Aspen Richter
@aspenrichter.bsky.social
Community member, advocate, parent. Sustainability. Data, waste, and legislative geek. Running for LWSD School Board. Go see https://bsky.app/profile/electaspenrichter.bsky.social for that. This is a personal account and views expressed are my own.
As a PSA, if you haven't returned your ballot yet, make sure to use a blue drop box, DON'T mail it. Postmarks are very possibly NOT going to be able to be made in time to make your vote count.
Here's where to find a ballot drop box: kingcounty.gov/en/dept/elec...
Here's where to find a ballot drop box: kingcounty.gov/en/dept/elec...
Ballot drop boxes - King County, Washington
kingcounty.gov
November 2, 2025 at 10:47 PM
As a PSA, if you haven't returned your ballot yet, make sure to use a blue drop box, DON'T mail it. Postmarks are very possibly NOT going to be able to be made in time to make your vote count.
Here's where to find a ballot drop box: kingcounty.gov/en/dept/elec...
Here's where to find a ballot drop box: kingcounty.gov/en/dept/elec...
The LWSD school board study session (5pm) and board meeting (7pm) are tonight (10/20).
Our high school staff and LWESP/classified staff, including school nurses, would love your support during public comment, between 7:00 and about 7:40pm.
www.lwsd.org/about/school...
Our high school staff and LWESP/classified staff, including school nurses, would love your support during public comment, between 7:00 and about 7:40pm.
www.lwsd.org/about/school...
October 20, 2025 at 10:58 PM
The LWSD school board study session (5pm) and board meeting (7pm) are tonight (10/20).
Our high school staff and LWESP/classified staff, including school nurses, would love your support during public comment, between 7:00 and about 7:40pm.
www.lwsd.org/about/school...
Our high school staff and LWESP/classified staff, including school nurses, would love your support during public comment, between 7:00 and about 7:40pm.
www.lwsd.org/about/school...
Want to see who @mlklabor.bsky.social endorses in this election? Check out this link. (Important note: I'm on the list. :)
You can view all of the MLK Labor 2025 endorsements here: www.mlklabor.org/endorsements/
2021 MLK Labor Candidate Endorsements
Learn who labor is supporting in 2021
www.mlklabor.org
October 20, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Want to see who @mlklabor.bsky.social endorses in this election? Check out this link. (Important note: I'm on the list. :)
Hey, come sign wave with us! Democracy and donuts! 🍩☕✅
Come sign wave and Get Out The Vote with Melissa Stuart and Aspen Richter!
Monday 11/3 @ 7:30am-9:30am
Meet by Sunrise Espresso & Donuts in Redmond
Coffee and Donuts provided! 😋🍩☕
RSVP here: secure.actblue.com/donate/volun...
(No donation needed or required.)
Monday 11/3 @ 7:30am-9:30am
Meet by Sunrise Espresso & Donuts in Redmond
Coffee and Donuts provided! 😋🍩☕
RSVP here: secure.actblue.com/donate/volun...
(No donation needed or required.)
Donate to Melissa Stuart
Show your support with a contribution.
secure.actblue.com
October 19, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Hey, come sign wave with us! Democracy and donuts! 🍩☕✅
Congratulations, Seattle Times. I've finally given up and canceled my subscription. The final straw?
Email subject line: "WA school boards get help from Trump administration"
Actual story headline: "Conservative WA school boards asked Trump for help — and got it"
Email subject line: "WA school boards get help from Trump administration"
Actual story headline: "Conservative WA school boards asked Trump for help — and got it"
October 14, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Congratulations, Seattle Times. I've finally given up and canceled my subscription. The final straw?
Email subject line: "WA school boards get help from Trump administration"
Actual story headline: "Conservative WA school boards asked Trump for help — and got it"
Email subject line: "WA school boards get help from Trump administration"
Actual story headline: "Conservative WA school boards asked Trump for help — and got it"
Reposted by Aspen Richter
Who are non drivers?
@nrdc.org repport finds:
-34 million disabled people
-47 million young people (over 10 who don't own cars)
-5.6 million people who are 75+
-Millions of others who don't own their own vehicle
#WeekWithoutDriving
www.nrdc.org/resources/wh...
