{"id":3143,"date":"2018-02-04T16:09:41","date_gmt":"2018-02-04T16:09:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/?p=3143"},"modified":"2018-02-04T16:09:41","modified_gmt":"2018-02-04T16:09:41","slug":"speaking-back-to-the-sentinel-on-the-san-lorenzo-campground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/speaking-back-to-the-sentinel-on-the-san-lorenzo-campground\/","title":{"rendered":"Speaking Back to the Sentinel on the San Lorenzo Campground"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A Response to Jessica York’s Latest Sentinel San Lorenzo Campground Story<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
by Robert Norse (rnorse3 [at] hotmail.com<\/a>)<\/span>
\nSaturday Feb 3rd, 2018 9:24 AM<\/p>\n

TO LEAVE OR VIEW COMMENTS, GO TO: https:\/\/www.indybay.org\/newsitems\/2018\/02\/03\/18806465.php<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Jessica York’s front-page story in today’s Scent Anal “Camp Cleanups Shuffle City’s Homeless Population” breezes over the destruction of homeless property and survival gear. It does indicate that City bosses colluded with Cal-Trans in the latest “destroy their stuff” campaign. Those bosses, of course, would be City Manager Bernal, Police Chief Mills, P & R head Garcia, and nominally Mayor Terrazas). Perhaps it’s just raw meat for the Next Door\/Take Back Santa Cruz crowd, but it’s criminal cruelty nonetheless.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

Most of this was left as a Disquis comment to the article. I’ll also be covering some of this on my Sunday<\/span><\/span> Free Radio Show at 101.3 FM at 9:30 AM<\/span><\/span> (also freakradio.org<\/a>) which archives at <\/span>http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/Lostshows.html<\/span><\/a> . <\/span><\/p>\n

Those who want to can leave comments on the Sentinel story at <\/span>http:\/\/www.santacruzsentinel.com\/social-affairs\/20180202\/camp-cleanups-shuffle-santa-cruzs-homeless-population-around-city<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 Beware the bigot barrage likely to follow, since the Comment section is largely a Bigot’s Banquet. \u00a0 I’m also reprinting the story below, since who wants to pay $1.50 to buy this rag, and it’s no longer free on line. <\/span><\/p>\n

The “clean-up” was actually wholesale property removal that refused to provide temporary storage. Brent Adams mentions this and the prior “force the folks to move and dump the property that remains” process during the previous clean-up (but not during the first one). See <\/span>https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Ho<\/span><\/a>… . <\/span><\/p>\n

The City’s ridiculous justification for this policy (some storage unclaimed in previous clean-up’s) reveals its real motivation. This is akin to the apparent agenda of most posters here–to thin out the homeless population by forced removal and property destruction. That should increase the homeless death rate, already high this last year. <\/span><\/p>\n

York’s irrelevant inclusion of the storage problems of a camper not necessarily connected with San Lorenzo Park reveals her own bias, but also ironically is an example of the problem that many campers and the fearful residents who complain about then, have: storage. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is a problem that Adams and the City arranged to deal with, but that storage agreement the City backed out on at the last minute, claiming it needed to “prepare” the ludicrously inadequate “Boneyard” barbed wire campground at 1220 River St.. This small space can house only a fraction of those at San Lorenzo (itself only a fraction of the homeless) and will require users being bused in and out twice a day to pander to the paranoia of businesses nearby. <\/span><\/p>\n

Activists in the community need to consider providing trash pick-up’s and portapotty rental for the many existing campgrounds that reappear after every sweep. I also suggest better communications with the campgrounds in order to document that illegal property theft and destruction of survival gear that the City is colluding with Cal-Trans to do. <\/span><\/p>\n

If they get hit in the pocketbook with some hefty lawsuits, like Fresno, perhaps we’ll see a little less city-funded theft (<\/span>http:\/\/abc30.com\/archive\/61<\/span><\/a>....<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Sentinel Article<\/span><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Camp cleanups shuffle Santa Cruz\u2019s homeless population around city <\/span><\/b><\/span>
\nBy Jessica A. York, Santa Cruz Sentinel <\/span><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.santacruzsentinel.com\/social-affairs\/20180202\/camp-cleanups-shuffle-santa-cruzs-homeless-population-around-city<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

SANTA CRUZ >> Santa Cruz\u2019s homeless population was put on the move this week, as separate encampment cleanups around the city coincided. <\/span><\/p>\n

