If you care about California, care about Salinas

Then you should worry about Salinas. Because if the Monterey County city of 155,000 can’t build itself a brighter future, then it’s hard to imagine other struggling places doing the same.

“Rich in land. Rich in Values. Ripe With Opportunity,” reads the slogan on a city website, and that’s no exaggeration. Salinas might be the richest poor city in California.

You can get some visibility into the residual effect of unbridled unlawful immigration of low-to-no skilled workers in this PBS documentary:

http://carolynebrown.com/films/the-salinas-project/

Excerpt: East Salinas - Leaders in the community say Alisal is one of the most densely populated in California – some say more densely populated than Manhattan, New York. Immigrant families, who work in the fields, live in cramped, unhealthy conditions because of the high cost of housing in Monterey County. Alisal is a young community: 37% of its residents are under the age of 18. Only 4% are over the age of 65.

As you drive around Alisal you see garages with messy foam insulation outlining the garage doors. These are converted garages, where families, sometimes multiple families, live, with questionable electricity and water, often on a cement floor, with rodents abundant.

Alisal High School has had major problems with gang violence, but students, faculty and staff show great pride in their school. The high school’s demographics: 97% of the students are Latino; and 77% are eligible for free or reduced lunch. That’s compared to a 41% average for the state. Salinas is home to an estimated 16 street gangs, with at least 3,000 members.

The article contains two sentences, clues to the root of the problem. One refers to the large population of former farmworker activists; the other cites the large number of migrant workers in the city. Without uttering the country, the article argues that Salinas is Mexico redux. And look at how healthy, financially diverse and safe Mexico is.

Not.

I lived in Watsonville for a while. Salinas, Watsonville, most of the central valley are indistinguishable from Mexico. The “youths” run wild. They don’t work, they don’t have to, and they join gangs. You have MS-13, the Border Brothers, Nortenos, and Suarenos all fighting it out. Best to avoid those places.

All acts of love I’m sure.

California in recent years had three "colorful" Governors — Gray, "Black" (Schwarzenegger) and now Brown — and, of course the legislature that is "green on the outside, red inside".

No wonder the formerly Golden State is all Brown State now.

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