Politics, open government, and safe streets. And the constant incursion of cycling.

Category: Virginia Page 5 of 34

Arlington, that Free-Spending Socialist Utopia . . .

just had its 3 x AAA bond rating re-affirmed:

For the tenth straight year, Arlington has scored a financial “triple-triple.” All three major bond rating agencies have just affirmed Arlington’s AAA bond rating, the highest rating available.

[ . . . ]

Arlington is one of only 35 counties across the country that has a triple AAA rating. It allows the county to borrow money at the lowest possible rates.

Now, it’s not lost on me that I’ve roundly criticized the bond-rating agencies elsewhere, but if you’re a relatively small county that can manage to convince all three that you’re doing it that well?  You’re doing something right.

Arlington isn’t perfect, but seriously, if the world had our problems, it would be a better place.

Arlington’s Got a Gang Problem

A *math* gang problem, that is.  Found these along the W&OD trail yesterday.

So who’s going to solve it?

Batch Operation

Sometimes this place gets trapped in a bit of aspirational paralysis – I have so many things put aside to be noted and written about that I’m unable to get started on any one in particular.  So, forgive (and hopefully enjoy) some of the declutter:

Matt Tabbai takes on Lara Logan’s ridiculous attack on the journalism of Mike Hastings (author of the piece that sent McChrystal packing).

See, according to Logan, not only are reporters not supposed to disclose their agendas to sources at all times, but in the case of covering the military, one isn’t even supposed to have an agenda that might upset the brass! Why? Because there is an “element of trust” that you’re supposed to have when you hang around the likes of a McChrystal. You cover a war commander, he’s got to be able to trust that you’re not going to embarrass him. Otherwise, how can he possibly feel confident that the right message will get out?

If you click on nothing else in this post, click on the first link.

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As ever, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is an embarrassment to decent people everywhere.

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I didn’t expect England to get near the finals, but I didn’t expect them to go home so soon.  I much would have preferred they face Ghana than Germany.   James Fallows has a great roundup of the dark mood that befell most of the British press by the end of the ENG-GER match.

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If the title of this doesn’t take you there, I don’t know what to say – Pablo Escobar, Guerillas, and My Dream Bike.  The world is filled with amazing stories.

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Jon Shure attempts to answer the question – If You Tax Them, Will They Flee? It’s not a bad analysis to pull out whenever you start hearing the “If we raise taxes here, we’ll drive out all the rich!”  It’s something I hear around here (DC/VA/MD) in cycles, and yet people pretty much stay put.  Shocking, no?

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A perhaps surprising admission – I’m enjoying the Kagan confirmation hearings.  Some of it is being reminded of con law issues I’d long since forgotten, or getting a quick sketch of where current hot issues stand.  And part of it is just the mostly friendly approach of all involved.  Unfortunately, there’s always Jeff Sessions (R-Unreconstructed South) to spoil things.  Christ is he dumber than a box of rocks.

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I’m sure this only happens in academia.

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The Airbus A380 continues to be a draw for some travelers.  The closest I’ve gotten to one was on the tarmac at LAX, unfortunately.  Someday.  Soon, I hope.

Clarendon Cup Kids Race Photos

Throwing elbows in the 5 and Under Category

As I’ve done in the previous few years, I’ve put up my shots from the Clarendon Cup kids race for parents to peruse and pick from. This is pretty much a low-to-no editing raw stream.  They’re not for sale, but if you want a print, you’re welcome to grab the highest res file you can and have it printed yourself.

(If you’re not looking for a particular kid, wait a bit, as I’ll be doing an edited and captioned set later on, after I’ve finished the pro race sets.)

Getting Hit by a Car: Some Lessons

Yesterday, I managed something that I hadn’t done for a very long time (more than 20 years, in fact): I got hit and knocked off my bike by a car. I’m a little banged up, but generally fine (and it’s pretty much the same story for my no-longer new bike).

This happened here, on my way back from lunch-time laps at Hains Point. If you clicked that link and ride past Arlington Cemetery regularly, I bet you already know exactly what happened. I was on the southern sidewalk along Memorial Drive (heading west), trying to exit from the sidewalk onto the road at the north-bound off-ramp from Jefferson Davis Highway (cyclists are forced onto the sidewalk until this point). I stop, cab stops, I proceed into crosswalk, cab accelerates (turning right) into me while looking left. Takes me down, but at least it was slow enough that he didn’t run me or my bike over.

Through this experience, I was reminded of a couple of things.

You Won’t Always Do The Right Thing, Even When You Know What It Is

The cabbie that hit me wouldn’t even get out of his car, and was in a hurry to move on with his passenger. I got up and had to yell through the glass to even get him to drop his window. I should have, at this point, just stopped talking, dialed 911, and generally followed Bob Mionske’s advice:

Always wait for the police to respond to the accident scene so that an official report will be filed. [ . . . ]

You should not attempt to negotiate with the at-fault driver. The driver may not give you accurate information about his or her identity, insurance coverage, or vehicle ownership. Many drivers who cause accidents will initially apologize and accept blame for the accident, but later, after they have had time to consider the ramifications of their negligence, will deny that they were negligent. They may even deny that they were present at the accident scene!

