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deborahmurphyla.bsky.social
Deborah Murphy
@deborahmurphyla.bsky.social
350 followers 200 following 120 posts
Champion of SAFE - safe, accessible, fun and equitable- streets. Jack Russell Terrier companion. Second generation Angeleno. Silver Lake resident.
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Reposted by Deborah Murphy
lahistory.bsky.social
Sat @ 7pm: There are a few free tickets left for the “Lost LA Evening at Libros Schmibros” in honor of the 10th anniversary of the #LostLA series. www.eventbrite.com/e/a-lost-la-... #LAevents
This gold-colored announcement features an old photo of the Mulholland Dam. The text reads: A Lost LA Evening at Libros Schmibros / Celebrating 10 Years of Lost LA / Three classic episodes / Q & A with host Nathan Masters / Saturday, September 19, 2026 / 7pm - 9pm / Libros Schmibros Lending Library / 103 N. Boyle Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90033. Image from Libros Schmibros Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DczJp1kynom/?hl=en
September 18, 2026 at 2:35 AM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
awalkerinla.bsky.social
More excellent analysis at @fieldofschemes.bsky.social looking at the myth of increased output and how these models don't really account for the displacement of spending as locals flee town: "This is pretty much garbage-in, garbage-out"
No, the 2028 Olympics won’t be a $20B boon to the SoCal economy
Speaking of bad math, an economic analysis of the impact of the 2028 Olympics on Los Angeles, conducted by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. on behalf of the city's Olympic organizing ...
www.fieldofschemes.com
September 16, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
awalkerinla.bsky.social
Listen carefully to what Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins said at this SCAG panel earlier this month about buses for 2028.

"If we find ourselves where we're not getting the federal funding we need... LA28 will have to find some other delivery partner for it, because we can't undermine everyday service"
September 16, 2026 at 3:35 PM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
riffle.bsky.social
Oh that example from Matheson is killer.

"Imagine an airplane landing at an airport and everyone gets out and gives each other a million bucks, then gets back on the plane. That's $200 million in economic activity, but it's not any benefit to the local economy."
awalkerinla.bsky.social Alissa Walker @awalkerinla.bsky.social · 4d
Also please enjoy my absolute favorite criticism of these types of economic impact reports from College of the Holy Cross economic professor Victor Matheson
September 15, 2026 at 7:46 PM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
awalkerinla.bsky.social
Advocates are rallying at City Hall tomorrow to demand that LA Mayor Karen Bass declare a state of emergency due to the city’s spiking traffic deaths — already 8% higher than the same time last year
MEDIA ADVISORY Advocates and Community Members Demand a State of Emergency and More to Address Spike in Traffic Violence The stats speak for themselves: • The City of Los Angeles has had more traffic fatalities than homicides for the past 3 years. • In 2025, Los Angeles had 324 traffic fatalities and 16,160 people injured; that's 3.5% higher than in 2024 (313). (Source: TIMS) • So far this year, traffic fatalities are already well over 200 and are currently running 8% higher than the same time last year. (Source: LAPD as of 22 Aug 2026) In 2015, Los Angeles started Vision Zero, LA's plan to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2025. That plan failed, and traffic fatalities are now 34% higher than they were in 2015(241 compared to 324). (Source: TIMS) Since then, LA has failed to produce a comprehensive plan to reduce traffic violence. In April 2025, an independent analysis of Vision Zero found 13 key points of failure. All of these boil down to poor coordination and prioritization within and across city departments as well as a lack of political will. None of this has been fixed. On 11 May 2026, in an email, Ms Tina Backstrom from the LA Mayor's office stated that Mayor Karen Bass had an Executive Directive on her desk to re-launch Vision Zero and that it would be reviewed and signed within three weeks. This was never done. Los Angeles has spent more than a decade promising to eliminate traffic deaths. Not only did Vision Zero fail, but things have gotten worse, and now, instead of fixing what continues to fail, the city has chosen to ignore the problem.
September 15, 2026 at 12:04 AM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
awalkerinla.bsky.social
Yes, it is my job to be the annoying "what if the Olympics and/or Paralympics were today" voice repeating with growing insistence in the back of your brain for the next 671 days.

