It's That Time Again...

There were two stories that just reached off of the pages of today's paper, grabbed me about the shoulders and said: "This is what the SOUTH side is all about".
So..here we go.

- Teacher says guns, ring missing.
Seems a South Side H. S. teacher enlisted the aid of ten students to help her clean her basement when it became flooded (2800 block of Palisade Drive - not one of the "jewels" in the crown of south side neighborhoods...much like mine in fact). The FIRST strike was when she had the students at her place DURING SCHOOL HOURS (Can we all say "oops"?) on 28 - 29 August. I'd wager there might be some POed parents just over that. But it gets better, folks. The teacher WAS at home while the students were there (well at least THAT was a "plus"), and was on sick leave. She discovered the missing items after the students left on 29 August. She went to three of their houses that night to ask about the missing guns.
Of course, the students denied taking the guns and the ring.
The guns that were missing was a S&W .357 revolver, another .357 black revolver, a .22 semiauto pistol and a .25 semiauto pistol. And here is where it gets REALLY fun. None of the guns had SERIAL NUMBERS (yep, you can say "oops" again). They were kept in a bedroom closet (so why were the students THERE instead of the basement?), and the 1/2 carat diamond w/ a gold band was in a dresser drawer. Apparently, none of the students have been charged, and the FWPD could not say if it was still an open investigation (even THEY don't know???).
FWCS is conducting it's OWN investigation. This is turning into one great cluster-f$ck...isn't it? I'd bet that the teacher will be "outta there" soon enough. and having weapons with obliterated serial numbers is not a good thing. Besides, why did she have FOUR guns? I would think that maybe TWO would suffice, but it's damn hard to sell (legally) guns with missing serials...but they are easy to "get out into the streets", where they become the PREFERRED weapons of choice. In any event, it will be fun waiting to see if ANY of those guns turn up in future crimes down here, because we just KNOW that they will.

- Mayor plans SE tour of new homes -
Our illustrious "King of the Realm" Graham Richard (who talks the talk better than he walks the walk) invited the community to tour new homes southeast of downtown in an effort to increase (read dredge up) interest in living (we call it existing) and investing (tossing good money after bad) in the urban core (read slums).
A "City Living Tour" will allow people to tour homes in Renaissance Pointe (there's the *e* again), a new neighborhood (culled from the old neighborhood) created in a public-private partnership. This 36 block area (Hanna - Creighton - S. Anthony - Pontiac) is said by King Richard to have the ability for up to 400 new homes and 100 rehabitable homes near downtown (it's actually a little farther south than that...he needs to check the latest map). There are SIX model homes in the area on the tour, and the houses will cost between $100,000 and $250,000, and are being built with many of the features that older homes have (like leaking roofs, bullet holes, and broken doors and windows?), such as large front porches, and high ceilings (unlike the "high" occupants in most rentals in my area).
"It's being done to protect the VALUE of the neighborhood", says Sherry Early-Allen. Gee Sherry, that's EXACTLY what I'm doing from my $76,000 house in the badlands. In fact, it's what I do every frigging day...try to keep the "Barbarians from my gates", and having to deal with white and ethnic trash in the process.
Whatta coincidence!
Allen also says that MONEY (in the form of home improvement GRANTS) will be available to those already living in the area (How's about you toss some of that MY way, toots?).
But there IS a catch (isn't there always?)...the money is available to those making only 80% of the median income for the county. That would mean $34,350 for a single person, and $49,250 for a family of four (and a welfare momma with 5 kids from 4 men gets it all for free anyway, right?) if they qualify. The houses on John and Smith street are being targeted first (and MY house is targeted every other month, but NOT for grant money).

This is such a ludicrous idea on SO many levels, that I can barely keep from laughing. If I EVER become financially-well-off, that I have a choice between getting a house for $100K-$250K in the HANNA-CREIGHTON area...OR....a $100K-$250K house in say WOODBURN, or GRABILL, or LEO...or even back in PA, guess where the f$ck I'M MOVING TO? We would leave this area SO damn fast, I'd probably get cited for SPEEDING...a lot!
He ain't driving FAST, officer...he's just flying LOW!
Give me a frigging break...a $100K house on the SOUTH side...what the hell ARE YOU smoking, people, and why hasn't Doc Crawford gotten on your $hit about that? You want to revitalize this whole area? Make it REAL simple for you, because, Mr. Mayor, you seem to do "simple" quite well.
You need to RAZE all the bad houses NOW, REHAB the ones that need it NOW, KICK OUT the human refuse that dwell in these places NOW, FIGHT CRIME with a vengeance NOW, and THEN....maybe....you can RECLAIM this ENTIRE area, making it viable for shoring up your depleted tax base, without annexing MORE "provinces", and pissing off even more people that don't WANT to be part of Fort Wayne, kapesh? .
But until all that occurs, sticking some fancy-ass, big-dollar home in some slum-ridden area just ain't gonna make that dog hunt, bub! You can't even keep MY neighborhood from going down the crapper...I know, I've been here for TEN long years, telling you about it for almost AS LONG, and haven't seen ONE DAMN BIT of "improvement"...quite the reverse, "your majesty"!
It's like driving some broken down jalopy. Putting on a NEW HUBCAP sure as hell won't make that car look a damn sight better, or make it run better. Hell, even FOUR new hubcaps won't make a damn bit of difference.

But our 'King" deems otherwise for his subjects.
Yet no king "rules" forever, so in the meantime...
Exodus...anyone?