Episode 2 pt. 1 – History of the Harbor’s Homeless

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This is Sprout, and this is Charyan, and we are the hosts of Molotov Now!, thank you for joining us on this episode of the podcast.

In our last episode we talked to you about Terry Emmert and his nefarious plans for our little town. We dissected what opportunity zones are and why they are being used by the wealthy to buy up huge amounts of low income communities around the country. Here in Aberdeen that looks like one playboy millionaire from Oregon securing a virtual monopoly on the real estate market. So that episode covered where we are now in Aberdeen.

In this episode we will dive into the archives of The Harbor Rat Report and the local paper The Daily World to look at how we got here. We will examine the path that Aberdeen took over the last half decade to get to where it is today. But first, we would like to take this time to apologize for the hiccups in our last episode caused by our neighborhood alleys cats and saboteurs. They are…feral, and…they…

Well they mean well at least, i think…

They do, they really do but they just have too much energy or something. and there are just sooo many of them. We are tired of having to dig litter out of our keyboards and… *sigh* anyway we are sorry for that. It will not happen again, we have secured the studio and hired some security to keep out intruders while we record.

We have a few articles from the Daily World to get through today about the origins of the plans to evict the longtime homeless camp known as the river camp from the banks of the Chehalis River, the multiple interactions the city had with the camp, a couple lawsuits, and all of the yanking around the city did with homeless post eviction that has brought us to where we are today.

Yep, we’ve got music from Days n Daze and The Window Smashing Job Creator this episode, and please stay tuned for our monthly radical news roundup after this brief message from our sponsor.

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​ Monthly Radical News Roundup:

Welcome back to Molotov Now! its time for a quick recap of the news this month.

In Local News:

As we have moved out of wildfire season and into house fire season here in the County, fires have been breaking out all over Grays Harbor. One fire claimed the home of an elderly woman who was put up for a week by the Red Cross, unfortunately after the week was up she was looking at being evicted onto the streets with no assistance coming from any of the large well funded institutions in town. A neighbor eventually made contact with CRMAN and was able to discuss the issue with us enough to where we could advocate on her behalf to CCAP, who agreed to pay for her room for another week and set her up with services intake. All it took was a phone call from us about why they would be kicking this lady out on so called Thanksgiving weekend. A fire broke out at our local homeless camp, the affected campers were left with nothing and of course the Salvation Army and Red Cross have provided zero help. Chehalis River Mutual Aid was out there immediately providing resources, a helping hand, and are working to secure the affected campers places to stay while their belongings are replaced. If you would like to contribute to their fire support fund you can find all the donations links at linktr.ee/crmutualaidnet

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The local religious group Chaplains on the Harbor seems to have gotten approval to move forward with the county contract for an emergency cold weather shelter here in Aberdeen. with a post on their Facebook saying, “As the year comes to an end and Christmas is upon us we want to take the opportunity to thank all of our supporters who have enabled Chaplains on the Harbor to do the work we do. After much delay, Our team are busy gearing up with so many community partners for an Aberdeen emergency cold weather shelter. This week we have identified a site, toured inside and out, had verbal approval by municipalities, have witnessed changing of hearts and attitudes, waiting official approval, met with the landlord and his construction crew to make a few necessary changes, reaching out to community resources for additional staffing and resources that will be needed. An answer to prayer, a Christmas miracle. Thanks be to God for community members that care about taking care of our most vulnerable neighbors.” No shelter has been opened as of writing but this demonstrates that the public pressure put on local officials has finally broken through into some forward action. Despite this objectively good news, this will mean another 25 bed shelter when in reality hundreds remain in need of shelter throughout the city. So activists and radicals should be attentive to those left outside still and do everything we can to push for a permanent camp location, and shelter for all. Not by appealing to politicians whims, but by building a grassroots coalition that can exert it’s own power in local affairs.

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263 Children woke up on the 25th of December to a Christmas that would not have been possible without the efforts of the Out & Proud Coalition and their Operation Santa Claus event. In the face of growing anti-queer sentiment in the country and calls from local officials to protest the event, “Operation Santa Claus!” was a huge success. The annual event raised a little over $2000 in one evening. The Out & Proud Grays Harbor Coalition donated an extra $500 and their online fundraiser raised another $575. So far over $3000 has been raised to purchase gifts for under served kids for Christmas! This was the most successful event they have ever had in their 8 years running. Children, parents, and other patrons packed the event leaving little but standing room as people enjoyed the drag performances, concessions, auctions, and even a balloon artist. The kids in attendance had an wonderful time with their balloon animals, dancing and singing along to the performances. In a statement posted to The Out & Proud Grays Harbor Collation’s Facebook page, organizers said,

“We gratefully thank this amazing Grays Harbor community for not letting hate win and for showing up for LGBTQIA+ individuals and the amazing drag performers.”

But not everything was happy holidays and worry free celebration this year, in the wake of online hysteria in Facebook group’s by local conservatives & reactionaries, many parents were left worrying for the safety of their children from the threat of attack by far right extremists as outcry and public threats jumped from the page’s of conservative Facebook, to push back by local officials and state representatives and other organizations demanding a shutdown of the event.

Organizers received a slew of screenshots and messages from people who claim to be, as one message stated from a resident in Raymond, that they were, quote “Sympathetic to the domestic terrorists that target your community” These threats and statements are made openly with little push back or repercussion not even a month after the Club Q shooting where after the shooter targeted a queer bar injuring 25 and murdering 5 others was only stopped not by police but by the patrons of the bar subduing the shooter. prompting the slogan in queer circles “Cop’s Don’t Keep Us Safe, We Keep Us Safe”

Luckily Operation Santa Claus! Went off without incident, potential protestors deterred by the fog and rain of the winter weather. The same could not be said of other drag events happening the same day in Renton that faced major push back led by city officials and the business who was hosting the event had their windows shot out by unknown shooters days before. John Brown Gun Club was invited to run security for the event where a team of at least 8 guards ran over watch and made sure the drag event resumed safely, a combination that has been trending since a event in Texas that had been the target of threat and harassment was shielded from a mob of reactionary protestors by armed antifascists from the John Brown Gun Club on the 28th of August 2022. As the number of drag shows being targeted by extremists continues to grow so to has the need for community defense and the need for queer people to arm and defend themselves.

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We have seen a massive spike in overdoses, including fatalities, since the cold weather has arrived this winter, and while public officials would like to simply call these deaths overdoses and wash their hands of them, the truth is much more complex. When you live on the streets you often self medicate with drugs in order to sleep, in order to warm up. For some it’s the only way to make it through a cold wet night in a tent. So the rise that coincides with the cold weather can largely be attributed to exposure, as these additional deaths are the result of the additional strain of physical limits that people living outside in the winter go through. These are literally our friends dying every month and the city has this blood on its hands for denying shelter for so many, for so long.

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In Dayton Washington,  Katy Hussey & Jessica Wallingford were the target of illegal police harassment by officer Riley Conohan On Nov 29th outside of a local grocery where the off duty officer pulled a gun on the couple refusing to show any form of identification. Katy was quoted as saying

“I took my girlfriend Jessica and her little sister Allison to the local grocery store. I waited in my grandpas truck I was borrowing for the night (mind you he is a retired state patrolman) while they went inside. When I was waiting I noticed a man come to an abrupt stop and turned into the store parking lot all crazy like. but I live in Dayton WA so crazy things are normal. I didn’t think much of it. A couple minutes later I noticed the same guy coming out the double doors looking all around and in a hurry. He went to his truck and went back inside. A few minutes later Jessica is getting into the truck and in order for her sister to get in she would have to pull her seat forward, so before I could ask “Where’s Allison?” the same man had a gun pointed right at Jessica. She literally got into the truck, closed the door and her window was rolled down already and the weapon was right there pointed at us. If her window was closed the tip of the gun would have been touching the glass. He yelled over and over again telling her to get out of the vehicle and she really quietly was telling me “We need to go.” I was in shock and had no idea what was going on. This man in cowboy boots, jeans and a hoodie pointing a gun at us claiming to be a cop really didn’t seem real. (the whole incident lasted about 5 minutes from what the dispatch calls time stamp shows.) I finally spoke up and yelled asking what was going on. He said to turn the vehicle off and I asked after that at least 20 times to see his badge. He said he will show me if I turned off the vehicle. Even though right before he said that, he already checked his hoodie pocket for it and you could see his hand go entirely through the pocket out the other side. I made the decision to leave and get out of this dangerous situation. I told him I was going to put the car in reverse and leave. I went and dropped jess at her parents which you can see their house from where we were in the parking lot so it wasn’t very far at all, and I went home and called 911 myself. I explained how there was a man claiming to be one of them and he had a weapon pointed right at us and wouldn’t show a badge when asked. They asked if I wanted to speak with a deputy and sent one out since I was angry at what just happened. The deputy brought statement forms for me and told me to turn them in to him when he gets on shift around 6 the following day to make sure the forms actually get filed.”

During the time that Katy & Jessica had fled Officer Conohan had made a call to dispatch requesting the license plate of the pickup truck that she had been driving that day that she had borrowed from her grandfather who is an ex state patrolman.

This resulted in another call from dispatch to one Officer Rivera where after laughing and acknowledging that officer Conahan was attempting to make an illegal off duty arrest proceeded to assist the officer in what has been an ongoing campaign to harass this couple.

Rivera having the license plate number proves just how much their home had been stalked because Katy only had the truck less than 24 hours and they wrote it down when it was parked outside their home

Here are the audio clips from the dispatch calls including the call Katy has made reporting the incident with Officer Conahan.

The morning after she made this call though Officer Conahan showed up at their house after seeing her car home that was around 330- 430pm. The same Off Duty Officer who just had pointed a weapon at Katy & Jessica was now at their door demanding their arrest.

Katy shut the door and demanded to speak with his supervisor and that she didn’t want to talk to him considering he was just aiming a weapon at her less than 24 hours ago without provocation. After surrendering she was charged with obstructing a law enforcement officer, rendering criminal assistance, and resisting arrest. While at trial for this incident Katy was found not guilty for the first two charges and found guilty for resisting arrest which makes no legal sense if the courts had found her innocent of the first two charges given the absurdity of the incident. Her attorney has filed a couple motions to get her charged dropped or put up for a retrial. We won’t know what the decision is until January

The couple has also been forced in a dual case of no contact orders by the court. This is a load of garbage this couple was a victim of the state and even though the no contact order was lifted on behalf of Katy when the initial trial ended, they are still under the penalty of a no contact order on Jessica’s side.

And for what? So they didn’t have the same story? There was only one thing that happened that night and that’s the truth. If you were to look at all articles and the public statement and testimonies at trial every single one is different. Their stories haven’t changed a bit.

Katy Had this to say about the ordeal,

“All in all, we didn’t deserve what happened to us. Why did they do this to us? We aren’t the violent criminals they make us out to be. They could have just said it was a rookie mistake and moved on, but they completely destroyed us. I’ve been to jail 2 or 3 times now because of this. They had a no contact order on us for an entire year and actually mine was just dropped at the end of trial, but Jessica still has one in superior court on me.

They drive by our house maybe 10-20 times a night and almost practically stop outside my place. Its why I have cameras outside.

Cops were my biggest advocate growing up, and my grandfather is a retired state patrolman, I had nothing against officers but now I’m traumatized. And the sight of a deputy sends me into a panic.

I want my life back. We want our life back. Jessica and I have lost everything because of these officers. I lost my job, jess lost her home, and my rental assistance was terminated thanks to this county, and I don’t know what to do. I’m losing yet another place since I can’t afford it and my depression has completely taken over my brain. There’s no winning it feels like.

I wish I knew why they hate us and want to ruin us so bad.”

We will be conducting a follow up interview with Katy after her trial in January where she will not only be able to speak for herself but will expand upon the story and her most recent developments from trial. To support Katy in this hard time please send any donations to Venmo @katyHussey or Cashapp $KatyHussey

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On Christmas day thousands of people in Graham, WA woke up to no power after four power substations were vandalized at different locations. as reported by Kiro 7

In other news:

A state of emergency was put into effect in Moore Country, North Carolina after two power substations were vandalized with gunfire, leaving tens of thousands of homes in darkness. No one knows who launched the attack on the substations — which left over 40,000 people in darkness — but the attack in North Carolina is being probed as intentional and a criminal act, authorities said. Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields stated during a press conference that he called the attack “targeted” and said law enforcement would provide security for the substations and business overnight.

“We faced something last night here in Moore County that we never faced before,” Fields said. “But I promise you we will get through this.”

He said rumors were circulating online that the attack was connected to protests over a drag show at a local theater scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., however, investigators have not found any evidence the two were related.  “No group has stepped up to acknowledge or accept that they’re the ones that done it,” , adding the FBI was working with state investigators to locate whoever is responsible.

Fields said someone “opened fire on the substation, the same thing with the other one,” though no motive for the crime was determined yet.

But as pointed out in a tweet Gwen Snyder, Though the FBI and major media outlets may not be willing to call the Moore County power grid attack- that may have been the cause of death of one person in Pinehearst, the act of domestic terror it so cleary is. You know who else is only too happy to call it terror and attempt to incite copycat violence? Nazis on telegram.

If you would like to skip this content you can skip forward one minute.

 

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On Tuesday, December 13th there was a raid in the Atlanta forest where five were arrested after police brutalized them with tear gas and pepper balls.

Forest defenders swiftly called for a noise demonstration at the DeKalb County Jail in solidarity with the five people arrested during the raid. By 8pm, protesters began to amass near the facility. Sheriffs on foot lined the perimeter of the jail as a choir of twenty five voices, a dozen drums, two guitars, a cello, and various handheld noisemakers approached. Jail administrators peered down from office windows as protesters tossed smoked bombs in the road and chanted “1312, we are all here for you!,” and “no forest, no peace.”

According to on this report on the arrests:

On Dec. 13, the task force raided the training center site. The [Georgia Bearu of Investigation] issued a press release publicizing the arrest of five protesters on charges of domestic terrorism, among other alleged offenses. But the agency has been unable to provide any incident reports or other documents showing exactly what the arrestees are accused of doing.

…a sixth person [was arrest] on a charge of violating Georgia’s “hands-free driving” law, which bans the use or touching of a cell phone while driving – but for a different underlying reason. “We had an individual who was out attempting to film officers,” the Atlanta Assistant Police Chief said. “We were able to get him with the hands-free law as he drove by filming our officers, so we were able to lock him up.”

A press release from the Atlanta Press Collective stated, “On December 17, 175 people gathered in Brownwood Park in East Atlanta to declare their support for the six activists recently charged with domestic terrorism, and to demonstrate their continued opposition to “Cop City,” a proposed 300 acre, $90 million police training facility in Atlanta’s largest urban forest. These charges resulted from an inter-agency raid on tree sitters which included the Atlanta Police Department, DeKalb County Police, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, and the Department of Homeland Security. The training facility, though widely opposed by the public, local neighbors, and environmentalists, has been approved by the city, although construction has been delayed for over a year by protestors occupying the forest.”

