2 10 22 https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/477d0b239ea517bc9d13ca8080efb294.pdf eb709cf4bd8b734e99ac185c57ca10c5 PDF Text Text Forced Out for the World Cup Page 3 Album Review Page 6 SOS Art Review Page 8 STREETVIBES $1 June 15-30, 2010 • Advocating Justice, Building Community • Issue 179 Sad Anniversary for the A - Bomb Anti-nuclear activists want it to retire By Jeremy Flannery Contributing Writer T Rebecca Riley of Think Outside The Bomb informs and entertains a gathering at Off The Avenue. Jon Hughes/Photopresse. Marvels and Money Mongers The editor is seen as a security risk By Gregory Flannery Editor I managed to fly more than 16,000 miles over the Pacific Ocean (one trip to, one fro) and spent most of a week in a coastal city without once seeing saltwater. The pilots insisted on flying above the clouds, and the annual conference of the International Network of Street Papers in Melbourne, Australia, was so busy that there was no time for sightseeing. (See “Tell me: Do You Want to Hold Me?,” issue of June 1-14.) That’s not to say the trip was without marvels. This is autumn in Australia; and each night at about 7 p.m., when darkness had fallen, See Marvels, P. 4 The editor is a lousy photographer so he submitted this drawing instead. Gregory Flannery. his summer is the 65th anniversary of the first and only use of atomic bombs in wartime. In 1945 the United States used atomic bombs to destroy the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Think Outside the Bomb is an organization commemorating the anniversaries through a national tour advocating the abolition of nuclear energy. “The bomb is turning 65 – it’s time to retire,” the group’s national tour organizer, Rebecca Riley, said during a June 2 meeting in Northside. Riley is traveling across the United States with a fellow member of Think Outside the Bomb and two Australian members of Footprints for Peace to campaign for the end of nuclear energy. Speaking at Off the Avenue, the four activists discussed the dangers of uranium mining and nuclear energy production in the United States and Australia. A graduate of the University of California, Riley said her alma mater has a direct relationship with the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Nuclear Security Administration, a division of the Department of Energy that oversees the nuclear arsenal. The university receives funding from both government departments, conducting research for the production of nuclear energy, she said. “I learned I was a war profiteer, and I was enraged, so I decided to do something about it,” Riley said. President Obama signed a nuclear-reduction treaty with Russia on April 8, agreeing to cut both nations’ nuclear arsenals by about one-third. However, the Obama administration has allocated $180 billion over a 10-year period to expand nuclear-energy production. The funds will be used to expand nuclear-energy and weapons-production See A-Bomb, P. 4 �2 The Vibe By The Numbers 16,000 The number of families helped by the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (see page 11). 1.47 Jaime Garcia’s E.R.A in his first year as a starting pitcher in the major leagues (see page 7) 22 The number of years the Deftones have performed together (see page 6). 3/30 The date Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory told the Drop Inn Center to move (see page 13) 1 The number of police cars a visitor saw during a stay in Melbourne, Australia (see page 1). Half The maximum amount of a person’s income charged by homeless shelters in New York City (see page 12). 30 The number of disabled artists who participated in Black and White (see page 16) Twice The number of times the United States has dropped atomic bombs on foreign cities (see page 1). 26,000 The number of sex offenders re-classified by a law thrown out by the Ohio Supreme Court (see page 5) 2 The number of letters in which readers praise a Streetvibes vendor (see page 7). StreetWise By Gregory Flannery Editor Minimum Standards, Maximum Consequences People at street papers in other cities sometimes think I’m exaggerating when I tell them that Cincinnati City Council seems to hate homeless people. But the best proof is city council’s own behavior. Last week council took responsibility for minimum standards at homeless shelters away from the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless and transferred it to another organization. We’ll report on that issue in our next edition. Of immediate concern – immediate as in so important that the Homeless Coalition hopes to file a lawsuit and restraining order against the city as early as today – is a new rule for shelters that receive city funds. To wit: Shelters must have a policy to discourage panhandling, including “clear and consistent consequences to be enforced if a resident is known to be panhandling.” Curious language – all parental and orderly sounding. But what kind of “clear and consistent consequences” can shelters enact? Cutting meal rations? Taking away pillows? No, the implication is plain. “Kicking out homeless people is the only real consequence a shelter can enforce,” says Josh Spring, executive director of the Homeless Coalition. “This will cause more panhandling, because people who are kicked out won’t receive food and other services from homeless shelters.” STREETVIBES June 15 - 30, 2010 Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax: 513.421.7813 Email: streetvibes2@yahoo. com Website: www. cincihomeless.org Blog: streetvibes.wordpress. com Streetvibes Staff Editor Gregory Flannery This new regulation is the latest brainchild of City Councilman Jeff Berding, whose past proposals have included trying to collect taxes from the nickels and dimes given to panhandlers and making them wear signs saying how much the city spends to help homeless people. Now Berding wants homeless shelters to play panhandling police. In return, the city will face clear and consistent consequences – a visit with a federal judge. Art Director Lynne Ausman “The coalition is preparing a lawsuit against the city,” Spring says. “It’s in the midst of being written and we plan to file the first part of (this) week. This will allege that the policy constrains the First Amendment, jeopardizes the well-being of people who panhandle and jeopardizes the shelters’ ability to have funding to serve people.” Vendor Coordinator Jeni Jenkins Resisting the Spread of NNIMBY People in other cities also make life harder for homeless people. Real Change, one of the nation’s largest street papers, is facing opposition in Seattle from the Pioneer Square Community Association. Real Change recently moved its office to the Pioneer Square area. The community association says the new location violates zoning rules because the paper’s computer lab and classes for vendors make it a vocational program, which isn’t allowed in the area. But Rick Cohen, national correspondent for Nonprofit Quarterly, thinks what’s at play is a phenomenon he calls “NNIMBY – no nonprofits in my back yard.” “This isn’t a problem of zoning, it is a problem of a program serving homeless people moving into a shopping area trying to give itself an upscale, chic kind of image,” Cohen wrote. “The mayor turned a deaf ear to the association’s complaint that there were too many nonprofit service providers in the area. We hope that the hearing examiner gives a similar reception to the association’s desperate sounding zoning challenge.” Sound familiar? Cincinnati City Council has likewise decided there are too many non-profit organizations in Over-the-Rhine and enacted zoning rules to restrict them. A New Blog and a New Book Contributing Writers Michelle Dillingham, Samantha Groark, Margo Pierce, Paul Kopp, Jeremy Flannery, Michael Henson, David Heitfield, Corey Gibson, Jeni Jenkins, Saad Ghosn, Lew Moores, Larry Gross, Eli Braun, Jesse Call, Brendon McCartney, Michael Fanning Photography/Artwork Aimie Willhoite, Lynne Ausman, Anne Skove, Vinit Murthy, Jon Hughes Proofreaders Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati through coordination of services, public education, grassroots advocacy and Streetvibes. Not everything is so bleak, of course. The Drop Inn Center – which Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory wants to move elsewhere (see “District 9: Over-the-Rhine,” page 13) has a new blog. Visit dropinn.wordpress.com. Poet and teacher Michael Henson, a longtime columnist for Streetvibes, has a new book, The Dead Singing. “It is small, just 21 poems,” he says. “But I think it has some of my best work. … The title is from a line by the Japanese monk/ poet Ikkyu: ‘I listen to the dead singing underneath the grass.’ We are proud members of: To order a copy, visit finishinglinepress.com and click on “New Releases and forthcoming Titles.” “At 12 bucks, plus a buck for shipping, that comes to about 65 cents per poem,” Henson says. Graphics/Layout Intern Veronica Glass Garden at Drop Inn Center. Jon Hughes/Photopresse �STREETVIBES June 15 - 30, 2010 International News 3 Forced Out for the World Cup Games A poster for the World Cup in South Africa. By Amy Juschka Street News Service dreds of thousands of others displaced – could erupt after the World Cup. With its porous borders, its reputation as ohannesburg, South Africa – People Africa’s powerhouse and its close proximfeared it would happen in the run ity to the ailing Zimbabwe, South Africa is up to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic a melting pot for other African immigrants, Games, but it’s happening today in cities both legal and illegal. But across South Afwith such a large numrica. With the 2010 Related to the ber of South Africans liv“Their presence violates FIFA World Cup forced removal of ing in poor and destitute looming, reports conditions, intolerance the city bylaws, and we homeless people is have surfaced that and contempt toward the arrest them. This is a the corresponding homeless people country’s foreign nation- campaign, among the normal police exercise, are being rounded als, who are often consid- South African media but we have intensified up and forcibly reered to be a drain on the our efforts because of and government moved before the country’s resources, is enthe World Cup. We have officials, to vilify eyes of the world demic. had a tough job with the and dehumanize Xenophobia is prevalent prostitutes – everyday they turn to look upon the homeless, in South Africa. among all levels of South are warned or arrested.” particular foreign Though the inAfrican society, from taxi - Edna Mamonyane, nationals, in the run medrivers to police to social- up to the World Cup. Johannesburg Metro Police ternational dia has picked up justice workers, and is on the story with rooted in legacies of colosome vigour, from what I’ve observed worknialism and apartheid. The street sweeps are ing in Johannesburg’s inner city, these street just one way the country’s institutionalized sweeps seem to be nothing out of the ordixenophobia is playing out, and it could have nary. drastic consequences for homeless people – Last August, as part of a campaign to tackwhether actual or perceived foreign nationle homelessness, the city’s human developals – once World Cup fans return home. ment department took to the streets In the weeks leading up to the Vanon a mission to stop people from givcouver Olympics, I was touched by ing money, food, clothes or blankets Xenophobia is prevalent among all levels of the way community and social-justice to the 3,000 or so homeless people South African society, from taxi drivers to groups united to protest the provliving in Johannesburg’s inner city. ince’s Assistance to Shelter Act. As the police to social-justice workers, and is rooted “Their presence violates the city countdown to the World Cup comes to in legacies of colonialism and apartheid. The bylaws, and we arrest them,” Edna an end, I can only say that the lack of street sweeps are just one way the country’s Mamonyane, spokeswoman for the institutionalized xenophobia is playing out, and concern shown by local social-justice Johannesburg Metro Police, said at it could have drastic consequences for homeless groups and the general powerlessness of the homeless here in South Africa the time. “This is a normal police expeople – whether actual or perceived foreign have been genuinely troubling. ercise, but we have intensified our nationals – once World Cup fans return home. We can only wait to see what the efforts because of the World Cup. We World Cup and the weeks after will have had a tough job with the prostitutes – everyday they are warned or arrest- homeless population is made up of foreign bring. Amy Juschka is former managing editor of ed.” nationals from other African countries, and Reports claim that here in Johannesburg there have been mounting concerns among Canadian street paper Megaphone. Originalmore than 800 people have been removed the city’s non-governmental organizations ly published by Megaphone. © www. streetfrom the inner-city area surrounding Ellis that xenophobic violence – like that in May newsservice.org. Park, where seven games, including a quar- 2008, when 62 people were killed and hun- J ter-final, are to be held. The campaign to remove homeless people from the public eye is defended by officials as being in line with the city’s bylaws, which prohibit begging at intersections, as well as sleeping in streets, parks or any other public space. Related to the forced removal of homeless people is the corresponding campaign, among the South African media and government officials, to vilify and dehumanize the homeless, in particular foreign nationals, in the run up to the World Cup. Carte Blanche, a popular South African investigative television series, recently aired an exposé alleging that homeless women are renting babies for R20 per day (about $2.60 USD) in order to earn more money begging at intersections. On any given day, an estimated 300 mothers – many of them Zimbabwean – stand with their children at intersections across Johannesburg, begging from passing motorists. The exposé, like a number of other stories negatively portraying the homeless, serves to legitimize the street sweeps and placate any concerns ordinary South Africans might feel for the homeless. Significantly, much of Johannesburg’s If you like what you read, but don’t live in the Cincinnati area, you can subscribe to Streetvibes. Call us at 513-421-7803 x 12 to learn more about subscribing to Streetvibes. �4 STREETVIBES June 15 - 30, 2010 Local News Sad Anniversary for the A - Bomb Continued from page 1 Inuit tribes, joined Think Outside the Bomb when she visited New York City for a May 2 rally calling facilities in Kansas City, Mo.; Oak Ridge, Tenn.; for the abolition of nuclear weapons. She particiand Los Alamos, N.M., according to Riley. pated in a walk from the Y12 Nuclear Facility in The Obama administration is saying it will Oak Ridge to Times Square in New York City (see reduce nuclear weapons but pre“Walking to End the Nuclear Perparing to expand the capacity to il,” issue of Feb. 15-28). Along the way she witnessed mountaintopdevelop more, she said. The faciliThe Obama removal coal mining in Eastern ties should be recalibrated toward administration has cleaning existing nuclear waste allocated $180 billion Kentucky. The devastation to the and developing reusable sources over a 10-year period region’s environment is similar to the loss of Humphreys Peak, north of energy, she said. Because govto expand nuclearof Flagstaff, Ariz. Humphreys Peak ernments might not abide by the energy production. treaties to reduce nuclear weap- The funds will be used – part of a mountain range considered sacred by 13 indigenous ons, it is up to people opposed to to expand nuclearsuch weapons to demand they do energy and weapons- tribes – is now home to the Ariso, Riley said. production facilities in zona Snowbowl ski resort, Bahee “We’re continuing with our Kansas City, Mo.; Oak said. Kerrieann Garlick, a member of grassroots disarmament because Ridge, Tenn.; and Los Footprints for Peace from Perth, that’s the only thing that works,” Alamos, N.M. Australia, is traversing the United she said. States again after participating in Riley said insurance companies should be required to cover illnesses such as lung the walk from Oak Ridge to New York. Garlick cancer contracted by people working around ra- said water from the Great Artesian Basin in Cendioactive material at the three production facili- tral Australia is being depleted to keep residual radioactive dust from uranium mining wet in orties and at uranium mines. Rhianna Bahee, a member of the Navajo and der to keep it from blowing across the continent. Seven million gallons of water is being extracted from the basin per day to keep the radioactive dust in place, she said. “If we are going to stop the weapons, then we need to stop the mining of uranium altogether,” Garlick said. Marcus Atkinson, who is also a member of Footprints for Peace from Australia, said 200 tons of yellow-cake uranium is required to generate electricity from a nuclear power plant. Mining uranium in Australia requires destroying 135,000 tons of ore, he said. Radioactive dust that escaped dampening has stretched as far as New Zealand, according to Atkinson. Australia now allows the injection of sulfuric acid to burn away soil and suck out uranium ore – a method banned by most industrialized nations, he said. Australia contains 35 percent of the world’s uranium reserves. “So Australia is like the Saudi Arabia of uranium,” Atkinson said. The nuclear abolition tour ends July 30 at San Ildefonso Pueblo just outside Los Alamos, – the birthplace of the atomic bomb. Think Outside the Bomb and other groups are planning nonviolent civil disobedience there August 1-9, Riley said. Marvels and Money Mongers Continued from page 1 standing in front of the Atlantis Hotel, I could see a faint beam of light in the distance, reaching skyward between buildings near what I believed was the ocean. Slowly, first one and then two and then a flock of flying creatures soared into the light. I surmised that the light attracted insects, which attracted the flying creatures, whose twinkling attracted my attention. I thought they were bats. Another delegate thought swallows. Another thought seagulls. The one Australian I asked said, “I don’t know,” then walked away. I had the sense that this delegate hadn’t taken a liking to me. It might have been because I had told him I couldn’t face another 30 hours on airplanes to get home and was resolved to stow away aboard a cruise ship. He didn’t realize I was joking; and when I told him so, he seemed miffed. Free teeth I didn’t make jokes in the airport in Auckland, New Zealand. I don’t make jokes around airport personnel, especially in airports that I didn’t know I was going to visit. I might, however, have asked too many questions: “Why are we stopping here? How long will we be here? Am I allowed to leave the airport?” Asking too many questions would explain my being pulled aside for extra screening – the repeated passing of a metal wand about my person, the swabbing to test for explosives residue, being questioned about my itinerary. But get this. The Auckland Airport has a patio for smokers. This is only a small step down from the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky International Airport, whose name is too long but which has an air-conditioned lounge for smokers, with comfy couches and free WiFi. By contrast, wireless Internet service at the Auckland Airport cost $20 NZ for an hour. Cigarettes there cost $12 NZ a pack. They came with a photo of a diseased human heart. Warning: These prices could cause a heart attack. The prices in Melbourne were even higher – more than $13 AUS a pack. I was warned of an “instant $400 fine” for throwing cigarette butts on the sidewalk, so I didn’t. In Melbourne, a city of almost 4 million people, I saw one police car. I met one panhandler. I bought one breakfast – two eggs, a muffin and coffee – for $16 AUS. Breakfast at the hotel featured scrambled eggs and baked beans. The Melbourne street paper, Big Issue Australia, hosted a dinner for delegates. There I met Peter, a vendor who described his sales pitch. “I don't tell people, ‘Help the homeless.’ I tell them, ‘Home the helpless,’ ” he said. He reminded me of a Streetvibes vendor who uses humor to sell papers. Once a dentist bought a paper from Peter and said, “I see you don’t have any teeth.” Peter said he replied, “I could have told you that.” The dentist then offered Peter a free set of dentures. That is the kind of marvel one sometimes hears from vendors who sell street papers. I exchanged currency in three countries and was impressed by the professionalism of the money mongers. Each one told me that my proposed transaction wasn't in my best interest. That didn't stop me, but I Before the rising of the fairies. Gregory Flannery. was glad to see that they took the profit only after informing me of my ignorance. The Illuminati are here In Auckland I agreed to take a seat in the aisle of an emergency exit, which I would be obligated to help open if necessary. I told the airline agent that I don’t hear well. He said, “Can you hear me all right?” I said yes. He gave me a ticket for a seat in the aisle of an emergency exit, which told me that safety is a matter of regulation, rather than reality, on airlines. En route from Auckland to Melbourne, I was stopped just short of the rest room by an attendant – seated, with his safety belt buckled – who said, “Sir, return to your seat immediately and fasten your seat belt.” I hadn’t heard the announcement about turbulence. Melbourne seems a city on the move. It has two streetcar lines, one free. Within a block of the hotel were Liquorland Express and Hardware Express, enabling visitors to get a quick drink and a quick screw. This sign was on several shops: “Parm, Chips and a Pot,” followed by a price. Chicken Parmigiana, French fries and a pot of beer. One evening I dined with delegates from Slovenia, South Korea, Japan, France, Burundi and the Philippines. One evening a woman told me, “There are too many Asians in Australia.” She also told me that an owl sculpture in front of a bank was a sign of the Illuminati, who control the world. “That’s their cheeky way of telling us they’re there,” she said. I marveled at her use of three homonyms in a single sentence. I didn’t ask if there are too many Asians in the Illuminati. I think it was mercy, not the Illuminati, that accounts for the “amnesty bin” just outside the landing gate in Auckland – a last chance to throw away evidence before encountering airport security. Mercy as policy. Imagine. �STREETVIBES June 15 - 30, 2010 Issues 5 Sex Offender Law Unconstitutional Ohio Supreme Court rejects retroactivity and fear By Eli Braun Contributing Writer T he Ohio Supreme has struck down an Ohio law that increased the reporting requirements for thousands of Ohioans convicted of sex offenses. The court’s June 3 decision spawned a wave of fear-mongering. “Court ruling means sex offenders could be checking in less often,” blared 10TV News in Columbus, beside an image of a darkened silhouette in front of a “DO NOT CROSS” police line. Christian Bodyke of Huron County, Ohio, is one of those sex offenders. In 1999, a judge assessed his social history and risk of recidivism and deemed Bodyke to be a low risk offender. He was required to register with the sheriff in his home county each year for 10 years. The sheriff was not required to notify Bodyke’s neighbors. Then on Jan. 1, 2008 the Ohio Adam Walsh Act took effect. It tossed out judges’ assessments of risk. Instead, requirements for registration by sex offenders were set based solely on the name of Ohio Supreme Court. the offense. Moreover, the Ohio Attorney General would determine registration requirements for all sex offenders, even those who had been previ- law for certain offenders who had been sentenced before Jan. 1, 2008.” ously assessed by judges. While the classifications and registration duties of 26,000 sex offendWhile the classifications ers will revert to what they were before that date, those who were con‘It’s common sense’ victed on or after that date were unaffected by the ruling. Their classifiand registration duties of cation will still be set according to the name of their offense, instead of 26,000 sex offenders will Bodyke had faithfully complied with his re- by a judge who considers their risk of re-offending. revert to what they were porting requirements and had only a couple before that date, when Victims back ruling the law took effect, those years to go when the attorney general reclassiwho were convicted on fied him from the lowest-risk classification to the highest-risk classification. “Justices Give 26,000 Ohio Sex Offenders a Break,” announced the or after that date were He would have to register every 90 days for Columbus Dispatch in reporting the decision. unaffected by the ruling. In fact, the ruling gives the whole community a break. The Ohio Their classification will the rest of his life, not just in his county of residence, but any county where he worked or vis- Adam Walsh Act authorized classifications without assessing an indistill be set according ited for longer than three days. His neighbors vidual’s risk of re-offense. The flood of “over-classified” individuals burto the name of their received postcards with his personal informa- dens county sheriffs, who are required to monitor these individuals. offense, instead of by tion, warning that a “sexual predator” lived The Cincinnati Enquirer, considered politically conservative, has a judge who considers advocated a more sensible approach. In a 2008 editorial, the Enquirer their risk of re-offending. nearby. Bodyke was one of thousands of low-risk of- called reclassifying low-risk offenders “absurdly unfair” and wrote that fenders re-classified as high-risk. the law was “bound to do far more harm than good and actually could To comply with federal rules, the law also changed the three primary be a step backward in protecting the public.” levels of risk from sexually oriented offender, habitual sexual offender Instead of concentrating on high-risk individuals, it argued, county and sexual predator to Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3. sheriffs would have to expend limited resources keeping tabs on lowThe law also extended the amount of time someone must remain on risk offenders. the registry. An offender at the lowest risk would have to register for 15 “Re-classifying [offenders] upward also requires sheriffs to issue years instead of 10, and an offender at the intermediate risk would have more notifications about offenders' whereabouts, adding administrato register for 25 years instead of 20. Those deemed highest-risk were tive burdens with little payoff in public safety,” the editorial said. already registering for life. Thus even those who were not reclassified “That’s a huge amount of manpower for the sheriff,” Slagle says. faced longer terms on the registry. “Many sheriffs freely admitted that it’s a waste. They want to concen“Many of our clients were on the verge of suicide when they realized trate on people who are higher risk, but those tiers are now swamped that, as a result of the law, they would have to endure a lifetime of regis- with low-risk former offenders.” tration duties, which means a lifetime of being stigmatized,” says MarMany believe sex-offender registries are a public-safety tool, one gie Slagle, an attorney with the Ohio Justice & Policy Center (OJPC). that “provide[s] families with the information they need to keep their Slagle and OJPC, based in Cincinnati, collaborated with the Ohio children safe,” as Attorney General Cordray stated. But diluting sex-offender registries with the names of reclassified, Public Defender and the Ohio Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union to build the case, write the briefs and prepare for oral arguments low-risk offenders thwarts that public-safety purpose. To that end, the in the case before the Supreme Court, State v. Bodyke, et al. National Alliance to End Sexual Violence and victims’ advocacy organi(Disclosure: This reporter works for OJPC.) zations in California, Iowa and Texas together submitted a brief urging Some 26,000 people – approximately 85 percent of the 30,750 con- the Ohio Supreme Court to find the law unconstitutional. “(T)hese changes put law enforcement agencies, already in budgetvicted sex offenders in Ohio – were reclassified as a result of the Ohio Adam Walsh Act. The question before the Supreme Court was whether ary crises, in the position of spending precious dollars on monitoring low risk individuals with a limited impact on public safety,” said the the law could apply retroactively. The court ruled 5 to 1 that it could not. The court determined that brief by victims’ advocates. “More onerous sex-offender registration the legislature’s action to reclassify sex offenders was unconstitutional and community-notification laws threaten to harm the very people because it overturned the final decisions of a trial court, thus violating they are intended to protect and to undermine goals of community safety and treatment of offenders.” the separation-of-powers doctrine. Ohio’s Adam Walsh Act, they concluded, is “not based on empirical “The reclassification scheme … interferes with the judicial power by requiring the reopening of final judgments,” wrote Justice Maureen evidence or proven research, but on fear and misinformation.” While basing its ruling on the separation-of-powers doctrine, the O’Connor in the majority opinion. “It is well settled that a legislature Court also seemed to recognize that it makes little sense to classify sex cannot enact laws that revisit a final judgment.” “It’s common sense,” Slagle says. “If someone hits your car and the offenders without performing an assessment first. Because of Ohio’s Adam Walsh Act, Justice O’Connor wrote, “The tritrial court awards you $5,000, you don’t want the legislature a year later al court is stripped of any power to engage in independent fact-finding altering that ruling.” Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray released a statement calling to determine an offender’s likelihood of recidivism. Expert testimony is no longer presented; the offender’s criminal and social history are no the decision “narrowly tailored.” “The broad provisions of Ohio's Adam Walsh Act remain in place,” he longer relevant.” One might add: Sex offender registries are no longer as meaningful. said. “(The decision) reinstated the classifications and community notification and registration orders imposed by judges under prior state �6 Music Review STREETVIBES June 15 - 30, 2010 ‘Infinite Arms’ and ‘Diamond Eyes’ Recommendations for your new summertime jams By Paul Kopp Contributing Writer A s summer approaches, music fans will inevitably be looking for the new soundtrack to the season. Whether it’s the accompaniment to a road trip or a lounge by the pool, music always holds a firm place when people in the Midwest have more of a chance to get out. Here is an extended look at two new releases that might become the backdrop to your warm-weather memories. Band of Horses – ‘Infinite Arms’ On their third album and major label debut for Columbia Records, Band of Horses seems confused about the direction it is steering. Known for their pseudo-atmospheric, spaced out, nice-guy riff rock, they also seem comfortable adding new and different layers to their unique sound on this album. After all, it’s only natural for a horse to wander. Songs like “Compliments” and “Laredo” utilize the big guitar hooks the band is known for, but with a markedly different tone. The band relocated from Seattle to South Carolina within the past few years, and that might explain why the electric guitar sound on Infinite Arms is sometimes laced more with a bit of country twang, rather than the spaced-out sound they were initially known for. Aside from those songs and the straightforward rocker, “NW Apartment”, the rest of the album is mostly filled with delicately arranged acoustic pieces that, while not new territory for Band of Horses, definitely sound more carefully constructed. From the semi choral harmonies of “Evening Kitchen” to the lilting singsong strumming of the title track, the dynamics of the album are mostly dialed down. Ben Bridwell, the band’s de facto leader, swoons semi-confessional lyrics that are vague enough to not come off as trite. His strength as a vocalist is to take plain and seemingly simple lines and sing them in such a way as to make them sound the exact opposite: complex and completely heartfelt. Example from “Laredo”: “Oh my love, don’t you even know? Oh, my love, are you really gone?” Bridwell has said that the album is the first with a completely solidified lineup. Keyboardist Ryan Monroe, bassist Bill Reynolds and guitarist Tyler Ramsey, all touring members of the band, have officially joined the group and contributed songs and arrangements to the record. This change, along with the extended period of time they spent recording it (almost two years), might be the reason Infinite Arms sounds more polished and less explosive than their previous records. On first listen, it might seem less energetic; but after taking some time with the songs, it appears the band is learning how to explore more subtle methods of creating solid songs rather than going immediately for the throat with the big delay and effects-laden guitar parts and reverb-drenched vocals of the past. These songs seep into you like the water in a warm bath, rather than a midnight jump into the lake. Deftones – ‘Diamond Eyes’ At this point in their career the Deftones are the elder statesmen of their genre. Luckily for them, their genre doesn’t exist. They created their own, which is constantly changing. On Diamond Eyes the band continues to do what they do best: progress while staying consistent to the sound they have developed over six albums and 22 years as a band. They have said they wrote the album together in a rehearsal space over the period of a few months. This is quite the contrast from the process of their last two records, which, though still quite good, were constructed piece by piece in different studios over the period of years with the band on the verge of breaking up. The Deftones have never lacked creative energy, but on this album you can hear that the songs were written in a more organic and natural setting. This is mostly evident in the instrumentation and interplay between the band. As always, the guitars are heavy and tuned low, but rather than sounding like a wall of individual layered parts, it feels like guitarist Stephen Carpenter is playing each track in a live setting, and the same goes for rest of the band. Though Abe Cunningham’s drums don’t sound as big and aren’t mixed as carefully as in the past, his machine gun pace propels the band. Keyboardist Frank Delgado adds a nice gloss of synth-based texture that, though it may be difficult to discern, adds to the overall body of the album. One notable change is the absence of bassist Chi Cheng, who has been in a coma for more than a year after a car crash. Bassist Sergio Vega, who has subbed for Cheng in the past, fills in. Frontman Chino Moreno continues to write the visceral lyrics he is known for. He has said that he doesn’t like to write lyrics about his personal life, but rather string together a series of images that don’t necessarily tell a story but instead evoke abstract imagery. This approach is one of the factors that have kept the Deftones relevant. The fact that their songs don’t get bogged down in any type of confessional minutiae gives them an element of mystery that is critically lacking in other bands of their stature. Though Moreno has contributed a number of less heavy, more melodic guitar parts to the band since 2001’s White Pony, it seems as if, aside from the dizzying sway/midnight beach meditation of “Sextape” and the sweeping delay pedal ring of “Beauty School,” he has taken a step back on this record. It is mostly dominated by Carpenter’s signature low end. Carpenter’s playing itself doesn’t necessarily lack melody; it embraces it. Coupled with the down-tuned, bludgeoning heaviness of his playing is his mastery of taking his massive guitar tones and putting them to use writing memorable songs like the towering stomp in the chorus of “976-Evil.” On “CMND/CTRL,” “Rocket Skates” and the title track, Carpenter keeps his shredder credibility intact, while on “You’ve Scene The Butcher” he subverts his monstrous tone through some kind of classic rock-style riffing. Because of the way Diamond Eyes was recorded, it might be seen as the band returning to its roots. This by no means indicates that they looked to recreate something they had done in past, however. Rather, they seem to have looked at the idea as a perfect way to start over again. As they always have. �STREETVIBES June 15 - 30, 2010 Loving the Reds, Not Believing St. Louis is the best bet By B. Clifton Burke Contributing Writer W hen the Reds are winning, Cincinnati summers feel more golden. Something about it supercharges the city, helping to balance the frustrations that come with heavy humidity. Whatever it is, I enjoy it, and I hope it's here to last, but I'm afraid that isn't