An arrest is finally made in the hit-and-run death of an Anaheim mother early last month.
Daniella Palacios was riding her bike across the street just blocks from her home when she was run down by a white pickup, whose driver fled the scene without stopping.
Now 30-year old Buena Park resident Junior Lopez has been arrested for the crime. He’s being held on $50,000 bond, and his Ford F-150 truck has been seized as evidence.
……..
If you find yourself in San Diego tonight, make your way to the Selle Anatomica Christmas Party at 7939 Silverton Ave, Suite 806, from 6 to 9 pm. Just bring a canned good for the San Diego Food Bank and a “funky” item for the schwag exchange. RSVP in advance to fred@selleanatomica.com.
……..
Irvine and Riverside personal injury legal firm Avrek Law introduces the BikeSafe Bicycle Accident Reporting App, allowing you to report bike-related incidents throughout the SoCal region, or search for collision data by year or type. And yes, it does make an impact to see all those wreck sites on a single map.
Although I wish lawyers, of all people, would learn to call them collisions instead of accidents, since accident implies that no one is at fault.
……..
The LACBC is teaming with Better Bike to host a meeting on Monday on how to create a more bike friendly Beverly Hills. Personally, I’d start with a major attitude adjustment at City Hall.
……..
Lois forwards this photo of a gray-haired Burbank man who appears to be riding a ghost bike, right down to the RIP sign attached to the frame.
Stolen or not, I’d say that’s tempting fate just a little too much.
……..
Longtime LA Times columnist Patt Morrison says local bike riders should be required to get an “info license” to make them learn the rules of the road.
Aside from the fact that only the state can impose licensing requirements — cities can license bikes, but not riders — it’s an interesting, if muddled, unnecessary and ultimately unworkable idea.
……..
LocalStreetsblog reports on Councilmember Gil Cedillo’s snub of bicyclists as the City Council unanimously approved the city’s Call for Projects list. Meanwhile, Across LA asks who the real one-percenters are. And Richard Risemberg aptly describes Cedillo’s method of governing as a “tantrumocracy.”
The USC Bike Coalition unveils first bike repair station and pump on the traditionally bike-unfriendly campus.
UPS makes Burbank deliveries by bike.
Now that the San Gabriel Valley bike plan has been approved by all five cities involved, Monterey Park cyclists could see improvements as early as next spring.
Three Baldwin Park bike thieves are under arrest after the owner spots his stolen bike for sale on Craigslist.
State
An Irvine woman gets just a year in jail for intentionally running down an airport bike cop.
San Diego neighborhoods battle over plans to close an off-ramp to make room for a bike and pedestrian corridor, as local merchants fail to grasp that people on bikes spend money, too.
Paso Robles plans a L’Eroica Vintage Bicycle Event next April; participants are limited to riders on steel frame bikes built before 1987.
An Oklahoma man stops in Petaluma after riding 7,500 miles with his dog in support of animal shelters.
That’s a good problem to have, as a Bay Area Caltrain station struggles to keep up with demand for bike parking.
The civil trial begins in the case of a San Francisco bike rider killed in a collision with a 13 ton delivery truck. Police initially blamed the cyclist until the SF Bike Coalition found security camera footage that police hadn’t bothered to look for.
‘Tis the season, as a Turlock real estate agency donates 23 bikes for less fortunate children.
National
Requiring sideguards on large trucks could save the lives of countless cyclists and pedestrians.
People for Bikes looks at the nation’s 10 best protected bike lanes, including one right here in Temple City.
Biking pop star Katy Perry gets a custom painted ride.
DC bike riders are most likely to be white or Hispanic, and either wealthy or low income.
International
The ugly Christmas sweater fad spreads to bike jerseys. Although hideous might be a better word.
A heartbraking story from the UK, as a father is accused of killing his own bike riding son by passing too closely.
Unbelievable. An injured British cyclist is kept waiting over two hours before an ambulance finally arrived.
Good thing the peloton has been cleaned up. An Italian pro cyclist is caught using testosterone, despite serving an 18-month ban for doping. Meanwhile, banned cyclist Riccardo Riccò says it’s impossible to win a grand tour without doping; scary thing is, he may be right.
A Japanese cyclist is banned from riding his bike for 90 days after crashing while under the influence of quasi-legal drugs.
Finally…
Once again, a driver mistakenly assumes that gas taxes pay for the roads, let alone the bikeways on them, and blames scofflaw cyclists for breaking the law — unlike all those law abiding motorists. Bike riders are often turned away from drive-through widows; evidently, it helps if you use a gun and ask for the contents of the cash drawer.
And caught on video: Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas plays Jingle Bells using bike bells.
