Madrone Announces Olympia City Council Race

Above: Dani Madrone, 35, of Olympia, announced her candidacy for Olympia City Council, Position 3 on Saturday. Little Hollywood interviewed Madrone on issues of homelessness, affordable housing, sea level rise, and neighborhoods.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Dani Madrone, 35, of Olympia, announced her candidacy for Olympia City Council, Position 3 on Saturday.

The position is an open seat because Councilmember Nathaniel Jones, who currently occupies that position, is running for the seat currently held by Mayor Cheryl Selby. Selby is running for reelection.

Madrone, a resident of Olympia since 2004, studied science, sustainability, and public policy at The Evergreen State College. She received her master’s in public administration in 2016 and works for the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

Madrone met with Little Hollywood in downtown Olympia Saturday to discuss her candidacy and the issues of homelessness, affordable housing, sea level rise, and neighborhoods.

She says Olympia faces big decisions on the environment, including climate change, and the health of Puget Sound. She wants to incorporate environmental priorities into all areas of city government with decisions based on science.

Above: The city-sanctioned homeless mitigation site located on the corner of Olympia Avenue and Franklin Street Saturday morning in downtown Olympia.

Beginning our walking interview at the city-sanctioned homeless mitigation site located on the corner of Olympia Avenue and Franklin Street, Madrone acknowledged that homelessness in Olympia is in crisis mode.

She says she recognizes that social service providers are overwhelmed, potential shoppers are afraid to go downtown, and local businesses are losing customers.

“I love downtown. I feel safe, but I don’t want to tell other people what feels safe for them. There’s a lot of tension downtown and at this point, it takes a lot of courage for businesses to step up and say, ‘This isn’t working for me.’ The conversations just aren’t very good right now.

“I’m hoping to be a bridge builder and to listen to people and say, ‘OK, what does it look like when we’re succeeding?’ and develop a crisis management plan around that. This is a big issue and it’s going to be tense for a while.

“We need a clear problem statement. We need to know if the mitigation site is working, for example. It’s a big community conversation that needs to happen between folks who are homeless, businesses in the area, service providers, and city staff to come up with a shared vision of success. Otherwise, we don’t know if we’re heading there.”

Asked about the mitigation site, Madrone said that it is a good first step but needs to lead to something more permanent. She says she thinks of it as Olympia setting the table, but wonders how the city is going to make sure all are fed and healthy in the long run.

“What comes after this? This is obviously not a sustainable solution. We don’t want people living outside on pallets in tents. It’s not the end-game. That’s the piece I’m not seeing yet and that’s the part I’d like to help bring around – a long term crisis management plan,” she said.

Asked about funding, Madrone said the Home Fund is an important piece of the funding puzzle.

“I’d say by the time the Home Fund was already approved by the voters, it was not enough. We have a growing problem, a problem that is becoming increasingly visible. The city does need more help from the county, state, and federal government.

“We have to ask ourselves, are we putting our resources where they need to go? Do we know at what point we can declare that something is not working so we can free up those resources and put them toward the things that we know are working?”

Housing Options

Madrone has lived in a variety of rental situations in Olympia and has had to leave housing because the rent was suddenly raised so high she couldn’t afford it. She’s also lived in places where the landlord really cared about her situation. 

Madrone says her rent was not raised for four years because her landlord knew she was struggling. She is now a homeowner in the northwest neighborhood where she lives with her young daughter.

Madrone was active in the recent “Missing Middle” housing conversation and sees a need for more diverse housing options throughout the city. She says she will explore renter protections and the barriers created by short-term vacation rentals and long term vacancies.

“The Missing Middle conversation is a big, complicated issue. Calculations from the city say that 1,000 more housing units across the city could be built over the next 20 years due to the recent passage of the ordinance.

“It’s a very small piece of what’s needed. In terms of what’s next, we really need a lot more multi-family housing in the density nodes: downtown, over by Capital Mall, the Eastside, and the high-density corridors. We have to figure out why those aren’t being built.”

