Comments by eight_santa_barbara
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Posted on February 9 at 11:04 a.m.
"popping car windows for stereos"
What are you, stuck in the 80's?
iPods, Laptops, Cameras, Purses and Wallets were also there. Think Latinos are the only ones who want these things?
Students at Santa Barbara High know this: the white students are the ones who, while at a house party and especially when the party is in Montecito, will walk through the house and steal CDs, jewelry, any item of value-- yet the Latinos are the first suspects, and the least likely to steal. Just like meth and cocaine, the white kids are the users, but because of their skin color and that they may be in an AP class, they are never considered criminals.
Young white kids, the one on skateboards and surfboards, are very adept at stealing things, and moreso than you think.
If only a group of white kids were considered a gang when they get in fights, steal from a grocery store, trespass into various pools and hot tubs at the hotels and Country Clubs... Ah, but then parents wold hoot and holler that someone dare compare their kids to the brown-skinned criminals, those dirty, uneducated, violent criminals.
Group of Latinos committing a crime equals gang. Group of whites committing a crime-- unless they're Hell's Angels or some White Supremacist group, white gangs don't ever seem to exist, so they're just people having fun, or need a slap on the wrist.
Posted on February 7 at 11:31 p.m.
Y'all remember a great line from 'Full Metal Jacket'?
"Jesus H. Christ. Private Pyle, why is your footlocker unlocked?...If it weren't for dickheads like you, there wouldn't be any thievery in this world, would there?"
That's the point of the article. Don't leave valuables in plain sight in your car, don't leave your car unlocked, don't be a... well, you know what Gunney Hartman said.
Hispanics and Latinos? Puh-leeeze!
Posted on January 7 at 5:44 p.m.
To aspiringdiva (I hope you get to drop the "aspiring" part some day),
Let me clarify my comments: Yes, there is a gang problem in Santa Barbara.
My comments were directed at those who write on blogs and in letters that gangs are "terrorizing" and running things in Tombstone-style lawlessness. Of course we have a problem. But such language is entirely unnecessary, and only serves to get people's emotions going.
We can talk about this issue without indulging in emotion, and in doing so attempt to find solutions. Let's fix things without getting emotional-- and that's for folks on both side of the table, those who demand police action and those who demand community solutions.
I agree with you on the PD's marketing strategy. Their PR focuses on so-few things, even though the rank and file actually do make arrests and help keep overall crime low in the City. They ought to highlight these successes, however small, but at the same time ought not fear those times when the press for them may appear negative. Getting information out, any and all, to the public ought to be the goal when Cam Sanchez reevaluates the nature of the position and chooses Lt McCaffrey's successor.
Posted on January 6 at 6:16 p.m.
snugspout,
Take a look at the places where people can buy alcohol. Then look at where minorities live. There are way too many places to buy alcohol in the Latino community. No doubt this contributes to problems with youth and families in these minority and working class neighborhoods.
Yes, the City knowingly targeted this area for redevelopment. Everything that goes on there is the responsibility of the City for creating such an environment. The lower State concentration of bars should be broken up, but not at the expense of the business owners. They should be given the opportunity to move to new places where the City approves the dance permits.
Both the retailers and the bars could be dealt with by the City. But you'll never get anyone on the Council to try. The Downtown organization has too much pull, and with the Council and Mayor lacking minorities and working class folk, they won't stick their necks out to change anything (trust me, I've asked them). Good folks, and I like them. But this is one example of how they'd rather pretend to be progressive, and how they continue to neglect the civic environment and the residents of Santa Barbara.
Posted on January 5 at 10:29 a.m.
This is not an easy job, especially during these times when folks are claiming 1) that the PD doesn't do enough, and 2) that gangs are somehow running through the streets (lived here all my life, have yet to be accosted, but.... whatever).
Lt McCaffrey has done very well with what he is able to say and with the resources given him. Hats off to him.
I would hope that with the next officer in this position, the SBPD be given the opportunity to expand their ability to get timely (that's the key word for the day) and reliable information to the public.
Not for nothing, but having to wait for the Police Officer's Association to publish info on their website, by which time EVERY media outlet (including the online ones) has the same exact story, nearly word-for-word, in its pages.
Posting information online, as any and all crimes happen, should be a part of the new job. Obviously, post only the facts, and update accordingly. That's the other part of the job that never comes out in public: an update on things past the initial release. We don't have to wait weeks until the PD knows everything. But if we see lights and hear sirens, black-and-whites stacked over a location, we'd like to know what happened sooner than the weekly press report in another 6 days.
Ah, hope. It never let's us down. Right?
Good luck to the new PIO.
Posted on November 12 at 11:21 a.m.
Hey, FDS, or anyone else-
My memory isn't serving me as it should, so I'm fuzzy on the point.
You mentioned the intersections as having been maxed-out already. Wasn't the traffic, and resulting pollution, a major concern in the Impact Study prior to the construction of Camino Real Marketplace?
I'm with you on the point about traffic. It seems this was already a concern, if not a problem. I think a lot of people would like to see how the developer and others plan to deal with that.
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Posted on February 10 at 12:12 a.m.
azure, I agree with that... I'll tone it down, as I should.
I like when things are called what they are though-- whether it be racist, criminal, or just stupid.
But you're right-- we should try to keep it more civil until someone *cough* *independent* *cough* shows us some numbers.
On Police Warn Motorists to Hide Valuables, Lock Cars