I agree that the rules should be more consistently enforced and used; it sounds like Berkeley is making a bit of a mess of it. In SF the discussion has mostly been around narrowing streets and corners rather than temporary use.

A fire department that has to handle urban high rises and steep hills and rural wildland hills like Berkeley needs some heavy engines and big tanks and the ability to pump a lot of water. The average US engine can pump twice as much as a Euro engine. None of that comes with a tight turning radius.

I know people want housing for teachers, but the people we really *need* in town when the Big One hits are firefighters and first responders and nurses. They need subsidized housing (for families too) more than some other groups, at least if we want good emergency response.

While there are good solutions for both (I love retractable bollards, but the US doesn't want to pay for them) I'm a little tired of people who don't know fire engines saying "buy a teeny European model" that can't get up Berkeley hills. And firefighters, like nurses, can't afford to live in town.

The Bay Area has hills, which mean we don't just need bigger fire gear for show; we need torque to get up those hills at any speed, which means bigger engines and wheels. Trucks and engines also need room for wider turns, especially the ladder trucks for high rises.

I need the FEMA program to complete my degree in emergency management. Spring class registration opened today, and I can't register for classes I want because I can't prove that I took the FEMA prerequisites. I haven't been able to take any new FEMA courses for a month, either.

As someone studying disaster management, I was intrigued by their refusal to release those funds because they claim the funds were meant for "natural disasters". I guess man-made ones don't qualify. (Sarcasm. And weeping for FEMA.)

This was me with the original Star Wars. Grainy terrible copy-of-copy VHS with a several minute blank spot that missed the entire trash compactor scene. And the first copy of Jedi I saw was so grainy/blurry that entire things in the background didn't even exist.

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