South of Sunnyside

As I was leaving the house this morning I caught a few words from a story on ABC 30 regarding the theft of catalytic converters in southeast Fresno. I couldn’t find anything on their site, but I did find this from the Bee (copied here to save others from logging in):

Catalytic converters stolen

Fresno police have issued a warning to motorists to be aware of a crime trend throughout the city of the theft of catalytic converters. Many of the thefts are from trucks and SUVs made by Toyota, and from other models of SUVs.

Over the past month, 33 victims have reported thefts of catalytic converters from their vehicles. Officers are passing out information fliers about the thefts at large apartment complexes and shopping centers in southeast Fresno, where most of the thefts have been reported.

The converters apparently are easier to steal from Toyota trucks and from SUVs than from other vehicles, said Jeff Cardinale, Fresno police spokesman. The parts are being sold for the metal.

Police recommend parking vehicles in well-lit areas or in a locked garage. Vehicle owners can install an anti-theft device to help prevent thefts.

I’m not terribly worried about this spreading to our neighborhood, though in our short history we’ve seen quite a bit: the theft of a car, graffiti, blight from abandonment, home robbery, and the theft of wire from almost every street light (at least once).

What I am concerned about is that we, as a community, have yet to address the root of such theft: drugs (or so I’m told). We have a meth problem, though I’m not sure we embrace it as a community issue. Funding such widespread addiction is a continual rise in metal theft.

First to go were irrigation pumps (on second thought, copper theft from construction likely preceded this). Then it was City-strung wire. And now, catalytic converters.

There seems to be a common thread, strung through metal recyclers. The mayor, in his final months, has launched a campaign for a drug-free Fresno—is this being taken into account? What can we (the average citizen) do?

Sigh.

As I was driving home from work, I pulled onto our street to find an RV parked in front of the house. My initial reaction was to question its presence along our curb, then I called out my own judgment. What harm was being done? Besides, we’ve seen an exodus lately, so a few guests in the neighborhood should be welcomed, not chastised, right?

Kim didn’t agree, and argued that such a vehicle should be parked in front of the home it is visiting. I pointed out that not all neighbors have sufficient curb space (due to bends in the road), but I’ll agree that it was blocking the line of sight of any drivers coming around the corner; then again, our street isn’t heavily trafficked.

By the time I returned from my bike ride, the RV was gone, but my question still remains: what harm was being done? Why are we so quick to throw up walls and protect space that isn’t even ours?

Since I had the day off, I decided to wager another hour or so of my time in hopes of finally registering my Harley. On my last visit, I was told that a CHP officer is available on Fridays, and that I needed his sign-off on my registration papers (it’s a long, convoluted story).

I figured the line would be shorter before lunch than after, and while I was right, the receptionist was surprised I hadn’t made an appointment with the officer; that wasn’t advised, or even given as an option before. Fortunately, the officer wasn’t as busy as she thought—he was leaning against a cubicle wall, just chattin’.

The officer took a quick glance at my paperwork and said it was good to go, meaning that I should have been able to complete the process on my last visit. He pulled a ticket for me, and I sat for 40 minutes waiting for my number to be called.

I still claim that this has been the most ridiculous process I’ve ever encountered, and I’m not confident that it’s over—there’s still plenty of paperwork that could be lost—but at least I have a license plate.

It’s about two and a half miles from my house to Starbucks, and I make the trip several times a week. Now that my legs have adjusted the the workout, I’ve been trying to find routes that stretch out the ride (though some are better than others).

Today I ventured even further, heading south to Jensen, then west to the canal (just west of Minnewawa). Total one-way travel is almost five and half miles, which put me at a total of eight before lunch. And then I did it again.

Actually, I rode around the neighborhood a bit first, so that puts me at a total of about 17 miles for the day. According to my chiropractor, it’s not really something to brag about, but I doubt he’ll read this.

I told myself today (there’s no one else for me to talk to when I’m riding) that if I can get to 15 – 20 miles in one outing, on my current bike, then I’ll consider the time, energy and expense of a centennial. Check in with me next year.