WILD ART: “NOBLE RAPTOR” MUSCLES IN ON COOPER’S HAWK TERRITORY
SEE PAGE 6
Collegian
VISIONARIES KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE
LACC
SEE PAGE 4
Los Angeles
WEATHER FORECAST WEDNESDAY
89/64
THURSDAY
82/62
FRIDAY
76/59
SATURDAY
73/58
SUNDAY
71/57
Wednesday, October 25, 2017 Volume 179 Number 3
The Voice of Los Angeles City College Since 1929
CITY ADJACENT
Trash Inundates East Hollywood Streets Near Campus For more information or to report neighborhood trash, call the Department of Public Works LA Sanitation (LASAN) at 1-800-773-2489.
PHOTO BY AMBER MCKENZIE
A 20-foot long pile of garbage that includes broken furniture, ripped near Vermont Avenue on Oct. 3, 2017. Three homeless call the holBy JohAnnA BAQUero Residents near the heavily trafficked corner of Vermont Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard have seen their neighborhood inundat-
ed with garbage as waste disposal companies struggle to keep up with removal. The area’s trash woes began around four years ago, according to Tony Calderon. Calderon is the
manager of a local T-Mobile. He said that despite efforts by the city of Los Angeles, the problem has worsened. Calderon noted that the city has made increased efforts to combat the escalating trash issue over the past year and a half, however these services have been unable to handle the growing volume of refuse. During this time, the city has installed new trash receptacles and hired a private waste removal company to service them twice
per week. For locals like Calderon, efforts such as this are a step in the right direction. Still, more needs to be done. A driver for one of the private waste disposal companies who asked to speak on the condition of anonymity said that “while they are working hard to improve conditions in the area, a lack of drivers limits their effectiveness.” The driver explained that though his employer currently has enough vehicles to sufficiently service the area, strict requirements limit hiring in their industry. The required Class A driver’s licenses and minimum of two years experience have caused a shortage SEE EAST HOLLYWOOD PAGE 6
HOMELESS RECEIVE MIXED RECEPTION Teros
PHOTO BY T.J. LOWELL
Mobile shelter: clothing and other items spill out from the door of a tent located on Willow Brook Avenue behind the Chemistry Building on Oct. 5, 2017. Within 72 hours, the tent and its occupant were gone.
Those living in the neighborhood surrounding the intersection of Vermont Avenue and Willow Brook Avenue have mixed opinions about a homeless camp that occupied a section of the sidewalk. Sentiments vary from indifference to desperation depending on who is asked. Virgil is the manager of the American Ranch and Seafood Market on the same corner. He said he has repeatedly complained to both the Rampart and East Hollywood Divisions of the Los Angeles Police Department. He has received little response. “I asked (the homeless) to vacate that section of the sidewalk myself,” Virgil said, “but they refused
to leave.” He explained that it has affected business. Customers complained about looking at the rubbish that accumulated near the entrance of the store parking lot. “It is unsightly and smells bad,” he said. “The store is not actually losing business, we just get many complaints because it is a place where people buy and eat food,” Virgil said. Security Officer Paulo Cox of the LACC Sheriff ’s Station insisted his department has tried to do something about the homeless camp. While tents continue to spring up around campus, his department finds its hands tied. “It is out of our jurisdiction since it is on the sidewalk,” Cox said. Officers from the Sheriff ’s Sta-
tion may only act if students are being harassed by any of the occupants of the sidewalk while coming to or leaving campus. Their authority is limited to the campus since the sidewalk is considered public property. Catholic Charities of Los Angeles runs a chapter located on Willow Brook Avenue. Known as the St. Mary’s Center, it feeds the homeless in the area. Betty, an employee of the center is unaware of any specific campsite on the sidewalk. Her broader concern is with the families with children living on the streets. She is mainly concerned with the potential health hazards that result from people leaving human excrement on public sidewalks. Other issues take a backburner for Betty, who otherwise expressed
Encampments Spring Up, Police Shut Them Down By KimBerLy Fisher
PHOTO BY ANWAR TORRES
up these encampments.
INDEX Opinion & Editorial Arts & Entertainment Campus Life
2-3 5 7
Photo focus News Sports
4 6 8
On Willow Brook Avenue at the corner of Vermont Avenue, a homeless encampment developed rapidly, blocking pedestrian traffic and leaving some people wondering what could be done about it. The northeast corner of Willow Brook and Vermont had a massive pile of boxes, articles of clothing, broken furniture and trash clumped together. The plot stood about four feet tall by five feet wide. For some, the issue was more about street safety than just aesthetics. “People have to walk into the street to go around it. It’s dangerous,” said Mark Lewis, a local resident. “Cars sometimes come around
the corner pretty fast. Someone could get hit.” People often feel intimidated or threatened by the homeless. It is not uncommon to see pedestrians cross the road or walk in the street to avoid interaction. One of the men living in a tent, Curtis, was forced to leave his home after he became ill and could no longer work. His lack of income left him without the money to pay his rent. “I wish people understood a little better,” Curtis said. When asked how he felt about the other people residing there, he said “some are real good people, but some aren’t. There are a few troublemakers, but I just stay away from them.” Clark Branson, a student at LACC, said his issue was larger than just one corner. These
indifference about the burgeoning campsites in the neighborhood. Brendan and Stina are a married couple who profess communist political views. They live on Willow Brook Avenue, directly across the street from the campus. The pair was not bothered by the homeless that live in the vicinity. “They seem to be pretty nice guys,” Brendan said. “I wish that the City College could open their doors for these people in some way. At least let them use the showers where the old swimming pool is located ... Let these guys get cleaned up.” The young couple is expecting a child soon, but they never feel in any kind of danger. For them, SEE HOMELESS PAGE 6
camps are a constant reminder of the rising number of homeless people around town. The encampment at the corner of Vermont and Willowbrook was the subject of neighborhood conversation before it inexplicably disappeared. A proposed law by the city’s homeless committee mandates that homeless individuals are only allowed to carry 60 gallons worth of possessions. Police provide them with plastic trash bags and instruct them to disperse once they have packed up everything they can carry. Sixty gallons is roughly equivalent to one blue recycling bin provided by the city of L.A. “It seems like every time I go anywhere, I see a new group of makeshift houses and tents. It feels like the city doesn’t really care,” Branson said. Although the Hollywood United Neighborhood Council has been working to curb the crisis, the growth rate of homeless people keeps SEE APARTMENT SEEKERS PAGE 6