According the United Way’s Real Cost Measure, 31% of Stanislaus County families struggle to meet costs for food, rent, and clothing. Like most households throughout the state, the cost of housing is the primary factor in their inability to make ends meet. Research by the United Way reveals that, “Struggling households in California use over half of their income on housing, more than twice as high a share as households […]
Search Results for: homeless
Kate Trompetter: Dedicated Advocate for Social Change
Community advocate and Organizational and Systems Coach Kate Trompetter was ten years old when her mother gifted her with one of the more important lessons she could ever receive. “I’ve shared this story many times, but it continues to inform my life,” Ms. Trompetter recently recalled. “I had read this story in the newspaper of a child who had been born HIV-positive and this child’s family needed money. So I […]
Is Economic Success in Stanislaus County Unattainable? Part II
Perhaps the best economic news for Stanislaus County in the past 20 years has been the present supply chain problems and product shortages experienced nationwide. Given that educational levels in the county in general are well suited for manufacturing jobs, plus the realization by industrialists that the best business model may be a shorter supply chain, manufacturing might return to the San Joaquin Valley and provide new jobs. The number […]
RIP Edward “Popeye” Peacock
“You don’t retire from the Angels,” said Edward “Popeye” Peacock, “you just go inactive.” Popeye’s tales of riding with the Hells Angels may have been his way of warning people not to underestimate the prowess of a man just a bit over five feet tall and a few degrees north of one-hundred pounds. The stories may or may not have been true; he did appear to know quite a bit […]
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. […]
RIP Edward “White Horse” Mendez
With a profile that could easily have served as the “heads” side of an American coin honoring its native residents, Edward “White Horse” Mendez was a legendary presence among the small circle of homeless people who lived in and frequented Modesto’s Beard Brook Park. He died Wednesday, March 10. He was sixty-eight years old. “White Horse taught me how to survive out here,” said one man several decades his junior. […]
Can New Mayor and Council Reverse Modesto’s Decline?
The new Modesto City Council, headed by Mayor Sue Zwahlen, has a lot of work to do. Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, the public has been growing less respectful of the law and of other citizens. Ever since I departed from the Modesto City Council in 2003, I’ve noticed a continuous decline in the quality of life within the community. From my narrow viewpoint, determining how fast problems are growing […]
Our New Letters Page: “Let There be Light”
Coincident with launching our new “Letters” page, we’re announcing here key parts of our policy for publication. As with our “Comments” sections, we’re committed to publishing a wide range of viewpoints as long as the focus is on people and issues in the San Joaquin Valley. Like other media platforms, we’ve made a conscious decision to reject the kinds of lies, disinformation, misinformation, falsehoods and conspiracy theories that have characterized […]
Rainbow over Modesto Greets New Mayor Zwahlen
Some said the rainbow that arced over Modesto early Tuesday morning touched down at Sue Zwahlen’s residence in the city’s college district, but they must have been looking from an odd perspective. To most observers, the rainbow looked like it had one end just outside the city to the southwest, with the other end touching down in the northeast. February 2 — Tuesday — was the official Election Day for […]