The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

State of city: very good

By Justin Berton

Crime is down and teen services are a top priority, Mayor Jim Roberts said to 200 residents at the annual State of the City address April 29.

Councilmembers also presented awards to distinguished citizens at the Palace restaurant on Murphy Avenue during the hour-long ceremony.

The mayor took note of the city's fiscal prosperity in his brief, eight-minute speech, telling the crowd that the local economy is "the envy of the world."

Roberts said the crime rate dropped 15 percent in Sunnyvale from last year, mirroring a statewide trend.

Community relations officer David Vossbrink said the drop could partially be attributed to a statistic showing that 18- to 25-year-old males--those most likely to commit crimes--are moving out of Sunnyvale.

Vice mayor Manuel Valerio attributed the drop to stellar police work. Valerio said after his mother's Sunnyvale home was burglarized, officers returned the next day with a list of suggestions that could help prevent a future crime.

"It's that kind of work that keeps it down," Valerio said.

The mayor said teenagers would be the city's top priority next year, a pledge backed up by a May 11 meeting between the council and Sunnyvale Elementary School District trustees.

"Because so many households are now headed by single parents, or families where both parents work full time, a growing number of teens go unsupervised in the after-school hours," Roberts said."Without positive things to do, some of our teens will be tempted to engage in illegal or otherwise destructive behavior."

Roberts suggested forging a relationship between the city and middle schools to provide services for teens.

"Because if teens don't like the services being provided," the mayor said, "then we simply won't use them."

Keri Minh Truong, a senior at Fremont High School who was nomined for high school student of the year, said she agreed with the mayor's call for teen-directed services.

"It's true, I think it's important for a lot of teenagers and kids," Truong said. "If our city can help kids grow up, then our city will be stronger when they [the teenagers] get older," she said.

Also on the city's list of achievements was its firm stand against air cargo at Moffett Federal Airfield.

Roberts congratulated the City Council and the city of Mountain View for being able to "convince NASA that air cargo is a bad idea."

The mayor ended his address by looking forward to the revitalization of downtown.

"For the first time in a generation, the climate is right, and we must take this opportunity to create a downtown we can all be proud of," he said.

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The Sun Sunnyvale's Newspaper

State of city: very good

The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper