Craig Fiegener
Managing Editor, InstantRiverside.com

Why Lohan on the front page of InstantRiverside.com?  It’s a question I was asked a few times after she was sentenced to jail, Tuesday, for DUI-related charges.  (We at InstantRiverside.com like to answer questions “instantly,” if you’ll pardon the pun.)

No, Lohan is not a Riverside story, but as I watched the raw video of her sentencing, I realized that this actress, regardless of her fame, is paying an incredible price for behavior that violated the law– allegedly.  Each week InstantRiverside.com posts the alerts of DUI checkpoints, we do it as a constant reminder that alcohol, vehicles, and drugs bring a potentially dangerous mix to the streets we drive in the Inland Empire.

Consider this, from 12:01 a.m. Friday July 2 , through Midnight Sunday July 4, officers representing 25 county law enforcement agencies in San Bernardino County arrested 150 individuals for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Yes, except for the above facts, what you’re reading is commentary.   Being against drunk driving is like being in favor of free ice cream each Sunday;  you’ll have trouble finding people who support being toasted and driving.

That’s why the Lohan story is potentially a “teachable moment,” at least in my mind.  She’s a star, with capable legal representation, and she’s going to jail.  I’ve never met Lohan, but jail doesn’t strike me as her cup of tea.

I heard suggestions that her remorse wasn’t genuine, and speculation that this was all part of a publicity stunt.

Publicity stunt?  On those theories, we’ll never know, and I don’t care. This is real life for Lohan, and, time in jail, must be a sobering experience.

Now back to the comments that led me to respond to Lohan’s story, here, on InstantRiverside.com:  somehow there’s a group of younger people who have lost a sense of honor.  Unfortunately some of the younger people I’ve heard from are people like Lohan, and it’s safe to presume she must be influential to some of her fans.

It is my hope that some of those fans see the raw video of Linday Lohan’s sentencing, and the reports on Lindsay Lohan’s court appearance– and maybe, just maybe, at least one will think about calling a taxi the next time they can’t drive.  A taxi ride is cheap compared to a DUI arrest and conviction.

Perhaps the cries from Lohan, heard in court on Tuesday, will be committed to memory for some, and maybe they’ll help at least one person make the smart decision, and call a taxi, if they’re ever unfit to drive.

Whether you have a movie deal threatened by your incarceration, or your job–  in the real world, it’s your successful life on the line– you will save yourself a lot of embarrassment, financial cost, and honor by saying, “lets call a cab.”

And, on ice cream, I do fully support ice cream, free, each Sunday, within the city limits of Riverside; preferences include peanut butter-based flavors, and that double-malted crunch variety.   Yum.   (A sugar cone for extra credit.)

However I do have my limits.   Two scoops per cone please.

I can always be reached at craig@instantriverside.com  (And, I check and answer my own email, unless I’m eating ice cream, but I eat fast.  And, Lindsay, give a call, we’ll chat.)

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