Stevenfalk

The moon right now.

Mt. Whitney

BIKE YOUR WALK!

We saw the movie Companion last night. Can recommend. The first 45 minutes are terrific.

Oakland mayors are less powerful than you think They have the top job and can hire and fire police chiefs and city administrators, but they're not the "strong mayors" some other cities have.

Oakland mayors are less powerful than you think.

oaklandside.org/2025/02/11/o...

We're back home now from trekking in Torres del Paine, and it's everything they say it is, just one super superlative after another. A few photos:

The L.A. Fires Expose a Web of Governments, Weak by Design Who’s in charge? The muddled jurisdiction of Los Angeles leaves a critical question in doubt.

www.nytimes.com/2025/01/19/u... via @NYTimes

Same is true for Oakland. Someone should write an article about it.

TIL:

Chip is a nickname for a guy named after his dad ("Chip off the old block").

Skip is for a guy named after their granddad ("skipped" a generation).

Trip(p) is for a third in line with the same name as his dad and granddad ("triple").

If you were wondering why so many fires.

I won’t
For the rest of my life
Forget the winter
That we rode bicycles
Through the orange groves in Portugal.

The sun shined bright
On the white houses in the villages
And on the turquoise sea
And on the two of us
And we were happy again.

There’s a new star in the night sky to guide our way.

Pretty Porto

Gatekeeper at St. Peter’s just now getting over his confusion after some dude showed up and said “Rickey has arrived!”

RIP King! You were the greatest lead off hitter of all time!

Opinion: Broken Oakland needs more than a new mayor — what’s wrong and how to fix it No matter who is elected, the mayor will be weak, councilmembers frustrated, city administrator torn and city attorney conflicted

www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/20/o...

Opinion: Broken Oakland needs more than a new mayor — what’s wrong and how to fix it Insider’s perspective: No matter who is elected, the mayor will be weak, councilmembers frustrated, city administrator torn and city attorney conflicted

This is a very important and thoughtful piece for Oakland residents to read. It's written by former acting City Administrator Steve Falk. The problem is not just the people elected, it's also an unusual government structure that lacks logical lines of authority. The result: No one is in charge.

Opinion: Broken Oakland needs more than a new mayor — what’s wrong and how to fix it No matter who is elected, the mayor will be weak, councilmembers frustrated, city administrator torn and city attorney conflicted

www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/20/o...

San Francisco Bay under fog this morning.

Words Only Go So Far

Acrylic and Oil on Birch Board

www.stevenbradleyfalk.com

I guess we don’t exist. @spellingbee

Little bit of #JonathanRichman playing at the Ivy Room last night.

The correct temperature for a thermostat is 69 degrees.

New eras, same bubbles: the forgotten lessons of history With US equities at record valuation peaks, investors should re-examine their risk appetite

www.ft.com/content/abec...

Perfect late autumn day with old friends at Briones Reservoir.

Voters swept out progressives in this Bay Area city. Can new leaders solve its problems? A shift toward more conservative leadership underscored just how far voters in Antioch were willing to go to address concerns over public safety and corruption.

Half dozen people have now asked me what’s the deal with the city manager who got fed up and ran for mayor. 👀

www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...

This is the guy who won the Timothee Chalamet lookalike contest.