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the 13th juror 
A poverty lawyer (and, by the way, law professor) comments on news and court decisions ... with a few other random thoughts thrown in here and there\r\n\r\n
Post Frequency: 0/day Last Entry: November 13, 2009 at 10:52:00 Recent Entries: 305
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UN investigator accuses US of shameful neglect of homeless
Posted on November 13, 2009A United Nations special investigator has accused the American government of pouring billions of dollars into rescuing banks and big business while treating as "invisible" a deepening homeless crisis.Raquel Rolnik, the UN special rapporteur for the right to adequate housing, who has just completed a seven-city tour of America, said it was shameful that a country as wealthy as the US was not spending more money on lifting its citizens out of homelessness and substandard, overcrowded housing...
Why a church is banned from feeding the needy
Posted on November 10, 2009The kitchen is closed at a Phoenix church that fed the homeless.CrossRoads United Methodist Church lost an appeal over a city ordinance that bans charity dining halls in residential neighborhoods.The hearing officer, retired Arizona Supreme Court Justice Robert Corcoran, ruled that feeding the homeless at a place of worship can be banned by city ordinance...
Do laws against camping in public spaces amount to cruel and unusual punishment?
Posted on November 09, 2009Seven homeless Boise residents are suing the city and the police department, saying that rules against camping in public spaces amount to cruel and unusual punishment in a city where shelters are overflowing.The lawsuit, filed in federal court, echoes similar cases popping up around the nation, all targeting rules that advocates say amount to the criminalization of homelessness...
Court ruling "basically knocks our legal arguments out right underneath us"
Posted on November 08, 2009Johnny Lee Smith holds a sign asking for donations as he stands on the side of a road in Medford, Oregon.The city of Medford, Oregon, has backed away from appealing a court decision that found the city's panhandling law unconstitutional. But the city's police chief told council members a new proposal to control begging is in the works...
Business owners plan memorial for homeless man
Posted on November 07, 2009Business owners in Fort Lauderdale repeatedly tried to convince Douglas Schutt to stop boozing and living outdoors, but he refused.Business owners on Las Olas Boulevard knew him as a helpful, homeless man who washed cars and did other cleaning chores in exchange for a few dollars...
Jury awards $41K to homeless victim of frat shooting
Posted on November 04, 2009A jury awarded $41,421.06 in damages to a homeless man who was shot by an Oregon State University fraternity member in 2006. Dennis Sanderson, who since has found lodging, will receive $6,421.06 for his medical expenses and $35,000 for non-economic damages...
Teens plead not guilty in YouTube beatdown of homeless man
Posted on November 03, 2009Two teen-agers charged with an attack on a homeless man in Pompano Beach that was filmed and posted online have pleaded not guilty.Those men -- Nicholas Bakum, 19, of Lighthouse Point, and William Sleight, 19, of Deerfield Beach -- are among four suspects accused of roughing up 54-year-old James Cunningham...
A twisted tale of government getting in its own way
Posted on November 02, 2009To see a twisted tale of government getting in its own way, look no further than Palm Beach County's efforts to turn $7.5 million in federal stimulus money into a homeless center.Federal restrictions on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program grant are so confining as to make success nearly impossible...
Holidays soup up the debate about feeding Gainesville's homeless
Posted on November 01, 2009Public outcry against city laws limiting how many destitute people can be served at any one location is reverberating in Gainesville as the city's largest meal provider on Thanksgiving and Christmas grapples with a 130-meal limit.Kent Vann, executive director of the St...
Did fraternity cultivate "an environment of animosity towards homeless"?
Posted on October 31, 2009A jury will decide whether an Oregon State University fraternity is responsible for the shooting of a homeless man.One of its members, Josh Grimes, shot Dennis Sanderson in the leg in October 2006 with a .22-caliber rifle, aiming from a window of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity house...
Teens busted for YouTube beat down of homeless man
Posted on October 30, 2009Four young men accused of roughing up a homeless man in Pompano Beach and then posting videos of the beating on the Internet are facing charges of kidnapping and battery.Detectives found the videos online while investigating a deadly Oakland Park beating...
Arrestee in Ocoee homeless man's murder wants more freedom
Posted on October 29, 2009Joel Boner (center) was attacked outside his tent at an Ocoee homeless camp and stabbed in the back as many as seven times.John Hawthorne, 19, faces a second-degree murder charge in the Ocoee slaying of homeless man Joel David Boner. He's out awaiting trial on $25,000 bond, wearing a GPS anklet (they call that "electronic supervision")...
2 teens convicted in beating death of homeless man
Posted on October 28, 2009A second teen was convicted this morning in the beating death of a homeless man in Pontiac, Michigan, more than a year ago.Dontez Tillman and Thomas McCloud, both 15, face life in prison without parole for first-degree felony murder. The two were convicted in Wilford Hamilton's death...
Changing the subject: From welfare to poverty to a living income
Posted on October 27, 2009"For nearly forty years, the dominant political discourse about poverty in the United States has focused on welfare rather than poverty itself, even as disparities between the wealthiest and those at the bottom widened spectacularly," writes Peter Edelman, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center...
Beating victim testifies in homeless men's murders
Posted on October 25, 2009He described it as a night of terror.Anthony Pace, a warehouse manager of a Salvation Army store in Pontiac, Michigan, took the witness stand and and described how he was brutally beaten in a random attack by a group of teen boys as he walked home from work late one night in August 2008...
Is Hillsborough's proposal for a homeless shelter "half-baked"?
Posted on October 23, 2009In the opinion of the St. Petersburg Times, it has become increasingly clear why Hillsborough County has the worst homeless problem of any county in Florida."Just a week after derailing a thoughtful, detailed plan by Catholic Charities for a homeless camp east of Tampa, the County Commission's follow-up amounted to a half-baked idea from Commissioner Kevin White, who proposed creating a homeless shelter in an office park on the north side of town...
Poverty is up, but how much?
Posted on October 21, 2009The way you measure poverty makes a big difference in the results you get.The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that 15.8% of Americans lived in poverty last year, using an alternative gauge that differs sharply from the 13.2% official poverty rate the agency released last month...
Homeless woman dies in jail cell
Posted on October 20, 2009With 63 arrests since 2004 and at least 16 convictions, all for misdemeanors or violations of city ordinances related to public intoxication or trespassing, Sunny Swanson was well known to police.Around campfires deep in the woods, sometimes with a drinking buddy her friends called "The Shadow," Sunny Swanson talked about her dream -- getting off the booze and finding an apartment...
Thousands wait in line for Section 8 housing
Posted on October 20, 2009Thousands of people lined up today in Daytona Beach and DeLand for a chance to apply for government-subsidized housing.It's the first time in five years that new applications for the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program, commonly known as Section 8, have been accepted in Volusia County...
Should attacks on the homeless be added to hate-crime laws?
Posted on October 20, 2009There's momentum building around the country to include people who are homeless in state and federal hate-crime law.Maryland, Maine and Washington, D.C., have added attacks against homeless people to their hate-crime laws. Florida is considering harsher penalties for attacking homeless people...
Random beating illustrates vulnerability of a silent population, experts say
Posted on October 19, 2009The attackers came from all directions, as best that Darrick can remember.It was early, 4:30 a.m in Chicago. Darrick, 37, who was homeless, was on his way to the "L" so he could nap on a train.Someone poured a beer on him, then broke the bottle over his head...
"Criminalizing panhandling does nothing to address the state of homelessness"
Posted on October 15, 2009Alan Graham, President/CEO of Mobile Loaves and Fishes, has a great response to Austin's plan to expand its ban on panhandling:Panhandling is a symptom of homelessness. Criminalizing panhandling does nothing to address the state of homelessness. Study after study supports that...
Church wins fight for homeless ministry
Posted on October 15, 2009Just for Jesus serves mostly disabled veterans, low-level offenders, evicted homeowners and renters, and people referred by mental-health agencies.A Pennsylvania church that houses homeless people has won $100,000 in damages and attorneys' fees from the borough that tried to shut down the program...
A giant step backwards: Hillsborough commissioners reject tent city plan
Posted on October 14, 2009Mimi Paez (center) claps after a request for a homeless encampment was turned down.Photo by The New York TimesWhen retirees say they have bought guns to protect themselves from a plan to house the homeless a quarter mile from their neighborhood, Florida politicians pay attention...
Whose sensibilities would be spared by an expanded ban on panhandling?
Posted on October 13, 2009Whose sensibilities would be spared by an expanded ban on panhandling?, asks The Austin American-Statesman."We can't get past this: If a well-dressed person has the right to ask you for change for a meter, then a poorly-dressed person has the right to ask you for change for food (regardless of how it's really spent)," the newspaper says...
Mistake sends 700 gourmet meals to soup kitchen
Posted on October 12, 2009A mix-up over dates ended up sending 700 gourmet meals intended for the Presidents Cup golf tournament to a San Francisco soup kitchen.It started Wednesday morning, when city event coordinator Martha Cohen tried to find out what smelled so good at one of the tournament tents...
DeLand may outlaw panhandling downtown
Posted on October 11, 2009The City of DeLand is drafting a new law to regulate panhandling.In its draft form, the new law draws a distinction between panhandling, which the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled is a form of free speech, and ?aggressive panhandling,? which is defined as panhandling by a group, or panhandling accompanied by profane language, threats or deception...
Florida ranks nearly last for percentage of kids covered by health insurance
Posted on October 09, 2009Florida ranked 50th in the nation for the percentage of its children covered by health insurance, according to a scorecard released by The Commonwealth Fund.Overall, Florida ranked 44th among all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the performance of its health system, based on measurements that included access to care, prevention and treatment of disease, costs, and avoidable hospital use...
They still don't want you to sleep on the beach, so they're fixing up a parking lot
Posted on October 08, 2009A temporary sleeping area for the homeless in a parking lot is being created in Laguna Beach, California. It's expected to open next month. Laguna Beach repealed a ban on sleeping on the street earlier this year after the ACLU filed a lawsuit alleging the rule was unconstitutional...
Home runs for the homeless
Posted on October 07, 2009The Philadelphia Phillies and the Colorado Rockies have a chance to hit a home run for the homeless in their playoff series that begins today.The mayors of Denver and Philadelphia are this year eschewing the traditional gimmicky playoff sports bet ? Philly cheesesteaks! Rocky Mountain oysters! ? and instead wagering money to help the needy...
Homeless man gets 15 years for stealing cereal and milk
Posted on October 05, 2009Mark Anthony Griffin leaves the courtroom after being sentenced.Photo by The LedgerA homeless man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after trying to steal a box of Lucky Charms and a can of milk from a store in Lakeland.Prosecutors requested Griffin be sentenced as a "prison releasee reoffender," which enhances the punishment against defendants convicted of certain crimes within three years of being released from prison...
Confessing to mixed feelings about panhandlers
Posted on October 04, 2009"Do they really need the help?" asks Allen Johnson, a reporter in Greensboro, North Carolina.* "Am I simply providing drug money?"Of course, there are ways to give so you can be sure your money goes to a good cause: United Way, food banks, the Salvation Army and myriad other causes...
Fort Lauderdale cops cleared of charges they unfairly targeted homeless people
Posted on October 03, 2009Broward prosecutors have dismissed a claim that Fort Lauderdale police officers unfairly targeted homeless people to win days off or gift cards to a movie theater.The complaints were brought last year by veteran officer Michael Hennessy, who said senior officers developed incentives that resulted in the unfair treatment of homeless people in Fort Lauderdale...
May my clothes please the court ...
Posted on October 02, 2009A lawyer who wore jeans and a baseball cap to court filed a federal suit after he was told his attire was inappropriate, alleging violations of his 1st and 14th Amendment rights.The federal judge did not see it that way. A courtroom is a "staid environment," said Judge Nicholas Garaufis, and a judge can enforce "commonly shared mores of courtroom civility...
Trial date set in stabbing death of homeless man
Posted on October 01, 2009A trial has been scheduled for May 17 for a teen-ager accused of stabbing a homeless man to death in July.John Hawthorne, 19, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Joel David Boner, 32, in July. The trial is set for May 17.Ocoee police said Hawthorne and a friend found a camp where some homeless people live on land once owned by Hawthorne's family...
Sleep out for the homeless: worst fundraiser ever?
Posted on September 30, 2009"Don't let the name fool you," says Dominic Mapstone over at End Homelessness. "Instead of being a gritty, real-life glimpse into the devastation of homelessness, they are simply glorified slumber parties."So what does it matter? Well, people (mostly kids) sleeping out in a controlled environment may think they have experienced a night on the streets, but they can easily go home with inaccurate assumptions based on their so-called experience...
Innocence and guilt are funny things in America
Posted on September 30, 2009"If you are rich and guilty, if you have defrauded banks and customers and investment firms of billions of dollars," writes Chris Hedges, "if you wear fancy suits and have degrees from elite universities that cost more per year than Brown used to make, you get taxpayer money...
Homeless man beaten to death in jail cell
Posted on September 29, 2009A 35-year-old homeless man, being held on charges of being drunk and disorderly, was found dead in his cell in a Louisiana jail, apparently beaten to death.He was also stripped of all his clothing.His three cellmates are being questioned in connection with what police are treating as a homicide...
Homeless set up temporary camp outside mayor's home
Posted on September 29, 2009Carrying bags of belongings and their bedding, and under the watchful eye of Seattle police officers, a few dozen homeless and advocates for the homeless set up temporary camp in front of Mayor Greg Nickels' West Seattle home about 8:30 p.m. Monday.It was one of what the group SHARE/WHEEL* says will be a series of campouts at politicians' homes, according to its Web site...
Sanford may pass tougher panhandling laws
Posted on September 24, 2009The city of Sanford wants to be able to arrest some of its most aggressive panhandlers. Downtown business leaders have been pushing for tougher panhandling laws for years and now the city is about to pass them.However, there's nothing illegal about begging for money...
Cold-case murder of homeless man solved, police say
Posted on September 23, 2009Police describe it as "four-year-old murder mystery."The mystery began when the remains of John Gavin, a 67-year-old homeless man, were found in the woods in Brevard County in 2005.David Wayne Slaton, 33, of Kathleen, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder, the Brevard County Sheriff's Office said...
Florida is the only state where median income decreased
Posted on September 22, 2009It's not exactly breaking news (most of you knew this by just looking around), but incomes in Florida are dropping.According to new census data, the median household income in Florida fell from $47,804 to $47,778 between 2007 and 2008, a decline of .01%...
A homeless shelter so nice you might want to live there, too
Posted on September 20, 2009The Spring Gardens Center, near London, England, offers a fresh approach to designing shelters as places of transformation.Instead of sticking homeless people in dank, miserable-looking shelters, why not put them in open, airy accommodations that inspire confidence?That's the idea behind Spring Gardens, a hostel for the homeless built by St...
Pinellas Hope deserves support, the Times says
Posted on September 19, 2009Primarily a tent facility, Pinellas Hope also has 10 simple sheds for people with special medical needs and exemplary camp members.As Catholic Charities broke ground on a transitional apartment building at Pinellas Hope, the St. Petersburg Times called on the county to provide dedicated dollars to make sure the success of the so-called "tent city" for the homeless continues...
2,300+ low-income Florida families could lose housing assistance
Posted on September 18, 2009More than 2,300 low-income Florida families could have their rental assistance reduced or eliminated as a result of a shortfall in funding for the Housing Choice Voucher Program* in 2009.Twenty housing authorities in Florida are among about 400 nationwide that may be forced to reduce the number of low-income families they serve, despite rising need as a result of increasing unemployment and poverty...
A bit of shameless self-promotion
Posted on September 18, 2009If you've got a minute, head over to the People Power Hour heroes page and vote for Legal Advocacy at Work. If we win (and we're in the lead as of this writing), we'll get a chance to appear on the radio show and spread our message about homelessness and social justice.
Victory in a food-sharing case! (No, not ours)
Posted on September 16, 2009A preliminary victory has been won in a lawsuit against the city of Dallas, challenging an ordinance that severely restricts locations where groups can share food, prohibiting many groups from providing food in locations where they have served homeless individuals for years...
Florida's safety net among the nation's weakest
Posted on September 16, 2009Florida ranked 48th among the states in the share of needy people receiving benefits, and fell into the bottom 10 states in four of six categories.? Only 7% of poor children and parents in Florida receive cash welfare. In Vermont, the top-ranking state, 49% do...
An open letter to YouTube: Stop the hate against homeless people!
Posted on September 14, 2009Over at LA's homeless blog, Joel John Roberts has posted an open letter to YouTube.Nearly 86,000 videos of degrading acts against homeless people have been posted on YouTube, the National Coalition for the Homeless announced this past July."Allowing 86,000 videos of blatant degradation of hurting, homeless people is simply immoral, and frankly, contributes to a national environment of dehumanizing people who are suffering on our streets," the letter says...
"Because I got jumped in my sleep, I got off the street"
Posted on September 13, 2009In May, Mike Montoya was beaten while sleeping at a boarded up motel in Salt Lake City. The attack spurred him give up his homeless lifestyle. "Because I got jumped in my sleep, I got off the street," Montoya said.As he remembers it, Mike Montoya was sleeping when two young men -- one with a wooden bat -- beat him severely in May...
Grim new economic data: Millions more thrust into poverty
Posted on September 13, 2009The number of Americans living in poverty increased by nearly 2.6 million to 13.2% in 2008 -- a stark reminder of the toll the recession was already taking on families even before the economic picture worsened this year.Last year's 39.8 million poor people comprise the highest number of Americans living in poverty since 1960...
I haven't given up ...
Posted on September 13, 2009I've just been struggling with my home Internet connection. Might have the problem solved now. I hope so.
Would health-care reform reduce homelessness?
Posted on July 30, 2009The Obama Administration says yes, extending publicly-funded programs such as Medicaid and Medicare is essential to combating homelessness in America."We already know that simply having 46 million uninsured people in this country clearly contributes to persistent and widespread homelessness," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, speaking in Washington at the annual conference of the National Alliance to End Homelessness...
March on Gainesville City Hall protests limit on meals for the homeless
Posted on July 30, 2009About 25 marchers walk toward Gainesville City Hall, chanting "People need to eat" and carrying signs to protest limits on how many people can be fed at St. Francis House.About 25 people marched to City Hall in hopes of spurring the city to lift the 130-meals-a-day restriction on the St...
Another convert to Housing First
Posted on July 27, 2009The number of homeless families housed in motels across Massachusetts is at a peak. This unfortunate statistic has prompted the state to admit that the approach it has used over the years to address homelessness has not solved the problem.Massachusetts has shifted its approach on homelessness from a sheltering model to a "housing first" model...
15-year-old arrested in homeless man's murder
Posted on July 26, 2009A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in the murder of a homeless man whose body was found at an encampment in downtown Reno, Nevada.An autopsy determined that Eric Burkart, 55, suffered violent, traumatic injuries before he died.The teen was taken into custody on a charge of murder...
Return of the Gilded Age*
Posted on July 26, 2009"Here's a truism: The wealthiest 1 percent have never had it so good."According to government figures, 1 percenters' share of America's total income is the highest it's been since 1929, and their tax rates are the lowest they've faced in two decades."Read David Sirota's column here...
Teen charged stabbing death of homeless man in Ocoee
Posted on July 22, 2009A homeless man was stabbed 15 times by a teen using a 6-inch pocket knife after a confrontation at a camp site, Ocoee police said.Joel David Boner, 32, collapsed a short time later near the site west of Orlando.John Hawthorne, 19, was charged with first-degree murder...
Teens charged with killing a homeless man over $7 and a case of beer
Posted on July 19, 2009Two teenagers have been arrested in the slaying of a homeless man found dead at his camp in Anchorage, Alaska.The two robbed James Gordon Lockery of $7 and a case of beer, charging documents say. They kicked and punched the him several times then left, drank the beer and later came back to Lockery's campsite and beat him to death...
Here's a Number 1 ranking!
Posted on July 15, 2009Orlando Food Not Bombs was voted Best Local Charitable Group in the Orlando Weekly's Best of Orlando! See the rankings here (scroll down to the readers' poll results for Food Not Bombs' listing).
Foreclosure Survival Guide (free online)
Posted on July 15, 2009Nolo is making its Foreclosure Survival Guide available for free online. In addition to a wealth of information on bankruptcy and foreclosure, the guide also contains tips on nonprofit housing counselors, finding a lawyer, bankruptcy petition preparers and researching the law...
4 Florida cities listed among the 'meanest' to homeless people
Posted on July 14, 2009St. Petersburg, Orlando, Gainesville and Bradenton are ranked among the "meanest" in the nation to homeless people.The report comes from the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and the National Coalition for the Homeless.It tracks what it calls a growing trend in U...
Businessman offers to pay panhandler's debt to Tom Brady
Posted on July 14, 2009Dennis Paiva can retire his begging cup, thanks to a businessman who has offered to pay the $4,000 in restitution that the ex-con owes for walking off with Tom Brady?s pricey Belgian flower boxes.?For them to come forward and do this for me, it?s like a dream come true...
Teen surrenders at jail in homeless hit-and-run case
Posted on July 11, 2009Five months after a fatal hit-and-run, 17-year-old Jordan Valdez surrendered for booking into the county jail. She faces one count of leaving the scene of an accident with death, a first-degree felony that carries a maximum punishment of 30 years in prison...
Buddy, can you spare a dime for Tom Brady?
Posted on July 11, 2009Dennis Paiva, who lifted -- he says mistakenly -- two flower boxes worth $8,000 from Tom Brady, panhandles on a Boston street in order to repay the football star.A 61-year-old ex-con, who was arrested for taking two Belgian flower boxes worth $8,000 from Tom Brady, is now on the street panhandling to repay the New England Patriots quarterback...
Should attacks on the homeless be added to Florida's hate crimes law?
Posted on July 10, 2009A bill that would add crimes committed with malice against the homeless to Florida's list of hate crimes has been filed."Homeless men and women are often sought out as easy targets," said state Rep. Ari Porth, who's a prosecutor in the Broward State Attorney's Office when the Legislature isn't in session...
Another voice for the homeless joins the blogosphere
Posted on July 07, 2009The National Alliance to End Homelessness has launched a blog which will cover some broad themes of homelessness, including different subpopulations, federal legislation, data and reports, and other similar topics. The blog will also cover topics related to developing issues in homelessness, including specific demographics, new information, the relationship between homelessness and poverty, as well as different advocacy groups and agencies...
Homeless sex offenders don't have to register, state court rules
Posted on July 03, 2009Convicted sexual offenders cannot be held subject to Megan's Law registration requirements if they are homeless, a Pennsylvania court has ruled.Because he could not find a home after being released from prison in 2007 on sexual assault charges, William H...
Teen gets life in prison for killing homeless man
Posted on July 02, 2009A Texas teenager has been sentenced to life in prison for beating a homeless man to death in a trash bin.Sixteen-year-old Michael Martinez Jr. of Abilene was tried as an adult in the 2007 death of 48-year-old Eric McMahon.Martinez received the maximum sentence and will be eligible for parole in 30 years...
Police officer quits after he slashed homeless man's bike tires
Posted on July 01, 2009A police officer resigned this morning from the Tarpon Springs Police Department after an internal investigation determined that he slashed the bicycle tires of a homeless man.Officer Jeffrey Robinson had retaliated for the homeless man's use of racial slurs Jan...
Teen convicted of killing homeless man
Posted on July 01, 2009A jury took less than two hours to convict an Abilene teenager of murder in the beating death of a homeless man in 2007.Sixteen-year-old Michael Martinez Jr. could face up to life in prison.Eric McMahon, 48, was killed when he was hit by cinder blocks and kicked...
An invisible woman will be laid to rest
Posted on June 28, 2009For most of her adult life, 48-year-old Marcia Powell was invisible. Then she died, and slowly came into view.Powell had been in and out of jail for decades, unable to overcome mental illness. She roamed the streets and had been in and out of jail for decades...
City Hall garden feeds the homeless
Posted on June 28, 2009Ursula Sheffel helps harvest an early crop of vegetables, planted in front of Baltimore City Hall, for delivery to a homeless resource center.The vegetable gardens planted around Baltimore's War Memorial Plaza in front of City Hall have produced more than 1,500 pounds of vegetables for the kitchens of Our Daily Bread, which feeds the homeless...
It's okay to sleep on the beach again
Posted on June 27, 2009Police will no longer arrest, cite or harass people under state law for sleeping in public places in Laguna Beach, California, as long as there are no public health or safety concerns.In settling a lawsuit, the city also agreed to ?seal, expunge or destroy? citations that were written, and convictions obtained, under the city?s own ?anti-sleeping? ordinance...
Mango and raspberry dressing
Posted on June 24, 2009A little breeze made tonight's dinner even better. It's been oh so hot lately.On the Food Not Bombs menu at Orlando's Lake Eola Park: mango-raspberry dressing on spinach leaves, black bean soup, Mexican rice, roasted asparagus, green bean casserole and strawberries and blueberries for dessert...
"Hunger can be a positive motivator."
Posted on June 24, 2009Only someone who has never been seriously hungry could say that.The quote comes from state representative Cynthia Davis, who serves as chairwoman of the Missouri House Special Standing Committee on Children and Families.She was criticizing a summer program that will provide free breakfast and lunch to needy children because it costs money ("increased government spending")...
Forget about compassion. This makes economic sense!
Posted on June 21, 2009Kelly Hall, a new shelter in Punta Gorda, embraces a controversial model of allowing residents to continue drinking and using drugs during their stay for up two years."It goes against conventional wisdom," said Jerry Thompson, president of Coastal Behavioral Health Care, the nonprofit group running the program...
Still in limbo
Posted on June 20, 2009Paulla Anderson lived for a year and a half in Gainesville's Tent City and is now looking for a place to live. "We've had to move three times this week, and we still have nowhere to go," she said.The deadline for residents of Tent City to get out or be charged with trespassing was generally observed, Gainesville police said...
Dumpster diving for cardboard and other adventures on the street
Posted on June 20, 2009Over at Mobile Loaves & Fishes, Alan is sharing the experiences of the folks doing a Street Retreat.A group of men and women from different backgrounds and different walks of life set out for 72 hours on the streets with no food, water, telephones, credit cards, or cash...
Take a tour of Nickelsville
Posted on June 19, 2009My colleague @hardlynormal shares the story of Nicklesville, a real community of homeless people.Hardly Normal is at Nickelsville in Seattle. Day 1Thanks for sharing this powerful story. Don't ever stop, Mark.
Homeless man in wheelchair burned to death
Posted on June 19, 2009Homicide detectives are investigating the death of a man whose partially burned body was found in a wheelchair.Los Angeles police received a call around 2:50 a.m. Friday from someone who spotted a small fire in a strip mall near a pizza parlor.The victim, a homeless man, was on fire and his body was badly charred...
Teens pretended to be cops, harassed homeless man
Posted on June 18, 2009Two teenage boys have been arrested for posing as law enforcement officers and accosting two men -- one of them homeless.The two and a third teen approached a 56-year-old homeless man and a 20-year-old man in Wichita, Kansas, claiming to be police. Two of the teens were dressed in dark pants and black T-shirts with the word "Sheriff" printed on them, the victims told police...
Homeless men deny guilt in firefighter's death
Posted on June 16, 2009Two homeless men charged with murder for allegedly setting a fire that resulted in the death of a veteran firefighter have pleaded not guilty.Lawyers for Emilio Vasquez and Jose Flores say their clients did not intend to kill firefighter Gary Stephens, a 28-year veteran...
"In 16 days, my son and I will be homeless ..."
Posted on June 15, 2009"I?ve been without work for 3 years," writes Stephanie Ericsson. "Lost my house, my garden, my bank account of 30 years, and -- almost -- my self-respect. Lost a few friends and some family too (becoming homeless will re-write your address book for you) and discovered the extremes of, both, the lengths some people will go to in order to help and the depths some people will go to in order to take advantage of you...
Did the deputy mayor really encourage homeless people to sleep in the parks?
Posted on June 14, 2009"In doorways of shops in downtown St. Petersburg, Fla., one finds people sleeping and urinating amid piles of filthy blankets and empty bottles," the USA Today article begins.The article looks at efforts in many cities throughout the country to get tough on people they describe not as homeless but as beggars...
"My ten hellish days living on the streets"
Posted on June 14, 2009Former British tennis star Annabel Croft spent 10 days on the streets of London, living among alcoholics and drug addicts, sleeping in the doorways of haute-couture fashion shops and eating charity handouts.She was stunned by the generosity and love shown by strangers willing to share what meager money or food they had...
More of Gainesville's tent city to become off limits
Posted on June 12, 2009Gainesville police will soon begin enforcing trespass laws on another, larger section of land that has been used as a homeless camp.Police advised the owners of the property, which has become known as Tent City, about a stabbing at the camp and were asked to start enforcing trespass laws...
No options for residents of Gainesville's tent city
Posted on June 11, 2009Eleanor Briseno, an advocate for the Tent City residents, questions police on the decision to remove all the residents from the area.The homeless people living in Gainesville's tent city will be forced to leave this morning or face arrest for trespassing, city officials say...
10 facts you should know about hunger in America
Posted on June 11, 2009How many additional pounds of food would it take to feed every hungry American three meals a day for a year?42 billion poundsHow much food is wasted each year?96 billion poundsFor more facts you should know, check out the interactive Hunger Fact Map here.
Another city limits feedings of homeless people in parks
Posted on June 10, 2009Groups that frequently provide food to the homeless in city parks in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, will be limited to four in-park feedings a year.The City Council voted 6-1 for the new law after some heated debate. Dozens of residents spoke on the matter, and most said they think the feedings bring more crime...
Outpouring of donations saves Holy Ground
Posted on June 09, 2009An unemployed woman gave $5. Another woman sold her belongings at a yard sale and donated the $200 profit. Churches pitched in, too.As word spread that Holy Ground Homeless Shelter was facing eviction, scores of people dropped by Pasco County's only all-inclusive homeless shelter to give whatever they could to keep the doors open...
Palm Beach County not violating church's religious freedom by denying homeless shelter, appeals court says
Posted on June 09, 2009Palm Beach County did not violate the religious freedom of Westgate Tabernacle Church's leaders by refusing to let them operate a homeless shelter without a permit, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled.The church has been in a prolonged legal battle with the county for housing homeless people...
The oddly attractive and seductive part of being homeless
Posted on June 07, 2009Car Camper tells us about a "typical" day in the life of a homeless man.And he observes:One of the oddly attractive and seductive parts of being homeless is that you are, within financial means, "master of your fate, the captain of your soul." Less poetically, but more practically, you are free to follow your whims far more than when you are lashed to a desk or other job container all day long...
Homeless people told to leave Gainesville tent city
Posted on June 06, 2009People living on private property in a section of the Gainesville homeless encampment known as Tent City will have to move by next week.The decision came just after police arrested a man twice convicted of homicide and released last year from a Florida prison, who they allege stabbed two men at the camp...
Tampa cops take a closer look at hit and run that killed a homeless woman
Posted on June 01, 2009Sticks of Fire comments on the Tampa Police Department's decision to work a little harder on the case of the hit-and-run crash that killed Melissa Sjostrom, a homeless woman. Read the post here. And see the 13th juror's previous post here.
A look into the world of the newly homeless
Posted on June 01, 2009A new blog called Car Camper is written by a guy who lost his job without warning and found himself homeless. The experiences he shares may change your life, too.Check out the Car Camper blog and his Twitter feed @carcamper.Thanks to @hardlynormal for the link.
"The Cave": a netherworld where homeless people live
Posted on May 29, 2009Pearl Mibbs, who lives in the Cave, gives her dog Queenie water before making herself some coffee.To reach the secret place they call the Cave, its denizens must climb a ladder toward a small, hard-to-notice opening in the tall concrete slab that helps hold up the 10 Freeway...
Another picnic in the park
Posted on May 27, 2009Tonight's dinner at Lake Eola: fruit salad (mangos, peaches and apples), garden salad with croutons, hearty vegetable soup with lots of lovely vegetables, Mexican rice, mashed potatoes mixed with carrots and honeydew melon slices.There was a big crowd, and the food went fast...
Homeless sue St. Petersburg, claim abuse of constitutional rights
Posted on May 24, 2009Six homeless people backed by a handful of advocacy organizations have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the city of St. Petersburg that challenges the constitutionality of a series of ordinances that target homeless people. The city has passed six ordinances that restrict some behaviors associated with street homelessness in recent years, including measures that limit where and when the homeless can sleep and the amount of personal belongings they can keep by their side...
What companies can learn from the homeless
Posted on May 23, 2009"I'm homeless. I'm hungry. I've got 6 kids. I've got AIDS. Please help. God bless," reads the handwritten cardboard sign sitting in front of the homeless man.Sometimes we are drawn to give and sometimes we're not. Regardless of what you may think is happening that sign he are holding is in fact a piece of marketing...
Family dumps elderly aunt at homeless shelter, goes to Disney
Posted on May 22, 2009Investigators say a woman did not want her elderly aunt to go with her to Disney World so she dropped her off at a homeless shelter.Officials say Beverly Edwards dropped off her 96-year-old aunt, Ruth Smith, at a Salvation Army Center in Bradenton.The fragile woman who has medical conditions was left with all of her belongings in trash bags, and her niece said she was not coming back to get her...
Apparently in Tampa, it's OK to run over and kill the homeless
Posted on May 22, 2009In the case of a hit-and-run driver who struck and killed a homeless woman three months ago, all roads lead to a posh home on Davis Islands, police say.That's where, Tampa police say, they found the maroon SUV that they think hit 33-year-old Melissa Sjostrom as she limped across a street on Feb...
Rain doesn't stop the food-sharing
Posted on May 20, 2009Despite today's rain, dinner was served at Lake Eola tonight.The menu: Mexican corn chowder (very tasty over rice), roasted asparagus and zuchini, sweet potato mash, green bean casserole, baked baby carrots, salad and corn on the cob.
Blending in: Walk through a day in the life of a homeless man
Posted on May 17, 2009Finding food and clothing around town isn?t too challenging thanks to local missions, Tom Rogers says, but finding shelter is a big concern.Tom Rogers first spent a night without a roof over his head about a year ago. He'll never forget it.He remembers feeling lost, but never worthless...
1 in 6 Florida kids live at risk of hunger
Posted on May 13, 2009One in six young children live on the brink of hunger in Florida.That means about 178,000 children under the age of 5 -- about 16.4% of all Florida children -- do not consistently have access to the daily caloric intake needed to grow and thrive.Florida is about in the middle of the states...
Mango and green onion dressing
Posted on May 13, 2009Sounds great, doesn't it? It could be something you'd pay quite a bit for at one of the nicer restaurants in downtown Orlando, but it was on the menu for the food-sharing at Lake Eola tonight.The mango and green onion dressing was served over a salad of spinach, cherry tomatoes and avocado slices...
If you're homeless, you can't renew your driver's license
Posted on May 10, 2009An Indiana law has left a homeless man unable to renew the license he needs to drive the car he lives in.Brian Wilkinson said financial and personal hardships forced him onto the streets of Indianapolis several years ago. Since then, the former correction officer has lived in his car, surviving on his food stamp allowance and help from a relative...
Jail inmate charged in 2007 slaying of homeless woman
Posted on May 07, 2009Orlando police have charged an Orange County jail inmate with murder in a 2007 killing.Heath Helvey, 33, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Venus Martinez.Martinez, 29, was found July 29, 2007, near the Orlando Lynx bus terminal alongside Interstate 4 near the intersection of Amelia and Garland...
Homeless man dies with $100,000 in the bank
Posted on May 07, 2009A homeless South Korean man died of cancer without being able to use a single penny of his life savings of $100,000 because he could not prove his identity to his bank.Residents of the Yongbong district of Gwangju, in southwestern South Korea, knew little about the quiet man who had drifted into their neighborhood in 2007...
Some rare good news from the Florida Legislature
Posted on May 05, 2009The conference committee on Senate Bill 1718, the court funding bill, just agreed on the bill -- and it includes the restoration of filing fee waivers for indigents. (Yay!) I'm told that only the Governor could derail things now and there is no indication that there are any problems.
Take the pledge: Never to judge a homeless person
Posted on May 05, 2009Contemplate the reality of the situation. You do not know it.You do not know what that person has been through or why they are in that position. Instead of jumping to the conclusion of judging them and placing the blame on their shoulders, why not make it just that little bit easier and encourage, rather than berate them?Take the pledge here.
"They took the food right out of my hands before I could get it into my mouth"
Posted on May 04, 2009"They took the food right out of my hands before I could get it into my mouth," Reverend Cocomo Rock of the 191914 Ministries said on Sunday at an aborted Food Not Bombs shared meal. "And then he told me he was going to throw all of it in the garbage...
Food Not Bombs to continue sharing food without a license
Posted on May 03, 2009Food Not Bombs has been cited in Middleton, Connecticut, for distributing food to the public without a license, but plans to continue sharing food despite the possibility of more citations.Fred Carroll, one of two Food Not Bombs members cited, said he plans to plead not guilty in Superior Court in Middletown...