the case. As of June 7 the Reds were tied for first place with the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central Division. The season is but a young adolescent, displaying early trends that older seasons have proven to outgrow. If closely examined, the Reds are full of such trends; and as the season moves on, I expect them to at least slow down, if not end this success altogether. One of those unfortunate trends are the Cardinals themselves. They just win. Their one-two punch of Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright make up arguably the best starting-pitching tandems in baseball. If those two stay healthy all year, that alone can win a team the division. If that weren't enough, they also have perhaps the best pitching coach in the majors in Dave Duncan. While aces like Carpenter and Wainwright don't need much coaching anymore, Duncan has helped average pitchers exceed their potential like no one else in the game. This year’s example of such a feat comes from 24-year old left-hander, Jaime Garcia, who is 5-2 with a 1.47 ERA in his first year as a starter in the major leagues. I suppose it’s also worth mentioning that the world’s greatest player, Albert Pujols, also resides in the Cardinals’ lineup and that he is practically guaranteed to end up with over 35 home runs this year (he has only missed that mark once in his 10-year career). St. Louis is a battletested group who has proven staying power in pennant races. The other trend that isn’t likely to last is the good starting pitching the Reds have enjoyed of late. The once club ace, Aaron Harang, has spent the past two and a half years wondering where his mojo went. In that time, he is 16-26 with an ERA above 4.50. The Harangutan is a modest 4-5 this year so far, but also has posted a 5.43 ERA in 12 starts. Johnny Cueto also joins the list of questionable starters in Cincinnati's rotation. Johnny is off to a hot start (5-1, 4.09 ERA) but has never demonstrated that he can pitch consistently effective throughout the course of a whole season. He had a tremendous month of May, only giving up six runs in five starts, but then hemorrhaged eight runs to St. Louis in his first start in June. Cueto will be key if the Reds are to make a push for October, but remaining consistent is the only way that can happen. Then there are the Reds hitters. One major bonus in the Reds lineup this season has been Scott Rolen. The veteran third-baseman, who was considered primarily a defensive upgrade, has produced well from the plate too this season, belting 14 home runs already. Last year a major knock on the Reds was their inability to produce runs, and Rolen hitting lots of home runs is by and large a pleasant surprise. Yet again, Rolen hasn’t hit more than 20 home runs in the past five years prior to this season, so it seems likely that his hitting production will inevitably decline. Rightfielder Jay Bruce is another wild card. When Bruce first came up two years ago, he scorched major-league pitching the first few weeks that he saw it, but then the National League started throwing him some junk and his numbers swiftly declined. Last year was immensely forgettable for the young phenom, hitting a measly .223 before breaking his arm. This year he is off to a better start at .266 but still struggles with strikeouts. There are other variables that are clicking now but might not be all season long. For any team, prolonged success is made up in large part due to players peaking at the same time, and the Reds have put themselves in a position to make that happen. Chances are, though – at the risk of sounding like Debbie Downer – things will fall apart for the Reds and the division will go St. Louis’ way. I love them; I just don’t believe in them. But we might still get the Wild Card. rested in Advert Inte isin gi Affordable Rates etvibes? tre nS 7 Local Sports Many sizes (full page, 1/2 page, 1/4 page, 1/8 page) Black & White and Color available Discounts for Nonprofits Contact Lynne at 513-421-7803 ext. 11 or lynneausman@cincihomeless.org for more information. Ask A Vendor My question is to a specific vendor. I don't know his name. He is an African-American male. Most mornings, he is selling Streetvibes in the median at Central Parkway and Vine, between the Gateway Garage and the Kroger Building. My question is simple: Can I help you? I am very impressed by you. You are out in that median almost every day. I admire your diligence. You are very friendly and polite. I would like to understand your circumstances and see if I could help you make them better. I have often thought that something that people who end up in difficult circumstances have in common is that they just lacked the support that everyone (I mean everyone) needs. I think I could be a good supporter. I could offer some financial support, but not a lot. But I think I could offer a lot of good advice. I'm middle-aged, have a professional career and think I'm pretty decent at figuring things out and finding solutions to problems. Name withheld at author’s request E-mail given to vendor ‘Cover to Cover’ To the Editor: I work in the Kroger Building downtown and I purchase your newspaper on a regular basis. I wanted to take a moment to tell you how much I like the gentleman that stands on Central Parkway in between the Gateway Garage and the Kroger Building. I have passed him every morning on my way into work and just recently within the past couple of months started purchasing the newspaper. He is professional, well dressed, friendly with “Hello” every morning and not pushy with the paper. I was always curious about the paper; and if it weren’t for his demeanor, I probably would have never purchased one. I read it from cover to cover and have learned what your purpose is and will encourage my colleagues to support your cause. I look for this gentleman and look forward to his “Good morning,” “Hello,” “Have a nice day,” “Have a good weekend.” The one time I asked him a question about the paper, he was quick to answer and very knowledgeable about it. Needless to say, I am very impressed with this young man. I know that times are tough, and it is refreshing to see someone who is or has been down in their luck getting up every morning and working. I will continue to support your newspaper as long as it is available. Thank you. Linda Mager Cincinnati Have something on your mind? Want to comment on an article or vendor? Let us know: 117 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvibes2@yahoo.com STREETVIBES Only purchase Vendor Streetvibes from BADGED vendors. Vendors wear their WHITE badges while they sell the Mary paper. �8 Art Review STREETVIBES June 15 - 30, 2010 The Power of SOS Art is Engagement But a bit more order would help By Kathy Stockman Contributing Writer I n its eighth year, SOS Art is an event that invites artists of all ages, including poets and musicians, and the city to engage in a discussion about peace and justice. As an art historian whose scholarship focus has rested mostly in Latino art and critical race theory, I am always surprised to find that this discussion is not more prevalent in contemporary art. Few contemporary artists, especially those in Cincinnati, take on this topic, yet as by the wide participation and patronage of SOS Art and other local events has illustrated, sociopolitical debates remain strong and impassioned. The visual component of SOS Art, which ran May 28-June 6, included a non-juried show of two- and three-dimensional art open to local artists. As a non-juried show, the discussion of peace and justice is an open forum for all artists who wish to express themselves and to honestly and effectively participate in this dialogue. The result is a presentation of objects that vary in medium, artistic style and ability, subject and perspective. At times such a breadth of presentation overwhelmed this viewer. Moving from gallery to gallery throughout the two floors of the Art Academy of Cincinnati, which housed the exhibit, did not always invite the thoughtful The Ungrateful Traveler by Jeff Casto. Vinit Murthy. Sheri Besso created Full Deck, a commentary on “campaign madness.” Vinit Murthy. and perhaps even philosophical introspection these sociopolitical themes require. In one gallery, the viewer was met with national and local politics; the next topics included racism, feminism, homophobia; then the next was environmentalism. And sometimes all themes found a place on the same wall! Of course, all of these are integral parts to the overall discussion. However, a nonjuried show, I think, requires special care that will successfully move the dialogue throughout the different spaces. Without careful presentation, the exhibition risks presenting itself as a catalogue of newspaper headlines. As it is, the show rested perhaps too heavily on the literary and performance components of SOS Art for the needed dialogue. This is not to suggest that the point of the show and the themes were lost. The power of the artistic expression is certainly present in this diversity. Inviting all artists and visitors to engage in a sociopolitical dialogue is an invitation that should remain open. I believe artists and their art have a moral obligation to the community, and SOS Art provides a venue for artists to meet it. Yet I maintain that providing some kind of control or set parameters of a discussion leads to greater success. This becomes most obvious with the collaborative projects presented in the show. Homeless Teens is made up of digital designs created by Mark Wiesner’s ninth-grade students at Summit Country Day School. This collabora- Saad Ghosn and his woocut print, We Float, We Sink. Vinit Murthy. tive student work, with its obvious and narrowly set thematic parameters, packs a wonderfully powerful punch. Just as successful is the collaboration between students at Chatfield College, Northern Kentucky University and the residency program at Miami University’s Center for Community Engagement. This partnership resulted At times such in the now well-known discussion about the Jim a breadth of Tarbell mural in Over-thepresentation Rhine (see “Gigantic Insult? overwhelmed this Towering Tribute?,” issue of viewer. Moving Nov. 1-14, 2009). The piece from gallery to enjoys a continued success gallery throughout that rests, I think, on the inthe two floors of vitation to the viewer to par- the Art Academy of ticipate in the conversation. Cincinnati, which In light of the recent reac- housed the exhibit, tion to a couple of Shepherd did not always Fairey’s murals, we can see invite the thoughtful here an example of art – muand perhaps even ral, mixed media, sculpture, philosophical etc. – that engages through introspection these an open invitation to all to sociopolitical participate in a discussion. themes require. It is education – through art’s discussion that invites all to the conversation – that makes both Homeless Teens and the continuing discussion of the Tarbell mural successful efforts toward community engagement of sociopolitical issues. It is this open invitation – extended to diverse voices and eyes working to sharpen our dialogue, break our isolation, and strengthen our community – that is the fundamental principle of SOS Art. L-R, Broken Fence and Pain Faces by Kris Allen Courtney. Vinit Murthy. �STREETVIBES June 15 - 30, 2010 Out in the Open 9 �10 Poetry Page STREETVIBES June 15 - 30, 2010 All Tattered and Torn By Lee Caldwell They say children are sent from heaven above to parents and homes to be nourished and loved. I desperately wonder, how can that be? A home filled with abuse is all that I see, Slapping and hitting, kicking, too, Arms pinched and bleeding, now turning blue. Father in Heaven, why couldn’t you see, why would this family want a child like me? I know you love me, my prayers answered true, and sometimes they’re not. A bath filled with water, but why so hot? Washington Park in winter. Aimee Willhoite. If Only By Bonnie Neumeier If only from this valley of Over-the-Rhine We might rise Knowing the toil of our hands Labored long and hard For what is here The powerful now want to dismiss and displace If only we trusted our sense of what is right And not resign or despair When we see it rearranged and torn apart With fangs foul with greed And a false sense of authority over our land If only we took back the streets Dancing with pride Opening them up declaring These are not dead end streets Our feet walk miles everyday To tender these streets with soft caring For our sisters and brothers If only we could save the ancient trees The catalpa, the linden, the oaks In Washington Park Shading us in hot summers Where we lay down to feel The ancestors buried deep rise up Through the tickling green grass If only we could strengthen our resolve To claim our right to low-income housing Make a mix that is equitable And praise the beauty of the common people That makes this place real, not plastic or phony With a modernity that reeks with “We know what’s best for you, our way or no way” If only we had time to push away Our woes, worries and pressures To be free enough to spend our days Planning our dreams Rather than lamenting our losses And had resources enough to make dreams happen. If only we could sing from our roof tops Rise and Shine Over-the-Rhine Our spirits will forever haunt this place We shall not be moved A home filled with laughter, a home filled with joy, often I dreamed as a wee small boy. I close my eyes and dream through the night a home full of love, it seems so right. To change their hearts and the anger within, please call me home and try it again. Send them a child, all perfect and right who makes no mistakes, from morning to night. Father in Heaven what must I do, so they will love me, the way I love you? Bless my parents both mom and dad, help me do better, and not be so bad. I offer this prayer while on bended knee, father dear father what’s this that I see? The bird on my window as white as a dove, the light shining thru and brighter above. Father in Heaven, can it be calling me home, are you calling me? Angels are singing, songs of your joy. I’m finally home, here’s your little lost boy. �STREETVIBES June 15 - 30, 2010 Vendor Voice 11 The Life’s Moments with Luggage The ever changing rhythm of the street is the foremost companion of the street person. While the agony and misery are slated in due proportions, it is the variable by which survival is measured. The course is set and the undertaking is up to its participants. For the outsider it appears to be in disarray; however, for those who live this lifestyle, it’s essential for their survival. Knowing and understanding the rules as such is the only way to make it through the day. Your every move depends on a little know-how and abundance of wit. Without plans or preparation, the day begins with the shuffling that measures success. Hurrying to get to that place for a meal; or if you will, a shower. Constantly thinking ahead, hoping that you can make the timing that is most important for your daily routine. Everywhere you need to be, there is a line waiting for you; it goes with the territory. Stand around until it’s your turn, ears open to hear what your next move might be. In the life of the street, one has to see with their ears and hear with their eyes; otherwise you might miss in which direction you need to go in order to get what you need. Every decision is predicated on an immediate need. Shelter for the night, a meal, or shower and clothing are pertinent for your well being, so you have to be constantly searching for where, when and how. Staying in beat with the street, you have to follow the flow of those who share this lifestyle. Always mindful that each day is different, you have to review the schedule that you keep in your head, of where and when. It might be called life in the fast lane, only it’s actually slow. Ah! It’s always slow for the poor. Yet things cannot be measured by others’ ideas. The little that one is able to accumulate is worth its weight in gold; its importance is without compare. The mindset is one of “do or die.” You cannot miss one simple thing, whether it’s being on time for the soup kitchen or waiting your turn in line at the shower house. The simplest of things are so very important for your daily success. The baggage for this type of life is much more than a shoulder bag or an old beat-up suitcase with all your world inside. Now you have to think, “Who – or where – Without plans or can I go to get whatever it is I need?” A perceived preparation, the need, as most cases play out, what I thought would get me over the hump is something I reday begins with ally didn’t need. With more luggage than I can the shuffling that carry, I find myself looking for a place to unmeasures success. load some of my cargo, only to replace it Hurrying to get to that with more of the same. The consistency of place for a meal; or if having the need for so many unnecessary you will, a shower. things is beyond your understanding, yet there is that compulsion. Staying in your head, the mind set on getting whatever you can. Up and down the sidewalk, watching the movement of the street, staying in tune with the beat that makes your world move. “Ah, this is the life.” I say, “You made that up!” Now, let’s move up the sidewalk, a block or two. If you see it, you know how it sounds: the same as it looks. A reality that only those who live this way understand. A place where hope and help are misspelled with disappointment. The disappointment of life itself. No yesterdays, no tomorrows, just the moment. Yet one believes that relief is just around the corner or just a block or two away. The only rule is survival at any cost. “Ah, this is the life.” Note: I would like all our readers to engage our vendors on the challenge of questions. There is an ad in your Streetvibes that invites dialogue: “Go ahead: Ask a Vendor.” Please submit your questions. Busy Time for Housing Advocates Resisting 3CDC and blogging about the hurdles By Michelle Dillingham Contributing Writer If you are an affordable-housing advocate in this town, you are busy. In fact, it can get so busy that some tasks (read: fundraising) can get delayed, but I digress. Luckily, Cincinnati has an organization to help coordinate housing advocacy, the Affordable Housing Advocates (AHA). At the beginning of the year AHA set some goals. These included monitoring the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority, pro- viding education on affordable housing and increasing affordable housing. In the past six months AHA has taken a number of actions: √ Co-hosted the Promoting Inclusion in Neighborhood Redevelopment and Housing Forum at City Hall along with