Jason Islas
Recent Posts
Santa Monica Could Tap Hulu as “Presenting Sponsor” for Breeze Bike Share
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Update: Hulu bike-share sponsorship was approved by the Santa Monica City Council at its October 13 meeting. The Santa Monica-based online entertainment company, Hulu, may become the “presenting sponsor” of Santa Monica’s Breeze Bike Share, L.A. County’s first public bike-share system. The City Council will vote tonight (Tuesday) on whether to sign a five-year contract for the […]
Lessons From UCLA’s TransportationCamp
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What do you get when dozens of transportation professionals, technologists, and others interested in improving urban transportation networks all in one room at UCLA on a Saturday morning? The answer is Los Angeles’ very first TransportationCamp. While there were no bonfires or arts and crafts, Saturday’s event was different than your usual gathering of transportation […]
Westside Urban Forum Tackles “Healthy Communities”
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What is a healthy community? And what role does the built environment play in creating a healthy community? These were the questions tackled by a Westside Urban Forum panel Friday, moderated by UCLA Professor, Fred Zimmerman, who chairs the Department of Health Policy and Management. Also on the panel were Streetsblog L.A. Communities Editor Sahra […]
Can High-Density Housing Solve Our Regional Housing Crisis? The Answer: It’s Complicated
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Southern California Public Radio affiliate KPCC, in partnership with the Milken Institute, assembled a panel of experts Wednesday night to answer the question: can high-density housing solve the housing crisis currently facing L.A. County and California? For those who have been following news about the crippling housing supply crisis in our region, it may not […]
Eyes on the Street: Breeze Bike Share Is Operational in SaMo
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Los Angeles County’s first public bike-share system has begun testing this week in Santa Monica. Seven test hubs with a total of 31 bikes have been set up around the city. CycleHop, the company running the system, has recruited about 80 founding members as test users* to try out the bikes over the next month. […]
“An Exemplary Model”: An Interview with Santa Monica City Manager Rick Cole, Part III
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Santa Monica Next sat down to talk with Rick Cole, who took the reins as Santa Monica’s city manager on June 29 after leaving his post at L.A. City Hall as deputy mayor in charge of budget and innovation. The Pasadena native and 30-year veteran of local and regional politics spoke with us about his goals […]
“Courage, Tenacity, and Imagination”: An Interview with Santa Monica City Manager Rick Cole, Part II
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Santa Monica Next sat down to talk with Rick Cole, who took the reins as Santa Monica’s city manager on June 29 after leaving his post at L.A. City Hall as deputy mayor in charge of budget and innovation. The Pasadena native and 30-year veteran of local and regional politics spoke with us about his goals […]
“A City on the Beach”: An Interview with Santa Monica City Manager Rick Cole, Part I
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Santa Monica Next sat down to talk with Rick Cole, who took the reins as Santa Monica’s city manager on June 29 after leaving his post at L.A. City Hall as deputy mayor in charge of budget and innovation. The Pasadena native and 30-year veteran of local and regional politics spoke with us about his goals […]
Metro Planning Committee Approves Bike-Share Contract
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As expected, at yesterday’s meeting the Metro Planning and Programming Committee approved the contract for the first phase of Metro bike-share. The final approval is now expected at next Thursday’s meeting of the full Metro board of directors. The initial phase of Metro bike-share will be located in downtown Los Angeles, extending from Union Station […]
As Metro Considers Bike-Share Vendor, Concerns Over Compatibility Arise in Santa Monica
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News broke this week that Metro will soon vote on a bike share vendor for the agency’s “Countywide Bikeshare” system, which will start with a 1000-bike pilot program in Downtown L.A. But that has some leaders concerned in Santa Monica, which will launch a 500-bike bike share system of its own this summer, about whether […]
Expo Is Coming, Santa Monica! But When Will It Get Here?
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Expo Phase II completes the long-anticipated rail connection between Downtown Los Angeles and Downtown Santa Monica. Construction on Phase II began in 2011. Currently, the Expo line ends in Culver City. When the new 6.6-mile extension opens next year, it will be possible to take the train from the beach to Downtown Los Angeles for […]
Some Highlights From Yesterday’s Live Ride Share Conference
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Yesterday Transit Center, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), Move L.A., and the Shared Use Mobility Center, joined forces with two dozen other organizations and businesses to host Live Ride Share. The conference was billed as the “first to focus on shared mobility in Southern California [and] highlighted […]