They're baaaack

 Remember this previous rant:

Adventures of RantWoman: Dear Neighbors. If you must live in your cars PLEASE keep the sidewalk clear. Pretty Please.

The overall supply of housing in Seattle probably has not increased since RantWoman previously ranted about people living in and around their cars in December. RantWoman meant to pan a Thank you post when the campers were gloriously GONE for awhile. They're Baaack. 

What else is Back? RantWoman's difficulty REPORTING the problem. In the find it fix it app. Through Customer Service bureau at Seattle.gov. Take your pick.

On the app. RantWoman took a couple tries to figure out how to type in an approximate location only to get to a series of yes/no question with the sort of #a11y hiccup that makes it impossible both to enter responses and to move forward. 

Take two: just through the "other category: still some hiccup about entering the location and the app not being able to interact.

So try the customer service bureau. The web page would not accept the approximate address RantWoman entered.

At this point, RantWoman has taken to her blog.

NW corner of 25th Ave S and S Walker St.
Vehicles, what looks like a tarp

Looking west on Walker st. The view
should be clear all the way to Rainier

RantWoman still hates the fact that people have to live in their cars. RantWoman also still really needs clear sidewalks. AND RantWoman needs accessible paths to report problems.

Something different about tariffs.

Trump Tariffs, Trade War & the UN's International Maritime Organization ...

RantWoman has become a big fan of the "What's going on with shipping." Youtube channel.

IN this case, about minute 10 and forward there is great commentary about carbon reduction targets, the International Maritime Organization, and China's growing share of the global shipbuilding industry.

And 

Tariffs and Port Fees Talk with Ross Kennedy (The Huntsman) | Between Two Sterns

State Attorneys General and responsible law firms vs Elon and his DOGE boy hackers.

'Blatantly Unconstitutional!' How Trump CAN be legally STOPPED

RantWoman of late has been watching a lot of legal-themed YouTube channels, including a few that just get ranty, even by RantWoman's pro-rant standards. This channel and this video go on RantWoman's list to come back to.

As an aside, RantWoman has decided a number of times not to go to law school. Nothing is making her rethink that decision but it has shaped comments she might offer if someone she knew where thinking of a career in law.

Apply Now for Community Leadership Initiative program

APPLY BEFORE APRIL 30

 Community Leadership Institute (CLI) offers a stipend and a competitive leadership program that prepares emerging BIPOC leaders and other marginalized communities to serve strategic City, County, and Statewide Boards and Commissions as well as transferable skills for their careers.

Are you interested in becoming a Community Leadership Institute fellow?

Sage Leaders’ Community Leadership Institute (CLI) is a fellowship program that resources, educates, and places emerging leaders from communities of color and low-income communities to serve on strategic municipal boards and commissions.

Launched in 2015, the six-month fellowship trains emerging leaders in issues such as housing, land use, transit, climate, and economic development. Graduates learn the nuts and bolts of local government processes, such as municipal budgeting, parliamentary procedures, and lawmaking, as well as advocacy, storytelling, and communication skills.

After graduation, the fellows apply for and are placed on strategic boards, commissions, and task forces at the city and county level. Through participation, CLI alums have the opportunity to move forward a racial equity agenda at a government level by asking critical questions about who benefits and who is burdened by policy decisions and offering solutions that integrate community participation and perspectives as part of the decision-making process.

2025 - 2026 Community Leadership Institute (King And Pierce CountIES)

Location: In-person in Seattle, WA (Open to all applicants in King and Pierce Counties or can attend in person in Seattle, WA)

Dates: September 2025 to April 2026

Contact: Francis Abugbilla

Application Timeline: February 24 to April 30, 2025 at 11:59 pm PST

Apply Now

 

--

Security Clearance? What Security Clearance?

This video posted for purely lexicographic reasons, explanations of two acronyms.

Okay, RantWoman as a persistent feminist decrees that just brining wifey to meetings without for instance even minimal security clearance efforts is just WEIRD. RantWoman wishes the Hegseths martial happiness, but have some limits, m'kay??? 

RantWoman sincerely wishes to thank all the veterans relentlessly reminding us all that Pete Hegseth is completely unqualified to be Secretary of Defense.

