Zac Estrada
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zacestrada.com
Zac Estrada
@zacestrada.com
3.2K followers 1.4K following 2.6K posts
L.A. freelance writer/editor.
Contributor, Gizmodo. Prev. The Verge, Jalopnik, others.
Climate/energy, transportation, tech, TV.
@zacestrada elsewhere. Signal zacestrada.01
https://linktr.ee/zacestrada 🏳️‍🌈
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zacestrada.com
And the mayor of Santa Barbara's begrudging statement www.noozhawk.com/randy-rowse-...
The confusion and fear that has been prompted by recent activities of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has led many Santa Barbara residents to ask for a response. While a number of clarifying official statements have been issued by our City of Santa Barbara administration and law enforcement, requests have been made for me to weigh in as mayor as well. Our laws and the rule of law must be upheld and enforced with clarity, consistency and with respect to the civil rights of all. The men and women who wear the SBPD shield, to a person, take their oath and rigorous training regimen very seriously.
February 1, 2026 at 4:08 AM
zacestrada.com
Rivian wants to put a much needed delivery/service point in Goleta, which would be the only one between LA and San Jose. But the only thing this one's near is the Santa Barbara Airport where an old Chrysler dealership used to be. Sounds appealing www.edhat.com/news/rivian-...
Rendering of Rivian Santa Barbara service and sales building proposed in Goleta
January 30, 2026 at 12:57 AM
zacestrada.com
It's true. It's like she thinks she's the only person who realizes it's been the 21st century for a quarter of a century now
Paragraph from Bari Weiss remarks to CBS News employees: "So here it is as plain as I can say it: I am here to make CBS News fit for purpose in the 21st Century."
January 28, 2026 at 12:18 AM
zacestrada.com
Wow these people www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/b...
The Post generally sent about 10 to 20 newsroom employees to cover the Olympics, though it typically devoted more resources to the summer games than to the winter competitions. In 2024, for example, the newspaper sent 26 journalists to cover the summer games in Paris — a peak deployment for The Post, according to one Post employee. It had secured 14 credentials for the Milano Cortina games, the person said. According to the Post employee, the newspaper has already paid the vast majority of its expenses to cover the competition. Those include flights for the journalists, housing and office space at the Olympics site. Housing alone tallies at least $80,000, the employee said. Post management approved the outlays at each step along the way, according to the employee.
January 26, 2026 at 2:49 AM
zacestrada.com
Both read like corporate risk management statements except they’re from the same person and he calls it “analysis”
Elex Michaelson, CNN anchor, from Threads: If we don’t take a deep breath, we’re headed for more chaos…and likely more lives lost. #analysis #elexmichaelson
January 25, 2026 at 3:29 AM
zacestrada.com
The Volvo EX60 is a long-range electric vehicle that represents the company forging ahead in a less-predictable EV market and moving past an uneven start with ground-up electrics gizmodo.com/volvos-ex60-...
Volvo EX60 front 3/4 Volvo EX60 Cross Country front 3/4 Volvo EX60 Dashboard Volvo EX60 Charging Port
January 21, 2026 at 5:39 PM
zacestrada.com
The Base Station Prototype follows Honda's signature "Man Maximum/Machine Minimum" design philosophy—maximizing space for people, while minimizing the footprint of mechanical components, a principle behind the packaging magic found in many of Honda's award-winning cars and light trucks. As a result, the Base Station will fit in a standard residential garage or parking space, yet its interior is open, spacious, airy and bright. Five large side windows allow for plenty of natural light, and can be removed and replaced with various accessories. The top of the Base Station Prototype can be quickly raised to create seven feet of stand-up space, while a top-hinged rear tailgate enables free flow between the Base Station and campsite. Base Station can sleep a family of four comfortably with a large futon-style couch that folds out to provide a queen-sized sleeping area and an optional kids' bunk bed.
January 14, 2026 at 2:33 PM
zacestrada.com
Wasn't just me. It's sort of like a high school TV news operation www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/b...
Mr. Dokoupil’s teleprompter flub last week came about after Ms. Weiss asked to add an on-air analysis of why Mr. Trump had extricated Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela. In the rush before airtime, the new material was inadvertently added twice into the script, the three people with knowledge of the evening’s events said. Mr. Dokoupil was flummoxed when he encountered the same words twice, asking his producers out loud which segment he was supposed to turn to next.
January 13, 2026 at 5:09 PM
zacestrada.com
Now they have a legitimate reason not to call the hatch a wagon because, I mean, it's close (all three are messes of designs but I like it on the hatch)
Kia K4 Hatchback side
January 13, 2026 at 4:56 PM
zacestrada.com
Do you think it took this administration this long to figure out that health impacts were taken to account all this time? www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...
Under President Trump, the E.P.A. plans to stop tallying gains from the health benefits caused by curbing two of the most widespread deadly air pollutants, fine particulate matter and ozone, when regulating industry, according to internal agency emails and documents reviewed by The New York Times.
January 12, 2026 at 9:44 PM
zacestrada.com
Only time I say yes to "more dates"
Saab of Mission Viejo, 2008 Volvo Mission Viejo, 2023
December 31, 2025 at 4:11 AM
zacestrada.com
I expected worse on the homepage of a nearby Gannett property and, honestly, three out of five plus one ad isn't bad for them these days
Ventura County Stary Local Stories Dec. 28, 2025
December 28, 2025 at 2:02 PM
zacestrada.com
Good, I asked for money
Coca-Cola coin bank c.199-
December 25, 2025 at 11:09 PM
zacestrada.com
gizmodo.com/trumps-tiny-...
