Chris Doyon faces Federal Charges for Cyber-attack in Santa Cruz County

At Peace Camp 201o on July 10th, exhausted houseless people arrive and bed down for a welcome night's sleep as part of the protest against laws which outlaw sleeping at night. Photo by Becky Johnson

NOTE TO READER: Neither the SENTINEL nor the FEDERAL INDICTMENT against Chris Doyon states our issue properly. Peace Camp 2010 was NOT calling for an end to the CAMPING BAN. In 20 some articles they've NEVER gotten it right. We assembled to protest the INJUSTICE of laws which ban SLEEPING AT NIGHT and the ban which forbids using a BLANKET AT NIGHT. We also called for amnesty for past citations. We understand that cities have the right to regulate camping. However, the City of Santa Cruz does not REGULATE camping. It forbids it completely. And this in a City with over 1,000 houseless people and shelter for less than 10% on our best days. Peace Camp 2010 had NOTHING to do with the cyber-attack. We did not plan it. We did not approve it. We had no knowlege of it until it happened. And ED FREY and I both condemned it at the time. We have always been out to win over the hearts and minds of the citizenry that it is WRONG to forbid houseless people the right to sleep at night in a situation in which inadequate shelter exists. Finally, the County camping ban does not apply to the grounds at the County Building, so we were violating no county code by sleeping there. ---- Becky Johnson , ed.

Homeless activist indicted for county cyber attack: Voice of 2010 protests swept up in nationwide crackdown

By Jason Hoppin

Posted: 09/23/2011 01:30:47 AM PDT

ARTICLE FOUND ONLINE HERE.

SANTA CRUZ -- A homeless activist who appears to have been instrumental in last year's Santa Cruz camping ban protests was arrested Thursday for allegedly hacking Santa Cruz County computers in December, federal authorities allege.
A federal grand jury's indictment of Mountain View resident Christopher Doyon, 47, appears to be part of a nationwide crackdown on the hacker community. A second man also has been charged in the attack, which authorities say was planned as retribution for the breakup of a lengthy protest over the city's controversial outdoor sleeping ban.
According to the indictment, Doyon and Joshua John Covelli, a 26-year-old Fairborn, Ohio, resident, hatched "Operation Peace Camp 2010" on behalf of the Massachusetts-based group Peoples Liberation Front, which claimed credit for the attack and has been linked to the hacker group Anonymous.


Anonymous has been linked to a number of online hacking attacks worldwide, and played an instrumental role in a recent series of BART protests. Their members often appear in public wearing masks, particularly of the British 17th century revolutionary Guy Fawkes.
The county government computer attacks resulted in users not being able to access the county's website. No information was compromised or disseminated, county officials said.
The two-month protest over the camping ban began on the steps of the county courthouse and ended in front of Santa Cruz City Hall. Ultimately, the sheriff's deputies moved in early in the morning to break up the protest.


In letters posted on Peace Camp's blog, Doyon also described himself as homeless and some news reports on Thursday also described him as such, though federal authorities could not confirm it. Authorities provided no details on his arrest.



"All I know is that it went without incident," FBI spokeswoman Julie Sohn said.


A Chris Doyon of the same age was quoted in a Sentinel article last year about the camping ban protest, saying he believed people had the right to sleep wherever they choose.
Doyon was also one of five people ultimately charged with illegal camping, though he never showed up for trial. Prosecutor Sara Dabkowski said in May that a bench warrant had been issued for his arrest, but no further information was available Thursday.
Doyon once described himself as a spokesman for the group. At the time, he said he grew up in Maine and moved west to follow the Grateful Dead. He also vowed not to give up protesting the camping ban.
"This is a fight about aesthetics," he was quoted as saying. "One man's garbage is another man's belongings. I think millionaires are unaesthetic; I think Hummers are disgusting. You see the ridiculousness. This is class warfare."
The FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office offered scant information, but the indictments appear to part of a broader net cast by federal authorities.



Also Thursday, the FBI's Los Angeles office announced it had arrested a Phoenix man on charges he hacked Sony Pictures Entertainment's website.
Cody Kretsinger, 23, was arrested without incident, based on a Sept. 2 federal grand jury indictment unsealed Thursday. The indictment alleges Kretsinger carried out the attack as part of the group LulzSec, which has also been linked to Anonymous.
An FBI official told FoxNews.com that search warrants were being executed in Minnesota, New Jersey and Montana.

Covelli was previously indicted in July for allegedly hacking into PayPal. He was not arrested Thursday, and his next scheduled court appearance in the earlier case is set for November.
Both Doyon and Covelli were charged with conspiracy to cause intentional damage to a protected computer, which carries a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, and aiding and abetting, which can carry a sentence of 10 years and a fine of $250,000.
Any sentence is subject to federal sentencing guidelines.

Doyon made a brief court appearance Thursday. His next scheduled appearance is Sept. 29.

__._,_.___

Six Months Jail for Sleeping -- $50,000 Bail Judge Jails Two Homeless Activists who refused 400 hours of Community "service"

NOTE TO READER: As always, a careful reading is required of any SENTINEL article about the Sleeping Ban. A good reading between the lines is in order, as always. Not that I fault writer, Cathy Kelly. She is more thorough than most, but conforms, as they all do to a certain...shall I say bias? At issue:

Missing from Kelly's article is that the DA asked for 400 hours of community service from Frey and Johnson, which is excessive. They were convicted of sleeping which is non-violent and has no victim. Also missing from Kelly's article was that Gallagher issued a $50,000 bail should Frey want to be at liberty to file his appeal. Also, the "registered sex offender" was originally luridly called a "child molester" in a previous SENTINEL headline. That charge was later retracted. The man arrested, ha, at age 14 impregnated his 12 year old girlfriend. He is now 27. He does not belong on any sex offender's registry and poses no threat to anyone. While Kelly accurately reported that Gallagher did deny the juror misconduct, he did so by labeling our recordings of jurors saying that one juror did commit misconduct in a recorded interview after the verdict with DA Dabkowski participating. Gallagher ruled the tape "hearsay" and quashed any further investigation involving the juror misconduct. Refused to allow Frey access to juror names or contact information so he could depose the jurors and bring back those charges in a "non-hearsay" form for the Judge. Gary Johnson said he'd be unable to comply with the probation restriction to "obey all laws" since he is homeless and has to sleep at night. "I can't go three years without sleeping."When pressed as to where Johnson could sleep, Gallagher said "You can sleep in jail" and ordered him immediately jailed. The law says nothing about "sleeping in public" and only prohibits "illegal lodging". Lodging is not defined by the law. So Kelly got most things right. Of course, she wasn't there. She must have interviewed Dabkowski later on because she didn't return my phone call. ---Becky Johnson

(my apologies for the formatting. For better reading quality, go to the SENTINEL website and read it there.)


FROM THE SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL --- JUNE 10 2011 "Two 'Peace Camp 2010' Protestors
(sic) Jailed for 6 Months"

By Cathy Kelly

Posted: 06/10/2011 08:47:35 PM PDT

found online here.

SANTA CRUZ - Two men arrested during a lengthy homeless protest last year on the steps of Santa Cruz County Superior Court and City Hall were sentenced Friday to six months in County Jail.

Homeless activist and attorney Ed Frey, 69, and Gary Johnson, 47, were "remanded into custody" directly from the courtroom of Judge John Gallagher.

The case began July 4, 2010, in what activists called Peace Camp 2010. Initially, it comprised a group of more than 50 who began sleeping and holding signs and more on the courthouse steps. It lasted roughly three months, before sheriff's deputies began warning, ticketing and arresting protestors under a criminal misdemeanor law for unlawful lodging and the protest died.

Protestors included one elderly woman with serious health problems who seemed committed to a cause she ardently believed in, and others who included, one day, a registered sex offender arrested near City Hall.

