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The Valley Citizen
Why Homeless People don’t Want Help: Part II
Help for homeless people must always be understood within the context of a huge deficit. As we’ve noted in Part I, in every category that might be construed as providing help for homeless people, there’s a severe shortage. There are shortages of housing, shortages of treatment facilities, shortages of personnel, and shortages of political will.
Why Homeless People don’t Want Help: Part I
The first thing to understand about help for homeless people is that, for the vast majority, there isn’t any. This is a reality easily established. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, “As of the January 2023 point-in-time count, the total number of people experiencing homelessness was estimated to be 181,399, and the state had only 71,131 shelter beds available—a shortfall of over 110,000 beds.”
A Filmmaker’s Fight to Prioritize Homelessness: Vote for Political Change in the San Joaquin Valley
Eric Protein Moseley is a social impact documentary filmmaker working on the film “Understanding the Spectrum: Exploring the Classes of Homelessness.”. I am a social impact documentary filmmaker from Detroit, now living in Richmond, California. My journey is deeply personal and profoundly shaped by nearly two decades of battling chemical dependency and homelessness, mostly while raising my child as a single parent. My experiences traveling from coast to coast, often facing the harsh realities of living without stable housing, have fueled my commitment to addressing this critical issue. Now, through my global campaign, “Mandate Future Politicians to Prioritize Homelessness,” I am dedicated to driving systemic change and elevating homelessness to the forefront of political and public discourse.
Cities and Counties Should Call Newsom’s Bluff on Homeless Camps
Reactions to Governor Gavin Newsom’s July 25th orders to clear homeless camps covered a range from defiance in Los Angeles to promises of fines and jail time for homeless campers in Fresno. What did not happen was a sudden appearance of housing, shelters, or services for the over 180,000 California residents with no place to go.
Irrigation District and Board Member Win on Anti-SLAPP Suit
Modesto Irrigation District (MID) Board Member Janice Keating’s suit against the District and fellow Board Member Robert Frobose suffered what could be a mortal blow Thursday, August 15, when Stanislaus Superior Court Judge John R Mayne ruled against her claims of gender bias and sexual harassment. From the very...
Marie Alvarado-Gil’s Curious Political Calculus
There’s nothing dishonorable about changing one’s mind or political affiliation. In fact, a willingness to change often implies an evidence-based intelligence. When a prominent national figure like J.D.Vance, formerly known as James Donald Bowman, went from referring to Donald Trump as a possible Hitler to becoming his running mate, it’s always possible his motivations were pure and rational.
More Problems for Gavin Newsom’s Homeless Orders
Other than the legal cover provided by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass vs Johnson, there’s nothing new about Gavin Newsom’s statewide orders to clear homeless camp. Sweeping homeless camps has been California’s default tactic for managing homelessness for years. By now, most anyone...
Eastern Rarity brings Birders to San Joaquin County to Look and Listen
Jim Gain knew it was remotely possible that an Eastern Wood-Peewee might appear in San Joaquin County, but since the last reliable sighting had been in 1983, he thought the report he saw on e-bird last Saturday was almost certainly an error. The report was from a person whose name Gain didn’t recognize, which added to his doubt. Gain knows most of the state’s elite birders, if not personally, at least by name and reputation.
Why Gavin Newsom’s Homeless Orders won’t Work
Whereas some local authorities have rejoiced at Gavin Newsom’s orders to clear homeless camps, others have seen the California Governor’s edict for what it is: A cynical passing of the buck to cities and counties with far too few beds and services to meet the needs of the state’s 180,000 homeless people. Newsom ordered state and local agencies to start removing homeless camps on July 25.
More Sweeps? Why California Fails on Homelessness
Even before Gavin Newsom’s statewide order to clear camps, Modesto’s homeless people were saying Stanislaus County Sheriffs had already started arresting people with no place to go. Whether that’s the case or not, jail time for homeless people is the expected outcome after the Supreme Court ruling on Grants Pass vs Johnson on June 28. Essentially overturning the 2018 decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that people could not be denied sleeping in public if there were no other place to go, the nation’s Supreme Court has ruled sweeps and rousts of homeless people are legal and up to the discretion of cities and counties, regardless of whether or not alternative shelter is available.
