Podcast appearances and mentions of joe linton

Our Lawyer, Jim Pocrass, assesses the lawsuit brought by Streetsblog Los Angeles editor Joe Linton. LA Metro has argued that because it's not the city, it doesn't have to make bike infrastructure when repaving city streets, as called for in ballot measure HLA. The agency claims it would have to destroy homes and buildings to both preserve parking and make space for bikes (3:40). The standoff between New York and the Federal government over congestion pricing, as told by Streetsblog NYC Editor Gersh Kuntzman (10:22). Bike JC's Vice President Tony Borelli, Trustees Emmanuelle Morgan and Deidre Newman, and bike maker Anke Irmscher on Jersey City's bike ecosystem and their place in it. (23:50).

News: Healthy Streets LA, the ballot measure which requires Los Angeles to implement bike infrastructure every time city streets are repaved, is being ignored by the county's transportation agency, LA Metro. Taylor talks with the founder of Streets For All, Michael Schneider, who led the HLA campaign, and the Editor of Streetsblog LA, Joe Linton, who's now suing the city (1:33). It's been 100 years since the Los Angeles city council passed the ordinance which said that if you're walking you have to give right of way to drivers everywhere, except for particular crossings. New Mexico adopted the Stop as Yield Law for cyclists. Paris reduced speed limits on the Boulevard Périphérique from 70 to 50 km/hr, resulting in reduced traffic congestion, smoother traffic flow, fewer crashes, lower air pollution, and lower noise levels. https://www.apur.org/en/our-works/tracking-changes-boulevard-peripherique-and-green-belt-districts-october-2024-february-2025 London's Tweed Run ride is April 29. For National Autism Acceptance Month, Detroit's Neila Johnson has created the Cycling the Spectrum ride. Neila talks with Motown Trailblazers Bike Club President Reo Ramsey (24:35). Cross country solo cyclist Chris Casey tells the story of his ride across the U.S. (34:05). Bike Thought: The 85th Percent Rule, by Charles Marohn (54:36). Thanks Ted Rogers of BikinginLA.com.

The post-election special featured a pair of Streetsblog editors, Joe Linton of Streetsblog L.A. and Melanie Curry of Streetsblog California, joining Damien Newton and Chris Greenspon. Most of the talking was done by Curry, Linton and Newton, and the trio kicked off the discussion by outlining the impact of the Trump administration on federal transportation funding, particularly high-speed rail and public transportation. In a new administration, California will face challenges securing federal funding. In LA County, some important county measures including the “climate bond,” Measure A for maintaining the county's homeless services and Measure G which will expand the Board of Supervisors and create a county executive position.  In LA City, progressive Isabel Jurado won over Kevin de Leon, potentially improving transportation and livability. Local elections in the San Gabriel Valley saw Sasha Renée Pérez elected to the State Senate and Nan Wong to the Alhambra City Council. Find yourself wanting more SGV Connect? You can hear more on County Measures A and G in our last podcast featuring homelessness solutions super hero Shawn Morrissey and Supervisor Hilda Solis. You can also check out our last podcast State Senator-elect Renee-Perez here of an appearance on Greenspon's SGV Weekly here. SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of Downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit foothilltransit.org. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.” Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays, and catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.  

The PFAA wants Dave Castro removed from his position with the sport team at CrossFit. That is just one of three demands the organization put out in response to the death of Lazar Djukic in the opening event of the 2024 CrossFit Games. Sean and Tommy go through the PFAA's statement and Brent Fikowski's article in Men's Health. The Masters CrossFit Games are set to kick off next week in Birmingham, Alabama. Sean talks with event organizers Bob Jennings and Joe Linton about safety protocols they have in place, what fans and athletes can expect on-site and their inspiration behind the ten events they've programmed for the competition. This episode is presented by Thirdzy. Use the link below and the code "TEF" to save 20% and improve your sleep and recovery. https://thirdzy.com/TEF?utm_source=talking_elite_fitness&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=tef

Peer behind the curtain of the 2024 Masters CrossFit Games with Joe Linton @_joe_linton, one of the new visionaries at the helm of this colossal sporting event. Hosts David Syvertsen @davesy85 and Sam Rhee @bergencosmetic venture into the intricate world of planning the 2024 Masters CrossFit Games, revealing the logistics and strategy needed to stage an event destined to redefine the Masters CrossFit community. From the announcement of the Birmingham, Alabama venue to the innovative programming that's reshaping competitive fitness, Joe's insights are a blueprint for anyone fascinated by the orchestration of CrossFit sport.The addition of a community team division will unlock new opportunities for athletes and sponsors alike. The conversation also pivots to the discussion of funding mechanisms and partnerships needed for a premium broadcast experience, demonstrating how creativity and collaboration may elevate a sporting event to legendary status. We also dissect the delicate balance of catering to different age groups, ensuring that the competitive fire remains ignited across all divisions.You'll have a newfound appreciation for the meticulous improvements being made to enhance athlete care and engage spectators. Join us for this compelling narrative that promises to inspire both the CrossFit Masters novice and the seasoned athlete, as we celebrate the relentless pursuit of excellence within this ever-growing community.@crossfitbison @crossfittraining @crossfit @crossfitgames #crossfit #sports #exercise #health #movement #crossfitcoach #agoq #clean #fitness #ItAllStartsHere #CrossFitOpen #CrossFit #CrossFitCommunity @CrossFitAffiliates #supportyourlocalbox #crossfitaffiliate #personalizedfitness 

Why American Drivers are so deadly, according to the NY Times. 5:20 How LA's Transportation Agency, LA Metro, wants to give its successful bikeshare program to the rideshare company Lyft. 11:19 StreetsblogLA editor Joe Linton and Alexa Sledge, Communications Director for Transportation Alternatives in NYC, talk about last year in bikes in NYC and LA. 16:45 Progressive traffic engineer Vignesh Swaminathan, known as "Mr. Barricade," explains proper road design. 40:48

This week, Leah is joined by Joe Linton - co-founder and event organiser of The Legends Championships, the competition that will be hosting the Masters CrossFit Games as of 2024!They chat all things Legends, from it's inception where 36 people took part, to their most recent event in which they had over 500 athletes. Plus, all about plans for the Masters Games, including potential locations, more opportunities, and of course more athletes.As always, don't forget to like rate and subscribe to be the first to hear all about our new episodes and content, enjoy!Make sure you head to Murgs.com and use 'WOD15' for all your CrossFit equipment needs!@_joe_linton@thelegendschampionship@leahsherlock_@wodyoutalkinabout

Last Friday, Foothill Transit celebrated its 35th anniversary with a party in the parking lot of its West Covina headquarters. Joe Linton and Chris Greenspon were among those on-hand and they had a chance to catch up with a handful of people that helped shape Foothill Transit's past and will guide the agency into the future. Those short interviews are included in this podcast and include: Congressmember Judy Chu Foothill Transit Executive Director Doran Barnes Former Duarte Mayor John Fasana Former Glendora Councilmember Bob Kuhn Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Foothill Transit, LaShawn King Gillespie You can also read Linton's coverage of Friday's event here. A full transcript of the interview can be found below the podcast. SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.” Chris Greenspon (in studio): Welcome to SGV Connect 121, this is a shorter episode, but it's a special montage of interviews from the 35th anniversary celebration of Foothill Transit at their headquarters in West Covina. Joe and I heard from board members past and present, local legislators, and higher ups in the transit agency about its history and where it's going. Before we listen to that, I'd just like to remind you that: Streetsblog's San Gabriel Valley coverage is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit dot org…… “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.” Now let's revisit the celebration that took place last Friday.   Judy Chu: Well, good afternoon. I'm Congress member Judy Chu. And I just had to be here to say congratulations to Foothill Transit on your 35th anniversary. I can't believe it's been 35 years but I can believe it because Foothill has made such an impact on the San Gabriel Valley. And I am a huge admirer of this agency. I'm especially thrilled because it's addressed an issue that Southern Californians have had to deal with, which is traffic and congestion on our roadways, carbon emissions and having better ways to get to work school and to other communities in the San Gabriel Valley. But Foothill Transit has been at the forefront of solving these problems and ensuring that communities in the San Gabriel Valley that are underserved by transit have a convenient, sustainable connection to the rest of the Los Angeles area. And I especially admire Foothill Transit because it's leading the way in terms of clean energy. You're the first transit agency in the world to deploy heavy duty, fast charge electric transit buses in service. How about that? And I always boast in Washington DC about the fact that Foothill Transit is pushing for a 100% clean fueled fleet, and they're well on their way to getting it. And just look at all the tremendous steps that happened this year alone. In June, we celebrated the grand opening of Foothill transits Mount SAC Transit Center, which provides on Campus Transit to thousands of students, staff and faculty members. And by implementing the new Foothill Transit Rose Bowl shuttle service thousands of people can get to and from Rose Bowl events without having to deal with the hassle of traffic and parking. So you are making public transit more accessible for everyone. You're reducing the number of cars on our overburdened roads, and you're helping to fight climate change and building a greener and healthier community. So congratulations Foothill Transit and everyone here on this wonderful milestone. Thank you for all the work that you're doing to serve our communities, improve our public transit, and protect our environment. And I'd like to present a certificate of congressional recognition to Foothill Transit for 35 great years...   CG: First of all, first name, last name, who you are, why do we care. Doran Barnes: Hi, Doran Barnes, Chief Executive Officer here at Foothill Transit. CG: So when/why/how was Foothill Transit founded? DB: Well, Foothill Transit was created to be responsive to the communities that we serve, to really focus on the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys, to be here to be located here, to really understand the conditions in the community and how we can best serve the community and its residents. CG: But just for a little context, it wasn't the first agency serving this jurisdiction, right? DB: It was not. Originally, this area was served by the Southern California Rapid Transit District. We were part of the county wide service that provided service here in the San Gabriel Valley. Our community leaders wanted to have that local control and that local responsiveness. So that's how we were founded.   CG (in studio): All right, now let's listen to some of those electeds for a more detailed picture of Foothill Transit's past.   John Fasana: John Fasana, I was a council member in Duarte for 33 years. I also was on the Foothill Transit executive board for a while and served on the Metro board for 27 years. Joe Linton: The longest serving person on the Metro board. JF: Yeah, I was. I was an original. JL: So talk a little bit about what your role has been with Foothill Transit and maybe a story about what what Foothill Transit has done? JF: Well, Foothill Transit, I think in the early days, what it came down to... the SCRTD was going to cance routes, they're having budget issues. And in the San Gabriel Valley, the were going to do substantial cancellations of routes. So in the early to mid 1980s, people like Supervisor Schabarum, and at the Transportation Commission, Sharon Neely and others were looking at strategies, "Well, rather than canceling lines, is there a way to get better efficiency in the lines or better performance?" And people like Bob Bartlett in Monrovia, Don McMillan, Judy Wright and Claremont, McMillan was in El Monte. They were coming together like, "Yeah, we don't want to lose all our routes. What can we do to still keep our routes and still provide the service that people need?" So they looked at forming this agency, it started off very small. They talked with  cities in the San Gabriel Valley. First they were going to do the entire valley. Then they scaled it to 20 cities, I believe, mostly in the eastern Valley. And it's been a success. I mean, over the years, they've done a lot of innovation. They've run a great service. They had clean buses at the time in the early 90s. And Metro buses had a lot of graffiti in them. So the Foothill buses were very popular, and the Metro I think, has improved their services and runs a good service. But cost wise, I think Foothill is still extremely efficient. And they continue to be the eyes and the ears of the San Gabriel Valley in terms of what's needed out here. They've been a key stakeholder in terms of also informing us about what some of the transportation needs, how do you keep that 10 busway moving for, for example, keep people moving and not having the busway gridlock. There's some of us I know that was formed as a bus way originally. And then there was a transit strike that after it sat empty, people couldn't deal with that so they let cars in. And it's been a good story. But Bob Kuhn out of Glendora, who was on the council back then, also would have a lot of that ancient history of how it started.   CG: Hi, Bob, what's your name? What's your claim to fame? Bob Kuhn: Okay, I'm Bob Kuhn. I was on the Foothill Transit Board in the early years. I've been a city council member for the city of Glendora, former mayor. I currently serve on three different water boards right now. I don't know if that's a claim to fame, or just a fact. CG: That seems more like a humble brag. JL: So tell us tell us about this: Foothill has been around 35 years, when did you come into the picture? And what was it like then? BK: I got into the picture on an early end of it. And that was from the standpoint of talking with Pete Schabarum and the fact that he wanted to bring an independent transit agency out into the San Gabriel Valley. He wanted to see cleaner buses, he wanted to see on-time production. And he also wanted to see some of the school districts served, that was really a big issue for him. At that time, Metro wasn't doing a particularly good job of servicing the school districts. And that was basically the ridership. And so he made a pitch to Glendora, which I had just gotten elected. It was my very first meeting as a city councilman. And my mistake for me personally, was calling the guy who made the presentation on Pete's behalf, it was a guy named Bill Forsyth. And I called Bill the next day. And I said, "Bill, I really do understand English, but I didn't understand a single word you said. You were talking in transit." He was involved in the 1984 Olympics and set up their transit system. So he was asked and tasked to set this up. And I didn't understand the routing. I didn't understand really what he was saying about about on time. Those were all issues that just didn't, didn't register with me. So he and I sat down for about two hours. And then he said at the end, he says, "I need an elected to go with me to some of the different city councils and make presentations." He said, "It's always good to have staff, and it always looks better when you're talking to electeds to have electeds there." And I said, "As long as I don't have to talk, I don't mind being there." And that's the way it worked out. I went with him. And toward the end, I was making the presentation and he was sitting there watching and it just came to be. It was just something that was destined at that time.   CG (in studio): Okay, let's bring it back to the present now.   LaShawn King Gillespie: I'm ready. I don't even have to take off my glasses because you don't have a camera. Isn't that great? Hi, I'm LaShawn King Gillespie and I serve as Deputy Chief Executive Officer here at Foothill Transit. JL: And talk a little bit about what you do. What's your day to day job? LKG: My day to day job is to support the team in both the operations, the planning, the day to day operations. I also work with our operations contractors at both locations, so that they can have what they need to provide the excellent service that we've committed to providing our customers. JL: Great. And what's an accomplishment that you're proud of recently at Foothill? Or even in the past of Foothill, what are you proud of having done? LKG: I think there's a few things that I'm super proud of. Of course, our commitment to technology and innovation, but our commitment to our community, both those who live here, who are educated here, those who play here, and making sure that we provide the highest level of service that we can, and what that looks like is clean buses, on-time performance, friendly operators/customer service representatives, and reliable service. JL: Any any like stories like some time you were out on a bus or you were talking to a customer, if you've got a story, that'd be awesome to add. If you don't want to add, you're done. CG: Her head jerked. That means yes. LKG: I probably have more stories and you want to hear about. One of my favorite stories, and I think they talked about this during the presentation today is our Rose Bowl service. When I go out on January one, at eight o'clock in the morning, the parades going on, and I see 70 meticulously clean Foothill Transit buses, there, ready to provide service to the thousands of customers or 1thousands of people who are going into the Rose Bowl, and the service that we provide that community and the feedback that we get after doing that service. That is one of my favorite things ever. Just imagine 70 buses -- am I getting a little too excited -- 70 buses lined up along the parade route. You see the floats going by and the buses, and then we are ready to just get people from that parking lot out to the Rose Bowl, seeing that. So that's one of my favorite things. In some of my day to day service... I do take the service, because we need to know our product. I remember when I first started, I got lost, I got lost and I was stranded. And I'm like, "Oh my gosh," it was before a lot of the technology was available, but calling our customer service representatives and them helping me and guiding me on how to get from where I was back to the office. I was like, "Alright, this is a cool place to work because they care." They absolutely care.   CG (in studio): And let's close out once again with Foothill Transit CEO, Dorian Barnes.   CG: Okay, two questions about the future. How close are we to getting... well, we're looking at about an initial purchase of about, was it 30 Fuel Cell buses? Are they all in pocket now? DB: Yeah, 33 Fuel Cell buses, they're here, they're operating so you can take a ride on those fuel cell buses today. They're out in the field, more to come. We're looking at additional zero emission technology, really looking at how that technology is evolving. And it's up to our policymakers to make those smart decisions about how fast we move. CG: And Foothill Transit has service to like we already mentioned L.A. but also the fringes of Orange County and the Inland Empire right into them, not to the edge of them. Are there any future plans or hopes to bolster up these inter-regional connections? DB: Well, we're really part of a mosaic of services throughout the region. So we do connect to Omnitrans at Montclair, we connect to OCTA in Brea. And then of course, connecting into downtown Los Angeles, where there lots and lots of different operators. We're constantly looking at those partnerships, looking at how do we not only serve our communities, but provide connectivity beyond our communities with our partners. So it's really an ongoing process looking at how do we make improvements. CG: Okay, last question for you, Doran. I know your time is very valuable. So there's been some development from the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments. They've been working on a transit study and Bus Rapid Transit plan, how hopeful and how aggressive might Foothill Transit be about pursuing service provision for that line? DB: We've been very much involved with the creation of that study that's looking at additional lines in the region, BRT style lines. We're very hopeful that we'll be the operator of those services. As they're getting closer and closer to finalizing the preferred routes and the highest priority routes. We think there's some pieces that could fit really nicely into our network and further expand what we do for the communities we serve. CG: Just as an addendum, why do you think Foothill is the strong agency to do that? DB: Well, again, we're we're focused on the San Gabriel Valley. So blending those services into what we do makes it even more seamless for our customers. Certainly, whoever operates the lines, we'll want to make sure that we're interfacing very closely. But again, we think it fits into our network very nicely. CG: All right, Doran, thanks so much, and enjoy the rest of the party. DB: Thanks. I'm looking forward to it.   CG (in studio): To see photos of our coverage of the Foothill Transit 35th anniversary celebration, look at Joe's most recent stories, linked in the text for this episode. We'll be back with more SGV Connect after the winter holidays.

The Legends Championships are coming December 7th 2023.  What should we expect? Why Arizona State University as the location this year?  What does it have to offer to help elevate the competition?  Now moving into next year what is the plan with Legends becoming the official home of the Master's CrossFit Games. We also get to know the man behind it all, Joe Linton.