@nrdc.org repport finds:
-34 million disabled people
-47 million young people (over 10 who don't own cars)
-5.6 million people who are 75+
-Millions of others who don't own their own vehicle
#WeekWithoutDriving
www.nrdc.org/resources/wh...
Who Doesn’t Have a Car?
A new NRDC map shows car-free living and the factors affecting car usage in United States.
www.nrdc.org
October 2, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Who are non drivers?
@nrdc.org repport finds:
-34 million disabled people
-47 million young people (over 10 who don't own cars)
-5.6 million people who are 75+
-Millions of others who don't own their own vehicle
#WeekWithoutDriving
www.nrdc.org/resources/wh...
@nrdc.org repport finds:
-34 million disabled people
-47 million young people (over 10 who don't own cars)
-5.6 million people who are 75+
-Millions of others who don't own their own vehicle
#WeekWithoutDriving
www.nrdc.org/resources/wh...
How in the world does PowerPoint not have a feature to print *only* the notes? I do not *want* to print my entire presentation with images of the slides, one page per slide.
October 2, 2025 at 3:51 PM
How in the world does PowerPoint not have a feature to print *only* the notes? I do not *want* to print my entire presentation with images of the slides, one page per slide.
Reposted by Aspen Richter
🚶♀️🚲🚍 The #weekwithoutdriving Challenge has officially kicked off!
We’re excited our Redmond City Council candidates are taking part 🙌 Watch their full transportation interviews on YouTube and learn how you can get involved during #weekwithoutdriving at moveredmond.org/weekwithoutdriving
We’re excited our Redmond City Council candidates are taking part 🙌 Watch their full transportation interviews on YouTube and learn how you can get involved during #weekwithoutdriving at moveredmond.org/weekwithoutdriving
September 29, 2025 at 6:50 PM
🚶♀️🚲🚍 The #weekwithoutdriving Challenge has officially kicked off!
We’re excited our Redmond City Council candidates are taking part 🙌 Watch their full transportation interviews on YouTube and learn how you can get involved during #weekwithoutdriving at moveredmond.org/weekwithoutdriving
We’re excited our Redmond City Council candidates are taking part 🙌 Watch their full transportation interviews on YouTube and learn how you can get involved during #weekwithoutdriving at moveredmond.org/weekwithoutdriving
Reposted by Aspen Richter
"Through gossamer tributes, Kirk’s cruel condemnation of transgender people & his racist throwback views about Black Americans were no longer anathema but instead are being treated as just another political view to be respectfully debated — like a position on tax rates or health care policy."
Yup.
Yup.
September 29, 2025 at 6:56 PM
"Through gossamer tributes, Kirk’s cruel condemnation of transgender people & his racist throwback views about Black Americans were no longer anathema but instead are being treated as just another political view to be respectfully debated — like a position on tax rates or health care policy."
Yup.
Yup.
You can do similar things with ranching land (panels above and animals below). You can do this with parking lots. You can put solar nearly anywhere! Let's get on this!
Vertical rows are the agrivoltaic winner!
“The vertical panels produce slightly less electricity—but with higher value, as generation peaks coincide with morning and late afternoon demand…The crops don't seem to mind the presence of solar panels and they like the wind protection they provide.”
“The vertical panels produce slightly less electricity—but with higher value, as generation peaks coincide with morning and late afternoon demand…The crops don't seem to mind the presence of solar panels and they like the wind protection they provide.”
Double harvest: Vertical solar panels and crops thrive side by side
Imagine a field where solar panels and crops coexist—with no trade-off. It sounds like science fiction, but that's precisely what researchers from Aarhus University have now documented in a full-scale...
techxplore.com
September 22, 2025 at 6:07 PM
You can do similar things with ranching land (panels above and animals below). You can do this with parking lots. You can put solar nearly anywhere! Let's get on this!
Reposted by Aspen Richter
An amazing story by Steve Levy in WIRED on how tech CEOs became Trump sycophants. And I'm quoted in the lede!
www.wired.com/story/silico...
www.wired.com/story/silico...
