10th Homeless SleepOut to be Covered Live on Free Radio

Posted on September 14, 2015 by huffsantacruz

Title:	Free Radio to Cover 10th Homeless SleepOut at City Hall
START DATE:	Tuesday September 15
TIME:	5:00 PM – 5:00 AM
Location Details:
City Hall Courtyard and then the Sidewalk at 809 Center St. next to City Hall. Parking available off of Church St. between Center and Chestnut, along the library side of Center, or the Civic Center Side of Church. Assuming police again put up obstructive barriors
Event Type:	Protest
Contact Name	Phil Posner (posting by Norse)
Email Address	chatrabbi [at] aol.com
Phone Number
Address
BACK AGAIN FOR ROUND TEN In a continuing challenge to the community to support new priorities in policing and restoration of rights for the poor, Freedom Sleepers will be back against with another Community Campout. PUNISHMENT TO DRIVE AWAY THE PROTESTERS There will be light PB and J snacks at mid-evening and coffee and bagels or pastries in the morning. City Manager Martin Bernal and Police Chief Kevin Vogel are likely to set up their protest-punishing klieg lights, no parking zones, and harsh ticketing at midnight policies. Nor have they agreed to let the public walk on the grounds to view city council agendas–as required by law, or to walk through along the accessways–as also mandated by law. Lucero Luna, a vocal Spanish-speaking worker, was roughly grabbed last week without warning or charge by three police officers whose “compliance holds” left bruises on her body when she was released with an ‘interfering with an officer” type charge three hours later. Lucero’s response–she’ll be back Tuesday night. WHY ARE WE THERE? The Freedom Sleepers goal is to both change police practice, city law criminalizing homeless people at night if they fall asleep after 11 PM, and a safer space for homeless people to sleep. In spite of the police raids, many feel it is safer to sleep in groups with housed observers and some media nearby. City hall is a place for the unhoused and the housed to meet and petition the government to recognize that the right to sleep is as elementary, as attorney Ed Frey once put it, as the right to breathe. NO SHELTER, NO MERCY The Paul Lee Loft– closure in June essentially left no Emergency Shelter in Santa Cruz. The Department of Justice has declared in an Idaho case that harassing homeless people at night if there’s no shelter is an unconstitutional form of cruel and unusual punishment. Neither Mayor Lane, nor Councilmember Posner, nor the eager “Drive the homeless RV’s out of town” crew that makes up the Council majority have put any remedy on the agenda. Meanwhile homeless folks report getting ticketed multiple times at night, even at places where they had previoulsy been left alone–such as the Red Church at Lincoln and Cedar. LIVE ON THE AIR Free Radio Santa Cruz [FRSC] broadcaster Misty-eyed Merlin and his “Idle Hands” crew will be broadcasting at 101.3 FM throughout the evening playing old school rock ‘n roll and cracking jokes. He, Dolly, and Hans will be staying late to do a blow-by-blow coverage of any police attack on the protesters–which usually happens around midnight. FRSC streams at freakradio.org . You can call in at 831-427-3772 or 831-469-3119. The FRSC collective is still offering a $500 reward for anyone who can find them a studio space for a year. Last radio broadcast will be September 21 if no one steps up. Last week’s sleep out is described at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/09/10/18777446.php [“9th SleepOut Holds The Sidewalk…”] For more info: follow the links at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/09/07/18777265.php [“At City Council and Under the Stars, Challenge the Crackdown…”] http://freedomsleepers.org

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Help Save Free Radio Santa Cruz

Posted on September 11, 2015 by huffsantacruz

NOTE BY NORSE: Free Radio Santa Cruz has broadcast my homeless info-and-interview show twice weekly for the last 20 years. I’d hate to see it gone. If anyone can help, though the hour is late, the chance is still there.Free Radio Santa Cruz’s Last Plea: $500 Reward for a Year’s Lease

by Robert Norse ( rnorse3 [at] hotmail.com )
Friday Sep 11th, 2015 7:39 AM

Free Radio Santa Cruz will begin dismantling its studio on Sunday September 13th, with our final broadcast on September 20th. UNLESS get community help. We need to secure a 10′ X 10′ rental space in someone’s garage, backyard, basement, or house to set up a studio. We’ll pay. And there’s a $500 reward if your help is successful. Please contact me at rnorse3 [at] hotmail.com; or go to freakradio.org with any information. We don’t want to end of our 20 year run.

No programmer or supporter of FRSC has ever been taken to court for our unlicensed but unapologetic station. No one who has hosted FRSC has ever been charged with any crime or violation, though threats have forced us to move from time to time.Surprisingly, considering our critical commentators on city government, we’ve received two commendations from Santa Cruz City Council. We have broadcast 24-hours a day with 15-30 programmers since 1995, covering news and opinion that mainstream and “alternative” media wouldn’t touch.

Our programs include English and Spanish language shows.

An archive of some of the older programming we offered can be found at http://www.freakradio.org/archives.html .

If you believe in Free Speech, helping us relocate is a concrete and real way of furthering this cause.

Without a location, I am concerned that Free Radio Santa Cruz will not be able to sustain a regular schedule, though individual broadcasters may be able to find a way to podcast on the net.

I myself am uncertain of the future of my Bathrobespierre’s Broadsides show (archived at http://radiolibre.org/brb/ ) if we have no studio space.

Santa Cruz City Council Craps on Homeless: Police Ramp Up Repression on Protesters

Posted on September 11, 2015 by huffsantacruz

9th SleepOut Holds The Sidewalk, Faces Klieg Lights, Parking Barriers, Police Retaliation

by Robert Norse
Thursday Sep 10th, 2015 10:42 PM

The 9th Freedom Sleepers protest event at City Hall September 8-9, challenged City Council and confronted continued repression from Santa Cruz police. Police made 2 arrests, reportedly gave 14 citations, and “successfully” drove protesters from the grass and bricks of the City Hall Courtyard (the seat of government in Santa Cruz) to the adjoining sidewalk. There they laid out sleeping bags or slept in adjacent cars, next to tables sporting “Sleep is Not a Crime”-style signs and Food Not Bombs numnums.

Activists have located their weekly Tuesday night sleep-out protests at City Hall because it is the seat of city government. The City Council Courtyard adjoins where the City Council meets every other Tuesday. The grounds are also adjacent to the offices of City Manager Martin Bernal. He can direct police on discretionary enforcement of anti-homeless laws such as the Sleeping Ban (MC 6.36.010a) as well as the level of police repression of activists–a level which has steadily increased with each passing protest. City Council, of course, has the the power to create or eliminate anti-homeless laws

REACTIONARY COUNCIL SETS ITS SIGHTS ON HOMELESS IN RV’S
At it’s Tuesday afternoon meeting September 8th, City Council moved forward directing staff to write up new laws severely restricting RV parking. These would either eliminate or severely shrink RV parking space or establish “permit parking” zones such as are currently used to drive away homeless-owned vehicles at night. The excuses used were “illegal dumping”, “blocking the view”, “safety of our children”, “illegal activities”, “burden on the taxpayer”, and “obstructing traffic”.

The underlying motivations, echoed by a group of younger women sporting “Take Back Westcliff” placards, seemed to be an upper-middle class aesthetic, NIMBY paranoia, a mobilized anti-homeless agenda, and a generalized xenophobia (suspicion of strangers).

There was zero concern about finding alternative spots for folks whose only home is their vehicle before laying down the “get out of our neighborhood” laws they favored. Nor did the Council want to pause in establishing the new “no homeless vehicle” zones though they give lip service to a weakened proposal for Councilmember Posner to investigate possible areas for RV parking. The elimination of existing space was to proceed independently however. Posner voted along with the rest of the Council for this new attack on the homeless.

