Pamela Lang writes in the Burbank Leader that there should be a speed limit on the Chandler Bikeway. Because people on bikes and roller blades and distracted runners go really fast, and they are mean.

You see, Pamela goes for morning walks along the bikeway. She recently witnessed an accident involving 2 bicyclists and 1 blader. So, she wants going really fast to be against the law.

The city of Burbank needs to impose and post a speed limit for bicyclists and those using roller blades, skateboards or any other vehicle on wheels. I have personally witnessed those on bikes passing me at an alarmingly fast speed.

Now, I’m not sure about your skateboard or your roller blades, but my Trek mountain bike did not come with a speedometer. However, I did find one for under $5 here. And one for skates here. They even make them for skateboards. Although, this one appears to be discontinued. Shucks.

Anyhoo.. I have a few questions that I’d like you to consider as you trudge through the rest of the day:

1. Should bikeways be off-limits to bikes?
2. Should there be posted speed limits?
3. What should that speed limit be?
4. Will there be use of radar technology to enforce said speed limit?
5. What about minimum speeds?
6. Will dogs and squirrels be exempt?

Discuss.

The homeless man the devils burned to death on 3rd Street Thursday night wasn’t the one I’d thought after reading about it in the LA Times. The one I’d thought had been so unfathomably murdered was still alive and in his usual vicinity of 4th and Vermont pushing a cart by the Shatto Lanes bowling alley  when I biked past him this morning. He was wearing his big coat and dark glasses with a closely cropped beard still the same unnatural color so incongruous to the rest of him that it makes me think he might dye it with shoe polish.

I was micro-fractionally relieved that he wasn’t dead, but the dread was still there as I pedaled up Vermont to 3rd and west a block and a half to the makeshift shrine that had been erected by area residents in the wake of such horror.

When I arrived, a few women stood solemnly before the assemblage of countless candles and flowers and plush toys beneath the pictures and letters taped to the glass window of the shuttered clinic where he’d been attacked.

The first letter I read was signed by Victor Martinez:

“I just most of all want you to know that I love you and hope you are having a fun and peaceful vacation up there in heaven.”

On pink paper festooned with hand-drawn hearts, Michelle Castillo wrote, “We will miss you so much. You are a good man. I am safe when I am near you.”

Another printed out in a large font read, “You were a beautiful and harmless man. No matter what state you were in, your crystal blue eyes shined through all of it and through them we saw your innocense, your honesty and your calm. We saw something in you that many of us will never access within ourselves.”

John’s relatives have posted some biographical information (transcribed after the jump; along with a link to the Flickr photoset I snapped of the memorial this morning):

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Anthony Hislar, the 27 year old Monrovia man arrested at Disneyland after “a five-day crime spree across three Southern California counties that includes carjackings, home-invasion robberies and attempted murder” has an even longer rap sheet, as revealed by a cursory Google search.

In September of 2001, a 19 year old Anthony Hislar was arrested along with his brother for robbing a Los Angeles area Bank of America. His brother, then 21 year old Peter Hislar, was also wanted for suspicion of killing two teenagers in a drunk driving accident the month prior.[LA Times]

And in April 2005, a 23 year old Anthony Hislar was nabbed after a high speed chase that went through the campus of UC Santa Barbara. Hislar was charged for driving on a suspended license. [Daily Nexus]

Now I’m wondering if his most recent alleged crime spree was prompted from the knowledge that a third strike could prove for a very long prison term, so he just went all out… capped with a visit to Disneyland. But the more important question is why does our criminal justice system allow a scumbag like this more than one second chance?

No, you did not accidentally stumble onto The Onion’s website.  This is some of what was discussed recently in the California Senate, which took up the issue of text messaging while driving. That’s because California’s new hands-free cell phone law did NOT make texting while driving illegal.  According to the L.A. Times, the Senate approved a measure that would close this loophole and outlaw texting behind the wheel.

The Times article indicates that many Senate Republicans were not keen to pass the anti-texting measure.  They reportedly felt that existing laws already prohibit driving while “distracted,” which, they said, would cover texting.  One Senator, the appropriately named George Runner from Lancaster, was quoted as saying,  “We don’t need a law for everything a driver does. The next one is going to be you can’t drive while you are eating a hamburger.”

I can see George’s point.  I’m confident that, if studies were done, they would show that non-cell phoning activities while driving, such as eating, fiddling with the radio, applying makeup, reading the newspaper, and babe watching (guilty, Your Honor) are also potentially distracting and dangerous, yet I don’t think they are specifically outlawed, and, depending on the activity, it seems unreasonable or even nanny state absurd to try and outlaw them.  On the other hand, how hard must it be to enforce “distracted driving” as compared to specific activities which can be observed?  The driver would have to be weaving or drifting like a drunk driver. Plenty of drivers could be significantly “distracted” without demonstrating it that blatantly.