Americans already have a lot of choices, not just in cars, but in how to get around at all, what fuel powers their choice, and how much fuel is needed. Trump’s proposal won’t change the way the country currently and historically thinks about small cars. For kei cars to ever have a chance in the U.S., it’s going to take more than some lip service from a President who is desperate to show he has any policies that make life more affordable.
December 5, 2025 at 3:29 PM
zacestrada.com
Oh good, another car that took a useful feature that the driver (a driver is required in this one) should use on a constant basis while in motion far less comfortable or safe to use. I think we still have some motor vehicle safety standards left www.edmunds.com/car-news/202...
Edmunds review of 2027 BMW iX3 interior ergonomics: "When your hands are placed at the correct 9-and-3 position, the little indents for your thumbs are slanted and they'll occasionally slide down into the little divots closer to the center. The would-be 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock stalks don't physically connect to the hub of the wheel, so your thumbs could get pinched between the wheel rim and the airbag."
December 3, 2025 at 11:44 PM
zacestrada.com
They even make an appeal to all of you station wagon lovers/mourners out there www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa....
December 3, 2025 at 9:52 PM
zacestrada.com
Almost four pages of the proposal is just a guide to abbreviations in case it isn't yet clear yet that most people don't understand stuff like BEV, HEV, LKA, CRAP in your writing www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa....
Table of acronyms and abbreviations used by USDOT and NHTSA
December 3, 2025 at 9:23 PM
zacestrada.com
It's an ill-fitting project that's too large for a road that's terrible for bikes, pedestrians, buses and cars but that's a city problem, not the state's www.independent.com/2025/09/15/b...
The developers, known collectively as the Mission LLC, have called the move an attempt by wealthy NIMBYs to obstruct low-income housing. The project would build 270 units of housing — including 54 affordable units — on a roughly five-acre sloping property. Last Monday, State Senator Monique Limón, who represents Santa Barbara County as well as parts of Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties, introduced amendments to Senate Bill 131 (SB 131), the bill that exempted many urban residential projects from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Limón said she added amendments to several parts of the bill — not just the language impacting the project behind the Mission. “I provided feedback in order to address a number of pieces related to SB 131, including tribal consultation, habitat definition for protected species, advanced manufacturing, and local impact,” she said.
December 2, 2025 at 2:13 PM
zacestrada.com
"A representative for Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón told CalMatters that the senator was involved in crafting that exemption language. During a tour of an avocado farm in Ventura last month, Limón declined to comment on her role." www.latimes.com/california/s...
"Buried deep in Senate Bill 158, the bill passed by state lawmakers targeting the Los Olivos project, is a mention of the state law around infill urban housing developments. Senate Bill 158 clarified that certain developments should not be exempt from this law. Developments in “a city with more than 85,000 but fewer than 95,000 people, and within a county of between 440,00 and 455,000 people,” and which are also near a historical landmark, regulatory floodway and watershed, are not exempt, the bill stated. According to the 2020 census, Santa Barbara has a population of 88,768. Santa Barbara County has a population of 448,229. And the project sits near both a creek and the Santa Barbara Mission."
December 2, 2025 at 1:54 PM
zacestrada.com
When BYD gets to the US they'll also have to invest in some giant inflatable balloons and a Ricardo Montalban hologram or something like that www.politico.com/news/magazin...
On an average day on Machedo’s lot, two or three cars get sold. On Saturdays, when he hires a DJ and puts out food — what he calls the “BYD experience” — sales often hit double digits. BYD — marketed under the slogan “Build Your Dreams” — has become one of the top selling brands in the country in just two years.
November 24, 2025 at 4:04 PM
zacestrada.com
Just begging for that AARP Best Movie for Grownups award www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
James L. Brooks 2025 film "Ella McCay" description: An expressly political comedy set in a relatively manageable but unnamed American state in 2008, “Ella McCay” follows the 30s-ish title character (Emma Mackey) as she is tapped to move up from lieutenant governor to governor when her ambitious, charismatic boss (Albert Brooks) is picked to be secretary of the Interior.
November 24, 2025 at 2:29 PM
zacestrada.com
What an, um, efficient statement www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
"That doesn't exist," Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor told Reuters earlier this month when asked about DOGE's status.
November 23, 2025 at 2:32 PM
zacestrada.com
Ro Khanna is using terms I see in Toyota Camry press releases to describe senators www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
On Sunday, Khanna praised some leading Senate Democrats, calling Sen. Chris Murphy (Conn.) a “top leader” and Sens. Cory Booker (N.J.) and Brian Schatz (Hawaii) “dynamic” as well as saying he “appreciates” the ideology of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.).
November 16, 2025 at 7:42 PM
zacestrada.com
Was going to say it was just the person who wrote the headline but then this is the second paragraph
The emails are like a portal back to a lost Manhattan power scene. Mr. Epstein’s inbox was larded with boldface names — many of them now faded or forgotten — that once meant everything to status-obsessed New Yorkers. It was the world that Donald Trump came out of, and the one that Mr. Epstein had so effectively beguiled after having grown up in a middle-class household in Coney Island.
November 16, 2025 at 3:58 PM
zacestrada.com
Airports in general are good examples of this but LAX is probably a specific case study
Jacob Wasserman, who manages research at the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, warns the traffic nirvana won’t last. “Initially, these changes could alleviate traffic in the area and on the freeways to some degree, but it’s going to fill up again,” he said. “We all have Google Maps. When there’s less traffic, more cars will naturally file in and it’ll fill up. It’s going to move more people in total, but it’s not going to fix traffic.”
November 15, 2025 at 3:25 PM