The Monday News Roundup

Here’s the news that caught our eye this weekend:

– As the news about the oil gusher on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico continues to get worse, some are suggesting ways to prevent future disasters like this.

– And that isn’t even the only bad news this week in the genre of fossil fuel-related disasters.

– Just before the spill, Obama toured southern states discussing his hopes for the US to become the world’s leader in producing and using biofuels like ethanol.

– Is it possible to create dense, livable urban areas without pricing out their residents? Or can we come up with a more inclusive vision?

– The trial of Patrick Pogan, the NYC police officer accused of (and caught on tape) shoving Christopher Long off his bicycle has ended. Pogan was acquitted of assault, convicted of falsifying his report, and Long took a philosophical view in an interview during Critical Mass the next day.

– After NYC police cut locks and confiscated a large number of parked bicycles before an Obama visit, the procedure for that kind of thing is being called into question.

– Maryland’s new 3-foot passing law, prompting the usual outcry against the indignity of having to share the road safety with people on bikes.

– Denver has become the first U.S. city to launch a full-scale bike sharing program.

– It’s possible to live in Pittsburgh without owning a car, and here are some stories of folks who do.

– In Montreal, a familiar battle is being waged over whether to spend $2 billion upgrading a major freeway interchange, or to slow it, narrow it, and increase the livability of the surrounding neighborhoods.

– A dispatch calls for less car-centric transportation in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

– A gruesome road rage trial in the UK is underway. A man is charged with using his car to intentionally kill the man who hit his rear view mirror with his bike handlebar while passing too close.

– Bike thefts are way up in Los Angeles, and recently the thieves had guns and used them.

– Laura Bush has publicly discussed for the first time the incident when, as a teenager, she ran a stop sign resulting in the death of a friend.

– The latest in weird looking carbon fiber futuristic bicycles claims to be flat-proof and theft-proof.

– A pair of photographers are traveling around South Africa making portraits and recording the stories of people riding bikes for transportation. They’re looking for funding, and people who want to buy their book.