N E I G H B O R H O O D W A T C H T A L K #2<= o:p>
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F=
H Ernst
Jr., M.D.
A=
rea Coordinator
N=
orth
Sutter Street Neighborhood Watch
M=
ay 14,
1988
=
Neighborhood
WATCH PROGRAM SUCCESS: At the rate drugs have been clearing up in o=
ur
own area, AND assuming some of it could be from the Watch Programs: VALLEJO NEIGHBORHOOD WATCHES COULD H=
AVE
DRUGS OFF THE CITY'S STREETS BY THE END OF 1988. HINDRANCES WILL COME =
FROM
POLITICAL SOURCES AND HOMES WHERE THESE POLITICALS HAVE INFLUENCE AGAINST =
CONSTRUCTIVE
ATTITUDES. "They just mo=
ve to
other areas" is mostly to condition us to feel helpless, to drug the
non-user, dishearten the Watcher AND Vallejo.
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=
WHAT
HAS HAPPENED? It is difficult to account for our success when I am
equally sure that many another local Vallejo Watch has these same ingredie=
nts
of careful fearlessness and personal dedication. For over a year there had=
been
at least 3, often 10 druggies, at every alley and street intersection on S=
utter
north from Tennessee. Dec'87-Jan'88, after
the new City Administration came into power, there were ROUTINELY 50 TO 100 IN THE 3 BLO=
CK
STRETCH; spread to four corners of all intersections, both sides of private
fences, congesting sidewalks, under private houses, blocking the streets. =
Coming
and going: Mercedes, Porsches, Alpha Romeos, fur-wearing, all the signs of
money, buyers AND distributors.
POLITICAL <=
o:p> <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> CITY
MANAGER PERFORMANCE AND ATTITUDE: The "performance" of the C=
ITY
MANAGER is evaluated by CITY COUNCIL twice a year, June (at Budget Hearing=
time
for his raise) and December. Regardless of the bluster parades and fast
shuffles from City Council chairs, the CITY
POLICY is set by City Council. VPD operates on basis of regulations. T=
hose
of their regulations which are based on POLICY come from the CITY MANAGER'S
office. The only access the people of Vallejo have to those policy decisio=
ns is
through City Council. That access occurs by making written and/or verbal
comments to City Council members. City Manager is fairly sensitive to City Council balance of power. H=
e has
to be. His job depends on it. The just previous
City Manager forgot that just once. That was the time he put up the di=
ke on
the north side of Highway 37 after 2 major very damaging floods, one right
after another of the trailer parks and businesses there. He was fired insi=
de a
few months. That dike was not in the "Policies and Goals" of the
administration he was serving. CI=
TY
POLITICS IS CITY POLICY. City services may come next. <=
o:p> T=
he NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH PROGRAM uses
3 skills you used in high school: 1=
. Learning who belongs (nea=
r your
home) and who does not. 2=
. Reading the behavior of t=
hose
who belong and those who come into your "personal space"
(neighborhood) with the view of your personal safety. 3=
. Deciding what to do with what=
you
read: Keep it to yourself, tell family, a friend &/or an authority=
? LOCAL:=
In our
immediate neighborhood there is continued improvement on the streets. Neig=
hbors
now are beginning to get a WHOLE NIGHT of sleep and until their alarms go =
off.
While sporadic nighttime "attacks" by druggies still occur, the =
after
dark shootings, blood on the sidewalks and all-night drug related noisy
behavior by the "neighbors" has gone way down. One man, under si=
ege
in his home for four years now reports the siege has been broken. He is our
Davey Crockett. OUR NEIGHBORHOOD POLICY IS DRUG FREE STREET=
S.
OUR GOAL IS A WIN-WIN: <=
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o:p> <=
o:p> <=
o:p> <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> About 15 to 20 years =
ago
some of us here in Vallejo became concerned about the ANNUAL RIOTS at Vallejo Senior High School. These were sponsor=
ed in
part by some of the Bay Area TV station "news" crews. We did
something. An eight session instructional program of 1-1/2 hours each was =
given
to 20 High School teachers to teach in their classrooms. It resulted in
cessation of the riots. It did=
what
it said it was for. One bonus reported by those teachers was a major cutback in classroom drug us=
age.
