Story Archives 2001

pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/448/photo_3_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Joseph Bolden/p pIEditor’s Note: For the last three months, The San Francisco Examiner has been running a series on its front page entitled /ibThe Mess on Market Street/bI –referring to the Mid-Market neighborhood of San Francisco. The series is part of a well-crafted propaganda campaign in support of the upcoming gentrification sweep- New York Style -that the Mid-Market Redevelopment Project Area Committee is planning. The sweep is modeled after the newest embodiment of economic and racial cleansing in the U.S.: The Business Improvement Districts (B.I.D.s). The BIDs were established over the last ten years by a collective of corporate and private business interests whose main aim is to “sweep” panhandlers, vendors, artists, street newspaper vendors and other micro-businesses owners out of downtown business districts across the U.S., bypassing the police departments and hiring private security firms to “patrol” these districts./i/p pLast week the Examiner series took on a more dangerous slant - an alleged attack on a white female police officer was covered by a front-page full color photo in the Examiner with no actual accompanying story. This development caused us at POOR, many of us being folks who reside in the Tenderloin/Mid-Market district, to launch the second part of our series bThe Myth on Market Street, Pt 2: Inside the So-Called Mess/b, with contributing writers who actually live in the supposed "mess-zone," i.e. poor folks, folks of color and homeless folks who eat, write, walk and survive in this supposed "danger zone, where yes, there are people hanging out, yelling, swearing, selling drugs and god forbid, sleeping, but our point is that those activities are part of living in a modern urban environment that includes ball/b people "/p pbWednesday, August 15, 2001/b/p pbBefore 7 pm:/b An odd, strange, horrible, incident occurred. All I know is that somebody hit a cop and the cops went nuts. Or someone hit a lady, then hit a cop, and the cops went nuts. Someone hit a female cop. Her partner beat the suspect right there on the street. All I know is... it looked like a lotta cops went nuts. /pp I can’t get into my home because the police have blocked off the sidewalk. I turn around and begin walking to the bus stop island to catch a bus, hoping I'll be able to bypass the cop-flooded area and get home. Unfortunately, I forget to get off the bus and accidentally ride beyond my apartment building./p pbThursday, Aug. 16, 2001/b/p pb 9:35 am:/b After Wednesday's downed-cop excitement, complete with swarming, pissed-off cops, Thursday has an artificial calm, almost brittle, feel to it. br /You know, like the cinematic or televised mood when a character says, “It's quiet... too quiet.” /p pThat’s the effect the cops had on Market Street after they chose to overrun the area, even though they had already found and helped their hurt and bleeding fellow officer, placing the suspect in the police van./p pI hear the words, “Black men are 'fuckin ignorant. You buy your own 'fuckin pack, shit stinking ass mother fucker. Sicka' yo' buggin' people for fuckin' cigarettes." br /This is at Jones and McAllister, just before crossing onto Sixth Street. /pp b 5:40 pm:/b Forty people gather loosely on the street, 12 near my building.br / b7:30 pm:/b /p pI'm on my way to the main library's video's box return. /p pI see another cop car and 3 other cops. I don’t know what happened...the presence of John Phillip Souza or other waltze music in the background of the Renoir Hotel. /pp b7:56 pm:/b /p pI buy beef chow mein at a restaurant offering Chinese and Japanese cuisine- yeah, good stuff.That's at the corner of 7th and Market Streets. /p pbFriday, Aug. 17, 2001./b/p pb9:03 am:/b I meet a new neighbor. He has not been in his apartment for months, though he's paid up until December.He's traveled to Washington and back./p pbEarly Monday, Aug. 20, 2001/b/p pb6:02 am:/b One person with bags of crack whispers as I walk by, “Nickel and dime.” /p pAs I pass I say, “Quarters and dollars.” The guy says, “I’m talkin' crack.” /p pI must have pissed him off — with my peripheral vision, I see him walking behind me. I don’t respond and knock on the glass doors of my apartment and get buzzed in, greeting the man at the front desk. /p pI check my mailbox with my key—nothing but space inside./p pbTuesday, Aug. 21, 2001 8:37am./b 3 familiar faces walk on Market St., some tourists taking in the sites from both sides and across the street./p p4:45pm. There's police cars-2 of 'em lined up side by side across the street on Market. Right across from the International Art School of San Francisco and United Nations Plaza.I think that they(police)are protecting either students or tourists-more like tourists as a crowd of tourists cross the street./p pI'm just observing heading to my own destination. /ppb5:02 pm/b. 17 people on the street regular street folks, young men, women, and children./p pb5:10pm/b. Too many people to count, lots of tourists, young white adolescent children on Mission and Turk St.A young white girl hits her head with a piece of cardboard 3 times while yelling "Watch This."/p pI pass her by because that's not entertainment to me.I'm thinking 'Lot's of self hatred but not entertainment./p pb5:58 pm/b.The Go Go's are playing at the Warfield (Concert Complex). /p pI figure they're mature, more experienced, louder, and more pissed off or... mellower. /p pMellow or po'd I'm not gonna pay for any of it.br / I count 15 to 18 people on Market St. /p pbWednesday, Aug. 22, 2001,/b Outside my apartment 13-15 people straggling around and assorted tourists as usual./p pb 8:37 am. 11:45 am. [When off-work I sleep in late]/b /p pMore people than I can count on the street, a mingling of dealers, hustlers, street people, and tourists./p pOne police car that I can see, 5 cops, a black male suspect handcuffed, people watching./p pThis is on 7th. right across the street or corner of 6th. st. It's funny, things are happening all over 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, Union Square, Folsom, and Haight Ashbury but the police concentration is on 6th. st./p pI don't know if its because the financial district is a few walks away on Market St. or that working poor, middle class, rich, and homeless folks mingle./p pOr is it that new fast, vast amounts of money can be made by forcing both long time native and immigrant residents away from what is now deemed valuable real estate for development?/p p Though a solid, physical wall may not be feasiblebr / an economic or mental one will be placed there. /p pPeople go where they feel comfortable.br / Because many of us do feel we don't belong or do not have the means, don’t look like we belong or fit in. /p pIt’s why once in a while I'll go into an expensive restaurant or café just for the hell of it to eat there. /ppI might not order the most expensive foods but I’ll order something to eat and if people see me from outside or inside entering the establishment they may automatically assume I have money – which is good 'cause when I pay my money, it feels great. /p pIts very disconcerting for some patrons or owner/managers seeing someone looking like they have no money, dressed like he/she has none, actually paying there bill /p pWhen my bill is paid tipping for me is a rarity. After being as quiet and courteous as possible. It makes those patrons looking on, whispering about me look like foolish prigs instead of enjoying their own well prepared meals.br / I enjoy my food, then I leave. /p pNow the people inside either rethink their first impressions or go back to their same thoughts. /p pI don’t really care. All I know is they saw me go inside, order, wait patiently, eat my meal, and pay for it. /p pI did not disrupt anything or anyone elses meal, stopping to watch me eat is their problem not mine, in fact, they are disrupting my leisurely outing, my meal, my time, my gastronomic exercise.br / ./p pbThursday, Aug. 23, 2001, 6 am./b I seebr / exactly 2 people, one is walking behind me, the other walking towards me.It’s dark out, a light mist lands on my forehead./p pbFriday, Aug. 24, 2001, 8:26 am./b /p pIts misty outside, no sun, light gray clouds provide the only light.br / Market Street is quiet./p pb pWedneday, Aug. 29, 2001/p p7:50 AM:/p/b Not as boringly cheery and sunny as yesterday, but gray with a slight breeze - no clouds, an empty listless dull sky. /p pFive regular street folk, including me, plus a police car, its flashing lights stopping a red truck across the street near the Market Street Cinema./p pSomeone feeding flapping pigeons, making them fly everywhere to peck for free food. Always have headgear on or at the ready because they’re always flying, perching, preening and dropping green-white droppings where ever they go. /p pb12:05 PM:/b Tourists, streets folks mingle all along Market St. To separate out the regulars from everyone else is impossible, especially when the U. N. P. United Nations Plaza) Produce Market merchants are selling their wares to anyone with the scratch to buy. /p pAs I walk from Jones and Mc Allister, the whole of Market St. is awash in humanity casually strolling, fast walking, or some stumbling by the best way they can./p pb6:38 PM:/b Breezy, a light drizzle gray as my mood matching cloudless, washed-out looking skies. 25 or more street folks and a few tourists along the way to the Produce Market at the United Nations Plaza./p pThey begin to dismantle their ugly, bland, uniform white tents. Give some ware away, close up their shops and finally drive or walk away./p pbThursday, Aug. 30, 2001/b/p p7:44 AM: Picked up a Central City Newspaper (Ten Years That Shook The ‘Loin). It has eyes, faces with words. "The Fringe" on the front page. 10 or 14 people street folks and tourists scattered about, though most of the street is empty. It’s chilly outside, the sky is overcast again with bits of drizzle –see, sometimes I don’t know if it’s rain or bird droppings ‘cause they feel the same. They don’t smell the same after an hour./p pIn summer, if there are bits of frozen sprinkles falling on you, it’s probably not summer snow or frost but tiny green-white bird drops./p pb8:45 AM:/b on Market St. I see a bro’ on the street. Either he is high from being stoned, or drunk, maybe a hidden medical condition. Two friends to help him up because he couldn’t get up himself./p pb9:23 AM:/b Saw a police car at Jones and Mc Allister waiting, maybe stopping crime by just being there. /p pWhile walking down BART, saw a bit of Madonna’s "Drowned World Tour" from an HBO special on a wide screen monitor. Three energetic women painted in Japanese style makeup and costumes expertly swing chained nun chuck sticks near and around themselves, music blaring. Sexually explicit, sensual, full color close up a young pretty Asian girl gettingbr / "sexed up" by what looks like an oversized, anatomically correct human-looking demon -complete with horns growing out of his head./p pAnd I always thought of Japanese people with controlled, sensual, calm./p pVery interesting- an animated video, Madonna wearing a snug, skin caressing leather cowgirl outfit. But I have to get to work.br / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrongA PNN insider journey through San Francisco's shelters, social service agencies, andbr / government bureaucracies.br / /strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/450/photo_2_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Michael Lea Morgan, PNN shelter beat reporter./p pbSeries #1: Perspectives from the street/b /p pAs one of the shelter beat reporters for PNN I will be documenting my experiences on the street and in the shelters, with support services, as well as the day-to-day hassles of homeless and/or low-income life. /p pI became homeless, ironically, when some homeless people burned my house down in Los Banos. After working in the National Guard Armory shelter in San Jose, then moving to SF and volunteering at the Coalition on Homelessness, I began to devise ways I thought the homeless issue could be better dealt with. So I will not only be presenting eye-witness accounts of homeless people’s experiences, but will be suggesting possible reasons why the system is set up the way it is as well as solutions which could be initiated./p pI am a pretty strong person, but my experiences with the system of homeless service providers still affects me because of the nature of being homeless. But what about someone experiencing emotional pain, fear (behind losing a family, a house, etc) and anxiety (at being completely broke and homeless for the 1st time)? It is essential that the services being provided for people be as compassionate as they can be, due to the nature of the situation. In a rape crisis center, for example, you must have staff who are sensitive to the issues involved. But in the homeless services arena you have staff members who are obviously unsuited for their jobs. Even though homelessness is a crisis situation…../p pb pIt was raining OutSide/p/b/p p.. /pp It was raining and we were outside the Episcopal Sanctuary Shelter (EPS), waiting for the beds to be given out. They were supposed to read the numbers at 7:45 pm, but they were late, so we all stood out in the rain and waited. (When you stay at the Sanctuary, you are expected have it together to be out by 8 am or you get written up- why aren’t the people working inside the shelter required to get it together to read the numbers at the designated time? Although this incident happened months ago, they read the numbers at 8:20 last night also [3/19/01], so this is an on-going situation). When the woman finally came out, at 8:15, she was wasting time laughing and bullshitting and the crowd began to say things like, "Read the numbers. It's cold out here.” The woman responded by saying that if we kept up that racket she would give out the beds to whomever she wanted, and would cut out the trouble-makers. /p pNo one was being a trouble-maker. We were expressing a legitimate concern, one which I certainly shared./p pWhat adds to the frustration one feels when the staff acts like this is the fact that the Town Hall Meetings (held monthly at the Sanctuary purportedly for the purpose of allowing residents to report cases of staff misconduct as well as suggestions for improving services) are nothing but a smoke screen, seemingly just a set-up to let residents THINK they have been heard—to let off people's steam and deflate the potential for people to really go off and take constructive action. /p pAt one Town Hall Meeting I suggested that they at least have an awning for when it rains, so that people don't have to stand in the rain to get their numbers read (especially if they are going to read the numbers late, right?). They said that they did not have the money for that. I also suggested that they move the cold drink machine from its current location because people have to walk right in front of the TV to get to it. It could be placed at the back of the room. Lynn Armstrong, the director, said that the machine also produces a lot of heat and should be re-located outside of the room altogether. /p pTown Hall Meetings are an insult to my intelligence, and a waste of my time. If they are simply not going to take any of my suggestions seriously, then what is the purpose of the meeting? It gives people a sense of being disempowered because our input is, for the most part, disregarded when the shelter does not feel like implementing the suggestion. /p pIn 1996, when I first came to The City, I was at a Town Hall Meeting and they had someone there who took "minutes.” When I returned to the shelter in 1999, they had discontinued this practice, with the result that what they type up as having been said at the Town Hall meeting can be whatever they feel like typing up. I have come out of Town Hall meetings and later looked at the "minutes" posted several days later, noticing that half the stuff I brought up was not on the sheet. I guess they don't really want the whole shelter to be aware of what is being suggested by the residents./p pMy big question is: where is the homeless-run shelter in town? There are homeless-run groups, like POOR Magazine and the Day Labor Program, Food-not-Bombs, and Homes-Not-Jails. They all challenge the system in their own ways and not only offer valid critiques, but do real service. The shelters and funded homeless service providers are, for the most part, made up of non-homeless people. How are the homeless shut out of the system to such a total extent, when many of them are fully capable of running any agency or shelter in this town? What has happened there? Obviously no one at DHS, the Mayor’s Office on Homelessness, Hospitality House, Saint Anthony’s, Glide, etc. has deemed it possible to train homeless people to run their own shelters. But the homeless ARE capable of it. So, the conclusions I draw are:/p p1) Possibly the idea of training homeless people to take one’s job seems self-defeating.br /br / 2) No, it couldn’t be that. Okay, the non-homeless liberals who actually administrate don’t understand the homeless (and their capabilities).br /br / 3) No, that’s still not it (because if #1 and/or #2 are true, we have a problem on our hands, like what to do about it./p pSo, on to my great solution. (One time a smart-ass activist loudly and publicly said “So here’s Michael, the man with all the answers.” We are rude to one another because of . . . ?) What we need is for homeless people to begin getting together as kindred spirits to meet and brainstorm, to learn to relate to one another, to study design and implementation, and go out and design and implement as a specific group or collective of related groups. The existing structure is there and much of it is taking along just fine; this is an addition, a new kid on the block, not really a completely novel approach because collectives have been around forever, but something new at this time, in this place where I find myself. /p pAll responses, pro and con, are welcome; please contact me at: a href="mailto:ravencrow@eudoramail.com"ravencrow@eudoramail.com/a, or (415)430-2168, x9335./p pI Note from the editor: James Tracy from The Coalition on Homelessness has launched The Right to a Roof Project which is working on trying to get funding for a long-term housing project that is designed and run by homeless and formerly homeless Bay Area residents. As well, POOR Magazine ran a congregate house for very low and no income homeless single parents and their children with on-site literary and visual art workshops and community dinners. After one year they were unable to attain funding to continue operating and are still seeking support. /i/p p/p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrongDrug Testing, Darrell Russell and The Probowl “parole-like” policy/strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/452/photo_1_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby TJ Johnston/p pTo the casual (and possibly avid) sports fan, Oakland Raider Darrell Russell’s four-game suspension due to the National Football League’s drug policy appears to be deserved. This was his second offense, meaning a loss of $112,000 per week for No. 96 as well as being benched. Already in the program, the two-time All-Pro is reported to have submitted to over 200 drug tests./p pHowever, Russell’s sidelining wasn’t the result of a dirty urinalysis test: there was none to speak of./p pSpeaking on Russell’s behalf, agent Leigh Steinberg stated the NFL called him to take another test when Russell wasn’t home; his lack of a prompt response was construed as a “failure to comply,” which is the equivalent of testing positive. This detail, “an administrative transgression” in Steinberg’s words, was buried or otherwise omitted in most reports./p pLeague policy on drug use is as follows: any player with a positive UA of illicit or legal drugs enters into a three-stage program./p pIn Stage One, he undergoes a psychiatric evaluation and enters into a mandatory treatment contract. A three-week check fine is charged for failing to cooperate./p pStage Two is a series of UA’s, up to ten a month during a two-year period. A first positive means loss of four weeks’ pay, plus a suspension if he’s been previously fined. A second positive results in a four to six week suspension./p pAny player in Stage Three who tests “dirty” or doesn’t test is scrutinized for three years and could take up to 10 UA’s a month. Failure results in a minimum of one year’s exile./p pThis is worth repeating: not testing, in the eyes of the NFL, means testing positive. And apparently, not returning their calls in a timely fashion constitutes same./p pWhen I asked Raiders spokesperson Craig Long for an analog outside the sports realm, he gave a “no comment,” citing league policy. Not surprising given that the NFL is notoriously tight-lipped about disciplining players on drug issues. Russell intimated marijuana use for the previous action taken against him: he claimed to have tested on “second hand smoke.”