There are days when I feel like I’m living in a parallel universe. For example, take the 2011 Martin Luther King, Jr., Day march in downtown Fresno, which I attended. The contradictions that held that [...] Continue Reading
Homeless
Progressive News Briefs
Fresno Homeless Czar Harasses the Homeless Probably the cleanest homeless encampment in downtown Fresno is on F Street (between Ventura and Santa Clara). The people at that encampment were targeted [...] Continue Reading
Fresno Food Not Bombs 2011 Celebration and Fund-Raiser
Historically, February 25 has seen many milestones. The Beatles first single, “Please, Please Me,” was released on this day in 1963. The Beatles also began recording Abbey Road on that date in 1969. [...] Continue Reading
In the Small Isle of Stop-Time
It’s 1 p.m., and the sunlight bleakly concedes to a relentless overcast. In my pickup, I keep my daughter company as she eats her Taco Bell Steak Burrito, its aroma a warming bouquet against the [...] Continue Reading
Merced Homeless Couple Declared Heroes—Given $5 Reward
In the early morning hours of December 21, a homeless couple huddled together for warmth beneath an overpass at Bear Creek Drive and G Street in Merced. The couple, Joseph Edwards and Bernice [...] Continue Reading
Progressive News Briefs
Fresno Police Officers Beat Homeless Man In February 2009, Fresno police officers Jeff Gross and Scott Payn were caught on videotape beating Glen Beaty. Beaty, who was homeless at the time, had been [...] Continue Reading
Church Sanctuary versus NIMBY
It has been more than two months since homeless encampments in the City of Merced were forcibly closed and the “No Camping Ordinance” strictly enforced. Homeless people have been scattered throughout [...] Continue Reading
Homeless No More
(As told at the Human Rights Day event held in front of Fresno City Hall on December 9, 2010) I didn’t exactly come from a warm and loving family, as much as I hoped for one. I left home at 18 years [...] Continue Reading
Human Rights Day at City Hall
A hundred or so people participated in the action at City Hall on the eve of Human Rights Day in support of city aid for three requests by advocates for the homeless people of Fresno. The overnight [...] Continue Reading
Progressive News Briefs
Valley Vineyard Targets Indigenous Workers “Stupid Indians.” “Indians are of no use.” “Indians don’t understand anything or how to do anything.” According to the United Farm Workers (UFW) union, [...] Continue Reading
Fresno Human Rights Violations
Fresno is becoming the foremost violator of human rights in California, even after losing a federal court battle in July 2008 at the cost of $2.35 million because of violating the constitutional [...] Continue Reading
Satan’s Heat Is on Its Way
I can feel it in wisps, in the breaks of the breeze, on my collar and shoulders when I walk into the sunlight beating down on the areas that were formerly streets before the Fresno Mall was born. But [...] Continue Reading