Above: Dani Madrone walks along Percival Landing near the children’s playground where soft-armoring of the shoreline with native plants help control flooding.

Sea Level Rise

Another issue facing Olympia is the threat of sea level rise. Discussing the city’s draft sea level rise plans, Madrone says that floodable landscapes are mentioned but not incorporated into the plan.

“I really think the city should be looking at places downtown that will allow flood water to come in and become the receptacle for flood water until everything subsides.

“There are opportunities to take underutilized parking lots and turn them into a park-like area so when it floods, you can direct the water into those areas to contain it. 

There’s a lot of planning to protect downtown from flooding but not enough planning for where that water is going to go if we can’t handle it.

“I would like to see us have a range of flood barrier options to choose from for downtown….We don’t have any options that suggest that we only protect part of downtown. What would it look like if we were to retreat from downtown? Let’s put it out there on the table.”

Little Hollywood asked Madrone if she was suggesting that retreat still be considered as an option and if she was in agreement with the city’s sea level rise plans. 

The city is committed to saving downtown and all its assets, such as the regional LOTT water/wastewater facility.

“Not 100 percent,” responded Madrone. “I think their direction is fine if we only get two to three feet of sea level rise, but if we end up on the higher end of the projections, I think we’re underestimating the issue….

“I don’t think a complete retreat from downtown at this point is realistic, but we might start talking about what it looks like to put new housing over in that direction (Madrone points southwest across Capitol Lake).

“The less we have to protect in the areas most likely to flood the better. What does the community conversation look like in terms of what parts of our downtown is most important to protect? What is the phased approach?”

Finally, Little Hollywood asked Madrone if there were any issues she needed to learn more about.

“I could stand to learn more about almost every issue. I would hope everyone would say that. I would love to hear more from businesses throughout Olympia about their experiences and what their needs are,” she said. 

Madrone said she would also like to hear from neighborhoods and their issues. 

“Neighborhood associations are run by dedicated volunteers with limited time and energy. Their issues need to be kept on the city’s radar,” she said.

“I’m going to learn a lot in the next year. One of the biggest challenges I see is how much people talk past each other. I want to be someone who can help with seeing our shared interests and help bring people together a bit more. It’s part of the national politics right now for everything to be so divided and I just feel like we can do better locally,” said Madrone.

Madrone has already received endorsements from some elected officials and community members.

The filing deadline for council races is in May. 

Thurston County Elected Officials Sworn In

Above: Elected officials and others pose on stage after the 2018 Thurston County swearing-in ceremony held at South Puget Sound Community College on Thursday.  

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

A sparsely attended swearing-in ceremony for newly elected Thurston County officials did not diminish words of wisdom shared by guest speakers on Thursday.

The event was held at the Minneart Center for Performing Arts at South Puget Sound Community College.

Offering the invocation, Reverend Carol McKinley, Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation, asked elected officials and citizens alike to maintain a sense of perspective, “understanding our limitations and our own shortcomings, forgiving ourselves and others if we fall short of perfection.”

“May each of us be ready to receive fresh opportunity, new understandings, and new avenues for action and resolution. May each of us remember these virtues that bless our lives and the lives of others: the virtues of caring and compassion, the virtues of honesty and respect, the virtues of charity and patience.

“May all elected officials of Thurston County hold a high sense of their calling, remembering that they are vested here with deep responsibility and make decisions that brings good to the greatest number of people,” she said.

Washington State Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst administered the oaths of office.

In her comments, Fairhurst said newly elected officials set the tone for the community’s confidence in our government. 

“We are called upon to be stewards of justice and make sure fairness and equality is delivered in our offices and through the work we are doing,” Fairhurst said. 

“It’s important to see the people with whom you work, or come to your counters or the people you interact with on the street. Their only interaction with government might be you…recognizing their individual dignity and respect all of us are due do to our virtue of being humans and being here.

