LA cops arrest nearly 50 homeless on Venice Beach

[G_j]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/02/12/state/n110325S49.DTL


LA cops arrest nearly 50 homeless on Venice Beach
Friday, February 12, 2010

(02-12) 11:03 PST Los Angeles, CA (AP) --

Dozens of homeless people have been arrested after Los Angeles police conducted an early-morning sweep of Venice Beach.


Nearly 50 people were arrested in the pre-dawn raid Friday, some for sleeping on the beach after it closes at midnight and others on warrants and felony violations.

The raid comes amid residents' complaints about noise, drug use and crime along the famed Boardwalk. Venice Beach has a large transient population who sleep on the beach or in RVs in parking lots and nearby streets.

Police Sgt. Kevin Lowe says the homeless people were referred to outreach workers who can offer help about social services and drug rehabilitation programs.

[DrDan]

1. how dare they not have a home . . . or a job .. . .

it's their own darned fault . . . (at least according to neil "the boob" boorz - anyone can succeed if they really want to)

[vadawg]

2. and how dare they have warrants out for their arrests for felony violations etc

seems that they arrested the people with warrants and reffered the others to services that may be able to help...

[DrDan]

3. well . . . that sure sounds better than being arrested for not having a home

[vadawg]

4. yup, probuably the people sleeping on the beach against the ordinance would get a cite if they had

no other warrants, or just told to move along. When you start to get impromptu camps getting set up then you automatically start to get frictions between the residents and the so called campers especially if it starts to interfere with local businesses and everyday lives of the residents. There are no easy solutions and as always the local cops get caught in the middle..

[lonestarnot]

6. Personally I think they should camp in gated communities. Coming to a neighborhood near you.

Poor cops. I do feel sorry for them in the middle and all. Cops may be among the homeless. :(

[Gman2]

12. HOOVERVILLES would be much improved vs. camps that move constantly.

Obama knows better than to set up semipermanent substandard housing. They will necklace his ass with that forever.

[vadawg]

15. nah i am of the thought that its better to be mobile than static, its the locust theory

in that by moving you dont glean an area thereby forcing you to move on, its always better to be semi mobile in order to take advantage of different situations in different areas...

[lonestarnot]

16. Bill it Buster!

Locust theory. I hate those things as well as grasshoppers that spit tabackie. Swarming tactics are noteworthy.

[happy_liberal]

25. Here a good place to start that....

Free camping...free food...

Beginning March 13th, we will erect a tent city on the grounds of the Washington Monument to house, feed and otherwise care for everyone who participates and needs a place to stay.

Your commitment can range from the entire action: Until our demands are met; or any other chunk of time that you are available.

Acts of civil resistance will begin on Monday, March 22nd and we will end when the troops start to come home.

http://peaceoftheaction.org/

[Gman2]

8. SOME, assumes a lot. SOME could mean one each. They dont specify, CUZ

they are promoting the police action. Until you have numbers, the mention is to be assumed propaganda.

[G_j]

11. subtract "some" from 50...

or, 50 minus "others"=??

completely unclear, and probably not by accident

[Greyhound]

9. What percentage of those "felony violations" are the direct result of enforced poverty? n/t

[vadawg]

14. so there should be a wealth standard that i have to employ before i can serve a felony warrant

it dosent work that way, if there is a warrant out there then i have to serve it, i dont get to pick and choose the laws and judges orders that i enforce.. i guess you could say the guy who put a gun in someones face and robbed them only did it due to him being forced into poverty by no one giving him a job that pays enough to support his habit. There are just to many variables inthis situation to be able to know what each individual case was but it makes good press..

[Name removed]

17. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Gman2]

19. Seen the study, that says 1 in 4 is employed to protect the rich, from the rest of us?

[Greyhound]

36. What a whiny little ass. n/t

[Mari333]

5. thanks, Reagan

Ill never forget your policies throwing the mentally ill onto the streets in the 80s

looks like they are still working.

