The Kid In The Ghost Ship

This is Nick Gomez-Hall, who died in the Oakland warehouse fire on Friday night. He was twenty-five years old. I didn't know him, but he was from Coronado, so plenty of my neighbors probably did.

Dying in a fire must be one of the most agonizing ways to die. Imagine being trapped in a burning building with all your exits blocked or obscured, as the smoke and flames grow.

Then realize that this fire never should have happened, and Nick should be alive today. The "Ghost Ship" had a history of code violations and complaints. The fire marshal received a complaint in 2014. The city of Oakland issued a "blight notice" citation two weeks ago.

Nevertheless, the city may be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in liability. City Councilman Noel Gallo lives a block away from the building, and knew the owners. Gallo said that "we need to enforce the rules. This is not the first and maybe not the last."

You, Noel. You need to enforce the rules. You are the "we" that failed to do their job.

This is evocative of another young life cut short because the people entrusted with her safety were unwilling to do so. Kate Steinle was shot to death across the bay because San Francisco city fathers have made theirs a sanctuary city.

In that sense, the "Ghost Ship" was a sanctuary warehouse, exempt from existing law.

I don't understand why Noel Gallo hasn't been dragged out of his house and tarred and feathered. Or at least made to explain which imperative conflicted with his duty.

My feeling is that Gallo is unwilling to accommodate growth, or curb it. To him, the assessed value of properties in his district keeps rising, so his tax base continues to grow. His home appreciates as well. New construction permits are subject to endless red tape and environmental reviews, so they learn to look the other way at code violations.

Illegal immigrants are seen as another way to add to aggregate demand, and they are viewed as a net positive.

Indeed, the State of California is moving to further protect illegal immigrants, Kate Steinle be damned. The Democratic-controlled legislature introduced two bills to protect illegal immigrants from deportation. One would set up a fund to pay for lawyers for immigrants facing deportation. Another would train criminal defense attorneys in immigration law."

Maybe the reason we still protect illegal immigrants is because they invariably commit crimes in which there is only one victim at a time. I guess it will take an illegal immigrant committing mass murder to get city councils and state senators to listen to their constituents.