In late 1975, while at UC Berkeley, I was guided into the path of a prophet, Paul Schuster Taylor. Retired Professor of Economics at UC, widower of the renown documentary photographer Dorothea Lange, longstanding critic of California’s large-scale agricultural structure and its historic political power over the state’s water resources and farm labor conditions – Paul was a force even at 80, when hindered by Parkinson’s and glaucoma. I was […]
History
Stanislaus Sheriff’s Office Sued on Shooting of Teenager
The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office has been sued in federal court because one of its deputies shot and killed someone. Again. This action, filed Monday, July 19, in US Court in Fresno, stems from the shooting of 16-year-old Xander Mann. That lawsuit follows by eight days the filing of a similar action based upon the fatal shooting of Eloy Gonzalez, 41, last September. The teenager and the homeless man were […]
Reconnecting the Formerly Incarcerated: We Already Have a Viable Model
Michael Baldwin Senior is a Modesto Community Advocate and Paralegal. This is the final installment in a three-part series on the challenges faced by current and former incarcerated individuals in their quest to successfully reenter society. It was written in collaboration with Tom Portwood. Just over a year ago, I had the honor of speaking at a candlelight vigil for George Floyd at the 10th Street Plaza in downtown Modesto. […]
How Many Free Shovels on Turlock’s Amazon Gift Card?
While Turlock officials and Amazon flacks were still unwilling to confirm that a huge warehouse was going to be a fulfillment center for the internet giant, a burning question remained unanswered: Just how many shiny, commemorative shovels was Amazon going to provide for the groundbreaking ceremony? Several examples of those shovels were presented to City of Turlock managers so elected council members could be photographed “digging” into the earth at […]
Reconnecting: First Steps for Released Prisoners
Michael Baldwin Senior is a Modesto Community Advocate and Paralegal. This article is the second in a series on the challenges faced by current and former convicts in their quest to successfully reenter society. It was written in collaboration with Tom Portwood. April 7, 2021 is a day I’ll never forget, because just as I was getting out of bed, one of my former parole agents called me and gave […]
Frank Carson Podcast: Damning Indictment of Stanislaus DA
Christopher Goffard is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist who works for the Los Angeles Times. Most famous for his book and podcast about,“Dirty John,” a con man of bottomless moral depravity, Goffard’s most recent work covers the investigation and subsequent trial of Modesto attorney Frank Carson, a larger-than-life character whose public contempt for local authorities was the apparent motive for a charge of murder based on the testimony of a […]
Homeless: The Punishing Effects of Market Forces
For years, the dominant explanations for homelessness have been drugs and choice. Whenever the topic of homelessness arose, people were quick to say, “It’s the drugs.” And if they didn’t rant about drugs and needles, the alternative was to argue that homelessness was a “choice” people made to avoid the responsibilities of self-sufficiency. Occasionally, someone would point out that doing away with mental institutions and social services might have had […]
Is Amazon the Gift that Keeps on Taking?
Below, Bruce Frohman joins Steve Ringhoff in taking a close look at the consequences when Amazon comes to town. Like Mr. Ringhoff, Frohman believes the reasons Amazon often clouds its arrival in secrecy are not benign. Politicians operate under the presumption that any business creating new jobs in a community will be a benefit. When a company the size of Amazon comes to town, heaven and earth are moved to approve […]
Endangered Homeless Woman Safe, United with Daughter
Cheryl Littlefield’s daughter, who prefers to remain anonymous, was stunned when she found her mother on the street last Thursday. “The last time I saw her was in November,” said the daughter. “She still had her room then. It was packed full of her belongings and a lot of trash, but her rooms have been that way for years.” According to her daughter, Cheryl has a history of mental illness […]
Homeless: Falling into the Black Hole of Help
We first saw Cheryl Littlefield on south 9th Street in Modesto in late January. She was badly soiled and had obviously been sleeping outside for several weeks. Her fingernails and toenails were grotesquely long and dirty. Prior to living on the street, Cheryl had had a room at a nearby motel. She said she lost the room when it, “caved in.” Her income is managed by a local payee. Payees […]