Primetime
February 13, 2019, 10:22 am
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24 Comments
By John Palminteri of KEYT News
As Santa Barbara Police officers were dealing with a newly set up homeless camp near the Santa Barbara train station a wanted suspect went by and a chase ensued. Police say the suspect tried to fight officers and extra units were called. The man was arrested and no one was hurt. Those involved in the homeless site received a citation for illegal camping. Police say they was no connection between the camp and the suspect in the fight.
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Looks like tent stakes go up easily in Chase Palm Park – right across from the newly remodeled and AAA high star awarded Santa Barbara Inn/Convivo. City must not be serious about earning tourism dollars allowing this public blight to continue. This hits city employees in the pocket book – retail sales tax destroyed by downtown vagrants, tourism revenues destroyed by downtown vagrants, declining city residential property sales due to degraded public infrastructure and vagrancy take-overs of public institutions. Enough is enough. City council and city staff – your own pocket books are now materially affected by this continuing out of control vagrancy leading to declining city revenues.
Sadly, many of those that you mentioned have already chosen a side – and it’s not yours. Had they chosen your side these problems would not exist downtown. But choosing your (really our) side would mean fighting the ACLU and others who prefer their clients to those who pay the bills. Sorry…
Noticed yesterday police were also at a huge vagrant camp just after the Mission Street southbound 101 on ramp. Very elaborate hooped structure visible from the road – how long has that been hiding in plain sight? Remember this free pass, when you apply for your next legal building or remodeling permit.
Doggy thought bubble ” This New Green Deal isn’t so bad “.
How the sHELL does a City allow the first “tent stake” to be pounded into the ground…? The City Attorney better buckle up and take on the ridiculous ACLU- This has got to stop!
I feel so bad for the dogs…
A lot of the pan handlers use them as a pity plea.
Does animal control ever check on them ?
I get notified from animal control if my dogs license is one day late , and a late fee !
I’m elderly. I am not as quick on my feet, nor is my hearing as good as it used to be. I’ve been really AFRAID downtown recently. I felt defenseless when one of these guys ran up next to me and yelled at the top of his lungs at some invisible challenger in the street. Another guy (in his 40s and looked homeless) with a skateboard walked by me with his dog not on a leash and the dog was 10 feet ahead of owner. I had to hope that the unrestrained dog liked old people. I have some favorite restaurants and stores downtown, and easy parking helps me get to them. But, now, I feel unsafe and taking an unnecessary risk. Please, City Manager, City Council, Police Chief, Opinion Leaders – choose a side, mine and people like me, or theirs. Whatever you’e been doing is not enough.
Unfortunately there seems to be no resolution to this problem. What bugs me most is seeing the campers on the beach and knowing the nearest public bathroom is about a mile away in either direction. Homeless litter is a terrible problem as well. Like many others, I would love to see the sleeping in doorways and on benches cease immediately. Sometimes when downtown it’s quite daunting to see how Santa Barbara is becoming shabby and soiled from all of this “residence-challenged” delinquency.
The intruders being who? The police.
I don’t go to downtown Santa Barbara unless absolutely necessary, for instance to pay tax. I can’t defend myself against the angry young ones, my nose works better than my hearing, and to see older ladies trying to stay clear but exposed to such danger on the streets breaks my hearr. Sad, dangerous and disgusting, and I think most of it is caused by hard drugs and the result of bad decisions by our government.
The 9th circuit court just declared camping in public parks legal. If you think it’s bad now … You ain’t seen nothing yet !! !
Oh my Luvaduck. Please dont project your own fears and ignorance onto everyone and everything. Its sad that you’re scared but not in the way you think… Maybe a homogenized, gated neighborhood would suit you better? That way you can control what you see, who you interact with and who you have to deal with… And when you see that kid eating a candy bar in a hoodie, you can call the cops and hide behind your curtains.
Did you vote for the current mayor or the previous one? Did you vote for the incumbent council member? If yes, then you are as much to blame as the inept, pandering politicians and bureaucrats that are culpable for our issues. The only way to change this city is to change the leadership and their directives.
What a pity that so many homeless people have chosen the comforts of Santa Barbara to live.
Back in the old days, the fifties, Mrs. Childs, who donated her land to later become our Santa Barbara Zoo, allowed what were called in those days Hobos to live along her banks of the bird refuge in their fairly tidy plywood structures so long as they remained completely alcohol (drug) free. Maybe Governor Newsome could provide some similar incentives to help curtail this ever increasing statewide epidemic, but of course this would be have to be tied to abstinence from drugs
@GSURFDOG= LOL! If you have ever had any one-on-one with these individuals, you would know how unrealistic and Polly-Anna your suggestion that they live alcohol and drug free on request is…!
A better suggestion would be invite these derelicts to camp in front of our esteemed Mayor’s house, the local card carrying ACLU members homes and the local Attorney who took the City to Federal Court allowing RV dwellers to park where ever they desired, (BTW, that Attorney LOST his case)- I am positive he would LOVE to have a few RV’s parked in front of HIS house…!
Bravo COASTWATCH !!!!!
i live in the heart of downtown and have two young daughters. downtown is very safe. this is just over the top paranoia. i live 2 blocks from Macys. there is no problem other than people being paranoid. you’re just as safe there as you are in Goleta, or upper State. I read and hear people whine about the ‘safety’ downtown and yet they spend very little time downtown.
We aren’t LA. We’re SB. big difference. I am walking around downtown with my daughters several days a week and we encounter no issues at all. Since 1995…
I think we should call the police when we see a scary situation downtown. More cops on the beat might curb the worse behaviors. Don’t we have citizen “ambassadors ” patrolling State Street? Maybe we need more? I don’t want a police state, but I would like an authority to keep things safe. I go downtown regularly and love it. But I see Luvaduck’s point: some of the severely mentally ill people behave in a scary manner, and loose dogs are always a concern for those of us who are getting frail or have impaired mobility.
Anchoo – please don’t call the police and waste their time every time you see a “scary” mentally ill person or a loose dog.
the dog is protection while sleeping dog sounds the alarm upon intruders
Make sure you have all the information before you pass judgement alot of these individuals are fellow veterans like myself .Once upon a time i was down there with them,and also many fought a war for this country.I work volunteering for the VA as an outreach worker occasionally trying to get the veterans out of the bushes but there is help available they choose not to accept it
Veterans have to obey the law too.
Having 2 Young Children makes you young yourself and that explains why you don’t know much and act as immature as you do while cutting other people down.
Additional detail about Mrs Child and the hobos by the bird refuge. During the Depression in the 1930s this generous widow began to allow vagrant men to camp and construct dwellings on her land. Her will stated that the men in that hobo “Jungleville” between the railroad tracks and the refuge water would be allowed to stay until the last of them present at her death had passed away. They did indeed have a self-governing system of rules, and were the product of the culture of hobos riding the rails across America after the First Depression. In 1947 the Santa Barbara Foundation took over the property. The City acquired the land in 1953, deeded with that stipulation, and by the 1960’s the last of the residents had died or moved to rest homes. In 1959 the City burned down her mansion, making room for the Child’s Estate Zoo, which is commonly believed to be a zoo for children. It stands as a social experiment showing that with active self-oversight a community of the dispossessed CAN survive with dignity, given the opportunity.