Juarez Verdict Gator Rolls to a Post Mortem

An Anonymous comment, which I rejected on several counts due to our community guidelines, gave me a rather hard time about not doing an immediate post on the Juarez verdict.

The truth is I've been thinking about it a lot and I hope you have too. Was it just and correct to try him as an adult? Was the verdict fair? Apparently prosecutor Hilary Dozer liked the result but Detective Mike Brown didn't...each for very important and valid reasons. At 15, Juarez will be 37 when when he gets out of prison. I believe it is just but also believe it is a long time -- and can imagine nothing being there for him when he gets out.

Operation Gator Roll just yesterday involved 400 law enforcement officers from 18 agencies....to more clearly emphasize the point that the city will not tolerate gang violence. Even though there must be a light bulb joke in there somewhere, all of us would have to agree that law enforcement is now doing something about the gang problem -- even if the timing is a bit too perfect for the newspapers.

Protesting the Linares Case, Hip Hop and Star Wars

The Daily Sound is reporting that a group of high school students are planning to protest the District Attorney's decision to try Angel Linares' assailant as an adult.

The protest is organized by a new non-profit student-run newspaper called Shape of Voice. Their web site/blog has a resource center, a page for "shout outs" and a link for a coming media kit.

The blog itself is worth delving into as it has entries from several students -- an anonymous blogger posted the following:

I am disappointed with Ms. Stanley’s hasty decision on trying my friend, 14 -year old Ricardo Juarez as an adult. They don’t know this kid; he’s a hard working, honest, young boy. He’s not a killer - the reason I know this is because I’ve known this kid for 3 years now.

I'm not sure the decision is that hasty or that our DA has much choice the way things went down. Juarez' defense, according to the article above, is pointing the finger elsewhere...act like an adult, get tried like an adult? Can a 14-year old ever make an adult decision? or fully understand the consequences?

A little less controversial is another entry on the relationship between hip hop and Star Wars -- replete with a nice illustration of Yoda holding a mike. I'm wondering if there is any connection between Flava Flav and the Jedi; and, how does he turn that clock into a light saber?

Community Post: Gang Injunction the Word?

Written today by ANON 6:21 PM as a commment....what do you think?

Travis today asks for a gang injunction which is another right-on editorial if anyone wants more proof he is touching the nerves of the community right now in the right way.

The sense of safety of the many needs to outweigh letting the "few" feel-good.

As he correctly points out, the good kids in gangs have no penalty with an injunction and the rest of us may be protected against the bad ones.

And it is time our little town and its elected officials sends all gangs a message what our community standards are and it is their choice to agree or not agree with them. And know there are consequences when they step over a line.

Good gang kids should be the first ones in line asking for an injunction because there is no reason they want to put up with the bad gang kids either.

If the police can't figure this out, then it is time for a new police chief to work better with our entire community.

The loudest voices asking for more neighborhood protection come right from the neighborhoods that foster most of the gang activity.

It is time to listen to those on the front lines, and most of them are Hispanic parents trying to do best for their own kids. They don't like seeing punks get away with terrorizing everyone else too.

Who was it here who made the chilling obervation an unintended consequence of illegal immigration is kids black-mailing their illegal parents with threats of turning them in if they don't give these kids their way.

Time to take that choice away from these little tyrants and for the society that benefits from illegal immigration to clean up its own house and streets.

What part of this message does the city council not get?

TKA on Gang 'Melee': Everyone Else To Blame

None of us will be too surprised on Friday morning to hear about an editorial posted late yesterday afternoon by Travis Armstrong blaming the Mayor, the ethnic makeup of the council and the School District for the "gang melee". Here's a harsh excerpt:

These are the times when we expect our leaders to, well, show leadership. It reminded me of those awful days in 2002 when Mayor Marty Blum was too busy attending Fiesta parties to read the police report on the drowning death of a 14-year-old girl who died after suffering an epileptic seizure while swimming as part of a city aquatics program.

As a faithful reader pointed out to me:

Only that author can link Katie Janeway, gang murders, and suburban housing proposals as all the fault of Mayor Blum. And if only Das Williams were a real Latino, then he could have stepped in to sweet talk the brawlers into holding hands and singing instead. The two press conferences also apparently should have been BEFORE the rumble...

Mr. Armstrong went on to rail against Brian Sarvis and the Santa Barbara School District and somehow tied a development project with the "gang melee" Wednesday. Now that the School District is his new whipping boy, is there any government agency besides perhaps the Santa Barbara Police Department that he hasn't criticized harshly?

This tragedy is so much more than an opportunity to swipe at Mayor Blum, Superintendent Sarvis and gain supposed political points with your readers...these problems begin at home. Talk about taking personal responsibility as a parent and even as a young adult, Mr. Armstrong. City government and our schools are not parents! As usual, he misses the point in favor of being sensational. I guess personal responsibility doesn't sell newspapers.