Hollywood Businesses Put Potted Cacti on Sidewalks to Discourage Homeless Camps

Retailers and other businesses on Hollywood and Sunset boulevards in Los Angeles hope cactus plants placed on the sidewalk will keep homeless people from setting up encampments outside their doors. The Assistance League of Los Angeles, a nonprofit that helps homeless and impoverished children, purchased several large wooden planters filled with cacti recently to set outside its headquarters on the 6600 block of Sunset Boulevard. Despite having a few of the plants stolen, the strategy seems to be working. “We’re keeping them there for now,” Chief Executive Officer Melanie Merians told Epoch TV’s California Insider May 14. “We have many different people and children coming in and out of the building all the time, and we just wanted to keep it clear of tents for everyone’s safety.”...