Plus LA28's plan to use street vendors, LA County's economic impact report, and much more in this week's Hot Links 🔥
"The surf took the beach we planned this on"
A hurricane canceling a 30,000-person megaevent demonstrates the future that's coming for us
www.torched.la
September 13, 2026 at 12:17 AM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
huscicw.bsky.social
🧵 Los Angeles just renamed Pershing Square in honor of Biddy Mason, who was born into slavery but won her freedom and went on to become a prominent landowner, philanthropist, and community leader.

Learn more about her extraordinary life with Kevin Waite about his new biography: bit.ly/icwSept24
September 9, 2026 at 9:04 PM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
lintonjoe.bsky.social
Heading out to groundbreaking for bike/walk upgrades on Spring & Alameda. LADOT project connects to Union Station, Chinatown Station, and on-street connections for LA River path into DTLA. Early construction is already underway: la.streetsblog.org/2026/08/24/e...
Eyes on the Street: Spring/Alameda Bikeway Construction - Streetsblog Los Angeles
LADOT is adding a 1.2-mile of new protected bike lanes, connecting cyclists to Union Station and L.A. State Historic Park
la.streetsblog.org
September 10, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
awalkerinla.bsky.social
👀 convention.nithyaforthecity.com
What $100 Million Could Buy
Los Angeles is paying $100 Million a year for the next 30 years to pay for the Convention Center expansion. See what that money could have funded instead.
convention.nithyaforthecity.com
September 10, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
awalkerinla.bsky.social
LA28 is also looking for your input on "authentic cultural, historical, and regional culinary stories from communities in and around Los Angeles" to help curate local food vendor selection: app.smartsheet.com/b/form/019f8...

More on this survey in the latest Hot Links
Hot labor summer games
This mayoral endorsement is setting up an even bigger fight about who will stand with workers as they turn the heat up on LA28
www.torched.la
September 10, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
laforward.bsky.social
LA should work for families.

Join @nithyaforthecity.bsky.social on Sept. 22 at 5:30 PM for a virtual town hall on what LA families need—from housing and child care to parks and public safety.

Have a question for Nithya? Bring it.

RSVP: nithyaforthecity.com/families
September 9, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
lahistory.bsky.social
Sep 26: Glen Creason will be speaking at #LAPL www.lapl.org/events/centr...

"We will discuss [The Library Book] with Central Library’s map librarian emeritus, Glen Creason, who experienced the fire firsthand and then joined the intense effort to save the collection and reopen the library in 1993."
lamaterial.com L.A. Material @lamaterial.com · 14d
Before Google, L.A. had Glen Creason and the L.A. Central Library. As a reference librarian, Creason answered 100+ questions a day from callers across the city — and beyond.

Read this first hand account of his time at the L.A. Central Library: buff.ly/mRTDktL
When We Were Google
A former reference librarian at the L.A. Central Library on the wonders of a bygone L.A. job.
buff.ly
September 9, 2026 at 11:11 PM
deborahmurphyla.bsky.social
Very cool map 🗺️
lahistory.bsky.social @LAhistory @lahistory.bsky.social · 10d
September 9, 1850: California entered the Union as the nation's 31st state. Unique Map of #California (1885), via @uclalibrary.bsky.social: digital.library.ucla.edu/catalog/ark:... #CaliforniaAdmissionDay
Within this map of California (circa 1885) are three inset maps that display soil types, temperature ranges, and geographical areas of California. Pictorial insets feature notable natural & man-made landmarks across the state, such as Palm Canyon, Yosemite, Mt. Whitney, Hotel del Coronado and the Hotel del Monte. Acreage and the principal crops are listed in each county. A smaller drawing of California is situated on the bottom left showing how smaller states fit within the state lines. A close up of this 1885 map shows counties in Southern California, such as Los Angeles, Ventura, San Diego, San Bernardino. Orange County is not included on this map as it was established in 1889. This smaller image of California reflects how smaller states fit within state's border. States include: New York, Ohio, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware
September 9, 2026 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
awalkerinla.bsky.social
I’m at the combination public works and transportation committee meeting getting a presentation on the proposed recommendations for LA’s Capital Infrastructure Program.

