Why is the police department releasing this information? Is there really nothing else going on around town? This is not news. Fights like this happen all the time at and around schools all over this country. "Terra Bella Academy, a continuation school in Mountain View for students in the county who struggle in a normal academic setting." Let's be real. This is school is designed to keep the problem "criminals" off the street for a limited amount of time during the day hours. It is called a truancy program. Get them housed somewhere during the day keeps the burglary rate down. These are not students. I see these problem students escorted by work almost daily on some sort of "field trip" to the local 7-11 to get snacks (Yeah good job…education at it’s best). On some days you see a police officer walking with them I guess as a "mentor" as this news organization has put it. Please...that’s turning our police force into a mobile prison guards. I am glad the police made arrest to add to these problems criminal records but let’s not report this as something that as, "It turned into a big case” because it really it is not. I am sure the men and women of the police force would rather be investigating more important matters. Come on Mountain View Voice…find some better news. Come on Mountain View Police…if you are going to put out a press release make it on something that is news worthy and not just filler fluff.

If it aint the "o" for obama, Its the "j" for jose

to oj what are you talking about

FIND BETTER THINGS TO PUT WE SEE THIS EVERYDAY!!!

The reason that this is news is that it new. Mountain View did not used to have these problems. Mountain View did not have a murder rate. Now, I have lost track on the number of murders we have had this year. We did not have homeless people (bums) aggressively pan handling. We did not have undocumented immigrants (illegals). We did not have affordable housing (slums). We did not have to pass through metal detectors to go into our local amusement park.

If we are going to offer sanctuary to Mexican gangs and treat criminals like victims, we are going to be stuck in this ridiculous situation. As such, we need the cops to ride herd on these losers. I can only hope that the cops taser a few of them when no one is looking.

Mountain View has had six murders so far this year! That has to be a record. But this homicide tally will be broken in subsequent years if things continue the way they're going in Mountain View. Secular Progressives/Liberals will continue to look the other way with their politically correct jargon, acceptance and ultra tolerance for everything--everything, that is, except counter viewpoints from conservatives, which they'll just label as "intolerance and hate mongering." Progressives will continue to ignore the real problems affecting our community like illegal immigration, gang violence and undocumented workers. LIberals/Progressives will continue to throw more money at feel good causes that have little, if any, benefit.

Ummmm....how long have you two lived in Mountain View?

I have here saved in an old scrapbook a San Jose Mercury News article from the 1970s that interviews a bunch of Mountain View High Students (the one on Castro Street, the Mtn. View Eagles) about Mountain View's "hard" reputation as a place Los Altos High kids were afraid of because Mountain View High kids carried knifes. I know some of the people that were interviewed. This is not to say that gang violence isn't a serious issue, but regardless of their political leanings, they'd roll their eyes at the tone of your rants - that the sky is falling because of some threatening change in Mountain View's demographics (liberals and immigrants).

Most folks who lived in MV during the 60s-80s will not take you seriously if you try to romanticize the town's past as some squeaky clean conservative burb. Especially if they lived on the north-side of El Camino Real. Mountain View's roots are as a working class town and every once we've had some serious working class problems. Parts of this town were really rough in the 70s. I feel like, if anything, Mountain View has become a much more well-to-do and safe city - so I guess that's what makes news of any kind of violence these days more surprising.

I have been here since 1980. Does that qualify me in your mind?

Yes, Mountain View is not as genteel as the wealthier Los Altos. The industrial side of Mountain View is more blue-collar than the residential side of Mountain View. However those points are not germane to the topic.

I cannot argue a point based on something as nebulous as “reputation”, so I will have to stick with facts. The change in crime rates, the demographics of the criminals, and the location of the crimes within Mountain View are a matter of public record. Sorry that reality is not PC enough for you, but reality is what it is whether you like it or not.

Oh, I thought this topic was about the coverage of stupid gang knife fight? I wasn't the one who steered the topic in the direction of a perceived change in the demographics of Mountain View caused by the construction of "slums". You say you moved here in the 1980s - almost every single apartment complex that you are probably grouping in that category was built between 1950 and 1970. "We did not have affordable housing." Are you kidding me?

Anyhow, sorry to go off topic from the rants about illegal aliens and godless liberals. Carry on. Merry Christmas.

I am offended by your use of Merry Christmas. Not everyone celebrates it you know.

Elio Te,

You are probably offended by anyone who doesn't agree with you. If some well wisher tells you, "Merry Christmas" and you are offended, then you are just a hater. Where is your tolerance and acceptance of other traditions, people and cultures?

Merry Christmas!!!

Back to the Not News and the comment, "Mountain View did not used to have these problems." Even in the early 90's California Avenue was a mini war zone of gangs. The police department did an excellent job back then of curbing the problem. This article is a nothing event compared to back then. Anyway, I know that it might have been a slow news week during this article but "Dear Mr Editor...Please send our team out to find some better stories to cover."

It's funny, we actually had one person call us up to scold us for not putting that story on the front page. I guess newsworthiness is in the eye of the beholder.

Hi Longtime MVer,

I grew up for the most part in Palo Alto, however, after a parental divorce, I ended up at Los Altos High for a couple years in 1970-1972.

I hung out at "the Corner," a place at school where you could smoke, if you respectfully put ‘em out when the principal or other administrators walked by.

I had never seen anything like what occurred one day - A group from Mountain View High (about 40 people) came over looking for a couple of folks from LAH. They found them and there was a very quick fight between a couple of the MVH and LAH kids and as quickly as the large group had descended on LAH, they left.

Anyway, I've always been grateful for Mountain View, especially Latham Street, Rich Street and California St. where after my military service I rented apartments anywhere between $200 - @350 a month.

Andy Freedman
androcls@aol.com
Palo Alto, CA

a comment to "Why" and USA

I was born and raised in Mountain View. As a teen I made some choices that were wrong, I was apart of a "gang" in the early 90's. Yes I was one of those "losers" as you like to call them, well now I'm a college graduate, a mother,a home owner in Old Mountain View, and a very happy fun person with so much to be thankful for. So to you I'd like to say judging a kid for stupid choices only makes you a loser!! Sorry
" If you have nothing nice to say then don't say nothing at all"

I grew up in Mountain View and went to Los Altos High in the early 90's. If you check the trends, you can see that gang involvment and related crimes are way down from that time. We would of loved to get "grazed by a knife", rather than shot at by other mountain view "gang" members. Over 90% of these gang members will never get arrested for committing crimes, and will grow up to be productive members of our community. Thses kids are the parents of tomorrow, like I am a parent today. Give them a break.

Just because someone is a kid making stupid choices and may (or may not) grow up and be ok, doesn't make the stupid stuff ok while it is happening. If people get hurt and killed, you can't just write that off as "oh that was back in my stupid kid days". Someone is dead and that won't chage. I am glad these articles get published. I'm probably what "USA" would call a liberal, but I don't encourage looking the other way at undocumented people or crime. I certainly am not looking forward to having my kids grow up with the threat of violence at their school. It seems unacceptable to me. It's even worse that people have the attitude that it's nothing new, no big deal. No wonder it continues. There is some significant part of the population here that just think it's not a problem, or it's not serious because it's just kids. We can do better than that for our community and kids.

The problem didn't start untill the sewer rats started working with the pigs!

hahatryina say we aint G's. i got patnas locked up serving long terms theres a bunch of fakes but you kno the real. yall probly live nd grew up under different conditioinsthan us its hard. but just mind your own biz feel me.