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On Monday, AZ Gov. Doug Ducey began dropping the first of thousands of shipping containers along a 10-mile stretch of national forest in open defiance of federal authorities. Ducey has cited increased border crossings and the trafficking of fentanyl as justification for the trash wall’s construction, despite the fact that most drugs are brought in through established points of entry, not the desert.

the Intercept wrote:

Doug Ducey…has transformed a remote section of rugged desert into what looks like a junkyard. Along the way, he has set the stage for an unprecedented legal showdown with the feds. In a lawsuit he filed three days before the installation began, Ducey admitted he had not received authorization for the project but was proceeding anyway.

The governor’s actions create precisely the sort of state’s rights and border security confrontation the Biden administration would be inclined to avoid less than two weeks from the midterms. The situation has left environmental advocates racing to stop the project, which cuts through a corridor that is designated as critical for endangered jaguars. The environmentalists’ options, however, are limited.

As Unicorn Riot reported:

Since Nov. 29, a loose collection of locals, environmental activists, hippies and migrant solidarity workers have been putting their bodies in the way of the machines. They have successfully delayed the work crews for a week and a half, who had been rushing to drop as many shipping containers into the wilderness as possible before Arizona Governor Doug Ducey leaves office in early January.

What began as a tentative experiment in disruption, escalated to a full-fledged encampment earlier this week. When workers switched to night shifts so they could work unimpeded, blockaders started camping on the site to keep watch.

and now a quick rundown of some headlines from IGD

Twitter – Dec 15, 22

This month saw more insanity at Twitter as Elon musk took up the ban hammer and with advice from far right grifter Andy Ngo began banning anarchist and antifascist accounts that have previously raised the ire of the right generally and Ngo specifically. Andy Ngo having called out Crimethinc by name in his testimony to Congress in June of 2020.

At the time of the suspension, It’s Going Down had over 108,000 followers. IGD has been on Twitter since 2015 and has never been suspended. As a media collective, IGD curates a regularly updated website, a podcast in the top 1% of downloads featuring weekly dialogues with journalists, authors, and grassroots organizers, and a radio show that reaches tens of thousands across the West Coast on the Pacifica Radio network. As a media outlet, IGD has been quoted and cited in Teen Vogue, the New York Times, and every media platform in between; IGD has been instrumental in reporting on grassroots movements and the growing threat of the Alt-Right and white nationalism. In response, IGD has drawn the ire of the far-Right from Tucker Carlson on Fox News to the neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville.

From Crimethinc,

“On November 24, a white nationalist¹ who speaks at conferences alongside Richard Spencer posted a tweet approving of a wave of bans on Twitter. Elon Musk responded favorably to him, and far-right troll Andy Ngo answered Musk, specifically requesting that the @crimethinc account be banned from Twitter. Within a couple hours, Musk had fulfilled Ngo’s request.²

The @crimethinc account on Twitter dates from May 2008. The account has never been suspended or received a warning throughout fourteen years of Twitter administrations. Ngo was not bringing any new material to Musk’s attention, but reposting years-old screenshots. Other Twitter users were banned under similar circumstances today, as well.

Musk’s rhetoric about making Twitter a venue for “free speech” was a lie. Musk bought Twitter in order to impose his agenda on what he saw as the most influential social media platform remaining outside the control of people like himself. Like Donald Trump, Musk brazenly says the opposite of what he means, and his supporters interpret this as a show of strength.

At the same time that he welcomes Donald Trump, white nationalists, and fascists back to Twitter, Musk is purging those who stand in the way of their authoritarian aspirations. Make no mistake, the point of silencing our voices is to prepare the way for other kinds of violence.

Today, we speak to you from the other side of the great divide. Banned on Facebook, Instagram, and now Twitter, we nonetheless exist and organize. If you can still hear us—if you are reading these words—then there is life after social media. That goes for entire social movements as well as individuals and publishers.

Looking at this situation in a broader historical context, Twitter itself is like a canary in a coal mine. Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform confirms the end of social media as we have known it, at least for the purposes of positive social change. All the major platforms that played roles in the movements of the past decade have been brought under the direct control of reactionaries determined to make sure that they cannot be used to coordinate resistance.

The question is what comes next. Will reactionary billionaires determine what we can do and think and dream? Or will we establish other channels via which to communicate, other forms of connection, other means of coordination?

In response, we invite you to make the streets of your community speak out with a new poster about capitalists like Elon Musk and Donald Trump. If there’s one medium that billionaires will never control, it’s wheatpaste.

To address this situation, we’ve dusted off a classic motif of ours and designed a new poster. We invite you to plaster the walls of your community with it—in a strictly legal way, of course.

In addition, in case you prefer to paste up posters the old-fashioned DIY way rather than just buying wallpaper paste or spray adhesive, we have made a zine version of our Field Guide to Wheatpasting—please print these out and distribute them to anyone who might be interested in communicating on a platform that isn’t run by a pro-fascist billionaire!

You can read the contents of the zine, check out the poster, and read more about these articles by going to crimethinc.com

Besides these articles, posters, and zines, we would live to take this time to draw your attention to these other recent publications from Crimethinc:

Punk—Dangerous Utopia Revisiting the Relationship between Punk and Anarchism 2022-12-13
Producing Transdermal Estrogen: A Do-It-Yourself Guide 2022-12-15
Reaching back into November a bit they also published a great piece on abortions in Poland entitled
Abortion without Borders How Feminists and Anarchists Defy Polish Anti-Abortion Laws 2022-11-14
as well as a rundown on the brazilian elections:
Left Electoralism, Fascist Direct Action, and Anti-Fascist Resistance The Brazilian Elections of 2022 2022-11-06

Segment one – A History of the Harbor:

People have been homeless on this land ever since colonization brought the very concept to bear. In Aberdeen, the homeless and transient have always gravitated to the banks of the Chehalis River, on the south edge of downtown Aberdeen. Ever since the logging days of the 19th century this has been a home for people with no where else to go. So, I’d like to get into some of thesereports from the Daily World. so Charyan, youre somewhat familiar with the clearing of the old river camp, can you tell me when you think that whole process got started? We begin in 2016 when local contracting company purchased a lot on the banks of the river and started cleaning it up. I’ll present here a detailed history of the last six years of unbelievable harassment of the homeless at the hands of the City of Aberdeen.

August 23, 2016 Group of river front homeless campers need to move. Private property along the Chehalis River in Aberdeen soon won’t be a welcome spot for the homeless to camp and trespass because the new owner, Rognlin’s Inc., wants to clean up the lot. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/group-of-river-front-homeless-campers-need-to-move/

August 27, 2016  James Horack and William Hougham told Aberdeen City Council members at a meeting Wednesday that despite the perception of many people in the community, not everyone within the homeless population is a substance user or dealing with mental health challenges. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/homeless-people-address-city-council-about-their-condition/

September 14, 2016 Up to 75 people are camping along the river near downtown Aberdeen but one of the property owners asked them to leave. Homeless people encamped on River Street along the Chehalis River in Aberdeen are on the move again after property owner Michael Lang asked the city to take action against the squatters. Police and a cleanup crew hired by Lang were at the site Monday. Advocates were attempting to seek a legal way to stop expulsion but hadn’t yet found an answer, they said Tuesday. Some people living there packed up what they could and left. But clergy acting on behalf of the campers said Lang relented and ultimately decided to allow the people time to pack up and move on at a more relaxed pace. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/homeless-camped-along-chehalis-told-to-bug-out-again/

