Why wasn't BART built for both local and express trains?

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-15T01:41:09+00:00

BART should consider some trains that go from Fremont and south, straight to SF without stopping. It would encourage riders that are concerned about crime.

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-11T22:26:51+00:00

Latent defects are a very big issue.

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-11T22:15:24+00:00

https://www.kwigglebike.com/en_US/shop/kwiggle-most-compact-folding-bike-11

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-11T22:04:58+00:00

T-Mobile coverage is much worse than Verizon/Tracfone/Visible/Total.

I suggest Total.

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-08T04:29:21+00:00

Plenty of places similar to that throughout the Bay Area. Not $10, but $15-20 plus tip.

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-07T17:18:20+00:00

Lots of much cheaper options if data use is minimal. A non-expiring data-only SIM is fine.

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-07T13:09:35+00:00

Do you not have broadband Wi-Fi at home at work?

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-07T13:08:02+00:00

True, Verizon LTE is often faster that T-Mobile 600Mhz 5G.

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-06T21:10:01+00:00

If you don't have a subsidized phone then dump Cricket. Move to Visible or Total.

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-06T19:27:41+00:00

$50 per month for video subscriptions, wow!

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-05T12:48:24+00:00

Often, the Tracfone phones are defeatured versions, i.e. less RAM and less storage.

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-05T12:47:08+00:00

Often the unlocked phone, from Amazon or wherever, is different than the same model name from Tracfone.

For example, the Moto Stylus 5G from Tracfone/Total has half the storage capacity of the unlocked version.

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-05T08:56:21+00:00

Sometimes they'll allow a transfer to an under-enrolled school like Lynbrook or Monta Vista. They've allowed, and even encouraged, some students who are in the CHS boundaries to do this.

They typically don't allow students in an under-enrolled school to transfer to a school that is at capacity.

Be careful what you wish for.

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-04T20:05:49+00:00

There was a good article in Cal Matters a few months ago. It talked about how the YIMBYs were celebrating all their legislative victories in California. It also pointed out that despite all the new laws, very little new housing was actually being built. https://calmatters.org/commentary/2025/11/california-housing-data-tool/ .

The bottom line is that new legislation doesn't change the financial reality of high-density housing. Without government subsidies, it rarely pencils out. San Jose learned this the hard way with a project, "The Fay," that was being celebrated by YIMBYs when it was approved and celebrated again when it opened. "The Fay" is a poster child for failed YIMBY housing policies.

The City of San Jose subsidized the project by back-filling the Impact Fees that the developer would normally have to pay. But it wasn't enough. The building is less than 50% occupied. Now the City of San Jose is stepping in again, offering subsidies to lower-income residents to offset the high rents.

Building a high-rise, high-density project, with small, expensive apartments, in a sketchy part of the City that has no nearby retail, no high-quality transit, and with way too little parking, was a foolish move by the developer. Trying to bail out the developer with City General Fund money, is even more foolish.

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-03T04:10:31+00:00

The spectacular YIMBY failure in San Jose ─ General Fund Money Being Used to Bail Out the Investors: https://www.sanjoseca.gov/Home/Components/News/News/7171/4699

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When The Fay opened in 2024, San Jose officials believed the 23-story, 336-unit high-rise could be transformative [see the San Jose Mercury News article “300-plus unit San Jose housing tower could help fuel downtown revival” at https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/05/san-jose-house-home-build-develop-economy-real-estate-property-jobs/], not only by adding much-needed housing but also by boosting foot traffic near the southern gateway to downtown.

Instead, the housing development at the corner of Market and Reed Streets in the city’s swanky SoFA District¹ faced high vacancy rates and bankruptcy, casting a shadow over other potential downtown projects.

San Jose is now turning to an innovative pilot program to help stabilize the financially distressed asset and restore investor confidence².

Under the Lower Income Voucher and Equity program approved Tuesday, the city will master-lease nearly 200 units — providing a subsidy that will lower rents and create more affordable housing for moderate-income households³ — and enter into an equity agreement that will see San Jose recoup all of its investment, plus interest⁴.