The new homeless don't fit old stereotypes
Posted on May 03, 2009Kenneth and Stacy Dowdy can't afford a place to live in Charlotte, North Carolina. Neither can Charles DuPree. But if you passed them on the street, you might not recognize them for what they are: Homeless.They are among a growing number of newly homeless who don't fit old stereotypes...
How an open-container violation led to a homeless man's death
Posted on April 29, 2009Charlie Shafer died after he was hit by an Orange County deputy's patrol car -- just minutes after he was released from the Orange County Jail.Shafer, a 56-year-old homeless man, was crossing John Young Parkway about 3:17 a.m. when the deputy pulled out of the jail parking lot and accidentally ran him over...
Americans stand firm behind government-paid legal aid programs
Posted on April 20, 2009Americans overwhelmingly back the provision of legal services for those facing serious legal and financial problems who could not hire a lawyer.More than two-thirds (68%) say it's extremely or very important that Americans have access to legal resources and advice when they are in crisis, according to a survey commissioned by the American Bar Association...
Teen charged with killing homeless man in Orlando
Posted on April 19, 2009Murder victim Ora James Light, 51, a homeless man, worked odd jobs for a living. Police said he was homeless by choice."Everybody that met him said he was the nicest person you've ever met. He would give them the shirt off his back, he wouldn't confront anybody," a detective said...
The first state to protect the homeless from hate crimes is ...
Posted on April 16, 2009Maryland is on track to become the first state to protect the homeless in hate crime statutes. The state legislature this week approved adding extra penalties for violent crimes against victims singled out because of gender, disability or because the person is homeless...
I hope it's not somebody I know
Posted on April 13, 2009You didn't have to be close to the body to see blood splattered on the concrete.A body was found this morning on the concrete embankment under Interstate 4 at Orange Blossom Trail.The man's identify has not been released.So I'm worrying about Charlie and Bruce and Frank and all the other men I know who live on the streets of O-town...
Grading Obama for his work on poverty
Posted on April 11, 2009This week, President Obama earned a D for his work on poverty, says clevelandhomeless.The blog has been grading the Administration on its attempts to fight poverty. For the first eight weeks, the Obama Administration has averaged a solid C in fighting poverty...
New poverty measure? Maybe later
Posted on April 10, 2009As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama endorsed the idea of updating the federal poverty measure, which just about everybody considers out of date and close to useless. Now that he?s the president and dealing with an economic meltdown, though, his White House team is a lot less enthusiastic about the idea...
Gainesville wonders: What should be the rules for feeding homeless?
Posted on April 09, 2009Many laws in Gainesville regulate how and where the homeless and destitute may be fed and sheltered, but those laws have been uniformly ignored for many years -- until now.Some proposed changes to how those laws govern places of religious assembly will come back before the City Commission, including a recommended end to the no-feed zone around the University of Florida campus and placing no limits on the number of lunches that can be served in single-family neighborhoodsCommissioners also directed staff to analyze meal limits that were enforced for the first time on the St...
Panhandling is protected by the Constitution, another judge rules
Posted on April 03, 2009A panhandling ordinance that prohibits solicitation of money at intersections and other locations is unconstitutional, an Oregon judge has ruled.The judge found that the city of Medford's ordinance violated the Oregon Constitution, which prohibits passing any law restricting freedom of speech...
Housing for homeless alcoholics saved taxpayers $4 million
Posted on April 01, 2009Providing housing to homeless alcoholics, regardless of their sobriety status, reduces health-care use and costs, U.S. researchers report.They evaluated a type of program called Housing First, which removes the usual housing for homeless requirements of sobriety and mandatory attendance to alcohol treatment programs...
Food stamp benefits increase about $20 per person
Posted on April 01, 2009More than 1.8 million Floridians will receive an increase in food stamps starting today as part of the federal economic stimulus.Food stamp benefits will go up by about $20-$24 a person per month. All food stamp households will benefit. In February, 1,863,588 Floridians received food stamps ? 31% more than in February of 2008...
Feeding bodies and souls (and exercising their constitutional rights)
Posted on March 25, 2009Each Sunday, a picnic shelter in Orlando's Langford Park becomes the First Vagabonds Church of God, where homeless people receive food for their bodies and souls. Check it out in this nice little video from the Orlando Sentinel.In 2006, the church and Orlando Food Not Bombs sued the city over rules that limited the number of times they could share food with homeless and hungry people in city parks...
You won't believe this took 14 months
Posted on March 24, 2009Today's mail contained a wonderful surprise -- a birth certificate for one of my homeless clients.You might think that ordering a birth certificate is no big deal. But most states require you to present a photo ID to get your birth certificate. And, of course, you need a birth certificate* to get a Florida ID card...
This city will pay you to pretend to be homeless
Posted on March 24, 2009Spending up to $10,000 to hire 100 "fake" homeless people for an evening might sound to some like an odd use of tax dollars in a recession.But city officials say the "decoys" are needed to ensure the statistical validity of Toronto's second-ever survey of its homeless population...
This doesn't seem like the right way to go
Posted on March 23, 2009Anna Richardson grew up in Santa Cruz and has been homeless off and on since leaving home at age 14. Now she and Miguel DeLeon are sleeping on the streets and accumulating tickets.Taking the criminalization of homelessness to an unusual level, the city of Santa Cruz, California, is seeking an injunction against a couple with more than 60 unpaid citations they've received downtown related to their homelessness...
How Mr. Toast took a bath
Posted on March 15, 2009Just in case you need to know: here's some advice on how to wash your entire body, one section at a time, in a public restroom without ever getting legally naked.Mr. Toast knew many of he intricacies of life on the streets. No one knows how he got his name, but he lived in a late-model Hyundai Excel that he parked in a vacant lot next to the East River...
"Economic homeless" becoming more visible
Posted on March 12, 2009The population at Pinellas Hope, a "tent city" providing housing for homeless people, includes a growing number of people who have lost their jobs and their homes.At first most of the clients at the seasonal camp in St. Petersburg were chronic homeless people with histories of mental or substance abuse, said Frank Murphy, spokesman for Catholic Charities...
Court keeps homeless man off the ballot
Posted on March 11, 2009Daniel Fore, a homeless man, speaks at a news conference after a Cook County judge ruled that he could not run for a suburban village board seat because he doesn't have an address. His attorney, Joseph Jacobi, watches.A homeless man's name cannot appear on the April 7 ballot for a Chicago suburb because he did not list a home address on his nominating papers, a court has ruled...
Are you bothered by a homeless guy with a cell phone?
Posted on March 08, 2009I was going to comment on the uproar over Michelle Obama?s surprise visit to a soup kitchen and the homeless guy who took her picture with his cell phone. But SLO Homeless has it nailed. Check out the post "Journalism (or the lack thereof)."
Why is this happening now?
Posted on March 07, 2009Over at LA2W, we've been getting a bunch of hits from people looking for the court ruling that sharing food with hungry and homeless people in public parks is expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment. It turns out that a couple of Food Not Bombs chapters are facing new legal challenges...
Fort Lauderdale takes on the homeless feeding issue -- again
Posted on February 19, 2009Trying to balance aiding the homeless against resident complaints about their behavior, Fort Lauderdale commissioners have decided to research potential new spots for a homeless feeding site.The City Commission did not take a formal vote, but generally agreed to direct staff to look at city parking lots as potential sites to allow church groups and volunteers to feed the homeless...
Town rejects homeless man's run for office
Posted on February 13, 2009A homeless man who wants to run for village trustee in a Chicago suburb will take his fight to court after the village's electoral board voted 2-1 to keep him off the April 7 ballot."We've been preparing for this," Daniel Fore said. "We knew it was not going to be an easy battle to fight...
Homeless may win round one as city considers overturning its camping ordinance
Posted on February 13, 2009A homeless man sleeps on Main Beach in Laguna Beach. The ACLU recently sued the city Beach for treating disabled homeless people like criminals and cited ticketing homeless people for illegal lodging in public places as one of their concerns. Laguna Beach may soon revoke a 1920s era ordinance prohibiting nighttime camping in public areas, following a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union contending the law unconstitutionally restricted the rights of the homeless...
Even in Florida, homeless people freeze to death
Posted on February 11, 2009Affectionately called "Bobbo" by his family, Robert Raimondo weaved in and out of their lives as he wrestled with his drinking problem. "I wish he had had some place better to stay, but he wanted to be with his friends," said his nephew.A homeless man who spent the coldest night in six years wrapped in black garbage bags and huddled in a tent froze to death in Pompano Beach...
Why can't a homeless person run for office?
Posted on February 08, 2009A homeless man is running for a seat on the board of a suburban Chicago village. Daniel Fore filed nominating petitions to have his name placed on the ballot for village trustee in the April 7 election. The petitions indicate he is homeless.But two Oak Park residents have filed objections, claiming a person without a fixed address cannot run for office or register to vote...
Body found encased in ice
Posted on February 03, 2009Inside an abandoned warehouse in Detroit, a body lies frozen in a block of ice.It took two days and three phone calls from a Detroit reporter, but city authorities eventually recovered a body frozen in ice in an elevator shaft at an abandoned building, The Detroit News reports...
Homeless sex offender dies in the cold after being turned away from shelter
Posted on February 01, 2009Thomas Pauli didn't choose to die alone in the cold.He apparently froze to death because of a crime he committed nearly 20 years ago, and a law that's dogged him ever since his release from prison.Temperatures the night he died got down to zero in Grand Rapids, Michigan...
How can we count the homeless if the police are taking them to jail?
Posted on January 26, 2009As counties across Florida prepare for their annual homeless count, Hillsborough will wait another month.Too cold? Too many transients? Not exactly. Homeless advocates fear police will arrest so many homeless to clear the streets for the Super Bowl that any count would be inaccurate...
A glimpse of how hell could look
Posted on January 25, 2009The ?UNICEF-Photo of the Year? shows a girl in Cité Soleil, the largest slum in Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital.Cité Soleil has long been a poster child for the poorest of the poor. People live unprotected in stinking and burning waste, without work, without reliable sources of energy, without drinkable water, without clean air to breath, without money for their next meal...
Motivation for killing was "straight-up personal dislike and a little bit of crazy"
Posted on January 24, 2009John McGraham, seen in April 2006, was doused with gasoline and burned to death Oct. 9 in Los Angeles. More than 300 people packed the church for his funeral.A 30-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a homeless man who was doused with a flammable liquid and set ablaze on a street corner last year...
West Palm Beach church back in court over homeless shelter
Posted on January 23, 2009"We've just begun to fight," says attorney Barry Silver.For years, Westgate Tabernacle Church has been fined for zoning and code violations by the county. Now the church is back in federal court, claiming its religious and civil rights are being violated by Palm Beach County...
It can happen to anyone
Posted on January 14, 2009The National Coalition for the Homeless has a new public service announcement, with soundtrack by Radiohead.Read Advertising Age's report here.
"Bored" men planned to bomb homeless man's campsite
Posted on January 14, 2009Three "bored" men face criminal charges over their alleged plan to bomb a homeless man's campsite in a wooded area behind a church.The men -- all in their early 20s -- were charged with possession of a destructive device, a felony carrying a standard 30-year prison term, and trespass, a misdemeanor...
A flood of volunteers turns out to help the homeless
Posted on January 03, 2009Erin MacDevette, 7, Debbie Haruta and Debbie's children Grace, 7, and Jonathan, 5, help to convert an idle 12-story building into a homeless shelter.Three times as many people as expected showed up to repair, paint and clean a former hotel so that it can be a shelter for homeless women and their children...
Common sense prevails
Posted on January 03, 2009Strong community opposition has led one city to put plans to clear out homeless camps on hold.Merced, California, had planned to start enforcing a "no camping" regulation on Jan. 23 that would mean citations and jail for anyone living in a tent on city land who refused to move...
The swankiest homeless shelter in the world
Posted on January 02, 2009After a revamp by a concept artist, this building in Berlin has been dubbed the swankiest homeless shelter in the world.Italian wallpapers, gold trimmings, parquet flooring, red carpeting and crystal chandeliers have replaced the scruffy decor of a shelter for homeless men in Berlin...
Upscale community harasses the homeless, lawsuit claims
Posted on December 28, 2008The upscale enclave of Laguna Beach has engaged in a campaign of harassment of the homeless, claims a lawsuit filed in federal court.The city offers no transitional or emergency shelter (other than a cold weather shelter which operates between December and March) and has refused to rescind an ordinance that makes it illegal to sleep on the beach, in city parks, on public streets, in alleys or in a car parked at any place in the city...