October 25, 2016  A statewide funding source considered crucial for dealing with homelessness is slated to start shrinking next year, according to a speaker at Tuesday’s meeting of the Grays Harbor County Housing Coalition. The goal is to successfully lobby for a change in the law before the fee for such services begin decreasing in June 2017 from $58 to $48 for each transaction recording. The fee is scheduled to drop even more significantly in June 2019, from $48 to $18. With the $48 fee, Grays Harbor County is estimated to receive $1.117 million for homelessness programs from 2017-2019. The amount would fall to just $419,000 from 2019-2021 if the money allocated for such assistance drops to $18 per document. In Grays Harbor County, these reductions would translate into 224 people not being housed. The number of people statewide not housed would rise by more than 22,500. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/funding-source-for-homeless-programs-could-start-drying-up/

October 26, 2016 A downtown Aberdeen business owner has complained to the city about conditions at and around the nearly vacant Seafirst office building at the corner of Broadway and Market Street. The structure’s ground-level parking garage has become a shelter to some local homeless people when the weather is bad. Scott Olsen of City Center Pharmacy, 108 E. Wishkah St., which is just across the alley from the office building, said more homeless people are congregating around the area. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/downtown-business-owner-concerned-about-homeless-attracted-to-seafirst-building/

February 9, 2018 Aberdeen City Hall was packed Wednesday evening for a workshop on homelessness, with a crowd of more than 100 that included homeless people, representatives from homeless assistance programs, and local business owners. It was a significantly larger turnout than typical city council meetings, and some council members took note. At the beginning of the meeting, the council read aloud a letter from Mike Lang, who owns a significant portion of the riverfront property along the Chehalis River, where many homeless people live in tents. He originally purchased the land 25 years ago for $350,000 to eventually be his “retirement nest egg,” the letter reads, and spent 20 years commercial fishing in the Bering Sea to pay for it. Since his return, Lang writes that he now feels like the area’s “garbage man,” because he has to deal with trash left behind by campers. He said he has experienced harassment from tent residents while cleaning up trash, had his tires slashed once while cleaning, and has been unable to sell the property. Lang concludes his letter writing that he cannot think of a better location for the campers to inhabbit, but that he is “overwhelmed” and needs help to deal with it. “I can’t think of a better place for these people to camp where they have water and lots of driftwood for their campfires,” wrote Lang. “I’m sure it’s better than if they are camped along the sidewalks in town in doorways or peoples’ back yards. In any event I need help, I can’t afford this burden.” While city council members did discuss a number of potential solutions for homelessnesss, many of them expressed their frustration that they’ve been hearing the same problems and solutions for years, without much actually getting done. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/diverse-crowd-packs-homelessness-workshop-in-aberdeen/

February 16, 2018 As a follow up to last week’s crowded workshop to discuss homelessness, a similarly large number of people showed up to Wednesday’s Aberdeen City Council meeting to formally get their opinions heard. The speakers had a wide range of opinions, from former homeless people and non-homeless locals who felt the homeless should be treated with more compassion, to business owners saying that homeless people have stolen from them or made business difficult. Several of the speakers said that council members’ comments at the workshop were unfairly critical of homeless people. One speaker, Lisa Chappell from Hoquiam, said she was disappointed and felt that all the solutions were focused on ordinances to police homeless people instead of committing to offering more assistance, such as more housing. Some local downtown business owners showed up to speak as well, and said that while they feel sympathetic for the local homeless population, they are tired of having increased garbage and other sideeffects of homelessness that hurt business. Ilan Kariv from Grays Harbor Guns said that he wants to advocate for homeless people, but is upset with its impact on downtown commerce. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/locals-return-to-discuss-homelessness-at-aberdeen-city-council-meeting/

May 16, 2018 Aberdeen Mayor Erik Larson says he wants the city to purchase a piece of riverfront property that has been controversial due to the many homeless people living there. He said he’ll present his plan to the City Council at next Wednesday’s meeting. The land is owned by Mike Lang, who has tried unsuccessfully to clear the homeless camps and vehicles.  https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/larson-says-city-should-buy-homeless-camp-land/

May 17, 2018 A 43-year-old woman attempting to cross the train tracks near South Michigan Street and State Street just after midnight Wednesday was struck by a train in an accident that required amputations on both of her legs. The area is very near the large homeless camp along the Chehalis River. It stretches for blocks between the railroad tracks and the river. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/womans-legs-severed-by-train-in-accident-near-aberdeen-homeless-camp/

May 25, 2018 The City of Aberdeen is nearing the purchase of a controversial property along the Chehalis River where many homeless people live in tents, shacks and vehicles. During Wednesday’s Aberdeen City Council meeting, the council approved a motion authorizing Mayor Erik Larson to negotiate a final price for the city to purchase the land from its owner, Mike Lang. The motion allows Larson to finalize a price for the property for no more than $295,000. Larson later told The Daily World that that maximum was the amount he settled on in recent discussions with Lang. According to the county assessor’s website, the property is valued at $609,840 for taxing purposes. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/council-authorizes-mayor-to-make-deal-for-riverfront-homeless-camp-land/

June 29, 2018 At Wednesday’s Aberdeen City Council meeting, Mayor Erik Larson expressed frustration over criticism from advocates for the homeless aimed at the city and himself, and said he wished a broad coalition of the community would come together to discuss and address the homelessness issue. Larson was responding in part to a large protest in front of Aberdeen City Hall on June 15. The gathering featured speeches from Bishop Michael Curry of the Episcopal Church, who was visiting Aberdeen that day, and organizers pushing for the city to add affordable housing and better address homelessness. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/larson-expresses-frustration-in-wake-of-homelessness-protests/

July 14, 2018 The City of Aberdeen is moving forward with its plan to purchase land along the Chehalis River and eventually evict the homeless residents. At Wednesday’s council meeting, Mayor Erik Larson said he reached a handshake agreement with the real estate agent for Mike Lang to buy the property, but that he hasn’t signed a contract yet. Lang owns the strip of riverfront property where approximately 100 people have been living in tents, motor vehicles and makeshift shacks. “Ultimately, we will be removing people from the property, and will move to do that as quickly as is reasonable,” said Larson. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/aberdeen-finalizing-purchase-of-riverfront-homeless-camp-land/

September 1, 2018 The City of Aberdeen, recent purchaser of land occupied by the city’s largest homeless camp, is preparing to clean up trash at the riverfront property and is looking at ways to add a low-barrier shelter that could house people living there. On Friday, staff from Aberdeen Public Works went down to the homeless camps along the Chehalis River to meet with those living there and explain that the city will soon be clearing brush and removing trash from the area, as part of a longer process to remove all people from the property. “We’re looking to outline an initial cleanup timeline so there are no surprises for the people on the property that could create confusion or a safety issue,” said Aberdeen Mayor Erik Larson at Wednesday’s city council meeting. The cleanup could also include adding temporary garbage service and portable toilets. Social service workers have surveyed the camp in recent weeks and reported that more than 50 people are living there now. They have also told Larson that right now, the community doesn’t have places for all of them to go. Larson said he’s looking at ways to add a temporary low-barrier shelter.“It looks at this point that in order to address the individuals on the property, we’re probably going to need to look at some level of temporary low-barrier shelter space off-site from the property,” said Larson. Larson said he is working with Housing Resource Coordinator Cassie Lentz from Grays Harbor Public Health to look at the costs and potential locations for a low-barrier shelter. “It might be a vacant parcel, it might be a building,” said Larson. “We’re looking at options, and we’re looking for support and guidance from the people who do this and are experts in it.” Low-barrier shelters are typically less strict than some shelters that will turn people away if they aren’t sober. Members of the Coastal Community Action Program and Grays Harbor Public Health have spent the past couple weeks speaking with people living on the riverfront property to identify how many are living there and what their needs are. In recent months, Larson has said the city intends to move all residents off the property because of safety concerns, citing that as the main reason the city bought the property. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/aberdeen-considers-adding-low-barrier-shelter-to-relocate-homeless-river-camp-inhabitants/