If anyone wonders why this matters, just take a look at Will.I.Am’s post about the alert driver who skillfully avoided hitting a girl on a bicycle.  What if that driver was texting at the time?  That’s something to think about while hitting the roads this Labor Day Weekend.  Have fun, and stay safe!

In yet another infuriating example of how the war on terror has done little but empower bullies looking to live out their revenge fantasies, the Daily News reports that a guard working for a private firm on behalf of the DHS kicked a woman out of a federal building in Van Nuys for wearing a shirt bearing the phrase “lesbian.com.” The guard claimed that “The Rules and Regulations Governing Conduct on Federal Property” gave him jurisdiction over her clothing, though according to the News it doesn’t, in fact, address what type of clothing is allowed in Federal buildings. I’m tempted to don my years-old “Fuck Art, Let’s Kill” shirt and head up to Van Nuys to see if it merits a similar response.

Recently, I wrote a post about a young female driver illegally holding her cell phone up to her ear and talking on it while driving, without using a hands-free device or the speakerphone. I included pictures of the offender. There was a split of opinion in the comments as to whether it was useful to try to change the behavior of such drivers by photographing them, speaking to them, and highlighting them on L.A. Metblogs. Today, I saw a guy huffing behind the wheel. I’d like to know what, if anything, readers think should be done about him.

Inhale the rest of the huffing post, after the jump

LA loves Honda Accords. How do I know?  Ours got stolen last night.  (Technically it belonged to my husband but since I sold my car in July, we shared.)  We live in West Los Angeles and it was parked right outside the house (locked, nothing of value in it, windows up, etc).  My husband and I looked at each other this morning and just shook our heads.  (It has been a very bad year for us in too many ways to go into here.)  Why am I telling you this sob story?  So I can share what I’ve learned about car theft in LA and how the city did help.

This is not the first car I’ve had stolen.  The other was my Honda CRX in 1998, but it was found a day later.  Have you had your car stolen?  Recovered?  Please share so I don’t feel so all alone.

Join me after the jump for more about Hondas in LA.  (Watch the broken glass.)

(picture of where my car should be…)

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Late evening arrest at an arrest in NW Pasadena.

Tuesday night I got to ride with the Pasadena PD. I sought this chance to spend time with them for many reasons. Some were personal in an effort to better understand policing in general, some specifically to understand why Pasadena has had downward trending violent and property crime compared to other areas in the city. Some was to find out what they did differently to impact those results. I even wanted some answers to questions and debates that come up here and other blogs regarding traffic and related safety issues.
My night in a nutshell: I rode up and down Lincoln Avenue from the more affluent SW side of town to the more troubled NW side of town. Our first call was a suspected dead body in a dumpster (rotting fried chicken), possible breaking and entering, vandalism (I knew the victim from my son’s elementary school), then a call regarding a lost license plate then the arrest of a suspected child molester. After that a run to the aquatic center on a call about an abandoned leaf blower which on arrival didn’t exist but a young man found someone tried to steal his ‘slade. Sadly the final call was to respond to a shooting that became the second murder of the year. The latter sadly slowed my ability to ask all my questions.
I still learned a lot on the ride along, you need to make the jump for the rest of the story. (more…)

UPDATED BELOW

Surveillance cameras at the building I live (near Franklin and La Brea) caught a bicycle theft in action. As you can see from the video below, a man in a construction helmet and reflective vest is able to casually rip off a bike with the help of bolt cutters. As he finishes, a tenant walks right by, thinking nothing of the thief.

This video, which shows the pathway between the building’s backdoor and parking lot, was taken last Tuesday, August 12th, shortly after 8am. The theft itself wasn’t reported to building management for 3 days.

Valorie Keegan with the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council tells me that similar incidents have been reported of thieves posing as DWP workers and tree trimmers. And couple days after the bike theft, a neighbor reported that another man dressed as a construction worker tried to talk his way onto building property claiming he was with the housing department.

During both incidents heavy construction has continued on the street in front of the building, lending the perps plenty of opportunity to blend in.

While I hope the DWP and police take this situation very seriously, this incident demonstrates the need for residents to be more vigilant and report crimes as they happen.

If you see someone suspicious or out of place in your neighborhood, report it ASAP, to your building management, the police, and your neighbors.

UPDATE: Zach at LAist has details of home invasions robbery occuring in Sherman Oaks by teams of men posing as DWP.

A lovely/ugly expanse of beige paint is all that remains

After years of seeing it bombed, blasted and splashed with 40-foot-long full-color-burner graffiti pieces, the forces of conformity decided enough was enough.

For the “BEFORE” view, see the jump. (more…)