Tuesday Tidbits...

"...and keep it coming..."

Welcome to a very nice day ahead of us here in the Midwest.
Plenty of sunshine today, that's for sure.
The remainder of our Hoosierland weather finds us with a high today of around 70 degrees (my kind of nice), with scattered clouds and mild breezes.
Well, if that doesn't give one a case of Spring Fever, I don't know what will.
We're due for a warm-up after today and we'll be turning off the furnace and turning on the A/C soon enough.
In the meantime, let's get a nice soothing beverage alongside us, as we look to the day and see what's been going on elsewhere...
*** First out of the birdbath is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
June 2 -
---Today is NATIONAL BUBBA DAY

(We have a DAY for this? God, we're screwed)
---It's also NATIONAL ROCKY ROAD DAY

(Oh, I thought they meant all the roads around our part of the city that need fixing...)
---It would appear to be NATIONAL LEAVE THE OFFICE EARLY DAY

(tends to work best on Fridays)
---And, it's NATIONAL ROTISSERIE CHICKEN DAY

(gonna cost a bit more with that bird flu going around - ditto for eggs)
*** Now, as is the usual fare on Tuesdays, here are all the shots fired, armed robbery and shooting calls that went out on the FWPD blotter that the local media doesn't want to touch with a 10-foot pole (no matter what his name might happen to be...heh):

SHOTS FIRED and ARMED ROBBERIES - 5/25 - 5/31
===========================================
MAY 25 - 
15F064278 00:26:56 113 SHOTS FIRED 4500 PLAZA DR
15F064297 01:23:40 113 SHOTS FIRED 2100 FOX AVE & DEWALD ST W
15F064300 01:33:14 113 SHOTS FIRED 4500 REED ST
15F064506 16:43:41 113 SHOTS FIRED 700 MCKINNIE AVE
15F064590 20:59:19 113 SHOTS FIRED 3200 HERITAGE DR
15F064594 21:13:47 113 SHOTS FIRED 3700 ARLINGTON AVE
15F064601 21:45:05 113 SHOTS FIRED 800 COLERICK ST
15F064616 22:23:52 113 SHOTS FIRED 3200 DIPLOMAT DR
15F064634 22:59:51 113 SHOTS FIRED 1600 LUMBARD ST & REYNOLDS ST
15F064636 23:05:02 58 SHOOTING 3500 OLIVER ST
MAY 26 - 
15F064941 14:12:11 53 ARMED ROB 900 SHERWOOD TERR W
MAY 27 - 
15F065285 03:11:44 113 SHOTS FIRED 4200 CENTRAL DR
15F065798 23:23:03 53 ARMED ROB 800 ANDERSON AVE & GRISWOLD DR
MAY 28- 
15F066351 21:55:09 113 SHOTS FIRED 3200 WEBSTER ST & PACKARD AVE W
15F066227 17:09:13 53 ARMED ROB 1700 PAULDING RD E
MAY 29 -
15F066430 01:29:40 113 SHOTS FIRED 3000 HOAGLAND AVE & WILDWOOD AVE W
15F066483 07:10:27 113 SHOTS FIRED 4500 PLAZA DR
15F066674 15:05:00 113 SHOTS FIRED 2800 WINTER ST
15F066882 19:22:43 113 SHOTS FIRED 4000 ROBINWOOD DR & BAXTER ST
15F066908 19:54:02 113 SHOTS FIRED 800 FRANCIS ST & WAYNE ST E
15F066437 02:07:49 58 SHOOTING 4400 PLAZA DR
MAY 30 - 
15F067073 00:04:37 113 SHOTS FIRED 4500 PLAZA DR
15F067074 00:05:36 113 SHOTS FIRED 1900 ECKART ST & CENTRAL DR
15F067081 00:08:48 113 SHOTS FIRED 3300 REED ST
15F067163 02:45:02 113 SHOTS FIRED 3300 ABBOTT ST & DREXEL AVE
15F067328 13:09:08 113 SHOTS FIRED 2100 WAWONAISSA TRL
15F067697 23:08:37 113 SHOTS FIRED 3300 STATE BLVD E
15F067194 04:03:21 53 ARMED ROB 1400 HIGH ST
15F067576 19:45:53 53 ARMED ROB 3000 REED ST
15F067128 01:21:22 58 SHOOTING 300 DEWALD ST W
MAY 31 -  
15F067740 00:23:36 113 SHOTS FIRED 2500 GREENWAY RD
15F067795 02:40:41 113 SHOTS FIRED 3500 WARSAW ST
15F067796 02:56:32 113 SHOTS FIRED 1600 FRANKLIN AVE & HUFFMAN ST
15F067797 02:58:44 113 SHOTS FIRED 2800 WESTBROOK DR
15F067829 04:40:48 113 SHOTS FIRED 2800 CALHOUN ST S
15F067957 13:38:45 113 SHOTS FIRED 2300 MAIN ST W
15F068049 17:29:41 113 SHOTS FIRED 5400 MONARCH DR
15F068138 20:56:55 113 SHOTS FIRED 7400 LAKERIDGE DR
15F068174 22:25:27 113 SHOTS FIRED 2700 SCHELE AVE & ROY ST
15F067883 09:21:05 53 ARMED ROB 7400 ANTHONY BLVD S
==========================================
Well, we know some assholes have been "busy", and especially on the SE side of the city...wonder why THAT is, hmm?
Moving on...
*** Next up, Adam Widener continued his (excellent) series on WANE'S "15 Finds Out" regarding the plight (and blight) in OUR part of Fort Wayne.