September 26, 2018 The City of Aberdeen is moving forward with its plan to clear the Chehalis River waterfront homeless camp, and Mayor Erik Larson says work to remove vehicles, tents and other temporary structures from the property will soon begin. In a news release from Larson’s office on Tuesday, he said the city has now removed much of the garbage and overgrown vegetation in the city-owned area and will move on to the next step toward eventually moving everyone from the property. Dozens of people are living along the river in makeshift tents or vehicles. The camp goes back years, but in the past couple of years, it seems to have grown dramatically. In order to control traffic on the property, Larson said a metal gate restricting vehicle access would be closed on Wednesday, Sept. 26, at 5 p.m. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/plans-for-clearing-homeless-camp-appear-to-gain-momentum/

November 2, 2018 For the past five years, the Rev. Sarah Monroe from Chaplains on the Harbor has served the role as a pastor and service provider for the more than 100 homeless people who live in tents, shacks and vehicles along the Chehalis River in Aberdeen. The city recently purchased the land where most of the homeless are camping. As city officials work toward eventually removing everyone living on the riverfront, the city’s Public Works Department has begun regulating which homeless assistance groups can get the city’s written permission to enter the property, and Monroe was denied access. Monroe said she is upset with what she sees as the city’s attempts to make it more difficult for people living on the river to get help. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/aberdeen-restricts-who-can-enter-homeless-camps/

November 21, 2018 The City of Aberdeen, its mayor and a city administrator have been sued in federal court by three people who say the city’s restrictions to the Chehalis riverfront homeless camps violate their First Amendment rights. The suit was filed in Tacoma’s federal court on Monday, and names the city, Mayor Erik Larson and City Engineer Kris Koski, who drafted rules for who can visit the homeless camp, as the defendants. The lawsuit was filed by the Rev. Sarah Monroe — who has regularly assisted and provided religious services for homeless people living on the now city-owned property — along with Tim Quigg and Apryl Boling as the plaintiffs. The city recently denied Monroe’s application to access the property to provide services. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/federal-suit-filed-against-aberdeen-for-restricting-homeless-camp-access/

December 12, 2018 At a hearing in Tacoma, U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton said the plaintiffs are allowed to enter the property and the city’s permit system for restricting visitors needs to change. “This system, this structure is not going to survive,” said Leighton, who later added, “This is run like a jail right now.” https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/judge-tells-aberdeen-to-revise-its-homeless-camp-policies/

January 2, 2019  Anyone can freely visit Aberdeen’s riverfront homeless camp during certain hours each day, now that a judge has approved new policies as part of a federal lawsuit against the city for its management of the camp. The policies — drafted and agreed upon by both parties in the lawsuit — eliminate the city’s controversial visitor permit system for the homeless encampment, where over 100 people are living in tents, vehicles and makeshift shacks between railroad tracks and the Chehalis River.  https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/all-visitors-can-now-visit-aberdeen-homeless-camps/

January 11, 2019 The Aberdeen City Council passed two items regarding access to the city’s riverfront homeless camp at Wednesday night’s council meeting — part of an agreement in a federal lawsuit against the city. The first was a resolution that adopts new rules for people wishing to enter the riverfront property, where more than 100 homeless people have been living for months. The most notable change is that visitors to the property do not need to obtain any permits or advance permission to do so. The resolution also outlines new time, manner and place restrictions, like not allowing visits outside of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. hours, and that weapons, alcohol and illegal drugs are prohibited on the property. It was unanimously passed without discussion by council members The council also passed the first reading of an ordinance that supplements the camps regulations, allowing the public a chance to give feedback before it’s potentially approved at a third reading in a few weeks. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/council-passes-reports-that-adjust-homeless-policies/

April 13, 2019 The Aberdeen City Council took a major step this week in prohibiting a large swath of riverfront property from being used as a homeless camp. The council passed the first reading of an ordinance denying public access to area, which was purchased by the city last year. It has been the area’s largest homeless encampment for years. Aberdeen Mayor Erik Larson submitted the ordinance, which states that after it’s passed, the property would be closed to all public access. Citizens spoke both for and against the ordinance at the public-comment period of Wednesday’s council meeting, including a couple homeless people from the encampment who asked they be given more time so they might find alternative places to stay. There were 10 votes in favor of the ordinance, one no vote and one council member who abstained in the voice vote. A public hearing on the ordinance will be held at the next council meeting April 24 as well as the second of three readings. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/aberdeen-passes-first-reading-to-shut-down-homeless-camp/

April 24, 2019 Another federal lawsuit has been filed against the City of Aberdeen over its dealing with the homeless population. This time it’s an attempt to stop Mayor Erik Larson’s proposal for an ordinance that would clear the city’s major homeless encampment along the Chehalis River. The lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, and asks for an injunction to prevent the city from moving the many people living in tents, shacks and vehicles along the river unless alternative shelter is provided for them. It was filed by eight people currently living along the river, along with the Rev. Sarah Monroe and Apryl Boling who were both plaintiffs in an earlier lawsuit to stop the city’s permit system for visitors to the homeless camp. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/another-federal-lawsuit-filed-against-aberdeen-to-stop-homeless-evictions/

April 26, 2019 The Aberdeen City Council moved a step closer toward clearing the city’s homeless encampment along the Chehalis River by unanimously passed the second reading Wednesday of a proposed ordinance. Mayor Erik Larson proposed an ordinance that, if passed at the final reading May 8, would prompt the city to clear the city’s homeless camp and prevent any public access to it.  https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/council-passes-second-reading-to-clear-riverfront-homeless-camps/

May 8, 2019 A federal judge in Tacoma granted a 30-day stay, or hold, on the City of Aberdeen’s plan to clear people from the city’s riverfront homeless camp, which otherwise might have happened as soon as Saturday. A coalition of people who live at the camp and two activists who have worked with them have sued the city to stop the evictions. During a hearing Tuesday, Judge Ronald B. Leighton asked that the two parties negotiate a solution and come up with a plan for where the homeless individuals will go if they are not allowed to live at the camp along the Chehalis River. Leighton did not approve or deny the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction to stop the evictions temporarily, but he warned there would be consequences if the city moved to evict people before the 30-day stay was up. “Mark my words though, if there’s any change, any roust, there will be hell to pay,” Leighton said to the city’s side of the courtroom. “Get your negotiators, and solve this problem.” Along with imposing a 30-day stay, Leighton called on city officials to do more to solve the city’s riverfront homelessness issue. “You guys have to get an oar, and put your oar in the water, to start contributing to solving this problem,” said Leighton. He added that this case was “one of two or three cases” in 18 years he’s seen that “cries out for good faith, and good will between neighbors.” https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/federal-judge-orders-hold-on-aberdeen-homeless-evictions/

May 10, 2019 The Aberdeen City Council finalized the ordinance to clear the city’s riverfront homeless camp following a vote Wednesday night, and pushed back its effective date a month to comply with the federal lawsuit ruling earlier this week. As opposed to the original ordinance that would have taken effect after the meeting, Councilman Pete Schave made an amendment to push back the effective date to June 10, the first Monday after a federal judge’s 30-day stay to hold off on the evictions would end. The final vote was 8-0 in favor of the evictions. Four council members were absent from the meeting and did not vote: Tim Alstrom, Jeff Cook, Frank Gordon and John Maki. Mayor Erik Larson was also not present at the meeting and said by phone he was out of town for a trade show as part of his other job. Last night’s reading was the third and final vote to pass the ordinance from Larson’s office. The law intends to prohibit all public access to the riverfront homeless camps and clear people from the site, which Larson has said is for public safety reasons. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton said the city and a group of 10 plaintiffs — which includes homeless people and advocates suing the city over the ordinance — must work together to negotiate a solution for where the people in the riverfront camps will move to. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/city-council-pushes-back-date-to-carry-out-homeless-evictions/