/p pTeammate Charles Woodson, himself charged with a DUI, pithily likened policy enforcement to “being out on parole.” However one feels about athletes and their off-field peccadilloes, there might be “substance” to Woodson’s assessment./p pIs it just like parole? “Pretty close,” according to Naneen Karrasker, coordinator of the Criminal Justice Consortium. Karrasker describes a typical parole scenario in California: a parolee is assigned to a parole officer for a two-year period, meeting weekly or monthly./p pIn most cases, the parolee must remain in the “county of commitment” where he/she was originally sentenced. Under a PO’s supervision, a parolee might be subjected to UA’s. On a second or third positive, he/she would be sent back to prison and face an extended parole upon release. At the PO’s discretion, the parolee might enter treatment (however limited those options might be)./p pMost PO’s, Karrasker adds, are former prison guards. In the last 20 years, PO’s have carried sidearms. “They changed from being helpers to police.” She also cites that a major difference between Russell and a typical parolee would be the degree of stigmatization and disorientation upon release./p pA parolee could be in violation for associating with a known felon. Russell, on the other hand, could hang with Baltimore Raven Ray Lewis without a black mark against him./p pWe’ve all heard the joke, “You can’t spell FELON without NFL.” But even felons are entitled their day in court. Presumption of innocence until proof of guilt is a cornerstone of due process. Due process is also the grease that keeps workplace justice running. By sanctioning Russell for failing a drug test sans sample, the NFL showed they got that principle ass-backward. The appropriate time would have been when they found something in the cup Russell filled. I assume even a UA done by a parole agent is conducted on this presumption. /p pFor all the privilege afforded him, Russell is still entitled a chance to answer the NFL’s charges, as anyone else in peril of losing their livelihood when brought on a substance claim./p pDue process appears to be absent in Russell’s case. Wouldn’t taking 200 UA’s already cut Russell some slack? I guess not. Is returning the Pee Police’s call a little late just cause for a mandatory leave of absence? Judging on play review, it is. Somebody missed that call. /p p/p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrong pbLow Levels of Radiationbr / in metals to be reused inbr / domestic products./b/p pbOxymoron, Darwin Awardbr / Winning Logic In Action./b/p/strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Joe. B./p pHi. Joe, No time, to explainbr / why this is not a column, but what's here... is Abr / br /potentialy Deadly Serious Matter for all. /p pReader Beware, and spread the word./p p Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 21:48:45 -0700br / br /To: a href="mailto:ampb@california.com"ampb@california.com/abr / Subject: radioactive metals? /p pDear Readers,br / I would like to alert you to something that affects us all verybr / seriously. br /bThe U.S. Department of Energy is planning on taking scrapbr / metals contaminated with "low level" radiation and recycling them into thebr / commercial metal stream. This metal would then be incorporated intobr / everyday household and personal metal products./b For more information onbr / this, go to the following website: /p p b http://www.em.doe.gov/smpeis/index.html/b /p p For your own health and the health of future generations, please take thebr / time to email the D.O.E. and tell them to stop this dangerous plan. bTherebr / is no such thing as a "safe dose" of radiation.br / /b If this radioactive metalbr / gets thrown onto the scrap pile, the consequences will be very serious! /p p Please pass this message on to anyone who cares about health andbr / environmental issues.br / bThe deadline for comments is September 10./b Feelbr / free to use the sample letter below or use your own words. The emailbr / address is:br / /p p a href="mailto:Metals.Disposition.PEIS@em.doe.gov"Metals.Disposition.PEIS@em.doe.gov/a /p pbr /b The fax number is (301) 903-9770 /b/p p Kenneth Picha, Jr.br / br / Office of Technicalbr / br /Program Integrationbr / EM-22, /p p Attn: Metals Disposition PEISbr / br /Office of Environmental Managementbr / US Dept. of Energybr / 1000 Independence Ave. SWbr / Washington, DC 20585-0113 /p p Dear Mr. Picha,br / I am writing you to express my concern over the DOE plans to recyclebr / br / metal contaminated with low level radiation into the commercial metalbr / stream. /pp This material should not even be transported. br /The idea of mixingbr / it in with all the other scrap metal is horrible. /p pThe radioactivity wouldbr / just spread and contaminate the whole world. /ppThis plan should be verybr / carefully reconsidered and all citizens should be given a reasonable lengthbr / of time to comment on it. /ppbAs it is, the comment period ends on Septemberbr / 10 and hardly anyone has even heard of the plan outside of DOE./b /ppThebr / consequences of your actions could possibly poison every person on thebr / planet, so please use your authority and power to do the right thing. /ppIbr / think at the very least the scope of the Environmental Impact Statementbr / should include all volumetric and surface contaminated metals and allbr / materials from DOE facilities. /ppThe health effects of exposure to thisbr / material should be studied for a long time before any hasty action isbr / taken. /p p br / Sincerely, /p p Paul Griffin /p p from the Association of Micro-Power Broadcastersbr / PMB 22br / br /2018 Shattuck Ave. /p p Berkeley, CA 94704br / br /(510) 848-1455 /p pa href="mailto:ampb@california.com"ampb@california.com/a /p p If you feel you have received this email by mistake, or would like to bebr / br /off the list, simply reply with the word "remove" in the subject area. Webr / don't mean to be a bother! /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrong pbThis is no column butbr / one of many small memorials./b /p pbAn Earthly Starbr / Falls Upwards To Heaven./b /p/strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Joe. B/p pA Cessna 402 plane crashed after take offbr /br / killing 8 persons.br / br /Monday, Aug. 27, 2001, on Tv then radio I hear it again.br / born Aaliyah, Haughton, on January 16, 1979 in Brooklyn, New York.br / br /A beautiful, talented, intelligent young woman Aaliyah, in Swahili meansbr / br /Highest, Most Exalted One.br / br /A unique, soul returns to Allah. /p pHer family moved to Detroit when she was five years old.br / br /After singing in her church as a youngster, she began performing br /at the age of 11 with Gladys Knight, whose ex-husband Barry Hankerson, was her uncle, in Las Vegas. /p pAt 15 her first Album goes platium. /p pbr /Ms. Aaliyah achieved more than most at such a young age though shebr /didn’t have much time to enjoy yetbr / she did reflect on her life’s journey. /p pI believe souls such br /as her do return, it seems her work was just br /beginning maybe she went because br /she had learned, done so much.br / br /For her and all the lost lives in the air crash. /ppQuick Journey Home but please return if thebr / Eternal wills all of you tobr / return.br / br /Life again for other lessons there is no time to learn.b Aaliyah may have been anbr / old soul full of wisdom./bbr / She has already had an indelible impact on br /her generation and some coming after./p pThe other passengers killed in the crash were Scott Gallin, 41; Keith Wallace, 49, of Los Angeles; Douglas Kratz, 28, a representative for Virgin Records and Eric Foreman, 29, bothbr / of Hollywood, California; Gina Smith, 29, of New Jersey; and Christopher Maldonado, 32, of New York. The pilot, identified only as L. Marael,br / was also killed, and Anthony Dodd, 34, of Los Angeles, died in the hospital on Sunday. /p pYoung, Gifted, And Black, a multi-talented singer/actress, and dancer./p p Taken by faulty engines or too much equipment.br / br /our world is a little dimmer now./p pAgain Unique, yes at the young age of 22 heading toward superstardom. /p pI believe she made it...br / br /Death claimed her but not before she made her mark the world./p pFor Ms. A. Haughton’s familily, friends, fans may her life be anbr / example of excellence, and a positive guiding beacon to all./p pSome information came from ABCNews./p pJoe. B.br / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrongPt 2. You Have No Choice!/strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/450/photo_2_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Michael Lea Morgan, PNN shelter beat reporter./p pThe Personal Assisted Employment Services (Single Adult welfare) claims to provide access to the tools of society to homeless and/or low-income people. But my Employment Specialist screamed at me the other day and said, “You have no choice. You have no choice,” when I told her I was going to seek a second opinion in regards to an action she proposed that I take. So, we always improve upon a system. /p pThe homeless have to have a group that controls its own improvements as much as possible . We must simply create it out of an idea. Get a meeting place. Meet. See what happens. I propose we meet at the Main Library (since many of us live there anyway). Or, we could meet at several places, like Martin de Porris or POOR Magazine. I’ve already brainstormed with many divergent groups of homeless people . In Palo Alto, in Berkeley, and in Redwood City. And, of course, good old activist capital of the world, SF of A!!!! /p pMany great activists all over the world have brain-stormed, done projects, written papers, changed their environment and we can draw on all of these. Then, we take our vast array of information and experiences and figure out some reasonable approaches to gaining access to funding, buildings, and equipment to start some of our own projects. My goal is to start shelters, homeless support agencies, businesses, farms, and collectives, down the road, when history is ready (“history” may have been “ready” for a long time through)./p pFor now, we can meet and brainstorm, learn to relate to one another, study design and implementation, and go out and design and implement as a specific group or collective of related groups. The existing structure is there and much of it is just fine; this is an addition, a new kid on t block, not really a completely new approach because collectives have been around forever, but something new at this time, in this place when I find myself. This, however, is not an SF issue; it is a global issue. So, think globally/act locally. Organize./p pOur idea, according to Kleppner's Advertising Procedure, is in the “pioneering” stage. The pioneering stage of an idea or product is when “ . . . the need for such product is not recognized and must be established or in which the need has been established but the success of a commodity in filling those requirements has to be established. /p pFeedback: Ideas don't flow in one direction. A person comes up with a new idea and spits it out into the world. Ideas come up and change our perception of the world, so we see more, resulting in our ideas changing, resulting in our creating a different world, seeing more, learning from the new world, changing our ideas, and so on. /p pBut, it requires a person's willingness to break through to new perceptions, to act on them, and to continue the eternal process of birth, growth, decay, and rejuvenation. When a person or group refuses to see new perceptions, that stage of the process becomes interesting. It is at this stage that someone or some group has to become the voice of the new, the one who decides to break with the rules, regulations and laws established by the old guard. Who has the right of passage? Who decides what is right? Who decides upon whom rights are showered?/p pThe Constitution of the Unites States and the Bill of Rights are documents very few Americans have studied let alone read. Yet they are supposed to be the basis for America's entire point-of-view—the rules by which Americans are supposed to live and manage their country. Yet who is reading them, studying them, teaching them? /p pIn high school I was not asked to read them; we read Great Expectations, perhaps a few quotes from The Dec and The Bill, a few quotes from Lincoln, a sparse history of the lives of our founding fathers, etc.... And, certainly, no information about the meanings of the array of symbols found on our money./p pIf the very ideas upon which our country are based are not even remotely understood or studied by U.S. citizens, that there is no democracy. It means that the ideas upon which this country were founded are not the ideas upon which our everyday citizen acts everyday. The implications of this are staggering./p pBack to Ideas and Words: Understanding a process—specifically the process whereby an idea is described