California’s Faded Image

First, there are two Californias: Northern and Southern. Anyone who has been to both can tell you that except for the name the two have almost nothing in common. Your reporter misleadingly lumps them together.

Second, he focuses on such vague notions as our faded image, our tarnished luster, and our declining promise. These are touchy-feely issues that mean little. He barely touches on what is the real problem--crime and violence in Los Angeles.

Some hard facts of L.A. life for this 33-year resident: robbed twice, once with a knife to my throat, another with a gun to my head; shot at while driving down an L.A. street; three of my closest childhood friends dead from drugs; another shot to death last year over a meaningless argument, and my home burglarized twice. There is more, but you get the point.

I am 37, white, college educated and originally from a working-class neighborhood of Los Angeles. Childhood was rough, but no one I knew then was shot, stabbed, robbed or raped. This daily horror is new to Los Angeles. During my four years in Tokyo, which has own problems of congestion and high costs, I never felt unsafe.

Two major urban upheavals in 25 years, daily drive-bys, a drug-abuse explosion and uncounted assaults have convinced me it’s time to leave Los Angeles again. I would gladly endure our traffic and high costs for the privilege of feeling safe in my hometown. Violence is the problem--who cares about our image!

SHELLEY NORWOOD

Rancho Palos Verdes