OXNARD : Town Hall Meeting on Youth Is Urged

Oxnard Councilman Bedford Pinkard has asked the City Council to schedule a town hall meeting on the state of the city’s youth, saying a recent spate of gang-related slayings illustrates a worsening problem.

Pinkard, a former Oxnard recreation official, said the town hall meeting should include church leaders, recreation officials, community activists and anyone concerned with the city’s young people.

“Everything we have done in the past 15 years is not enough,” Pinkard said. “One child lost is one too many.”

Pinkard and Councilman Tom Holden, along with a number of city officials and representatives of nonprofit groups, have recently finished working on a youth master plan--a blueprint for fulfilling the needs of young people in Oxnard.

The meeting would address the master plan and outline what Oxnard residents can do to keep local youths involved in constructive activities.

Pinkard asked that the meeting be held Tuesday, but Holden asked for a different date because he would not be able to attend that night. City officials have not announced the meeting date.