BikinginLA

You’ve got to be kidding.

In a truly astounding case of authorities keeping a dangerous driver on the road, Louisiana officials finally arrested a repeat drunk driver after he missed not one, not two, but seven court dates.

Fifty-year old Jacob Paul Raffray faces charges for allegedly ramming his pickup into a family of five, breaking the grandmother’s hips and seriously burning a seven-year old boy who was trapped underneath the truck.

That came just four years after he was released for paralyzing a college baseball player in a drunken hit-and-run crash, following three previous DUI convictions.

And bizarrely, just two years after he was pardoned as a first-time offender, despite multiple parole violations.

Never mind his most recent arrest, for possessing meth and drug paraphernalia.

There’s no mention of his license being taken away, so presumably, he’s been allowed to continue to drive this whole time.

And we wonder why people keep dying on our streets.

Photo by energepic.com from Pexels.

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The Friends of the Ballona Wetlands invite you to learn more about the planned restoration of the wetlands, and how it will affect the popular Ballona Creek Trail.

WEBINAR: RE-ENVISIONING THE BALLONA CREEK TRAIL IN THE WETLANDS

An online presentation hosted by the Friends of Ballona Wetlands and Q&A with CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife.

Monday, August 9, 2021, 5:00PM

Register at:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2782870943479543820

The restoration plan for the Ballona Wetlands will create some significant modifications to the popular Ballona Creek Trail.  The webinar will describe:

• What is planned for the wetlands restoration
• What is planned for the Ballona Creek trail in the project area
• What trail design details in the plan can still be influenced

Presentation by Neysa Frechette, Manager of Scientific Programs,  Friends of Ballona Wetlands

Q&A with Richard Brody, CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife

View trail map on page 2-42 in the Draft EIR at: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=149710&inline

For more information, including the final EIR, see: https://wildlife.ca.gov/Regions/5/Ballona-EIR https://www.ballonafriends.org/restoring-ballona

 

 

 

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A Twitter thread from Megan Lynch decries the failure to replace bollards on the UC Davis campus that are intended to keep drivers off sidewalks and pathways.

https://twitter.com/may_gun/status/1421907497477021696

Britain’s bike-riding prime minister gets it.

At least when it comes to bicycles and transit.

Boris Johnson: "I support councils, of all parties, which are trying to promote cycling and bus use. And if you are going to oppose these schemes, you must tell us what your alternative is, because trying to squeeze more cars and vans on the same roads…is not going to work."

— Andrew Gilligan (@mragilligan) July 30, 2021

Speaking of which, it’s really not a good look for a local councilor to stand in the street celebrating as a bike lane gets ripped out.

Particularly when his party supports them.

https://twitter.com/JoeDunne_/status/1420825996513710086

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

A pair of Wisconsin men face charges for yelling at a couple of people riding their bikes to get on the sidewalk, then coming back and smashing their bikes, and stealing the woman’s ID, keys and cash.

Irish bike riders question why on earth local authorities painted a parking space directly in front of the East Lothian Harbor Master’s office, blocking access to both it and the harbor’s only bike racks.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

Police in Culver City are looking for the bike-riding man who followed a 17-year old girl with his hand down his pants, then struck her in the head when she tried to get away.

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Local

Proving there is no highway project so bad Metro won’t back it, the country transit agency is dumping previously approved plans for a high-desert bikeway and high-speed rail corridor in favor of reviving the long-dead High Desert Freeway Project by widening nearby five-lane Highway SR-38 instead.

An East LA mother is demanding justice for her 14-year old son, who was seriously injured when he was knocked off his bike by a CHP officer who just drove off afterwards.

A 37-year old mountain biker had to be hoisted out of a remote area in Mandeville Canyon on Saturday after suffering traumatic injuries in a fall.

WeHoVille talks with Jason Bowers, general manger of Bikes and Hikes LA, which is offering a 20% locals discount for an LA-area bike tour.

Speaking of WeHoVille, the paper decries poorly parked scooters running amok in the city and terrorizing people on sidewalks. Hint: It’s not the scooters that are responsible for either of those problems.

A group of 15 firefighters left from Santa Monica on a cross-country bike trip to New York to raise awareness for firefighter-related cancers and mental health, intending to arrive in time for the 20th anniversary of 9/11; they were joined by ten riders who set out from Santa Clara Sunday morning.

 

State

Carlsbad has received a $1.77 million grant to build a 2.5-mile segment of the Coastal Rail Trail on Avenida Encinas and Carlsbad Boulevard, which will be matched by $5.2 million in local funds.

Del Mar has settled a lawsuit over the bicycling death of a sheriff’s detective for $3.5 million; 54-year old Brian Villa was killed when his bike hit a rut in the road during the 2017 Amtrak Century.

Over 200 people rode their bikes on Sunday to celebrate the opening of a 1.5-mile protected bike lane in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood, with the mayor calling for the project to be replicated throughout the city; naturally, not everyone is happy about it, especially the loss of 420 parking spaces.

Survey says, Goleta residents want bikeshare.

A Petaluma public schools food service director — in other words, the guy who managed the district’s public schools cafeteria — marked his retirement by riding up Mt. Diablo with ten pounds of sugar on his bike, representing the amount kids could eat in a typical school year.

Once again, someone has been killed illegally riding a bike on a California freeway, when a man was killed riding salmon with no lights on an Oakland Interstate. The victim was reportedly homeless.

 

National

Tips on how to ride with your kids, from finding the right seat to applying plenty of sunscreen.

No surprise here. GeekWire staffers raced through Seattle’s rush hour traffic by foot, boat, bike, car and scooter. And it was the guy on an ebike who came it first.

A formerly homeless Kansas jail deputy won’t get to have to ride his bike 11-miles each way to work and back anymore, after a crowdfunding campaign raised enough to buy him another car after his broke down.

If you build it, they will come. A full three-quarters of Boston residents support building more protected bike lanes, as a case study shows bicycling “increased significantly” in the two years after one protected bike lane was installed.

A Facebook group has become a lifeline for Gotham bicycle delivery riders, working to keep them and their ebikes safe on New York’s streets and bridges.

 

International

Presenting the UK’s most popular mountain biking spots, for your next trip to the country that isn’t part of Europe anymore.

Seventy British bike riders completed a 280-mile ride into London in honor of late Member of Parliament Jo Cox, who was assassinated by a right wing radical five years ago.

An Indian paper says the bike boom is the silver lining in the pandemic.

Bike-riding Indonesian volunteers are delivering vital medicines during the country’s ongoing pandemic lockdown.

 

Competitive Cycling

American cyclist Connor Fields is slowly improving after a horrific crash during a BMX preliminary heat that put him in the ICU with a brain hemorrhage.

Two-time BMX racing world champion and Rio silver medallist Alise Willoughby didn’t have a much better day on the track, but at least she walked away from it.

Britain’s Charlotte Worthington went from Mexican chef to Olympic gold by performing a stunt no other woman has pulled off in BMX competition.

Bicycling explains the often confusing Olympic track cycling events. As usual, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

The sorry state of America’s velodromes doesn’t help the US team.

Cycling Weekly talks with rising Portuguese cyclists and twin brothers Rui and Ivo Oliveira to see if cycling success is in their identical genes.

 

Your next bike could be a million dollar, previously unobtainable Pokémon bicycle come to life. Bike to work or school so you can drink more milk — udders optional.

And evidently, it’s just a short trip from getting a slap on the wrist for killing a bike-riding tourist with your garbage truck to becoming a full-fledged enforcer for a Mexican drug cartel.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.