[Gman2]

10. If you werent mentally ill when you became sick, and therefore homeless,you will be.

Living on the street, and always having to watch for the man, makes you hypervigilant. That makes you paranoid, for your safety. That makes you sick. Like PTSD, only you cant escape the warzone.

[EFerrari]

13. He cannabilized the agency that supported housing for the poor:

"Reagan's supporters don't quite see it this way, of course, but his critics say the single most powerful thing Reagan did to create homelessness was to cut the budget for the Department of Housing and Urban Development by three-quarters, from $32.2 billion in 1981 to $7.5 billion by 1988. The department was the main governmental supporter of subsidized housing for the poor and, combined with the administration's overhaul of tax codes to reduce incentives for private developers to create low-income homes, the nation took a hit to its stock of affordable housing from which it has yet to recover, they contend," ( Remembering Reagan, San Francisco Chronicle, June 10 04).

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

7. Need workers for the prison labor industries, no doubt. nt

[upi402]

18. Homeless swept under the rug again

Even Seattle arrested homeless for sitting on sidewalks. Last the media ever spoke of it that I saw, was when a mentally ill man fought off police with a sword. Bif TV "News" stand-off and terrible public image for Seattle.

The business community just wanted them all to just go away. Maybe food for their pets???

[asdjrocky]

20. What the FUCK is going on???

Venice Beach has always been like this. Hell, I lived at Venice Beach for a time.

Welcome to Americas Shock Doctrine.

[spotbird]

21. And what's going to happen when people get out of jail

are they going back to their $100,000 jobs now that they've learned their lesson?

[asdjrocky]

23. Of course.

We all know that people are only homeless because they don't want to live in their houses.

Actually I hear Obama is ending the homelessness problem by mandating we all buy houses.

[Foo Fighter]

46. Good one!

"Actually I hear Obama is ending the homelessness problem by mandating we all buy houses."

That pretty much sums up the approach the current administration would take.

[happy_liberal]

24. What the FUCK is going on???...my exact sentiments

Venice beach is a happening place, I doubt it was even the homeless making noise at night.

Thanks to our economy, more and more people are becoming homeless...so what do they do....why arrest people of course!



No-camping ordinance causing some homeless to 'freak out'
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7705975

Homeless people fined, Jailed, for SLEEPING in Boulder, CO
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7524851

[G_j]

26. +1

[Greyhound]

34. We're being "protected".

:eyes:

[SoCalDem]

44. Beach-front property is the priciest around, so of course what THEY want

matters a lot.. Especially with property values dropping.. My guess is that there are some homes for sale that have gotten bad comments from would-be buyers

[leeroysphitz]

22. It's about time. How can decent people enjoy the beach with all the riff raff hanging around?

[Odin2005]

27. SHH!!! The Homeless don't exist!!! Talking about them makes the middle class faint!

[Greyhound]

32. That's about right.

OH MY GOD! THERE'S POOR PEOPLE EVERYWHERE! CALL THE COPS! SHOOT THEM! LOCK THEM UP (it's not like they're real people or anything)

[ipaint]

28. Special zones urged for people who sleep in RVs, cars in Venice

Tough economic times have spilled onto the streets of Venice, which has become a favorite place to park for scores of otherwise homeless people living in cars and campers. The practice has ignited a mini-uprising among residents living in the pricey coastal community.

The number of cars and recreational vehicles has swelled so much over the last year that Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who represents the city's coastal areas, has proposed creating special zones away from neighborhoods where people can sleep in their vehicles.

