tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70890525141463182732024-03-18T19:44:23.962-07:00Linda's HearthThis is my place to gather stories and share what I've been learning. Linda's Hearth is about recalling meaning and tradition, about connecting, about remembering how to be creative in everyday life and about finding ways to live more simply. Using photos, memories and stories, maybe Linda's Hearth can become a place where we can explore patterning and change, too?Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.comBlogger229125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-84028740631680173402013-04-08T15:40:00.001-07:002013-04-08T15:40:23.479-07:00Associated Press: What Can Be Said About Mental Illness In Media Reports?<h1>
<span style="color: red;"><em>Entry on mental illness is added to AP Stylebook</em></span></h1>
<span class="pRlse"><strong></strong>March 7, 2013</span><br />
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<!-- <span class="headline">Entry on mental illness is added to AP Stylebook</span> -->The Associated Press today added an entry on mental illness to the <a href="https://www.apstylebook.com/" target="_blank" title="https://www.apstylebook.com/">AP Stylebook</a>.<br /><br />“It is the right time to address how journalists handle questions of mental illness in coverage,” said AP Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll. “This isn’t only a question of which words one uses to describe a person’s illness. There are important journalistic questions, too.<br /><br />“When is such information relevant to a story? Who is an authoritative source for a person’s illness, diagnosis and treatment? These are very delicate issues and this Stylebook entry is intended to help journalists work through them thoughtfully, accurately and fairly.”<br /><br />The entry, which was immediately added to the <a href="http://www.apstylebook.com/" target="_blank" title="http://www.apstylebook.com/">AP Stylebook Online</a> and will appear in the new print edition and <a href="http://www.apstylebook.com/?do=product&pid=mobile" target="_blank" title="http://www.apstylebook.com/?do=product&pid=mobile">Stylebook Mobile</a>, published in the spring, reads as follows:<br /><br />
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<strong><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">mental illness</span></strong> </div>
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Do not describe an individual as mentally ill unless it is clearly pertinent to a story and the diagnosis is properly sourced.<br /> <br />When used, identify the source for the diagnosis. Seek firsthand knowledge; ask how the source knows. Don’t rely on hearsay or speculate on a diagnosis. Specify the time frame for the diagnosis and ask about treatment. A person’s condition can change over time, so a diagnosis of mental illness might not apply anymore. Avoid anonymous sources. On-the-record sources can be family members, mental health professionals, medical authorities, law enforcement officials and court records. Be sure they have accurate information to make the diagnosis. Provide examples of symptoms.<br /> <br />Mental illness is a general condition. Specific disorders are types of mental illness and should be used whenever possible: <em>He was diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to court documents. She was diagnosed with anorexia, according to her parents. He was treated for depression.</em><br /> <br />Some common mental disorders, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (mental illnesses or disorders are lowercase, except when known by the name of a person, such as Asperger’s syndrome):<br /> <br />- Autism spectrum disorders. These include Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism. Many experts consider autism a developmental disorder, not a mental illness.<br />- Bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness)<br />- Depression<br />- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)<br />- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)<br />- Schizophrenia<br /> <br />Here is a link from the<span style="color: red;"> National Institute of Mental Health</span> that can be used as a reference:<br /> <br /><a href="http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml" target="_blank" title="http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml">http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml</a><br /> <br />Do not use derogatory terms, <em>such as insane, crazy/crazed, nuts or deranged</em>, unless they are part of a quotation that is essential to the story.<br /> <br />Do not assume that mental illness is a factor in a violent crime, and verify statements to that effect. A past history of mental illness is not necessarily a reliable indicator. Studies have shown that the vast majority of people with mental illness are not violent, and experts say most people who are violent do not suffer from mental illness.<br /> <br />Avoid unsubstantiated statements by witnesses or first responders attributing violence to mental illness. A first responder often is quoted as saying, without direct knowledge, that a crime was committed by a person with a “history of mental illness.” Such comments should always be attributed to someone who has knowledge of the person’s history and can authoritatively speak to its relevance to the incident.<br /> <br />Avoid descriptions that connote pity, such as <em>afflicted with, suffers from or victim of</em>. Rather, <em>he has obsessive-compulsive disorder</em>.<br /> <br />Double-check specific symptoms and diagnoses. Avoid interpreting behavior common to many people as symptoms of mental illness. Sadness, anger, exuberance and the occasional desire to be alone are normal emotions experienced by people who have mental illness as well as those who don’t.<br /> <br />Wherever possible, rely on people with mental illness to talk about their own diagnoses.<br /> <br />Avoid using mental health terms to describe non-health issues. Don’t say that an awards show, for example, was schizophrenic.<br /> <br />Use the term <em>mental</em> or <em>psychiatric hospital</em>, not <em>asylum</em>.<br /> <br />See <strong>Asperger’s syndrome; disabled, handicapped; phobia; post-traumatic stress disorder.</strong><br /> </div>
<strong>About AP</strong><br />The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day, more than half the world's population sees news from AP. On the Web: <a href="http://www.ap.org/">www.ap.org</a>.<br /><br /><strong>Contact</strong><br />Paul Colford<br />Director of Media Relations<br />212-621-1895<br /><a href="mailto:pcolford@ap.org">pcolford@ap.org</a><br /><br />Erin Madigan White<br />Media Relations Manager<br />212-621-7005<br /><a href="mailto:emadigan@ap.org">emadigan@ap.org</a><br /><br />Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/ap_corpcomm" target="_blank" title="https://twitter.com/ap_corpcomm">https://twitter.com/ap_corpcomm</a>.<br />
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<br /><span class="copy">© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Terms and conditions apply. See AP.org for details.</span></div>
Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-46761896891914281912013-04-08T15:10:00.001-07:002013-04-08T15:10:31.770-07:00Santa Cruz FNB Chapter Welcomes Keith McHenry Back This Spring ~~ May All Be Fed!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-33119990601118193512013-04-08T13:58:00.002-07:002013-04-08T14:42:39.006-07:00PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX: A Peek from the Inside by Becky Johnson<em><strong><span style="color: magenta; font-size: x-large;">Wasting Away in Santa Cruz County Jail </span></strong></em><br />
<em><strong><span style="color: magenta; font-size: x-large;">-- or Dying There?</span></strong></em><br />
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<strong><em><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">by HUFF's Becky Johnson</span></em></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica"; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"><b>Her Speech at Santa Cruz County Jail during Protest of Jail Conditions and Deaths of Four Inmates since Medical Services in Santa Cruz County's Jails were Outsourced to save money by privatizing. </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">When President Dwight D. Eisenhower left office in 1961, </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">he warned "Beware the Military-Industrial Complex". </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Today, it's "Beware the Prison-Industrial Complex."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">For prisons today have become big business in a country </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">where manufacturing generally is suffering & unemployment </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">rates are high.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Santa Cruz County is no exception.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">For a jail to be profitable, it must be full. Nevermind that it's paid </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">for with taxpayer dollars. Our electeds & appointeds don't care. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">For them, it is a job security program for police, judges, bailiffs, deputies, </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">file clerks, probation officers and attorneys.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I myself have been fodder for this system with my "criminal" career:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I am a convicted sidewalk hopscotch chalker, criminal songster, & in the case of </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">the Santa Cruz Eleven, (an accused scapegoat and) a suspected sign-holder & blogger.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">But what I want to talk about to you today is the criminalization of homelessness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Currently in liberal, progressive Santa Cruz it is illegal to sit on a sidewalk less than </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">14 feet from a building. It's illegal to sit on a park bench with your feet up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Sleeping Ban, MC 6.36.010 section a, outlaws the act of sleeping anywhere out of </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">doors or in a vehicle between the hours of 11PM & 8:30AM within the City Limits.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">A separate provision outlaws the use of a blanket between 11PM - 8:30AM out of doors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Hacky-sacking, hopscotching, and tossing your car keys to your husband are illegal acts </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">on Pacific Ave., the shopping-Mecca where all the City Councilmembers friends have stores.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Let me tell you about Gary Johnson, a homeless man, and an activist. Gary was </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">4 times within 3 days for BEING on the County property in front of the Court House after </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">7PM. He was charged with trespassing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">When he pointed out that he had a sign which said "A legacy of Cruelty MC 6.36.010 a, PC 647 ( e ) "</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">and that the trespassing code has an exception for "traditional public forums," the DA turned</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">He was sentenced to 2 years in jail</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">for these 4 acts of sleeping. Recently he lost his appeal of the sentence before Judges Symons & Burdick.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">What homeless person can pay a fine of $162 for sleeping in a cardboard box? None of them. And the authorities</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">know this. But, they can bill you and me for the salary of the police officer who cited or arrested them. They bill</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">for the time the officer spends in court. They bill for any public defender, but with most infraction crimes, the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">person charged has no right to one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">This jail is full of homeless people! And many who were marginally housed when they were arrested, will be homeless upon their release.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Drug War fuels many of these arrests. So do mandatory minimums and the 3-Strikes law.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">But we could cut down on a HUGE amount of local incarceration if we repealed a whole-host of laws</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">which frankly are selectively enforced against the poor and homeless.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">When I spent the night here in "G" Dorm in County Jail, I met women there who should NOT have been there. There was one woman, so mentally-challenged that the other inmates had to tell her to put her underwear on. One mother of four with chronic intractable pain from a car accident, was jailed for the crime of supplementing her inadequate pain relief with heroin.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">In jail, despite a known diagnosis of chronic intractable pain due to past injury, for which she had been treated with addictive pain medications, she was forced to quit "Cold Turkey". Her only relief were hot showers. One day, in serious pain, she was pulled from an "unauthorized" shower dripping wet & thrown into an icy holding cell. While in there, she watched as deputies watched "prison porn" on their monitors where women prisoners were tormented & sexually abused.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Another woman was serving 3 months of a 6-month sentence for assault when she herself was assaulted by three women in Jade Street Park after hours. The women beat her over the head with a frying pan (she showed me the scar on the top of her head). They stole her laptop computer. As they fled the park, she called 911 on her cellphone. Police and an ambulance arrived while the three women were still in the area. Terry, the only injured person, was sent to the hospital.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">She was arrested in the emergency ward. The three women had convinced the police that Terry had attacked THEM!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">When by pure chance, her brother's room-mate was able to buy her laptop back (the smoking gun) the DA ignored it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Since she was still charged with felony assault, Terry was forced to plea "no contest" to a misdemeanor. Judge Ariadne Symons okayed that one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Another form of abuse is the arbitrary nature of what charges are filed and what the how much bail is set. When Gabriella Ripley-Phipps was arrested in December of 2011 for basically protesting the destruction of the Occupy Santa Cruz encampment, she was charged with "obstructing an officer" and bail was set at $25,000. When shooting suspect, Jeremy Goulet was arrested for breaking into his female co-workers home and sexually assaulting her in her own bed, his bail was set at $250. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">In the case of Kenneth Massei, the man who was falsely arrested for stealing flowers from the memorial for the 2 slain police officers, bail was set at $5000. He was forced to spend 18 days in jail here until his attorney showed the receipt for the flowers that he had in his possession when he was first jailed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Isaac Collins, the only person arrested last year at the UCSC 420 event, was jailed here for 82 grams of chocolate & butterscotch brownies that tested positive for marijuana. Collins is black. The deputy that arrested him said he picked Collins out of the large crowd of pretty much all-day law-breaking because "he was wearing a very colorful shirt."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">So in conclusion, we need to End the Drug War! End the war on the poor! End mandatory minimums! End 3-Strikes! Repeal the Sleeping Ban, Blanket Ban, and laws which were written and are enforced specifically to be used against homeless people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Justice demands that we don't stop until this work is done.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Thank-you</span></div>
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<br />Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-72542397904752925692013-04-06T19:28:00.005-07:002013-04-06T19:28:54.884-07:00April 10th: Public Health, Drugs, Needle Exchange ~~ April 24: Homelessness and Home Town ~~ All Welcome<div class="gs">
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<span class="gD" email="electric@cruzio.com" name="Peter Klotz-Chamberlin"><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 20pt; font-weight: bold;">S</span><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 20pt;">anta <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">C</span></b>ruz</span></span><u></u><u></u><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 20pt;"> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">F</span></b>orums on</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="gD" email="electric@cruzio.com" name="Peter Klotz-Chamberlin"><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 20pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS Bold;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS Bold"; font-size: 34pt;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Community Safety and Compassion<u></u><u></u></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="gD" email="electric@cruzio.com" name="Peter Klotz-Chamberlin"></span> </div>
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<span class="gD" email="electric@cruzio.com" name="Peter Klotz-Chamberlin">This message is from Peter Klotz-Chamberlin</span> <span class="go"><a href="mailto:electric@cruzio.com">electric@cruzio.com</a></span> </div>
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of Resource Center for Nonviolence, Santa Cruz</div>
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<span style="color: green; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><span style="color: green; font-size: 12pt;">Please come, and please spread the word…</span></span><span style="color: green; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS Bold; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS Bold"; font-size: 24pt;"><em><strong>Drugs, Public Health </strong></em></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS Bold; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS Bold"; font-size: 24pt;"><em><strong>and Needle Exchange</strong></em></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS Bold; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS Bold"; font-size: 24pt;"></span></span> </div>
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<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 18pt;">Wednesday, </span></span><b><i><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 22pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">April 10</span></span></i></b><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 22pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 18pt;">at 7 PM:<u></u><u></u></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 12pt;">*Rev. Deborah L. Johnson, Inner Light Ministries <u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 12pt;">*Craig Reinarman, UCSC Professor of Sociology<u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 12pt;">*Giang Nguyen, Director, Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency<u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 12pt;">*Alex Kral, Director, Urban Health Program, <u></u><u></u>San Francisco<u></u><u></u><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 12pt;">*Personal narratives <u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 16pt;">at <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Santa</span></b> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cruz High School Theater, <u></u><u></u>415 Walnut Ave.<u></u>, <u></u>Santa Cruz</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS Bold; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS Bold"; font-size: 24pt;"><em><strong>Homelessness and our <u></u><u></u>Home<u></u> <u></u>Town</strong></em></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 16pt;">at <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Santa</span></b> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cruz High School Theater, <u></u><u></u>415 Walnut Ave.<u></u>, <u></u>Santa Cruz</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 16pt;"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></b></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 18pt;">Wednesday, </span><i><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 22pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">April 24</span></span></i><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 18pt;"> at 7 PM<u></u><u></u></span></span><u></u><u></u><u></u><u></u></span></span></span></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 16pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">All Welcome!</span></span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 16pt; font-weight: bold;"> </span></span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">Admission free. <u></u><u></u></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">Donations welcome for hall rental. FMI: contact <a href="tel:831-423-1626" target="_blank" value="+18314231626">831-423-1626</a><u></u><u></u></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;"><u></u> </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;"></span></span></b> </div>
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<strong><i><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic;">Cosponsored by</span></span></i><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 13pt;">:</span></span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></strong> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 13pt;">Resource Center for Nonviolence </span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 13pt;">Community Action Board </span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 13pt;">Charter for Compassion </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 13pt;">Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 13pt;">First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 13pt;">Peoples’ Democratic Club </span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 13pt;">Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial Rounded MT Bold; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 14pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Antique Olive; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Antique Olive"; font-size: 11pt;">Contact:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Antique Olive; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Antique Olive"; font-size: 11pt;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Antique Olive; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Antique Olive"; font-size: 11pt;">Peter Klotz-Chamberlin<u></u><u></u></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Antique Olive; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Antique Olive"; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="mailto:2peterkc@gmail.com" target="_blank">2peterkc@gmail.com</a></span></span><span style="font-family: Antique Olive; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Antique Olive"; font-size: 11pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Antique Olive; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Antique Olive"; font-size: 11pt;"></span></span><br /></div>
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Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-84667664366778678622013-04-06T13:36:00.004-07:002013-04-06T13:36:46.103-07:00Help Poor Peoples' Attorney Lynn Stewart Gain Compassionate Release from Unjust Prison Sentence, Due to Her Critical Cancer-related Needs<h2>
<em><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">DECLARATION BY </span></em></h2>
<h2>
<em><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">DICK GREGORY</span></em></h2>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><em></em></strong><br />
<strong><em>APRIL 4, 2013</em></strong> <br />
<br />
I hereby declare on this day commemorating the life and sacrifice of my friend and brother in struggle, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that in the spirit of his moral legacy, I demand the immediate release from prison of the legendary lawyer Lynne Stewart, who devoted her entire professional life to the poor, the oppressed and those targeted by the police and a vindictive State.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lynnestewart.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/dick-gregory.jpg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" height="400" src="https://blu176.mail.live.com/Handlers/ImageProxy.mvc?bicild=&canary=gEgzNYG25YUKozU0X%2bgvCiSL%2bAsyrxwlZITPS46aAbY%3d0&url=http%3a%2f%2flynnestewart.org%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2013%2f04%2fdick-gregory-218x300.jpg" title="dick-gregory" width="290" /></a><br />
<span style="color: red;">"...no time to lose," says 60s Icon Dick Gregory</span><br />
<br />
I further declare that from this day forth, I shall refuse all solid food until Lynne Stewart is freed and receives medical treatment in the care of her family and with physicians of her choice without which she will die.<br />
There is no time to lose as cancer, which had been in remission, has metastasized since her imprisonment. It has spread to her lymph nodes, her shoulder and appears in her bones and in her lungs.<br /><span></span><br />A criminal defense attorney in New York for over 30 years, Lynne Stewart’s unwavering dedication as a selfless advocate was acknowledged by the community as well as judges, prosecutors and the entire legal profession. Such has been her reputation as a fearless lawyer, ready to challenge those in power, that judges assigned her routinely to act for defendants whom no attorney was willing to represent.<br />
In 2002, Lynne Stewart was targeted by then-President George Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft for providing a vigorous defense of her client, the blind Egyptian cleric Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman. She was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist activity after she exercised both her and her client’s first amendment rights by presenting a press release to a Reuters journalist. She did nothing more than other attorneys, such as her co-counsel former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, have done on behalf of their clients.<br />
The reason for the prosecution and persecution of Lynne Stewart is evident to us all. It was designed to intimidate the entire legal community so that few would dare to defend political clients whom the State demonizes and none would provide a vigorous defense. It also was designed to narrow the meaning of our cherished first amendment right to free speech, which the people of this country struggled to have added to the Constitution as the Bill of Rights.<br />
The prosecution and imprisonment of Lynne Stewart is an ominous threat to the freedom, rights and dignity of each and every American. It is the agenda of a police state.<br />
I ask you to join with me to demand freedom for Lynne Stewart. An international campaign has been launched with a petition that supports her application for compassionate release. Under the 1984 Sentencing Act, the Bureau of Prisons can file a motion with the Court to reduce sentences “for extraordinary and compelling reasons.” Life threatening illness is foremost among these and Lynne Stewart meets every rational and humane criterion for compassionate release.<br />
Join with me, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Pete Seeger and 6,000 other people of conscience throughout the world who have signed this petition to compel the Warden of the Federal Medical Center, Carswell and the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to act. Act now. There is no time to lose.<br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>The petition (below) can be found online at the Justice for Lynne Stewart website:<br /><a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/petition-to-free-lynne-stewart-save-her-life-release-her-now-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0072c6;">www.change.org/petitions/petition-to-free-lynne-stewart-save-her-life-release-her-now-2</span></a></strong><br />
<em></em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Contacts: Lil Gregory at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0072c6;">508.746.7427</span></a> to schedule interviews with Dick Gregory and Ralph Schoenman at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0072c6;">707.552.9992</span></a> for follow up information on Dick Gregory and the Campaign to Save the Life of Lynne Stewart. </em><br />
<br /></span><br />Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-33562957338549100932013-03-26T12:17:00.000-07:002013-03-26T12:17:02.495-07:00Seqestration: Federal Government Accellerates New Homelessness <div _no_widget="true" id="tabMessageViewerBody_headeri45_461364322671167">
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<nobr _no_widget="true" class="cgSelectable msgSubjText" id="1_messageHeaderSubject_text" style="width: 679px;"><span booted="1" class="cgSelectable" cmd="msgaction_ext:subjectSearch" style="cursor: pointer;" title="View all emails with this subject" widget="">Housing News Update:
Sequestration Cuts Impact On Housing
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<nobr _no_widget="true" class="cgSelectable" id="1_messageHeaderSender_text"><span booted="1" class="cgSelectable" cmd="msgaction_ext:senderSearch" title="View all emails from this sender " widget=""><span class="fontDarkGray"><span style="color: #222222;">Lynda Carson</span></span> <tenantsrule yahoo.com=""></tenantsrule></span> <img id="_test_im_image_tenantsrule:0" src="http://presence.msg.yahoo.com/online?u=tenantsrule&m=g&t=0" style="border: 0px currentColor; cursor: pointer; height: 12px; position: relative; top: 1px; width: 12px;" title="Chat now" /> <a class="textLink" hidefocus="" href="http://help.yahoo.com/mail/ymail/ymail-01.html" target="_blank" title="This sender is DomainKeys verified" widget="1"><span id="domainKeyIcon" style="width: 17px;"><span style="color: #545454;"> </span></span></a></nobr></div>
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<span _no_widget="true" class="cgSelectable">Monday, March 25, 2013</span><br />
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">See below for the
latest impact of Sequestration cuts on housing programs</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"></span> </div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(New Orleans - More
than 700 people are losing Section 8 vouchers)</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">HANO Withdraws
Hundreds Of Section 8 Housing Vouchers</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br class="yiv183220736webkit-block-placeholder" /></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Darian Trotter -
March 22, 2013</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://wgno.com/2013/03/22/hano-withdraws-hundreds-of-section-8-housing-vouchers/</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Some housing
hopefuls are about to get some unpleasant news.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">After long waits,
and finally receiving Section 8 housing vouchers, hundreds of families will soon
find out they’re being placed back on the waiting list.</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Darian Trotter
reports on the exclusive details.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">“No it don’t
surprise me,” tenant Keanca Doucet said. “Nothing surprises me that goes on back
here with HANO; nothing.”</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">She’s frustrated, to
say the least, with the Housing Authority of New Orleans.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">And given HANO’s
recent move she can expect company.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">More than 700
families who’ve recently received Section 8 housing vouchers are finding out
that they will have to get back in line and wait all over again.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">How could this
happen? “It’s because of budget cuts and because HANO is currently not able to
subsidize those vouchers,” HANO Public Information Officer Leslie Thomas
said.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">In a letter being
mailed to applicants this weekend, HANO explains a number of circumstances,
including an over subscription of vouchers and budget cuts are causing recently
issued vouchers to be withdrawn effective immediately.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">HANO does not have
sufficient federal funds to subsidize additional apartments; at the current
time, or the near future.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">“It’s important for
me to say the 17,000, plus families who are on the Section 8 program that are
currently being assisted and currently have subsidized vouchers are not being
effected in any way,” Thomas explained.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">In other words, only
the 700 families who were in the process of finally finding Section 8 housing
will have to be placed back on the waiting list in their original
order.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">WGNO News has
learned some of the applicants had been waiting for as long as 4
years.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">“I think it’s wrong,
just like I said the first time,” HANO voucher holder Doris Dawson said. “That’s
not right at all, you know, “What are those people going to do?”</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Back at the soon to
be demolished Iberville Housing Projects, help from HANO to move out has been
slow.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Remaining families
have to be out by April 5th.</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Trotter asked, “What
are you going to do? Aint nothing to do but wait,” Doucet said. “They have to
put me out cuz I ain’t leaving; I don’t have no money.”</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">WGNO News has
learned families already receiving assistance take priority.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">“We have to wait, so
they have to wait.”</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">In the letter
applicants will receive between Saturday and Monday — HANO apologizes for any
disruption or disappointment the withdrawal will cause.</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">>>>>>>></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">>>>>>>></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">>>>>>>></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(Alabama)</span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Sequestration cuts
Huntsville Housing Authority by 5 percent, CEO Michael Landy said</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Helvetica Neue; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">on March 25, 2013 at
3:46 PM, updated March 25, 2013 at 3:47 PM</span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Helvetica Neue; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Click below for full
story...</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #363636; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/normal Georgia; margin: 0px 0px 19px;">
<span style="color: #325cb6;"><a href="http://www.al.com/huntsville/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">HUNTSVILLE, Alabama
</span></b></a></span><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">- Sequestration has hit the Huntsville
Housing Authority by wiping out about 5 percent of its budget for 2014,
executive director and CEO Michael Lundy said today.</span></div>
<div style="color: #363636; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/normal Georgia; margin: 0px 0px 19px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The housing
authority commission today approved a $10.1 million budget for the 2014 fiscal
year that begins April 1. Lundy told the commission, however, that the
across-the-board federal budget cuts - known as sequestration - cost HHA about
$1.6 million.</span></div>
<div style="color: #363636; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/normal Georgia; margin: 0px 0px 19px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Following the
meeting, Lundy said the authority is operating on about 76 percent of the budget
it needs.</span></div>
<div style="color: #363636; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/normal Georgia; margin: 0px 0px 19px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"We are estimating
we're going to lose about $1.6 million," said Lundy, adding that sequestration
is responsible for cutting the HHA budget by about 5 percent. "What that means
for our program is we won't be able to serve as many people."</span></div>
<div style="color: #363636; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/normal Georgia; margin: 0px 0px 19px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Lundy said that, as
a result of the cuts, the housing authority will be serving "about 300 less
people than we currently serve now" as part of the federal </span><a href="http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/topics/housing_choice_voucher_program_section_8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #325cb6;"><b><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Section 8 housing
voucher program.</span></b></span></a></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">>>>>>>></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">>>>>>>></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">>>>>>>></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(Santa Clara County,
CA.)</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 26px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 25px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Housing Authority of
the County of Santa Clara Confirms $21 Million Cut in Section 8 Funding Will
Bring Hardship to County's Poorest Families</span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">1,500 households in
Santa Clara County may lose their housing this year due to a $21 million cut
from the HACSC Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.</span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Click below for full
story...</span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/03/25/4721502/impact-of-sequestration-slams.html</span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">>>>>>>></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">>>>>>>></span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">>>>>>>></span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(San
Diego)</span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 69px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">
<b><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">LOCAL HOUSING AID
SUSPENDED BECAUSE OF SEQUESTER CUTS</span></b></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By </span><a href="http://www.utsandiego.com/staff/roger-showley/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Roger Showley</span></a><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">12:01 a.m.March 25,
2013</span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Click below for full
story...</span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/mar/25/tp-local-housing-aid-suspended-because-of/</span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Lost in the recent
sequester battle in Washington is the hope of more than 30,000 low-income San
Diegans to get federal rent relief after years of waiting.</span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">While current aid
recipients are not affected, future beneficiaries face more than a year of
delay.</span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">When Congress failed
to reverse the $85 billion in automatic spending cuts ordered under the 2011
sequestration budget legislation, the Department of Housing and Urban
Development advised local housing authorities to cut 5 percent from this year’s
Housing Choice Vouchers, or Section 8, program.</span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Rick Gentry, chief
executive officer of the San Diego Housing Commission, said that cut translates
locally into nearly $7.4 million deducted from this year’s allocation of $147.5
million. Other housing authorities in the county face similar
reductions.</span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">At $850 per month in
average rent support, that means 723 families who will not be served by the
housing commission, at least for the time being.</span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">“The effect of the
sequester will not be abrupt here — it will not be catastrophic and there will
be no families receiving a subsidy harmed or affected at all, at least
initially,” Gentry said.</span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">There are 14,626
households currently receiving aid, and their vouchers are secure, Gentry
said.</span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Every month, about
50 vouchers are relinquished as recipients move, die or no longer need
assistance. Typically, the vouchers are then transferred to the applicants at
the top of the 30,000-person waiting list, who in some cases have waited seven
years or longer to get aid.</span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">But since Jan. 1,
Gentry said, no new vouchers have been granted because of the sequester. That
moratorium will likely continue for 14½ months, into early 2014, assuming the
sequester isn’t repealed and further budget cuts aren’t adopted.</span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"></span> </div>
<div style="color: #084376; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 34px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<b><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Federal Cuts Mean
Local Housing Authorities Face Budget Reductions</span></b></div>
<div style="color: #292727; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 15px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By JESSE LEAVENWORTH
and SUZANNE CARLSON, </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: #084376;"><b><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">leavenworth@courant.com</span></b></span></a></div>
<div style="color: #292727; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 15px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The Hartford
Courant</span></div>
<div style="color: #d34f16; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 15px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<i><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">March 24,
2013</span></i></div>
<div style="color: #292727; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Click below for full
story...</span></div>
<div style="color: #292727; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.courant.com/community/manchester/hc-section-eight-sequestration-20130324,0,477223.story</span></div>
<div style="color: #292727; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px; min-height: 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #292727; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The effects of
federal budget cuts are hitting home.</span></div>
<div style="color: #292727; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The $85 billion in
mandatory cuts known as the </span><a href="http://www.courant.com/topic/economy-business-finance/economy/budget-control-act-of-2011-EVBAE00012.topic" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #084376;"><b><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">sequester</span></b></span></a><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> is hacking into
housing authority budgets throughout the state and shrinking the value of
</span><a href="http://www.courant.com/topic/social-issues/chicago-housing-authority-ORGOV000078.topic" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #084376;"><b><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Section
8</span></b></span></a><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> vouchers that poor people use to pay the
bulk of their rent.</span></div>
<div style="color: #292727; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Waiting lists for
the scarce and valuable vouchers will remain long, and housing advocates say
some needy people could be pushed into homelessness.</span></div>
<div style="color: #292727; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">So-called "housing
choice vouchers" are funded by the </span><a href="http://www.courant.com/topic/politics/government/government-departments/u.s.-department-of-housing-urban-development-ORGOV000353.topic" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #084376;"><b><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development</span></b></span></a><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">, which estimates
the cuts will affect about 125,000 families in the nation.</span></div>
<div style="color: #292727; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"It's a horrible
situation for us. It's causing a lot of undue stress around here, I'll tell you
that," Vernon Housing Authority Executive Director Jeffrey Arn said. "We work
all year to help as many people as we can, and we had our program running just
how we wanted it — we were actually growing the program a little bit — and now
we're going to take a huge hit."</span></div>
<div style="color: #292727; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">HUD has told housing
authority executives to expect 94 percent of the amount they were to get in
housing assistance payments, which go to poor tenants and landlords who rent
subsidized apartments. HUD has also said that the fees housing authorities
receive for administering those payments will be cut by about 31 percent,
forcing the agencies to make tough decisions. Some directors say they may have
to remove people from the program.</span></div>
<div style="color: #292727; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The nonprofit
Connecticut Housing Coalition has already heard from people whose recently
awarded vouchers were rescinded, agency Executive Director Betsy Crum said.
