Academic

More Orlando tax money going to fight against sharing food with the homeless

Posted on January 25, 2011
The City of Orlando will spend another $25,000 on an outside lawyer to argue over its "large-group feeding" ordinance in court.The next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 15 before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.The Fox35 story is full of errors,* but you can read it here...

City permit rule stops couple's effort to feed the homeless

Posted on January 15, 2011
Bobby and Amanda Herring spent more than a year providing food to homeless people in downtown Houston every day. They fed them, left behind no trash and doled out warm meals peacefully without a single crime being committed, Bobby Herring said.That ended when the city shut down their "Feed a Friend" effort for lack of a permit...

Homeless pitch tents in public lot; city says it's legal

Posted on January 11, 2011
Some of the homeless have pitched tents in a vacant public lot in Lubbock, Texas, and the city says as long as the people don't break any laws or pose a threat to public safety, they can stay."It is not against the law for those people to be there. It is only a violation of the law when they start violating the laws already on the books in Lubbock," said city councilman Paul Beane...

Central Florida food-stamp growth 'staggering' -- now 1 in 6 relies on help

Posted on January 09, 2011
About one in every six Central Floridians now relies on food stamps to subsist -- a rate that has ballooned by nearly 185% since the start of the recession.The Florida Department of Children and Families called the increase "staggering."In Orange County, the number is even higher, up 198%...

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Teens plead guilty in fatal beating of homeless man; they had planned to ?kick a bum?s ass?

Posted on January 08, 2011
With their heads bowed at times and one fighting back tears, two teen-agers accused of beating a homeless man to death in 2009 pleaded guilty Friday to voluntary manslaughter and other charges.John Hadley Thompson, 17, and Jared Cory Voss, 18, face 20-year, eight-month prison sentences...

Panhandling becomes an issue in Tampa elections

Posted on January 08, 2011
Mayoral candidate Bob Buckhorn says if elected one of his first actions would be to submit a proposed panhandling ban to the city council for approval.?While I am sympathetic to the needy, we cannot allow this to continue any longer,? he said in a statement on his campaign website...

Homeless man who lives in doghouse told to move on

Posted on January 07, 2011
Billy Craig has lived in a doghouse for nearly a year.William Craig, 52, is homeless. He has lived in a doghouse behind a beauty salon in Madison, Tennessee, for nearly a year. "It's tough being homeless in Nashville," Craig said. "It's rough out here in the street...

Mayor says city should have 2 homeless "feeding centers"

Posted on January 07, 2011
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler is suggesting two "feeding centers" should be opened near downtown to help reduce the number of homeless hanging out in the city center.Seiler?s suggestion comes after months of struggle to find a location for one feeding center...

Pinellas shelter sprang from brainstorm to reality in less than 90 days

Posted on January 06, 2011
A new homeless facility near the Pinellas County jail has opened its doors for the first 25 people in what officials call a "soft opening."Called Pinellas Safe Harbor, the annex building is expected to become the area's busiest homeless shelter, housing as many as 500 people at a time...

Son of Sanford cop accused of attacking homeless man turns himself in at jail

Posted on January 03, 2011
The 21-year-old son of a Sanford police lieutenant accused of sucker-punching a homeless man and breaking his nose -- an attack that was captured on video -- turned himself in this morning.Justin Collison was wanted on a charge of aggravated battery. He is being held without bail...

8 homeless youth die in New Orleans fire -- what does it say about us?

Posted on January 02, 2011
Eight young people, who were squatting in an abandoned warehouse, perished in a raging fire during a cold night in New Orleans. Bill Quigley (one of my heroes) asks:Will we look into our abandoned buildings and look into the eyes of our abandoned daughters and sons and sisters and brothers? Will our nation address unemployment, high housing costs and low wages? Will we address the abuse, neglect and family conflict that create homelessness for millions of youth, especially gay and transgender youth? Or will the fires continue and the lives end?Read his commentary here.

Cop's son caught sucker-punching homeless man

Posted on December 31, 2010
An arrest warrant has been issued for the son of a Sanford police lieutenant, almost three weeks after a video camera captured him throwing a sucker-punch at a homeless man and breaking his nose.Justin Collison is wanted on a charge of aggravated battery...

Honor the dead by bringing life and hope to the living

Posted on December 23, 2010
Nearly 100 homeless people and advocates sat side-by-side as the names of each decedent were called and eulogies offered.Hear remarks offered at the 9th annual Homeless Persons? Candlelight Memorial Service, held to recognize and pay tribute to 35 Central Florida persons who died homeless during 2010...

Food Not Bombs member arrested at Lake Eola for first time since 2007

Posted on December 18, 2010
Right when we were marveling at how long it had been since a member of Food Not Bombs was last put in handcuffs, the Orlando Weekly writes, Orlando?s senior anarchist Ben Markeson called to notify us that he had finally received the honor of leaving a food-sharing at Lake Eola Park in a police squad car...

Supreme Court of India stands up for the homeless

Posted on December 16, 2010
The Supreme Court of India has directed all states and union territories to ensure that no night shelter was demolished amid the biting winter cold and slammed the Delhi Development Authority for demolishing two shelters.The authority was ordered to rebuild them within three days...

