top
Santa Cruz IMC
Santa Cruz IMC
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

WARNING: Travel Advisory for Santa Cruz Visitors

by Advisory
Over 4500 copies of the following handbill were distributed on July 3rd and 4th in tourist areas of Santa Cruz.
640_downtown-warning.jpg
Over 4500 copies of the following handbill were distributed on July 3rd and 4th in tourist areas of Santa Cruz.

They were placed under windshield wipers of cars in city lots, hotels, and resturants, on light poles, change machines, and distributed by hand.

Areas covered included beach boardwalk, wharf, depot park, downtown, west cliff, seabright areas, mission street, and ocean Street.

The handbills were created to bring to the surface the simering tensions betweent he business interests (and their lapdogs in the downtown association and city council) and the rest of the citizens of this town.

A town cannot launch an undeclared war on the homeless, the poor, the idle young, and the undesirables in the name of safety and order and still remain vital and alive. We risk loosing the individuality that makes this town special.

If Santa Cruz continues on it’s current path, it will end as a town welcoming only to those with money, a movie set as dead, lifeless, and inauthentic as Solvang.

Reverse course. Eliminate the police state downtown.
§WARNING: Travel Advisory for Santa Cruz Visitors
by Advisory
downtownwarningpr.pdf_500_.jpg
WARNING
Travel Advisory for Santa Cruz Visitors


Downtown Areas, including Pacific Avenue, Front Street, Cedar Street, and surrounding cross streets


Special Police Enforcement Conditions Exist

If at all possible, avoid downtown area unless you are visiting merchants with the intention to buy. If you must visit downtown area, make your purchases and leave quickly.

Be advised that according to Santa Cruz Municipal Code the following are prohibited or severely restricted:


• Loitering
• Sitting or lying on sidewalks
• Panhandling or solicitation
• Street performance
• Sleeping outdoors or camping
• Skating or use of skate devices
• Loud or unruly noises
• Possession of animals
• Chalking or marking the sidewalk
• Blowing bubbles
• Use of thrown objects including flying disks, balls, or “hacky-sacks”
• Unattended minors after 11:00 p.m.


Violation of the rules within the special enforcement area may be subject to citation or arrest.

For questions, please contact the Downtown Association at (831) 429-8433, the City Manager’s Office at (831) 420-5010 or the Santa Cruz Police Department at (831) 420-5800.
§Posted
by travel advisory
640_picture081.jpg
Posted at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
§Posted
by Travel Advisory
640_picture085.jpg
Posted near the Municipal Wharf
Add Your Comments

Comments (Hide Comments)
by Indymedia supporter
Without IndyMedia I would probably still think of Santa Cruz as a cozy little beachfront utopia. Situated among the redwoods along a perpetually sunny strip of Pacific shoreline, Santa Cruz evokes images of golden-haired surfers and hip, skater dudes, of pony-tailed baby-boomers tending to their organic gardens, and of lusty college students frolicking drunkenly for MTV campus reality shows. With a population of only 55,000, Santa Cruz is practically a village compared to the other metropolitan giants spread along the Golden State’s precious coastline—and it isn’t typically associated with any of the ills of these big cities, either.

Playing on its roots as a utopian dreamland during the 60’s when hippie school busses converged upon the town in droves, Santa Cruz seems to strive to maintain it’s image as a fun and friendly tourist destination. Rollercoasters and carnival games dominate the boardwalk. Trendy boutiques, renowned restaurants and art galleries line the boulevards of downtown. But maintaining this fanciful image has proven to be a double-edge sword for the business elite and developers running the show, because rich white families with cash to burn aren’t the only ones who’ve come to town.

At this point, I should disclose that I’ve only been to Santa Cruz a few times, and I’m certainly no expert, but I have been keeping up with the headlines the SC-IMC website, and one major trend seems to be quite obvious: the police are trying to keep everyone who is not rapidly spending money out of downtown. This situation was highlighted most creatively this week during the 4th of July holiday festivities when unknown persons posted and distributed 4,500 copies of the above-mentioned handbill

Over the past few years, the City Council has passed a flurry of laws aimed at keeping out the riff-raff by criminalizing everything from panhandling to “lingering” in parking lots. The police have taken it one step farther by infiltrating radical organizations, including a rag-tag group who decided to spearhead a “DIY” parade last New Year’s Eve. However, this latest authoritarian directive plastered across the town for all to see draws an accurate line in the sand, regardless of its satirical origin:

“If at all possible, avoid downtown areas unless you are visiting merchants with the intention of buying. If you must visit downtown area, make your purchases and leave quickly.”

From the prissy language (“If at all possible”), to the fact that they lump all non-shoppers in the same “undesirable” category to the simple foolishness of ordering people to avoid downtown—it would be easy to believe that the Santa Cruz downtown association actually wrote this.

But it’s hard not to be disturbed by the message “If you’re not shopping fast, get the fuck out” presented so nakedly and with such fervor (leaflets were left under windshield wipers of parked cars, passed out to beachgoers, etc.), especially in California, birthplace of countless national, cultural trends. Although this year the handbills were made by an anonymous crew of activists, it’s not inconceivable that the idea will be co-opted by the actual authorities next year or the year after. Considering the headlines I’ve been seeing on Santa Cruz Indymedia lately, I wouldn’t be surprised if this action was more of a preview than a satire.
by Robert Norse
The flyer is quite accurate.

For more specific details on some of the Downtown Ordinances, go to http://www.huffsantacruz.org .

The extensive distribution and posting of this flyer was quite amazing. I received several phone calls, and also heard at least two reports of "Hosts" and SCPD cops tearing down the flyers methodically from where they were posted.

Much thanks to the energetic hands that have distributed this information so widely this last 4th of July weekend.

Perhaps the Downtown Business Association bigwigs who supported this repressive stupidity may get a wakeup call. Unlikely, but even the distant prospect raises a hopeful smile.
by Petaluma folk
Hey, I live up here in..err down here...in Petaluma/Sonoma County and we're dealing with the EXACT same fucked up situation. Police repression has become quite prevelant and I am in dire need to hook up with ya'll in Santa Cruz to discuss your situation, strategy. solidarity, etc. So email me back asap because shit's getting out of hand here.
thanks
Often in our society it is the weaker segments of society, the homeless, the mentally ill, the poor, people of color, the elderly, and children who are most often the victims of police repression.

Ask twenty people downtown, focusing just on the poor, the youth, and the "undesirables" if they've ever been the victim of our downtown laws. I think you'll be in for a surprise.

These laws are not intended to affect the strong. They are passed and selectively enforced against the weak, because as a society, we'd prefer to see these problems go away.
by kirsten anderberg
This is an EXCELLENT idea! I am stealing this idea, and doing the EXACT same thing in Seattle at the Pike Place Market! I will start today, as a matter of fact. That shit down on the Pacific Garden Mall in SCruz is so dispicable. I was being hassled and run out of town back in the 1980's, simply for playing street music that Heinz who owns the Biergarten did not like. He called police on me something like 8 times...with police ticketing on his behalf for my free speech!

In Seattle, we are going through THE EXACT same bullshit at the Pike Place Market. Thus, I am just going to tailor this flier, to the Seattle Market, and we are good to go. Same exact issue. Let's see how the Market handles it! I will report back!
by womp womp
something tells me few will pick up on the satire.
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network