Thousands of people in the state are on waiting lists to get Section 8 aid, Crum
said.</span></div>
<div style="color: #292727; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br class="yiv183220736webkit-block-placeholder" /></span></div>
<div style="color: #292727; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"></span> </div>
<div style="color: #292727; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="color: #231f20; font-family: Helvetica;"><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(Tennessee)</span></span><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #292727; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 34px/normal Book Antiqua; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Sequestration cuts
having impact on public aid agencies</span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 18px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Published March 23,
2013</span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 18px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: #094588;"><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Sue Guinn Legg</span></span></a><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> - Press Staff
Writer</span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 18px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 18px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Click below for full
story...</span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 18px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?id=105678</span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px 0px 17px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Richard McClain,
Johnson City Housing Authority executive director, said HUD funding for both
public housing and Section 8 rent vouchers administered by the JCHA were both
reduced by 10 percent for March. April’s funding for the authority’s Section 8
vouchers restored that 10 percent cut and April’s funding for public housing has
not yet been allocated.</span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px 0px 17px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">McClain said HUD
apparently made the March cuts in anticipation of sequestration and he
speculated the federal housing agency “rolled over” unspent funding from its
2012 budget to make up for the March sequestration cut to Section 8.</span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"></span> </div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(County of Los
Angeles)</span></div>
<div style="color: #272b7f; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 34px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 19px;">
<b><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Federal sequester
hits home for many of L.A.'s poor</span></b></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px;">
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" rel="nofollow"><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By Christina
Villacorte, Staff Writer</span></a></span></div>
<div style="color: #060088; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Posted: 03/21/2013
09:35:32 PM PDT</span></div>
<div style="color: #060088; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Updated:
03/21/2013 09:41:37 PM PDT </span></div>
<div style="color: #060088; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #060088; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_22845438/federal-sequester-hits-home-many-las-poor</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Tens of thousands of Los Angeles County's
low-income renters could see a loss in their housing subsidy because of the
federal sequester, leading to higher rent payments and a spike in homelessness,
according to local officials.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">City and county officials are in Washington
D.C. this week lobbying to try to soften the blow of the cuts, pushing for
permission to increase rents so they don't have to throw most recipients off the
program altogether.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"This is absolutely going to hurt the most
vulnerable people in LA county," said Sean Rogan, who heads the L.A. County
housing authority, HACoLA.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Among those most vulnerable are people like
Sylvia Juarez, a 39-year-old single mother of six, who has been on Section 8
housing subsidies for a year, receiving $1,825 in assistance for a three-bedroom
Panorama City apartment after escaping an abusive relationship.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Juarez can work only part-time as a
hairdresser because her two youngest children have health problems, but she
found out last week that she would have to pay $100 more in rent each month,
doubling the amount she pays out of her own pocket.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"With six kids, that would definitely make a
big impact," she said while seeking help at the emergency food bank at MEND-Meet
Each Need with Dignity, in Pacoima.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"It's going to be a struggle but I need the
housing, so I have to figure out a way to get that money," she added. "I have no
choice." </span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Rogan and Douglas Guthrie, who heads the city
authority, HACLA, are meeting with federal housing officials and members of
Congress this week.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"(The sequester) brings funding for public
housing and Section 8 programs down to the lowest level in their history,"
Guthrie pointed out.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"Los Angeles has the largest homeless
population in the U.S.," he added. "We've put a lot of resources into addressing
that, and made progress, but much of it will be lost because of these enormous
cuts."</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">He said the sequester slashed funding for
HACoLA's Section 8 program by about $15 million this year.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">It has already prevented him from issuing 300
vouchers that would have provided poor families and individuals with an average
of $890 in rent money each month.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">In October, Rogan said, he may also be forced
to terminate vouchers held by 500 to 1,800 households.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Trying to prevent that, he met repeatedly
with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development officials this week,
seeking authority to have all of HACoLA's 22,000 voucher holders pay more toward
their rent.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"I'm effectively asking HUD to allow me to
increase all my voucher holders' rent payments by about 5 percent - which is the
sequestration amount - so I don't have to terminate anybody," Rogan said.
"Spread the pain."</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"If it comes down to us having to terminate
vouchers, we've exempted seniors, the homeless and our special needs
population," he added. "We would terminate those who've been on the program the
longest and have received the greatest benefit."</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">HACLA, on the other hand, is poised to notify
24,000 of its 45,000 voucher holders next week that they may have to pay
$100-$200 more toward their rent each month.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The increase - which is more than 5 percent -
will not kick in for everyone at once. Voucher holders will be hit with the new
rates when they recertify their eligibility for the program.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Guthrie said the hike is needed because
HACLA's Section 8 program will lose $40 million this year. He worries, however,
that many won't be able to afford it.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Those who qualify for vouchers are typically
disabled, seniors, veterans and extremely low-income families and individuals
who subsist on less than $14,000 a year.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Section 8 was intended to help them spend
only 30 percent of their household income on rent.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"For a family paying $200 in rent to see that
rate go up, all of a sudden, to $300 a month - that's, at the very least,
extremely disruptive and we're very concerned," Guthrie said.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"Those who can't afford it may have to find
another place that charges less rent, or move in with family and friends," he
added. "Ultimately, it's pushing people out of the system and potentially into
homelessness."</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Larry Gross, executive director of the
Coalition for Economic Survival, a tenants' rights organization, called the
sequester a "one-two punch to the gut of low-income people."</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"It's sort of like an economic tsunami, and
the impact is going to be on the most vulnerable," he added. "The Section 8 cuts
are essentially making them walk the plank, and many will fall."</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">HACLA's Section 8 program director Peter Lynn
said the agency is reaching out to landlords to see if they can negotiate rents
downward, but he conceded this might be difficult.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">On top of the cuts to their Section 8, public
housing, and other programs, HACoLA and HACLA will also have to endure cuts to
their administrative budgets - which means layoffs and furloughs for their
already depleted staffs effective this month.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Guthrie said HACLA could shed as many as 80
employees, bringing its staff down to about 700 - only half as many as it had
four years ago. Rogan said HACoLA eliminated 66 positions last year, and could
lose more this year.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Worried about the sequester, Supervisor Don
Knabe asked the Board of Supervisors Tuesday to urge Washington D.C. officials
to protect the county's safety net.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"Our leaders at the federal level must come
to agreement on a balanced, sensible budget," he said. "We don't need more
rhetoric - we need compromise and thoughtful solutions."</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">christina.villacorte@dailynews.com</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 16px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">twitter.com/LADNvillacorte</span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"></span> </div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(Kokomo,
Indiana)</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 50px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Housing authority doing more with
less</span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 15px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Posted: Thursday,
March 21, 2013 7:00 am</span></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 15px/normal Arial; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Click below for full
story...</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://kokomoperspective.com/kp/news/housing-authority-doing-more-with-less/article_0533808a-90ca-11e2-8269-0019bb2963f4.html</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">There are 1,225 subsidized or fully provided
public housing units in Kokomo. That is a lot of people relying upon government
for one of their primary needs. The Kokomo Housing Authority (KHA) provides the
facilities and administers the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds that
make it possible.</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">With the arrival of sequestration, the KHA
will have to do more with a lot less.</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Times; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">According to KHA executive director Debra
Cook, her organization took a 20-percent cut in funding in public housing
dollars as well as in Section 8 administration funding. And she has no idea if
this is temporary or if it will get better or worse in coming months.</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">“Our budget was approved for 2013, but in
January we got 92 percent of what was approved,” said Cook. “In March, we got 81
percent in public housing funds. We don’t know if this is temporary, or if that
is going to be the standard for the rest of the year. It’s hard to do long-range
planning and projects when you’re not sure how the funding is going to
fall.</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Times; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">“We have Section 8 vouchers as well, and we
got 80 percent of the approved budget there. We’re getting hit in public housing
and in administration.”</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Times; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Cook explained that there was no warning that
the cuts would hit or how deep they would be. HUD sends a letter each month
indicating the funding that will be provided, and that letter often arrives
after the month has begun. Even the HUD office in Indianapolis was left in the
dark on the sequestration impact until it arrived.</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">;</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(California)</span></div>
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<b><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Monterey County
housing authority also faces sequestration cuts</span></b></div>
<div style="color: #999999; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By PHILLIP
MOLNAR </span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Herald Staff
Writer</span></div>
<div style="color: #060088; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Posted: 03/21/2013
05:14:21 PM PDT</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Updated:
03/21/2013 05:14:21 PM PDT</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #060088; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Click below for full
story...</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #060088; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.montereyherald.com/news/ci_22843735/monterey-county-housing-authority-also-faces-sequestration-cuts</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">A service that thousands of county residents
rely on will also be hit by federal sequestration cuts.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 14px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The Housing Authority of Monterey County said
this week it will lose roughly $850,000 in federal money and are unsure what its
final budget will be for the rest of the year.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 14px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"We're operating in the blind," said Lynn
Santos, the authority's finance director.</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">About $30 million goes into the county each
year by way of Section 8 funds — money given to landlords for individuals who
need assistance paying rent.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 14px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Santos said cuts could mean the current
number of tenants it gives assistance to — 3,700 county residents — would be
reduced and the already large waiting list would grow.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 14px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"Clearly cuts of this size are not
sustainable when you consider that the 2014 budget could include additional
cuts," she said.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 14px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The only thing the authority knows for sure
is 31 percent of its Section 8 administration fees, which primarily pays for its
82-person staff and office expenses, will be cut.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 14px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The amount for administration this is $2.8
million, but Santos warns that number could lower when they get a 2013 budget
from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 14px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">HUD also gives the housing authority $550,00
for public housing units and $367,000 for its Pueblo Del Mar project at Fort
Ord.</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"></span> </div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(Joliet,
Illinois)</span></div>
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<b><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Housing Authority of
Joliet could be hit by sequestration cuts</span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: #f1f1f1; color: #636363; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By Bob Okon
bokon@stmedianetwork.com March 21, 2013 6:38PM</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #f1f1f1; color: #fd2800; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Updated: March 21,
2013 10:23PM</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial;"><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #3d3c3c; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 23px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The Housing
Authority of Joliet has warned workers of possible layoffs because of the impact
of the sequestration budget cuts in the federal government.</span></div>
<div style="color: #3d3c3c; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 23px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The cuts amount to
at least $500,000, said Interim Chief Executive Officer Michael Simelton. But it
could be much more after the total impact is calculated, he said.</span></div>
<div style="color: #3d3c3c; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 23px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Management will meet
with unions to determine if there are alternatives to layoffs, Simelton
said.</span></div>
<div style="color: #3d3c3c; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 23px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">One alternative
sought by management, he said, would be for employees to begin paying something
toward health insurance premiums. Workers now do not make a contribution toward
health insurance, he said.</span></div>
<div style="color: #3d3c3c; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 23px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">And, Simelton said,
“There are going to have to be some furloughs.”</span></div>
<div style="color: #3d3c3c; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 23px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The federal cuts are
coming in the form of housing subsidies. The government sets formulas based on
income to determine how much residents pay for public housing. The remainder of
the money is supplied by the housing authority, and most of it comes from the
federal government.</span></div>
<div style="color: #3d3c3c; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 23px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">But the government
has notified the housing authority that subsidies for public housing are going
down to 73 percent of what the tenant does not pay, Simelton said. That
percentage had been at 92 percent.</span></div>
<div style="color: #3d3c3c; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 23px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">For Section 8
housing, the federal subsidy will go down to 69 percent. It had been at 80
percent, Simelton said.</span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"></span> </div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Massive
sequestration budget cuts will shred the housing safety net </span></div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px; min-height: 21px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By Lynda Carson -
March 1, 2013 </span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Click below for full
story...</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Verdana; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/03/01/18732959.php</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"></span> </div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(Texas)</span></div>
<div style="color: #174a6b; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 31px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 17px;">
<b><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">100 El Paso families
lose Section 8 housing aid</span></b></div>
<div style="color: #101010; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" rel="nofollow"><b><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By Diana Washington Valdez \ El Paso
Times</span></b></a></div>
<div style="color: #174a6b; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Posted: 03/21/2013
12:00:00 AM MDT</span></div>
<div style="color: #174a6b; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Click below for full
story...</span></div>
<div style="color: #174a6b; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_22835762/100-families-lose-section-8-housing-aid</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Because of federal budget cuts, the El Paso
Housing Authority says it is dropping 100 families from its Housing Choice
Voucher (Section 8) program effective March 31.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Those families will be allowed to move into
public housing.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Letters notifying the 100 families who live
in private housing and their landlords went out March 1. They were signed by
Gerald Cichon, CEO of the El Paso Housing Authority.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"Between now and December 2013, an additional
200 housing choice vouchers will be cut through attrition," the authority said
Wednesday in a statement. "This means that as families naturally leave the HCV
Program, the vouchers will not be reissued to the families on the HCV wait
list."</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program
permits families to receive subsidy vouchers that they can use to live in homes
or apartments belonging to landlords who participate in the program. The average
monthly HCV-Section 8 subsidy is $504, and it can range from $20 to $700 per
family, depending on the size and income of the family.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Shane Griffith, spokesman for the authority,
said 5,200 families and 1,900 landlords are in the program.</span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Griffith stressed that none of the 100
families who are being dropped from the HCV/Section 8 program will be turned out
into the street. In selecting which families to drop first, Griffith said the
authority is following its policy of terminating those who've been in a program
the longest. </span></div>
<div style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">[[[The authority manages one of the largest
affordable housing programs in the nation for low-income families. It has a $75
million budget, about 450 employees, 6,500 public housing units, and 5,300
Housing Choice (Section 8) Vouchers.]]]</span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">;</span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(Iowa - March 20,
2013)</span></div>
<div style="color: #231f20; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 17px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Federal cuts hit
home</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://muscatinejournal.com/news/local/federal-cuts-hit-home/article_0c4c413c-91c8-11e2-b248-001a4bcf887a.html</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">MUSCATINE, Iowa —If
you’re one of the families that needs Section 8 housing, sequestration has more
than likely just pulled up the “welcome” mat.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Lucida Grande;"><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">That’s the most
acute effect that across-the-board spending cuts are having on local government
— namely, at the Muscatine Municipal Housing Agency.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Lucida Grande;"><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">“We are 99 percent
federally funded,” said Dick Yerington, the city’s housing administrator. “These
are the worst cuts we’ve seen in 35 years. It’s not a pretty thing.”</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Lucida Grande;"><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Yerington said he’s
already trimmed $162,000 — about 7 percent of his department’s $2,205,400 budget
— for the 2013 calendar year. About half those cuts — $83,000 — are in Section 8
housing assistance payments.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Lucida Grande;"><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Currently, 364
low-income families are in the program, Yerington said, but the cuts will mean
that, through attrition, only about 340 families can be served.</span></div>
<div style="color: #555555; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Helvetica Neue; margin: 0px 0px 15px;">
<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 20px/normal Helvetica Neue;"><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">[[[</span></span><span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Reducing the Section
8 payment standard for two-bedroom and larger units, which the city council will
consider during its meeting this evening]]]</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">;</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(Texas)</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 34px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Orange Housing
Authority braces for cuts</span></div>
<div style="color: #999999; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 16px/normal Arial; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">March 20,
2013</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://therecordlive.com/2013/03/20/orange-housing-authority-braces-cuts/</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The Orange Housing
Authority is bracing for what could be a bumpy ride as they look to the future
to determine what cuts may come from the Department of Housing and Urban
Development. </span></div>
<div style="color: #555555; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Through
communications with HUD, the Orange Housing authority has learned they could see
an eight percent cut to their public housing funding and a six percent cut on
Section 8 funding.</span></div>
<div style="color: #555555; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 19px/normal Arial; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">
<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">As a precaution, OHA
officials have already implemented a plan. They are not issuing any new vouchers
and the list to get on public housing has been closed since July.</span></div>
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<span class="yiv183220736Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"></span> </div>
<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
(Street Spirit Newspaper)<br />
Sequestration Will
Shred the Housing Safety Net<br />
<br />
By Lynda Carson - March 2013<br />
<br />
Click
below for full story... <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thestreetspirit.org/sequestration-will-shred-the-housing-safety-net/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.thestreetspirit.org/sequestration-will-shred-the-housing-safety-net/</a><br />
<br />
<br />
(Massachusetts)<br />
Worcester
loses $675,000 in federal funds<br />
<br />
By Nick Kotsopoulos TELEGRAM &
GAZETTE STAFF - Tuesday, March 19, 2013<br />
<br />
Click below for full
story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.telegram.com/article/20130319/NEWS/130319605/1116" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.telegram.com/article/20130319/NEWS/130319605/1116</a><br />
<br />
WORCESTER
— Several local programs that receive federal funds through the city are facing
reductions in their allocations for the final quarter of this fiscal year
because of federal budget sequestration. <br />
<br />
Since the cuts will have to be
implemented over just a three-month period, City Manager Michael V. O’Brien said
they will have a four times greater impact on programs than had the cuts been
made at the beginning of the year.<br />
<br />
Automatic, across-the-board spending
reductions triggered by sequestration are expected to amount to an 8.2 percent
cut in federal funding coming to the city, he said.<br />
<br />
The manager said that
would equate to more than $675,000 cuts to the following programs: community
Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnership, Emergency Solutions Grant,
Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS, and Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard
Control.<br />
<br />
The programs that will be affected by the funding cuts include
food pantries, affordable housing programs, after-school programs, social
service case management and homelessness prevention, he
said<br />
<br />
(Indiana)<br />
Federal
sequestration fallout affecting GHA funding issues<br />
<br />
Monday, March 18,
2013<br />
<br />
Greencastle Banner-Graphic<br />
<br />
Click below for full
story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bannergraphic.com/story/1950691.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.bannergraphic.com/story/1950691.html</a><br />
<br />
On
March 1, sequestration went into effect, and government agencies across the
nation began feeling the backlash.<br />
<br />
The Greencastle Housing Authority
(GHA) is one those agencies. Housing Authorities across the nation are losing
significant funding to operate their agencies.<br />
<br />
On March 8, HUD sent
letters to all Housing Authorities informing them that administrative funding
would be cut to 68.5 percent, and Housing Assistance Payments would be cut to 94
percent.<br />
<br />
This means that GHA will receive fewer dollars in calendar year
2013, or only 68.5 percent of CY 2012 allocated funds, to operate the Voucher
Program in Putnam County.<br />
<br />
Due to GHA's current debt to HUD, resulting
from operation of the previous A-Way Home Shelter, GHA is operating at a deficit
and may be forced to only be open four days per week rather than the current
five days.<br />
<br />
That will mean that current clients on the Voucher Program may
see fewer hours that they are able to come into the GHA office for assistance or
to sign required HUD documents. Any persons currently on the Voucher Program do
not need to worry about losing their voucher.<br />
<br />
A public notice will go out
if funding for Housing Assistance Payments is reduced further, GHA officials
said.<br />
<br />
<br />
Sequester
could decrease public housing aid<br />
<br />
Chillicothe Metropolitan Housing
looking at possible 5 percent cut<br />
<br />
Mar. 19, 2013 8:28 PM<br />
<br />
Click
below for full story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.chillicothegazette.com/article/20130319/NEWS01/303190019/Sequester-could-decrease-public-housing-aid" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.chillicothegazette.com/article/20130319/NEWS01/303190019/Sequester-could-decrease-public-housing-aid</a><br />
<br />
CHILLICOTHE
— The federal sequester could affect the Chillicothe Metropolitan Housing
Authority as the agency braces for 5 percent cuts that might result in a
decrease in the number of families receiving assistance through its public
housing program.<br />
<br />
The CMHA provides rental assistance to low-income
families as part of its Section 8 housing voucher program, which the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development oversees. Cheryl Buck, Section 8
program manager for CMHA, said the program is funded to help 515 families and
that a formula is used to determine the amount each family can
receive.<br />
<br />
However, she said the cuts could cause CMHA to serve 47 families
fewer than
expected.<br />
<br />
<br />
Interest
high, outlook bleak for Section 8<br />
<br />
March 18. 2013 10:56PM<br />
<br />
Click
below for full story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://psdispatch.com/news/local-news/360193/Interest-high-outlook-bleak-for-Section-8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://psdispatch.com/news/local-news/360193/Interest-high-outlook-bleak-for-Section-8</a><br />
<br />
The
Luzerne County Housing Authority received 966 requests for Section 8 rental
assistance during a recent 11-day window allowing residents to apply for the
first time in two years.<br />
<br />
Authority Executive Director David Fagula said
new applicants should expect a lengthy wait for rental subsidy — in some cases
years — because the federal government isn’t providing enough funding this year
to cover people already in the program.<br />
<br />
“The funding numbers don’t look
good,” Fagula said.<br />
<br />
The authority, which serves all county municipalities
except for the four cities, is federally authorized to fill 1,115 Section 8
slots, but 81 aren’t being accessed by renters because of federal funding cuts,
he said.<br />
<br />
Rental subsidy for the 1,034 current participants will cost
about $5.7 million this year, and the authority is projected to receive $5.5
million, Fagula said.<br />
<br />
“I don’t think we’ll be able to call anyone new in
for the rest of the year because we’re already spending more money than we’re
expected to receive,” Fagula said.<br />
<br />
The authority may be forced to eject
some of the current participants later this year if nobody leaves the program,
he said.<br />
<br />
Other housing authorities throughout the country have been
notifying Section 8 participants their rental subsidy might be cut off because
of federal budget cuts.<br />
<br />
Fagula said he opted to seek new applicants
because residents had been banned from requesting service since March 2011, when
700 applications were received during a three-week enrollment period. He limited
the latest enrollment to 11 days because he expected overwhelming response due
to the
economy.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
HUD:
Federal sequester will cause Illinois 4,500 fewer families to receive
housing<br />
<br />
BY MAUDLYNE IHEJIRIKA Staff Reporter <a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" rel="nofollow">mihejirika@suntimes.com</a> March 18, 2013 1:29AM<br />
<br />
Click
below for full story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/18700976-418/hud-federal-sequester-will-cause-illinois-4500-fewer-families-to-receive-housing.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/18700976-418/hud-federal-sequester-will-cause-illinois-4500-fewer-families-to-receive-housing.html</a><br />
<br />
Cuts
to the Department of Housing & Urban Development have triggered dire
consequences for the Housing Choice Voucher Program used by the Chicago Housing
Authority to move thousands of families from areas of concentrated poverty into
more diverse neighborhoods and suburbs.<br />
<br />
Statewide, thousands who would
have gotten vouchers this year from municipal and regional housing agencies,
won’t get them — including up to 700 families on HACC’s list. Currently, HACC
isn’t accepting applications for Section 8 vouchers.<br />
<br />
And many who have
already been awarded the elusive benefit — helping 2.1 million poor pay for
housing nationwide, half of them elderly and disabled — may see themselves cut
off.<br />
<br />
Under the sequester, HUD says Illinois will lose $45.3 million in
funding for the voucher program — equating to 4,592 fewer families statewide
receiving them this year.<br />
<br />
Illinois also will lose $4.9 million in
homeless assistance; $2.1 million in funding for affordable housing development;
and $372,000 in funding of housing for people with AIDS.<br />
<br />
Final numbers
won’t be known until Congress approves a spending bill. And as of Thursday, no
viable proposals were on the table to change the federal fiscal
situation.<br />
<br />
;<br />
March
16, 2013<br />
Officials tackle cuts in housing funds<br />
<br />
By Joe
Pinchot<br />
Herald Staff Writer<br />
<br />
Click below for full story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://sharonherald.com/local/x620876050/Officials-tackle-cuts-in-housing-funds" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://sharonherald.com/local/x620876050/Officials-tackle-cuts-in-housing-funds</a><br />
<br />
MERCER
COUNTY — Mercer County Housing Authority can absorb the federal government’s
sequestration cuts in all areas except one – the Housing Choice Voucher Program,
said Executive Director Nannette Livadas.
And that could mean that there will
be fewer Mercer County residents receiving federal subsidies to live in the
homes and apartments owned by private landlords.
Officials are not sure how to
handle the voucher fund administration cuts and are hoping the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development will offer guidance.
“Running the program is
getting a little difficult,” Livadas told the authority board
Wednesday.<br />
<br />
<br />
Allegheny
County Housing Authority lays off 13<br />
March 15, 2013 2:52 pm<br />
<br />
Click
below for full story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/allegheny-county-housing-authority-lays-off-13-679467/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/allegheny-county-housing-authority-lays-off-13-679467/</a><br />
<br />
By
Rich Lord / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette<br />
<br />
In a reaction to the federal budget
reduction known as the sequester, the Allegheny County Housing Authority today
laid off 13 people.<br />
<br />
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is
only providing $10.3 million of the $13 million the authority needs to conduct
normal operations, said Frank Aggazio, the county housing agency's executive
director.<br />
<br />
HUD is also providing only 68.5 percent of the money needed to
run the Section 8 rent voucher program, he said.<br />
<br />
As a result, the
authority laid off three Section 8 counselors, one inspector, four assistant
managers, two secretaries, one electrical inspector, one development inspector
and a finance clerk, he
said.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
Webster
Parish Community Services impacted by sequestration<br />
<br />
Author: Tiffany
Flournoy<br />
Published On: Mar 15 2013 04:09:24 PM CDT<br />
<br />
Click below for
full story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ktbs.com/news/Webster-Parish-Community-Services-impacted-by-sequestration/-/144844/19336930/-/vxkej5/-/index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.ktbs.com/news/Webster-Parish-Community-Services-impacted-by-sequestration/-/144844/19336930/-/vxkej5/-/index.html</a><br />
<br />
WEBSTER
PARISH, La.- The harsh winds created by the sequester are being felt by public
programs and its employees in Webster Parish — Headstart, Section 8 Housing, and
the Community Services Block Grant.
As a result of sequestration, the local
Headstart program is experiencing a 5 percent reduction in funds.
<br />
<br />
Section 8’s funding is being cut by 6 percent, and the Community
Services Block Grant is suffering a loss of 5 percent of its funding.<br />
<br />
In
Addition, Section 8 Housing has also taken a pounding. The 6 percent reduction
in funds is directly affecting housing vouchers associated with the
federally-funded program.
Under the voucher, a housing subsidy is paid by the
Public Housing Authority on behalf of participating clients. The clients income
is also factored into the amount paid out to the recipient each month.
“If an
individual, who is using a voucher leaves the program, that voucher may go
unfilled because of the cut in the budget,” Whitaker said. Additionally,
Whitaker said her office will possibly be making rental adjustments as they
review the income of voucher
recipients.<br />
<br />
<br />
(Monterey
County, CA.)<br />
Federal budget cuts threaten housing assistance programs<br />
Mar.
14, 2013 4:51 PM<br />
<br />
Click below for full story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20130315/LIFESTYLE/303150015" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20130315/LIFESTYLE/303150015</a><br />
<br />
Jean
Goebel, executive director of the Housing Authority of the County of Monterey,
said her agency could face a 30 percent reduction in administrative funds and an
8 percent cut in housing assistance payments for public and Indian housing
programs.<br />
<br />
<br />
(Minden,
LA)<br />
Sequestration hits home<br />
<br />
MARCH 14, 2013 JERI BLOXOM<br />
<br />
Click
below for full story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.press-herald.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5524:sequestration-hits-home&catid=34:local-news&Itemid=69" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.press-herald.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5524:sequestration-hits-home&catid=34:local-news&Itemid=69</a><br />
<br />
While
Congress' lack of action has yet to cause the loss of jobs and services to
Webster Parish Community Services, it has caused portions of their funding to be
reduced by five to six percent.<br />
"The programs hardest hit by the cuts are
Section 8 Housing and Head Start," said Mary Whitaker, director of Community
Services. "These programs are still operational, but there will be
changes."
Whitaker said Congress' sequestration has resulted in federal funds
falling short in the 2013
budget.<br />
<br />
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<br />
Renton
Housing Authority copes with federal budget cuts<br />
<br />
By TRACEY COMPTON
Renton Reporter Staff writer
MARCH 14, 2013 · 1:22 PM<br />
<br />
Click below for
full story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.rentonreporter.com/news/198212281.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.rentonreporter.com/news/198212281.html</a><br />
<br />
The
Renton Housing Authority will shift resources around to cover any lack of
federal support for its Section 8 housing assistance programs due to federal
budget cuts.<br />
<br />
"The surplus from non-federal programs will underwrite any
loss from federal programs going forward to the extent the individual program
reserves prove insufficient to cover operating and rent assistance costs," Mark
Gropper, the agency's executive director.<br />
The Renton Housing Authority is
making plans for a more sustainable business model, with the Sunset Highlands
Redevelopment project, in the wake of tumultuous federal budget
cuts.<br />
<br />
According to Gropper, the housing authority will be at about 92
percent of what it needs to operate its publicly subsidized housing budget in
light of the federal sequester, or budget
cuts.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
Housing
benefits slashed for hundreds of Vermonters<br />
Posted: Mar 14, 2013 3:01 PM
PDT<br />
<br />
Updated: Mar 14, 2013 5:00 PM PDT<br />
<br />
By Jennifer Reading
<br />
Click below for full story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wcax.com/story/21645931/housing-benefits-slashed-for-hundreds-of-vermonters" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.wcax.com/story/21645931/housing-benefits-slashed-for-hundreds-of-vermonters</a><br />
<br />
"The
fair market rents for 2013, they dropped drastically," said Claudia Donovan, the
director of rental assistance at the Burlington Housing
Authority.<br />
<br />
Donovan says fair market rent is the amount the federal
government says housing costs in the area.<br />
<br />
In 2012, the feds said $896
would cover rent and utilities for a one-bedroom apartment in the greater
Burlington area. This year that number dropped to $788. For families needing a
three-bedroom, in 2012 the feds put the cost of rent and utilities at $1,439,
but lowered that to $1,289 for 2013.<br />
<br />
Killary found an efficiency. It's
small and expensive, but it's a roof overhead. Others who need help will not be
as lucky.<br />
<br />
Sequestration is expected to take an additional toll on Section
8. The housing authority is preparing for a 6 percent funding cut, which means
100-150 people will lose their
benefits.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
Sequestration
cuts slash SD housing subsidies<br />
<br />
By Matthew Smith,
Posted on 14 March
2013.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thedailyaztec.com/2013/03/sequestration-cuts-slash-sd-housing-subsidies/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.thedailyaztec.com/2013/03/sequestration-cuts-slash-sd-housing-subsidies/</a><br />
<br />
Sequestration
is upon us. The $85 billion in federal budget cuts will hurt us locally in
numerous ways. This region will obviously feel defense cuts because the U.S.
Department of Defense is San Diego’s largest employer. However, cuts to vital
social programs such as housing will hit local families hard.<br />
<br />
KPBS
reported all non-defense programs will receive an 8 percent budget cut because
of sequestration. This will impact local programs such as the San Diego Housing
Commission, which received more than $160 million to subsidize housing for
families last year. The program gave vouchers to 14,600 families, with each
receiving a monthly subsidy of $850. This may sound like a fat government
subsidy for housing, but in a city where homes sell at an average of more than
$620,000 and monthly mortgage payments vary between $3,000 to $5,000, they can
provide a much-needed relief to keep housing affordable in San Diego. It’s also
uncertain whether this specific program will be cut equally compared to the rest
of the housing programs the sequester threatens. The commission also hasn’t
decided if it will be forced to cut some families from the program or cut the
subsidy equally for all families that benefit from it.<br />
<br />
The housing
commission isn’t the only local housing program threatened by the sequestration.
