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  1. #1
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
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    Day laborers wearing out welcome in Santa Monica

    http://www.smdp.com/article/articles/14 ... ut-welcome

    Day laborers wearing out welcome
    By Carolyn Sackariason
    Daily Press Staff Writer

    11th STREET — Police say they will beef up patrols here as a result of loitering day laborers, but some business leaders are still waiting to see an increased presence.

    Santa Monica Police Chief James T. Butts Jr. recently announced that the SMPD’s patrol and narcotics units will be in the area to suppress illegal drug activity.

    “We don’t want to stop people from making a living, but at the same time, whenever you have a situation where people congregate there can be illicit activity,” Butts said, adding his officers will work undercover and in uniform, using different strategies. He declined to cite specifics of deployment.

    The move was prompted by complaints by business owners and residents in the 11th Street and Colorado Avenue area, who say day laborers are using and dealing drugs. They also are frequently seen drinking beer at night along 11th Street, from Colorado Avenue to Olympic Boulevard.

    The growing number of day laborers who stand along the one-block stretch have been the source of much controversy in recent years, as residents and business owners have grown tired of trash strewn along the street, and feces and urine left in the alleys. Earlier this year, City Hall attempted to deal with that issue by placing porta-potties on 11th Street.

    However, the drug and alcohol use reportedly continues. Those who work in the area at the Salvation Army Thrift Store and at Bourget Brothers Building Materials — where laborers stand in front hoping to secure construction jobs — say the problems remain. Beer cans are thrown in bushes and pot smoking occurs among clusters of men at 11th Street and Colorado, where the Lexus car dealership will soon have a service operation.

    An employee at the thrift store, who didn’t want to be identified because of safety concerns, said his life has been threatened by some of the laborers. Employees are fearful of walking to their cars at night when the thrift store closes at 9 p.m. because many of the laborers are still on hand.

    “It gets really bad when they’ve been here all day drinking, when they are done with work or didn’t get any work,” the employee said.

    The thrift store employee said shoplifting occurs frequently, with clothing tags being tossed onto the sidewalk directly in front of the store. Recently, someone broke into the thrift store and stole a 1,000-pound safe containing $650.

    Among the dozens of laborers who look for work in the area, the employee reasons, 40 percent are decent guys — the other 60 percent are trouble.

    “I would like to see more bike or foot patrols (from police),” the employee said.

    John Bourget, who owns Bourget Brothers Building Materials, agrees that many of the laborers are good men just looking to make some money, but there are a few problem people.

    “There are a lot of nice guys out there, but it’s the other guys who don’t want to work and are looking for trouble,” Bourget said. “It’s a party atmosphere.

    “They could patrol it more because there is a lot of drinking.”

    Bourget and some of his employees say drug usage is easy to spot because the smell of marijuana permeates the air and some of the dealers aren’t conspicuous in their deals. A few months ago, Bourget decided to trim the ivy that grows on the fence in front of his store. When he started cutting from the bottom, he found four bags of marijuana that had been stuffed in the greenery.

    Bourget suggests that City Hall enforce the area so that laborers are allowed to be in the area from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. After that, the chances of finding work for the day are slim.

    “They’ve got to put a limit to the time they are here,” he said. “If you are not picked up by 1 p.m., you are not going to get a job.”
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  2. #2
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    There should be no official time they are there...They should not be here at all.

    And of course they are just hard working, honest, blah, blah, blah

  3. #3
    Xianleather's Avatar
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    They need to do the same thing in farmingville here on Long island, i drove through there today and they were lined up along the street for at least 1/4 mile or more, at the 7-11 down in town Farmingville, there were at least 30 of them standing there, what a mess. I only saw one Cop all the way through.

  4. #4
    Senior Member moosetracks's Avatar
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    My God! Why is our Country allowing this to take place????/

    Wonder if Kennedy would like them using the bathroom in his yard? Heck he yells for alternative energy, but doesn't want to be able to see wind mills......I wish they'd go there and use his yard as a bathroom and we could send him a pooper scooper!
    Do not vote for Party this year, vote for America and American workers!