the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission. The event brought out 80 participants and aired on CitiCable about 10 times. √ Offered recommendations for action to the City/County Fair Housing Advisory Board. √ Hosted a table at the Neighborhood Summit, offering education materials on affordable housing. √ Joined the Home Think Tank collaborative to increase housing advocacy for people with disabilities. √ Opposed the actions of the city and the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) related to the closing of the low-income Metropole Apartments and urged them to take action to ensure downtown remains an integrated, mixed income neighborhood. √ Made recommendations and testified on policies proposed in Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority’s annual plan. √ Launched social networking strategies to provide public education, including use of Facebook, Twitter and a blog. √ Created the Housing Preservation Committee, chaired by Kelan Craig of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio to discuss issues relative to the preservation of affordable housing, specific buildings of interest and strategies for preserving at-risk properties. √ Expressed deep concern on the proposal that the Drop Inn Center be moved from its current location, again resulting in a loss of diversity and the loss of a mixed-income neighborhood. √ Commented on the recent appointment of an interim executive director of the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) who has no experience in housing and asked the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban development to exercise its authority and take over the public-housing authority in order to protect the public investment and the more than 16,000 families who rely on CMHA for housing. Behind each of these efforts are AHA members who worked to ensure AHA stayed true to its mission: to further the creation, retention and accessibility of affordable housing in our community. Yet there is still so much to fight for. AHA will host its annual meeting at 4 p.m. June 22 at the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati, presenting the report, “State of Affordable Housing in Hamilton County: The Crisis.” Want more Streetvibes? Check out the Streetvibes blog http://streetvibes.wordpress.com �12 STREETVIBES June 15 - 30, 2010 Guest Column Gimme Shelter, But Not in New York Charging rent for the working homeless By Larry Gross Contributing Writer It isn’t politically correct to discriminate against gays or minorities. There are laws that protect these good people from it. When it comes to the homeless, there are good people here, too, but discrimination runs high. It’s hard to find much help or support for those living on the street. But there is some. Here in the Cincinnati area, there are organizations that do want to lend a hand to those who are down and out and homeless. There are some here who get it. We have, of course, the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, the non-profit organization that publishes this newspaper you’re reading. There’s also the Drop Inn Center on West 12th Street, which offers shelter to those in need. So does the Brighton Center on East 20th Street in Covington. These and other agencies in Cincinnati have their hearts in the right place. But in New York, that heart doesn’t exist. That heart has turned cold. Starting this spring, New York Mayor Bloomberg and his administration are charging rent to homeless families who live in pub- licly run shelters if they have jobs. Basically, if you’re homeless in New York and trying to pull yourself up by your bootstraps for your family, in the “Big Apple,” you’re going to be charged for it. New York’s new policy is based on an old 1997 state law that wasn’t being enforced until now. The policy is murky. It isn’t clear as to how much homeless families should pay for shelter. The amount varies based on how many family members there are and how much money the homeless people are making. Maybe those homeless families should take comfort that this new heartless policy won’t exceed 50 percent of what they’re making. Taking away 50 percent in a place like New York seems to me like a lot of money. While this policy is badly conceived, it’s also being badly executed. Families are being told to pay up or get out – and it’s not just families who are being evicted. According to a recent New York Times report, a survivor of domestic violence was actually locked out of her room for nonpayment of rent. The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty states that every year more than 3 million people experience homelessness. One-third of this homeless population is made up of families with parents not being able to provide a roof to put over the heads of their children. Those children now total over 1 million, with that number increasing every year. Perhaps someone in New York needs to remind Mayor Bloomberg of this fact. Maybe it would make a difference to him – children living on the street. Maybe it wouldn’t. If the American Dream is still alive in this country – and I’m not at all sure that it is – this policy in New York against the homeless, especially homeless families, needs to be eliminated and done away with. It’s counterproductive and increasingly separates the haves and have-nots in our society. While some in the Cincinnati community continue to look down on the homeless, we’re not charging them rent to live in shelters. We’re not punishing them while they try to pull themselves up. We’re not like those calling the shots in New York. Maybe New York and Mayor Bloomberg need to take a look at us here in Cincinnati. We, at least, still seem to have the ability to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. Some of us here can also remember a word New York apparently has forgotten. That word is “compassion” for fellow human beings. The Guinea Pig Nightmare Comic By Anne Skove �STREETVIBES June 15 - 30, 2010 Guest Column District 9: Over-the-Rhine 13 A context for the city’s attack on Drop Inn Center By Thomas A. Dutton Contributing Writer “T hey made us many promises, more than I can remember, but they never kept but one; they promised to take our land, and they took it.” (Oglala Chief Red Cloud). District 9, nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards in March, is now widely available at a movie gallery near you. Rent it, watch it and learn about Over-the-Rhine. More specifically, watch it in light of the most recent city-corporate effort to displace the Drop Inn Center from its home in that neighborhood. District 9 is not your normal alien movie. The typical question these movies pose is, what are they going to do to us? In District 9 the roles are reversed. The aliens in District 9 are metaphors – stand-ins for homeless people, people of color, immigrants, marginalized groups generally, what some have referred to as “surplus humanity” – and the question District 9 poses is, what are we going to do with them? Denigrated and vilified as “prawns,” the movie charts the brutal removal of the aliens from one part of Johannesburg to a new and “improved” facility out of sight of humanity, and thus its moral sensibilities. Evidently, the “prawns” in Over-theRhine have to move for the good of the whole; a revealing statement, actually – apparently homeless people are not considered part of the whole. On March 30, at a City Hall meeting called by Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, three board members of the Drop Inn Center were given their marching orders to make plans to relocate the Drop Inn Center because it “has got to go.” Accompanying the mayor were Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, some city staff, members representing the Continuum of Care and CEO Steve Leeper, Adam Gelter and Joe Pichler representing the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC.) Though no agenda was provided, the intent of this meeting became all too clear. While cordial on the surface, just below it was anything but. Some accounts characterize the meeting as abrupt and disrespectful, both in tone and body language. It doesn’t take much to surmise why, because the question of why the DIC “must” move never was negotiated, nor was it going to be. The whole thrust was procedural, a matter of simply figuring out the logistical steps, with 3CDC offering its “help” in searching for new sites for a new facility. The Drop Inn Center needs to make no argument as to its home, at least not until the city-corporate types make theirs. And that should be something to behold. I wonder if they will be able to say what’s really on their minds. Many years ago I was approached by an unnamed city council member, whose 40-foot likeness now adorns a prominent entry point to Over-the-Rhine, urging me to convince the leaders of the Drop Inn Center to relocate. “Why does the Drop Inn Center have to move?” I asked. “Well, you know…” “Hmmm. No, I don’t. Can you explain?” “Well, it’s just not right.” “Not right? What do you mean?” I inquired. “Well, it’s just not a good fit.” “How is it not a good fit?” “Well, the Drop Inn Center just needs to move.” “Why?” I asked. I am still waiting for an answer. And it’s doubtful that an inquiring public will get one. The powers-that-be don’t want to have such a conversation, of course, and will do everything in their power to avoid one. This is precisely why the “conversation” that took place in City Hall was structured the way it was – as method and logistics. Some of this can be explained by recent trends in our national discourse. We Americans seem to deal with our most intractable problems by either turning a blind eye toward them or by shifting the terms of understanding so they magically disappear. “Global warming” downgrades to “climate change,” racism is solved through references to a supposed color-blindness or to a “post-racial” society, and massive inequality will be overcome by “free markets” and access to “equal opportunity.” Bogus. Let’s call this out for what it truly is. The discourse of the city-corporate alliance that is developing around the removal of the Drop Inn Center has a long, sordid history in the United States. It comes in many names: manifest destiny, social cleansing, ethnic cleansing, negro removal, gentrification, colonialism; and let’s add another, “econocide” (which I will explain shortly). Cincinnati is witnessing in Overthe-Rhine today a variant of colonialism in line with the history of this country as a settler state to marginalize, exterminate or remove the “undesirables” whose very presence hinders the (colonialist) project. In this sense gentrification (predicated on removing the Drop Inn Center) as a modern-day form of colonialism is nothing new, although characteristics might be different. It is certainly racist (“white middle class saviors”) in that it targets communities of color for removal or transfer or displacement. It is also classist in that ecoA resident enters the Drop Inn Center. Jon Hughes/Photopress. nomic policies are spun around spurring “homeownership” and market-rate development, all the while suggesting that the needs “Econocide is a worldwide tendency to arrange the of lower-income residents can be met by such eco- disappearance of the losers in the great drama of nomically exclusive approaches. And insofar as the globalization.” state appropriates gentrification and sanctions it as Imagine being the target of econocide, where the urban policy, racism and classism now become of- following is a daily experience in Over-the-Rhine: ficial state policy. • You are told that your very presence in your own This is the game plan for places like Over-thecommunity is disorderly, unwanted, unattractive, Rhine today. As the city favors a business climate displeasing, and that you are not a “good neighbased upon privatization and public/private partbor;” nerships, the flip side is that all benefits and awards • Your own history is retold in ways that edit you accrue to new gentrifiers by expelling all traces out; of the poor and homeless. This is not a situation • You are told that the use of force, backed by the where the byproduct of urban policy just happens police, prisons, surveillance and punitive social to negatively impact the poor. No, this is urban polpolicy and added to with a dash of free-market icy where the active defense of privilege and class fundamentalism, will solve all social problems; depends upon the denial and removal of the poor. • You’re told that deregulation for the mobility of This is urban policy with a vengeance. The tactics corporate capital, coupled with the regulation of are clear, whereby the city promotes an agenda to urban public space by punitive social policy and sanitize urban neighborhoods and links crime and police sweeps (what some refer to as the annihimilitaristic measures such as more jails, more polation of space by law), are precisely needed to lice and more punitive legislation into a seamless serve your interests; marriage. In this view, the root causes of crime are • You are told of the need for outside, corporate rarely addressed and where the prison of today is forces, with the city’s blessing and support, to just the latest incarnation of the same line of thinklead the charge in redeveloping your neighboring that produced the racial enclosures of slavery, hood because there is just too much fragmentaJim Crow, the ghetto and the Indian reservation. tion, and the successful organizations you have This is “econocide,” a term developed by theobuilt over the decades are deemed incapable. rist Arjun Appadurai in his poignant Fear of Small • And with regard to the specifics of the Drop Inn Numbers: An Essay on the Geography of Anger. ApCenter’s removal, again, imagine being on the repadurai’s concern is that violence is taking new ceiving end of a domestic neocolonialism steeped forms in the new era of “intense globalization,” of in econocide: which ethnic cleansing and culturally motivated • You are not approached in the spirit of mutual reviolence perpetrated on a large scale are two of the spect and reciprocity. There is no attempt to unmost pressing examples. For Appadurai, the extent derstand the complexities of the Drop Inn Center, and rapidity of globalization have produced fearful nor its successes. No, the approach is militaristic; conditions of anxiety and uncertainty, with one rethe city barks orders and 3CDC maps logistics for sponse being the mobilization of violence against how the Drop Inn Center is to move. How would minorities, immigrants, the poor, the homeless moving the Drop Inn Center serve the Drop Inn Center’s mission to end homelessness? Not only and the outcast as a kind of exorcism to produce does the Drop Inn Center own its land and have certainty and stability. Violence becomes a kind of a right to be there, moving it makes no sense in purification rite on the part of “majoritarian identities” to purge their fear of marginalized populations See District 9, P. 4 that are being written off and targeted for removal: �14 STREETVIBES June 15 - 30, 2010 Guest Column District 9: Over-the-Rhine The men’s step-up dorm at the Drop Inn Center was created as part of a shelter restructuring last year designed to improve services at the Drop Inn Center. Jon Hughes/Photopresse. Continued from page 13 solving the circumstances producing homelessness in Cincinnati. The Homeless to Homes report makes no mention of a move. What a waste of dollars to create a new facility when the money could be directed to permanent supportive affordable housing, for example, which is precisely what Homeless to Homes advocates. • You are presented with faux humanitarianism. I and others have already called this out to the public before in our “When Humanitarianism Goes Bad” (see either http://www.cincinnatibeacon.com/index.php?/contents/comments/ when_humanitarianism_goes_bad/ or http:// arts.muohio.edu/cce/papers/When%20Humanitarianism%20Goes%20Bad.pdf). And what concerned us then is raining down on us now – a new, high-bred rhetoric of concern and compassion for the homeless that masks true intentions, which is not to end homelessness, just move it elsewhere. I suspect the Drop Inn Center board is not fooled by this urban colonialism dressed up in a false generosity. • You are essentially lied to because the practices and the principles of 3CDC, or the city, are not in sync. Operating as individual entities or as a citycorporate alliance as is happening now, the track record in following through in safeguarding the interests of our most vulnerable citizens is inadequate. Actually, “safeguarding the interests of our most vulnerable citizens” is being way too nice. It feels more like a war. Through policy and willful action, the poor of the Queen city have been targeted time and again. Consider: • After a promise to replace all 100 or so units of housing units after the demolition of the Milner Hotel – torn down in 1994 to make room for upscale housing at a time the city was arguing for economically mixed communities – only 20 units were replaced at the time, and those no longer exist. • The city’s effort to kill ReSTOC’s Vine Street Community Project back in 2000. After officially backing the project, Mayor Charlie Luken pulled his support, encouraging city council to block the release of city-administered funds and requiring ReSTOC to sell one of its primary buildings in the development to a private developer. This was not the end of it, however, as the city forced ReSTOC to sell off more of its property and convert some rental units into owner-occupied units. • The Housing Impaction Ordinance of 2001, which forbids the “city of Cincinnati from spending, approving or in any way condoning more subsidized low-income development in those areas deemed impacted,” mistakes symptoms for causes by popularizing the misguided view that the concentration of low-income housing is the root problem in Over-the-Rhine. Not seen in this view are the larger, structural causes that include the disappearance of decent paying, lower-skilled jobs, suburbanization, declining wages, welfare reform and other rollbacks of state-sponsored services, poor education and lack of affordable health and child care, all of which disproportionately and severely impacted poorer populations. • The city’s decision to abolish its Planning Department in 2003, which signaled to all those many people and organizations who worked on the Over-the-Rhine Comprehensive Plan (2002) that the Plan itself was essentially shelf material, effectively walking away from responsibilities outlined in the Plan to safeguard economic mix. • The city didn’t just pass one anti-panhandling ordinance, but two. Now a person cannot lie or use profanity or ask for change more than once, even though governments shall make no law…abridging freedom of speech. • The emptying of 1316 Race St. of 33 tenants who were displaced by the owner as a condition of sale to 3CDC. These residents were pressured with 30 days’ notice to vacate the premises. As this happened in November 2006, many residents had to find refuge from the approaching winter cold. • The city’s attempt through the Zoning Text Amendments to restrict and remove social services from Over-the-Rhine in the name of deconcentrating social services. • 3CDC’s word to keep basketball courts in a redesigned Washington Park has no value as the courts have been dropped from the program. It appears this was a unilateral decision made by 3CDC, and the message this sends to AfricanAmerican teenagers is loud and clear: You are not wanted. • 3CDC’s statement about the importance of having “a deep-water pool south of Liberty in Overthe-Rhine” (because the existing one in Washington Park will be eliminated) seems to hold no water. It appears there are no plans to renovate Ziegler Park’s shallow pool into a deep-water one anytime soon. • 3CDC’s claim that, as a rule, they don’t displace people from their homes is contradicted by their action with the residents of the Metropole Apartments downtown. 