This week's SGV Connect podcast is a special episode where the Streetsblog San Gabriel Valley team, Chris Greenspon, Joe Linton and Damien Newton, sit down and discuss the great success that was ArroyoFest 2023. All three were at the event but experienced it differently with Linton and his family biking the route, Newton completing the "Run the 110" 10k race and Greenspon walking along the 110 later in the morning. Of course, this is Streetsblog so we also discuss what the success of the event could mean for future open streets and open freeway events in the region and Newton even dreams of permanent freeway closures and replacements. A lightly edited transcript of the podcast appears after audio links. There's also one correction that's noted in the transcript but not the audio. At one point Newton states there were 1,700 people that completed the race. The number is actually over 4,000. SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.” Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast. Transcript: (Note: Text in italics is audio that was taken during ArroyoFest itself.) Chris Greenspon  0:09   Hi, it's Chris Greenspon You're listening to SGV Connect #120, our ArroyoFest after special. We're going to take you through our experience. We all did a different mode of transportation there. And we all recorded some on site narration of the things we were experiencing, seeing and hearing. You're gonna hear that kind of audio laced into the episode throughout. So anyway, Damian hit us with that ad copy. Damien Newton  0:34   Oh, right. Well, this and every episode of SGV Connect is sponsored by Foothill Transit. Offering car free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to go Gold Line Stations across the Foothill and the Silver Streak into downtown Los Angeles. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit at Foothill transit.org Foothill Transit! Going good places. Joe Linton  0:53   This is Streetsblog editor Joe Linton, reporting from the off ramp to the Avenue 60. On the 110 freeway on the morning of ArroyoFest. My daughter and I are here got up at the crack of dawn. It's colder than I thought it'd be but it's warming up, I can see the sun arriving. And it's not quite crowded yet with cyclists but there are definitely 10s...probably hundreds of cyclists. Damien Newton  1:26   Alright, so I am near the starting line now. And there are 1000s of people in front of me and we are 18 minutes away from the start. So this is going to be a pretty pretty big race, maybe the biggest 10k I've done attendance wise. I do look forward to seeing the final numbers for this, this is going to be a big, well attended race. Chris Greenspon  1:53   I'm walking towards the 110 on Orange Grove Avenue just past the cover band and a row of porta potties. Both are always an encouraging sight and sound at these open streets events. We're about to get on the 110. And now let's talk about what we and so many other people have glowingly said about ArroyoFest, Joe. Joe Linton  2:19   Yeah, I think I mean, this is some people have been saying this online, but I think it really had some of the energy of the of the very first open streets event in Southern California. I mean, actually ArroyoFest 2003 is sometimes as good as that. But CicLAvia itself started in 2010. And people didn't know what to expect. And just you know, 10s of 1000s of people, more than 50,000 people showed up and it was downright crowded. With bicycles, the walk side, you guys can probably speak to that but wasn't wasn't quite as crowded early on. It wasn't quite as crowded. But it really got to a point on the freeway, you know, where three lanes of three car lanes wasn't enough to hold lots of cyclist wishing by so there was a lot of slowing down and, y navigating space with other human beings, the things people do in cities around the world every day. Chris Greenspon  3:16   Yeah, it's almost like it should have been widened. Damien, what did you make of the vibe out there? And that was in jest, SGV Connect devotees? Please, Damien, and take over. Damien Newton  3:27   Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Chris, almost giving me a heart attack before you put the microphone out. Maybe if we had extended it instead of widening it. Anyway, usually when I do these types of events, I'm doing that with my family who is completely bored of hearing me drone on and on about the benefits for open streets events, or I'm doing them with other activists. So this was new for me, because I'm doing it with running groups, not just like my friends that run but like surrounded by people, and it was a different discussion. No one was talking about the broader impacts it was more "oh, it's gonna be cool, we get to run on the freeway." It was pretty much a vibe. But then when we were actually out there running there were "Oh, this is cool." There were people way more people stopping to take selfies, and I was...depending how you view it...I was either at the back of the fast group or the front of the middle group timewise. And so I was around people that were serious runners, and they were stopping and taking pictures. They were talking about how cool it was they were they were doing this race. This is not normal conversation for a race unless you're in like a themed race like a Disney Race or a Rose Bowl Race or something like that, where you're in a unique environment. And that's what it was. It was a unique environment. And if you're not a runner, most five and 10 k's are on streets that are closed. That's just that's how they do them. You're in downtown or you're in the west side or your wherever it is a lot of it's on the road...but on the freeway had a very different feel for people and you saw I see way more pictures from other runners than I'm used to for these types of events. Usually pictures are at the start of the end with your friends. They're not in the middle of the race. Joe Linton  4:55   Damien, can you can you talk about a little bit about like so what was the route? Also, I think something that's unusual on runs to is that they gave people tap cards right and forced you guys onto the train. So talk about like, where it started and where it ended and how it basically worked. Damien Newton  5:13   Well, it started. I'm about 200 yards away from the South Pasadena station and we ran onto the freeway. We actually ran north for a little bit just so that we could I guess, be at exactly 10k..runners don't want a 9.8k medal. So then we turned around and ran basically south to the end. And it ended at the activity center at the south end of the route. Joe Linton  5:32   Yeah, which is in the Lincoln Heights right? Cypress Park, close to Dodger Stadium. Damien Newton  5:38   It was. One of the theories that I had as to why...there was a lot of discussion online that we'll get into is...why are we doing this only until 11. I was like, well, when they were planning this, they didn't know if the Dodgers were going to be in the World Series. And that was probably part of it. I mean, it'd be really hard to have a Dodgers World Series game and have a chunk of the 110 close until just a couple hours before the game starts. I was thinking that that might have played into that decision making but yeah, it was right there. And a lot of runners got on the Gold Line to get there because between the heavily heavily heavily advertised lack of parking...I probably got an email from the Ron the 110 every day in the week before telling me not to bother to drive and park. Between that and the free tap cards not just free. tab cards unique tab cards, all I can show mine off to the people in the room with me. I would guess almost everybody that ran took Metro to get there. Joe Linton  6:29   And what was the run? Like? Was it quiet? Was it loud? Was it fast? What's what was what was actually being out there running on a freeway? What was your experience? Chris Greenspon  6:39   And downhill at that? Damien Newton  6:40   Well, I was gonna mention the downhill because I've well stated on this podcast and elsewhere, I was in a Halloween costume. And I was not expecting to have my strongest race day. But I did really well in large part because it was downhill. Also, I ran into one of my run partners who's in a lot better shape than me and she dragged me along with her. So that helps too. But yeah, it was a lot of it was downhill. There was more talking than usual on the race. But I mean, other than that, it was quiet. And I think the talking was people going "oh, wow, this is cool." Which I actually said a few times out loud to the people I was running with. My friend Juanna who I was out with, we talked about how this was like a really cool race. And she's the type of person that does like 40 mile races and stuff like that, like, you know, my marathons are wimpy. And she was like, "No, this race is fantastic. This is one I'm gonna remember." Joe Linton  7:31   The freeway is so crowded. Lots and lots, hundreds 1000s of bikes, people on bikes, escapes, wheelchairs, scooters, more people arriving by the minute. Chris Greenspon  7:46   Now this is a sight, we're finally coming down into the much more green area of the 110 just got under a bridge then of course, down straight away in the distance. You see Mount Washington, people waving Joe Linton  8:03   People getting lost people find each other. And it's it's I think it's one of the most crowded open streets events I've ever seen. And the walk side is just as crowded as the bike side. Damien Newton  8:14   Okay, so I am done the race. I have done the festival I have seen there were 1741 people registered for the 10k. (Note, this is wrong, there were 1741 people that had finnished the race when I checked my times on the app. There were actually over 4,000 people that ran the race). Of course, we saw plenty of people running along the route that were not signed up, which is great. You know, I wanted my fancy medal but not everybody does. And it was a it was a great time. It really was a unique experience. Got a lot of great pictures. A lot of fond memories. Hope I get to do this again before I'm 65. Now I'm gonna go back out and walk the route a little bit. Chris Greenspon  8:48   Okay, so now do you want to go into the wrinkles? of the show of the whole event? Joe Linton  8:54   Yeah, just some of the buzz online. A concern raised by some cyclist was...advocates...on you're not some cyclists called it a shitshow some some called the dangerous. There were a lot of crashes of cyclists here and there. I mean, and when I say a lot, it's probably, you know, 50,000 cyclists and you know, two dozen of them maybe fell or something. I should say 50,000 participants probably. That's a guess. But certainly 10s of 1000s of folks participating in any event and I'd say more than half of those. probably more than two thirds of those, would be bicyclists. So probably 30-40-50,000 bicyclists. I think that we we don't share space that well in Southern California and that's drivers, bicyclists, pedestrians, people taking transit. We're not used to these spaces where there's lots of people, and everyone's moving, and we need to really look out for each other. I talked to my daughter, "You need to know who's behind you and who's in front of you." You know? Every day on Southern California freeway's one or more people die. The freeway was safer than you know, every day in Southern California. But  I think there were a lot of small scale crashes and probably a few broken bones. And anybody else want to touch on that? Chris Greenspon  10:35   I would say? One thing that maybe should have been a hard rule would have been none of the three wheeled scooters with the two in front. maybe I'm misunderstanding physics here, but it seems like those were easier to tip forward. I saw at least three or four kids fall straight forward onto the freeway. With those again, the the really flimsy three wheeled scooters, as opposed to like some of the more modern razors that look like they're set up pretty stable. What about you, Damien, did you observe any precociousness or precariousness? Speaker 2  11:10   Well, again, I was in a really different situation, almost a controlled environment as you're gonna get in that sort of event where you know, everybody was running. So there wasn't a lot.. I mean, we did see a person trip. But like, that's not unusual. I will say when, in the early morning when you're running, even if you're running fast on the southbound side, you're watching the bicyclists zip pass on the northbound side, some of them pretty fast. It wasn't very crowded yet. We were very happy for that separation. And I know some of