By David Stoughton Santa Monica
“Jovial” beach maintenance supervisor Paul Davis, who “gets a kick out of watching a reporter cringe in disgust after laying eyes” on a “poop surprise” left by an apparently homeless individual (“Doing the dirty work at the beach,” July 23), might benefit from a bit of advice.
“When we lock the doors (to the bathrooms), they leave this as a kind of present for us,” says Mr. Davis.
Here’s a thought for our beach supervisor: How about not locking up our public bathrooms?
Let’s get real here. We have homeless people in our city. We do not appreciate them urinating and defecating in our parks and alleys (as the seriously demented ones do whenever they please), but what are the non-demented ones supposed to do when nature calls in the middle of the night, stop in at Shutters and ask if there is a restroom they can use in the bar?
Locking up public restroom facilities at any time is ridiculous.
What does Davis think might happen at night were they unlocked, that people would have sex in the stalls? Drink booze in the stalls? Do drugs in the stalls? Sleep in the stalls?
Well, guess what? This goes on all day long in our public restrooms at the beach, 365 days a year. It goes on in the facilities south of the pier. It goes on in Palisades Park by the California Incline. It goes on in Reed Park.
It goes on wherever there are homeless people, and as we well know, homeless people are everywhere. Locking up the public bathrooms just creates one more problem, and solves none.
Correct this situation, Mr. Davis, and perhaps you’ll no longer be able to get a kick out of watching reporters cringe at feces on the sidewalks in the morning.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 26, 2007. Read the original PDF.