Tribune writes:

The Katy Trail, now one of the premier hiking and biking trails in the nation, was created out of the ruins of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas rail line that was severely damaged in a Missouri River flood in 1986. Using a federal rail-banking law, Hindman led the push to obtain the line, found private funding from Edward D. “Ted” Jones and overcome landowner objections.

Former state Rep. Chris Kelly worked with Hindman to establish the trail. Hindman and Jones, owner of the Edward D. Jones financial services firm, did more than any other private citizens to establish the trail, Kelly said.

“Darwin brought his support and enthusiasm and knowledge to the project,” Kelly said. “He really understood the economic benefit of the Katy Trail to the state of Missouri and he has been proven absolutely correct.”

When HIndman retired as Mayor in 2010, Henry J. Waters of the Columbia Tribune summed up his contribution to founding the Katy Trail:

Hindman might fairly be remembered as the father of the Katy Trail.

In an effort to exploit the new opportunity provided by Congress with passage of the so-called Rails to Trails Act, the newly elected mayor of Columbia planned a trip to lobby then-Gov. John Ashcroft for support of a plan to convert abandoned railroad rights of way into a public, cross-state trail that would become one of Missouri’s most popular state parks.

Hindman says Ashcroft was for the idea but recognized the strong opposition it would face, mainly from rural interests. The mayor figured his entreaty would have more weight if he took along a well-known person from the business community. He knew that the president of an investment firm bearing his family name was interested in public recreation, so he asked Ted Jones. With typical lack of hesitation Jones quickly agreed, and the two set off for Jefferson City.

Gov. Ashcroft thanked the two solicitors for their civic-minded interest but reminded them the state had no money for such a project, at which time Jones quickly said he would pay for restrooms all along the trail, a kickoff gesture typical of Jones’ leadership style.

Hindman in 2010

Over the years, Hindman received many awards, including:

Missouri Parks and Recreation Association: Public Achievement Award (1999)

American League of Bicyclists, the first National Outstanding Achievement Award (2010)

Trail Blazer Award, National Rails to Trails Conservancy (2011)

The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy award reads:

Darwin Hindman has been a lifelong campaigner for active living, recreational opportunities for all citizens, and walkable, bikeable communities.

As a citizen activist in the 1980s, he helped convince then-Missouri Governor John Ashcroft and the state legislature to convert an unused rail line into what is now one of the most recognizable and successful rail-trails in the country: the 237-mile Katy Trail State Park.

Hindman stated that having a father who was a professor of physical education instilled him with a belief in the importance of people being active and having recreation in their lives. However, as he grew older, he began to see that often we were not building our cities and communities to provide those opportunities.

Rather than bemoan this landscape, Hindman set his mind to change it. As a five-term mayor in his hometown of Columbia, Mo., he worked tirelessly to expand the city's system of trails, bike lanes and parks. Hindman is credited with the construction of nearly 100 miles of side trails, pedways and bike paths that have made Columbia one of the most pedestrian-friendly cities in the nation.

He was also instrumental in securing a $25 million federal grant under the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program—for which RTC was the lead advocate and helped administer—to help Columbia develop a multi-modal transportation system. As a result of Hindman's efforts, Columbia is consistently rated one of America's most livable communities.

Awards received by Hindman include a Leadership for Healthy Communities award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the League of American Bicyclists. In 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama recognized him for his efforts to build a bicycle-friendly community.

A search of MoBikeFed.org for "Darwin Hindman" brings up over 50 results--one measure of Hindman's impact on bicycling, walking and trails in Missouri over the years.

#mobikefed.org

0 notes

citizentruth-blog · 6 years

Text

The Trump Presidency As Religious Cult? Not As Weird As You Might Think - YOUR NEWS

New Post has been published on https://citizentruth.org/the-trump-presidency-as-religious-cult-not-as-weird-as-you-might-think/

The Trump Presidency As Religious Cult? Not As Weird As You Might Think

Scholars of religious studies such as Reza Aslan warn that support of Trump by some white evangelicals is like that of a religious cult, which would present a clear danger to our country. (Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr/Creative Commons)

In November of 2017, avid Donald Trump supporter Mark Lee, as part of a panel of Trump voters speaking with CNN’s Alisyn Camerota, spoke about Trump’s possible collusion with Russia in the context of religious faith. His comments, which made the rounds on the 24-hour news cycle/water-cooler political discussion loop, were truly astonishing to many. Here’s the one that had people, if not up in arms, scratching their heads:

Let me tell you, if Jesus Christ gets down off the cross and told me Trump is with Russia, I would tell him, “Hold on a second: I need to check with the president if it is true.” That is how confident I feel in the president.

You read that right. Hold on, Mr. Savior, I have to ask President Trump if what you’re saying is God’s honest truth. Beyond the seeming absurdity of this scenario—Jesus returned just to tell Trump supporters about his connection with Russia?—the expressed faith in Trump above all others (and I am not using the word faith lightly) was duly baffling.

When Camerota pressed Lee for additional context, Lee, a pest control business owner who expressed vague notions of Trump being an advocate of the little guy, America-first, a drainer of the swamp, and a non-politician, stressed his belief that Trump is a good person, and that he (Trump) “has taken so many shots for us.” Presumably, that “us” is the American people, and any backlash is related to jealousy of his constant “winning.” Dude can’t help it if he’s so famous, handsome, and rich—that’s just how he rolls.

