Recent Crimes Diminish City's Progress

The recent murders of Realtor Vivian Martin on the East Side and elderly residents Thomas Repchic and Angela Figmonari on the South Side near St. Dominic's church are especially hard on a city that seemed to be focusing on the positives.  Earlier this year we were able to celebrate the long list of jobs coming to the area including a third shift at GM Lordstown and the V&M Steel expansion.  This month a Brookings Institute report has Youngstown leading the nation in manufacturing job growth.  This good news is overshadowed by the senseless violence of 18 murders committed this year.

It's bad enough the city is subjected to a high homicide rate due to drug related crimes.  Now residents are forced to endure the murders of elderly church members and successful business owners.  Vivian Martin should have been an inspiration.  From the follow up article in the Vindicator it is clear she was a driven, educated black woman who owned a successful business in a city that needs such role models.  That she would be targeted because her profession leaves her vulnerable when showing properties shows the cowardly nature of the men who attacked her.  The assaults on Angela Figmonari and Thomas Repchic and his wife were equally cowardly, occurring after services at St. Dom's.

The criminals in the Martin and Figmonari cases are young, uneducated and apparently faced a life without prospects of success beyond crime.  Even as the Mahoning Valley sees a good turn in a grim economy we see the same lazy-gonna-blame-everyone-else-for-my-failure elements we always have making it harder for those who are struggling to become educated or those who are trying to work honestly.

Youngstown can succeed but it has to want it.  People need to make sure their kids are learning in school in order to set up a good foundation for moving on to YSU or one of the trade schools in the area. We can no longer accept crime and criminals as the status quo.  Otherwise businesses will look at the city and locate near it but not in it.  Daylight murders of good people kill more than the victims.

Voting While Dodging Rockets

Every time I read a story about Afghans risking theur lives to vote, I'm more ashamed of the electorate in the United States. These people are literally voting under the threat of death from the Taliban. 50 percent of us can barely be bothered to rise from our couches and drive five minutes to a polling place.

Whether you agree with the war in Afghanistan or not, you have to admire the tenacity of people who have rockets exploding in their cities as they make their way to vote for polticians who may be as corrupt as old school Mahoning County office holders.

These people want a better life and they are willing to take a chance to get it. We are so turned off by the economy, half-truths about the President and whether John Boenher's tan is real that we're opting out of the process. The Republicans will win a lot of seats in November but only about 35 percent of voters will show up to give them that "mandate" they are looking for.

We need to be more responsible and focus on what is important. Go vote and have a voice that means something.

Distractions

Should a mosque be built near Ground Zero?
Should a pastor in Florida be kept from burning the Koran?
Should Jim Traficant be on the ballot?
Is John Boehner's tan real?

The news is full of this nonsense. Hopefully you are ignoring it and really thinking about what would be best for the country and who can be elected in November to best represent us.

It's about the economy and nothing else.

Sent from the BlackBerry® of Michael Prelee.