Venice : 8 Hair-Wrappers Arrested

Police arrested eight hair-wrappers on charges ranging from possession of narcotics to illegal vending last weekend during a sweep of the Venice Boardwalk.

The arrests are the latest developments in a controversial crackdown on hair-wrappers, who transformed the weaving of colored string and beads around strands of hair into one of last summer’s hottest boardwalk trends. For months, boardwalk merchants and residents have pressured police to rid the area of wrappers, maintaining that those peddling hair-wraps for donations divert business and are unclean.

Police looked the other way until recently, when critics dusted off a state law that requires anybody who arranges hair to have a cosmetology license. One of the arrests was for a violation of that law.

Six more hair-wrappers were arrested for drug violations, including possession of LSD and marijuana, and another was jailed when it was discovered that she had $1,700 worth of outstanding warrants for illegal peddling.

Supporters of hair-wrappers say the arrests reflect increasing hostility toward the free spirits and wacky artists that Venice was once famous for. Hair-wrappers have offered to wash their hands in alcohol between wraps, but it is unclear whether any compromise can be worked out before Nov. 19, when a mediation session is scheduled.