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jan/22/local/me-rvzones22

"Declining wages have put housing out of reach for many workers: in every state, more than the minimum wage is required to afford a one- or two-bedroom apartment at Fair Market Rent.1 (National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2001). In fact, in the median state a minimum-wage worker would have to work 89 hours each week to afford a two-bedroom apartment at 30% of his or her income, which is the federal definition of affordable housing (National Low Income Housing Coalition 2001). Thus, inadequate income leaves many people homeless. The U.S. Conference of Mayors' 2005 survey of 24 American cities found that 13% of the urban homeless population were employed (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2005), though recent surveys by the U.S. Conference of Mayors have reported as high as 25%. In a number of cities not surveyed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors - as well as in many states - the percentage is even higher (National Coalition for the Homeless, 1997). When asked to identify the three main causes of hunger in their city, 83 percent of cities cited poverty, 74 percent cited unemployment and 57 percent cited the high cost of housing. (U.S. Conference of Mayors 2008)."

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/who.html

"It's no fun living in your car," says Mike, a lighting specialist in the Los Angeles entertainment industry who has been out of work for a year. One of his last jobs was the Academy Awards show. "I don't have a job right now, in part because of my situation. Did you know that 50% of people who are homeless and living in their cars have jobs?" He keeps his vehicle registration current and parks his van on side streets on L.A.'s west side and in the San Fernando Valley. "You want to park where it is safe and inconspicuous. Not a busy street where someone might plow into you, and not a place where the bums will bother you," Mike says. "If the police hassle you, they'll impound your car and you'll lose everything. I don't want to find out."

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1963454,00.html


The leisure class needs to get a clue. Things have changed.

[flamingdem]

29. It's sad that he has those skills and has to live in his van! nt

[bobbolink]

45. Its "sad" that ANYONE in this rich country is living in their vehicle!

I'm old and not able to work, so does it not count that I shouldn't have to be living in my car?

There are men right here on DU who have been injured at work, should they have to be living in their vehicle, because they are no longer able to work?

There are women here who have become very ill and not able to work... is it OK for *them* to be living in a vehicle?

Its waaaay past time to only be concerned about "the working poor".

Otherwise, if they are the only ones who count, then give the rest of us the pills to exit painlessly so we are no longer in your way.

[Hannah Bell]

37. one of the homeless at venice beach = leonard cohen's "suzanne".

http://alina_stefanescu.typepad.com/totalitarianism_today/2009/06/suzanne-lives-in-a-van-down-by-the-river-or-the-beach.html

[Hannah Bell]

38. one is leonard cohen's "suzanne"

http://alina_stefanescu.typepad.com/totalitarianism_today/2009/06/suzanne-lives-in-a-van-down-by-the-river-or-the-beach.html

[juajen]

30. This is so wrong. Beaches should belong to everybody. Now, along

with everything else, they belong to the "rich and famous" and don't you dare tread on one freely,

[DCBob]

31. Prison might be better option than sleeping on the beach..

Sad situation.

[bobbolink]

40. Well, now THERE'S a choice.

Never mind that prison is a good way to permanently ruin your mental health, not to mention put a serious dent in your ability to get a job.

Yeah, great choice.

[slackmaster]

33. California beaches are public property

Government should not be permitted to "close" a beach at any time, unless there is some kind of acute health hazard situation.

[Greyhound]

35. The problem is that about 30% of SoCal residents are of the variety above.

Living their lives in fear and wanting "daddy" to make it all better for them.

[winyanstaz]

39. In what used to be the Land of the Free...the Richest Nation on the planet...

it is a crime to be poor.

It is past time to provide a permanent place for the homeless to camp..I think the parks would work for now..at least there would be a couple of toilets and some water.

Some even have showers. Let the people use them.

These are our fellow Americans...most of whom worked hard and paid a lot of taxes and they have a RIGHT to a life that isn't so terrible as what they are being told to accept.

Many of the homeless are trying to keep their kids in school and work as well. Why do we have assholes trying to make it even harder?

It is nothing short of torture to make them move all the time until they drop dead.

Shush ---we should let them camp on the Banks parking lots..after all they paid for them too before the bottom fell out of their world.

There but for the grace of whatever...could be you and I. Many of us still with homes are a couple of late payments from the streets as well.