Any number of observers might choose not to share Mark Lee’s views. Heck, I sure don’t. Still, as extreme as Lee’s stances might seem, they may not be that far off from other people’s admiration for or faith in the current President of the United States. Reza Aslan, author, commentator, intellectual, and religious scholar, recently authored a video for Big Think about his notion that the Trump presidency is a religious cult. At first blush, Aslan’s comments might seem as grandiose as Lee’s. Trump as a cult leader? And his devotees are the ones who have drunk the proverbial Kool-Aid?

For all our skepticism, though, Aslan does make his case in a very well-thought-out manner. First, before we even get to “why” certain Americans feel compelled to hold up Donald Trump, there’s the matter of “who.” Aslan cites a statistic that 81% of white evangelists who voted in the 2016 election went for Trump. That’s pretty significant, especially when considering that’s a higher percentage than George W. Bush received, an actual white evangelical. What else is significant about this figure? Well, for one, 67% of evangelicals of color who voted cast their ballots for Hillary Clinton. Thus, when Aslan instructs us not to ignore that there is a racial element to Trump’s support, we would be quick to agree that he ain’t just whistlin’ Dixie.

As to why, however, white evangelicals “acted more white than evangelical” in their backing of Trump, as Aslan and others have put it, one element Aslan points to is the influence of what is known as the prosperity gospel. Loosely speaking, this is the idea that financial success is God’s blessing, and through faith, preaching the word of God, and, of course, generous donations, one’s material wealth will increase. In other words, if the Lord didn’t want you to have that Mercedes-Benz, he wouldn’t have made it so dadgum shiny. This is the sort of Christianity that Aslan explicitly dismisses and rejects, associating it with the likes of “charlatans” like Joel Osteen and T.D. Jakes, but given Trump’s boasts of wealth and ostentatious displays of such, it makes sense that Christians who adhere to this doctrine would back him, even when his spiritual credentials are, er, lacking.

Additionally, Aslan points to Trump’s promises to afford secular benefits to white evangelical groups and other religious affiliations. In Trump’s apparently ambiguous vows to “give them back their power,” Aslan points to Trump’s willingness to defend Christians in their goal of making a stand on specific issues—even if he may not agree with their positions on those underlying issues—as well as his indication of intent, for instance, to repeal the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits 501(c)(3) organizations like churches from endorsing or opposing political candidates. Just a few days ago, Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of the Treasury not to find churches guilty of “implied endorsements” much as secular organizations wouldn’t be. Never mind that this could help create a slippery slope that allows churches to bypass campaign finance laws and effectually become partisan super PACs. That sweet, sweet support from the religious right is too much to ignore.

Meanwhile, all of this may merely be a prologue to a separate conversation we need to be having about Donald Trump, morality, evangelicals, and the intersection of the Venn diagram of their circles. As Reza Aslan insists, none of the above explains why white evangelicals have gone from a voting bloc that has insisted on a candidate’s morality as a significant qualification for office to one that eschews such concerns—in the span of one election cycle, no less. To reinforce this idea, Aslan highlights the fact that, re Trump, self-identifying atheists were more likely to consider morality as important than white evangelicals. So much for being “values voters.”

As Aslan reasons, this is more than can be reasoned away by talk of race or the prosperity gospel or the Johnson Amendment, and points to a different conclusion: that Trump, his presidency, and his most influential supporters have turned a significant portion of his white evangelical base into a religious cult, and a dangerous one at that. From where he (Aslan) stands, all the signs are there. For one, he points to Trump’s infamous remark that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose votes as being a kind of prophetic revelation. Aslan also alludes to statements made by Pat Robertson that he (Robertson) had a dream in which God took him up to Heaven and Trump was seated at His right hand—the space traditionally reserved for Jesus Christ—and Robert Jeffress, Robertson’s pastor, who said that he (Jeffress) prefers Trump as a candidate to someone “who expresses the values of Jesus.” Suddenly, Mark Lee doesn’t sound so out of place.

The implications, in short, are scary. As Aslan instructs, cults, particularly when confronted by the realities of the world, do not tend to end well. The Trump presidency, for all its claims of stability and success, by most objective accounts is on the brink of collapse, its central figure “spiraling out of control,” as Aslan puts it, and the subject of regular conversations about impeachment or other removal. In the perhaps likely event that leadership fails, the response for cult followers is often to double down on the group’s mantra, and this creates, at least in Aslan’s mind, a very perilous situation for the country at large. As he closes his address, “The only thing more dangerous than a cult leader like Trump is a martyred cult leader.” Ominous, indeed.

Reza Aslan is a religious scholar, and since he often approaches worldly matters from a spiritual frame of reference, even with his treatise on why Donald Trump’s presidency is a religious cult, there would likely be doubters and dissenters on this point. On the right, because so much of politics these days involves taking sides, this is all but a given. Naysayers would undoubtedly highlight Aslan’s Iranian heritage and Muslim beliefs (in reality, his faith is more complex, having been born into a Shia Muslim family, converting to evangelical Christianity, and then converting back to Muslim, all while largely regarding religion as nothing more than a series of metaphors and symbols designed to express one’s faith), as well as his anti-Trump animus (after Trump’s comments on the 2017 terrorist attack in London in which a van struck and killed pedestrians on London, Aslan referred to POTUS as a “piece of shit” and “man baby,” comments that, ahem, didn’t go over too well with then-employer CNN). Never mind that that Aslan is a theologian and literally talks about, thinks about, and writes about this stuff for a living. Because he doesn’t care much for Trump, his opinions must, therefore, be invalid, right?

