++++ Followed by short briefings on other agenda items, time allowing
++++ PassArounds (read and return): Mainstream media on election, police measures, Shelter shit, drug doodoo
++++ Callbacks on projects and an every-other-week schedule
Reports and Info Items
++++ Follow-Up on Robert Ratner/Matt Huffaker Demand Discussion
++++ Street & Court reports Beach, Parking Lots, Pogonip, Library, Levee Warnings, Sweeps, & Tickets
++++ Tales of being driven into rain from parking structures, overhangs, etc.
++++ Newcomer & Agenda Addition Discussion
++++………………………………………………………………………………
++++………………………………………………………………………………
++++ Reports from government bodies (City Council, Board of Supes, Mental Health Advisory Board)
++++ Incidents from PovertyPimp Palaces (Housing Matters, Armory) & Service Agencies (MH CAN, Grey Bears, FNB, etc.)
Action Proposals: Choosing 1 for Action, 2 for Research
++++ Major choice of focus in the meeting. Proposed prep or actions. Target; demands?
++++ Possibilities: Survival Camp Sweeps; 5150 Seizures; Tier 2 RV Investigation; Tent Seizure Accounts; Property Reclaiming Fantasy or Reality? ; Armory/Coral St. & “Warming Shelter” accessibility bathroom/portapotty expansion/potable water for survival campsites; street newsletter; poverty pimpery connections & auditing; Local Petitioning against new Criminalize Homeless initiatives
++++ Targets for Rainy Weather Shelter/Stop the Sweeps/Raids: City Mangler’s office…Police Station…Coastal Commission… City Hall/Emeline/TelcCare/Supes
++++ Possible phone contacts: Laura C. on Mental Health Madness; Maleah on UCSC; Keith on Sacramento Protest Caravan; Wes on recent and upcoming video work
++++ Placeholder runthrough—study groups: Rents vs. Profits—S.C. Survey, Psych rights subcommittee; ticket documenting/public records act request filing
Street Sheet and Street Spirit
++++ New March 2024 issues of Street Sheetmay be available in hard copy next meeting but the stories can be accessed on line at thestreetsheet.org
++++ The new March 2024 issue of Street Spirit –the first since June 2023—is available at Sub Rosa, Food Not Bombs Town Clock meal distribution Sat and Sun 12-3 p.m. and in the newspaper shelves just outside the UN HQ.
++++ Editors of these papers may be up for printing local poetry and street reports—contact Norse at 831-423-4833 for more info.
++++First hour of the 3/10/24 show covers the Housed Defense of Folks Living in Oversized Vehicles: an Interview with Reggie Meisler on Fight Against the OVO permit at 3-12 City Council meeting: https://www1.huffsantacruz.org/lost/FRSC%203-10-24.mp3 (10 minutes into the file)
KKUP’s Urban Camper show: interviews with Paul Boden, then-head of the SF Coalition of the Homeless, Bathrobespierre, Morgan Ash and Lily B. of Stanford Homeless Action Coalition, and Tom of the newly-formed San Jose Food Not Bombs.
The Bathrobespierre’s Broadsides March 7, 2024 show is a flashback to December 27, 1998. It includes:
co-host and guest James “No Nonsense” Nay describes terminal times as a Monitor Manager at the Winter Armory Shelter
Caller Bob Lamonica discuss “relocation camps” for the homeless with Nay
Caller Phil Free scorches Homeless Community Resource Center [HCRC]’ manager Karen Gillette
Nay and a caller review the positives of the HCRC and Karen Gillette
Beggarbacker Becky Johnson, Lighthouse Linda Lemaster, & Sidewalk Shannon Cassamo review the[10-21-98] Mid-County Post article heralding Gillette as “The Advocate”; caller Pat Kittle calls in with criticisms of homeless litter.
Lamonica and Rough-Tongue Roxanne Acquistepache on “the Magnet effect” if human rights are to be restored for the homeless
Dead-On David Silva on the upcoming “Don’t Sleep Tonight” Night and the Initiative to End the Sleeping Ban
++++ Narrative and Actions; Yielding for Questions; Tighter “No Filibustering” Please.
