2013-12-17 by Scott Keyes "ThinkProgress" [http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/7-homeless-people-freeze-death-wealthiest-area-country]:
Joe White was this close to making it.
A 50-year-old California man described [7] by relatives as a “loving father and a doting grandfather,” White had been living on the streets of Hayward for years. He wanted to work and was able to find odd jobs here and there, but it was never much or consistent enough to afford a place to live. Hayward has no emergency shelter with beds for single men, so White slept outside.
But things were looking up. Last Saturday, White was second [8] on a long list to get permanent supportive housing in Hayward. He had been waiting in line for months and it seemed as though he might finally catch a break.
White died on Sunday.
Temperatures in the Bay Area plummeted to near-freezing on December 10, an uncommon occurrence in a region generally known for its lack of inclement weather. White’s body was found in the old Hayward City Hall courtyard. He’d been beaten up and robbed by multiple men, who took the new winter coat White’s sister had given him [7] on Friday. He was wearing just a hoodie and shorts. His cause of death is still being determined, but police speculated [9]that his death was weather-related.
White is now the seventh homeless person in the Bay Area to die in the cold since November 28. The others were Daniel Brillhart, 52; Enrique Rubio, 56; Andrew Greenleaf, 48; Daniel Moore, 53; and two men in the East Bay and Peninsula whose names have not been released.
According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, approximately 700 homeless people [10]die from hypothermia every year. Those deaths tend to occur in the East Coast and Midwest, not California. But temperatures in the Bay have repeatedly dipped below freezing in the past few weeks, leaving thousands of homeless people in danger.
The Bay Area has one of the highest homeless populations in part because of the explosion of recent wealth that has led to increasing inequality and a lack of affordable housing for those without high-paying tech jobs. The San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose metropolitan area is the wealthiest [11] in the country, even outpacing New York-Connecticut and Washington DC-Maryland-Northern Virginia. This influx of money has brought [12] higher housing prices and more evictions in the past few years.
And for those viscerally impacted by rising inequality, life is especially difficult when the temperatures drop. Many communities in the Bay Area lack emergency shelters, in part because freezes aren’t very common. But what happens to many of the thousands of people living without shelter in the Bay Area, waiting for their name to be called for the few affordable housing units that exist? “What happens is they die on the street,” Betty DeForest, director emeritus of South Hayward Parish, wrote [13] in an email to the City Council last week following White’s death.
In other words, we live in a society that leaves many people too poor to survive but are surprised to see them die.
Links:
[1] http://www.thinkprogress.org/
[2] http://www.alternet.org/authors/scott-keyes
[3] http://www.alternet.org/tags/bay-area-wealth-gap
[4] http://www.alternet.org/tags/homelessness
[5] http://www.alternet.org/tags/hypothermia
[6] http://www.alternet.org/tags/coalition-homeless
[7] http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/mother-homeless-man-found-dead-says-system-failed-/ncHTR/
[8] http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=weather&id=9355693
[9] http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Homeless-Death-Tally-in-Bay-Area-Climbs-With-Cold-Snap-235112151.html
[10] http://nationalhomeless.org/WordPress/2010/08/response-to-homelessness-hot-or-cold/
[11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highest-income_metropolitan_statistical_areas_in_the_United_States
[12] http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/11/whats-going-on-in-san-francisco/?src=recg
[13] http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_24697286/hayward-mans-death-street-angers-activist
[14] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Social services cannot be replaced with charity
"This Mind Blowing Fact Proves That Christian Churches Cannot Provide For The Poor"
2013-12-17 by Randa Morris [http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/12/17/christian-charity-church-debt-poor/]:
Think Christian charity can take care of the poor? At least 64% of US churches are already spending more than they take in. But wait, isn’t debt a sin?
Republicans claim that caring for poor is best left to the churches and to ‘Christian charity,’ not the government. They also claim that debt is a sin. Given these claims, it might just blow your mind to learn that according to Church Finance Today, “68% of churches in the West-South Central U.S., and 64% of churches in the East-South Central U.S. have expenses exceeding income.” What’s worse, according to the same source, “these are the best regions in the country.”
Republicans want us to believe that Christian charity is sufficient for taking care of the poor. Yet it’s obvious from these figures that Christians aren’t even able to handle taking care of their own churches.
The Christian Right tells us we should be angry at the government for running up debt. Yet, now we find out that more than 60% of their own churches are in debt? They rail on about how the government shouldn’t be spending more than it brings in. So, how do they justify the fact that more than 60 percent of the country’s churches are doing the same?
How can churches and Christian charity take care of the poor when they can’t even pay their own bills?
How can we possibly believe that churches, which can’t even pay their own bills, are going to be able to care for the nation’s poor? We’re supposed to believe that these churches will be able to provide for huge numbers of poverty stricken Americans, because of Christian charity? What Christian charity? Churches are already on the verge of bankruptcy, because Christian charity obviously isn’t enough to even keep their doors open. Yet we’re supposed to believe that churches can fill the void, if government programs like SNAP, WIC, welfare and housing assistance were to suddenly cease?
And what about debt? I thought debt was slavery. I thought it was supposed to be a sin. How can debt be a sin for the government, but not a sin for a church? The government is not supposed to be bound by religious doctrine, but the church is. What ever happened to ‘practice what you preach?’