San Diegans benefit from services for the homeless, assistance for first-time
home buyers and a 4 or 9 percent tax credit for low-income families. All of
these are threatened by federal budget cuts. The Section 8 subsidy, which
already has a waitlist of more than 28,000 locally, also faces steep
cuts.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
Reserve
draws, voucher freeze likely in DHA sequester response<br />
<br />
Mar. 13, 2013 @
11:25 PM<br />
<br />
By Ray Gronberg <a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" rel="nofollow">gronberg@heraldsun.com</a>;
919-419-6648<br />
<br />
Click below for full story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.heraldsun.com/news/x941745545/Reserve-draws-voucher-freeze-likely-in-DHA-sequester-response" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.heraldsun.com/news/x941745545/Reserve-draws-voucher-freeze-likely-in-DHA-sequester-response</a><br />
<br />
DURHAM
—<br />
Durham Housing Authority officials plan to draw heavily on their agency’s
financial reserves to blunt the impact of the budget cuts being handed down to
them by the federal government’s “sequester” battle.<br />
<br />
But the agency
nonetheless will have to stop returning Section 8 rental vouchers to circulation
after former clients turn theirs in. Given normal yearly turnover, the move
could close the door to aid for about 187 families, DHA leaders
said.<br />
<br />
That translates into about a 7 percent reduction in the number of
vouchers the agency intends to circulate. It has been serving some 2,734
families through the rental-assistance
program.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
Sequester
cuts threaten thousands with homelessness<br />
<br />
Updated: Tuesday, 12 Mar 2013,
11:18 PM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 12 Mar 2013, 11:18 PM EDT<br />
<br />
Click below
for full story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/local/sequester-cuts-threaten-thousands-with-homelessness" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/local/sequester-cuts-threaten-thousands-with-homelessness</a><br />
<br />
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - For people in Allen County who use Section 8
vouchers, the threat of homelessness could become very real as a result of the
recent government spending cuts. <br />
Last year the Department of Housing and
Urban Development suffered $1 billion in government cuts. That caused local
agencies to reach into their emergency reserve funds to keep business operating
for the remainder of the year.<br />
<br />
Now, the sequestration cuts that went into
affect earlier this month come as a second blow.<br />
<br />
Almost 3000 people use
Section 8 and a thousand people utilize Public Housing in Allen County every
month.
However, it's a pecking order, and if someone's single, not disabled,
and without a family, that puts him or her at the top of the list as the first
to be let go.<br />
<br />
"Who would be the first impacted, and the second, and a
tertiary impact on families, and we think people who are able-bodied tend to be
the ones that we look to first," said Maynard Scales, the Executive Director of
the Fort Wayne Housing
Authority.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
Sequestration
impacts looming in northern Michigan<br />
<br />
by Brody O'Connell<br />
Posted:
03.13.2013 at 9:16 AM<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?id=871439" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?id=871439</a><br />
<br />
The
Traverse City Housing Commission sent out a letter to landlords saying it
expects to see a 5.1% decrease in funding to it’s housing assistance
program.<br />
<br />
If those cuts occur, the commission may have to cut participants
from the Section 8 housing program.<br />
<br />
“Our participants are concerned
because they are not on this program because they want to be on this program,
they are on this because they need the assistance, they need that to help them
live in a decent, affordable unit,” said Housing Commission Executive Director,
Ilah Honson.<br />
<br />
It is likely that Section 8 housing terminations would not
take place until May 1, Honson said.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C.,
there is no sign of a short term
solution.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
(Charlottesville)<br />
Dwindling
federal funds plays role in city's public housing woes<br />
<br />
Posted: Tuesday,
March 12, 2013 9:05 pm | Updated: 11:16 pm, Tue Mar 12, 2013.<br />
<br />
Click below
for full story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/article_24e3f27a-8b7a-11e2-a229-0019bb30f31a.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/article_24e3f27a-8b7a-11e2-a229-0019bb30f31a.html</a><br />
<br />
Dwindling
federal money is squeezing public housing agencies nationwide, a trend
highlighted by a recent report chastising Charlottesville's housing authority
for poor financial oversight.<br />
<br />
With more than $1 billion in cuts
nationwide to rental assistance programs looming, the federal Department of
Housing and Urban Development warned in the report that the Charlottesville
Redevelopment & Housing Authority's failures to collect rent and other debts
"jeopardizes the [authority's] financial viability."<br />
<br />
Revenues at the
local authority trailed spending by almost $1 million in fiscal year 2012,
according to the report.<br />
<br />
"It concerned me that we did not meet the
funding guidelines for HUD, the funding agency for the whole program,"
Charlottesville Mayor Satyendra Huja said Tuesday. "We need to respond to those
concerns first."<br />
<br />
Officials must do so against the backdrop of plunging
federal money for HUD. The agency's budget request for fiscal year 2013 is about
$44 billion, down almost a fifth from $55.9 billion last year.<br />
<br />
Among the
proposed cuts in next fiscal year's budget are $500 million in rental assistance
programs and another $640 million to a program providing rental aid to families
and single people living in newly constructed or rehabilitated buildings, HUD
Secretary Shaun Donovan said in his 2013 budget message.<br />
<br />
Figures such as
those lead to other numbers far smaller but impactful -- HUD recommended in its
report on the local authority that minimum monthly rent be doubled from $25 to
$50.<br />
<br />
"Of course, [federal] numbers are going to translate into less money
for the housing authorities, which is why we suggest that they look at
cost-cutting measures and revenue generation," said Donna White, a HUD
spokeswoman.<br />
<br />
Those were among an array of recommendations in the HUD
report on the Charlottesville authority, which the feds depicted as plagued by
insufficient documentation, failures to monitor income, inadequate budgetary
controls and a lack of support from its board.<br />
<br />
Authority revenues fell
from $6.9 million to $5.1 million from fiscal year 2011 to 2012, but spending
stayed relatively level at $6 million, the HUD report said. The agency gave the
local authority until the end of the month to address the report's
findings.<br />
<br />
Raising rent is not a panacea, said Councilor Dave Norris, the
former authority board chairman recently replaced on the panel by
Huja.<br />
<br />
"The idea that the housing authority residents are going to be able
to financially bail out the authority with increased rents is delusional,"
Norris said.<br />
<br />
But HUD plans for some of the cuts to federal aid programs
to be covered by increased minimum rents. That comes as demand for public
housing is increasing and infrastructure is
deteriorating.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
Sequestration
to force HUD to shut down for 7 days<br />
<br />
Click below for full
story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.federalnewsradio.com/485/3248327/Sequestration-to-force-HUD-to-shut-down-for-7-days" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.federalnewsradio.com/485/3248327/Sequestration-to-force-HUD-to-shut-down-for-7-days</a><br />
<br />
Tuesday
- 3/12/2013, 2:48pm EDT<br />
<br />
The Department of Housing and Urban Development
will furlough all 9,000 of its employees for seven days between May and August
in a bid to reduce costs due to sequestration.<br />
<br />
All employees, including
career employees, will be furloughed the same number of days, which will
effectively result in a shutdown of the department on those days. The proposed
furlough dates are May 10 and 24; June 14; July 5 and 22; and August 16 and
30.<br />
The automatic, across-the-board cuts will lop more than $66 million from
HUD's 2013 bottom
line.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
(Columbia
Housing Authority, Missouri)<br />
For working poor seeking housing assistance,
sequestration brings tough choices<br />
<br />
Click below for full
story...<br />
<br />
Tuesday, March 12, 2013 | 6:11 p.m. CDT; updated 6:38 p.m. CDT,
Tuesday, March 12, 2013<br />
<br />
Should funding projections from the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development remain in place, the authority would
be forced to reduce the number of families that get subsidies by 70, according
to agency figures. Currently, 1,132 families receive vouchers for rent, which
usually allow participants to pay no more than 30 percent of their income toward
housing.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
(Wisconsin,
Feb. 28, 2013)<br />
How the Sequester will affect Dane County’s most
vulnerable<br />
<br />
<a href="http://housingdane.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/how-the-sequester-will-affect-dane-countys-most-vulnerable/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://housingdane.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/how-the-sequester-will-affect-dane-countys-most-vulnerable/</a><br />
<br />
For
the Dane County Housing authority this means a $36,120 reduction in HAP payments
every month. With the average HAP payment being about $600, this cut means that
60 families will lose their rent assistance. That’s 60 families that are now
homeless, 60 vacant housing units not collecting rent and 60 requests to local
shelters for emergency
assistance.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
(Santa
Clara County)<br />
The Sequester and the Local Impact<br />
<br />
Posted by Sparky
Harlan on Friday, March 8, 2013<br />
<br />
Click below for full story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.sanjoseinside.com/news/entries/3_8_13_santa_clara_county_sequester_budget_cuts/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.sanjoseinside.com/news/entries/3_8_13_santa_clara_county_sequester_budget_cuts/</a><br />
<br />
A
recent email from the Chair of the Santa Clara County Collaborative on
Affordable Housing and Homeless Issues discusses the anticipated cuts to
services for the homeless and to affordable housing. Up to 800 low-income
families could lose their housing and urban development (HUD) vouchers that
currently subsidize rental payments. As a result, many could end up
homeless.<br />
<br />
Click below for email stating that 800 low-income families
could lose their vouchers in Santa Clara County...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.sanjoseinside.com/images/uploads/Sequester_Emails.txt" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.sanjoseinside.com/images/uploads/Sequester_Emails.txt</a><br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
(Napa
- March 8, 2013)<br />
City will close rent subsidy waiting list<br />
<br />
Click below
for full story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/city-will-close-rent-subsidy-waiting-list/article_c267aa70-8821-11e2-bfb3-001a4bcf887a.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/city-will-close-rent-subsidy-waiting-list/article_c267aa70-8821-11e2-bfb3-001a4bcf887a.html</a><br />
<br />
Closing
the wait list, which the housing authority plans to do at 5 p.m. on March 29,
will largely free up the one-third of a staff position currently required to
maintain it, Ferrell said. Some time will still be spent maintaining the list,
which will be reopened when the locals on the list have received
funding.<br />
<br />
On average, each Section 8 recipients receive $712 toward
monthly rent, Ferrell said. Prior to sequestration of the federal budget taking
effect last week, the housing authority was issuing about 10 new vouchers each
month thanks to turnover.<br />
<br />
With the sequestration cuts, the housing
authority will no longer issue new vouchers, regardless of how many families
fall off the program. Last week, Ferrell reported the housing authority was
expecting a 6 percent funding cut, which could force it to revoke 73 existing
vouchers.<br />
<br />
On Tuesday, she said staff are reviewing reserves to see if
there is money that could lessen the impact.<br />
<br />
Ferrell said 16 would-be
Section 8 recipient households have already felt the impact of the automatic
budget cuts. Those families and/or individuals were new recipients of Section 8
assistance who were looking for housing but had not yet signed leases for
apartments. Their vouchers were revoked following
sequestration.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
Sequestration
cuts mean Syracuse's poor have longer wait for subsidized housing<br />
<br />
By
Marnie Eisenstadt | <a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" rel="nofollow">meisenstadt@syracuse.com</a> <br />
on March
08, 2013 at 12:28 PM, updated March 08, 2013 at 12:47 PM <br />
<br />
Click below for
full story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/03/sequestration_cuts_make_long_l.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/03/sequestration_cuts_make_long_l.html</a><br />
<br />
<br />
The
Syracuse Housing Authority has so many people who need housing help that its
waiting list is closed to most people. And now the wait for those who made the
list just got longer.<br />
<br />
The authority will lose 150 of its 3,600 Section 8
vouchers this year as a result of $85 billion in federal budget cuts that went
into effect last week.<br />
<br />
The agency is preparing to lose $1.1 million of
its $18.9 million budget for Section 8 housing.<br />
<br />
Low-income families use
the vouchers to offset rental costs for apartments they find for themselves. The
waiting list for public housing, another option for low-income families, is also
years
long.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
Sequester
effects begin to surface at city, DHA<br />
Mar. 08, 2013 @ 05:46 PM<br />
<br />
Click
below for full story...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.heraldsun.com/news/x941742997/Sequester-effects-begin-to-surface-at-city-DHA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.heraldsun.com/news/x941742997/Sequester-effects-begin-to-surface-at-city-DHA</a><br />
<br />
By
Ray Gronberg <a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" rel="nofollow">gronberg@heraldsun.com</a>;
919-419-6648<br />
<br />
DURHAM — <br />
Officials in two local agencies say they’re
beginning to see fallout from the federal government’s budget “sequester” as the
country’s leading political parties remain deadlocked on fiscal
policy.<br />
<br />
Durham Housing Authority chief Dallas Park said his agencies will
“have to make some hard choices” because it’s in line to lose about $2.5 million
in funding.<br />
<br />
Parks and his staff are still assessing the situation and
likely will report to the DHA board’s finance committee, which is scheduled to
meet late Wednesday afternoon.<br />
<br />
But, tentatively, it’s looking like the
agency will lose about $1 million of the subsidies that support its public
housing complex, another $1 million or so that underwrites Section 8 rental
vouchers, about $230,000 that supports the administration of the Section 8
program and some money that goes into maintenance.<br />
<br />
There’s little
question that operational cutbacks will result.<br />
“Obviously, we have to align
our expenses to our revenues,” said Parks, adding that DHA was figuring on
spending about $35 million in 2013. “It’s not going to be fun. It’s a very
difficult
task.”<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
(Fort
Worth, Kansas)<br />
Federal cuts mean fewer low-income families will get housing
assistance<br />
<br />
Alex Branch | Fort Worth Star-Telegram - March 8,
2013<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/03/08/185277/federal-cuts-mean-fewer-low-income.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/03/08/185277/federal-cuts-mean-fewer-low-income.html</a><br />
<br />
Local
housing agencies are preparing for federal budget reductions by freezing waiting
lists already clogged by thousands of applicants and, in Fort Worth, even
canceling vouchers already issued to clients who are still searching for
apartments.<br />
<br />
At least 600 fewer families in Tarrant County could get
assistance from the Housing Choice Voucher Program, also known as Section 8,
because of the sequestration cuts, officials predict.<br />
Agencies will do their
best to achieve the cuts through attrition rather than terminating contracts
with those currently in housing, officials said.<br />
<br />
However, the Fort Worth
Housing Authority is already canceling vouchers for clients who have yet to find
a rental unit, said Selarstean Mitchell, vice president of assisted housing. The
agency stopped processing those vouchers two weeks ago.<br />
<br />
"It's a very
difficult thing to do because we have never had to do it," Mitchell said.
"People are surprised. When they get that voucher, they are always so happy and
excited."<br />
<br />
Housing agencies nationwide are bracing for the impact of U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development budget cuts that could result in a
loss of 100,000 vouchers nationwide, according to the National Low Income
Housing Coalition.<br />
<br />
Housing authorities were notified several weeks ago to
expect about 94 percent of the funding they were eligible for this year,
Mitchell said.<br />
<br />
"Housing authorities are going to have to start making
these tough decisions," said Linda Couch, the national coalition's senor vice
president for policy and research. "We are already starting to hear a lot of
reports of housing authorities freezing turnover or looking at their payment
standards."<br />
<br />
The vouchers have always been popular and the economic
downturn put them in greater demand. Under the program, a housing subsidy is
paid to a landlord directly by a housing agency on behalf of the client. The
client then pays the difference.<br />
<br />
The Fort Worth Housing Authority's
voucher program backlog is 18,000 families while the Arlington Housing Authority
has reached 11,000.<br />
<br />
In Arlington, sequestration is expected to result in
about 200 fewer families receiving assistance, said David Zappasodi, Arlington
Housing Authority executive director.<br />
<br />
"Each month an average of 35
program participants exit the rental housing assistance programs," Zappasodi
wrote in an email. "The Arlington Housing Authority plans to manage the
reduction in funding through program attrition to avoid any harmful impact to
program participants."<br />
<br />
However, that means it will take longer reach
applicants on the waiting list, he said.<br />
<br />
The cuts may force Tarrant
County to lose about 150 housing vouchers, said Patricia Ward, county director
of community development and housing. However, officials may ask HUD for
permission to reduce the value of the vouchers so as to only lose
85.<br />
<br />
That change would require clients to pay more of their own rent, she
said.<br />
<br />
"It would make it a little harder for our clients, but we trying to
not take anyone completely off (the program)," Ward said. "A lot of our clients
are disabled and elderly."<br />
<br />
Reductions in vouchers or their value could
have a long-term effect, Couch said. In many cities, rental units are in such
high demand that some landlords could decide that participation in the voucher
program is more trouble than it is worth.<br />
<br />
"The voucher program 100
percent relies on the participation of private landlords," she said. "The
sequester brings a lot of question marks to the federal government's ability or
commitment to have a stable
program."<br />
<br />
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<br />
Sequester
could cost Phila. Housing Authority 42M<br />
<br />
Jennifer Lin, INQUIRER STAFF
WRITER<br />
<br />
POSTED: Thursday, March 7, 2013, 8:36 Pm <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20130307_Sequester_could_cost_Phila__Housing_Authority__42M.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20130307_Sequester_could_cost_Phila__Housing_Authority__42M.html</a><br />
<br />
With
across-the-board federal cuts that kicked in March 1, the Philadelphia Housing
Authority calculated that it would lose $42 million in funding this year, equal
to an 11 percent drop in its budget, the agency's interim executive director
told employees in a letter this
week.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
Sequester
hits Section 8 program in Redondo Beach<br />
<br />
March 7, 2013 2:00 pm<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.easyreadernews.com/66386/sequester-hits-section-8-program-in-redondo-beach/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.easyreadernews.com/66386/sequester-hits-section-8-program-in-redondo-beach/</a><br />
<br />
Sequestration
– the buzzword for $85 billion in budget cuts mandated by the federal government
to raise the debt ceiling and reduce deficits – is beginning to ripple through
the country. Redondo Beach is likely to feel an acute impact, most immediately
to its Section 8 Rent Assistance Program, which could lose up to $1.2 million in
federal funding.<br />
<br />
The program receives funding from the Department of
Housing and Urban Development in the form of reimbursements to both the city and
the landlords with whom it has agreements. At a Housing Authority meeting in
December, it was revealed that currently 543 Redondo Beach families are
receiving assistance through Section 8.<br />
<br />
The City is required give 90
days’ notice if it must terminate a Section 8
agreement.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
;<br />
(Zanesville,
OH.) <br />
ZMHA faces $1M-plus in cuts<br />
Sequester hinders agency's ability to
help poor people<br />
<br />
Mar. 6, 2013 5:48 PM<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/article/20130306/NEWS01/303060032/ZMHA-faces-1M-plus-cuts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/article/20130306/NEWS01/303060032/ZMHA-faces-1M-plus-cuts</a><br />
<br />
“The
bottom line impact of sequestration to ZMHA to public housing is about $500,000
less,” Randles said. “With the housing choice voucher program, we’ll get
$267,000 less for housing assistance payments, and $151,000 less for the
administrative fee, which totals $418,000 less with the two.”<br />
<br />
“My concern
is we’re close to our breaking point,” he said. “In January and February, we
received 92 percent of what we’re eligible to receive on the public housing
side. We’re only slated to receive 82 percent in March and less than 70 percent
from April through December. We know the sequester impacts will be felt in
April, and we’re trying to assess and analyze what it means in April and beyond.
We need to know how to navigate this.”<br />
<br />
[[[Zanesville Metropolitan Housing
Authority stands to lose more than $1 million and serve less people because of
the
sequester.]]]<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
(Madison,
Wis.)<br />
New downtown high-rise sparks affordability debate<br />
<br />
<a href="http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/writers/mike_ivey/new-downtown-high-rise-sparks-affordability-debate/article_fb5357d4-85e8-11e2-b77a-001a4bcf887a.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/writers/mike_ivey/new-downtown-high-rise-sparks-affordability-debate/article_fb5357d4-85e8-11e2-b77a-001a4bcf887a.html</a><br />
<br />
Wegleitner
recounted new figures from the Dane County Housing Authority showing a loss of
60 Section 8 rent assistance vouchers due to the sequestration, which the agency
hopes to handle through attrition and longer waiting
lists.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
SMHA
to cut jobs<br />
Springfield agency faces $400K in budget cuts.<br />
<br />
Posted:
10:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, 2013<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/news/local/smha-to-cut-jobs/nWhYb/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/news/local/smha-to-cut-jobs/nWhYb/</a><br />
<br />
The
authority’s budget — which comes almost entirely from the federal government and
tenant rent payments — was reduced about $400,000 this year. In 2012, the total
budget was $2.5 million. This year, it’s $2.1 million.<br />
<br />
SMHA’s low-income
public housing operating subsidy was cut by 17 percent this month, according to
documents obtained by the Springfield News-Sun. The agency’s operating subsidy
for its Housing Choice Vouchers, also known as Section 8 rent stipends, is also
expected to be reduced by 31 percent in April.<br />
Those cuts in the federal
funds prompted the local jobs cuts, Sherry
sai<br />
<br />
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<br />
Sequester
Cuts Come to Midlands in First Week<br />
<br />
Mar. 4, 2013<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wltx.com/news/article/225176/2/Sequester-Cuts-Come-to-Midlands-in-First-Week?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Cbc%7Clarge" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.wltx.com/news/article/225176/2/Sequester-Cuts-Come-to-Midlands-in-First-Week?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Cbc%7Clarge</a><br />
<br />
"We
know that over the next year we will have to lose 140 families from our
program," said Nancy Nevill Stoudenmire of the Columbia Housing Authority.
"When we lose 140 houses in a Section 8 program, that means 140 landlords aren't
getting that rent. So, the landlords are indirectly
impacted."<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
Sequestration
could mean $1.25 million in federal funding cuts for Boulder County housing,
human services programs<br />
<br />
POSTED: 02/28/2013 08:28:56 PM
MST<br />
UPDATED: 02/28/2013 08:29:32 PM MST<br />
By John Fryar Longmont
Times-Call<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_22693067/sequestration-could-mean-1-25-million-federal-funding" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_22693067/sequestration-could-mean-1-25-million-federal-funding</a><br />
<br />
Earlier
this week, county officials said the federal sequestration and the resulting
cuts in the "housing choice voucher" program could mean that about 50 families
could lose their rental assistance vouchers. That would impact families and
individuals in the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program for homeless
veterans; people in the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance program for homeless
families with children in Boulder County's school districts; and the Family
Unification Program, which helps subsidize families so children can stay at home
with their parents.<br />
<br />
[[[Housing cuts will impact rental assistance voucher
programs for homeless veterans and families in the child welfare system. The
cuts are expected to include nearly an $800,000 reduction in the county's rental
assistance program for people at risk of becoming
homeless.]]]<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
<br />
Tucson
may evict 1,800 in 60 days<br />
<br />
<a href="http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/public-housing-tenants-owing-rent-will-feel-federal-cuts-st/article_1e247d93-9c1f-5a3c-af4b-4a60672d8898.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/public-housing-tenants-owing-rent-will-feel-federal-cuts-st/article_1e247d93-9c1f-5a3c-af4b-4a60672d8898.html</a><br />
<br />
Public
housing residents who owe back rent will be the first evicted if the city is
forced to scale back its rental subsidy program because of federal sequestration
cuts, city officials said
Friday.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
Housing
Authority of the City of Los Angeles - Feb. 22, 2013<br />
<br />
Click below for full
report<br />
<br />
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/ab35n4f" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/ab35n4f</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2013/13-0235_rpt_lahd_2-22-13.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2013/13-0235_rpt_lahd_2-22-13.pdf</a><br />
<br />
Sequestration's
Impact:<br />
<br />
SECTION 8<br />
<br />
[[[We anticipate that as many as 15,000 families
that currently receive Section 8<br />
assistance will be affected by these cuts
resulting in a decrease of payment of an average<br />
of approximately $200 per
month.]]]<br />
<br />
HACLA administers a variety of programs that utilize Section 8
housing assistance as a<br />
basis for support for nearly 55,000 households in Los
Angeles totaling payments of $528<br />
million annually. The largest of these
programs is the Section 8 tenant based voucher<br />
program that serves 42,000
households. Those residents that are qualified and receive<br />
Section 8 housing
assistance pay 30 percent of their income towards rent. The Section 8<br />
program
pays for the balance of the rent to the landlord up to an amount that is
determined<br />
based on the fair market rents for rental housing in Los Angeles.
Under sequestration we<br />
expect to reduce payment assistance to 90 percent of
the fair market rents as determined<br />
by HUD. We anticipate that as many as
15,000 families that currently receive Section 8<br />
assistance will be affected
by these cuts resulting in a decrease of payment of an average<br />
of
approximately $200 per month. Many of these families will not be able to absorb
such a<br />
large increase in rent and will need to look for alternatives should
the landlord choose not<br />
to reduce the current rent. There are several options
participants may choose between: the<br />
tenant can cover the difference, the
landlord may decide to absorb the loss, or participants<br />
may opt to move to an
apartment with a lower rent. Even in the best of circumstances, we<br />
expect
thousands to be forced to relocate from their current
residences.<br />
<br />
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<div class="yiv183220736plainMail">
<br />
(San
Francisco Bay View Newspaper)<br />
HUD housing programs at risk locally and across
the nation<br />
<br />
By Lynda Carson - January 26, 2013<br />
<br />
Click below for full
story and photos...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://sfbayview.com/2013/hud-housing-programs-at-risk-locally-and-across-the-nation/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://sfbayview.com/2013/hud-housing-programs-at-risk-locally-and-across-the-nation/</a><br />
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Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-24606411346820012482013-03-10T17:01:00.003-07:002013-03-10T17:01:46.136-07:00Bad words and good words: mental illness in media<h1>
<em>Entry on mental illness is added to </em></h1>
<h1>
<em>Associated Press Stylebook</em></h1>
<span class="pRlse"><strong></strong></span><br />
<span class="pRlse">March 7, 2013</span><br />
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<!-- <span class="headline">Entry on mental illness is added to AP Stylebook</span> -->The Associated Press today added an entry on mental illness to the <a href="https://www.apstylebook.com/" target="_blank" title="https://www.apstylebook.com/">AP Stylebook</a>.<br /><br />“It is the right time to address how journalists handle questions of mental illness in coverage,” said AP Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll. “This isn’t only a question of which words one uses to describe a person’s illness. There are important journalistic questions, too.<br /><br />“When is such information relevant to a story? Who is an authoritative source for a person’s illness, diagnosis and treatment? These are very delicate issues and this Stylebook entry is intended to help journalists work through them thoughtfully, accurately and fairly.”<br /><br />The entry, which was immediately added to the <a href="http://www.apstylebook.com/" target="_blank" title="http://www.apstylebook.com/">AP Stylebook Online</a> and will appear in the new print edition and <a href="http://www.apstylebook.com/?do=product&pid=mobile" target="_blank" title="http://www.apstylebook.com/?do=product&pid=mobile">Stylebook Mobile</a>, published in the spring, reads as follows:<br /><br />
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<strong>mental illness</strong> Do not describe an individual as mentally ill unless it is clearly pertinent to a story and the diagnosis is properly sourced.<br /> <br />When used, identify the source for the diagnosis. Seek firsthand knowledge; ask how the source knows. Don’t rely on hearsay or speculate on a diagnosis. Specify the time frame for the diagnosis and ask about treatment. A person’s condition can change over time, so a diagnosis of mental illness might not apply anymore. Avoid anonymous sources. On-the-record sources can be family members, mental health professionals, medical authorities, law enforcement officials and court records. Be sure they have accurate information to make the diagnosis. Provide examples of symptoms.<br /> <br />Mental illness is a general condition. Specific disorders are types of mental illness and should be used whenever possible: <em>He was diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to court documents. She was diagnosed with anorexia, according to her parents. He was treated for depression.</em><br /> <br />Some common mental disorders, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (mental illnesses or disorders are lowercase, except when known by the name of a person, such as Asperger’s syndrome):<br /> <br />- Autism spectrum disorders. These include Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism. Many experts consider autism a developmental disorder, not a mental illness.<br />- Bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness)<br />- Depression<br />- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)<br />- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)<br />- Schizophrenia<br /> <br />Here is a link from the National Institute of Mental Health that can be used as a reference:<br /> <br /><a href="http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml" target="_blank" title="http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml">http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml</a><br /> <br />Do not use derogatory terms, <em>such as insane, crazy/crazed, nuts or deranged</em>, unless they are part of a quotation that is essential to the story.<br /> <br />Do not assume that mental illness is a factor in a violent crime, and verify statements to that effect. A past history of mental illness is not necessarily a reliable indicator. Studies have shown that the vast majority of people with mental illness are not violent, and experts say most people who are violent do not suffer from mental illness.<br /> <br />Avoid unsubstantiated statements by witnesses or first responders attributing violence to mental illness. A first responder often is quoted as saying, without direct knowledge, that a crime was committed by a person with a “history of mental illness.” Such comments should always be attributed to someone who has knowledge of the person’s history and can authoritatively speak to its relevance to the incident.<br /> <br />Avoid descriptions that connote pity, such as <em>afflicted with, suffers from or victim of</em>. Rather, <em>he has obsessive-compulsive disorder</em>.<br /> <br />Double-check specific symptoms and diagnoses. Avoid interpreting behavior common to many people as symptoms of mental illness. Sadness, anger, exuberance and the occasional desire to be alone are normal emotions experienced by people who have mental illness as well as those who don’t.<br /> <br />Wherever possible, rely on people with mental illness to talk about their own diagnoses.<br /> <br />Avoid using mental health terms to describe non-health issues. Don’t say that an awards show, for example, was schizophrenic.<br /> <br />Use the term <em>mental</em> or <em>psychiatric hospital</em>, not <em>asylum</em>.<br /> <br />See <strong>Asperger’s syndrome; disabled, handicapped; phobia; post-traumatic stress disorder.</strong><br /> </div>
<strong>About AP</strong><br />The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day, more than half the world's population sees news from AP. On the Web: <a href="http://www.ap.org/">www.ap.org</a>.<br /><br /><strong>Contact</strong><br />Paul Colford<br />Director of Media Relations<br />212-621-1895<br /><a href="mailto:pcolford@ap.org">pcolford@ap.org</a><br /><br />Erin Madigan White<br />Media Relations Manager<br />212-621-7005<br /><a href="mailto:emadigan@ap.org">emadigan@ap.org</a><br /><br />Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/ap_corpcomm" target="_blank" title="https://twitter.com/ap_corpcomm">https://twitter.com/ap_corpcomm</a>.Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-58134166275328900962013-02-22T10:27:00.004-08:002013-02-25T21:56:08.251-08:00San Fran's Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano Drafts Homeless Bill of Rights for California<h1 class="entry-title" id="story_headline">
<em><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394;"><u>California Lawmaker Proposes </u></span></em></h1>
<h1 class="entry-title">
<u>
<em><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394;">'Homeless Bill of Rights'</span></em></u></h1>
<div class="byline">
<em><strong>By </strong></em><a href="http://www.sacbee.com/search_results/?sf_pubsys_story_byline=Jim%20Sanders&link_location=top" title="Read more articles by Jim Sanders"><em><strong>Jim Sanders</strong></em></a><br />
<span class="org fn"><a href="mailto:jsanders@sacbee.com">jsanders@sacbee.com</a></span></div>
<div id="hnews-vcard" style="display: none;">
<span class="byline author vcard"><span class="fn">By Jim Sanders </span></span> <span class="creditline source-org vcard"><span class="org fn">The Sacramento Bee </span></span></div>
<div class="updated" style="display: none;" title="2013-01-06T22:56:55Z">
Last modified: 2013-01-06T22:56:55Z</div>
<div class="pubdates" style="padding-bottom: 1.5em;">
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<div class="published" style="padding-bottom: 0px;" title="2013-01-04T00:00:00-0800">
Published: Friday, Jan. 4, 2013 </div>
<div title="2013-01-06T14:56:55-0800">
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RANDY PENCH / <a href="mailto:rpench@sabee.com">rpench@sabee.com</a></h4>
Homeless advocate Dianna Buettner, above, a high school teacher in Stockton, dances to music while dressed in a tent at a rally Thursday at the Capitol in support of a homelessness bill of rights. "Houseless people need to be treated like everybody else – it's not a crime to be without a house," she said.</div>
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Jack Larson watches as advocates for the homeless rally at the Capitol.</div>
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Candice Moran, left, who is homeless, hugs her dog during the Capitol rally. If Assembly Bill 5 is adopted, courts would be left to sort out the extent to which communities could limit the legal rights the measure conveys to homeless people.</div>
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Homeless advocate Dianna Buettner, above, a high school </span></em><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">teacher in Stockton, dances to music while dressed in a tent </span></em><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">at a rally Thursday at the Capitol in support of a homelessness </span></em><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">bill of rights. "Houseless people need to be treated like </span></em><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">everybody else – it's not a crime to be without a house," she said.</span></em><div style="color: black; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 10pt/normal sans-serif; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-transform: none; width: 1px;">
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Homeless advocate Dianna Buettner, above, a high school teacher in Stockton, dances to music while dressed in a tent at a rally Thursday at the Capitol in support of a homelessness bill of rights. "Houseless people need to be treated like everybody else – it's not a crime to be without a house," she said.</div>
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Jack Larson watches as advocates for the homeless rally at the Capitol.</div>
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RANDY PENCH / <a href="mailto:rpench@sabee.com">rpench@sabee.com</a></h4>
Candice Moran, left, who is homeless, hugs her dog during the Capitol rally. If Assembly Bill 5 is adopted, courts would be left to sort out the extent to which communities could limit the legal rights the measure conveys to homeless people.</div>
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more here: <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/04/5091499/california-lawmaker-proposes-homeless.html#storylink=cp">http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/04/5091499/california-lawmaker-proposes-homeless.html#storylink=cp</a></div>
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<!-- end: support/hnews/itemlicense.ett --><!-- CLOSE: #story_header -->California law protects its residents from discrimination based on sex, race, religion and sexual orientation.<br />
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Now a state lawmaker is pushing to add another category to the list: homelessness.<br />
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New legislation titled the "Homeless Bill of Rights" by Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of <a class=" lingo_link" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/San+Francisco/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">San Francisco</a> is meant to keep communities from rousting people who have nowhere to turn. <br />
The measure is sure to be controversial in cities such as Sacramento, which has battled for years over "tent cities" for homeless people, and San Francisco, where voters passed an ordinance barring sitting or lying on sidewalks.<br />
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The heart of Assembly Bill 5 would give legal protection to people engaging in life-sustaining activities on public property. Among other activities, it specifically mentions sleeping, congregating, panhandling, urinating and "collecting and possessing goods for recyling, even if those goods contain alcoholic residue."<br />
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Ammiano declined to comment to The Bee on Thursday about the bill. His measure also would give homeless residents the right to sleep in cars that are legally parked, to receive funds through public welfare programs, to receive legal counsel when cited – even for infractions – and to possess personal property on public lands. Local officials could not force the homeless into shelters or social service programs.<br />
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If the bill passes and is signed into law, courts would be left to sort out the extent to which communities could limit the legal rights it conveys – for example, whether local ordinances could close parks during late-night hours for public <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/safety+reasons/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">safety reasons.</a><br />
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The bill states that homeless Californians have the right to safe, affordable housing and 24-hour access to clean water and safe restrooms, but Paul Boden, a spokesman for one of its sponsors, said the measure is not meant to require cities and counties to add new facilities.<br />
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Boden and other advocates of AB5 say that existing laws to sweep the homeless from public view are similar to Jim Crow laws of decades ago in the segregated South, and to "anti-Okie" laws of the 1930s that prohibited bringing extremely poor people into California.<br />
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The measure "would require local governments to leave people in peace who are not committing crimes," said Boden, who describes his group as a collective of West Coast social justice organizations.<br />
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Boden said homeless people routinely tell him they have been harassed for sleeping, loitering or sitting down, and the bill's supporters maintain that constitutes an attack on basic civil rights.<br />
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"Homelessness is a condition, it's not a voluntary choice," said Sacramento attorney Mark Merin, a longtime advocate for the homeless who spoke at a Capitol rally Thursday supporting the bill.<br />
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<a class=" lingo_link" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Jack+Larson/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Jack Larson,</a> 52, said he has been a homeless Sacramentan for five years and has been cited dozens of times for panhandling. He said he hopes AB5 would enable him to solicit money and sleep in public without harassment. "They need to go catch murderers and burglars – and leave us panhandlers alone," he said.<br />
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Dianna Buettner, a Stockton high school teacher who attended Thursday's rally, added that "houseless people need to be treated like everybody else – it's not a crime to be without a house."<br />
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Assemblyman Curt Hagman, a Chino Hills Republican, said he has not seen the bill but that the state should carefully weigh whether it would violate the rights of other Californians by giving the homeless legal permission to congregate, sleep and sustain themselves on public property.<br />
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"We do have a safety net in this society," Hagman said. "If you don't use it, that's your right, but you shouldn't impose your lifestyle on everybody else."<br />
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Neither the <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/League+of+California+Cities/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">League of California Cities</a> nor the <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/California+State+Association+of+Counties/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">California State Association of Counties</a> has taken a position. But Eva Spiegel, spokeswoman for the league, said the group generally "favors policies that allow local flexibility to address homelessness issues or other land-use issues because of the unique circumstances in each jurisdiction."<br />
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For years, Sacramento has wrestled with how best to respond to hundreds of homeless people who often sleep near the city's two rivers or within walking distance of food distribution or other social service programs.<br />
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Several months ago, Sacramento city officials agreed to pay $796,000 to 1,143 people whose property was seized and destroyed during raids on illegal campsites since 2005.<br />
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Last September, Sacramento County rangers launched night patrols in the <a class=" lingo_link" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/American+River+Parkway/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">American River Parkway</a> in an intensified effort to root out and evict scores of homeless people camping illegally.<br />
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During Sacramento's offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011, more than 100 arrests were made of protesters seeking to remain in Cesar Chavez Plaza after the park's 11 p.m. weekday or midnight weekend curfew.<br />
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Advocates say the homeless, some of them mentally ill, often are looked down upon, threatened, verbally abused and otherwise harassed because of their appearance or mannerisms. In one of the most extreme examples, a Los Angeles woman was doused with a flammable liquid and set ablaze last week while on a bus bench outside a 24-hour Walgreens store.<br />
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"These people are poor people, our poor people, and if we don't recognize that, then we're lost," said <a class=" lingo_link" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Kevin+Carter/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Kevin Carter,</a> urban outreach coordinator for the Occupy Sacramento group.<br />
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But former Sacramento Sheriff John McGinness, now a Sacramento radio host, said government exists partly to maintain sanitation, discourage the spread of disease, and ensure public safety.<br />
"That's the expectation, that's why people pay taxes – that's what they want from the police," McGinness said.<br />
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The bill could make it easier for a homeless person to subsist, but California might be better served by targeting root problems causing homelessness, he said.<br />
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"Do you want to see people living like that?" McGinness said. "I don't." <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: magenta;"><strong><em>Linda's Hearth</em> note:</strong> <em> </em></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><em>I made a very brief announcement about this proposed legislative bill, recently at a special Women's International League for Perace and Freedom gathering. Some bundits suggest the bill is needed because the State's mandate to spring many sentenced to jail out, and the co-mingling of the chronic homeless and the criminal homeless populations are already a tough challenge for civic safety.</em></span></span><span style="color: black;"></span><em> </em><br />
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<em><span style="color: black;">I disagree with statement in this article saying such a bill can help homeless people subsist better. It won't. It doesn't even try. But maybe, should it pass, it could save them from the revolving door to the courts/legal system that so many continually suffer now? Laws like this wouldn't be needed if "locals" had a clue that homeless people are also human beings despite the way they are treated in most of California.</span></em><br />
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Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-87498919972330110182013-02-12T19:21:00.000-08:002013-02-12T19:21:05.436-08:00TODAY: "Violence Against Women Act gets past both Senate and House of Representatives<div style="color: magenta; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Violence Against Women Act Passes</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="font-size: small;">by God's Politics Editor</span></b> </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>2 - 13 - 2013 at 3:42 pm</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">The <i>Associated Press</i> reports,</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"> "By a robust bipartisan majority, the Senate voted Tuesday to renew the Violence Against Women Act with new assurances that gays and lesbians, immigrants and Native American women will have equal access to the act's anti-domestic violence programs.</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"> "The 78 - 22 Senate vote to reauathorize the two-decade-old act that has shielded millions of women from abuse and helped reduce national roles of domestic violence turns the focus to the House, where Republican leaders are working to come up with their own version." </span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Differences between the House and Senate were not able to reach a compromise agreement last year, passiong two different versions of the Act., The masin point of disagreement is over which courts hve jurisdiction over cases involving non-native American men accused of violence against Native American women on reservations.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Linda's Hearth</b> note:</i> <span style="color: black;">A big relief! Now we need to work toward even greter equality and opportunity. This blog, </span><i><span style="color: black;">God's Politics</span></i><span style="color: black;">, is from </span><i><span style="color: black;">Sojourners - Faith in Action for Social Justice</span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><i><br /></i></span>Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-43604951870230311242013-01-16T16:14:00.001-08:002013-01-16T16:14:46.866-08:00Lemaster Lodging 647(e) Trial: sentencing and BIG thank-yous<span style="color: black;">Thank you for so many friends who came to my Sentencing Hearing on Thursday, December 6th. I was honestly blown away by the tremendous display of community support. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Someone counted 59 witnesses behind the bar in courtroom.dept #5, as Judge Rebecca Connolly heard both sides' wishes about sentencing. My attorney asked the judge for less than the DA's three years' probation suggestion, then two women, Betty DeValcourt and Sherry Conable, talked to the judge about my work and how they see me. </span><br />
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I tried to suggest a perspective to the judge suggesting we all remain our brothers' keepers regardless the laws of the land, regardless the arms of the state, but it didn't come out quite that plainly.<br />
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<span style="color: black;">I have never before felt so treasured in my life, because of everyone's presence and support. The group's presence -- perhaps the sensation of a united community witness -- even got the judge to say something nice.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">The gathering outside of court (in the Atrium) warmed my heart. I was sad to have been diverted to a radio news interview (Valleho, about economic justice) before getting a chance to greet and truly respond to each and every person there. But I had committed to the call-in days' before. </span>My attorney shared a summary of what had proceeded in court, and spoke about the constitutional concerns.<br />
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<span style="color: black;">For those who weren't present in court and didn't catch recent press (Friday's SC Sentinel; SantaCruzPatch.com online, w/photos) here's my sentence for being found guilty of lodging outside the courthouse at night in Santa Cruz on August 10, 2010.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">A fine (including assorted court fees) of $590 as "punishment" for imputed consequences at the PeaceCamp2010 demonstration, and six months' court/informal probation To oversimplify, the court says I must pay for the alleged smell of urine. and and for County's expenses due to not having any sort of public safety plan, nearby to PeaceCamp2010</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">The hardest part for me was being required to promise to "obey all laws", the terms of the probation, a conundrum of a promise when one has been attempting to do so all along, and one realizes how difficult it can be. </span>In fact, the Lodging law as handled here, is a great example of such a double bind, because there was no way to discern how to obey it without either breaking other laws, lying, or abandoning certain civil and natural human rights. The most pertinent ones legally are the First and Fournteenth amendments to our U.S of A. Constitution. Though Judge Connolly can decree in the courtroom that these bodies of law exist in parallel universes, where the rubber meets the road, I found no roadmaps, no such indicators, not even a sign on the glass doors nearby. <br />
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<span style="color: black;">Thank you to everyone for much great help. Thank you to my Clearness Committee, where I worship, and for all the tenderness helping me to face a few decisions. Thank you everyone for the India Joze benefit celebration last weekend sponsored by HUFF and the SantaCruzEleven, and to the chance to have fun in spite of myself, and the warmth of everybody who came. Big, big huggellyish thanks to everyone who has written letters or emailed or called the judge on my behalf, from Jennafer's letter wrapped in great organizer tips to Sherry C's petition with over eighty signatures from our community, and everyone else's in between. Thank to my personal and close friends: to Andy and Becky and Coral and Laura and Harriet-- I could not have been grounded enough to do this stuff for weeks and even years without you and all your support. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Thank you to my mentors and teachers, now gone. They have included Mitch Snyder, Jane Imler, Ellie Foster, Bill Everson and Shannon Casamo and Linda Edwards and many others who were able (and willing) to reach in past my own self doubts and self contempt and offer an anchor or compass or challenge or whatever was needed at crucial times. Or to simply remind me that we humans are loving creatures when I forgot. My list is not complete, but I have to wrap this up.<br /><br />Now we are considering an appeal of the trial. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">My attorneys, Jonathan Gettleman and Eric Nelson, and several others I've contacted recently, particularly Bob Taren of the local ACLU, feel strongly (as I still do) that California's p.c. unlawful lodging 647(e) just doesn't fit under the mantle of our US Constitution. </span>If exploring this question more deeply can be the purpose of appealing thhe trial, I'm all for it. I hope appealing this issue while Ed Frey and Gary Johnson are working in the courts because of the same law, maybe this can be a way of expressing solidarity with their efforts. My driving concern is exactly the manner in which it was applied here in Santa Cruz in 2010, and has been used in Oakland and other California gatherings. It is used to prey on homeless people and their allies. Clearly such application is too arbitrary and too vague to have anything to do with human dignity or simple fairness. <br />
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<span style="color: black;">I have a story to share about the trial and what I have been learning, but for now I need to tamp down this flaming concern for what happens to homeless folks, and feed the flame of my own hearth, for a bit. Along with the court and a few other committments has come wide and deep social immersion, I'm on overwhelm as a result. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">May this Christmas and holiday season be a wonder for everyone, and a much needed respite and recharge for lighthouse Linda.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Then, on January first, I plan to mail a letter to our representative Bill Monning about the Lodging law. Maybe we will even have some bit of a plan of action by then? Wondering if others want to sign onto it?</span>Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-56323269496506837482013-01-16T16:10:00.000-08:002013-01-16T16:10:10.822-08:00Comprehensive Article by Alex Darocy: PeaceCamp2010, Latest Lodging Trial; Lemaster POV<span style="font-size: x-large;"><em><strong>Convicted of "Unlawful Lodging," </strong></em></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><em><strong>Homeless Advocate Linda Lemaster </strong></em></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><em><strong>Hopes to Abolish 647(e)</strong></em></span><br />
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<em>by <strong>Alex Darocy, </strong></em>Tuesday Jan 15th, 2013 12:29 AM <br />
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More than two years after originally being cited for lodging on the morning of August 10, 2010 during the Peacecamp demonstrations, which were held to protest the sleeping ban that criminalizes homelessness in Santa Cruz, Linda Lemaster's trial began on November 6, 2012. After three days of listening to testimony, a jury found her guilty of lodging during Peacecamp, and on December 6, Lemaster was sentenced to community service and probation by Judge Rebecca Connolly. In an interview conducted on January 3 of this year, Lemaster said she believes now, even more than when she left the trial, that her being cited for lodging was about breaking up a political protest that relied on a law enforcement strategy that is anti-homeless and has a homeland security agenda. "I don't think that trial had much if anything to do with justice," Lemaster said.<br />
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[Top photo: Linda Lemaster speaks to supporters outside of the Santa Cruz courthouse before her sentencing on December 6, 2012. Scroll down for more photos.]<br />
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"One of my goals is to get rid of this law," Linda Lemaster said, referring to California Penal Code 647(e), or unlawful lodging. After nearly being removed entirely from the state's law books in recent years, the law was tweaked a bit, but it still remains. It is mostly used as a move-along law for homeless people in San Diego and Santa Monica, according to Lemaster. <br />
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"I think it was a political trial." Lemaster said. <br />
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"The law seems to be used entirely against homeless people and demonstrators right now in California. We haven't been able to find another recent example of its use." <br />
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Lemaster plans to appeal the conviction, saying, "The appeal is more of a chance to focus on the law, rather than me." <br />
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Some advocate for a change in the lodging law, but she wants it completely removed because, "I just think with that kind of history even if they change it a little, two years, and they will change it a little more." <br />
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Linda Lemaster had been a social and political advocate for the homeless and an activist in Santa Cruz County for over 30 years when she was issued a citation for "unlawful lodging" during the Peacecamp demonstrations. Originally held to protest the sleeping ban in the City of Santa Cruz, section 6.36.010 of the municipal code, which makes it illegal to sleep outside during the hours of 11pm and 8:30am in the city, Peacecamp was initiated at the Santa Cruz County Courthouse and Government Center by a group of local homelessness activists on July 4, 2010. <br />
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Community members gathered at the court house during the evenings and either slept or protested there to make a strong statement against the criminalization of homelessness locally. The action quickly grew and began to included a large number of homeless community members who were looking for a safe place to be at night. <br />
<br />
Lemaster, the founder of the organization "<em>Housing <strong>Now!</strong> in Santa Cruz</em>", originally attended Peacecamp to make one on one contact with both homeless people and other advocates. <br />
<br />
"I use Housing Now! in Santa Cruz as a vessel to stay in touch with how homeless people feel about stuff," Lemaster said about the group that had non-profit status for its first ten years, and was under welfare's parent support groups. Now it is mostly just her and whatever volunteers she can find. <br />
<br />
"Sometimes I'm warning homeless people how to be discreet at night, or this is where the services are. It takes different forms, but because it is ongoing, I think of it as a medium to help me to know when, and how, we can do more," she said. <br />
<br />
"I feel like it is my job through Housing Now! in Santa Cruz to inform other people...to let people know, 'look this isn't right, you cant even have a blanket.'" <br />
<br />
At PeaceCamp, Lemaster found the one on one contact with homeless people and advocates she was looking for. "I've gone to a lot of demonstrations...That's what is consistent no matter where I have been, no matter whether it is a few people or it's a hundred people...that there are people who never get to express themselves." <br />
<br />
Eventually, Lemaster became part of a support network at the demonstrations that had her, on the evening of August 9 into the morning of August 10, 2010, attempting to stay up all night to help a sick friend who wouldn't leave. <br />
<br />
Over the course of that evening, another friend handed her a blanket, and she wrapped it around herself. She lay down on the concrete outside of the courthouse, and she may have fallen asleep. When deputies arrived early that morning as part of their enforcement campaign against Peacecamp, Lemaster fit their description of who to target for a lodging citation, which she receive at 4am that morning. <br />
<br />
Later, that act of taking a blanket and wrapping it around herself as she lay down to rest during Peacecamp, may have played a large part in her conviction, and according to the District Attorney, it was one of the major examples of evidence that she was "unlawfully lodging." <br />
<br />
The definition of lodging that was used can be applied, according to the California penal code, to both public and private places, and in the case of Lemaster's trial, was worded specifically as follows: <br />
<br />
"To lodge means to occupy a place temporarily, or to permanently or temporarily settle or to live in a place. It may, but does not have to include, sleeping, the laying down of bedding, the storing personal belongings, or carrying on cooking activities. Lodging means more than merely falling asleep, but less than moving in permanently." <br />
<br />
Lemaster felt that the process of arriving at the legal definition of lodging to be used in her trial was not fair. "To me it was very frustrating," she said. She feels that the definition of lodging that deputies were using when they cited people at Peacecamp in 2010 was vastly different from the legal definition arrived at for the purposes of her trial in late 2012. <br />
<br />
"Four days in a row....the judge changed her mind out of hearing of the jury about what that would mean," Lemaster recalled. <br />
<br />
Furthermore, whenever the DA came in and said he didn't like part of the definition they were working on, Lemaster felt that the judge "accommodated him every time." <br />
<br />
After the trial had begun, the DA even wanted to change the definition again, she recalled. "How can you prepare on either side, for your trial, if everyday it's a different meaning," Lemaster wondered. <br />
<br />
Whether she fell asleep or not on the morning of August 10 at Peacecamp may not have been the primary reason the jury sided against her, according to two members who stayed to discuss their motivations after the verdict was read, Lemaster said. <br />
<br />
"The jury foreman said that they all felt that the lodging law would have pertained to anyone once the policeman made his first warning to go, and so they had no choice but to find me guilty," Lemaster said. She added, "the other guy, not the foreman, said, like two to three minutes passed and you were still there like you wanted to talk to him (like you could have been leaving)." <br />
<br />
"I tried to talk to him [the sheriff's deputy] when they came around ticketing people, which is what made look like I wasn't going to leave to some jurors, that I stood while people scrambled, so I wasn't afraid enough," Lemaster explained. <br />
<br />
"If the law is that kind of...soggy, that not moving fast enough makes you lodging and someone else who is scrambling for cover isn't lodging, there is another good reason that it should be exposed so that ordinary people who have their brains working can get in on this conversation," she concluded. <br />
<br />
To Lemaster, the jury also apparently felt that using the lodging law was justified in breaking up a political protest. <br />
<br />
"The jury foreman said that they all felt that the lodging law would have pertained to anyone once the policeman made his first warning to go, and so they had no choice but to find me guilty," she said. <br />
<br />
Lemaster also felt that the judge in her trial treated Peacecamp as a public safety issue, as opposed to a peaceful demonstration. <br />
<br />
"The inclination of judge Rebbecca Connolly, was to not acknowledge the demonstration, but look at is as public health and safety issue, but as my attorney Johnathon Gettleman pointed out, if it was a health and safety or public safety issue, there's an appropriate department of the county government to deal with that, and they didn't even think to call them." <br />
<br />
"You just can't have a law that is both landlord-tenant law, pushing homeless-around law, a status crime, a public safety code, and whatever use you want to put it to. You know? I mean, this isn't England, this is the U.S.A...It's too broad in general." <br />
<br />
Ultimately, Lemaster felt she was targeted for lodging because she didn't leave the scene when deputies arrived. "Because I didn't scurry in fear when the deputies walked up...I must be guilty of lodging." <br />
<br />
"Everybody went with the idea that just being there made me guilty, and that makes me want to appeal it in and of itself, to appeal the decision, that if that jury is correct, then we have this big status crime problem, if just being there is the crime, you know, and if they are wrong, then there is something wrong with the courts. But I am not quite ready to be in the front of that parade, I can see that the courts are under great stress." <br />
<br />
Lemaster sees the possibility of appealing her case as a method of challenging the state's lodging law, but she says the city and Peacecamp's original target is still the main issue on her mind. <br />
<br />
"I'm still committed to a campaign to change the 6.36.010 sleeping ban for the City of Santa Cruz. It's a long-term commitment, but we have a city council that there's is no point in lobbying. I disagree with some other activists that that's the outlet for educating everyone. I think until people feel differently, ordinary people, we wont get very far exposing how unfair that law is, but it needs to be done when the opportunity comes." <br />
<br />
Over the course of the three decades Lemaster has been involved in homeless issues, she has done everything from feeding people through Food Not Bombs, to working for the county in various official capacities to help the homeless. She has participated in a number of demonstrations, and has chaired governmental bodies concerning homelessness and violence against women. She also has first hand experience; she has been homeless herself. <br />
<br />
One example she recalls of an early success in her endeavors to help those without a fixed address, was when she fought for the rights of homeless people to vote. <br />
<br />
"Even though it had already been litigated, the county wasn't letting them register to vote. This was in the very late 70s or maybe 1980 and it took an attorney and I taking them to court, and making us argue all over again that even if they were on a heater grate on the sidewalk, if they were willing to describe where that was, and apply to be a valid voter which you have to do a month before the election, then they are entitled to vote, and it easily won in court once you went to all that trouble," Lemaster recalled. <br />
<br />
She has been involved with governmental agencies long enough to notice a change in how certain issues are being addressed. At the time she was fighting for the right for homeless people to vote, she said that she and other activists wouldn't necessarily be able to persuade the county to change policies without going to court, but at that time she felt that they could at least, "bring problems one by one to the county government." <br />
<br />
Lemaster's advocacy work also lead her to help motivate county officials establish a location where welfare recipients in Watsonville could cash their checks. There was a time when those living in the southern part of Santa Cruz County would have to travel to Santa Cruz to cash their benefits checks. After Lemaster paid a personal visit to county officials, a solution was found within two weeks. <br />
<br />
The manner in which the authorities dealt with Peacecamp was different, Lemaster noticed. <br />
<br />
"What I think is most different now, is there is a set of, I don't know if they are beliefs, policies, or a driving philosophy, but it seems to me that there is homeland security agenda that has changed how government responds to some situations," she said. <br />
<br />
Lemaster felt that more governmental agencies should have been involved in the decision making process regarding Peacecamp, but none appeared to take an interest in getting involved. <br />
<br />
"Now there were people through Peacecamp, there was someone from the SPCA, someone who used to be a county social worker, people who in their own conscience, during the day mostly, came down and checked out who was there. But in the whole infrastructure of county government, nobody thought to do that." <br />
<br />
Consequentially, Lemaster felt that law enforcement was left to deal with Peacecamp on their own, and they handled it as a complaint driven process. <br />
<br />