I Thought I Knew Silicon Valley. I Was Wrong
Tech got what it wanted by electing Trump. A year later, it looks more like a suicide pact.
www.wired.com
September 22, 2025 at 4:47 PM
An amazing story by Steve Levy in WIRED on how tech CEOs became Trump sycophants. And I'm quoted in the lede!
www.wired.com/story/silico...
www.wired.com/story/silico...
I've wanted to plant one of these trees for YEARS, but have never had the space and appropriate sun exposure. May this inspire someone with more space and sun.
People just can’t get enough of pawpaws.
But you won’t find them in most grocery store aisles, and you may not even recognize the name — much less have tasted the fruit. So what's all the hype about?
But you won’t find them in most grocery store aisles, and you may not even recognize the name — much less have tasted the fruit. So what's all the hype about?
What is a pawpaw, and will I ever be able to buy it at the grocery store?
The pawpaw fruit is native to North America — but hard to get your hands on. Researchers and farmers weigh in on what the future of pawpaws might look like.
mktplc.org
September 16, 2025 at 2:23 PM
I've wanted to plant one of these trees for YEARS, but have never had the space and appropriate sun exposure. May this inspire someone with more space and sun.
Reposted by Aspen Richter
![Comic. Every feature of the Earth’s surface that we have a hard time explaining. [Arrows point from title to assorted bumps on surface of sphere. Underneath, from the core more arrows point at dotted lines forming structures labeled Hypothesized Mantle Plumes. [caption] Standard Geophysical Model of the Mantle](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreie54uztzhuce7mdeurstlhuj46k36hbazrz5xqnsipx7qvda6llxe@jpeg)
September 15, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Reposted by Aspen Richter
Join the Eastside Housing Equity Coalition and the League of Women Voters on 10/1 in Redmond for a candidate forum centered around affordable housing, equitable growth, and community need! Voters deserve to hear from candidates in their own words. RSVP today: bit.ly/RedmondCandi...
September 15, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Join the Eastside Housing Equity Coalition and the League of Women Voters on 10/1 in Redmond for a candidate forum centered around affordable housing, equitable growth, and community need! Voters deserve to hear from candidates in their own words. RSVP today: bit.ly/RedmondCandi...
Reposted by Aspen Richter
Hey safe streets nerds! Do you work flexible hours? Have a cool retired parent looking to stay active? Become a school crossing guard! Look at all those unfilled positions! Make it easier for your neighborhood kids to walk and bike to school! www.seattleschools.org/news/crossin...
September 13, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Hey safe streets nerds! Do you work flexible hours? Have a cool retired parent looking to stay active? Become a school crossing guard! Look at all those unfilled positions! Make it easier for your neighborhood kids to walk and bike to school! www.seattleschools.org/news/crossin...
Reposted by Aspen Richter
I know everyone is consumed with other news, but this is a big fucking deal: The Trump administration says that IUDs and the Pill are actually abortions.
Here's what USAID told the NYT about the $10m in birth control they plan to destroy.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/h...
Here's what USAID told the NYT about the $10m in birth control they plan to destroy.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/h...
September 12, 2025 at 10:27 PM
I know everyone is consumed with other news, but this is a big fucking deal: The Trump administration says that IUDs and the Pill are actually abortions.
Here's what USAID told the NYT about the $10m in birth control they plan to destroy.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/h...
Here's what USAID told the NYT about the $10m in birth control they plan to destroy.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/h...
Reposted by Aspen Richter
Know Your Rights - Back to School Edition
Let’s start the new school year together, making sure every student, staff member, and family knows their rights.
Let’s start the new school year together, making sure every student, staff member, and family knows their rights.
September 11, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Know Your Rights - Back to School Edition
Let’s start the new school year together, making sure every student, staff member, and family knows their rights.
Let’s start the new school year together, making sure every student, staff member, and family knows their rights.
Reposted by Aspen Richter
This is positively brutal news. No one can absorb increases like this. Join forces with us to demand an alternative.
www.insurance.wa.gov/about-us/new...
www.insurance.wa.gov/about-us/new...