How does this work, exactly? Republicans say that spending more than you make means you have cut back. With more than 60 percent of churches spending more than they make, you’d think the right would be demanding spending cuts in the churches. Balancing the budget is top priority, right?
But no. Republicans are not talking about how the churches need to start cutting back on spending. Even though it’s clear that churches are already running up debt, republicans are pushing for them to take on a whole new realm of programs and Christian charity activities.
In other words, they are pushing for the churches to spend more than have, to provide programs they obviously can’t afford.
But wait, that’s what they say the government shouldn’t be doing…
How can right-wing Christians be obsessing over the government’s budget issues, while totally neglecting their own? And where are all those charitable givers, giving to Christian charity? Aren’t they supposed to be giving money to the church, in order to keep it out of slavery and debt and sin?
Right wing Christians aren’t being realistic or honest about their own financial issues. The majority of them would be the first to quote the proverbial “charity begins at home.”
Obviously Christian charity does not begin at church. If it did then churches wouldn’t be facing a financial crisis of this magnitude. The right wing has been deceptively quiet about the churches financial woes. It seems they deliberately side step the topic, in an effort to keep up the utterly false impression that Christian charity will fill the gap, as more and more people are turned away from government assistance.
What happens when Christian charity fails, as it surely will?
The truth is the right wing is not concerned about the poor, the sick or the elderly. The whole idea that churches could ever hope to provide the kind of services that struggling American families need is just laughable. But if enough people can be fooled into believing the opposite, many programs can be eliminated, before the reality sets in.
People are not voluntary givers. No matter how Christian they claim to be, when left to their own devices, most people will choose to be selfish, rather than charitable. Talk to any Tea Partier or libertarian, they’ll tell you that. They think that they shouldn’t have to contribute anything that they don’t want to contribute. Keep talking to them and you’ll soon find out that they don’t want to contribute anything, period.
This is why we must have taxes. It’s why contributing to your country and your community can’t be as optional as contributing to your church.
2013-12-17 by Randa Morris [http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/12/17/christian-charity-church-debt-poor/]:
Think Christian charity can take care of the poor? At least 64% of US churches are already spending more than they take in. But wait, isn’t debt a sin?
Republicans claim that caring for poor is best left to the churches and to ‘Christian charity,’ not the government. They also claim that debt is a sin. Given these claims, it might just blow your mind to learn that according to Church Finance Today, “68% of churches in the West-South Central U.S., and 64% of churches in the East-South Central U.S. have expenses exceeding income.” What’s worse, according to the same source, “these are the best regions in the country.”
Republicans want us to believe that Christian charity is sufficient for taking care of the poor. Yet it’s obvious from these figures that Christians aren’t even able to handle taking care of their own churches.
The Christian Right tells us we should be angry at the government for running up debt. Yet, now we find out that more than 60% of their own churches are in debt? They rail on about how the government shouldn’t be spending more than it brings in. So, how do they justify the fact that more than 60 percent of the country’s churches are doing the same?
How can churches and Christian charity take care of the poor when they can’t even pay their own bills?
How can we possibly believe that churches, which can’t even pay their own bills, are going to be able to care for the nation’s poor? We’re supposed to believe that these churches will be able to provide for huge numbers of poverty stricken Americans, because of Christian charity? What Christian charity? Churches are already on the verge of bankruptcy, because Christian charity obviously isn’t enough to even keep their doors open. Yet we’re supposed to believe that churches can fill the void, if government programs like SNAP, WIC, welfare and housing assistance were to suddenly cease?
And what about debt? I thought debt was slavery. I thought it was supposed to be a sin. How can debt be a sin for the government, but not a sin for a church? The government is not supposed to be bound by religious doctrine, but the church is. What ever happened to ‘practice what you preach?’
How does this work, exactly? Republicans say that spending more than you make means you have cut back. With more than 60 percent of churches spending more than they make, you’d think the right would be demanding spending cuts in the churches. Balancing the budget is top priority, right?
But no. Republicans are not talking about how the churches need to start cutting back on spending. Even though it’s clear that churches are already running up debt, republicans are pushing for them to take on a whole new realm of programs and Christian charity activities.
In other words, they are pushing for the churches to spend more than have, to provide programs they obviously can’t afford.
But wait, that’s what they say the government shouldn’t be doing…
How can right-wing Christians be obsessing over the government’s budget issues, while totally neglecting their own? And where are all those charitable givers, giving to Christian charity? Aren’t they supposed to be giving money to the church, in order to keep it out of slavery and debt and sin?
Right wing Christians aren’t being realistic or honest about their own financial issues. The majority of them would be the first to quote the proverbial “charity begins at home.”
Obviously Christian charity does not begin at church. If it did then churches wouldn’t be facing a financial crisis of this magnitude. The right wing has been deceptively quiet about the churches financial woes. It seems they deliberately side step the topic, in an effort to keep up the utterly false impression that Christian charity will fill the gap, as more and more people are turned away from government assistance.
What happens when Christian charity fails, as it surely will?
The truth is the right wing is not concerned about the poor, the sick or the elderly. The whole idea that churches could ever hope to provide the kind of services that struggling American families need is just laughable. But if enough people can be fooled into believing the opposite, many programs can be eliminated, before the reality sets in.