“…You get to decide the difference you make and now, more than ever, we need everyone to stand up and be their best selves and seeing the best selves in others so that together as a community we can live to our highest ideals and our highest goals, because by choosing to work together, we can, and do, make a difference,” said Fairhurst, who has lived in Thurston County for nearly 35 years.

Speaking of the circle of life, United States Representative Denny Heck (D-10), who handily won reelection to his seat, spoke of how he has moved up in seniority and now has the first office of former U.S. Representative John Dingell in the Rayburn Building in Washington D.C.  

Dingell, 92, of Michigan, served from 1955-2015. 

Heck related a story of how he spotted Dingell as an incoming freshman congressperson in 2013 and sat down next to him. Bright-eyed, Heck wanted to know the “secret sauce” for navigating his way around. 

Dingell turned to Heck and said, “You have a very important job…and you’re not a very important person.”

Heck said that the lesson was, “‘It’s not about you, it’s about others.’ So stay humble, because it is only through humility that you can truly empathize with others that you were sent here to represent and serve,” he said.

Above: Washington State Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst, left, and Reverend Carol McKinley, Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation, on stage Thursday at South Puget Sound Community College.

Tye Menser, who narrowly defeated Commissioner Bud Blake by 861 votes out of a total of 115,401 votes cast, was not present at Thursday’s ceremony.

He will be sworn in December 31 at the Thurston County Courthouse.

Last minute mailers produced by local property rights activist Glen Morgan under various political committees including, “A Brighter Thurston County PAC,” attempted to thwart Menser’s candidacy by confusing voters into writing in Port Commissioner E.J. Zita. 

Zita was not running for the commissioner position and was on record supporting Menser.

According to official results, there were 757 write-ins for that race.

Little Hollywood asked Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall about those write-ins.  

“Since E.J. Zita was not a declared write-in candidate we don’t count any write-in votes for her. We actually explored this with our attorney (to see if we could) and it would require a court order to open all the boxes and count the write-in ballots,” she responded in late November.

Menser’s first meeting as a commissioner will be a work session on January 2. His commissioner email address is tye.menser@co.thurston.wa.us

Editor’s Note, December 28: Tye Menser’s Thurston County email address is now correct. The letters “us” were inadvertently dropped off when the article was originally published.

Gibboney New Port of Olympia Executive Director

Above: Port of Olympia executive director candidate Sam Gibboney spoke at a public forum on Thursday. Gibboney was chosen by port commissioners as the Port of Olympia’s new executive director on Friday.

Rainbow Ceramics contract scheduled to expire in July 2019

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Port of Olympia commissioners unanimously chose Sam Gibboney as the port’s new executive director on Friday.

Commissioners held final interviews and deliberated for several hours in executive session before making their final selection among three final candidates.

Gibboney, of Friday Harbor, uses she/her pronouns. A civil engineer, she has served as executive director of the Port of Port Townsend for two years.

Prior to her position there, she worked for San Juan County in a variety of capacities including director of environmental resources and deputy director of public works.  

As a private consultant of her own company from 2000 - 2013, she provided strategic planning, construction project management, and land use and environmental permitting services to public agencies and non-profits. 

Her list of clients includes National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Sanctuary Programs, land trusts, counties, and conservancy organizations.

Early in her career, she was a Superfund environmental restoration manager at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, supervising a $9.8 million annual budget. There, she negotiated the first record of decision for a Superfund program in Alaska.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from San Diego University in 1990 and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington in 2009.

Her community service includes board president of the Port Townsend Food Co-op from 2010 to 2013. She is also a current member of the Port Townsend Rotary.

In her application for the executive position, Gibboney emphasized her 25 years of experience in working for and providing services to local and state government and non-profit organizations.

“I would bring a record of leadership in sustainable economic development balanced with sound environmental stewardship and community involvement,” she wrote.

Above: Port of Olympia Commissioner E.J. Zita chats with community member Kevin Partlow during a break in port executive director candidate interviews on Thursday.

