Since I will be unable to attend the public meeting on May 23, 2007 regarding activities in the Willows neighborhood, I would just like to express my concerns via e-mail.

I've lived in the Willows most of my life and have observed a disturbing trend toward increased crime and violence. In February 2003, for example, my property and that of my next door neighbor were seriously damaged when a car driven by an uninsured, unlicensed 18-year old female smashed through my fence (M. P. Police Case 04-0527). She was being chased by another car, apparently driven by her boyfriend. She couldn't speak English. And she could easily have caused serious bodily injury to my neighbors. I've never found out how the case was resolved.

Last year I had to have the city remove graffiti from the sidewalk in front of my house. I wonder if it was gang related.

What symbolizes to me the changes in the Willows was the need to post a guard in front of La Hacienda market on Menalto. I understand the market was the site of armed or attempted armed robberies. My grandparents lived on Central Avenue from the mid-1940s until the late 1970s. They regularly walked to the Menalto market, even when they were in the eighties and nineties. It is difficult for me to imagine them doing the same thing nowadays.

John Broadwin
706 Regal Court
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Received on Mon May 21 09:27:56 2007