People are not voluntary givers. No matter how Christian they claim to be, when left to their own devices, most people will choose to be selfish, rather than charitable. Talk to any Tea Partier or libertarian, they’ll tell you that. They think that they shouldn’t have to contribute anything that they don’t want to contribute. Keep talking to them and you’ll soon find out that they don’t want to contribute anything, period.
This is why we must have taxes. It’s why contributing to your country and your community can’t be as optional as contributing to your church.
Vallejo Homeless deaths eulogized by local Health Care for the Homeless Advisory Committee
"Bells toll at Vallejo homeless memorial"
2013-12-19 by Jessica A. York from "Vallejo Times-Herald" [http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_24755651/bells-toll-at-vallejo-homeless-memorial]:
A homeless memorial ceremony in Vallejo Wednesday drew 60 people and the tolling of nine bells at First Baptist Church.
Standing beneath the basement's colorful tinsel-festooned ceiling, one man, Deshawn Alexander, said his father had died, homeless, in February. Now Alexander, too, is homeless, he said.
"I think about my daddy every day," Alexander said, wiping away tears. "Another one gone. Everybody got to go, everybody got to die."
Alexander, like several others, from children to seniors, had gathered along long tables for the annual Homeless Memorial to share memories of lost loved ones, and ring a bell in their name.
David Cruz, homeless for the past two years, recalled the kindness of "Ms. Ellie" who he said died in a hit-and-run accident. Ms. Ellie did not have a room for Cruz and his dog Lettie when he needed one, but said the door was open if he wanted to return for a visit or to watch a movie.
"Her presence, that's what I remember," Cruz said. "She was so warm and welcoming... then, about a year later, she was hit by a car on Broadway."
The event was hosted by the church and organized by the Health Care for the Homeless Advisory Committee, with the help of the Global Center for Success.
"We don't know how many homeless people died in Solano County (this year), but we want to bring attention to the tragedy of homelessness that continues to be a serious issue," said Ruth Forney, of Solano County's Health Care for the Homeless Advisory Committee.
One man recalled befriending Gary, who died this year, at the Christian Help Center, where both were "messed up."
"We homeless have missing holes in our lives, for different reasons. Maybe addiction, maybe illness, blindness, maybe we can't see what's right in front of us," the man said. "Gary was my friend. When I would see him, we would always cheer each other up... and to me, that's friendship."
Solano County Supervisor Erin Hannigan, whose district includes Vallejo, said the county has pledged to find permanent solutions to homelessness, because the city has "a great need."
"Shelter, for all of us, means something different... but I believe there's a shelter choice for everybody and we need to figure out what it needs for people who are homeless," Hannigan said. "I drive around this community, I meet folks who are homeless, I see homeless people and they're just like us, right? They are us."
2013-12-19 by Jessica A. York from "Vallejo Times-Herald" [http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_24755651/bells-toll-at-vallejo-homeless-memorial]:
A homeless memorial ceremony in Vallejo Wednesday drew 60 people and the tolling of nine bells at First Baptist Church.
Standing beneath the basement's colorful tinsel-festooned ceiling, one man, Deshawn Alexander, said his father had died, homeless, in February. Now Alexander, too, is homeless, he said.
"I think about my daddy every day," Alexander said, wiping away tears. "Another one gone. Everybody got to go, everybody got to die."
Alexander, like several others, from children to seniors, had gathered along long tables for the annual Homeless Memorial to share memories of lost loved ones, and ring a bell in their name.
David Cruz, homeless for the past two years, recalled the kindness of "Ms. Ellie" who he said died in a hit-and-run accident. Ms. Ellie did not have a room for Cruz and his dog Lettie when he needed one, but said the door was open if he wanted to return for a visit or to watch a movie.
"Her presence, that's what I remember," Cruz said. "She was so warm and welcoming... then, about a year later, she was hit by a car on Broadway."
The event was hosted by the church and organized by the Health Care for the Homeless Advisory Committee, with the help of the Global Center for Success.
"We don't know how many homeless people died in Solano County (this year), but we want to bring attention to the tragedy of homelessness that continues to be a serious issue," said Ruth Forney, of Solano County's Health Care for the Homeless Advisory Committee.
One man recalled befriending Gary, who died this year, at the Christian Help Center, where both were "messed up."
"We homeless have missing holes in our lives, for different reasons. Maybe addiction, maybe illness, blindness, maybe we can't see what's right in front of us," the man said. "Gary was my friend. When I would see him, we would always cheer each other up... and to me, that's friendship."
Solano County Supervisor Erin Hannigan, whose district includes Vallejo, said the county has pledged to find permanent solutions to homelessness, because the city has "a great need."
"Shelter, for all of us, means something different... but I believe there's a shelter choice for everybody and we need to figure out what it needs for people who are homeless," Hannigan said. "I drive around this community, I meet folks who are homeless, I see homeless people and they're just like us, right? They are us."
Vallejo's War on Homeless living in Motels
"Vallejo motels now targeted for nuisance abatement"
by Rachel Raskin-Zrihen "Vallejo Times-Herald" [http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_24755654/vallejo-motels-now-targeted-nuisance-abatement]:
They've been going after blighted and abandoned homes and squatters for about a year, and now Vallejo's Neighborhood Law Program has trained its nuisance abatement sights on local motels.