The two anti-RV laws likely to return were presented by Scott Collins with City Manager Martin Bernal’s approval. They originated with the Transportation and Public Works Commission, the same body that declined to hold public hearings to stop “no parking without a permit on near the Homeless (Lack of) Services Center on Coral St.

The two anti-RV laws from last year. eliminated all “oversized parking spaces” city-wide and banned RV parking city-wide from 2 to 6 AM without a permit as well as setting up forbidden to park zones 50′ from intersections. Venomous property owners were demanding more extensive homeless removal–which may be in the cards in the months ahead.

No specific stats were presented regarding particular “crimes” committed by the RV dwellers and the expense of enforcing the proposed ordinances/ Councilmember Richelle Nironyan was previously chair of the Transportation and Public Works Commission when the NIMBY assault on RV’s came up there. Her Commission apparently sought and got no input from the RV dwellers, homeless service providers, or groups other than the cops and Take-Back-Santa-Cruz organized residents. Nor has Scott Collins and Martin Bernal in their report to City Council.

The proposal originated in a concern about the disposal of RV wastes, but there, as well, we heard no specifics about the number of citations, the extent of the problem, or the costs of the clean-up. The waste concern seemed to be a cover for a broader perception that RV’s were “traveling drug dens” as “Skindog” Ken Collins proposed.

CUTTING BACK TIME AND MOVING AWAY PROTEST
Mayor Lane, instead of allowing Oral Communications at its scheduled 5 PM time, allowed 2 1/2 hours of mostly bigoted bumbashing by TBSC zealots—forcing those who had come to speak on other issues to wait until after 7 PM for their chance (and then cutting back their time to 2 minutes each).

Special red ropes were set up creating “forbidden zones” all along the side of the City Council next to the windows to prohibit the usual placement of literature tables there. This restriction of public and political space was done without any kind of public input–behind closed doors (like the closing off of the City Council grounds 5 years ago–for which activists are now being ticketed each Tuesday night). Additional signs warned people against loitering near the City Council outside using the same MC 13.04.011 for which Freedom Sleepers are facing $198 each for the several dozen citations they’ve gotten.

CITY MANAGER REJECTS COMPROMISE
City Manager Martin Bernal previously met with Rabbi Phil Posner and other Freedom Sleepers. Protesters had experienced a massive escalation of protest the previous Tuesday (See http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/09/07/18777265.php ). Freedom Sleepers proposed a compromise to step back from their Tuesday night protests at City Hall, if Bernal agreed to direct police to make camping-related citations the lowest enforcement priority city-wide–given the increased crisis created by the elimination of shelter and waiting list as well as emergency services at the Coral St. complex. We further asked that police phone to determine if a shelter bed was actually available before waking up a sleeping homeless person who is not creating any other problem. We asked this be done for a period of two weeks as show of good faith. Bernal rejected the proposal

Bernal would not agree to take down the high-intensity klieg lights, the signs banning parking around City Hall, and the increased “ticket-before-talking” process used by police on September 1st. Nor would he recommend that the City Hall grounds be reopened at night to the public–as they have been for decades before he, the police chief, and the Mayor closed them down in a closed door meeting 2010 to drive away another protest against the city’s anti-homeless Sleeping Ban law.

Police have been denying activists the right to access city government agendas during the night, as the state Public Meetings Act requires. Police have also violated the “okay to be on the walkways through the area” provision of the “closed area” law being used to ticket and remove demonstrators from the City Hall complex at night. As of Wednesday night, Bernal had not advised the Freedom Sleepers of his “research”. He said he’d “look into” whether the community was being denied the right to view posted agendas posted in the “closed areas”.

GUESTS FROM OUT OF TOWN, MUSICIANS, AND LONGTIMERS POPULATE THE PROTEST
Bob Arenson, the Santa Cruz Police Auditor, and Robert Aguirre, San Jose activist from H.O.M.E.L.E.S.S. checked out the protest as nervous observer and dedicated participant respectively. Visionsong Valerie, an organizer from the ancient SAFE organization (Society for Artistic Freedom and Expression) played “Mama, Don’t Allow No Sleepin’ Around Here” as the hot day cooled into night. Food Not Bombs old-timer Keith McHenry cooked hour after hour, supplying coffee and other vegan munchies. Abbi Samuels meandered about in her blue bathrobe checking on the welfare of those bedding down for the night.

QUICK MOVE TO THE SIDEWALK, BUSTED FOR BELLY-DANCING?
Sometime after midnight Lamp-in-the-Night Lucero Luna raised the alarm, wakening sleepers to the arrival of 14 cops. Those who wanted not to be ticketed moved to the sidewalk. But, as the week before, police had stepped up pressure and were ticketing even those who had surrendered their right to be in the City Hall Courtyard at night as they stood on the sidewalk.

Lucero Luna had been tabling all weekend downtown in front of Marini’s for the Freedom Sleepers and loudly announcing the upcoming protest to everyone within earshot on Pacific with an occasional bellydancing visual accompaniment.

When police came for their midnight rousts, she darted in and out with her signs denouncing the SleepCrime Patrols. Two female officers arrested her, initially refusing her request to be told what she was being arrested for. She was taken to jail.

Though it was clear most of the sleepers had expeditiously moved to the sidewalk or were strugglng to do when police reached them, many (14 was one person’s count) were cited anyway. This continued the escalation of the week before–punishing the protesters for returning to protest.

COURTROOM CAPERS
I left early to be able to return for the HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship and Freedom meeting) which happens every Wednesday at 11 AM at the Sub Rosa as well as the court appearance of Phil and Louise. Charged with MC 13.04.011 violation (being on city hall grounds after dark), they patiently waited an hour with 6 supporters and got their cases continued for several months.

Though I’d been jailed a week before for asking to be taken to a magistrate before signing a similar citation, the Superior Court clerk had no record of my case. Nor had any charges been filed against Israel Dawson, who was jailed weeks before the night when police targeted reporters and photographers there.

What’s next at SleepOut #10 on September 15th? Another nip at the anti-homeless laws in Santa Cruz.

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§Prejudiced Pressure Group Organized the Anti-RV Cavalcade

by Robert Norse

Friday Sep 11th, 2015 6:56 AM

See “Take Back Santa Cruz (TBSC) Targets Homeless RV Dwellers 8/8/2015 Santa Cruz City Council” at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/09/08/18777297.php .

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§Bernal et al. spurn the Supreme Court, 9th Circuit Appellate, and DoJ?! Expensive!

by G

Friday Sep 11th, 2015 8:20 AM

Papachristou v. Jacksonville (1972)
Desertrain v. Los Angeles (2014)
Bell v. Boise (2015, Statement Of Interest)

The courts (and DoJ) have made their intentions clear. Bigots abusing rule of law will not be tolerated. When those intentions become actions, Santa Cruz taxpayers will pay. The City Manager, Staff, Attorneys, and elected officials generally enjoy immunity from prosecution. They get paid either way, so they have little incentive to worry about consequences. It’s profitable for them to sell hate! In the short term, they can take the money and run. But in the end, petty tyrants fall. It’ll be tax payers left holding the bag for their crimes.

http://PeaceCamp2010insider.blogspot.com/

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Robert Aguirre Visits Freedom SleepOut #9

Posted on September 11, 2015 by huffsantacruz

NOTES BY NORSE: The 9th Freedom SleepOut lured Robert Aguirre who spent the night with us on the sidewalk on Tuesday September 8th through the 9th. He, like others, was forced onto the narrow sidewalk as 14 cops forced all sleepers off the grass and the bricks, ticketing as many people with “being in a closed area” for exercising their right to be in front of City Hall at night. This has been criminal since the Mayor, Police Chief, City Manager, and Parks and Rec Director had a private meeting and closed down the entire grounds to crush an earlier homeless protest.(PeaceCamp2010–See “Weathering the Police Storm at City Hall” at https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/08/29/18657054.php )
Robert has been active in San Jose as part of his organization H.O.M.E.L.E.S.S. working to protect and organize homeless folks in The Junge over there.