Last-minute tiff erupts in West Palm Beach homeless-feeding settlement
Posted on December 18, 2008When the West Palm Beach city commission signed off on a lawsuit settlement a few days ago with groups that feed the homeless, all seemed copacetic.br /br /The city would rescind its ordinance that banned downtown meal giveaways. Lawyers for the groups would get $100,000...
Homelessness and hunger on the rise in American cities
Posted on December 14, 2008Homelessness and hunger increased in an overwhelming majority of 25 U.S. cities in the past year, driven by the foreclosure crisis and rising unemployment, a survey shows.Out of 25 cities across the United States surveyed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, 83% said homelessness in general had increased over the past year while 16 cities, or nearly two-thirds of those polled, cited a rise in the number of families who had been forced out of their homes...
50 steps toward ending homelessness
Posted on December 09, 2008Street homelessness can be ended, say experts who offer a practical guide to what can, and must, be done.The 50 steps are tailored for Vancouver, British Columbia, but -- with just a few tweaks -- could be applied to any community in North America.Read The Tyee's list here...
Saturday night at the bus station
Posted on December 07, 2008Dave* was goin? home. He?d landed on the streets in Orlando and I was putting him on a bus to Cleveland.It?s 30 degrees and snowing there, but it?s home. And he hadn?t been home in 11 years.I?d talked to his sister on the phone, and she was excited by the prospect of seeing him...
West Palm Beach is dropping its ban on giving food to the homeless
Posted on December 04, 2008City commissioners have agree to throw out a roughly 14-month-old law that makes it illegal to hand out free food at two locations in downtown West Palm Beach.The action will become official when the commission formally wipes the law off the books at hearings on Dec...
Orlando appeals federal court's order on homeless-feeding ordinance
Posted on December 01, 2008The City of Orlando is appealing a federal court's order to stop enforcing its controversial restrictions on feeding the homeless in public parks.The city has notified the court of its intent to appeal the September ruling in favor of First Vagabonds Church of God and Orlando Food Not Bombs...
Homeless customer memorialized by chair at Starbucks
Posted on November 30, 2008Employees and patrons of Starbucks left mementos and prayers in honor of Fleming Taylor, a homeless man who frequently sat in this chair.Photo from the Journal News in Westchester, N.Y.Nearly every day during the past year, Fleming Taylor walked into the Starbucks on Main Street in Nyack, New York, as the doors opened, sat in the same purple velvet chair, read and discussed what was in The Wall Street Journal with other regulars, and left only when the store closed in the evening...
Recession could push millions into deep poverty
Posted on November 26, 2008The current downturn is likely to cause significant increases both in the number of Americans who are poor and the number living in "deep poverty," with incomes below half of the poverty line,* says a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities...
Homeless man spends almost 3 years in jail -- and then is found not guilty
Posted on November 26, 2008After two years and eight months in jail awaiting trial, a homeless man was freed when he was acquitted of an assault charge.Jurors deliberated only one hour and 17 minutes before reaching their decision at the conclusion of a two-day trial in Joplin, Missouri...
Dear President-Elect Obama: Please work on ending homelessness
Posted on November 25, 2008More than a dozen other national homelessness advocacy groups today called upon President-Elect Barack Obama to take steps immediately upon becoming President to address the urgent crisis of homelessness in the United States.The groups include my friends at National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty and National Coalition for the Homeless...
40,000 visitors!
Posted on November 23, 2008Visitor Number 40,000 showed up last night a little before 10 p.m. Someone in Atlanta was looking for information about Jacksonville's homeless feeding ordinance and, I'm happy to say, found what they were looking for.
Another Florida city is making homelessness a crime
Posted on November 23, 2008Davie is cracking down on homeless people.A new ordinance outlaws sleeping outdoors on public or private property without permission of the property owner. It also forbids cooking, making a fire, digging and urinating or defecating on public or private property without permission...
Happy dance!
Posted on November 21, 2008Thanks to Over the cliffs, onto the rocks for the happy dance. Yes, your First Amendment rights include the right to hand out free food to hungry people.
It's sad that jail was his answer
Posted on November 11, 2008A homeless man called 911 from a pay phone because he wanted to go to jail.When a Fort Walton Beach police officer said he did'nt have a reason to take him to jail, the man said he had marijuana, pulled it out of his sock and dropped it on the back of the patrol car...
20-year life gap separates a city's poorest and wealthiest
Posted on November 09, 2008A 20-year difference in life expectancy between a low-income neighborhood and an upscale area across town has been revealed in data compiled by the Baltimore Health Department.In West Baltimore's impoverished Hollins Market neighborhood, the average life expectancy is about 63 years...
Thousands wrongfully dropped from KidCare
Posted on November 09, 2008As many as 27,000 kids may have been wrongfully dropped from the KidCare program, which offers low-cost insurance to Florida families.Computer glitches apparently are to blame for axing the kids.Read the Capitol News Service report here.
Sex offender law unfair to homeless, court says
Posted on October 27, 2008A provision of Georgia's sex-offender registry law is unconstitutional because it fails to inform the homeless who have no address how they can comply with the statute, the state supreme court ruled today.The decision was a huge legal victory for William James Santos, charged for failing to register a new address in the sex-offender registry...
Police break up tent city in park; five arrested
Posted on October 18, 2008Homeless activist David Johnston waits to be arrested after refusing to take down his tent as police break up a tent city in Beacon Hill Park.Photograph by the Times ColonistIn the wake of a court ruling that says homeless people have the right to set up shelters in public parks, police moved in and cleared out a fledgling tent city that had sprung up in Victoria...
Homeless win legal battle to sleep in public parks
Posted on October 15, 2008Homeless people have a right to camp in public parks, a Canadian court has ruled.Because there are not enough safe and secure beds for the homeless, it was unconstitutional for the city of Victoria to prevent them from erecting some form of shelter to protect themselves from the elements...
Brain injury may be the cause of homelessness for many people
Posted on October 09, 2008Traumatic brain injury is common among homeless people, found a study of homeless men and women in Toronto.In the study of more than 900 people in Toronto?s shelter system or who use meal programs, 58% of homeless men and 42% of homeless women had a history of traumatic brain injury...
We win! Homeless feeding ordinance struck down
Posted on September 30, 2008For the first time, a judge has ruled that sharing food with hungry and homeless people in a public park is expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment.That?s the most important part of the federal court ruling that Orlando?s ?large-group feeding? ordinance is unconstitutional...
The verdict is in: Guilty!
Posted on September 19, 2008Two Plantation men accused of fatally beating a homeless man with a baseball bat and injuring two others were found guilty this morning of second-degree murder.Thomas Daugherty, 19, and Brian Hooks, 21, were also convicted of two counts of attempted second-degree murder in the Jan...
Jury deliberations continue in homeless beating case
Posted on September 19, 2008After their first day of deliberations, 12 jurors were sent home Thursday without reaching a verdict in the Broward County murder trial of two teenagers accused of beating a homeless man to death in 2006.Thomas Daugherty and Brian Hooks face charges of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder for participating in brutal, unprovoked attacks against three homeless men in downtown Fort Lauderdale on Jan...
Take a look into one beating victim's life in the shadows
Posted on September 19, 2008He spends most of his time sitting in a white plastic lawn chair, keeping to himself, in a Fort Lauderdale park."I don't bother anybody," Jacques Pierre said.This is his life, 32 months after getting international attention as the homeless man in a surveillance video pummeled by bat-wielding youths in Fort Lauderdale...
Quote of the day
Posted on September 17, 2008"I took nothing but bread-and-butter classes, not "Law and Poverty," or other made-up stuff, Scalia said to laughter. He said his advice to law students was: "Take serious classes. There's so much law to learn. Don't waste your time."-- Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in a speech to 500 members of the Federalist Society in Chicago on Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Group allowed to feed homeless again without permit (no, this isn't about Orlando)
Posted on September 14, 2008A faith-based group that was threatened with arrest for feeding the homeless at a state park has settled its lawsuit after a permit requirement was lifted.California State Parks agreed it would not enforce Regulation 4321, which is designed to ban unlawful assembly,* and members of Welcome INN (Interfaith Needs Network) can feed the homeless without threat of citation or arrest, as long as they comply with rules that apply to everyone such as hours of operation, orderly conduct and clean-up...
Twenty questions: Social Justice Quiz 2008
Posted on September 12, 2008Do you know: In how many of the more than 3,000 cities and counties in the US can a full-time worker who earns the minimum wage afford to pay rent and utilities on a one-bedroom apartment?Answer: None.Bill Quigley writes: "We in the US who say we believe in social justice must challenge ourselves to look at the world through the eyes of those who have much less than us...
Homeless man wins $10,000 in panhandling lawsuit
Posted on September 10, 2008Marion County will pay the homeless man who filed a federal civil rights lawsuit over the county?s panhandling ordinance $10,000 for lost income, emotional distress and mental anguish.The settlement likely ends the saga of the controversial panhandling ordinance passed in May 2006...
Doesn?t sound like much of a defense to me
Posted on September 07, 2008"The intention was never to kill," said defense lawyer Michael Gottlieb in his opening statement. "They thought it was fun to mess with some homeless people, and that's what they set out to do."They never meant to do serious harm, argued the lawyers for two men charged with beating a homeless man to death and viciously attacking two others with baseball bats...
Cops shot 47 times at homeless man with toy gun
Posted on September 06, 2008It started with a report of a man with a gun.Eddie Felix Franco, carrying a toy gun in his waistband, allegedly refused to put his hands up, and officers fired beanbag rounds at him. Police said Franco then reached for his waistband and was shot dead...
Trial begins in homeless beating case
Posted on September 04, 2008A jury has begun hearing the murder case against two men accused of beating a homeless man to death with a baseball bat as he slept on a park bench in Fort Lauderdale.Thomas Daugherty, 19, and Brian Hooks, 21, are charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder for their roles in the Jan...
Project Homeless Connect cancelled
Posted on September 03, 2008The Project Homeless Connect set for Friday at the Fairgrounds in Orlando has been cancelled.The decision was made because of Tropical Storm Hanna.Hanna is expected to reach hurricane strength by Friday morning and is out in the Atlantic Ocean, moving in the general direction of Florida...
Crackdown begins: Food Not Bombs house among raids ahead of Republican convention
Posted on August 30, 2008Aided by informants planted in protest groups, authorities raided at least six buildings across St. Paul and Minneapolis to stop an "anarchist" plan to disrupt this week's Republican National Convention.The highly intimidating, sweeping police raids involved teams of 25 to 30 officers in riot gear, with semi-automatic weapons drawn, entering homes of those suspected of planning protests, handcuffing and forcing them to lay on the floor, while law enforcement officers searched the homes, seizing computers, journals, and political pamphlets...
Teenagers charged in beating of homeless men in St. Augustine
Posted on August 27, 2008Three men sleeping under an overpass in St. Augustine were attacked by a group of teenagers and punched, kicked, and beaten with sticks, a shopping cart, a bike and rolled-up fencing.Two 17-year-old cousins, a 16-year-old and a 15-year-old are facing charges of aggravated battery and attempted robberyA juvenile who was with the attackers told police that one of them needed money and planned to rob someone to get it...
Poverty decreases in Florida
Posted on August 26, 2008Florida is one of 12 states where the poverty rate declined from 2006 to 2007, according to new data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.The state's poverty rate was 12.1% in 2007, according to the American Community Survey. That compares to 12.6% in 2006...
Hospitals charged with using homeless to defraud Medicare
Posted on August 06, 2008Three Southern California hospitals are accused of paying recruiters thousands of dollars a month to find homeless people on Skid Row, give them fake diagnoses and send them to the hospital. The hospitals then allegedly billed Medicare or Medi-Cal (California?s version of Medicaid) for treatment of the patients? nonexistent conditions...
Homeless man convicted of trespassing ? at Naples shelter
Posted on August 05, 2008St. Matthew?s House has been full for the past three years, so Juan Trejo stretched out on the floor of the Naples shelter?s old soup kitchen. He had no place else to sleep.Then he spend the next 97 days in the Collier County Jail, charged with trespassing...
Florida will get almost $300 million that could fund affordable housing
Posted on August 03, 2008Florida stands to get $288.8 million in federal funds to purchase, manage and resell foreclosed and abandoned properties from the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, H.R. 3221, which Congress passed last week.There's a lot more to the bill than preventing foreclosures on owner-occupied homes, but that's the part you've heard about...