The Times-Herald obtained a copy of a letter sent about two weeks ago to all Vallejo motel/hotel owners, managers and property owners -- some 40 letters in all. The letters alerted them to this new focus on clearing up quality of life issues in and around their facilities, program lawyer Eli Flushman said Wednesday.
"We have some hotels that have presented significant nuisances to certain neighborhoods, but we realized they probably weren't the only ones with problems," Flushman said. "So, we wanted to see if we can have a positive impact on all of them, and so no one feels singled out, we sent letters out to all of them."
The hope is that the letters -- which ask motel management to contact the program's lawyers with what issues they have and how they plan to fix them -- will create a conversation that will lead to change, he said.
An opportunity to remedy some persistent problems is exactly how Brandon Cervantes, the day manager at the Travelers Inn Motel on Tennessee Street, reacted to the program, after reading the letter Wednesday.
"It sounds like a good idea, like not only we are having such problems, and if we all come together we can decrease or stop such activity," the 20-year-old Vallejo resident said, adding that he's "pretty sure" his superiors will agree.
Cervantes said there are "rarely" problems inside his motel, but there's plenty of trouble nearby that he's as eager as anyone to see end.
"There are arguments between civilians; there was a drive-by a few blocks from here," he said. "I'm also pretty sure there is prostitution going on nearby."
These are precisely the types of behaviors residents and business owners complain about, and which this program seeks to address, Flushman said.
"In response to complaints and multiple calls for police service and assistance at local hotels, the city of Vallejo is beginning an effort to examine potential nuisance activity at many Vallejo hotels and immediate surrounding areas," the letter reads. "The city is particularly concerned with controlled substances, prostitution, violent behavior, and any unfair business practices. If you believe any of these issues exist at your hotel, we encourage you to resolve them and call the office of the City Attorney to discuss your plan to abate such activity."
City officials also will be looking at the accuracy and completeness of each hotel's Transient Occupancy Tax payments, it says.
Hotel management can "prevent possible legal action" by finding ways to abate nuisances, but should they fail to comply, the program has some teeth it's not afraid to use, Flushman said.
"We hope (the owners are) already thinking about it since getting our letter, and, hopefully they'll present a plan and we may also may have some ideas, but, if left unadressed, we will look at other ways of dealing with the issues," he said. "For instance, there are certain laws that permit civil legal action if they refuse to abate any nuisance we find on their property."
One option is boarding up the motel, which Flushman said could create a new or worse set of problems. Another is a special receivership, whereby the court appoints someone to take over the property, clean it up, and sell it, he said.
"We want Vallejo business owners to prosper in business here,... and some of these are difficult issues to address," Flushman said. "First we want to know what they're doing to address some of these issues. We're talking to other cities to see how they're dealing with these kinds of issues. It won't be easy."
Incoming City Councilwoman Pippin Dew said she applauds the city's new effort.
"It feels like it's long overdue and I'm glad the Neighborhood Law Program is looking at more than just residential issues," Dew said. "If they're successful, it would mean the police would... not be constantly responding to calls in these areas and that might contribute to a general reduction in crime overall."
But, Flushman warned against expecting an immediate exodus of Vallejo's seedier, criminal element.
"This will be a painstakingly long process," he said. "We are in fact-collection mode and then we'll do a general review; asking these hotels to do an honest assessment of their own properties. Then, we'll do a more throughout review to find the ones with the most problems, and that's where we'll start."
by Rachel Raskin-Zrihen "Vallejo Times-Herald" [http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_24755654/vallejo-motels-now-targeted-nuisance-abatement]:
They've been going after blighted and abandoned homes and squatters for about a year, and now Vallejo's Neighborhood Law Program has trained its nuisance abatement sights on local motels.
The Times-Herald obtained a copy of a letter sent about two weeks ago to all Vallejo motel/hotel owners, managers and property owners -- some 40 letters in all. The letters alerted them to this new focus on clearing up quality of life issues in and around their facilities, program lawyer Eli Flushman said Wednesday.
"We have some hotels that have presented significant nuisances to certain neighborhoods, but we realized they probably weren't the only ones with problems," Flushman said. "So, we wanted to see if we can have a positive impact on all of them, and so no one feels singled out, we sent letters out to all of them."
The hope is that the letters -- which ask motel management to contact the program's lawyers with what issues they have and how they plan to fix them -- will create a conversation that will lead to change, he said.
An opportunity to remedy some persistent problems is exactly how Brandon Cervantes, the day manager at the Travelers Inn Motel on Tennessee Street, reacted to the program, after reading the letter Wednesday.
"It sounds like a good idea, like not only we are having such problems, and if we all come together we can decrease or stop such activity," the 20-year-old Vallejo resident said, adding that he's "pretty sure" his superiors will agree.
Cervantes said there are "rarely" problems inside his motel, but there's plenty of trouble nearby that he's as eager as anyone to see end.
"There are arguments between civilians; there was a drive-by a few blocks from here," he said. "I'm also pretty sure there is prostitution going on nearby."
These are precisely the types of behaviors residents and business owners complain about, and which this program seeks to address, Flushman said.
