David Bonowitz

David Bonowitz

@dbonowitz.bsky.social

Buildings. Earthquakes. Public policy. Functional Recovery <--> Community Resilience. Giants baseball. Princeton hoops. contact: djbonowitz (with a 'j') at gmail

2.1K followers911 following9.3K posts

Read this whole thread (and don't miss the sly post at the end about how Americans deal with new technology, or fail to until there's a crisis). Specifically, this post looks like where we currently are re big data centers: tech pushing Community Benefit Agmts that only their lawyers understand.

Erik Loomis@erikloomis.bsky.social

By 1918, it was already paying people off for the air pollution and it faced lawsuits from residents, especially farmers, through the Great Depression. But in a climate of weak legal repercussions or regulation, this was merely a nuisance for U.S. Steel.

Good pod on the Valks-Dream finals: - the series - the cities and arenas vibes - how the league success is attracting troublemakers but shutting them down with joy & inclusion. Smart takes on the Vs' short rotation too, which I think is helping, even if it means fewer minutes for K. Chen.

Sarah Spain ✨@sarahspain.com

Get ready for Game 5 of the WNBA Finals tonight by watching my interview with Valks’ broadcaster @morganragan.bsky.social and Dream broadcaster Angel Gray! youtu.be/mZCr1a2FLrU?...

David Bonowitz reposted

I am thoroughly confused by a string of good news in the news and going to try really hard to just accept it as good news without worrying about jinxes or what comes next or what have you.

For the record, in the last 24 hours, the Jackson campaign sent me fundraising emails at: 7:04 am Sat 9:02 am 11:02 am 1:01 pm 3:02 pm 6:01 pm 7:11 pm 8:31 pm 4:11 am Sun 6:32 am I'm not complaining, but I do have to wonder if this is really an effective way to campaign, or just raise $, in 2026.

David Bonowitz@dbonowitz.bsky.social

This is the info I've been waiting on. Just donated to Peltola, Jackson, Brown, and Talarico ($546 each). I urge you to do the same, if you're able. A year ago, it was barely thinkable that we might win a Senate majority. Now it's real, and we cannot miss this opportunity.

"NOAH is the largest source of affordable housing in the United States, and preserving this housing stock is essential as cities face rising rents and displacement pressures." And in CA, preserving it means retrofitting buildings with collapse-prone "soft story" seismic deficiencies.

1/5 Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) is the largest source of affordable housing in the United States. A blog post released today shares findings from a new study looking at the impact of NOAH property sales on residential instability. ternercenter.berkeley.edu/blog/preserv...

Brilliant as usual from jomboy -- analytical, historical (Koufax cameo), comical, insightful. But for a #sfgiants fan of a certain age, almost any talk about check swings will be TOO SOON.

Jomboy Media (Unofficial)@jomboymedia-mirror.bsky.social

Umpire's no swing decision had a big impact on the game, a breakdown

If you've been following the golf course case, read this whole thread -- especially this nugget, which explains a lot that Judge Reyes is probably never going to have a chance to get steamed about.

The Giant Oval really looks like it's the future home of a memorial or something, right? Well, guess what? There happens to be a **completely unrelated** plan for something that the NPS insists they have no directive to build, and won't even entertain discussion of.

Wow. Reminds me of the recent age of hackers as heroes, only now MUCH better at it. Key: "The underlying flaws had been present for decades, the firm said, but proving they were exploitable required a chain of steps 'at ⁠the edge ​of what human researchers could practically achieve.' "

A good thread about modern inequity and self-assessment. I believe sentiment polling captures belief about the future more than it does about the present. "How are things?" is always at least a 2-part question to anyone who wants to give a thoughtful answer: How are they now, and what about tmrw?

hilzoy@hilzoy.bsky.social

Note: I have not weighed in on the “are we really economically badly off? Can you even read a chart?” debate, mostly because I assume most interesting things have already been said, and I don’t want to read through it all. But health care is a useful prism through which to view it, I think.

E.g.: Say you've proposed on a big project and are waiting to hear back. Until I hear, I might be anxious TODAY about next year. As soon as I hear I won, I feel relief, pride, even excitement, and "things" are going great ... even though nothing about TODAY's circumstances has actually changed.

