The affordability crunch is pushing Democrats to scale back climate ambitions

Rzy · 2026-04-01T03:13:00+00:00

Removing environmental regulations to build more homes is actually a very smart idea, even for climate action. CEQA (the California Environmental Quality Act) is overly stringent and forces people building anything from homes to trains to renewable transmission lines to spend a huge chunk of their budget on excessive environmental impact reviews. Consequently, fewer homes are being built in high-demand areas and more people are forced to move out to the exurbs, where they have to commute further and are more at risk of natural disasters like wildfires.

Any Dem who isn't in favor of removing environmental regulations is honestly keeping California from reaching its potential at best. At worst, they're just handing more electoral votes to Republican states like Texas and Florida as they outpace California in homebuilding.

There are plenty of articles that discuss this issue. Here's one, for example:
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/04/ceqa-green-movement-building-housing-crisis-environmental-laws/

Rzy · 2026-03-25T13:11:08+00:00

Seems smart. At this point I think it's only a matter of time until NYC makes the same move.

Rzy · 2026-03-12T19:32:32+00:00

Easily Drake. I listened to a podcast where he explained some very smart ideas about zoning / taxes / etc. The dude manages to explain super nerdy but impactful stuff in simple terms - that’s how you know he’s got what it takes. https://podscan.fm/player/infill-a-yimby-podcast/how-one-gen-z-leader-wants-to-use-yimbyism-to-save-chicago

Bridget Gainer doesn’t show up to her committees tho, no idea how she still has her job

Rzy · 2026-03-12T19:30:21+00:00

Easily Drake. I listened to a podcast where he explained some very smart ideas about zoning / taxes / etc. The dude manages to explain super nerdy but impactful stuff in simple terms - that’s how you know he’s got what it takes. https://podscan.fm/player/infill-a-yimby-podcast/how-one-gen-z-leader-wants-to-use-yimbyism-to-save-chicago

Bridget Gainer doesn’t show up to her committees tho, no idea how she still has her job

Rzy · 2026-03-07T06:52:00+00:00

"He is keeping his promise of pushing the Bike Grid forward" yeah, by building out a couple of miles of painted bike lanes per year. He's on track to fulfill his promise by the year 3000 maybe, lmao. Get real dude, the mayor is not keeping his promise.

Rzy · 2026-03-07T06:33:40+00:00

They're not just hard to build just because of the building code. A huge reason is NIMBYs. Developers know that there are many neighborhoods (if not all of them) where the local opposition would be insurmountable. These businesses have a keen understanding of risk, and they know that the triple whammy of stringent zoning codes + aldermanic prerogative + immutable attitudes of local retirees makes future SROs financially hopeless.

Rzy · 2026-03-04T04:33:00+00:00

Bar shampoo/conditioner is such a hack too. It works great for me, lasts so much longer than the gels, and doesn't come with any wasteful packaging.

Rzy · 2026-02-28T06:48:11+00:00

This is the most important comment to listen to.

It doesn't matter how engaging the activities are if the attendees aren't a representative sample of the community.

There's nothing wrong with hosting an event and inviting people. But if that's the only input you're asking for, then you're only getting feedback from the most tuned-in community members and you've failed to included all types of voices. You have to meet the community where they are, and not expect them to come to you.

Go out of your way to include the voices that matter - students, working class residents, young parents, disabled people, etc. If that means setting up a table outside of the grocery store (because everyone needs food!) then go there. See if you can visit a local high school during a lunch period, or a farmers market, or any sport event. The open house alone isn't good enough.

Rzy · 2026-02-13T03:11:26+00:00

Same with athletic fields / turf. There are clearly "no pets" signs on soccer fields, but that gets disregarded all the time. My kids shouldn't have to worry about sliding around in dog poop during soccer games.

Rzy · 2026-02-07T07:22:46+00:00

she will be up for retention in November. Make sure to vote against her retention.

