Results tagged “criticalmass”

     

It's probably one of the least heard of tickets, especially given to a bicyclist. But a ticket for signaling and then not turning was apparently handed out to one Critical Mass rider in Santa Monica on Friday night. Fellow rider to the cyclist and a photographer Alex Thompson said it was "biased enforcement."

For over a year, Critical Mass and the Santa Monica Police Department have been at odds and last month at their monthly ride, an unusual amount of officers monitored the ride of approximately 150 cyclists. A total of 16 officers were assigned to the ride costing the city $3,067.88, according to documents obtained by LAist in a public records request. Nine citations were written for various violations such as not having a headlight.

FILM: The Aero in Santa Monica screens the L.A. premiere of the rock doc Patti Smith: Dream of Life at 7:30 tonight. “Twelve years in the making, the first film directed by fashion photographer Steven Sebring stitches together layer upon layer of human experience to paint a portrait of Patti Smith, the artist as a tireless and dynamic worker for music, poetry, peace, family and friends.”

Last Friday night in Santa Monica, bicyclists-turned-temporary-pedestrians gathered and protested what they believe is harassment from the city towards monthly Critical Mass bicycles rides. At their latest ride on August 1st, 14 police officers were deployed to monitor the ride resulting in at least nine citations (unofficial counts totaled up to 14).

        

This past Saturday night, the Los Angeles Police Department set up a Sobriety Check Point on Hollywood Boulevard between Gower and Bronson and staffed the effort with officers from the local Hollywood Station as well as a couple of dozen officers from West Traffic Division.

Whew! This one's not in LA, but with all the bicycle drama happening around town, it's worth noting that it is a national issue. This weekend in New York City, a cyclist was knocked to the ground by a NYPD officer. "The cyclist in this video was arrested, held for 26 hours, and charged with attempted assault and resisting arrest," according to LAist sister site, Gothamist.

On two different days, in two different articles the LA Times profiles two mass bicycle rides. On one side, the large and boisterous Midnight Ridazz who mostly stick to Los Angeles city streets. On the other is the Santa Monica Critical Mass.

Science and art rarely mix. And yet, despite the near polar opposite natures of these two fields, there's something that makes a collaboration between science and art undeniably captivating. Perhaps it's because behind the often sterile and calculated shell of the world of science, there lies the same human stories we find in every other area of life. And while we regularly see tales of greed, corruption, triumph, racism, fame, and passion acted out in the political arena, or on the athletic field, or in the celebrity sphere, the scientific world has just as storied a past, rife with conflict, competition and courage.

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King, and appreciated their beautiful skyline.

As Guest Day Editor, Siel, a.k.a Green LA Girl, will be joining LAist with a few posts throughout today. Read her interview here and check out her site. Drinking and driving isn't cool -- Which is why I made the logical decision to ditch the car a few months ago. Now, not only can I drink all I want most nights, I also have a few hundred extra bucks for my drink budget each month....

Following up on a news item we told you about on Friday, apparently the residents of Venice are in alignment with those in Mar Vista who are pissed that Santa Monica has passed a law that only allows dogs with SM tags to legally play in their new park on Bundy and Airport Drive which is right next door to Mar Vista. In the letters section of yesterday's Times were two correspondences that we...

This week we'd like to congratulate the -ist network's Mother Hen, Gothamist's Jen Chung, who found herself a recipient of Wired Magazine's Wired Rave Award. If that doesn't sound terribly exciting, keep in mind another recipient was J.K. Rowling. Yep, that's right, the -ist network and Harry Potter now have something in common. Go us.

I attended The Good Shepherd Center's Gala this past Saturday night at the Beverly Regent Wilshire as the guest of my mentor whose company had sponsored a table. I am lucky enough to attend quite a few galas but this particular evening knew nothing about the organization before I got there. I was so impressed with both the presentation, the attendees and the experience overall. Their video really hit home to the problem of homelessness in Los Angeles - especially considering women and children.

Torontoist immediately wins our heart by using the word "Jackass" in a headline. In fact, we love their use of it so much that we're going to use it as much as possible throughout this post. For example, it looks like there are Toronto-area jackasses besides those who misuse the sidewalk: look at the crap on sale on Toronto's craigslist. But it looks like Toronto doesn't contain the kind of jackasses who pee in public pools, as the issue never came up when they interviewed the creators of art installations in their public wading pools.

Both despite and because of many intense past, current and future battles to retain it, Angelenos are increasingly aware of our city’s architectural heritage. This category ranges from the missions to faux Norman castles to austere minimalist spaces. We’re presently living a renaissance era for modernism – a critical mass is more than ever enthralled with the work of largely émigré architects for whom Los Angeles was an ideal environment in which to experiment with built forms and new materials, blissfully free of historic precedent.

With the debate going on on this site this week about whether or not Angelenos are good drivers, maybe it's time to put away the car keys and practice switching gears. Bike Summer is about to enter its final days in Los Angeles. The month long event is all about bicycle love. Today and tomorrow, Bike Summer also coincides with the Bicycle Film Festival. Starting this evening, the Vine Theatre will be wall to wall shorts, films and documentaries about people who like their rides people-powered. If you want to do more pedaling than watching, you can join Critical Mass as they take back the streets of Central LA and the west side tonight.

Speaking of biking, why not pull out those bikes this weekend, folks? Not only is the Bike Show coming to town (notes blogdowntown.com), but the weather looks to be fine for pedaling around town (we'll believe the scattered thunderstorms when we see them).

Reporter John Balzar even joined Ben Guzman, Jimmy Lizama and others for a midmorning ride one Sunday. Guzman and Lizama have opened a community workshop called the Bicycle Kitchen in an empty apartment off of Vermont Boulevard, not far from the 101 freeway.