Abdulrahman "Abe" Alkhamees is the man behind The Paperclip, which I've followed for years on Instagram for his excellent photography and profiles of riders and framebuilders. Abe's latest project is a square-bound magazine. He stopped by the Shed with a copy to tell me about his inspiration, what stories made the cut, and more. We also talked about his inspiration and background.

Pre-orders for the $25 magazine are open until November 14th. Half the proceeds from sales will be donated to the Gaza Sunbirds paralympic cycling team, who are one of the stories featured in the issue.

Links:

• BikePortland writeup with short video highlights from this interview.
• The Paperclip website where you can pre-order.
• The Paperclip on IG

Two years ago this week I was in Manhattan covering the Vision Zero Cities conference hosted by the great nonprofit Transportation Alternatives. At a panel discussion titled, Supersized SUVs, Mega Trucks, and Regulatory Failure, one of the speakers made me sit up and take notice: He railed against feckless leadership that wouldn't improve bus service, critiqued the "war on cars," called for higher taxes on large vehicles that are more prone to kill people, and spoke about traffic victims and transportation policy with the candor, clarity and conviction you'd expect from an activist.

But this wasn't an activist. It was an elected official. He was a member of the state assembly named Zohran Mamdani. Yes, the same Mamdani who might very well be New York City's next mayor in a few weeks.

This audio from that 2023 conference is a detailed view inside Mamdani's mind and it reveals how he approaches what are still some the most important road safety and transportation topics of the day.

Links:

• BikePortland recap of this panel discussion
• Mamdani campaign website
• Please support this work! Subscribe today!

1000 Friends of Oregon Transportation Policy Manager Cassie Wilson has worked for over a year as a leader with the Move Oregon Forward coalition in hopes of passing a transportation bill that goes beyond freeway expansion megaprojects and continues the march toward better transit, bicycling, and walking conditions statewide.

As someone who's been in the trenches on this effort for more than a year now, I wanted to check in to see what's on her mind and how she's feeling as the bill has been whittled down to almost nothing and might be headed to referral.

Links:

• BikePortland coverage of the bill.
• 1000 Friends of Oregon
• HB 3991 Bill Overview