Sad weekend in Mesa

We know there are folks out there like "Only in Mesa" @lolMesa who seem to think that bad stuff happens in Mesa in greater frequency then other parts of the Valley. We tend to believe that Mesa is no better or worse than any other part of town, which means we are capable of such greatness, but susceptible to such sadness as well.

This weekend was one of those times where we were the site of some seriously sad events:

First, a meth lab was broken up in West Mesa that was actively cooking enough to "supply a neighborhood." The good news is that the police dismantled in fairly quickly. The bad news is, how long was this guy and opperation and how many other Meth labs are out there?

Next, a 20 year old stripper left her two small children home for the night to fend for themselves, where they were found eating dogfood. Leaving kids home alone for any period of time is unacceptable, let alone from 2am to 10am. Thank goodness the children were found safe.

Finally, a repeat illegal immigrant was caught beating his wife and his 18 month old kid with his belt buckle. Now we have child abuse and illegal immigration in the same story in Mesa. Its not clear who will get the blame for this, but it is probably not going to go well. The suspect already admits to having been deported once and crossing back over illegally. Now, the taxpayers may have to pay to put him behind bars for child abuse.

Not a great weekend of news coverage, but even though these types of events happen within our community, we cannot allow them to become the hallmark of our city.