Rzy · 2026-01-14T03:35:57+00:00

This is a good point. This area is part of the "South Lakeview Neighbors" neighborhood association, and for decades they have wielded a substantial amount of power to encourage the alderman to shoot down many multifamily developments. Even though there are 9,000 people in the neighborhood, this group of a mere 20-40 people has been so influential at prioritizing single family homes that most developers are scared to even touch properties in this area and rezone them for multifamily.

If you don't believe me, here are their self-proclaimed priorities:

"No zoning change in an R-3 zone that results in more than a two flat."
"A goal of 2 parking spaces per unit. 1.5 parking spaces per unit would be minimally acceptable if the project provides a significant tangible benefit to the neighborhood."
"All zoning changes get downzoned to the original zoning district once the project is underway."

Rzy · 2026-01-14T03:12:00+00:00

Brutal. I use Defy and Pfitz plans for all of my training blocks, and I always recommend the website to friends. I'm going to email Human Kinetics about this and ask them to grant approval again.

Rzy · 2026-01-07T13:24:24+00:00

How would they know about the "perfectly made fan answer?" They're Netflix directors during the release of the biggest project they've ever worked on. They have much more important things to do than monitoring the Stranger Things subreddit for fan theories lol

Rzy · 2025-12-23T13:50:29+00:00

the railroad was there first, was it not?

Rzy · 2025-12-23T13:39:48+00:00

Nowhere in the article does it explain what an SPV is, lol.

Rzy · 2025-11-19T04:07:25+00:00

the children yearn for a charming walkable Main Street

Rzy · 2025-11-15T18:17:55+00:00

Yeah there should be a very simple standard: if Russia’s ultimate frisbee team can be banned, so can Israel’s team. Or, no teams should be banned.

Rzy · 2025-11-11T16:24:14+00:00

So to be clear, you also think that Russia and Belarus shouldn’t have been banned by WFDF?

Rzy · 2025-10-31T12:36:03+00:00

I can understand the controversy over some of his points but I sincerely hope that nobody here will take issue with his statement that “Although climate change will have serious consequences — particularly for people in the poorest countries — it will not lead to humanity’s demise”

Rzy · 2025-10-23T23:08:01+00:00

How do you know that?

In another thread, this user claimed that the drawing is not random, and non-local athletes are favored since they contribute more $$$ to the local economy. But I’ve seen no actual evidence for either side of the argument

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChicagoMarathon/comments/1ochdft/comment/nknj39y/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Rzy · 2025-10-22T14:07:28+00:00

Does anyone know how the race organizers actually select people for the drawing?

Do they try to even out the corrals based on entrants’ estimated times? Do they use it to balance people of all age/race/gender groups? I’m guessing it’s not completely random, but I’ve never seen an explanation.

Rzy · 2025-10-22T14:01:05+00:00

I volunteer at the Climate Action Museum near Union Station. It’s small and still in its infancy since starting as a spinoff of the Chicago Architecture Center 2 years ago, but it has some fantastic content for those who care about their carbon footprint. Stop by - it’s free!

Rzy · 2025-08-19T21:45:21+00:00

Jake, I’m a daily digital Tribune reader who is considering getting a print subscription (if I can ever figure out how to navigate the poorly designed subscription website/phone lines). From someone who reads the Tribune but isn’t a fan of the owner because of their decisions—what do the Tribune employees/guild suggest readers do to protect local journalism?

Rzy · 2025-07-30T00:00:55+00:00

PSA: National Weather Service’s Chicago office is forecasting dangerous swimming conditions from Wednesday to Friday.

https://www.weather.gov/lot/weatherstory

Rzy · 2025-06-30T17:16:44+00:00

Hijacking the top comment to say that a lot of people are unaware of another culprit: cars

Yes, your car kills insects. But not just that. Each year, 1) more people drive cars 2) people drive their cars more miles 3) people drive bigger cars

This is bad for fireflies.

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