FOR THE PEOPLE/ BY THE PEOPLE

A Printmaking Festival at Southside Park

AUGUST 27 • 12 PM // FREE for everyone! Southside Park • 2115 6th St, Sacramento

Family friendly festival celebrating local arts and culture with printmaking activities, food, music, and thoughtful discussions.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH : Latino Center of Art and Culture Sacramento State Verge Center for the Arts the law or delay enforcement of city ordinances and codes while waiting for increased shelter beds,” he wrote.

“However, Martin does not suggest that unsheltered individuals are immunized from law enforcement in any capacity, nor does it allow for the city to ignore the problems in a way that creates a public nuisance.”

Ho said, “I want the City Council to pass a resolution that mandates the enforcement of city code and ordinances. What the city has been doing up to this point is clearly not working.”

The district attorney didn’t rule out suing the city for lack of enforcement. “I have the authority to prosecute criminally and civilly, so we’ll just have to see,” he said. “Nothing is off the table.”

Complaints about dangerous encampments are not limited to the courthouse area. Similar conditions appear all over Downtown. Sadly, visitors, residents and small business owners deal with this every day.

I took a visitor from Tucson on a tour. She was stunned to see tent encampments and trash lining J Street around City Hall, the old post office and library, county offices and courthouse.

“The responsibility to enforce and prosecute Sacramento city ordinances and code violations rests squarely upon the City of Sacramento and the city attorney’s office,” Ho concluded in his letter to Valenzuela.

He wrote, “The proliferation of encampments on Downtown streets has closed businesses, endangered people’s safety and is slamming the door of justice on those that need it most. Our Sacramento County residents do not want to come Downtown to patronize our businesses and perform the duties we need and require them to fulfill.”

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Cecily Hastings can be reached at publisher@insidepublications.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n