Comment by TR on May 16, 2012 at 5:36am

On Sunday I saw a Coronado squad car pull up and someone who looked like he was all of 23-25 at max gets out and whips out his cell phone to take a picture at the end of the culdesac by the Del.

 

He looked like he seen one too many episodes of CSI.

If he didn't look so intoxicated with power I would have confronted him, but I didn't need to ruin my day as well.  

So Mayor Tanaka, as a former resident and a long time visitor since the 60's who has happily left hundreds of thousands at the hotels, restaurants, shops, etc..by bringing extended family to a childhood spot I fell in love with, ENOUGH is ENOUGH.  The charm of this city can easily be erased by aggressive, over the top, retribution style law enforcement and this is clearly an example of it.

Read your crime reports, if this is your worst offense than consider yourself lucky and cut some staff and use the money elsewhere, if it is NOT as I suspect, consider giving your chief a wake up call.  The money can and will be spent elsewhere if this becomes the defacto standard by which the Coronado police use their "limited" resources.

Comment by TR on May 16, 2012 at 5:51am

Sand on the street by a BEACH is a municipal code violation....you will become the laughing stock of the nation...if he was taking a skip loader maybe, but a dustpan, a dustpan...

Comment by Mayor Casey Tanaka on May 16, 2012 at 9:25am

TR - I have read all these comments and I have looked into this. The Police cannot selectively enforce State and Local laws, but I agree with the people who have commented to the effect that the Sandman should not be harassed and that there are probably more pressing matters to attend to. I am hopeful that our Police Department will deal with this more productively in the future and find ways to avoid conflict and discord.

Comment by Kathy Williams Campbell on May 16, 2012 at 11:05am

CPD doesn't do anything about all the against the light jaywalking that has many times almost caused serious accidents...maybe they can put THAT on the enforcement list and take Sandman OFF.

Comment by Dana S. Chisholm on May 16, 2012 at 11:11am

Thank you, Mayor Tanaka. But, in speaking with various reps in the Police Department, their position is that the Police Department only enforce the codes, they don't make them.  It looks like they need some clarification - maybe we can work to refine the code so there is no further conflict and discord?  I'll email you and maybe you can work with the residents of Coronado to find a positive solution. THANK YOU! :-)

Comment by TR on May 16, 2012 at 12:46pm

Casey, I appreciate your response and I happen to sit on the Public Safety Commission for a city near Los Angeles and I recognize the "competing interests" within communities as well as the unenviable nature of certain codes and their enforcement...I'm at a meeting tonight for a hotly contested issue regarding signs...that said, Alberto may well be a nuisance to some, but I truly think it's worth the time to deal with it...the number of citations and dismissals suggests an alternative resolution would allow the police to deal with more important issues in these tough economic times regarding budgets and the visitors and residents could find a way to co-exist in regard to this issue.  I would be happy to come down and take part in a public forum...I understand there may be some issues but hopefully some creative minds can sort through it....the interesting thing is with all the destructive GRAFFITI communities deal with...this format simply blows away, is washed away or maybe swept away .... Coronado is not Venice Beach by any stretch of the imagination...his light heart'd pursuit of this simple pleasure would seem to be iconic as noted by others.  To paraphrase  "don't throw out the Sandman, with the Beach".  

Comment by Mayor Casey Tanaka on May 16, 2012 at 1:10pm

There have been a few instances of concentrated jay walking enforcement by the CPD in the last half decade, but it wasn't too popular according to the letters to the editor that I remember reading in the Eagle. I think there's more consensus about the need to crack down on bicycles and skateboarding on Orange. As for the Sandman, we can work on seeing that the codes are either enforced properly or perhaps re-examined so they don't result in needless conflict with the Sandman and his art.

Comment by Joanne Mycroft on May 16, 2012 at 10:02pm

I love seeing the Sandman's work when I walk by, and we wave at him when we see him on Orange  His eccentricity adds colour and joy to our lives, let him go in peace. 

Comment by Ed Weisbrod on May 29, 2012 at 10:01pm

Can't we make him an "artist in residence" somehow?  In some way make his presence here official...like an artistic ambassador.  Hard to give a ticket to an ambassador... just sayin'.

Comment by Stephen Knuth on December 10, 2012 at 10:01am

After moving away from Coronado two years ago I can report that I actually don't miss the CPD at all. Obviously they have nothing to do with their overpaid time so then they pick on a street artist and break his heart so he leaves. Well done Nado Cops. And to those who reported him, get over yourself

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