Gangs, "The G-Train" and a Hard-hitting Letter to the Editor

A Tuesday morning Emerald City news potpourri

Once again, this morning's top Standard-Examiner headline story is focused on the rampant "gang problem" in Emerald City, with an Ace Reporter Schwebke report on last night's Councilman Jesse Garcia's community meeting, which had been earlier announced in Sunday morning's Std-Ex edition.

From all reports, there was a "standing room only" crowd of concerned Emerald City citizens in attendance, together with a panel of "experts," assembled by Garcia on short notice to give their presentations.

Noticeably absent from this event was Emerald City's "Boss of Bosses," Mayor Matthew Godfrey, the one Emerald City citizen who ought to have been there, listening with his ears wide open. We're going to assume that Boss Godfrey was busy with other more important business (such as shaking down other Emerald City citizens for four-figure campaign contributions.)

We've received a report that several other elected officials and candidates for municipal office did however make room in their own busy schedules to attend this event, i.e. Neil Hansen, Susie Van Hooser, Amy Wicks, Jim Freed, and Caitlin Gochnour, thus giving us assurance that there are at least a few candidates for elected city offices who are interested in hearing from the lumpencitizens.

As an added bonus, we link this special first-hand report from Weber County Forum's own reader-correspondent Bill C., who kindly sent us his short write-up late last night.

Also in the news today is one of Boss Godfrey's very own most special friends, Sue "G-Train" Wilkerson, who, according to this additional Scott Schwebke story, is snatching up and developing central city properties like a madman. The article refers to hundreds of thousands of of city dollars floating around for the construction and rehabilitation of homes in the Jefferson Avenue Historic District. Whether Ms. Wilkerson actually got her hands on some of that taxpayer dough for her own projects -- Ace Reporter Schwebke does not tell us. What we do know however, is that it's usually financially beneficial to be a close and loyal "Friend of Matt (FOM)." In other words, being an FOM is not an entirely irrational state of being.

And finally, we highlight this morning's Emily Smith letter to the editor, bringing again to the public forefront questions about the pathological secrecy and questionable business practices of the current mayoral administration. This letter packs quite a political wallop, and is a model of efficient and intelligent argument, we think. As we stand poised with less than one month remaining before the 2007 municipal primary, we hope many of our gentle and well-informed readers will be inspired by Ms. Smith's effort, and write their own missives for publication in our home-town newspaper.

Okay, that's it for now, gentle gentle readers. It's now your turn to let everybody know what you think.

Update 8/18/07 10:31 a.m. MT: Std-Ex editor Dave Greiling has an article in this morning's edition, providing some interesting background information about the production of the Standard-Examiner's recent "gangs series."