The Weekly Dump 10.19.18

City Closes Public Parks Over Public Safety Concerns

Grant Park and San Lorenzo Park have both been closed until further notice. At San Lorenzo Park, access to major pathways will be open during normal park hours. What are “normal park hours” if the park is closed? Ah, city dysfunction at it’s finest. All of Grant Park will be closed, including the picnic areas, children’s playground, and baseball field. The City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Department said the closings are “due in part to targeted maintenance and public safety.” The “targeted maintenance” is just a fluffy excuse thrown in to try to placate the sensitive progressive backlash with the real reason: public safety. Oh, and there’s another “unspoken” reason this is happening now. The city really doesn’t want a repeat of last year’s “Camp Coonerty” fiasco in San Lorenzo Park, and Bernal & Co. know the best way to prevent that is never let it manifest in the first place. Because once the Hobonip shuts down for good, people will inevitably make their way back to good old San Lorenzo Park. This obviously shows a complete lack of vision, a complete lack of faith in the city manager and the current city council to find an appropriate answer or solution here. We’ve seen this before. Why do we keep seeing it happen over and over? Why is this our status quo, and why do we have to accept it? We DON’T.

Santa Cruz Announces Closing Date for River Street Homeless Camp

I got one of those “city manager’s reports” from Emperor Bernal Thursday morning, and in it he announced that the River Street homeless camp, that grand “social experiment” failure by our city manager and police chief that firehosed money from the city’s general fund monthly, will be permanently shut down by November 30th. According to Bernal, “Beginning November 15th, the Winter Shelter will be open at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post in Live Oak, and beds will also continue to be available at the Paul Lee Loft.” He also mentions the county and local cities are expected to receive some new Federal money. “The local Homeless Action Partnership (HAP) which is made up of representatives from the County and from the cities of Capitola, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley and Watsonville, is due to receive over $10 million in grant money in 2019. The money will allow HAP to approach homelessness holistically, systemically and regionally.” You know what word is missing there? “Effectively”. “Practically”. “Smartly”. At least this year, the winter shelter is in Leopold’s back yard instead of mine. And thank God someone at the city had the good, common sense to shut this bad idea down. For what was being spent, these people could have been comfortably living in shared housing instead of squatting in a dirt parking lot. And you know why “Phase 2” of the city’s plan here has gone nowhere. It’s called “Not In My Back Yard”. It’s called “stop taking on county responsibilities with city money”. It’s called “social services and homeless services is a COUNTY responsibility, not a CITY responsibility, so make the COUNTY pay for and be responsible for it”. It’s not rocket science. It’s also not the city’s financial responsibility and problem (but unfortunately, we make it our problem).

Woman Sexually Assaulted In Public Park Bathroom

And now we’re back to talking about the lack of public safety in our parks. Tuesday morning around 10:30AM, a woman in her early twenties was sexually assaulted in a public bathroom at Jose Avenue Park in Santa Cruz after she stopped to use the bathroom while out jogging. She reported that a “thin man with dirty blonde hair and a scraggly beard” followed her into the bathroom, pushed her into a stall and sexually assaulted her. After the man left, she reported the assault to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. The suspect was described as a white male in his late 20’s or 30’s, about 6 feet tall, barefoot and wearing a ragged black “Santa Cruz” hoodie, ripped and dirty jeans and a black backpack with red trim on the straps and a reflective material. She said he looked homeless and may have been on a bike.

Three People Arrested in Connection to Santa Cruz Murder Case

Three people have been arrested for a suspected homicide that took place last week on N. Rodeo Gulch Road in Santa Cruz. Last Saturday, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a body found on the 4000 block of North Rodeo Gulch. Deputies and first responders found the body of a dead male about 75 feet off the road. The victim was identified as a 41 year old Santa Cruz man who was reported missing on October 10th. This Tuesday, Sheriff’s detectives arrested a 22 year old man from San Jose, a 17 year old from Capitola, and a 15 year old from Santa Cruz for the man’s murder. A forensic autopsy is ongoing and the pathologist has determined the manner of death is homicide. The cause of death is pending completion of the examination.

