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Why Homeless People don’t Want Help: Part II

Help for homeless people must always be understood within the context of a huge deficit. As we’ve noted in Part I, in every category that might be construed as providing help for homeless people, there’s a severe shortage. There are shortages of housing, shortages of treatment facilities, shortages of personnel, and shortages of political will. […]

Why Homeless People don’t Want Help: Part I

The first thing to understand about help for homeless people is that, for the vast majority, there isn’t any. This is a reality easily established. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, “As of the January 2023 point-in-time count, the total number of people experiencing homelessness was estimated to be 181,399, and the state had […]

A Filmmaker’s Fight to Prioritize Homelessness: Vote for Political Change in the San Joaquin Valley

Eric Protein Moseley is a social impact documentary filmmaker working on the film “Understanding the Spectrum: Exploring the Classes of Homelessness.” I am a social impact documentary filmmaker from Detroit, now living in Richmond, California. My journey is deeply personal and profoundly shaped by nearly two decades of battling chemical dependency and homelessness, mostly while raising […]

Cities and Counties Should Call Newsom’s Bluff on Homeless Camps

Reactions to Governor Gavin Newsom’s July 25th orders to clear homeless camps covered a range from defiance in Los Angeles to promises of fines and jail time for homeless campers in Fresno. What did not happen was a sudden appearance of housing, shelters, or services for the over 180,000 California residents with no place to […]

Irrigation District and Board Member Win on Anti-SLAPP Suit

Modesto Irrigation District (MID) Board Member Janice Keating’s suit against the District and fellow Board Member Robert Frobose suffered what could be a mortal blow Thursday, August 15, when Stanislaus Superior Court Judge John R Mayne ruled against her claims of gender bias and sexual harassment. From the very beginning, Keating’s claims against Frobose depended […]

Marie Alvarado-Gil’s Curious Political Calculus

There’s nothing dishonorable about changing one’s mind or political affiliation. In fact, a willingness to change often implies an evidence-based intelligence. When a prominent national figure like J.D.Vance, formerly known as James Donald Bowman, went from referring to Donald Trump as a possible Hitler to becoming his running mate, it’s always possible his motivations were […]

Why Gavin Newsom’s Homeless Orders won’t Work

Whereas some local authorities have rejoiced at Gavin Newsom’s orders to clear homeless camps, others have seen the California Governor’s edict for what it is: A cynical passing of the buck to cities and counties with far too few beds and services to meet the needs of the state’s 180,000 homeless people. Newsom ordered state […]

Irrigation District files anti-SLAPP suit against Board Member

Last May, Modesto Irrigation District (MID) Board Member Janice Keating filed a suit against the district and fellow board member Robert Frobose alleging gender harassment. The suit claims, among other things, that Frobose sought to intimidate Keating about her opposition to rehiring attorney Ronda Lucas to assist General Counsel Wes Milliband with the district’s legal […]

What if Homeless People aren’t who we Think they are?

The name “Larry” below is a pseudonym. He’s still on the streets, last we knew. ed. I walked into the camp thinking I’d done as much as I could to be safe. Still, I felt twinges of fear. A few years ago, before the systematic sweeps of camps throughout the city and county, I’d usually […]

Defenders of Del Puerto Canyon Stand Firm

Christopher Quock has a Master’s Degree in Entomology from San Francisco State University. His job history there includes work in research and as a teaching assistant. He’s a volunteer defender of Del Puerto Canyon, where a remarkable variety of wildlife and geologic history come together in a natural classroom and science lab. ed Imagine visiting […]