CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : OAKLAND : 30-Day Moratorium on Violence Asked

Oakland community leaders on Friday called for a 30-day halt to the violence that has already claimed 160 lives this year, just one fewer than the record 161 homicides last year. “Even armies stop fighting during the Christmas season,” said the Rev. Douglas Fitch of Downs Memorial United Methodist Church. The truce would end Jan. 20, the day a community conference is scheduled to be held to coincide with the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. “It grabs the best of Christmas and the best of what King fostered,” Fitch said of the 30-day armistice. He said the purpose of the truce was threefold: to reflect on causes of violence, to heal and to decide how to prevent future violence.