Well, folks...It seems that violent crime is now a daily occurance here in our little town of Mountain View. Granted, most of these crimes are happening in bad areas of town, and sometimes at hours when it is unwise to be out and about, but even still...

...this is getting ridiculous, don't you agree?

What will it take to make this crime wave abate? Will someone have to pull out a gun and shoot some of their attackers, to say enough is enough? I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I hope that Mountain View doesn't end up as the new "OK Corral".

"pull out a gun and shoot some of their attackers"

Oh no, that would be a violation of their civil right.

"Come to lovely Mountain View, California, where the freaks come out every night."

Now *there's* a catch phrase to inspire tourism!

Dear 'The Eye',

For the record, this isn't a 'bad area of town', and I would hardly liken a failed purse snatching to the OK Corral. You have obviously lived in a small town so long that you've lost perspective.

Also, are you hoping that someone will be shot? Have you read the news lately? People don't respect those who incite violence anymore.

Margaret

Dear Nick

For the record 2:15 AM would have been Sunday morning, not Sunday night. Come on, you are a writer, think about it.

Do you know anything about the gunshots fired on Sunday night? Somebody on another thread said this happened at the Hampton Inn.

Thanks

I know that we all live in a free country,society,blah,blah..
But why would anyone be outside at 2:15am? I guess it was satuday nigh/sunday early morning. Party time, I guess.. The 2 women sure had a nice party. come on, its 2am, get inside and get some sleep..Yawning...

@Margaret:

Boy, are you way off the mark! Apparently you did not actually read my comment, but simply reacted to it. And yes, it is quite plainly, and provably, a bad area of town. A friend of mine moved out of that area because his car had been broken into 3 times in one year.

Q.E.D.

Please check your facts, before you react.

@TheEye, the concerns that @Margaret express are offshoots of what we have been discussing in the 2030 visioning work. Downtown Mountain View is a popular destination for entertainment and dining. The Hampton Inn and Suites is one of the closest hotels to this area, where people *should* feel safe spending the night after an evening of theatre, dining, and/or barhopping.

Steps need to be taken to ensure that Moffett Boulevard is NOT "a bad area of town" merely because it's on the "wrong side of the tracks".

This is one of those areas where focused attention and action now either extend the "safe and good" or fall into "bad", threatening the viability and attractiveness of the downtown and Old Mountain View areas.

ASAP, we need to increase the lighting and increase the pedestrian traffic by extending the "downtown district" farther down the street (encouraging mixed use retail/residential/restaurants, etc). That area needs as much thought as the council is currently putting into San Antonio Center.

Would their injuries be considered minor or major?

Dear "The Eye", I live near where this attemted mugging took place
& can tell you I've been here 12 years and & its a safe neighborhood.
I read the police blotter all the time and rarely see any crimes in this area. There have been several muggings lately in South Palo Alto where I grew up and in the Monta Loma area where I used to live. Are these all bad areas of town. It can happen anywhere.

Sharon

Dear The Eye,

You think you're smart or something, but any confusion on my part is due to your convoluted post. I am, of course, reacting to your statement, otherwise I wouldn't have addressed you.

I take exception to the idea of this area being called a 'bad area'. I hardly ever hear about anything criminal going on around here. What I think you are pointing out is that this area doesn't appear as affluent as some other parts of Mountain View. I'll give you that. BUT, that doesn't make it a 'bad area'. Your statement tells us more about you and your possible classist views than anything else. Maybe you should choose your words more wisely. QED.

Margaret

I used to envision lonely, with nothing-else-to-do-types, hunched over their glowing computer screens, in the dead of night, pecking out blather, just because they could. Unidentifiable and all that other heroic stuff!! God forbid, there are some folks now who are doing this during daylight hours, even. (Also, note that people out 'n about at 2 AM really isn't for anyone else to judge, is it.)
Now, everybody who's "blathered" above, have a nice glass of warm milk and go to bed. Sweet dreams!

@jusme:

"Now, everybody who's "blathered" above, have a nice glass of warm milk and go to bed. Sweet dreams!"

I couldn't agree more...Cheers everyone!

@Catherine:

Now that's the most constructive and fact-based idea I've heard on here yet. In order to extend the downtown in the manner you describe, perhaps some form of pedestrian bridge might be proposed in order to link the areas across Central Expwy? For the moment, the railroad tracks and crossing act rather as a barrier for unifying these regions, and a ped bridge might be just what could do the job. I'd pay extra taxes for that. Anyone else willing to ante up?

I recommend any interested parties read the 2030 visioning document for the Moffett Blvd focus area. Good suggestions in there that just need to be implemented. Web Link

I love Mountain View, and as a former resident, the thing I didn't like about it ... about the only thing ... is the prevalence of bars, and drunk unruly people on Castro St. in the evening. Palo Alto is so much nicer, even though there is more to do in Mountain View. There is a real air of drunkeness in downtown Mtn. View after dark most nights, and it is not pleasant.

Close the bars, and open the old "View" theater for movies again and start to civilize downtown Mountain View, don't let the bad apples spoil the city.