For the non-shameless-Trump-backers among us, though, there might similarly be a reluctance to characterize the President’s following in terms of a destructive religious cult, since these societies tend to remind us of devices of works of fiction set in apocalyptic times. To this, I submit people may be understating just how abnormal Trump and his presidency are. Besides, as many would aver, we are in the midst of a crisis right now, one primarily borne of climate concerns, but not without worry over its political stability. Trump just pulled the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal without an apparent replacement strategy. Does this make the world safer? Does this instill confidence that the U.S. is a country that honors its agreements and is therefore worthy of trust? On both counts, the answer is a resounding “no,” and that should inspire concern from Americans regardless of their political orientation.

Then again, maybe it’s just that devout Christians can be hypocrites or otherwise twist the Bible to suit their purposes. Phil Zuckerman, a professor at Pitzer College and someone who specializes in studies of atheism and secularity, among other topics, penned an essay shortly after Donald Trump’s upset 2016 electoral victory regarding the role of religion in the election’s outcome. Zuckerman—who also cites the statistic about 81% of white evangelicals voting for Trump, as well as 56% of American voters who attend church at least once a week going for the orange-skinned one—points to other disappointing tendencies of the Christian right.

For one, they tend to regard men as superior leaders and reinforce values that support male dominance over obeisant females. They also hate, hate, hate homosexuals and tend to fear and hate other religions, dividing people into a saved-unsaved binary. Furthermore, fundamentalist Christians place a stronger emphasis on authoritarianism, and mistrust and reject the science which clashes with their faith. Or, as Zuckerman frames this, they are a sanctimonious lot, a subdivision of the American electorate that touts morals and yet voted en masse to elect someone in Trump who is the epitome of immorality. As with Aslan’s criticisms, people would be wont to use context to dismiss Zuckerman’s views. He made these comments not long after Election Day, and thus was probably harboring strong feelings at the time of his piece’s publication. Also, he’s interested mainly in secular studies. Maybe he just hates religious types. PROFESSOR, YOUR BIAS IS SHOWING.

Maybe, maybe not. Irrespective of Reza Aslan’s invectives directed at President Trump and Phil Zuckerman’s discontent with strong Christians for voting for someone clearly not of the same mold, this sense of devotion to Trump by a significant portion of the American people is startling and disconcerting, especially in light of the comparisons between Trump and Jesus. These are the same kinds of “values voters” who, say, conceive of gun ownership as a God-given right. Fun fact: the right to bear arms is a constitutional amendment contained in the Bill of Rights, not one of the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not kill. Gun ownership increases the likelihood you will violate this precept. How does one reconcile these two apparently competing interests?

One oft-cited biblical passage, Matthew 10:34, in which Jesus is believed to have said that he “did not come to bring peace, but a sword,” may just as well speak to Christ’s existence dividing (as a sword would cut) people based on their belief, if not a faulty translation from the original Koine Greek. Psalm 144 in the Book of Psalms, another quoted portion of the Good Book, has been translated as, “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.”

This is context-dependent, however. David, in speaking of bodily strength, ascribes true strength to God, and prays to Him to rescue him and his people “from the cruel sword.” In this context, David is King of Israel at a time when war among rival groups is common, and what’s more, the ending of the psalm expresses a hope for peace. This seems like quite a departure from the rhetoric of the National Rifle Association, which would have you believe in its promotional videos that America resembles a scene from The Purge. Lock ’em and load ’em, ladies and gents. Conflict is brewing, and nothing shouts His love like the cold steel of a .45.

Mark Lee’s pro-Trump comments seemed crazy at the time of first utterance, and a mere six months later, still do. As the Trump presidency wears on, though, at least until anything manifests with respect to impeachment or other means of removal, and as Donald Trump’s support from his base not only holds steady but grows, one wonders whether Aslan’s depiction of Trump as a salvific figure, as something more than an inspiration to those blinded by patriotism, is accurate. For white evangelicals who support him, in particular, Trump’s actions should prompt them to look critically at their set of beliefs and the importance of morality to their worldview. Whether or not the apparent abandonment of their principles holds beyond Trump’s presidency, meanwhile, is anyone’s guess, and is hard to approach with any sense of faith on the part of those who already don’t believe in him.

Trump Is Not a Threat to a Free Press Despite Inflamed Rhetoric, Obama Administration & DNC’s Recent Lawsuit Much More Menacing

#conservative Christians #donald trump #evangelicals #Phil Zuckerman #religious right #Reza Aslan #Trump relgious cult #white evangelicals

0 notes

alternance-web · 6 years

Text

State Street businesses dread construction but hope for safer, more convenient future

Jackie Bargabos joked that her husband started shopping for life insurance policies for her after finding out that State Street traffic will soon come within a few feet of her office chair.

Bargabos and her husband, Jason, own Aloha Auto Repair on the south side of State Street just west of Veterans Memorial Parkway in Boise. Jackie Bargabos said a project to redo the intersection of State Street, Veterans Memorial Parkway and 36th Street will lop 10 feet off the property where Aloha sits. A sidewalk will be all that separates the wall of her office from cars on State, she said.

“It’s really scary,” said Jason Bargabos, who also works as a technician in the shop. “It’s just unsafe with that much traffic coming through here.”

Jackie Bargabos said she is working with the Ada County Highway District, the agency overseeing the project, to put some kind of barrier between the building and the street. She’s also worried the project will reduce the amount of walk-in business she gets.

Never miss a local story.

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Aloha’s neighbors, too, are bracing for a rough ride as construction begins on the first of several projects to overhaul intersections along State Street and, years from now, widen one of the busiest streets in the Treasure Valley.

Many think the projects will improve the area in the long run. But not everyone is convinced the highway district has the right idea. One member of its governing board said the district is enabling the Valley’s car-dependent culture at the expense of better public transportation and non-car travel.

THE PROJECT

Construction at State and 36th is scheduled to start in February and wrap up this fall. Five buildings have been demolished already: State Street Auto Body; Bristle and Crown, a hair salon; Ideal Lending; a duplex home; and a single-family home.

The $8 million project will revamp the way traffic flows through the intersection. The most radical change is that cars won’t turn left from State Street to go north on 36th or south on Veterans. Instead, they’ll continue through the intersection and travel several hundred feet before arriving at what’s known as a “thru turn.”

There, they’ll merge into the far left lane, make a U-turn and double back to the intersection, where they’ll turn right to head north on 36th or south on Veterans. Signalized pedestrian crossings will regulate traffic near the U-turn area. Using the same timing plan the highway district follows now, engineers will time the pedestrian signals with the signals at State-Veterans-36th to make the process work as smoothly as possible, highway district spokeswoman Nicole Du Bois said in an email.

Bike lane segments will be added near the intersection, according to the project’s design map.

The appearance of the corridor at State and Veterans-36th will undergo a major change, too. Two more buildings, housing the Smoky Davis smoked-meats store and Zen Bento, a Japanese restaurant, will join the five already gone to make way for the wider intersection. Eighteen signs will be removed or relocated, including the signs at Viking Drive In and The Dutch Goose.

The highway district is acquiring about 150,000 square feet of land for the project, not counting 128,000 square feet of temporary construction easements, according to figures obtained by the Idaho Statesman. The district spent $3 million on property acquisitions, Du Bois said.

ACHD anticipates adding high-occupancy vehicle lanes someday, but state law prohibits them, and there’s no sign the Legislature is likely to change that.

SYNCHRONIZED CONSTRUCTION

John Turner, owner of Turner Sportsfair, a bar and shop about 800 feet northwest of the intersection, agreed that the project will hurt business in the short term.

“It always does,” he said. “We just ride it out.”

The Dutch Goose is trying to make the best of the looming dent in its business. Phil Grafft, a supervisor at the restaurant and bar, said the owners have been planning a remodeling project for a year or so, and road construction in front of it offers a chance to do the work while business is already down.

“We’re going try to time it,” Grafft said. “Whenever the construction in front of The Dutch Goose is the gnarliest, we’re going to do some things in here, too.”

He said the restaurant could close for a few days as workers bring the building up to code, renovate its bar and carry out other improvements.

JUST THE START

Dozens more businesses will go through the same trials if the highway district’s long-term plan for State Street becomes a reality.

Construction at State-Veterans-36th is the first part of an effort to remake State Street from 23rd Street northwest to Glenwood Street over the next decade or more, said Ryan Head, the highway district’s planning supervisor.

The district will take on major intersections first, Head said, including the ones at Glenwood, Collister Drive and Pierce Park Lane. Of those, the Collister intersection is the next priority after 36th and Veterans, and Glenwood is the last.

After redoing the intersections, the highway district will expand the 4-mile stretch to seven lanes from five now. The district expects all of this work to cost roughly $42 million, Du Bois said.

TRANSIT QUESTIONS

Highway District Commissioner Jim Hansen said he has opposed the State Street projects, as designed, since they were introduced. The district isn’t doing enough to encourage public transportation or non-car options, he said.

“The end result will be some nice big intersections, but we’re going to be nowhere close to achieving our goal of a transit corridor,” Hansen said. “

Putting better bike lanes on both State Street and intersecting streets’ approaches would make it easier for people to get to bus stations, he said. He said the district also should work with Boise and other cities to encourage “transit-oriented” development — high-density housing and commercial buildings — along State Street.

ACHD’s problem is that its leaders don’t want to put in the time to make sure its projects cooperate with the cities’ goals, Hansen said.

“So what we do is rebuild intersections to increase capacity for cars,” he said. “And as a result, we are spending tens of millions of dollars, and we will possibly get a road configuration that will have to be completely redone to have an effective high-capacity transit corridor.”

The highway district isn’t the problem, said Matt Stoll, executive director of Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho, or COMPASS. A bigger obstacle to enhanced public transportation is the Idaho Legislature’s refusal to allow special local sales taxes to pay for rail or bus systems, as other Western cities like Denver, Salt Lake City and Phoenix have done, Stoll said.

