Thai Xuan Village

This past Saturday, several hundred people, residents included, went to work, repainting the complex's front gate and lines in the parking lot, and using water pressure cleaners on surfaces around the complex, says Tran. The elderly residents -- the former Vietnamese soldiers -- need to feel the community's presence, she says.

A more thorough evaluation of Thai Xuan Village should be done in six weeks, according to the mayor. If major reconstruction is required, there needs to be a financing plan, with contributions from private investors and residents. Public funding may not even be necessary, the mayor says.

Once all these things are done, the mayor says, Councilwoman Alvarado -- has she changed her mind? -- said she would organize a meeting between adjacent civic clubs and the complex's leaders.

And one, surely, big relief: Demolition was off the table, the mayor said.