Editorials

Mail pouring in for hospitalized boy attacked by pit bull 

OAKLAND – Tensions are rising and extra workers have been brought in to handle the high volume of mail from well-wishers to the Richmond boy attacked by three pit bulls earlier this month. 

Officials at Mechanics Bank have clerks working steadily to sort through letters, cards and checks to Shawn Jones, who lies in critical but stable condition recuperating from his wounds. 

The account set up for Jones by the Richmond Police Department is off-limits to everyone, even Jones’ family, until a trust has been set up. 

Police say several of Jones’ relatives who have had little contact with him have come forward seeking access to the money donated to him. This has caused concern among potential donors, volunteers say. 

“The majority of (donors) I have spoken with are very concerned about where the money will be directed,” said Richmond police Sgt. Enos Johnson. “They have clearly stated that the money should go to the boy and have been adamant about that.” 

Central Oakland improving crime record with new residents 

OAKLAND – New residents in Central Oakland have helped transform the once violent neighborhood into a family haven. 

The high tech boom not only created new jobs but attracted thousands of new residents — mainly young families — into this East Bay community, displacing drug violence. 

With a population of about 400,000, Oakland is improving its crime record faster than similar-sized cities with higher murder rates. 

Gwendolyn Singleton, a long time Central Oakland resident, feels happy to see children playing and her neighbors working in their yards. For her it’s difficult to believe it is the same street where her son was gunned down six years ago. 

Oakland homicide rate plummeted 53 percent between 1992 and last year. 

Only one of the 37 slayings during the first half of this year was in Oakland’s central area. 

A San Francisco Chronicle analysis shows that last year drugs were the motive for only 14 percent of the 85 killings in the entire city of Oakland. 

Drugs motivated 40 percent of the city’s slayings in 1992.