Without doubt, it was political. Sheriff's deputies waded in cautiously after protestors and others realized that though they were protesting the city's so-called "camping ban," they were actually on county property.

Frey faced three misdemeanor counts and Johnson faced four, prosecutors said.

In April, Frey represented himself and others in a legal challenge and jurors upheld the charges against most of the five people Frey was then representing. Friday, he was representing three people, one who didn't come to court, prosecutors said.

And though Frey alleged juror misconduct, Gallagher denied his request for a new trial.

The judge offered the two men a sentence of community service and probation with minimal supervision plus an agreement they don't camp at the courthouse, prosecutor Sara Dabkowski said. But the men declined. Johnson said, given his life situation, he could not abide by the probation directive to "abide by all laws," she said.

So Gallagher ordered the men to jail on the maximum six-month sentence for a misdemeanor criminal violation, Dabkowski said. They will be released after serving two-thirds of the sentence, or 108 days.

Dabkowski said Frey can appeal and has at least 30 days to file a notice of intent to appeal.

She said the three others who Frey represented at trial either did not come to court or have not been sentenced and that warrants have been issued for at least two of them. One, Eliot "Bob" Anderson, was not convicted, as the jury "hung" on his one count of violating the anti-lodging law, she said. The other two are Arthur Bishoff and Collette Connolly. Bishoff was due in court Friday, and was still being represented by Frey, Dabkowski said.

Because the law targets sleeping in public for those who don't have a home, Frey had challenged its essence on constitutional, human rights and other grounds.

After the protest, the city said tickets for violating the city's law against sleeping outside at night can be invalidated if a person gets a statement from the Homeless Services Center stating there were no beds for them that night.

In a July 11, 2010 guest editorial published in the Sentinel about that change, Frey stated that still amounts to "pre-judgment punishing" on top of the punishment of being awakened by police in the middle of the night when one has nowhere to lawfully sleep. The new policy requires "the accused to run three separate errands" to obtain a dismissal, he stated.

"We set our protest at the courthouse for one simple reason," Frey wrote. "That is the only place left where freedom, justice and peace in the world can start."

Friday, asked to comment, Santa Cruz Vice Mayor Don Lane said, "The risk you take when you do civil disobedience is you are expecting some consequences for that. That is part of what he took on here. They were really trying to make a political statement in this action."

Lane, a longtime advocate for the homeless, looks to the day when there is enough shelter to serve that population. But Lane said, "There are other folks who are advocates for civil rights, and that's fine. But that is not my focus. Their goal is to change that law (the city law), and my goal is to get people into shelter."

Dabkowski simply said it's her job to enforce the law.

A public defender, after court, volunteered the information that jail time costs the county $77 per day per person.

Free Food, Free Music, Free Homeless People

by Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom

Santa Cruz, Ca. -- The Winter Shelter offered at the National Guard Armory has ended, but those once sheltered now face PC 647 (e) misdemeanor anti-lodging charges, and MC 6.36.010 section a infraction charges for sleeping or for sheltering themselves. Seven individuals face charges and trials in April and May from Peace Camp 2010 where they were charged with illegal "lodging" which is not defined in the law, but left up to the individual officer's interpretation of what "lodging" is. Between 1000 and 2000 individuals in the City of Santa Cruz alone now face criminalization in direct violation of the 8th amendment's prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment. We DEMAND that these prosecutions stop and that those homeless people who sign the waiting list be left unmolested by the SCPD.

SPEAKERS: Linda Lemaster, Steven Pleich, Diana Eagle, Ed Frey, Robert Norse
MUSIC: Butterfly Revolution, Tony Kuspa, TR and Blu ( tribute to Cosmic Chris), Richard Lopez and more!
FOOD: Coffee and coffee-cake for the masses at 10:00AM

Cops and Courts Jan 21 2011 -- SENTINEL

Found online here.

SANTA CRUZ

Homeless protest defendants in court

Several demonstrators arrested at the county courthouse this summer who were accused of violating California's unlawful lodging law are expected to challenge the charges today, citing a combination of state and federal protections.

Attorney Ed Frey, an advocate for the homeless who was among those arrested, will represent the defendants, who participated in a demonstration deemed Peace Camp 2010. The protest was designed to criticize the city of Santa Cruz's overnight camping ban, but got muddied when city police declined to cite or arrest the demonstrators because the courthouse is county property.

Sheriff's deputies eventually began making arrests and issuing citations before the demonstration moved to City Hall, where police also issued a number of tickets. Today's case relates to the sheriff's cases, which are based on the state's lodging law.

In a statement issued Thursday, Frey said he intends to argue the charges should be thrown out because they violate the First and Ninth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as well as parts of the California Constitution and the principle of due process. The defendants are slated to appear at 1:30 p.m. before Judge John Gallagher in Department 2.

Civil Rights worker, Collette Connally, trying to sleep in front of Santa Cruz City Hall to protest the Sleeping Ban, dons sunglasses in the face of bright Kleig lights brought in to harass protesters at an expense of $100 a day. Photo by Becky Johnson

Judge denies dismissal of camping tickets from Peace Camp 2010

By Cathy Kelly - Santa Cruz Sentinel

Posted: 01/21/2011 07:40:37 PM PST

found online at: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_17163062

SANTA CRUZ - A judge refused Friday to dismiss misdemeanor unlawful lodging charges against six people involved in the Peace Camp 2010 demonstration, despite their attorney's claim that the state law banning sleeping outdoors is unconstitutional.

Peace Camp 2010 began July Fourth as a protest against a Santa Cruz law, which makes it an infraction to sleep outside from 11 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. It began on the county courthouse steps, moved to Santa Cruz City Hall and fizzled out on Oct. 2. Participants wracked up several citations for sleeping outside.

At the courthouse, after issuing warnings, deputies cited sleeping people using a state law that makes lodging outside a misdemeanor offense.

Attorney Ed Frey was arrested during the protest and is representing himself and five others - Gary Allen Johnson, Colette Marie Connolly, Elliott Matthew Anderson, Christopher Doyon and Arthur William Bischoff. A jury trial is set for Jan. 31.

Frey vowed to fight on after Friday's setback, and to appeal if defeated at trial.

About 20 supporters came to the hearing.

Frey argued that the U.S. and California constitutions give people the right to the basics of life, including the right to sleep and the right to be left alone as long as no one else's rights are being infringed upon. He further argued the language in the statute is too vague and that the campers had the right to sleep as a form of protest and that it should be protected as freedom of expression.

"We are not claiming we can sleep anywhere we want; just that we can sleep somewhere," he said outside court.

But prosecutor Sara Dabkowski filed a document opposing the motion to dismiss, stating the right to sleep was not a Constitutional right. And she stated that simply because a person performs an act as an expression or for a symbolic purpose, that does not make that act constitutionally protected.

After court, she said she had no personal opinion about the argument that sleeping is a basic right, but looked forward to presenting evidence at trial.

She said several other anti-lodging cases are working their way through the system.

Homeless advocates say there are about 2,000 homeless in the county and about 200 shelter beds, and that of the 30 homeless people who died in the county last year, four died as a result of exposure coupled with acute substance abuse.

"That is part of why we're doing this. It's very real," advocate Becky Johnson said.

Gary Johnson, 46, said he wracked up 21 lodging violations. Each carries a possible six months in jail and $1,000 fine.

Johnson said he has been in Santa Cruz about 20 years and homeless for about a year. He said he has worked in the computer software field, but has not been able to find work recently.

"How are they going to reform me? Put me in jail and tell me to quit sleeping?" he said.

After Peace Camp 2010, the Santa Cruz City Council voted to dismiss citations for camping if a homeless person was on a shelter wait list when the ticket was issued.

