Pasadena: whiners with no priorities

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you my neighbors:

For Stephen Lipira, a citywide police crackdown on gangs going on for the past year has virtually transformed his North Raymond Avenue neighborhood.

"You would think we were in the Bronx," says the Pasadena Neighborhood Coalition vice-chairman.

Things are so bad now, agrees fellow member Lorraine Montgomery, she's thinking of moving out after 20 years.

"It's not only the harsh grating noise but also the vibrations that you can feel over your entire body."

As part of a tripling of police enforcement levels in Northwest Pasadena in response to 10 homicides in the past 19 months, the police's fleet of helicopters - two Enstrom F28F's, a Bell 206 BIII, and two Bell OH-58 Kiowa Warriors - has been busy.

The Foothill Air Support Team (FAST), shared by 10 area cities, has flown out on about 4,482 emergency calls in Pasadena just in the first six months of this year. Taking off from the Arroyo Seco, the helicopters can fly to a crime in 45 seconds, on average, said Pasadena Air Operations OIC, Lt. Robert Mulhall.

"The effectiveness of the helicopter is unparalleled when it comes to speed," said Chief Bernard Melekian. "I think any resident who calls for a police response would appreciate the additional eyes and ears."

But I know that keeping our kids from KILLING EACH OTHER (and the rest of us in the crossfire) is a hell of a lot more important that a little extra noise from the helicopters. Where did these people lose their sense of perspective? And they claim to be NEIGHBORHOOD ACTIVISTS? Give me a freaking break. If one of them was the target of a crime, I suspect they'd demand the helicopter go after the bad guys, post haste, and all the noise be damned.

I'm all in favor of noise ordinances for things like airports and industrial sites, if there's a reasonable way to reduce noise for neighborhood residents. But to cut back on the ability of the police to do their job just because you don't like the noise? Are you kidding me? What's next? No sirens on police cars, ambulances, or fire trucks? And speaking of sirens, why all of a sudden is it the helicopters that bother you? 90% of the time when I hear the chopper, the sirens come right behind. And they are a hell of a lot more annoying, and certainly louder than the helicopter, even when it hovers over my street.

And one other thing, you whiny crybabies. Next time you hear the helicopter coming, go in the house and turn on your fans. I think you'll be surprised to note you can't hear it anymore. Just like I can't.

h/t Centinel at Foothill Cities