Suspected 'Car-nage' Vandal Arrested

Police have picked up a suspect in connection with last week's mass tire slashing — an incident dubbed "Car-nage 2011."

From the Chronicle:

A woman has been arrested and charged with vandalism for allegedly slashing the tires of 74 cars in Oakland and Berkeley, including several on the street where she lives, authorities said Thursday. 

Mandisa Monroe, 33, of Berkeley was arrested at about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday near her home, said police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss. Alameda County prosecutors have charged her with felony vandalism. 

Kusmiss said a security camera filmed Monroe slashing one set of tires and that a search of her home uncovered items that connected her to the crimes.Monroe slashed tires on 61 cars in Berkeley and 13 in North Oakland and spray-painted some of the vehicles late Aug. 30 or early Aug. 31, police said.

From what I gather on Berkeleyside, the woman was a resident of this house (below), which is famous for having black-power slogans painted on its fence. I've often walked by the home and stopped to read the messages.

A lot going on here. (Photo courtesy of Google Maps.)

It sounds like she's been foreclosed on, so perhaps the vandalism represented her final lashing-out at the neighborhood. It's been suggested on Berkeleyside that she suffers from mental illness, so I hope she gets the help she needs.

Meanwhile, I noticed a new stop-sign message nearby. Perhaps it's a response to all the exhortations to stop driving. I can't!

'Pin the Rocket on the Planet'

For Elliot's birthday party, Kelly came up with a clever twist on "Pin the Tail on the Donkey."

It's unclear how Kelly expected the kids to land a rocket on a jovian planet.

And You Thought Veal Was Cruel

This is the current issue of Open Exchange magazine, a local publication devoted to "healthy living."

I've heard of women eating their placenta, but this is going too far.

Hoop Dreams

Hoping to cultivate his athletic skills, we got Elliot a basketball hoop for his third birthday.

You can keep adjusting it upward as he gets older; hence, the name "Grow2Pro." 

But wait, does Fisher-Price think professional rims are six feet off the ground?

No wonder so many of our youths abandon an education for the NBA.

My Little Pony Has Personal Hygiene Issues

Elliot is starting at a new preschool on Tuesday. It's a pretty demanding program — for the parents.

We're expected to volunteer to help with a range of school chores. That includes toy washing, a task we took on this weekend. (Well, in truth, my mother-in-law did most of the work.)

This school appears to have a TON of My Little Ponies, and they were by far the filthiest of the toys. I guess that means they're well-loved.

I wasn't aware My Little Ponies were still popular. And frankly, I'm a little surprised to see such a gender-specific toy at a Berkeley preschool.

Then again, Elliot spent several minutes playing with a pink unicorn, so maybe I'm making the wrong assumptions. And unlike Barbie, My Little Pony doesn't impose unrealistic body-image issues on young girls. (Unless they end up wanting to look like a rainbow-maned equine; in which case, there are probably bigger problems at work.)

All I ask, kids: Rather than just brushing the pony's hair, could you occasionally give it a shampoo and rinse?

Montgomery BART Station Makes Creepy Inuendos

I noticed these signs next to the Clipper readers on the BART turnstiles.

That's what he said.

UPDATE: When viewed through a perverse lens, all the BART signs begin to look dirty.

I'm not sure what to make of "Do Not Block Exit."

STOP Driving...No, Seriously, Stop

I've previously discussed the preponderance of "STOP driving" signs in South Berkeley. Well, now it appears someone is taking the message a step further.

More than 50 cars had their tires slashed last night in the neighborhood, stranding dozens of drivers this morning.

From the Berkeleyside blog:

“This is the biggest tire slashing incident any of us can remember,” said Berkeley Police Department spokesperson Sgt Mary Kusmiss, who added that even 25-year police veterans had never seen anything like it.

No one's sure of the motive yet. It seems hard to imagine that our friendly neighborhood stop-sign defacers would escalate to hard-core vandalism.

Our street wasn't struck by the attack, and fortunately, I don't rely on a car to get to work. But some Berkeleyside commenters cited the scraggly weeds in this picture as a sign the whole neighborhood is suffering from neglect.

Photo courtesy of Tracey Taylor/Berkeleyside.

My God, I shudder to think what they would say about my parkway strip.

(To see my full gallery of stop signs, click here.)