ACHD is “putting an honest effort and trying to make (State Street) a mobility corridor within the confines of what the funding realities are regarding public transportation,” he said.

HOV LANES?

Long term, State Street will need better public transportation, Stoll said.

Already, it has the most popular bus route in the Treasure Valley. By 2040, COMPASS predicts, the Valley will have 1 million inhabitants — about 320,000 more than live here now.

“There’s only so many lanes you can put on State Street before you’ve got to look at other options,” Stoll said. “Other than the economy going in the tank, which I don’t believe anybody wants, I don’t know of any successful method of keeping the population from growing in an area like Boise.”

One possibility that’s come up is a right lane reserved for buses and traffic turning into businesses along State Street. Hansen said that would be a good step toward an effective transit corridor.

But is it legal? The only Idaho law on dedicated lanes for high-occupancy vehicles applies only to counties with populations of fewer than 25,000, or to resort cities with populations of 10,000 or fewer. Head, ACHD’s planning supervisor, said there’s been no legal opinion on whether bus-only lanes qualify as HOV lanes.

“We wouldn’t implement them absent some modification to state code,” he said.

Meanwhile, business people like Jackie Bargabos are hoping to get through this year without suffering too much. Once the intersection in front of her shop is done, Bargabos said, traffic should flow more smoothly and could even help people get to her shop.

“You’ve got to look on the bright side,” Bargabos said. “Just four days ago, I had a car totaled right in front of my shop. So there are safety concerns. There are accidents here all the time. And so I do believe that this, long term, is going to be great. It’s just getting there.”

Sven Berg: 208-377-6275, @SvenBerg51

Source Article

The post State Street businesses dread construction but hope for safer, more convenient future appeared first on ALTERNANCE-WEB.

Learn More At: http://www.alternance-web.com/state-street-businesses-dread-construction-but-hope-for-safer-more-convenient-future/

0 notes

zillowcondo · 6 years

Text

Tokyo 3 Day Itinerary for First Time Visitors

Tokyo is one place where you won’t see the time pass, there is so much to do. From world class restaurants to beautiful gardens and temples, there’s something for everyone. Our Tokyo 3 day itinerary will give you a taste of Electric Town, as the capital of Japan is nicknamed. Just don’t be surprised if you keep coming back for more!

Tokyo 3 Day Itinerary – Day 1

Chuo

Spelt Chūō, this central district of Tokyo is a thriving business area yet there’s plenty to entice visitors. Our first stop, Hama-Rikyu Gardens at 1-1 Hamarikyu-teien, are a real oasis of calm in the heart of Tokyo. Originally a hunting ground and nobleman’s residence in the Edo period from 1603, it was opened to the public in 1946. Surrounded by the skyscrapers of the Shiodome district, the gardens are beautifully landscaped. There’s a tea house in the middle of the lake where you can watch the birds landing. The garden has an unusual late blossoming cherry tree and some stunning camelia trees. Opening hours are from 9.00 to 17:00 and there’s a small entrance fee of :¥300.

The Tsukiji Market at 5-2-1 Tsukiji is an interesting place if you’re keen on sashimi and fresh fish. Whilst the inner wholesale section has restricted opening hours for visitors, the outer market and restaurants are popular with locals and tourists alike. You can eat tasty fresh crab sticks and other delicacies at one of the many food stalls. Get there early to beat the crowds – it’s open from 5 am to 2 pm and closed on Sundays.

Minato

For lunch, we recommend a true Tokyo hidden gem. Tokyo Shiba Tofuya Ukai is a traditional merchant’s residence from the Samurai era. Located in the Shibakoen area of Minato district next to Tokyo Tower, it is set in picturesque gardens. The restaurant has a series of private dining rooms with traditional but comfortable seating, overlooking an inner courtyard garden. The restaurant is famous for its tofu dishes cooked in a variety of ways as well as blowfish, a rare delicacy.

There are quite a few interesting things to do in Minato including Tokyo Tower. Open every day from 9 am to 11 pm, it’s an imposing sight at 333 metres tall, with its bright orange steel framework. From the top you can see as far as Mount Fuji on a sunny day. Through the glass windows, you can spot a shrine and some colourful Autumn foliage. One floor down, there’s a fun sight – the Lookdown. You can see through a metal grid to the bottom of the tower. The highlight of our Tokyo Tower visit was the performers dressed in colourful costumes, singing Christmas songs in Japanese.

For dinner in Minato, try Tarafukuuokin at 1-9-1 Shinbashi Minato is known as Codfish Fish Gold in English. It’s a traditional izakaya, a tavern popular with locals that serves some amazing sashimi dishes.

Another option is Sarashina-Nunoya restaurant in Shibadaimon at 1 Chome−15−8. This family owned restaurant have been making soba noodles for hundreds of years. It’s a casual place where the noodles are the star of the show.

Shinjuku

Why not take a photography tour by night in the Shinjuku commercial and entertainment area. It’s home to the busiest railway station in the world and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings.