the people that ran back the other way that I talked to afterwards said the same thing like that separation was great. As far as the people on two feet instead of two wheels were concerned...you two wheeled menaces you. So it was great. As far as we thought on foot. We didn't have the "Oh no, we're too crowded." It was like up there they are over there going much faster than we are. Chris Greenspon  12:01   Towards the end, I did see a few bikes on the walking side. Joe Linton  12:05   Yeah, I wondered that too:the speed differential. And so you had, four year olds on bikes with training wheels, and what they call MAMILS, middle aged men in lycra, fancy road bikes trying to get their miles in. And I think that there probably could have been some notice to...I hate to second guess the organizers did an awesome job...and this is sort of reaching for criticism, but  it's sort of slow cyclists on one side. If you're going less than eight miles an hour or something, you're welcome to be on the walk side. If you're willing to be really chill. It's kind of like bicycling on a sidewalk in LA. It's often a good choice, if you're willing to slow down. And if, if you want to go fast, it doesn't really make sense. Anyway, I hate to dwell on the small number of crashes with the so many people and so many smiles and people what was fun as event got going. So there's a concrete barrier that's maybe three, two or three feet wide at the top. And a lot of people were climbing up on the barrier and shooting selfies and getting the pictures of the freeway signs, Downtown to your right or whatever. It was really was a great vibe. It was it was fun to be in that space. And it's something where I think, "every CicLAvia is fun for me." And it's sort of like church. I had my great Sunday's whatever. And yet, there was a feeling at ArroyoFest, sort of like the first CicLAvia, that this was something big and new, and actually media wise, that has borne out. Open streets now under especially funded under Metro, there's maybe a dozen a year. Not quite one a month, but they rarely make the news. And this one, we got front page coverage in the LA Times lots of gorgeous photos. And TV news covered it. And how was your feed? Every other thing on my Instagram and Facebook was people's people's photos at this event. So it felt like it felt like a real happening and a real newsworthy thing. And not just another sequel?. Chris Greenspon  14:36   I think considering that. It was the first time that probably almost anybody...the majority of the people who participated ever got to do a thing like that go hang out on the freeway. The turnout scale was bound to be legendary. And with that considered, I think safety wise, it actually went pretty well. And honestly It was kind of nice that despite the like you said, the proliferation of media coverage, it was nice to go do something like this. And I didn't see a single TV camera the whole time. And I guess it feels like you can be more yourself. Maybe that was what I liked most about it. The sense of isolation, even though obviously, there was 10s of 1000s of people. It felt like being in another place in another world at times. Joe Linton  15:28   Yeah, it does. I mean, the quiet in the middle of the city in a space like that, it did feel kind of uncanny in some way. So let's talk about the future. I'm going to preface this with in 2009, everybody was like "CicLAvia will never work in Los Angeles" In 2010, we did it! I was one of the people who was working on the first one, although there were a lot of people doing it. I'm not the author. But I'm one of the one of the folks. And I think there was a sense after CicLAvia that, "This changes everything. We've demonstrated that if you build it, they will come." And yet, here we are, you know, a decade later. And I think less has changed than I would have hoped for at the time. So what's the implications for the future for this event? Chris Greenspon  16:18   So I think this, without a doubt has to raise Active SGV's credibility with the entire San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments Consortium. I mean, they're already very well regarded. But in the towns where they haven't really done much yet. I think this gives them if not a blank check, a very, very, very strong resume point. I mean, being having a successful event on the cover of the LA Times makes me wonder whether we might see an event on on Temple, in La Puente,, in Baldwin Park over to Walnut. That's something I would enjoy personally. But I can't imagine that we will not be seeing more Active SGV open streets events, especially along the L line as those continued to complete in the coming years. Joe Linton  17:06   So I do think that yes, it will make Active SGV, who did a phenomenal job, getting all the permits and organizing them in and bringing it all together. I think it'll make them more in demand for doing 66 Golden Streets. Communities can see this, the success and the happiness of stuff like this and ask for more open streets. But I also wonder, going beyond events to permanent treatments of public space. I think that car free space is at such a premium in Los Angeles. And people go to malls and the beach and stuff like that. And they have this experience of sharing space. And I think we need to look at our downtowns, Los Angeles, of course, but Pasadena and all the you know, these A Line stations. You guys call it the L Line, I call it the A Line or the Gold Line. I think we do need to look at instead of, you know, widening streets and building massive parking structures around our transit stations, to look at where can we do Paseos and bike facilities and shared space that we keep cars out of that people can come together in? That's what I hope grows out of it.  I think we've accepted, "we" being Southern California, we've accepted that we can come together for CicLAvia you know, for 626 Golden Streets, for ArroyoFest, once a month, twice a month, but I think we do need to look to can we do this, if not 24/7, even weekends.  Why don't we close a few blocks of a street in historic downtown area in Arcadia for example. But why don't we do that, you know, every weekend for two months during the summer or something like that. So why don't we make this space proliferate? And if it's too hard to close the street permanently? Can we do it all weekend? Can we do it for a season? Can we do it for four Sundays in a month or something like that? So I think there's kind of so I'm talking about there's kind of two ends of the open street spectrum: one is massive event like Heart of LA orArroyoFest, you know, close and iconic area, bring lots and lots of people. But I think the other end is important too. It's a little bit more like a farmers market. Can we take an area and actually I mean, the folks you've written about...the Complete Streets plan in El Monte... and looking at revitalizing some of the downtown areas that are having trouble drawing in customers. Activate that space by keeping cars out of it, and bringing music and vendors and people into it. And I don't know I say all this and I'm not, I don't want to be naive that that's an easy task. That's against the grain of what of what we do in Southern California. But these carfree spaces are really are important, are precious, and are perhaps the future of bringing people together.  Chris Greenspon  20:37   What I want to go out on is...nonstop we were hearing leading up to this, you know, in our previous interview with Marcus and Robert, about the history of ArroyoFest and people were saying, you know, just regular everyday people were saying, "Oh, who knows this isn't going to happen again, for 20 years." That joke certainly got beaten to death. But I'm wondering in your seasoned opinions. Do you think that within a more reasonable timeframe, we can do an open freeway event again, maybe not on the 110? And if so, where would you suggest but do you think it's within grasp? Joe Linton  21:16   Yeah, I mean, I think the wild rousing success of ArroyoFest says there's an appetite for this, that this is a fun thing, and that Angelenos will show up. I think you need to pick a freeway that's close to transit. A lot of freeways are really boring spaces that I think the Arroyo Seco Parkway, the 110 Freeway between downtown and Pasadena is probably head and shoulders, the most picturesque freeway on the west coast...maybe not the west coast, but certainly in Southern California. But I think you have to pick it well. I think you can't just say, "Hey, we're gonna close the, the 405 in Westwood, everybody show up." There's folks thinking about this at Active SGV at CicLAvia that could probably figure out where, where it makes sense to do it. But it is very difficult to work with Caltrans to repurpose Caltrans space for anything other than lots and lots of cars all the time. And I think there there are glimmers of change at that. But when you do a bike path project, and it takes three inches of Caltrans space away, it takes decades to get that project approved. And I think some of that's changing, but I mean, hopefully the success of a royal fast helps pull Caltrans into a more multimodal acceptance of this sorts of shared space. But I've perhaps been in the trenches too long to expect that we'll see ArroyoFest three anytime soon, and that we'll see other open streets events on freeways soon, but I hope I'm wrong. Damien Newton  23:03   Well, and there's the holy grail to have a freeway closure. I mean, on the west side, we had the 90 freeway debate briefly. We talked about possibly doing a study and the local advocacy group Streets for All was his was trying to get a federal grant to do a study and everyone seemed on board with it. And then a couple of neighborhood councils found out about it and flipped out because that's the role of our neighborhood council system to flip out and stop good things from happening. And they were successful. The mayor was, I believe one person said it might have been Ted Rogers, that she was "for it before she was against it." And she came out against it. And these freeway closures, though that I mean...that's after CicLAvia for a couple of years, we had pretty good momentum and building bike infrastructure. And as far as I mean, some of it was Sharrows. But 2010 We were happy just to get Sharrows some places. You know, Villaraigosa had, Mayor Villaraigosa the mayor of LA, had a goal for 200 miles of bike infrastructure year, including those dastardly sharrows. But still, it was happening and there was momentum and for whatever reason, maybe it's Villaraigosa got rid of the low hanging fruit. Maybe it's because Garcetti was too tactical, but that momentum really stalled and fizzled during the Garcetti years. So is the momentum here to do another ArroyoFest? Or is the momentum to go that big next step and look at the freeways that aren't seeing huge volumes of traffic, aren't seeing a regular influx of cars and say, "do we need this or can we do something else with this land?" The 90 may be off the table now, thanks to some crazy angry people. But they've been entirely... Joe Linton  24:36   ...It does look like it lost a lot of momentum. But I don't think it's a shut book just yet.  Speaker 2  24:42   That's exciting for me. But, you know, the battle over the 710 extension was was decades and I think that ArroyoFest shows that maybe we don't need those freeways, especially the ones that aren't your commuter freeways. And that's a lot of land to do something else with. They always say, "we're not growing more land or making more land," but we kind of can if we repurpose land that's not being utilized to the best extent that it is. Chris Greenspon  25:06   Well, that's a fabulous note to go out on. Joe Linton  25:09   Well, actually one one more closing note.  I heard at least a few folks showed up at a row fest that was their first open streets event. So there are regular open streets events, and the next one coming up is in South LA on Martin Luther King Boulevard, the date is December. Damien Newton  25:30   I think it's the 3rd but I'm looking at I think it's December 3, but I'm just double checking it, but it's definitely the first Sunday in December. Joe Linton  25:36   Yes, the first time in December. We think it's December 3 on Martin Luther King Boulevard in South LA. So check them out there. They're always a treat. And I think they do give you a sense of what NLA that's less totally festooned with cars might look like. Chris Greenspon  25:54   All right, well, that wraps us up for SGV Connect 120. In the meantime, listen to these sounds of ArroyoFest. Transcribed by https://otter.ai