One of the tools learned for self-regulation of personal behavior on campu=
s was
the "OK Corral: Grid for Wha=
t's
Happening." <=
o:p> <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> This "OK Corral: Grid For What's Happening" is a tool for reading behavior. It
was part of that school's pro-edu=
cation,
anti-riot, pro-self-restraint, anti-drug program. That program did not
require any $100,000 federal grant. IT WORKED NOW. Those students did learn how to read behavior better. No mysterious psychology, counse=
ling or
testing. <=
span
style=3D'mso-element:field-begin;mso-field-lock:yes'> SHAPE \* MERGEFORMAT <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Out
of the four choices shown in the "OK Corral", our WIN-WIN Goal is =
seen to
be a GET-ON-WITH Goal. So also is=
our
POLICY! <=
o:p> LEGAL EVICTION AIDS<=
/u> =
for
those serious about unloading your near-by drug dealers, for those who have
repeatedly watched trafficking in & out of a nearby house and
owners/realtors who will not budge for your calls. =
Most
landlords and real estate firms eventually were responsive to =
our
requests. This was especially after the City Police & Fire Marshall, C=
ounty
Public Health and Welfare Child Protective Services had been called a few
times. Then with a few personal calls to the owner by the variety of our
different voices, most felt the heat enough to do something besides
"trying". We concentrated on one house, then another. <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> HARDENED
CASES: We had among ourselves watched dozens of drug transactions =
take
place at a particularly resistant pair of houses. To our calls, those owne=
rs
were always "trying" to persuade the dealers to leave. These own=
ers BECAME UNBEARABLE. While these o=
wners
kept on being trying to us, we ke=
pt on
writing down AND saving our records of exact times and locations and physi=
cal
descriptions of the pairs, trios in their dealings and license plates when
seen. We continued calling the police with reasonable complaints and
information AND kept a rec=
ord of
our VPD calls & their response times. With this collection in our =
own
records we then wrote the following letter to the owners of those 2 houses=
with
the signatures of four of us from the Watch. We recommend at least two
"Watchers" sign the letter, more believable, more impact. We sent
these by US Registered Mail, return receipt requested. _=
______________________________________________________________________ LETTER:=
<=
o:p> T=
o: Names
of all owners listed =
; From:
Members <=
span
style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> at the Assessor's Office &=
nbsp; North
Sutter Street Address(to which tax &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; Neighborhood Wat=
ch <=
span
style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &n=
bsp; statement
was sent) &=
nbsp; <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> =
; &=
nbsp; &nb=
sp; =
;
Date:________ <=
o:p> S=
irs: 1=
. You
have been identified by the Solano County Assessor as owners of Parcel Num=
ber
XX-XXX-XX, located at (street address) in Vallejo. 2=
. This
is to notify you that the inhabitants of your property have been repeatedly
observed dealing in drugs and selling to people passing by and to occupant=
s of
identified automobiles. These events have been reported to Vallejo Police
Department on numerous occasions. 3=
. There
have been repeated nights when those living near your property could not s=
leep,
reported to the Vallejo Police Department, because of people from your pro=
perty
disturbing the peace. 4=
. Those
occupying your property have for several months been creating conditions
hazardous to the health, welfare and safety of others living in this
neighborhood. 5=
. You
are hereby requested to take those actions needed to abate the neighborhood
nuisance and hazard posed by those occupying your property.![](3D"WT-2_s_files/image001.gif")
=
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6=
. As
you are aware, you as the owners of this property are both civilly and
criminally liable for the events at and on this property.
7=
. It is
hoped that you will heed our request and help us improve the living condit=
ions
of our neighborhood in which your property also lies.
<=
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S=
igned, (Our four names and addresses).
<=
span
style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> Members of North Sutter Street
Neighborhood Watch
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CC: &nb=
sp; Vallejo
City Attorney =
;
=
Vallejo Ci=
ty
Police Department
=
; Vallejo Ci=
ty
Mayor And City Council
=
Vallejo Of=
fice,
Sect 8 Housing
=
; Solano Cou=
nty
Assessor's Office =
=
Solano Cou=
nty
Clerk's Office
=
; Solano Cou=
nty
District Attorney =
=
Solano Co =
Board
of Supervisors
=
; US Dept Ho=
using
and Urban Affairs
=
US Attorney
General's Office
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______________________________________________=
_________________________
RESULTS: To date in 2 cases where =
this
action was taken, owners have become more effective in cleaning up their
properties. Our goal is to clean up hazards to health and safety in the ar=
ea
and to persuade non-resident owners to participate with us in this goal.