Bohemian Rhapsody in Blue

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide no escape from reality!

Just the Usual Roundup of Low Hanging Fruit in the Orchard of Bad Behavior
Last Friday, SCPD contacted a couple of people in a car on the 100 block of Fern Street while conducting extra patrol checks. Two people were arrested for warrants, possession of nunchakus, burglary tools and drug paraphernalia.

It’s Like Slapping Your Self in the Face
Last Friday, SCPD responded to the Taco Bell on Pacific Avenue for a subject who walked up and punched the drive through window after he was denied service. He had a felony warrant and was taken into custody.

Burglary Suspect Arrested After Breaking Into Occupied Residence
Last Friday, SCPD responded to the 100 block of Harmony Court for a report of an occupied burglary. The victim woke up and found an unknown person in their house. SCPD detained and arrested the suspect for burglary.

Don’t Pick up the Soap

After a recent contraband search at the county jail, several weapons were found. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said correctional officers, along with other agencies, inspected several inmate housing units last week and found a number of stabbing devices, razor blades, tattoo needles, pieces of metal and plastic used to make weapons, drugs and gang documents.

Fatal Injury Accident in Ben Lomond

A woman died this week after she apparently veered off Glen Arbor Road for an unknown reason and crashed into a utility pole on the side of the road near Highlands Park in Ben Lomond. She was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.

City Council Candidate Mugged Downtown Before Public Forum

Dave Lane, one of the candidates running for city council, was apparently beaten and mugged last Friday night in downtown Santa Cruz. He managed to actually make an appearance at the “East of the River” candidate’s forum, but his face was all cut up and bruised from the beating he took when someone stole his phone downtown and he tried to get it back. He left shortly after showing up and telling everyone what happened. Probably to go get his face stitched up.

High Risk Car Stop Near Market Street

Monday night around 10:30PM, SCPD was following a green BMW near Ocean and Water streets that was suspected of being involved in a robbery. As more units were brought into position, a high risk stop was initiated after the car turned onto Market street near Grant. I heard a female driver may have jumped into a nearby creek trying to evade police. Not sure how this one turned out.

DUI Driver Causes Ugly Crash on Highway 17

Sunday night around 11:30PM, a 47 year old man from Redwood City was driving was driving a 1999 Volkswagen Jetta northbound in the southbound lanes on the freeway portion of Highway 17 through Scotts Valley when he struck a 2014 Mazda MZ6 almost head on. Thankfully, there were no life threatening injuries and the DUI driver was booked into the Santa Cruz County Jail.

Picking Up the County’s Trash

Saturday night around 10:30PM, SCPD was tracking and following a man who apparently was wanted for outstanding warrants near Pacific and Church streets in downtown Santa Cruz. He was described as having a “Juggalo hatchet man tattoo on his neck”. SCPD spotted him walking with a bike (probably stolen) downtown but I didn’t hear if they caught up to him. Blame it on the Insane Clown Posse.

How Long Was She Riding Around That Way?

Wednesday night around 10PM, Santa Cruz fire and medics responded to the Metro Center on Pacific Avenue downtown after a 28 year old woman was reported to be unconscious, unresponsive, and not breathing on one of the buses that was parked in one of the bays. Didn’t hear how she turned out.

Three Motorcyclists Go Down on Highway 17

Saturday morning around 10AM, I heard a report of 3 motorcyclists that all went down on southbound Highway 17 just before the Pasatiempo exit. I heard they managed to get themselves up and off the roadway so apparently their injuries weren’t too serious.

El Circo del Ayuntamiento

Busy week for local candidates. Lots of mierda slinging going on too. There were a couple of candidate forums and events that took place over the past week.