3CDC can’t even relocate them in their own downtown neighborhood. The contradictions in these examples –and there are many more – are striking on their face. The professed sincerity for the homeless and our least empowered citizens is contradicted outright by citycorporate practices. The 37-year history of the Drop Inn Center deserves respect, gratitude and acknowledgement for the experience and wisdom its gained in operating with strong ties to community organizations, both in and outside homeless-care provision. The Drop Inn Center is much, much more than a “shelter.” It is a community-based organization woven into the fabric of Over-the-Rhine with strong ties with many neighborhood organizations. Its graduates have gone on to establish new neighborhood institutions and even national reputations (think of Jimmy Heath, Donald Whitehead, Jimmy Render, Joe Beene and Mike Rogers, for starters). Over its long history, it has not only raised awareness in the city about the circumstances and need for shelter, but it continues to argue for a different societal future where homelessness is eradicated and not just moved to a new District 9, out of sight and out of mind. I suspect this piece will not be well received by the likes of 3CDC and the city. And I fully expect that these entities will act in the retaliatory fashion typical of bullies, which is precisely how they are operating now. I would not be surprised if they try to restrict rightful monies from reaching the Drop Inn Center. I would like to be wrong here. No one appreciates arrogance and paternalism. Patronizing the Drop Inn Center, I fear, is the first step in ignoring it altogether. The challenge is to construct a society full of real humanitarianism, building upon what the Drop Inn Center enacts everyday. It is a place of compassion, of empathy, of healing. It is a place that can restore Cincinnati’s humanity. Apparently the city and its agents can learn something from the Drop Inn Center. Thomas A. Dutton is director of the Miami University Center for Community Engagement in Overthe-Rhine. �STREETVIBES June 15 - 30, 2010 15 Resources Need Help or Want to Help? Shelter: Women and Children Central Access Point Cincinnati Union Bethel St. Francis Soup Kitchen Churches Active in Northside 535-2719 591-2246 381-SAFE 768-6907 FreeStore/FoodBank 557-2873 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Bethany House 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 St. Vincent de Paul 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Salvation Army 762-5660 562-8841 872-9259 381-2247 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Health Resource Center Homeless Mobile Health Van McMicken Dental Clinic 357-4602 352-2902 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John 558-8888 981-5800 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter Crossroad Health Center 458-6670 977-4489 Treatment: Men Other Resources Shelter: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 921-1613 Center Independent Living Options Emmanuel Community Center 961-2256 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Prospect House Justice Watch 241-0490 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Starting Over 1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 661-4620 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Anthony House (Youth) 961-4080 Treatment: Both 761-1480 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 Drop Inn Center 721-0643 Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) 471-1100 221-3350 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 Housing: CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 961-4555 751-0643 381-1954 421-5211 Food/Clothing Lord’s Pantry OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 621-5300 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 351-0422 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 621-6364 771-4800 751-0600 721-4811 241-2965 People Working Cooperatively The Caring Place United Way Women Helping Women Off The Streets 351-7921 631-1114 211 977-5541 421-5211 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Hamilton County ADAS Board Recovery Health Access Center Sober Living Talbert House 946-4888 281-7422 681-0324 641-4300 Hamilton/Middletown 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 Northern Kentucky Advocacy Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House Dana Transitional Bridge Services Volunteers of America Anna Louise Inn Our Daily Bread AA Hotline CCAT Joseph House (Veterans) 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Goodwill industries Healing Connections Mary Magdalen House 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 381-0111 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 First Step Home Shelter: Both 621-5514 214 E. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Treatment: Women 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mt. Airy Shelter 241-2600 241-2563 St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry Brighton Center 863-3184 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 859-491-8303 799 Ann St. Newport, KY Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center Faces Without Places Stop AIDS 579-8547 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 421-2437 Health ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 859-491-3335 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 Go Ahead: Ask a Vendor Invitation to a dialogue with our readers Streetvibes vendors see a lot that you might not. For example, some can describe what goes on in an abandoned building at night when they sleep there. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to stand on a street corner selling newspapers? That’s hardly a common occupation anymore. How much money do Streetvibes vendors make – and what do they do with it? Do they have other jobs? Become a Fan of Streetvibes on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/streetvibescincinnati If you have questions, some of our vendors would like to answer them. “Go Ahead: Ask a Vendor” will be an occasional feature, with questions submitted by readers and answered by Streetvibes vendors. You may direct your question to a specific vendor or we’ll invite one to respond. Only include your name if you want to. Send questions to streetvibes2@yahoo.com Or to Streetvibes, 117 E. 12th St. Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. Go ahead. Ask. Missed an Issue? Check out the Streetvibes archive at www.cincihomeless.org/content/streetvibes �16 Artists as Activists STREETVIBES June 15 - 30, 2010 The Interplay of Fear, Love, Light Gena Grunenberg re-creates the world “E arly on I realized that art was the only thing I needed to maintain sense of myself – also to make sense of the world,” says Gena Grunenberg. Grunenberg is a Cincinnati artist who as a child constantly drew and painted. In fourth grade she won an award for best drawing in her school. Her talent was recognized and encouraged by her mother, also a painter, and by her art teachers. After high school Grunenberg studied graphic arts, switching later to fine arts. Graphic arts did not satisfy her, the emphasis placed principally on how to create a sellable product, successfully advertise and manipulate the masses. This was at a time when other planetary and personal concerns were preoccupying her and that she felt she needed to express. The world was a frightening place to be, the Cold War going on, nuclear threats imminent, global warming pointing, the AIDS epidemic emerging; and she was directly dealing with issues of violence, peace at home often disrupted by an alcoholic father, abuse frequently encountered in her workplace. Grunenberg decided to independently study drawing and painting and enrolled under art teacher and artist Hugo Valerio. At the same time she learned various techniques, including pottery, silkscreen, jewelry and stone setting. Her aim was to develop good skills and draftsmanship to use to address the many issues she was facing. “I was witnessing corporations mistreating their workers, battering of the environment, racism, war, ethnic and individual violence. I wanted to use my art as a message,” she says. For few years, however, Grunenberg did not paint or draw, afraid to confront the problems she was encountering, but which were simmering inside her. This changed when she was asked to paint a pig as for the Big Pig Gig event organized by Artworks. She was then living with By Saad Ghosn a man who was controlContributing Writer ling and physically abusive; he did not want her to partake in the project. Determined, she fought him back and completed a pig on the theme of pollution. This gave her the courage to assert herself and move forward. Soon after she left the abusive relationship and started a whole body of work addressing the issues that have affected her until then. Domestic violence and violence in general became prominent topics in her work. Every Woman, an acrylic painting she did at the time, is about all women. The painting depicts them as parents, as abused and oppressed, carrying their burden into their old age, but also healing thanks to their inner power. Ice Tree addresses the plight of global warming and the insult large oil companies inflict on nature; it contrasts an oil can with a tiny sprig of hope growing next to it. “There is a progression in the violence that starts at home, within the individual, within families, then permeates society and spreads like a web,” Grunenberg says. “It becomes like a spiritual disease manifested in hatred, bigotry, disregard to others, rampant abuses by our capitalistic system, wars, global environmental destruction. … I want to un- A rtists ctivists The Thinker, acrylic painting by Gena Grunenberg. Bill Howes. Gena Grunenberg stands in front of a collection of her puppets. Bill Howes. derstand its causes and address them in my work in order to create awareness, make a difference, render the world a better place.” A couple years ago Grunenberg started building puppets to tackle and personalize the same concerns. Her puppet Fear deals with the prevalent sense of anxiety and fearful living conditions one increasingly experiences in violent modern society. She wants it, however, balanced by a counterpart, Love, that she is currently creating and would like to see take over. Another area of interest is metaphysics and “I want to understand the science of light. Researching the field, Grunenberg discovered that what scientists its causes and address believed and postulated ended up for the most them in my work part being true. Extrapolating to the world of in order to create art, she concluded that, by molding a world acawareness, make a cording to what the artist thinks and believes, difference, render the and by expressing it, the artist renders it real world a better place.” and transmits it to others. The work of art thus - Gena Grunenberg becomes an empowering part of the creation and an important vehicle for change. She emphasizes, however, in In the Beginning, that to effect this change it was important to be honest and truthful. The painting illustrates the need to remove the mask that conceals one’s identity and obliterates one’s true potential. Grunenberg also did a series commentary on the ambivalent duality of individuals, holy through their spirit, full of deficits by their human nature. In The Thinker, they are represented like pawns, fixed and paralyzed, full of holes; they are lonely even when in couples. They are connected by a smoke ribbon emanating from a passing train and ending at a skeleton thinker, alone, isolated and immobile despite having legs and arms. Grunenberg meant the thinker as a reminder to every artist to go beyond the apparent limitations and be the connecter, the transformer, the infuser of life. That’s what she would like her art to do. Three years ago Grunenberg joined Visionaries and Voices, an art studio for people with disabilities; initially the studio coordinator, she is now the exhibit coordinator and curator. She helps the disabled artists grow, develop and assert themselves through their art. Listening to them discuss politics, religion and events that have affected their lives – such as prejudice, racism, abuse, rape – she challenged them to express their feelings through their work, make a statement and share it with others in an exhibition she titled Black and White. More than 30 participated side by side with invited artists; their voices found echo in each others’, resonated, became amplified and multiplied. The show was moving, a visual unfolding of the timeline of ills and violence in our society. “I want to be an activist with my own art,” says Grunenberg, “and also get other people involved. We need to fight isolation and fear and affirm ourselves. Art has a healing and spiritual power; it gives strength and courage. It helped me making tough decisions; I want to use it now to help and empower others – like for the scientists, it can help us create the world we dream of; it can make it real.” Artists as Activists is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati artists who use art as a vehicle for change. Saad Ghosn is the founder of SOS Art. Ghosn can be contacted at saad.ghosn@uc.edu. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2010 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource June 15-30, 2010 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Sad Anniversary for the A-Bomb Marvels and Money Mongers Pg 2: Street Wise Pg 3: Forced Out for the World Cup Gamers Pg 4: Sad Anniversary for the A-Bomb Continued Marvels and Money Mongers Continued Pg 5: Sex Offender Law Unconstitutional Pg 6: ‘Infinite Arms’ and ‘Diamond Eyes’ Pg 7: Loving the Reds, Not Believing Pg 8: The Power of SOS Art is Engagement Pg 9: Out on the Open Pg 10: Arts & Poetry Pg 11: The Life’s Moments with Luggage Busy Time for Housing Advocates Pg 12: Gimme Shelter, But Not in New York Pg 13: District 9: Over-the-Rhine Pg 14: District 9: Over-the-Rhine Continued Pg 15: Resources Pg 16: The Interplay of Fear, Love, Light Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource June 15-30, 2010 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Gregory Flannery Lynne Ausman Veronica Glass Jeni Jenkins Michelle Dillingham Samantha Groark Margo Pierce Paul Kopp Jeremy Flannery Michael Henson David Heitfield Corey Gibson Saad Ghosn Lew Moores Larry Gross Eli Braun Jesse Call Brendon McCartney Michael Fanning Aimie Willhoite Anne Skove Vinit Murthy Jon Hughes Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF 3CDC Activists Aimie Willhoite Anne Skove Arts & Poetry Brendon McCartney Corey Gibson David Heitfield District 9 Drop Inn Center Eli Braun Gena Grunenberg Gregory Flannery Jeni Jenkins Jeremy Flannery Jesse Call Jon Hughes Larry Gross Lew Moores Lynn Baker Lynne Ausman Margo Pierce Michael Fanning Michael Henson Michelle Dillingham New York Ohio Supreme Court Over-the-Rhine Paul Kopp Reds Saad Ghosn Samantha Groark Sex Offender Law St. Louis Veronica Glass Vinit Murthy World Cup https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/96600fdd4c998e350cddf1ee679495ad.pdf 3ada771f65c5aa06d29807b5944cfaf6 PDF Text Text Interview with Mia Carruthers Page 11 Hollywood and Poverty Page 8 Artists as Activists Page 16 STREETVIBES $1 June 1-14, 2010 • Advocating Justice, Building Community • Issue 178 Tell Me: Do You Want to Hold Me? Buy a street paper, help end homelessness By GreGory Flannery Editor egates from 42 street papers in 27 coun­ tries. Some of the papers are huge. Erlik Oslo, in Norway, for example, sells 24,000 elbourne, Australia – Clar­ copies a month. The population of met­ ity arrived on the final day of ropolitan Oslo is about 1.3 million. In the the 15th annual conference city of Cincinnati, whose populations of the International Network of Street is about 340,000, Streetvibes sells 8,000 Papers (INSP). copies a month. “We could very Some street papers well be the largest have paid staff. Many The general membership do not. (Streetvibes has social enterprise in the world,” said Lisa one.) Some European embraced the notion: McLean, executive di­ Street papers are a tangible street papers receive rector of INSP. government subsidies. solution for individuals. Street papers around Many street papers do Given the size of the the world employ not. (Streetvibes is pubstreet-paper movement, an estimated 50,000 lished by the Greater street papers are already homeless and former­ Cincinnati Coalition for one of the largest social ly homeless people as the Homeless, which enterprises in the world. vendors, according to refuses all government McLean. funding.) INSP members shared sales strategies, Social enterprise is the use of econom­ ic activity for social good. Selling street discussed local impediments – it is illegal papers is a form of self-employment for to sell on the streets in the Philippines, for example – and pondered new riddles: poor people. “Selling street papers is an instant shift When Big Issue Korea launches in Seoul from unemployment to employment,” this summer, how many copies would be said Steven Persson, CEO of Big Issue right for a city of 10 million people? Australia, host of the INSP conference. The one common element among “You can start a business for $1.” street papers is their purpose: to fight Streetvibes and many U.S. street news­ poverty by giving homeless people jobs. papers sell for $1 but street papers in Europe and Australia tend to be glossy ‘Other choices’ magazines, selling for up to $5. The price range and print quality are among the The final day of the INSP conference many variations in street papers around featured a presentation by the Global the world. Poverty Project, whose Australian gen­ The INSP conference included 70 del­ eral manager, Richard Fleming, provided M See INSP, p. 4 Frank Dries shows a bag that says, “Do you want to hold me?” INSP. Sheriff Wants to Follow Arizona Jones wants cops to be immigration agents By Jeremy Flannery Contributing WritEr B Butler County Sheriff Richard O. Jones posted this online photo of himself at the Mexican border with Arizona on May 25. utler County Sheriff Richard O. Jones is pushing a November ballot initiative to have Ohio voters adopt legislation similar to Arizona’s new immigration crackdown. Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland says he will veto any bill that mirrors Arizona’s new law, which requires local police to question anyone suspected of having entered the United States without legal documents. State Rep. Courtney Rick Combs (R-Hamilton) is working with Jones on the ballot initiative, according to the sheriff. The Arizona law states, “For any lawful contact made by a law enforcement official or agency of this state or a county, city, town or other political subdivision of this state where reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States, a reasonable attempt shall be made, when practicable, to determine the immigra­ tion status of the person.” The League of United Latin American Citi­ zens of Ohio (LULAC Ohio) sent an open let­ ter to Jones opposing his initiative. The letter details the positive economic impacts of im­ migrant workers and the negative impacts of anti-immigration laws. Jason Riveiro, state director of LULAC Ohio, wonders why Jones considers immigration law a priority for Butler County and Ohio. “I think fiscal conservatives should be questioning how this is going to affect the budgets with enforcement of such a law,” Riveiro says. “Is this really a priority in Ohio? Why is Rick Jones making this a top priority in Butler County? Ohio isn’t Arizona, so it’s like Arizona budgetary concerns requesting snow See Arizona, p. 4 �2 STREETVIBES June 1 - 14, 2010 Editorial By The Numbers 7 The amount of taxes, in billions of dollars, paid by undocumented workers (see page 1). 24,000 The number of copies a street paper in Oslo, Norway, sells each month (see page 1). 1 The dollar denomination of U.S. currency used to create Hey Buddy Can You Spare a Dime (see page 16). 2010 The year Sandra Bullock won the Oscar for best actress (see page 8). 90 Mojo’s weight, in pounds (see page 3). 34 The number of homeless patients served on a typical day at McMicken Dental Clinic (see page 5). 2.5 The length, in boring hours, of Robin Hood (see page 7). 90 The speed, in miles per hour, at which a suspected drunk driver was traveling (see page 12). Don’t Look Away By GreGory Flannery Editor L ynne Ausman could have looked away in disgust when she saw a man pull down his pants and defecate on East Twelfth Street one morning last month. But she didn’t. Instead, Ausman, administrative coordinator of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, looked at the man with compassion, knowing he was troubled, know­ ing he would be arrested if she didn’t act quickly, knowing he needed help. She resolved to make sure he got it. Ausman phoned Josh Spring, executive director of the Homeless Coalition, who enlisted the aid of Rob Goeller, the coalition’s human-rights outreach coor­ dinator. Together the three of them tried to reach a social worker who specializes in helping homeless mentally ill people. A fourth employee helped Spring escort the man to the Homeless Coalition before police arrived. This is the kind of people I work with. It turned out the man – his name was Eddie – was out of medication for his seizure dis­ order. Initially suspicious, he thanked the people who helped him. He said he was 48 years old. He looked 20 years older. “Why are you people being so nice to me?” Eddie asked. “Because you’re important,” Spring said. The work isn’t always as unpleasant as the circumstances under which our staff wel­ comed Eddie. It can often be rewarding, as when vendors succeed in selling enough copies of Streetvibes that they are able to secure housing. It isn’t uncommon for our staff to invite extra work. Della Woolens is a receptionist for the Homeless Coalition. If that job title sounds mundane, there is nothing commonplace about the work she does. Our homeless guests are by definition people in distress, and they bring with them the anger, the frustration, the need and the fear that characterize life on the margins of society. They find in Woolens an unfailing patience, an unfaltering kindness. Want proof? Woolens is now embarked on starting the Safe Haven and Homeless Mentor Network. “Since I began working here I have taken a great interest in helping the homeless,” she says. “Particularly, I am concerned with protecting the homeless from violence and hate.” The facility she hopes to found will start out as a day shelter for homeless people, with the hope of expanding as funding allows. “Safe Haven will provide a nurturing and hospitable environment, while providing much needed connections to community resources as well as safe, reliable transportation to and from outside agencies, physicians, employment sites and housing opportunities,” Woolens says. “A second major component will be the creation of a homeless mentor network that would pair homeless individuals with caring and nurturing community volunteers willing to devote time to providing support, love and guidance.” Here’s where you come in – and it won’t cost you a penny. Pepsi Co. is holding a compe­ tition for a $50,000 grant to benefit a non-profit organization. Safe Haven and Homeless Mentor Network is among the groups contending for the grant. To help get the project start­ ed, go to Refresheverything.com/safehavenforthehomeless and vote for it to get the grant. Finally solving homelessness will take major government funding and changes in so­ cial policies, because the greatest single cause of homelessness is the lack of affordable housing, as Jeni Jenkins, education coordinator for the Homeless Coalition, tells anyone who will listen. But the work of helping individual homeless people is often grassroots in nature. Earlier this year a blogger criticized the Homeless Coalition for trying to organize low-income residents of the Metropole Apartments to resist their forced displacement. The Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) has decided that their homes would make a fine location for a boutique hotel. The Homeless Coalition’s effort was clearly just an effort to make money, according to the blogger. The assertion was false. The coalition didn’t make any money by helping the low-income residents. Nor did it try to. Nor is the coalition the kind of employment likely to fuel a lucra­ tive career. One example: This month we are at long last able to put paper towels in our rest room. When budgets are tight, as ours always is, we cut costs where we can. Fortunately, we are not in this fight alone. Thanks to the generosity of United Nations Appeals Judge Mark Painter, I was able to attend the annual conference of the International Network of Street Papers last month in Melbourne, Australia (see “Tell Me: Do You Want to Hold Me,” page 1.) The street-paper movement is growing. Until governments around the world meet their responsibility and end homelessness, it is up to organizations like the Homeless Coalition to do what they can. What we can do right now is enable homeless people to earn a small income by selling street papers. Streetvibes is part of an international social enterprise, helping homeless people support themselves. By buying this paper, you, too, are part of the solution. The first step is to not look away. If you see someone relieving himself on the sidewalk, he likely needs help. Call the Homeless Coalition at 513-421-7803, and we’ll make sure he gets it. If you would like to help the coalition, you can make a tax-deductible donation by send­ ing a check to GCCH (117 E. 12th Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202). If you see someone selling Streetvibes, don’t look away. Your $1 donation will mean 75 cents in the vendor’s pocket. You might also find yourself surprised by her commitment, determination and wisdom. Homeless people are your neighbors – people who are important. 50,000 The amount, in dollars, that Della Woolens hopes Pepsi Co. will give for the Safe Haven and Homeless Mentor Network (see page 2). www.facebook.com/ streetvibescincinnati twitter.com/ streetvibesnews streetvibes. wordpress.com Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax: 513.421.7813 Email: streetvibes2@yahoo. com Website: www. cincihomeless.org Blog: streetvibes.wordpress. com Streetvibes Staff Editor Gregory Flannery Art Director Lynne Ausman Graphics/Layout Intern Veronica Glass Vendor Coordinator Jeni Jenkins Contributing Writers Michelle Dillingham, Samantha Groark, Margo Pierce, Paul Kopp, Jeremy Flannery, Michael Henson, David Heitfield, Corey Gibson, Jeni Jenkins, Saad Ghosn, Lew Moores, Larry Gross, Eli Braun, Jesse Call, Brendon McCartney, Michael Fanning Photography/Artwork Aimie Willhoite, Lynne Ausman, Anthony Williams, Vinit Murthy, Jon Hughes Proofreaders Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati through coordination of services, public education, grassroots advocacy and Streetvibes. We are proud members of: �STREETVIBES June 1 - 14, 2010 3 Column One Thing Leads to Another A search for a missing dog leads to unexpected discovery By B. CliFton Burke Contributing WritEr T oday I am sore, I am tired, I have blisters on my feet, but I am immensely happy, and here is why. It’s now late Wednesday, but my tale begins on Monday night around 6:30 pm or so. It was a glorious evening, nice and cool for midMay but still sunny with the trees in full bloom. I lounged on the deck – there is no other way to live on the deck – and sipped on one of my father's beers – a Stella Artois, I believe – and contemplat­ ed dinner. The Reds would start soon and I hadn’t watched them in a while. They were playing well; my interest was piqued. I decided I’d meander up to Chicago Gyro and eat something greasy while I watched baseball and drank beer. My Dad was out­ side, and I explained my intentions to him. “Get me a gyro” is all he said about it while he tooled with something in the dirt. I reached down and petted Mojo on the head. “I'll be right back, buddy,” I told him. It's what I always tell him. Most times I tell where I’m going. If I’m off to work, I don’t say that I’ll be right back, I tell him I'm going to work and that I’ll be back that night. But he knows that without my telling him. Like all dogs, he is a master observer and picks up on the slightest cues from my behav­ ior. Still, I like to believe that he is more observant than most dogs and is what we would call “smart.” This time he didn’t know where I was going, and it bothered him. My Dad continued working on something, transfixed on his task. I wandered away from the house and my mind wandered away from the present. No one noticed Mojo follow me. On my walk to Chicago Gyro, it dawned on me how content with life I’d been of late. It had been a good run for a while. I enjoyed my job, loved my woman and found being happy the normal state of being; there was nothing worthwhile to complain about it. But like any good sports fan, I felt the jinx lurk­ ing just behind such pleasant sentiments. Super­ stition might be silly, but it hasn’t lasted this long by accident. I see it as a weird byproduct of human freewill. Prior to human intelligence there was no superstition on Earth. Things happened for sci­ entific reasons only, and there were no mysteries. Then somebody got the idea that too much of a good thing can only spell eventual disaster, which is invariably the case, and then allows some sage of paranoia to leap up out of his hut and yell, “Ah ha! I told ya!” once the shit hits the fan. Based on that guy, the world can’t shed the idea that maybe there is something to superstition after all, which leads to all kinds of nonsensical traditions, includ­ ing organized religion; but that rant is preserved for another day. The point is, thinking everything in my life was gravy immediately led me to regret thinking it in the first place for fear of swift personal tragedy brought on by the power of the announcer jinx – the announcer in this case being me. I laughed off the notion and once more began considering ways to properly end the novel I’d been tinkering with off and on for years. Thirty minutes later I returned to my house with a six-pack of Si­ erra Nevada's Glissade and two gyros. There is a large grassy field next to my house where many dog-owners, myself included, use as a play area for their dogs’ recreation. Mojo loves this particular field. He has spent most of his life coming here to play and no dog has ever played harder in this field than he. Chasing the tennis ball is as much his job as tackling people is for Ray Lewis. It’s no-nonsense and visceral. You would be impressed. Dog gone In the field on this day was a different, smaller dog (Mojo is a Rottweiler-German Shepherd mix and weighs in around 90 pounds). This other dog’s owner was a college-looking dude, fairly non-de­ script, and was throwing his own tennis ball to this clearly amateur dog. I expected to see Mojo gallop­ ing alongside this stranger, showing how the game is played, but he wasn’t. If he saw this game taking place, he would have stormed the scene and caused a moment of fear and apprehension from the other dog's owner. “Why is this giant dog running at us unattend­ ed?” he would have asked himself. “What should I do?” My Dad was still fiddling with something and uninterested in the tennis-ball chase taking place nearby. “Did Mojo try to play with those guys?” I asked. I assumed, as he wasn’t in sight, that Dad had put him in the basement. “Where is he?” Dad asked. That’s when I knew he was gone. His tennis balls lay there in the yard. I picked one up, called his name, and bounced the ball to get his attention. Nothing. Dad tried yelling, too. He has a booming voice that dwarfs mine, but still to no avail. The only place I walk my dog is to my girlfriend Melanie’s, so I set off in that direction. A middleaged man I often see in his yard was there. He hadn’t seen Mojo. I called Melanie and told her I was out­ side her apartment and Mojo was missing. We drove around for a couple hours looking for him. I was also able to enlist my buddy, Aaron, and his dog, Apollo. The two cars (Melanie's and Aaron’s, as well as Dad’s), cruised the neighborhood. He was nowhere. After a while, darkness set in and it began to rain. I relieved the drivers, borrowed Apollo and set off on foot. I canvassed huge swaths of Clifton yelling his name every now and then. Nothing. I Trees brighten an urban landscape - and sometimes conceal tragedy. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann. walked for a few fruitless miles and even had the unpleasant experience of hearing one pit bull kill another pit bull, or at least significantly maim him, as I unintentionally got the dogs riled up by simply walking past their yard. I didn’t hear anyone come out to check on the carnage. Needless to say, that only sharpened my worry and anxiety for my bud­ dy, Mojo. I eventually became listless and very tired. I rea­ soned that, in order to search more tomorrow, I had to go home and sleep. I took the long way home, checking on all kinds of weird, dead-end roads and ended up at home near midnight, dogless and dis­ traught. Once the idea settled in that I was now giving up for the night, all the terror and fear for Mojo fully set in. There was only one way this saga would turn out OK, and that was getting my dog back un­ harmed. But there were countless ways it could go wrong, and they all consumed me that night. I’m not ashamed to admit that I sobbed – a total emo­ tional meltdown. The thing that wouldn’t leave my head is that old dogs weren’t supposed to run away. Yes, old dogs die, and that was a big enough challenge to wrap my head around, but an old dog wandering off just wasn’t the way the universe was supposed to work. It wasn’t right. I couldn’t swallow it. I tearfully prayed to anyone tuned in to that kind of frequency that night that I would really appreci­ ate Mojo’s safe return. I mentally projected at him to hang tight for the night and that I would find him the next day. It was a miserable night. I fell asleep close to 1 a.m. I woke up at 6:45 and was out of the house by 7:15. Anyone who knows anything at all about my regular schedule will unanimously agree that anything before 8 a.m. is completely unheard of, and yet that was the case. No breakfast but coffee, an umbrella, a rain coat and I was out again. The body in the woods The part of town I was convinced hadn’t been covered enough was the basin of McMicken and its offshoot streets. I plowed through those seedy nooutlet streets like I owned every abandoned apart­ ment building in the neighborhood, still to no avail. It stormed that morning. Mojo hates the thunder, and I caught myself telling him that it was OK, as I always do. I weaved through all the area’s major parks on my way home to change into some dry clothes. I thought about eating once I made it back to the house but still couldn’t do it. I drank some water in­ stead. My next mission would be into the woods; I was really beginning to feel desperate. I tooled around the woods near my house for See another, p. 6 �4 Local News STREETVIBES June 1 - 14, 2010 Tell Me: Do You Want to Hold Me? Continued from page 1 inspiration for the struggle. He described his work at a school in a village in Bangladesh, where he met a girl living in a brothel with her mother and sister. “She told us the only reason she worked in prostitution was there was nothing else she could do,” Fleming said. “She had no skills. She couldn’t read or write. … She doesn’t want to do it but it’s the only economic power she had. That’s why street papers exist – to give people economic opportunity to change the way they live, so they can go off and “She told us the only have other choices in their life.” reason she worked in The theme of the prostitution was there was INSP conference nothing else she