Tokyo 3 Day Itinerary – Day 2

Asakusa

Asakusa is one of the most popular places for visitors to Tokyo. Senso-Ji Temple in particular is a fascinating insight into Japanese culture and Buddhism. It’s Tokyo’s oldest temple and with over 30 million visitors each year it’s the most popular spiritual site in the world. Head first to the viewing platform of the Asakusa Tourist Information Centre at 2 Chome-18-9 Kaminarimon. The view of the Kaminarimon or Thunder Gate is worth checking out and there’s a cafe too. Walk along Nakamise Dori, which is lined with many souvenir shops. It’s a good place to come for kimonos, obi belts, stationery and other gifts. Along the way we noticed quite a few Japanese women dressed in traditional kimonos, socks and sandals. You can rent them from the shops nearby and pose for photographs. Closer to the main shrine, many people were consulting little strips of paper to find out their fortunes. The giant flipflop on the side of one shrine was intended to scare any potential demons who would think that a giant lives there.

There are a few other interesting things to do in Asakusa, including a visit to a typical izakaya Japanese pub or to Hanayashiki, the oldest amusement park in Japan. Close to Asakusa, there’s the Tokyo Skytree observation tower and shopping centre in the Sumida district.

You can also take a river cruise from Hinode to Asakusa as there are regular day and night time tours. Ours took us past 12 bridges, including the Rainbow Bridge which looked stunning at night. The best spot for taking photos is at the back of the boat on the outside deck. On a chilly night you might prefer to sit on the inside deck but was quite mild.

Tokyo 3 Day Itinerary – Day 3

Ginza

For your final day in Tokyo, head to Ginza in the Minato district. Shopping in Ginza is second to none, with many luxurious department stores and malls such as Ginza Six and Ginza Plaza. Ito-ya is an amazing stationery store spread over 9 floors.

There are also some fantastic restaurants in Ginza including Shunjukusei Ginza Grill which specializes in the highest quality Japanese Tajima beef.

Ristorante Hiro Ginza is another great choice for its delicious Italian-Japanese fusion food. What else is there to do in Ginza? Kabukiza Theater is the perfect place to see a kabuki performance. This traditional Japanese art form is known for its elaborate costumes.

Chiyoda

The Imperial Palace is an impressive sight, being surrounded by a moat. The official residence of the Emperor and Empress of Japan, it was previously the site of Edo Castle. The public can visit Kita-no-maru-koen Park, Kokyo Higashi Gyoen (Imperial Palace East Gardens) and Kokyo Gaien free of charge. The latter is the plaza directly in front of the palace, which is a good vantage point for the Nijubashi bridges by which you enter the inner palace. Talking of which, it’s not generally possible to visit the inner grounds apart from on 2 January and 23 December.

The business district of Marunouchi is also worth a visit. For shopping in Tokyo, Kitte is an excellent choice. This upmarket shopping mall has many international boutiques as well as Japanese household goods and trendy eateries spread over 7 floors. There’s a great view of Tokyo Station from the top floor observation deck.

Shibuya

Any itinerary for Tokyo should include Shibuya Crossing, the world’s busiest traffic intersection, Shibuya Crossing. Known as “The Scramble” it’s been estimated that up to 1000 pedestrians on average are crossing at any given time. The area of Shibuya is popular with young people and covers 15.11 km2. With giant screens displaying advertisements, it’s particularly buzzing at night.

Getting to Tokyo

Tokyo has two international airports, Haneda and Narita. Haneda is closer to the city centre and the majority of domestic flights land there. Our ANA flight from London Heathrow to Haneda airport was peaceful and waiting staff were friendly and attentive. There are quite a few companies flying to Tokyo including Emirates, Japan Airlines and British Airways.

Getting Around Tokyo

If you prefer to get around by taxi, you can hail them on the street quite easily or order a Uber cab. The subway is extremely clean, safe and reliable. We took it a few times during our stay and it wasn’t too crowded though we didn’t take it in rush hour. You can buy individual tickets or a 1 or 3 day pass. The subway is fairly easy to navigate as there are direction signs in both Japanese and English.

Where to Stay in Tokyo

There’s no shortage of luxury hotels in Tokyo and a surprising amount of reasonably priced options too. We particularly like the Celestine Tokyo Shiba for its excellent value and contemporary decor and The Mandarin Oriental and The Peninsula for their service levels.

A Taste of Tokyo

We hope you’ve enjoyed this Tokyo itinerary and that it inspires you to revisit or head there for the first time. Why not combine your visit with a trip to the beautiful region of Oita in Kyushu, only an hour and a half away by plane. It has the most hot springs of any area of Japan and some stunning scenery.

Do you have any tips for first time visitors to Tokyo?

Pin this for later or share with friends if you’ve found it useful

This post contains affiliate links

The post Tokyo 3 Day Itinerary for First Time Visitors appeared first on Luxury Columnist.

Tokyo 3 Day Itinerary for First Time Visitors published first on http://ift.tt/2pewpEF

0 notes

wionews · 6 years

Text

Indian among 19 injured in Australia as car deliberately hits crowd

An Indian was among 19 people injured when a speeding SUV ran down pedestrians at a busy intersection in downtown Melbourne today, an incident described by Australia as "act of evil and an act of cowardice".

A white Suzuki Grand Vitara with two men inside drove into the crowd at the intersection just after 4.30 pm local time (0530 GMT), injuring 19 people including Rohit Kaul, who hails from Jammu and Kashmir.

