Scooter, Redux

I like the way that sounds: "Scootereedoo."

I keep looking at my options for cheap, electrical transport to and from my P/T job in Bolton. Since I teach only three classes, it makes sense to keep my commuting costs low. Never mind that I'd feel ever so much more virtuous. So here's what I've found out so far about electric bicycles (as opposed to scooters).

Schwinn is coming out next year with a model called the Streamline, which not only looks so cool any Boomer worth his extra cash would want one, but Treehugger really likes it: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/10/schwinns_new_line_of_electric_bikes.php And doesn't it look sweet? No idea how many semolians that will set you back, though.

More easily obtainable -- and therefore less desirable -- is the almost-as-handsome Giant Lite, which along with its fellow travelers can be found here: http://www.electricvehiclesnw.com/main/lite.htm although these folks are charging list price; you can get one for $1000.00 elsewhere online. The advantage of the Lite is (no surprise) its weight. Check those specs!

I've investigated a number of electric scooters, too, but I'm still confused by them; some of them don't have pedals, some do, they weigh more, etc. I think if I were going to get a scooter, it would be gas-powered. The electric ones look like they'd run out of juice half-way up a hill, and I'd be left without the battery-powered equivalent of a paddle. And the only electric motorcycle that looks worthwhile (the Vectrix -- Google that one) is still under development (in Mass. as it happens) and unavailable.

To make the whole 2-wheeled commuting seem more practical, I've found a great route for my green commute along routes 12 and 110. It's about as direct as I could hope for, skirts the lovely Wachusetts Reservoir and lands me handily on the West Side of Worcester, not far from the little bungalow I call domus. On a gas scooter I could make it in about the time it takes to commute by car on the highway (the hardest thing about my commute now is getting on the highway). On an electric bike, I'm not so sure; it's 20 miles each way. At about 18 miles an hour, that's still over an hour. Granted, I'd reduce my commuting costs considerably and get fit in the process, but still...On the bright side, if the weather continues as it has, I'll be able to commute by bike all year.

Worcester and Crime

I just had a look at the Worcester Police Department’s website, and was pleased to find that it had an easy-to-use, clickable map of the city showing crime statistics broken down by neighborhood and types of crimes. Looking at it, I couldn’t help remembering David Rushford’s observation that poor areas of Worcester, while they may look neglected, actually receive a far greater share of city services than well-off neighborhoods. There is a net transfer of wealth from the city’s upper-middle class to its poor because of this, something that the folks at In City Times might gag on, if they actually thought about it, which they probably won’t. It sucks to be poor anywhere, but it sucks less to be poor in Worcester than it would otherwise, chiefly because of the schools and other city services.

It was about five years ago I called asking the WPD if they had any crime statistics, and the officer that answered said no, that they lacked the time to assemble them. So I was pleased by the map, and especially the analysis that came with it, because it indicates that the Worcester police are getting more on the ball all the time. They appear to be doing much more than just responding to crime; the Worcester police are planning how to deal with it most effectively as it changes.

I also took the time to write the WPD an e-mail thanking them for their work, and I recommend you take time to do the same. I think the WPD are the main reason Worcester is so much safer than Springfield and Hartford.

I’m not wearing rose-colored glasses, because when you choose to live in a city, you live with the inevitability of urban crime. But it’s good to know that crime is not being ignored here in Worcester, and that competent people are working hard at dealing with it effectively.

Another Angle on Gay Marriage?

I've been thinking about all the reasons the government might have for establishing, state by state, legal marriage status for same-sex couples. Or rather, I've been thinking of reasonable legal angles to prevent a Constitutional ban on same-sex marriages, and the best one I've come up with so far is this: Not only does such a ban conflict with the equal protection clause, any such ban -- even at the state level -- is also essentially establishing religion by forcing religions that DO legitimize same-sex marriages to conform to a particular religious practice. As such, banning same-sex marriages violates the First Amendment.