Cover Florida is unlikely to reduce the ranks of uninsured
Posted on August 02, 2008Cover Florida, the health-insurance policy touted by Gov. Charlie Crist as a way to reduce the state's 3.7 million uninsured, is unlikely to work.The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a non-profit policy-research group in Washington, D.C., came to that conclusion after analyzing Florida's law which allows insurance companies to offer low-cost plans with limited benefits...
Florida leaves health-care money on the table
Posted on July 22, 2008Federal health officials are divvying up $49 million among states that provide subsidized health insurance to people who can't buy it because they have medical problems. None of that money will be coming to Florida. That's because Florida closed its high-risk pool for the medically uninsurable in 1992 and has not accepted any applicants since...
So how did he get up there?
Posted on July 19, 2008Nobody could figure out how the person who lived there was able to ascend to his "home" suspended from an overpass.The fire department had to send a ladder truck so city workers could remove more than a dozen garbage bags of personal belongings -- mostly clothing and bedding -- from a nestlike living space in the supports on an overpass...
Ignorance costs Sanford chance to help homeless
Posted on July 18, 2008Orlando Sentinel columnist George Diaz weighs in on the City of Sanford's uninformed perceptions of homeless people.Read his column here.
So I guess there are no homeless people in Sanford
Posted on July 14, 2008Project Homeless Connect has been moved from downtown Sanford to a Longwood church after several people complained the program should not be held at the city?s civic center.Northland, A Church Distributed, agreed to host the July 30 event.Last year, more than 350 people attended the Sanford event...
Cops bait the homeless with cigarettes, beer and Boston Baked Beans -- but why?
Posted on July 12, 2008A pack of Kool cigarettes, a can of Budweiser and a box of Boston Baked Beans sat on the dashboard of an unlocked car with the windows rolled down. Somewhere nearby two New Orleans police officers watched and waited for someone to reach into the bait car and snatch the items...
Bush may veto homeless veterans housing bill
Posted on July 11, 2008The ?Homes for Heroes Act? has been passed by the House of Representatives, but is facing a presidential veto if it makes it through the Senate.HR 3329, which would provide shelter for homeless veterans and their families as well as lending assistance to help low-income veteran families from falling into homelessness, won House approval 412-9...
Don't they know how this looks?
Posted on July 09, 2008President Bush and other world leaders sat down to an 18-course gastronomic extravaganza at a G8 summit which is focusing on how to solve the global food crisis. The dinner, and a six-course lunch, at the summit of leading industrialized nations on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, included delicacies such as caviar, milk-fed lamb, sea urchin and tuna, with champagne and wines flown in from Europe and the U...
Church serving homeless files lawsuit against town that blocked day center
Posted on July 08, 2008A church focused on serving the homeless is suing the town of Elkton, Maryland, because its leaders say the town is hindering the church's expression of faith.Carl Mazza, pastor of the Meeting Ground, says Elkton has blocked attempts by the church to open a day center which would meet a wide range of religious and social needs of the homeless, including Bible study, prayer and worship services, computer access, showers, food, and job training...
Once a person becomes homeless, it's difficult to live a secure life ever again
Posted on July 07, 2008Expensive housing, debt and unexpected financial problems are key factors behind homelessness, a new report shows."Contrary to popular perception, while alcohol and drugs can keep people on the streets, they are not the main pathway to homelessness," said Rev...
An opportunity to help
Posted on July 06, 2008Sometimes getting a person's paperwork in order so they can get an ID is easy. Other times, we have to put our heads together to figure out a solution to a more complex problem. (Yes, that's me leaning on the table.)IDignity provides Florida ID Cards, birth certificates and Social Security Cards to homeless and poor people in Orlando...
If you're interested in this stuff ...
Posted on July 05, 2008Two recent posts at the Florida Social Justice Network are worth a click:? On The Margins For Breakfast? Independence Day - When Will Freedom Ring? Check out the Florida Social Justice Network
A thought for July 4
Posted on July 04, 2008Photo taken by Margaret Bourke-White in 1951"Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,I lift my lamp beside the golden door!?Just wanted to remind everyone that Statue of Liberty -- which represents liberty and escape from oppression -- welcomes the homeless, too.
Where I've been ...
Posted on July 01, 2008Most of last month was taken up with the federal court trial on Orlando's controversial rules on feeding the homeless.Preparing witnesses, compiling evidence, writing what I hope was a persuasive opening statement ... all that, and more, kept me from much of anything else for the past few weeks...
Homeless win $2.3 million settlement
Posted on June 13, 2008The homeless and their advocates celebrate in front of the courthouse. They are holding a photo of Pamela Kincaid, the lead plaintiff who died in August 2007.Photo by Mike RhodesThe City of Fresno has agreed to pay $2.25 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed after the city raided homeless encampments, destroying personal property...
Florida Legislature raises the price of justice
Posted on June 11, 2008A bill raising fees for many court functions hits particularly hard against low-income Floridians, says the Daytona Beach News-Journal in an editorial.Some provisions -- particularly a $265 charge for asserting a counter-claim -- might be open to legal challenge...
15 arrested in homeless protest
Posted on June 10, 2008Police arrest a protester who refused to clear the street north of Seattle City Hall. Fifteen people were taken into custody.Photo by the Seattle TimesFifteen people protesting the sweeps of homeless encampments in Seattle parks were arrested after they blocked a street near city hall by pitching a tent in the street and standing in the road...
Could your tax dollars be better spent?
Posted on June 09, 2008Taxpayers in Orange County will pay $2 billion (yup, that's with a "B") for total Iraq war spending approved to date. For the same amount of money, we could have provided 14,498 units of affordable housing.The data comes from the National Priorities Project and its trade-offs tool, which shows you how much the Iraq War is costing your community and what else could have been done with the money...
"My life is forever changed by this experience"
Posted on June 07, 2008Nice piece by David Miller in the Orlando Sentinel's Other Views New Voices: A Forum for Readers under 30. It's about his experiences in sharing food with homeless people in Orlando. Read it here.
Just another day in paradise
Posted on June 04, 2008A day that called for a stop on the way home for a bottle of wine:9:30 a.m. A call from a client I haven?t talked to in several months. He was riding his bicycle the other day and got hit by an AT&T van. He wants help with a claim for -- at least -- a new bike...
Panhandling -- or something -- is banned in Miami
Posted on June 01, 2008Panhandling has been banned in downtown Miami and current hotspot Mary Brickell Village.But the new law doesn't define what panhandling is. A definition was left out after commissioners, concerned that they might be prohibiting fundraising efforts like Salvation Army Santas, were assured by an assistant city attorney that the meaning of "panhandling" has become part of the vernacular...
Wrong-way walking stops by police stir racial profiling concerns
Posted on May 27, 2008Civil rights leaders are pressuring the Bradenton Police Department to end the practice of stopping walkers at night in one part of the city for not using sidewalks and for walking on the wrong side of the road.Several recent cases have generated criticism and spurred dialogue about little-known pedestrian violations that are enforced primarily in a poor section of Bradenton...
Will banning cheap booze sales reduce panhandling?
Posted on May 25, 2008Here's a unique idea for combatting panhandling: ban the sale of cheap booze.City officials in Madison, Wisconsin, are considering a prohibition on the sale of cheap liquor, such as 24-ounce cans of beer and four-packs of malt liquor.But liquor store owners don't think a ban won't stop problem drinkers...
Friday morning in collections court
Posted on May 24, 2008It?s usually standing room only in collections court, but this morning the courtroom is only half full.Collections court is where they send you when you don?t have the money to pay your fines and court costs. That?s a minimum of $210 for court costs, plus $40 if you use a public defender...
Homeless rounded up in Atlanta (and we learn how to steal coins from parking meters)
Posted on May 23, 2008Several dozen police officers descended on a downtown Atlanta homeless camp before dawn, rousting and arresting people living along the tracks."We're looking for fugitives, and we're looking for stolen property," said David Wardell, vice president of operations and public safety for the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, the agency coordinating the raid...
Why is an ID so hard to get?
Posted on May 22, 2008At first, the judge was looking at me like I was speaking Swedish. But as I told the story of G.J., a63-year-old man who has never had an official photo ID, understanding dawned.Having a photo ID is second nature to most of us. I?ve had a Florida driver?s license since my 16th birthday and, even when I lost it, I just went and got a replacement card...
The courts are open -- but only if you can afford it
Posted on May 18, 2008It's only one of the bad ideas that came out of this year's Legislature, but this one is right in the wheelhouse of a poverty lawyer.A bill that would make it much harder for poor people to assert their rights in court has passed the Legislature and is awaiting the governor's signature...
Sweeps of homeless camps ruled unconstitutional
Posted on May 13, 2008Sending out city workers to raid homeless camps and destroy whatever personal property they found there violates the U.S. Constitution, a federal judge has ruled.Fresno's "clean up" policy in homeless tent cities violates the Fourth Amendment, which bars unreasonable searches and seizures...
Not guilty! (again)
Posted on May 12, 2008Five men -- arrested for drumming "too loudly" during a protest against the city of Orlando's policies on homelessness -- have been acquitted of charges they violated a noise ordinance.Ryan Hutchinson, Bryan Jones, Brett Mason, Eric Montanez and Will Vertlieb, all members of Orlando Food Not Bombs, were arrested in June 2007 during a protest outside a restaurant where Mayor Buddy Dyer was holding a campaign fund-raising event...
Mildred Loving followed her heart and made history
Posted on May 06, 2008Mildred Loving and her husband, Richard, refused to accept Virginia's ban on interracial marriage. They took their case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 1967 struck down similar laws across the country.Mildred Loving, a black woman whose challenge to Virginia's ban on interracial marriage led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling striking down such laws nationwide, has died...
Florida is No. 1 (again) in violence against the homeless
Posted on April 30, 2008Florida led the nation in the number of attacks on the homeless for the third year in a row, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Coalition for the Homeless.With 31 attacks in 2007, Florida had more than any other state in the country...
With no direction home
Posted on April 27, 2008The deadline has been extended since this notice was posted.Homeless people have lived in woods on the west side of Orlando for as long as anyone can remember, surviving on disability checks, military pensions or odd jobs.Now at least 60 homeless people will have to find another place...
St. Pete shelter for homeless to stay open
Posted on April 26, 2008A temporary shelter and assistance center for homeless people in St. Petersburg that was scheduled to close at the end of the month will remain open through the summer, but on a smaller scale.With $200,000 from private donors, Pinellas Hope will stay open through Sept...
'Bum Bot' fights the homeless
Posted on April 25, 2008Rufus Terrill runs bar in downtown Atlanta called O'Terrill's. He's had it with drug dealers, vandals, prostitutes, and the homeless, so he built the "Bumbot."Read the USA Today article here.Seems like a publicity stunt to me. (On that level, it sure is working...
Gainesville's homeless services center on hold again
Posted on April 24, 2008Gainesville commissioners voted to rezone a warehouse to allow a homeless services center, which would provide meals, counseling, job training, housing assistance, showers and limited medical services.But they also seemed to be in agreement that the warehouse isn't the best location for the center and directed the city attorney to "go slow" with the next step of the process, which is drafting an ordinance for the land use, while the city considers alternative locations...
Think lawmakers in Tallahassee don't hear your ideas?
Posted on April 23, 2008Jack Davis of Miami Shores is congratulated by Gov. Charlie Crist after the signing of a law that allows restaurants to donate leftover food to the homeless.Photo by The St. Petersburg TimesThink lawmakers in Tallahassee don't hear your ideas? Don't tell that to 11-year-old Jack Davis...
I gotta ask ...
Posted on April 22, 2008Why is the Florida Department of Transportation paying to be a sponsor of the Orlando Magic playoff games?I'm a huge Magic fan and I'm thrilled that they're in the playoffs, but every day there's another report about essential services being cut because Florida's budget is so tight...
More guilty verdicts for "hit-and-run grannies"
Posted on April 21, 2008An elderly woman was convicted Monday of the last two counts in a murder-for-profit scheme which authorities said targeted homeless men and earned millions of dollars.Olga Rutterschmidt, 75, was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder for financial gain in the death of Paul Vados, 73...
Foreclosure City
Posted on April 19, 2008Want to see what's happening in the housing market via foreclosures? Here's a map of the Orlando market.
