Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Bell Riots
7. Talk About Timely
While the writers were breaking the story for Past Tense, an article appeared in the L.A. Times that deeply unnerved them. Titled 'HOMELESS CAMP WEIGHED IN L.A. INDUSTRIAL AREA,' it discussed plans to open a fenced-in locale, based on a similar centre in San Diego, for homeless transients to voluntarily visit. The centre, the article advertised, would have showers and laundry facilities available, as well as a lawn for people to sleep on.
The article highlighted the division already springing up between the then-Riordan Administration and local homeless advocacy groups. Some supporters shrouded their intentions with statements like -
It’s about giving the homeless people options so they don’t have to stay on the streets
Other supporters were less opaque, declaring the intent to remove homeless people from sight. Don Spivack, director of operations for the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, went so far as to say:
We are not going to allow people to camp on the streets at will...
Behr and Wolfe, as well as René Echevarria, were shocked at how timely - and grim - this proposal was. Behr recalled a number of people approaching him to ask if he had known about the article in advance of writing the script, which he hadn't.
When the article was published, it became a fierce topic of debate in L.A., with voices arguing against the shelter for fear it would lower Downtown L.A.'s standards, while others blamed homeless people for rising crime rates. Though divided on the why, there seemed to be agreement that the centre wasn't enough - a more permanent solution was required.
Alexander Siddig would later recall:
I hadn't realised the country was so depressed as to need it...but the episode was almost a cinematic version of that statement by the LA Council.