DRUG BUSINESS BRISK FOR DEALERS ON STREETS

Though East Palo Alto's crime levels and drug scene are nothing like they
were in 1992, police and many residents say dealers still do brisk business
on the streets.

"It's still there. There's no doubt," said Sgt. Leo Capovilla of the San
Mateo County Narcotics Task Force. "Officers still handle a call volume
that would blow anyone else in this county out of the water."

Users from up and down the Peninsula still come to the conveniently located
city because dealers selling a variety of drugs can be found in several
parts of town, police say. The business sometimes explodes into violent crime.

So far this year, there have been six homicides, averaging 0.19 killings
per 1,000 people, a rate that's not far behind Oakland's current,
headline-grabbing 113 homicides, or 0.28 killings per 1,000 residents.
Investigators have linked at least one of East Palo Alto's killings with
drug activity.

In 1992, police say crack -- a concoction of cocaine, baking soda and water
- -- was responsible for the bulk of East Palo Alto's 39 homicides -- a rate
of 1.60 per 1,000 people.

Though East Palo Alto is no longer deluged with crack and its resultant
violence, the drug still dominates sales on the street level, said longtime
narcotics detective Lt. Tom Alipio. East Palo Alto also is one of the top
Peninsula cities where methamphetamine is sold in bulk, he said.

The city's police still have their hands full when it comes to catching
drug dealers, but other agencies continue to assist, and the department
just received funding for a few new officers. Ten San Mateo County
sheriff's deputies and two sergeants help investigate crimes, and the
county's Narcotics Task Force and Street Crimes division have a regular
presence.

But that brings little relief to Robert Hartley, 65, a longtime resident
who has been active in numerous community anti-addiction groups.

In 1991, the evangelical minister kept a constant protest vigil eating only
bread and water for nearly 20 days on a street where a man was shot. These
days, he's most worried about Ecstasy, the hallucinogen otherwise known as
MDMA, which is gaining a foothold among users in Northern California.

"It's coming, and it's frightening," Hartley said. "There are waves of drug
activity in this city. . . . We'll never get rid of drugs. I really believe
that now. Because I put everything I had into it."