"In response to complaints and multiple calls for police service and assistance at local hotels, the city of Vallejo is beginning an effort to examine potential nuisance activity at many Vallejo hotels and immediate surrounding areas," the letter reads. "The city is particularly concerned with controlled substances, prostitution, violent behavior, and any unfair business practices. If you believe any of these issues exist at your hotel, we encourage you to resolve them and call the office of the City Attorney to discuss your plan to abate such activity."
City officials also will be looking at the accuracy and completeness of each hotel's Transient Occupancy Tax payments, it says.
Hotel management can "prevent possible legal action" by finding ways to abate nuisances, but should they fail to comply, the program has some teeth it's not afraid to use, Flushman said.
"We hope (the owners are) already thinking about it since getting our letter, and, hopefully they'll present a plan and we may also may have some ideas, but, if left unadressed, we will look at other ways of dealing with the issues," he said. "For instance, there are certain laws that permit civil legal action if they refuse to abate any nuisance we find on their property."
One option is boarding up the motel, which Flushman said could create a new or worse set of problems. Another is a special receivership, whereby the court appoints someone to take over the property, clean it up, and sell it, he said.
"We want Vallejo business owners to prosper in business here,... and some of these are difficult issues to address," Flushman said. "First we want to know what they're doing to address some of these issues. We're talking to other cities to see how they're dealing with these kinds of issues. It won't be easy."
Incoming City Councilwoman Pippin Dew said she applauds the city's new effort.
"It feels like it's long overdue and I'm glad the Neighborhood Law Program is looking at more than just residential issues," Dew said. "If they're successful, it would mean the police would... not be constantly responding to calls in these areas and that might contribute to a general reduction in crime overall."
But, Flushman warned against expecting an immediate exodus of Vallejo's seedier, criminal element.
"This will be a painstakingly long process," he said. "We are in fact-collection mode and then we'll do a general review; asking these hotels to do an honest assessment of their own properties. Then, we'll do a more throughout review to find the ones with the most problems, and that's where we'll start."
"American Indian activists stop in Vallejo during 'Longest Walk'"
2013-12-19 by Lanz Christian Bañes from "Vallejo Times-Herald"
[http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_24755652/american-indian-activists-stop-vallejo-during-longest-walk]:
Indigenous activists who have been walking across country since July stopped Wednesday in Vallejo to honor the shellmound at Glen Cove.
50 people greeted the walkers on the shores of the Carquinez Strait. Indeed, the idea for the journey, known as "The Longest Walk 4: Return to Alcatraz," had its roots partly in the encampment that sprang up in 2011 at the Glen Cove Waterfront Park in protest of the Greater Vallejo Recreation District's planned development of the site.
"The first planning meeting took place here in 2011," said Michael Lane, nominally the logistics coordinator of the small group that set out from Washington, D.C., on July 5.
GVRD ultimately settled the issue with representatives of two Patwin tribes, who were not part of the occupation, to create a smaller park. The shellmound, known as Sogorea Te, was occupied for 109 days.
Lane had been part of the original Longest Walk, a 1978 trek from Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay to Washington, D.C. Alcatraz had been the site of perhaps the most spectacular demonstration of the American Indian Movement, a 19-month occupation of the former prison island that ended in June 1971.
"It was not a protest walk," Lane said, of both the first and the current journey. "It was an affirmation of Indian sovereignty. Thirty-five years later, we're still dealing with the same issues," Lane said.
The current walk is the culmination of the first, with the group returning to Alcatraz on Saturday after leaving it decades earlier, Lane said.
About 10 people started the journey, gaining and losing supporters on the way and crossing through variable weather as the summer heat faded and fall rain gave way to winter snow.
The group averaged about 20 to 25 miles a day and received support through donations and places to stay at night, Lane said.
On Wednesday, five of the original 10 made it to Glen Cove, including Tyho:geñhs, a member of the Onondaga Nation in New York state. Tyho:geñhs said he had initially been hesitant to join the walk, but was glad he did.
"It's been difficult at times and hard to be away from home and family," Tyho:geñhs said, noting that he left briefly to attend his daughter's graduation.
The group is set to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge from Marin County early Saturday in order to catch a ferry from San Francisco and return to Alcatraz Island later that day.
For more information, visit returntoalcatraz.com.
Longest Walk participant Tyho:geñhs, from New York state of the Onodaga Nation talks about the journey at the Glen Cove shellmound as the walk approaches its Saturday culmination on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)
A group of participants offer song and drumming after the end of a ceremony celebrating the arrival of the Longest Walk 4 at the Glen Cove shellmound in Vallejo. (Mike Jory/Times-Herald)
[http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_24755652/american-indian-activists-stop-vallejo-during-longest-walk]:
Indigenous activists who have been walking across country since July stopped Wednesday in Vallejo to honor the shellmound at Glen Cove.
50 people greeted the walkers on the shores of the Carquinez Strait. Indeed, the idea for the journey, known as "The Longest Walk 4: Return to Alcatraz," had its roots partly in the encampment that sprang up in 2011 at the Glen Cove Waterfront Park in protest of the Greater Vallejo Recreation District's planned development of the site.
"The first planning meeting took place here in 2011," said Michael Lane, nominally the logistics coordinator of the small group that set out from Washington, D.C., on July 5.
GVRD ultimately settled the issue with representatives of two Patwin tribes, who were not part of the occupation, to create a smaller park. The shellmound, known as Sogorea Te, was occupied for 109 days.
