It’s been a year and a half, but now the wheels of justice are beginning to turn, and things don’t look good for vehicular assaultist Dr. Christopher Thompson. It seems the (not so) good doctor has been found guilty of criminal assault in connection with his misdeeds the morning of July 4, 2008. Aurisha Smolarski, the LACBC associate who has a part time job keeping my inbox full, gives the details:
Dr. Christopher Thomas Thompson, the physician who seriously injured 2 cyclists with his car on Mandeville Canyon Road last summer has been found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon on 7 counts:
01 23105(A) VC RECKLESS DRIVING CAUSNG INJURY
02 243(D) PC BATTERY W/SERIOUS BODILY INJURY
03 243(D) PC BATTERY W/SERIOUS BODILY INJURY
04 23103(A) VC RECKLESS DRIVING HIGHWAY
05 245(A)(1) PC ASSAULT W DEADLY WEAPON/INSTR.
06 245(A)(1) PC ASSAULT W DEADLY WEAPON/INSTR.
07 203 PC MAYHEMThe Judge has refused bail.
The district attorneys office took this case very seriously. Deputy DA Mary Stone did an exemplary job laying out the facts of the case. These convictions should send a very strong message to any aggressive motorist who would use their vehicle as a weapon.
This shows that cyclists’ rights are not just a matter of opinion, but a matter of law!
Drop the confetti! This is certainly good news for LA’s cyclists, as it is a concrete indicator that the legal system takes bicyclists seriously – it’s always good to have a bit of stare decisis on our side. But it remains to be seen how the Mandeville decision will really affect cycling, in LA and around the country. Though bicyclists cheer the verdict, I’d bet good money that Thompson’s old money cohorts back in Mandeville aren’t exactly celebrating along with them. While the potential for ill will to exist on either side of the issue, it’s important for both bikers and drivers to remember that it was justice that was done today, not vengeance.
The LA Times has run a large “bike safety” article, with advice for bikers and drivers. Let’s hope that the decision is not a step toward car vs. bike animosity, but to the greater level of bike/car cooperation we’d all like to see.
As we speak, our fearless mayor Tony V. is faced with a choice whose consequences may be arresting. No, not which newscaster to have his next affair with. It’s picking LA’s next chief of police.
The long and frequently corrupt history of Law enforcement in Los Angeles is well known and celebrated in local lore. The earliest LA peacekeeping forces were the volunteer Los Angeles Rangers and Los Angeles City Guard, neither of which were able to make much of a difference in frontier LA’s lawless society. In the 1860s, fearful French nationals living in LA called upon the French army to help restore order to the city; being the French Army, they also had little effect. Eventually a paid police force was established, which almost immediately devolved into corrupt dealings: The police’s first city marshal was shot by a deputy a year after taking office in a dispute over a reward. Los Angeles would have 15 more city marshals over the next 20 years. As the city became better established, police leaders’ careers became more stable. With that stability came a steady string of scandals and corrupt dealings. There was the wrongful commission of Christine Collins (of “Changeling” fame) to an insane asylum at the behest of Police brass, the anti communist “Red Squads” of the 30s, the mishandling of the Zoot Suit Riots in the 40s, the “Bloody Christmas” scandal in 1951, the dubious shooting of seven unarmed members of the Nation of Islam in 1962, the systematic homophobia of officers under chief Edward Davis, and the wrongful arrest of baseball player Joe Morgan. And who can forget the Rodney King incident (which sparked the city’s worst riot), or the 2001 Rampart scandal?
William Bratton, the soon to be departed current chief, did succeed in lowering crime in the city and bolstering the agency’s tarnished image after the Rampart incident. He is generally viewed favorably, and to his credit he has been a proficient chief, albeit one who is prone to taking extended vacations. Yet his tenure was not without its share of controversy: the 2007 MacArthur Park Rallies resulted in a wave of police beatings that many considered to be an excessive use of force.
Now Bratton’s about to take off, and Tony’s got a choice between three LAPD high-ups: Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell, Deputy Chief Charlie Beck and Deputy Chief Michel Moore (no word as to whether he’s seen Capitalism: A Love Story). But not to worry, these three guys are all pretty much the same; by all accounts, whichever one takes office would most likely end up being an effective Bratton Jr. – though some fear* that Moore’s Gallic first name is an indication that he might invite the French Army over for a homecoming. The fact that all three are white has raised some concern in light of LA’s troubled history with race-based violence. However, their selection by a racially diverse panel should lay those fears to rest.