Churches skirt shelter regulations, offer all-night prayer service for homeless

Posted on December 15, 2010
"It wouldn't be the first time people fell asleep in church," Pastor Mark Thompson said.Thompson and his congregation at St. Mark Lutheran Church mobilized over the weekend after learning that the City of Cudahy, Wisconsin, had rejected another church's proposal to host a temporary shelter...

Diseased. Is that how homeless people are made to feel?

Posted on December 14, 2010
David said that a friend stole $10,000 from him, he was recently divorced and that his favorite hobby is riding motorcycles although he no longer has one anymore.David, a Vietnam vet, just asked for spare change. But the person he asked was "Leaflet," a regular contributor over at the Florida Progressive Coalition blog...

Homeless camp broken up

Posted on December 14, 2010
Judy Clark, 61, who has lived for three years in a homeless encampment, waits for friends to bring a van to put her belongings into storage.A homeless encampment along the Los Angeles River has been broken up, forcing about 20 people to move from the area...

Homeless man gets $75,000 after he was punched by police

Posted on December 05, 2010
A homeless man who was repeatedly punched by a police officer while a second officer attempted to restrain him will get $75,000 from a lawsuit settlement.A bystander videotaped the incident and the footage was broadcast on television and widely circulated on the Internet...

Once homeless, city attorney tells her story to inspire others

Posted on December 04, 2010
"I had the dream of being a lawyer since I was a little girl and it was a long and difficult process with failure along the way, but I got to live my dream," said Nikki Johnson-Huston."It was scary and fearful and confusing. You don't know a lot, but you know that it's probably not how things are supposed to be...

"The only tired I was, was tired of giving in."

Posted on December 01, 2010
Fifty-five years ago today, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama.It wasn?t because she was tired. ?No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in,? she said later.Her arrest and conviction for disorderly conduct triggered a 381-day boycott of the bus system by blacks that was organized by a 26-year-old Baptist minister, the Rev...

A city makes amends for destroying homeless people's belongings

Posted on November 30, 2010
Following a lawsuit and months of talks, San Diego is on the verge of opening a storage facility where homeless people can keep their possessions.And dozens of people would receive compensation for the personal belongings that city workers destroyed.Homeless advocates would be allowed to use the storage building for a year and given $100,000 to staff and run the facility, the settlement said...

Hit-and-run driver causes life-threatening injuries to homeless man in wheelchair

Posted on November 27, 2010
A hit-and-run driver left a wheelchair-bound homeless man in critical condition in Orlando.William Phillip Capps, 52, was being treated at Orlando Regional Medical Center for life-threatening injuries.The impact of the crash scattered Capps' clothes all over the roadway, where his wheelchair rested in a crumpled heap, police officers said...

Teen pleads guilty in homeless man's beating death

Posted on November 17, 2010
Nineteen-year-old Christopher Decatur has pleaded guilty to beating a homeless man to death earlier this year.Decatur and two other teens are accused of fatally injuring Joseph Ruba, 52, during an April 17 fight outside a Lakeland restaurant.His sentencing is scheduled for Dec...

Poverty rises in Florida, while tax breaks benefit the wealthy

Posted on November 16, 2010
The number of Floridians living below the federal poverty level increased between 2007 and 2009 by almost 550,000 -- equal to the population of the cities of Orlando and Tampa combined.New U.S. Census figures show about 2.7 million Floridians, or 14.9%, lived in poverty in 2009, a sharp rise over 2007's 12...

Homeless man beaten, dragged behind truck

Posted on November 13, 2010
A man was so enraged a homeless man was sleeping near his Detroit home that he allegedly beat the man, tied him to his truck and dragged him by the feet, police said.In a case that shocked homeless activists and neighbors, Steven James Diponio, 54, is accused of assault with intent to do great bodily harm in the Oct...

Is Orlando one of America?s dumbest big regions?

Posted on October 09, 2010
Orlando is the ninth worst metro area in the country in terms of its number of college graduates.Only 26.6% of Orlando's residents have college degrees, says the U.S. Census Bureau.That number barely beats out Detroit (26.3%) -- but it's better than Tampa's 24...

A little inspiration for the coming week

Posted on October 03, 2010
"Safeguarding the rights of others is the most noble and beautiful end of a human being."-- Kahlil GibranThanks to @nothosepeople.

Homeless man defends church against burglar

Posted on September 29, 2010
A homeless man became an unlikely hero ? and victim ? by confronting a man who broke into the storage shed of a Boynton Beach church.Dave Wilbur has been living at the church property, said the Rev. Renwick Bell. Wilbur was beaten ? police said it was a metal broom handle, but Bell thinks it was a shovel -- and suffered cuts on his arm but didn't require stitches...

A city provides space for food-sharing (no, no, it's not Orlando)

Posted on September 27, 2010
Marina McKinley, 14, and her mother Lori distribute clothes as part of the weekly One Meal food-sharing for the homeless in downtown Mobile.Concern for the well-being of their homeless clients in the wake of Mobile's new citywide ban on panhandling had the people behind One Meal thinking about stopping, but an agreement with the city will allow the weekly meal to continue in a new location...

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