could do. She had no skills. She was, “Global Col­ laboration: Real So­ couldn’t read or write.” lutions.” Fleming’s - Richard Fleming, presentation was Global Poverty Project the opening salvo in planning for the Global Speak Out, INSP’s initiative for address­ ing poverty in the year ahead. Inspiration isn’t enough in itself, of course. Facts matter. This was, after all, a conference of journalists. When Fleming closed with a bit of rhetoric – saying “extreme poverty" can be ended in this generation, even as Nelson Man­ dela succeeded in ending apartheid in South Africa and Great Britain succeeded in ending the slave trade in the 19th century – it did not go unremarked that the latter assertion was a stretch. Great Britain banned slave trading in the early 19th century, but hardly eliminated it. In fact, some 26 million people across the world are victims of human trafficking today, according to organizations working to end slavery. Fleming’s call to join the struggle to elimi­ nate extreme poverty led to practical thinking by delegates. In a workshop following his pre­ sentation, INSP members came to the conclu­ sion that, rather than start a new campaign to end poverty, they will do best to concentrate on the work they already do. The general membership embraced the no­ tion: Street papers are a tangible solution for individuals. Given the size of the street-pa­ per movement, street papers are already one of the largest social enterprises in the world. Trudy Vlok, general manager of Big Issue South Africa, summarized INSP’s newfound self-ap­ preciation. “We are rock stars,” she said. Vlok’s paper plans to publish a special edi­ tion for June, when the World Cup is played in South Africa. “They’re going to have this huge event,” she said. “We want to make sure poor people get something out of it.” That special edition will not be about the woes of poverty, but rather a guide for visitors in town to enjoy the soccer championship. Not doing favors Therein lies the existential tension of the street-paper movement – trying to build news­ paper sales in order to benefit vendors while giving readers substantial content. Street pa­ pers have to be about more than homeless­ ness, or they won’t sell. No one, after all, wants to be scolded by a constant refrain about the woes of being poor. “I think most street papers realize they don’t want to be called a ‘homeless paper’ anymore,” said Joanne Zuhl, managing editor of Street Roots in Portland, Ore. “If vendors can’t sell the paper, we’re not doing them any favors.” Enlov P. Mathiesen, editor of Erlik Oslo, agreed. “I think homelessness bores people,” he said. “If it’s about homelessness every issue, they’re not going to read it.” To that end, delegates at the conference dis­ cussed ways to improve editorial content in order to build sales and thereby benefit ven­ dors. Some street papers don’t limit themselves to journalism. Some are affiliated with larger social enterprises. For example, Der Jerusalemmer, in Germany, operates a café that A display of street papers from around the world. INSP. employs and serves homeless people. Big Issue Australia sponsors a touring street-soccer team. Frank Dries, editor of Straatnieuws in the Netherlands, described a project through which vendors offered for sale not only copies of the magazine but also recyclable shopping bags. A competition among local artists led to the final design, with the shopping bags em­ blazoned with the message, “Do you want to hold me?” Straatnieuws vendors sold about 2,000 shop­ ping bags, and local media coverage helped promote the street paper as an employment opportunity for homeless people. The slogan on the bags also points to another purpose for social enterprises such as Streetvibes – wearing down the social barriers that isolate homeless people. Thus our question for readers: “Do you want to hold me?” Sheriff Wants to Follow Arizona Continued from page 1 removal.” Ohio law enforcement and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could face ex­ pensive round-ups and transfers to ICE from de­ tentions of suspected undocumented workers under such legislation, according to Riveiro. He suggested Jones becomes an ICE agent if he’s so concerned about the legal status of immigrants in Ohio. LULAC Ohio has asked Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory to endorse its boycott of travel to Arizona but hasn’t received any response yet, Riveiro says. Columbus Mayor Michael Cole­ man has announced a ban on city-paid travel to Arizona. The Cincinnati Branch of the International Socialist Organization hosted a May 21 forum with the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center and the Campus Anti-War Network at UC to dis­ cuss the proposed legislation. Speakers Dan La Botz and Shaun Harkin proposed their own im­ migration reform. La Botz, a Cincinnati teacher and journalist, is the Socialist candidate for an Ohio seat in the U.S. Senate. He wants decrimi­ nalization of the estimated 12 million undocu­ mented immigrants in the United States and a path for them to have the right to work and earn full U.S. citizenship without penalties. “If your starting point is it’s a crime, then it becomes about criminalization,” La Botz said. “I think people need to put it into context of why people come here. We have a system of forced migration. People don’t have the right to move freely, nor do they have the right to stay.” Corn exports from the United States have weakened the competition for Mexican farmers to sustain a living on their own farms, so they move here to seek employment, La Botz said. Be­ cause undocumented immigrants cannot find legal work in the United States, they should re­ ceive immediate rights to work without onerous costs or penalties, he said. La Botz also wants an increase in the number of visas issued to people seeking employment in the United States and an open-border policy for workers to move be­ tween employment and their homes across the borders, he said. “I think immigrants will have to be the lead­ ers for this social movement because they’re the ones that know best,” he said. “They’re the ex­ perts, and we need to be their allies. Voting for me won’t change society.” What’s required is a social movement among immigrants, students, unions and people seek­ ing social equality, La Botz said. Modesto Verde, an immigrant worker, talked about an employer who withheld his wages. Modesto Verde joined the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers’ Center to seek legal aid to sue the em­ ployer for back pay, he said. Verde and his fellow employees won in court, but the employer fled to Mexico without paying the wages owed, he said. Verde now advocates for workers’ rights, making sure they are aware of safety requirements and receive their full wages on time, he said. Unions and student groups should publicize the fact that immigrant workers pay sales and social security taxes and are a part of the fabric of U.S. society, according to Shaun Harkin, an activist from Chicago. “Undocumented workers pay about $7 billion in taxes annually, including social security taxes under false social security numbers, to which they will not have access,” he said. Sheriff Jones testified May 18 in Columbus on Senate Bill 238. The bill would require all injured workers seeking compensation through the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation (BWC) to prove their legal status to work in the United States. The bill’s sponsor, State Sen. Bill Seitz (RGreen Township), testified March 23, “Because BWC is mainly funded by charges to Ohio em­ ployers and because employers constantly com­ plain to us about the size of the payments, every dollar paid out by BWC to illegal alien workers is money that would otherwise go to reduce em­ ployer charges and make Ohio more competi­ tive.” If the bill becomes law, an illegal immigrant will have the right to sue for worker’s compensa­ tion against an employer for intentional harm. Jones visited the border fence between Mexico and Arizona on May 25. His office issued a press release saying Jones wanted to review border se­ curity and meet with Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to discuss the new Arizona legislation. The Cincinnati Branch of the International So­ cialist Organization plans to hold a rally for im­ migration reform in Ohio at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, June 5, at the Hamilton County Courthouse. �STREETVIBES June 1 - 14, 2010 Agency Spotlight Bright Smiles for the Homeless 5 McMicken Dental Clinic helps uninsured By Jeremy Flannery Contributing WritEr A smile can brighten a person’s mood, espe­ cially if he feels confident about showing his teeth. A dental clinic in Over-the-Rhine is working to brighten the smiles of homeless peo­ ple. The McMicken Dental Clinic has been operating for nine years to improve the oral hygiene of home­ less people, according to clinic manager Sandra Bernard. “We have one full-time dentist and we have four volunteers with their own private practices,” Ber­ nard says. “We also have two-week rotations with Ohio State (University) students, and we have one Raymond Walters (College) hygienist. We offer the same services that you would receive at a private practice.” The clinic offers emergency dental care to home­ less people only, she says. Referrals come from homeless shelters and the Mobile Medical Clinic that traverses the city on a weekly schedule. The dental clinic operates from 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and Friday by ap­ pointment only. “We close from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm for lunch but sometimes we’re late for the lunch break because we’ll still have patients we’re working on,” Bernard says. “Some days are crazier than others. It depends on how many people come in for emergency care. I’d say we serve somewhere between 17 and 34 peo­ ple per day.” The clinic is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Cincinnati Health Network, Inc., the city of Cincinnati and pri­ vate donations. The funding allows the clinic to of­ fer free treatment to homeless patients. The only out-of-pocket cost for patients is for lab­ oratory work, such as denture repairs, bridge and crown work. Patients must pay for that work in advance. “We offer a payment plan for the lab work, even if it takes $5 at a time to make the pay­ ment,” Bernard says. The clinic is a part of Cincinnati Health Network Inc., a federally qualified health cen­ ter that is a partnership of organizations of­ fering homeless people medical services, ac­ cording to Executive Director Kate Bennett. The network helps about 7,000 patients per year, including about 1,200 dental patients, she says. “A person is homeless if they lack a fixed, permanent home,” Bennett says. “Someone living in an emergency shelter, transitional housing or living on the streets or if they lost their apartment or house and is doubling up with friends like a couch-surfing situation. We can continue to see a person up to one year after they’ve been housed.” The network has contracts with the Mobile Medical Clinic, the Center for Respite Care, the UC Department of Family Medicine and the Pike Street Clinic in Northern Kentucky to coordinate services for the homeless, Ben­ nett says. Volunteers paint the Nu-Blend Building, which now “Our physicians really care about the peo­ houses McMicken Dental Clinic and other health ple they see,” she says. “They call the patients organizations. Vinit Murthy. by their first names, they ask questions about what’s going on with their situations, and Last month volunteers from Crossroads Commu­ their general concern for the patients is really won­ nity Church in Oakley repainted the dental clinic derful for a population that is generally not looked and planted flowers as a part of their Go Cincinnati at and (is) ignored.” project – putting a smile on the building’s exterior. For more information on the McMicken Dental Clinic go to www.cincysmiles.org. Building Confidence in Leadership Avondale Youth Council uses push-ups and participation By Brendon mCCartney Contributing WritEr C ommunity councils are vehicles of em­ powerment for neighborhood residents but their influence can also extend beyond their localities. Judging by its April 29 meeting, that is the case with the Avondale Youth Council. The youth council operates under the wing of the Avondale Community Council, sharing a room at the Pride Center at 3520 Burnet Ave. Posters call for action from all ages, from Public Allies to the 2010 Census. But the space was clearly in the hands of the young that evening. Fulton O. Jefferson, Jr., membership chair of the community council and facilitator for the youth council, presided over the meeting. The guest speaker was Bill Madison. The subject of Madison’s speech was the role of emotional intelligence in leadership. In order to keep the attention of the restless youth (under­ standable given the nice weather), he employed a variety of tactics. Madison encouraged participa­ tion by asking questions and making those who answered stand and project their responses for all to hear. He also used anecdotes, including conflicts he observed between the kids before meetings, to support his points about the role of personal confi­ dence in managing one’s self. Yet the biggest lesson he gave was holding himself to the same standard by which the kids were held. Madison had missed his speaking appointment the week before because of a business trip. But as he had not informed the council, he was deemed un­ excused and subject to a penalty of 50 push-ups. The 71-year-old retired professor, looking all of 51, managed an impressive 26 push-ups before saying he would have to finish the rest later. But a member of the youth council volunteered to do the performance of The Wiz at Xavier University. the remaining 24 for him. After breezing through The youth council receives support from the the push-ups, he and Madison shared a strong Cincinnati Community Action Agency. Together, hug-and-shake. How many community councils they help kids find summer jobs through the Sum­ can boast of fomenting solidarity through public mer Youth Employment Program. Not only does speaking and punitive exercise – in the same meet­ this program help kids understand the responsi­ ing, no less? bilities of employment, but the youth council bars Throughout the meeting, the kids alternated students with failing grades from participating. between listening, responding to the speaker and The Avondale Youth Council is a sign of the com­ playfully jostling among themselves. At one point munity’s vitality in the face of local coverage that a clique had to be split up and a participant was tends to focus only on the latest homicide. By en­ forced to sit out. Still, the kids displayed a remark­ couraging youths to actively engage their neigh­ able level of care and participation, even though borhood through hard work and good deeds, the there was bound to be squirming after so many youth council is grooming those who will one day hours of sitting in school. take governing roles in the neighborhood. Even if After Madison concluded his speech, Jefferson they take root elsewhere, participants gain the so­ called the Avondale Youth Council’s board of trust­ cial skills to be confident leaders wherever they go. ees and committee chairs to the front. Kids who had been on the council for years were invested with limited power to help not only delegate but also understand the func­ tion of their positions. They talked among themselves as Jefferson then read out the schedule for upcoming meetings and events. The council has a full pro­ gram. Its calendar included activities for every weekday except Friday in the month of May. In addition to po­ etry readings and homework studies, Avondale Youth Council participates in a number of events such as the Flying Pig Marathon and The Avondale Youth Council is very active. Lauren Justice. �6 Column STREETVIBES June 1 - 14, 2010 One Thing Leads to Another Continued from page 3 about 20 minutes, skimming the wood-line parameter. The wooded hills are steep bluffs of a sizable hill that our house sits atop. We live on the ridge of the hill that descends in many directions, and my concern was that maybe Mojo had fallen or was stuck somewhere. I moved into one section of the woods that used to be a trail connecting the grassy field next to our house with the city park at the bot­ tom of the hill. There were never proper steps on this trail, but many people used it, espe­ cially the Hughes High School football team who would practice on the lower field. My sis­ ter and I and our friends used this trail all the time as kids. Now it’s overgrown and not much of a trail; you wouldn't know one was there if you hadn't seen it before. I took perhaps five steps into the wood line when I saw something odd on the old trail. It was a shirt that was sort of upright. The rea­ son it was upright was because something was wearing it. That something also was wearing jeans and New Balance sneakers. It had large, hulking shoulders and was slumped onto the trail. It appeared that it was close to sliding down the hill. It was facing away from me and seemed to be leaning a bit against a nearby tree. It wasn't moving. I looked over this thing and decided it looked an awful lot like a person. I noticed something near its head. At first I thought it was a long staff that was going through its head, but upon a few more seconds of observation, I deter­ mined that it was a necktie caught on a branch overhead. The other end was tied around his neck. This was what kept him from sliding down the hill along the old trail. The idea that I was looking at a dead person began to set in. When it did, for some reason I decided I should get a look at the person’s skin. For no reason was I going to get any closer. I was roughly 10 feet from it already but I could Shutter Speed see his hand. It was completely black. That didn’t make sense. Dead people don't turn black, do they? I decided it was still inconclu­ sive. I looked at his head. His scalp was gray, with wisps of black hair. At that point it seemed to me that this was either a corpse or a really elaborate hoax. I wanted to hold onto a pos­ sibility other than my actually finding a dead guy. I looked back at his shoes. One was curled in a very uncomfortable position. For what­ ever reason, that was what convinced me that this was a person who, by my inexpert eyes, appeared to have committed suicide in the nearby woods less than a hundred yards from our house. That’s when I realized it did indeed smell like something dead, and I got the hell out of