Last Friday night we had the “East of the River” candidate forum. I got there a little late and left a little early but overall, it was pretty good. Well run, well organized, nice ladies offering hot cider, coffee, and snacks. I enjoyed it. The moderation was fine, the questions were mostly topical to the neighborhood and audience. Stuff like growth, transportation, housing, and a bit of public safety. Everyone did ok. I think at this point, if you’ve been to a few of these, you’d notice all of the candidates get more comfortable as they do more. That’s not to say some don’t stand out more than others. Richelle and Ashley are both excellent public speakers who are confident and get your attention. Some of the others are very monotone, and after hearing one or 2 it just becomes a lot of white noise (and a lot of tired cliches are tossed around by this same group). Some people just talk way too fast and I don’t even try to catch up, I just let go and daydream until the next speaker. Or I do my favorite thing which is to watch how the crowd reacts to each candidate while they are talking.

Then there was some kind of “Community Housing Forum” that the candidates spoke at, which took place at the swanky Hotel Paradox. I missed that one. It was part of something called “Santa Cruz County Affordable Housing Week”. I know pretty much nothing about it. If anyone has feedback, drop it in the comments! There was also some kind of “Freedom Forum” (whatever that is) that took place this week. I didn’t make that one, it seemed to be some sort of debate forum on certain measures (I know M was one of them), as well a chance for candidates for public office to speak. I think only about half of the candidates showed up, and I think Larson was the only “slate machine” candidate to show up.

Last days to register to vote! If you haven’t registered yet, do it now!

The Weekly Seen

Idiot compassion. It’s a vicious, self perpetuating, self induced cycle here. How is any of what you describe “holding them accountable”? The people we need to be holding accountable here are the people that allow this to happen. 

The Happy Story of the Week

Finally, we have a happy story! A Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Deputy probably saved a baby’s life this week in Davenport through his quick thinking and proximity to the scene. The family of the baby had pulled off the road after realizing their infant baby was in distress. The Deputy began a series of rescue back blows to the unconscious baby until the baby finally coughed up some milk, opened her eyes, and remained conscious and alert, breathing freely. After giving the baby back to a family member, he monitored her until medics arrived minutes later. The baby was transported with her mother to the hospital for evaluation but it appears she will fully recover. Awesome job!

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15 Comments

  1. Sad about sexual assault – just after an online discussion about how safe it was becoming in this area. Maybe that park area should be closed too – perhaps a little barbed wire would be a nice visual touch! Odd that very little news coverage appears in some news publications. Thanks for prompt info!

  2. Freedom Forum was actually pretty good. Respectful and not stuck on one thing. I will say it was actually pretty fun for me.

    There was an incident after the CTV show on Sunday evening which I was a witness to, and it was absolutely ugly !! I stood right next to the candidate so that I could protect if anything went to sideways and to make sure that person had a witness and no one could twist anything around. Unbelievable is what I have been saying all week. I believe you have been emailed the incident if not I will get it to you.
    Thank you again for your weekly dumb!

  3. there are 500,000 homeless people in the usa. there are 325 million people in the usa. that means 0.15% of people in this country are homeless. not one percent, not ten percent, less than 1/5th of a percentage.

    we already know a large portion of that is criminal and shouldnt technically be counted as homeless. there is a difference between voluntarily transient and homeless. 1/4 of that population is in california. wonder why? do the criminals just pretend to be homeless in order to get free services and welfare? how would we know if a career criminal were renting a room in say felton, and pretending to be homeless in order to work the system when he isnt busy raiding the downtown shops?

    do i want to buy each of those people a free house? do i want to keep panicking about this as if its evidence of the failure of capitalism? NO!!!!!!! STFU ALREADY!!!!

    i dont know how to rescue the people with severe mental illness who are on the streets. but turning all of the parks into an open air bathroom, drug and prostitution fest isnt the answer. and another woman sexually assaulted in daylight!! how dare anyone try to go for a jog here? the nerve. so bourgeois…? thank god it isnt an open camp fest in the park again.

