[Image: times-up.org]

At 8 am this Thursday, June 16, cyclists will embark on a Vigil Ride from 5th Avenue and Warren Street in Park Slope (Where Elizabeth Padilla was killed) to the steps of City Hall to memorialize 200+ NYC bicyclists killed since 1995.

NYPD data: 9 cyclists have perished in crashes this year, representing a 50% increase in fatalities over the same period in 2004.

PAUL STEELY WHITE (Transportation Alternatives): “The sheer volume of vehicles and the heedlessness of drivers leave no room for error on these streets … the City must create more greenways and protected, on-street bike lanes … Bike routes must be at least 5 feet wide with a 2-foot buffer …” Details after the jump.
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[FIRST POST! Daily Heights welcomes Frank Lynch, long-time reader and first-time contributor. Lynch lives in PH and writes a photo/politics blog called Really Not Worth Archiving… Really.]
You know how it is, I know how it is: memos have come out which clearly show that the Bush administration invaded Iraq to get fava beans, in spite of their ready availability at Sahadis. The world is in an uproar, and you just know that on the Newshour With Jim Lehrer this coming Friday night Mark Shields and David Brooks are going to plain out, flat out, duke it out. Is there a better occasion for a party?

You’ll have Biscuit deliver, of course, but how do your guests get to your place for the slam down? Good question. Glad you asked…

I recently discovered HopStop, an NYC website that you can provide to your guests, which will tell them how to get to your place from wherever they are in NYC. Imagine Mapquest for non-drivers: while Mapquest focuses on driving directions, this baby is focused on subways and buses (and walking!) for getting your raucous crowd there for the Shields & Brooks Death Match.
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Woo woo, you guys are making history! Congratulations, “citizen journalists.” Last night, DH contributor Miranda G. alerted me to the article in PoynterOnline, and sure enough, Daily Heights just showed up in my Google News Alerts…

The Poynter Institute, a school for journalists, future journalists, and teachers of journalists, has an article up called “The 11 Layers of Citizen Journalism” [Steve Outing in PoynterOnline].

Daily Heights is situated at Layer 7 in Murrow’s Inferno (”7. The stand-alone citizen-journalism site: Unedited version”).

While we can’t promise you fame or riches, we can promise you this: what you write for Daily Heights will get read, partly because Google likes us and partly because we have an actual and substantial audience of local people that checks back regularly. Last Wednesday, for the first time, we had more than 1,000 unique visitors in a single day.

What do you want to write about?

The uppermost part of Pacific Street, slated to become new housing. THANKS FOR THE PHOTO: Daily Heights says thanks to Jess Wisloski, the intrepid Brooklyn Papers reporter who always knows Bruce Ratner’s next move, for her contribution.

Link: Bridge march rips Brooklyn development [Jess in BrooklynPapers.com]

Here’s my new favorite acoustic streetcorner Hank Williams cover band, caught live this past Saturday afternoon at Grand Army Plaza:

The band is called The Merles, and they’ve played small Park Slope clubs and bars, including Cafe Steinhof. They told me they have no upcoming gigs. If anyone knows how to get in touch with The Merles, please send the contact info our way, K?
The Merles - Long Gone Lonesome Blues (Hank Williams) [.AVI VIDEO, 0:43 sec, 11MB]

MAC PEOPLE: Is there seriously no way to watch an .AVI video on a Mac?