For comments and video with the story below go to http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/12/robert-aguirre-jungle-homeless-silicon-valley
Another story by Robewrrt Aguirre at a better website is at http://www.siliconvalleydebug.org/articles/2015/03/11/How-IBM-developer-became-homeless-turned-into-advocate
Robert also expressed some optimism about a Santa Clara County Task Force described at http://www.siliconvalleydebug.org/articles/2015/08/10/county-housing-task-force-studies-proposals-bring-stability-end-sweeps

Here’s What It’s Like to Be a Homeless Techie in Silicon Valley

Every day at America’s largest homeless camp, “a Yahoo bus goes by.”

—By Josh Harkinson

| Tue Dec. 2, 2014 7:15 AM EST

Robert Aguirre and his wife live at the Jungle, a San Jose homeless encampment. Prashanth Kamalakamthan

In October I visited what’s believed to be the nation’s largest homeless encampment, a tent city along a stretch of creek smack in the middle of Silicon Valley. A local preacher there introduced me to Robert Aguirre, a 60-year-old electrical engineer who had an incredible story to tell about going from being the owner of a successful tech firm to being homeless. Although I couldn’t independently verify everything he told me, I determined that many details were definitely true. Here’s his story in his own words, edited for length and clarity:

For many years, I had my own engineering consultancy in Silicon Valley. I helped get a lot of products approved under FCC and UL standards for companies such as 3Com, Dell, Microsoft, and Cisco—until all the manufacturers decided to move out of the country. I was offered a position in China. I’ve been there, and quite frankly I don’t want to live there. That’s why a lot of people are out of jobs. The jobs that do remain are very technical and usually they hire people right out of school or while they’re still in school. Old farts like me don’t have a chance of competing. I lost my business and the house I owned. When the economy took a dump it took me with it.

My wife is a medical clerk who makes about $3,000 a month. She’s handicapped and couldn’t take it going up and down the stairs in the apartment we were renting in San Jose, so we ended up finding another place. We gave our notice, and then as the day approached for us to move into our new place, that landlord told us he’d decided to rent out to relatives and we couldn’t move in. So then we went back to the first landlord and she said, “Sorry, I already rented it out.” So we had to put everything into storage and we started living in the car, trying to find apartments.

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We’d been paying $1,750 a month, which is about as cheap as rent comes here unless you want to live in a roach motel. We were looking for places in that same price range, but all the rents had gone up and the cheapest ones we could find were around $1,900. The other problem was when you go and apply at a lot of different places it creates a hit on your credit, and eventually you don’t qualify because your credit score gets so low. They told us it would take about a year to recover from that. We’re really not making enough money to afford conventional housing, yet we make too much money for subsidized homes. So we’re kind of floating between the oil and water somewhere in there.

“I’d easily say 75 percent of people in the Jungle wouldn’t be there if they could afford housing.”

After sleeping in the car for about two months, my wife’s legs and feet were swelling up. The doctor said she had edema as a result of not being able to have her feet elevated. That’s a very common malady for people who sleep in their car, who don’t get a chance to really stretch out. So her doctor recommended we get a tent. All the campgrounds were too far out of the city, so we decided to move into the Jungle.

The Jungle is a forested stretch of Coyote Creek where about 300 people live in tents and shanties. They use the creek as a latrine or to bathe in; they just don’t drink from it. I’ve heard that the Jungle is the largest encampment of homeless individuals in the United States. The city doesn’t refer to it as the Jungle, which kind of connotes wild animals or wild behavior. It’s actually really close to lots of tech campuses. Every day, a Yahoo bus goes by.

I’ve been in San Jose for about 40 years. The majority of people in the Jungle are from San Jose. They were born here, they were raised here, they saw what this land was like before it became this. And they talk about it. They say, “Oh man, you should have seen what it was like.”

People are down in the Jungle for all sorts of different reasons—domestic violence, mental health problems, drug problems, or just being broke. I’d easily say 75 percent of people in the Jungle wouldn’t be there if they could afford housing. The community here is organized into three or four different supergroups who have compounds that operate kind of like medieval castles. It’s the same idea as gangs in any other neighborhood; as long as you don’t choose sides or try to get yourself involved you’re pretty safe. But a few weeks ago, there was a woman here who was badmouthing people. She’d also just received a very large sum of money from her mother. Some people decided they needed it more than she did and ended up slitting her throat and severing her jugular. When she continued fighting, someone else came up behind her and hit her in the head with an axe. The police didn’t want to go down there without backup, so one of the residents carried her out. I heard that she died in the hospital.

“Tech companies have an obligation to help out. They’re the ones who’ve outsourced middle-class jobs and driven rents far beyond many people’s reach.”

Our tent, which we pitched up top near the road, is much larger than those of other people around here. We have iPhones and a wireless hotspot. I even had solar panels at one point before they got stolen. We’re in a different category from most of the other people here, though we’re far from the only ones who are gainfully employed and trying to do things for themselves but just can’t afford a place.

Over time I’ve acquired five trash cans, and every night and morning I go out and pick up trash. I go to all the city hall meetings, the housing meetings, the county supervisors meetings to advocate for homeless people. We are trying to get this place cleaned up and to get people taken out of here as safely and quickly as possible and trying not to abandon anyone.

In September, the authorities announced plans to shut down the Jungle by December while giving everyone a place to live. My wife and I received housing voucher about four months ago, but so far it hasn’t been a vehicle for us getting housing any quicker. The problem is that a lot of landlords don’t want to deal with vouchers. They’d rather not divulge how much money they’re making on their apartments. The other thing is that there’s a certain stigma associated with homeless people. If they ask for your previous address you have nothing to tell them. “Oh, well, I live in the Jungle.” That’s unacceptable.

I’m among the lucky ones, though. There’s only 200 housing vouchers; as quickly as they house people, others come in to fill the void. So we’re trying to look at something that can house the 4,000 or 5,000 people who are homeless in Santa Clara County. I think the tech companies have an obligation to help out; they’re the ones who’ve outsourced middle-class jobs and driven rents and property values far beyond many people’s reach. Society is judged by how we treat those that are unable to care for themselves—the elderly, the young, and the mentally disabled. That’s the real measure of who we are.