If an accident report is written, make sure that it’s accurate. The accident report will include the driver’s statement as well as all other witness statements. The responding officer may decide to ticket the driver, and this can be useful when trying to settle the case with the insurance company. The accident report should also include the cyclist’s statement; unfortunately, law enforcement officers don’t always take a statement from the cyclist before completing their report. In these instances, the officer may have already decided that the cyclist is at fault, without even talking to the cyclist. If you are able following the accident, make sure you give your statement to the officer. Regardless of whether an accident report is written, make sure that you have the driver’s name and contact info, as well as the names and contact info of any witnesses. If you are physically unable to gather this information, ask a witness to do it for you.

The accident scene should be investigated for information about how the accident occurred. The investigation should include obtaining skid mark measurements, photographing the accident scene, speaking with additional witnesses, and measuring and diagramming the accident scene.

Despite the fact that that is all excellent advice that I thought I had long ago internalized, I didn’t do any of that. I was a bit dazed and a bit more angry (the first thing he said when he rolled the window down was “I stopped at the stop sign!”). I first got his name and cab number. Then I established that I wasn’t obviously hurt. Next I checked out my bike. Considering the lack of damage, I decided that there was no point in engaging in further argument or calling for the police to come.  I believed then, as I do now, that 911 responders have more important things to do.  So I gave my assent to his leaving, figuring that I could just phone in a report after I’d gotten home and calmed down.

This was a mistake for a few reasons:

  • You can never really tell whether you’re actually hurt at the time of the crash.  This was a lesson I learned in 2002, when I was on the receiving end of a t-bone in my car.  I felt fine at the time, but the next day I felt like I’d been hit by a train, not a Ford, and ended up going to the hospital.  Today I feel a lot sorer than yesterday.  I still don’t consider myself more than “banged up”, but if it had turned out to be bad enough that I’d need medical attention, dealing with the subsequent insurance issues would be a lot easier if I had a contemporaneous incident report filled out by police on the scene.
  • Worse, I’ve reinforced the idea that there are no consequences for hitting a cyclist through careless driving.  I don’t feel any personal need for retribution here, but it’s really not about me.  It’s about the importance of paying attention to the human beings around you when you’re absent-mindedly piloting 3,500lbs of steel among them.  Had the driver been ticketed (or even given reason to worry that there would be an insurance claim coming), I suspect he’d be a little more careful in the future.  To my fellow cyclists, I apologize.

Finally, we get to another reason that I shouldn’t have tried to use the non-emergency number to report this:

The Cyclist/Pedestrian v. Car Crash Stats in Arlington Are Probably Worthless

Do Arlington’s citizens, electeds, and public safety officials want useful car-cyclist crash stats in Arlington? Then Arlington County Police Department’s (ACPD) non-emergency number operator should bother taking crash reports, instead of discouraging them.

I got home about half an hour after I was hit, and called ACPD’s non-emergency number to report the crash.  According to the operator (not a police officer), unless I have been hurt so much that I am going to a hospital, there’s no point in sending an officer out (which I didn’t need – I simply wanted to create a record of this collision, for any number of practical reasons). After pressing her on this point, she admitted that she could send an officer out, but didn’t know how long it would be, they are busy, etc (I was certainly in no rush.). I told her that I was pretty appalled that I was being discouraged from reporting an accident because I hadn’t yet decided to go to a hospital. After I pressed her on whether Arlington really had no interest in knowing about people getting hit on its streets, she offered up the “Telephone Reporting Unit” number (I can call and leave a message, and someone will presumably call me back), or the online report mechanism here (which is only designed for a two-car collision, but I’ll probably use it anyway).

If my experience is at all representative of how ACPD’s operators are trained to handle these issues, then we should have zero confidence in any cyclist/pedestrian-car crash stats/info coming out of the department. I’m really quite disappointed.

[It was at this point in writing this [this section of the post was originally email to fellow Arlington cyclists, sent yesterday] that an officer from the Telephone Reporting Unit called me back.]

He was certainly more understanding of the situation, but didn’t have much more to offer than a recommendation that 1) I file a Motor Vehicle Crash Report, fitting in the information where I can, and that 2) in the event of a similar incident in the future I make the cab stay and call 911 and wait as long as it takes for an officer. I know this is what I should have done in the first place, but when you get knocked to the ground by a car with a driver who is very much in a hurry to be on his way, you don’t make the best decisions. Or I don’t, apparently. And because of that, Arlington’s official cyclist/pedestrian crash stats for this year will be wrong.

I did chat with the officer about my concern that my experience was representative of other hit cyclists/pedestrians, and that because of ACPD’s apparent inability to take crash reports, that ACPD and Arlington’s electeds don’t have critical information about a serious public safety concern. While he and I probably place differing priorities on this particular concern, he did understand my point.