On Thursday, the public had a chance to meet and interview the finalists at the Hilton Garden Inn in Olympia. All three port commissioners were in the audience.

The finalists were Gibboney, Dan Stahl, chief operating officer for the Port of Longview, and Geir-Eilif Kalhagen, director of Northern California and Pacific Northwest Metro Ports based in Long Beach, California.

Community member Denis Langhans attended the meeting and questioned each candidate about the port’s high ratio of tax levy to operating revenues. 

Contacted after Gibboney was chosen, Langhans said that of the three candidates, she was the one he preferred.

“I think that she has a broader view than the others. I think that she may be able to think outside the box, and not stay stuck in the present culture of non-accountability,” he said.

“For every dollar the port takes in, the taxpayers have to subsidize with 54 cents. This is much higher than other middle to large ports who average under 20 percent. 

“A comparison was made at yesterday’s meeting to Anacortes which has the same four business units and is slightly larger than the Port of Olympia. The tax levy for Anacortes is about $650,000 whereas the Port of Olympia’s tax levy is ten times larger,” he said.

Prior to the announcement on Friday, port commission board president E.J. Zita came out of executive session three times in one and a half hours to explain to those gathered for the public meeting that deliberations were still in progress.

Finally, their deliberations over, Zita began the meeting by saying it was a new beginning for the Port of Olympia.

“Thank you all for your patience. The Port of Olympia commission took a long time to evaluate our finalists because we had such strong candidates. We have spent today reviewing them in light of what the Port needs most right now. We need a strong and experienced leader who can help us assess our strengths and challenges, plot a good course forward, and have a prosperous voyage. 

“This ship, the Port of Olympia, needs a captain who can work well with the commission to carry out wise decisions – and who can also weigh input from crew – that means Port staff and our diverse community in Thurston County….

“We’re confident that Sam Gibboney is the right person for the job of executive director, and we welcome her aboard at the Port of Olympia,” she said.

Following the departure of Ed Galligan earlier this year, Karras Consulting assisted the commissioners in the search for a new executive director.

According to Dennis Karras, the port’s search process recruited a total of 39 candidates. The commissioners interviewed 25 of them. Overall, the search drew 27 candidates from in-state and 12 from out-of-state. Twenty-two of the candidates had port experience, and 17 had other experience.

There were a total of four women who applied for the position. In the top ten, 20 percent were people of color, Karras told Little Hollywood after the meeting.

In 2019, the Port of Olympia will face continued scrutiny of its financial sustainability and a contract involving controversial cargo. 

The port’s contract with Rainbow Ceramics to accept and transfer ceramic proppants is scheduled to expire in July 2019. 

There are 125 bags and 10 rail cars of proppants remaining on port property, said port staff on Friday. 

As the Port approaches its 100 year anniversary, it is also working on a community visioning process called Vision 2050.

Gibboney will start work on January 22, 2019 and be paid $175,000 a year.

For more information about the Port of Olympia, Vision 2050, Rainbow Ceramics, ceramic proppants, rail blockades and protests, go to Little Hollywood at https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words into the search button.

Above: Bags of ceramic proppants sit at the Port of Olympia on Friday. 

Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act Remembered

Above: Former United States Ambassador to China Gary Locke spoke at the commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act on Sunday.

“Legislation matters, and so does its reversal….let’s send that message.” - Beth Takekawa, executive director of the Wing Luke Museum

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

It was a day of intensely personal and poignant storytelling at an event commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act.

The program was held at the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience in Seattle on Sunday.

Stories about the impact of racist and discriminatory federal policies were told in first person by Bettie Luke, sister of Wing Luke, and many others.

Wing Luke, a civil rights attorney, served as a Seattle city councilmember from 1962 until his death in 1965. He was the first Asian American to hold elected office in Washington State.

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 banned the immigration of Chinese to the United States. It also prohibited Chinese from becoming naturalized citizens. 