in words which become more tangible (not more real, more tangible). This is like the mutation of life: ideas become biological, chemical, spiritual and physical. What people witness forms their picture of what the world is like. If a picture comes back which doesn’t seem right, we question whether our world is as it should be./p pIdeas are not physical but they are actual. “In the beginning was the word” says one best seller and from just that word came animals, planets, and everything else. So it is with ideas. Words and ideas go hand-in-hand. We observe and report because from the Word all things come: can you hear an idea in a Hendrix riff? Can you see the social form of an idea in Woodstock, Apple Corporation, the spreading of the Internet, in homeless coalitions, and personal growth movements? When all these areas are synthesized, utilized, and democratized will have greater access to equity./p pAll responses, pro and con, are welcome; please contact me at: a href="mailto:ravencrow@eudoramail.com"ravencrow@eudoramail.com/a,br / or (415)430-2168, x9335.br / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrongOne woman's journey through government fraud and homelessness /strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/456/photo_1_feature.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Judith M. Hansel/p pThe United States federal government caused me to become homeless. I purchased, for cash, a 985 square foot house on two acres in Waushara County, Wisconsin. The previous owner had purchased the house from the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Title 7 USCS C.F.R. 1955.116 program./p pI returned to Wisconsin in 1988 when my sons were grown and my marriage over. My great-grandfather had received 250 acres from the government in the 19th Century. He passed the farm on to his son, my grandfather, who farmed the land and raised nine children, including my father. My father left the farm in 1917 to join the Navy and chose to live in Milwaukee instead of farming when he returned from the war./p pDuring my childhood and adolescence, I loved visiting the farm. I considered it, particularly after my father died, to be my real home. There was a 22-acre lake called Hansel Lake. The vegetables served at mealtime were always fresh from the garden. I enjoyed seeing the farm dog round up the cows at milking time, herding them into the barnyard. My Uncle Clarence taught me about raising pigs. If there was to be chicken for dinner, I watched one of my uncles pick a chicken up by its feet, lay it across a tree stump, and chop the chicken’s head off. The chicken would then get up and run around flapping its wings. My grandmother took the feathers off the bird and cleaned out its insides. I felt privileged./p pIn 1988, my mother had a stroke that she could not survive. I flew to Wisconsin from Maryland and visited her before she lost consciousness. A few days later, my brother, my sister, and I planned her funeral. In the interim, I took a one-day trip to visit relatives. My Aunt Emily still lived in the farmhouse. It was in the farm kitchen there that I decided to return to Wisconsin. /p pThree months later, after the Maryland house was sold and the profits divided, I arrived in Waushara County. One of my dreams was coming true. A two-bedroom house was advertised in the newspaper. I called a realtor, made an appointment, saw the house, and made a down payment of $600./p pI hired a lawyer to search the title to see if it was free and clear. His written opinion told me that there were restrictive covenants on the Quit Claim Deed. These restrictive covenants, placed by the United States Department of Agriculture, could not be removed until all the repairs listed on the restrictive covenants were made. The Farmers Home Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, had to ensure that the property was “decent, safe, and sanitary.”/p pI called the realtor and explained that I wanted my deposit returned and that I did not want to purchase the property. The seller’s realtor phoned me at the motel where I was staying. He told me that he could get the restrictive covenants removed. He suggested that I put my $23,900 into my attorney’s trust account and if the restrictive covenants were not removed, the money would not be released and the sale would not go through./p pI saw no reason not to trust the federal government or the Farmers Home Administration agent who was a federal employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. I agreed to the plan./p pOn August 16, the papers were signed. I drove out to the house with Bernie, my mixed Saint Bernard. I couldn’t believe that I now owned a house in Waushara County. I felt very grateful and happy./p pA few days later, the seller’s realtor phoned me and told me that the restrictive covenants had been released by the U.S.D.A., but that it would take a week or two to get the paperwork processed./p pMy washing machine arrived and was installed two days later. I threw a load of wash into the machine and went back to watching TV. Later, when I used the bathroom, the water didn’t flush, but just kept rising. I immediately called the plumber who had inspected the septic system and who had submitted a certificate to the seller stating that the system was working.br / /pPThe plumber inspected the plumbing in the house and the septic system. He informed me that the system could not handle all the water from the washing machine. When I mentioned the report he said he never guaranteed the system. He told me that I should not use the washing machine since it flooded the system./p pMy attorney phoned me later that same day to tell me that the Release of Restrictive Covenants document had been received and that he was transferring my money to the seller’s account. When I mentioned the problem with the septic system, he told me that if I thought he had misrepresented something then I should hire another attorney and sue him.br / /pPThe TV antenna installer told me my roof was leaking in places. And, when I was gone for a weekend, the water pump in the well became unseated. I called another plumber and he informed me that I needed a new water pump. /p pAnd so my long nightmare began./p piThis is the first installment in a series Judith is writing on her long nightmare with government-backed fraud which lead to her current state of homelessness. She is also writing a book entitled Escape from America: An Expose of International Treachery, which will be completed by September 15 of this year.br / Email: a href="mailto:judy1hansel@hotmail.com"judy1hansel@hotmail.com/abr / /i/p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrong pbWhy do we Menbr / love sharp, pointy,br / objects ang multicolorbr / Mushroom explosions?