10 replies to this topic

[john]

Fargo was so much better, right?
</sarcasm>

[Dave Burrell]

Have to agree with Maxine on this, it's disappointing that it takes a murder at a nice family event to get the city's politicians to wake up and start doing something about the criminal gangs in the area.

What they need to do is setup anti-loitering laws, which means known gang members are not allowed to hang out in groups (2 or more) in public areas. I hate nanny laws like that but its' necessary in order to stop these animals from turning Sacto into a dangerous ghetto.

It's things like this that keep me from visiting and dining in Sacto, I do not want to take my wife into areas that have criminal elements when it's so much nicer and safer right here in Folsom.

[Steve Heard]

This sounds like one of those 'Damned if you do and damned if you don't'.

If the mayor says or does nothing, he's an uncaring jerk. If he says he'll put a stop to the violence, it's too little too late and he should have done something before.

I haven't been to Second Saturday in quite some time, but have enjoyed it. I've also noticed that more and more teens and young adults seem to be just roaming around and hanging out, not going to galleries and shops, which is the purpose of the event.

It is not a small, mid-town affair. It's an event that draws upwards of 20,000 people to mid-town, and when you have 20,000 people gathered for ANY event, you can be there will be some bad apples.

I am all for the mayor cracking down on the jerks who would ruin the event for decent folks who just want to go out and enjoy the evening.

The incident, by the way, happened well after midnight, almost 3 hours AFTER Second Saturday officially closed. I can't imagine there were too many families out at that time.

They certainly have the right to be out, but it's probably not advisable, whether we're talking J Street in Sac, or Sutter Street in Folsom.

[Dave Burrell]

This sounds like one of those 'Damned if you do and damned if you don't'.

If the mayor says or does nothing, he's an uncaring jerk. If he says he'll put a stop to the violence, it's too little too late and he should have done something before.

It's never too late to do something about crime

[old soldier]

they should get the national guard, or if not a bunch of NRA volunteers to keep watch on the gangs who are drawn like bugs to the party scene. of course liberals would say gang bangers have the right to assemble just like everybody else...I see no need to ever go downtown

[john]

It's tragic, yes, but I don't think Second Saturday is a place where you don't feel safe. Pretty far from it. I don't think something like this could have been anticipated - the event is pretty well organized considering it's attended by probably 20-30,000 people. I think if you went to Mardi Gras at 1am you'd be at risk of some gang-bangers doing something stupid too, but you don't shut down the event.

Talking about a sports arena is totally unrelated to anything.

[cw68]

It's tragic, yes, but I don't think Second Saturday is a place where you don't feel safe. Pretty far from it. I don't think something like this could have been anticipated - the event is pretty well organized considering it's attended by probably 20-30,000 people. I think if you went to Mardi Gras at 1am you'd be at risk of some gang-bangers doing something stupid too, but you don't shut down the event.

Talking about a sports arena is totally unrelated to anything.

I was at this Second Saturday, have been attending for years off and on. Over the past two-three years it's changed significantly. Each time during the three times I've attended this year it's been mentioned how much less artsy and how much more gang-bangerish the event has become. I don't even go on Saturdays to look at the art anymore; when I'm interested in seeing the exhibits and/or buying art I usually pop down to Midtown on Thursday night when more of the galleries have a pre-2nd Saturday showing. That's when it's about art. Saturday's about the party.

The square between 20th-21st and J-K Streets is just a madhouse, full of people who obviously are there for the party and not for anything else. I'm not at all surprised at the shooting though I've never felt unsafe attending the event. I didn't even know there was a shooting until the next day. I can tell you that before Midnight the police were trying to disperse the crowd just standing around.

Don't know the fix, but in theory it's a great event that needs to find its soul again so it can be about its original purpose and still be a cash cow for the area.

[Steve Heard]

The square between 20th-21st and J-K Streets is just a madhouse, full of people who obviously are there for the party and not for anything else. I'm not at all surprised at the shooting though I've never felt unsafe attending the event. I didn't even know there was a shooting until the next day. I can tell you that before Midnight the police were trying to disperse the crowd just standing around.

Don't know the fix, but in theory it's a great event that needs to find its soul again so it can be about its original purpose and still be a cash cow for the area.

I've never felt unsafe down there, either, but I don't hang around too late. My days of wanting to hang out with a large crowd and being the last to leave are long gone.

Nothing good happens at the end of the night.

I started noticing the change in the crowd a couple of years ago when they started having rock bands and DJ's playing outside. That took the party out of the galleries and into the street. That's when the youngsters started hanging out in droves.

It reminds me of Westwood in LA. That used to be a nice scene (25 years ago), then it became young punk and gang central.

I like Old Soldier's idea. Get some NRA members to start a patrol out there. Just give me a warning shot.