Its no secret that our picturesque little island has seen a rise in gang activity as of late. Crime is running rampant from an increase in the flow of illegal drugs to rumors of human trafficking to the very obvious shootouts that endanger all our lives. With such chaos spreading, one has to ask what is being done about it? Well, we here at the Times feel it is our job to answer these tough questions!

    My first stop was at the AP Police Department where I spoke to Captain Luke Morningstar, who obtained his leading rank after only a few short months on the force. On the outside, it seems like he maintains a tight ship and has contributed to a rising number of officers on the island. Of course that rising number of officers has correlated with the rising number of crimes. When asked about that, Captain Morningstar stated "We here at the APPD do our best to protect our citizens but we can't be everywhere so we rely on the public to be our eyes and ears. A police force is only as strong as the community, you have a strong community you have a strong force. If people stay away from the crime then there is less crime its all a give and take."

    Of course our little community relies on this force to protect us, but are they? A few anonymous citizens shared their experiences saying they had 911 calls not get dispatched and that requests for patrols in their area were denied. How can we, as a community, rely on our supposed protectors when they refuse to help? Two citizens even informed me that there aren't even any records on them at the hospital or the police station. Is this just negligence on the part of the department or is there something more to it? I asked Captain Morningstar about this and his reply was simple ""All information is important to me Kara, no case is more important then the next." Is it though? From what I've been told, there has been no further action on these 'missing' cases and some seem to be able to skate by under the radar.

   Many rumors seem to be flying around the island about a group called the Immortals and their interactions with the police force. Could it be that our boys and girls in blue have been bought out by some of the very people we should fear? If this is true, can we really rely on them to come to our aid when we call for help? I tried to dig into this more and speak with other officers but each one declined a meeting or refused to comment. 

   Has your case gone unsolved? Was your call for help unanswered? Do you have information to validate or disprove these rumors? Drop me a line! 

Contributed by Kara Dumitru

    Just the other day I got a frantic call from a woman claiming to have witnessed a roach infestation inside Frederick's restaurant and this most definitely merited a face to face talk! Ms Adeline Ramirez came in visibly upset and shaken stating that (now brace yourself if you're squeamish) she'd been served a meal with a little extra crunch. According to her, she was not the only one that evening to have experienced such an encounter.

    Ms Ramirez stated that she and a friend had stumbled upon a homeless woman and decided to take her to dinner. According to her, the waiter was a little 'off' and not to long before being served, the poor man returned from the kitchen with a black eye. It was shortly after this that the roach infested food was served to them, causing quite the upset. Frederick's is known to be one of the classier places in town, but is it just a front for lack of health concerns and staff abuse?

   I went straight to the top for this one and spoke with Ms Rumour Ghost over the phone. She was more than willing to share her side of the story and get this situation corrected!

Kara Dumitru: Does Frederick's currently have a roach infestation?

Rumour Ghost: We have had more than usual of late. Im suspecting it to be the summer heat bringing them out from hiding more and with that, Ive arranged for the restaurant to be fully sprayed so we keep our A+ rating with the city health inspectors. Every restaurant faces these kinds of problems from time to time and although we do run a clean kitchen, unfortunately you cant always have it spotless.

Kara Dumitru: Is it true several customers had food served with insect parts?

Rumour Ghost: That I cannot honestly answer as I have not had anyone approach me or my staff personally to complain. Ive not been shown any evidence of contaminated food and if there was, I know my staff would not have served it. Fredrick's takes great pride in the quality of our food and service.

Kara Dumitru: Any ideas on the cause and is it set to be treated?

Rumour Ghost: I wouldn't say an infestation but Ive heard that the gym recently had a problem and had been sprayed? Im not sure of those facts though and since they're below Fredrick's, I can only make assumptions that they've moved up through the Castle Casino and come to roost in Fredrick's. I do have my suspicions that they're migrating up from the Underground area since the place is now more open. Who knows what lives down there? Im more concerned if rats start making their way into the Cooper Square apartments to be frightfully honest. Could you imagine sitting in the theater one night enjoying a movie and then have a rat bite you? No thank you!

Kara Dumitru: When was the last health inspection for the restaurant?

Rumour Ghost: We conduct a yearly Health Inspection. The last one was after Hurricane Hayden hit back in April. Along with that, we also had the whole building inspected for structural damage since we lost the houses along Indian Trails and 8th Street, I wanted to make sure that the whole building Fredricks resides in was structurally sound.

Kara Dumitru: There was also rumor that the staff is being abused, is this true?

Rumour Ghost: This shocks and greatly saddens me. At no time are my staff ever abused as I prefer to think of them as family and not employees. I provide them with training they need, full health benefits and if they are hurt, I make sure that their families are provided for until they're back on their feet again so just hearing any kind of rumor about my staff being abuse, hurts me deeply.

Kara Dumitru: Have these accusations/events affected business?

Rumour Ghost: Actually we've only recently had to deal with two female protesters outside the restaurant. Shouting slogans like we had poisoned them with cockroaches in their food. It was the first time I heard any accusation, when it was screamed into my face as I stood outside the restaurants door. As to affecting my business, no, we still have customers coming in and thankfully we had a lovely couple come for dinner right after Captain Yheng of the APPD coming to assist me when the protesters were becoming too rowdy.

   So there you have it folks, a possible misunderstanding for certain. The owner also stated she's be more than happy to provide compensation to her guests or her staff if there is evidence of any wrong doings. I think it's safe to say that Frederick's is still our go-to place for fine dining! Perhaps we can put this little event past us and take part in the new gourmet picnic basket Ms Ghost and the head Chef will be putting together? What could be better than night under the stars with a bottle of wine and a fine dinner?

Contributed by Kara Dumitru