Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Los Angeles' Midnight Beach Curfew Might Get Washed Out To Sea
Venice Beach at night, probably before midnight. (Photo by spacelola via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
()
You know those late nights on Venice Beach? The ones spent lying in the sand staring up at the sky, drifting in and out of consciousness while you consider whether or not it would be okay to doze off right there on the shoreline? And then, just when you've decided that it is okay, an LAPD officer shines a bright light in your face and informs you that it's time to go because the city of Los Angeles has a beach curfew that prohibits public beach access between midnight an 5 a.m.?
Well, thanks to lawsuit settlement in court on Thursday, there's a chance L.A.'s curfew might be washed away with the outgoing tide sometime soon, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Back in 2015, a group of Venice activists sued the city over its curfew. They argued that it was illegal for Los Angeles to prohibit access to public beaches, and that the rule violated the California Coastal Commission's policy of all-hours public beach access.
Though the curfew has been on the books since 1988, first enacted to deter late-night beach crime, the activists said it hadn't been heavily enforced until sometime around 2010. As more homeless people began sleeping on the beach, activists claimed LAPD began stepping up enforcement of the curfew, and disproportionately ticketing homeless people whose only crime was sleeping on the beach.
Support for LAist comes from
Francesca de la Rosa, a local activist and a plaintiff in the suit, said at the time how "the beaches are for the public. The city can't make up their own rules where people are supposed to be."
The city, by contrast, argued that the Coastal Commission no jurisdiction over the beach, according to the L.A. Times.
Fast forward to last Thursday, when Los Angeles agreed to a settlement that basically requires the city to seek a permit from the California Coastal Commission for its nightly beach curfew. Another term of the settlement requires LAPD officers enforcing the curfew to issue warnings before citing would-be curfew violators.
In the past, the Coastal Commission has criticized the city's curfew, saying in 2014 how the city needed "credible evidence" that there was an ongoing threat to public safety that necessitated the ban. At the same time, the Coastal Commission isn't opposed to some sort of compromise.
"We start from the position of maximum public access to the coastline," said Coastal Commission enforcement supervisor Andrew Willis to the Times. Whether that means it might soon be legal to be on Venice Beach at 12:01 a.m., time will only tell.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist