| LONGVIEW, COWLITZ COUNTY: Doctor charged in bike thefts dies at ...
A Longview podiatrist who was charged with stealing about $55,000 worth of expensive racing bikes in Washington, Oregon and Utah has been found dead. According to a Longview police report, Jacob J. Bos hanged himself in his room on the seventh floor of St. John Medical Center at Longview. Two certified nurses' assistants found his body Saturday morning. Bos, 35, was out on bail while awaiting trial in Cowlitz County Superior Court on nine counts of first-degree possession of stolen property and three counts of trafficking in stolen property. He was admitted to St. John Medical Center on Feb. 7. Bos was suspected of visiting bicycle shops and taking expensive bikes out for test rides but never returning them. A Tacoma shop might have lost a $4,500 bike to the scheme. The Associated Press .
No bikes on 183-A
I wrote a column on Monday about a guy, Chuck Thomas, who commutes to work on the Texas 45 North tollway. On his bicycle. I said he could do so because the Texas Transportation Commission has not voted to make biking illegal on its three toll roads in the Austin area. The board of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, however, did vote about a year ago to make biking illegal on its single toll road, 183-A. That road, if you don't know, connects at its southern end to Texas 45 North and then goes for 4.5 miles north to RM 1431. There are signs on its entrances indicating no bikes are allowed. One caveat: The mobility authority built another 7.1 miles of two-lane frontage roads from RM 1431 to north of Leander, where the lanes merge with the old U.S.
Revelers turn out for return of 1920s-era green streetcars in New ...
Revelers dotted the oak-lined avenue _ some waving or holding up drinks, others, carrying signs that read "No More Bus" or "Welcome Back," or offering riders Mardi Gras beads or high-fives. Councilwoman Stacy Head called the streetcars part of the city's identity _ "everything from the noise, the clanging down the avenue to the lights at night." The St. Charles line was the oldest continuously operating line in the world before Katrina shut it down in August 2005. It began operation in September 1835. "It's what makes New Orleans feel like home," she said. "It's as important as red beans and rice and Mardi Gras, and it's hard to explain to people who aren't part of this city how important this is as an icon and a real-life form of transportation." Karen Miller grew up riding the streetcar and took it to work before Katrina.
Borough initiative must include trust
When Gov. Ed Rendell approved a state budget that included a $1.7 million transportation revitalization plan, many wondered where the money would come from. As legislators continue to squabble over potential sources of funding, such as tolling Interstate 80 and leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is bracing to be stretched to its limit. With many structurally deficient bridges and public transit systems desperately in need of funding, smaller community projects risk finding themselves on the back burner for years, maybe even decades. Given this, it seems like the perfect plan for PennDOT to begin its "turnback" program with several roads in State College, including College and Beaver avenues. The program lets PennDOT turn over control and responsibility of certain roads to smaller municipalities.
Inland factories slow production, index says
The slowdown washing over Inland Southern California's economy may be filtering down to the manufacturing sector, a report released Friday showed. The Purchasing Managers Index, which measures factory activity in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, declined to 46.6 in January from 50.9 in December, the Institute of Applied Research and Policy Analysis at Cal State San Bernardino reported. A reading below 50 suggests that the factory sector is contracting, although economists look for three consecutive months before considering it a trend. The Inland PMI has showed manufacturing growth for most of the past four years. .
Businesses Unharmed in California Wilfires
RAMONA, CAWhile most manufacturers and shop owners escaped unscathed from the recent wildfires that swept through Southern California, most reported some form of business disruption. Ellsworth was forced to evacuate its headquarters in Ramona, setting up a temporary administrative center in Oceanside. The companys inventory and manufacturing are still intact. Ellsworth has continued filling standing orders, and orders taken from Interbike. The bad news is that the organic avocado grove that the company worked to restore on their administrative premises was burned in the fire, said George Patten, who handles public relations for Ellsworth. The grove houses the administrative, design and warehouse buildings at the Ellsworth headquarters. Oakley, located in Orange Countys Foothill Ranch, got an up close and personal look at the Santiago fire.
Keammar confident, but thankful
Jamaica's Keammar Daley focuses as he attempts a bicycle kick during the Pan American Games semi-final against Mexico in Rio de Janeiro during July last year. Seeing this young man on the football field, one would never imagine that he is just 19 years old. Poised, prolific and ready to strike, Meadhaven United's star player, Keammar Daley, exuberates class and style way beyond his years. "I have a God-given talent. Football is natural to me," Daley said. His hard work has already started to pay off, as on Tuesday night he was rewarded at the 47th RJR Sports Foundation 2007 Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year awards ceremony for scoring four vital goals that helped to steer the Under-21 Reggae Boyz to a silver medal finish at the Pan American Games in Brazil last year.
School Levy Policy: 60% vote requirement to pass levies likely to stay
Voters appeared reluctant to do away with the 60 percent supermajority requirement to pass school levies, according to returns Tuesday. The measure, EHJR 4204, would have amended the state Constitution so that school districts needed only a simple majority of votes to pass property-tax levies to raise money for schools. Supporters of the measure remained hopeful Tuesday night that the outcome would shift as more votes were tallied. Still, "we knew it was going to be an uphill battle," said Jerry Bender, director of the Association of Washington School Principals, who gathered with other supporters at a downtown Seattle party Tuesday. Proponents of the measure, including the Washington Education Association and Gov. Chris Gregoire, had argued the supermajority requirement for school levies is unfair and hurts public education.
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