My town is very safe. Tourists are usually not the target, so it's quite safe - basically as always. The media likes to blow things out of proportion, and the president likes to maintain a state of emergency for his own power, so...
Noboa just got re-elected, we'll see if he can bring some change in this round.
Good to hear, my friends in Guayaquil say things are pretty bad these days!
Guayaquil is different, that's true. The coast in and of itself is very different. Guayaquil and Durán are the most gang-invaded zones - but they're not that nice to visit, either. Manta is the "safest" tourist part for now, the whole sierra - Cotacachi, Loja, Cuenca... - is still awesome to travel, same goes for the amazon and galápagos.