RantWoman has other thoughts, but they deserve a different post.

OpenThePaths Thursday fast notes

Where RantWoman was all day  #OpenThePaths

OpenThePaths 2025 Conference Guide - Google Docs

RantWoman's brain is flying faster than her fingers so this post is some fast impressions. RantWoman has more to say and some views subject to change.

RantWoman is generally THRILLED that some many bright people are interested in the same issues clogging RantWoman's lived experience.

Interesting to hear how experience with Uber, Lyft and also BikeShare motivated city of Seattle DOT to take initiative about autonomous vehicles. LOTS of pitfalls as different cities have test programs. 

--How will people secure stuff?

--Some companies or cities require a driver / assister.

--Fully autonomous wheelchair securement is hard and it's hard to design a vehicle interior with wheelchair spaces. The one company that attempted to have fully autonomous wheelchair securement, Cruise, is out of business for multiple reasons including sense of Us/Them with respect to regulators. Collaboration will matter for future success.

Statewide sidewalk data:

--Definitely intriguing

--Hope to use machine learning is interesting. RantWoman means to go back through the tape and clean up her thinking in a little more depth. RantWoman for a bunch of reasons does not automatically trust machine learning on principle. BUT RantWoman would be open to experimenting on her own device about her own travel patterns, particularly rpeated travel patterns over time. RantWoman would consider SEPARATELY uploading her experiences to a larger ML system to see what is in common and what is unique to RantWoman or to only a small percentage of others who might share some characteristics when contributing to the larger pool. RantWoman probably needs to understand Machine Learning a little more to wander down this path and try something. RantWoman also wants a minimal coding option where she can collect data and not have to do too much coding.

--Where would RantWoman want AccessMap data? In all trip planners with an option to run different routings through some customizable criteria and recommend routings, possibly including ranking options presented according to pedestrian criteria. For an example narrative starting point, consider RantWoman's walk in the rain on Christmas day post Adventures of RantWoman: Plonkers, Parsnips, and pedestrian nightmare. Oh My

And some great Less is more items from the lunchtime opportunity to visit posters.RantWoman promises alt text and MAYBE some rearrangement soon.

    

Open Streetmap and Open Streetmap pedestrian advisory committee

--Crowd sourcing data collection sounds cool, but Rant Woman wants a cookie for helping populate data. 

Register NOW for Open the Path 2025, March 27-28 on the UW campus or online

RantWoman enthusiastically endorses the Taskar Center Annual Open The Paths events

RantWoman's only other comment before letting Taskar Center publicity take over: Please register by Monday March 24 for in-person or by Wednesday March 26 (This is COURTESY. It is best not to over-rely on flexibility.)

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology at the University of Washington is pleased to invite you to Open The Paths, a transportation and accessibility-focussed conference on 3/27 and 3/28 (next Thursday and Friday)

 

The in-person venue is at the UW campus with a zoom option for anyone who might prefer to participate virtually.

 

Registration is free and lunch is provided. More details including registration, agenda, and other details can be found here.

[RantWoman advice: Definitely check out the Agenda at the link above!]

 

Please share your details here if you would like to opt in to be compensated to attend open the paths 2025 (in person only)
We are able to offer compensation at $30 / hour of attendance for a maximum of 4 hours for each of the 2 days.
Post the event, we will be in touch with you to collect more details to process the gift card. Gift card processing times are 4 - 6 weeks. At this time, in person attendance is mandatory to be eligible for the compensation.

 

Registration form

 

Food options survey (to be completed by 3/23)

 

Participation compensation opt in (for in person attendance)

 

For questions related to accessibility, please reach out to Amara Schermerhorn - ascherm@uw.edu

One more thing:

The registration process includes a link to plan your trip by AccessMap, another really cool Taskar Center Project.  

Access Map is awesome for allowing people to create profiles and to choose some routings that, provided there is data in the system address a wide variety of mobility issues. RantWoman did not have an entirely satisfactory experience on her phone, but retrial on a large screen desktop made it much easier to sort out some very cool configuration options.

However, since RantWoman will be arriving by bus and / or light rail and foot, RantWoman is going to pen separate commentary with lots of info about her experience.