Peace Camp 2010 goes to court

by Becky Johnson
Jan 20 2011

Santa Cruz, Ca. --- While dozens of campers from Peace Camp 2010 still have not seen their charges see light of day on any court calendar, there have been a few exceptions. Peace Camp 2010 founder and lead counsel, Ed Frey, will be challenging the state anti-lodging charges used to arrest and harass protesters on the steps of the Santa Cruz County Courthouse and later, at Santa Cruz City Hall.

Protesters suffered arrests for illegal 'lodging', had Klieg lights shined on them all night long, were spied on by hired First Alarm security guards, locked off the property of the Public Library, and arrested for real and imagined 'crimes' such as using a blanket, smoking a cigarette, or for lying on a sidewalk. The HUFF table was seized by police along with signs and literature as 'unclaimed' property, even though protesters were right there, willing to take charge of the table and signs. When HUFF member, Robert Norse finally retrieved the HUFF table, he found that all property had been stored outside in the rain and weather, rather than locked safely in storage.

This Friday, following a flurry of briefs filed back and forth between the City and the District Attorney's office, the first major court hearing will be held this Friday, January 21st, 2011 at 1:30 PM in Department 2. The State anti-lodging law makes it illegal to "lodge" anywhere within the state boundaries absent a deed, a mortgage, a lease, a rental agreement, or a receipt for a local motel room. This is a misdemeanor which allows for immediate arrest and jailing.

Peace Camp 2o1o had been protesting the City of Santa Cruz' MC 6.36.010 section a also known as the Sleeping Ban, which is an infraction, when sheriff's surprised them by making arrests under the more serious, anti-lodging law.

Frey, representing himself, along with six other defendants including Gary Johnson and Collette Connally, two of Peace Camp 2010's most courageous protesters. Both are protesting the law which makes it a crime to sleep out of doors anywhere within the city limits outside of a home or motel room, outdoors or in a legally parked vehicle. A separate provision outlaws the use of a blanket at night even if the person remains wide awake.



Friday is also the day when PeaceCamp2010 goes to court with Ed Frey challenging they "lodging" charges with constitutional arguments. 1:30 PM in Dept. 2.

Is California's Lodging Law (647e) Constitutional?

Peace Camp 2010 on the morning of July 20th, before the Sheriffs began enforcing
647 (e). Photo by Becky Johnson

LINDA'S HEARING IS FRIDAY, November 12th, 10 AM in Dept 1
at 7o1 Ocean St. Santa Cruz County Superior Court

by Linda Ellen Lemaster
Monday Nov 8th, 2010 1:09 PM

Santa Cruz County's Superior Court hears Friday, Nov 12, Constitutionality of state Lodging law 647(e) used against demonstrating sleepers from Peace Camp 2010.

While I was attempting to support demonstrating homeless and other sleepers at PeaceCamp2010, I got a lodging ticket. So now am slated to appear in Superior Court Friday, November 12, at 10am to plea. Continued Arraignment? I have asked my Public Defender, Mark Garver, to ask for a court hearing to determine whether or not the lodging law is even constitutional these days. Am told I can demurer having to say "guilty" or "not guilty" until after this hearing.

While it is hard to imagine such an antique law being constitutional, use of similar cruel tools is spreading around the country, and especially "lodging" gets applied against homeless people. I feel this resumption of laws from the past is a form of retaliation against people for their status of being "homeless" and often without money or significant property.

Another concern I felt when I first GOT a citation for allegedly trying to sleep on cement: the legal words appear to be supportive of private property and it's agents, yet the presumed crime of "sleep" occurred on public property. I believe it was selected initially by PeaceCamp2010 creators because it could be a refuge, however briefly (PeaceCamp2010 lasted over 3 months but in two locations).

Consider witnessing this hearing to determine the constitutionality of California's Lodging law: Friday, November 12, 10 am. And join me if you want, I'll be "warming up" for it in the Court/County Bldg Atrium at 9:20am, or out on the same walkway PeaceCamp2010 occupied this summer if it's warm.

Let's talk. Lives are at risk by what unfolds. This story feels "incomplete" without mention of campers' totem, Porto Potty, but you'll have to show up to hear more.

SENTINEL disses Peace Camp 2010...again

Peace Camp 2010 co-founder, Ed Frey arrives on July 4th, 2010 at the County Courthouse steps with a porto-potty in tow to launch a night-time safe sleeping zone in protest of the City's Sleeping Ban. Photo by Becky Johnson

NOTE TO READER: Peace Camp 2010, which ended it's protest phase on October 2nd, was to demonstrate against the portions of Santa Cruz' Camping Ban which outlaws sleeping at night between the hours of 11PM and 8:30AM anywhere out of doors or in a vehicle within the City Limits on both public and private property. Use of a blanket is banned as well during those hours. Frey and other advocates claim that citing and arresting homeless people for sleeping and for staying warm with a blanket in a City with annual shelter for 8% of its homeless population constitutes a human rights abuse. With the SENTINEL continually calling the Sleeping Ban, the "camping ban" as though it didn't exist, the public remains unaware of the scope of the abuse. ---Becky Johnson, Editor

FROM: HITS AND MISSES SEPTEMBER 28TH 2010

Santa Cruz Sentinel

Santa Cruz, Ca.

Misses

Moveable protest:

found online at: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/opinion/ci_16192152

The activists protesting Santa Cruz's camping ban uprooted again last week and returned to the county courthouse, where their poorly conceived protest began on July Fourth. They say they will remain at the courthouse until the city changes its policy outlawing "camping" on public property in the city. We continue to support the ban, which aims to eliminate some of the problems associated with homeless campers -- noise, trash, waste and crime -- and would ask the activists to consider why there is a lack of public support for their cause.

Peace Camp 2010 votes to continue protest

Gary Johnson sleeps legally at 10:30AM at Peace Camp 2010, one-half hour before the Sleeping Ban goes into effect. His protest includes signage saying "Legalize Dreaming" and "Sleep is not a Crime!" August 20, 2010 photo by Becky Johnson

by Becky Johnson
September 16, 2010

Santa Cruz, Ca. -- After the Santa Cruz City Council passed a modification of the Sleeping Ban at its September 14th meeting, Peace Campers held their own council meeting. At that meeting, the question was asked "Shall we disband our protest because of the action of the City Council to dismiss citations written to those on the Homeless Services Center waiting list?"

The vote was 7 - 0 with 2 abstentions to continue the protest. The general consensus was that forcing people to register for the waiting list did not meet our demands to have the Sleeping Ban and Blanket Ban suspended or repealed and past citations ( to the extent it is practicable) be dismissed.

The measure still calls for police to awaken, to detain, to cite, and to move-along sleepers even if no shelter exists. The policy ONLY calls for the City Attorney to dismiss citations if the person cited can prove they were on the waiting list for shelter at the Homeless Services Center. This is clearly NOT what Peace Camp 2010 is about.

If, when said and done, the policy requires police to skip or not cite those with a receipt for the waiting list, then this would be an improvement, however minor. But, unfortunately this is not. As Assistant City Manager Tina Schull said on Tuesday, "Any person cited who is not on the waiting list would not have their ticket dismissed." This, even if no shelter was available that night! Leave it to the City Attorney to more narrowly define what elements a homeless person is entitled to under the necessity defense!

Police cite Collette Donally, age 72 at 10:30AM for
"setting up a campsite with the intent of spending the night."
August 19, 2010 Photo by Becky Johnson

Sleeping itself should not be a crime. Sleeping harms no one. Denying sleep to a person who will ultimately be found innocent robs that person of their sleep, and causes immediate and irreparable harm.

"Not only is Peace Camp 2010 going to continue, but we're also going to start holding Koffee Klatches on occasion in the mornings," reports Linda Lemaster, a housed Peace Camp 2010 supporter.

Item #28 to alter Sleeping Ban on City Council Agenda

Costing $100 a night, noisy, and spewing exhaust fumes, the SCPD placed these bright klieg lights up every night for weeks in order to disperse the demonstration against the Sleeping Ban claiming they were necessary for "safety reasons." -- Photo by Becky Johnson Aug 18, 2010



by Becky Johnson
Sept 12, 2010

Santa Cruz, Ca.-- In what clearly is a victory for Peace Camp 2010, without any notice or press, Mayor Mike Rotkin has placed an item on the afternoon agenda this coming Tuesday, Sept. 14th which will change language in the Sleeping Ban for the first time in eight years. And during an election cycle too!




A homeless man sleeps legally at City Hall during the daytime. Sleeping is illegal in the City of Santa Cruz at night despite a thrice-declared shelter emergency. Photo by Becky Johnson



Plucky Peace Camp 2010 participants, Ed Frey, Collette Donally, "Scum", Todd Hill, Vamp, Robert "Blindbear" Facer, Sara, Jackie, Leigh no-last-name, and the irrepresible, Gary Johnson have been unshaken in their determination to violate the Sleeping Ban (MC 6.36.010 section a) each and every night literally on the Mayor's front lawn.




The City has responded with Sleeping ban citations, blanket ban citations, statewide "anti-lodging" misdemeanor law citations, new "trespass" laws at both City Hall, the Central Library, Klieg Lights, private security guards and smear campaigns in the press. Yet the motley crew persist. Now an item on the agenda.

Is there a crack in the shell?






"No trespassing" on public property signs were posted without notice, public hearings, or discussion at City Hall making City Hall off-limits to the public for the first time in over 150 years of existence. The first people cited under the new "trespass" law were members of Peace Camp 2010. Photo by Becky Johnson August 21, 2010

Weathering the Police Storm at City Hall

A homeless man falls asleep on the plaza in front of City Hall illuminated by police-rented
Klieg lights August 20, 2010 Photo by Becky Johnson

Article found online at: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/08/29/18657054.php

by Robert Norse

The SCPD appears to be using a new harassment strategy at Peacecamp2010. The protest movement in its struggle to maintain a nightly presence at or across from City Hall, has faced repeated seizure of property, ticketing for new "offenses", and the changing agreed-upon standards of behavior at the protest. Political signs, their table, and the chairs they sit on--earlier reclaimed by the protesters with difficulty is now being seized again, eliminating their visible presence.

A small but persistent band of Peacecamp2010 [PC2010] demonstrators has gathered each night at City Hall, under near-blinding klieg lights powered by a smelly noisy generator, to defy the City's anti-homeless 11 PM - 8:30 AM Sleeping Ban.

In response, City police have escalated from harassment wake-up's and ticketing threats.

They moved beyond infraction citations under MC 6.36 (the Camping Ordinance which includes the Sleeping, Blanket, and Camping Bans) and threats to arrest if the protesters dare to sleep, cover up, or "encamp" a second successive night. They've tried the enforcement "strategy" used at the County Building last month-- misdemeanor tickets and arrests under the sweeping and selectively enforced "anti-lodging" state penal code 647e.

They've set up glaring lights on a platform installed in a parking spot in front of the City Hall entrance, complete with a generator, noisily spewing toxic fumes and making ordinary conversation problematic. They've rushed through without public comment an administrative edict by Parks and Rec boss, Dannette Shoemaker, making any protest or presence at City Hall after 10 PM a "trespass" offense--even though City Hall is public property, and has been open to the public 24/7 for over 150 years.


New signs posted at City Hall close access
to the grounds for the first time in 150 years.
Photo by Becky Johnson August 21, 2010

They've confiscated political signs, tables, chairs, and personal survival gear without any citations, making the retrieval of property difficult and the retriever liable to an "unattended property" citation, even though the property itself was claimed--and the claim ignored by harassing police. They closed down the police lobby on Tuesday and shut down property claim times, stonewalling those who had marched to the station on August 24 in attempt to reclaim their stolen blankets and sleeping bags.

Those who returned the following Thursday, looking for their confiscated possessions, were told that "since they weren't causing a hubub, they COULD process the return of their possessions." Clearly any homeless person associated with the protest is being punished by the denial of due process.

Protesters have moved from the City Hall grass, to the red bricks, to the front area of City Hall, to the library frontage across the street, then to the sidewalk--all under pressure from police to vacate a new area, suddenly declared "illegal".

Two days after some protest property was successfully reclaimed by "Castaway" Crow, the police confiscated and removed their chairs, table, signs, and blankets.Everything had been moved to the sidewalk to get them out of the "No Trespassing" zone, and were carefully arrayed to leave a passage free on the sidewalk. Still "Get it Done" Gary received a new category of ticket-- "blocking the sidewalk".

"The Officer told me 'You shouldn't have to swerve to walk past them,' " Gary reported.

The next night, apparently dazzled by rhetorical points made by the ever-loquacious "Ocean" police skipped citing him, only to return the following night to ticket him for "trespass" because one of his signs impinged on the red brick "closed after 10 PM" area. "Looks like my citation collection is almost complete," noted Gary. "I seem to be collecting at least one of each."

Last night Gary, one of the first protesters arrested and one of those there the longest, placed his sleeping bag in a well-lighted parking spot In front of Gary was the sputtering portable generator fueling the Klieg lights; behind him, attorney-activist Ed Frey's white pick-up truck used to haul, park, and service the only bathroom facility open after midnight in Santa Cruz--the Protest Portapotty. "What about the toxic fumes from the generator three feet away?" I asked. "Got to," he replied, "It's the only safe spot in the where approaching cars won't inadvertently park on top of you."

Gary Johnson falls asleep in the gutter to protest the Sleeping Ban without violating the new, trespassing laws. Photo by Becky Johnson August 27 2010

Will protesters get the same right to occupy space as vehicles? Not the case in public parking lots down town where Vice-Mayor Coonerty's Parking Lot Panic law made it illegal to assemble, socialize, or even sit in your vehicle. Watch this site for updates.

City Manager Martin Bernal may have trotted out a new illegitimate City strategy that ignores and crushes First Amendment rights because simple ticketing under the Camping Ordinance and the state Lodging law may not pass muster because of the acknowledged absence of walk-in emergency shelter from April 15 to November 15. Hence we we see new "trespassing" and "blocking the sidewalk" citations, abusive and repeated seizures of unmistakably First Amendment protected signs as well as vital homeless survival gear, and false inflammatory charges of criminal behavior at the site ("child molesting") without any factual back-up.

Meanwhile "Nuff Said" Nancy McCradie, a decades-long Sleeping Ban survivor and fighter from Santa Barbara, suggests fighting 647e by sleeping on top of bedding since that law specifies "in" not "on" in its wording.

Judith Scherr of Free Speech Radio News came down to Santa Cruz last week and created a radio segment being broadcast nationally about Peacecamp2010 and broadcast on KPFA radio. Hear it archived at http://www.fsrn.org/audio/protest-over-homeless-rights-brings-issue-santa-cruz%E2%80%99s-city-hall/7391 .

Locally Bathrobespierre's Broadsides, the Free Radio Santa Cruz twice-weekly show, continues to archive developments at Peacecamp2010 at http://www.huffsantacruz.org/brb-descriptions.html . I've answered a local hit piece against Ed Frey in the Santa Cruz Weekly at http://news.santacruz.com/2010/08/24/santa_cruz_attorney_takes_up_plight_of_the_homeless .

And the Sentinel has moved from inflammatory SCPD press releases to complete silence as police ramp up the pressure against poor people fighting an unjust law in a very hard economic time.

