| Boarder slapped with hefty fine for sidewalk skating
HAYWARD Mason Francouer would have had to be driving a car pretty fast to earn the kind of ticket he picked up last fall for riding through downtown on a skateboard. The 17-year-old's first brush with the law happened after school one day. He was rolling down a B Street sidewalk when a police officer on a bicycle pulled him over and fined him $560. "I was going like 3 miles an hour and, I don't know, I got a ticket. It was kind of lame," said Francouer, a shaggy-haired high school senior who has been plying downtown on wheels since seventh grade. His parents were infuriated by the ticket, and his father, electrician David Francouer, took several hours off work to join his son in court. "We just thought it was kind of bogus," the teen said. "I don't mess up the sidewalk.
Stories by Matt Pacocha
A half hour before the doors opened for day two of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Portland, the crowds piled into the Oregon Convention Center's lobby to wait. Each had paid $18 for a day's worth of access to more than 150 of North America's finest small- and ... .
Man allegedly doesn't want to 'Payless'
Payless ShoeSource employees in Mary Esther believe a man who has been frequenting the store has also been stealing shoes. The suspect is a black male and about 40 years old, according to an Okaloosa Sheriff’s Office offense report. Witnesses said he arrives on a bicycle and comes in between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. He appears to shop, but never makes a purchase. None of the employees have seen the man conceal merchandise, but missing items are discovered in the store on the same day and occur within the same time period the suspect is present. Employees also reported empty shoe boxes where the suspect was seen for a long period of time. Dexter men’s sandals, size 9, worth $35, men’s Shaq high tops, size 11 1/2 , valued at $38 and blue and white Cross Trekker’s running shoes, size 7 ½, worth $25 were taken from the store.
Before RAGBRAI there was the Fort Madison Cycling Club
Dun Auge is a serious bicyclist. He participates in most of the organized rides anywhere within 25 or 30 miles of Fort Madison and in between he can usually be seen pedaling around town solo or with friends.Recently Don loaded his bicycle in the back of his pickup truck and traveled to central Missouri to tour a good part of the Katy Trail State Park, one of the premier bicycling spots in the country. This park is only a few dozen feet wide, but follows the abandoned right-of-way of M-K-T railroad for 225 miles across scenic Missouri.Don did not realize it, but going to Missouri to bicycle he was following a program first established here back in the late 19th century by the 100 members or so of the old Fort Madison Cycling Club.Anyone who owned a "wheel" - as bicycles were called in those days - was considered a person of distinction, for at that time even an ordinary bicycle like the Crescent cost a whopping $45.
School District Braces For Big Budget Cuts
A shortage of state money is forcing some school district leaders in Duval County to make some tough decisions about looming budget cuts. Officials said they expect to have to trim as much as $18 million from their budget for the remaining school year. School district spokeswoman Jill Johnson told Channel 4 the district might have to cut $6 million to $7 million when state lawmakers meet next month. .
Eco-toy story: They have flashing lights and whizzy sounds, but no ...
When one-year-old Jessica's tiny thumbs hit the buttons on her toy mobile phone, the purple lump of plastic goes beep-beep-beep, just like the real thing. Shaking it to and fro, the girl's eyes light up and she gurgles in approval. Nothing groundbreaking here – babies like toys – but this one's a bit different. For one thing, it was designed by Jessica's father, Sim Oram, the founder and boss of Somerset toy firm Russimco. It's also cleverer than your average plaything, because the batteries in Jessica's electric "eco-phone" are not only "not included" – they aren't even required; she might not realise it, but just by shaking her phone, Jessica is generating the electricity that powers it. An electric toy without batteries? It sounds implausible; these days it seems every remote-control helicopter and robot guinea pig we wrap for Christmas or a birthday needs an expensive pack of double-As.
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