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# Sobering thoughts for city officials To the
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/sobering-thoughts-for-city-officials-to-the-editor/
- Published: 2005-06-09T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T07:14:26.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Pacific Palisades, #archive-import, Homeless

*By Sterling Walters Santa Monica*

The other day, as I was walking with my son through Palisades Park, my son indicated that he needed to use the restroom. We went to one of the cinderblock and wire-mesh constructions located at the California Avenue end of the park. As I opened the steel door to the cubicle, my son and I both took in the sight of a smelly, absolutely filthy, grime-covered individual seated on the commode, clutching in his hand a can of what looked like very potent brew. This citizen looked to be comatose at this point.

My son looked up at me and said “It’s a bum, isn’t it dad?” To which I could only reply, somewhat sorrowfully, “Yeah, it’s a bum, Chris.”

This city desperately needs the proposed “sobering center”, as well as an influential, energetic and well-connected “homeless czar” to do some muscular coordi-nating of available resources, as well as to tap into other potential sources of support. Coordinated resources can be a powerful means to address the chronic social tragedy of markedly disabled and dysfunctional human beings living miserable lives in our midst.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 9, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/060905.pdf?ref=smdp.com)