Time to take care of Americans for a change. In fact.. it's WAY over due!

[bobbolink]

41. Uh, camp??

Tell me, do you want your mother living out her life CAMPING?

[winyanstaz]

42. No I dont want anyone living their life out camping...

But until there are homes...they cant just be left in the street or in the gutters dang it...
Its obvious I am concerned about people with no shelter....duh.....and why you want to drag my dead mother into this I have no idea.

[bobbolink]

43. Why? Because so many of us have posted over and over and over

about the need for LOW-INCOME HOUSING, NOT SHELTER, and yet it doesn't sink in.

So, I ask you, HOW can we get people to understand that LOW-INCOME HOUSING is in dire need, is a CRISIS, and that we must start pushing for this YESTERDAY??? HOW do we get that across? We have tried all kinds of things, yet "progressives" are STILL talking about "shelter". After a while, it gets more than frustrating.... with so many people suffering and dying.

I'm sorry if I touched a hot button about your mother... I had no idea, obviously, but again, it has to be made personal for people to begin to make the connection.

If you can figure out other ways of getting this across, you have my ear.

[winyanstaz]

47. It is obvious we need long term low income housing..yes indeed and we need it yesterday...

I am well aware that is it permanant housing we need for the people...But for the thousands without even an umbrella...they need something NOW at lest until we can get the housing going.
At least get them some shelter while we work on the housing. You cant just leave them out in the cold while you work on making the world perfect..they need at least the basics NOW.
That is why I called for at the very least a place they can camp while they wait for that housing.
I would like to see a law passed that if a house or any type of building sits empty for more than 2 years...it should be returned to the people in the form of low income housing.
Give the former owner a tax break..take the house and let the homeless have a place.
If the utility companies could lower their rates...more people might be able to make it by staying in their homes.
So why does each household have to pay hundreds and thousands every single year when they already have the pipes laid and paid for several times over? Sure things need repair but over a lifetime I am sure that has been paid in many times over.
We could also have more money for low income housing if our leaders took a pay cut....
Why should a public servant make more than their employers? Why do they live in big houses and drive fine cars while the people that are forced to pay them those big wages are driven into homelessness by the high cost of living.

And yes you didn't know if my mom was dead...or not, or even if she was homeless or not.
All the more reason not to drag peoples families into a discussion.
Your not knowing I had lost my mom to stomach cancer due to inadequate health care system doesn't make it alright for you to be talking about another posters family...
That was not an apology..that was an excuse.

You would get further by talking about ideas then by attacking someone who is already working on helping the homeless.

What I can't afford to do on a big program..I never the less can do one at a time.

At the moment my couch and front room are empty...but there have been two different single moms and their kids staying there at different times over the course of this last year and one gentleman that was dying from undiagnosed diabetis...and which we were able to help get back on his feet and some care.

I cant do much but I can offer shelter for a few weeks to people in trouble with their living situations. It's not easy on a war widows pension but I will be damned if I will send those kids to the streets.

It's not enough even if many more all tried to take people in....we NEED housing...and the houses are rotting and sitting empty.

I think we need a way to declare empty housing and buildings to be returned to the public domain..."emminant domain for the poor."

[bobbolink]

48. I willl repeat: given that it is seen as USvsTHEM, it must be made personal.

For what its worth to you, there was a cop giving me a hard time, and when I asked him if he would like to have his mother treated that way, he backed down and became human.

So, you can castigate me all you want, but IT MUST BE MADE PERSONAL.

We have been providing shelter for over 30 years now, and all that is happening is more people being homeless, the shelters packed with waiting lists, and NO HOUSING.

Again, castigate me all you want, but until YOU face the situation, and see the reality, YOU are the one who doesn't understand the magnitude of the situation, and the obvious solution.

[winyanstaz]

49. I have been homeless...so this will be my last post to you...

please go rag on someone else...
thanks...

[bobbolink]

50. Hurrah!!!