Lane had been part of the original Longest Walk, a 1978 trek from Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay to Washington, D.C. Alcatraz had been the site of perhaps the most spectacular demonstration of the American Indian Movement, a 19-month occupation of the former prison island that ended in June 1971.
"It was not a protest walk," Lane said, of both the first and the current journey. "It was an affirmation of Indian sovereignty. Thirty-five years later, we're still dealing with the same issues," Lane said.
The current walk is the culmination of the first, with the group returning to Alcatraz on Saturday after leaving it decades earlier, Lane said.
About 10 people started the journey, gaining and losing supporters on the way and crossing through variable weather as the summer heat faded and fall rain gave way to winter snow.
The group averaged about 20 to 25 miles a day and received support through donations and places to stay at night, Lane said.
On Wednesday, five of the original 10 made it to Glen Cove, including Tyho:geñhs, a member of the Onondaga Nation in New York state. Tyho:geñhs said he had initially been hesitant to join the walk, but was glad he did.
"It's been difficult at times and hard to be away from home and family," Tyho:geñhs said, noting that he left briefly to attend his daughter's graduation.
The group is set to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge from Marin County early Saturday in order to catch a ferry from San Francisco and return to Alcatraz Island later that day.
For more information, visit returntoalcatraz.com.
Longest Walk participant Tyho:geñhs, from New York state of the Onodaga Nation talks about the journey at the Glen Cove shellmound as the walk approaches its Saturday culmination on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)
A group of participants offer song and drumming after the end of a ceremony celebrating the arrival of the Longest Walk 4 at the Glen Cove shellmound in Vallejo. (Mike Jory/Times-Herald)
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Free David Douglass!
Justice for Andy Lopez Cruz! [link]
David Douglass, wrongfully arrested and charged with "suspicion of resisting arrest"!Politically targeted kidnapping, they just picked him up off the streets, to teach us all a lesson in crime-fighting... it's illegal when the People do it, social injustice will be amplified, and protesters will be punished, yeah, yeah, yeah! I am more interested in building up a solidarity network.
Jail the killer cop Erick Gelhous and his partner, NOT David Douglass, BAMN Organizer and leader of the new youth led civil rights/ immigrant rights movement. Justice for Andy Lopez! Keep marching for justice for Andy By Any Means Necessary! (Photograph from "Pocho-one Fotography" [https://www.facebook.com/pocho1.fotography]):
Note from Ed. A., who was also cited at the Justice for Andy Lopez rally:
None of the Press Democrat pictures of David being arrested show the JC in the background. This means that the Press Democrat photographers were facing East when they took the pictures, which means they had to have been standing West of the arrest, which means they had to have been even more in the street (or even in the oncoming lane) than the protesters were. because David was marching right inside the yellow lines on our side.
"Man pleads not guilty to charges related to Andy Lopez protest"
2013-12-17 by Paul Payne from "Press Democrat" monopolist newspaper [www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20131217/articles/131219613]:
Demonstrator David Douglass was arrested during a protest march over the shooting death of Andy Lopez in Santa Rosa on Nov. 26, 2013. (PD FILE, 2013)
Sonoma County prosecutors on Tuesday charged a second person with obstructing police officers during a protest of the killing of 13-year-old Andy Lopez.
David Douglass, 24, of Santa Rosa, faces possible jail time for allegedly refusing to get off the street during a Nov. 26 march down Mendocino Avenue.
The UC Berkeley student pleaded not guilty before Judge Rene Chouteau as about two dozen supporters looked on. Chouteau asked him to try to settle the case with prosecutors before returning to court Jan. 28.
“It’s just ridiculous,” Douglass said, standing beside his mother and a lawyer after the hearing. “These are bogus charges. They are targeting political leaders.”
He was the second person to be charged in two days for conduct during recent demonstrations over the death of Lopez. The teenager was shot to death Oct. 22 by Sonoma County sheriff’s Deputy Erick Gelhaus, who told police that he mistook an airsoft BB gun Lopez was carrying for an assault rifle.
Ramon Cairo, 30, of Santa Rosa, was charged with a felony and two misdemeanors Monday in what police said was an assault on a police officer during a Dec. 10 protest at City Hall. A third man, Joseluis Godoy, 24, of Santa Rosa, will appear in court Dec. 31 to face possible misdemeanor charges stemming from the same demonstration.
Protesters said a number of others received citations for minor violations. Organizers on Tuesday accused prosecutors of trying to silence law enforcement critics by charging them with crimes.
A spokeswoman for District Attorney Jill Ravitch has said the allegations target specific behavior.
“We are going to keep fighting for justice for Andy Lopez,” Yvette Felarca, an organizer for the Oakland-based group, By Any Means Necessary, said outside of court.
Police intimidation and bogus charges won't quench the fire for justice for Andy Lopez! With David Douglass' family after David was released from jail--doubly determined to win justice for Andy, and now joined by family!
2013-11-27 update from BAMN (Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary):
UPDATE: ANDY'S FRIENDS AND SANTA ROSA YOUTH HOLD THEIR GROUND AND TURN TABLES ON THE POLICE. THE FIGHT CONTINUES!
