{"id":4473,"date":"2020-03-17T14:31:57","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T14:31:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/?p=4473"},"modified":"2020-03-17T14:31:57","modified_gmt":"2020-03-17T14:31:57","slug":"governments-reaction-to-covid-19-cops-and-commands-not-common-sense-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/governments-reaction-to-covid-19-cops-and-commands-not-common-sense-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Government’s Reaction to COVID-19: Cops and Commands Not Common Sense Services"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

S.C. County Issues Shelter-in-Place with No Shelter or Facilities for Those Outside<\/strong>\n\nby Robert Norse (rnorse3 [at] hotmail.com<\/a>)\n
Monday Mar 16th, 2020 8:22 PM
\n<\/em>\n\n\nSeveral hours ago the County of Santa \nCruz Health Services Agency followed up on actions by San Francisco, \nMarin, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Mateo counties \ndeclaring much public assembly a misdemeanor. Meanwhile\n acting City czar Martin Bernal has declined to provide portapotties, \nopen bathrooms, provide vacant hotel and motel rooms, or declare an \neviction moratorium for folks outside and hard-pressed renters inside.\n


\n\n\nEMERGENCY ORDER WITH NO PUBLIC INPUT OR HEARING\n
\nThe March 16 six-page ordered by County \nHealth Officer Gail Newel & Assistant County Counsel S. Kelley goes \ninto effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday March 17th.\n

\nIt can be read in full at https:\/\/www.santacruzhealth.org\/Portals\/7\/Pdfs\/Coronavirus\/Shelter<\/a>\n in Place Order March 16 2020.pdf?

\nThe order requiring people to \n“self-isolate” in their residences does “exempt” homeless people \n(Section 2). \u201cIndividuals experiencing homelessness are exempt from this\n Section but are strongly urged to obtain shelter, and governmental\n and other entities are strongly urged to make such shelter available as\n soon as possible and to the maximum extent practicable.\u201d\n


\nIN THE WAKE OF CITY NEGLIGENCE AND OBSTRUCTION \n
\nCounty, City, University, State, and \nFederal authorities have done nothing to expand concrete on-the-ground \nfacilities (such as vacant buildings, unused motel and hotel rooms, even\n campground space). Nor have they provided the\n most basic sanitation services near the larger encampments, instead \nmaintaining the closing of even some of the limited bathrooms available \npart-time (the Library, Louden Nelson, the city-funded Bookshop Santa \nCruz’s bathroom).\n

\nAttempts by Food Not Bombs, the Depot \nProject, and others to secure permits to provide portapotties and hand \nwashing stations have been actively obstructed by city authorities.\n


\nTHE ORDER MAY THREATEN FOOD NOT BOMBS
\nThe current Food Not Bombs\/Union of the \nHomeless presence at the Town Clock is also implicitly threatened by \nvarious provisions of the “Emergency Declaration”.\n

\nFor instance on p.4 under Section 10, \nsubsection f, further subsection xiii, we read \u201c\u2026Food services under \nthis exemption shall not permit the food to be eaten at the site where \nit is provided or at any other gathering spot.\u201d which\n sounds like a perfect pretext to shut down Food Not Bombs food \nservings. \n


\nSUSPENSION OF THE CONSTITUTION?
\nOn p. 2, Section 2 provides provides \u201cAll \npublic and private gatherings of any number of people occurring outside a\n household or living unit are prohibited except as expressly permitted \nin Section 10.\u201d\n

\nSection 10 does not permit, for instance, \npublic gatherings to petition the government for redress of grievances \n(say, the lack of bathroom facilities and decent shelter for the \nhundreds outside).\n


\nWHAT IS TO BE DONE?
\nI suppose if you show up with your chef’s \nhat and gloves as a food provider, you may be able to argue an exemption\n to the First Amendment suspension if the sheriffs or cops show up to \nescort you “home”.\n

\nI encourage members of the community to \ndemand loudly and clearly for the protection of the broader community \nthat such facilities and shelter be made available immediately as an \noption for those outside.\nThis can be done on-line, by facebook, and through twitter, of course, and should be, but there’s\nno substitute for physical presence.  I personally have recent \nhealth problems at an age where I’m particularly vulnerable, so I’m \nstruggling with my own responsibility and response.   At this time I’m \ntrying to avoid contact to slow the virus spread\n and protect myself and those in my household.  <\/strong>

\nApparently endless e-mails, notes, and \nCouncil meeting pleas have no impact on Bernal, Cummings, and the other \nworthies who sit on piles of money (and now emergency provisions).\n

\nIt falls on the community to take peaceful \nbut forceful Direct Action to protect the health not just of those \noutside, but of the entire community before it’s too late.\n\n\n
http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org.<\/a>
\n\n\n\nCOMMENTS AND UPDATES CAN BE MADE AT\nhttps:\/\/www.indybay.org\/newsitems\/2020\/03\/16\/18831598.php<\/a>
\n\nOR TO ME DIRECTLY AT RNORSE3@HOTMAIL.COM<\/a> .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

S.C. County Issues Shelter-in-Place with No Shelter or Facilities for Those Outside by Robert Norse (rnorse3 [at] hotmail.com) Monday Mar 16th, 2020 8:22 PM Several hours ago the County of Santa Cruz Health Services Agency followed up on actions by … 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":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4473"}],"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=4473"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4474,"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4473\/revisions\/4474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}