/b/p/strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Joe. B./p pThe Selected President with his mythical mandate hasbr / overspent the so called “People’s Money” in a $600“ or more “give back to working folks and family” thing. /pp$158 billion Surplus $157 from Social Security and by September 30 the $153 billion with a $9 billion deficit.br / b information from S.F. Chronicle Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2001./b/p pWhat is this high spending buy out of tons ofbr / br / low grade plutoniumbr / b['dirty, spent radiation]br / /b in the billions from Russia?/p p I heard the figure 16 thousand nuclear bombs can be made from such material.br / br /The Japanese has the same material and is able to turn ‘dirty’ Plutonium into resuable reactor fuelbr /if the President wants to help our ‘energy crisis’ wouldn't a breeder reactor turning ‘nuke garbage’ into electrical energy be the goal not extra bombs?/p pOr melting asteriods with the same spent fuel getting more valuable elements from smelting it./p pOn the other hands at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Bostonbr / Researchers say the secret of human longevity may be in our genesbr / a group of genes found in a single chrommsone./p pthere's more but back to our guy the the white house.br / br /Do 'ya think this should be one thosebr /thousand points of light to see by hmmm? /p pWhat is it with this guybr / br / He is President, the most powerfull human on the planet except the br /Heavenly Father/Mother./p pThis Church and State combined in White House is not working correctly./p pOur male penchant for brinkmanship is dangerous macho stupidity plain and simplebr /we’re short sighted, stuborn, and blind to some realities sometime./p p As a black male in Americabr /I’m aware of so many tripwires that can get me hurt, maimed, or killed that br /wouldn’t mean much to society at large, its still that way./p pIn this country Mother’s, girlfriends, wive’s, or even protective daughter’s sometime must hold br /back their men’s natural inclination to speak, and fight for their own and other’s dignity./p pA Catholic, Priest is seen as a none sexual being as are uns closer to Godbr / both are suppose to have a higher relationship./p pI understand the concept of nuns married to God br / but I could not see Priest as married to the trinitybr / br /maybe brother, son, friend, or ultimate father figure./p pBut in the Black Church a preacher especially males have a sexual allure to womenbr /I wonder if young Black men thought of being preachers with their own private haremsbr / 'um choir of willing women?/p pOh, the secrets if pews could speak about the power of the br /"laying of hands" to heal ladies in distress. /p pMyself as a regular black guy in this country of contradiction have always tried to keep a low profile because we are so visible only when it’s time to beat, hurt, frame, place us in jail we’re negatively seen but that’s changing slowly. /ppBlack women being locked up as much as men creates a dangerous situation of more broken families br /however people are rising from zero to become business moguls, writers, scientists, Tv, and movie stars./p pAll I want to do is live a long and varied life without lots of dramabr /have a good woman, some children, and eventually be a ‘grandpabr / in other words a very long regular, dull life./p pMost women want exciting, hansome, strong, tough guysbr / and yet there is a time when maturity awakens in men and women to just be themselves. /p pAs I’ve said before speed is not me but patience, endurance, and seeing the long view is what think I do bestbr /I just don’t have the time and energy to be part of every new breaking fashion be it hi tech, people, and politics is onlybr / for self protection when rights and choices are affected. /ppIf any readers think about this stuff you might have alternative anwers to give me./p pbrPlease donate what can to Poor Magazine orbr / br /C/0 Ask Joe at 255 9th St. Street,br / br /San Francisco, CA. 94103 USA/brplease/p pbr /For Joe only my snail mail:br / br /PO Box 1230 #645br / br /Market St. San Francisco, CA 94102br / br /Email: a href="mailto:askjoe@poormagazine.org"askjoe@poormagazine.org/abr / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrongReport from the Mid-Market PAC Meetings, a project of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency:/strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/449/photo_2_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Fiona Gow/PNN staff/p pMeetings by those interested in the massive recharacterization of thebr / Mid-Market Street have been going on for some time now. Considering thebr / number of people who make that area their home as well as the number ofbr / small businesses that will surely be kicked out the moment wealthybr / developers come in, it seemed only logical that these meetings would be abr / volatile place. I was assigned to cover the Mid-Market PAC meeting on Mondaybr / afternoon, in large part because Joe, a columnist atbr / POOR, had been one of the only representatives of the low-income community present at the meetings for the last several months./p pThe agenda alone was really all I needed to look at to know how thebr / meeting would proceed. The two main items on it were presentations bybr / Nordstrom's and AGI Capital, both of which want to create hundreds of newbr / parking spaces for shoppers to put their cars while they spend money in thebr / area. The Nordstrom's rep sold the idea of parking on the grounds that itbr / would reduce valet parking and since people would be parking their cars somebr / distance from the stores, there would be more pedestrian traffic and hencebr / more shopping./p pDee Gray, co-editor of POOR Magazine, asked the rep if he'd consulted thebr / people who actually live in the Mid-Market area to see what development theybr / would like to see. He admitted that no residents had been directlybr / consulted, but that there had been meetings with other coalitions similar tobr / the one meeting that afternoon. Looking at who was at this meeting, thosebr / were not very inspiring words./p p Dee asked if affordable housing wasn't the most necessary development,br / to which the representative responded that the findings of numerous studiesbr / would guide him in the right direction. Nordstrom's, as longtime investor inbr / San Francisco, would do what was best for the city. He said that thebr / community wasn't being ignored. A grocery store was being considered forbr / placement on the first floor and possibly some housing on the top floor./p pThe second presenter from AGI Capital wasn't much more enlightened. Thebr / focus of the discourse was on how pleasant the walk down Stevenson Alleybr / could be for the people who parked their cars at the new structure onbr / Mission Street. In addition to parking, this structure