Regular readers of the HOTLINE are familiar with the panoply of issues plaguing the California economy, which include high taxes, excessive regulation, and a breakdown in law and order – all of which have contributed to an unprecedented decline in the state’s population. The massive homeless population is emblematic of the state’s woes, and now even the most liberal of jurisdictions – Berkeley – has had enough with the homeless encampments that are littered throughout the city.

On September 10, Berkeley’s city council voted 8-1 to approve a measure that will make it easier for the authorities to clean up the areas where the homeless are concentrated.

This met with some opposition from progressive voices, but the city’s mayor explained why the law is necessary in a recent interview: “We have these large sprawling encampments where there have been major safety issues – fires, rats, crime; things that pose a risk to the homeless people who are sheltering there and to the broader community.”

The resolution, introduced by two city council members, included recent observations from residents who live near one encampment area:

• • • Barely clothed woman, clearly impaired by drugs, exiting an RV on cedar between railroad tracks and 4th street.
    • Human feces just about anywhere you dare to look.
    • Needles on sidewalks and in grass and bushes.
    • Drug dealing.
    • Infighting among the un-housed people, many times resulting in retaliatory arson.
    • Trespassing
    • A stabbing

No wonder nine businesses recently filed a lawsuit against the city of Berkeley, charging it is liable for failing to crack down on the encampments, identifying them as “illegal public and private nuisances.”

We’re hopeful that Berkeley’s move will be a wake-up call to the state’s political class and spur a move toward deregulation and free enterprise that California desperately needs.