The best parts of this are from the work of Dan Bluemel of LA Activist; articles are linked at the end.
Why do Carole Schatz and the CCA hate the homeless?
In 2011, LA Downtown News released its list of the 42 most powerful people downtown:
6. Carol Schatz, Central City Association
Mayor Villariagosa is listed as number 5.
http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/the-most-powerful-people-in-downtown/article_8073260a-f08b-5e90-87e6-93dd4ebe7529.html
Carol Schatz said in 2004:
"We have a very specific agenda related to homelessness."
"So, what stands in the way of realizing these aspirations over the next year or two?
Again, we need a supportive policy environment. We need attention
paid by the city and county to the issue of homelessness, because we are
ground zero here for the United States in terms of the numbers of
encampments. Our job is to continue to make the case for why it is
extremely important that policymakers focus on these issues, and focus
attention on the continued revitalization of downtown. The success of
downtown has wide-ranging impacts, spreading wealth and benefits to
every part of the city."
http://www.planningreport.com/2004/01/23/la-central-city-associations-carol-schatz-housing-and-need-place-making
When you look at the events truthfully depicted in the film and book "The Soloist", you will note that the homeless were forced out of an area CCA wished to turn into Profit.
Did Carol Schatz write an LA Times opinion piece against the homeless?
Enabling homelessness on L.A.'s skid row
Allowing the homeless to keep any and all
possessions on sidewalks protects unlawful conduct for a few and ignores
the ramifications for most of society.
By Carol Schatz
April 9, 2012
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-schatz-skid-row-deterioration-20120409,0,6118841.story
Edit: Uh-oh! That story is no longer found! So here is the archive:
https://web.archive.org/web/20120713220527/http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/09/opinion/la-oe-schatz-skid-row-deterioration-20120409
Take screenshots; they're obviously nervous about people seeing them for who they are!
Again:
"We have a very specific agenda related to homelessness."
Did the CCA, who are contracted to sweep the streets of Skid Row, empty their trash cans, and power wash twice-weekly cease these contractual services in mid/early May?
Yes, at minimum at Towne street.
Did the city pass an ordinance against camping/tents in May of this year, seemingly an anti-Occupy bill but is now apparent as an attack upon the homeless city-wide?
City Hall Moves To Ban Tents, Overnight Camping After Occupy LA Damage
Where is money meant for the homeless actually going?
Last year, we saw homeless monies taken by the city and handed over to the developer Gensler:
Huge Subsidy for Stadium Architect
Villaraigosa quietly plans to hand Gensler $1 million meant for the poor
How did Los Angeles city leaders turn $1 million
intended to help downtown’s homeless and low-income denizens into a
proposed subsidy for the global architecture firm designing downtown’s
proposed NFL football stadium?
http://www.laweekly.com/2011-04-21/news/huge-subsidy-for-stadium-architect/
and after a flurry of propaganda articles in the LA Times and LA Downtown News against the homeless[1], and a Health Department report skewed by CCA's own refusal to continue their contracted sweeping, garbage collection, and power-washing of Skid Row, genuine attacks began upon the homeless.
Regarding profitable housing versus homeless housing, their agenda is:
"How much housing is in production, Carol?
As of December 31, 1998, which is when we first began to see the
spike in activity, 12,809 units existed. The grand total now, at the end
of 2003, is 14,996 units. There are currently 3,200 units under
construction, 812 permitted units, 794 units under plan check, and over
3,000 units under consideration."
That would make 2, 187 active units with 7,806 under way, making a total in of
9,993 units.
How about for the homeless?
ACLU/City of Los Angeles Settlement Agreement
"A settlement was reached, requiring the city to build 1,250 new
permanent supportive housing units, 50 percent of which must be located
in Skid Row, in order to enforce an ordinance that prevents street
encampments."
http://ccala.org/3-05-achievements.asp
(Click PUBLIC SAFETY, HEALTH AND HOMELESSNESS")
That means 625 units for Skid Row homeless, total, forever, out of a population of many multiple thousands, while in 2004 alone they were working on 9,993 units for profit. In exchange for an ordinance that prevents street encampments. And:
"CCA is monitoring the progress of the new housing units, and will work
with the city and community to ensure a balanced approach to any new
housing in Downtown."
Yeah, that is shining through.
How about laws involving the homeless?
"
Safer Cities Initiative
CCA is a strong supporter of the Safer Cities
Initiative (SCI), a crime-reduction program established in Downtown Los
Angeles in 2006 under former Chief of Police Bill Bratton. The program
has added 50 additional patrol officers to target narcotics-related
crime and misdemeanor offenses such as illegal vending, littering,
dumping, and vandalism. CCA credits the SCI for dramatically reducing
crime and blight in the area."
* $5.7 million dollars are spent a year for homeless services for the entire city, not merely Skid Row.
* $6 million dollars a year are spent on those 50 extra police on Skid Row.
* The SCI allows arrests for anyone sitting or sleeping on the sidewalk between 6AM and 9PM, but that is not mentioned in CCA's description.