++++ Agenda Additions, Announcements. Passarounds, New Time End
++++ Hand-outs if needed: Street Spirits, Tier 2 Maps,
++++ Followed by short briefings on other agenda items, time allowing
++++ Timekeeper (10 minutes per item) Hand-raisin’ rules, Chair rotation
++++ PassArounds (read and return): Pro-police power propaganda:
Prospects of Actual Action
++++ Street & Court reports Beach, Parking Lots, Pogonip, Library, Levee Warnings, Sweeps, & Tickets
++++ Tales of being driven into rain from parking structures, overhangs, etc.
++++ Major choice of focus in the meeting. Proposed prep or actions. Target; demands?
++++ Possibilitied: Survival Camp Sweeps; 5150 Seizures; Tier 2 RV Investigation; Tent Seizure Accounts; Property Reclaiming Fantasy or Reality? ; Armory/Coral St. & “Warming Shelter” accessibility bathroom/portapotty expansion/potable water for survival campsites; street newsletter; poverty pimpery connections & auditing; Local Petitioning against new Criminalize Homeless initiatives
++++ Targets for Rainy Weather Shelter/Stop the Sweeps/Raids: City Mangler’s office…Police Station…Coastal Commission… City Hall/Emeline/TelcCare/Supes
[2-27] “Fuck Your FEMA Camps!” Protest inside and outside Shitty Hall against Santa Cruz’s implicit collusion with state and feds
Sophie on Armory pluses and minuses from a transsexual perspective
Dialogue with Cop Shutting Down the Bullhorn
Bits of Oral Communication at Shitty Council—“Fast Lane” Fred interrupts Meeting for Keith’s “Fuck you, Fred” response; Keith’s commentary
Street view from a Renter—according to George
Petitioning up in Scotts Valley; Nicolas on unnecessary misery with closed shelters in rain and wind
Jay ousted from parking garage cover into rain; Art on pretext pullover
Cody—watching from Food Not Bombs meal and Daylight Drew’s report from the chow line
The Flashback to April 11, 2004 includes:
Anita Henry of Med-X, Medical Marijuana distribution service, co-hosts through most of the show.
Preview of Frank Morales—The Squatter Movement Seizing Housing—on Guns and Butter: Anita and caregiver caller Mathew react
Bathrobespierre previewing City Council: the coming sell-out of the Clearview Court Rent Control; Bathrobespierre’s lawsuits; Steve Argue’s move-along arrest; cops on high-school campus; and more.
Anita: Medical Marijuana in the News: city, state, and nation-wide update
Congo Ray—caretaker and jack-of-many-trades—on recent life in an RV
HUFF & PUFF—discussing sidewalk distribution of free medical marijuana to protest failure to allow distribution centers in town
1 ½ hours with Frank Morales on the phone—11 buildings and the squatter path to legality
Dealing with Urban Poor by destroy the housing and whole neighborhoods in south Bronx in order to disperse them: special deconcentration; defending in court and by calling the neighborhood to physically support with direct action.
Rather than reconcentrating thru housing creation, authorities lowered habitability standards and started warehousing with “shelters”.
“Steadfast” Steve Argue struggle against the Move-Along law limiting tabling for vendors, petitioners, musicians to 1 hour.
Tentatively…. but subject to change by those participating…
Top of the Agenda
++++ Agenda Adds; Questions; Procedures
++++ Street & Court reports Beach, Parking Lots, Pogonip, Library, Levee Warnings, Sweeps, & Tickets
++++ Major choice of focus in the meeting. Proposed prep or actions.
++++ Possibilities for Protest: Survival Camp Sweeps; 5150 Seizures—Helga’s Seizure (see last BB show at; Tier 2 RV Investigation; Tent Seizure Accounts; Property Reclaiming Fantasy or Reality? ; Armory/Coral St. & “Warming Shelter” “improvements”; bathroom/portapotty expansion/potable water for survival campsites; street newsletter; poverty pimpery connections & auditing; Local Petitioning against new Criminalize Homeless initiatives
++++ Less Likely but More Immediate Protest Targets for Winter Shelter/Stop the Sweeps/Raids: City Mangler’s office…Police Station…Coastal Commission…Demands?