In an exclusive interview with Joe Linton @_joe_linton, newly minted CF Masters Games co-boss and co-founder of the Legends Championship @thelegendschampionship, coaches David Syvertsen @davesy85 and Sam Rhee @bergencosmetic explore the exciting changes that are coming for Masters athletes in the 2024 CrossFit Games season.After discussing the upcoming 2023 1st Phorm Legends Championship, to be held December 7-10. Tempe, Arizona at Arizona State University, as well as a history of the Legends Championiship, we tackle the 2024 CrossFit Games Masters Legends (or whatever name they end up deciding) in detail, how Joe and Bob Jennings @thebobjennings became involved with CF HQ and the Masters Games, and all the sticky details, including season structure, potential Masters Games location, programming, and broadcast considerations.For anyone interested in athleticism at any age and the future of CrossFit, there is plenty to take away from this wide-ranging episode!@crossfitbison @crossfittraining @crossfit @crossfitgames #crossfit #sports #exercise #health #movement #crossfitcoach #agoq #clean #fitness #ItAllStartsHere #CrossFitOpen #CrossFit #CrossFitCommunity @CrossFitAffiliates #supportyourlocalbox #crossfitaffiliate #personalizedfitness 

CrossFit recently announced three new partnerships that will help grow the CrossFit Games championship competition and create new opportunities to shine a spotlight on athletes across all divisions.WheelWOD Games, Pit Teen Throwdown, and Legends Championship will host the adaptive and age-group championships for the 2024 CrossFit Games season. The change will dramatically increase the number of masters and teenage athletes competing in the finals, nearly double the number of divisions for adaptive athletes, and provide a chance for CrossFit to evolve its competition model to make the CrossFit Games internationally scalable in the future.The Legends Championship has been one of the premier events for masters athletes for years. Founders Bob Jennings and Joe Linton have been providing a world class experience and opportunity for masters athletes all over the world. Next year, they will host the championship event for the masters divisions for the 2024 CrossFit Games season.Presented by @LiveMomentous. Use code CF15 for 15% off your next purchase → https://cf.games/23_momentous—The CrossFit Games are the ultimate proving grounds for the Fittest Man and Fittest Woman on Earth™ and are world-renowned as the definitive test of fitness.Join host Chase Ingraham and various guests in the CrossFit space as they break down the latest news, happenings, and information from the CrossFit Games season.Subscribe to the CrossFit Games podcast and share it with a friend. Like and drop a comment on your favorite episodes.Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify →Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/6sQXfti...Google Podcasts → https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0...Learn more about the CrossFit Games → https://cf.games/learnLearn more about CrossFit → https://www.crossfit.com/what-is-cros...Find a CrossFit gym near you → https://www.crossfit.com/map?utm_sour...

This week's SGV Connect Podcast looks backward at the first year of the GoSGV Bike Share program and looks forward to Halloween and ArroyoFest. First, we speak with Jose Jimenez, the education director for Active SGV about the GoSGV's first year, celebrated earlier this month. There are over 100 bikes being rented monthly at the moment and over 400 people took part in the program in its first year. There will be a demonstration zone for the rental e-bikes at ArroyoFest this Sunday near the South Pasadena HUB. You can get more information about GoSGV at their website, Arroyofest at the 626 Golden Streets Website, or read a transcript of our interview. Of course, if you'd like to enjoy more previews for ArroyoFest you can listen to our previous podcast about the history of this event or this piece by Joe Linton. A quick note, in the interview we discuss the possibility of renting an e-bike from GoSGV just for the event this Sunday. But between when we conducted the interview and today, they have sold out of bikes for the event. Our second interview is a horror story of the two-wheeled variety. Local writer Carribean Fragoza read us a nonfiction piece about riding alone and underprepared on the industrial Rush Street. Fragoza is an up and coming author who's made the LA Times Best of lists with her gothic chicana prose and poetry. The non-fiction piece she read for us today is named for and based on a lonely industrial corridor in South El Monte called Rush Street. You can read the excerpt she reads for us at Tropics of Meta, or order the book she co-edited where it was first published, East of East the Making of Greater El Monte. SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”        

Masters champions will be crowned at the Legends Championship in 2024. Co-Founders Bob Jennings and Joe Linton join the show to discuss how the move came about, where they think they can improve on the Masters competitive experience, when they want to hold the competition and what kind of support they may be getting from CrossFit.

This week's SGV Connect breaks our regular mold as Streetsblog L.A. editor Joe Linton conducts both interviews on the past and future of ArroyoFest which returns at the end of this month, on Sunday October 29th when a portion of the I-110 will be closed to cars and open to other uses in the morning. First, Linton interviews Robert Gottlieb and Marcus Renner some of the leaders that brought Southern California the first ArroyoFest in 2003. Seven years before the first CicLAvia, ArroyoFest changed the conversation around transportation in the region. While we haven't seen the seismic change away from cars in the past two decades that some might have hoped for, the steps towards regional bike networks and an expanded transit system might not have been possible without ArroyoFest. Linton then moves into an interview with Wes Reutimann with ActiveSGV who has been leading efforts for the 10/29 ArroyoFest. Reutimann goes over the schedule for the day that begins with a 10k run at 6:00 a.m. After Arroyofest ends at 11, there are local parties and cultural events planned for just off the route. For more information on ArroyoFest 2023, visit their website. SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.” Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays, and catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.    

On Saturday, the Gold Line Foothill Construction Authority is hosting a ceremony to commemorate the completion of the light rail track system for the 9.1-mile, four-station Foothill Gold Line light rail project from Glendora to Pomona. The ceremony is taking place this Saturday, June 24, 2023, at 9:30 a.m., at the D Street railroad crossing (north of Arrow Highway) in the city of La Verne. During the event, the last of 230,630 rail clips will be driven into place (rail clips permanently attach the steel rail to the concrete ties), marking the completion of the new light rail tracks. This week's first interview features Habib Balian, the executive director for the construction authority. Balian discusses what's next for the project and the importance of this milestone to the Gold Line and our regional rail network. Speaking of our regional rail network, our second interview features Joe Linton and was recorded the day that the Regional Connector opened in Downtown Los Angeles. Linton discusses how the newly opened 2 mile rail connector is a key part of connecting L.A. County with rail. SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.” Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays, and catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

It's mid-December, and that means it's time for our annual end-of-the-year SGV Connect Podcast featuring not just Damien Newton and Chris Greenspon, but also Streetsblog LA Editor Joe Linton and Streetsblog California Editor Melanie Curry. After that, we have one last interview by Chris with John Axtell published a literary zine this year about the landscape and culture of the SGV. John and Chris talk quite a bit about open spaces, and rebuilding the industrial wastelands around the 605. But first, Curry kicks off the podcast with a review of the legislation and other decisions made in Sacramento that have and will impact how the San Gabriel Valley grows and changes in the coming decades. In October she wrote an overview of some of the biggest pieces of legislation that the Governor signed (or didn't sign) and earlier this week she wrote a very early review of what could happen in the legislature in 2023. Next, Joe Linton discussed some of the changes that will be happening with the L.A. County Government and with Metro. The agency celebrated the restoration of service to pre-pandemic levels in the last month. New County Supervisors, and a new L.A. Mayor, signal that some other changes could be coming to the agency soon. Closing out the first portion of the podcast, Chris updates on the two biggest stories covered after he took over the beat from Kris Fortin: The Bus Rapid Transit concepts from the SGV Transit Feasibility Study and when County supervisors tossed out an activist appeal to slow construction on 85 condo units on a decommissioned school site in Hacienda Heights. To read a transcript of the interview beteen Chris and John Axtell, click here. To read a transcript of the discussion between the Streetsblog team, click here. Before we close out SGV Connect for the year, we wanted to remind everyone that Streetsblog L.A. is a non-profit and relies on reader donations to continue publishing. Even though our SGV regional coverage is sponsored, we need reader donations to maintain our story budgets and independent voice. Please consider making a tax-free donation today. Get started by clicking here. SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.” Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays, and catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

We're (finally) back and this week the boys are joined by Barney's PARTNER Jenny Coates! The gang discuss JLS, Joe Linton, Joesph and the Technicolour Coat of the Sith, Mosquitos, Paperclips, and Jenny's Special Liverpool Love Affair... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Support us on Patreon!Subscribe to the LA Newsletter! Purchase an LA Podcast fanny pack!Have a question about LA that you've never had a good answer to? You hear a lot from us, but we want to hear from you, too. Leave us a voicemail with a question, and we'll answer it on the show: 323-250-2106Below are some links to topics discussed in the show:Alissa's story in Curbed about the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Crossing.Dakota Smith's story in the Los Angeles Times about Vision Zero.Joe Linton's story in Streetsblog Los Angeles about Gil Cedillo nuking some bike lanes.

