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The murder of Victor Hugo Perez Zavala, 24, makes it harder for Sacramento to ignore the elephant in the room.

Yet there's a defensive reaction, as media mouthpieces argue over what time Second Saturday is officially over and unofficially continues. It's delusion, but a typical effort to save face and project blame. It is time for an intervention.

Sacramento city and business leaders have been addicted for several years to unsustainable city management policies. The "Bring People Downtown" mantra was distilled into "Instant Nightlife, Just Add Alcohol."

The Midtown oversaturation of bars and nightclubs-pretending-to-be-restaurants created mayhem magnets near residences. This also attracts a criminal element to prey on the well-heeled drunks who displaced yesteryears' homeless drunks.

The civic/business inebriation with toxic quick bucks has damaged the quality of life in Midtown and diluted the resources of the code enforcement and police departments. There have been more - and more serious - crimes than have been reported.

Every dysfunctional relationship has communication problems. City and business leaders have enablers in the media, who clean up the messes and make the excuses. They publish the pretense that everything's fine and any Midtowners who say otherwise "don't really know where they live."

We know very well where live. We live in their state of denial. Another tragedy, that we warned them was inevitable and imminent, has occurred.

Residents of Midtown embrace change and development, but not at the expense of quality of life and public safety; and not at the expense of those businesses, residents and (potential) visitors who don't fit the target drink-and-dash demographic.

Second Saturday became an alcohol-fueled street party over the years because city and business leaders actively turned Midtown into an alcohol-fueled street party zone over the years.

Second Saturday amplified that energy and those efforts.

The drunken, mob mentality that follows after 9:00 p.m is a continuation of Second Saturday and a reflection of the level of toxic, disruptive and abusive Midtown "nightlife" that local leaders have fostered.

Now that another person has died, they are forced to take a sober look at their ongoing policies.

It is time for city/business/media power brokers to pay their tab: show the community the cost/benefit analysis of creating crime magnet party zones that chugalug city enforcement and public safety resources.

It is time for them to detoxify their attitude toward neighborhoods and residents and find another place to turn into a spring break theme park.

It is time for them to match events to appropriate venues, to accommodate impacts and create attractions that are hospitable to more of Sacramento's diverse demographic.

It is time for city and business and media leaders to foster a healthy central city that works for the whole community - including those who may actually want to enjoy and purchase art work.

We want our Second Saturday back.

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Conversation Express your views, debate, and be heard with those in your area closest to the issue.

Jon Mortimer

September 13, 2010 | 3:49 PM

I'm curious about what alternatives you would propose to take the place of the brewpubs and bars. I am a regular Second Saturday goer -- and I don't drink. My friends and I usually head back home for a movie or dessert a little after 10. That's when all the (outdoor) music dies down and the vendors and artists shut their booths and close their galleries.

Perhpas my experience is skewed because I'm never really out there past 10:30. There's nothing for me to do if I've already eaten.

Would you want the galleries to stay open longer? Do you want more galleries, live music, jewelry vendors, etc? From what I can tell, Second Saturday has plenty of these things. At least between 5 and 10 p.m.

Perhaps we could ask for a larger police presence after 10 or 11 p.m? From what I understand, that's when they get most incidents reported. This is the only real option I can think of, but I hope others have more. I recognize the terrible tragedy of having an innocent bystander killed during this event, but I hope we don't over react by shutting the entire event down.

I mean no disrespect to his family, but the amount of community Second Saturday helps foster in Sacramento is worth appropriately nuancing our response to Perez's death.

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William Burg

September 13, 2010 | 9:22 PM

If you went home at 10:00, you missed the "event" we are talking about. There are two Second Saturdays--the one that stops at 10 PM, and the one that starts at 10 PM.

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Lee Middleton

September 13, 2010 | 4:18 PM

It is now time for Kevin Johnson to show just how strong a mayor he can be or wish to be. It is now time for Kevin Johnson to show his strength by holding community meetings in ALL eight (8) districts with every council member at his side advocating peace and nonviolence in their neighborhoods. This isn’t just a matter of Steve Cohn’s beloved midtown. The unfortunate incident following the Sacramento Second Saturday event is indicative to a citywide dilemma. This is an opportunity for the Mayor and City Council Members to embrace and cultivate the severity of this matter. If the mayor wants a “First Class City” than First Class Action will be required.

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richwilson7777

September 13, 2010 | 4:24 PM

This article title "Sacramento Second Saturday Intervention" was surrounded by advertising banners for H House Kitchen and Bar(Happy Hour 4-8PM), DeVeres(Guinness Festival), The Golden Bear and Ink Eats(Build Your own Bloody Mary Bar).

If i wasn't so lazy it would have been posted on FailBlog.

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William Burg

September 13, 2010 | 9:23 PM

rich: The person who wrote the article is not a Sacramento Press employee, she just lives in the affected neighborhood. She doesn't have any control over the advertisers on Sacramento Press.