June 11, 2019 Aberdeen Mayor Erik Larson is interested in creating a homeless-mitigation site at an undeveloped plot of land at 303 E Market St., next to the Aberdeen Transit Station, which is currently owned by the Grays Habor Transit Authority. The Grays Harbor Transit Board considered a proposal from Larson’s office for the City of Aberdeen at Tuesday’s meeting, which requests the transit board approve a lease of the property at an annual amount of $12,000. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/aberdeen-mayor-proposes-acquiring-property-for-homeless-mitigation-site/

June 12, 2019 The Grays Harbor Transit Board on Tuesday unanimously denied a lease proposal from the City of Aberdeen to rent a vacant lot next to the downtown bus station and turn it into a homeless mitigation facility. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/transit-board-denies-lease-proposal-for-aberdeen-homeless-mitigation-site/

June 19, 2019 The Grays Harbor County Board of Commissioners has approved two agreements for the dispersal of grant money to provide rental assistance to the chronically homeless and study the need for a low-barrier homeless shelter. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/county-funds-homeless-rent-aid-and-low-barrier-shelter-study/

July 5, 2019 The City of Aberdeen plans to clear the large, longtime homeless encampment along the Chehalis River as early as next week, Mayor Erik Larson says, now that a federal judge has denied a temporary restraining order that sought to halt the city’s plans. Larson said today that a 72-hour notice to vacate will be delivered to the inhabitants Monday, and that anyone who doesn’t leave before Thursday, July 11 would be forcibly removed. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton in Tacoma rejected the delay sought by plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit who have argued that clearing the camp is unconstitutional if the city doesn’t provide other spaces where the homeless people can reside. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/aberdeen-plans-to-shut-down-river-city-homeless-camp-next-week/

July 8, 2019 Last week, the mayor said the city would notify people living on the riverfront Monday that they have 72 hours to vacate before clearing it. But he said in a phone call Monday morning that the city is waiting to hear back from the judge for clarification on how to interpret his order. He said because the judge’s order could be interpreted to say the city can’t enforce its public camping laws and clear the site, the city intends to clarify the matter before moving forward.  https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/homeless-camp-sweep-on-hold-until-judges-clarification/

July 9, 2019 Facing the imminent closure of Aberdeen’s large homeless encampment, the Aberdeen City Council will consider a proposal to establish a temporary shelter in the parking lot behind City Hall Wednesday night. The fenced-in area would have 38 city-provided tents that people can move into, according to a diagram on the council agenda. Mayor Erik Larson said it would only be a short-term facility to be used while the city looks into a permanent site elsewhere. He said there is a specific site under consideration, but declined to say where it is. The proposal is to allocate $30,000 of city funds to establish the shelter and maintain it for one month. About half of that amount is to pay for 24-hour security through a private company, while the rest is a one-time cost to establish the site with fencing, tents, portable toilets and trash receptacles, Larson said. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/council-to-consider-temporary-homeless-camping-area-behind-aberdeen-city-hall/

July 12, 2019 The Aberdeen City Council unanimously approved a plan to create a temporary overnight shelter in the parking lot behind City Hall during a council meeting Wednesday night. The city intends for this site to provide a short-term home for people displaced after the city clears the longtime homeless encampment along the Chehalis River. The City Hall parking lot facility will cost $30,000 for one month of operation, with about half of that cost being for 24-hour security, Mayor Erik Larson said.  https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/aberdeen-approves-homeless-shelter-behind-city-hall/

July 16, 2019 Personally supervising the City of Aberdeen’s controversial plan to house displaced homeless people after clearing the city’s longtime encampment, Mayor Erik Larson spent his Monday evening signing people up at the city’s new overnight homeless shelter in the parking lot behind City Hall. As individuals entered the cloth-covered privacy fences, they each provided Larson information such as names, whether they had pets, and if they had a partner sharing the tent, before he handed each a sleeping bag. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/aberdeen-opens-homeless-facility-in-city-hall-parking-lot/

July 19, 2019 The City of Aberdeen began clearing the large longtime homeless encampment along the Chehalis River Thursday, using excavators to demolish campsites that some had called home for years — shacks, tents and other homemade structures. City crews said they only targeted shacks after checking whether they were abandoned Thursday and Friday, avoiding campsites with people still in them. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/city-begins-clearing-structures-from-riverfront-homeless-camp/

July 26, 2019 With the encampment now cleared of all people, the city plans to finish leveling it before putting it up for sale. The city purchased the property nearly a year ago for $295,000 from a longtime private owner. Larson has said the city was only purchasing it to address public health and safety concerns caused by the large homeless encampment, which at one point had more than 108 people living on it but has decreased in size since the city started managing it. The site is a narrow property between the downtown train tracks and the Chehalis River, and covers eight acres, according to the Grays Harbor County Assessor’s website. Larson said the city would also calculate how much it spent total on the property and what the value of the property is before selling it to someone who’s interested. He estimated Wednesday it would be somewhere around $425,000 total, and he was confident the city would have no issues selling it. He also confirmed there’s a chance the city could make a profit by selling the property. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/aberdeen-plans-to-sell-longtime-homeless-camp-property/

August 16, 2019 The Aberdeen City Council has approved Mayor Erik Larson’s plan to acquire property for a long-term site where homeless people could camp, but there was some opposition.The council voted 9-3 Wednesday night to use city funds for a long-term camping facility. Those who voted “no” were Pete Schave, John Maki and Council President Tawni Andrews. The council approved spending guidelines for a one year plan that includes $189,188 in one-time costs to establish the facility and $26,580 in monthly costs. It also supported the mayor’s plan to seek grants to pay for some of the costs. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/aberdeen-approves-longterm-homeless-shelter-budget/

August 23, 2019 The City of Aberdeen has targeted a vacant lot at 421 S Michigan St. as the preferred location to build a long-term homeless camping facility, and could approve the site’s purchase at Wednesday’s Aberdeen City Council Meeting. The lot sits just opposite the southern end of the riverfront property that had been a longtime homeless encampment before the city cleared it in July. The land purchase agreement on the council’s agenda states that the city would pay $60,000 for the property, as agreed upon by both the city and the landowners. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/aberdeen-makes-offer-to-purchase-lot-for-long-term-homeless-facility/

September 9, 2019 The City of Aberdeen will hold a public hearing Sept. 25 to consider a 1-year temporary-use permit to allow for a longer-term homeless camping facility on property it is acquiring at the foot of South Michigan Street.  https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/aberdeen-seeks-temporary-use-permit-for-michigan-street-homeless-camping-site/

