You follow her inside and the dark spaces become a shroud that makes it harder to see. You have to squint and it’s important now to see and see well, but it’s hard. The floor yields the way living things do, like fungus or moss. So does the hand rail, and your hand jerks away, as though it’s encountered danger; it’s instinctive. Upstairs, in the trashed hallway, food manifests as […]
624 Ninth Street Modesto
Exodus at 624 Ninth Street Shows Government at Its Best
“We were ready for them to come in and start pushing people around, but it didn’t happen. People here would have gone to jail if they had come in and tried to force us out, but they didn’t. They just came in and tried to help.” There was genuine wonder in Jeremy Buchelew’s voice and eyes as he described the evacuation of Modesto’s now-notorious apartment building at 624 Ninth Street. […]
Like it or not, Local Leaders Own Trump
Every Stanislaus County Supervisor supported Donald Trump, as did most local politicians, including Jeff Denham. Lately, many have been hearing complaints about the president’s support for racists and Nazis as well as criticism of his appointees. Just before the Stanislaus County Supervisor’s meeting of August 22, a supervisor was heard telling a friend he was, “tired of hearing about Donald Trump.” He added, “What does Donald Trump have to do […]
Condemned to Homelessness?
The stories told by residents of 624 Ninth Street in Modesto sound like a dystopian nightmare. “I was in the bathroom when the ceiling caved in,” says one. “Once the ceiling came down there was a rush of water and when it stopped I looked up and saw rats looking down.” Bruce Curtis, who’s been a resident of the condemned building for three years, said the owner and manager were […]