Becky Johnson contributed to this article. All photos by Becky Johnson.

Peace Camp 2010 protesters march to Santa Cruz police station

Camping ban protesters marched Tuesday from Santa Cruz City Hall to the lobby of the Santa Cruz Police Department where they attempted to retrieve all their property that has been confiscated from their camping sites. (Dan Coyro/Sentinel)


NOTE TO READER: After only three people had been processed, police pre-emptively shut down the office, ordering all those waiting in the lobby (and cooling off from record heat) out of doors. While police take blankets/property of homeless people 24/7, they only return it during a 1 hour time slot, two days a week leaving homeless people out in the cold without their survival gear. ---Becky Johnson, Ed.



FURTHER NOTE: The photo of the interior is a tribute to the (occasional) journalistic independence of Dan Coyro, the Sentinel photographer. Trisha Husome, records manager, came out from behind the thick glass enclosure in which the employees work. She told him and the rest of us that photographing and recording wee "not allowed" in the building (though police have a video camera monitoring the lobby).

Dan and Peacecamp2010 supporters, myself included, ignored Husome's repressive advisory. I'll be playing some audio of the protest which will be archived at http://www.radiolibre.org/brb/brb100826.mp3

Last year Husome actually refused to provide documents under the Public Records Act because I was openly making an audio of our interaction (because of past difficulties and to keep an objective record of what went down). See "SCPD Covering Up False Police Report From Councilmember Mike Rotkin?" at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/12/26/18468941.php

Not only were those homeless waiting for their property (and the public generally forced out of doors by four officers and a lieutenant ("lobby is closed"), but the police refused to give an explanation.

After Peacecampsters sat down (or lay down in the intense afternoon heat) to await the next 15 minute interval when the property officer would be "available", the police announced that the entire property room would be closed until next Thursday. When there would again be a narrow opening between 12:30 and 1:30 and another between 3:15 and 3:30. Unless the police again decide otherwise.

I did ask for the return of a table, two chairs, several "End the Sleeping Ban" signs, and the Peacecamp2010 teddy bear. I was told they couldn't help me because I had no "incident number". It did me no good to tell them the items weren't put in an incident report, as far as I knew. If anyone sees the downtown Officer Forbus, please advise him I'm trying to get my teddy bear released.
--Robert Norse

Camping ban protesters march to Santa Cruz police station
By J.M. BROWN
Posted: 08/25/2010 01:30:17 AM PDT

found online at: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_15886112



SANTA CRUZ --" A small group of demonstrators taking part in the protest against the city's overnight sleeping ban marched to the police department Tuesday in hopes of retrieving blankets, sleeping bags, signs and other items seized during recent arrests.

Participant Becky Johnson said at least two people were given paperwork to retrieve their property but wasn't sure whether any actually received it. Police confirmed some property was collected.

"We went there en masse and apparently overwhelmed their staff," Johnson said.

The police department allows people who have been arrested to pick up property during brief windows of time on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Due to cutbacks, the department only permits property pickup between 12:30-1:30 p.m. and 3:15-3:30 p.m. on those days.

No arrests or problems were reported during Tuesday's event. Johnson said there were no immediate plans to have another march Thursday.

Police arrested four people and issued 12 tickets outside City Hall between Saturday and 5 p.m. Tuesday. Protesters, who began their seven-week demonstration at the county courthouse lawn, are opposed to the ban against sleeping outside from 11 p.m. to 8:30 a.m., a law they believe unfairly targets homeless people.

They have asked police to check whether local shelters are full before writing citations and have vowed to stay until the City Council overturns the ban. The city attorney routinely dismisses citations if shelters were full on the evening of the day they were written.

"After failing to get traction at the county building, then failing again at City Hall, apparently the protesters are trying to gain traction at the police department," police spokesman Zach Friend said. "It's safe to say it's unlikely they'll get any traction here."

Camping ban protesters marched Tuesday from Santa Cruz City Hall to the lobby of the Santa Cruz Police Department where they attempted to retrieve all their property that has been confiscated from their camping sites. (Dan Coyro/Sentinel)

Sentinel Misinformation Allows Police to Install "Don't Sleep Here" Klieg Lights

KOIN Also Breaks "No Shelter" Story, Usually Ignored or Denied


THE BAD AND THE GOOD
The Santa Cruz Sentinel's inflammatory and libelous stories characterizing Mark Greer, a homeless activist at the Peacecamp2010 homeless protest, as a "child molester" was ignorantly echoed by KION's Matt Denesnera [See story following this article below].

On the positive side, Denesnera's story does cover, briefly, the central issue of the Peacecamp2010 protest--harassing, citing, and arresting homeless people for sleeping in public places when there is no legal shelter is an institutional crime by the authorities. It is a crime that does greater violence to individuals and society than the so-called "crime" of sleeping outside (as banned by SCMC 6.36.010a, SCMC 6.36.010b, SCMC 6.36.010c and CPC 647e.

The shelter issue has also been spotlighted by attorney Ed Frey and others who took the issue to the Homeless Services Center board on Thursday (8-19) evening.

See "Correcting the Record at the Homeless Services Center Today" at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/08/19/18656366.php & "No Homeless Shelter & the Sleeping Ban: Shelter Providers & Mayor Rotkin Speak" at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/08/21/18656488.php .


THE DAMAGING SMEAR OF THE "CHILD MOLESTER" LABEL
Without researching or interviewing, Sentinel reporter Jennifer Squires smeared the protest as dangerous and Greet as a convicted pervert, a venomous charge repeated by Deputy Police Chief Kevin Vogel in the second story. This "terror tale" apparently gave Vogel's Sleepbusters a pretext to make Peacecamp2010's sidewalk sleeping area more hostile by installing huge 15' high Klieg lights on a platform with a noisy and fume-spewing diesel generator running it through the night.

The company supplying the lights and generator confirmed the cost was $100 per day ($400 per week). The city also apparently recruited a second First Alarm security guard to patrol the sinister sleepers. The whole affair is reminiscent of the Bush-Obama post-9/11 propaganda justifying the war on terror. Indeed the "lights and noise" environment smacks of the U.S.-run Guantanamo, Abu Gharab, and Bagram concentration camps.

Greer's girlfriend Sara, however, reports that there is no substance to the "molester" charge. She's lived with Greer for some time, she says, and CPS has given Greer a clean bill of health. Greeg's background as an "unregistered sex offender" comes from his arrest at age 14 for a sexual relationship with a girl one year younger.

Because juvenile authorities claimed he'd failed to complete a program, he has been required to register every month, which he has done. Sara says he got permission to travel, and was one day late in registered because Santa Cruz police arrested the pregnant Sara on a warrant for camping from San Luis Obispo. (Sara says the authorities there laughed at the warrant and released her, so she returned her to find Greer in jail.

Greer, who gave his name as Jason or Shadow, is in jail here in Santa Cruz, for providing "false information" (that is, a false name). Some audio from Greer can be found at http://www.radiolibre.org/brb/brb100819.mp3 .

The defamatory Sentinel stories
Child molester arrested at Santa Cruz camping protest
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_15812882 (8/17)
and
Santa Cruz police light up camping protest with floodlights
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_15820566?IADID (8/18)

A partial presentation of Sara's story was buried in a Sentinel article today by Cathy Kelly " Peace Camp protestors ticketed again; Santa Cruz mayor visits camp" at http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_15842800.




The full KOIN story:

Santa Cruz Homeless Protest Brightened by Floodlights
Posted: Aug 19, 2010 7:47 PM PDT Updated: Aug 19, 2010 7:58 PM PDT

by Matt Denesnera, KION

found online at: http://www.kcba.com/Global/story.asp?S=13016011

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- At dusk, Santa Cruz police fire up floodlights in front of City Hall, illuminating what's left of Peace Camp 2010.