October 11, 2019 The longer-term and larger homeless tent encampment proposed for South Michigan Street in Aberdeen is on hold for the time being, following a surprising 10-1 vote at Wednesday’s council meeting against issuing a temporary use permit for the camp. Karen Rowe was the sole yes vote. Mayor Erik Larson was not at the meeting, out of town for his job. Councilwoman Margo Shortt was absent. Larson put the plan together and oversaw purchase of the property. The vote will be seen as a defeat for him.The vote followed more than an hour of public comment about the camp, the majority of it against the location. The result was surprising considering that just six weeks ago the City Council voted 8-3 to allow the city to purchase the property for $60,000 to use as a homeless camping facility. At that same meeting, the council approved the purchase of 150 WeatherHyde shelters to be used at the site at a cost of $45,000. Before the vote, Councilman Pete Schave and Councilwoman Kathi Prieto both said they didn’t think the Michigan Street property, near the corner of South Michigan and State streets and adjacent to the railroad tracks, should be considered for the camp at all.“This site is off the table as far as I’m concerned,” said Schave. Schave is running to unseat Larson as mayor. Initially, Councilwoman Dee Anne Shaw made a motion to table the temporary use permit vote to a future meeting to give the council “more time to consider other locations.” Councilman Frank Gordon seconded the motion, but the motion was voted down 6-4. Voting to table were Tim Alstrom, Jeff Cook, Gordon and Shaw; voting against were Tawni Andrews, James Cook, Prieto, Jerrick Rodgers, Rowe and Schave. John Maki abstained from the vote. Back to the original matter, the temporary use permit, Schave said, “Again, I implore the council to vote no on the Michigan Street site,” saying the outpouring of public testimony against it “made it clear this is not a good site to use.” Prieto said “The concept is good,” she said, “the location is not good.” Councilman James Cook said the businesses in the area that spoke to the council about their concerns with the Michigan Street site, the same businesses who were impacted by the now-cleared river camp nearby, “have had to put up with this for in excess of a year, or more. I think it is time they got a break and we try to find a better solution.” Rowe said she would be voting yes on the site and argued that the council had indeed considered a number of other locations before selecting the Michigan Street site. “I don’t think any location is perfect,” she said, but said the city had done its due diligence in the selection and until there is a perfect solution she would vote to approve the temporary use permit for the site. At the Aug. 28 meeting, when the council approved the purchase of 421 S. Michigan St., Larson told the council that the city and its ad hoc committee on the homeless looked at about a dozen other properties, none of which were as suitable as the Michigan Street site. The 10-1 “no” vote drew cheers from the crowded gallery, the largest that most in attendance could recall at a recent Aberdeen City Council meeting. The vote was merely to deny the temporary use permit for the site while the council studies other options for a site. It does not necessarily mean the Michigan Street property wouldn’t again be considered if no other alternative can be found. Earlier in the meeting, the City Council approved extending the existing temporary use permit at the homeless encampment behind City Hall through March 15, 2020.The original report from the Public Safety Committee asked that the permit be extended through Nov. 15, at an additional cost of $5,000 for maintaining the site. In theory, this was to allow more time to establish the larger camp on Michigan Street before moving the 50-plus current inhabitants of the City Hall site to the new location. Shaw recommended the extension through the winter, prior to the Michigan Street permit vote, saying she didn’t believe an additional month would be enough time to move the City Hall camp. The amended report was passed, allowing the lengthier extension, with a provision that the cost to the city for the extension be presented to the council at its next meeting Oct. 23.  https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/aberdeen-council-votes-no-on-permit-for-michigan-street-homeless-camp/

November 5, 2019 An agreement has been reached in a federal lawsuit prompted by the City of Aberdeen’s clearing of the homeless encampment known as the River Camp.The settlement in the case, Aitken et al v. City of Aberdeen, was signed by Western District Court Judge Ronald B. Leighton Friday. The agreement includes the dismissal of the case with the following guarantees agreed to by the city.

1. The city will pay $45,000 for complete settlement of the lawsuit, including all claims for damages, costs and attorney’s fees, upon receipt of signed release and hold harmless agreements signed by each current plaintiff plus three additional potential plaintiffs.

2. The city will provide space in the Temporary Alternative Shelter Location (the tent camp behind City Hall) for all unsheltered plaintiffs, including those currently sheltered there, until March 15, 2020, so long as they abide by the rules of the camp. These sites are being held through Friday Nov. 8, for the eight plaintiffs, and then may be made available to other unsheltered persons in Aberdeen.

3. The city will replace the existing tents with WeatherHYDE tents as planned, no later than 10 days following delivery. These shelters are much more weather-resistant than the tents currently used in the City Hall temporary camp and 150 were purchased by the city for use at the proposed South Michigan Street camp. If the WeatherHYDE tents are not provided before Nov. 28, a warming area will be provided; due to cold weather conditions, a warming area has already been established within the City Hall camp. Larson has said he expected the tents to arrive by mid-month. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/settlement-reached-in-second-aberdeen-homeless-lawsuit/

December 16, 2019 Because the City of Aberdeen has what is considered a suitable place for the city’s homeless to go, Monday’s announcement by the Supreme Court that it would not hear an appeal of the Ninth Circuit Court ruling on the Boise V. Martin case will have little impact on the city’s current handling of the homelessness issue. Boise V. Martin arose from a lawsuit involving seven homeless people who were cited for camping on public property in Boise, Idaho. The appeals court in 2018 said that prosecuting people for sleeping on the sidewalk when there are not enough shelter beds or housing was unconstitutional. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/aberdeen-mayor-mayor-elect-weigh-in-on-supreme-court-homeless-decision/

January 11, 2020 New Aberdeen Mayor Pete Schave said on Thursday that he favors the property the city bought last year on South Michigan Street for a new homeless camp. In August, he voted against buying the property at 421 S. Michigan St., which is behind the Finn Electric business on State Street. In that vote, the City Council authorized then-mayor Erik Larson to buy the Michigan Street land as an alternative location to the current homeless camp behind city hall.In October, when the council voted on whether to permit the homeless camp, he was a vocal opponent and the council rejected the permit, essentially extending the life of the City Hall camp, known as the Temporary Alternative Shelter Location (TASL), until March 15. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/michigan-street-site-still-being-considered-fro-homeless-camp/

February 1, 2020 The Aberdeen City Council met on Wednesday night for a workshop to review and discuss the issue of homelessness within the city since the closing of the river camp and the establishment of a temporary camp behind City Hall last July. In order for the city to enforce its laws against camping on the streets, there must be available public space for authorized camping. The temporary camp’s permit expires in March. The council must decide what to do when it does. Mayor Pete Schave said at the workshop that at least one-third of the homeless would “move on” without the camp behind City Hall and the needle exchange (which is also near downtown Aberdeen but not the responsibility of the city), but that he wouldn’t try to force the city to close the camp.  https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/city-council-considers-homeless-camp-alternatives/

March 2, 2020 Grays Harbor County Commissioner Randy Ross said the County won’t split the monthly cost of operating the City of Aberdeen’s temporary homeless camp behind Aberdeen City Hall as requested by letter from the City last month because funds the county currently receives from the state don’t seem to allow that use, but he is open to looking for a funding source in the future.  https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/county-says-it-wont-help-fund-aberdeens-homeless-camp/

March 9, 2020 The agenda for this Wednesday’s Aberdeen City Council meeting includes two reports from the Ad Hoc Committee on Homeless Response that address what action the city should take before the permit for the temporary homeless camp near City Hall expires this coming Sunday. One report recommends that the council approve an extension of the permit for the homeless camp through May 15, pending funding from partner agencies, with an additional $45,000 in expenses. Any extension beyond May 15, 2020, would require a separate council authorization. A second report recommends that in the event that funding becomes available beyond May 15, that the homeless camp be moved to the city’s property located at 421 S. Michigan St. The move would require a temporary-use permit to be approved by the council at a later meeting. The temporary permit could only be authorized for up to one year. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/council-to-consider-homeless-camp-extension-michigan-street-move/

