Yes Mike, I agree. I think in the end, Fresno's Tower District has it's core residence that will always exsist, just as any other neighborhood, in any other city.
For awhile at least, you may have some north Fresnans who will get a glimps of the news and such, only to be back down again in a month when one of the girls is having her moving away to Denver party at Livingstone's.

Mike--I think this will have a profound impact on the Tower and Fresno nightlife in general--this provides the cops with all the "justification" they need to "crackdown".

The Tower has problems--big problems. I spend a LOT of time in the neighborhood, and I've noticed the decline. Empty store fronts, lots of graffiti, and gangbangers everywhere--as they were last night (I was in the 'hood--NOT for Fat Tuesday, though). What I saw were a lot of teenagers, ranging from North end white bread to some hardcore gangsters, roaming around Olive.

I'm not surprised bad shit happened last night. When hasn't it during Tower Mardi Gras?

I understand Chief Dyer is going out of his way to say the shooter had "nothing to do" with the festivities. I hope that's true--kinda doubt it though. And, I have to give the chief credit for trying to defuse demands to end the event. But the demands will be made; they were made after the riot 5 years ago. On one side, you have the Tower power brokers (restaurant and bar owners), on the other, many neighborhood residents, and the churchies who view the City's "support" of a "pagan ritual" very "Un Christian). There will be tremendous pressure on Bubba to pull the plug on Mardi Gras--he took huge heat from his Christian buddies when he didn't end Mardi Gras after the 2002 riot. The unhappy residents--who can't stomach the events--will, I suspect, be screaming bloody murder down at City Hall.

was the mardi gras an event put on by the TDMC?... I heard that it was not... So there really is no "plug"to pull.

As the Bee reported, the shooter was from CLOVIS. And was drawn to the thug-night by the cops...he was obsessed with cops.

I don't know what Dan is talking about. If he spends time in the neighborhood, he does NOT see thugs all the time. I know cuz I'm there every day. I still have no problem with a 4 am walk down the streets.

The worst problem I ever encounter is the occasional mugging attempt or rare fight...typical behavior for a young-ish draw area.

The shooting had nothing to do with the Tower. TDMC no longer promotes or puts on any Mardi Gras event.

Thug Magazine must just put out a 'call to thugjerks' for Sunday night and Tuesday night of this week.

My only thought? Clear the streets on Tuesday every 1/2 hour. If you aren't inside a business or heading into a business to spend money, go home. Don't even know if that'll work or if it's feasible.

I do know I hate the thugs and the resultant police over-presence on those nights.

Wow..where does one begin?

While attending Tower District events from as far back to a handful of us watching movies in the evening on the wall outside the Chicken Pie Shop, to one Mardi Gras night where the streets were so crowded, I couldn't get out on a side street until I recognized a building corner and could squeeze my way out, I've witnessed many different events and changes througout the years.

The Tower District, in of it itself is a wonderful place to live. It's diverse. It's basically safe. It's quaint in it's neighborhoods (in most areas), green and usually quiet.

I stay away from Mardi Gras and Halloween at night, these days because those who come out are not from our neighborhoods. While I'd like to blame just the gang bangers, the out of area college aged drinkers who like to drink to excess have also caused fights in places as nice as Livingstones while we've been there.

Our family and friends attended the offical Sunday Parade, followed by my sister and brother-in-law's annual party. It looked like a larger turnout than last year and we noticed a lot of families. It was fun! We'll attending the bike event on March 11th. We'll be at the Pride Festival and it's events on June 2nd. We'll continue to go to day time events that draw a large crowd. We'll continue to eat and drink in the neighborhood during the day and at night. We'll continue to shop. We'll continue to tell others that it is a great place to be at and support the arts, Rogue Festival, etc.

Personally, I don't get bothered by the police and always make it a point to smile and say hi. I look at it this way, I'm not doing anything wrong, so what do I care if they are all around?

What I have noticed is the amount of tagging on the buildings that stays up for long period's of time. A quick phone call to the City will result in cleaning it up. If it is an ongoing issue, they will start to look for it before you call. 621-CITY. It really does work. We pay for it with our taxes, might as well use it.

Steph- "The worst problem I ever encounter is the occasional mugging attempt or rare fight...typical behavior for a young-ish draw area." .... There is seriously something wrong in society when the above is stated. I hate to break it to you Steph, but muggings and/or fighting is not typical behavior for a "young-ish" crowd. That is typical behavior for thugs and gang bangers looking to take advantage of innocent hard working people

While the tower district itself is a beautiful place, eateries such as Senses, Sequoia Brewing Company and Livingstones are wonderful. And all the festivals, and community events put on by the Tower area are great!

However, every single neighborhood on the outskirts of Tower is becoming infested with gang members and "shady" people. Trust me, it's true. Take a drive down south of Belmont or east of San Pablo...heck east of Van Ness. This is all a stones throw away from Tower. Believe it or not people, gang members will travel. And if there is party close by for them to destroy, they are there.

And your tired of the over-presence of cops? Ok, thats fine... So when there are not enough of them and something violent happens, I'm sure you will have nothing to say. You wont make any comments such as "where are the cops when you need them?"

What happened at fat tuesday had nothing to do with the Tower District, The Fresno PD or the people that were just there to have a good time. It had everything to do with one person hell bent on dying and trying to take a couple of cops out with him. But lets not forget the gang bangers that leave a black eye on society, they live in and around the Tower area. When you say there aren't thugs walkin' around, your dead wrong. They were at Fat Tuesday, every which way you looked. And by the looks of it... and the surrounding neighborhoods, they will continue to be there.