Today’s LA Times has a piece on Arcata’s complex relationship with its panhandlers. Read it here. 

“Long known as the “Berkeley of the North,” Arcata traditionally has welcomed the downtrodden, embraced the leftist fringe and fostered a live-and-let-live ethos. But these days, the [Plaza] square is strangely mainstream.

While one quadrant is still dotted with homeless nappers, the immaculate lawn is populated by families with toddlers and its benches have become a prime lunch spot for working folks.

Behind the transformation is a host of factors that send itinerants a new message: Don’t come here.”

Alex Stillman, Big Al, Kevin Hoover, Richard Salzman and other familiars get some facetime in the nation’s fourth-largest newspaper.