A man who billed himself as an exemplar to the city's housebound was recently spotted slowly riding a jury-rigged exercise bicycle through downtown San Francisco.
The pale rider was a fortysomething, tattooed man who puffed away at a cigarette while both riding and talking. He spoke at an unbelievably furious clip and waved his arms about while conversing with the abandon of an overexcited football analyst.
If he could devise such a novel means of transport, he noted, despondent people feeling trapped in the city's housing projects and periphery could do the same. But this inspirational message was tempered by his loud and repeated statements that, should the opportunity arise, he would steal the very first bicycle he could, as his current ride was unsatisfactory.
We don't tend to pick on the more fragile pols, like Supervisor John Avalos, but when we saw the San Francisco Bike Coalition's endorsement brochure we couldn't help but call out the happy-go-lucky Avalos -- the group's No. 1 pick for mayor.
The candidate slate, which was recently distributed in the mail, features the group's top picks for mayor -- Avalos, Supervisor David Chiu, and Mayor Ed Lee -- in that order. But oddly enough, Avalos is the only candidate not wearing a bike helmet.
Look:
The Hells Angels saga has evolved into a a television-like drama involving guns, bikes, funerals, and exhuming dead bodies. The San Jose Mercury News is reporting this morning that sources say the man who allegedly shot and killed a fellow Hells Angel during the funeral service for another member, could be dead himself.
The newspaper says sources identified the shooter at Saturday's funeral as 38-year-old Steve Joseph Ruiz, however, police have not confirmed that. Sources also say that police might be having trouble finding Ruiz because it's possible he, too, has now been killed.
The violence all started on Sept. 23, 2011 when Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew, the president of the San Jose Hells Angels, was shot to death in a Nevada casino. Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez, a rival motorcycle club member, was arrested two weeks ago in San Francisco on suspicion of shooting Pettigrew.
And while thousands of people gathered over the weekend to mourn Pettigrew, another Hells Angel was shot to death during his funeral service. He was identified as Steve Tausan, who had reportedly received death threats after doing a television interview with KTVU reporters after Pettigrew' death.
Update (3:10 p.m.): The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner's Office says it was Steve Tausan who was shot and killed Saturday during a funeral for another Hells Angel.
San Jose police are keeping unusually quiet about the weekend shooting where a Hells Angel was killed after a gunman opened fire during a funeral service for another member of the notorious motorcycle club.
Police told reporters they are "actively working the case" but have made no arrests, identified no suspect, and have yet to release the name of the victim.
The shooting happened at Oak Hill Cemetery where thousands of people gathered to mourn the death of Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew, president of the Hells Angels' San Jose
chapter, who was shot to death last month at a casino in Nevada. Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez, a rival motorcycle club member, was arrested two weeks ago in San Francisco on suspicion of shooting Pettigrew.
On July 15, Dionette Cherney was walking across Mission Street at the Embarcadero when a cyclist blew through a red light and knocked her to the ground. The Washington, D.C. resident, who was visiting San Francisco with her husband, died a month later when her husband removed her from life support.
It's been nearly two months since the accident, and the cyclist, who was only identified as a Bay Area man, has not been arrested, nor has he been charged with any crime. Police say they presented a strong case to the DA "a while ago," saying he could face the same charges as a motorist that ran a red light and killed someone. And recent polling data shows majority of San Franciscans believe the cyclist should be prosecuted.
So why hasn't the cyclist answered to charges yet?
Last year San Franciscans heard a repeated tale about a band of violent gutter punks who caused upstanding citizens to fear going out at night.
Many bicycle commuters have felt it: The hostility and sidelong stares as they wheel their vehicles among quiet cubicles, the shame of leaving a valuable bike locked curbside to a teetering street sign. But help could be nigh: Supervisor John Avalos has proposed a city ordinance that would relieve bicyclists of their status as second-class commuters.
It's the mark of a crappy day when you receive a moving violation before sipping your first cup of coffee. Cyclists along the Market-Van Ness corridor have thus been marked.
A phalanx of motorcycle cops this morning greeted bicycle riders with reminders about the difference between red lights and green lights and hefty citations ($123 -- ouch!). Police spokesman Officer Carlos Manfredi notes this is for the cyclists' own good, as there has, purportedly, been a marked increase in accidents throughout the city due to light-running cyclists. The San Francisco Police Department was unable to immediately provide this data.
Manfredi described today's action as "a bicycle enforcement." Your humble narrator witnessed five officers methodically writing up citations for at least that many cyclists. "What's the problem?" we asked one bike rider awaiting his punishment. "I ran through a walk signal," he replied. "No, it was a red light," the cop interjected. "A red light. It was a red light," the cyclist admitted.
According to H.G. Wells, "After your first day of cycling, one dream is inevitable. A memory of motion lingers in the muscles of your legs, and round and round they seem to go."
It's not news that America has a lot of problems, foremost among them cyclists and pedestrians being coddled too much by the government.