Irrigation District files anti-SLAPP suit against Board Member
Last May, Modesto Irrigation District (MID) Board Member Janice Keating filed a suit against the district and fellow board member Robert Frobose alleging gender harassment. The suit claims, among other things, that Frobose sought to intimidate Keating about her opposition to rehiring attorney Ronda Lucas to assist General Counsel Wes Milliband with the district’s legal issues. Lucas had prevailed in a gender harassment suit against the district in 2019, after what she considered a wrongful termination in November of 2018.
What if Homeless People aren’t who we Think they are?
The name “Larry” below is a pseudonym. He’s still on the streets, last we knew. ed. I walked into the camp thinking I’d done as much as I could to be safe. Still, I felt twinges of fear. A few years ago, before the systematic sweeps of camps throughout the city and county, I’d usually find a friend to accompany me into the roughest camps. The friend would always be someone who was homeless himself or had been and was trusted among the homeless.
Defenders of Del Puerto Canyon Stand Firm
Christopher Quock has a Master’s Degree in Entomology from San Francisco State University. His job history there includes work in research and as a teaching assistant. He’s a volunteer defender of Del Puerto Canyon, where a remarkable variety of wildlife and geologic history come together in a natural classroom and science lab. ed.
About the Valley Citizen
Over the years, I’ve neglected the business side of The Valley Citizen. Also, there have been seismic changes since I started publishing, so I’ve decided to post a new “About” essay to give readers a better idea of our mission. Let us know what you think. ed.
Learn 100 Common Valley Birds: Species #69/100
Few things on earth fill us with as much delight as birds, and knowing them by name only adds to our pleasure. In California’s Central Valley, with only a little bit of effort, anyone can learn 100 local bird species. Valley residents almost daily come in contact with at least a dozen species that most recognize, but may not know the name of. Learning local birds is one of the most gratifying ways to connect with nature. See more of Jim Gain’s excursions into nature at Reflections of the Natural World.
A Defender of Wildlife has Fallen: RIP Robert Gallo
Robert Gallo, known to everyone as “Bob,” died last Saturday. Like the Gallo family in general, he was very much a private person who preferred his contributions to nature and other public service went unpublicized. Nonetheless, he was a major benefactor to birds and wildlife, especially with his key role in the recovery of the Aleutian Cackling Goose, a formerly endangered species he helped bring back from the brink of extinction.
Congressman Tom McClintock’s Sham Town Hall Meetings
Congressman Tom McClintock is notorious for being absent from his district. Modesto residents who enjoyed the regular presence of Congressman Josh Harder before redistricting moved him north have been especially disgruntled by McClintock’s absenteeism. His Modesto office is often unstaffed. Below, former Modesto City Councilmember Bruce Frohman expresses his frustration with McClintock’s remote town hall meetings, which always seem to interrupt Frohman’s dinner hour. ed.
Learn 100 Common Valley Birds: Species #68/100
Few things on earth fill us with as much delight as birds, and knowing them by name only adds to our pleasure. In California’s Central Valley, with only a little bit of effort, anyone can learn 100 local bird species. Valley residents almost daily come in contact with at least a dozen species that most recognize, but may not know the name of. Learning local birds is one of the most gratifying ways to connect with nature. See more of Jim Gain’s excursions into nature at Reflections of the Natural World.
Dos Rios State Park: “A new era of water management.”
Julie Rentner and Patrick Koepele have spent decades of their lives dedicated to healing nature through the restoration of rivers, Rentner with River Partners and Koepele with the Tuolmne River Trust. Wednesday, June 12, the entire state of California celebrated one of the greatest outcomes of their labors with the opening of Dos Rios State Park, at the confluence of the San Joaquin and Tuolumne Rivers, just west of Modesto.
“Birder’s Logic” Leads to a Rare Pair in Stanislaus County
Jim Gain’s tours through nature can be seen here. So it’s a hot day in the San Joaquin Valley, the chores are done, you’ve got a few hours to yourself and you choose to visit one of the most unlikely places the average person might think of. Maybe only a dedicated birder could figure out why, and, even then, it would take some Sherlockian deduction.
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