Street gang activity on the rise across state (Washington)

[Ediacara]

Source: Seattle P-I

By CHRIS McGANN
P-I CAPITOL CORRESPONDENT

OLYMPIA -- The writing's on the wall -- and on the windows of small-town shops and all over the Internet -- and it says street gang activity is on the rise again.

After a decline from its peak in the mid-1990s, police from Los Angeles to Lynden are seeing signs of a resurgence of gangs and the crime that they bring with them.

In Yakima last year, Main Street businesses suffered more than $100,000 in losses after gang members or vandals burned graffiti tags into windows, said Julie Schilling of Westside Merchants, which represents 48 businesses on Yakima Avenue.

Schilling said that when storeowners go home at night, the kids are already out standing on the corners flashing gang signs. Some are as young as 11, she said.

Read more: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/308675_gangs23.html

[Javaman]

1. Is there nothing in this nation that hasn't gotten worse since moron* was appointed?

Now that moron* and his room full of dopes allow convicted criminals into the military, I predict it's going to get a lot worse very soon.

It was one thing to have unorganized gangs going around killing people, but when a few of these gang members come back from Iraq with PTS and military organizational skills, things will change here in some very violently peculiar ways.