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Santa Cruz Sleepers Push Back Against City Crackdown Tuesday September 8th

Posted on September 8, 2015 by huffsantacruz

Title:	At City Council and Under the Stars, Challenge the Crackdown at Freedom SleepOut #9
START DATE:	Tuesday September 08
TIME:	3:00 PM – 3:00 AM
Location Details:
In front of City Hall at 809 Center St. in what used to be public space in the broad City Hall Courtyard beginning in mid-afternoon Tuesday September 1st and lasting until 8 AM Wednesday morning September 2nd. The center of the event is likely to be outside City Council during its meeting, and on the lawn and the bricks across the street from the Main Library thereafter. At 10 PM, participants will likely move to the sidewalk, since city bosses have declared the City Hall Courtyard a “closed area’ 10 PM to 6 AM to end peaceful protests they don’t like.
Event Type:	Other
The following posting reflects my understanding of the proposed protest as well as recent events. –Robert Norse SCHEDULE FOP FREEDOM SLEEPOUT #9 Within half an hour of 3 PM probably: City Council to consider Item #15 City Manager Martin Bernal’s proposals to sabotage RV dwellers by attacking the right to park. 5 PM: Oral Communications where Freedom Sleepers will discuss the outcome of their earlier conference with the City Manager in hopes of halting City repression against protesters and homeless sleepers. 5:30 PM (more or less) Freedom Sleepers Press Conference to more fully flesh out specific concerns, strategies. 6 PM General Assembly: to discuss the likely situation at night and how to deal with police interactions and their aftermath. (throughout the evening): food provided by Food Not Bombs, Cafe HUFF, and concerned community members. 10 PM Being in the City Hall Courtyard apparently becomes a cause for citation and/or arrest by the SCPD. Those wishing to avoid this are advised to move to the sidewalk in anticipation of stepped-up harassment. 11 PM Sleeping becomes illegal outside and in vehicles all around Santa Cruz. There is no emergency shelter for the overwhelming majority of the homeless including the elderly and disabled. They face $159 ‘SleepCrime’ citations. 6 AM Holding up a protest sign at City Hall or sitting on a bench there or lying on the grass again becomes “legal” 7:30 AM Campers breakfast. 8:30 AM Sleeping becomes legal on some public property in Santa Cruz for the City’s 1500-2000 homeless L A S T W E E K THREATS FOLLOWED BY HARASSMENT City staff through Councilmember Micah Posner previously made vague complaints of “litter”, “feces” and “piss” and “harassing comments” at prior protests. Freedom Sleepers asked for specifics and that the Council bathrooms be opened at night. Neither was done. Instead Posner relayed an “assurance” from the SCPD that the protesters would be dealt with. In the afternoon of Tuesday September 1st, police officials set up a “no parking” zone all around City Hall, making sidewalk sleepers more vulnerable to noise and harassment from passing vehicles. It also made loading and unloading more problematic (Keith McHenry got a ticket for parking briefly to unload literature and cooking tables). Repeating a “sleep deprivation” strategy they had employed in 2010 to crush a similar protest against the Sleeping Ban, They also set up three loud generators powering 30 foot high intense klieg lights at City Hall such as those used on Pacific Avenue during the New Years and Halloween holidays for crowd control Ironically, the “no parking” zones around the Sleep-Out ironically allowed protest signs and sleepers to be seen more clearly by supportive passersby. The bright lights also allowed easier clean-up. FOUR RAIDS Police followed up these preparations with four separate raids on homeless and housed folks trying to sleep through the night. Around 11:30 PM, they descended in force, and began citing many people in the “closed” City Courtyard area without providing them a chance to walk off the property. They ticketed those on access ways and those reading agendas. Two were arrested and jailed for declining to sign the “park closed” tickets. They asked to be taken to a magistrate or magistrate’s clerk to challenge the whole business of claiming that being at City Hall at night awake with a protest sign sas a crime. Instead they were jailed and told at the jail they might not be allowed a hearing for 72 hours. A second wave of ticketing half an hour later upped the ticketing tally to 15 or more. A third round an hour later saw police peering into people’s vehicles and opening car doors. A fourth round had them ticketing a man sleeping in one of the “forbidden” parking spaces in order to avoid blocking the sidewalk. Police previously insisted only half the narrow sidewalk could be used for sleeping. SLEEPING BAN HARASSMENT CONTINUES In the last week activists reported police ticketing folks around town under the Sleeping Ban (no sleeping on public property after 11 PM). The actual number of such tickets remains to be counted, but activists made a Public Records Act request. COUNCIL TO ATTACK VEHICLE DWELLERS Not-In-My-Backyard bigots, intent on driving away the vehicularly housed homeless folks, persuaded Councilmember’s Richelle NIroyan’s Transportation and Public Works Commission to propose laws requiring permits for RV parking at night city-wide. Also part of the homeless harassment scheme is the elimination of all “oversized” parking spaces to further discourage RV parking. This will be coming up as a preliminary recommendation Tuesday afternoon. An earlier Public Works move by Marlin Grandlund this spring to forbid parking on streets adjacent to the Homeless (Lack of) Services Center has also apparently moved forward behind the scenes. As no law is specifically up for a vote, council will likely direct staff to write a law make criminals out of those who park vehicles in the city who use their homes as their only affordable housing. If so, the law may be up for vote on September 22nd. Freedom Sleepers will be meeting with the City Manager prior to the protest in search of agreement to suspend ticketing of those sleeping outside with no legal shelter options or to make it the lowest priority. There may be a Press Conference on the outcome. RECENT BACKGROUND ON FREEDOM SLEEPER SLEEP-OUTS See “Freedom Sleepers Back To Bed Down at City Hall in 8th SleepOut ” at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/08/30/18776855.php , Recent print accounts of the Freedom Sleepers in the September Street Spirit newspaper: http://www.thestreetspirit.org/the-freedom-sleepers-demand-repeal-of-camping-ban/ Several stories not yet on line at thestreetspirit.org are available in the September issue of the Street Spirit in the Main Library, at the Sub Rosa Cafe, and from HUFF and FNB activists.

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City escalates effort against camping-ban protestors, event attracts variety of supporters

Posted on September 3, 2015 by huffsantacruz

by Zav Hershfield
Wednesday Sep 2nd, 2015 4:04 PM

Police arrest two, write 15 tickets at 8th community sleepout event, install floodlights. Community members discuss themselves, their history.

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“Where are we supposed to go? After we’re run off somewhere, where do we go?” was the question asked by Lisa, a houseless person present in the city hall plaza at this week’s recurring Santa Cruz camping ban protest. Santa Cruz’s camping ban, present in the law since 1978, makes it illegal for someone to sleep outdoors in the city using any kind of sleeping gear. Blankets, tarps, sleeping bags, and tents are all included in this ban. The protestors here, now in their eighth week of the ongoing demonstration, say that the ban unfairly targets unhoused people and is used to make them unwelcome in Santa Cruz.And they do feel unwelcome. “It’s overwhelming,” said Lisa, “there are no basic services for us. I stopped going to work because can’t get a shower, don’t have anywhere to store my things.” It’s the loss of basic services like showers and simple meals that started these protests. Earlier this year, budget cuts to the Homeless Services Center on River Street led the to the organization’s choice to close down such services to people not living on site. The local chapter of Food Not Bombs – an international activist group that supplies free vegan food to protests and progressive causes – in partnership with the group Homeless United in Freedom and Friendship organized several breakfast servings at the corner of River and Highway 1 to draw public attention, but were unsuccessful in seeing the cuts reversed. Now folks like Lisa are crippled in their ability to work, store their belongings safely, and even keep themselves clean.

The city is certainly not making things easy for this current protest camp. There has been a regular police presence that arrives each night near midnight to ticket people sleeping in the plaza, generally for being in a park after hours or for blocking a sidewalk. This most recent campout saw a visit from fourteen officers of the Santa Cruz Police Department, who wrote out fifteen tickets and made two arrests of protestors who refused to sign their citations. The officers were more aggressive than they have so far been in these protests, yanking blankets and tarps off of sleepers and ticketing without warning. In addition, the city covered parking meters by the city hall plaza and set up three police-rented sets of floodlights that they trained on the protest site. The lights ran on smoky, roaring generators for the entire night. Local activist Steve Pleich recalled these same tactics used by the city during Peace Camp 2010, an earlier protest camp directed against the camping ban.