would be a multi-usebr / one, meaning there would be offices, businesses and some housing, butbr / probably not low-income housing./p p Both presenters said they would see what's most lucrative and what isbr / best for the city. No one is asking them to be benevolent, but when they saybr / they are considering what is best for the city, they should really clarifybr / whose city they are talking about. And when they say the studies show thatbr / parking would be best, we need to ask what criteria is being used in thosebr / studies. If developers and business people are the only attendees at thesebr / meetings, surely the interests of low-income people already living in thebr / area will be ignored and displacement will be inevitable. According to otherbr / attendees at the meeting, this was the first time that any acknowledgmentbr / had been made of the fact that a huge number of low-income people live inbr / the mid-Market area. Surely those people deserve to be heard more thanbr / anyone since, it is their lives that will be most affected by megabr / developers brazenly moving in./p p Joe needs more company at these meetings. If you are interested inbr / attending the next Mid-Market PAC Meeting, please call POOR Magazine at 863-6306./p p/p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrongHow providing a valuable service to the community got one woman blacklisted/strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/459/photo_1_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Verena Haemmig/p pI am a licensed family childcare provider and this is my story of discrimination while searching for rental housing in San Francisco, where I’ve lived and worked for over 30 years. It is written out of frustration./p pIt was many weeks ago when my son and I were served with an eviction notice to vacate the lovely home we had been living in for five years—the owner’s daughter was getting married and wanted to move in. It’s a fairly typical scenario these days. Of course it came as a shock, but then again, the same exact thing had happened to us in 1989, when times were different, and so was the rental market. I let the bad news sink in, cried a few tears, and calmed myself down. I told myself that we would surely find a new home since we were given plenty of time to look. We were excellent tenants with impeccable credit and references./p pThe despair set in as I began our search in the rental section of the paper, realizing that our rent would double. I would have to increase my childcare fees to top levels in order to cover housing expenses. The parents understood because after all, we are partners in this business of taking care of children. Nothing however, could prepare me for the hostile and negative responses I would receive from landlords and rental agencies./p pFor landlords, the word “daycare” often conjures up images of an illegal operation resulting in damaged property at the hands of screaming children running wild. I however, along with many other daycare providers, maintain a very clean and organized daycare that is licensed and fully insured. I have been trained as a pediatric nurse and have provided quality daycare to infants and their families in my home for more than 15 years, not to mention having raised two grown children. I have yet to be given the opportunity to share these facts with potential landlords before they shut the door in my face./p pI have been snapped at by a rental agent who condescendingly told me, “You need a license for that!” before I could get the word “daycare” out of my mouth. I have gotten a verbal agreement from a landlord who initially wanted to rent his house to me, only to have him apologetically retract his offer for some vague reason. Most of them do not return my calls, even after I carefully explain my credentials. More than simply being at the mercy of exploitative rental fees, I am blacklisted because I engage in the essential and honorable profession of caring for children./p pThe last straw came recently when a spacious flat was shown to us in the same neighborhood where I raised my own children. It had everything we were looking for. We handed in our application and credit report on the spot. Instead of calling our present landlord as a reference, the owner called his lawyer. I received a phone call in the evening that went something like this:/p p “I am sorry, but I can’t rent the flat to you. My lawyer advised me against it because of zoning laws regarding childcare and using the flat for commercial purposes.”/p p“Sir, I am not operating a commercial enterprise. I take care of children and want you to be aware that you are prohibited by law* from discriminating against family childcare providers.” My voice was firm./p p“Do not say that, “he said angrily. “You are accusing me. I made the effort to consult my lawyer and as you know, lawyers are paid by the minute!”/p p“Did you have a chance to call our present landlord?” I asked./p p“No,” he said. “I called my lawyer.”/p pI felt like suing him and his lawyer! An article in a recent publication by the California Association for Family Childcare states that close to one fourth of states have enacted legislation that allows daycare providers to use homes (caring for 6 or fewer children) as “residential use of property,” thus superceding local zoning laws*. California happens to be one of those states. A lawyer at the Childcare Law Center confirmed this and informed me that I am not even required to disclose to the landlord that I take care of children in my home. How do I fill out the rental application without directly mentioning my profession as a family childcare provider? I will have to use my imagination!/p pFinally, why is it that childcare, provided in homes, is viewed in such a negative light? We family childcare providers provide an invaluable service to the community. Many of us are educated in the field of Early Childhood Education. It is a fact that family childcare is the preferred choice of care by families for infants and toddlers. Times have changed and we view ourselves as professionals running a small business—the business of caring for children so that their parents can work./p pThe fact that the rental market is competitive does not give landlords the right to discriminate against family daycare providers or anyone based on their identity or profession. We deserve to be equally considered for housing./p pIn the meantime, we are still looking for housing and time is running out. I wrote this so that the general public and landlords in particular are informed and enlightened and may change their attitudes towards licensed family childcare providers./p p* This is covered in the State Department of Social Services Health Safety Code Section 1597.40 (b)br / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p