"They made this plan to whip the whole thing out, and give people like me a ticket, based on the complaints they had, as it was shown in the testimony during my trial, and their own first hand perception, what they decided from their own contact, that's all they had behind them to plan, and I want to go to the county and say I feel that was remiss." <br />
<br />
"They didn't even think of the court, they didn't even think of talking to social workers." <br />
<br />
Though some of the individuals who helped devise the plan to deal with Peacecamp were county officials that Lemaster herself had worked with in the past, she pointed out that, "all of these executive decisions were left more or less to Plageman [Lieutenant Fred Plageman of the sheriff's department]." <br />
<br />
Lemaster also pointed to Plageman's testimony during her trial where he stated that he had looked to law enforcement models that were being employed outside of Santa Cruz County when he found the lodging law, as opposed to looking to social workers within the county. <br />
<br />
"It's like using a nuclear weapon to whip out Hiroshima, It's a little overkill," she cautioned. <br />
<br />
"They deserve to have the CAO [the County Administrative Office] and the actual County Board of Supervisors, or an appropriate agent in their place as policy maker, in on that conversation, rather than shut down what they knew was a first amendment protest. I know they carefully put words in that warning [the flier that deputies handed at Peacecamp warning individuals they were lodging] saying we were guilty of lodging to make it sound like a demonstration doesn't count at night, but that's not true." <br />
<br />
Beyond the police-centered decision making, Lemaster also compared the way deputies conducted law enforcement activities as being "homeland security" influenced. <br />
<br />
"At Peacecamp I'm seeing them [sheriff's deputies] on one day, they are comrades, they put their arm around one of the guys when they walk up to him, they check in with everyone, it's very casual. They seemed to remember people's names, even if they hadn't seen them for a few days," she recalled. <br />
<br />
When it came to the evening she was issued a citation, however, Lemaster felt their demeanor completely changed. She recalled trying to engage in conversation with deputies a number of times that morning, but they wouldn't answer her questions, telling her, "We're a team, we can't talk to you now," and, "We really have to do this exactly the same [each time], so bare with us," she recalled. <br />
<br />
"Their personal self is still wanting to be comrades, but they have a protocol, and in my opinion, it's a homeland security protocol," Lemaster observed. <br />
<br />
"They were like people one day, and then when they decided, they got their lodging law and decided a campaign, they stayed in the role of this military, four man team. Two four man teams the first night, and one the night I was there." <br />
<br />
"That's why I was having trouble getting to ask a question," she explained "They said that, 'We have to treat each one of you exactly the same.' Indicating it was a military approach," Lemaster thought. <br />
<br />
She also felt that this "military" approach, as she put it, was expanded on when the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's department used similar law enforcement techniques during the period Occupy Santa Cruz spent at the courthouse in 2011, which was during the height of the national occupy movement. <br />
<br />
"Because Peacecamp had happened, and up to that point they had gotten away with it, they were willing to feel a little more emboldened and capable of the larger group with this homeland security type approach at Occupy Santa Cruz," she said. <br />
<br />
An even deeper problem for Lemaster is anti-homeless bigotry, which she feels is "pervasive" and says is also something that had to do with law enforcement's strategies for dealing with Peacecamp. <br />
<br />
"I really believe the sheriff's deputies would have had a more adequate strategy if they weren't being reactionary, and I believe they were reacting to people in the county building complaining. Complaining about the same old stuff everybody complains about, about a fifth of which is even possibly true." <br />
<br />
Peacecamp was reportedly receiving sanitation-related complaints, and Lemaster felt the complaints which were from county employees working in the building, who were coming into first-hand contact with the demonstration, were really about homeless people themselves, and they weren't fair. <br />
<br />
"We don't go around excoriating each other for smoking cigarettes," she observed, "but we go around excoriating homeless people for leaving a butt behind, as if they had a choice." <br />
<br />
"As long as they were looking at all the homeless people crashed there, and their friends, as "the other" they're not really looking at the whole situation when they have to resolve a problem." <br />
<br />
"Homeless people come from the same culture that we come from when we are not homeless, but they have to live in a culture that is much more immediate and much more dangerous. <br />
<br />
"I expect more from law enforcement. When they are bringing extra people out, I think they need to study the problem beforehand." <br />
<br />
Even though Lemaster feels her ability to communicate directly with the county has changed over the years, she said, "I consider them my allies still." <br />
<br />
"We used to go to the same workshops together...we used to be immediate allies...we used to be part of a team that would confront people," Lemaster said about some of the county officials who had a say in the decision making process regarding law enforcement strategies at Peacecamp. <br />
<br />
"Because of the adversarial nature of the court, and in my opinion you don't have to be honest in court these days, we are put like we are on two different sides of a team that is at war with each other, and that is the opposite of what I just tried to do for most of my time. that I had any choice about, in the last 40 years. It was frustrating." <br />
<br />
Even more frustrating for Lemaster was how she effectively became silenced during her trial, saying, "I was put out of my life, I was put out of my volunteer work, my relationship to my community, because I had to hold my tongue as far as anything in the county was concerned." <br />
<br />
While Lemaster felt she was once able to visit in person any and every county official she wanted to communicate with, being on trial for lodging forced her to hold her tongue in many situations she once would have openly confronted, because she feared her actions or words could have been used against her in some way during her trial. <br />
<br />
"I've been doing something for 40 years to help poor people, and one part of that is when I find something where the system doesn't work, I try to show that to people, or even fix it, or help fix it, or find out who can fix it. <br />
<br />
"So if it is people on GA [General assistance] can't get GA if they are not already in the system, that's easy to fix, you just tell everyone, and then they'll say, 'OK,' and it somehow trickles up to the Board of Supervisors eventually." <br />
<br />
"Real people suffered because I wasn't able to be that liaison for them," Lemaster said. <br />
<br />
When defending her decision to not plead guilty, or take a plea deal, Lemaster was not only informed by her outlook as a Quaker, which guides her to never lie, but also by a desire to maintain a certain moral high ground in the community as an advocate for others. <br />
<br />
"Doing the kind of changes that affect people in some practical way in their lives for the better requires a credibility," she said. <br />
<br />
Lemaster said she was offered a plea deal by the District Attorney's office in 2011 which would have reduced her misdemeanor to an infraction if she would plead guilty to "disturbing the peace." <br />
<br />
"I wouldn't have minded the infraction's apparent purpose. But I was being asked to say that I was disturbing the peace on Dec 10th at 4 am or so? I mean, they wanted me to say either guilty or no contest. They were asking me to say an outright lie, expecting me to," Lemaster recalled. <br />
<br />
"I couldn't," Lemaster explained. <br />
<br />
To her, pleading guilty would have felt like, "totally denying PeaceCamp2010, my new friends from there, and what it had meant to me...it was just that compromise that felt like being pressed to lie." <br />
<br />
"I don't think that trial had much if anything to do with seeking justice," Lemaster concluded. "I think it was a political trial, and I feel strongly about that, more so than when I left the trial...I think the District Attorney was given political marching orders when they picked him." <br />
<br />
"In our country and in Santa Cruz County, is this a homeland security state where the government decides who is a terrorist, or who is a good citizen, or who is not even worthy of naming? Or is Santa Cruz County still under the Constitution that we think of as the lead legal document of our land, where people even if they happen to be homeless have certain civil rights, and even some human rights are acknowledged in our constitution, and even more clearly so in the state constitution." <br />
<br />
Lemaster plans to continue raising awareness about the laws that outlaw sleep in Santa Cruz. <br />
<br />
She also plans to file an appeal in her case to fight Judge Connolly's claims that the lodging law is constitutional, and she wants to make a presentation before the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors that outlines "missteps" on the county's part in relation to how sheriff's dealt with Peacecamp 2010. <br />
<br />
Finally, Lemaster also wants to begin a campaign that she hopes will achieve statewide participation of "homeless friendly" groups and supporters to, "take the lodging law 647(e) off the books." <br />
<br />
Lemaster calls her motivation a, "simple and moral imperative," because, "consequences are way too harsh for houseless and homeless folks. It has to get exposed." <br />
<br />
Lemaster feels that Santa Cruz is poised to be a leader in finding better solutions to end homelessness. <br />
<br />
"The legislature is under the same pressures that the court is, and the county is, and their deputies, to keep the homeless out of sight, because within the scheme of things, within our status quo, our government's status quo, they don't have the tools they need to solve the problem." <br />
<br />
"So, under pressure from the citizenry at large, and whatever delusions some of them are carrying with them, the police just keep pushing them back, and criminalizing them, sweeping them. If you have to shove them in a van, or put them in jail overnight, at least that curb is clear." <br />
<br />
"It's the mentality of LA, and small towns like Yreka, and obviously in Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz could be a leader. The City and County of Santa Cruz could be a leader in finding solutions." <br />
<br />
"They are going to have to be a leader, in either a kind of demonic abuse of people, or solutions that are inclusive. One way or the other, just because of the cost of housing here, and not having the infrastructure that a city would have for people when they fall, or when they are hurt, or when they can't get to the hospital." <br />
<br />
<strong>Note</strong>: <em>The following is a first hand account of Linda Lemaster's lodging trial in November of 2012. It primarily focuses on evidence and testimony that was admitted into the court record, as opposed to an analysis of the legal arguments in the trial, though some of the legal wrangling was noted. </em><br />
<br />
<em>For a complete report of Linda Lemaster's trial for unlawful lodging, either scroll past the photos at the bottom of this article, or click on this link to go directly there: </em><br />
<br />
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/01/15/18730225.php#18730255 <br />
<br />
<br />
For more information about Linda Lemaster and her work advocating for poor people and the homeless, see her blog at: <br />
<br />
<a href="http://hearthbylinda.blogspot.com/">http://hearthbylinda.blogspot.com/</a> <br />
<br />
<br />
<em><strong>Alex Darocy</strong></em> <br />
<br />
http://alexdarocy.blogspot.com/ <br />
<br />
<em><span style="color: magenta;">(Note from <strong>Linda's Hearth</strong>: There are wonderful photos Alex included with this story, but somehow they gave me the slip, and my "borrow" time at computer has ended. Meantime, go to Indybay Santa Cruz .org to see them! I hope to add them HERE later... )</span></em><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>§The Trial </em></strong></span><br />
<br />
by Alex Darocy ( alex [at] alexdarocy.com ) Tuesday Jan 15th, 2013 12:53 AM <br />
<br />
<strong><em><u>The Trial </u></em></strong><br />
<br />
Jury selection for Linda Lemsater's lodging trial began on November 5 of 2012, and stretched into November 6, with opening statements for the trial starting that afternoon. The trial itself lasted four days total, and four witnesses were called by the prosecution: Lieutenant Fred Plageman of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's department; Chris Joyce, the sheriff's deputy who issued Lemaster the lodging citation; Mary Chavez of the county's Department of Public Works and Parks; and Nancy Carr Gordon, the Director of General Services for Santa Cruz County. <br />
<br />
The defense called only one witness, Linda Lemaster herself. <br />
<br />
Lemaster was represented by defense attorneys Jonathan Gettleman and his assistant, Eric Nelson. The prosecution consisted of district attorneys Alex Byers and Jennifer Hutchinson. <br />
<br />
Shortly before sheriff's deputies began the enforcement campaign at Peacecamp, fliers were distributed to individuals at the demonstration that read as follows: <br />
<br />
"You are lodging here without the permission of the owner or the person entitled to control this property, therefor you are in violation of California penal code section 647(e), a misdemeanor. If you continue to lodge here, you will be cited and/or arrested for this violation. This action is not intended to interfere with your non-lodging demonstration during business hours. Lodging at any time will not be tolerated." <br />
<br />
To be found guilty of the charge, it had to be found that Lemaster was lodging in a public or private place, and that she did so without permission. The prosecution was also required to prove that she acted with unlawful intent, meaning she intentionally committed a prohibited act. They did not need to prove that she knew she didn't have the permission to lodge. <br />
<br />
The definition of lodging that was used during the trial stated: <br />
<br />
<br />
"To lodge means to occupy a place temporarily, or to permanently or temporarily settle or to live in a place. It may, but does not have to include, sleeping, the laying down of bedding, the storing of personal belongings, or carrying on cooking activities. Lodging means more than merely falling asleep, but less than moving in permanently. In determining whether the defendant lodged in a public or private place, the jury should consider the totality of the circumstances on or about August 10, 2010." <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The judge later instructed the jury that the courthouse area was a public place. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><em><u>Linda Lemaster </u></em></strong><br />
<br />
When Linda Lemaster first took the stand in her defense, after the prosecution rested their case, she said she was, "feeling nervous but happy." <br />
<br />
The attorney in charge of her defense, Jonathan Gettleman, started by asking Lemaster questions about her background in Santa Cruz. <br />
<br />
Lemaster testified that she had been living in Santa Cruz since 1977 and she raised her children there. She said she considers herself a homeless advocate, and when describing her children, she said that one runs a Goodwill. <br />
<br />
Lemaster testified that she began advocating for the homeless in 1979 on the westside of Santa Cruz. She herself has also been homeless, and she testified that she had previously lived in a shelter for over a year, in the Watsonville Family Shelter for nine months, and that she had also been homeless for several months at a time, a couple of other times. She testified that she brought these issues to local government, and eventually she served on the Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women. She also said that she chaired the Homeless Issues Task Force with Ken Cole as her co-chair, and she had testified as an expert witness several times in court cases involving the homeless. <br />
<br />
Gettleman then asked her directly, "Does your advocacy affect your conduct in the community in relation to protests?" <br />
<br />
"Yes," she answered, and she gave an example of the organization she founded, <em>Housing <strong>Now!</strong> in Santa Cruz</em>, and how it was one of the goals of the group to bring, "that voice and share it with the rest of the county." <br />
<br />
Lemaster described herself as being "disabled," and she listed off some of the conditions she deals with, which included environmental allergies, chemical sensitivities, arthritis, and coughing due to chronic asthma (later she would also testify that she also suffered from pain due to a ruptured disc in her back). "If it's a cold day and a hard rain," she said, "I could get in trouble." <br />
<br />
Lemaster was asked about her participation in Peacecamp and what she thought the protests were about. According to her, Peacecamp had already begun when she began her participation, and she described the demonstration's purpose as an attempt to show that homelessness is worsening, and that homeless is hard on people and it's dangerous. She said she participated because she thought it would be an opportunity for her organization to make one on one contact with both those who were homeless and those involved in advocating for the homeless, and specifically to communicate with others about the dangers of the ban on sleeping in Santa Cruz. <br />
<br />
When asked by Gettleman why demonstrating at night was an important part of Peacecamp, Lemaster replied that demonstrators wanted sleep to be the thing people were thinking about, and they also wanted the place of the demonstration to be a place where people could go to get a safe place to sleep. <br />
<br />
Gettleman continued along this line, and asked if demonstrators were getting press coverage because the action was being held at night, and Lemaster said, "Yes, because it was unusual and controversial," and she described that receiving the coverage was important because there were so many homeless people now and that something had to be done. <br />
<br />
Gettleman asked Lemaster if she investigated the legality of Peacecamp, and she said, "yes," and she described how she visited county offices to attempt to determine if the area outside of the county courthouse was subject to the local sleeping ban. <br />
<br />
Lemaster also described how there were pages of rules developed by those involved with Peacecamp, that were, "mostly to make Peacecamp people peaceful," she said. The "code of conduct" included rules prohibiting behaviors that might affect the health of others, including drinking and taking drugs, and it also outlined and area that was set up where people were allowed to smoke. <br />
<br />
Lemaster described her participation at Peacecamp in terms of her being a caretaker for much of her time there. "A lot of people were doing what I was doing, supporting the safety." She described how different people participated in Peacecamp for different reasons. Some people came to camp, she said, and some were there to play support roles and that it was the latter role that she perceived herself to be taking on. She was attempting to create alliances and relationships with people one on one, she said. One example of that "support" was when Lemaster got someone some chap stick. <br />
<br />
She was asked about the night support at Peacecamp. Gettleman asked her if support people slept overnight, and Lemaster replied that the only support person to sleep overnight was Ed Frey (who was convicted and found guilty of lodging for his part in Peacecamp. He served his sentence in 2012, which coincidentally ended during Lemaster's trial). <br />
<br />
Lemaster said she was at the Peacecamp demonstrations a number of times before August 10, and that she never had planned to sleep there. She testified that she had her van with her that night, and she also had a home, and she didn't "need" to sleep on the steps of the courthouse during Peacecamp. <br />
<br />
In addition to the support and advocacy roles she played, Lemaster testified that every time she showed up at Peacecamp she engaged in some form of protest. On the night of August 9, Lemaster recalled that she arrived at the demonstration that evening with the intention of communicating how the sleeping ban affects people, and she brought two protest signs with her. She couldn't recall what the signs said, but she recalled that one of them had on it the number of the penal code that outlaws sleep locally, 6.36.010. <br />
<br />
Lemaster's role quickly changed back to support that evening when she became aware that one demonstrator appeared to be very ill. Christopher Doyon, also known as Commander X, played a key role in the Peacecamp demonstrations (he was described by Lemaster as being one of the people in charge), and on the evening of August 9, Lemaster said his lungs became filled with fluid and she was concerned because of her experience with her own health problems, which had made her, "a little lung sensitive." <br />
<br />
"His lungs were soggy and rattling, and I was afraid it may even be a death rattle," Lemaster testified. She said that he couldn't get air past his throat and he was paler than when she had first met him. "It looked like he would be hard pressed to get up and walk or move," she recalled, and Doyon himself appeared alarmed at his own condition. "He said he had double pneumonia....I thought I needed to keep an eye on him if he passed out or worse." <br />
<br />
"I couldn't find any legal or practical reason not to stay and watch him," she concluded that night. <br />
<br />
Lemaster recalled her efforts at staying awake that night so that she could be sure to keep an eye on Doyon, and that it was painful for her to be on the cement of the courthouse because of a ruptured disc in her back. She explained that the condition would make it difficult for her to fall asleep in a situation like that, even if it had been her intent to do so, which it never was. <br />
<br />
Lemaster recalled trying to get others to watch Doyon so she herself could leave. She asked her friend Coral Brune, but she was unable to, and Lemaster wasn't able to find anyone else willing to help. Other people gave her items to help her stay up , so she could watch Doyon, including a blanket and a walkman style music player. <br />
<br />
She recalled that the weather was nice and balmy when she first arrived at the courthouse that evening, but later it started sprinkling slightly, and when deputies first arrived on the scene, Lemaster recalled it was sprinkling. <br />
<br />
Lemaster recalled bringing her jacket, keys, and a phone with her that night. She didn't bring any bedding with her or a pillow, she testified. She had bedding in her van, but she never brought it to the site of the protest, and at one point in the evening she recalled using her jacket as a pillow, while she was passing the time and watching Doyon. <br />
<br />
Testimony by a sheriff's deputy prior to Lemaster's speculated that she had a pillow under her head when first contacted by the authorities that evening, but Lemaster recalled that she thought it must have been her jacket. Eventually it was her friend Becky Johnson, she said, who covered her up with another "Peacecamper's" blanket. <br />
<br />
Lemaster testified that she did not remove the blanket that was around her when first contacted by the authorities because, "it was chilly." <br />
<br />
She recalled being asked twice to leave or, "take a citation." <br />
<br />
She wanted to tell the authorities about Doyon's condition, but the only option she was given other than to leave was to, "take a ticket." <br />
<br />
Officers weren't willing to answer her questions about the warning on the flier, and about the possible and impending lodging citations. "They weren't willing to have a conversation with us," she testified. <br />
<br />
"After I saw they were arresting Chris, I left," Lemaster testified. Their arrival relieved her of her personal duty to protect Chris, she said. <br />
<br />
At this point, the judge stepped in to remind the jury that 'necessity' was not a defense in this case, and that Lemaster's need to aid Doyon, whether it was perceived or real, was not in itself a defense for the lodging charge. <br />
<br />
When asked by Gettleman why she didn't call 911 to get Doyon some help, Lemaster testified that she was trying to save the cost of an ambulance and that she could have taken him herself in her van if he had been cooperative, but she didn't call any emergency personnel ultimately because Doyon said he would refuse their services. <br />
<br />
When Gentleman went through some of the video evidence that was presented in the case, he pointed to the objects surrounding Lemaster, and asked if any of the bedding materials were hers, or if she could use it if she wanted. <br />
<br />
"No," Lemaster testified. <br />
<br />
She also testified additionally that she believed the possessions that were near her possibly belonged to a person who was lying next to her, but who was himself never seen in the evidence video. She couldn't remember much about him, only that earlier he may have been lying there in the stuff that was pictured around her. <br />
<br />
The video also showed her twice attempting to communicate with the authorities. <br />
<br />
Footage also showed a protest sign that Lemaster recognized as belonging to Doyon that read, "No Police State." Near him, Lemaster pointed out a bottle of his Robitussin cough syrup. <br />
<br />
When asked directly by Gettleman if it was possible she fell asleep that night, she testified that it was possible because she was resting while taking care of Doyon, but that she was making her best efforts to stay awake. <br />
<br />
One video the prosecution showed over and over was taken from youtube and was shot by Lemaster herself, with her voice narrating as Becky Johnson is seen sweeping the steps of the courthouse during the daytime. As Johnson sweeps, Lemaster says, "thank you for sweeping my bed from last night." <br />
<br />
Lemaster recalled that she had slept in her van and had just woken up as she made her way over to the steps the morning after receiving the citation. <br />
<br />
Lemaster had known Johnson for 14 years in 2010, and testified that they were close friends and that Johnson was also her caregiver. <br />
<br />
Lemaster testified that she was trying to be funny with that comment, that she had just gotten a ticket for lodging the night before, and that they at Peacecamp still didn't really know what it all meant. <br />
<br />
Lemaster testified she never went back and stayed at Peacecamp or slept at night there after receiving the citation on August 10.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>§Linda Lemaster Cross Examination </em></strong></span><br />
<br />
by Alex Darocy Tuesday Jan 15th, 2013 8:47 AM <br />
<br />
Prosecutor Alex Byers went right into questions that focused on the concept of what it means to be an activist, citing Lemaster's statement on her website that she is one. He asked if there was a difference between being an activist and being an advocate, and more specifically if advocates worked within the system while activists worked outside of the system. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
When presented with other general questions about whether or not activists by definition intended to break the law with their actions, Lemaster testified, "I wouldn't do that myself." <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Byers asked questions about Lemaster's "circle," which included Ed Frey, Becky Johnson, and Christopher Doyon, and ultimately a defense objection to that line of questioning was sustained. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
When Byers asked if Peacecamp was by its title a campsite, Lemaster responded that to her it was, "a demonstration," but about the homeless people there, "they were probably camping." <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
When questioned further by Byers, Lemaster noted, "the deeper you get into this movement, it is harder to define what camping is." <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Lemaster testified she first saw the fliers warning about unlawful lodging a day or two before she was cited. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Byers asked if when she saw the fliers, did she know from them that the county did not want people to spend the night on the courthouse steps, and Lemaster responded, "yes," but she never felt that the activities were not permitted at the courthouse. The flier itself did not persuade her that it came from the county. "I thought it was a joke," Lemaster testified earnestly. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
"It didn't say what lodging is," she noted, later adding that, "Sheriffs couldn't tell me...or they wouldn't." She thought that the flier might have been something from the deputy's office intending to "stir things up" at Peacecamp. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Lemaster couldn't recall how many nights she had stayed in her van in the county government center's parking lot prior to the morning of August 10, and when asked by Byers, she testified that she had foam, quilts, pillows, and books in it. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
She reiterated that she was at Peacecamp because of the injustice of the local sleeping ban. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
"I was demonstrating there. I went with my own objectives," Lemaster testified. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
She didn't feel, however, that making a point about camping would mean much without the sleep activities also going on there. <br />
<br />
When asked by Byers, Lemaster again testified that she never set-up or intentionally lay in anyone's bedding. <br />
<br />
She never noticed the concrete getting "darker" over the course of the demonstrations, as Plageman testified earlier in the trial, saying that it must have been gradual. <br />
<br />
Lemaster described how she met Chris Doyon for the first time at Peacecamp, a couple of weeks after her first visit to the demonstrations, and that she went to Peacecamp on the night of August 9 to help him because he was sick. She testified that Doyon told her that he had been squatting north of Santa Cruz off of Highway 1. <br />
<br />
Byers spent some time with questions that helped outline Lemaster's time line for being at Peacecamp. In response to his questioning, she testified that she may have first "sat" next to Chris Doyon at 10pm, and that Becky Johnson gave her a blanket at 11pm. Doyon "finally got some sleep," at that point, she testified. <br />
<br />
Lemaster explained once more that she never made the decision to stay there all night long. <br />
<br />
"Would you agree you occupied the spot at the courthouse for at least seven hours," Byers asked, and Lemaster answered that it was, "possible." <br />
<br />
When asked about her contact with deputies, Lemaster testified that sheriffs, "wouldn't let me," tell them that Chris Doyon was sick. "I remember sitting up more so than I was, to get their attention." <br />
<br />
About possibly falling asleep that night, Lemaster sounded almost apologetic, and Byers picked up on the tone, adding strategically to his questioning of her, "and who would fault you, it was four in the morning." <br />
<br />
When discussing the moments following her being cited by deputies, she testified that she returned to her van, which was parked in the parking lot of the county government center, and she went to sleep. <br />
<br />
About the comment she made that Becky Johnson was sweeping "her bed," Lemaster testified that she was being "sarcastic." <br />
<br />
"I find it ironic that my bed would be cement," she said. Because she had received a lodging citation she was making a joke, she explained. <br />
<br />
"If it had a little padding, it might be like a bed," she said about the concrete surface. <br />
<br />
Byers asked about a statement from her blog, and quoted Lemaster as saying about that evening at Peacecamp, "I fell asleep on the job." <br />
<br />
Lemaster explained: "I fell asleep on the job of listening to Chris' lungs," further elaborating that she remembered it as more of a lapse in her paying attention. <br />
<br />
"I've laid down in a lot of places in this county," Lemaster testified, but added that she had never been accused of "lodging." <br />
<br />
"I was relieved when Chris fell asleep and the noise in his lungs stopped."<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>§Lieutenant Fred Plageman </em></strong></span><br />
<br />
by Alex Darocy Tuesday Jan 15th, 2013 8:49 AM <br />
<br />
Lieutenant Fred Plageman, the first witness called by the prosecution, testified that he has served 24 years as a sheriff in Santa Cruz County, and for four of those years with the rank of Lieutenant. <br />
<br />
Four sergeants worked for him at the time of Peacecamp in 2010, he recalled. He viewed Peacecamp every day between July 4 and early August because it was on his way to work at the county center. <br />
<br />
He testified that he saw people camping, sleeping, and spending the night at the courthouse. He saw people with blankets and sleeping bags, and he saw people cooking and eating. He saw activists, and he saw the bathroom facilities that demonstrators had brought in, which consisted of a portable restroom on a trailer that was brought in at night and taken away each morning. <br />
<br />
Plageman noted that the interior of the building's hours of operation were 7am-6pm and that the restrooms inside it were open to the public. <br />
<br />
He described the number of people he saw at Peacecamp, testifying that during the morning hours there were as few as 12 and by the afternoon there might be 50 or 60 people. After midnight it fluctuated between 15 and 20, he testified. <br />
<br />
Plageman described what he called a general decline in the property of the courthouse, saying the area never got a rest during the demonstrations. Everything became dirty and the whole building was in a state of decline, he testified. <br />
<br />
He recalled that Peacecamp impacted the work of the bailiffs, who were called to conduct enforcement activities in response to various violations, and he said there was also an increase in calls for service due to the activities of the demonstrators. <br />
<br />
Witnesses, judges, attorneys, and jurors all entered the building through the area of the demonstrations, Plageman said, adding that complaints were received from people who worked at the county building who felt "intimidated." <br />
<br />
Plageman testified that due to cleanliness, sanitation, and general health and safety issues, a plan was created to deal with these issues. <br />
<br />
When questioning Plageman, the prosecutor asked him to name who he described as the "power players" behind the plan, and Plageman stated that the group consisted of Susan Mauriello, Sheriff Phil Wowak, Nancy Carr Gordon, and multiple attorneys from the county. They met shortly after Peacecamp began on July 4, 2010, he testified. <br />
<br />
The plan was created, and it first began to be executed on August 1, 2010. The prosecutor asked why it took so long, and Plageman explained that the county courthouse steps has a long precedent for supporting first amendment activity. Additionally, authorities didn't want to create a riot or make something worse, and they thought the demonstrators, "would get the protest out of their system." They would try to reason with people to resolve what he called "the conflict" before taking law enforcement action, he explained. <br />
<br />
"How was it determined as to what would be enforced," the prosecutor asked, and Plageman responded that county council was consulted. <br />
<br />
The plan, he said, was not to get rid of the protest, but to focus on unlawful lodging and camping. <br />
<br />
The courthouse area, he testified, was, "not designed as a campground." <br />
<br />
The plan, Plageman said, involved an education campaign that was followed by an enforcement campaign. The education campaign took place during daylight hours over the course of a couple of days, he said, and it did not involve arrests. <br />
<br />
The enforcement campaign took place a week later at night, he said. After demonstrators received their first warnings, deputies were to return in one hour. <br />
<br />
Enforcement efforts were focused only on people who were lying down and sleeping, and people with gear, Plageman testified. He said arrests were only to occur if people did not leave after being cited. <br />
<br />
The enforcement campaign was not carried out during daylight hours to avoid any ambiguity with free speech rights, he told the prosecutor. <br />
<br />
When asked if "tone' was discussed, he said it was discussed "explicitly," and that officers were to be civil, professional, "super polite," and were to give people the opportunity to comply. <br />
<br />
When asked by the prosecution why these instructions were given to deputies, Plageman answered, "Because that's the way you should treat people," but he added that a number of people at the demonstration were "hostile" and that things could have escalated. <br />
<br />
The "enforcement" campaign began on Friday, August 6, and Plageman participated in it, he testified. It ended on August 10, but Plageman didn't participate in enforcement that day, and he described there being a "decline in lodgers" as the enforcement campaign progressed. <br />
<br />
When asked why deputies videotaped the enforcement activities, Plageman testified that it was to document that they were using an educational approach, and also that by using video, a chance for violence might be de-escalated. <br />
<br />
The prosecution then showed aerial views of the county government center, its parking lots and its grounds, and Plageman was asked a number of questions regarding the location of demonstrators during Peaccamp. The prosecution, one by one, methodically marked nine locations of where campers were located between July 4 and August 11. <br />
<br />
When showing a Google Earth photo, defense objections were sustained when the prosecution attempted to identify additional locations of campers' locations during the demonstrations. <br />
<br />
Defense objections were then sustained when the prosecution attempted to word questions pertaining to damage caused by Peacecamp by people other than Lemaster. The judge informed the jury to be aware that the damage was not caused by Lemaster, and the questions continued, though later in Plageman's testimony he testified that a large amount of feces and urine had been found on the grounds of the county government center. <br />
<br />
Plageman then identified locations on the aerial view where damage from Peacecamp had occurred. <br />
<br />
<strong><em><u>Lt. Plageman - Cross Examination </u></em></strong><br />
<br />
Defense attorney Jonathan Gettleman began his cross examination of Lieutenant Plageman by questioning him in more detail about the group of county officials named as the "power players" earlier by the prosecution. <br />
<br />
Plageman testified that he was not present when the group met to discuss enforcement strategies for Peacecamp. Communications with regards to those meetings were made to him through Sheriff Phil Wowack and Chief Deputy Don Bradden, and he also had a dialog with Nancy Gordon. <br />
<br />
Plageman testified that he did not not know for certain who represented the Parks Department, but he believed it was Susan Mauriello, and that ultimately it was she who was to make the call on what to do. He explained that part of the function of her position was to be the person designated to take care of the property, "like a landlord," he testified. Nancy Carr Gordon was the second in that chain of command, he said. <br />
<br />
When asked by Gettleman why, if the flier that authorities handed out was to be educational, it did not define what lodging was? Plageman testified that he did not know why it wasn't addressed. He added that the lodging activity was affecting the grounds, but the first amendment activity associated with Peacecamp was not. <br />
<br />
When questioned by Gettleman, Plageman testified that he was the one who presented the lodging law personally to county legal council because he became aware that, "they are using it all over the state to solve similar problems." <br />
<br />
Gettleman then attempted to ask Plageman questions about the process of "finding" the lodging law, and when he asked Plageman if he was looking for an instrument that could be used broadly, the prosecution's objections were sustained. All of the prosecution's objections to Gettleman's subsequent questions about the broad or vague nature of the definition of lodging were sustained by the judge. <br />
<br />
Gettleman asked Plageman questions about how it was determined who would receive citations during Peacecamp. Plageman testified that they were, "looking for people lying on their side, with bedding and pillows." <br />
<br />
If someone was awake and sitting on those items, Plageman testified that they would be warned but not cited; they had to be sleeping, camping, and spending the night. <br />
<br />
Gettleman asked him if a person was awake, but appeared to be sleeping, if they would be cited, and Plageman admitted that there was no way authorities could tell if people were really sleeping. <br />
<br />
When asked how many times Plageman had cited someone for lodging before, the lieutenant testified, "never." <br />
<br />
Gettleman asked why the multiple-tier system of education and enforcement was adopted by the county, and Plageman replied that if people comply it makes their job easier. <br />
<br />
Plageman described the process where deputies would first warn a person that they were lodging, and then would return an hour later to issue the actual citation. <br />
<br />
He testified that he chose a one hour warning time to relieve any ambiguity from the enforcement process, but that he believed any amount of time was appropriate to warn individuals they were lodging. He thought that an hour was, "way more than ample time." <br />
<br />
When asked if he hoped people would leave as a result of the warning, Plageman answered, "not necessarily," but when pressed further by Gettleman, he did admit that he hoped people who had been cited for lodging would leave. <br />
<br />
Gettleman then asked a series of questions that had Plageman confirm that it was not illegal for those participating in Peacecamp to be at the courthouse. Plageman testified that the grounds were legally open 24/7, there weren't any no trespassing signs, and that there was no law that a person could not lie down on the courthouse steps. <br />
<br />
When asked if he knew where those who worked for the county derived the authority to make decisions about the use of public space at the courthouse, Plageman testified, "I would have to research it." <br />
<br />
Gettleman asked if at 4:30 am on August 10, anyone's access to the courthouse building had been denied, Plageman said he had no information about that, but to his knowledge, "no." <br />
<br />
Plageman himself testified that he had no personal knowledge of Lemaster's involvement with Peacecamp, and he never saw her there, but that he did recognize her from the community, perhaps seeing her downtown before. <br />
<br />
Gettleman then asked about the so-called damage to the courthouse. Plageman testified that the concrete had changed colors, and there was "wear and tear" to the lawn, but that there was no structural damage. <br />
<br />
Objections to questions about whether or not the county turned on lawn sprinklers at night to get rid of the protesters, were sustained by the judge.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>§Deputy Chris Joyce, Mary Chavez, and Nancy Carr Gordon </em></strong></span><br />
<br />
by Alex Darocy Tuesday Jan 15th, 2013 8:51 AM <br />
<br />
<strong><em><u>Deputy Chris Joyce </u></em></strong><br />
<br />
Chris Joyce testified that he is currently a deputy Sheriff in Placerville, and that he was a deputy in Santa Cruz from 2009-2010. He first began in law enforcement work two years before that in Stockton. <br />
<br />
Joyce testified that the walked past Peacecamp everyday on his way to work at the county government center, but that he did not know much about it except that people were sleeping. Joyce testified that he generally saw 20 people there involved with Peacecamp each morning he walked by. <br />
<br />
Joyce testified that he was told two days prior to report to work early on August 10 for a morning briefing regarding Peacecamp. That day was his only involvement with Peacecamp, he testified, and he recalled that there were eight deputies at the morning briefing, in addition to Lieutenant Gretchen Hurley and Sergeant Bill Gazo (Gazo was in charge of "oversight" on August 10, according to earlier testimony by Lieutenant Plageman). <br />
<br />
The enforcement strategies that were detailed by Plageman in his testimony differed from the actual enforcement that was carried out by Joyce when he cited Lemaster for lodging on the morning of August 10, as explained in his testimony before the court. <br />
<br />
Joyce testified that he was told to hand out fliers to people who were sleeping, and to inform them that they were lodging. After 10-15 minutes, he recalled, they would ask people if they were leaving, and if not they would be cited. If they didn't leave after being cited, they would be arrested, Joyce testified. <br />
<br />
When Joyce arrived at Peacecamp to begin enforcement on the morning of August 10, he recalled that two people in the group of demonstrators present were up and awake. <br />
<br />
He testified that he recognized Lemaster in the courtroom as someone he contacted that morning, but that it was difficult to describe his initial contact with her at Peacecamp. <br />
<br />
Joyce testified that he "definitely" remembered coming into contact with Lemaster 10 or 15 minutes after his first arrival at Pececamp that morning, when he and one or two other deputies handed out fliers. <br />
<br />
Lemaster was at the top of the courthouse steps, seated up at night, covered in blankets and bedding, Joyce testified. <br />
<br />
Joyce testified that when Lemaster was asked if she was going to leave she either said no or did not answer. He did remember her saying she would cooperate with the citation process, though. <br />
<br />
The prosecution had Joyce identify Lemaster on one of the evidence videos that was shot by sheriff's deputies, and when Joyce was asked to describe what he saw in the video, he noted that visible with Lemaster was one blanket and what appeared to be a pillow. When questioned, Joyce could not attribute to Lemaster a second blanket that could be seen near her on the concrete, but when looking at video stills he described her as being "covered" in blankets. <br />
<br />
Defense attorney Jonathan Gettleman began his cross examination of Joyce by having the deputy describe his walk to work that morning. In a walk from his car that including some jaywalking by Joyce (the jaywalking was not noted by either the defense or the prosecution), the deputy testified that he remembered thinking to himself as he passed Peacecamp on his way to work (which was earlier than usual for him because of the impending enforcement action), that, "at least someone is getting some sleep around here." <br />
<br />
Gettleman had Joyce clarify in testimony that when he first recalled being able to identify Lemaster on the morning of August 10, she was sitting up and not asleep, and that was when Joyce asked her if she would be staying or leaving. <br />
<br />
After more questioning, Joyce then testified that he had no specific recollection as to whether Lemaster verbally indicated that she would not leave the area when he first contacted her, and he did not note in his report for that evening whether she communicated that she was not going to leave verbally or non-verbally. <br />
<br />
Further information from Joyce was obtained in redirect by the prosecution. When Joyce first arrived that morning on his way to work he recalled seeing people sitting in lawn chairs, surrounded by equipment, he testified. To the best of his recollection, none of those in the lawn chairs were cited, and the people who were awake, but surrounded by a lot of stuff were also not cited. <br />
<br />
Joyce re-iterated that if those he warned refused to leave they were cited, though authorities originally approached individuals at first contact for lodging. <br />
<br />
<strong><em><u>Witnesses Mary Chavez and Nancy Carr Gordon </u></em></strong><br />
<br />
Mary Chavez of the Santa Cruz County Department of Public Works and Parks was the next witness to take the stand for the prosecution, and she testified primarily in relation to the subject of how the County of Santa Cruz processes and administers event permits. <br />
<br />
Chavez testified that use permits could be requested when groups wanted to use county facilities, and fees might possibly be charged. Use permits are required for groups to use the exterior grounds of the county courthouse, she testified, and the county Parks Department controls those locations. General Services, she testified, oversees the interior of the building, and administers use permits for the courthouse steps. <br />
<br />
Chavez testified that she is the person at the county who is in charge of administering those permits. <br />
<br />
The county owns the government center and the courthouse steps, she testified, and no overnight permits were given for use of those locations during Peacecamp. The parameters of use, she testified, were dawn to dusk, or 8am to 8pm, and it was also not possible to get a permit for overnight lodging or camping. <br />
<br />
To her recollection, Chavez stated, Lemaster did not request a permit for a Peacecamp protest by Ed Frey for July 4, 2010. <br />
<br />
Chavez also testified that permits would be denied for overnight uses, and that all permits require that accessibility into the building be maintained at all times. <br />
<br />
During Gettleman's cross examination of Chavez, she testified that it was the general policy of the county that groups should themselves proactively seek out permits to use county facilities, and that the group at Peacecamp was not notified they needed a permit to be there. <br />
<br />
Gettleman asked Chavez if she understood that as a function of her office that the courthouse steps were a traditional public forum. <br />
<br />
"I don't know that it is a function of my office," she testified, "But I know people have rights." <br />
<br />
After further questioning she added that getting a permit is the best way to tell the government when a "planned protest" will be held. <br />
<br />
Gettleman asked if Peacecamp was operating without her department's permission on the night of Lemaster's arrest, and Chavez answered, "yes." <br />
<br />
During the redirect of Chavez, prosecutor Jennifer Hutchinson asked if the only way to have permission to do something on the courthouse steps was to get a permit, and Chavez again testified, "yes." <br />
<br />
Concluding his cross examination of Chavez, Jonathan Gettleman asked what action her department would take if a non-permitted use was discovered. <br />
<br />
Chavez testified that they sometimes sent a letter out, but that her office is not an enforcement arm, the Sheriff's office is. <br />
<br />
The testimony of Nancy Carr Gordon, the Director of General Services for Santa Cruz County, was brief. Mostly she confirmed that the courthouse steps were controlled by the Parks Department in 2010, which was ultimately controlled by Susan Mauriello, and that no one had permission to lodge on the courthouse steps.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>§Prosecution Closing Arguments </em></strong></span><br />
<br />
by Alex Darocy Tuesday Jan 15th, 2013 8:53 AM <br />
<br />
<strong><em>Prosecution Closing Arguments </em></strong><br />
<br />
In Prosecutor Alex Byers' closing arguments, he called Peacecamp 2010, "a long-term occupation." It lasted for 39 days 24/7, he stated. <br />
<br />
The problem, he said, was that Peacecamp affected the rights of others, and included health risks, property damage, and infringed access. <br />
<br />
Byers discussed the plan the county developed, which he said respected the rights of others, was tolerant, and included a delay of 34 days before any citations were given. The were warnings, and about the flier the authorities handed out to Peacecamp demonstrators, Byers said that anyone who received that flier would know they weren't allowed to be there. <br />
<br />
The goal of the authorities, Byers argued, was, "to stop people from protesting 24 hours a day." <br />
<br />
Byers argued that the very intent of the protest was to violate the law. He said the education phase of enforcement focused on campers and lodgers, not protesters. <br />
<br />
Showing a video-still photo of Lemaster on the courthouse steps shortly before being cited, Byers stated, "That is someone in bed." <br />
<br />
"Everyone here recognizes an individual's right to protest....That stops when you infringe on the rights of others." No one is ever permitted to sleep or lodge on the courthouse steps, he argued. <br />
<br />
Pointing to the flier, Byers said, "When you got this note at 4:30 in the morning, you were lodging." <br />
<br />
"In other counties you would have been arrested," he claimed. <br />
<br />
Byers then quoted former U.S. President John Adams, who said in 1774 that the United States was a, "nation of laws, not men." <br />
<br />
"If one were to break a law for good reasons, that leads to a slippery slope," Byers reasoned. <br />
<br />
Byers discussed the items Lemaster brought with her to Peacecamp that night. "She brought stuff, she brought her camera, she felt comfortable sleeping in her van in the courthouse lot." <br />
<br />
"Unlawful lodging doesn't require sleeping," Byers asserted. It had more to do with the question of, "are you in a campsite and are you camping," he argued. When sheriffs first arrived at Peacecamp that morning, it was, "quiet like a campground," he stated. <br />
<br />
Byers said Lemaster could be seen putting her shoes on in the sheriff's video. <br />
<br />
He referred to the stuff seen around Lemaster in that video as "her property" and emphasized the amount of stuff visible all around her. <br />
<br />
Byers, addressing Lemaster's claim that she had allergies, asked the jury if she really would use "another person's stuff." <br />
<br />
"All this stuff," Byers claimed, was evidence that Lemaster was lodging. <br />
<br />
He also claimed the sheriff's video showed Lemaster with a copy of the flier that morning she was cited, and he argued that the evidence showed she knew she was lodging without consent. <br />
<br />
Another video showed that she was given a second warning, Byers claimed. <br />
<br />
Referring to the video obtained from youtube, Byers argued that when Lemaster said she was going to go home to sleep in her "real bed," the quote suggested that she was sleeping in another bed the night before. Byers also pointed to her statement in that video, in which Lemaster was referring to her stay at Peacecamp the evening she was cited when she said, "I finally got more than two hours of sleep in a row." <br />
<br />
Byers pointed to Lemaster's own words again, saying she testified that, she went there to spend the night with Chris Doyon, she lay down and covered herself with bedding, she fell asleep, and she "occupied" a space from 10pm to 4:30am. <br />
<br />
Byers presented to the jury quotes from Lemaster's blog that he said referred to Lemaster's experience on August 10 at Peacecamp. The quotes he included were: "I quite literally fell asleep on the job," "The first night I slept outside with Peacecamp 2010 folks, I got a ticket," and "I slept on the cement." <br />
<br />
Byers concluded the prosecution's final arguments with a discussion of what lodging was. <br />
<br />
He argued that it was lodging, "when it looks like someone is occupying." <br />
<br />
That Lemaster was an advocate and an activist, and that the lodging going on at Peacecamp is something she agreed with, is circumstantial evidence that she was herself lodging, Byers argued. <br />
<br />
Byers asserted that the following were not a defense to lodging: participating in a protest, not knowing the law, not intending to sleep, not bringing bedding, did not sleep ("you do not have to sleep to lodge," he said), and the first amendment was also not a defense. <br />
<br />
Byers concluded by stating that these issues were raised to distract the jury.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">§Defense Closing Arguments </span><br />
<br />
by Alex Darocy Tuesday Jan 15th, 2013 8:55 AM <br />
<br />
<strong><em><u>Defense Closing Arguments </u></em></strong><br />
<br />
Jonathan Gettleman began the defense's closing arguments by stating that he would suggest the case was all about perception, and that a person's experiences color "what it is that is seen." <br />
<br />
He contradicted prosecutor Alex Byers and asserted that Lemaster's case was indeed about political speech, free expression, and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. <br />
<br />
Where should the limit lie on peaceful protests, Gettleman asked. <br />
<br />
The prosecution would have the jury believe that Lemaster was guilty because she occupied space and didn't have a permit, according to Gettleman and he cautioned the jury. "You have to safeguard your perception," he said. <br />
<br />
"You're allowed to see a person there who is taking care of a person, rather than lodging. You're allowed to see a person there who is protesting, rather than lodging." <br />
<br />
Gettleman discussed what lodging was and how it was limited, arguing that, "temporarily occupying a space," could not be correct, or everyone in the court would be lodging. <br />
<br />
Gettleman pointed to what he considered to be the most important line in the definition of lodging: "Lodging means more than merely falling asleep, but less than moving in permanently." <br />
<br />
"This has to do with residency," he asserted. <br />
<br />
"The question is, are you settling or living in a place? This can't be just about living...It is not about sitting down...It is not about occupying space...If it were true, we would all need permits now." <br />
<br />
Gettleman pointed to Lieutenant Plageman's testimony that he had not in 24 years used the lodging code once, "in all the protests he has seen...never once." <br />
<br />
Gettleman noted that the officers who issued citations for lodging the morning of August 10, 2010 were using a different definition of lodging than the one used in Lemaster's trial, and that police that evening were looking for anyone sleeping or laying down. <br />
<br />
"The police weren't even using the same standard as you are to judge Lemaster," Gettleman said to the jury. <br />
<br />
Gettleman stated that the county considered Peacecamp a public nuisance, but did not obtain a public order to abate the nuisance, they just took part of the law and, "told people to get out of there." <br />
<br />
Police, "wouldn't tell people what lodging is," and the only option they gave them was, "to leave." <br />
<br />
Gettleman pointed out that there was no letterhead on the flier that authorities handed out at Peacecamp, and as a result people didn't truly know where it came from. <br />
<br />
He accused Plageman of "demonizing" the group through his use of the numbers; the 39 days of demonstrations, with hundreds of participants, had nothing to do with Lemaster, Gettleman argued. <br />
<br />
About the sanitation concerns, Gettleman wondered if anyone had tested it to see if the waste found was animal or human, and concerning testimony that the grounds were destroyed, he challenged the jury to find any damage in the sheriff's video. He argued the grass in the video looked perfectly fine. <br />
<br />
Gettleman asserted there was a difference between lodging and the support of lodgers. He suggested that just because sheriffs were looking for people who, "looked like Linda Lemaster," that doesn't mean she was unlawfully lodging. <br />
<br />
He questioned the way sheriffs issued the citations. If people were sitting, they didn't receive a citation, if they were lying they did, and if they weren't standing near "stuff" they didn't receive a citation either. He suggested it was starting to sound as if Lemaster received a citation because, "she couldn't get up fast enough." He also suggested she received the citation because she was trying to tell the authorities about Chris Doyon's condition. <br />
<br />
About the testimony given by County of Santa Cruz employees Nancy Carr Gordon and Mary Chavez, Gettleman argued that those two would have people believe that you need a permit to "breathe" to be on the courthouse steps. <br />
<br />
He argued that their testimony didn't mean that the Peacecamp activities were illegal, but that without a permit there just wasn't official permission. Permission for political speech on public property does not come from a county permit, Gettleman argued. He also suggested that there should be a "permits required" sign if it did, and that the county courthouse area didn't have any hours of operations signs or "no trespassing" signs posted in 2010. <br />
<br />
Gettleman also argued that prosecutors spent so much time providing testimony about how "reasonable" law enforcement was, that it was an attempt to make Lemaster look ridiculous. He said the DA's tactic was to first demonize the group, and then to suck Lemaster into that group, therefor demonizing her as well. <br />
<br />
"No one was being affected that night by what was going on," Gettleman asserted. <br />
<br />
"Deputy Joyce couldn't have been a better witness for us," Gettleman then stated, adding that the defense may have even called him to testify themselves. <br />
<br />
According to Gettleman, Joyce didn't see anything there at Peacecamp on his way to work, he didn't see what Lemaster was doing when he first arrived on scene to cite Lemaster, and he testified that Lemaster was seated at first contact. <br />
<br />
Gettleman then listed off what Lemaster was doing at Peacecamp. <br />
<br />
Social advocacy was her purpose for being there, he stated, "not for setting up a residence." <br />
<br />
Gettleman reminded the jury that Lemaster testified about her disabilities and that it was not physically easy for her to be "out there." <br />
<br />
Lemaster wanted to support the people who were sleeping on the steps, supporting those who were lodging, and she was caring about, "the needs of these human beings," and, "caring about her friend." <br />
<br />
Gettleman pointed out that in all of the still photos taken from the evidence videos, Lemaster is never seen leaving Chris Doyon's side. She was trying to protect Doyon, he said, and she was trying to tell the authorities that she was not lodging. <br />
<br />
She did everything possible to stay awake that night, Gettleman argued, and she didn't bring her bedding. People gave her things, such as a walkman, he said. <br />
<br />
It was "killing her back" to be out there, Gettleman argued, and that she had a ruptured disc, and she was on the concrete. <br />
<br />
The green blanket that was seen wrapped around her in the sheriff's video was for "comfort," not lodging, Gettleman argued. <br />
<br />
Attempting to explain the "stuff" that was seen near Lemaster in evidence videos, Gettleman recalled that when police first arrived the morning of August 10, they initially told everyone present to go line up against a nearby railing, and the photo stills from the evidence videos did not properly reflect who was also there. <br />
<br />
Gettleman then emphasized that if Lemaster did sleep at Peacecamp, the evidence shows that she did so "involuntarily," and the law does not hold those responsible for things that happen involuntarily. <br />
<br />
Gettleman agreed that she fit the "officer's description," but argued that she was not lodging. <br />
<br />
Gettleman instructed the jury that they should consider Lemaster's medical condition, and that she was trying to get other people to help with Doyon. As soon as she received a citation she was "out of there," he said. <br />
<br />
Referring to Lemaster's comment about the "sweeping" videos, about which she in her testimony recalled she was "joking," Gettleman argued, "you can hear in the levity in her voice she was making a joke." <br />
<br />
"Imagine if people followed you with a tape recorder in your life," he cautioned. <br />
<br />
Gettleman compared Lemaster's interactions at Peacecamp to those of a "combat medic." In his analogy, combat medics may even relate to combat events, but they are not the event, they are medics, further pointing out that, "you don't shoot the medic." <br />
<br />
"These are important rules of engagement," he concluded. <br />
<br />
Gettleman then argued that the only evidence the jury had of Lemaster's intentions, were from Lemaster herself, and she was there to help Chris Doyon. It was obvious that Lemaster did not go out there just to sleep that night, he argued. <br />
<br />
There was really only one witness against Lemaster, Gettleman stated, and that was Deputy Joyce. <br />
<br />
Gettleman reminded the jury that legally, to find Lemaster guilty, it would have to be shown that there was a union of the act and intent, and that Lemaster must not only have committed the act, but that she did so with wrongful intent. <br />
<br />
"If I have an epileptic seizure and fall into you, it is not battery," Gettleman argued, adding that if Lemaster fell asleep, the evidence showed that she did so accidentally. <br />
<br />
Sleeping could not be legal evidence in this case, Gettleman argued, it was circumstantial evidence, and if Lemaster fell asleep unintentionally, then the jury could not even use that as circumstantial evidence. <br />
<br />
Additionally, to use circumstantial evidence, Gettleman stated, the jury must find that it is the only possible reason for guilt, and if there were other reasons, the jury must use those. <br />
<br />
He reminded the jury that reasonable doubt was the standard in the case, that it was a very high standard as far as rules of law go, and that it was important in Lemaster's case because, "It's a criminal action and there are liberty interests at stake." <br />
<br />
Gettleman then went on to discussed Lemaster's physical conditions, explaining that Lemaster was seen in the evidence video taking her shoes off, and it was due to bunyons. She may have been "on her side" at one point, Gettleman said, due to her bad back. <br />
<br />
Concluding the defense arguments, Gettleman returned to the still photo of Lemaster at the scene. "If you see in this picture Lemaster taking care of a friend, then you must acquit Lemaster," he concluded. <br />
<br />
<strong><em><u>The Verdict</u></em></strong> <br />
<br />
During the trial, members of the jury appeared to take very few notes. They reached a verdict of guilty in just about three hours. A month later Linda Lemaster was sentenced to probation and community service, and the latter sentence had her supporters describing it as "ironic."<br />
Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-37766766828850769892013-01-08T21:54:00.000-08:002013-01-08T21:54:22.718-08:00<h1>
Judge Dismisses Three of Seven Bank Protesters of All Charges, Fines DA's Office
</h1>
<div class="subhead">
A preliminary hearing for seven bank protesters ended today, with three
dismissed on all charges, the felony conspiracy charge thrown out, and
four recieving holding orders. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="subhead">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>By<span style="color: black;">
</span><span class="vcard" style="color: black;"><a class="author fn" href="http://santacruz.patch.com/users/maria-grusauskas">Maria Grusauska, <span style="font-size: x-small;">for SantaCruz.Patch .com, </span></a></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="date"><span style="color: black;">7:16 p</span>m
</span></span></b></i></span></div>
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<span class="photo_credit credit metadata"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b>All Photos Credit: <span class="vcard"><span class="vcard"><a class="fn" href="http://santacruz.patch.com/users/maria-grusauskas">Maria Grusauskas</a></span></span></b></i></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://santacruz.patch.com/articles/seven-bank-protesters-optimistic-despite-heavy-charges-in-monday-s-trial">The preliminary hearing</a> for the seven remaining "<a href="http://santacruzeleven.org/about/">Santa Cruz 11</a>" ended with three defendants let off the hook for good, and four receiving holding orders.<br />
Judge P. Burdick also imposed a monetary sanction of $500 on the
District Attorney's office—the first time he's ever had to do so—for
violations in turning over evidence and other errors.<br />
<br />
Desiree Foster, Becky Johnson and Robert Norse were the three
defendants discharged on all counts against them, because Judge Burdick
found evidence "insufficient" in placing these three at the scene of 75
River Street after the first day, and after police allegedly told them
to leave.<br />
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The counts against all seven defendants were: Felony conspiracy to
commit a misdemeanor, felony vandalism, misdemeanor trespass by entering
and occupying and misdemeanor trespass by refusing to leave private
property.<br />
The DA's Office does have the power to re-submit these charges for
those three dismissed, according to Alexis Briggs, lawyer for Cameron
Laurendeau.<br />
Judge Burdick also threw out the felony trespassing charge for all seven defendants, for lack of direct evidence.<br />
<br />
"This, to all appearances seems to be a spontaneous entry into the
building after the front door was opened with a key," said Judge
Burdick.<br />
"Consequently, considering all of the circumstances as it relates to
all of the charges, I can't even infer that there was an agreement to
commit a trespass crime, that there was an agreement to go into that
building and occupy it and stay there even after law enforcement showed
up with an agent of the bank and ordered persons to leave, so I'm not
going to hold count one, the conspiracy charge against any of the
defendants," he said. </div>
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<div class="photo_12874945 thumbnail data_element photo thumbnail_size NS_1tkc7q1iij" data-asset="{"urls":{"thumbnail":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/thumbnail/132x88/crop/88x88+22+0/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/b320793e1c102a3e5899892f1d999292","collapsed":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/b320793e1c102a3e5899892f1d999292","expanded":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/600x450/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/b320793e1c102a3e5899892f1d999292"},"id":12874945,"title":null,"asset_subclass":"photo","asset_type":"photo","thumbnailed":true,"canonical_type":"photo","crop_x":null,"crop_y":null,"crop_w":null,"crop_h":null,"expanded_photo_dimensions":"600x400","crop_dimensions":"400,400,100,0","scale_when":1,"orig":"88,88","dimensions":"600x400","caption":null,"credit":"<span class=\"vcard\"><a href=\"/users/maria-grusauskas\" class=\"fn\">Maria Grusauskas</a></span>"}" data-asset_attachment="{"short_url":"http://patch.com/A-0VNY~p-d3qGT","title":""}" id="photo_12874945">
The four remaining defendants, Brent Adams, Franklin "Angel"
Alcantara, Gabriella Ripley-Phipps, and Cameron Laurendeau were given
holding orders, which basically means the Judge found probable cause for
legal proceedings to continue.<br />
<br />
"I do not want this case to linger, we're going to move this one
along," said Judge Burdick, and set their arraignment for Jan. 22 at
8:15 a.m.<br />
<br />
<i><b>The defense remains optimistic</b></i><br />
<br />
"There's a number of layers where you can challenge this holding
order, so we are far from done with dealing with what the evidence
presented in this preliminary hearing actually shows and what the law
supports. But what is clear is that the district attorney's theory of
the case utterly failed today in trying to charge a conspiracy," said
Alexis Briggs.<br />
</div>
<div class="photo_12874945 thumbnail data_element photo thumbnail_size NS_1tkc7q1iij" data-asset="{"urls":{"thumbnail":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/thumbnail/132x88/crop/88x88+22+0/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/b320793e1c102a3e5899892f1d999292","collapsed":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/b320793e1c102a3e5899892f1d999292","expanded":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/600x450/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/b320793e1c102a3e5899892f1d999292"},"id":12874945,"title":null,"asset_subclass":"photo","asset_type":"photo","thumbnailed":true,"canonical_type":"photo","crop_x":null,"crop_y":null,"crop_w":null,"crop_h":null,"expanded_photo_dimensions":"600x400","crop_dimensions":"400,400,100,0","scale_when":1,"orig":"88,88","dimensions":"600x400","caption":null,"credit":"<span class=\"vcard\"><a href=\"/users/maria-grusauskas\" class=\"fn\">Maria Grusauskas</a></span>"}" data-asset_attachment="{"short_url":"http://patch.com/A-0VNY~p-d3qGT","title":""}" id="photo_12874945">
</div>
<div class="photo_12874946 thumbnail data_element photo thumbnail_size NS_1tkc7q1iij" data-asset="{"urls":{"thumbnail":"http://o2.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/thumbnail/132x88/crop/88x88+22+0/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/4d1880de7bfa724ba61338eb039430a8","collapsed":"http://o2.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/4d1880de7bfa724ba61338eb039430a8","expanded":"http://o2.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/600x450/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/4d1880de7bfa724ba61338eb039430a8"},"id":12874946,"title":null,"asset_subclass":"photo","asset_type":"photo","thumbnailed":true,"canonical_type":"photo","crop_x":null,"crop_y":null,"crop_w":null,"crop_h":null,"expanded_photo_dimensions":"600x400","crop_dimensions":"400,400,100,0","scale_when":1,"orig":"88,88","dimensions":"600x400","caption":null,"credit":"<span class=\"vcard\"><a href=\"/users/maria-grusauskas\" class=\"fn\">Maria Grusauskas</a></span>"}" data-asset_attachment="{"short_url":"http://patch.com/A-0VNY~p-d3qGV","title":""}" id="photo_12874946">
<a class="photo_thumbnail" href="http://o2.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/600x450/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/4d1880de7bfa724ba61338eb039430a8" id="photo_thumbnail_12874946">
<img class="asset_image" height="400" itemprop="photo" src="http://o2.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/thumbnail/132x88/crop/88x88+22+0/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/4d1880de7bfa724ba61338eb039430a8" width="400" /> </a></div>
<div class="photo_12874946 thumbnail data_element photo thumbnail_size NS_1tkc7q1iij" data-asset="{"urls":{"thumbnail":"http://o2.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/thumbnail/132x88/crop/88x88+22+0/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/4d1880de7bfa724ba61338eb039430a8","collapsed":"http://o2.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/4d1880de7bfa724ba61338eb039430a8","expanded":"http://o2.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/600x450/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/4d1880de7bfa724ba61338eb039430a8"},"id":12874946,"title":null,"asset_subclass":"photo","asset_type":"photo","thumbnailed":true,"canonical_type":"photo","crop_x":null,"crop_y":null,"crop_w":null,"crop_h":null,"expanded_photo_dimensions":"600x400","crop_dimensions":"400,400,100,0","scale_when":1,"orig":"88,88","dimensions":"600x400","caption":null,"credit":"<span class=\"vcard\"><a href=\"/users/maria-grusauskas\" class=\"fn\">Maria Grusauskas</a></span>"}" data-asset_attachment="{"short_url":"http://patch.com/A-0VNY~p-d3qGV","title":""}" id="photo_12874946">
"And the judge's finding that the first amendment was implicated
meant that he held her to a stricter standard of a proof of direct
conspiracy rather than circumstantial evidence of a conspiracy," said
Briggs.</div>
<div class="photo_12874946 thumbnail data_element photo thumbnail_size NS_1tkc7q1iij" data-asset="{"urls":{"thumbnail":"http://o2.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/thumbnail/132x88/crop/88x88+22+0/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/4d1880de7bfa724ba61338eb039430a8","collapsed":"http://o2.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/4d1880de7bfa724ba61338eb039430a8","expanded":"http://o2.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/600x450/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/4d1880de7bfa724ba61338eb039430a8"},"id":12874946,"title":null,"asset_subclass":"photo","asset_type":"photo","thumbnailed":true,"canonical_type":"photo","crop_x":null,"crop_y":null,"crop_w":null,"crop_h":null,"expanded_photo_dimensions":"600x400","crop_dimensions":"400,400,100,0","scale_when":1,"orig":"88,88","dimensions":"600x400","caption":null,"credit":"<span class=\"vcard\"><a href=\"/users/maria-grusauskas\" class=\"fn\">Maria Grusauskas</a></span>"}" data-asset_attachment="{"short_url":"http://patch.com/A-0VNY~p-d3qGV","title":""}" id="photo_12874946">
</div>
<div class="photo_12874948 thumbnail data_element photo thumbnail_size NS_1tkc7q1iij" data-asset="{"urls":{"thumbnail":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/thumbnail/132x88/crop/88x88+22+0/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/d0804b5ddff2caf892b63683cfda5f1c","collapsed":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/d0804b5ddff2caf892b63683cfda5f1c","expanded":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/600x450/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/d0804b5ddff2caf892b63683cfda5f1c"},"id":12874948,"title":null,"asset_subclass":"photo","asset_type":"photo","thumbnailed":true,"canonical_type":"photo","crop_x":null,"crop_y":null,"crop_w":null,"crop_h":null,"expanded_photo_dimensions":"600x400","crop_dimensions":"400,400,100,0","scale_when":1,"orig":"88,88","dimensions":"600x400","caption":"Supporters and defendants.","credit":"<span class=\"vcard\"><a href=\"/users/maria-grusauskas\" class=\"fn\">Maria Grusauskas</a></span>"}" data-asset_attachment="{"short_url":"http://patch.com/A-0VNY~p-d3qGX","title":"Supporters+and+defendants."}" id="photo_12874948">
<a class="photo_thumbnail" href="http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/600x450/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/d0804b5ddff2caf892b63683cfda5f1c" id="photo_thumbnail_12874948" title="Supporters and defendants.">
<img alt="Supporters and defendants." class="asset_image" height="320" itemprop="photo" src="http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/thumbnail/132x88/crop/88x88+22+0/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/d0804b5ddff2caf892b63683cfda5f1c" width="320" /> </a></div>
<div class="photo_12874948 thumbnail data_element photo thumbnail_size NS_1tkc7q1iij" data-asset="{"urls":{"thumbnail":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/thumbnail/132x88/crop/88x88+22+0/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/d0804b5ddff2caf892b63683cfda5f1c","collapsed":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/d0804b5ddff2caf892b63683cfda5f1c","expanded":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/600x450/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/d0804b5ddff2caf892b63683cfda5f1c"},"id":12874948,"title":null,"asset_subclass":"photo","asset_type":"photo","thumbnailed":true,"canonical_type":"photo","crop_x":null,"crop_y":null,"crop_w":null,"crop_h":null,"expanded_photo_dimensions":"600x400","crop_dimensions":"400,400,100,0","scale_when":1,"orig":"88,88","dimensions":"600x400","caption":"Supporters and defendants.","credit":"<span class=\"vcard\"><a href=\"/users/maria-grusauskas\" class=\"fn\">Maria Grusauskas</a></span>"}" data-asset_attachment="{"short_url":"http://patch.com/A-0VNY~p-d3qGX","title":"Supporters+and+defendants."}" id="photo_12874948">
</div>
<div class="photo_12874948 thumbnail data_element photo thumbnail_size NS_1tkc7q1iij" data-asset="{"urls":{"thumbnail":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/thumbnail/132x88/crop/88x88+22+0/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/d0804b5ddff2caf892b63683cfda5f1c","collapsed":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/d0804b5ddff2caf892b63683cfda5f1c","expanded":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/600x450/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/d0804b5ddff2caf892b63683cfda5f1c"},"id":12874948,"title":null,"asset_subclass":"photo","asset_type":"photo","thumbnailed":true,"canonical_type":"photo","crop_x":null,"crop_y":null,"crop_w":null,"crop_h":null,"expanded_photo_dimensions":"600x400","crop_dimensions":"400,400,100,0","scale_when":1,"orig":"88,88","dimensions":"600x400","caption":"Supporters and defendants.","credit":"<span class=\"vcard\"><a href=\"/users/maria-grusauskas\" class=\"fn\">Maria Grusauskas</a></span>"}" data-asset_attachment="{"short_url":"http://patch.com/A-0VNY~p-d3qGX","title":"Supporters+and+defendants."}" id="photo_12874948">
Briggs also said that the District Attorney of Santa Cruz had chilled freedom of speech with the filing of this case.<br />
<br />
After the Judge's findings had been read, defendants and supporters embraced outside of the courtroom.<br />
<br />
Becky Johnson, one of the lucky three, is excited to finally return
to a classroom, since pending felony charges had gotten in the way of
her teaching credentials.<br />
</div>
<div class="photo_12874950 thumbnail data_element photo thumbnail_size NS_1tkc7q1iij" data-asset="{"urls":{"thumbnail":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/thumbnail/132x88/crop/88x88+22+0/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/6fd5ba15677ddd5b7e35f5e0f47a83da","collapsed":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/6fd5ba15677ddd5b7e35f5e0f47a83da","expanded":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/600x450/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/6fd5ba15677ddd5b7e35f5e0f47a83da"},"id":12874950,"title":null,"asset_subclass":"photo","asset_type":"photo","thumbnailed":true,"canonical_type":"photo","crop_x":null,"crop_y":null,"crop_w":null,"crop_h":null,"expanded_photo_dimensions":"600x400","crop_dimensions":"400,400,100,0","scale_when":1,"orig":"88,88","dimensions":"600x400","caption":null,"credit":"<span class=\"vcard\"><a href=\"/users/maria-grusauskas\" class=\"fn\">Maria Grusauskas</a></span>"}" data-asset_attachment="{"short_url":"http://patch.com/A-0VNY~p-d3qGZ","title":""}" id="photo_12874950">
<a class="photo_thumbnail" href="http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/600x450/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/6fd5ba15677ddd5b7e35f5e0f47a83da" id="photo_thumbnail_12874950">
<img class="asset_image" height="320" itemprop="photo" src="http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/thumbnail/132x88/crop/88x88+22+0/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/6fd5ba15677ddd5b7e35f5e0f47a83da" width="320" /> </a></div>
<div class="photo_12874950 thumbnail data_element photo thumbnail_size NS_1tkc7q1iij" data-asset="{"urls":{"thumbnail":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/thumbnail/132x88/crop/88x88+22+0/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/6fd5ba15677ddd5b7e35f5e0f47a83da","collapsed":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/6fd5ba15677ddd5b7e35f5e0f47a83da","expanded":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/600x450/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/6fd5ba15677ddd5b7e35f5e0f47a83da"},"id":12874950,"title":null,"asset_subclass":"photo","asset_type":"photo","thumbnailed":true,"canonical_type":"photo","crop_x":null,"crop_y":null,"crop_w":null,"crop_h":null,"expanded_photo_dimensions":"600x400","crop_dimensions":"400,400,100,0","scale_when":1,"orig":"88,88","dimensions":"600x400","caption":null,"credit":"<span class=\"vcard\"><a href=\"/users/maria-grusauskas\" class=\"fn\">Maria Grusauskas</a></span>"}" data-asset_attachment="{"short_url":"http://patch.com/A-0VNY~p-d3qGZ","title":""}" id="photo_12874950">
"We're going to be in the courts, we're going to be supporting them
the whole way. Because it was really a tremendous thing that these
people did, to try to show the excesses of Wells Fargo, that they just
have all these properties all blocked off," said Johnson.<br />
<br />
Franklin Alcantara, defendant, is confident in his innocence, despite the holding order which requires him to reappear.<br />
<br />
"I'm still feeling very confident that we will triumph over these
charges, I know that I didn't have any involvement in these charges
against me. I was just curious as to what was going on as well as up to
300 other people were there for whatever. I know in my heart that I'm
innocent so I feel confident," said Alcantara.</div>
<div class="photo_12874950 thumbnail data_element photo thumbnail_size NS_1tkc7q1iij" data-asset="{"urls":{"thumbnail":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/thumbnail/132x88/crop/88x88+22+0/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/6fd5ba15677ddd5b7e35f5e0f47a83da","collapsed":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/6fd5ba15677ddd5b7e35f5e0f47a83da","expanded":"http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/600x450/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/6fd5ba15677ddd5b7e35f5e0f47a83da"},"id":12874950,"title":null,"asset_subclass":"photo","asset_type":"photo","thumbnailed":true,"canonical_type":"photo","crop_x":null,"crop_y":null,"crop_w":null,"crop_h":null,"expanded_photo_dimensions":"600x400","crop_dimensions":"400,400,100,0","scale_when":1,"orig":"88,88","dimensions":"600x400","caption":null,"credit":"<span class=\"vcard\"><a href=\"/users/maria-grusauskas\" class=\"fn\">Maria Grusauskas</a></span>"}" data-asset_attachment="{"short_url":"http://patch.com/A-0VNY~p-d3qGZ","title":""}" id="photo_12874950">
</div>
<div class="photo_12874953 thumbnail data_element photo thumbnail_size NS_1tkc7q1iij" data-asset="{"urls":{"thumbnail":"http://o5.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/thumbnail/132x88/crop/88x88+22+0/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/cbdfeb7e2afab73f9d4f17c0046ee4f3","collapsed":"http://o5.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/cbdfeb7e2afab73f9d4f17c0046ee4f3","expanded":"http://o5.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/600x450/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/cbdfeb7e2afab73f9d4f17c0046ee4f3"},"id":12874953,"title":null,"asset_subclass":"photo","asset_type":"photo","thumbnailed":true,"canonical_type":"photo","crop_x":null,"crop_y":null,"crop_w":null,"crop_h":null,"expanded_photo_dimensions":"600x400","crop_dimensions":"400,400,100,0","scale_when":1,"orig":"88,88","dimensions":"600x400","caption":"Gabriella Ripley-Phipps receives a hug after the judge's decision is heard.","credit":"<span class=\"vcard\"><a href=\"/users/maria-grusauskas\" class=\"fn\">Maria Grusauskas</a></span>"}" data-asset_attachment="{"short_url":"http://patch.com/A-0VNY~p-d3qHb","title":"Gabriella+Ripley-Phipps+receives+a+hug+after+the+judge%27s+decision+is+heard."}" id="photo_12874953">
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On Monday, Sergeant Mike Harms testified that Alcantara had tampered
with a security camera inside the bank, but Alcantara says he was
training it on the police for his own safety:<br />
<br />
"We were confronted by a large number of officers in riot gear that
were very threatening and intimidating. I had witnessed them hitting an
individual with a baton, and I had realized that there was a video
camera and someone had repositioned it to face the ceiling, so what I
did was position it back to it's original position to videotape anything
that was occurring because I was concerned for my well being," said
Alcantara.<br />
<br />
Ripley-Phipps and Adams both declined comment. Of the vandalism charges, Lisa McCamey, representing Adams, said, "He's just not responsible, as a direct perpetrator or as an aider or abettor."<br />
<br />
Previous testimony by Sgt. Harms alleged Adams moving furniture against the doors of the bank building.<br />
</div>
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Judge Burdick mentioned, in his final decision, that vandalism is a
"natural and probable consequence of trespassing," citing a previous
case.