(which is still the southeast side).
http://wane.com/2015/06/01/developer-crime-deters-business-on-southeast-side/
Now, I want to preface this by asking all you faithful followers HERE what have I been saying (for years) when it comes to WHY we're not seeing businesses come down to the SE side of town...any guesses?

If you said CRIME (which is what I've said all along), go to the head of the class, give yourself a gold star and grab a cookie on the way out.
Coincidentally, that is ALSO EXACTLY what a DEVELOPER has said in the story...imagine that.
Don Steininger "gets it", and he's in the business of developing (since 1977).
I, on the other hand, am in the "business" of SURVIVING these days.

Don sees REALITY - I like that.

But we both share this marvelous FACTUAL assessment of this part of town...and with good reason.
It's a study in aberrant behavior by too many of the residential "locals", PLUS, it has been a growing haven for crime over the last several decades (going all the say back to the Win Moses era).
It's OUR perspective...based on REALITY, FACTS, and STATISTICS, that, no matter how others want to "fudge" them, spell out the word TRUTH.
Steininger states: “I’m not sure why they would say that crime is not a deterrent. It just has to be., 
You’ve got to have a critical mass and you’ve got to have safety in order for people to really feel comfortable to go there.”
He continued, “If I’m going to have an armed guard here everyday or have to worry about a clerk who’s going to get mugged, I’m going to think twice about whether I want to put a store here.”
Funny as it seems, that's precisely what I have said for so long...Don and I are on the exact same damn page.
Makes you wonder WHY "King" Henry, John Urbahns (Greater Fort Wayne, Inc), and Glynn Hines seem to disagree about the crime down here.
--Could it be that chronic (and democrat) head up the ass syndrome?
--Or is it those BLINDERS?
--Could it be the head in the sand denial?
I think it's ALL of the above...and more.
And, as long as those in power are living in that state of DENIAL (which, according to Mark Twain, is still NOT just a river in Egypt), we're saddled with a whole lot of nothing...going nowhere...for a long time in this part of town. And what our quadrant of the city suffers from IS spreading up the EAST side and into the SW side...no wonder the city would love to keep building NORTH.
*** While we're on the subject of the SE...let's talk about the whole POLICING issue, such as it has become under democrat rule.
.Across the USA, we're seeing police departments becoming emasculated when it comes to the officers being allowed to do their jobs.
And that is sad, but moreover, it's a DANGER to public safety, plain and simple.

You've heard me speak at length about the BROKEN WINDOW THEORY, and, having comefrom the east coast, I'm very familiar with it, and how it's meant to operate.
It DOES deter crime, much to the chagrin of the leftists (who actually foster crime to further their agenda).
Now, our mayor (King Henry) loves to always tout the "QUALITY-OF-LIFE" in Fort Wayne, does he not?
Well, WHY don't WE (on the SE side) have the SAME deal with the QofA as those in OTHER parts of town?
Maybe we should ask Don Steininger? He seems in touch with such things.
The BWT is a LARGE part of what we call QUALITY-OF LIFE POLICING...a term you have never heard in THIS city.

Now THIS works...and quite well.

In Fort Wayne, it's ALL about the "COMMUNITY-ORIENTED" approach, and as I've said here, you have to HAVE a community in order for that to work.
On the SE side...we don't have such a luxury. We have tribes that roam about, clans that mill around, and gangs that do everything counter to productivity in the human species.

What we REALLY need in order to chase the crime away is some QofA POLICING.
Allow me to explain...
What is a quality-of-life issue?
Well, it's all the little things that make life LIVABLE for people...things like proper parking, removal of litter, weed control, trash removal, noise control, which applies to houses, vehicles, and animals (barking) in yards. It also includes those who would hang out in the street, on corners, or places they should not be congregating. And it includes improper vehicle lighting and improper mufflers
These things (when enforced) make up a sense of community, and enhance public safety.

Mostly SE...for now

These are also things that happen a LOT less frequently in nicer neighborhoods, mostly because people (there) are imbued WITH that sense of community and have a better time policing THEMSELVES.
People there in general have a more focused sense of PURPOSE...not so in our area, and THAT is what needs to be addressed.
You can build all the damn rec centers in creation, and it will STILL not be the deterrent to crime that you're seeking.
You have to eliminate the need or want for people to skirt the laws, and make then "tow the mark", as it were.
And you do THAT by ticketing the small things - the things people do every single day down here.
Let them KNOW that it won't be tolerated IF they want to see a vibrant and THRIVING southeast side, rather than the ghetto-esque venue they have to shutter their homes (and lives) behind.

Bye-bye to THIS crap...!

When the law-breakers get the message that they can no longer do whatever they want, whenever they want to whomever they want, they'll move on, but not before.
Some might say this is targeting blacks...well, "if the shoe fits" is my response.
The majority of people down here are minorities, with black and Latinos making up the greater numbers, so yeah, you're going to be citing MORE of them than anyone else...that's called the LAW OF AVERAGES, folks.
When people start cleaning up their own acts, then businesses will come back and then revenues will return to the city coffers...not before.
But what has been allowed to take place down here over the last 30 years is a pathetic excuse for growth...except for the crime.
*** Last back to the garage...as was stated in the WANE story...(and what I'm always saying here)...things change because of the PEOPLE.

If only the bad people tried THIS...

The rise or fall of any part of any city does not, nor will ever occur all by itself. It HAS to have an external "influence".
And that is (and always will be)...the people.
People can make a city...OR they can break an empire. It's been done throughout history...look it up.
It's done every day throughout the USofA
We, as citizens in this country have got to take a stand against the powers that would seek to turn us against ourselves, and against what this nation stands for, because the alternatives are too fatal to contemplate.
We ARE better...and we can DO better...much better. All we need is a cause - a reason, and that lies before every one of us.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.