Charges dropped for homeless man who flashed toy gun while panhandling
Posted on April 17, 2008A felony robbery charge has been dropped, freeing a homeless man accused of flashing a realistic-looking toy gun before asking a patron in a San Francisco laundry for 50 cents to buy a can of beer.A jury had deadlocked 8-4 in favor of acquitting Stephen Quiles, and a mistrial was declared...
City's rules for clearing homeless camps goes farther than most but still draws fire
Posted on April 16, 2008Seattle crews have razed six homeless encampments so far this year while the city developed rules for the controversial sweeps.The new rules call for at least three days' notice before forcing homeless people from unauthorized tent encampments and an opportunity to later retrieve some of their seized property...
Jury reaches some verdicts in "hit-and-run grannies" case
Posted on April 16, 2008Jurors submitted some verdicts to the judge in a sealed envelope before retiring for the day in the murder-for-profit trial of two elderly women.They also asked the court what happens if they are not unanimous on one of the criminal counts involving the deaths of two homeless men...
Jurors deliberate fate of "hit-and-run grannies"
Posted on April 15, 2008Jurors are deliberating the fate of two elderly women accused of killing homeless men to collect insurance money, after a prosecutor said the women had gone "out of their way to target men who had nothing."Helen Golay, 77, and Olga Rutterschmidt, 75, are accused of befriending two homeless men, taking out life insurance policies on them, and then collecting on those policies by killing the men in hit-and-run accidents...
Panhandling for 50 cents or a robbery?
Posted on April 12, 2008A jury deadlocked on whether to convict a homeless man of robbery after he flashed a toy guy moments before asking a patron in a laundromat for 50 cents to buy a can of beer.The jury deadlocked 8 to 4 in favor of acquitting Stephen Paul Quiles, a 42-year-old homeless man with a long history of misdemeanor convictions, of a felony robbery charge that could bring him up to five years in prison...
Police say homeless man is a suspect in his own beating
Posted on April 02, 2008A St. Augustine man who was severely beaten and left unconscious at a homeless camp last week remains on life-support and in a coma. Two different versions emerged about what actually happened that night to Mark Moynihan, 45, a carpenter and house painter...
The preach goes on
Posted on April 01, 2008Members of the Street Church Ministry say they're victims of religious persecution by the city as it attempts to get an injunction barring them from gathering in parks to feed the homeless while exercising their faith.But now street preacher Art Pawlowski can continue his public ministry for at least another 17 days...
As jobs vanish and prices rise, food stamp use nears record
Posted on March 31, 2008Driven by a painful mix of layoffs and rising food and fuel prices, the number of Americans receiving food stamps is projected to reach 28 million in the coming year, the highest level since the program began in the 1960s.Florida is one of six states which saw recipient numbers rise more than 10% from December 2006 to December 2007...
Homeless drop-in centers advance in fits and starts
Posted on March 31, 2008A Homeless Access Center, offering job and housing search assistance, financial assistance, and possibly medical and legal aid, is in the works in Riverside, California. The City Council approved plans to spend $1.1 million to acquire a 6,128-square foot commercial building and convert it into a multi-service homeless center...
Homeless man testifies that he nearly fell victim to "hit-and-run grannies'
Posted on March 29, 2008A few years ago, a stranger made Jimmy Covington an irresistible offer.He was sitting on the steps of an office building when an elderly woman approached him. She offered Covington, who was living on the streets, a place to stay. And if he just filled out some paperwork, she could get him $2,000 in benefits within a month...
The handwriting is on the wall for Orlando's homeless-feeding law
Posted on March 27, 2008Orlando's restrictions on feeding the homeless in public parks don't seem to serve any purpose other than spreading the problem around and discouraging the homeless from showing up, a federal judge said Wednesday.U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell made his opinion known while hearing arguments from a city lawyer, who wants a lawsuit challenging Orlando's homeless-feeding rules thrown out...
Settlement in lawsuit over boy without arms and legs
Posted on March 25, 2008Carlitos' mother said that pesticides sprayed in adjacent Ag-Mart fields drifted and reached her and other workers. She also said she was forced to work in freshly sprayed fields and had suffered sore throat, burning eyes and headaches from the chemicals...
What if a disease killed hundreds of thousands of people at an average age of 48?
Posted on March 24, 2008You know what would happen. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would jump to attention and commit enormous resources to curing it. The National Institutes of Health would grant millions of dollars for research. Scientists who developed effective treatments would rightly be celebrated...
Orlando leads the nation in empty houses
Posted on March 22, 2008Orlando has the highest homeowner vacancy rate in the United States, with 7.4% of its housing stock unoccupied in 2007, The Wall Street Journal reports.Other Florida cities aren't far behind: Tampa-St. Petersburg (5.1%), Jacksonville (4.6%), and Miami-Ft...
Church has a constitutionally protected right to shelter the homeless, city legal staff says
Posted on March 22, 2008A city has no legal authority to impose demands on the Catholic Church over its operation of a homeless shelter, lawyers for Green Bay, Wisconsin, have concluded. The city can't close the shelter or fine it for operating without permission, the lawyers said...
Not the typical murder weapon viewing
Posted on March 22, 2008Jurors had to kneel down and even lie on their stomachs to get a good look at the 1999 Mercury Sable station wagon that two 70-something women are accused of using to kill a homeless man so they could collect his life insurance.Prosecutors say the car killed Kenneth McDavid...
Witness: I sold the car to "hit-and-run granny"
Posted on March 21, 2008A former car salesman testified that he sold a Mercury Sable station wagon to one of the "hit-and-run grannies" accused of using the car to kill a homeless man in a murder-for-life-insurance scheme.Although it doesn't sound like he was the greatest witness, the man was the first eyewitness to tie Olga Rutterschmidt, 75, to the car that prosecutors say was the murder weapon in the death of Kenneth McDavid, 50, in an alley in West Los Angeles in 2005...
An unprecedented number of homeless people
Posted on March 20, 2008Alex Clay sits on his mattress at a homeless camp under the I-10 overpass in New Orleans. He lost his home in the Lower Ninth Ward to Hurricane Katrina.Photo by USA TodayThe homeless population of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina has reached unprecedented levels for a U...
Murder trial begins for "hit-and-run grannies"
Posted on March 19, 2008They plucked the destitute off the street as "investments," insured their lives for millions, then snuffed them out in staged hit-and-run accidents.That's how prosecutors Tuesday outlined their case against Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt in Los Angeles County Superior Court as their murder trial began...
I wish this story was about Orlando
Posted on March 15, 2008To grow physically and spiritually, the city must embrace the needs of its most vulnerable residents ? particularly the homeless ? and not leave them behind while those stronger thrive, the mayor said.A new downtown homeless assistance center will open this spring, and that should significantly improve homeless residents' lives...
Homeless guy busts a cop
Posted on March 13, 2008It's a man-bites-dog story: After he was detained by police at a shelter, a homeless guy told the officers that he smelled alcohol on one of them.It turned out that one of the officers' blood alcohol content tested at 0.213 and 0.198, which is more than twice the 0...
Hundreds seeking housing money overwhelm Boca Raton Housing Authority
Posted on March 12, 2008Police in riot gear had to step in, when the Boca Raton Housing Authority ran out of applications and the waiting crowd turned angry.Photo by the South Florida Sun-SentinelIn a sign of the desperation facing Palm Beach County's poor, hundreds of people descended on the Boca Raton Housing Authority* for a chance to get on a subsidized-housing waiting list...
Changing lives, one job at a time (we hope)
Posted on March 11, 2008Daytona Beach will try a program that gives the city cleaner and safer streets while helping homeless people get back on their feet.The Downtown Streets Team was developed in Palo Alto, California, where the program's success stories include 40 graduates who are now employed and 29 who have found housing...
Social and economic injustice is a sin, says Catholic Church
Posted on March 10, 2008Social and economic injustices are being called new areas of sinful behavior by the Vatican.When asked to list the new areas of sinful behavior, Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti* mentioned the widening social and economic differences between the rich and the poor that "cause an unbearable social injustice...
Shaming the poor
Posted on March 10, 2008"Shaming the children of poor people for daring to receive a free lunch is tantamount to saying to them, well, if you had been smart, you wouldn?t have been born to poor people in the first place," writes John Scalzi in his post Shaming the Poor at Whatever...
2 arrested for feeding the hungry in England
Posted on March 07, 2008Two people were arrested at an open picnic held by South London's Food not Bombs project, the Brixton-based Reclaim Your Food group.Police told the group that a Public Order offense was being committed and the Anti-Social Behaviour law was invoked, allowing police to place a dispersion order on the group of apparently delinquent youthsOne person was arrested after he had given his name and address to police but then refused to "disperse...
Oklahoma is OK!
Posted on March 07, 200824 visitors from Oklahoma today. Not sure what that's about.
Why so many panhandling cases get dismissed
Posted on March 05, 2008When lawyers actually take the time to challenge citations given to homeless people, most of them are dismissed.Citations for so-called "quality of life" violations (things like panhandling and open containers of alcohol) are issued every day by police, but in many cities they're rarely reviewed to see if there really is evidence against the alleged violator...
It's your fault you're poor and homeless, not mine
Posted on March 02, 2008"I think this economy is down because we built too many houses," the clueless commander-in-chief said in an interview this week.Read more at Alternet here.
A very small answer for a huge problem
Posted on March 01, 2008This 120-foot long and 30-foot wide tent filled with double-decker bunk beds will offer only meals and overnight stays to about 120 people.Frustrated with an encampment near the French Quarter, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has decided to force homeless people into a military-style barrack...
Taxpayers bear the high cost of jailing the homeless
Posted on February 26, 2008It costs taxpayers about $925 when Sarasota police arrest a homeless person for drinking beer in public or sleeping behind a church.Aggressive enforcement of city ordinances targeting the homeless has led to 1,427 arrests over the past three years, costing taxpayers $1...
But where will they go? Maybe they should try an airport
Posted on February 24, 2008Homeless people stay at London's Gatwick Airport because they think of it as a safe haven away from the perils of life on the streets.It's been claimed that more than 40 rough sleepers* make the airport their home every year.A few days ago, Anthony Delaney was locked up after making the airport his home for four years...
But where will they go?
Posted on February 23, 2008Marilyn St. Laurent and Jerry Black are among about 80 homeless residents of a wooded area near Cocoa. Photo by Florida Today.Offering limited resources or options for where they can stay, Brevard County officials told residents of a homeless camp they have to leave by Monday...
He cut down his trees because he's afraid of the homeless ... say what?
Posted on February 23, 2008People living in a Daytona Beach neighborhood described as "already notorious" are upset about a proposed homeless shelter.One guy even cut down his trees because people were sleeping under them.The Salvation Army plans to build a $6 million facility with 170 beds for homeless individuals and families...
Registration form is biased against homeless sex offenders, court rules
Posted on February 15, 2008The registration form sex offenders must fill out when they notify the state of their whereabouts is biased against the homeless and must be rewritten to take into account their transient lifestyles, the Massachusetts supreme court has ruled.The court reached its decision while overturning the conviction of Angelo Rosado, an intermittent guest at the Pine Street Inn shelter who was found guilty in 2006 of violating sex-offender registration requirements...
Ever wondered what life would be like without a legal system?
Posted on February 15, 2008Things spun out of control on Pitcairn Island, one of the British Empire?s most isolated remnants. Settled in 1790 by the mutineers from the storied H.M.S. Bounty, Pitcairn barely recognized that it was ruled by British law.Pitcairn did have its own legal code, mostly dealing with theft and property disputes...
Ocala cracks down on panhandling
Posted on February 11, 2008Ocala has taken a hard-line approach to panhandling by eliminating all street transactions through a new ordinance.The city's prior law was similar to a Marion County ordinance, which is being challenged in federal court. The county has beeen barred from enforcing it...
A return to the workhouse?
Posted on February 10, 2008In the 1920s, the workhouse uniform for able-bodied women was generally a shapeless, blue-and-white-striped frock reaching to the ankles, with a smock over.© St James Hospital, Leeds.Social housing tenants should be required to seek work, with the threat that they could lose their homes if they fail to comply, said Britain's new housing minister...
It couldn't be the same guy, could it?
Posted on February 07, 2008A lot of hits today from people looking for a picture of John D'Amico ... and, yup, I've got one.But the guy they want to see is mob boss John D?Amico, known as Jackie the Nose. (Don't you just love Mafia nicknames?) The feds are rounding up scores of accused organized crime figures in the largest sweep in recent memory, The New York Times reports...
