Wednesday’s Headlines: Streetsblog Makes News Edition

Wow, what a slow livable streets news day it was yesterday — unless you knew where to look (and listened to the very end of Mayor's de Blasio's daily press call).

Our old man editor has been playing the eighth hitter for a few weeks now (a role he says he likes because he can relax and talk to his old Park Slope neighbor safe in the knowledge that everyone else in the vaunted New York press corps has hung up once the announcer says, "Time for one more question, let's go to Streetsblog...") — and on Tuesday, launched a doozy of a question that got the mayor to basically admit he has no central vision for open streets.

Of course we wrote it up, but Patch also used our Q&A as a jumping off point for an analysis of where the program is headed (and whether it is a "program" at all).

So that was fun. Here's the rest of the news:

• Everyone wants legal weed (looking at you, everyone), but no one wants people driving high. Lawmakers are trying to figure it out. (NYDN)
• The Times used the return of Shakespeare in the Park to suggest that al fresco culture will be booming this summer. But the Paper of Record didn't bother to mention the city's "open culture" program, which does not appear to be a "program" at all, but merely an easier permitting system.
• Like us, amNY covered the Bus Turnaround Coalition's report on making buses better.
• This isn't about safe streets or livable communities, but Gothamist's Sophia Chang provided a must-read on why all our kids are suffering in remote learning. All kids react differently — all are suffering.
• The Washington Post did a massive project on the inarguable need for police reform, some of which directly connected to the built environment that we're always writing about.
• Oh, and speaking of the need for police reform: Please don't forget to vote in the Borough Finals round of our March (Parking) Madness contest: It's the 88th Precinct vs. the 67th Precinct for the title of the Kings Knaves of Kings.