Melissa Ruhl
melissaruhl.bsky.social
Melissa Ruhl
@melissaruhl.bsky.social
I'm an avid reader, puzzle fanatic, and lover of San Francisco where I live with my husband and kitty. I'm a program manager with @waymo.bsky.social
Reposted by Melissa Ruhl
This is actually quite brilliant, up to and including the final sentence 🔥
December 1, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Just finished @davidcorbett.bsky.social's masterpiece, The Art of Character. I may not have a more underlined / dogeared book in my library. I took my time, reading about 10 min a day taking time to digest, absorb, and be inspired. Highly recommend this book. www.goodreads.com/book/show/15...
The Art of Character: Creating Memorable Characters for…
Former private investigator and New York Times notable …
www.goodreads.com
October 22, 2025 at 4:37 AM
Devastating news
October 12, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Reposted by Melissa Ruhl
We have a five-alarm fire inside the Department of Justice. I've been telling you about the dominoes falling over the last few months. Now it's all coming to a head. We must stay alert, informed, and outspoken. youtube.com/shorts/ZwC8B...
Five-alarm fire inside the DOJ
YouTube video by Lawyer Oyer
youtube.com
September 22, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Really such strange legislation when we need new retail all across San Francisco. Excellent read.
September 7, 2025 at 10:24 PM
😔
The rescinded funds are the latest setback to California's vision of connecting San Francisco and LA via a high-speed train.
Trump admin delivers another major blow to California high speed rail
www.newsweek.com
September 1, 2025 at 4:11 AM
The viral moment where Padilla bragged about suffocating housing in her district was indeed shocking.

Right after that, Senator Wiener refocused the conversation on what matters: robust housing as a fundamental need for healthy communities (start here: youtu.be/KyUp-rgpSJg?...).
August 31, 2025 at 1:34 AM
I'm really struggling with this.

I go to sites like DemocracyNow!, but they're a small operation and there's only so much they can cover.

Hard not to be disillusioned.
You know what's crazy? There have been no op-eds or editorial statements in major newspapers this year calling on Trump to resign. None calling for his impeachment. None asking if he's medically fit to be in office. Not one in any major newspaper all year.
August 23, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Reposted by Melissa Ruhl
Texas in 2025.
August 18, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Reposted by Melissa Ruhl
We need more & better transit. Transit makes cities better & more vibrant. It makes life more affordable. It reduces traffic & makes streets safer. And it helps us fight climate change. We’re working hard to improve investment in transit, make it work better & prevent devastating service cuts.
July 25, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Reposted by Melissa Ruhl
When I was little, the U.S. military came to our home at gunpoint and took me and my family away. We were imprisoned for years in barbed wire camps simply because we were Japanese American. I have spent my life telling that story, hoping it would never be repeated.
July 21, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Horrifying.
An Irish tourist in the U.S. tore his calf and was advised by a doctor not to fly due to the risk of blood clots. He tried to contact DHS to notify them. But when he had overstayed his visa by three days ICE arrested him. He spent 100 days in jail. (And it all started way before Trump took office.)
Irish tourist jailed by Ice for months after overstaying US visit by three days: ‘Nobody is safe’
Exclusive: For roughly 100 days, Thomas says he faced harsh detention conditions, despite agreeing to deportation
www.theguardian.com
July 16, 2025 at 4:59 AM
😔
“For those of us in the conflict prevention and stabilization space, those of us in the human rights space, and those of us in the mass atrocity prevention and accountability space, it ends the entire industry in the United States," one State Department employee told Mother Jones.
State Department employees brace for Friday layoffs
The Trump administration targets humanitarian, democracy, and conflict resolution bureaus.
www.motherjones.com
July 11, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Visited Vancouver w/ @lentinic.bsky.social and loved the unique skyline.

Sure enough, they've had a policy on the books for ~30 years that high rises "establish a significant and recognizable new benchmark for architectural creativity and excellence" ❤️

guidelines.vancouver.ca/policy-highe...
May 26, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Very welcome reforms from our kickass mayor
May 25, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Even though it took me a bit to get into, Intermezzo was well worth the read. A deep study of grief, siblinghood, and love, I definitely plan to read Intermezzo again.

www.goodreads.com/book/show/20...
Intermezzo
An exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and fami…
www.goodreads.com
March 15, 2025 at 4:20 PM
I've been learning ASL for a couple of years now and I had a lot of fun playing around with this new AI tool
February 21, 2025 at 4:53 AM
I just finished Beautiful Ruins by @jesswalter.bsky.social. I was deeply invested in each of the characters and didn't want to put it down. Highly recommend this and all of his books. www.goodreads.com/book/show/11...
Beautiful Ruins
"The best novel of the year." — Maureen Corrigan, NPR's…
www.goodreads.com
February 11, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Enjoyed a lovely walk in San Francisco, from Soma to Coit Tower and then to Greens Restaurant via Aquatic Park. Idyllic.

With @lentinic.bsky.social

First, the steep, many-staired walk up to Coit Tower with San Francisco's famous noisy parrots keeping us company
February 9, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Reposted by Melissa Ruhl
ELON IS ALLOWED IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. NOT YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES OR STUDENTS & PARENTS. I WILL BE BACK.
February 7, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Reposted by Melissa Ruhl
Today I joined several Members of Congress at the Department of Education to stand up for public education. Outrageously, they barred us from entering the building. We won’t let this stop our work to demand answers about how and why Trump and Musk are trying to defund and privatize public education.
February 7, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Reposted by Melissa Ruhl
It boggles the mind that we, as a country, looked at stuff like this and said "That's our guy."

And it's not like it was hidden or anything, we actually elected a guy that repeatedly spent campaign time rambling on about Hannibal Lecter.

It's crazy making.
February 6, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Years later, I'm still sad this parking lot in the middle of the city isn't housing.

But at least it's being used for something other than car storage and hopefully it'll be successful in connecting people in need to treatment.
San Francisco will open up a new outdoor triage center this week near the beleaguered Sixth Street corridor to crack down on the illicit drug market and make better use of limited staff and resources, the mayor’s office announced.
Infamous Nordstrom parking lot to serve as S.F. police command center for Sixth Street drug market
Sixth Street disarray: S.F. police to open new outdoor triage center to process drug arrests
www.sfchronicle.com
February 6, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by Melissa Ruhl
A blighted lot on a prime corner in SF may finally see homes built
A blighted lot on a prime corner in SF may finally see homes built
The former Touchless Car Wash site has come to symbolize wasted opportunity in a city desperate for new housing. A new plan could change that.
sfstandard.com
February 2, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Reposted by Melissa Ruhl
Yosemite National Park figured out a way to eliminate bumper-to-bumper traffic and hour-long waits: limit the number of visitors by requiring reservations.

But the reservation system is now on hold to give the Trump administration time to review the planned changes.
In major shift, Yosemite delays reservation system amid Trump administration review
Delays in moving forward with a permanent reservation system at Yosemite National Park in California are creating confusion.
www.sfchronicle.com
February 4, 2025 at 2:13 AM