The protest draws a variety of people from the city. One sleeper, Fred, ticketed earlier in the night for playing amplified music from his own car “without a permit,” shared his story wholeheartedly. Fred is a 3 year veteran of the US Army who served in Panama City as an intelligence officer during the Vietnam era and currently lives out of his car with his three dogs. Corwyn is a Saint Bernard, Moustache a terrier mix, and Lukie a Chihuahua mix. Fred credited the dogs with being his best friends and said they save his life every day. He’s got an ingrained sense of humor and sarcasm that he said comes from his upbringing in New York, just outside of the Bronx. Fred made a little light of his ticket when told the name of the officer that wrote him up. “Winston,” he laughed,”tastes good like a cigarette should!” recalling the advertising slogan. He’s got a serious attitude towards the situation of houseless folks like himself though. Recounting his experiences being ticketed or shoved along from a sleep spot, he growled “I want to tell the judge, put on a homeless person’s clothes and go to downtown Santa Cruz and you will be absolutely appalled. The police treat you with absolute disrespect.”

Another sleeper present was Frank Lopez, who is registered with the housing facilities at the Homeless Services Center, but still came out in support of the protests. Frank has had a long history of involvement in social causes. He was a Brown Beret with the United Farmworkers through the 1960s and participated in protests against Safeway grocery stores, as well as a caravan drive through California to provide food, clothing, and medical supplies to undocumented farmworkers. Also present were a young couple, Adam and Rein, who were actually attracted to the site when they saw the enormous lights. They had no idea the protests had been going on, but stopped on a detour taken to avoid a one-way street. They expressed some concerns that the site was so out of the way, and would have liked to see more people present.

Perhaps all these people will be at the next sleepout, on Tuesday, September 8. The organizers are welcoming food, clothing, sleeping gear, and monetary donations, and encouraging folks to come out and learn more about the challenges facing unhoused people in Santa Cruz.

§the protest site, at sundown

by Zav Hershfield Wednesday Sep 2nd, 2015 4:04 PM

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§police set up floodlight

by Zav Hershfield Wednesday Sep 2nd, 2015 4:04 PM

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§Fred w his dog Corwyn

by Zav Hershfield Wednesday Sep 2nd, 2015 4:04 PM

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§police ticket citizen journalist

by Zav Hershfield Wednesday Sep 2nd, 2015 4:04 PM

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§cop stands over protesting sleeper

by Zav Hershfield Wednesday Sep 2nd, 2015 4:04 PM

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§Max displays his citation

by Zav Hershfield Wednesday Sep 2nd, 2015 4:04 PM

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§The Santa Cruz judicial branch opinion has already been established.

by G

Wednesday Sep 2nd, 2015 6:48 PM

Repeatedly, explicitly, for years.”Where?”

“No where in California.” (I’d have to check the trial transcript(s) to get the exact quote(s), but that is very close to verbatim)

Judge Gallagher made that very clear. The Santa Cruz Appellate upheld that opinion, as did the California 6th Circuit Appellate. Repeatedly. This was all well known, well before the latest protest began, didn’t they tell y’all?!

Unless there are serious people planning a serious challenge via a higher court (the Federal 9th Circuit Appellate might disagree, given the oral arguments in Desertrain v. Los Angeles and the recent statement of interest from the DoJ), the judicial branch has been shown to be a dead end.

California bill SB-608 has been stalled in committee (http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB608) because it was DOA. The legislative branch, including the Federal Congress, appears to be a dead end.

Santa Cruz City Council is a dead end. It seems likely that the California AG and Governor are also a dead end.

Are we exhausted yet?

http://PeaceCamp2010insider.blogspot.com/

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§Great Story

by Robert Norse

Wednesday Sep 2nd, 2015 9:37 PM

Moving and educational narrative account with photos that bring the people and situation more sharply into focus. Nice work, Zav.Though I missed some of the police action, after being arrested and jailed in the initial raid as I stood on the sidewalk, I was told that police came four times, giving out additional tickets.

Keith McHenry, who maintained a hot pot of coffee with his portable stove, got two citations, one as he unloaded equipment from his truck in the newly-declared “no parking corridor” around the City Hall Courtyard. The second he got while sleeping in one of the “no cars” spaces along with another activist.

Police refused to acknowledge the right of the public (including Freedom Sleepers) to have the legally required 24-hour access to City Council and associated committees and commissions under the Brown Act. The man I was arrested with–Kevin–was actually sitting next to the agendas.

Max Green, pictured above, goes to court tomorrow morning (8:30 AM, Dept. 1). Promised some legal help from a local public defender that has not materialized, Max will ask Judge Burdick for a second continuance to find a lawyer. Freedom Sleepers is still looking for an attorney as well. He was ticketed as he stood next to the agendas. Three of the agendas (City Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women, Planning Commission, and Zoning Administrator) were for meetings to be held in the next two days. [Gov. Code § 54954.2(a)(1) requires 24-hour access for a 72-hour period.

A recent up date of the Public Meetings Act [http://www.cacities.org/Resources-Documents/Member-Engagement/Professional-Departments/City-Attorneys/Publications/OP-IV-Supplement_Final_2013-09-16.aspx ] suggests that the state Attorney General’s office supports this position [78 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 327 (1995)].

This would indicate that not only I was falsely arrested and taken to jail, but so was Max Green and anyone else who got a citation for MC 13.04.011 (being in a “closed area”)–since it was improper to close the area where the agendas were posted. Since virtually every citation given since the first protest on July 4 was for MC 13.04.011, police and the city attorney have a lot of explaining to do.

Police and rangers, while generous with Sleeping Ban citations elsewhere in the city (as well as “stay-away” orders), have been driving protesters to the sidewalk with “closed area” citations. Perhaps cops are shy to showcase how abusive they are to those without shelter. Harassing, citing, and jailing homeless people for sleeping when all emergency shelter has been abandoned as a matter of policy–at least until the winter? Not good PR or sound financial policy considering the Department of Justice’s recent support of the homeless in Boise, Idaho. Bearcats, yes; basic human rights, no.

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§My Arrest

by Robert Norse

Wednesday Sep 2nd, 2015 9:56 PM

I was arrested after a Sgt. Rodreguez approached me on the sidewalk–the narrow “legal” area–and told me he’d seen me “in the park after closing hours”. He ignored my pointing out that the entire City Hall Courtyard was required by law to be open because of the agenda posting issue (as well as the fact that it’s the seat of government, the most important of all public forums).In his eagerness to ticket me, as I stood in the legal area on the sidewalk, Rodreguez ignored others still actually in the park, suggested he was especially interested in giving me a ticket (which would be my second). Somewhat disgusted at being targeted, I suggested he had no probable cause to cite any of us and asked to be taken to a magistrate for a hearing.

If you request this during the day when the courts are open, police are supposedly required to take you to a court in a timely manner prior to jail booking or requiring you to sign a ticket. However it was around midnight, so he took me to jail, where I got various stories that I’d be held for anywhere from 3 to 72 hours before being taken to court. Not wishing to miss my weekly meeting of HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom), I subsequently gritted my teeth and signed a promise to appear in court for an October arraignment.

Police also continued to ignore the clear wording of MC 13.04.011c which states “No one shall enter or remain in any park, building, facility, grounds or park road (EXCEPT A SPECIFICALLY DESIGNATED AND CLEARLY MARKED PUBLIC ACCESS WAY THROUGH A PARK), during those hours that the place or facility is closed to the general public.” [EMPHASIS mine]

And, of course, most importantly, Police Chief Vogel, City Manager Martin Bernal, and Mayor Don Lane have offered no legal place for those outside to sleep between 11 PM and 8:30 AM at night. Hence such anti-homeless closures and bans are “cruel and unusual punishment”. We’ve heard nothing of our local ACLU–fast asleep as ever–hiking up their briefs and filing some lawsuits. Freedom Sleepers, however, intends to be back next Tuesday. Hope you’ll join us.