Authorities installed the lighting citing public safety concerns, particularly after a convicted sex offender, who failed to register with police, was arrested here earlier this week.

"When you've got a child molester out there who's on the run from the law -- he had several outstanding warrants from San Luis Obispo County -- it really takes this to a new level in terms of safety," said Santa Cruz deputy police chief Kevin Vogel.

The homeless and their advocates are protesting the city's sleeping ordinances and, in the past, they have asked for amnesty for all sleeping tickets dating back to the late 1970's.

Demonstrators said they're just looking for a safe place, but it's apparently hard to come by. They told Central Coast News there is nowhere to go, and that's why they are taking their grievances to the steps of the city government.

Officials with the Homeless Services Center on Coral Street confirmed that shelter space is limited; they said they practically have a year-round waiting list.

"Right now, we have about a two week waiting list for women, and four week waiting list for men," explained Monica Martinez, executive director of the Homeless Services Center.

Some protesters said that leaves them with few options.

As for a solution to the complex issue of homelessness, Martinez said it involves working with various agencies to provide services for those on the streets.

As a security guard shut off the generator powering the floodlights in front of City Hall Thursday morning, demonstrators said they have no plans to leave.

"We want to see the world change," said homeless advocate Rick Branthoover. "Not because of us, but there are alot of other people who need help, too."

Police aren't letting up either: "As long as these protesters continue to flaunt this community's laws, we will continue to enforce the law," said deputy chief Vogel.

Submitted by Matt de Nesnera, Central Coast News Reporter

mattdenesnera@kionrightnow.com

Anti-lodging law used at City Hall to make arrest

FROM COPS AND COURTS
SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL

August 20 2010

found online at: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_15836039?source=most_viewed

SANTA CRUZ

Homeless campers ticketed again

Police handed out two more tickets for alleged unlawful lodging Wednesday night at a homeless demonstration camp in front of City Hall, and arrested a man wanted on a felony weapons warrant, spokesman Zach Friend said.

On Thursday morning, Samuel Muller, 28, was arrested for a Fresno-generated warrant for a weapons violation, Friend said. Muller initially gave officers a false name, Friend said.

A group of homeless people began camping in front of the county courthouse on July Fourth and then moved to City Hall last week.

Protesters are seeking a change to a city code which prohibits sleeping outside between 11 p.m. and 8:30 a.m.

On Wednesday, for the second night, police kept large floodlights shining on the camp. They said the lights are for added security.

Floodlights, noise, 24 hr security guards placed at Peace Camp 2010

NOTE TO READER: Our protest is a legal demonstration attempting to redress the government grievance of the Sleeping Ban. Claiming the lights make anyone "safer" is ludicrous. Not mentioned in the article is that a private security guard has been stationed at Peace Camp 2010 for almost 2 weeks now. When asked, the guards will not say who has hired them. Despite this scrutiny, people continue to sleep and be cited for Sleeping, illegal use of a blanket, illegal "lodging", and for setting up a campsite with the intent of spending the night. It's impossible to determine why one code is used for one person, a different code for another person, and some only get more and more citations while others are arrested. ---- Becky Johnson, Ed.


Santa Cruz police light up camping protest with floodlights
By Jennifer Squires
Posted: 08/19/2010 01:30:51 AM PDT

found online at: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_15823598

SANTA CRUZ -- The day a convicted child molester was arrested at a homeless camping demonstration on the City Hall lawn, Santa Cruz police officers hauled in large floodlights to illuminate the protest.

Deputy Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel said the aim of lighting the protest is to protect public safety. The lights went up Tuesday night and will be there until the demonstration ends.

"The lights at City Hall are simply an additional security measure and were put in place for the safety of our community," Vogel said Wednesday. "With yesterday's arrest of the convicted child molester at City Hall, it's apparent that the City Hall protest has reached new proportions."

Mark Greer, a 29-year-old local transient, was arrested at the demonstration Tuesday under the state anti-lodging law but he gave the officer a fake name, according to police.

The discrepancy was sorted out at County Jail, where he was fingerprinted and his real name popped up. Jail records showed he is registered sex offender and has five warrants from San Luis Obispo County.

As part of his child molestation conviction, Greer is required to register with police every month, but hasn't checked in with law enforcement since June, police said.

Vogel said Greer's arrest, along with fights, trash and other issues at the camp-in demonstration, show participants can't police themselves.

The so-called Peace Camp protest launched July Fourth at the county courthouse
and moved to City Hall a week ago. Participants are calling for an end to the city ordinance that prohibits camping outside between 11 p.m. and 8:30 a.m.

Police have been going to the demonstration nightly to ticket and arrest participants. Two people were ticketed around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday for violating the camping law. Vogel said it seemed there were fewer protest participants than on prior nights.

Illuminating the demonstration with floodlights costs about $100 a day, police reported.

More tickets issued at Santa Cruz camping demonstration; protestor arrested for alleged stealing another man's bedroll

By Jennifer Squires

Posted: 08/14/2010 01:30:55 AM PDT

found online at: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_15776512

SANTA CRUZ -- Police ticketed three demonstrators camping on the City Hall lawn were ticketed early Friday and, later in the morning an argument between two protesters led to an arrest, Santa Cruz police reported.

Friday was the third day the Peace Camp 2010 protest has been held at the city complex.

The demonstration targets the city's camping ordinance, which prohibits sleeping outside between 11 p.m. and 8:30 a.m. It launched in front of the county courthouse on July Fourth and moved to City Hall early Wednesday.

An argument between two protesters around Friday morning merited drew police. One demonstrator claimed another demonstrator stole his bedroll the night before and a security guard told police he overheard the alleged thief threaten the bedroll owner with a knife, Vogel said.

David Hooser, 50, from Washington state, was arrested on suspicion of disturbing the peace and theft, police said.

"It's a sad commentary when the participants of Peace Camp 2010 are the ones disturbing each other's peace," Vogel said.

Demonstrators are calling for the City Council to lift the so-called "sleeping ban" and exonerate everyone cited under the law since 1978. They say the tickets are unreasonable because there isn't enough shelter for the city's large homeless population.

City leaders and some homeless advocates have said the protest represents a small group of homeless and that those people are choosing not to take advantage of the city's many homeless services.

The numbers of campers at the protest has declined from nearly 60 at the courthouse to eight when police went to the demonstration around 2:40 a.m. Friday, Santa Cruz Deputy Police Chief Kevin Vogel said. He credited the reduction to police enforcement.

The camping tickets are less than $100, but if people rack up more than three city ordinance citations and fail to pay the fines, the violations become a misdemeanor.

Of the three people ticketed Friday, two listed the Homeless Services Center on Coral Street as their address. The third told police she was from Indiana but transient, Vogel said. He did not say how long she had been in the area.

Early morning SCPD Raid on Peace Camp 2010 - 1 citation issued

by Becky Johnson
August 13 2010

Santa Cruz, Ca. -- Peace Camp 2010 has completed its second night at City Hall and the score

Sleeping is legal during the daytime and one of the Peace Camp demonstators takes advantage on August 11th at their new location, City Hall. Photo by Shmuel Thayer/SENTINEL

so far is 2 citations issued for illegal sleeping and one arrest. "Ocean" was arrested last night when he refused to give his name after being rudely awakened by officers in the wee hours of the morning. Ocean was handcuffed and booked into Santa Cruz County Jail.

Meanwhile, after 5 days in jail, Peace Camp 2010 protester, GARY JOHNSON has been released. Gary refused to cooperate with authorities while in jail, refused bail, and went on a hunger strike which he continued throughout his stay. He had been placed in solitary confinement at his own request. GARY donated all of his meals to his fellow inmates, which encouraged them greatly. Two days before his release, his worried brother found a sympathetic sheriff's deputy to check on him. The deputy returned saying Gary was "fine" and that "he'd been eating food for two days." Apparently that report was not correct.