  5. #5
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
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    Here is an older article from earlier in the year.

    http://www.smdp.com/article/articles/26 ... ome-relief

    Day laborers get some relief
    By Ryan Hyatt | Published 01/28/2006

    Day laborers get some relief
    By Ryan Hyatt
    Daily Press Staff Writer

    11th Street — Hundreds of suspected illegal immigrants who loiter on the sidewalks waiting for work now have a place to squat.

    After years of discussion, City Hall delivered two port-a-potties to 11th Street on Jan. 17 as a means of helping residents and businesses deal with a day laborer situation many claim is out of control.

    Those concerned about crime in their neighborhood — not to mention excrement on their sidewalks — asked City Hall in August to step in and help regulate the illegal immigrants who gather in this part of town while waiting for someone to drive by and offer to pay them under the table in exchange for labor.

    The port-a-potties arrived after years of complaints by residents.

    City Hall officials have budgeted for two port-a-potties in the area, but finding the right location for them has been difficult, said Elana Buegoff, a senior administrative analyst in City Hall’s economic development division. In October, city staff met with residents in the area to discuss the placement of the port-a-potties.

    The site agreed on is the west side of 11th Street outside of Bourget Brothers building material and lumber store, where the port-a-potties are now located.

    For decades, day laborers have loitered on the sidewalks near 11th Street and Olympic Boulevard, where they keep a watchful eye on traffic coming and going from the Salvation Army outlet, Bourget Brothers, the old Fisher Lumber site and other businesses from which they might be called upon to help with construction, landscaping, home improvement, moving and other fix-up jobs.

    However, residents have grown weary of the blight created by the masses, which can number up to 175 people on a given day.

    The two port-a-potties will cost the city $465 per month to be maintained three days a week, Buegoff said.

    Recently, tensions were high on 11th Street as activists battled over whether or not undocumented immigrants have a right to work in the country.

    Dozens of counter protesters in Santa Monica far outnumbered the three members demonstrating from the Minuteman Project on Saturday, Jan. 7, during that group’s “Stop the Invasion” National Protest Day. The Minutemen demonstration was meant to send symbolic messages that the group is opposed to illegal immigration and borders should be tightened.

    Santa Monica City Councilman Richard Bloom has urged staff to contact officials in Pasadena, who he said seem to have a successful program for regulating day laborers.

    Ann Erdman, a Pasadena spokeswoman, said the city passed an amendment in 2003 called the “No Vehicle Solicitation” ordinance.

    It prohibits vehicles from stopping in posted areas along Villa Street, which has had a problem with day laborers congregating there at least since 2001, Erdman said. There also are large signs posted that say “no vehicle solicitations.”

    Traffic safety problems were the main impetus for creating the ordinance, Erdman said. Other issues related to day laborers, such as littering, defecating, public urination and the rare fist fight, are being handled by a combination of the Pasadena Police Department, organized neighborhood associations and the code compliance office, Erdman said.

    In addition, a nonprofit group called the Institituto de Educacion Popular del sur de California has established a day laborer center at 500 N. Lake Ave., just a few blocks from Villa Street. Erdman said the center serves as an organized way for day laborers to find work, and it’s very popular. To participate, day laborers must go through a registration process.

    Erdman said the combination of law enforcement and providing the day laborers with employment options seems to be working well for Pasadena.

    John Bourget, an owner of Bourget Brothers, said he would like to see an enforcement approach undertaken by City Hall, in addition to the placement of the port-a-potties.

    Bourget suggests City Hall set up a program whereby the day laborers are welcomed between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m., for example. After lunch, Bourget said those who don’t find work likely won’t and should be required to leave for the day. If allowed to loiter after lunch, Bourget said the day laborers are likely to drink, gamble and get into other kinds of trouble, he said.
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