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Dec. 20, 2019 – Jan. 2, 2020
Supreme Court Turns Down Homelessness Law Ruling ties hands for lawmakers grappling with encampments, celebrated by homeless advocates. By Sam Catanzaro The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal in a case surrounding a Boise, Idaho law that would have made it illegal to sleep in public places, a setback for many West Coast cities grappling with a growing homelessness crisis. The decision, issued by the court without comment Monday, leaves in place earlier rulings by the 9th Circuit appeals court, in the case Martin v. Boise, that homeless persons cannot be punished for sleeping outside on public property in the absence of adequate alternatives. The ruling is binding in the 9th Circuit, covering nine states including California, a state home to 1/4 of the nation’s homeless population. Lawyers representing Boise argued that the decision ultimately hurts the individu-
als the law claims to protect by hindering lawmakers within the 9th Circuit from managing homeless encampments that pose a public safety risk. “Public encampments, now protected by the Constitution under the Ninth Circuit’s decision, have spawned crime and violence, incubated disease, and created environmental hazards that threaten the lives and well-being both of those living on the streets and the public at large,” said lawyers for Boise in court documents. Los Angeles County, where homelessness
increased 16 percent the past year, and many other governing bodies backed Boise in its petition to the Supreme Court. “The Martin decision forbids municipalities from enforcing common sense ordinances that prohibit public camping unless those local governments can offer acceptable shelter to every unhoused person in the jurisdiction. In other words, the County could be powerless to address camping in public places by anyone until it provides shelter for everyone,” the County wrote in September. LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl who
represents Santa Monica and is a Santa Monica resident, however, voted against backing Boise’s petition in September. “We need to continue to provide more and more housing and shelter and services, not simply ticket and arrest,” Kuehl said. This was a view shared by lawyers representing homeless individuals and their advocates following the Supreme Court’s decision Monday. “We’re thrilled that the Court has let the 9th Circuit decision stand so that homeless people are not punished for sleeping on the streets when they have no other option,” said Maria Foscarinis, Executive Director at the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty. “But ultimately, our goal is to end homelessness through housing—which is effective and saves taxpayer dollars—so that no one has to sleep on the streets in the first place. We hope that the 9th Circuit decision will help communities find the political will to put that housing in place. Housing, not handcuffs, is what ends homelessness.” The case now returns to the 9th Circuit. The City of Boise says it is evaluating options for its next actions.
Jody Maroni’s Closes After 40 Years in Venice Boardwalk fixture serves its last sausage. By Kerry S later After 40 years on the Venice Boardwalk, beloved restaurant Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom has closed. “I have loved the freedom that Venice has given me to express my various sausage fantasias,” Jordan (Jody) Monkarsh said in a statement. A boardwalk fixture located at 2011
Ocean Front Walk, the restaurant closed on December 16 with a farewell party that was held be held on December 15 from 2-6 p.m. that celebrated the closing of Jody Maroni’s with food, drink, laughs and love. Jordan Monkarsh, the son of a Studio City butcher, studied English at UC Berkeley while working in the gourmet food industry. In 1979, Monkarsh returned to Los Angeles and began to sell sausages on improvised carts, before opening Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom on the Venice Beach Boardwalk. The restaurant was a hit and soon Monkarsh expanded, opening storefronts across the country and operating locations in some of Los Angeles’ most famous landmarks including Dodger Stadium, Staples Center and the Hollywood Bowl. In addition, Monkarsh launched a wholesale sausage business, which the family will continue to operate. The family, who lived above the Venice restaurant for years, says that they are nothing but grateful for the Venice community. “We have spent the last few years navigating the transforming terrain of Venice – knowing that this chapter in our family’s story would soon conclude. We end this chapter with nothing but gratitude for our family, our greater Venice community, and
Jody Maroni’s on the Venice Beach Boardwalk
Photos: Courtesy Jony Maroni Sausage Kingdom (JodyMaroni.com).
whatever the future has in store. We are lucky to have been able to have our story woven into the fabric of this metropolis – here at the edge where dreamers thrive,” reads a statement. “In our name, we ask
that you hire local, feed locals, be locals. We have nothing but gratitude for our customers, who have come back decade after decade – and watched this neighborhood evolve with us.”