* Neither is the fact that the homeless will be arrested for not taking down their tents during this time. [2]
* "Blight" = "The homeless".
* Littering and dumping? Here is where this money is going...into nice new sports cars:
What about corporations and the rich influencing city government policy and decisions?
"Naturally, our membership includes business leaders from across Los
Angeles. We give them access to the policies and people that are shaping
the future of Los Angeles and in return, they know CCA is the business
organization that gets things done."
Advocating for the business community before the Los Angeles
City Council, the County Board of Supervisors and the State Legislature.
http://ccala.org/
http://ccala.org/3-01-mission.asp
What did Benito Mussolini have to say about exactly this?
"
Fascism should more properly be called
corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power."
Benito Mussolini seen here with a friend:
Corporate police the purple shirts with batons alongside LAPD at an Occupy action. Corporate police! When did corporations get their own thug force and when exactly was the public vote?
http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/12/occupy_la_lapd_assisted_private_security.php
The DCBID's Safe & Clean team, our "Purple Patrol", is
committed to assisting those who work, live, and play in the Downtown
Center and Historic Downtown. This highly visible team of purple-shirted
safety officers and maintenance staff provide daily, 24-hour
supplemental services to maintain safety and cleanliness within the
district. The Purple Patrol is highly trained to ensure that your visit
to the Downtown area is memorable and safe.
Hmm:
"The operation, requested by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa..."
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/20/local/la-me-skid-row-cleanup-20120620
Now the attack upon Skid Row has officially begun:
Does CCA openly brag about their influence at city hall?
Yes, although this once-public post is now only viewable through the archive:
"The results are in! CCA was the resounding winner in yesterday’s election."
Where will the homeless go if they are forced out of Skid Row?
There are no safe directions. There are no "public commons" in which they may rest or sleep, or stop moving for a minute without facing arrest. This has been by design. As well as the recent City Hall ruling against tents in public parks, which worked against Occupy but was now obviously with the homeless in mind as well.
Here are real housing solutions for the homeless:
And the Health Department report recommends long-term housing, with zero word about forcing them out or arresting them!
"Working with people who are homeless and experiencing mental
illnesses and other health problems is not easy. Society has at times
given up on this vulnerable population and incorrectly concluded nothing
can be done to address their issues, or to solve the cycle of despair
resulting in long-term homelessness.
We at the
Corporation for Supportive Housing
(CSH) and many other advocates know differently - there are proven
solutions that work. Effective, cost-efficient models that move
vulnerable people like Ayers off the streets and into affordable,
permanent housing where they can receive the support they need to heal
and build better lives."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-de-santis/what-emthe-soloistem-tell_b_188776.html
Housing project for hard-core homeless pays off
A study of homeless adults housed by L.A.
County's Project 50 suggests providing permanent housing to vulnerable
populations saves local governments money.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0608-homeless-savings-20120608,0,5536032.story
Project 50: Anatomy of a photo essay
http://framework.latimes.com/2010/11/18/project-50-anatomy-of-a-photo-essay/
And at minimum, this falls directly into the Health Department's recommendations:
Portable shower and toilet trailers
http://www.amsglobal.us/
Here is a most brilliant article summing up the entire issue:
Harsh Skid Row policies driven by business lobby, say advocates
http://www.laactivist.com/2012/06/24/harsh-skid-row-policies-driven-by-business-lobby-say-advocates/
What does Occupy and the LA Community Action Network and Catholic Workers have to say about all of this?
Arrests & Terror at #626Wilshire
State Violence Increases as Occupiers Lay Siege to Perfect Villain
Occupiers on Skid Row were evicted a few days earlier, and re-Occupied:
Occupy Skid Row, Evicted and Re-Occupied!
http://occupyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/06/occupy-skid-row-evicted-and-re-occupied.html
[1]
Major cleanup of L.A. skid row, prompted by health report, begins
LA County finds health-code violations in Skid Row
http://news.yahoo.com/la-county-finds-health-code-violations-skid-row-234033525.html
Editorials:
Bad to Worse in Skid Row
(Guess what? There no name attached to this article!)
http://www.ladowntownnews.com/opinion/bad-to-worse-in-skid-row/article_798ece2c-b1b3-11e1-b098-0019bb2963f4.html
Editorials: Trouble on Skid Row Sidewalks
(Nope, no name on this one either.)
http://www.ladowntownnews.com/opinion/trouble-on-skid-row-sidewalks/article_1563c8fa-a13a-11e1-861f-0019bb2963f4.html
A plan to make L.A.'s homeless problem worse?
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ol-homeless-problem-worse-20120613,0,4335768.story
The
hilarious thing about the great Ted Rall cartoon in the above article
is that under the CCA's strongly supported "Safer Cities Initiative",
the homeless person depicted would be arrested for sitting on the
sidewalk.
[2] Homeless man threatened with arrest for not taking down his tent between 6AM and 9PM:
Councilman Jose Huizar, whose district will include Skid Row thank to redistricting
This is my understanding from what I have read and been told. All errors are errors.
