As You See It: Oct. 30, 2009

I'm not ready to throw out our existing city leadership. I think we should give them a chance to do something to address the problems downtown. For a start, we should have cops walking the street on Pacific Avenue, enforcing ALL the laws. Write tickets to litterers, to bicyclists riding on the sidewalk or the wrong way down a one-way street, to revelers making excess noise after 10 PM, to motorcyclists with way-too-loud machines, to pedestrians crossing the street against a red light, etc. Once we're all behaving ourselves again and treating each other with respect and consideration, the Bad Guys (gangbangers and drug dealers) will stick out like sore thumbs.

Everyone should feel welcome in downtown Santa Cruz -- welcome to behave themselves, and welcome to obey existing laws already on the books.

"Each fall, I host my "There Oughta Be A Law" contest, where I invite Californians to submit suggestions for new laws."

Gee Joe the state is broke mostly because of too many laws and you are out trolling for more to increase the size of our nanny state. How about a "Let's Get Rid of a Law" contest.

We need foot patrols wrote:

I'm not ready to throw out our existing city leadership. I think we should give them a chance to do something to address the problems downtown.

Yes, but this is precisely the problem: the current city council has demonstrated itself to be completely ineffectual in this regard. There is simply no political will under the current regime to make the kind of decisions that will result in real change.

We have to ask ourselves: why do Capitola and Scotts Valley not have these problems? I'll tell you why: because their city council members fully support their respective police departments in enforcing the laws. Nor do they promote or tolerate the kind of behavior that has become so commonplace in Santa Cruz.

When communism fell in Soviet Russia, people paraded in the streets with signs that read: "70 Years on the Road to Nowhere". Well, we've 30 years on the road to nowhere. It's time to change direction.

Joe,
We don't need a bunch of new laws. Start enforcing the ones we have and changing the ones that are wrong.

The point is that children reflect their parents to a large degree.

Parents, schools and peers shape children, but it is the parents (or lack of) that has the strongest influence.

We will probably never know the details of Tyler's upbringing but I am guessing there is something there that caused him to behave or act out they way he did.

By the way, parents influence can be direct and indirect stemming from action and non-action.

Corralitos Taxpayer wrote:

"Each fall, I host my "There Oughta Be A Law" contest, where I invite Californians to submit suggestions for new laws."
Gee Joe the state is broke mostly because of too many laws and you are out trolling for more to increase the size of our nanny state. How about a "Let's Get Rid of a Law" contest.

Show how laws made the state broke. If anything they generate revenue from dumb people.

Please wrote:

<quoted text>
Show how laws made the state broke. If anything they generate revenue from dumb people.

How about the 3 Strikes law which puts any 2x felon in prison for life for ANY crime committed, down to spitting on the sidewalk, shop lifting, buying cigarettes for a minor, etc. To house an inmate, for the rest of his life, for a non-felony crime, costs the cost about $45,000/yr. Multiple that by the number of California inmates who are serving a life sentence for a misdemeanor (due to the passage of the 3 strikes law) and you are looking at a cost of over $2,000,000,000 per year.
Satisfied?

Gregory Dean: I have a bunch of leftover LBAM filter masks. Let's force convicted gang members to wear them so we know who they are. Wait...they could wear them for holdups. Never mind.

Great suggestion and good intentions Mr. Dean believing in Red, White and Blue requirments. But unfortunaletly, wearing Blue and Red together in Santa Cruz will excite and antagonized both the Norteno and Sureno street gangs and being the idiots they are, both see the others displayed gang color as a challenge to be met with a knifing or gun violence. Welcome to the reality of 30 plus years of Liberal-Land open border, pro-ILLEGAL immigrant Sanctuary City politics! Buy your children a protective vest, and hire an armed secuarity guard to accomodate your children to and from school and stand inside the classroom as the school administration is of little protection to your offspring!

I we're going to win something in Afghanistan, shouldn't we have won it by now? I guess Sarah Southern is set on us occupying Afghanistan longer than the old Soviet Union did.

Post #1..I can't believe what I resd in your post. Give the Council more time, really. How long have you lived in Santa Cruz? The City Council's way of governing the City hasn't changed in over 40 years and you want to give them more time? The City Council creates the social problems then they put a bandaid on them and some citizens such as yourself think they are doing a great job. The City Council doesn't have the guts to take care of the real problems in the City because they don't want to make their voter base mad. In a couple weeks the unfortunate events that have occured in our City recently will start to fade from everyones memory and the Council will say to themselves, wow, we dodged another bullit. Then it'll be back to business as usual. If we don't change the way the City is governed then we are destined for much more of the same. If change doesn't come more TAXPAYERS will vote with their two feet and they will leave the City. Fewer Taxpayers and more social programs, can you guess what will happen next? Wake up Santa Cruz.and ask yourself how this Progressive way of Governing the City is working for all of us.

I agree with the writers' assessment of Ryan Coonerty. He is taking the lead to make our community a better place. The challenges are great and he's the best thing going in the local political scene. It's time for a new generation of leaders to correct some of the ideological mistakes of our bleeding-heart parents.

jarbee wrote:

I agree with the writers' assessment of Ryan Coonerty. He is taking the lead to make our community a better place. The challenges are great and he's the best thing going in the local political scene. It's time for a new generation of leaders to correct some of the ideological mistakes of our bleeding-heart parents.

I think the letters today and earlier saying what a swell job Coonerty is doing is an organized effort by the "Friends of Ryan Coonerty" campaign committee. Nice try.

Please wrote:

<quoted text>
Show how laws made the state broke. If anything they generate revenue from dumb people.

How about the laws to educate and provide health care for illegal aliens?

PR campaign wrote:

<quoted text>
I think the letters today and earlier saying what a swell job Coonerty is doing is an organized effort by the "Friends of Ryan Coonerty" campaign committee. Nice try.

I am a friend of Ryan's and I like him. Nobody called me up or emailed me. I know he's got the best interests of Santa Cruz at heart, and I'm hoping he sees that it's in the best interest of our city to let go of the Baby Boomer era liberalism and embrace pragmatism over ideology.

Our City Council consits of memebers who have virtually no real expertise in anything. Check the resumes.We need to have true industry professionals running our city and get rid of the incompetence in there now

The cat photo contest is a liberal conspiracy concocted by obama and oprah!

You can't wear red, white and blue! it might irritate the ganbangers, but more than that, It'll
Make all the liberals crosseyed mad and Joe will make a new law forbidding it! Ya gotta be careful
you don't irritate the Liberal nuts! They will
"law" you into an early grave. Stay out of Santa Cruz on Halloween if you value your life.
Look at all the kids dressed up as gang members!
Aren't they cute?

Seacliff Local wrote:

<quoted text>
How about the 3 Strikes law which puts any 2x felon in prison for life for ANY crime committed, down to spitting on the sidewalk, shop lifting, buying cigarettes for a minor, etc. To house an inmate, for the rest of his life, for a non-felony crime, costs the cost about $45,000/yr. Multiple that by the number of California inmates who are serving a life sentence for a misdemeanor (due to the passage of the 3 strikes law) and you are looking at a cost of over $2,000,000,000 per year.
Satisfied?

No because it is not happening. Could you provide documentation of spitting on the sidewalk being counted as a third strike?

Mr. Hart,
Next time walk ALL the way down Pacific, past Cathcart and see how you feel. Cathcart is my turnaround point - gets really sketchy past there, sometimes even during the day.
Ryan has, IMO, done a good job, but his comment was inappropriate.