David Douglass, an immigrant rights and civil rights organizer with BAMN was released yesterday evening! David was arrested yesterday afternoon for standing proudly with the angry, determined, and defiant students and youth of Roseland and Santa Rosa as they demand Justice for Andy Lopez and the arrest and jailing of Andy’s murderer, Santa Rosa Sheriff Erick Gelhaus.
The march of approximately 80 middle school and high school youth was not deterred or cowed by the sheriffs' attempt to intimidate and harass our movement. The students did not back down in the face of David’s arrest; they immediately re-routed the march to the DA's office and then to Sonoma County Detention facility to demand David’s release.
The sheriffs at the Detention Center were not expecting the march to come their, way and in a panic they scrambled to lock-down the whole facility. No one was allowed in or out for the 3-hour lock down.
What was abundantly clear yesterday afternoon was that the students and youth – Andy’s friends and classmates – are the leaders of this movement and that the Latina/o and immigrant communities of Roseland and Santa Rosa have the power to win. Because the students have the impassioned support of the Latina/o and immigrant communities and beyond, a group of students could force the sheriffs department to lockdown their own detention facility.
The police had hoped to use the arrest to intimidate the youth; instead, the youth turned the tables on them and marched on the jail, more spirited than ever, and it was the police who had to cower behind locked doors.
The police targeted David because of his political leadership and to send a message of continued racist intimidation. They hurt him when they arrested him and, while he was in custody, they questioned him about his citizenship status in the same way they threaten and harass Latina/o and immigrant youth in Santa Rosa all the time.
Their intimidation tactics didn't work: David and the other youth marching are committed to fighting for justice for Andy Lopez by any means necessary.
What the powers-that-be, including the so-called "community leaders" in Santa Rosa, fear most is our communities rising up. It is the policy of every politician in Santa Rosa, including District Attorney Jill Ravitch, to continue the cover-up of Andy’s murder, to protect Erick Gelhaus and his partner from any accountability whatsoever, and to make sure the sheriff, police, and ICE agents are free to continue to harass, profile, brutalize, and even kill Latina/o and immigrant youth with impunity. The politicians and the DA are counting on members of the city council, the chamber of commerce, the school board, the principals, lawyers, and self-proclaimed "community leaders" to try to shut the movement down, turn it into electoral politics, into accepting only a civil suit settlement or only a memorial park instead of criminal charges against Gelhaus and winning real justice for Andy.
The only people who aren’t prepared to accept that are Andy’s friends and classmates and the communities they represent. The fight for Justice for Andy Lopez is the fight for our futures and the futures of our families, friends, and loved ones. It is the fight to end the New Jim Crow in
Roseland and Santa Rosa; to end separate and unequal and the racist second-class treatment we’ve had to endure. We demand the full equality, respect, and dignity that we deserve. We demand the charges against David Douglass be dropped immediately. We demand the arrest of Andy’s murderer, Sheriff Gelhaus. We demand full citizenship rights for everyone who lives here, works here, and goes to school here.
Dara Rae McCuistion posted to David Douglass page at "Facebook.com", 2013-11-26:
My friends, David Douglas has been targeted and arrested by SRPD during a peaceful march for Andy Lopez. We are at the jail right now demanding his release.
They were going after people with clipboards, who were obviously organizers or activists. At this time i don't know if anyone else was arrested.
Update: there is rumor that He is being charged with misdemeanor. His bail is set at $2500.
Justin C. posted to "Andy Lopez: No Justice, No Peace" page at "Facebook.com", 2013-11-26:
BAMN Organizer David Douglass was arrested at the peaceful protest for justice for Andy today. He was the only one arrested because he was targeted for being one of the strongest fighter and leader in the movement. It is insane that the killer cop Eric Gilhaus still walking free while David who is fighting for justice got arrested. We demand that David be release and Gilhaus be jailed and charged with murder immediately. There will be NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE! with BAMN - Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary
"Food, Not Bombs!" feeds those in need without discrimination!
"Food Not Bombs co-founder Keith McHenry keeps positive attitude"
2013-12-13 by Terri Morgan for "Santa Cruz Sentinel" [http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/santacruz/ci_24720986/food-not-bombs-co-founder-keith-mchenry-keeps]:
Keith McHenry, who co-founded Food Not Bombs in Massachusetts 33 years ago, was in Santa Cruz as part of his "Smashing Hunger, Squashing Poverty" speaking tour. (Terri Morgan/Contributed) ( SCS )
Holly Mayer, who volunteers with the Santa Cruz Chapter of Food Not Bombs helped serve people a free meal. (Terri Morgan/Sentinel) ( SCS )
Food Not Bombs volunteer Jean Piraino helped prepare a meal for the audience at Thursday's talk. (Terri Morgan/Sentinel) ( SCS )
SANTA CRUZ -- Even after 33 years, thousands of interviews, hundreds of nights spent in jail, and millions of meals served, the co-founder of the Food Not Bombs movement is still enthusiastic about the organization.
Keith McHenry, who launched the group with seven friends in 1980, talked excitedly about the volunteer movement, which has since spread to 1,000 different communities around the world.
Food Not Bombs is dedicated to collecting food from stores and distributors that can't be sold, and using it to cook and provide vegan or vegetarian meals for the hungry. Along with reducing food waste, the organization tries to inspire people to work for social change. As well as solving problems like hunger, poverty and homelessness, the group also seeks to stop wars and the destruction of the environment.