Kind of digging these buckets as a way to organize capital projects citywide
Recommendation 3: Citywide Guiding Principles EIGHT CAPITAL PROGRAM CATEGORIES Mobility Parks, Arts, Libraries Environment Community Stabilization 我 Utilities/Core Services Technology & Digital First Response Admin & Operations → To more fully communicate the breadth and type of capital projects in the City → To replace the 2 TIP / CTIEP bifurcation of projects between: • Physical Plant • Municipal Facilities 17 Recommendation 7: Project Scoring and Prioritization SCORING RUBRICS FOR PROGRAM CATEGORIES → Mobility for streets, roadways, bridges, trails, transpo → Parks, Arts, Libraries for parks, cultural, educational → Environment for natural habitat, stewardship, water → Community Stabilization for housing/homelessness → Utilities / Core Services for power, water, waste → Technology / Digital for internet, security, networks → First Response for public safety, police, fire, emer. → Admin/ Operations for city offices, yards + shops WHAT SCORING WILL DO Help us understand how capital projects meet mayoral, council and stakeholder priorities Increase transparency and communication Allow us to look across multiple projects to help determine priority or sequencing of construction → Highlight worthy projects that may be otherwise be overlooked 18
September 8, 2026 at 11:25 PM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
awalkerinla.bsky.social
Unite Here Local 11 endorsed Nithya Raman for mayor — and it's because they think she'll protect the city from megaevents.

Plus the Lucas Museum opens, researchers say 6,000 homeless people will be displaced around LA28 venues, and so much more news in this special Labor Day edition of Hot Links 🔥
Hot labor summer games
This mayoral endorsement is setting up an even bigger fight about who will stand with workers as they turn the heat up on LA28
www.torched.la
September 7, 2026 at 11:06 PM
deborahmurphyla.bsky.social
Important facts to know before voting 🗳️ for mayor in November
awalkerinla.bsky.social Alissa Walker @awalkerinla.bsky.social · 12d
Wow! Former LA city heat officer Marta Segura brings receipts after Karen Bass' statements in last week's environmental policy mayoral debate. Bass said Segura was removed due to her office's supposed failure to complete a climate action plan.

Read here: martaspeaks.medium.com/the-real-cit...
What the record shows Three facts, all in public documents linked at the end. 1. The ordinance that created my office never assigned the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan to CEMO. 2. When the City funded that plan in 2024, the $1.5 million went to the City Administrative Officer to hire a consultant to get it done through our CAO's budget office, and a Climate Impact Team was created there. This Mayor signed that budget. 3. The Mayor's own climate plan, published in April 2026, states that the CAO's budget office was instructed to develop the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. (A consultant also created this, with minimal community input.) So the Mayor put the climate plan in another department, paid for it there, and wrote that decision into her own climate plan. Then, at the forum, she said my office failed to finish it, when it was never our assignment, and gave that as the reason to cut the office and remove the founding Chief Heat Officer. Both accounts cannot be true.
September 7, 2026 at 9:47 PM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
awalkerinla.bsky.social
Last month, local officials said that 1,600 homeless people would be displaced by the security zones around LA28 venues.

This group of UCLA and USC researchers say that number is closer to 6,000 (and that doesn't include Pasadena or Long Beach)
September 7, 2026 at 2:49 PM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
southbayforward.bsky.social
🚍✨ The South Bay Transit Summit is Sat, Sept 19 (10 AM – 1 PM) at the Torrance Transit Center! Hear from @metrolosangeles & Torrance Transit, connect w/ community orgs & learn about Mega-Event planning for LA28 and beyond. RSVP: www.southbayforward.org/sbts26 #SouthBayTransitSummit
South Bay Transit Summit 2026
South Bay Forward invites you to our 3rd Annual South Bay Transit Summit, in partnership with Torrance Transit and SoCal Transit Month. Join us on Sat, September 19th 2026 from 10 am - 1 pm at the Tor...
www.southbayforward.org
September 5, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
lahistory.bsky.social
"The prosperous condition in this city is not enjoyed by those who toil,” C. F. Grow, Southern Pacific Railroad machinist & labor leader (1914). #LaborDay #LaborHistory

