This post was deleted by Gerben

I deleted my own response to this. I'll let others address permit issues, etc.

Lori,

Out of curiosity, have you or Blake contacted the SC Police and let them know this event has been in discussion? I'm not quite sure I understand the timeline on when they implemented the task force to arrest open flamers. Did this get put in place before the idea of Last Night came about, or after? Is this task force news second hand? Any insight would be appreciated.

Last Night input from Blake may be weighted vehemently towards discouraging an event, following the demise of First Night. He may have a little animosity; not knowing Blake, I'm guessing there. My apologies in advance if this is not the case, I'm merely asking to see if there's some coloring going on regarding the severity of local LEO's reactions to an impromptu Last Night event.

I believe that the SC police reaction to the event would be driven by how large it was, and how unruly. If it were an event of several hundred participating in cacophonious celebration, rather than a riot I think the police would let the event slide. If it turned dangerous or destructive, they would need to intervene. I think if it were just twelve people, that also would make it more likely to be stopped, as there's a certain safety in large groups. In my opinion, it really will come down to how well the event rolls down the mall.

Thanik about Halloween in Santa Cruz. Is there actually an organizer of the downtown halloween event or is it a tradition? I can't find reference to an organizer. The police do a great job of monitoring the event, and the destructive impact on the Pacific Mall businesses doesn't seem to be bad from my old guy, in-bed-by-one eyes.

Another impromptu event to consider? 4th of July on Twin Lakes beach. It's not a formal, permitted event, yet police maintain a good balance of protecting property and personal safety, without stopping the unpermitted throngs from going down to the beach and lighting off their illegal fireworks.

After that event, a volunteer group gets together and cleans the beach. That's pretty damn cool. Perhaps Last Night may want to set-up a group that helps clean-up the mall New Yaers day - just an idea, I'm sure there are lots of them that could be floated to take the edge off an impromptu Last Night event.

Another example- Rico and friends have done a great job with the Guerilla Theater. Permitted? No. But hundreds of folks show up. Bonny Doon Vineyard, friends of mine, dig that a bunch of Santa Cruzers come down for a late night movie on their property.

Maybe I'm a polyanna, but I think that Santa Cruz is generally okay with these traditions, whether they're established, or about to get started up. They build community.

I'm certain that one of the reasons we have a strong downtown rather than a boarded up ghost town is that the downtown association is to a degree integrated into the diverse community we have in Santa Cruz. That helps downtwon remain a place where residents like to do business, eat, browse and entertain themselves.

I'd love to see some dialog from folks in local government on this topic, but I don't believe that this has to be a permited event. I'm sure that a large number of resindets are going to show up anyways downtown on 12/31, out of tradition, and the police are going to HAVE to close downtown or deal with large crowds even if First Night is no more. It will take a concerted police effort to keep folks OUT of downtown that night, generating a lot of ill-will.

I think the ground is fertile for us to have fun, and as long as that doesn't errupt into something destructive, extraordinarily dangerous or agro we should do it.

Will I bring my bonefire, hmmmm, don't know about that one yet...