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POLITICAL
POLITICAL: Saturday, 01/23, the day =
after
our area's 1st meeting with the Mayor, Harry
Ernst talked to US Attorney Gen, Joseph Russoniello, about our str=
eet
drug problems. Mr. Russoniello sent Harry a copy of the letter he wrote to
David Levi, Sacramento office of the US Attorney General. SURE! Drugs are political! Some of you=
will
recall, Harry was your other candidate running for Congress against Boxer =
in
1986. AND he's running again. For those who are dedicated Boxer and/or
Democratic fans: Which is more important? An effective, for-real Drug Abat=
ement
District AND Program FOR VALLEJO AND VALLEJOANS OR being a DEMOCRAT? What counts? Political Party OR re=
sults
with drugs? After all, for you personally too, how much is it GET RID =
OF
THE DRUGS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD and how much of it is political? YOU GETS WH=
AT
YOU VOTES FOR!
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style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> =
AFTER Russoniello was con=
tacted
by Harry Ernst, THEN David=
Levi,
US AG of Dist 97, Sacramento was invited to the Exchange Club for April 8t=
h.
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WHAT'S HAPPENING=
?=
It's a
bit weird to see it, but the supervisory drug dealers themselves seem to be
some of those patrolling the 7/Eleven at 601 Tennessee St, keeping it swept
clean of the retailing druggies. There are periodic sudden dealing flurries
that take place, eg Friday 01:10 AM 05/06/88. Then they just as suddenly
scatter, 80% up past 1614 Sutter into the Washington Park area. Safe?
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<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> On 05/05/88, for the =
first
time in years I saw a mother out with her 4 small ones, for a daytime stro=
ll on
the 600 block of Tennessee Street.
<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Meanwhile, 5 blocks from us, in Vallejo City Park, WATCHERS and neighborhood cry out in ang=
uish,
bleed on the streets. Resident at 432 Louisiana severely beaten behind=
his
house in Packard Alley by soldiers of the Drug Warlords (9:00 PM Tues
05/10/88). Arrests? We do no=
t know.
Our newspaper is silent on the matter. What political judge will be hearing
that case, if there are arrests? =
City Park
area is flooded by dealers, mostly from Washington Park Neighborhood
Association's area.
POLITICAL GOAL? "It is not until the =
Crest
itself is free of drug dealers that any neighborhood can feel sure they ha=
ve
cured their own drug problem. When the druggers are forced out of one place
they go to another and then back into Country Club Crest as their final re=
fuge
(LM, 04/12/88)." We need not
tolerate drugs anywhere in Vallejo.
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HEALTH AND SAFETY HAZARDS F=
ROM
ADJACENT AREAS: Since our area has improved, we have become =
more
acutely aware of how "non-Watch" neighborhoods infest and infect
adjoining areas. For the past 12 weeks, 80% of the daily druggies hitting =
the
7/Eleven at Sutter & Tenn St have been coming out of the Washington Pa=
rk
Neighborhood Association area. They are routinely coming and going past 16=
14
Sutter St just before the shopping center. We do not see any
Neighborhood Watch signs in the windows of that area's residents, - 700 pl=
us individual
residences, Florida to Tennessee, between Broadway and Sonoma. Maybe for t=
hem
it is not yet unbearable. Anyone traveling Louisiana east from Sonoma up t=
hru
late April had no problem identifying where the drug dens were: 710, 712, =
730,
732, 734; typical dealer-looking personnel draped all over the stairs and =
front
yards. Local manager of WACO finally realized these jungles had to be clea=
ned
out. On 04/18/88 & 04/19/88 he evicted them. Our heartfelt thanks to J=
im
Kuykendall. Too bad it was raining that day.
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Community Resources<=
/u>:=
V=
allejo
Police Dept 648-4321. Mayor 648-4377.
Maryjane Szalan, Naborhood Watch
Program, VPD, 648-4397, 648-4399.
C=
ity
Manager 648-4575.
C=
ounty
Assessor 429-6281.
{=
Verify
the telephone numbers }
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;
Signed, F H Ernst Jr., M.D., PO Box 3009, 94590; 643-6611.