A rational consumer might have anticipated the anxieties brought on by such small, expensive portable devices. Now the public is paying the price in the.

"The MTA has to deal with a lot of annoying behavior from straphangers—subway surfing, people smashing their ad screens, children with recorders—but there is one thing that has been really getting to them lately," writes Ben Yakas. "[T]he current annoying trend is all the people dropping their AirPods, and then either trying to get them themselves or getting MTA employees to jump onto the tracks to retrieve them.
Yakas isn't the first journalist to report on the annoying trend. Rachel Feintzeig reported on the tendency of these objects to depart their owners' possession for a Wall Street Journal article that is behind a paywall. Georgett Roberts and David Meyer wrote on the same theme for the New York Post.
To retrieve Air Pods on subway tracks, MTA employees (who might have other, better things to do) have to use a long pole to reach and retrieve the lost items. "Transit workers have apparently been fielding tons of requests for AirPod rescues since March, when Apple released a new version," according to Yakas.
"It's gotten so annoying, a spokesperson told the Journal the MTA is apparently considering whether to launch a public service announcement campaign urging commuters to refrain from taking AirPods on or off while entering or exiting trains."
FULL STORY: The MTA Is Getting Tired Of Having To Retrieve AirPods From Subway Tracks

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Waymo Gets Permission to Map SF’s Market Street
If allowed to operate on the traffic-restricted street, Waymo’s autonomous taxis would have a leg up over ride-hailing competitors — and counter the city’s efforts to grow bike and pedestrian on the thoroughfare.

Parklet Symposium Highlights the Success of Shared Spaces
Parklets got a boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the concept was translated to outdoor dining programs that offered restaurants a lifeline during the shutdown.

Federal Homelessness Agency Places Entire Staff on Leave
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness is the only federal agency dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness.
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