{"id":2536,"date":"2016-07-20T15:43:13","date_gmt":"2016-07-20T15:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/?p=2536"},"modified":"2016-07-20T15:43:13","modified_gmt":"2016-07-20T15:43:13","slug":"rare-l-a-victory-for-direct-action-protester","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/rare-l-a-victory-for-direct-action-protester\/","title":{"rendered":"Rare L.A. Victory for Direct Action Protester !"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">NOTES BY NORSE: \u00a0 Hats off to long-time Venice advocate David Busch, who&#8217;s been fighting city attacks on the local homeless community for decades.\u00a0 See &#8220;The Right to Discriminate&#8221; at <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/StreetSpiritSantaCruz\/2002-4-the-right-to-discriminate-001.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/StreetSpiritSantaCruz\/2002-4-the-right-to-discriminate-001.jpg&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1469115470098000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFTWCAx2gLLokT3gkrf_bL2mBm5lQ\"><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/<wbr \/>StreetSpiritSantaCruz\/2002-4-<wbr \/>the-right-to-discriminate-001.<wbr \/>jpg<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"> , <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/StreetSpiritSantaCruz\/2002-4-the-right-to-discriminate-002.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/StreetSpiritSantaCruz\/2002-4-the-right-to-discriminate-002.jpg&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1469115470098000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEFE0ogL9kZ3YZoNrpRL80DcPCkdw\"><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/<wbr \/>StreetSpiritSantaCruz\/2002-4-<wbr \/>the-right-to-discriminate-002.<wbr \/>jpg<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"> , &amp; <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/StreetSpiritSantaCruz\/2002-4-the-right-to-discriminate-003.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/StreetSpiritSantaCruz\/2002-4-the-right-to-discriminate-003.jpg&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1469115470098000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF_CApck77KnjvcDUtsc32skRwnWw\"><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/<wbr \/>StreetSpiritSantaCruz\/2002-4-<wbr \/>the-right-to-discriminate-003.<wbr \/>jpg<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"> .<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">Santa Cruz&#8217;s bigot-pleasing <\/span><b><i><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">Good Times\u00a0 <\/span><\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">has recently covered its typical smear campaign against the outside poor with environmental concern protective cover.\u00a0 See <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">&#8220;Saving Lighthouse Field<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">&#8221; at <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/goodtimes.sc\/cover-stories\/saving-lighthouse-field\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=http:\/\/goodtimes.sc\/cover-stories\/saving-lighthouse-field\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1469115470098000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGpp7k2LAUJFKNZbH0bb9Zt3N1MBw\"><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">http:\/\/goodtimes.sc\/cover-<wbr \/>stories\/saving-lighthouse-<wbr \/>field\/<\/span><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">Santa Cruz&#8217;s Parks and Recreation Department and the SCPO have long proclaimed its right to dumpster and destroy homeless survival gear and has lately been doing that, according to participants in the 54-week long <span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1722931802\"><span class=\"aQJ\">Tuesday<\/span><\/span> night Freedom SleepOut&#8217;s at City Hall.\u00a0\u00a0 Retrieval of homeless property (in those instances where it is saved rather than trashed) can only be done during a two hour period (<span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1722931803\"><span class=\"aQJ\">12:30 &#8211; 2:30 PM<\/span><\/span>) on Tuesdays and Thursdays in spite of bloated police budget.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">Parks and Rec thugs-in-white now regularly &#8220;patrol&#8221; the Downtown Area in white shirts (no white hoods yet)in search of performers, vendors, and activists who are sitting outside the scattered blue and brass boxes (Performance Pens) being used to constrict, coral, and discourage non-commercial activity on Pacific Avenue, the Wharf, and elsewhere. SCPD&#8217;s Officer Hoppe has reportedly been jailing impoverished homeless panhandler for peacefully holding up a &#8220;help me&#8221; sign on the median at Ocean and Water streets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">Undefeated visual artists Alex Skelton and Joff Jones face hundreds of dollars in fines in court next month after five in-custody arrests for displaying their paintings on Pacific Avenue &#8220;outside the boxes&#8221;.\u00a0 Meanwhile fascist-friend City art critics have driven away handicraft artists on Pacific with new laws banning creation, display, or sale of any artwork or perfomance that may have &#8220;a functional use&#8221; such as jewelry, t-shirts, massage, crystals, etc.