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your_local_newspaper.com (ca.1981)

Tesla test drive

The Washington Post has an autoreview/video for the new Tesla.  I saw a Tesla dealership on Santa Monica Blvd while I was out in LA this summer, and these cars really do look as sexy, sleek, and stylish in person as they do in photos.

President Obama’s announcement today that the EPA should review its previous denial of California’s request to impose stricter auto emission standards will hopefully loosen the federal restrictions against progressive states. And, if California and other states do impose stricter emissions standards, then we are likely to see more innovation along the lines of the Tesla’s all electric powertrain. I do realize that the Tesla is more a proof-of-concept, an all electric car with Ferrari-like torque, than affordable family car. Nonetheless, by proving that an all-electric car doesn’t have to look like a 1980’s vision of the future, Tesla opens the door for designers to rethink the electric car.

But as I have said before, if only some designers — at the level of auto manufacturing or road engineering — would use more of the advanced technology available today to create cars that are safer and more comfortable for the world outside the steel cage and not just inside. I mean, 43,000 deaths annually would be an epidemic (or at least a public health crisis) if those deaths were caused by anything other than the can’t-live-without automobile.

ManifestHope:DC

ManifestHope: DC is the Georgetown installation of some of the most inspiring visual art produced during Barack Obama’s campaign for the presidency. Judges for this juried exhibit include Shepard Fairey, Spike Lee, and Eric Hilton (of Thievery Corporation), among others. Who says art and politics can’t mix?

ManifestHope:DC from Phillip Barron on Vimeo.

From the website:

Art plays a pivotal role in creating cultural momentum. The MANIFESTHOPE: DC Gallery celebrates that role and shines a spotlight on artists who use their voices to amplify and motivate the grassroots movement that carried President-Elect Barack Obama to victory.

MANIFESTHOPE: DC gathers together a diverse array of the nation’s most talented visual artists under one roof to mark this monumental achievement in our nation’s history and encourages artists and activists to maintain the momentum to bring about true change in the United States.

Along with its partners, MoveOn.org Political Action, the Service Employees International Union and Obey Giant, MANIFESTHOPE: DC, will issue an inspiring visual call-to-action, encouraging a redirection of public energy toward true reform in three key areas:

• Health Care Reform
• Workers’ Rights
• The Green Economy

The MANIFESTHOPE: DC Gallery will be open to the public in Washington, DC for the days preceding the Presidential Inauguration, Saturday, January 17th, 2009 through Monday, January 19th, 2009 between the hours of 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM. Art exhibition management will be provided by our Washington, DC gallery partner, Irvine Contemporary.

We Are One, This Land is Your Land

We Are One, This Land is Your Land from Phillip Barron on Vimeo.

Kicking off Obama’s inauguration celebration, Pete Seeger — along with numerous other stars and artists including Bruce Springsteen, John Cougar Mellencamp, Beyonce, Usher, Stevie Wonder, U2, Herbie Hancock, Mary J. Blige, and Garth Brooks — performed at today’s We Are One celebration.

new arrivals

Clockwise from left: Shepard Fairey’s iconic HOPE poster, recently acquired by the National Portrait Gallery; We Are One concert/inauguration welcome event; Adams Morgan kiosk with notes to the incoming President.

the real cost of owning a car

Got an extra 8 to 12 thousand dollars lying around each year? You’d better make sure you do, if you want to own and drive a car.

Adrian Hands breaks down very nicely the average costs of owning different classes of cars.

Since owning and riding bikes is not free either, has anyone broken down the average annual cost of cycling?

Triangle J wants your input

and is willing to pay for it. Randomly.

The Triangle J Council of Governments is conducting a travel survey, which you can complete online.

Want a chance to earn extra cash?  All respondents who submit completed surveys will be automatically entered to win 1 of 4 $100 Visa gift cards!

If you think Triangle J (and its nickname, TJ-COG) is a weird name, you’re not alone.

bike lane advocates = terrorists?

Sunday’s Washington Post has an article on the long arm of the law…

The Maryland State Police surveillance of advocacy groups was far more extensive than previously acknowledged, with records showing that troopers monitored — and labeled as terrorists — activists devoted to such wide-ranging causes as promoting human rights and establishing bike lanes.

The sidebar to the printed article (photo clipping at left) indicates that Critical Mass was targeted as security threat for “asserting the cyclists right [sic] to the road and not denying the rights of others.” Thanks to Jym Dyer for sharing the photo.

Who knew that advocating for cleaner transportation alternatives and more humane urban development was a threat to national security…

folding bike demo

Diane Daniel, a member of Durham’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission and fellow blogger, has put together a folding bike demonstration. Anyone who wants to learn more about folding bikes is invited. If you don’t know what a folding bike is, check out the video below.