As usual from T, this is the slipshod, corrupt, pro-developer version of Community Benefit Agreements: get a NDA and pay off the decision-makers & the poor who will suffer down the line. But big new DCs do have CBAs. The Q is whether towns have the resources to negotiate w/ Amazon's lawyers.

Matthew Gertz@mattgertz.bsky.social

“Mandated by me”? Is that how this works?

This one aged well, as they say.

David Bonowitz@dbonowitz.bsky.social

I know Amy as a family friend. I was concerned that she's just too nice to fight back against the coming attacks, despite her great work during the pandemic. Pepper as LG will help, but I predicted that her best shot is for Rs to keep showing themselves as corrupt, punchable a-holes. So far so good.

David Bonowitz reposted

The director of FEMA is not allowed to do this legally. The director of OMB is not allowed to do this legally. The President of the United States is not allowed to do this legally. They're a gang of criminals, and should suffer the consequences.

Don Moynihan@donmoyn.bsky.social

FEMA tells states: We're incompetent, hopelessly politicized, unable and willing to fulfill our statutory responsibilities. The take care clause of the constitution no longer exists. www.politico.com/news/2026/10...

Thanks for the gift link. The context for this typically thoughtful Bouie piece (from June) is 2029, or "post-Trump." But it's just as important to have a guiding theory for the next two years, as we hopefully transition from defense to offense. Key line: ...

Key line: "Democrats need a theory of constitutional power: a sense of what the Constitution is and how it both authorizes and legitimizes the kind of government they hope to build." I kinda said the same thing early in March 2025, and I'm sticking with my Rawlsian take: bsky.app/profile/dbon...

David Bonowitz@dbonowitz.bsky.social

20/ The purpose of government is not to make you rich*. Nor is it to stop you from becoming rich. Rather, it is to ensure that you don't have to BE rich to be a full member of the community, with: - physical safety - economic stability - democratic participation. * or confer any Rawlsian advantage

Read this kafkaesque thread, an October reminder: - They dismantled our academic & scientific institutions - They stole our money - Defense through the courts is not enough, even if we win years later - EVERY R is complicit - VOTE STRAIGHT D, and in 3 months we'll have new tools to resist & rebuild.

Kelton Minor@keltonminor.bsky.social

NIH replied *7 weeks* later, rejecting my transfer because the changes NIH demanded resulted in my research being different from what they originally approved.  They also said I added new experimental activities, when my research was non-experimental & used existing observational data. 12/

David Bonowitz reposted

Central and Eastern Washington experienced some of the most destructive fires we've ever seen in Washington state history. Today, I sent this video to the Trump Administration. We're asking them to grant a Major Disaster Declaration to help these communities recover.

David Bonowitz reposted

When the Loma Prieta earthquake hit on Tuesday October 17, 1989, BART was put to the test like never before. Not only did service resume just a few hours after the quake, BART ran 24-hours a day, seven days a week for about a month while the bridge was out.

Excellent companion piece (more about the politics) to @dventon.bsky.social 's piece earlier. As with so many issues, we lurch into hard answers only after easy ones fail. Could be that if we try Allen's approach & it doesn't work, we'll end up at Kim's anyway, but only after a crisis.

Mission Local@missionlocal.org

The role of California insurance commissioner comes with the power to regulate one of the world’s largest insurance markets. Find out what candidates Ben Allen and Jane Kim intend to do with that power below: missionlocal.org/2026/10/ben-...

IANA insurance expert, so I found this to be a good pre-election primer. Key line for me, from a NZ expert: “the only way to [stop rising premiums] is reduce the risk through public policy." To me, that means targeted, but mandatory, mitigation. That said ...

Danielle Venton@dventon.bsky.social

The idea is semi-modeled after programs in New Zealand and France. Could it work to solve Calif's wildfire insurance problem? I talked to half a dozen experts trying to give the idea the fairest shake possible. Please read and please SHARE if you find it helpful:

I'm a little surprised that the piece doesn't mention the California EQ Authority -- a public-private org that also developed (30 yrs ago) after a once-in-a-generation SoCal disaster and has faced reinsurance issues ... but, tbh, has not really been tested yet.