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jeffeff

September 13, 2010 | 4:26 PM

If the rallying point here is indeed the neighborhood's livabililty for its residents, I would gladly get a bigger lock for my door and leave town for one evening a month IF the nebulous "they" challenged by the column (the "city/business/media power brokers"?) would seriously address three items: 1) leaf blowers, 2) bums, and 3) people riding their bikes on the sidewalk.

Speaking as a resident of the neighborhood since before anyone even called it "Midtown", these three things far and away constitute the scourge -- not the once-a-month free-for-all from which I've had the sense to stay inside and hide for the past year-plus. Incidentally, I'm surprised the first "2nd Saturday" casualty was a shooting, and not an automobile-vs.-pedestrian.

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Terafloppy

September 13, 2010 | 4:35 PM

--Jeffeff--

I feel for you. I don't think the problem is 2nd Saturday so much as the inability or desire by the Sac PD to properly police/supervise it. The fact that people like you are having to huddle down and hide in your homes is horrible. If we had more cops, 2nd Saturday would be a boon for business and something residents didn't have to fear.

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LisaB23

edited on September 15, 2010 | 1:09 AM

save the date; a community forum will be held on Saturday, September 25th at 10:00 AM at the Hart Center at 27th and J. This meeting is an opportunity for residents and businesses to come together and seek solutions. The problem has always been the event after the event that gets going around 11 pm. Most of the disturbance calls occur between 11 pm and 4 am. While the city and business community would like to put as much distance between the two (the art walk and the street party) as possible, it really defies logic because when you draw 15 -20,000 people to a neighborhood, the predators follow - no way around that unless you dial back to volume of people you're attracting in the first place. Second Saturday is two distinct events: Second Saturday the Art Walk and Second Saturday the street party. We have a late night problem in Midtown but Second Saturday dials it up to unacceptable levels. We stopped going a few years ago and like Jeff we stay home and stand guard to ensure our home is not vandalized. My hope is this horrible event is the catalyst for real and meaningful change and an appreciation for the residents, neighborhoods and unique destination businesses that draw creative people and makes Midtown a wonderful place to live. We need some bars and night clubs but not an entire city made up of nothing but bars. Balance is what we desperately need.

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Dale Kooyman

September 13, 2010 | 5:25 PM

I heard it is this Saturday the 18th. Must be a typo since the 28th is on a Tuesday. Most of the problems for nearby residents occur after 10 as inconsiderate and inebriated SS goers

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dlb96797

edited on September 13, 2010 | 5:13 PM

HIgher taxes for more police and security, legalize concealed weapons without permits for everyone, put face recogniition survellance cameras at every street corner and no one will be affraid anymore. YEAH!

I have sympathy for the families of who have died, death is normal. Minimize your chances of dieing by avoiding the conflict. Azukar, Avalon and other places in town are known for atracting this type of crowd. It should not curtail everybody else's opportunity to enjoy themselves. Life is full of chances, good and bad, decisions have consequences, sometimes s#!t happens. Its no reason to spend the rest of your life affraid to experience new adventures or to enjoy what you already know, unless you don't mind wasting away your life. Do what you want, but don't take away our freedom to make our own choices.

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Oracle

September 13, 2010 | 8:01 PM

Great editorial. Well done and on the money.

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Rhonda Erwin

September 14, 2010 | 12:06 AM

Marion, I REALLY enjoyed your article. You go girl! The residents of downtown deserve their Second Saturday's back!

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Craig Powell

September 14, 2010 | 6:22 AM

Thanks, posters, for "filling in the blanks" left by most media coverage of this problem. It strikes me that the communications gulf between impacted Midtown residents and supporters of Second Saturday is huge and growing wider by the day. And it is tragic that someone always seems to have to be killed before serious attention is paid to a problem in Sacramento (and sometimes not even then).

I have been around long enough to have witnessed the rebirth of Midtown from its near moribund state in the 70's to its current richness and vitality. I am a businessman and property owner in Midtown, but I have always believed that nurturing and protecting the quality of life of Midtown residents should be the first priority, trumping other considerations. It is the key to its continued health as a vibrant community and the long-term success of its merchants. Every step we take towards making Midtown more liveable (traffic safety, control of the inebriated, graffiti abatement, crime suppression, noise control, better local schools, etc.) advances the long-term interests of residents and merchants alike. Let's keep our eye on the ball, city officials.

Thanks for the article, Marion. You speak from the heart.

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LisaB23

edited on September 15, 2010 | 1:14 AM

Well said Craig. Unfortunately the leaders of MBA and the electeds only care about money. They speak for the bars and developers not for most of the small boutiques and art galleries who participate in the peaceful portion of Second Sat. City Staff and PD have tried but they're up against a political machine that favors bar owners and developers like Mike Heller/ owner of the MARRS building.

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naga