Native born Chinese American citizens could face exclusion if they left the United States and tried to return. When they returned, they faced extensive interrogations.

Subsequent legislation extended and further restricted Chinese immigration and promoted anti-Chinese sentiment and violence.

The repeal act is known as the Magnuson Act of 1943, named after Senator Warren G. Magnuson who proposed it when he was a member of the House of Representatives.

Even when repealed, only 105 Chinese per year were allowed to enter the United States until 1965.

The exclusionary policies impacted Chinese opportunities for housing, property ownership and employment for decades. 

Many speakers described that those policies can still be felt in their families today.

Above: Bettie Luke, sister of Wing Luke, relates her family history while Lorraine Lee, center, and Connie So listen. Lee is chief administrative law judge of the Washington State Office of Administrative Hearings and was a former policy advisor to Governor Locke. So is principal lecturer of American Ethnic Studies at the University of Washington, among other positions.

Bettie Luke said she did not hear stories or know much about her heritage while growing up. She described the impact that lack of knowledge had when her mother died.

“You’re caught in this dilemma where you’re told that the ideal is the more American you become, the better accepted that you would be….On the other hand, throw away your culture…. It’s such a push and pull.

“When my mother died, I asked my elders, ‘What do I need to do for her funeral?’ And, caught in the push and pull dilemma, they said, ‘Oh, we don’t do those things anymore.’ And I thought, ‘What? She was so Chinese!’

“I wanted to make sure that she got a farewell that was Chinese. So, I had to ask and ask and ask….It’s so heartbreaking to have to throw away your culture. And so many of us lived that promise that the more white American you became the more you would be accepted and that’s such a loss.

“…Women are the keepers of the culture and there’s so much that was lost, so much that we did not learn….Our family did not know the name of mother's village or the name of our father’s village.”

They located a relative who did know and were able to connect with her mother’s family. Luke said she then found out that her mother once had eight brothers, but three had died of starvation.

Her voice breaking, Luke said that realization was a stab in the heart and personalized why her parents had worked so hard.  

“They had an entire compound of relatives that they supported so that they could live....that carried on for a long, long time….I was a child and did not hear the stories. I wonder now about the following generations. What do they care about? I want us to continue learning lessons….”

Gary Locke, former United States Ambassador to China and Washington State Governor, also spoke about his family history and the need to show compassion and fairness toward immigrants.

Saying he didn’t plan on speaking, Locke addressed some sensitive topics head-on.

Mentioning President Trump’s efforts to stop those coming to the United States and deport those who are here, Locke expressed concern with the rise in prejudice and discrimination.

“Our history is filled with prejudice against every wave of foreigners and immigrants that have come here to this country. We need to remember that and celebrate the successes we have had but use that celebration to renew our determination to prevent others from facing that same discrimination and prejudice.

“How is it that so many Chinese were able to come to American despite the Chinese Exclusion Act? It’s because so many of our ancestors claimed they were U.S. citizens or born to U.S. citizens, but the records had been destroyed in San Francisco in the fire.

“And many of our relatives claimed to be U.S. citizens or sons and daughters of U.S. citizens. Why? Because they were paper sons, paper daughters. Many of my relatives came to the United States as paper sons and relatives. Families --U.S. citizens -- would go back to China and then another family would pay to claim the son or daughter as the offspring of that U.S. citizen so they could come in.

“So, sometimes the Chans were not really a Chan but a Lee and the Lees weren’t really Lee but a Locke. And the Lockes weren’t really a Locke but maybe they were a Woo. So, we, among our own people, have come here illegally....

“So, before we go around saying, ‘Let’s kick out all those immigrants that are here illegally, improperly, we need to look at ourselves....

“And why is it that even when the Japanese were incarcerated during World War II, soldiers volunteered to serve in the United States Army when their parents and their brothers and sisters were behind barbed wire concentration camps?

“Why is it that African Americans, facing so much segregation in America, signed up to fight in World War II as part of the Tuskegee Airmen and others, even though back home they faced such terrible discrimination? Also, Native Americans, and the list goes on. It’s because they believed in the essential goodness and destiny of America.

“We are not a perfect country. But we hold ourselves up with high ideals and that’s why people of all generations come to America. We in America are all foreigners or immigrants, whether we’re first generation or tenth generation, except for the Native Americans. We are all foreigners.

“And what has made America great through all these centuries is that beacon of hope and opportunity that has attracted generation after generation of people…whether our ancestors came on the Mayflower or a slave ship or on a boat from China.

“…. We’ve all sacrificed and given our blood, sweat and tears for this country, and therefore when we see injustices being perpetuated against other populations and other ethnic groups, it is our duty, it is our responsibility to stand up for them.

“…. This is a celebration because 75 years ago we repealed this racist act and it was a person from this state who then became a U.S. senator who was responsible for that. So, we have much to be proud of, not only in terms of our own ethnicity but the history of this state in correcting racist acts and prejudicial acts.”

Locke then related the story of his grandfather who came over from China and worked as a houseboy in Olympia and later as a chef at Virginia Mason Hospital.

Locke said it was Doctor Mason who told Locke’s grandfather to bring his family to America. When he did so, his grandfather and family members were held in detention at the immigration facility.

“It was Doc Mason who went down to the immigration center to vouch for my grandfather, and got grandfather, my father, and my uncle out….Act of courage. Act of kindness.

“We need to remember that and...show that same compassion and commitment to diversity and fairness to all other groups in America. Let’s celebrate, let’s learn more about our history and our past, and let’s continue to fight,” said Locke.

Staff members with the National Archives at Seattle’s Sandpoint Way office also spoke and encouraged those interested in genealogy to use their database and research expertise. 

Much can be learned in the interrogation interviews and marriage, birth and death records of Chinese immigrants and others, they said.

Hao-Jan Chang of Bellevue said he has documented 24 generations of Gary Locke’s ancestry to the year 1275.

The Chinese American Citizens Alliance (Seattle Lodge) co-organized Sunday’s event.

Correction, December 17, 2018: Bettie Luke’s mother had eight brothers, not eleven, as originally reported.

Ho-Ho-Hobo Wreaths Tell Stories

Above: Ahmad, 26, makes a wreath at the Ho-Ho-Hobo holiday wreath stand at the tent city on the corner of State Avenue and Franklin Street. 

Ho-Ho-Hobo Wreaths Now Available 

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Ho-Ho-Hobo is back! 

This year, the holiday wreath stand organized by Walker Stephens and other volunteers is located in a tent encampment on the corner of State Avenue and Franklin Street in downtown Olympia.

Wreaths are available for a sliding scale donation starting at $20. Each wreath, some classic, some funky, has a tag with the name of the person who made it. 

Stephens hung out near the stand and explained the concept: $5.00 goes immediately toward the person who made it, $5.00 goes toward the person who sells it, $5.00 goes toward Stephens’ gas and wreath-making supplies, and the rest goes into a community pot. 

At a meeting held weekly on Wednesdays, 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. at 115 Legion Way SW, everyone decides as a group what to do with the extra funds. The meeting is open to everyone regardless of previous involvement or housing status.

Each wreath tells a story. Sometimes, the person is there to tell it in their own voice.

Ahmad, 26, has been homeless for a few months. He has lived in Olympia since he was 11.

“I’m a slacker, a freeloader, but I do need help. I’ve had close calls and eye-opening situations,” he says, working on a wreath at the Ho-Ho-Hobo wreath making stand.

He allowed Little Hollywood to tell his story because he thought it would help others.

Spelling his name, Ahmad says his name is Muslim.

“I still have yet to find myself in a religion, but I believe in a Father/God/Mother  Nature. We are like gods and nature. I actually think there’s two – not just one.”

“I dabble, I use, I’m a smoker,” he volunteers in the next sentence, his voice soft.