"Police lie," commented protester, LEIGH.

While Peace Camp 2010 is attempting to go back to it's original raison d'etre by starting at 8PM each night and disbanding at 8AM, leaving the public building open and clear for business as usual, a small core of protesters remains during the daytime. For this, the City has bought and paid for a security guard from 8AM to 5PM daily who tells them where they can smoke a cigarette and to keep off of the grass.

Yesterday, RED and TODD HILL reported a hostile encounter with Parks and Rec groundskeeper, MIA DUQUETTE when she threatened to "blow them" if they didn't move.

"I guess she was doing some work around the grounds. She came by to inform everyone that she was going to be using use a leaf blower and that we" should move ourselves and move our things" because "she wouldn't want things blowing around and getting in our eyes," reports TODD HILL.

"I have a pretty decent sarcastic meter and her sarcasm was off the charts". HILL gathered his things and moved off. He did not witness what happened next.

"She had told Christopher that she was going to blow everyone in the space," both RED and CROW reported, the co-owners of an 8-month old miniature chihuahua puppy.

"She put the blower directly on him. She put the blower directly in my puppies face." RED reacted defensively and attempted to flee the scene.

"I walked backwards 10 0r 15 feet and she followed me and put the blower directly in my face."

DUQUETTE was seen a short while later, furiously hoeing on the grounds.

By contrast, both Officer FORBES and the security guard stationed to watch Peace Camp 2010's daytime tabling effort, have been courteous and restrained. Officer Forbes went out of his way to attempt to determine the owner of a shopping cart stuffed with salvaged electronic gear and an old mattress lodged across the street in back of the public library. A City truck came and picked up the garbage to cheers from those at Peace Camp who don't want those kinds of eyesores associated with their protest.

"Curbhugger" Chris Doyon is still suffering from lingering pneumonia which he succumbed to his first night in jail, and now is being exacerbated by sleep deprivation.

"I was handcuffed for four hours straight, and even then not allowed to use the bathroom. I was left in a freezing cold room with only my tee-shirt." DOYON was charged with PC 647 (e), the State anti-lodging law. But at City Hall, so far at least, the State law is being ignored.

That's not the only law being tested. Confusion has arisen over the newly passed smoking ban which bans all smoking at City Hall and on adjacent sidewalks. The ban also bans smoking at all "City buildings" but SCPD officers have been directly smokers to go across the street by the library to smoke, despite saying right on the side of the library "City and County Library." It is also run and funded by the City and is clearly is a "city" building.

One officer told protesters that the public sidewalk is okay but smoking on the brick sidewalk is not. A different officer told them to go across the street. The ordinance itself bans smoking "at all public buildings," which would make smoking in the street the only legal option.

"They just make it up as they go," says LEIGH.

Many ignore the ban and openly smoke anyway. Confusing things even more, one of the trashcans on the City Hall plaza has an ashtray. City Councilmember, DON LANE, who was a big pusher of the anti-smoking ordinance, is also one of the "pro-homeless" city councilmembers. Yet he supports the ban on Sleeping after 11PM citywide.

In today's SENTINEL, in a op-ed piece called "Snooze, You Lose", LANE's position is characterized as being " that people sometimes fail to make the distinction between protesters and transients -- and those who by circumstance or health find themselves without shelter and need help."

Is LANE arguing that we should only shelter the "good" homeless and arrest or cite those who remain sleeping outside of the shelters? Does he think "bad" homeless people should be routinely punished with sleep deprivation as a matter of law? With friends to the homeless like LANE, we don't need enemies. But then LANE has enriched himself off homeless efforts before.

Previously LANE was hired as the only paid employee to aid the Homeless Issues Task Force in 1999-2000. LANE then produced the final report minus the recommendation of that task force that the entire camping ordinance be thrown out or possibly re-written. More recently he urged that smoking be "confined to private places" even though many homeless people smoke tobacco and have no "private places" in which to smoke.

In the wee hours of August 13th, 4 police cruisers arrived with 6 officers to cite or arrest the sleepers. People quickly jumped up, many rolling up their bags, and only one citation was issued to one of the new, homeless youths.

"We at Peace Camp 2010 wonder how the citizens of Santa Cruz feel about this insane waste of resources deployed against a few peaceful people," wrote DOYON on twitter about the raid. The County must be wondering the same thing as they consider what comes next after making 9 arrests and issuing 25 citations for misdemeanor "lodging." 25 jury trials potentially await with defendants who, all but one, qualify for a public defender.

Contrary to reports, no one is TRYING to get cited. "We're trying to get the Sleeping Ban repealed," Doyon said. "No one WANTS to get arrested."

As We See It: Snooze, you lose

Posted: 08/13/2010 01:30:26 AM PDT

EDITORIAL: SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL

found online at: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_15764951

It was a refreshing wake-up call to hear how Santa Cruz police handled the latest protest of the city's camping ban by homeless activists.

The time for warnings has passed, said Deputy Police Chief Kevin Vogel, and demonstrators who show up and sack out at City Hall will be cited.

The SCPD has years, if not decades, of trying to work with activists, who seemingly ignore the fact that Santa Cruz, city and county, provide far more homeless services than most other communities in the country.

The city's ban on sleeping in public places didn't materialize out of thin air. It was enacted with other regulations because residents long ago said enough was enough with having to wade through downtown crowds of panhandlers, drunks and small-time dope dealers, who give the legitimately homeless a bad name.

Santa Cruz's reaction to an incipient demonstration this week stood in stark contrast to what happened outside the county courthouse on Ocean Street for nearly six weeks. Activists, vagrants and homeless folks set up camp, seemingly thumbing their noses at law enforcement and county officials, who took weeks to begin cleaning up a situation that had become intolerable for many county employees trying to get to work and for visitors to the courthouse.

Finally, sheriff's deputies moved in, and the camp moved out. Some of the campers then tried to move their protest to Santa Cruz City Hall.

We agree with Santa Cruz City Councilman Don Lane, who has long worked to support shelter services for the homeless, that people sometimes fail to make the distinction between protesters and transients -- and those who by circumstance or health find themselves without shelter and need help.

We also hope protest supporters read Thursday's Sentinel report, which quoted Monica Martinez, executive director of the Homeless Services Center in Santa Cruz. Martinez noted that while there were no shelter beds available the day she was interviewed, only five people had signed up to be placed on a waiting list. Every Monday, she said, beds open for those who need shelter and that people who really want a bed will almost always get one relatively quickly.

If camping ban protesters need a place to sleep, the center is at 115 Coral St. in Santa Cruz's Harvey West area. The phone number is 316-5000.

ROBERT NORSE NOTES:

I responded to this misinformation-laced editorial with a challenge at

http://peacecamp2010.blogspot.com/2010/08/challenge-to-sentinel-editor-don-miller.html

I encourage those interested to read it and respond with their thoughts. Also to be ready on fairly short notice, to invite homeless friends to go down to the Homeless Services Center to find the missing beds that both Miller and Martinez claim are there.

I posted this challenge both on Miller's original Thursday blog and on the comment section of his Friday editorial.

Finally, I sent a copy of my challenge to his personal e-mail (dmiller@santacruzsentinel.com).

We'll see if he responds.

There's also an upcoming meeting of the Board of Directors at the Homeless Services Center which folks might be interested in attending, either this Thursday or next out there at 115 Coral St. at 5:30 PM. More news on this as I get it.

Santa Cruz homeless activists take their fight to City Hall, literally; city leaders vow to enforce camping ban

By JENNIFER SQUIRES and J.M. BROWN

August 12, 2010

found online at: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_15751792?source=most_viewed

NOTE TO READER: This article appears to be an updated version of yesterday's story. --Ed.

