Two Years Later, Friendlier Feelings and Lingering Fears : Have conditions improved in the two years since the riots? Here is a sampling of opinion:

“It’s calmed down in the last two years. The store owners are nicer; everybody’s not so uptight. The police have pretty much settled down. But at the same time, they’ve got their guards up. (The civil unrest) hurt our community, I know that. People are more understanding now; there’s more respect. But that’s not a permanent change. Not at all.”

--Precious Bryan, office technician, South-Central

‘Still Edgy’

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“People are still edgy. Basically they want to stay within their own race and have no confrontations. Rebuilding has been very slow. I don’t know if it’s that people don’t have the money or just don’t want to rebuild because the economy is in the pits.”

--Guillermo Mejia, manager of La Adelita Food Co. in Pico Union

‘We Need Jobs’

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They came in with some plans and said they’d rebuild. But all we see is talk. We need jobs, training and opportunities.”

--Thomas E. Cryer, assistant executive director of Willing Workers Inc.

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‘Potential for Aftershocks’

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“The question of jobs is always raised, but never seriously addressed. I likened the uprising to an earthquake. The potential for aftershocks is real.”

--Michael Zinzun, chairman of the Coalition Against Police Abuse

‘Feel the Difference’

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“We hit a low point two years ago. But I think the community feels a lot better about things now. . . . If you come down here, you can feel the difference. There’s always been good people here and there will always be good people here.”

--Craig Herron, LAPD officer, 77th Street Division

‘Continuing to Rise Again’

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“We’re still struggling to get back on our feet. It’s almost like as soon as we try to get back up, something else hits up. But we’re continuing to rise again. Chief (Willie L.) Williams has . . . certainly gone a long way in promoting a better relationship between the community and the police.”

--Rev. Kenneth Ulmer, pastor of Faithful Central Missionary Baptist Church

‘Problem Is Still Here’

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“The crime problem is still here and it’s escalating. We’re going to have tension as long as there’s crime.”

--Pearlie Berry, retired

‘Things Have Changed’

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“In my opinion, things have changed. People are more friendly, I think, because they learned what can happen. They learned that selfishness can’t achieve anything but community destruction. But I’m more scared since the riots. I still won’t go out at night.”

--Kiak Tae, Cleveland High student

‘The Same Problems’

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“We still have the same problems--poverty, gangs, violence. If anything, it’s slightly worse. Not because of the disturbances, but because of the recession that’s still continuing. More attention has been focused on the community. Corporations like Arco have come in and helped.”

--Carlos Vaquerano, Central American Resource Center director of public information

‘Long Way to Go’

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“We see some individual examples of outstanding commitments by several corporations. But it’s very clear that we still have a long way to go. I’m hopeful that under the new RLA leadership of Lod Cook and Linda Griego that RLA now has a new, more sharply defined focus.”

--John Mack, president of the Los Angeles Urban League

‘Sincere Attempt’

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” There’s always going to be problems in an urban area. But I think there has been a very sincere attempt on the part of a lot of people. In some respects even the earthquake was helpful in the sense that everybody experienced the earthquake, everybody worked together and there is a much better sense of feeling of community.”

--Ray Remy, president of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce