Living on the Fringe

I live on the fringe of a very upscale part of the city but it is also on the fringe of a not so nice neighborhood that is working very hard to improve. Now I like most of my neighbors in this area of the city are law abiding citizens who care a great deal about our local community. We keep our homes and apartments complexes very nice and know our neighbors.

The problem is the main road San Mateo between Central and Gibson which is causing a number of problems. I went last Sunday to wash my car and a homeless individual was looking for bus money when I told him no he looked very angry. He stared at me until a man came up to him and gave him money. When I asked our local bicycle police officers about it they said that due to the treatment center and the convenience store that sales large cans of beer that little to nothing will stop the problem. These individuals are also breaking into homes and businesses in the area looking for money and valuables to support their habits. My bother’s home was broken into just a few months ago and I can tell you it is very upsetting for both him and his wife. I wish the mayor would do something to put a stop to this problem before someone is harmed.

We also have the problem of little to no funding from the state and local government for improvements to public services. Our Community Center is a sad joke and our local library is far too small to support our community in any kind of meaningful way. The community center is only open until 6:00 pm on weekdays and not at all on weekends so working individuals can not use it. The number of parks in our area of the city is just too few for the number of residents in the area. The state senator in the district next to ours Senator Tim Keller has been very kind and tried to find some funding for our issues but I have to wonder what our local elected officials are doing when communities around ours have large new community centers and large libraries. Our schools also need more funding for books and upgrades but with the economy tight I have very little faith that our community will receive anything in the near future.

If we did not receive funding in the good times why think that we would receive anything now? When none of our local elected officials even bother to show up for a community meeting unless it is an election year why think they would care to even begin to support our issues. We need more elected officials like State Senator Tim Keller who care about our local communities and the issues they face everyday.