I’ll be playing some audio from the 8th SleepOut last Tuesday on Free Radio at 101.3 FM (streams at http://www.freakradio.org) between 6 and 8 PM tomorrow night. It’ll be archived at http://radiolibre.org/brb/brb150903.mp3 .

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§Everybody is Benefitting of Past Protests, but SC Haters Still Hate Protestors-HYPROCRITES

by Pat Colby

Thursday Sep 3rd, 2015 1:12 AM

So what about all the other protests—like the Boston Tea Party. The people who protested and got assaulted, arrested that brought you a free and independent America, the 40 hour week, the eight hour day, overtime pay, paid sick days, paid vacation days, the women’s right to vote, desegregation, civil rights for minority, justice against racism, etc. If you enjoy any of these benefits that were achieved by protests but still think the right to protest isn’t important or a right —than you are a hypocrite!Gotta Love those FALSE “Obstructing the Sidewalk” Tickets that SCPD gives out. They need to be held accountable for them. It only proves SCPD good officers will taint themselves by easily lying as ordered by superiors, break laws themselves on duty and violate people’s civil rights—and we are supposed to trust and respect them!

Get POLITICS out of SCPD!

https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/09/02/18776978.php

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8th Protest Action at City Hall Supporting Right to Sleep for the Poor Outside

Posted on August 31, 2015 by huffsantacruz

https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/08/30/18776855.php

Title:	Freedom Sleepers Back To Bed Down at City Hall in 8th SleepOut
START DATE:	Tuesday September 01
TIME:	6:00 PM – 6:00 AM
Location Details:
City Hall Courtyard and Nearby Sidewalk at 809 Center St. across from the Main Library on one side and Civic Auditorium on the other.
Event Type:	Protest
REASONS FOR THE SLEEP-OUT Authorities continue to harass and cite members of the Santa Cruz unhoused community with $157 Sleeping Ban citations. This is happening even though there is no emergency walk-in shelter for the city’s 1500-2000 homeless; waiting lists are full and generally seem to require a “path to housing”, social worker, and/or disability check. No member of City Council has taken any action to either restore emergency food, shower, laundry, and/or toilet facilities at the Homeless (Lack of) Services Center. Reportedly coming up on the September 8th agenda are new bans against RV parking anywhere in Santa Cruz from 2 AM to 6 AM. And there has been no move to end the Sleeping Ban against the homeless or to designate legal areas where people may sleep without fear of busts or other forms of humiliation. LAGUNA BEACH ACLU MOVES; SANTA CRUZ DOESN’T Meanwhile in Laguna Beach, the ACLU there has filed suit against the city for sleeping bans that criminalized disabled people–as Santa Cruz’s ban does to folks outside here. See http://www.lagunabeachindy.com/updated-aclu-again-targets-citys-homeless-policies-2/ NIMBY NATTERING In recent complaints, routed through Councilmember Posner, city staff have grumbled that they have felt “unsafe”, and kvetched about “pee” and “poo” while giving no specifics as to when and where such deposits were found. Nor have they decided to open the City Hall bathrooms at night. Neither I nor any other activists at these sleepouts have found any evidence of piss or shit. Some, far more fastidious, make it a point to clean up the area afterwards. Nor have staff forwarded any specific complaints to us in a timely manner or any other way. I believe it is unwise for Councilmember Micah Posner to allow himself to be used as a conduit for anonymous and hostile criticism of the Freedom Sleepers. Nor should police be surprised when homeless people, rousted from sleep, do not express themselves courteously when confronting armed men with flashlights and demands that they “move on”. UNCONSTITUTIONAL NIGHTTIME CURFEW It still seems abusive and unconstitutional that the seat of government itself has been declared a “closed area” at night, even though that’s the only place where the city’s agendas are publicly posted. It could become an issue in a civil lawsuit if police physically arrest someone for doing nothing other than sitting or standing peacefully on the city hall grounds after 10 PM. GUIDELINES AND GRUB There will also be a set of proposed guidelines issued at the 6 PM General Assembly Tuesday, suggesting a “quiet for sleepers” and clean-up policy. There will be a light snack provided around bedtime, and a light breakfast on Wednesday morning. HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom) will be meeting Wednesday morning at 11 AM at the Sub Rosa Cafe as usual to plot and palaver. For more info on the sleepout, call me at 831-423-4833. Again, the opinions expressed here are mine, but may also represent those of others at the sleep-out. Join us to restore sanity and decency to Santa Cruz. The right to sleep is the right to live. Freedom Sleepers is develop a new website at http://freedomsleepers.org/

Pushback in Laguna Beach; Repression in Santa Cruz

Posted on August 29, 2015 by huffsantacruz

NOTES BY NORSE: Some HUFF activists have successfully pressed former Santa Cruz City Attorney John Barisone for exemption from some provisions of the Downtown Ordinance for disabled people.

Specifically “Push Back” Pat Colby has secured verbal (but not written) assurance that she will not be hassled under the hourly “Move Along” law. This unique burdensome ordinance (MC 5.43.020(2) has the effect if not the intention of discouraging and burdening vendors, performers, panhandlers,and political tablers by requiring them to move 100′ every hour (to one of the increasingly few “legal” spots) and not to return for 24 hours. Fines for violation are more than $300 and the ordinance has never been challenged beyond the trial court level.

In Santa Cruz, there’s been no acknowledgment of the needs of disabled folks around MC 6.36 (the Camping Ordinance which includes broad Sleeping, Blanket, and Camping bans). Fines of $157 and Stay-Away orders are regularly levied against homeless people with no consideration of their possible disabled status. To make matters worse, even the sketchy protection given by the “dismiss if on waiting lists of shelters” provisions of MC 6.36.055 have become inapplicable.

Giving private agencies like the Paul Lee Loft and River St. Shelter broad power to pick and choose who they’ll spare from the punishment of the Sleeping Ban has itself been a discriminatory problem. I have been unsuccessful in getting clear data from the City Attorney’s office as to how many homeless people are still ending up punished and prosecuted in spite of the obvious shelter deficiency.

However recently, in search of federal and state money, the Homeless (Lack of)Services Center has completely closed down all broader services to the general homeless population including meals, laundry, showers, and bathrooms. Those without a “pathway to housing” may not be able to get on the River St. Shelter waiting list, and the Paul Lee list no longer exists. Hence the whole homeless population of 1500-2000 in the City face the ticketing whim of cops and rangers urged on by right-wing bigots in the Santa Cruz Neighbors, Marlin Granlund’s Public Works Parking Dept., the Downtown Association, Take Back Santa Cruz, and other homeless-aphobic groups public and private.

The federal government has recently weighed legally–noting sleeping bans in cities with inadequate shelter are cruel and unusual punishments in the Bell v. Boise case. This has tongues wagging, but no lawyers writing briefs here yet.

Meanwhile Freedom Sleepers, the group now planning its 8th challenge to the Sleeping Ban with a mass sleep-out on the City Hall grounds on September 1st, continues to face considerable police harassment.

Police removedtwo key Freedom Sleeper activists in handcuffs charging them with felony “conspiracy” and “vandalism” charges, punishable by years in prison. Their “crime”=-unrelated to the Freedom Sleeper protests is satirizing and exposing the City’s illegal constriction of public free expression space downtown through its demeaning and unconstitutional “blue boxes”. After city officials illegally reduced the number of boxes, someone added additional blue marks creating more boxes on the sidewalk designated “free speech zones” where artists, activists, and street folks generally are allowed to socialize, rest, and table. This apparently was done without concealment under the video surveillance of numerous cameras on Pacific Avenue.

