Michael Rhodes

"Is the Google bus the solution or part of the problem? Is job sprawl and employment decentralization a trend that can be reversed? What tools and examples exist to remake how people get to and from work in an increasingly polycentric region? Join SPUR regional planning director Egon Terplan, transit futurist Steve Raney for a discussion on the future of job sprawl and suburbia and its impact on the core cities of the Bay Area and Northern California."

From the pre-urban history of Indian Slavery to the earliest 8-hour day movement in the US, the ebb and flow of class war is traced. SF's radical working class organizations are shaped in part by racist complicity in genocide and slavery, but from the 1870s to the 1940s there are dozens of epic battles between owners and workers, culminating in the 1934 General Strike and its aftermath. This is an entirely different look, during a four hour bike tour, at San Francisco labor history.

"Join the SFBC along the car-free Sunday Streets route on the Great Highway for a group effort to get our kids riding without training wheels. Bring bike, helmet and a snack to share. We'll take care of the rest. Heavy rain cancels."

Thanks to all of you wonderful photographers who tag your photos and videos in our Flickr pool. Be sure to send us more and we might see you on the blog!

A Sacramento judge ruled this week that the California High Speed Rail Authority failed to provide an adequate description of the San Francisco to Los Angeles high speed train project in its Environmental Impact Report. Critics of the project hailed it as an important victory, but the fine print of the decision may leave less room for their celebration, as the court rejected contentions about the project's route, biological impacts, and ability to induce sprawl in the Central Valley.

A recently-striped bike lane is causing confusion along Lakeside Drive in Oakland. Brian Smith posted the above photo to Livable City's car-free living mail list, and Walk Oakland Bike Oakland blogged about the issue earlier this month. It still hasn't been corrected, but Jason Patton, Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Manager for the City of Oakland, said in an email that the city is aware of the issue and is working to correct it:

The final Sunday Streets for 2009 has been officially announced, complete with a proclamation from Board of Supervisors President David Chiu declaring September 6, 2009, the day of the event, "Sunday Streets Celebration Day in San Francisco."

"Community members are invited to join the planning team from the City of San José for a Diridon Station Area Plan Visioning Workshop. The first in a series of community workshops for the Station Area Plan, this event will focus on visions and ideas for the future. Workshop participants will be involved in hands-on activities to identify key issues for the planning team to address for the Station Area Plan."

When the plaza at 17th and Market Streets opened up last May, city officials promised more Pavement to Parks projects in short order. Yesterday, there was physical evidence at the sites of two new planned plazas that the city is making good on its commitment.

"Join the Clean team to beautify your community and help keep San Francisco clean, green, and graffiti free. We are looking for volunteers to help clean up the neighborhoods, parks and San Francisco coastline throughout District 10."