Tag: santa rosa

Road rage hit & run arrest in Santa Rosa

Richard MasonerJuly 31, 20131 Comment on Road rage hit & run arrest in Santa Rosa

Cyclist in Santa Rosa, CA was nearly hit by a man in a Volvo when things escalated.

The cyclist yelled at the driver, Matthew Dewayne Hamilton, 22, of Santa Rosa, [Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Mike] Lazzarini said. Hamilton apparantly threw the car into reverse to go back and confront the man, but in the process ran him over, Lazzarini said.

More in the Press-Democrat: Man arrested, cyclist injured in Santa Rosa road-rage incident. Volvo seems to encourage exactly this kind of behavior with advertising that disguises aggression to other road users under the guise of cute.



The city of Santa Rosa passed a cyclist harassment law earlier this month, but it doesn’t take effect until August 10. The council passed the law on the same day 82 year old Santa Rosa resident Harry Edward Smith was sentenced for felony hit-and-run and assault with a deadly weapon after Smith chased a cyclist and ran him down as the cyclist fled for his life on a golf course path. Smith was sentenced essentially to house arrest at a nursing home.

H/T to Murph.

Posted In accident
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Santa Rosa, CA passes anti-harassment statute

Richard MasonerJuly 10, 20131 Comment on Santa Rosa, CA passes anti-harassment statute

The city council in Santa Rosa, the county seat for Sonoma County in California, unanimously passed an cyclist and pedestrian anti-harassment law yesterday after the city police department and city attorney endorsed the ordinance.

The law, which will take effect on August 10, allows cyclists and pedestrians to file a civil suit against those who assault, threaten, or force them off of the road. The cyclist or pedestrian can sue for up to treble damages or $1000, whichever is greater.

The city of Santa Rosa is now the second and largest city in Sonoma County to pass an anti-harassment ordinance. The city of Sebastopol passed a similar law in December 2012. The county passed their own anti-harassment ordinance in March 2013 that covers unincorporated parts of Sonoma County. The Sonoma County cities of Windsor and Healdsburg considered and rejected similar legislation for their towns.

The law is modeled on legislation passed in the city of Los Angeles in 2011. Other California cities with similar laws on the books now include the San Francisco Bay Area cities of Berkeley and Sunnyvale.

The Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition made adoption of this anti-harassment law countwide a goal for their organization after an Oakmont man intentionally ran down a cyclist in a road rage incident in the summer of 2012. The 82-year-old man who was convicted in that case, Harry Smith, will serve his sentence wearing an ankle bracelet at a private senior living facility with a dementia program.

Read more in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. H/T to Murph.

Posted In california | law
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Levi’s Gran Fondo photos

Richard MasonerOctober 2, 20117 Comments on Levi’s Gran Fondo photos

7,500 people participated in Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge Gran Fondo yesterday in Santa Rosa, California.

Ken-Conley_LGF2011-Scenics - (c) Ken Conley
Photo by Ken Conley

Ken Conley was there taking photos, which you can view here. More photos will be posted to the official Gran Fondo gallery later this week.

Elsewhere: Ron “Spingineer” Ng chronicles his Gran Fondo ride, Jacob Bayless rode his mountain bike more than 100 miles, Brett Lider’s Gran Fondo photos, Podium Insight report and photos.

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Rain in Santa Rosa

Richard MasonerMay 17, 2010Leave a Comment

The previous editions of the Amgen Tour of California have started on Presidents Day weekend in February. Rain and cold weather has been a problem for viewers, for the cyclists, and for the aircraft orbiting overhead that shoot video and relay radio traffic from the bike race to ground stations so the rest of the world can follow the world online.

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Posted In tour of california | tour of california 2010
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