"We're trying to stop policies that are increasing climate change," McHenry said, adding those policies include clear cutting, and planting genetically modified food crops. "Climate change is directly leading to an increase in hunger."
In Santa Cruz Thursday evening, as part of his "Smashing Hunger, Squashing Poverty" speaking tour, McHenry spoke to about 60 people about human needs, and to advocate for the government spend more money on social services than on bombs.
"You have severe cuts in food stamps while an increasing percent of (government) spending the most recent budget is for the military," McHenry said. "What they're doing is taking funding out of social services."
At the same time, municipalities across the nation are following the lead of 50 cities and passing laws banning or limited the practice of sharing food in public, he said.
McHenry has been arrested more than 100 times for violating such laws, and faced a sentence of 25 years to life in California as part of the state's three-strikes law.
"Even though we provide meals and groceries to thousands of people we are not a charity," McHenry said. "Food Not Bombs is trying to inspire the public to participate in changing society."
The talk was hosted by the Santa Cruz chapter of Food Not Bombs, which has been serving hot meals every Saturday afternoon outside the downtown post office for the past year. Volunteers gave the audience of taste of their work, by providing a full meal that included salad, rolls, vegetable stew and green beans. The meal also included fresh fruit and a choice of deserts, and volunteers encouraged people to take vegetables and other groceries with them before they left the event.
"We try to always do vegan food, but if someone gives us cooked meat we don't refuse it," said Abbi Samuels, a volunteer with the Santa Cruz chapter. Last month, for example, a group that provided a free Thanksgiving meal in the community donated several pans of leftover turkey she said.
Roughly 15 people volunteer regularly with the local chapter, and more are needed, she said. The work is rewarding, Samuels said.
"I got involved because I wanted to help others," she said. "It's very rewarding to see people (eat the meals) because they are so thankful."
There is also a huge need, she noted. "There are close to 4,000 homeless people in Santa Cruz County," Samuels said.
2013-12-13 by Terri Morgan for "Santa Cruz Sentinel" [http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/santacruz/ci_24720986/food-not-bombs-co-founder-keith-mchenry-keeps]:
Keith McHenry, who co-founded Food Not Bombs in Massachusetts 33 years ago, was in Santa Cruz as part of his "Smashing Hunger, Squashing Poverty" speaking tour. (Terri Morgan/Contributed) ( SCS )
Holly Mayer, who volunteers with the Santa Cruz Chapter of Food Not Bombs helped serve people a free meal. (Terri Morgan/Sentinel) ( SCS )
Food Not Bombs volunteer Jean Piraino helped prepare a meal for the audience at Thursday's talk. (Terri Morgan/Sentinel) ( SCS )
SANTA CRUZ -- Even after 33 years, thousands of interviews, hundreds of nights spent in jail, and millions of meals served, the co-founder of the Food Not Bombs movement is still enthusiastic about the organization.
Keith McHenry, who launched the group with seven friends in 1980, talked excitedly about the volunteer movement, which has since spread to 1,000 different communities around the world.
Food Not Bombs is dedicated to collecting food from stores and distributors that can't be sold, and using it to cook and provide vegan or vegetarian meals for the hungry. Along with reducing food waste, the organization tries to inspire people to work for social change. As well as solving problems like hunger, poverty and homelessness, the group also seeks to stop wars and the destruction of the environment.
"We're trying to stop policies that are increasing climate change," McHenry said, adding those policies include clear cutting, and planting genetically modified food crops. "Climate change is directly leading to an increase in hunger."
In Santa Cruz Thursday evening, as part of his "Smashing Hunger, Squashing Poverty" speaking tour, McHenry spoke to about 60 people about human needs, and to advocate for the government spend more money on social services than on bombs.
"You have severe cuts in food stamps while an increasing percent of (government) spending the most recent budget is for the military," McHenry said. "What they're doing is taking funding out of social services."
At the same time, municipalities across the nation are following the lead of 50 cities and passing laws banning or limited the practice of sharing food in public, he said.
McHenry has been arrested more than 100 times for violating such laws, and faced a sentence of 25 years to life in California as part of the state's three-strikes law.
"Even though we provide meals and groceries to thousands of people we are not a charity," McHenry said. "Food Not Bombs is trying to inspire the public to participate in changing society."
The talk was hosted by the Santa Cruz chapter of Food Not Bombs, which has been serving hot meals every Saturday afternoon outside the downtown post office for the past year. Volunteers gave the audience of taste of their work, by providing a full meal that included salad, rolls, vegetable stew and green beans. The meal also included fresh fruit and a choice of deserts, and volunteers encouraged people to take vegetables and other groceries with them before they left the event.
"We try to always do vegan food, but if someone gives us cooked meat we don't refuse it," said Abbi Samuels, a volunteer with the Santa Cruz chapter. Last month, for example, a group that provided a free Thanksgiving meal in the community donated several pans of leftover turkey she said.
Roughly 15 people volunteer regularly with the local chapter, and more are needed, she said. The work is rewarding, Samuels said.
"I got involved because I wanted to help others," she said. "It's very rewarding to see people (eat the meals) because they are so thankful."
There is also a huge need, she noted. "There are close to 4,000 homeless people in Santa Cruz County," Samuels said.
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