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Ben Raderstorf

@raders

defend democracy and build homes / policy advocate @protectdemocracy.org / author ifyoucankeep.it / board β€ͺ@sacyimby.bsky.social / rash opinions my own No kings but Sac Kings πŸ“Sacramento

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Latest posts by Ben Raderstorf @raders

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Protect Democracy's JoAnna Suriani spoke with NPR about our lawsuit challenging the Trump admin’s unlawful retaliation against Maine residents for documenting DHS operations in their communities. Full broadcast with @jsummers.bsky.social & @jjoffeblock.bsky.social here: https://protdem.org/4ugzNiZ

11.03.2026 20:50 πŸ‘ 16 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I mean, San Jose's production numbers are still basically worst in the state so.... bsky.app/profile/rade...

11.03.2026 17:00 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

(Or he’s just a dummy with dummies for staff who handed him this quote as a β€œgotcha” without bothering even to read what it was about)

10.03.2026 23:03 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

Like, the sentences coming out of his mouth are only plausibly coherent β€” even with a bad-faith argument β€” if he believes himself to be saying β€œ100 thousand” or something

10.03.2026 23:01 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

The only explanation I can come up with for Kennedy’s bizarre behavior here against @davidjbier.bsky.social is that he has no conception of what β€œ100 million” means, how many people live in the US, or both.

10.03.2026 22:57 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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If Trump can depose a regime, why can’t he rig an election? A moment of weakness, not strength

The White House may (and almost certainly will) abuse the power that it has to try to meddle in the elections process.

Get to know the practical barriers to Trump interfering in our elections and the public’s crucial role in holding the line. ⬇️

10.03.2026 20:50 πŸ‘ 24 πŸ” 13 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Cover story from The Lancet, one of the world's most prestigious and high-impact general medical journals, that says "The destruction that Kennedy has wrought in 1 year might take generations to repair, and there is little hope for US health and science while he remains at the helm.

Cover story from The Lancet, one of the world's most prestigious and high-impact general medical journals, that says "The destruction that Kennedy has wrought in 1 year might take generations to repair, and there is little hope for US health and science while he remains at the helm.

The Lancet spells out the case against RFK Jr so clearly.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... (1/4🧡)

10.03.2026 20:45 πŸ‘ 320 πŸ” 129 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 11

"...and we could be debating it but, the President's already taken us to war so it's too late. It would undermine the cause for us to debate it. What a humiliating, self defeating argument for a member of the Article 1 Branch of Congress to be making..."

10.03.2026 15:46 πŸ‘ 299 πŸ” 79 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 1

"Seeing Like a Constitution" is a title for a law review article waiting to be picked up if it hasn't. (Closest I know is an article titled "Thinking Like a Constitution").

10.03.2026 15:41 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Most importantly, Sacramento is *officially* the housing king of California. Effing bananas considering how our rents are literally half as much of most of these other guys and still Sac is outbuilding the rest of the state.

The housing crisis is a choice! Your city could choose to stop doing it!

09.03.2026 16:55 πŸ‘ 22 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2
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Trump is using immigration policy to suppress speech, lawsuit claims A new lawsuit accuses the administration of violating the First Amendment by threatening the visas of researchers for work on disinformation and content moderation of social media.

Researchers and NGO leaders β€” including a U.S. lawful permanent resident β€” have already been targeted for deportation or exclusion under a new immigration policy from the Trump admin. So, we filed suit with @knightcolumbia.org ⬇️

09.03.2026 21:28 πŸ‘ 55 πŸ” 23 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

That's what you get for living north of the river 😜

09.03.2026 19:11 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Ya maybe that's just it. Decadence and entitlement of wealth...

09.03.2026 19:11 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Just a small example I notice: In SF, *so* many people walk their dogs fully off leash all around. In Sacramento I can think of maybe one time and it was a weird old dude with a chihuahua

09.03.2026 18:48 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I gotta say, I'm fascinated by the culture of anti-social-ism. Maybe it's just my bubble, but it feels very specific to a handful of coastal blue cities (NY, SF, LA) and I kinda think it's the nihilism and frayed social bonds from housing shortages.

