Joe Linton has been a fixture in the L.A. bicycling scene for over two decades. In that time he’s founded the L.A. River Ride, co-founded the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, worked in key early leadership roles at CicLAvia and C.I.C.L.E., served on the board of directors of Friends of the L.A. River, Southern California Streets Initiative, and L.A. Eco-Village, and has worked to grow non-profits throughout the city.

As of last week, he has a new title to go with all the rest: Editor of Streetsblog Los Angeles.

Anyone who isn’t closely checking the titles on our business cards is probably surprised to find out that Joe wasn’t already the editor. Joe has been writing more articles than anyone else for well over a year and has been representing our organization at events throughout Los Angeles that aren’t held within walking distance of my house or in the South L.A./Boyle Heights communities that Sahra Sulaiman covers as part of our grant with The California Endowment.

But, I held on to that title for far too long after it was apparent that Joe had taken over most of the editorial work because, well, because it’s an awesome title. A friend of mine jokes that the Regional Connector is her first child (as opposed to her human child). If that’s true, than Streetsblog L.A. will always be my virtual child, even if I’m making coo-coo noises with Santa Monica Next, LongBeachize, and Streetsblog California.

In the meantime, Joe has taken over most of the editorial and day-to-day writing that makes Streetsblog what it is. He’s been both a groundbreaking reporter covering stories that fall through the cracks of legacy media outlets and a tireless voice for reform where other advocacy organizations leave off. But even before he joined our staff, he was a founding Board Member and first Board Chair of the Southern California Streets Initiative, the non-profit that took over the fundraising and editorial for Streetsblog L.A. in 2010.

In short, there might not even be a Streetsblog L.A. without Joe, so there’s no better hands for the site to be in.

Today, we celebrate the work and career of Joe Linton as we all give him a virtual high-five on his promotion. By my count, there have been less than a dozen Streetsblog editors anywhere in the world, so he’s joining an elite group. Congratulations, Joe. Thanks for everything, and we’re all looking forward to seeing what comes next.