Palm Beach shelter's days are numbered
Posted on February 04, 2008In Palm Beach County, there are no real emergency shelter beds. Westgate Tabernacle Church provides services for more than 100 people per day.Faced with mounting debt and an ongoing battle with Palm Beach County, Westgate Tabernacle Church, the shelter of last resort for the homeless, is for sale...
A few words of encouragement might mean a lot
Posted on February 03, 2008An old blogging buddy, On the Nickel, has re-surfaced after almost a year of silence.He's no longer in Las Vegas, but has landed in Greenville, South Carolina. He says:"There are a few sources of help here most of them broke cause of the overwhelming need...
Boost the economy by helping people in need
Posted on February 02, 2008An economic stimulus plan that includes an increase in food stamps, unemployment insurance, aid to prevent state cutbacks, home energy aid, and temporary tax rebates targeted to low- and moderate-income people will work best, Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke and other top economists say...
If these people don't exist, why are you hiding from them?
Posted on February 01, 2008"If you know where there's a veteran sleeping under a bridge, you call me immediately, and we will make sure that man does not do it,? Bill O?Reilly said.But when a group of the folks he claimed really don?t exist -? homeless veterans -- showed up at the front door of Fox News in New York City, he hid from them...
Gag order issued in homeless beating case
Posted on January 28, 2008Future statements and depositions in a first-degree murder case involving the beating death of a homeless man in Fort Lauderdale won't be made public.Broward Circuit Judge Cynthia Imperato issued a gag order today to prohibit all attorneys, police investigators and potential witnesses from speaking publicly about the case...
11-year-old's idea may become law to help feed the homeless
Posted on January 28, 2008"If you think there's a problem in the world," said Jack Davis, "you don't wait for other people to fix it. You have to try to fix it yourself." He lives in Miami Shores.Jack Davis is only 11, but he had a pretty grown-up idea: He was disturbed to learn that Florida restaurants throw out food that could be given to the hungry and the homeless -- because the restaurant owners could be sued if anyone who ate the food became ill or developed food poisoning...
It is time for a new war on poverty?
Posted on January 27, 2008Here's what the presidential candidates have to say about poverty and inequality in America:? Building One America by John Edwards? Pragmatic Solutions for Reducing Poverty and Inequality by Hillary Clinton? Tackling Poverty and Inequality in America by Barack ObamaThe pieces are from Pathways, a magazine on poverty, inequality, and social policy published by the Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality at Stanford University.
"You stole from the homeless, now you can feel homeless on this cold night"
Posted on January 27, 2008As punishment for stealing a Salvation Army collection kettle shortly before Christmas, Nathen Smith was given the choice of 90 days in jail or 24 hours as a homeless man. When Smith chose the latter option, Judge Michael Cicconetti made him empty his pockets and turn over all his money and credit cards...
St. Pete passes 2 ordinances affecting the homeless
Posted on January 25, 2008Two ordinances that place tighter restrictions on homeless people's actions -- and belongings -- in downtown St. Petersburg have been unanimously approved by the City Council.The ordinances, which take effect Feb. 1, prohibit people from sleeping on public land during the day or leaving personal items along the public right of way, including sidewalks...
Downplaying the number of homeless vets
Posted on January 18, 2008John Edwards? claim that 200,000 veterans ?will go to sleep under bridges and on grates? because they are homeless continues to draw challenges from Bill O'Reilly.But Edwards is correct. Homelessness amongst veterans is an enduring and heartbreaking reality that is well documentedNevertheless, Bill O'Reilly said: ?They may be out there, but there?s not many of them out there...
Challenging a misconception
Posted on January 18, 2008Panhandlers haven't disappeared from Gainesville, but street-side panhandling has dropped off significantly since it was banned in July, police said.Read the Independent Florida Alligator article here.Since challenging misconceptions about the homeless is one of my missions, I have to point out Commissioner Ed Braddy's comment...
St. Petersburg ordinances target the homeless
Posted on January 11, 2008Two ordinances that would prohibit people from sleeping on public land during the day or leaving their personal items along the public right of way have won preliminary approval -- unanimously -- from the St. Petersburg City Council.A public hearing on both ordinances will be held Jan...
St. Petersburg targets the homeless again
Posted on January 10, 2008For months, just a few feet from the steps of City Hall, a makeshift encampment has grown. Dozens of homeless people sleep along the sidewalk and store their belongings in sleeping bags, old suitcases and shopping carts. They aren't breaking any laws, police say...
Housing the homeless saves money
Posted on January 09, 2008Two housing projects are saving taxpayers in Seattle about $3.2 million a year by directly addressing their residents' struggles with alcoholism, mental health problems and other issues.Preliminary studies indicate that the projects are dramatically reducing visits to the public hospital, sobering center and jail...
Speaking up for the homeless (and others whose voices aren't heard)
Posted on January 08, 2008?Tonight, a man or a woman whose name is unknown, who served this country patriotically and wore the uniform of the United States of America, will go to sleep under a bridge or on a grate, homeless,? said John Edwards in his speech after finishing third in the New Hampshire primary...
Lawsuit challenges ban on feeding homeless in West Palm Beach parks
Posted on December 27, 2007Two groups that share food with the hungry and homeless have sued West Palm Beach, claiming its ordinance that outlaws their activity is unconstitutional, vague and overbroad.Saying the feeding ban institutes a "pay to pray" system in the city, Art and Compassion and Food Not Bombs claim their rights to feed the down-trodden in front of the library and at Meyer Amphitheater are just as important as charitable work done by those who can afford to build churches and other buildings...
Hard numbers
Posted on December 24, 2007From the Columbia Journalism Review:58Number of stories mentioning the words "poverty," "low income," "homelessness," "welfare" or "food stamps" on the nightly newscasts of ABC, CBS and NBC between 9/11/03 and 10/30/06.69Number of stories those newscasts aired about Michael Jackson's legal woes during the same period.
I guess I should have known this already
Posted on December 20, 2007No member of the current Supreme Court has ever defended a person accused of committing a felony.That means they have no experience with the dynamics of a criminal trial and have never sat in a dilapidated cell block with the poor and battered souls -- predominantly of color -- who are hauled into the nation?s criminal courts...
Another way to feed the homeless (you'll laugh out loud)
Posted on December 13, 2007I just may have to try this myself.
Gifts as they are
Posted on December 13, 2007"My clients are indigent ...," writes Kenshusei, who I gather is a public defender somewhere in Florida."Occasionally (though a better word might be 'rarely'), we really get to help people out of tight spots and our clients want to thank us. Now, as we've already established my clients are ...
Finally, a presidential candidate addresses homelessness
Posted on December 12, 2007And no surprise here ? it?s John Edwards.The subject of homelessness hasn?t come up in any of the debates, not even in St. Petersburg with homeless protestors camped outside.Street Sense, a Washington, D.C., newspaper, asked the major candidates from both parties six questions to learn how they would combat poverty if elected president...
Some holiday cheer for St. Pete's homeless
Posted on December 11, 2007Evander Preston (middle) hands out gifts to the homeless at Williams Park indowntown St. Petersburg. Preston became the homeless' Santa Claus, giving all the good street men and women what they really wanted for Christmas.Photo from Creative LoafingAt first, the homeless people who live in St...
New tent city opens in St. Petersburg
Posted on December 06, 2007Debra Lilley unpacks her things in a tent after arriving at Pinellas Hope, a new facility that provides assistance and shelter for 250 people.Photo from the St. Petersburg TimesHomeless Pinellas residents are moving into Pinellas Hope, a temporary "tent city" operated by Catholic Charities on 10 acres in an industrial area in mid Pinellas County...
Belittling the homeless degrades us all
Posted on December 03, 2007What happens when we strike out at the poor and try to drive them from the streets of our city, when we call them names and represent them to ourselves as less than human, when we cite and arrest them by the tens of thousands for merely trying to exist, when we send police instead of caregivers, and when we enact and enforce policies that serve only to punish and harass the innocent victims of our neglect?Read Rabbi Alan Lew's answer, published in the San Francisco Chronicle, here.
Orlando equal to Moscow? Not quite yet
Posted on December 03, 2007Orlando has long aspired to be a world-class city.Just a few weeks ago, Mayor Buddy Dyer described the opening of Orlando's new IKEA store as something that will "cement our position as a retail destination equal to Stockholm, Moscow and Beijing."But Orlando falls short of Moscow in at least one way -- making provisions for homeless people to vote...
Lakeland abruptly turns on those who found refuge on its streets
Posted on December 02, 2007About a dozen Lakeland police officers ordered street residents to stay away from their belongings while a shovel on a city truck scooped them up. Blankets, clothes, mattresses and papers fell into a dump truck in a tangle.A police captain admitted the homeless people weren't warned that a raid would take place the next day...
Homeless man sues restaurant over scalding
Posted on November 30, 2007A homeless man who claims he was doused with scalding water for panhandling at a Kentucky Fried Chicken has sued the company and the store manager. William Zimmerman, 50, alleges he was seriously injured when manager Kimberly Mallory poured the water on him at the store in the Detroit suburb of Highland Park in July...
Looking at the truth of the American Dream
Posted on November 28, 2007"Doing better? than one?s parents has long been a key element of the American Dream. The story, embedded in our history and our literature, suggests any person can start from humble beginnings and achieve great wealth, or at least reach the middle class...
Homeless protest moves across the street to avoid arrests
Posted on November 27, 2007A showdown between the city of St. Petersburg and advocates for the homeless ended peacefully Monday afternoon when protesters avoided arrest by moving across the street from the Mahaffey Theater. Demonstrators had planned to spend four days on the sidewalk in front of the theater -- home to the CNN/YouTube Republican presidential debate on Wednesday -- to protest city policies that they felt were harsh and unfair toward the homeless...
... just drown them (part 2)
Posted on November 26, 2007The homeless and their advocates who spent Sunday night along First Street South in St. Petersburg said they received an unexpected surprise: blasts of water from nearby sprinklers. "They knew we'd be here," Rev. Bruce Wright said of the sprinkler system, which many of those camped out said started about three different times throughout the night...
St. Pete fences out homeless rally
Posted on November 26, 2007The location chosen by homeless advocates to highlight the plight of St. Petersburg's homeless is being fenced off."They think we're going to become invisible," said William "Grandpa" Shumate, 59, who lives in front of City Hall.In preparation for Wednesday's Republican presidential debate at the Mahaffey Theater, the city is setting up a barricade and telling participants in a multi-day rally that they'll have to find another place...
Show your support with juice, water, video cameras ... or just your presence
Posted on November 25, 2007With the national media coming to St. Petersburg for the GOP debate, advocates for the homeless are holding four days of protest, including a "sleep-in" and hunger strike. While organizers said they would act peacefully and within the law, the specter of a confrontation with police looms, recalling the incident in January when officers slashed the tents of homeless people...
Something to think about ... while you enjoy those leftovers
Posted on November 23, 2007Did you enjoy that turkey yesterday? And the stuffing and gravy and pumpkin pie? Did you loosen your belt and take a nap, secure in the thought that there are plenty of leftovers for today, and plenty of food for you and your family for the foreseeable future? If you can answer "yes" to those questions, you're one of the lucky ones, among the 89% of Americans who don't have to worry where their next meal is coming from...
Georgia court overturns restrictions on where sex offenders live
Posted on November 21, 2007Georgia's law restricting where sex offenders can live has been struck down by the state supreme court.The law banned registered sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, churches and other areas where children congregate."It is apparent that there is no place in Georgia where a registered sex offender can live without being continually at risk of being ejected," reads the unanimous opinion...
No need to arrest the homeless.Just drown them.
Posted on November 18, 2007A few nights ago, Blurbex found a group of homeless people standing by a bus stop in downtown St. Petersburg* wrapped in blankets.And then the blood started to boil.For the last few months, homeless folks have taken to camping out on the sidewalk in front of City Hall -- not as a protest, but just because there are simply few places to sleep these days where business owners won?t complain...
A feel-good moment
Posted on November 16, 2007Hangin' out at Panera this morning (okay, I was using the free wi-fi), I saw Enzo* walking by with a cup of coffee.I hadn't seen him for a while. Turns out he'd been in his hometown in upstate New York, where he actually managed to get his birth certificate...
"Startling information"?
Posted on November 13, 2007"WINK News has uncovered startling information about the number of homeless students in Southwest Florida," the report reads."We found out there are close to a thousand kids without a home attending school right now."Startling? Only if you haven't been paying any attention at all to what's happening in your community...
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