09.03.2026 18:46 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 1

That is an important question but not what you asked and not about housing! The average teacher at SCUSD makes $77,000–$78,000 per year. There are 1.14 million jobs in Sac metro area. The vast majority *can* afford housing here β€”Β we can and do need to do more, but it's a fixable problem.

09.03.2026 17:10 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I guess not really a surprise if you're a sicko who tracks specific projects β€” but it takes a lot of work to gather/report out these data, so not sure it'd be possible more regularly (and there's a ton of noise over e.g. month-to-month so not sure how useful it would be)

09.03.2026 17:04 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

In Sacramento, you can rent an unsubsidized, market-rate apartment for less than $1,200. That is affordable for a fast food worker making minimum wage working full time (~$42,000/yr)

www.zillow.com/sacramento-c...

09.03.2026 17:00 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
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Most importantly, Sacramento is *officially* the housing king of California. Effing bananas considering how our rents are literally half as much of most of these other guys and still Sac is outbuilding the rest of the state.

The housing crisis is a choice! Your city could choose to stop doing it!

09.03.2026 16:55 πŸ‘ 22 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2
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(2) ADUs continue being an absolute powerhouse. Turns out when the city hands you free plans and says "if you want to build one, this is pre-approved!" that people actually build them!

09.03.2026 16:53 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Interestingly, Sac is doing better on VLI, LI, and Mod affordability than anything else. Need more PSH and also, interestingly, more above moderate housing. (Condo defect reform could really help build the latter as most above-mod families are looking to buy, not rent)

09.03.2026 16:51 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
CADA, Urban Capital designate three Sacramento urban infill projects as workforce housing - Solving Sacramento Reflecting a new initiative by the Capitol Area Development Authority β€” and a subtle shift in the housing market in Sacramento's urban core β€” three urban infill housing projects will be aimed at workf...

(Suspect some of that is being driven by innovative new low-cost/low-subsidy programs, like CADA's workforce program which is great solvingsacramento.org/2024/02/cada...)

09.03.2026 16:49 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Digging in a little deeper, a couple thoughts:

(1) Despite most reforms focused on juicing market rate construction, we're still seeing big numbers of deed restricted housing. 930 units, or 34.0% of total. Turns out "more of everything!" is true and it works.

09.03.2026 16:48 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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To end a housing crisis, you have to want to end it "Streamline Sacramento" and the importance of a city government that truly cares

The fact that Sac's housing production is still strong β€”Β and rising again β€” comes down to how aggressively the city is working to boost production. Turns out, when a local government really wants to build, they can build.

I wrote about that lesson here: housesac.substack.com/p/to-end-a-h...

09.03.2026 16:45 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Just to put context on this:
-Housing production was down both statewide and nationally last year.
-Tariffs, interest rates, and economic headwinds all *huge* drags on production.
-In Sacramento in particular, new supply has pushed rents down quite significantly the past three years.

09.03.2026 16:43 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Big news! The City of Sacramento's 2025 housing production numbers are out and *significantly* beat expectations β€”Β up 14.7% over 2024 to 2,737 homes. sacramento.granicus.com/MetaViewer.p...

09.03.2026 16:39 πŸ‘ 28 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0

Big welcome to our newest @brennancenter.org colleague, @jessewegman.bsky.social, who joins us from the NY Times. I follow him and you should, too!

09.03.2026 16:13 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

The common link across left and right in this country is that someone else should pay taxes instead

09.03.2026 15:50 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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SaferSacStreets

I am so unbelievably ready for this: www.safersacstreets.com

09.03.2026 04:39 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Anyway, I don’t blame Keller for the fact that his restaurant’s name is rooted in racial exclusion. (by that standard we’d have to re-name most of the state)

I *do*, however, blame him for actively working to perpetuate that exclusion.

08.03.2026 16:01 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0