March 14, 2020 The Aberdeen City Council voted on Wednesday to move the city’s temporary homeless camp from its current location behind city hall to the city’s Michigan Street property pending outside funding that has been requested from the state. The council voted unanimously to adopt a report from the Ad Hoc Committee on Homeless Response to extend the permit for the temporary camp from March 15 to May 15. The report recommends that, should non-city funding not be made available, all camp operations cease and the site be closed down on May 15. On a second vote, this one 8-2, the council approved moving the camp to a location at the foot of Michigan Street near the railroad tracks. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/council-votes-to-move-homeless-camp-to-michigan-street/

April 10, 2020 The City Council voted unanimously Wednesday night to close TASL by May 15. Meeting via audio conference, council members cited lack of funding support from the state and county as the reason for closing the camp. The vote was 10-0 in favor of the closure, with Ward 2 Councilman John Maki not participating in the meeting and with an open Ward 5 position due to the resignation of Jerrick Rodgers. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/aberdeen-homeless-camp-to-close-may-15/

April 20, 2020 The Aberdeen City Council will vote Wednesday on a recommendation to sell the South Michigan Street property the city bought last August for a longer-term homeless encampment. “After more than a year of trying to seek additional funding for a longer-term shelter, the city has been unsuccessful in its attempts,” reads the report to the council, signed by Community Development Director Lisa Scott. “Since funding has not materialized, staff is recommending that the Michigan Street property be declared surplus and put up for sale.” If accepted by the City Council on Wednesday, Mayor Pete Schave would be authorized to market the property for sale for an amount of $65,000, which covers the city’s cost of the purchase of the property and clearing and grading the site. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/aberdeen-council-to-consider-sale-of-michigan-street-property-purchased-for-homeless-camp/

April 24, 2020 After 10 months of operations at a cost of more than $350,000 to the city, Aberdeen will close its tent camp for the homeless, located behind City Hall, on May 15. The effect of the closure will be to allow camping on the sidewalk in much of the downtown core. That was prohibited while the city offered the camp as an alternative to the sidewalk. The people in the camp had to agree to certain rules. Those who didn’t had to leave, but they still couldn’t sleep on the sidewalks because the camp alternative was available to them. Now, not only will the people living in the camp be able to sleep on sidewalks, but anyone else, as well. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/city-outlines-closure-process-for-city-hall-homeless-camp/

April 28, 2020 Closing the homeless tent camp behind Aberdeen City Hall would be a violation of Gov. Jay Inslee’s proclamation forbidding most evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the state Attorney General’s Office. As a result, the Aberdeen City Council will vote Wednesday on a recommendation to rescind the city’s authorizations of to close the camp, and extend the temporary use permit and authorize the budget required to maintain camp operations. https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/state-ag-says-closure-of-aberdeen-city-hall-homeless-camp-violates-governors-no-evictions-proclamation/

And this brings us about to where Chehalis River Mutual Aid Network just started to get going after feeding the local mission and then the local encampments around town, a small group of organizers decided to start a Food Not Bombs and began serving meals and handing out supplies in a park every week. This drew in the local homeless population and through these meals connections were formed that are the basis for everything we do today. We will hear more about the network’s activities next but before that here is some music from the band Days N Daze off of their album Rogue Taxidermy, here is Goodbye Lulu. Hit it!

AFTER MUSIC

Welcome back to Molotov Now! Because of the length of this story we will be cutting this episode into two parts and releasing part two in a few days. When we come back we will leave behind the Daily Worlds reporting and move into the coverage provided by the Harbor Rat Report, then still operating as CRMAN.

One thing that wasn’t happening at all during this period we’ve been reading about was asking the homeless what they want or need. Maybe things would have been a lot easier with some services provided at the river camp as opposed to the traumatic events of the last years. We found it incredibly rewarding to simply ask, “what do you need” and go from there. What can you do to start addressing the needs of your community? How can you even determine the needs of your community? We need to get out and meet one another, everyone who is scared of the homeless in this town are peering out from their houses and not going into the streets to actually meet people and get to know them.

Do you know whats going on at your city council meetings? As radicals we must watch these spaces as sites of conflict. Even if we don’t inhabit these spaces we should be aware of what goes on there. If only every fascist made their meetings public. The relationship of an anarchist to the city government is obviously a combative one, and we should be wary of any attempts to co opt our events or spaces by local politicians. Our struggle is in the streets and not in the meeting halls of power. We cannot forget this while we make sure that we have a working knowledge of whats going on in our city.

The far right in this town are waging class war against the poor in Aberdeen to eradicate them to make way for gentrifiers to move in and start developing. We have ourselves a case study in this in episode one of this podcast where we examined in depth millionaire Terry Emmert and his plans for the town he now owns most of. They have been on a clearly organized path to bringing about the physical removal of all homeless people from town and moving them to an old juvenile prison facility on the outskirts of town. This plan has been brought up numerous times over the course of the last several years, with some locals calling for outright labor camps where people would have to contribute labor in order to stay but also would not be allowed to exist anywhere else. This is downright terrifying behavior to witness in the real people who live in the same city as you.

Outro:

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Molotov Now! We hope you found it informative and inspiring. Our goal with the podcast is to reach out beyond our boundaries and connect the happenings in our small town with the struggles going on in major urban centers. We want to talk to you if your a big city organizer, we think we have a lot you can learn from, and we know you have much to teach us. If you would like to come on the show please email us at sabot_media@riseup.net with the header “Molotov Now!” and we will be in touch about setting up an interview and crafting an episode to feature you.

We want to give a shout out to our friends at:

• The John brown gun club who showed up to help provide security for our local drag show in the wake of ongoing national terrorism by the far right.
• Queer Satanic who are still embroiled in the lawsuit from TST and are always appreciative of any donations to the legal defense funds. their website is queersatanic.com
• Dont forget to go to bit.ly/lakotalawicwa and sign the petition by the Lakota Peoples Law Project telling Joe Biden and attorneys for the Department of Justice to do everything in their power to protect the Indian Child Welfare Act and defend Secretary Deb Haaland.
• We want to thank The Blackflower Collective for their continued support and wish them luck in their fundraising efforts. To support them or learn more their website is blackflowercollective.noblogs.org.
• It is the heart of winter and we still are without shelter in Aberdeen, without intervention more and more of our homeless population are becoming casualties of the state, Chehalis River Mutual Aid Network is still running a winter fundraiser to buy warm weather gear for the homeless, To donate visit bit.ly/crmandonations.
• Kolektiva, the anarchist mastodon server, is growing faster than ever thanks to Elon Musk’s stupidity as many activists close their accounts for bluer skies as can be seen in the fluctuation of followers over on IGD’s socials, join at kolektiva.social (spell kolektiva) and follow us and other online activists on decentralized federated internet.
• Thank you to Days N’ Daze and The Window Smashing Job Creators for letting us use their songs on the program today.
• Dont forget The Communique is looking for artist and author submissions, please write to sabot_media@riseup.net to submit your entry before March 6th for our Spring Equinox edition.
• Thank you to Pixel Passionate for producing our soundtrack, please check out their website at www.radicalpraxisclothing.com and check out their portfolio in our shownotes

Remember to check out sabot media’s new website for new episodes, articles, comics, and columns. We have new content all the time. Make sure you follow, like, and subscribe on your favorite corporate data mining platform of choice and go ahead and make the switch to federated social media on the kolektiva mastodon server today @AberdeenLocal1312 for updates on Sabot Media projects such as The Harbor Rat Report, The Saboteurs, Ask Annie, our podcast Molotov Now! and many other upcoming projects.

That’s all for tonight. Please remember to spay and neuter your cats and don’t forget to cast your votes at those who deserve them.
Solidarity Comrades,
This is Molotov Now! Signing off

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