Ups & Downs

Ups & Downs

UP: To U.S. Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell, for asking television stations to quit airing a public

service announcement that implied that ATVs pose a fire hazard in national forests. The PSA showed a woman riding a mountain bike having an encounter with two ATV riders. The woman morphs into Smokey Bear and suggests to the riders that they go home so they don’t risk starting a forest fire. The request to remove the spot was made after riders’ rights groups, including the AMA, BlueRibbon Coalition, National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council and the Off-Road Business Association, complained that the PSA should have been advocating responsible use of U.S. Forest Serviceapproved spark arresters instead of implying that responsible ATV riders start forest fires.

DOWN: To bad luck, for taking the Harley-Davidson Sportster purchased on eBay by Michael Meistrell of Cranford, New Jersey. When his winning bid was confirmed, Meistrell purchased the motorcycle for $2400. Little did he know that 34 years ago the bike had been stolen in Providence, Rhode Island. According to the Associated Press, prosecutor Theodore Romankow said Meistrell and other prior owners didn’t realize the bike was hot property, but his office discovered through research that the bike had been heisted. Fortunately, eBay has a policy protecting individuals who inadvertently buy stolen vehicles, and Meistrell was reimbursed. Two mysteries remain, however: the identity of the original .owner and that of the thief who nabbed the bike from him in 1974.