This week, Damien and Kris welcome Joe Linton and Melanie Curry back to the podcast. Joe and Melanie are the editors of Streetsblog LA and Streetsblog California respectively and offer their insights on the big stories that shaped our coverage in 2021 and predictions on what to expect in 2022. The wide-ranging discussion covers the legislature, highway spending, new transit construction, the return of open streets and the 626 and many other issues. If you find yourself with some free time over the next couple of weeks, plug in and check it out. As a bonus, my daughter joins me for the intro and outro to show off her reading skills. SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.” Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays.

**EVENTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE** Bill and Chase sit down with Joe Linton and Bob Jennings and detail all of the Events for Day 4 of the Legends Masters Championship! 

**EVENTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE** Bill and Chase sit down with Joe Linton and Bob Jennings and detail all of the Events for Day 3 of the Legends Masters Championship! 

**EVENTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE** Bill and Chase sit down with Joe Linton and Bob Jennings and detail all of the Events for Day 2 of the Legends Masters Championship! 

“That's our biggest thing is athlete experience. Making sure that when they come to Legends Championship, they're going to remember it for a long time; they're going to remember it for years … and it's going to be an experience that they can look back upon and smile.” —Joe LintonFor years, the CrossFit masters divisions have shown the masses what fitness can look like at any age. As a result, more opportunities — like masters-specific competitions — have been created to shine a bright light on these talented and inspiring athletes.In this episode, Bob Jennings and Joe Linton, co-founders of The Legends Championship, join host Chase Ingraham to talk about the evolution of this annual masters-only competition, and what athletes and spectators can expect at this year's event. The Legends Championship began in 2017 as a one-day competition with 36 participants. Today, masters athletes from all over the world participate in multiple stages in the hopes of being one of hundreds to compete at the four-day final in San Diego, California. The competition begins Thursday, Dec. 9 and runs through Sunday, Dec. 12. Jennings and Linton have kept workout details close to the vest, planning to reveal more information hours before the events, and are excited to watch the masters in action. “With only releasing the workouts maybe 18 hours in advance,” Jennings says, “... all (the athletes) can do is game plan for them. … It's going to be really fun to watch those plans unravel and then see the athletes that can overcome that challenge mid-workout.”Athletes can also expect “to touch some (equipment) that (they) probably don't have at (their) gym,” Linton says. For fans unable to attend the competition in person, eight of the nine events will be streamed live on the Legends Masters Comp YouTube channel with CrossFit Games broadcasters Sean Woodland, Bill Grundler, and Annie Sakamoto commentating the event. To learn more about the Legends Championship, visit their website at www.legendscomp.com and head to their Instagram page @_legendschampionship for the livestream link.

**NOTE: Some event details have changed since the recording of this episode** Chase and Bill sit down with Legends Masters Championship founders Bob Jennings and Joe Linton to unveil the details and design of the Day 1 Events.

Brand new Los Angeles CD 14 Councilmember Kevin De Leon, former "climate champion" with aspiration to be Mayor, wrote an open letter asking for more meetings on the Metro BRT's plan for Eagle Rock. It seems the pro-short commute crowd of Eagle Rock have his ear now that Metro's leaning to the "Beautiful Boulevard" option, which features a bike lane and slower traffic. Felicia Garcia, community organizer; Joe Linton, Streetsblog LA journalist/editor; and Seamus Garrity, not in his official role as a Field Representative for California Assemblymember Laura Friedman, analyze. Don Ward, safe streets organizer, presides. Edited by Kevin Burton. https://la.streetsblog.org/2021/05/14/kevin-de-leon-asks-metro-to-delay-eagle-rock-bus-project-wants-more-meetings/ https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-05-19/eagle-rock-bus-project-kevin-de-leon

Today Bea from Nightline Paris' Communications Team is interviewing Joe Linton, the Diversity and Inclusion Officer at ULIP. Joe is a final year student at ULIP. The two will be discussing the intersections of mental health with race, gender, sexuality and ableism. We hope you find this episode interesting and share it with any peers who you think may benefit from it.

Sophie Maerowitz on the Loisaida Open Streets Community Coalition she co-founded and the resistance to a protected bike lane on Ave. C in NYC 5:30 Felicia Garcia and Joe Linton on the Beautiful Boulevard Eagle Rock Forward is trying to get Metro to adopt as it puts a Bus Rapid Transit line in Eagle Rock, facing NIMBY (not in my backyard) opposition. 15:50 cartoonist and Why We Drive author Andy Singer on the NYC, LA, and Twin Cities "block by block battles" of bike and safe streets advocates, and why they're symptoms of the problem of road funding in the US. 1:03:38 Joe comes back for more debate with Don about whether to work with NIMBYs. 1:06:36 Lindsay Sturman interviews John Stout, author of the new report, "Transform Transportation," which identifies the harmful health and environmental impacts of California’s car-centric transportation system and gives recommendations for a healthier, more sustainable sector.

2020 wasn't all bad for bikes, as reported by Streetsblog editors Joe Linton, https://la.streetsblog.org/ and Melanie Curry, https://cal.streetsblog.org/ with Nick Richert and Don Ward.

Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays. Everyone is talking about the results from this week's election, and SGV Connect is no different. Our usual team brought back Streetsblog LA editor Joe Linton and Streetsblog California editor Melanie Curry for an in-depth election special that is almost twice the size of a regular episode. First, Melanie breaks down the disappointing results of our statewide ballot initiatives with defeats for progressive measures that would funded public schools by closing a loophole on big business, expanded rent control, and allowed for affirmative action. At the same time, voters passed a measure exempting Uber/Lyft and other app-based driving services from labor laws. The scene is brighter for Southern California and the San Gabriel Valley. Joe and Kris discuss the success of Measure J, elections that will make the L.A. County Board of Supervisors and L.A. City Council more progressive, and some mixed news in races in some smaller cities in the SGV. Last, assuming Joe Biden holds onto his lead, what does a Biden administration mean for Southern California? And what are the odds that Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti or Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia find themselves with new addresses in Washington, D.C.? SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.” Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

Nick and Don talk with Alexandria Contreras, candidate for Downey City Council District One (www.alexfordowney.com/). She's working to unseat the pro-freeway Mayor of Downey, and speaks about the injustice (environmental, economic, and racial) of Metro and Caltrans' planned removal of 200 homes to widen the 605 freeway. With LA Streetsblog editor Joe Linton.

Nick and Don talk with Alexandria Contreras, candidate for Downey City Council District One (https://www.alexfordowney.com/). She's working to unseat the pro-freeway Mayor of Downey, and speaks about the injustice (environmental, economic, and racial) of Metro and Caltrans' planned removal of 200 homes to widen the 605 freeway. With LA Streetsblog editor Joe Linton. Then-a rousing discussion about bike-related entries in the Better Cities Film Festival, open through 10/11 at https://bcff2020.eventive.org/welcome. If you see one of the, please join our zoom A 20% DISCOUNT CODE IS GIVEN to listeners for Bicycling & Cities (https://watch.eventive.org/.../play/5f50eb1e1537cc0045f6c25d) Yolanda T. Davis-Overstreet interviews Adé Neff, founder of Ride On! Bike Shop/Co-Op, a full-service worker-owned bike shop directly in the heart of South LA's Leimert Park in her latest edition of We The People-Black Lives Roll 'En.