SANTA CRUZ -- One person was ticketed when a six-week protest of the Santa Cruz camping ban took up residence on the City Hall lawn early Wednesday.

The so-called Peace Camp 2010 changed tactics overnight when campers moved their demonstration from the county courthouse steps to the city property. Protest leader Christopher Doyon said they moved so they could better target the city ordinance that prohibits camping from 11 p.m. to 8:30 a.m.

Wednesday morning, a few men rested under a tree on the City Hall lawn while a woman and her puppy sat amid cardboard protest signs.

"We have not heard anything from City Hall," said the woman, who goes by Red. "Basically, we'd like people to notice."

A First Alarm security guard patrolling city property noticed the camping demonstration around 5 a.m. and notified police. A 20-year-old Salinas man was cited, according to police.

Officers will return nightly to ticket demonstrators, Deputy Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel said.

"We're not going to issue any warnings," Vogel said. "The people involved in this protest have been warned for the past six weeks."

The demonstration began July Fourth on a swath of county-owned land in front of the Santa Cruz County Courthouse. Initially billed as a sleep-only protest, the activity morphed into an all-day hangout and drew criticism because of health and safety concerns.

Demonstrators were cited for violating a state anti-lodging law, not

the so-called "camping ban" that has been contested on and off in Santa Cruz for years.

The sleep-in was designed to specifically violate the municipal ordinance, but county officials said they couldn't enforce the city's law, while city police said they wouldn't write tickets on county property.

Demonstrators want the City Council to rescind the no-camping law and forgive all tickets ever issued under it. Red said it's unfair for people to have to pay hundreds of dollars in fines for falling asleep.

She said she started living on the street in May when her motor home broke down, was towed and sold at auction. She can't go to the homeless shelter because her pup, 8-month-old Wiley, isn't allowed, she said. Also, according to protesters, all of the beds at the Homeless Services Center on Coral Street are taken.

"There's no room at the shelter," Red said. "There's absolutely nowhere for us to go."

City Attorney John Barisone typically dismisses camping tickets if the shelters were full the night the citations were issued. However, Vogel said officers would continue to cite campers at the City Hall demonstration regardless of the situation at the shelter.

"The plan is enforcement," he said. "City Hall is not a place for people to sleep during the nighttime hours."

Councilman Don Lane, a longtime volunteer at the Homeless Services Center, said he supports ticketing those who violate the camping ban.

"The folks who are protesting are not really doing any favors to the greater homeless community in Santa Cruz, most of whom aren't involved in that protest," Lane said, adding that the demonstration tests the community's will to help those who truly need it. "People don't always make a distinction between activists trying to make a political point and the average homeless person who is just trying to get services and make their life a little better."

Lane acknowledged shelter beds can be hard to come by, but he said he doesn't believe the demonstrators have necessarily tried to seek shelter.

"From their perspective, they want the camping law to be enforced and get arrested to make a political point," he said. "What we're trying to do is say to people who are vulnerable to homelessness, 'At least go over and get on a waiting list.'"

Monica Martinez, executive director, confirmed there were no beds available Wednesday and that only five people signed up for the list, which is consistent with the five to 10 people who sign up on average every day. The center has 46 beds available for 30 days at a time, and every Monday beds open for those who are leaving.

"It could take a couple of days or it could take a couple of weeks, but those people who want beds get beds at the center," she said.

The River Street Shelter, a separate facility on the same Harvey West property as the Homeless Services Center, has a 32-bed emergency shelter for adults to stay up to 30 days, but about 60 percent of the space is set aside for referrals from the county mental health agency for clients to stay up to 90 days. The remainder of the beds are subject to a waiting list that requires checking in every two days.

Santa Cruz homeless protest relocated to City Hall lawn: Officials vow to enforce camping ban

By JENNIFER SQUIRES and J.M. BROWN - Santa Cruz Sentinel

Posted: 08/11/2010 07:37:33 PM PDT

Attorney Ed Frey uses his truck mirror to put on his tie before heading... (Shmuel Thaler/Sentinel)

Article found online at: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_15748265

SANTA CRUZ - One person was ticketed when a six-week protest of the Santa Cruz camping ban took up residence on the City Hall lawn early Wednesday.

The so-called Peace Camp 2010 changed tactics overnight when campers moved their demonstration from the county courthouse steps to the city property. Protest leader Christopher Doyon said they moved so they could better target the city ordinance that prohibits camping from 11 p.m. to 8:30 a.m.

Wednesday morning, a few men rested under a tree on the City Hall lawn while a woman and her puppy sat amid cardboard protest signs.

"We have not heard anything from City Hall," the woman, who goes by Red, said. "Basically, we'd like people to notice."

A First Alarm security guard patrolling city property noticed the camping demonstration around 5 a.m. and notified police. A 20-year-old Salinas man was cited, according to police.

Officers will return nightly to ticket demonstrators, Deputy Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel said.

"We're not going to issue any warnings," Vogel said. "The people involved in this protest have been warned for the past six weeks."

The Peace Camp demonstration began July Fourth on a swath of county-owned land in front of the Santa Cruz County Superior Courthouse. Initially billed as a sleep-only protest, the activity morphed into an all-day hangout and drew criticism because of health and safety concerns.

Demonstrators were cited for violating a state anti-lodging law, not the so-called "sleeping ban" that has been contested on and off in Santa Cruz for years.

The sleep-in was designed to specifically violate the municipal ordinance, but county officials said they couldn't enforce the city's law and city police said they wouldn't write tickets on county property.

Demonstrators moved to encourage the City Council to rescind the camping law and forgive all tickets ever issued under it. Red said it's unfair for people to have to pay hundreds of dollars in fines for falling asleep.

She said she started living on the street in May when her motor home broke down, was towed and sold at auction. She can't go to the homeless shelter because her pup, 8-month-old Wiley, isn't allowed. Also, according to protesters, all of the beds at the Homeless Services Center on Coral Street are taken.

"There's no room at the shelter," Red said. "There's absolutely nowhere for us to go."

City attorney John Barisone typically dismisses camping tickets if the shelters were full the night the citations were issued. However, Vogel said officers would continue to cite campers at the City Hall demonstration regardless of the situation at the shelter.

"The plan is enforcement," he said. "City Hall is not a place for people to sleep during the nighttime hours."

Councilman Don Lane, a longtime volunteer at the Homeless Services Center, said he supports ticketing those who violate the camping ban.

"The folks who are protesting are not really doing any favors to the greater homeless community in Santa Cruz, most of whom aren't involved in that protest," Lane said, adding that the demonstration tests the community's will to help those who truly need it. "People don't always make a distinction between activists trying to make a political point and the average homeless person who is just trying to get services and make their life a little better."

Although Lane knows shelter beds can be hard to come by, he said he doesn't believe the demonstrators have necessarily tried to seek shelter.

"From their perspective, they want the (camping) law to be enforced and get arrested to make a political point," he said. "What we're trying to do is say to people who are vulnerable to homelessness, 'At least go over and get on a waiting list.'"

Monica Martinez, executive director, confirmed there were no beds available Wednesday and that only five people signed up for the list, which is consistent with the five to 10 people who sign up on average every day. The center has 46 beds available for 30 days at a time, and every Monday beds open for those who are leaving.

"It could take a couple of days or it could take a couple of weeks, but those people who want beds get beds at the center," she said.

The River Street Shelter, a separate facility on the same Harvey West property as the Homeless Services Center, has a 32-bed emergency shelter for adults to stay up to 30 days, but about 60 percent of the space is set aside for referrals from the county mental health agency for clients to stay up to 90 days. The remainder of the beds are subject to a waiting list that requires checking in every two days.