Properly Subversive/Sherman R. Frederick
The episode last week in the girl’s restroom at Mill Valley Middle School, and the police department’s press release on the matter, raise questions.
Here’s what we are told: On Monday, Oct. 30, at about 4:30 p.m. officers received a call for help involving a guy loitering on campus and being in the girls bathroom. Police arrive, talk to a homeless guy found near the school. They determine he was in the bathroom, talking to girls using the facility, and cite him for trespassing and, in the parlance of the day, “moved him along.”
That evening, a parent calls the police and gives them some disturbing detail. The guy wasn’t just trespassing, he entered the occupied bathroom, blocked the door and masterbated in front of the girls. (Exactly how many victims were involved is not disclosed.)
Police say this was new information to them to which I think most people would respond: “How can that be?”
Did the officers simply paint by the numbers in what has become an all-too-frequent encounter with the wandering Marin homeless? Were the girls trapped in the bathroom talked to at the scene? If they did, did the girls not disclose what happened? Why is it that a parent is the one to have to circle back with the full scoop? Where’s the school in all this?
Now look, as anyone who reads this column knows, I’m not one to blame cops first. I give them the full benefit of the doubt. So, and let’s be clear here, there may be a reasonable explanation for this disconnect.
But it was a disconnect for damn sure.
A big one.
(Postscript: The homeless suspect was arrested the next day in Tiburon. He is now in jail.)
RENT CONTROL
After the mess town leaders in Fairfax created for themselves when they passed stringent rent control laws without building a buy-in from residents, other towns are getting the message.
Larkspur last week, which had also passed a rent-control measure, has now put implementation on hold pending a referendum petition that seeks to put it on the ballot in 2024.
Said Larkspur Mayor Gabe Paulson: “I think without better data we’re going to go in emotional circles. We’re trying to set up good policy. We’re trying to move in a way where the community can stand behind it.”
As in Fairfax, an election is the way to do it.
NICE CAMPAIGN
The Novato Unified School District is engaged in a nice campaign to introduce the principals of Novato schools. To see the work, visit the NUSD Facebook page. Nicely done, if you ask me. (Of course no one did ask me, but that’s why they pay me the big bucks to write this column.) Here is a sample of the campaign. Nice, no?
ANTI-HOMELESS
An interesting exchange took place in our letters to the editor section, which can be found on our website at MarinLocalNews.com.
Stacy wrote: “Are the homeless of more value than the children of Fairfax? Pavilion? Peri Park? Ball Park? Now near the library? What is the purpose of these family features? Why do we the people of Fairfax need to sacrifice our children and families for the homeless?
Helen replied: “Your frustration is understandable, we can all agree that people should not be living on the streets. Instead of making it a zero choice between the needs of one part of the community over another, why not demand real solutions, like housing and anti-displacement policies to protect against homelessness?”
Not sure Stacy has seen Helen’s response. But unless I’m reading it wrong, the Fairfax Town Council has already made the decision to allow the homeless to live unabated pretty much wherever they want – city parks, near libraries, etc. They’ve made a decision that is both anti-homeless and anti-children.
If this is your first exposure to our letters section, please send your comments to me shermfrederick@gmail.com and I’ll take care of the rest. Discussion is always good.
ONE MORE THING
That’ll do it for today. Until next week when we meet again in this little corner of Bay Area journalism, remember to avoid soreheads, laugh a little and always question authority.
“Properly Subversive” is written by Sherman R. Frederick you can reach him by email at shermfrederick@gmail.com.)
You lose credibility when you spell “masturbate” wrong. I had the same questions you did but read that the initial call to MVPD came late in the day when school ma.y have been closed and the girls may have left for the day. Parents calling in with further info is a GOOD thing and the matter was handled.
The call to police at about 4:30 p.m.