Asteroid
-
7/5/2010
I was born here (AV Hospital) & been here my entire life. I've watched with disgust the deterioration of what was once a nice, safe desert community. Years ago the city leaders touted that by having the state of California build a prison here would be a wonderful addition, it would bring much need jobs, better the local economy, etc. Ha! what it did was put us on the map as a Prison Town. There were jobs, sure for people who transferred from other areas of the state, but very few for the locals. The families of the the prisoners wanted to be closer to their "loved ones", so of course the city leaders enocourage more building to accomodate the influx. Then came the bright idea to create "affordable housing", a.k.a Section 8, apartments, etc. The clientele that has been drawn here is, well, less than desirable. This community now is a dumping ground for criminals registere (& non registered) sex offenders, gangster, taggers and their "families". The city periodically gets ideas to try to improve the image, like renovating the old Lancaster Blvd., but they fail to acknowledge that all of these efforts are too little, too late. There are pockest of unfinished, cheaply built homes, a multitude of foreclosed homes, empty shopping centers, strip malls & failed businesses. However, rest assured that the City of Lancaster has community service personnel patroling to cite residents for having trash cans visible from the street or parking lots for cars without front license plates. While Rome burns, they devote valuable resources to petty issues.
The concet behing their latest project, the revitalization of Lancater Blvd. somewhat modeled after areas like Old Pasdena, Glendale, is humorous. Thos areas do not have the extreme weather that this desert has. Freezing winter temperatures in Winter, blazing temperatures in the Summer and EVERY SEASON IS WINDY!!! Who do they think is going to walk around outside in 30 +mph wind? Lancaster Blvd. is surrounded by "affordable housing". On any given day , just drive around & you will always seen grafitti somewhere. One of the landmark schools, Park View, on one the main streets in the city , Aven J, is now another example of an empty building...a prime target for vandilism and "taggers". In few years, hopefully, I will be able to retire and finally leave this give-away, nanny state. Good luck to the rest of you who are stuck here!
Stacy | Lancaster, CA