I realize that what happened to me is a minor matter, individually.  I’ll be sore for a few days, spend some money to fix the bike, and then move on.  I don’t want to redirect ACPD time from violent crimes and serious crashes, but my minor matter, when taken collectively, is a major one for Arlington.  If Arlington really wants to become a more bicycling-friendly community (and I truly believe it does), it needs to improve its cyclist/pedestrian-car crash reporting mechanism.  I am certain that the intersection is poorly designed, and that similar crashes happen there regularly.  But if Arlington doesn’t collect any information about it, how will it ever be addressed?  Are there other unknown spots with high rates of cyclist/pedestrian v. car crashes?  I’d bet there are, but until Arlington has useful reporting system for these kind of crashes, we’re stuck with guessing where the trouble spots are, and which should be prioritized.  Arlington’s citizens deserve something better than guesswork.

First Annual Kennan Garvey Bike Ride on Saturday

Saturday morning at 10 am the Phoenix Bikes crew and anyone else interested will take a ride memorializing Kennan Garvey, an Arlington cyclist who died unexpectedly in 2008 of a heart attack. His wife Libby Garvey (an Arlington School Board member) set up a fund in his name to support Phoenix Bikes, and developed the idea for this ride.
County Board members Chris Zimmerman and Walter Tejada will be leading the ride around the Arlington Loop. At noon the Phoenix Bikes kids will lead a convoy to join the Met Branch trail opener.
Here is info on the ride:
You are invited to join the youth, volunteers and staff of Phoenix Bikes for the first annual Kennan Garvey Community Bike Ride!On Saturday, June 5, 2010, join us for a bike ride starting from the Phoenix Bikes bike shop at 10am.

There will be two ride options:

A 15.7 mile loop, all within Arlington, showcasing some of the many wonderful bike paths that Arlington has to offer! Including Four Mile Run, Mt. Vernon Trail, Custis Trail, and the W&OD Railroad trail, this loop around Arlington is a great ride that will start and end at Phoenix Bikes. This ride will be led by cyclists and Arlington County Board Members Walter Tejada and Chris Zimmerman! Route map is available here.

Team Phoenix youth, accompanied by Phoenix Bikes staff members Edoardo and Jesse, will be leading a WABA-sponsored convoy to the Meet The Met celebration of a newly completed section of the Metro Branch Trail system in DC! This will be an out/back ride, and will be both longer in total mileage and duration. Plus, once we arrive at the celebration, we will have a chance to hang out and participate in all the wonderful events going on at the Meet The Met celebration! Route maps are available here, and if you are interested in this ride, please sign up here!

All rides will be leaving by 10am, so please plan to arrive by 9:30am. The Phoenix Bikes shop will be open so that you can top off your tires, lube your chain and get ready (we’ll also have water for your water bottles and donuts for your bellies!).

This ride is free and open to anyone, though helmets are required!

I’m going to do my best to make it.

Now He’s Just Screwing With Us

He’s just doing it just to screw with us, now. Has to be. And I just love that the offensive part is the exposed breast, and not standing on top of a bloody body:

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli apparently isn’t fond of wardrobe malfunctions, even when Virginia’s state seal is involved.

The seal depicts the Roman goddess Virtus, or virtue, wearing a blue tunic draped over one shoulder, her left breast exposed. But on the new lapel pins Cuccinelli recently handed out to his staff, Virtus’ bosom is covered by an armored breastplate.

What’s there to say? Nothing, really. The man is a clown, and he’ll keep the clown show going for another 3 years. And then to the governor’s mansion, right?

The Velodrome DC Needs . . .

until DC or Arlington can get a real velodrome:

Red Bull Minidrome from Radar Films on Vimeo.

The 9:30 Club could totally make this happen. (You know, if Bardo were still around . . . )

The Risks of Drilling Off Virginia’s Coast

Waldo Jaquith has a good piece illustrating the risks that Virginia is undertaking by pursuing off-shore oil drilling.  Like me, I don’t think he’s anti-drilling in general.  It’s just that it doesn’t make any sense for Virginia when you compare the risks – oil spills, threat to tourism, etc. –  against the relatively small benefits of the oil royalties (which aren’t even assured, remember).   Virginia’s off-shore drilling is primarily a political slogan, and not a choice born of a policy-driven debate.  That should be remembered in the face of the risk of the very real costs it could impose.

Anything Else While You’re At It, Gov?

The Gov. Bob McDonnell Clown Show continues:

On Saturday, the Washington Post reported that McDonnell was instituting steeper re-enfranchisement requirements for formerly incarcerated people seeking to get back their voting rights. The new restrictions, which would have added a requirement that applicants submit an essay detailing their “contributions to society” since their release, would amount to a de facto literacy test for some of the least educated people in the state, as Chris Cassidy points out.

Disappointing, but entirely unsurprising.  And now he’s backing off, in a way that – well, let’s just say I’m having a hard time believing anything coming out of the Governor’s office:

After taking heat from local black legislators and civil rights leaders, McDonnell now appears to be backing off, saying that the whole thing was merely a “draft proposal,” which doesn’t explain why 200 people were sent letters saying they had to write an essay to the governor to get their voting rights back, or why one of his spokespersons defended the new process at the time as “an opportunity, not an obstacle.”

Oh, riiiight.  A draft proposal.  Maybe he was just trying to enlist the editorial talents of the 200 folks that got the letters?  Public outreach, right?

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