"Sunshine Was Never Enough: Los Angeles Workers, 1880-2010" -> www.google.com/books/editio... #BookSky
An excerpt from “Sunshine Was Never Enough” reads: Some of the other pro-employer testimony was genuine, and the commissioners were right to accept it at face value. But Commissioner James O'Connell (who was also president of the International Association of Machinists) invited several union leaders to testify, with enlightening results. C.F. Grow, a machinist at the Southern Pacific Railroad's repair shop, openly criticized the anti-union strategy of the Merchants and Manufacturers Association, although he did not name the organization specifically. "The prosperous condition in this city is not enjoyed by those who toil," Grow said. "We have combinations of men .. who are very, very wealthy. They dominate all the railroad lines and everything [that] comes under their domination and power. If labor was only half so prosperous as these gentlemen, I think we would be very well satisfied.” J. W. Buzzell, business agent for the Metal Trades Council, who would later become secretary of the Los Angeles Central Labor Council, was more specific. He challenged booster assertions about labor prosperity by citing state reports showing that the wages earned by metalworkers in San Francisco, Texas, and Illinois were significantly higher than those earned by metalworkers in L.A. In San Francisco, Buzzell stated, metalworkers made $, an hour for an eight-hour day; in Texas, they made from $3.75 to $5 a day for eight hours of work. But in Los Angeles, metalworkers earned only "$2.50 a day to $4.50 a day for the same class of work." In some nonunion metal shops, Buzzell added pointedly, "they work eight hours for whatever the boss can get them to work for." The cover of the book "Sunshine Was Never Enough: Los Angeles Workers, 1880-2010" by John H. M. Laslett features a b/w photo an oil well gusher and fire in Signal Hill (circa early 20th century).
September 7, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
davidzipper.bsky.social
Fresh evidence that car touchscreens are a giant step backwards for road safety:

"For all tasks, the touchscreen was associated with increased visual distraction."

doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...
September 6, 2026 at 12:40 PM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
lahistory.bsky.social
Celebrate Los Angeles’ 245th birthday at El Pueblo on Saturday (via Instagram: www.instagram.com/p/Dc3tmZViXJn/) #OlveraStreet
Set against a background of the official flag of Los Angeles, this announcement reads: "Happy Birthday Los Angeles! Celebrating 245 years! When: Saturday, September 5th / Where: Golondrina Patio / Hours: 12pm - 4pm / Join us to celebrate the birthplace of LA with live entertainment & cake. Performance by EQNX."
September 4, 2026 at 8:35 PM
deborahmurphyla.bsky.social
Declare a State of Emergency in LA Due to Traffic Violence ujoin.co/campaigns/42...
Declare a State of Emergency in LA Due to Traffic Violence
<h2>Traffic Violence in Los Angeles is OUT OF CONTROL! </h2> <p><br />The City of Los Angeles has not been taking traffic violence and the public health crisis that is, seriously. </p> <p>In 2015, the...
ujoin.co
September 3, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
crampell.bsky.social
I like that this design appears to show the birth date of liberty as 1776, and its death as 2026
September 2, 2026 at 1:23 PM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
lahistory.bsky.social
"The long-delayed memorial underscores the cemetery’s push to preserve local history, ensuring the Raker children’s names and stories remain part of Inglewood’s collective memory for generations." #Inglewood
September 2, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Reposted by Deborah Murphy
lahistory.bsky.social
Organized by the California Preservation Foundation, “Doors Open California” begins this weekend. While most of the #LACounty tours take place later in the month, the Breed Street Shul "guided experience" is on Sunday. californiapreservation.org/doca/ #LAevents
Screen capture about the Breed Street Shul "guided experience" on Sunday, September 6 (10am - 3pm). Text reads: Preview the Rebirth of Boyle Heights' Queen of the Shuls / Los Angeles / Preview the transformation of Breed Street Shul, the Boyle Heights landmark once known as the Queen of the Shuls. This guided experience highlights the 1923 Byzantine Revival synagogue, the earlier 1915 building, and the preservation effort connecting Jewish, Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, and other Los Angeles communities.Visitor details: Staggered 45-minute tours. Portions of the site may be restricted or not ADA-accessible during rehabilitation. Set against a color photo of the First Congregational Church of Long Beach, the text in this banner reads: California Preservation Foundation presents Doors Open California 2026 / Explore historic places across the state / 70+ sites * Behind-the-scenes access * Special tours / Weekends in September 2026 / californiapreservation.org
September 2, 2026 at 7:13 PM