At The Risk Of Bragging AND Living In The East Bay

[dales]

Hey Jarl, at least she's up in the hilly section and not down on the flats. Actually not too bad of an area.

[Lord Jim]

Dale, things could be worse...

You could be living in Santa Cruz:

AT RISK: Santa Cruz crime among state's highest

By Jason Hoppin - Santa Cruz Sentinel
04/06/2013 06:17:12 PM PDT

SANTA CRUZ -- Santa Cruz is one of the most uncommon pockets of the country, full of natural gifts and a unique culture that have given the funky seaside town a global reputation.

It also is teeming with thieves.

According to FBI statistics, Santa Cruz's reputation isn't the only outsized thing about the place. It also has a significant crime problem, with the highest property crime rate in California among medium and large cities.

But cars, bikes and backpacks aren't the only thing at risk here: Santa Cruz also has a higher violent crime rate than all but eight cities in the Golden State. People are more likely to become a victim here than in Los Angeles, San Francisco or Vallejo, not to mention Central Coast neighbors Salinas and Watsonville.


"I did not expect this. It's the craziest thing," said Oakland native and student Zach Rokeach, a UCSC junior studying environmental studies and biology, as he locked up his bike downtown. "It is surprising to me for Santa Cruz. I thought it was just a laid-back beach town."

Kristin Onorato, 30, said she was not surprised because she has friends in the law enforcement community who tell her about the city's crime issues. Onorato, who suspects drugs and poverty are behind the numbers, does not want Santa Cruz to become known for crime.

"I don't want to walk around here feeling unsafe. My boyfriend lives in Stockton and we never just go out for a stroll because Stockton has that reputation for being unsafe," she said. "I would hate for this little city to be that same way."


A RUN OF MAYHEM

A spate of high-profile violent crimes have renewed a debate that's ebbed and flowed in Santa Cruz since at least the 1970s: what to do about almost shockingly high levels of crime.

Less than a year ago, downtown business owner Shannon Collins was slain by a mentally ill homeless man [okay, we can't tag rube with that one...his wife provides him a home...]as she walked from her hairdresser. In February, a series of incidents jolted the city: a UCSC student was shot in the head during a Westside robbery, a man was gunned down outside a downtown bar and, finally, two officers were ambushed and killed during a routine follow-up to a groping complaint.

The deaths of detective Sgt. Loran "Butch" Baker and detective Elizabeth Butler -- the first police officers killed in the line of duty in the city's nearly 150-year history -- are what have given the ongoing debate about public safety unusual weight. Between the two officers, they left behind five children, and their March 7 funeral brought thousands of officers and political luminaries to San Jose's HP Pavilion.

The city's crime problem is nothing new. The 2011 property crime rate -- one reported incident for every 18 residents -- that tops all California cities is less than half of what it was 25 years ago, but the number has consistently been higher than the state's. And since the early 1990s, the city's violent crime rate has trended higher than the rest of California.

What makes Santa Cruz stand out is how unique it seems among a list of high-crime cities. It lacks the complexity of Oakland, Stockton or other high-crime communities with serious poverty issues, places that don't share the same affluence, property values or age demographics as Santa Cruz.[I know! It must be Ronald Reagan's fault!]

"These places have been blighted communities for a long, long time, and they share a lot of common characteristics," said Erik Bovee, a local technology investor who approached the Sentinel with the FBI stats. "Santa Cruz doesn't share those."

Bovee said he has brought the numbers to the attention of numerous local officials, and was frustrated to see them dismissed. A former resident of big cities on the East Coast and in Europe, Bovee said he does not feel safe in Santa Cruz.

"It's the most dangerous place that I've lived or worked in," he said.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/news/c ... es-highest

[dales]

It's a sketchy area at best, Jim.

[Lord Jim]

Dale, if you're heading down 17, and you see the exit signs for Santa Cruz, put the pedal to the metal until you hit Monterey....

You'll live longer that way...

I've got a great slogan idea for the Santa Cruz Convention and Visitors Bureau:

"Come To Santa Cruz...It's The East Palo Alto Of The California Coast!"

[dales]

BWAAAAA-HAAAAA-HAAAAAAA-HAAA....TOO FUNNY!

[rubato]

If dales and Jim stay away the average IQ, and income, will be much higher as a result.

yrs,
rubato

[dales]

I admit my moderate income and low 3-digit IQ have never inflated my self importance beyond reasonable bounds, unlike some who shall remain nameless.

I prefer Capitola over Sta. Cruz. anyway.

[Jarlaxle]

Hey Jarl, at least she's up in the hilly section and not down on the flats. Actually not too bad of an area.

Bad enough that where she lives is surrounded by a high fence topped with pointed iron bars and the entrance is an entrapment area!

[Lord Jim]

If dales and Jim stay away the average IQ, and income, will be much higher as a result.

yrs,
rubato

LMAO....

What a pathetic non-response....

Rube, if you left Santa Cruz, the average IQ would jump 20 points, and the average income would also rise significantly... (since the average is kept higher based on your wife's earnings and taking your part-time lab assistant pay out of the equation would increase the average)

But laying all of that aside...

You have nothing to say in response to your own local paper's assessment of what a crime Mecca your town is? (Good lord, it's such a mess, one would think it was run by Republicans....)

You have nothing to say about that?

Let me show you something...

It's my shocked face:

[Long Run]

They need an anonymous super crime fighter in the Cruz: Rubato-man? More seriously, high crime in East Bay is a mix of demographic patterns and bad government. In Santa Cruz, is it anything other than bad government?

[Lord Jim]

an anonymous super crime fighter in the Cruz: Rubato-man

Slower than a slithering slug...

Less powerful than a Prius...

Able to shoot himself in both feet with a single bullet....

"Look! Up in the sky!"

"It's a bird brain!"

"It's an enormous gas bag filled with hot air!"

No...

It's...

RUBATOMAN....

Strange visitor from another planet who came to earth with powers and abilities far beneath that of mortal cockroaches...

RUBATOMAN...

Who can change the course of historical reality, and bend scientific facts in his bare hands...

And who, disguised as rube, mild mannered wife dependent lab assistant for an obscure chem-lab R&D company...

Fights a never ending battle for ignorance, stupidity, and the bigoted way!*






*okay, a little too much?

[Gob]

[dales]

Youse guys crack me up.

[dales]

Just discovered this: