One of Bay Area transit’s most challenging records was broken late last week, when a pair of bus/ferry/rail enthusiasts rode the region’s 24 Clipper-eligible transit agencies in less than 24 hours.

Rick Welts vividly remembers the genesis of All-Star Weekend, more than four decades later. In the early 1980s, the NBA’s midseason exhibition unfolded quietly: Players and officials watched a “bad ...