    i was expecting to see some huge shocking percentage. .. like oh 2% of the country is living on the streets (that would be 6.5 million people) , half of them have paranoid schizophrenia, are missing 1/4 of their brain, 2 out of four limbs and lost their apartments because they didnt make 25 bucks an hour making sandwiches 40 hrs a week at subway…

    i think these percentages are pretty encouraging, but they make me even more angry at the ultra left wing narrative that is on full blast here and in most of california. can we stop? can we have some normal governance at some point? fml

    • Haviladar Major

      “there are 500,000 homeless people in the usa. there are 325 million people in the usa. that means 0.15% of people in this country are homeless. not one percent, not ten percent, less than 1/5th of a percentage.”

      This is grossly misleading.

      I don’t know if the numbers you quote are accurate? Citation?

      If the homeless were spread evenly over the entire USA, the arguement might have a bit more validity.

      What is the homeless population density in SCZ compared to Ames, IA? Or, Detroit? Los Gatos?
      What is the percentage of public funds spent on homeless compared to homeless population with similar densities?

      Sorry your arguement doesnt pass the smell test.

      • what? do your own research. i used GOOGLE. i’m not preparing an academic paper. i’m not trying to complete a phd. i’m TALKING about the country we live in. — writing back and forth with people online. and you know what i’m not your hand maid so i’m not going to go around doing research for you.

        people move here because the climate is warm, the hand outs are everywhere, and the laws are lax. how do you know the numbers aren’t spread out evenly over the whole country? how do you know they haven’t moved here from every state? none of us know because we haven’t been given an accurate census!!!!!!!! i will tell you what doesn’t pass the sniff test, the local census of the homeless population. why are they all middle aged men!!! almost 75% of them!!!!!!!! total joke!

        learn how to think for yourself. there is nothing fancy or intelligent about buying the mainstream hype. if you want to live in an echo chamber fine, but no one visits this website for that.

        • Haviladar Major

          So, you really don’t have a basis for your original comment nor a valid answer to my question.

          Preparing a PhD, huh?! Pretty funny.

          • You’re the one who challenged his stats and said they were grossly misleading without providing any numbers of your own.

            It took me 20 seconds top confirm Kris’ numbers are correct. So you put more energy into perpetuating ignorance than you put into seeking the truth.

            Pretty funny, indeed.

          • not even clear what your question was. are you doubting the population of the usa? are you doubting the population of the homeless in the usa? are you doubting 500,000/325,000,000 =.15% ?!?! lord knows why “i googled it” isnt good enough for you- and lord cares! and thanks larry! good to know im not the only one who can use a search engine or a calculator! lol!

      • Reality Check

        Percentage of homeless in Los Gatos? That’s easy – zero.

  4. Maybe the city has stumbled into a solution for cleaning up our parks. First Council should declare a parks maintenance emergency. We know how much they like to declare emergencies. Then anytime a park begins to get overrun they can just show up without notice and put up fencing and close it down for cleaning and maintenance. So they just put in place an ongoing, permanent and unannounced park closing and maintenance program. Embrace the whack-a-mole philosophy. Eventually maybe the vagrants will relocate somewhere outside the city where they won’t be run off regularly without warning.

  5. oh i have a new nickname for the left of left or lol – the bullshitviks hahahahahahahhahah :0)

  6. Hey chief of police, what say you about the closing of the homeless encampment? Haven’t heard much from you recently.

    • 🙂 Jim, you mean to say you missed his speaking event at the Resource Center For Non-Violence on Thursday night?! http://www.santacruzaclu.org/events/

      • I did! The chief was so gung ho with his homeless plan when he arrived but since the disaster at the park he seems to have kind of stepped back. What’s his plan going forward? If there isn’t one which I suspect we can expect another shit show at the park!

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