City officials had earlier violated MC 5.43.005 (c) and (d) by proceeding to create new smaller “allowed” areas without City Council Resolution. Police harassed, then arrested artists who used the older areas sandblasted away by the city officials. See “Unpermitted Blue Boxes Appear Overnight on Pacific Avenue” at https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/08/24/18776595.php . The officials however were not taken into custody and required to pay $5000 bail to get out. Keith McHenry goes to his initial hearing August 31 at 8:15 AM where Food Not Bombs will be serving a meal. Freedom Sleepers will return to City Hall grounds for their 8th sleepout on the evening of September 1st .

Meanwhile we’re still awaiting some movement from the local ACLU to take legal action on behalf of homeless people here–or at least those who are disabled–regarding the right to sleep–not anywhere and everywhere, but somewhere. And to defend McHenry and others being punished for exposing the City’s crackdown on street performers.

ACLU Sues Laguna Beach Over Treatment of Homeless People

By jgallego August 20, 2015 at 12:43 PM

http://voiceofoc.org/2015/08/aclu-sues-laguna-beach-for-discriminating-against-the-homeless/

Nearly a decade after ACLU Foundation of Southern California sued Laguna Beach over the city’s and police department’s handling of homeless residents, the organization has again sued the city for failing to provide adequate facilities for homeless people with mental and physical disabilities.

In a Thursday press release, ACLU SoCal said it seeks to require city officials to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by providing supported housing appropriate for the chronically homeless with disabilities. Following is the press release and a link to the suit:

Laguna Beach, CA – The ACLU Foundation of Southern California (ACLU SoCal) and the law firm of Paul Hastings LLP today sued the City of Laguna Beach for discriminating against homeless individuals with disabilities.

Currently, the city’s homelessness program provides only limited emergency shelter – often inaccessible to persons with disabilities – yet mandates strict enforcement of laws prohibiting sleeping in public, even against those who cannot access this shelter.

The lawsuit, brought on behalf of five chronically homeless individuals with mental and physical disabilities, including a homeless veteran, seeks to require Laguna Beach officials to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by providing needed supportive housing – that is housing with wrap-around services such as mental health care and case management – appropriate for chronically homeless persons with disabilities.

“Laguna Beach is best known as an affluent, idyllic seaside art colony, but a small, yet significant portion of the population suffers from mental and physical disabilities that leave them unable to access housing,” said Kristopher Wood, an attorney with Paul Hastings. “The City refuses to provide permanent supportive housing that would alleviate the problem; yet continues to cite physically and mentally disabled homeless individuals who have no other option for sleeping outdoors. That conduct is simply illegal under the ADA and the Constitution.”

The lawsuit also challenges the city’s practice of ticketing disabled, homeless persons who cannot access this shelter for sleeping or lodging in public as cruel and unusual punishment.

“The city has adopted a strategy that punishes homeless individuals with disabilities,” said Heather Maria Johnson, a staff attorney with the ACLU SoCal’s Dignity for All Project. “Unfortunately, the tactics are not new and what is happening in Laguna Beach is all too commonplace. But the difference in this case is the city has chosen to ignore the issue despite being put on notice years ago.”

In 2008, the ACLU SoCal challenged a Laguna Beach ordinance that allowed police to ticket homeless individuals who had no other place to sleep. That case was quickly settled, with the city agreeing to repeal sections of the ordinance that prohibited sleeping or camping in public places. Following that lawsuit, a shelter was established.

However, after the end of the settlement period, Laguna Beach officials reinstated the old prohibitions and police resumed ticketing homeless individuals, the vast majority of whom have mental or physical disabilities and often have difficulty accessing the shelter. The current lawsuit challenges the city’s new strategy.

“With a population of just over 23,000, Laguna Beach is a very welcoming place for some.” said Belinda Escobosa Helzer, director of ACLU SoCal’s Orange County office. “But if you happen to be a homeless resident with disabilities, the city makes sure to let you know you are not welcome. This is a city with the resources to address the issue as required by law.” Continue reading →

Round 6: Freedom Sleepers Resume Protest at City Hall

Posted on August 18, 2015 by huffsantacruz

Title:	Round 6: Freedom Sleepers Resume Protest at City Hall
START DATE:	Tuesday August 18
TIME:	5:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Location Details:
In the courtyard at Santa Cruz City Hall at 809 Center St. The event will run from 5 PM on Tuesday to 8 AM on Wednesday. Santa Cruz City Hall It’s across from the Main Library and the Civic Auditorium.
Event Type:	Other
Contact Name	Phil Posner (commentary by Norse)
Email Address	chatrabbi [at] aol.com
Phone Number
Address
For the fifth night this summer, a Coalition of Camp of Last Resort/Homeless Dept, HUFF, Food Not Bombs, & Homeless Persons Legal Assistance Project as well as others will be trying to spend a night near City Hall. City Hall is where Santa Cruz City Council meets, where the offices of the Mayor and City Councilmembers are. The staff who runs the City;s anti-homeless programs also work in buildings nearby. Activists will be protesting MC 6.36.010a–the City’s Sleeping Ban. EMERGENCY SERVICES SHUT DOWN The Homeless (Lack of) Services Center has formally acknowledged the wholesale, conscious, and systematic shutdown of all emergency services from the City-County “Shelter Provider” This eliminates all meals, showers, laundry, and toilet access except for clients in programs, aborting the original purpose of 115 Coral St. The County’s report can be seen at http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/BDS/Govstream2/Bdsvdata/non_legacy_2.0/agendas/2015/20150818-666/PDF/013.pdf There is no provision for opening up walk-in campgrounds or legal places for overnight survival sleeping in cars. LAST COUNCIL MEETING SHUTS OFF COMMENT Many speakers were cut off by Mayor Lane–and no Councilmember offered to extend the Oral Communications time. There’ll be a mid-evening snack later, and morning coffee at 7 AM after the sleep-in. “PUNISHMENT FOR SLEEP” LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTINUES 1500-2000 homeless people in Santa Cruz for the general population face $157 citations and harassment for sleeping in parks–but have no legal place to go. In addition they most avoid the safety of groups and well-lighted areas. They have no real option to call police for problems because they face citations themselves. COUNCIL STAFF PLOTS FUTURE ATTACKS ON POOR Last Tuesday’s City Council had no restoration of services nor providing of any moderation of the harsh anti-homeless laws. In fact, new laws have been proposed by the City Manager for next week involving the banning RV parking 2 AM – 6 AM city-wide and elimination of “ovedrsized” parking spots. See http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/home/showdocument?id=44947 WAITING LIST UNCERTAINTY Up to now, city law (MC 6.36.055) has required dismissal of all camping tickets for those on the Waiting Lists of the Paul Lee loft and the River St. Shelter. HLOSC Director Jannan Thomas met with Freedom Sleepers today and announced there is no longer a Paul Lee Loft Waiting List. The status of the River St. Shelter Waiting List continues to be unclear. Prior word from the River St. Shelter indicates they only provide beds for people with a social worker, a referral, or out of the hospital. On Sunday night, Alexi, a disabled woman, was reportedly denied a bed there. With no waiting list for the Paul Lee Loft and a highly restricted list for the River St. Shelter, sleepers will no longer have the protection of those lists and will have a harder task confronting these cruel “drive the homeless out of town” tickets. This essentially means the end of all Emergency Services in Santa Cruz–other than those with religious requirements or the limited help provided by Food Not Bombs and other samaritans. POLICE APPARENTLY TARGET PHOTOGRAPHERS; IGNORE LAW Police intensified their crackdown last Tuesday with citations for four journalist/photographers there for “being in a park after hours”. Israel Dawson was arrested for not getting his ID quickly enough and charged with “resisting arrest”. Lauren Dawson and Robert Norse both received 24-hour Stay-Away orders as well as $198 citations for being in a park after dark. All four of the journalists cited or arrested are slated to return to report on the struggle to restore basic human rights at City Hall and for the homeless community all around the City. Police ignored the clear wording of MC 13.04.011 which holds you can be on an access pathway through the closed area. They also ignored the more fundamental right to be outside City Hall at night to petition for a redress of grievanceds as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. and California Constitutions. How City officials can allow police to ban people from reading publicly posted city agendas at night is still a mystery to many of us. Particularly since state lazw requires the agendas be publicly available 24-hours-a-day for 72 hours before any public meeting. GET READY TO BED DOWN! Join us in pajamas and bathrobes (teddy bears optional) if you wish to support the Right to Rest. For die-hards and a third round of coffee, HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom) will be meeting at 703 Pacific at the Sub Rosa Cafe (next to the Bike Church) 11 AM Wednesday morning the 19th. To review last Tuesday’s protest, see “Santa Cruz Police Arrest Journalist and Issue Stay Away Orders at Community Sleepout #5” at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/08/16/18776253.php This posting reflects my perspective and hopefully that of other activists. Living it is better than reading about it. Come and do your part. freesleepersflieraug18.pdf download PDF (205.7 KB)