“I was looking for a place to stay between the (Union Gospel) Mission and the Salvation Army...sometimes you don’t have the energy in the cold weather. It’s freezing. If you’re not prepared for it, it can take quite a bit of a toll on you. Someone died over there you know,” he said, pointing to the tent where a woman with health issues lived and died last Sunday.

Like many downtown residents, he discovered the tent encampment to be something of a haven. Like a city, it’s a community. While we spoke, people were coming and going, checking in with each other.

“This kind of stuff (the bustle of activity) is perfect because it shows you a way to hustle with the bare necessities. We can make music. We can use this parking lot for haircuts and things that could get people more income. It generates a lot of ideas. Everyone here has their story. Different walks of life in here, you’d get different responses. I haven’t been here that long….

When asked what happened, Ahmed said he got kicked out of the house by his mom in July. He had a tent, but he gave it away to someone he said needed it more than he did. Ahmad is staying with a friend.

“Then I got in trouble at Walmart for shoplifting. I tried to go back home but my mom and I didn’t agree. She’s at that stage in her life – she’s reaching a time limit, like, if you don’t get certain things done, that’s going to affect other things. The world has changed in the 26 years since I’ve been born, and we see things differently.

“She’s done some things that I’m not very familiar with – she works two jobs, she raised me by herself and I always saw her as a strong woman until I started getting in trouble with the law. She didn’t really know certain things that I was doing, and our communication was affected by it. 

“She never told me that she took out mortgages and loans for her house, so her house went into foreclosure and she’s looking at going out into the streets. This is what she’s experiencing. When the real estate owner took it under his name, we weren’t able to stay there any longer,” Ahmad said, his thoughts drifting away.

“She wants me to be the best I can be,” he added after a long pause.

Little Hollywood asked him if she knows where he is. He said yes, but he hasn’t spoken with her. He has spoken with his sister who brought him clothes.

“That’s what made me rethink where I’m at because they gave me a few things.”

Asked if he knows how to get services, he says he does. He said he is eating and has a place to stay at the camp.

“I just get bored. I’m able to work. I’m able-bodied…. I can pretty much do anything,” he said. 

I watched him choose cedar boughs and holly for the wreath and slowly wrap wire around them.

“You look like you are creative,” I said, and meant it.

“I’ve done landscaping - a little bit of everything. I like working with my hands. I want to go to school and get a degree in engineering, like mechanical engineering. I want to build machines. That would be cool,“ he smiled.

“I believe in fate and right now God or whoever is up there is making it work,” Ahmad said, continuing to make the wreath. “I usually don’t talk so much.” 

Above: Ahmad is almost finished with his wreath.

Holiday Wreath Supplies Needed

Ho-Ho-Hobo is accepting donations of markers, ribbons, materials for name tags, plastic ornaments and miscellaneous, beautiful and funky decorations for decorating wreaths. 

Supplies can be dropped off at the red Ho-Ho-Hobo booth in the tent city on the corner of State Avenue and Franklin Street. The booth is open from 10:00 a.m. until dark every day except Wednesdays. 

Other wreath vending locations are being planned by organizers. 

On Saturday, a Ho-Ho-Hobo booth did brisk business outside the Capitol Theater during the annual Duck-the-Malls holiday bazaar.

“We earned $450 today outside Duck the Malls - a record! That’s after paying out $180 to our sales team and the folks who made all those wreaths!” Stephens reported after the event.

As for the name Ho-Ho-Hobo, the name was created by and for the street community who make the holiday wreaths with love and humor.

Someone working on a wreath burst into laughter when Stephens added, “The only people who complain about the name are housed people.”  

For a previous story about the Ho-Ho-Hobo wreath stand, go to http://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com/2016/12/ho-ho-hobos-peoples-holiday-stand.html 

Above: Wreaths are available by donation at the Ho-Ho-Hobo wreath stand in the tent city at the corner of State Avenue and Franklin Street.