E-Bicycles in Los Angeles

On a breezy April afternoon in downtown Los Angeles, Calvin Phuong, a 32-year-old Marina del Rey resident who recently purchased an electric bicycle kit, was riding his new bike around a parking lot, demonstrating its speed and handling.

“One day my wife and I stopped by an Izip store in Venice and rented a couple electric bikes for the day. We had so much fun, we didn’t want to return them,” Phuong said with a smile.

In the last couple of years, electric bicycle shops such as Izip, Hollywood Electrics, and Pedego have popped up around Southern California trying to tap into the alternative transportation market. Popular consumer stores such as Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Costco have also begun selling e-bikes nationwide. (more…)

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Digital Divide Report

Originally published Nov. 30, 2010

The Digital Divide and Journalism’s Responsibilities

E-readers, websites, Kindles, and iPads are new electronic tools changing the landscape of journalism. These technological wonders are giving journalists the opportunity to offer news in more ways than ever before. However, many citizens are unable to consume important news and information through these new devices because they are either technologically illiterate or unable to afford the expensive computer hardware. Then, in the current Internet Age, do journalists have a responsibility to continue offering print news to those citizens who fall on the wrong side of this “digital divide”?

Simply put, the digital divide refers to the gap between those who use computers and the Internet and those who do not. It includes the imbalance both in physical access to technology and the resources and skills needed to effectively participate.[1]

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