It is hard to believe that it is almost Halloween again!  Some cops don’t like working Halloween, but I love it.  It’s a great time to see some original costumes and for the most part everyone is having a good time.  I also like the fact that every year my costume choice is pretty well decided.  Now that I have a family, I have pretty much given up any hope deciding what I want to be for Halloween.  My kids choose a theme every year and I’m stuck with the consequences.  Considering a few years ago I spent a freak load of money on a great gorilla costume, I always have to figure out how to incorporate a gorilla into the theme.  The Mario Bros. year was easy.  Donkey Kong, easy.  The year after that?  Wizard of Oz…  it was weak, but I convinced them that if there were flying monkeys there must have been flying gorillas.  This year it’s a sea theme.  Well, if there are sea monkeys…

[media-credit id=20122 align=”alignleft” width=”250″][/media-credit]As I ramble on, I do actually have a point.  Often when dealing with situations in Isla Vista, people are faced with crappy situations and even worse choices.  It’s easy to get frustrated with the hand you’ve been dealt and when looking at the situation, no matter what you do, it seems like nothing is going to make things better.  Whether it’s dealing with out of control roommates, your neighbors partying till 5 a.m. during finals week or getting a ticket and not having have the money to pay for it — there are options out there. There is never a perfect solution, but if you work with what you have and get a little creative, you’ll find that often there are solutions out there that will help you get through the rough patch. Give it some time and you’ll eventually look back and tell your friends about the time you lived off saltine cracker and ketchup sandwiches.

My roommates want to have a Halloween party and I know the noise ordinance changes for Halloween.  I don’t have any money and if we get a ticket I’m screwed.  If I have nothing to do with the party and the cops come, can I still get the ticket?

You can potentially get the ticket if the party is at your house.  There are some options to avoid this, though.  First of all, the Halloween noise ordinance starts on October 26th and goes through November 4th.  It basically says that you can’t have amplified music between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. on those days.  So if your roommates are going to have a party, try to make sure the stereo is not heard outside of the house.  If that is an impossible task, you might want to consider skipping the party and checking out the Halloween on State Street in Santa Barbara.  It definitely sucks to seem anti-social, but if you don’t want to risk the ticket, it might be the best option for you.

I’ve heard that the police won’t let any cars into Isla Vista on Halloween unless you show proof that you live here.

Every Halloween weekend a portion of Isla Vista gets shut down for vehicle traffic.  However, it is primarily the 6500-6700 blocks of Del Playa and Sabado Tarde.  The barricades will go up as soon as there starts to be heavy pedestrian traffic in those areas.  At that point, to keep the pedestrians safe, no vehicles will be allowed in, even residents’.  However, cars will still be able to drive around the rest of Isla Vista.  Also, if you live on Del Playa or Sabado Tarde, keep your car off the street that weekend.  Any car left parked on the street will be towed to keep the street clear for the crowds.  If you are not sure if you are in the tow area or want more information on the areas to be barricaded, call the I.V. Foot Patrol at 681-4179 and they can answer any questions about police enforcement during Halloween.
Last year I dressed up as a commando.  When I was walking to Del Playa, I was stopped and told I had to give up my fake guns.  If I dress up as Godzilla this year, will they try to take my tail?

I think you should be okay.  It would be totally wrong of us to take some of the tail away from you.  The goal is to keep anything that could be used as a weapon off the streets during the Halloween nights with the huge crowds.  Every year there are fights and we don’t want a large fight to break out with lots of swords and pitchforks being used.  The last thing we want is a Ralphie poking someone’s eye out with his Red Rider.  So as long as the tail isn’t used as a weapon, I’m sure it will be a great thing on Del Playa.

As we get closer to Halloween, I hope you all have a fun time coming up with some original costumes.  There are always some good ones, special shout out to last year’s “The Dude.”  If you choose to hang out on Del Playa this year, please be safe and sober.  There will be a lot of cops out there, but also a lot of craziness as well.  Have a safe Halloween and if you see a gorilla wearing a cop uniform, that may be me.