Santa Cruz Police Deputy Chief Rick Martinez told the city Public Safety Committee on Monday<\/span><\/span> to expect Caltrans cleanups along Highway 1 to have rippling impacts throughout the rest of the city, relocating the city\u2019s homeless to parks and open spaces, downtown and the neighborhoods. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully we can find that magical place called \u2018somewhere else\u2019 where those can receive a system of care and get them off the streets,\u201d Martinez said. He said \u201chundreds of people\u201d were residing along Highway 1, past the bypass to Santa Cruz Memorial and uphill to Mission Street. <\/span><\/p>\n

Caltrans crews began their Santa Cruz cleanup efforts on Jan. 26, said Caltrans District 5 spokeswoman Susana Cruz. Caltrans has targeted properties along Ocean Street, along the San Lorenzo River, Swift Street and Western Drive since then, she said. More cleanups are scheduled for Shaffer Road and Plymouth Street in coming weeks, Cruz said. <\/span><\/p>\n

Martinez told the commission that Santa Cruz officials had asked Caltrans to address the growing number of encampments on their properties since October or November of last year. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been going on for years,\u201d Cruz said of Caltrans crews\u2019 efforts to address trash buildup and homeless encampments in Santa Cruz. \u201cThey (Caltrans workers) do do this, but they have a list of work that they have to do, so every once in a while, they have to stop and just take care of the encampment thing, the homeless issue.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Separately, residents of the city\u2019s largest homeless encampment, comprised of 70 or more people in tents along the San Lorenzo Park benchlands, were temporarily evicted Tuesday<\/span><\/span> evening through Thursday<\/span><\/span> morning for a semi-regular city site cleanup effort. While past city camp cleanups have extended for only 24 hours, an extra half day was allotted this week due to the extended duration of time needed by campers to clear the area, city Parks and Recreation Director Mauro Garcia said. <\/span><\/p>\n

By the conclusion of the cleanup Wednesday<\/span><\/span>, city Public Works and Parks and Recreation workers had loaded some 2.6 tons of debris into a packer truck, Santa Cruz city spokeswoman Eileen Cross said. A 20-yard Dumpster on site has been averaging 2.5 to 3 tons of trash per pickup, for a cumulative 17.2 tons of trash collected since Oct. 30<\/span><\/span>, Cross said. <\/span><\/p>\n

Homelessness issues advocate Brent Adams has been posting videos of day-to-day experiences of people living at the benchlands through his Homeless Outside in Santa Cruz Facebook page. During this week\u2019s camp clear-out, Adams spoke to several people who relocated to temporary camps near the Water Street Bridge. <\/span><\/p>\n

When campers returned to the benchlands Thursday<\/span><\/span>, they saw the nearly 60 outlined campsite spaces reduced by one space that had been damaged by a camper who dug deep trenches around and through their site, Garcia said. Though his department\u2019s general rule has been to restrict one tent per campsite, city workers have been \u201cflexible in enforcing this rule, depending on the situation.\u201d Some campers have been allowed to set up secondary \u201cE-Z Up\u201d tent structures to extend their shelter space, Garcia said. <\/span><\/p>\n

During the benchlands cleanup, the city dispensed with offering overnight storage space for campers\u2019 possessions, an amenity officials had previously provided, because \u201cseveral storage bins from previous cleanups have not been claimed,\u201d Garcia said. <\/span><\/p>\n

In a likely unrelated occurrence, storage-related issues came to a head for one man who told officials he had been evicted from an Eastside private storage space and then opted to store his possessions on Santa Cruz City Schools\u2019 property at the Branciforte Small Schools campus Thursday<\/span><\/span> and Friday<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Though an on-site school administrator was aware of the man\u2019s actions and permitted it temporarily, his extended stay caught the attention of local residents and Santa Cruz police, said department spokeswoman Joyce Blaschke. The man was cited by police and his possessions picked up by a moving truck Friday<\/span><\/span> afternoon, Blaschke said.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Response to Jessica York’s Latest Sentinel San Lorenzo Campground Story by Robert Norse (rnorse3 [at] hotmail.com) Saturday Feb 3rd, 2018 9:24 AM TO LEAVE OR VIEW COMMENTS, GO TO: https:\/\/www.indybay.org\/newsitems\/2018\/02\/03\/18806465.php Jessica York’s front-page story in today’s Scent Anal “Camp … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[64,4,107,87],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3143"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3143"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3144,"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3143\/revisions\/3144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}