According to eyewitnesses, the car driver was waiting for the traffic signal to turn red before he drove his vehicle hitting pedestrians crossing the road.

However, the Victorian police maintained that it was not a terror attack but would continue to investigate.

Quoting eyewitnesses, the local media said that people were thrown through the air after being hit by the vehicle.

The attack was an "act of evil and an act of cowardice", Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters here.

He said the condition of four people hit was critical. Fifteen others were stable.

The 45-year-old Kaul was talking to his son while crossing the intersection when he was hit by the car.

"My husband was talking to my son Avi and crossing the intersection. Suddenly, my husband's phone fell down and we could hear loud noises and people screaming on the other side before the line went dead," Kaul's wife told PTI.

"We tried to call him on his mobile but there was no response. We soon got a call from a fellow Indian who said my husband was injured and was being taken to a hospital," she added.

Her husband suffered a tibia fracture and will undergo a surgery tomorrow. "He is stable," she said.

"The driver was waiting for the red light and when people started crossing the road, he jumped the red light and crashed into them," she said, adding that it was a "deliberate act".

A pre-school child who suffered a head injury is not in a critical condition.

Acting Commissioner Shane Patton said that the police do not believe what happened is terror related but will continue to investigate.

He said police will allege the man "intentionally drove into the pedestrians".

The driver of the car has been arrested and is receiving hospital treatment, Patton said.

The driver, identified as a 32-year-old of Afghan descent, was known to police in relation to minor traffic offences and a minor assault in 2010.

"We believe he's driven down the tram tracks and he crashed into a tram-stop on the other side," Patton said.

A 24-year-old man was also detained at the scene after he was seen filming the incident on a phone. He was also carrying a bag that contained knives but police said it was probable that he had no links to the incident and say the driver was alone in the car, the Age reported.

The car was registered to a family member and police said was not stolen, it said.

Victoria police appealed to people to upload any images they might have of the incident to a cloud address to help assist with their probe.

]]>

0 notes

clusterassets · 6 years

Text

New world news from Time: What to Know About the Melbourne Car Attack

More than a dozen people were injured, with several in critical condition, after a driver plowed through a busy intersection on Flinders Street in central Melbourne, Australia on Dec 21. Here’s what to know:

What happened?

At approximately 4:45pm local time, the driver of a white SUV plowed through pedestrians on Flinders Street, one of the busiest sections of Melbourne’s central commercial district. The vehicle “showed no signs of slowing” as it hit multiple pedestrians between Elizabeth and Swanston streets, Australia’s The Age newspaper reported, but it was not moving at high speed, eyewitnesses said.

Tallies of the wounded vary, but at least 14 people were inured in the incident, which police said they believe to have been “deliberate.” Several of the people injured are in critical condition.

A witness told radio station 3AW that she heard screams before she saw “people flying everywhere”.

“We saw this white car, it just mowed everybody down,” another local business-owner told The Age. “People are flying everywhere. We heard thump, thump. People are running everywhere.” According to eyewitnesses, there were 40-60 people crossing the road when the SUV entered the intersection.

Parts of Melbourne’s public transportation system were suspended in the afternoon, and police advised that access to Melbourne’s CBD would be curtailed “for a considerable period,” but city-wide terror alert alarms were not utilized. A planned Christmas light show was also cancelled.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews addressed the incident on Twitter, calling the attack “a horrible incident.”

“Stay safe. Check on your loved ones. And thank you to our brave emergency services,” Andrews said.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull addressed the incident in a brief statement. “As our federal & state police & security agencies work together to secure the scene and investigate this shocking incident our thoughts & prayers are with the victims & the emergency & health workers who are treating them,” Turnbull wrote on Twitter. Australia’s opposition leader Bill Shorten also commented, saying “Shocking scenes in Melbourne this afternoon. Credit to first responders who are doing us proud once again. Thinking of everyone caught up in this atrocity.”

Who are the suspects?

Police arrested two suspects at the scene, including the driver of the car, a white Suzuki SUV. Sky News said the driver was of Middle Eastern appearance. A police officer at the scene described the incident as terrorism-related, but Victoria Police refused to comment on the motivation of the perpetrators.

“We believe based on what we’ve seen that this was a deliberate act. The motivation is unknown. It’s still early days in the investigation,” Commander Russel Berret told media at the scene.

Victoria Police have asked members of the public with video or photos of the incident to upload them to assist with the investigation, and have directed eyewitnesses to report to Melbourne West Police Station on Spencer Street, where welfare services are available.

How many people were injured?

Over a dozen people were injured, with 14 taken to the hospital according to Victoria Police, including three to the Alfred Hospital and three to Royal Melbourne Hospital. A pre-school-aged boy was taken to Royal Children’s Hospital with a serious head injury, but is now in stable condition, local media reported..

Has it happened before?

This is the second such attack in Melbourne this year. On January 20, a driver crashed through lunch-time crowds along Bourke Street in central Melbourne, killing six people, including a 10-year-old girl and a three-month-old baby. At least 30 people were also injured in the incident.

The perpetrator, named as Dimitrious Gargasoulas, was charged with six counts of murder, along with 28 counts of attempted murder. At a hearing on Dec. 15, he plead “not guilty.”

