Dear Mayor Fargo, you have really done it now

This morning I opened up the Bee to find an article that has had me grinding my teeth for three hours. I am so mad I could spew! Thank you Mary Lynne Vellinga for getting out what I've been complaining about since we moved to North Natomas in 1999. The North Natomas community plan was a farce designed to make the city look like good planners. Don't believe me? Read the Grand Jury Report.

Somehow all the lies of Lennar and the promises of the city have slipped the councilmembers and the mayor's minds. I have ranted extensively about the lack of police substation, the unfinished parks, the rezoned school land that disappeared. But Mayor Fargo has outdone herself this time.

Quoting from the Bee article "While she frequently hears complaints about a lack of police services, Fargo said the area has much less violent crime than many other city neighborhoods."

Seriously North Natomas residents, your mayor just told you to stop whining because people don't die here.

I ran the crime stats myself this morning from 8/1/2007 to 9/30/2007. The area classified as North Natomas had 194 crimes, 22 assaults. East Sacramento had 240 crimes, 19 assaults and Land Park had 119 crimes, 10 assaults. Yes... the data suggests that we are faring better than Oak Park or Del Paso Heights.

But when I bought my house, I wasn't promised that it'd be better than Oak Park.

We bought our house in Natomas Park in 1999 on a PROMISE from the city that it would be the most amazing development in all of California and even maybe all of the west coast. We gave up a nice house in East Sac, near everything, including the light rail to work. We were promised regional parks, bike and walking trails, great schools, a light rail line, public transportation and walking commercial centers.

According to the article, planning director Carol Shearly says "We were cautious about overburdening the development with fees because we really wanted it to get started." So the city didn't bother to make sure that all the promises they and Lennar were selling, were actually funded. They didn't stop Lennar from publishing their fancy brochures with all the wonderful amenities. Mayor Fargo and Ray Tretheway talked up North Natomas like a new Disneyland- everything you could want and more.

Knowing full well that they were unfunded and that many things, like the police substation and community centers, had been taken off the table long long ago.

Councilman Tretheway says "I talk to a lot of average people. They love Natomas. They're going crazy over it." Seriously Mr. Tretheway, do they live here? I love my neighborhood but I wouldn't say that anyone I know is "going crazy over it." Afraid to walk to school? yes. Afraid to walk around at night? yes. Afraid of getting hit in one of the disastrous parking lots? yes. But going crazy? That's a major leap of faith.

Ms. Vellinga's article points out that the city decided the grand jury report used outdated information. That is correct, but that was the entire point of the grand jury report. The city did not follow the original community plan; they simply changed it at will. Many of us bought our houses based on "outdated information."

To Mayor Fargo:
Now I'm mad. You have a reelection campaign coming up. I'm throwing my money, time and energy behind someone else. I'll be knocking doors and ringing phones for another candidate who perhaps won't be so overburdened by the job. You are no Joe Serna.

To the young girl who left her baby with a stranger at a Natomas bus stop (and a thought on sex ed)

I know there's probably no way you're reading this but on the off chance you are, thank you. Thank you for realizing that you may not be ready to be a mom. Thank you for choosing a young woman at a local bus stop who looked like she might care. You may have even seen her before and thought she was nice. Thank you for not leaving your baby in a dumpster or in your closet. You are a good mom because you did what was best for your baby. That's all a mom can do.

Now... why exactly did this girl leave her baby at the bus stop? We don't really know but I'll venture a guess... she didn't know any better. The paper and the news are falling all over themselves trying to condemn this young girl because we have a "safe haven" law. Seriously, if you know a kid between 12 and 18 ask them what you do if you have a baby you don't want to keep? I'd venture to guess not one of them will say 'Oh it's easy, you just take it to a fire station and nobody will ask any questions.' And even if they do know, they don't actually believe that nobody will ask them anything. Heck I don't even believe it after reading the brochure.

They don't know because it's not part of the class. I taught 8th grade sex ed for 2 years at a local middle school. We don't discuss the save haven law because you certainly wouldn't want to encourage teens to abandon their babies. It's kind of the same backwards theory about only teaching abstinence- if you tell them about sex, they might want to try it- so don't tell. Sure we have old drawings of body parts and how it works. Once, we even taught them how to put a condom on... until some parents had a fit and it had to be removed from the curriculum. We covered STDs but not pregnancy and certainly not what to do afterward.

So if the young girl is about 16... she was probably 14 or 15 when she got pregnant. She is probably a freshman in high school. So I'm venturing a guess that the sex ed curriculum she had was the same as I taught. She never knew about any safe haven law. If you've ever actually had a baby of your own, you know that those 24 hours after delivery are full of panic and apprehension, even in the most planned pregnancy situations.

She found her own safe haven.

Bear with me while I make a huge leap here. Recently I've been watching The Truth About Food on Discovery Health. Last night I watched an episode with what I call "The Raisin Test." If you restrict a certain food but leave it visible, children crave it to the point of actually pushing and shoving to get at it when it's allowed. Even if it's only raisins.

Sex to 16 year olds is raisins. If you forbid it, make it mysterious and magical, they will crave it and push and shove to get it. Are we doing our kids any favors by forbidding raisins? Are we doing them any favors by refusing to teach them actual scientific information about their bodies and allowing them opportunities to talk about the pressures they feel in life?

To the young girl in Natomas... I wouldn't turn myself in either.