\u00a0 Laws banning RV&#8217;s from parking late at night anywhere in the city await likely Coastal Commission approval&#8211;with homeless people explicitly denied the right to purchase permits.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"CToWUd a6T\" tabindex=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/ci4.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/ZPDwK89furMvrGULJW-an4R2rE0BOQujj21j23iKU2GdhtpvrnCTIupxqQ0JefENKVMW_MBNodm8JYRM8iy5HHz_Ym8S1FlF2KZjo9PdnBGqannOODacSahDIR8Ofv1CTZ2bi__twTxs2uuf8Qp9pW4=s0-d-e1-ft#http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/StreetSpiritSantaCruz\/2002-4-the-right-to-discriminate-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"CToWUd a6T\" tabindex=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/ci5.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/MrDApAQ-RciJ6bVAZNs9kE7sFLtyekeIqJdoR7zC-ZEoel6a1CxSv8bQjV8IuHJAT8NmHawFp1c94-mrMar-d80giMm8FImxNRrSo796nr3GuKod2YDRYnkuo8vZ7cELSUVpkElOPrTmHlLU3kbgVLA=s0-d-e1-ft#http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/StreetSpiritSantaCruz\/2002-4-the-right-to-discriminate-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"CToWUd a6T\" tabindex=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/ci6.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/b9m678Rac-qr3X4e-AJ0SFH_f3veKsOpI0gzfiZ2BYC4tPrpFWsED8BlsMPJTufw673ahO2qSu6K697V_Fst2oPYQjORcD-jxI3bg41OCXKKoL1tEUY-DWBDV0trZ_y8ISYBYOPgDok7WaoSoub5Pck=s0-d-e1-ft#http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/StreetSpiritSantaCruz\/2002-4-the-right-to-discriminate-003.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/goodtimes.sc\/cover-stories\/saving-lighthouse-field\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=http:\/\/goodtimes.sc\/cover-stories\/saving-lighthouse-field\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1469115470098000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGpp7k2LAUJFKNZbH0bb9Zt3N1MBw\"><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<h1>Court commissioner calls Venice boardwalk cleanups &#8216;troubling,&#8217; refuses to punish homeless advocate<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<aside>\n<div>\n<figure><img class=\"CToWUd a6T\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Homeless activist David Busch\" src=\"https:\/\/ci5.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/x665bkNFQ_9OusVNAhP023bpYerdEl-wILPIJRs3tIWOSZ13HL9L628RkkvQYtf7qj1gE3QFHVooQYgmG4qKvsXpdRe081ABEKGxher4PYaLLb3oos-lk6wCU3JhEVSHKBpEtsA=s0-d-e1-ft#http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-578e801f\/turbine\/la-1468956700-snap-photo\/750\/750x422\" alt=\"Homeless activist David Busch\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>\n<div>Homeless activist David Busch is led away by an LAPD officer during a 2015 sanitation sweep in Venice. (Al Seib \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>Gale Holland<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Calling Venice homeless\u00a0cleanups\u00a0\u201ctroubling,\u201d a Los Angeles court commissioner has turned down the city attorney\u2019s request to punish a homeless\u00a0man\u00a0for protesting by\u00a0lying in the path of\u00a0a sanitation truck.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">\u201cPeople are not disposable property,\u201d\u00a0Commissioner Alan I. Rubin said <span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1722931804\"><span class=\"aQJ\">Monday<\/span><\/span> during a sentencing hearing at the Airport Courthouse\u00a0for activist David Busch.\u00a0\u201cYou just can\u2019t sweep people up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Busch, a homeless activist who had long accused the city of illegally seizing\u00a0and destroying homeless people\u2019s belongings, was arrested during a March 2015\u00a0cleanup on\u00a0the Venice boardwalk, and later pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Prosecutor\u00a0Claudia Martin\u00a0had asked Rubin to sentence Busch to\u00a0a year\u2019s probation\u00a0and order him to stay off the boardwalk on cleanup days. Rubin\u00a0suggested\u00a0the city\u00a0overstepped its bounds by destroying homeless people\u2019s property\u00a0during the weekly sweeps and\u00a0rejected any further sanctions for the activist.<\/span><\/p>\n<aside>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><br \/>\n<b>It seems to me a lot of personal property is being thrown away that should not be thrown away.<\/b><\/span><b><\/b><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>\u2014 Commissioner Alan I. Rubin<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">\u201cIt seems to me a lot of personal property is being thrown away that should not be thrown away,\u201d Rubin said. \u201cIt\u2019s not for\u00a0the Bureau of Sanitation to decide what clothing is valuable to people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">The city has long been embroiled in controversy and litigation over the sweeps, which were dramatically increased as homeless encampments spread throughout the city last year. Officials say their policies balance homeless people\u2019s property rights against the need to maintain\u00a0public safety and health in the streets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">In Venice, the sweeps take place every <span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1722931805\"><span class=\"aQJ\">Friday<\/span><\/span> on the\u00a0boardwalk,\u00a0where teams\u00a0of police and sanitation workers power-wash the concrete as well as they\u00a0grassy and sandy areas where homeless people congregate. In addition, the workers search and discard contaminated belongings left unattended\u00a0while their owners line\u00a0up for food, collect\u00a0cans for recycling or seek a bathroom.