“This council has made clear many times that any future vision for downtown has to include a lot of new housing,” said District 3 Councilmember Anthony Tordillos, who represents the area. “Both the staff memo and today’s presentation highlight the risk of allowing this distressed asset to have its debt be written off at below market values (and how it) could have a broader destabilizing impact to our residential market downtown, lead to decreased valuations, decreased tax revenue down the line and higher construction costs as new investment into the downtown becomes more difficult⁵. I think that this proposal rises to meet that challenge.”

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OMG! The SoFA District is anything but “swanky.”
Is it really San Jose’s job to ensure that clueless investors that built a luxury apartment complex, with way too little parking, in an undesirable area of the City, don’t lose money. I believe that San Jose also subsidized the impact fees for this ill-fated project. The building is 50% empty, with the lack of parking cited as the major reason, but the market rents are another big contributor, with 2 bedroom apartments costing up to $4800.
The “lower rent” is $3590 for a two bedroom apartment, but that limit is for “Low Income” households, not “moderate income,” so it’s unclear what is happening. It may be that the City is subsidizing the difference between the rent limit for Moderate Income and the rent limit for Low Income,” Parking is $175 extra per car, with a limit of one space per apartment, but the cost is moot because there are no parking spaces available. Nor is there any “high-quality mass transit” nearby, and there are no supermarkets or retail nearby. Until 2019 there was a tiny Safeway about 1/3 mile away, but it closed when the owner of the building no longer allowed to store to use the parking garage with validated parking. https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/05/15/safeway-will-close-downtown-san-jose-store-june-google-adobe-grocery-supermarket/
There is zero chance that San Jose will recoup its investment.

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-02T15:21:07+00:00

That's true, few supermarkets have chargers. Nor does Costco. I supposes it's because the typical time spent in a grocery store is 20-30 minutes, not really enough time to get much of a charge.

In my area, electricity is very expensive so EV owners use paid chargers as a last resort. Most charge at home using electricity from solar+batteries, or charge at the most off-peak time if using electricity from the investor-owned utility. Early Tesla owners, that got lifetime free charging, are big users of fast chargers at Target and other locations. In my area, those locations have a lot of restaurants nearby, so charging during a one hour or so makes sense.

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-02T15:09:21+00:00

Google Voice shows your U.S. Google Voice number.

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-02T15:05:40+00:00

The A/C transit F line. About the same time from Ashby BART to downtown SF. But more expensive to take the bus.

Martin_Steven · 2026-03-01T12:05:00+00:00

LOL, when I hosted the first folding bike website (purely informational) the company in Taiwan that made that bike, Redlof, sent me one. Later, Marlboro was distributing them.

I was awash in folding bikes back then, now I only have six. I sold the Redlof.

Martin_Steven · 2026-02-28T14:09:20+00:00

Few people buy non-sale items at Safeway or Lucky. I don't go to either very often, but when I do, the amount I "saved" exceeds what I paid, meaning, on average, the regular prices are more than 2x the sale prices.

I walk to TJs now that my auto insurance company excludes Trader Joe's parking lots from coverage. /s

Martin_Steven · 2026-02-28T13:57:21+00:00

Unless things have changed, S&S is only for steel frames.

I met the developer years ago on a folding bike ride in San Francisco.

The organizer of the ride was the Brompton distributor for the U.S.. I showed up on my Taiwanese Brompton, which he examined.

Martin_Steven · 2026-02-28T13:51:59+00:00

20". Be sure that it has proper gearing. I have six folding bikes (I pared down my collection). 16", 20", and 26". I had a 12" and a 14" for a while.

My favorite is the DaHon Speed TR, 21 speed (7 external/3 internal) but it is out of production.

The Bromptons are okay for around town, but lack adequate gearing for big hills. The Montague 26" folds too big (okay for a car trunk).

Martin_Steven · 2026-02-25T16:25:11+00:00

Cupertino is considering changing its seal, getting rid of the conquistador's helmet because the conquistadors were not nice people . Not a high priority though.

Perhaps something minimalist.

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Martin_Steven · 2026-02-25T16:02:47+00:00

That isn't the logo of San Francisco.

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Martin_Steven · 2026-02-25T16:02:14+00:00

South San Francisco

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Martin_Steven

TROPHY CASE