James Sinclair is one of a handful of people who are shining a light on what’s happening with California’s Central Valley planning, development, and transportation. His blog, Stop and Move, covers these issues in Fresno. He provides a huge public service, bringing much-needed attention to developments that often take place out of the public eye, or in ways that busy people are hard-pressed to follow closely.

Streetsblog California is engaged in the same work on a different scale, bringing attention to issues that might otherwise get missed. We cover statewide policies that are the basis for what happens at the local level, where people’s everyday lives are most affected.

We do it because, as Sinclair writes,

A group of 100 advocates can easily be ignored when the electorate is made up of 100,000 people who are unfamiliar with the issues of transportation and development. But when headlines are generated, the elected official no longer has to worry about the 100 advocates, but how the headline reads to the general public.

His current post is also a plug for supporting Streetsblog California, which is fine with us. After all, we are in the middle of a two-week fundraising drive, in case you haven’t noticed our blatant pleas for money at the top of every post lately.

Check out Sinclair’s blog, and if you haven’t already, consider clicking here to donate to Streetsblog California today.