Week In Review

It was a shot heard around the world and not in a good way.

A on Hesperian Boulevard in the wee hours of Black Friday left one victim in critical but stable condition.

Police called it a robbery gone horribly wrong. It made San Leandro the lead anecdote in national, even international stories about violence at shopping malls on this big retail weekend.

San Leandro police have arrested 20-year-old Tony Phillips of Oakland for attempted homicide and attempted robbery. Phillips had been subdued by the robbery victims. The search continues for his alleged accomplices who fled.

Two other top stories last week were also crime yarns.

One involved four teens who were arrested for a in San Leandro. Two of them were fourteen years old. The other two were thirteen. Three of the suspects were from Oakland.

All of those facts stirred interest and provoked comment.

Finally, many readers were fascinated with a guy who Street. It was sheer luck that no one was hurt.

The suspect in this case was so drunk that he fired three shots at a security guard, but missed. He broke away from arresting officers twice, but couldn't run far. It took four cops to bring him down.

It's the kind of story that you read and it makes you shake your head.

What would you like to see more of in Patch?

I've told you what stories were most read.

I wonder if there is a different set of stories that some people want -- everyday events of concern to them -- and whether they'd be willing to invest a little time to get them onto Patch.

Two easy ways to do so are by posting announcements or notices about events.

In November, for instance, one parent wrote to say that Bishop O'Dowd's cross country team had made HAAL history by sweeping every race at the meet. The writer said San Leandro High School also did well. "Lots of proud SL parents and students at both BOD and SLHS," the note said.

Those words plus a picture would have made a great announcement and given credit and pleasure to the participating students and families.

What about blogging?

Another way to get involved is by contributing a blog. That involves more effort but some of our bloggers get attention and their work can have influence.

Craig Williams stirred it up recently with an item on the that called for higher commercial tax rates.  

David Nierengarten recently added a new and more conservative voice to Patch. His shows how state and local governments are spending more money while they talk about shrinking budgets.

Surlene Grant has written some great blogs recently, one on the and another on the prognosis for .

Angele Sweet entertains us freqently on and Raul Alvarez is developing .

I would love to have a member of our arts community write about live performances. Is there a gourmet chef who wants to share recipes and help us find fresh ingredients? What about outdoors' people and pet lovers?

Some of us want to read about these and other interesting aspects of life in our town. I'd like your help to get this variety.

(If you'd like to write a blog or learn how to post an announcement or event, please e-mail tom.abate@patch.com.)