Yes, I have an inverse life: Quiet and controlled during the week, chaos and having to be multiple places at once on Saturday and Sunday. This weekend my church is playing host to a celebrity in Pagan circles, Phaedra Bonewits, the widow of recently passed icon Isaac Bonewits, founder of ADF, and the only person to get a degree in Magik from UC Berkely. Phaedra is no slouch in the instructional department either and is holding a workshop on the uses and abuses of tools in magikal ritual this Saturday at my church. Then Sunday she will be giving a talk on her late husband, which will be open to the public at 11 AM. Because my oven is currently hors d’ combat (busted) I won’t be providing any breadlike items for our guest as the oven I used last time is going to be busy. Also on Saturday I will be participating in the church’s monthly vegetarian Pot Luck dinner. I will be bringing my famous 3 beans and rice dish which is vegan (no salt pork in my beans…)
There were so many links and stories that truly deserved to be first that making the decision was a struggle, but I think our big story for today was from the Great White North, with 2 links to the report of a killer truck driver being charged with a serious crime in relation to the killing. Truck driver charged in death of cyclist and Trucker charged in death This is about as good a result as could have been hoped for after the fact. The trucker had been on the road a very long time and was tired and inattentive, not malicious. Absent malicious intent this is the most serious charge that could have been brought, and will most likely take the trucker off the roads as a truck driver.
Back in sunnier climes, another report on the fire captain who hit-and-run a cyclist riding in the bike lane in CA. Long Beach fire captain arrested in DUI, hit-run There isn’t much new to report on this one, the identity of the cyclist is still a secret. The good thing about this one was people on the scene divvied up responses as some pursued the driver and others stayed to tend to the injured cyclist which may have saved his life. Kudos to the citizens of Seal Point CA!
A cyclist is right hooked in FL. 38 yr old Boca Raton bicyclist killed by collision with truck I don’t know if there was a bike lane or just a shoulder on this stretch of road, according to a court settlement from 3 years ago there was supposed to be a bike lane installed on that highway. If there was a bike lane then the truck driver was at fault for failing to wait until the lane to the right was clear before turning across it, however if it was a shoulder then the cyclist was at fault for passing on the right not in a designated lane of travel. To avoid use intersection protocol and don’t depend on being right under the law to protect you.
Another cyclist is injured in TN by bad roads. Local briefs: North Carolina couple killed in accident; Herron crashes bike training for triathlon; Jackson man faces rape charge One of the lesser-known hazards of placing chip-seal on roads is the piles of loose gravel that accumulate between the wheel tracks and especially in intersections. I don’t know the source of this particular pile of gravel but be warned about the possibility of loose gravel in the presence of chip-seal (not to be confused with Chip Seal, who rides a bike).
A really boring lawyer babble, unless you’re a legal wonk about bikes like I am, discusses the case of a drunk driver that killed a cyclist. IN RE BORLIK Basically the defendant’s line is the sentence for the DUI felony death was suspended so he should get out on parole, the state’s case was suspended or not he was still convicted of a violent crime and has to serve all of his sentence without parole. The court saw it the same way as the state, the killer has to go back to prison and complete his sentence.
Last bit is from the Emerald Isle on vulnerable road users. Safety for vulnerable road users targeted I think they are blaming the victim on this one, are they going to require women to wear chastity belts to prevent rape, or shop keepers to wear bullet proof vests to prevent shootings during robberies?
And that’s all I have for today.
Billed @$0.02, Opus
Witch on a Bicycle 