i went over to vallejo which is a short distance from here. they were sort of the other big city in the state that went into bankruptcy. i went over there for a day and did some reporting. and people i talked to said you know what happened is we became less reliant on the city and police, and we did what they re doing here today. they formed neighborhood watch groups. and that s changed how we live. it forced us to go back 40 years and know our neighbors more so. and i kind of see that same thing happening here, which is interesting. everywhere i go, somebody is forming some kind of a group. you know, that doesn t necessarily solve the problem, but it shows you that people are trying to do something. and they re getting engaged with one another, their neighbors, with people in their church, and they re saying okay, how can we use our organization, our neighborhood to do something good. for some, community watch
i was almost scared. basically coming across patrol, say we see you out there. you re out there smoking and joking. you re puffing on something that doesn t look like a regular cigarette. we ll approach you. excuse me, sir, how you doing? what have you got there? nothing. it doesn t smell like a regular cigarette, you know. why don t you mind your own business? well, you know, i wish we could, but, again, we re here for the safety and security of stockton and its residents. why don t you guys go somewhere else. is there anything i can do to gain your compliance. listen, i live here. this is my house. hey, this is my house! this is my house! i m calling the police! i know my rights. i know my rights! this is one of my prouder moments right here. probably my proudest moment. there you go. stand up. oh, my gosh. well done. everybody ready? hands in.
for a city that just declared bankruptcy, stockton doesn t look all that bad. but looks can be deceiving. the whole country suffered when the economy tanked in 2008. but five years later, when other towns are finally digging themselves out, stockton is in deeper than ever, with record crime and one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. and it s not just my hotel that is empty. last year stockton had the highest foreclosure rates for a metropolitan area in the entire nation. still, it hasn t been all bad. i mean they did win an award. forbes magazine once again has ranked stockton as the most miserable city in the united states. so why was stockton hit so hard? who is really to blame for the mess they re in? and maybe most important, is there any way out of it? enough is enough! enough is enough! to learn a little more, i decided to attend the monthly city council meeting, where ordinary stocktonians gather to voice their opinions about how the city is doing. good
waste. so it s a marina that that doesn t serve any of the purposes of a marina. it cost $22 million. this is a pretty awesome baseball stadium. you got to admit. but you know, you have to wonder how much money does a minor league baseball stadium actually generate for a city? for civic pride you could do a lot of other things with $22 million. it s a nice looking arena, and a great place to catch cirque du soleil when they come to town, once a year. this is the crown jewel of stockton. in the middle of the boom, the city hall decided what we need is a new city hall for $40 million, and then ended up defaulting on it. and now there is a bank in the bottom. some people on a couple of the floors. but most of this giant building is empty. as if that s not bad enough that.
it s just a place to dock boats. there s no gas. no place to get food or place to dump your waste. it s a marina that doesn t serve the purposes of a marina. it cost $22 million. this is an awesome baseball stadium. you have to admit. but, you know, you have to wonder how much money does a minor league baseball team generate. for pacific pride you could do a lot of other things with $22 million. it s a nice looking arena. and a great place to catch cirque du soleil when they come to town, once a year. this is the crown jewel of stockton. in the middle of the boom, the city hall decided, what we need is a new city hall for $40 million. they ended up defaulting on it.