Grief and Outrage

March 8, 2006

Like many fellow Santa Monicans I reacted to Eddie Lopez's senseless murder with grief and outrage.

I note that following the London bombings the City of Santa Monica was moved to action on counter terrorism by the mere sight of Middle Eastern looking men filming the pier. Reports indicate the FBI cleared the video-tapers of any wrongdoing. The Lookout documents the City's response in the article below. (see story)

Am I the only person in town wondering why we're spending 2 million dollars protecting our tourism industry against hypothetical threats while young people in the Pico neighborhood are being shot down every year by out-of-town gangs?

Maybe the City Council and the Chief of Police need to consider the gang violence plaguing the Pico neighborhood what Frank Gruber calls it in his column, terrorism, and take appropriate action.

It seems to me that monitoring the major access points to the Pico neighborhood with surveillance cameras capable of imaging license plates might be as good an idea as wiring the Pier and Third Street Promenade to watch tourists.

Dee W. Pack, Ocean Park