Welcome to this week's SGV Connect, a special edition where we discuss some of the state and county ballot propositions that were endorsed or opposed by Streetsblog last week. This week, Damien speaks with Joe Linton, the editor of Streetsblog Los Angeles, about the endorsement process and what ballot measures we think you should support, and another you should oppose. You can read our endorsement piece, here. For the record we are #YesOn15, #YesOn16, #YesOn21, #YesOnJ and #NoOn22. Afterwards, Kris speaks with Brian Wallace of the Playhouse Village Association to get an update on the Playhouse Park project which is moving towards getting final approval from the city. The Village Association, back when it was called the Pasadena Playhouse District, first began outreach for this project to the community in 2010, but it looks as though the project is finally close to being realized. A couple of times in the podcast, we mention this story on Metro's planned expansion of the I-5 and I-605 even though it could wipe out hundreds of homes. It was published late-Friday afternoon, so if you missed it, be sure to check it out. SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.” Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays. Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

Don Ward and Nick Richert interview Clint Birdsong, President of Greater Cypress Park Neighborhood Council, with volunteer Jennifer Rodriguez, on the challenge of maintaining Cypress Park's new Slow Streets. (27:08)Yolanda T. Davis-Overstreet's latest installment in her series, We The People/Black Lives Roll 'En features Maya Henderson, Sustainability Professional and Environmental Justice Advocate in New Zealand and David Sylvester, author and accomplished cyclist: David is the first African-American man to cycle across North America, Africa, and Asia (giving half a million hugs along the way). (1:06:25) LA rider Aram on how to fix Cahuenga pass, and what's wrong with it (1:18:45) Joe Linton, Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition co-founder and Streetsblog LA Editor, with Michael MacDonald, co-founder of advocacy group BikeTheVote, on how the City of L.A. is scrapping Metro’s Pedestrian-Priority plans for Union Station due to a failure of leadership.

Today's podcast is all about masters athletes! We sit down with masters games athlete Bob Jennings and his business partner and coach Joe Linton to talk about the Legends Masters Competition, a competition designed specifically to highlight masters athletes. Due to HQ ending the season for AGOQ athletes, The Legends Masters Competition is inviting the top 10 from every age group (2020 games qualifiers) to their in-person event, which they are determined to put on later this year. Listen in to hear more! @legendsmasterscomp www.LegendsComp.com @TheFunctionalTimes www.TheFunctionalTimes.com

This week's SGV Connect focuses on how the Coronavirus is impacting planning and transit throughout not just San Gabriel Valley, but all of Southern California. First up, Kris speaks with Demi Espinoza of the Safe Routes Partnership about the upcoming approval of SCAG's Connect SoCal document. Connect SoCal is a long-range plan that seeks to balance future mobility and housing needs with economic, environmental and public health goals. SCAG is the regional planning organization for a mammoth six-country region that includes Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura. Before their interview, Damien and Kris discuss whether or not it even makes sense to push such a plan right now. Damien references a recent statement and action put out by The Untokening that urges governments to stop planning processes that will not be able to reach many populations during COVID-19. Kris also mentioned, and it comes up again in the interview, that things have changed so much since the outreach began for this process that does the plan still make sense?    The SCAG Regional Council is scheduled to vote on the plan on May 7. Second, our hosts talk about the impact COVID 19 is having on the transit agencies that serve the San Gabriel Valley. This week L.A. Metro announced another round of service cuts while revealing sharp declines in ridership: Bus Ridership Down 65 Percent, Rail Down 75 Percent. For more on Metro's cuts, read this article by Joe Linton, published on Wednesday. Three agencies have suspended regular service: Carson, Montebello and Monterey Park. Other agencies are scaling service back as agencies see steep ridership declines and loss of other income that bolsters transit budgets such as sales taxes and parking fees. While many agencies are still providing on-demand micro transit or ride-hailing services for residents in-need of transit, there is no doubt that both the present and future of many transit agencies is uncertain. If you're planning a transit trip, we recommend double-checking the relevant websites in advance and immediately before your trip to see if there are any changes. SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.” Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.          

After a holiday break and a look-ahead episode, SGV Connect returns to its regularly scheduled programming: looking at the issues and programs that impact the present and future of the San Gabriel Valley. First, Kris Fortin talks to Kome Ajise, the executive director of the Silicon Valley Association of Governments. The two discuss the Multimodal Regional Corridor Plan for Arrow Highway and how people can get involved in the plan to make a car-centric freeway more appealing to road users who aren't traveling by car. To leave comments for the project, visit their official website. Comments are due by the end of the month. The two also discuss "Connect SoCal" the long range plan SCAG is developing that will guide planning for housing, transportation, planning and public health within the counties of Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura. For more information, or to submit comments on the plan, visit SCAG's website.  Later, Damien speaks with Joe Linton, the editor of Streetsblog Los Angeles about a discussion happening in Pasadena around transportation planning. In 2014, the city changed how it reviews transportation projects from the car-centric Level of Service to a more people-centered metric called "Vehicle Miles Traveled." When the city council asked for a report on how the change is impacting the city, local media reacted by implying that the city might be backing away from the metric.  Linton explains that changing back to LOS is no longer possible under state law, however Pasadena can tinker with its goals and projections, something that some Council members seem keen on doing. SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.” Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

Bury's misery casts a long shadow over Episode 11 as Allen and Wogan reflect on a bad week for English football. On the pitch, Liverpool and Manchester City continue to set tongues wagging and Joe Linton is up and running for the Magpies. But it's bad news for Javi Gracia at Watford. In Part 2, we discuss Ben Stokes' heroics at Headingley, aided by friend of the show Jack Leach, chat US Open tennis (briefly) and pick our top 4 'what could have been' sportspeople after Indianapolis Colts' quarterback Andrew Luck announces his retirement. Enjoy the show.

The Premier League gets underway tonight - and we've decided to spare you ten months of watching it by telling you exactly what's going to happen. We preview the big winners, losers (Newcastle) and everything in between. Join us as we discuss just how boring Southampton are, sham striker Joe Linton and which three Leicester players are in Brendan's envelopes. Contains some strong language. Theme music - Dirt by Jahzzar, provided under CC-BY SA Creative Commons License creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

One of the hottest transportation debates in the West San Gabriel Valley is the debate over the route for the proposed Bus Rapid Transit system between North Hollywood and Pasadena. If you are not familiar with the project or controversy, our podcast begins with an interview with Joe Linton, the editor of Streetsblog Los Angeles who gives an overview of the project and the recent controversies. Next, Kris Fortin interviews Eagle Rock resident Michael McDonald. McDonald, best known for his advocacy as one of the leaders of Bike the Vote, attended one of the meetings and was shocked by the tone of the comments and out-of control nature of the public process. The meetings were so out-of-hand that Metro has vowed a different process for public input going forward. Metro will host one additional NoHo-Pasadena BRT scoping meeting from 5:30-8 p.m. at Occidental College’s Samuelson Pavilion, in Eagle Rock. For details see Equitable Eagle Rock or Metro project page. "Metro is keenly aware of the issues that arose at the prior meeting in Eagle Rock and will be using a different, open-house-style format at the upcoming Aug.7 meeting at Samuelson Pavilion at Occidental College that will still allow the public to provide comments in writing or verbally to a court reporter for the scoping process," writes Brian Haas, a spokesperson for Metro. SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.” Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

It is absolutely roasting at Ramble HQ but as ever we’re braving it for you, our beloved listeners. We’re here to chat about Mike Ashley putting his hand in his pocket for the people of Newcastle once again, Chelsea and their slightly odd season preparations and naughty naughty Laurent Koscielny.We’ve also got time to talk about Ederson strutting his stuff in midfield, pre-season red cards and Tony Adams’ confusing first day in his new job. Join us on 5th August for the start of Football Ramble Daily. Keep an eye on our socials in the meantime for all the info— just search 'Football Ramble' or email us here: show@thefootballramble.com***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!***Further reading:Callum Hudson-Odoi has signed a new deal at Chelsea:https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49091233Ederson in action:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul4VBwf0J5c&feature=youtu.beTony Adams and his new position:https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jul/24/rugby-league-president-tony-adams-promoting-game See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's episode, Damien and Kris kick off the new(ish) year by talking about the best ways to get involved and an update on plans for the Gold Line Foothill Extension's next phase. First, Damien talks with Dorothy Wong, a long-time bike advocate who now serves as a Council Member in Altadena. Wong has been active with groups locally (such as C.I.C.L.E.) and statewide (she served as a board member for Calbike). In this interview, she discusses how advocacy prepared her for her campaign and her position and urges people to get and stay involved in local government. In our second interview Kris talks to Joe Linton who catches us up on the status of the Gold Line Foothill Extension. A lot's been happening since the Construction Authority changed plans at the end of last year, but Metro gave the Authority's plans a thumbs up at their Board Meeting last week. #SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.” Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

Welcome to the last episode of SGV Connect for 2018. Today, Kris Fortin and Damien Newton talk with Joe Linton and Melanie Curry. The two Streetsblog editors join us to discuss some of the big stories from 2018 and what we're looking forward to in 2019.  Gas taxes debates, Proposition 6 and Keep Pasadena Moving are in our rear-view helmet mirror and the 626, the last chance to halt climate change and, well, Keep Pasadena Moving are on the road ahead. #SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.” Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

If you haven't voted yet, be sure to check out this week's edition of SGV Connect. Our usual co-hosts, Damien and Kris, are joined by Joe Linton and Estuardo Mazariegos to discuss Measure W and ballot Propositions 6 and 10. Proposition 6 would repeal a portion of the gas tax passed a couple of years ago. The tax mostly funds repairs to the state's transportation infrastructure, with a portion going to transit operations as well. Streetsblog LA urges voters to oppose the proposition and support transportation funding. Measure W is a parcel tax that would raise $300 million for projects to detain and clean runoff water; projects would emphasize green, nature-based, multi-benefit projects. Full disclosure, Streetsblog LA is urging voters to Vote Yes on W. Proposition 10 revokes the "Costa Hawkins" Act which restricts municipalities' ability to impose rent control regulations. Streetsblog has no official position on this, although as you can tell from the interview, much of our staff support the proposition. If you didn't apply for a "vote by mail" ballot, Kris discusses some of the ways that agencies and businesses are providing free trips on election day, from ride-share companies to L.A. Metro. SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”  Foothill Transit is not responsible, nor were they consulted, for the content of this podcast.