Following that incident, Melbourne installed concrete blocks — known as bollards — at busy locations, including Flinders Street, in the hope of preventing or minimizing damage from vehicle attacks, the BBC reported. The blocks were also installed at various locations in Sydney.

December 21, 2017 at 01:12PM ClusterAssets Inc., https://ClusterAssets.wordpress.com https://ClusterAssets.tk

#Time #world #news #ClusterAssets #ClusterAsset #Cluster Asset Inc.#ClusterAssets Inc.

0 notes

bikechatter · 7 years

Text

TriMet is firming up its designs for outer Division bus stations

The latest rendering of future bikeway-bus interaction on outer Division Street. (Images: TriMet)

Portland’s regional transit agency is hoping to raise $175 million for bigger, faster-moving buses on Southeast Division Street, and some major bikeway upgrades would be in store.

From SE 82nd Avenue to the Gresham city limits near 174th Avenue, the agency is planning to pay for a vertical barrier, mostly a series of concrete curbs, to protect the bike lanes that will have been recently widened and buffered by a separate City of Portland project. And when the Division bike lanes pass bus stops — as they would at 87th, I-205, 101st, 112th, 122nd, 130th, 135th, 143rd, 148th, 156th, 162nd, 168th and 174th — they’ll often be wrapping to the sidewalk side in order to reduce bike-bus conflicts.

This is a transit station design that’s in action from Seattle to Bogotá, but it’s relatively new to Portland: only a few Southwest Portland streetcar stops have used it so far.

Protected bike lanes and bus boarding islands would certainly be big improvements compared to the same stretch of Division today:

Division near 153rd Avenue. Don’t miss the bus stops on either side. Image: Google Street View.

Since we last shared some images from this project in June, TriMet has nearly finished a first draft of what’s known as “30 percent design” for its project. It’s made decisions such as exactly where bus stops would go and how wide lanes and sidewalks up and down the corridor would be. In the next few weeks, it’s vetting those designs with institutions around the region, including the City of Portland’s bicycle and pedestrian advisory committees.

A few newly revealed details captured in images TriMet shared recently are worth noting. None of these were on the renderings we saw in June.

Dashed crossbikes to show bikes’ path:��These are useful for helping alert people in turning cars to the possible presence of bikes, to help people confidently pedal across the street and just to raise the visibility of the bike lanes, reminding every street user that using a bike could be a good option.

Left-turn refuge boxes: One of these is easiest to spot at the top of this post, in the upper left corner of the first image. This is to help people make “Copenhagen lefts” from the bike lane, if they feel better doing so, rather than merging across multiple lanes of traffic.

Sidewalk-level uncolored bike lanes: These are more problematic. Anyone who biked or walked on Southwest Moody Avenue before 2015 knows how many people don’t notice the distinction between walking and biking lanes when they’re the same color.

Unprotected intersections: Both 162nd and 148th avenues have north-south bike lanes at Division. Division seems likely to become a very important east-west biking artery through Southeast Portland, and it’s possible to imagine similar protected lanes on 162nd and 148th at some point. One thing that’s not clear from these designs is why the city and TriMet haven’t chosen protected intersections that would set the bike lane crossings back from the intersection slightly. This would let people in right-turning cars make eye contact with someone on a straight-moving bike rather than prompting both parties to look over their shoulders at one another.

Rendering: Nick Falbo, protectedintersection.com.

And here’s one thing that’s not visible:

Bike-bus priority signals: The buses pictured here are in sitting in “business access transit” lanes, basically curbside lanes that are designed for right turns and bus queue jumps. When a bus finishes loading, it would get a special traffic signal to cross the intersection first — and, TriMet project manager Michael Kiser said in an interview Tuesday, people biking and walking would get the same head start. (It’s not yet decided whether biking and walking would get a head start when a bus is not present.)

Kiser said Tuesday that though “there is buy-in in pursuing this kind of at-grade separation between bikes and peds” (in other words: a path divided into biking and walking sections), the design for how to separate biking and walking “have not been fully vetted” with the Portland Bureau of Transportation.

“We may look at a change in paving materials; maybe asphalt and concrete,” he said. “That will be informed through further discussions with PBOT.”

In general, TriMet pedestrian and bicycle planner Jeffrey Owen said Tuesday, the agency’s goal for Division is to “make it clear and delineate who’s where and when and why.”

Owen and Kiser will visit the Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee in the Lovejoy Room of City Hall, 1221 SW 4th Ave., at 6 p.m. on Oct. 17. Meetings are open to the public.

Once the agency’s current plans have been vetted and tweaked in conversation with the city and other local partners, it’ll submit them to the Federal Transit Administration in early December and hope to show up in President Trump’s budget in February, Kiser said.

(Credit for this story goes to Adam Herstein on the BikeLoudPDX listserv, a good way for ordinary Portlanders to stay up on bike advocacy opportunities in the area.)

— Michael Andersen: (503) 333-7824, @andersem on Twitter and [email protected]

Never miss a story. Sign-up for the daily BP Headlines email.

BikePortland needs your support.

The post TriMet is firming up its designs for outer Division bus stations appeared first on BikePortland.org.

via bikechatter http://ift.tt/2y2QNQc

#IFTTT #bikechatter

0 notes