Keep on truckin'

You probably don't recognize the name Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, but you're probably acquainted with her Five Stages of Grief...

1) Denial: "RIchmond has a Green for a mayor!? This can't be happening! There must be some kind of mistake!"

2) Anger: "Richmond voters, what the @#$% is wrong with you!?"

3) Bargaining: "C'mon, the city council can't work with her. They'll just do a 'no-confidence' vote and force a turnover."

4) Depression: "Once Chevron packs up, other companies are going to bail out of this dump. Gangs will have to step up their employment and benefit packages."

5) Acceptance: "Measure T failed, but Richmond is still well and truly screwed."

But in all seriousness, the mission of the Tazer remains unchanged. We're still keeping an eye on violent crime, what the City of Richmond does to solve it, and what they AREN'T doing meanwhile.

We truly hope that Gayle McLaughlin can stem the tide of violence and return prosperity to Richmond, but we have serious doubts. Her campaign literature is on file in Tazerville so we'll be able to hold her accountable to her campaign promises, unspecific though they are...

"Protecting consumers from higher taxation"...
"End of self-inspection for Chevron"...
"Promoting clean, sustainable energy"...
"A new park for North Richmond"...

Nope, none of those sounds like "I am committed to reducing the number of homicides in Richmond."

Just a suggestion, Madam Mayor-Elect: try and defend the environment from Chevron and "big industry" in the spare time you have AFTER defending Richmond's youth from violent death. Thanks.

Erstwhile congratulations and good luck to Myrna Lopez, Jim Rogers, Tony Thurmond, and Maria Viramontes. Considering the new mayor, we're all going to need it.