In a city as large as LA, the unfortunate truth is there will always be some crime. And an even less fortunate truth is that the city’s historic troubles with gang violence continue to be an issue today. But if Tony V.’s pick can continue Bratton’s record – and discontinue his tendency to take off months at a time for vacation – we can hope for future where crime is less of a problem in Los Angeles.
*OK, so no one has actually been worried about this. But they should be.
First, it was supposed to open in “Late 2009″. Then, in a burst of exuberance, it was moved up to “Summer 2009″. Now it is officially November 15, 2009 – or as some might say, late 2009.
I have to say, I feel kind of foolish for ever thinking that Metro could finish the Gold Line – pardon me, the “Edward R. Roybal Linea de Oro 黄金线 Gold Line” – ahead of schedule. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a hard-core Metro basher, but anyone who follows Metro’s track record knows their predictions aren’t exactly good as gold. They overestimated the daily ridership of the Red Line by 150,000, which turned into 170,000 once they developed a method of “much more accurately measuring ridership” a year later. The initial Gold Line ridership guess was overshot as well, followed by a drastically underestimated guess for ridership on the Orange Line (seriously, do these guys just pull ridership figures out of their hind quarters?) This certainly doesn’t bode well for a timely opening of the fledgling Expo Line, which would be in trouble even if it weren’t embroiled in controversy. We’d be lucky to see that line open before the apocalypse in 2012, and we’d be lucky if the once theorized Expo Phase 2 to Santa Monica is built at all, official references to it have been removed from Metro’s project page.
Not that Metro’s track record is all bad; I generally find they do a good job running trains on schedule, and it has to be recognized that Metro’s budget for rail construction is abysmally low. However, it’d be really nice if Metro treated the LA populace as adults. How hard is it to give us a reason why opening dates are pushed back, or ridership figures are so far off the mark? As difficult as it may be for a politically conscious government organization not to engage in doublespeak, we’d all be better off if Metro was straight with us.
Tomorrow is the premiere of Venezuelan sensation Gustavo Dudamel as Conductor (or “Musical Director” if you prefer) of the LA Phil at Disney hall. Tickets have long sold out, and in an effort to allow others to share in the experience, LA Phil administrators have arranged for the concert to be simulcast on a screen outside the Dorthory Candler Pavillion, but tickets have run out even for that. It’s enough to make me long for construction of the proposed giant display screen downtown, once derided as the beginnings of a Blade Runner style dystopia, which might actually be a good way to deliver cultural events to the citizens of Los Angeles. If the New York crowd can watch opera on the giant Times Square screen, why can’t we do something similar?
Here’s a crazy idea: why not co-opt the dozens of digital billboards all across the city to pick up the event? These billboards are often decried as evil, corporatist, destroyers of homey neighborhoods (think of the children!); and there may be something to that. Imagine, though, if these billboards were momentarily diverted from their standard diet of irritating ads to a display a landmark in our city’s culture? It might just bring Dudamel one step closer to fulfilling his “crazy, romantic” dream of bringing music to everyone.
Fall is a funny thing around these parts. Summer runs right up to the end of September, then all of a sudden the weather changes. Some trees, perhaps imported from a northern clime, actually shed their leaves. You can almost smell the difference – ok, maybe that’s just the forest fires. But there’s definitely a change of season here, somewhere between the drastic tire-chain weather of the north and the endless summer others imagine of us. In response to this, Angelenos are doing their equivalent of bundling up: digging out a windbreaker from the closet, or using the excuse to buy a new sweater that looks really cool.
The latest news from our esteemed federal government is that the CARS bill, better known as the “Cash for Clunkers” bill, has exhausted its funds in a quarter of the time it was expected to take. Cash for Clunkers gives a $4,500 incentive to drivers of old, polluting vehicles wishing to take them off the road.
Here’s the catch: this money has to be pumped directly back into a new car by its recipients. Granted, this new car is required to be less polluting, which is a plus. But why isn’t there an option to take that money and put it towards two options which are exponentially more eco-friendly: bikes and transit?
Not only are these two ways of getting around more eco-friendly, but communities which utilize them extensively are generally revered throughout the country and the world. Transit friendly cities (New York, Chicago) and bike friendly cities (Portland) enjoy great reputations and loads of tourists. Meanwhile, our fair burg enjoys a reputation of being “car centric” – in my opinion, one which is not fully merited, yet one which people repeat ad nauseum and with the same tone they use to describe child molesters. We have half a century of auto-uber-alles spending to thank for this, a period during which the feds spent hundreds of billions on interstate highways. Will we live to see the day when serious federal money is spent on more environmentally and community friendly options?
