CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / SALINAS
Salinas city officials are expressing frustration over an outbreak of gang violence that has already left six dead and eight wounded in 2009.
City leaders held an emergency meeting over the weekend to discuss ways to confront the surge in shootings in this Central Coast farming city of nearly 150,000.
Councilman Steven Villegas said Sunday that he was concerned whether the city’s police force was large enough to deal with the violence, especially given the city’s tight budget.
Police Chief Daniel Ortega told the City Council that the department is working with state and federal law enforcement agencies to help stem the bloodshed.
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