Stand-up and discussion on transportation with comedians Virginia Jones & Brody Stevens, Streetsblog LA editor Joe Linton, and UCLA Transportation Lab head Brian Taylor.

Monterey Park is a hillside suburban city in the San Gabriel Valley, 7 miles east of Downtown Los Angeles. The city boasts a population of 60,269 people and will soon also be home to a protected bike lane for 1.6 miles on Monterey Park Pass as part of a complete street project. We talk about the project in the podcast, but if you want to read more about it, check out Joe Linton's coverage from January. Today SGV Connect speaks with Thomas Wong, a resident and activist in Monterey Park who served on the city's environmental commission and currently sits on the Board of the San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District. Our discussion covers the road diet, other bicycle and pedestrian planning, what the city might do with Metro funds from the 710 Corridor congestion alleviation plan, and the state of transit in the City of Monterey Park. This episode marks the first in a series that we will be producing that takes a deeper look into the cities of the San Gabriel Valley. A second edition will be coming in early March. SBLA San Gabriel Valley coverage is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”  

Believe it or not, here at Streetsblog we prefer to cover good news. That doesn't mean we wear Rose Colored Glasses all the time. Rather, when something happens to improve our transportation networks or how people experience their community; we like to write about it. Which is one reason that yesterday and today's podcasts are so much fun, because when it comes to transportation reform in the San Gabriel Valley there is a lot to celebrate. Today, I talk with Wes Reutimann of Bike SGV and Joe Linton of Streetsblog Los Angeles. We talk a lot about the 626 and how awesome it was. But we also talk about road diets, protected bike lanes and e-buses. There's a lot of good things happening locally, and it's nice to take a moment and reflect on the some of the highlights of 2017. #SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.” Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

As the year begins to wind down, SGV Connect will broadcast twice this week to look back at some of the biggest stories in the San Gabriel Valley this year. Today, we talk to Felicia Friesema with Foothill Transit and Albert Ho with the Gold Line Foothill Construction Authority. For Foothill Transit, we discuss their recent fare and service changes as well as the march towards electrifying their bus fleet. For the Construction Authority, we review the march to the groundbreaking of Phase II of the Gold Line Foothill Extension and review the timeline to bring Phase II online sometime in the not-so-distant future. A little later this week we'll continue the conversation with Joe Linton, the editor of Streetsblog Los Angeles and Wes Reutimann with Bike SGV. #SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”

After watching bike share systems come to neighboring cities of Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Long Beach and others; in July it was Pasadena's turn to launch its own bike share system. Shortly after the launch, the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (COG) earned a grant to expand bike share to 14 other cities throughout the valley. Today, SGV Connect's Damien Newton talks with Streetsblog Los Angeles editor Joe Linton and the Pasadena Complete Street Coalition's Blair Miller. Miller is also a member of the City of Pasadena's Transportation Advisory Committee. In our conversation, we discuss the rollout of bike share in Pasadena and how the system is working and being perceived. From there we transition to a discussion of the regional network of Metro bikes and other systems before talking about future bike share systems that will be coming to cities throughout the San Gabriel Valley thanks to the state grant received by the COG. "Bike share is an exciting opportunity because we hope it will get more people out and riding," Miller concludes. "I hope that Los Angeles, Pasadena and other cities in the San Gabriel Valley can keep going in the direction their going to get more people out and riding." Towards the end of the discussion, Linton mentions an upcoming piece by Streetsblog L.A.'s Sahra Sulaiman that looks at some of the equity issues (pricing, location) that surround bike share in Los Angeles and throughout the world. He hopes that the COG's plans take reporting on these issues seriously to insure that bike share is a system that works for as large a group of riders as possible.  SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.” Catch past episode of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn and iTunes.   UP NEXT : Horses!

Rounding out our coverage of the Foothill Transit fare and route changes #DamienTalks #BrianTalks with three Foothill Passenger riders about how the changes would impact their lives. Spoiler : people don't like having their transit fares increased. However, most of the riders that Brian talked to, regular commuters, could actually see a decrease in their monthly pass from $70 to $50 if they choose to buy monthly instead of trip-by-trip. Earlier this week, #DamienTalks hosted Foothill Transit's Felicia Friesema to give an overview of the changes. Yesterday, Joe Linton reported on a hearing he went to on Wednesday night. Before we get to the three interviews, Damien has a short editorial reminding people that fare increases and service changes don't happen because transit agencies are mean, but because they don't get the support from state and federal governments that similar agencies do in other parts of the world. By all means, let Foothill Transit know what you think, but don't stop there. Let your state legislator, your Congressman, President Trump and Governor Brown know too. To weigh-in on the changes, the easiest way is to email Foothill Transit at changes@FoothillTransit.org. Find out more about the proposed changes at Foothill Transit website or attend one of the remaining hearings, listed below. #DamienTalks is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.” April 18, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Pomona Library, 625 S. Garey Ave, Pomona, CA 91766. April 20, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., El Monte City Hall East, 11333 Valley Blvd., El Monte, CA 91731 April 22, 9 a.m. (official public hearing), Foothill Transit offices, 100 S. Vincent Ave., West Covina, CA 91790.

You know we’ve got a great episode of #DamienTalks when a woman who is eight months pregnant and running a half-marathon is the fourth interview in the podcast. Today, #DamienTalks looks back at last Sunday’s mammoth open streets event, the 626 in the San Gabriel Valley. #DamienTalks with Joe Linton, the first staff person for open streets super-group CicLAvia, and Brian Velez of BikeSGV. Later, we podcast five interviews Velez conducted with people enjoying the 626 in the sun and rain last Sunday. To call the 626 a success would be an understatement. Even with the rain, the event attracted roughly 100,000 participants. They biked, jogged, walked, or rolled the seventeen miles of car-free streets along a route that was roughly parallel to the Gold Line Foothill Extension that opened last year. For more coverage of the event, visit this open thread from Streetsblog yesterday, or check out these stories on ABC7 and in the SGV Tribune and South Pasadena Review. #DamienTalks is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”

This week, #DamienTalks with Joe Linton, the editor of Streetsblog Los Angeles. Joe has overseen our efforts to expand our coverage outside of the boundries of the City of Los Angeles into the San Gabriel Valley in 2016. As a result, he has a lot to say when asked if he has any opinions on what the biggest story was of 2016, and what the biggest story will be in the next calendar year. This is our second to last podcast of the year, but if you are taking an early trip to visit loved ones during the holidays, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your support of this podcast and Streetsblog. Currently, all the Streetsblogs are doing their end of the year fundraising drives. If you want to continue to support this podcast, Streetsblog L.A. and the work we do, please click here and get started on your donation. #DamienTalks is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of Downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit foothilltransit.org. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”  

What happens underwater… still hurts even though the Ref doesn’t see it.  Ouch!  Join Joe Linton for Deep End adventures in college Water Polo, and Swimming, and Hammer Throw.  Yep – Hammer Throw.  This episode is like Aquaman meets Thor with me and Rick bombarding the hero with absurd commentary.  Listen Now!

Subscribe to the Homegrown Evolution Podcast in itunes here.Download Homegrown Evolution Podcast Episode #1 (mp3)On this first episode of the Homegrown Evolution podcast we talk food preservation with author Ashley English who blogs at small-measure.blogspot.com. English will have two books out next year on food preservation and chickens, part of a series entitled "Homemade Living," (Lark Books). She also has a weekly column every Friday on Design*Sponge at www.designspongeonline.com/category/small-measures.In the second part of the show we talk to Wing Tam, assistant division manager for the Watershed Protection Program in the City of Los Angeles' Bureau of Sanitation about a new rainwater harvesting pilot project. You can find out more about the program at www.larainwaterharvesting.org. We conclude with a reaction to this new program from river activist Joe Linton, author of Down by the Los Angeles River and one of the bloggers behind lacreekfreak.wordpress.com.As we say on the podcast, we prefer gardening to staring at computer screens and putting a podcast together involves a hell of a lot of the latter. Don't look for frequent updates, but we'll put out another one later this year. Please excuse the mike popping and other technical flaws, as we're still working out the technical side of podcasting.Music on the program is from archive.org:A bluegrass cover of DEVO's Mongoloid, recorded in 1980 in Cleveland, Ohio by the Hotfoot Quartet. Bob Frank, guitar and lead vocal, Jim Blum, upright bass and vocals; Paul Kovac, banjo and vocals; Bob Smakula, mandolin and vocals. Available here.Also from archive.org, a collection of surf music.