"I disagree with the legal analysis, but you know we can take it up with the 995 motion," said McCamey.<br />
<br />
Alexis Briggs later commented on the sanctioning of the District
Attorney's office, saying that District Attorney Rebekah Young had made
several mistakes.<br />
<br />
"There's been a number of improper things done and I believe that
those are the result of being overburdened by Bob Lee and the number of
cases that they're filing, and the number of cases that they're
requiring their district attorneys to handle," said Briggs. "He's been
shown on <a href="http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/07/18/18717774.php">video</a>
indicating that filing this case doesn't cost his office any more money
because he pays the same salary regardless of the number of cases his
district attorneys are required to handle, and when they're
overburdened, they start to make mistakes. And that's what we're seeing
here."<br />
</div>
<strong> </strong><br />
<strong>Related Topics:</strong>
<a class="tag" href="http://santacruz.patch.com/topics/Santa+Cruz+11">Santa Cruz 11</a> and <a class="tag" href="http://santacruz.patch.com/topics/occupy+santa+cruz">occupy santa cruz</a>
Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-1099649361847928282012-12-12T12:40:00.002-08:002012-12-12T12:41:28.713-08:00"GUILTY": Linda Lemaster, Ed Frey, Gary Johnson; Lodging because homeless people cannot lay down here<div id="articleHeader">
<div class="titles">
<h1>
ACTIVIST LEMASTER SENTENCED FOR ILLEGAL LODGING</h1>
<h2>
<u><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Activists still fighting unusual citations issued at PeaceCamp2010</span></i></u></h2>
<h2>
<b><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><i>"California's penal code section 647(e), for Unlawful Lodging, a vagrancy law, has got to go." -Linda Ellen Lemaste</i></span></span><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><i>r</i></span></span></b></h2>
</div>
<div class="articleDetails clearfix">
<span class="posted">
<i>by<b> <a class="author" href="http://www.santacruz.com/author">Georgia Perry</a> , Santa Cruz Weekly</b></i></span></div>
<div class="articleDetails clearfix">
<span class="posted"><i>Dec 11, 2012</i></span><br />
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="clearfix" id="articleContent">
<div id="articleThumb">
<img alt="" height="400" src="http://www.santacruz.com/images/made/images/articles/news/lind_lemaster_s_300_300_100.jpg" title="" width="400" />
<br />
<div class="cutlineContent">
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> Linda Lemaster, pictured in front of the California Superior Court of Santa Cruz County, says she’ll appeal her conviction stemming from Peace Camp 2010. This photo shows the plaza where PeaceCamp2010 was initially located until Deputies closed it down.</i></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(Photo by Chip Scheuer)</i></span></b></div>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Dangling Misdemeanor</b><br />
<br />
<i>Despite being shut down over two years ago, the loose threads of Peace
Camp 2010 are still dangling in the county court system. After Dec. 6’s
sentencing for Linda Lemaster, who received a misdemeanor for illegal
lodging at Peace Camp and faces community service plus probation, the
longtime homeless advocate and her attorneys have their sights set on an
appeal they hope will take them all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.</i><br />
<br />
<i>While Peace Camp 2010 was a protest against the camping ban in the city
of Santa Cruz, the citations Lemaster and several other protesters
received for sleeping on the county courthouse steps were not camping
ban violations. They were misdemeanors for violating state Penal Code
§647e, which prohibits “illegal lodging”—a citation that falls under the
umbrella of “disturbing the peace,” including such acts as public
intoxication and prostitution.</i><br />
<br />
<i>“What basically happened is [police officers] went looking for a law
that they could use as a tool to break up this protest,” argues
Lemaster’s attorney, Jonathan Gettleman. “But ‘lodge’ is a very vague
term. To say, ‘to lodge in a public place without the permission of the
county’ sounds a whole lot like, ‘if we don’t like what you’re saying
then we can just tell you you’re lodged there and if you don’t leave we
can arrest you.’”</i><br />
<div class="clearfix" id="extraContent">
<div class="relatedArticles clearfix">
<br /></div>
</div>
<b>How Tolerant?</b><br />
<br />
<i>Assistant District Attorney Alex Byers prosecuted Lemaster and, at the
sentencing, made his position clear: “We’re not here because of homeless
problems. We’re here because of the rule of law…This is a very tolerant
town. But tolerance has limits.</i><br />
<br />
<i>“You don’t get to break the law because you disagree with it,” he
continued, adding that Peace Camp 2010 was a public health issue that
interfered with courthouse employees’ ability to get to work. “Everyone
saw the deterioration of what was happening out there…And if there’s a
lesson to be learned it’s to at least attempt to work within the system,
not outside the system.”</i><br />
<br />
<i>Lemaster argues that she rarely spent the night at Peace Camp and, in
fact, worked to make the event safer. “What I was doing there was a lot
of cleanup and caregiving,” she said.</i><br />
<br />
<i>Nonetheless, Judge Rebecca Connolly sentenced Lemaster to community
service and six months of probation. “You wanted to highlight issues of
homelessness,” Connolly told Lemaster in court, “and by doing that
committed civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is making a conscious
decision to break a law.”</i><br />
<br />
<i>Connolly granted Lemaster a stay on her sentence because Gettleman
plans to appeal her case. He says he plans to challenge the
constitutionality of §647e altogether and argue that the officers on the
scene violated Lemaster’s First Amendment right to free speech.</i><br />
<br />
<i>“In the 24 years that Lt. Plageman had been a county sheriff’s officer
he had never before used [§647e],” says Gettleman, who worries that if
Lemaster loses the appeal it will give county law enforcement free reign
to use the law more liberally in the future to break up protests.</i><br />
<i>
</i><br />
<b>Restricted Areas</b><br />
<br />
<i>Local attorney and homeless advocate Ed Frey, who received the same
citation as Lemaster at Peace Camp 2010, says he is not hopeful for her
in the appeals process. He says he and five other protestors who
underwent trial for illegal lodging in 2011 already tried to argue
against it on constitutional grounds, to no avail.</i><br />
<br />
<i>Local homeless advocates see Lemaster’s situation as representative of
what they say is a conspiracy against the local homeless population and
the citizens’ rights to freedom of expression.</i><br />
<br />
<i>Some argue that even city planners are in on it. Attorney Kate Wells,
who has also been volunteering to help defend Lemaster, argued at a
recent CTV panel that the city’s downtown sidewalk kiosks are, in fact,
“barriers to make it impossible to have any sort of meeting area.”</i><br />
<br />
<i>“In Santa Cruz, all of our rights are subject to time, place and manner restrictions,” she said.</i></div>
Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-64411507668874533312012-12-09T16:19:00.002-08:002012-12-09T16:19:48.437-08:00Lermaster Lodging 647(e) Trial: Many Supporters, Santa Cruz Patch.com <h1>
'Sleep Crime' Defendant Gets Community Service </h1>
<h1>
<i><span style="font-size: small;">by Brad Kava, December 7, 2012</span></i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h1>
<h1>
<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">for SantaCruzPatch.com</span></h1>
<div class="subhead">
In a courtroom packed with supporters, Linda Lemaster got 59 hours of
community service after being arrested for illegally camping at the
courthouse. Her attorney said that was ironic, since much of her life is
devoted to community service.
</div>
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<div class="caption">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Linda Lemaster and supporters Thursday at the Santa Cruz County Courthouse.<span class="photo_credit credit metadata"> </span></i></span></div>
<div class="caption">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span class="photo_credit credit metadata">Photo, video by
<span class="vcard"><a class="fn" href="http://santacruz.patch.com/users/brad-kava-2">Brad Kava</a></span></span></i></span></div>
<div class="caption">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span class="photo_credit credit metadata"><span class="vcard"> </span></span></i></span></div>
<div class="caption">
A Santa Cruz woman who was convicted of trespassing for sleeping out
on the courthouse steps in protest of laws against doing so, was given
community service Thursday instead of jail time.<br />
<br />
The Santa Cruz courtroom was packed with supporters for Linda
Lemaster's sentencing and a petition signed by 85 people was given to
Judge Rebecca Connolly. The judge was sympathetic toward Lemaster's
protest, saying she understood that Lemaster was "important to the Santa
Cruz community."<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span class="photo_credit credit metadata"><span class="vcard"> </span>
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"There are consequences," Connolly said of the civil disobedience, a
misdemeanor punishable by as much as six months in jail. Connolly added
that Lemaster's First Amendment rights were used to get attention from
the media and homeless supporters.<br />
<br />
Lemaster argued that she was on the steps to support a sick homeless
man who was also sleeping out in what had been a three-month long
occupation called "Peace Camp" in 2010.<br />
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<br />
A jury found her guilty of violating a law against camping any
property without the owner's consent, including county property, a law
that some homeless advocates say denies their basic rights.
<br />
Even prosecutor Alex Byers was sympathetic, although he asked the
judge to give Lemaster 40 hours of community service and three years
probation. "She's a very nice person," he said.<br />
<br />
The judge fined Lemaster $590, which she said could be worked off in 59 hours of community service.<br />
<br />
Lemaster's attorney, Jonathan Che Gettleman, asked the judge to lower
the probation to six months and hold off on the sentence until it could
be appealed. He said Lemaster didn't even have the money to pay the
service fees for administering the community service sentence.<br />
<br />
Supporters passed a hat around in the courtroom filling it with bills to help Lemaster.<br />
<br />
"There's a bigger problem and it's important to me that we all become
aware of it," Lemaster told the judge. "Even elemental needs are denied
them (the homeless)."<br />
<br />
Afterwards they celebrated outside the courthouse, claiming a victory
for pointing out the plight of the 2,800 homeless people in the county
who have only about 400 shelter beds during the winter.<br />
<br />
They also said they hoped this focused attention on First Amendment rights to congregate or protest.<br />
</div>
<strong> </strong><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>Related Topics:</strong>
<a class="tag" href="http://santacruz.patch.com/topics/linda+lemaster">linda lemaster</a> and <a class="tag" href="http://santacruz.patch.com/topics/sleep+crime">sleep crime</a></span>
<br />
<div class="call_for_comments">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Should the law be changed to allow people to camp out on county property or sleep in their cars? </span>
</div>
Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-55119969480431672252012-12-06T21:54:00.000-08:002012-12-06T21:54:05.909-08:00Lemaster Lodging 647(e) Trial Sentence: "PAY MONEY, WORK MORE HOURS, INFORMAL COURT PROBATION, BUT NO JAIL<h1 class="articleTitle entry-title" id="articleTitle" style="font-weight: normal;">
<b><i>No jail time for Santa Cruz County woman convicted of unlawfully lodging during Peace Camp 2010 demonstration</i></b></h1>
<div class="articleByline" id="articleByline">
<i><a class="articleByline" href="mailto:jpasko@santacruzsentinel.com?subject=Santa%20Cruz%20Sentinel:"><span class="author vcard"><span class="fn"><div class="bylinejb">
<b>By Jessica M. Pasko</b></div>
</span></span></a></i><div class="bylineaffiliation">
<i><a class="articleByline" href="mailto:jpasko@santacruzsentinel.com?subject=Santa%20Cruz%20Sentinel:">Santa Cruz Sentinel<span class="source-org vcard"></span></a></i></div>
</div>
<div class="articleDate" id="articleDate">
<i>Posted:
12/06/2012 05:23:54 PM PST</i></div>
<br /><span></span><span></span><div class="entry-content">
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<span></span><div class="bodytext">
<i><b>SANTA
CRUZ </b></i>-- An advocate for the homeless convicted last month of illegal
lodging won't serve jail time, a Santa Cruz County judge ruled Thursday.</div>
<br />
Linda
Lemaster could have faced up to six months in County Jail for her
conviction of one count of unlawful lodging, a misdemeanor. Judge
Rebecca Connolly chose to sentence her to six months on a conditional
sentence and ordered her to pay $590 in fines and fees, which she said
could be paid through community service hours instead. A conditional
sentence is essentially like probation except through the court rather
than the county's probation department.<br />
<br />
Jurors found Lemaster had
violated the law by staying outside the county courthouse on Aug. 10,
2010 along with people participating in the Peace Camp demonstration,
which was aimed at protesting the city's anti-camping ban. At trial,
Lemaster testified that she hadn't been sleeping outside that night and
that she had no intention of doing so. <br />
<br />
She and her attorneys
maintained that she stayed at the courthouse that night to look after a
demonstrator who was ill. Because of her chronic back problems, she
said, she was at least partially lying down when deputies arrived and
someone had placed a blanket over her.<br />
<br />
Prosecutor Alex Byers on
Thursday acknowledged Lemaster's work on behalf of the homeless, but
said "we're not here today because of homeless problems."<br />
"It's sad, anyone with a heart considers that," Byers said, but added, "It's<br />
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about the law. Santa Cruz is a very tolerant place but that tolerance has limits."<br />
The
tolerance doesn't extend to situations where the right to demonstrate
infringes upon the rights of others, he said, explaining that the
three-month long demonstration brought health risks, property damage and
limited access to the county offices for the public. It also cost
taxpayers for cleanup and security costs, he said.<br />
<br />
"You don't get to break the law because you don't agree with it," the prosecutor said.<br />
<br />
Under
state law, a person "who lodges in any building, structure, vehicle or
place, whether public or private, without the permission of the owner or
person entitled to the possession or in control of it," can be found
guilty of a misdemeanor.<br />
<br />
Byers did not ask for jail time, instead
proposing Connolly sentence Lemaster to 40 hours of community service
and a three-year conditional sentence.<br />
Lemaster told the court she
thought her trial had focused too much on the entire Peace Camp 2010
demonstration rather than on her individual actions. She said that while
she accepts the consequences of her actions, she believes the ultimate
responsibility lies with the government, which has failed to take care
of its people and presented the need for such demonstrations.<br />
<br />
Lemaster's supporters filled the courtroom for the Thursday afternoon sentencing hearing.<br />
<br />
"The principles on which this case stood are clearly very important to the community," defense attorney Jonathan Gettleman said.<br />
<br />
Gettleman
said the idea of community service as a sentence for Lemaster was
"ironic" given that his client's life revolves around providing services
to the community and working for society's most vulnerable.<br />
<br />
Connolly
acknowledged the real issues involved with homelessness, but said that
Lemaster's act of civil disobedience was her choice and it carries
consequences.<br />
<br />
"I do appreciate the efforts made ... it served as a vehicle to challenge the constitutionality of the law," she said.<br />
<br />
Gettleman said he plans to appeal the conviction.<br />
<br />
<div class="taglinejb">
<br /></div>
<div class="taglinejb">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Follow Sentinel reporter <b> Jessica M. Pasko</b> on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/jmpasko96">Twitter.com/jmpasko96</a></span></i></div>
</div>
</div>
Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-55321806290351931582012-12-05T19:26:00.000-08:002012-12-05T19:26:11.820-08:00Yes, I'm GUILTY of UNLAWFUL LODGING 647(e), Whatever THAT Means<div style="color: #134f5c; text-align: center;">
<i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Unlawful Lodging and Superior Court Instructions for Week-long Jury Trial about Lemaster's Lodging 647(e)Citation from PeaceCamp2010 </span></b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></i></div>
<div style="color: magenta; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Linda's Hearth</b> note:</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;">The following is text of language utilized in my trial, held November 2nd thru 9th, 2010. Exactly as hammered out in court, day after day, and authorized by Judge Rebecca Connolly. </span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b style="color: #134f5c;">Unauthorized Lodging</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">The defendant is charged in Count 1 with Unauthorized Lodging, in violation of Penal Code section 647(e). To prove that the defendant is guilty of a this crime the People must prove that</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">1. The defendant lodged in a public or private place; </span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"> AND </span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">2. The defendant did not have the permission of the owner or person entitled to the possession or in control of it.</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">To lodge means to occupy a place temporarily, or to permanently or temporarily settle or to live in a place. It may, but does not ahve to include, sleeping, the laying doiwn of bedding, the storing personal belongings, or carrying on cooking activities. Lodging means more than merely falling asleep, but less than moving in permanently. In determining whether the defendant lodged in a public or private place, the jury should consider the totality of the corcumstances on or about August 10, 2010.</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"># # # # end text # # # # </span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: purple; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">I brought this set of definitions from the Lodging 647(e) Trial to the Local American Civil Liberties Union's board meeting last week. </span></span></i></div>
<div style="color: purple; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: purple; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">For me, this is Step One: in a campaign. What campaign: Let's get rid of this unfair and unconstitutional state vagrancy law that should have been dumped in 1960 when the Supreme Court first ordered states to stop using "status crime" laws. And California's Legislature Hearings, headed by John Burton, dumped all EXCEPT 647(e). Who wants to help?</span></span></i></div>
<div style="color: purple; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Linda Ellen Lemaster </span></span></i></div>
<br />Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-7263542976146305902012-12-03T22:25:00.003-08:002012-12-03T22:35:16.884-08:00Before the guilty Lodger Learns Her Sentence ~ Vital Signs Vigil for the First Amendment<div style="color: blue;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a class="child" href="http://www.indybay.org/comment.php?top_id=18726953#TPL_LOCAL_NEWS_ITEM_ID"><b>Vital Signs Vigil for</b> </a></span></div>
<div style="color: blue;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">The First Amendment: </span></u></b></div>
<div style="color: blue;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-large;">rally before Lodging Sentence</span></i>
</div>
<div class="author-comment">
<br />
by Linda Ellen Lemaster</div>
<br />
<i>Mon Dec 3 22:12:48 2012</i>
<br />
<div class="article-comment">
</div>
<div class="article-comment">
<b style="color: lime;">Vital Signs Vigil for the First Amendment <br /> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * </b><br />
Join us in a rally on the Water Street side of the Courthouse, on the steps near <br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">O C C U D O M E P L A Z A </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="color: blue;">Occupy Justice </span></span><br />
<br />
2:30 to 3:15 pm Thursday, Dec 6th </div>
<div class="article-comment">
</div>
<div class="article-comment">
<a href="http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2012/11/26/june2012_032.jpg"><img alt="800_june2012_032.jpg original image ( 2448x3264)" height="400" src="http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2012/11/26/800_june2012_032.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2012/11/26/june2012_032.jpg"><b></b></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b> photo by Becky Johnson, June 2012</b></i></span><br />
<br />
<i>Then, those who care to, please join our "courtwatch" when the Judge
gives Lemaster her sentence for being ~~ </i></div>
<div class="article-comment">
</div>
<div class="article-comment">
<i><b>GUILTY</b> of Unlawful Lodging 647(e);
<br /> </i></div>
<div class="article-comment">
<i><b>GUILTY</b> for being at PeaceCamp2010 in the wee hours; </i></div>
<div class="article-comment">
</div>
<div class="article-comment">
<i><b>GUILTY</b> of
falling prey with others to a scheme by Sheriff Deputies to bust up the
homeless-friendly protest; <br /> </i></div>
<div class="article-comment">
<i><b>GUILTY</b> of unfashionable freedom of movement and concern for others -- 3:30 pm, Department #5. </i></div>
<div class="article-comment">
</div>
<div class="article-comment">
<i>(actually the sentence will pertain only to that first phrase, the rest are merely secondary consequences of our anti-First Amendment times)<br /><br />
If you're planning to submit a LETTER to the judge, suggestion is to
have it filed/datestamped asap (prior to Thursday) so it will find it's
way from Superior Court Clerks into the court files. (psst! keep a copy
to share) </i></div>
Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-2182476974331651542012-11-21T20:35:00.001-08:002012-11-21T20:35:14.545-08:00Vehicle Dwellers Must Be More United in Palo Alto<div style="color: #783f04;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span class="ecxstory_headline">Ban on car dwelling loses </span></b></span></i></div>
<div style="color: #783f04;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span class="ecxstory_headline">support in Palo Alto </span>
</b></span></i></div>
<div style="color: #b45f06;">
<br /><i style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="ecxstory_subhead">City Council committee recommends exploring a pilot program aimed at registering, helping vehicle dwellers</span></span></i><br />
</div>
<div class="ecxstory_byline" style="color: #b45f06;">
<br /></div>
<div class="ecxstory_byline" style="color: #b45f06;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>by <a href="http://paloaltoonline.com/staff/mailto.php?e=gsheyner" target="_blank">Gennady Sheyner</a></b>
<br />
Palo Alto Weekly Staff </span></i></div>
<div class="ecxstory_byline" style="color: #b45f06;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">http://paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=27654</span></i></div>
<div class="ecxstory_byline" style="color: #b45f06;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;">Palo Alto is preparing to abandon a deeply divisive
proposal to ban vehicle dwelling and to explore instead a program in
which businesses, churches and possibly city lots would provide space
for residents who live in their automobiles.</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
The City Council's Policy and Services Committee voted 3-1 on Tuesday
night, with Councilman Larry Klein dissenting, to recommend that the
council approve a six-month pilot program, which would include direct
assistance from the city to the homeless population and outreach to
churches, businesses, not-for-profit institutions and Stanford-based
organizations for participation. Those who sign up would host up to
three vehicles with dwellers on their lots.</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
The city's trial program would be modeled on the Homeless Car Camping
Program in Eugene, Ore., where registered vehicle dwellers use parking
spots at designated churches and businesses.</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
Vehicle dwelling emerged as a hot topic in Palo Alto more than two years
ago, with residents -- particularly around College Terrace and Ventura
neighborhoods -- complaining about homeless people camping out in their
cars. Some residents cited sanitation issues while many complained about
a man in College Terrace who they said owns about 10 vans and who
routinely moves them from one spot to another to avoid the city's
72-hour restriction on parked cars.</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
The council had initially proposed an ordinance banning vehicle
habitation, a prohibition that exists in every other neighboring
jurisdiction. Last year, after an outcry from homeless residents and
advocates, the city suspended the ordinance effort and began working
with a group of stakeholders, including homeless advocates and residents
in the impacted neighborhood, on a compromise. </span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
The pilot program that Palo Alto is exploring would be administered by
the Downtown Street Team, which provides jobs to the homeless. But it
gives the city a heavier role in assisting vehicle dwellers than prior
proposals. It involves, for the first time, exploration of city-owned
parking lots as possible hosting sites for vehicle dwellers -- an option
council members had rejected earlier. Former Councilman John Barton
urged this move and asked the committee not to do anything that
"criminalizes the poor."</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
"I think the city needs to get some skin in the game," Barton said. "If
you want to ask the churches and the nonprofits and the businesses to
step up, why isn't the city stepping up? I think the city needs to show
the way on how to help those who need temporary help."</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
So far, the city's outreach efforts have netted underwhelming results.
Despite a year and a half of discussions and outreach to 42 faith-based
organizations, only one church had agreed to participate in the proposed
program. Some have indicated that they need more time to reach a
decision on whether to participate, Planning Director Curtis Williams
said. Staff had determined that the city would need to have at least
three churches sign on for the program to be viable, he said.</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
"Several congregations expressed interest in doing something but there
were either questions about liability or insurance or a process through
their organization that was necessary to develop the consensus to
support something like that," Williams said. "That would take time."</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
About 30 people spoke at the meeting, with opinions all over the
spectrum. College Terrace and Venture residents complained about the
persistent problem of vehicle dwellers camping outside their homes.
Homeless advocates urged the city to target unruly and disruptive
behavior -- not the homeless population as a whole.</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
Trina Lovercheck, a former member of the city's Human Relations
Commission, was in the latter camp. She lamented the fact that the
commission wasn't involved in the process and urged staff to address the
problems with existing laws.</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
"I urge you not to criminalize everyone who's been living in their cars
because of a few bad apples," Lovercheck said. "I think we should be
able to use the current codes that are on the books to deal with
situations as they arise. I'd urge you to have the Police Department do
that."</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
Bruce Kenyon, a crossing guard who participated in the community working
group on the proposed ordinance, compared the behavior of the few
unruly vehicle dwellers to the child or two who insists on running
across the street despite Kenyon's admonitions.</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
"It's a human behavior problem and there's always going to be one or two
bad apples that we can't control," Kenyon said. "An ordinance isn't
going to change that."</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
But neighborhood residents urged the committee to act on what they said
was an urgent and long-neglected problem. Brent Barker, president of the
College Terrace Residents Association, asked the committee to support a
pilot program as soon as possible that would address the issue. Barker,
who participated in the working group, said he has seen the group's
feelings go from optimism into "disillusionment and disheartenment at
that we can't just get this thing off the ground fast." He urged
immediate intervention by the city.</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
"We need a couple of pilots and they need to be carefully set up and
monitored from the get-go so we can see them succeed," Barker said.</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
Tom Dittmar, who owns the office building at 944 Industrial Way, said
there were two motor homes in front of the building when he and his wife
bought it in June. Since then, they have found an adapter screwed into
the building's light socket, suggesting that the motor homes were
tapping into the building's power.</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
"I have been calling cops one to two times a week to get the motor homes
to move," Dittmar said. "They do move. But then they come right back."</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
The Police Department estimates that there are between 25 and 50 people
living in vehicles. Jonathan Brown, a Ventura resident, said between
five and 10 having been living in buses and vans near his neighborhood
park for months now. They cook their meals in the park and "take away
our sense of community," Brown said.</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
"The sense out there is that there are strangers in the park and that we won't be able to use the park," Brown said.</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
Councilmen Greg Schmid, Sid Espinosa and Councilwoman Karen Holman all
supported pursuing the six-month pilot program, which was proposed by
Schmid.</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
"Vehicle dwelling is an issue because it's people who are down on their
luck in our community," Schmid said. "It would be good if there was
something that could be done to help them in their situation."</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
Espinosa said the committee's agreement provides a good compromise
because it allows staff to fully explore the new pilot program and give
staff a chance to consider further action at a later date, if necessary.
But he also said he found it "disheartening to me that we haven't moved
further in the past year-plus in finding a solution."</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
Klein had another concern -- the program's cost.</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
"For the city to be involved in offering its parking places -- it's
going to end up costing us, and not just staff time," Klein said.</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
Klein said the city will have to deal with the same issues the churches
have been dealing with, but these would be "multiplied because we are a
government entity and we have a higher bar that we have to meet with
sanitation and public safety." The problem of vehicle dwelling, he said,
impacts a relatively small number of people.</span><br style="color: #b45f06;" />
<br style="color: #b45f06;" /><span style="color: #b45f06;">
"I just think there isn't great public enthusiasm and I think it goes
back to the fact that this isn't much of a problem," Klein said.</span>Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-45881154240843573692012-11-19T15:12:00.004-08:002012-11-19T15:12:39.320-08:00<div class="headers">
<div class="heading" style="color: #674ea7;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><strong class="heading">On Dreams of Sleep </strong></i></span></div>
<div class="heading" style="color: #674ea7;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><strong class="heading">and Linda Lemaster</strong></i></span></div>
<div class="heading" style="color: #351c75;">
<strong class="heading"> </strong></div>
<div class="author">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><i><b>by Steve Pleich</b></i>
</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Sunday Nov 18th, 2012 3:41 PM </em></span></div>
</div>
<blockquote class="summary" style="color: #674ea7;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><i>A Short Essay on Sleep</i></u></b></span></blockquote>
The Bard of Avon once mused “to sleep, to sleep,
perchance to dream” but in our community today that sweet dream of sleep
has been shattered and all but forsaken. With respect to the simple
and seemingly basic right to sleep, we have taken a step down the moral
evolutionary ladder to a place where privation is the new rule of the
day. And in a community that is so educated and so enlightened in so
many ways, this step downward is both bewildering and troublesome. <br /><br />
These thoughts came particularly to mind during the recent superior
court trial of long time homeless activist Linda Lemaster. It was my
hope that Linda’s passion and dedication to the right to a restful,
undisturbed night’s sleep might resonate with a jury of her peers. But
whatever small ray of understanding that may have shone in their eyes
was effectively extinguished by a judicial system that reflects the
narrowest of views and seems to recognize not at all that most basic of
human rights. And the result is that a courageous woman stands convicted
in a court of law. <br /><br /> So the question becomes: do our local
courts and the decisions they render accurately reflect the values and
views of our community with regard to the right to sleep? My dream is
that they do not. <br /><br /> Now there are many among us who will say in
light of the seemingly endless court cases that grew out of the Peace
Camp sleeping ban protests in the summer of 2010: “enough already”, or
“we get the point” or simply “let’s move on” and that would allow our
community to put this issue aside, if only for a moment’s time. However,
masking our collective inability to understand a most basic right, that
of sleep, does both our community and ourselves a disservice on both
moral and intellectual grounds. So what truly divides us so intractably
on this issue? <br /><br /> I think we might all agree that our moral sense
compels us to extend our hearts and hands to the less fortunate among us
and to, perhaps, allow them some latitude in their struggle to sustain
themselves day-to-day. Intellectually, it is difficult to dispute that
the quantity and quality of our sleep bears a direct and empirically
verifiable relationship to our ability to live productive and fulfilling
lives. Even the staunchest supporters of our city’s sleeping ban and
the harshest critics of our local sleep activists should not find fault
with that logic. On the other hand, it is easy for the advocates of the
right to sleep to point to the paucity of available options for our
houseless residents and say “of course they should be allowed to sleep
wherever they can find suitable shelter”. This fundamental disagreement
may render irreconcilable the intellectual argument. <br /><br /> So as we
reflect on the issue of “sleep” let us each look into ourselves and ask
“where is our moral compass of this issue”? And perhaps while we work to
create places to sleep for our unsheltered residents, we can find
places for them in our hearts as well.<br />
<br />
That, it seems to me, is a dream
worth sleeping about. <br />
<br />
<br />
<i><b style="color: #674ea7;">Linda's Hearth</b><span style="color: #674ea7;"> note:</span></i> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Thank you, Steve. Sleep is the Great Healer. That's what makes our civic and judicial attempts top regulate homeless people out of existence so sadistic, to me. We need many better solutions, but it will take both imagination and struggle. and I dont mean "taking sides" when I say struggle, regardless of anything some D.A. may have said about me in court. He never met me before. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He is fulla it!</span><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Meanwhile, I am basking in this essay as a caring and tender tribute, and ieologically, share it with Ed and Gary and nameless kazillions of folks who need "more sleep", whether homeless or otherwise oppressed.</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Because forced sleeplessness is torture, even according to the doctors, these days. We need bridges to cross the chasm of bigotry, both ways hating doesn't help.</span></i>Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-85303437997730224932012-11-17T12:23:00.000-08:002012-11-17T12:23:11.697-08:00Lemaster Lodging 647(e) Trial: newspaper review of closing<ul class="uiList fbFeedbackPosts -cx-PRIVATE-uiList__vert ">
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<i>Santa Cruz trial nears end for homeless activist facing charges at <abbr>PeaceCamp</abbr>2010 protest</i></h1>
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<i><b><a class="articleByline" href="mailto:jpasko@santacruzsentinel.com?subject=Santa%20Cruz%20Sentinel:"><span class="author vcard"><span class="fn"></span></span></a><div class="bylineaffiliation">
<a class="articleByline" href="mailto:jpasko@santacruzsentinel.com?subject=Santa%20Cruz%20Sentinel:"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By Jessica M. Pasko</span></a><a class="articleByline" href="mailto:jpasko@santacruzsentinel.com?subject=Santa%20Cruz%20Sentinel:"><span style="font-weight: normal;">, Santa Cruz Sentinel</span><span class="source-org vcard"></span></a></div>
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<div class="articleDate" id="articleDate">
<i><b>Posted:
11/08/2012 </b></i></div>
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<i>SANTA
CRUZ -- A Santa Cruz woman charged with illegal lodging during a 2010
protest testified Thursday that the night she was arrested, she was
taking care of a sick protester and never intended to sleep there.</i></div>
<br />
<i>Linda
Lemaster was one of several people arrested in connection with Peace
Camp 2010, a demonstration against the city's anti-camping law that
lasted about three months in which numerous people slept on the steps of
the Santa Cruz County Courthouse.</i><br />
<br />
<i>Lemaster, a homeless activist,
said she didn't actually sleep outside when she would go to visit those
participating in the demonstration. If she was unable to make it to her
home in the Santa Cruz Mountains, she said, she slept in her car.</i><br />
<br />
<i>On
the night of Aug. 10, 2010, however, she became very concerned about
the health of protester Christopher Doyon, whom she said was having
major lung problems.</i><br />
<br />
<i>"I was truly alarmed at how his lungs
sounded," she said, appearing nervous on the witness stand. "I could
tell he was becoming more alarmed about his condition, too."</i><br />
<br />
<i>She
said Doyon refused to go to the hospital and she felt there was no
choice but to watch over him for the night. Due to a ruptured disc in
her back, sitting for long periods of time is uncomfortable but she used
her jacket to prop herself up a bit as she sat by Doyon's side.</i><br />
<br />
<i>At one point, she said, a friend put a blanket over her. She was not actually sleeping when deputies arrived, she said.</i><br />
<br />
<i>In his closing arguments Thursday afternoon,
prosecutor Alex Byers rebutted Lemaster's contention that she wasn't
actually sleeping. He also argued that Lemaster was given a warning by
deputies and could have chosen to leave, but she did not. Deputies came
to the courthouse at 4 a.m. on Aug. 10, 2010, he said, then returned at
4:30 a.m. to hand out fliers informing the lodgers they were breaking
the law and could be cited. Lemaster chose not to leave, he said, and
she was cited. </i><br />
<br />
<i>Byers said county leaders and the Santa Cruz
County Sheriff's Office were very tolerant of the protest, waiting 34
days before they issued a single citation and giving numerous warnings.</i><br />
<br />
<i>"Everyone
here respects the right to protest and bring problems to light, but
that stops when you violate the law, and it stops when your rights
infringe upon the rights of others," Byers said, adding that many other
jurisdictions would not have been so patient.</i><br />
<br />
<i>He said the Peace Camp protest caused health and safety issues for the community, among other issues.</i><br />
<br />
<i>Showing
a photo depicting Lemaster outside the courthouse covered with a
blanket, Byers said it clearly depicts her in the act of illegal
lodging. </i><br />
<br />
<i>"We don't get to break the law because we don't like it
and as jurors, you get to hold people accountable who do," Byers said.
"If you agree that beyond a reasonable doubt she lodged in a public or
private place, and that she didn't have permission to do it, then your
verdict has to be guilty." </i><br />
<br />
<i>yers also said that unlawful lodging
doesn't have to require actual sleeping. It can be dozing, resting, etc.
Defense attorney Jonathan Gettleman will present his closing arguments
Friday morning. </i><br />
<br />
<i>Two other people, Gary Johnson and defense
attorney Ed Frey, were previously sentenced to six months in County Jail
for violating the illegal lodging law as part of the protest. </i><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Follow Sentinel reporter Jessica M. Pasko on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/jmpasko96">Twitter.com/jmpasko96</a></span></b></i></div>
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<i> <u><span style="color: magenta;">Note from <b>Linda's Hearth:</b></span></u></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Below, I've cut n pasted just a few comments from responses of Santa Cruz Sentinel readers, to share. With my responses following. I felt Jessica Pasko did a good job in her listening and reporting. <span style="color: magenta;">PS -</span> I've manage to lose the name of first poster noted here, trying to make the polka dots leave this page. Will try to correct soon. See this and other comments at Sentinel webpg</span></i></div>
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<i>Well,
if Mr. Doyon had not been there, you would not have been there, and if
you were not there, you would not be where you are now! </i></div>
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<i><a class="profileName" href="http://www.facebook.com/linda.ellen" target="_blank">Linda Ellen Lemaster</a><span class="fsm fwn fcg"> · <a class="uiLinkSubtle" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Feather-River-Canyon-Community-College/113631222008458" target="_blank"></a></span></i><div class="postContent fsm fwn fcg">
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<i>If
only you could've gotten a more honest picture of what was going on
then...Doyon was not the only person there who needed a hand or some
care. I wouldn't have had to be concerned about whether those folks
could stay alive and care for their families and critters if the
Deputies had been doing the job they claimed in court they were doing. I
would not have had to be paying attention to somebody else's lungs if
the Deputies had understood what they were responsible for that evening
or the several nights just before that. Am I supposed to now
feel shame or horror because TWICE I went thru PeaceCamp2010 late at
night, out of several dozens of visits prior to that ticket? I dare say now, <b>PC2010</b> was "messier" in the daytime generally, if
that's the real unmentionable crime! The D.A. was putting P2010 on
trial, not me nor my conduct nor behavior there. Yet I was not allowed
to <span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_hide"><span class="text_exposed_link"><a data-ft="{"tn":"e"}" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7089052514146318273">See More</a></span></span></i></div>
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<i><a class="postActor -cx-PRIVATE-uiImageBlockDeprecated__image -cx-PRIVATE-uiImageBlockDeprecated__mediumImage" href="http://www.facebook.com/realitycheck.santacruz" tabindex="-1" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="img" src="https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-ash4/370902_100002747417385_1168995655_q.jpg" /></a></i><div class="-cx-PRIVATE-uiImageBlockDeprecated__content">
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<i><a class="profileName" href="http://www.facebook.com/realitycheck.santacruz" target="_blank">RealityCheck SantaCruz</a><span class="fsm fwn fcg"> ·<a class="uiLinkSubtle" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Santa-Cruz-California/106277849402612" target="_blank"></a></span></i><div class="clearfix">
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<i>I
wasn't actually sleeping, I was just watching a friend. And another
friend put a blanket on me. And I can't sit for long periods of time
(unless it's in a courtroom, apparently). I never intended to stay
there. But when asked to leave, I said I wasn't going to. Aye.</i></div>
<i><a class="postActor -cx-PRIVATE-uiImageBlockDeprecated__image -cx-PRIVATE-uiImageBlockDeprecated__mediumImage" href="http://www.facebook.com/linda.ellen" tabindex="-1" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="img" src="https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-snc6/274283_1519546694_594170849_q.jpg" /></a></i><div class="-cx-PRIVATE-uiImageBlockDeprecated__content">
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<i><a class="profileName" href="http://www.facebook.com/linda.ellen" target="_blank">Linda Ellen Lemaster</a><span class="fsm fwn fcg"> ·<a class="uiLinkSubtle" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Feather-River-Canyon-Community-College/113631222008458" target="_blank"> </a></span></i><div class="postContent fsm fwn fcg">
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<i>Incorrect,
realityCheck! I said "yes" when the deputy actually asked me to leave.
I wasn't ever ignoring the officers, regardless what you heard or read,
and they acknowledged that detail on the stand. But because I attempted
to ask the Deputy two questions, because I wasn't hustling away in
fear, like the three dudes who'd left their bedding on the steps nearby
didm the actual facts didnt' matter incourt. So therefore, per this
jury's foreman, I *must* be guilty. But hey, I'm ok with this outcome.
What still concerns me is the broadness of this state's
status-drivenUnlawful Lodging law 647(e), and how it can be used to
terminate almost ANY behaviors, regardless of cause. The Judge's
refusal to allow any relevant legal information into the trial, yet
encouragment and promotion of the smearing PeaceCamp2010 created gaps in
having a coherent trial that I am not responsible for. Yes, I was
there. NONE of those 'bedding" pictured were mine. What we have left
seems to be: an important enough reason to be jailed, if it comes to
that. </i></div>
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Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-33349494462708038212012-11-17T11:21:00.000-08:002012-11-17T11:21:02.882-08:00Lodging 647(e): Daily Paper Reporting on Trial<h1 class="articleTitle entry-title" id="articleTitle">
Trial starting for Santa Cruz woman charged in 2010 Peace Camp demonstration</h1>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a class="articleByline" href="mailto:jpasko@santacruzsentinel.com?subject=Santa%20Cruz%20Sentinel:"><span class="author vcard"><span class="fn"></span></span></a><div class="bylineaffiliation">
<a class="articleByline" href="mailto:jpasko@santacruzsentinel.com?subject=Santa%20Cruz%20Sentinel:"><b>By Jessica M. Pasko</b></a><a class="articleByline" href="mailto:jpasko@santacruzsentinel.com?subject=Santa%20Cruz%20Sentinel:"><b>,</b> Santa Cruz Sentinel<span class="source-org vcard"></span></a></div>
</span></i></div>
<div class="articleDate" id="articleDate">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Posted:
11/05/2012 05:55:06 PM PST</span></i></div>
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SANTA
CRUZ -- Opening statements are expected to begin Tuesday for a woman
facing criminal charges in connection with a 2010 demonstration held in
protest of the camping ban in Santa Cruz.</div>
<br />
Linda Lemaster is
charged with misdemeanor illegal lodging for sleeping outside as part of
the so-called Peace Camp 2010 protest.<br />
The demonstration began
July 4, 2010, as a protest against a city law that makes it an
infraction to sleep outside in public spaces from 11 p.m. to 8:30 a.m.
The protest began on the steps of the Santa Cruz County Superior Court
before moving to Santa Cruz City Hall and ultimately ended on Oct. 2 of
that year.<br />
<br />
After issuing warnings to those sleeping at the
courthouse, sheriff's deputies cited sleeping people using a state law
that makes lodging outside a misdemeanor.<br />
<br />
Lemaster was among
several people arrested in the protest, along with defense attorney Ed
Frey and self-proclaimed homeless hacker Christopher Doyon. Frey was
sentenced in July to six months in jail on an illegal lodging conviction
stemming from the case. Another man, Gary Johnson, was sentenced last
year to six months in jail for illegal lodging. Johnson was convicted of
the same offense earlier this year after sleeping outside several times
in December as a protest against the law.<br />
<br />
Lemaster, a longtime advocate for the homeless, is projects facilitator for the Santa Cruz group Housing Now!<br />
<br />
Her attorney, Jonathan Che Gettleman, has argued that
the illegal lodging law was misused to put an end to the protest and
that it violated the constitutional right to assemble peacefully.<br />
<br />
Prosecutor Alex Byers was not immediately available for comment Monday.<br />
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<div class="taglinejb">
<i><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Follow Sentinel reporter Jessica M. Pasko on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/jmpasko96">Twitter.com/jmpasko96</a></span></b></i></div>
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Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-10365264548593749162012-11-06T01:13:00.002-08:002012-11-06T01:13:28.915-08:00Lemaster :Lodging 647(e) Trial: Day 2 Jury Selection<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"></span><i><b><br style="color: purple;" /><span style="color: purple;">Lodging 647(e) Trial Begin </span></b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: purple;">November 5th, 2010</span></span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: purple;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: purple;"><i><b><span style="font-size: small;">by Linda Ellen Lemaster (Defendant)</span></b></i> </span></span></div>
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Capitola,California</div>
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After midnight Nov 6, 2010</div>
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<i>Yesterday eighteen people were examined and grilled by Judge Rebecca Connolly, District Attorney Alex Byers, and one of my two attorneys, Jonathan Gettleman. Both Gettleman and Eric Nelson are working pro bono for me, and I need to encourage those folks who can, to consider helping to offset their expenses. There appeared to be at least fifty more folks who were required to stand by, and listen to every instruction and definition the ones in the jury box were given</i></div>
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<i>I got the ticket for "lodging" in August, 2010. My earlier blog entries describe some of the politics and activities that captured my attention that summer</i></div>
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<i>There was an addition of videos, I understand I'm in them, which the DA believes will help his part of bringing this trial toward justice, or at least proving I'm a criminal I dont understand why he gets to keep bringing in more stuff, another witness, movies I didn't know existed, after the Judge's deadline, but luckily I'm not the lawyers here. And, I have faioth in the two men who are. Nice feeling</i></div>
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<i>Today we were busy from 1:30 pm until about 4:20 pm. The Judge decided the rest of the week, proceedings will begin at 10 am, and close around 4 pm. It seems all the court people will be starting the argumenting part of the trial by this afternoon</i>?</div>
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Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-3527101321560783162012-11-04T11:41:00.002-08:002012-11-04T11:41:23.531-08:00GOOD NEWS: Salvation army's closing shelters rescued by Pajaro Rescue Mission and Teen Challenge Monterey <h1 class="articleTitle entry-title" id="articleTitle" style="color: #38761d; font-weight: normal;">
<b><i>Pajaro mission rescues Salvation Army shelters</i></b></h1>
<h1 class="articleTitle entry-title" id="articleTitle" style="color: #38761d; font-weight: normal;">
<b><i>plans would expand Watsonville homeless services</i></b></h1>
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<a class="articleByline" href="mailto:djones@santacruzsentinel.com?subject=Santa%20Cruz%20Sentinel:"><span class="author vcard"><span class="fn"><div class="bylinejb">
By Donna Jones</div>
</span></span></a><div class="bylineaffiliation">
<a class="articleByline" href="mailto:djones@santacruzsentinel.com?subject=Santa%20Cruz%20Sentinel:">Santa Cruz Sentinel<span class="source-org vcard"></span></a></div>
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Posted:
11/02/2012 08:09:22 PM PDT</div>
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Rows of bunk beds fill the men's quarters of the new homeless shelter in Watsonville that sits...</div>
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<li class="previous"><a href="http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/watsonville/ci_21918421/pajaro-mission-rescues-salvation-army-shelters-plans-would#" id="button_previous" style="visibility: visible;">«</a></li>
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WATSONVILLE
-- </div>
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Dozens of homeless men and women faced the prospect of a winter out
in the cold after the Salvation Army shuttered its downtown Watsonville
shelters in August.</div>
<br />
But after reaching a one-year agreement with
the Salvation Army, partners Teen Challenge Monterey Bay and the Pajaro
Rescue Mission plan to reopen the two Union Street facilities by Nov. 15
to offer shelter and a full range of social services.<br />
<br />
The organizations can't do it alone, however, and are counting on community support, said executive director Mike Borden.<br />
"We're
a faith-based organization, and we're moving forward on faith," Borden
said during a tour of the shelters Friday. "We believe the community
will step up."<br />
<br />
The shelters -- one for men and one for single
women and women with children -- will be modeled on the Pajaro Rescue
Mission, with a place to sleep and two meals a day just the start.
Borden plans to offer the recovery program, counseling, job training and
life-skill classes that have helped many Pajaro Rescue Mission
residents find sobriety and a pathway to a productive life.<br />
<br />
"The
bigger picture is to get them out of homelessness," he said. "We know
what is needed. We know how to do it, and we know how to do it
effectively."<br />
But the priority is to get the shelters up and
running to serve 60-70 people. Borden doesn't have much to work with
beyond the wall-to-wall metal bunk beds with bare mattresses. He's
looking for donations of new or
used sheets and blankets, preferably twin size, but larger sizes will
be accepted and tailored to fit.<br />
<br />
Towels, dishes, cups and the like also
are needed. Pajaro Rescue Mission also is launching a campaign
to raise $100,000 to fund the two shelters through the winter. Backers
say if 500 individuals, businesses, churches or civic groups donate $200
each, they'll meet the goal.<br />
<br />
The Salvation Army Golden State
Division announced it would close the shelters in June, saying it
couldn't sustain them financially. But the organization is supporting
the new endeavor, handing over the shelters at no charge other than the
cost of utilities and supplying a shower trailer to supplement restroom
facilities at the men's shelter.<br />
<br />
Harry Wiggins, chairman of the
Watsonville Salvation Army advisory board, said the organization also
will continue operating its soup kitchen in partnership with area
churches. It also is keeping open a third shelter that serves five to 10
women recovering from addiction, and will continue offering utility
bill assistance to the needy.<br />
<br />
"The Salvation Army is here and here for the long haul," Wiggins said.<br />
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="taglinejb">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Follow Sentinel reporter Donna Jones on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/DonnaJonesSCS">Twitter.com/DonnaJonesSCS</a></i></span></div>
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<u>______________________________________________ </u></div>
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<u><span style="color: lime;">* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * </span></u></div>
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<u><b>HOW TO HELP </b></u><i><u style="background-color: #274e13;"><b>Pajaro Rescue Mission<span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span></b></u></i></div>
<div class="infoboxtextboldcaps">
<span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"></span></span></span><br /><i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">WHAT:</span></b> Pajaro-based homeless shelter and recovery center expands to former Salvation Army shelters in downtown Watsonville<br /><b><span style="color: #38761d;"> </span></b></i></div>
<div class="infoboxtextboldcaps">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">NEEDS:</span></b> Donations of cash and new or used bedding, towels, dishes, cups, toiletries and household paper products<br /> </i></div>
<div class="infoboxtextboldcaps">
<i><b><span style="color: #38761d;">CONTACT:</span></b>
To discuss corporate or organizational giving, call Chuck Allen at
818-1069. For other donations, call 722-2074 or send checks to Pajaro
Rescue Mission, P.O.Box 1807, Watsonville, CA 95077</i></div>
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Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-91000188348531282912012-11-01T22:40:00.003-07:002012-11-01T22:40:35.207-07:00Santa Cruz Surfing Featured in Jay Moriarity Movie Memorial<h1 class="articleTitle entry-title" id="articleTitle" style="color: #351c75;">
<i>'Chasing Mavericks' assumes its place as Santa Cruz's signature Hollywood movie</i></h1>
<div class="articleByline" id="articleByline">
<a class="articleByline" href="mailto:wbaine@santacruzsentinel.com?subject=Santa%20Cruz%20Sentinel:"><span class="author vcard"><span class="fn"><div class="bylinejb">
By Wallace Baine</div>
</span></span></a><div class="bylineaffiliation">
<a class="articleByline" href="mailto:wbaine@santacruzsentinel.com?subject=Santa%20Cruz%20Sentinel:">Santa Cruz Sentinel<span class="source-org vcard"></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="articleDate" id="articleDate">
Posted:
10/25/2012 02:27 pm </div>
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The
star of <b>"Chasing Mavericks"</b> doesn't really get to do a lot until about
three quarters of the way through the movie. But when that times comes,
it ranks as one of the most commanding movie hijackings of the year.</div>
<br />
That
star, by the way, is right there in the film's title. It is indeed the
wave at Mavericks, the mythic — though not mythical — surf break near
Half Moon Bay that is the film's great white whale. The bulk of the
action amounts to one big build-up to that wave, still when it comes,
the majesty of it somehow exceeds the build-up.<br />
<br />
To anyone living
in Santa Cruz, of course, "Mavericks" is of intense interest. Shot in
and around Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay last fall, it is the story of
two individuals near and dear to the East Side surf community — the
talented young surfer Jay Moriarity and his older mentor Frosty Hesson. <br />
<br />
A
local, in fact, will have a great time seeing familiar places and
landscapes on the big screen — so much so that I would suggest Santa
Cruzans see the film twice, once for the hometown novelty — wow, does
Pleasure Pizza get a spotlight or what? — and a second time to get into
the flow of the story.<br />
Moriarity's story may be deeply familiar to
many Santa Cruzans. But for those not clued in, Jay was a Pleasure
Point kid with a preternatural instinct for surfing who died in 2001 in a
diving accident a day before turning 23. As a<br />
teenager, he became
entranced with the<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="articleEmbeddedViewerBox"><a border="0px" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7089052514146318273" id="gallery_link" target="_top"><img height="214" id="image" src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site6/2012/1024/20121024__sscs1025mavericks%7E1_VIEWER.JPG" style="visibility: visible;" width="320" /><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: x-small;"><i>Film Image is from Twentieth Century </i><i>Fox</i></span></a></span><br />
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break at Mavericks, which at the
time was considered something like the Bigfoot of surf breaks, widely
talked about but rarely seen. <br />
One of those who had seen
Mavericks in the early days was Frosty Hesson, young Jay's neighbor.
Moriarity, showing a moxie beyond his age, pestered Frosty to train him
to take on Mavericks. A skeptical Frosty eventually agreed, and the two
entered into an intense regimen that resulted in one of the grandest
stories in the history of Northern California surfing.<br />
<br />
Wide-eyed
Jonny Weston takes on the role of Jay with a kind of pure-hearted
intensity. He lives alone with his mother (Elisabeth Shue) who can't
seem to hold a job, or even get out of bed. In between lessons from
Frosty, he lurks around a local beauty named Kim (Leven Rambin) and
tries to avoid the neighborhood toughs.<br />
<br />
For his part, Frosty
(Gerard Butler) shares his life with his radiant young wife Brenda (a
radiant Abigail Spencer) while tracking the break at Mavericks with his
three friends (real-life Santa Cruz surfers Zach Wormhoudt, Peter Mel
and Greg Long).<br />
<br />
Screenwriter Kario Salem steered away from
portraying the complexities of the Santa Cruz surf scene and instead
chose to focus on more basic story elements, often to the detriment of
the film. The drug-dealing bad guys come off as mere foils to prove
Jay's goodness and sometimes seem like they slipped out of a "Little
Rascals" short. And throughout Frosty is haunted, though we never really
learn by what and the dynamic he has with his wife feels like something
we've seen before.<br />
<br />
However, director Curtis Hanson — who was
replaced by Michael Apted in the middle of the shoot for health reasons —
creates a distinct vibe of the Santa Cruz surfer that feels real to
life. Gone are the Spicoli stereotypes as well as the cheesy "Lost Boys"
theatrics. In its place are working-class people living messy lives who
are nevertheless seduced by the lure of the ocean.<br />
<br />
Even if you
are less than enamored with the "Karate Kid"-style storytelling, the
film really achieves a white-knuckles intensity when Jay has "graduated"
to take on Mavericks. I've seen dozens of surf films, but rarely have I
seen surf footage rendered as breathtaking as it is here. Hanson's
camera seems to focus less on the surfer's prowess and more on the power
of the ocean and the grace of the wave. Moriarity's famous Mavericks
wipeout, still talked about today, serves as the film's dramatic center
and the film portrays it magnificently.<br />
<br />
"Chasing Mavericks" isn't
likely to be Oscar material. But it is certainly something that Santa
Cruz can be proud of, an earnest and heartfelt portrait of one special
kid who embodied the courage and respect with which all serious big-wave
surfers approach their craft. May it forever supplant "The Lost Boys"
as Santa Cruz's greatest cinematic moment.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>{
*** PG (for adult themes and perilous action); Directed by Curtis
Hanson and Michael Apted; Starring Gerard Butler, Jonny Weston,
Elisabeth Shue, Leven Rambin; Riverfront Twin, Aptos Cinema, Scotts
Valley Cinemas}</i></span></div>
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Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089052514146318273.post-13312484377402913942012-11-01T20:49:00.002-07:002012-11-01T20:49:25.361-07:00BLACK MESA 2012: Ohlone Elder Corinna Gould Speaking on November 9 at RCNV<div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b><a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/122231607931455/"></a></b></i></span><br />
<div class="mbs fbEventHeadline fsxl fwb fcb" itemprop="summary">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b><a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/122231607931455/">Black Mesa benefit 2012: Anti-colonial struggle from California to Arizona</a></b></i></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b><a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/122231607931455/">
</a></b></i></span><br />
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<span class="fbEventPrivacy" data-hover="tooltip" id="ur24t2m3" tabindex="0">A Public Event</span> · <span class="fsm fwn fcg"> </span></div>
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<span class="fsm fwn fcg">By <a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100002256939374" href="http://www.facebook.com/protectmotherearth">Santa Cruz Indigenous Solidarity</a></span></div>
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<span class="fsl"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/calendar/2012/November/9" rel="dialog" role="button">Friday, November 9, 2012</a></span></div>
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<span class="lfloat fsl fcg"><span class="fcb">6:30pm</span> until <span class="fcb">10:00pm</span></span></div>
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<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">SPEAKERS:</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">* Kat Keediniihii (Diné) *</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">Growing up at Big Mountain, Kat was raised with Diné traditions by her
family in the midst of a struggle for cultural survival. She is
currently living in Salinas with her four sons and is known as a humble,
hard-working woman who is always there for the people.</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl"><br /></span></span>
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">* Corrina Gould (Chochenyo/Karkin Ohlone) *</span></span><br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">Corrina Gould is a community organizer and educator in Oakland who
works every day to honor her ancestors. For over a decade she has been
on the front lines of Ohlone efforts to protect sacred sites.</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl"><br /></span></span>
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">MUSIC:</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">Speakers will be followed by a set of acoustic music by local artists: </span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">Pale Robin, Gembrokers, Scott Ferreter and secret guests!</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl"><a href="http://palerobin.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>palerobin.bandcamp.com/</a></span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl"><a href="http://thegembrokers.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://thegembrokers.com/</a></span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl"><br /></span></span>
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">ALSO:</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">* Black Mesa Support Slideshow</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">* Desserts and food</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl"><br /></span></span>
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">Admission is $5-20, no one turned away.</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">This is a benefit for Black Mesa families resisting relocation.</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl"><br /></span></span>
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl"><i style="color: magenta;">“Our life is our religion, and our religion is the land.”</i></span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">Thomas Katenay, Diné</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl"><br /></span></span>
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl"><i style="color: magenta;">“What I say about this development that happens all over the Bay Area,
is that it’s a cultural genocide.</i><span style="color: magenta;"> They’re trying to wipe us out, in a
different kind of a way.”</span></span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">Corrina Gould, Ohlone </span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl"><br /></span></span>
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl"><b>BACKGROUND:</b></span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">In Northeastern Arizona, traditional Diné (Navajo) elders and families
at Black Mesa are continuing a decades-long resistance to coal
strip-mining and forced relocation from their sacred ancestral lands.</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl"><br /></span></span>
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">In the Monterey and SF Bay Areas, Ohlone people continue to fight for
cultural survival and the protection of their sacred places and burial
grounds. “Un-recognized” by the federal government, the Ohlones have no
land-base and live day to day within a settler society that is largely
ignorant of their continued existence.</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl"><br /></span></span>
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">Event details:</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">Friday, November 9th</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">6:30pm-10:00pm</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">@ the Resource Center for Nonviolence</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">612 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz, CA</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl"><br /></span></span>
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl"><i><b>BLACK MESA INDIGENOUS SUPPORT, </b>SANTA CRUZ</i></span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl"> sheepandsagebrush@gmail.co<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>m</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl">831-708-8199</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><span class="fsl"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fblackmesais.org%2F&h=7AQFTE0CR&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://blackmesais.org/</a></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Resource-Center-for-Nonviolence/124692267560621">Resource Center for Nonviolence</a></div>
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<span class="visible"><span class="fsm fwn fcg">612 Ocean Street</span>, <span class="fsm fwn fcg">Santa Cruz, California 95060</span></span></div>
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Linda's Hearthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00404971799624206082noreply@blogger.com0