A new map is up in the store, and it's a gorgeous look at a gorgeous and oft-overlooked part of the United States: Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in the 1920s.

San Rafael has a history of blended neighborhoods. From Gerstle Park to West End, single-family homes intersperse with offices, shops, and apartments, making them neighborhoods truly for everyone. A proposal for 1628 Fifth Avenue would continue that tradition – despite a bad zoning code.

New homes should go in the central city whenever possible, but when they need to go in the suburbs they should be dense, mixed-use, and near public transit.

When Scott Wiener released his proposal to spur up to 3 million new homes near transit (Senate Bill 827), it received swift condemnation and praise from all corners. Whatever its merits for housing policy – and I happen to think they are quite good – it is not great transit-oriented development (TOD) policy. Good TOD is about far more than housing.

Last week, two kids were almost hit and killed by a driver on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in San Anselmo, saved only by an alert driver and their own reactions. What might be done to make Drake safer now and in the future?

Thanks to a century’s worth of bad regulations, the Bettini Transit Center in downtown San Rafael needs to be rebuilt so SMART can get to the Larkspur Ferry Terminal. The transit center is the busiest transit hub in the North Bay and forms the lynchpin of service in Marin. Getting it right, therefore, is critical, and GGT has four options its considering to do so.

New homes should go in the central city whenever possible, but when they need to go in the suburbs they should be dense, mixed-use, and near public transit.