Average 21% rate increase approved for Washington’s 2026 Exchange health insurance market | Office of the Insurance Commissioner
www.insurance.wa.gov
September 10, 2025 at 7:22 PM
This is positively brutal news. No one can absorb increases like this. Join forces with us to demand an alternative.
www.insurance.wa.gov/about-us/new...
www.insurance.wa.gov/about-us/new...
Reposted by Aspen Richter
SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in a college applicant's file is blatantly unconstitutional
ALSO SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in targeting whom to detain and deport is cool cool cool
ALSO SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in targeting whom to detain and deport is cool cool cool
September 8, 2025 at 4:43 PM
SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in a college applicant's file is blatantly unconstitutional
ALSO SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in targeting whom to detain and deport is cool cool cool
ALSO SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in targeting whom to detain and deport is cool cool cool
Reposted by Aspen Richter
With monthly ridership now exceeding 200,000 on the 2 Line, Downtown Redmond Link has clearly kicked things into a higher gear. Having a light rail station so well integrated into a growing urban neighborhood is likely part of the recipe for success.
Story: www.theurbanist.org/2025/08/09/d...
Story: www.theurbanist.org/2025/08/09/d...
August 12, 2025 at 4:34 AM
With monthly ridership now exceeding 200,000 on the 2 Line, Downtown Redmond Link has clearly kicked things into a higher gear. Having a light rail station so well integrated into a growing urban neighborhood is likely part of the recipe for success.
Story: www.theurbanist.org/2025/08/09/d...
Story: www.theurbanist.org/2025/08/09/d...
Reposted by Aspen Richter
YoY Measures of Inflation: Services, Goods and Shelter www.calculatedriskblog.com/2025/08/yoy-...
YoY Measures of Inflation: Services, Goods and Shelter
Here are a few measures of inflation: The first graph is the one Fed Chair Powell had mentioned two years ago as something to watch. C...
www.calculatedriskblog.com
August 12, 2025 at 12:51 PM
YoY Measures of Inflation: Services, Goods and Shelter www.calculatedriskblog.com/2025/08/yoy-...
Reposted by Aspen Richter
Everything about the situation with busing in Dayton is heartbreaking. We need public transit that’s robust, reliable and safe enough for everyone, including high school kids.
Ohio requires buses for private school kids. Public school students have to find their own ride
School districts are responsible for transporting private and charter school kids, leaving thousands of public school students behind
www.theguardian.com
August 12, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Everything about the situation with busing in Dayton is heartbreaking. We need public transit that’s robust, reliable and safe enough for everyone, including high school kids.
Reposted by Aspen Richter
BBC International Editor Jeremy Bowen has confirmed that the entire Al Jazeera team in Gaza City has been killed.
August 10, 2025 at 10:33 PM
BBC International Editor Jeremy Bowen has confirmed that the entire Al Jazeera team in Gaza City has been killed.
Reposted by Aspen Richter
No one wants to hear this, but it’s true. Either we can value education — not for a select few but for anyone willing to put in the effort — and provide the requisite resources, or we can watch it become a pursuit available only to an elite minority, with everyone else getting a cheap facsimile
There simply is no substitute for the time-, personnel-, & $$$-intensive way of providing quality education. That we don't want to pay for it, as a society, does not make this any less true, & AI cannot fix that. At best, it can poorly substitute for the real solution.
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Sure we could reduce the student to teacher ratio, and create an education system that we know works for students. But that would cost money, so bring in the slop.
August 11, 2025 at 1:42 AM
No one wants to hear this, but it’s true. Either we can value education — not for a select few but for anyone willing to put in the effort — and provide the requisite resources, or we can watch it become a pursuit available only to an elite minority, with everyone else getting a cheap facsimile
Reposted by Aspen Richter
"Private equity is causing the housing crisis" is a very common take that mixes up cause and effect. Single-family homes are an attractive investment vehicle for private equity because there's a shortage of them, not the other way around.
August 10, 2025 at 11:29 PM
"Private equity is causing the housing crisis" is a very common take that mixes up cause and effect. Single-family homes are an attractive investment vehicle for private equity because there's a shortage of them, not the other way around.