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

Trash Orchestra to Defend Drummers from SCPD

by Santa Cruz Trash Orchestra (trash [at] riseup.net)
The market drummers are being harassed by police again. In January, the community spoke and acted out to prevent our town from becoming as flavorless as Carmel. We will defend the drummers from police harassment and we will win again.
Last time we won! In January, Santa Cruz Police tried to evict the ever-present market drum circle from their spot under the tree, and with the help of Trash Orchestra, the drums drove the cops away. And they stayed away... until now. Last week the drummers were evicted AGAIN by police using the ridiculous 15-minute law (persons cannot be in any city parking lot longer than 15 minutes). Join us to protest that eviction and reclaim that public space!

Support for Market Drummers
Wed Sep 10th 3:30pm
Santa Cruz Farmer's Market
(Bring percussion - resonant trash or a drum)

The City of Santa Cruz's parking lot panic law is in effect and being enforced. For those unfamiliar the law restricts the use of downtown parking lots and garages to parking and retrieving of vehicles (the person must be in and out in 15 minutes), and for pedestrians passing directly through from one sidewalk to another or a bordering store. Anything else (waiting in your car for a friend, eating lunch, talking to friends, playing music...) is trespassing, illegal, will get you hassled by Santa Cruz's finest, and, ultimately, fined.

Ostensibly to create a safer downtown, this absurd law is a further attempt to create a sterile downtown for smooth undistracted shopping. It criminalizes creative uses of public space for art and recreation.

From this article on Indybay:

On two successive Wednesdays, police have ordered the peaceful drum circle to leave their traditional spot in the public parking lot [alongside the Farmer's Market] using Mayor Coonerty's Ban on Public Assemblies in parking lots. The new merchant-backed law prohibits lingering in a parking lot or garage unless you have a vehicle there (and then only for fifteen minutes). It removed ten blocks of public space from public use.

A twisted and unjust law, but only words on paper until enforced. Uniformed fascists (some very friendly and decent, of course, as they oppress you) will try to enforce it with what they believe to be legitimate power. But we are really the ones that make the choice whether to legitimate that power or not. We choose not to go along with the program.

This is merely the newest battle of a war in Santa Cruz. A war against dissent, against the poor, against the homeless, and now against people making music. We challenge these laws and the police crackdown on undesirables -- an effort to "clean up" the streets of Santa Cruz of the young, the very old, immigrants, the unemployed, homeless, the insane, and anyone who resists.

Join us in solidarity with other musicians and friends playing music together.

References:

Visionsong Valerie Christy reports that stakes were being pounded into the ground around the trees in Parking Lot #4 apparently to set up fences blocking access to areas where people traditionally sit and chat, play drums, eat food, etc.

She reports she went down and began videoing and was told the workers were calling the police. "Their voices sounded fearful", Valerie reports, "as the two women workers put up black plastic mesh around the three areas."

She says three areas were fenced off as she videoed--one near the buildings, another where Food Not Bombs feeds and the Drum Circle operates, and a third around the curb near the tree next to the Cedar St. sidewalk.
§Fencing to Prevent Drum Circle
by ~Bradley (bradley [at] riseup.net)
fenced1_9-10-08.jpg
The drum circle is usually established under these trees.
§More Fencing Along Cedar Street
by ~Bradley
fenced2_9-10-08.jpg
People enjoying sitting under this tree, but now it is fenced off.
§Another Fenced Area
by ~Bradley
fenced3_9-10-08.jpg
Add Your Comments
Listed below are the latest comments about this post.
These comments are submitted anonymously by website visitors.
TITLE
AUTHOR
DATE
Becky Johnson
Sat, Sep 13, 2008 11:26AM
Bring em on over
Fri, Sep 12, 2008 1:36PM
TNC
Fri, Sep 12, 2008 10:12AM
Katie Lehne
Fri, Sep 12, 2008 7:40AM
Not me
Thu, Sep 11, 2008 1:01PM
(posted by) Robert Norse
Thu, Sep 11, 2008 11:04AM
Sum Dim
Thu, Sep 11, 2008 8:35AM
Robert Norse
Thu, Sep 11, 2008 7:47AM
Craig
Thu, Sep 11, 2008 4:32AM
Sum Dim
Thu, Sep 11, 2008 3:13AM
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$55.00 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