Pubdate: Thu, 02 Apr 2015
Source: North Coast Journal (Arcata, CA)
Copyright: 2015 North Coast Journal
Contact:  http://www.northcoastjournal.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2833
Author: Grant Scott-Goforth

SAVE THE DATE

Arcata has backed down from its 4/20 crackdown, granting a picnic 
permit to the Humboldt Center for Constitutional Rights, which had 
raised a stink over the police department's shutdown of Redwood Park 
on the lofty counterculture holiday.

In the late 2000s, pipe-bearing revelers converged at the grassy 
entrance to Arcata's Community Forest, forming an unofficial 
celebration that vexed cops and groundskeepers.

A complaint filed against the city last year alleges that the police 
chief and former city manager concocted a plan to quash the 
celebration, violating the constitutional right of residents to 
gather in a public place. That suit is pending.

But HumRights, which had been in the process of applying for an event 
permit at the park since last year, recently notched a victory.

The city had initially denied the permit, saying the police 
department had a standing reservation that day for "public safety 
operations" (during which they littered pathways with debris and 
heavily fertilized the grounds with noxious fish emulsion, according 
to the aforementioned complaint).

But following a review in March, City Manager Karen Diemer agreed to 
let the group host its "Inaugural HumRights Picnic Gathering" on 
April 20 from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m.

There are some caveats: no stage use, no alcohol and no smoking. "I 
remind you that the smoking prohibition includes tobacco, electronic 
cigarettes and marijuana," Diemer wrote.

Sure.

Perhaps most tricky, though, is that the gathering can't have more 
than 150 attendees.

In a press release, HumRights invites the organization's friends and 
supporters for food, music and free speech-related events, but it's 
not entirely clear if the rest of the park, outside of the reserved 
area, will be open, or what will happen when the 151st attendee shows up.

The permit states that city staff will open park gates between 2:30 
and 6:30 p.m., but it doesn't say whether staff will continue its 
previously reported practice of turning away on-foot parkgoers.

"This date has a history of attracting a large gathering at this 
particular park site," Diemer wrote in the permit approval. 
"Resulting from the history of responding to incidents on this day, 
the city continues to maintain a patrol presence, and enforces the 
park regulations as well as standard laws including smoking laws."

Diemer did not return a call seeking comment by press time.

Regardless of the attendance, the city's softening gives credence to 
concerns that blocking off the park constituted prior restraint.

"We feel this permit, albeit limiting, is an important first step in 
HumRights' efforts to keep a public park open to the public," the 
group's executive director, Jeffrey Schwartz, said in a statement.

Whatever party HumRights whips up, there's no way it'll be as good as 
the one Indonesian police inadvertently threw for nearby townspeople 
when officers burned three tons of confiscated weed, sending clouds 
of smoke and good vibes through the streets.

An Indonesian tabloid site posted an apparent photo of the blaze 
along with a brief, apparently snarky story, which Google translates 
somewhat hilariously:

"Local residents were admitted was dizzy inhaling the smoke of burnt 
marijuana. But heck usually when inhaled smoke marijuana, dizziness make tasty."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom