Tents return to maritime school in Point Loma

It is a major intersection. Many of us know it. It is where Interstate 8 meets Interstate 5 in Point Loma. Right next to it, there is a major maritime training school. They have been dealing with the same issue for several years.

"The issue has really been going on prior to Covid," said Dave Abrams.

Abrams is the CEO of the Maritime Institute. ABC 10 News Anchor Aaron Dickens first met him last April. On the other side of their fence, there were dozens of tents on Caltran’s property. We also spotted people, plugging into the school's lamp posts.

"They are stealing property from our training area. They are vandalizing our training area. Covering it with graffiti. It is a constant battle," said Abrams back in April.

Abrams says Caltrans cleared out the area a few weeks ago.

"But Caltrans has not been able to keep up with it," he added.

Some of the tents are already back. Abrams says as the camp grows, it becomes a safety issue.

"Caltrans is saying it is a personnel issue. Caltrans says it does not have the crews to deal with all the encampents they need to deal with. We need the dollars to fund Caltrans and CHP so they can do their jobs," Abrams added.