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">The city\u00a0also confiscates oversized possessions and impounds them in storage on skid row, 18 miles from Venice Beach.<\/span><\/p>\n<aside>\n<div>\n<figure><img class=\"CToWUd\" title=\"Venice homeless plan is smart and enterprising\" src=\"https:\/\/ci3.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/yJaA9ubv6yBYdJWIS1dRHeuHcHGA1VePB7ZSqOEJIGwvPgjbRzGptQt5nu0CyLl9rNSSSuqkHvMRC-lNjFUWqheDmQWZg42uq8hLcHEH2klkugdoG66a9FJEDzqyzpj0TVCOpQnOa0sTga1bIsutLH3zMRa9CNT8yM38jh8h9dw=s0-d-e1-ft#http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-57182e3c\/turbine\/la-ed-0421-venice-homeless-plans-20160421-thumbnail\/400\/400x225\" alt=\"Venice homeless plan is smart and enterprising\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Busch\u2019s\u00a0attorney, Venice-based John Raphling, argued that Busch was exercising his 1st Amendment rights to protest what he sees as unjust city politics.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">\u201cThis is a very important case,\u201d Raphling said. \u201cIt\u2019s a test of our moral values and how we as a society choose to deal with the problems of poverty and homelessness.\u201c<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Raphling showed photographs to\u00a0the court of city workers taking neatly bundled clothing, bedrolls and pill bottles and throwing them in a dumpster, and tagging and confiscating bicycles. Raphling also presented\u00a0a city report indicating that of the\u00a0ton of belongings\u00a0discarded the day of Busch\u2019s arrest, only 50 pounds were\u00a0contaminated with feces, needles and other hazardous residue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Rubin\u00a0appeared particularly concerned that the city stored items, including bicycles, so far away from homeless Venice residents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">\u201cYou take away their means of transportation, their bicycle, and then tell them to go downtown,\u201d the commissioner\u00a0said. \u201cThere\u2019s a certain irony there, don\u2019t you think? How are they supposed to get downtown? Hitchhike? Walk?\u201c<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/popular\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/popular\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1469115470098000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFPkJOF9lor88wjOaaUk5vaC7TfNQ\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Martin argued that the court appeared to be taking Raphling\u2019s \u201cinterpretation\u201d as fact, and said she could present counter-testimony that\u00a0the\u00a0items destroyed\u00a0were contaminated. She\u00a0declined Rubin\u2019s offer to delay sentencing so she could bring in city officials to take the witness stand.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">\u201cSometimes in a free society, the peace needs to be disturbed,\u201d said Rubin, who invoked Martin Luther King Jr. and his own history of protest of the Vietnam War during the\u00a0hearing.\u00a0\u201cI have to think there is some sort of justification for their protest.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">\u201cHow many judges have to say these things to the city before the city stops wasting judges\u2019 time?\u201d Busch said after the decision. Martin declined to comment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">To view and make comments, go to: <\/span><\/b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/local\/lanow\/la-me-ln-judge-venice-boardwalk-20160719-snap-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/local\/lanow\/la-me-ln-judge-venice-boardwalk-20160719-snap-story.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1469115470098000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHfZs_-_WRRajM9eg3qU1M8WzlN6A\"><b>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/local\/<wbr \/>lanow\/la-me-ln-judge-venice-<wbr \/>boardwalk-20160719-snap-story.<wbr \/>html<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; NOTES BY NORSE: \u00a0 Hats off to long-time Venice advocate David Busch, who&#8217;s been fighting city attacks on the local homeless community for decades.\u00a0 See &#8220;The Right to Discriminate&#8221; at http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/StreetSpiritSantaCruz\/2002-4-the-right-to-discriminate-001.jpg , http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/StreetSpiritSantaCruz\/2002-4-the-right-to-discriminate-002.jpg , &amp; http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/StreetSpiritSantaCruz\/2002-4-the-right-to-discriminate-003.jpg . &nbsp; Santa &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/rare-l-a-victory-for-direct-action-protester\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[57],"tags":[4,141,14,107],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2536"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2536"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2537,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2536\/revisions\/2537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}