I recognize the importance of making cars more eco-friendly. But if we’re truly going to become stewards of the environment and conscientious community members, we have to break away from our car-only pattern of federal spending.
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| Photo: Wad |
With the introduction of Google Transit to America’s second largest transit agency, all eyes are on Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus, in hopes that it will be the next to jump on the G-Trans Bandwagon. The BBB is probably the second most important bus system in LA county; it’s the only system besides Metro that runs rapid lines, and its 10 express bus is a godsend to anyone trying to get from Santa Monica to Downtown. An exhaustive search of the internets reveals primarily that people really want it.
Meanwhile, in far away Long Beach, word is that Google Transit is already in the test phase for Long Beach Transit Buses. However, an LBT spokesperson admonishes rabid G-Trans fans that “a final version will not be ready for several months”. Is this a snub against the beloved BBB by the dirty-stepsister LBT? Not really, a spokesperson from Santa Monica assures us that Google will be up and running in the Bay City by the end of the year. But it sure makes for a good headline.
The moral of the story? Not really sure, maybe that BBB is the only system that matters besides Metro? Oh well. Fingers crossed for county-wide G-Trans within the year.
With all this Mikey hoopla, I somehow took for granted a story which actually matters: the roll-out of Google Transit in LA. This stunning turn of events has lit up the blogosphere like a firecracker, ironically appropriate for a program launched over Fourth of July weekend. Streetsblog, LAist, the Militant, they’re all gaga for Google. Green LA Girl is both pleased and peeved, since the new transit program doesn’t include the Big Blue Bus (for that matter, where’s Long Beach Transit in all this?) But I really can’t fault their enthusiasm, since G-Trans is pretty nifty after all.
The arrival of Google Transit is such a big event, it has brought the long-dormant Metro Rider LA back from the grave. MRLA leading man Fred Camino, a web designer who is as tech-savvy as they come, is positively gooey for G-Trans:
It’s the Google Maps functionality we’ve grown accustomed to for years now, tailored to our preferred mode of transportation, and it’s brilliant.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that Google has implemented this new program. I’m all for anything that will raise the visibility of public transit in our fair city, and I loves me some Google Maps. But I think we need to take the introduction of G-Trans with a grain of salt. First of all, the methodology of Google’s car-route calculator doesn’t necessarily graft well to public transit trips. A commenter at LAist notes that while planning a route from Pasadena to Venice, G-Trans instructs him to get off the Gold Line at Chinatown, take the 45 to Broadway/Venice, then take the 333 west from there. Google neglects the possibility of riding all the way to Union Station and catching the 333 there, a route which is .15 miles longer but potentially much faster, as any delays to the 45 would significantly increase traveling time. Not to mention that one less ride would save $1.25.
Secondly, a familiarity with transit routes at the macro level can greatly improve the transit-riding experience. In the hypothetical example above, a transit rider using only Google transit might take the 45, thinking it was his only option. But armed with a transit map, he might opt for the 333 at union station, or even Gold Line/Red Line/Blue Line to Pico with a walk to Venice/Flower – hey, it’s possible. I’ve always been a fan of the foldable metro system map, it’s free, comprehensive, and surprisingly portable. It won’t give you instant directions, but it still works pretty well, and it’ll never run out of batteries.
I still have another bone to pick with Google: where are the cool lines which show the actual train routes? As I noted awhile ago, the Lone-Star city of Dallas is replete with a Google-furnished rail schematic, as are several other American metropolises (San Fran has a rainbow-looking BART stripe running through town). Yet even the introduction of Google Transit in LA didn’t lead to the implementation of actual transit route maps to our little corner of the Google Maps universe.
Fred Camino notes that G-Trans will be a boon for tourists and others who simply can’t figure out the metro system, and I agree. But I think it could be even better. Instead of just ordering transit riders to take certain routes, Google would do well to emulate the metro map as well, allowing transit riders to view alternate routes they might want to take instead. That way, iphone toting tech-hipsters and luddite map readers like myself would both be better off.
Unless you’ve had your eyes and ears gouged out, you’ve probably been keeping up with the events following the death of Michael Jackson – and even then, you’ve probably still been reading the news in braille. The Loyalist is not given to adulation, something which Michael Jackson followers have in spades. But I’ll be the first to admit that the guy lent his falsetto and fast feet to a formidable pop culture repertory, and as I had the day off, I decided to make the trip downtown to see what all the fuss was about.
I rode in on the Blue Line (it was great not to have to park on a day like this) and was met at Pico Station by a cute police dog accompanied by some not so cute officers. The area around the station was crawling with cops, so I moved north.
