KING CASE AFTERMATH: A CITY IN CRISIS : LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Ventura County residents sometimes bemoan what comes over the border from Los Angeles County--smog and crime and traffic.

Now Angelenos are pointing fingers at Ventura County, as public officials and angry mobs alike blame a jury here for exporting what some believe is injustice.

More than that, though, we are hearing people across the nation say that the Ventura County jury was racist in finding no guilt in white police officers charged with beating a black man named Rodney King. The critics say that since those jurors represented all of us, we are a racist community.

Even Republican state Sen. Ed Davis, who has represented part of Ventura County for a number of years, suggests that it could have been a mistake to put a black prosecutor in front of a Ventura County jury. It’s a startling thought.

Are we racist? What really beats in the hearts of people in Simi Valley and Santa Paula, Ventura and Oxnard, Thousand Oaks and Camarillo?

In the last few days, reporters for the Ventura County Edition have talked to scores of people about the issue of racism, trying to answer those questions. I think we have found some interesting responses, which we will publish in a special report on Sunday.

After you read it, drop me a note and share your thoughts. Or dial our Sound Off number, 658-5546, and leave a taped message.

Julia C. Wilson

Times Ventura County Editor