Here’s the latest filing from Laguna Beach by the Register’s Christa Woodall:
Laguna Beach City Manager Ken Frank said today that workers at Laguna Beach’s day labor center will be allowed to park in a nearby city-owned lot for free.
The Act V lot, which opened last summer, sits a few hundred yards up the canyon from the hotly contested site. Frank said he met with the state’s Caltrans director in Sacramento, who expressed concern about workers running across Laguna Canyon Road from where they now park. To fix that, workers will be able to park in the lot for free during morning hours. The going rate to park in the lot is $10 a day.
Day laborers are not the only ones who can park in Act V for free, Frank said. Groups like Laguna College of Art & Design have used it to park guests for events in the past, and groups that charter city buses like Annaliese’s School also park there. “If somebody wanted to park out there and carpool into town, we wouldn’t charge them either,” he said.
Without supporting the Laguna Beach DLC, I’d have to say, Yes.
The issue being day laborers, not illegal aliens, using the parking lot. Anyone, even people who rally at the LB DLC mornings, to protest the confirmed existence of illegal aliens mingling among the few legal workers, should be allowed free parking, if anyone or group is allowed free parking. See equal protection under 14th Amendment.
Does anyone want to rally in LB? Pull in and park in the “free” lot. Leaving a couple of people there to observe the cops ticket or tow the vehicles, and get some video, for a law suit against the city.
Ken Frank has announced he will allow the day laborers to park in the Act V lot for FREE!
Parking problems and cost have been the number one issue for Laguna Beach in surveys year after year. I don’t get to park for free, you don’t get to park for free, the tourists don’t get to park for free, the beachgoers don’t, the art festival patrons don’t. Why do the day laborers?
Ken Frank states here that he will allow them to park for free in the “mornings”. Is free parking going to be restricted to just the mornings? So, what happens when one of the guys gets work for the day and doesn’t return until the evening to get his car? Does it get towed? Ticketed? What? And if he is allowed to park there for the day does that mean everyone gets to park for free?
Can beach goers park there the entire day for free? That would be a great deal! Park for FREE, jump on the FREE trolley bus that takes you to the beach. Don’t worry about getting up to feed the meters every few hours. Stay the entire day, jump back on the FREE trolley and pick up your car.
What is going to happen when the art festivals open and the tourists have to mingle with the day laborers or the day laborers begin to loiter around the tourist’s cars? Will Ken Frank then section off a special area just for the day laborers? Maybe with velvet ropes or something? Kinda like the way he spent $10,000 of our city tax dollars to install that drinking fountain at the day labor site.
I’m sure the ACLU will be notified and there will be a debate as to whether it is legal to allow a select group of people (those that Ken Frank approves of) to park for free. I have a feeling the Act V parking lot will have to be turned into a “Free For All” lot.
And of course opening that lot up for free parking will take away one of the city’s revenue generating tools. Is protecting day laborers (most who are in the country illegally) and encouraging illegal hiring THAT important to Ken Frank and the city of Laguna Beach?
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Day laborers should not be able to park for free. Schools and city owned buses are one thing, these people are private businesses in themselves. They don’t pay taxes or contribute anything to the city of Laguna Beach. I think the day labor site should be used for a parking lot to service businesses in town or the beach, but that would probably be racist according to Mr. Frank
Let them park for free as long as the lot attendant is authorized by ICE to verify their legal presence in ANY U.S. parking lot. If the are not properly documented they can park for free while boarding the bus to TJ.
Laguna Beach thinks they are helping unfortunate people out while costing us taxpayers increased revenues to support our overcrowded jails, hospitals, schools, and freeways. We need to seal the border and revoke business licenses of those that hire illegal aliens. Go to http://www.bordermovie.com, buy the movie, watch it with everyone you know, call your congressman. The time for action is now.
I second oldski’s opinion!!!
I think we should recall/terminate Ken Frank. He is obviously sold out to special interest groups for BIG MONEY. Can we start an investigation of his finances?
Why do people immigrate to the US? It is freedom that attracts them. In the case of illegal immigrants, they get everything for FREE, because our politicians are too DUMB to stand up for the rights of tax paying citizens; who, by the way, are the victims in this scheme.
NO FREE PARKING FOR DAY LABORERS
It would be interesting to know just how many workers are assigned to jobs per day/month from the day labor site and if the city collects any revenue from the assignment of workers. Are those statistic easily accessible to the general public? Every time I drive by the day labor site, the only thing I see is a bunch of guys sitting around playing a coin toss game or kicking the football.
Residents have to pay $35 and up for an annual parking pass and some city officials and committee members are rude about it when a resident suggests the fee is higher than the value of parking downtown. Couple that with the inability to get around downtown, and it’s easier to shop elsewhere–something else that makes residents ‘politically incorrect’ if that opinion is voiced. Now I know the solution–hire an illegal to park your car and you can park free anywhere. Great idea! I suggest parking in front of Ken Frank’s house.