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The Valley Citizen
Fanciful Flycatchers: #18 in “Learn 100 Common Valley Birds” (Species 27 and 28/100)
An educator and naturalist, Jim Gain is also a superb photographer. We’re proud to publish his series, “Learn 100 Common Valley Birds.” Here is post #18. Be sure to visit Reflections of the Natural World for more of Jim’s fine work. ed. Ash-throated Flycatcher: Species #...
Learn 100 Common Valley Birds #17: Colorful Spring Migrants
An educator and naturalist, Jim Gain is also a superb photographer. We’re proud to publish his series, “Learn 100 Common Valley Birds.” Here is post #17. Be sure to visit Reflections of the Natural World for more of Jim’s fine work. ed. Bullock’s Oriole – Species...
Homeless: It’s (not) the Drugs
It’s almost impossible to discuss homelessness without a chorus of loud and insistent voices shouting, “It’s the drugs!” While drug use is indeed common among homeless people, reliable data confirm it’s rarely the cause of homelessness. If drug use were the cause of homelessness, you...
Learn 100 Common Valley Birds #16: Common Valley Swallows
An educator and naturalist, Jim Gain is also a superb photographer. We’re proud to publish his series, “Learn 100 Common Valley Birds.” Here is post #16. Be sure to visit Reflections of the Natural World for more of Jim’s fine work. Once there, you’ll be rewarded with a couple of bonus birds for this post. ed.
Modesto Attorney Rips Local Authorities on Failures to Manage Homelessness
“The citizens of Modesto are infinitely weary of our seemingly intractable homeless problems and the apparent inability or unwillingness of our leaders to do much about it. The enormous amounts of money being thrown at homelessness have created interest groups who are seemingly more adept at grant writing than finding real solutions, and whose self-interest is inimical to those solutions.” David M Jamieson.
Homeless — where your money goes Part V: The high costs of extravagant cruelty
As California politicians declare their commitment to dealing with homelessness, they should also acknowledge that it originates in the state’s chronic shortage of housing that shows no signs of abating. Dan Walters, 23 January, 2023. According to Lauren Lowry, Director for Housing and Community Development at the National League...
Homeless: Where your money goes, Part III: The costly effects of good intentions
Despite the expenditure of billions of dollars, homelessness in California continues to burgeon. While every city and county throughout the state faces different challenges trying to manage the problem, there are enough similarities that all can learn from one another’s failures. Stanislaus County and the City of Modesto offer typical examples of tactics that have failed again and again. ed.
Homeless — Where your Money goes Part II: The Black Hole of Law Enforcement
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s pledge to dedicate $750 million of the state’s 2023-2024 budget to sweeps of homeless camps is only the latest example of the extravagant waste of taxpayer dollars on futile tactics aimed at reducing homelessness. In all, the new budget will devote $15.3 billion to homelessness, even though the state has already spent billions more, only to see a continual rise in numbers of people experiencing homelessness.
Homeless — where your money goes, Part I: The Black Hole of Rehab
No one should have been surprised when the Stanislaus County Civil Grand Jury found that local attempts to manage homelessness lacked focus, accountability, and positive results, despite the expenditure of millions of dollars. Like efforts to reduce homelessness most everywhere, Stanislaus County’s bewildering array of nonprofits, government agencies, and volunteer efforts fails for many reasons, but among the most common is the mistaken notion that rehabilitation should be the first option for people experiencing homelessness.
Riding the “S”: On the Bus with Tom Portwood
An icy wind buffeted mushrooming rainclouds in early January as two men sat in wheelchairs by a bus stop on Oakdale Road in Modesto, waiting for the 32 bus. It was running late, all the buses that afternoon likely slowed by the atmospheric river that had swept across the northern San Joaquin Valley that same day.
Is Modesto’s New Blue Can Worth the Trouble?
For Modesto residents, the New Year is already more troublesome and more expensive, and it’s only just begun. The new one percent sales tax increase and higher garbage collection rates are bad enough. Then there’s the new recycling program and its complicated disposal system. As the city’s website...
Audubon Bird Count: An Umbrella for All
When the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1987, its primary purpose was to protect winter habitat of the then-endangered Aleutian cackling goose. Since that time, the refuge has provided an “umbrella effect” for over 200 species of birds, ranging in size from the tiny Bushtit, which weighs in at less than an ounce, to Tundra Swans, which average around twenty pounds and fly over 4,000 miles from Arctic breeding grounds to their California winter habitat.
Overdoses at the Recovery Center? Yes
On December 8, we asked Stanislaus County CEO Jody Hayes whether rumors about fentanyl overdoses at the Stanislaus Recovery Center (SRC) were true. SRC is the county facility for treatment of drug addiction and mental illness. We also asked how many residents had been evicted from Stanislaus County’s low barrier...
Homeless: The Saints Who Walk among Us
Those who frequent the streets, alleys, parks and hideaways of the homeless often encounter humble missionaries of hope and charity. These are the people who feed, clothe and comfort the lost and forlorn on an endless mission of hope and charity. Almost always, they are people of modest means who embody the true spirit of Christmas all year long in humble acts of ministering to the poor. Many are faith-based, others are not. The one thing they have in common is their mission of hope and their comprehension of the true nature of grace.
Homeless: Overdoses at the Recovery Center?
Rumors among homeless people are like rumors anywhere else — as often unfounded or overblown as not. Nonetheless, persistent rumors that drug use and overdoses have occurred with increasing frequency at the Stanislaus Recovery Center (SRC) in Ceres seemed worth an inquiry, so on December 8 we asked about them via an email to Stanislaus County CEO Jody Hayes and Supervisor Mani Grewal. As yet, we’ve had no answers. SRC serves residents of Stanislaus County.
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