Skip to main content

Update on Tent City, via info in latest Costa Mantis video

Eviction notices will be given to Tent City campers on April 13; people will be expected to have moved from the encampment location by the 15th; on the 16th, people camping on private property will be subject to arrest. This information comes from the latest Costa Mantis mini-documentary. Mantis is living in Tent City from where he films and produces daily video reports.

Tent City is on private property, most of which belongs to SMUD [which stands for Sacramento Municipal Utility District]. A small portion of the property belongs to Union Pacific.

Below is Costa Mantis's April 10 report, "Live from Tent City Day Ten 04 10 09." Mantis began his onsite series of mini-documentaries on the 1st of April.



You can follow the Tent City story at Costa Mantis's Channel at YouTube.

BUT, be aware that a press release, relating to his documentary Flying Pumpkins, tells us that Mantis is an Emmy-award winner. A search at the Emmy Award website does not confirm Mantis's claim. I tell you this because Mantis is seeking donations at one of his websites. Caveat emptor.

Comments

greeny said…
It is a sad day in america when you lose your job, your house then you can't even sleep in your tent on unused property. I live in MO and am very upset at what is going on. I blame the politicians for allowing this to go on. I contacted Loaves and Fishes and got an updated on the situation and I called the mayor's office and had to leave a message but nobody called me back, but I am going to call them back. They say it is because the situation is not sanitary, is that really true? If that is the case couldn't the city just bring in porta potties or something. The shelters are nice but having to give up the only things you have left is not right. Trying to help in MO.
Unknown said…
greeny,

Let us just say the issue of safety at the Tent City location has come up late and conveniently. BUT, yes there are places in Sacramento, near the railways that have been disposal sites over most of the last century. While there is currently problems related to porta-potties and waste pick-up, the issue of cleanliness as I understand it relates to EPA standards at the site. There are also location problems related to nearness to railroad tracks and the river. One man got hit, and killed, by a train and there is a lot of drug use that hasn't been controlled.

BUT, Tent City never was "controlled" and organized. And, there is other property were Tent City could be located. There's a rally on April 21 to try to resurrect the notion of legal camping in the municipality, but with the "success" the city has been having in the last few days [at enormous expense] moving Tent City campers to shelters and getting them on temporary-housing lists, the effort for 2009 in Sacramento may be suspended.

A well-done urban tent encampment can be created and maintained very cheaply, if done right.

The city of Sacramento discovered a million bucks that had gotten lost in the accounting books and has thrown it all at the homeless "problem." The city council will probably succeed at suspending things until 2010.

Thank you, kind Missourian, for your help. Sacramento salutes you!

Popular posts from this blog

More obstacles revealed in effort to make Mather cottages habitable

Mold, asbestos and lead paint, oh my! The 35 cottages out at Mather Community Campus seem closer to being condemned today than ever again being inhabited. But the expectation that some of the cottages can and will be restored to house homeless families before spring abides. A report in the Sacramento Bee tells us ... Some [of the cottages] have extensive mold, a county analysis showed. It's not clear how the county planned to deal with lead paint and asbestos, [Rancho Cordova] Councilwoman Linda Budge said. Still, hope of getting some of the cottages in shape such that homeless families can move in is in play, though not before New Year's day.  Word of where the money might come from to make needed restorations has not been forthcoming, though it is known that the Winter Shelter Task Force hopes to hold a fundraiser to boost the pool of funds to meet the need to keep homeless people warm and safe. At the end of October, placing families, totalling 105 individuals, was

Ron Russell and Summerhills Realty

Readers of this blog should be aware that I am receiving some information that Summerhills Realty and someone named Ron E. Russell is using this blog as a reference in an effort to scam homeless people.  Be aware that Mr. Russell and his business is cited as a possible perpetrator of fraud by a website called Ripoff Report .  See this webpage .  Also, there is this claim of fraud against Ron Russell Properties at the website BizClaims - Latest scams, frauds and complaints . Please be aware that the information of being 'ripped off'' may be coming from only one source is coming from multiple sources, with perhaps as many as twelve persons/couples now pursuing legal action after paying thousands of dollars for services and receiving none of the services that were promised/contracted. While I know neither Mr. Russell nor Summerhills, I do know that an inordinate number of “in links” from readers of this blog have come via summerhillsrealestate.com for quite some time.  I

Loaves & Fishes implicates Buddhism and Jack Kornfield in its June Donations Plea.

The Sukhothai Traimit Golden Buddha was found in a clay-and-plaster overlaid buddha statue in 1959, after laying in wait for 500 years. It's huge and heavy: just under 10 feet tall and weighs 5 1/2 tons. At the beginning of their June newsletter , Loaves and Fishes relates a story, taken from the beginning of renowned Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield's 2008 book The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology . The first part and first chapter in Kornfield's book is "Part I: Who are you really?" and chapter 1 is called "Nobility: Our Original Goodness," which ought to serve as a clue to what the beginning of the book is about, not that that sentiment isn't strewn through-out the chapter, section and book such that what Kornfield is telling us should be crystal clear. Somehow, the not-ready-for-primetime management at Loaves & Fishes have managed to use Kornfield's wise and kindly words in a way that mangles th