Oddly enough, even the cool kids who inhabit downtown in increasing numbers took to eulogizing MJ, what with their fixed gear bikes and oversized white shades and all.
Vendors had the place locked up. Any item that could display an image of Mikey was up for sale -for the record, I didn’t see any Michael Jackson toilet paper, but I suspect it was there somewhere. Also up for sale were ornately sliced fruits and bottles of water, despite the DWP’s placement of extra drinking fountains. And of course, there were Mikey accouterments for sale as well: roses, gloves, and hats.
Others took the opportunity to spread their message. There were plenty of concert promotions, but one young woman took it upon herself to put on a green bikini and promote vegetarianism on behalf of PETA.
There were also plenty of impersonators. One woman wore a studded bikini top (her fingers are crossed in hope that she can get into the Neverland Ranch sometime soon). Even one of the parking enforcement officers looked like Mike – the mandatory white gloves helped. One enterprising individual donned the full attire, and even brought along his manager and, perhaps a bit tactlessly, a young boy. Disturbing.
Nevertheless, the guy could dance. There were others who didn’t wear the full garb but took to moonwalking anyway, people of all appearances, heights, genders, and races. I guess if you’re going to impersonate Michael Jackson, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white.
One irate young man smashed his guitar; I wasn’t around to see why, but I presume it involved some kind of run-in with the law. He screamed at the cops, “In America you used to be free!” Well, at least he still has the freedom to destroy his own musical instruments in a dramatic fashion.
There were plenty of foreigners, I heard several conversations in French, and I actually stopped to talk with some Brazilians. They were happy, because they had escaped the Brazilian winter in the northern hemisphere, and because Brazil had just beat the US in Soccer.
The crowds began to leave from the Staples Center, and I decided it was time to head for the train station. On the way, a saxophonist played “You Are Not Alone”, a song which ironically foretold the extremely crowded conditions at the train platform. The crowds were a bit of a nuisance, but it is nice to see people making use of our plucky metro system, and as the ticket machines had been closed, I didn’t have to pay my return fare. Before boarding, I looked up to notice a battalion of news helicopters and “MJ” written in the sky.
So basically, Mikey’s ceremony meant that all the antics and tourist traps of Hollywood Boulevard moved south for a day. All in all it was a fun experience, at times it easy to forget it was a memorial service. Even though the mood could have been more reverent, people were enjoying themselves and, at times, even working for noble causes. I was never a big Mike follower, but I get the feeling he would have wanted it that way.
In far away Tehran, there is bedlam on the streets in response to a contested election. Here in LA, all it takes to whip up turmoil is for our beloved Lakers to win the championship – 25 people were arrested Sunday night for vandalism committed in a post-championship fervor/riot, and heavily armed cops held back raging fans during yesterday’s parade. All illicit antics aside, it’s nice that the Lakers have given LA, a city that all too often buys into its own negative stereotypes, a reason to come together.
Poor Tehranis*, having to riot in anger instead of joy. The last time we had a national election here, Angelenos couldn’t have been happier. Authorities are disputing whether or not the election in Iran really was rigged, but I can understand the frustration of the Iranian rioters at the apparent reelection of incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Other than having a name that doubles as a tongue twister, Ahmadinejad appears to be an unsavory character. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I buy into the “Axis of Evil” nonsense spewed by this country’s past leadership. But as far as I’m concerned, anyone who denies the holocaust is a bad choice to run Iran, or for that matter, any country. In his campaign, Ahmadinejad cynically stole Obama’s "Yes We Can" slogan; perhaps in the interest of full disclosure he should have finished that statement as “Yes we can believe gross historical inaccuracies”.
For LA’s Iranians, living in “Tehrangeles” on Westwood, in Beverly Hills, or elsewhere, the bad news from Tehran put a damper on the otherwise festive post-championship mood. communication from relatives, via email or Twitter (supposedly a godsend to citizens in repressive regimes), is tensely anticipated. Protests have been held, and continue to happen, throughout the area. And even to non-Iranian Angelenos like myself, this event is not to be taken likely. After all, Tehran is one of LA’s sister cities, and the two places have more in common that you might think. Tehran is not on the coast, but it is near a large mountain range, and it is frequently accused of being a “sprawl capital”. And like Los Angeles, Tehran is a cosmopolitan city. Though the two are often maligned as hellholes to be avoided at all costs, in reality they abound with hidden treasures.
So congratulations to the Lakers, and best of luck to the Tehranis and all Iranians. Angelenos, having had to put up with an unqualified president for far too long, can sympathize.
*or is it Tehranians?
