Matt Yglesias

The Lexus, The Olive Tree, and the Annoying Boston Sports Fan

The perils of globalization are well-illustrated by this Stockholm drinking establishment located somewhere along my walk from the Östermalmstorg T-Bana stop and the Historiska Museet:

At first glance it appears to be merely one of the developed world’s two trillion Irish bars. But upon closer inspection it’s actually a Boston-themed bar. And not just Boston-themed, but seemingly specifically oriented around Boston sports teams, who proudly boast the most insufferable sports teams in the world.

I think Stockholm went wrong with the fact that its otherwise excellent subway system is called the Tunnelbana. This leads it to be illustrated with a “T” sign that’s eerily reminiscent of the MBTA’s own insignia.

William Bratton Steps Down as LAPD Chief

This seems like a definitely loss to the world:

Chief William J. Bratton announced Wednesday that he would leave the Los Angeles Police Department after nearly seven years to lead a private international security firm.

At a City Hall news conference here, Mr. Bratton said he was resigning effective Oct. 31 to become chief executive officer of Altegrity Security Consulting, a new unit of Altegrity, whose headquarters are in New York.

One of the most important things in the world is trying to make public institutions work well, since the less-effective ones don’t just naturally go out of business the way corporations do. And yet unfortunately this isn’t something we know a great deal about. One thing we do know, however, is that first in Boston then in New York City and then in Los Angeles Bratton has put together an impressive record of presiding over police departments that succeed in reducing the incidence of crime both in absolute terms and relative to national trends. We need more people like that in public service.

Sam Yoon Running for Mayor in Boston on Transportation Reform Agenda

Boston is, in the scheme of things, a pretty well-governed city with a low crime rate and a public school system that, unusually for a big city, performs above the national average when you control for demographic factors. That’s all probably part of the reason that incumbent Mayor Thomas Menino has been in office since 1993. But that only means there are new issues people need to talk about. For example, City Councilman Sam Yoon is running on a strong platform of transportation reform:

Transportation isn’t just cars

The Menino administration has finally started to introduce limited measures that will make the city more bike-friendly. But gestures are not enough. The real problem is that we have an outdated transportation department and mixed up planning. If we want to be the cleanest, greenest, 21st century city in America, then we must get this right. Street design that moves people – on bike, on foot and on rapid public transit should be the focus. Cars are just one part of the breadth of transportation solutions and Boston should be leading the way.

He’s also right about charter school caps. Obviously, there are other issues in play and lots of local-to-Boston details I’m not on top of, so don’t take this as dispositive. But since this blog likes to cover transportation and urban reform issues, I thought it was worth noting this.

Code Names

It seems that these are the Secret Service code names for the first and second families:

President-elect Obama: Renegade
Michelle Obama: Renaissance
Malia Obama: Radiance
Sasha Obama: Rosebud
Vice President-elect Joe Biden: Celtic
Jill Biden: Capri

If Jill is “Capri” that suggests that Biden is Celtic like FC Celtic rather than Celtic like the Boston Celtics (i.e., keltic rather than seltic) which, to me, is a huge affront to basketball fans everywhere. Or perhaps it should be seen as a slap in the face to Boston sports fans, in which case it’s a good thing.