++++ Placeholder runthrough—study groups: Rents vs. Profits—S.C. Survey, Psych rights subcommittee; ticket documenting/public records act request filing
Additional Stuff
++++ Relatively recent Street Spirit stories on line soon after they resumed publication in February: https://thestreetspirit.org/ as Street Spirit resumes publication after halting in June
NOTES FROM NORSE: The Tuesday protest organized by Keith McHenry of Food Not Bombs [FNB] will reportedly be providing muffins and likely provide an outdoor forum with opportunity to speak out on local repression of those on the streets, in the shelters, and in other poverty pimpsky services.McHenry’s own perspective can be read at https://anarchistcook.blog/2024/02/17/yes-they-are-coming-for-the-homeless/ . The flyer for the protest can be found at https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2024/02/27/18863521.php . While the police did threaten FNB last year when we held a protest at City Hall and prevented us from serving food, they did not interfere in the recent Gaza ceasefire sell-out at City Hall, perhaps embarrassed to bully and steal food in the presence of long lines of people waiting to talk to a deaf Council majority. HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom)is concerned with intensified local, state, and national repressive efforts to broaden police powers to criminalize homeless presence in public spaces, community survival camps under regular attack in Santa Cruz, and a growing disregard for the most basic constitutional of poor folks living outside. Under cover of “protecting the environment”, “public safety”, and more recently “mental health”, legislators have recently added so-called CARE Courts to the “plead guilty and take your whacks” Homeless and Drug Courts In spite of the expansion of very limited super-regulated shelters and some housing remaining from the COVID period, Santa Cruz is now harassing and ticketing those whose only home is their vehicle as well as the ground sleepers, who make up the majority of the Santa Cruz homeless. City Manager Matt Huffaker’s police under the direction of Police Chief Bernie Escalante drove folks out into the rain trying to take cover in parking structures and illegally used the City’s new Camping Ordinance (MC 6.36) to destroy encampments that have been regular connection points for those providing vital food, shelter supplies, human contact, and mutual support. Portapotty facilities and wash stations previously somewhat available during the COVID period have been removed. City workers have bulldozed campsites and seized or trashed property seized, and falsely claimed (as they have in other cities like San Francisco) that they are providing the shelter and storage facilities required under MC 6.36. City Council has scheduled an abbreviated meeting starting at 2:20 p.m. with nothing on its agenda addressing these issues. As it has with the U.S. support of the advancing genocide in Gaza, City Council has made no demand to stop govt. funding the slaughter, nor looked into its own investments in funding sources that do business with Israeli apartheid. The protest was announced on short notice (Saturday), so HUFF has had no time to formally meet to endorse it, but I and others will be coming to it and invite you to do the same. Hope to see you there. Bathrobespierre Robert Norse rnorse3@hotmail.com
The Sunday February 25, 2024 Bathrobespierre’s Broadsides show includes:
“Free Julian Assange” Protest at Ocean & Water (Starbucks) corner with commentary from Greg on his encounters with “the Deep State”; the 2024 progressive activist scene;
[Satirist and social critic Dave Lippman songs throughout the show, lifted from the internet]
Jillian on Snowden and other more local figures; Drew on the “Scamdemic”
Wes the photojournalist: Salinas Council Vote continuing sweeps of the homeless
Keith distributing flyers on “First They Came for the Homeless” and the Cicero Institute/CIA conspiracy to “round ’em up”; mental health malpractice in Santa Cruz;
“Fox” on experiences in shrink shops, including TeleCare, Santa Cruz’s own psych holding ward and transmission belt to other “hospitals”
Food Not Bombs fellowship with Blue (Lawrence MacGregor) on the ups and downs of apartment life; “R” on tobacco smoking as a health benefit; Keith on organizing for a Tuesday “Fuck Your FEMA Camps” protest at City Council; Dylan on forced psychiatric “treatment” in prison
The November 16, 1995 Flashback includes:
UCSC student Mike working on the history of Homeless resources
Louis on stays at the River St. mini-Shelter and Carota’s Jesus, Joseph, and Mary shelter
Dianna, the street jeweler, on a successful resolution of a dispute with Georgianna’s Cafe (then next to the Bookshop Coonerty)
Colorful accounts from Alex, Gypsy, Cosmo, Kelly, and Bubbles—on subjects ranging from love to rape.
Bathrobespierre Robert and Crossroads Chris Brozda on the Open-Air Shelter-destroying Page Smith Community House
Billy and Dusty on the San Francisco scene.
Further Flashback to January 1, 1994: Sgt. Reedy’s New Year’s Eve riot
Skidmark Bob and “Rolling Thunder” Mike Sheridan on cops and campgrounds.