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Pursuing truth toward justice

The Valley Citizen

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Beard Brook Village

Homeless: Taking Back the Parks

August 3, 2021 By Eric Caine 16 Comments

Sherry Lopez June 29 2021

Little Sherry Lopez can’t go to the park. Everyone calls her “Little Sherry” because she’s the smallest Sherry they know. Little Sherry is well short of five feet tall. She’s closer to four feet tall. She’s a few years past forty years old. Little Sherry is developmentally and physically disabled. She walks haltingly and often has difficulty with simple concepts. Other than “little,” the most common word people use to […]

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Beard Brook Park, Beard Brook Village, California homelessness, Modesto Homelessness, San Joaquin Valley homelessness, Stanislaus County homelessness, Stanislaus County Low Barrier Shelter

Homeless: The Covid Correction

December 7, 2020 By Eric Caine 12 Comments

Under the 9th Street Bridge, Modesto

For many of us, the cause of homelessness is simple: “It’s the drugs.” Not far behind drugs as a cause of homelessness is the belief that, “They’d rather be homeless than work for a living.” This explanation goes back to Ronald Reagan’s declaration in 1982 that, “the people who are sleeping on the grates — the homeless who are homeless, you might say — by choice.” Neither explanation is going […]

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Beard Brook Park, Beard Brook Village, Homelessness and Poverty in Stanislaus County, Homelessness in Modesto, Homelessness in the San Joaquin Valley, Modesto Outdoor Emergency Shelter

Beard Brook Village: The End Game

March 9, 2019 By Eric Caine 10 Comments

The last days of Beard Brook Village were like the aftermath of a natural disaster— people pawing through the rubble of discarded clothing, bicycle parts and cooking utensils, a stream of humanity pushing shopping carts, baby strollers, and wheel chairs to and fro, and loose dogs everywhere. The debris-strewn chaos of Beard Brook was in stark contrast to the city’s new encampment, tentatively called Gateway Village, where uniform rows of […]

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Beard Brook Park, Beard Brook Village, Homelessness and Poverty in Stanislaus County, Homelessness in Modesto

Homeless: Stanislaus County Workers Bring Christmas Spirit

December 22, 2018 By Eric Caine 3 Comments

A bevy of Stanislaus County service workers, many wearing purple T-shirts emblazoned with the motto, “Together We Rise,” brought food and comfort to the homeless encampment at Beard Brook Park Saturday, just three days before Christmas. Working off the clock, many of the workers are part of the county’s outreach effort and know village residents by name. They helped distribute pizza, pillows, blankets and Christmas cheer to the hundreds of […]

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Beard Brook Park, Beard Brook Village, Homelessness in Modesto, Homelessness in Stanislaus County

Homeless: Time to Commit to Beard Brook Village

November 30, 2018 By Eric Caine 4 Comments

Flooded and collapsed tents at Beard Brook Village became routine as the first real storm of the season hit Modesto this week. The heavy downpour ran off the road above the tents at Beard Brook Park, cut channels along the sloping hillside, and wreaked havoc with campers ill-prepared for heavy rains. With little to no vegetation on the hillside, the clayey soil became dangerously slick on its surface and sticky […]

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Beard Brook Village, Homelessness in Modesto, Homelessness in Stanislaus County

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Off The Wire

Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America's largest rainforest
Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America’s largest rainforest
The Tongass National Forest in Alaska, a focus of political battles over old-growth logging and road-building in forests for decades, has received new protection from the Biden administration.
theconversation.com
As California?s climate heats up, Valley fever spikes ? especially on Central Coast
As California’s climate heats up, Valley fever spikes, especially on Central Coast
Because the fungus that causes the disease spreads easily in hot, arid conditions, the number of cases will grow, UC Berkeley study says
www.mercurynews.com
Activists sue to block Newsom's homeless mental illness treatment program
Activists sue to block Newsom’s homeless mental illness treatment program
Gov. Gavin Newsom championed compelled mental health treatment for homeless Californians. Now, activists are trying to stop it before it gets off the ground.
sjvsun.com
The Rise of Spirit Warriors on the Christian Right
The Rise of Spirit Warriors on the Christian Right
How an extreme transformation in American religion poses an existential threat to our democracy
newrepublic.com
Gimme Shelter: Mayor Karen Bass on homelessness and the California housing crisis
Gimme Shelter: Mayor Karen Bass on homelessness and the California housing crisis
Liam Dillon and Ben Oreskes of the L.A. Times interview Mayor Karen Bass about homelessness and housing problems in California.
calmatters.org
A Water War Is Brewing Over the Dwindling Colorado River
A Water War Is Brewing Over the Dwindling Colorado River
This story first appeared at ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative…
talkingpointsmemo.com
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
After decades of minimal action, Congress passed the largest and most comprehensive piece of climate legislation in U.S. history. Will we make the most of this opportunity?
www.audubon.org
ACLU sues Phoenix over homeless sweeps, citations
ACLU sues Phoenix over homeless sweeps, citations
The ACLU of Arizona has filed a lawsuit against the city of Phoenix over cleanup sweeps of homeless encampments.
www.azcentral.com
'Full-on crisis': Groundwater in California's Central Valley disappearing at alarming rate
‘Full-on crisis’: Groundwater in California’s Central Valley disappearing at alarming rate
Excessive groundwater pumping has long been depleting aquifers in California’s Central Valley. Now, scientists say the depletion is accelerating.
www.latimes.com
San Francisco?s homeless sweeps are unlawful ? and the city will pay for it
San Francisco’s homeless sweeps are unlawful and the city will pay for it
San Francisco’s campaign to remove homeless people from the streets clearly violates…
www.sfchronicle.com
A year after opening 600 rooms to L.A.'s unhoused, the Cecil Hotel is still mostly empty. Here's why
A year after opening 600 rooms to L.A.’s unhoused, the Cecil Hotel is still mostly empty. Here’s why
The Cecil Hotel was supposed to be an innovative new model for permanent supportive housing in L.A. Why is it struggling to fill rooms?
news.yahoo.com
Fentanyl on campus: One Bay Area school saved a student?s life. Another missed the signs of an overdose. Is your school ready?
Fentanyl on campus: One Bay Area school saved a student’s life. Another missed the signs of an overdose. Is your school ready?
Suddenly, Bay Area schools are playing a critical role in combating the alarming rise of fentanyl that is spilling onto high school campuses. But a Bay Area News Group survey found most may not be….
www.mercurynews.com

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PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

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The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
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Email us at:
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Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

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