Stephen Box

I'm honored to be recognized with the Livable Streets award as Person of the Year and I'm humbled as I look around at the many activists who also work tirelessly to make Los Angeles a Great City. Most of all, I'm convinced that this "Streetsie" award belongs to everybody who walks, rides a bike, and takes mass transit because that's the simple action that has within it the power to return our streets to the people of Los Angeles.

Denny Zane is calling on the Measure R Champions and challenging them to engage in a second round of battle, this time mobilizing to embrace the 30/10 campaign which will leverage the anticipated $40 Billion in funding and then expedite the process so that 30 years of transit construction can be completed in the next 10 years.

The wheels of justice grind slowly and sometimes it's hard to believe that the system is working but a survey of the legal landscape in LA County reveals that there are several cases working that should be of great interest to the cycling community. Danny Jimenez, local cyclist and lawyer, says "victims are often discouraged by the difficulty in obtaining justice but when the system works, it's encouraging to see a Judge and a Prosecutor and a Jury doing their job and doing it well."

The largest and most expensive police building in the United States is about to be dedicated and as the world watches, the LAPD's ignorance of basic Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) standards will be revealed. The new headquarters are located across the street from LA's City Hall and the 10-story, 500,000-square-foot building has a beautiful open plaza featuring drought resistant plants and a zen garden theme that creates a sense of calm in the middle of the busy and congested city center. It also features a bike parking area that violates basic CPTED standards as well as simple bike parking standards.

(update: The LA Bike Working Group event to review the Bike Plan has had to change time and venue.  The new location and time is Saturday, 2pm, at the Hollywood Adventist Church, 1711 N. Van Ness Ave., Hollywood, CA 90028.  We’ll be in the Fellowship Hall on the NW side of the parking lot.)

On Wednesday evening, Zócalo will host an evening entitled "The Curse of Oil" at the Skirball Center and featuring a discussion with Peter Maass, New York Times Magazine writer and author of Crude World, all in a demonstration of sublime irony or in a ridiculous display of complete disconnect.

(editor's note: There are a couple of great videos after the jump.)

LA's Draft Bike Plan is a huge document of thin ambition, that relies on controversy over process to distract from the fact that it lacks vision, it lacks substance, and it lacks the teeth necessary to bring about any change

Sunday's Crenshaw Crush drew cyclists from all over the city to Leimert Park, home of the Drum Circle, for a bike ride that introduced riders to the history, the culture, the politics and the people of the Crenshaw District.

Three weeks ago I asked the world for help in fulfilling Rebel Without A Car Production's commitment to producing a film sustainably. Our goal was to shoot locally and in partnership with the community.