]WE SEE YOU DAILY PILOT!
The Daily Pilot always seems to have a difficult time identifying outstanding violent criminal suspects when they're not white and usually tries to defend not giving racial/ethnic descriptions in these cases with a claim that their policy is to require other identifying characteristics such as hair color, eye color, size of shoes ( I made that last one up to show how goofy the paper is).
However, the paper seems to take great glee in publishing a racial/ethnic description when a suspect is white.
Consider the latest example. In today's Pilot (Link) there's a story of a Latino man allegedly being attacked by two men in an alley.
The Pilot says it may be a hate crime. When you read "hate crime," you already have a clue as to where the Pilot is going.
Sure enough, the Pilot then describes the two alleged attackers as "two white men in their 20s." No hair colors, no eye colors, no weights, no heights, no clothing descriptions. Nothing. Just "two white men in their 20's." So, where are all the other characteristics needed before publishing a racial/ethnic description? Hmmmm?
Contrast that to how the Pilot reported on the Latino who shot a man in the K-Mart parking lot Friday night, and who then threatened another man near Hamilton and Wallace.
In this case, the Pilot didn't even publish a description of this guy running around our streets with a gun until the CM PRESS published the description that we got from the CMPD: a Latino.
And, as we reported in CM PRESS # 624, it appears that the Pilot isn't publishing reader comments on this Latino who is still out there, perhaps on the Westside, and still in possession of a gun that he doesn't mind using.
But there's more. In the same story about the alleged hate crime--"by two white men in their 20's"(same LINK as above)-- the Pilot tacks on an unrelated report of a homeless man being attacked and robbed, apparently by three different men outside a Jack in the Box on Harbor Blvd. But, in this case the Pilot gives absolutely no description of the attackers.
Could it be that the attackers at the Jack in the Box, who the Pilot doesn't describe, are something other than white? Hmmmm? Our guess is that if they were white, the Pilot would have told us that.
When the CM PRESS tried to get a description of the three suspects at the Jack in the Box from the CMPD before publication this morning, we were told that the Watch Commander doesn't know anything about it and that we should call later in the day and talk to Sgt. Greg Scott (that's Scott with two "t's" as this guy once told us), who apparently gave the information to the Daily Pilot. We'll do so and we'll publish an update.
UPDATE (As promised): 3/3/09--10:10 A.M.--According to the CMPD, the homeless man gave no description of the alleged suspects in the Jack in the Box incident other than that they were three men.
The CM PRESS is not clear how a guy can be physically attacked by three men and have his wallet taken without knowing a little about what the men looked like. After all, he did say they were men, and there is nothing to indicate that they wore masks and gloves to hide every square inch of their skin. If we learn any more we'll report it.
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REPORT FROM
PLANNING COMMISSION STUDY SESSION LAST NIGHTIf comments we heard last night are any clue, the Planning Commission understands that we need to start the transformation of the Bluffs by adding more owner occupied housing units there and it wants it to happen yesterday.
We were impressed by the comments from Commission Chair Jim Righeimer who kept the conversation focused on the essential elements of what needs to be done.
Righeimer correctly pointed out that if the City is too restrictive on what it allows developers to build, that we may end up with some beautiful live work condos similar to those built in Tustin, which no one is buying.
Although the focus of the meeting was on the industrial area of the Bluffs,Vice Chair Fisler also brought up issues about replacing some of our older apartment complexes in the area with owner occupied housing units. This is something that the CM PRESS has been suggesting for years.
In fact, all of the Planning Commissioners seemed to be on target. If this keeps up, we'll have to stop calling the body the No-Planning Commission.
Staff told the Commissioners that since the Westside plans have been in effect, we've had 19 projects come forward to the Planning Department counter, but that only two of them went beyond that point: 1640 Monrovia, and 1046 W. 18th Street, but that neither of these have been built yet.
Our take on some polite comments from some Commissioners to Staff in this regard is that some may believe that Staff is setting the bar too high for developments on the Westside or in some way may be perceived by developers as too tough a gatekeeper.
[Photo is of interior of a modern loft]
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[NEW UPDATES BELOW--3/3/09 2:39 P.M.]
CONGRESSMAN SAYS OLD MEDIA IS DEAD AND HE THINKS THIS IS GOOD
Colorado Congressman praises bloggers and citizen journalists. LINK
We're often approached by citizens of Costa Mesa who tell us that they go to the CM PRESS each day before reading any newspapers or other blogs. And many have told us they don't read the local rag at all.
As a result of such comments, we'll try to add more quick bursts about crime and other problems that we have here in Costa Mesa along with our longer opinion pieces.
As always, we'll give you all the facts as we know them and let you decide. This means, in part, that we won't use convoluted formulas and twisted logic to try to keep from giving you descriptions of outstanding violent criminals--who may make you their next victim. We'll call 'em as we see 'em and we won't pull our punches.
After all, if you're armed with some description--any description--of an outstanding violent criminal, and if you know his M.O., and if you know the general location of where he has committed his crimes you can be more on your guard to protect yourself and your family.
In addition, and even if you're not in danger, you might just spot the criminal on our streets and be able to call the police.
Of course, if you want to read sanitized news that has been filtered by "real journalists," who feel you can't handle the truth, and who will decide which facts you can and can't read, you know which local rag to read.
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CITY COUNCIL MEETING TONIGHT
The City Council meets tonight at 6:00 P.M. The hot issue is the proposed expansion of a church on Raleigh Avenue. Some neighbors say they fought an earlier expansion of the church back in 1993 and told the City Council back then that the church would more than likely be back in the future wanting to expand again. Tonight is that future.
Maybe it's time for Costa Mesa to start putting churches all in a special area of the city, as is done in some other cities.
After all, few churches these days are really neighborhood churches. Most people drive cars to get to them.
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Those are our opinions, as we continue to do the job that newspapers used to do. Thanks for reading them.