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Santa Cruz Police Arrest Journalist and Issue Stay Away Orders at Community Sleepout #5

Posted on August 18, 2015 by huffsantacruz

Sunday Aug 16th, 2015 6:52 PM

On August 11, community members in Santa Cruz held their fifth in a series of sleepouts organized at City Hall to protest local laws that make it illegal for homeless people to sleep in public. Police arrived at midnight and citations were issued to many in the group of demonstrators who were attempting to sleep in the courtyard as an act of civil disobedience. 24-hour stay away orders were issued to at least two of those present, and a journalist who has been documenting the whole series of protests was arrested and taken to jail. After police left, most of the protesters remained and slept on the sidewalk until the next morning. They have announced their next action is planned for the evening of Tuesday, August 18, again to be located at Santa Cruz City Hall. [Top photo: Police issue citations at Santa Cruz City Hall on August 11. Scroll down for more photos.]

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The courtyard area of Santa Cruz City Hall is closed to the public at night, which is one of the issues homeless rights demonstrators have been targeting. Their desire is to see city parks opened at night so that people without homes will have a place to go where they are not targeted by law enforcement.Another focus of the protests has been the local Sleeping/Camping Ban, which prohibits sleeping in public (with or without setting up bedding) in the city between the hours of 11pm and 8:30am. The ordinance also criminalizes sleeping in cars.

The sleepout on August 11 may have been the first time the city’s parks stay away ordinance has been used against political protesters and journalists.

Many of those participating in the campouts are now calling themselves, “Freedom Sleepers.”

They first arrived at City Hall at 3pm. The weather was warm and some individuals took advantage of the solar shower booth organizers set-up in the courtyard. A duo played music in the courtyard through the campers’ PA system as the city council meeting began inside. Adjacent to council chambers, snacks were provided on a Food Not Bombs table, which also displayed crates marked, “Free Produce & Groceries.”

Later in the afternoon, the campers made their first appearance at a city council meeting. They have been holding the sleepouts at City Hall since July, but the council had been out of session for summer vacation.

During the public oral communications period, they each used their two-minute turn at the city council podium to read sections from a recent statement of interest filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in a legal case involving an ordinance which bans sleeping and camping in public places in Boise, Idaho.

Activists in Santa Cruz, as well as those opposing sleeping bans in other cities across the country, have applauded the DOJ’s involvement in the case, and hope this will lead to the repeal of the ordinances.

The DOJ is taking the position that laws that criminalize homelessness violate the “Cruel and Unusual Punishments” Clause of the Eighth amendment of the U.S Constitution.

“Pursuant to that clause, the Supreme Court has held that laws that criminalize an individual’s status, rather than specific conduct, are unconstitutional,” the statement of interest states.

The statement of interest also notes that under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the federal government may enforce the rights of individuals to be free from, “unconstitutional and abusive policing.”

The DOJ also mentioned in its conclusion that the lack of available space in homeless shelters should be a measure of whether camping ordinances can be enforced:

“For the reasons stated above, the Court should adopt the analysis in Jones to evaluate Boise’s anti-camping and disorderly conduct ordinances as applied to Plaintiffs in this case. If the Court finds that it is impossible for homeless individuals to secure shelter space on some nights because no beds are available, no shelter meets their disability needs, or they have exceeded the maximum stay limitations, then the Court should also find that enforcement of the ordinances under those circumstances criminalizes the status of being homeless and violates the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.”

The public was only allowed 30 minutes to speak, and some of the sleep activists were not given the chance to address the council. The meeting eventually adjourned at 10pm. Shortly after that the campers began to spread out in the courtyard and turn in for the night. Some of the protesters have houses of their own to go to, while others in the group are houseless and live on the street.

Police conducted a raid on the sleepout at around midnight.

When they arrived, one man was sleeping next to his wheelchair, which he parked on the walkway near the entrance to council chambers. He was cited, but he maintained his ground and slept in the same location until morning.

About ten officers with the Santa Cruz Police Department, lead by Sgt. Forbus, arrived during the raid. Forbus appeared to be video recording protesters with an Apple iPad device. Several sheriff’s deputies responded as well, but not until after the courtyard had already been cleared by the SCPD.

Many were issued citations for being in the courtyard after-hours and were told to move to the narrow portion of the sidewalk in front of City Hall. The sidewalk, however, was not a safe zone either, and individuals were issued citations for obstructing the sidewalk.

During the raid, videographer Israel Dawson was abruptly arrested while in the act of recording and documenting the protest. As they handcuffed his wrists together from behind, police accused him of walking away from them when they were trying to get his name. He was booked into county jail on the charge of resisting arrest. His assistant, Lauren Benson, was holding a boom microphone that was wired to Dawson’s video camera at the time of the arrest. She was issued a citation for being in the City Hall courtyard after hours, in addition to a 24-hour stay away order. Dawson and Benson have been documenting the series of sleepouts for Dawson’s final project in the Social Documentation Master of Arts program at UC Santa Cruz.

Homeless rights advocate Robert Norse was also issued a 24-hour stay away order by police after he entered the courtyard area and walked along the main pathway to council chambers. He argued it was the public’s right to use the pathway to access the city council agenda, but was issued a citation by police regardless.

The parks stay away ordinance was adopted by the city council in 2013 as a method of eliminating “problem” behavior in public parks. Under the ordinance, a park user can potentially be banned for 24 hours after receiving one citation of any type in a city park. Repeated citations can lead to a person being banned from a park for up to a year, and a violation of a stay away order can result in a misdemeanor arrest, which is punishable by jail time.

After the police finished the raid and left, several individuals did return to the courtyard area, but most in the group decided to sleep on the sidewalk in front of City Hall that evening, where they stayed until the morning.

For more information about the Freedom Sleepers, see:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/380115462197408/

To read the DOJ statement of interest filed in the Boise case, see:
http://www.justice.gov/opa/file/643766/download

Alex Darocy
http://alexdarocy.blogspot.com/

Author’s Note: In the course of photographing and reporting on this event during the evening of August 11/12, I was also issued a citation by police for being in the City Hall courtyard after hours.

§Santa Cruz City Hall