HANG WITH THE HUFFSTERS

We meet Wednesday mornings in the Cafe American in the basement of the county building at 701 Ocean St. in Santa Cruz or (if we're not there) in the breezeway between the courthouse and the County Building, 701 Ocean St., Santa Cruz, CA 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., next to the coffee cart. Bring warm clothing and blankets for winter meetings. Free coffee!!!

HUFF occasionally tables Wednesday evenings with SAFE (Society for Artistic and Free Expression)--the street performers group in front of New Leaf Market on Pacific and Soquel 6 PM - 10 PM. Hot vegan soup often available. HUFF regularly tables Tuesday nights with food and music at the same place 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM. You can leave a message for SAFE on the HUFF-line at 423-HUFF, which also provides updates.

Latest and Greatest

HUFF is working to fight efforts by the merchants and City Council to further a police crackdown on youth, homeless and counter-culture folks downtown. In 2002 and and 2003, City Council passed a variety of new laws, strengthening the anti-homeless "Downtown Ordinances". These changes gave police greater powers of selective enforcement downtown against poor and homeless people, political activists, street performers, and others.

These laws include banning sitting down and peaceful spare changing on 95% of all business district sidewalks, creating an unconstitutional "move along every hour law" for political activists, performers, and poor people with a "display device", outlawing bubbleblowing, hackeysacking, and "unattended property" (i.e. homeless backpacks) downtown. Additionally police have cracked own on those using erasable chalk for political messages and have criminalized street performing "with a display device" on 75% of the sidewalks downtown, and most everywhere else near a building.

In 2003, targets of police harassment included an African-American tarot reader (cited twice for "fortune telling without a permit" and jailed for "unauthorized possession of milk crates") deported by the industrious Sgt. Loran Baker and a homeless newspaper vendor ticketed four times in a week for such things as "display of merchandise" (a hemp necklace), "soliciting using profane language" (a small "Fuck the Police" sign in his hat). Squads of 3-6 police appear on the mall at the slightest pretext, demand ID, threaten confiscation of musician's instruments, and write $162 citations. An advance guard of purple-uniformed Hosts strode about issuing warnings for "sitting on the edge of a planter" and other pretexts to harass the poor.

City bureaucrats and politicians eliminated the weak but struggling Citizens Police Review Board in January 2003 and ignored a CPRB resolution against "selective enforcement" downtown--which was struggling to address the police harassment problem. In spite of successful civil rights lawsuits documenting police harassment against business like the Blue Lagoon and street performers like guitarist Mike True, City Council refuses to restore traditional rights and limit police power downtown.

In 2002, City staff and reactionary merchants fenced off the public planter in front of New Leaf Market and then removed benches to "discourage undesirables" in a continuing "drive 'em away from our neighborhood" campaign. Under pressure from the Pacific Trading Company (at Walnut and Pacific), City Council spent more than $7000 in 2003 to move the railing of a planter four inches to eliminate seating space for "undesirables". City bureaucrats installed a new change-making machine in front of Borders Book Store, and then ticketed youth for sitting or panhandling within fifty feet. A Parks and Recreation Commission resolution asking restoration of benches and other seating space has been gathering dust.

City police have capriciously, maliciously. and/or selectively charged activists with "jaywalking", "chalking", and other harassment charges to punish them for high-profile protest activity downtown.

Police also use Drug Prohibition laws involving felony prosecutions for sales of small amounts of marijuana, stay-away orders, the notorious PC 602.1(a) --interfering with a business, "dog on the mall" tickets, and other weapons against the poor.

Gentrification designers also won a victory in 2003 with the passage of a city-wide Permit Parking law, the language of which includes Midnight to 6 AM bans on parking without a permit--specifically designed to target homeless vehicles. This law continues intensifies what Council member and West-side Baker Emily Reilly began by authorizing "No Parking" signs in areas where those who live in their vans park.

On the West side, neighborhood vigilantes in collusion with police and ex-police bigots like (ex)- Lt. Joe Haebe have been frightening families with loud wake-up's and demands that they move on. Ignoring truck drivers sleeping (illegally) in their big rigs, these homeless harassment expeditions harass and demean the poor whose vehicles are their homes--in a town where affordable housing is a car for many. Parks & Recreation officials have illegally tried to exclude vans from day-time parking at Light House Field.

Reclaiming Human Rights in 2004

Activists Steve Argue, Mathew Hartog, John Maurer, and Robert Norse won dismissals of various harassment charges by disqualifying the court referee and demanding trial before a judge.

In federal court, activist Robert Norse has sued City Council and the police for repressive behavior at City Council. A second federal Norse lawsuit alleging an illegal arrest by Sgt. Loran Baker for political tabling in front of New Leaf Market was resolved with a financial settlement in 2004.

Various attorneys have offered to assist in criminal and civil cases, though HUFF is still desperately seeking lawyers. City police still harass, ticket, and arrest under the sleeping, blanket, and camping bans which criminalize essential life functions. HUFF encourages victims to use a "necessity defense", subpoena all relevant documents, require the city to expose the past harassment record of its officers, and use the courtroom corridors to organize public support against these institutionalized human rights violations.

HUFF has also supported low-income tenants being unfairly evicted, coach owners of low-income mobile home parks (like Clear View Court) squeezed out by City Council collusion with profiteers, and those excluded from shelter at the City's woefully inadequate emergency shelter program (space for less than 50 of the city's 1500-2000 homeless each night).

Recent Articles and Other Publications

New Articles

Archived Articles

BATHROBESPIERRE'S BROADSIDES

on Free Radio Santa Cruz

The indomitable and irascible Robert Norse hosts in studio guests, on-the-street interviews with the houseless, and listener call in's at (831) 427-FRSC or 427-3772 or can log on to the chat room at www.pagesincolor.com. Phone the HUFF voicemail at 423-4833 if you want to be a guest or have comments.

Broadcast Schedule Thursdays from 6-8 p.m. and Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at freakradio.org. Free Radio Santa Cruz is also reportedly picked up by pirate broadcasters and relayed at 101.1 FM.

Listen to Bathrobespierre's Broadsides, now archived online!

New: Descriptions of Bathrobespierre's Broadsides radio shows from August 2005

Local libertarian activist Richard Quigley has fought discrimination at the Rancho Del Mar shopping center against disabled street minister Jerry Henry. Quigley has successfully sued former Sheriff Mark Tracy--perhaps prompting his early resignation--for sending deputies to try and censor Quigley's weekly KSCO show. His shows are archived at http://www.usff.com/quig/KSCO/index.html

Some of the Muni Codes Reflecting City of Santa Cruz "Downtown" Ordinances

The code "nickname" is on the left, the number is in the center. The link is to the right. For context purposes, you may see the chapter that has the code section of interest. Page down through the chapter to find the section.