Happy Ave Maria day to those who celebrate. Two years ago today:

David Bonowitz@dbonowitz.bsky.social

I hear ya, but I remind myself it's still September. In OCTOBER two years ago, still significantly behind in national polls, he spent 30 minutes of a rally silently swaying to music on stage, and we all thought he was toast. Polls will tighten. Take NOTHING for granted, fellow Dems.

First, kudos to @mollyroberts.bsky.social for this 188-post live thread. tl'dr (tho I did read it, & if you think about development tradeoffs, efficieny & bureacracy, you should too): - Starts as righteous indignation about trees and potential contempt of court - But it turns out ...

Molly Roberts@mollyroberts.bsky.social

plaintiffs assert that NPS removed 529 trees on Saturday, including healthy, mature maples and oaks. the government was supposed to refrain from doing anything irreversible without providing enough notice for the court to act, but Judge Reyes hadn't entered a formal order until this morning

First, kudos to @mollyroberts.bsky.social for this 188-post live thread. tl'dr (tho I did read it, & if you think about development tradeoffs, efficieny & bureacracy, you should too): - Starts as righteous indignation about trees and potential contempt of court - But it turns out ...

Molly Roberts@mollyroberts.bsky.social

plaintiffs assert that NPS removed 529 trees on Saturday, including healthy, mature maples and oaks. the government was supposed to refrain from doing anything irreversible without providing enough notice for the court to act, but Judge Reyes hadn't entered a formal order until this morning

- But it's also about historic preservation (ugh)! and NEPA categorical exemptions! and work orders! - Look, sometimes you have to break some eggs. Remember the Kennedy Center we all want to keep standing? I bet they broke eggs to build that too ... - But ...

- But there's a right way and there's T's way, and good on Judge Reyes for bringing it back to trust and how mafia-style govt (the boss says a word, the media amplifies it, and career civil servants jump) is just unacceptable. - ... and yet, I bet nobody goes to jail. Again.

David Bonowitz reposted

Replying to @mollyroberts.bsky.social

"So now we're all gonna have a massive fire drill because the government can't be trusted. Unless you're gonna tell me that the government can be trusted?" Judge Reyes now proposes a plan.

David Bonowitz reposted

so the final four are * a team that has never won the World Series in its 28 seasons * a team that has never won the World Series in its 57 seasons * a team that hasn’t won the World Series in 77 seasons * Dodgers

It's October. Polls will tighten.

David Bonowitz@dbonowitz.bsky.social

I hear ya, but I remind myself it's still September. In OCTOBER two years ago, still significantly behind in national polls, he spent 30 minutes of a rally silently swaying to music on stage, and we all thought he was toast. Polls will tighten. Take NOTHING for granted, fellow Dems.

Following the AOC / Ossoff lead: "Affordability," but he doesn't shy away from putting the blame where it belongs.

Dan Ancona@danancona.bsky.social

I haven't posted or written these ads up yet, but I just have to say I am so proud of this one. I love the vibes and feel like it's an important story. We are telling voters the partisan truth: the reason things are tough is because of decades of right wing corruption. Currently up in #AZ02.

My brother, busier than he ought to be.

Death Penalty Action@deathpenaltyaction.bsky.social

The federal government has announced their intention to carryout the first military execution in more than 6 decades. If that wasn't bad enough, they announced their intention to livestream the execution for all to see. Below is a statement from Abraham Bonowitz, DPA's Executive Director.

David Bonowitz reposted

Watch this. Josh Shapiro was asked about the death penalty at tonight's PA Gov debate. Instead of dodging his changed position, like most politicians would, he raised it himself and explained how he evolved after a talk with his son. This is a skill. You don't see that often.

As predicted, @buffywicks.bsky.social ' code freeze is causing headaches while not producing the promised housing. We needed but did not get trailer legislation to clarify the exceptions, esp re existing buildings, mitigation, and mixed-use buildings.

Canary Media Inc.@canarymedia.com

California cities and counties want more efficient building standards. Legislation meant to curb housing prices is standing in their way.

"Fascism surges in moments of real material crisis." Another (maybe the best) reason to design for reliable recovery, not just immediate safety.

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David Bonowitz reposted

Three U.S. citizens arrested and detained by immigration agents are the first Californians to sue federal officers under the No Kings Act, hours after it was signed by Gov. Newsom last week.