there. I don’t know anything about who it was, how he died or how long he was there. I do know this: Both our neighbor, Bill, and I smelled something dead in that corner of the grassy field for the past week or so; I found the body mere feet away from that corner of the field. Many residents on that street have witnessed a small homeless contingent congregate in those woods, and I assume that this unfortu­ nate soul was part of that group. It was one of the strangest moments of my life. It was a quiet, private discovery. It was creepy but not traumatizing – I couldn't see his face. No matter how you spin it, though, it is sad. This man not only presumably killed himself, but no one came looking for him. He might have been homeless and was likely haunted by depression. If anything, I feel sorry for the poor guy. It took me, who was looking for something else entirely, to find him. Once I did, though, I continued searching for my dog. The way I figured it, Mojo could still be alive, and the guy in the woods wasn’t, so my priorities stayed true. I carried on through the rain and woods without finding anything else of any real interest. After a few more hours of nothing, I went home and called the cops to tell them what I found. The first cop there was a youngster. He didn’t like the idea of dead bodies. He also didn’t like the idea of my being too involved in a crime scene, so he was faced with the challenge of having me point out the body to him without my disturbing any evidence. We reached the tree line and he didn’t want to go in. I went in first, cleared away the branches for him and pointed the guy out. The young cop didn’t like it a bit but he soldiered over to the body. I said, “From what we’re looking at now, I determined that that’s a dead body.” He took two more steps, became visibly grossed out and said, “It is. You need to get out of here.” More police arrived. The male cops made the female cop stay with me to chat while they investigated the scene. We mostly talked about my missing dog, which I was eager to get back to finding, and she tried reassuring me with stories of a dog she found after missing it for two weeks. She took down my information and they “let me go home” even though we were all gathered on the driveway of my house. Lost and found The Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign marched across the Purple People Bridge May 20 en route from New Orleans to Detroit. The march is calling attention to the nation’s urgent need to end poverty and solve problems including homelessness and the lack of job opportunities, according to a spokesperson. Local sponsors include the Contact Center, Ohio Empowerment Coalition, Hip Hop Congress, Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center, New Prospect Baptist Church, St. Johns Unitarian Church, Masjid Ac Ashab OTR Islamic Center and the Over-the-Rhine Community Council. Jon Hughes/Photopresse. The next stop was the SPCA. This was a chaotic place of scared, loud mongrels essen­ tially screaming at you to take them home or back to their owners or anywhere else that’s not the dog pound. There were rows of cages of all sorts of dogs. I scanned the cages with a desperate anticipation, increasingly let down as the options dwindled to nothing. There was one dog there that looked a lot like Mojo. He was younger and smaller but had enough similarities to make me stop and make sure it weren’t him. It wasn’t. The guy working there was sympathetic and reassured me that they See another, p. 7 �STREETVIBES June 1 - 14, 2010 Film Review Barons Fight for Their Country 7 Robin Hood battles 12th century socialism By david HeitField Contributing WritEr “I think the core value of Robin Hood – the robbing from the rich to give to the poor – is the thing that’s gon­ na survive,” says Russell Crowe, producer and star of Robin Hood, in the History Channel's two-hour infomercial, The Real Robin Hood, released the same weekend as the movie. “We haven’t approached that core from a literal ‘money’ sense,” Crowe explains. “We’ve jumped off from there into a metaphor, and that’s why we’ve shifted the timeline and put it into the era of the Magna Carta. And our redress of the balance, our robbing from the rich, is their rights and privileges.” I can empathize with this approach. When I write a movie review, I try to steer away from a literal “review” sense, and instead jump off into a metaphor for how our popular culture has become so cynical and manipulative that the defining trait of our post-industrial state is self-delusion. We like meeting new friends, travel and keeping our heads firmly up our collective ass. Hence, we don't even have a homeless problem because, as the popular mayor of Colorado Springs has explained, many people simply prefer to live homeless – and if that speaks to their mental illness, well, they’re probably happier, too. And that’s my rationalization for writing this bullshit in Streetvibes. But I digress. As does Mr. Crowe in Robin Hood: “What Ridley (Scott, the director) and I sought to do was reca­ librate the whole story.” I woulda chosen the word “bas­ tardize,” but whatever. This “prequel” sets Robin Hood as returning from the Third Crusade (the time is a little off, but there are economic principles at stake here, dam­ mit), a world-weary warrior who doesn’t define “greed” as an individual moral failing, but as an act of the evil state, through taxation. See, because of the Crusades and other battles, when King John takes the throne after Richard the Lionheart’s death, he inherits a bankrupt empire, and so he wants to raise taxes. It turns out his best bud, Godfrey, is a traitor who is friends with the French (shoulda asked to see his birth certificate, John!). The French, of course, love higher taxes, and so Godfrey not only encourages John, but starts So when Crowe delivers what passes for a dramatic soliloquy nowadays, screaming for “liberty,” it doesn’t sound like a rallying cry, but one of those vague generalities used in horoscopes to sucker the credulous into believing they have a unique and defining trait. If you’re an Aquarius, you believe in freedom. If you’re a Libra, you believe in justice. looting English noblemen (with French sol­ diers) to collect more taxes and burn stuff down. The French figure the taxation scheme will de­ moralize the English and then the French can invade and easily defeat the taxed-out English. What’s truly amazing about the movie – with its large budget, big-name director and actors, historical background, battle scenes and myth­ ological underpinnings – is just how much of a bore all 2.5 hours of it is. There is no drama, no humor, no romance. Even the big battle scene (outside of the massive CGI crossbow launch, which is pretty cool) at the end feels kinda pointless. Spoiler alert! The tax-loving French retreat. Sure didn’t see that coming. Feudal fries for everyone! Much of Robin Hood just feels so false and manipulative, besides the premise: Crowe’s bare 21st-century chest; warriors with closely shaven Bruce Willis heads and fab facial hair; Maid Marian (Cate Blanchett) as a post-femi­ nist landlord who shows up to battle the French at the end (keep in mind that Clause 54 of the vaunted Magna Carta said no man could be convicted based on the testimony of a woman unless her husband was dead). Crowe plays Robin Longstride – Robin of the Hood, you see – a yeoman whose father was killed when he was 6. Turns out his father, a stonecutter, had worked on an early version of the Magna Carta, a sort of Tea Party manifesto that spelled out the inalienable rights of the landed gentry. And then somehow, probably because of his Superman/Batman/Freudian tragic father figure roots, he becomes spokesperson for the noblemen of the time, even though Robin, like many yeomen, owned no land himself. No irony is intended here; it’s just pure piss-poor storytelling. So when Crowe delivers what passes for a dramatic so­ liloquy nowadays, screaming for “liberty,” it doesn’t sound like a rallying cry, but one of those vague generalities used in horoscopes to sucker the credulous into believing they have a unique and defining trait. If you’re an Aquarius, you believe in freedom. If you’re a Libra, you believe in justice. If you're a Nobleman, you believe in liberty. You’re gen­ erous to a fault but hate taxes. You generally like people, but will kill them if necessary. You believe in the inherent individual dignity of the homeless and mentally ill to re­ main that way. One Thing Leads to Another Continued from page 6 get new dogs everyday and that it’s important to keep coming back. I felt my last real hope had gone and my sadness soaked all the way to my bones. I had officially let him down and now he was truly lost. Not seeing him again was a possibility hur­ tling toward the forefront. I started emotion­ I took perhaps five steps ally fragmenting and a deep regret began to into the wood line when build within my chest. When I returned, more cops were there to I saw something odd on the old trail. It was talk with me. They wanted to know if I knew a shirt that was sort of the dead man or recognized him or moved him. They even asked if I saw any identifica­ upright. The reason it was upright was because tion on him. It was a series of head shakes and something was wearing no’s. My friends, Elliott and Jen, came over to it. That something also was wearing jeans and help me look for Mojo. While I dealt with the New Balance sneakers. homicide detectives and the rest of the Police Circus, Elliott and Jen made “Lost Dog” post­ … It wasn't moving. ers. After answering just a few more questions from the detectives, I caught up with the post­ er-making duo and admired their work (it was Jen’s work, really). They made flyers to put on cars, posters to put on lampposts and cardboard signs for busy intersections. We posted maybe six posters around two intersections when I got the call. “Hi, I just saw the sign for your missing dog,” said a college-aged fe­ male voice. “Yes?” I said. “I found him. I have him. He's at my apartment.” At those words, a thousand lashes were removed from my back. I thanked the woman as clearly as my lips would allow and, for the first time in my life, had a happy cry. Later that day I leashed my healthy, happy dog once more and brought him back home. I gave the girl 20 bucks for her trouble and talked with Mojo the whole trip back. He’s an old boy, 10 and a half, and I got him when he was only six weeks old. To have lost him would have gone against all logic, belief and superstition that dictates the universe in my head. Once I knew he was beyond my help, long before I found any dead bodies, I put all my faith in human­ No dog has ever ity – and it worked. People saved my dog. Not me, nor played harder the institution of the SPCA, nor Mojo himself. It was a in this field than person who cared: a stranger. Mojo. Chasing the I have ever so slowly become a person who be­ tennis ball is as lieves that things happen for a reason, and while I much his job as trudged through muddy hillsides and pouring rain tackling people is with sizable blisters looking for my aged and arthritic for Ray Lewis. It’s lost dog, I questioned that belief to its fullest extent. no-nonsense and I never really believed that any superstition played a visceral. You would part in Mojo’s disappearance, as coincidental as all of be impressed. that may have been, and so it came down to finding a purpose to his disappearing to prevent me from giv­ ing up hope. It still didn't make sense until I got Mojo back: Mojo ran off to make me look for him but it made me find the dead guy instead. And look at the nice, neat happy ending we have all tied up into a bow. I have my dog, who spent his only night away - a stormy night – comfortably chill­ ing with some young woman and her puppy in a Clifton apartment, I found a deceased human being who might have gone a lot longer with­ out being found and now doesn’t have to haunt the nearby woods, and the girl got 20 bucks. Everybody wins. But in different ways. �8 STREETVIBES June 1 - 14, 2010 Film Review How Does Hollywood Do Poverty? Rewarding stereotypes and preserving myths By JonatHon e. Stone Contributing WritEr I n the past two years, films like Slumdog Millionaire and the Blind Side have attempted to tell stories featuring the poor, and both gar­ nered several major awards. In fact, both movies totaled 12 Academy Award nominations, winning 10. Both movies appealed to audiences as “feel good” stories, with Slumdog Millionaire centering on a young Indian man, orphaned due to a reli­ gious riot, who happens to make it on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. He experiences the improbable answers to each question asked on the game show. In The Blind Side, based on the real life story of Mi­ chael Oher, an African-American teenager who has been shuffled in and out of foster homes is finally adopted into a white, upper-middle-class family. Due to his size and athletic ability, he finds his way onto the football field and is drafted by the Balti­ more Ravens in 2009. On the outside, both movies seem harmless; but to those in developing and poor areas of the world. upon further examination, the depiction of the poor The movie further celebrates the lack of choices and the way Hollywood tends to manipulate stories these characters have, placing judgment on the like these should give the audience concern. fates of both Jamal and Salim. This picture belittles Slumdog Millionaire glosses the Indian people who, in their over the plight of not only the poverty, huddle around small three main characters – Jamal, On the outside, both television sets to see one of their Salim and Latika – but also the movies seem harmless; but ‘own’ win a million dollars, as if, fact much of India’s poverty de- upon further examination, because one of their own can get rives from its recent history of so lucky, these untold millions of the depiction of the poor British colonialism and a capital“slumdogs” are instantly empowand the way Hollywood ist economy pushed on it by west- tends to manipulate stories ered to do the same in some alterern nations. like these should give the native capitalist universe. These characters, along with In The Blind Side, Michael Oher audience concern. millions of other Indians, suffer is subjected to poverty and orfrom the western lifestyles pushed phaned at a young age as well, but onto them at the expense of centuries of cultural his history fits within the southern white paternalisand national development. Brothers Jamal and tic storyline that has been pushed since the days of Salim are orphaned early in life and forced into an enslavement. Before and after the Civil War, white exploitive orphanage, then escape into a lifestyle southern apologists attempted to depict slavery as of travelling on top of trains, selling goods, picking a benign practice that “civilized” black people, dispockets, working as dishwashers and pretending to avowing the cruelty of the institution and pitching be tour guides at the Taj Mahal. slavery as a service to society. The story seems to celebrate both Jamal’s and The Touhy family, led by Leigh Ann – a role that Salim’s precarious economic position, where Jamal won Sandra Bullock the 2010 Academy Award for serves tea in a call center (employment sent over- best actress – is the most guilty of remaking a beseas, where labor is cheaper) and Salim chooses a nevolent relationship between a white family “taklife of crime, one of the only labor choices available ing in” a poor black male. Oher’s character through- out the film continually takes a back seat to Bullock as she makes life choices for him. The Touhy family makes an extraordinary effort to keep Oher away from the black community, especially with a scene in which Oher fights off three members of his old neighborhood because they made “sexually sug­ gestive” comments about Leigh Ann. The Touhy family unethically pushes Oher toward the University of Mississippi, bringing upon them an NCAA inquiry as well as a tutor who lies to Oher about the University of Tennessee. The movie expects the audience to accept that Oher is an ignorant, adrift, good-hearted young man who is just in need of white people to tell him what to do in life because he doesn’t have the mental capac­ ity. This worn-out stereotype is sadly celebrated in The Blind Side, with few media critics pointing out its racist premise – or Bullock’s recent adoption of a black male in the wake of her ex-husband’s much publicized racist beliefs. Both of these movies share a disdain for the poor and orphaned that should appall audiences. As long as audiences blindly cheer and award these types of movies, labeling them “feel good” stories with little regard for the destructive forces of capi­ talism and racism, the media will continue to push ignorance. Waiting at Los Angeles International Airport By Anne Skove �STREETVIBES June 1 - 14, 2010 Out in the Open 9 �10 STREETVIBES June 1 - 14, 2010 Vendor Voice CanYou See Me Now? Over-the-Rhine mourns her losses By lee mCCoy StrEEtvibES vEndor I was once beautiful. Now I am fading away. I used to house low-income, middle-income – yes, I used to house the squatter who used my empty buildings. This is my home but not for long. Can you see me now? The Cincin­ nati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) has bought all my property now. It’s all about condos and lofts. But what about all my children that I have hosted many, many years? I don’t think you have them in mind. Let’s take a stroll down Race Street between 14th and Liberty streets, Lee McCoy has been selling Streetvibes for almost a year. Lynne Ausman. where my pimp buddy Denhart Re­ alty used to reign king. Now there is only one build­ jor facelift it is getting. You can believe Cincinnati’s And what about my wonderful sister, Mary ing holding onto life. Oh, did I mention 3CDC has finest will step up even more to serve and protect. Magdalene House? Do you know her? Since March taken over the corner of Race and 15th? I remember when Washington Park used to host 25, 1988, she has served my children to give them a Can you see me now? Out of all the places in my many churches to feed my children. Now the city place to shower, get a clean set of clothes and wash Queen City, the School for the Creative and Per­ says no because it costs the city so much to clean their dirty clothes. Free – yes, I said “free.” Can you forming Arts has moved in, and they have made the up. Now my churches have to feed my children on imagine their water bill? But the developer on Main Drop Inn Center jump through so many hoops just the sidewalks of Washington Park. You can’t stop Street wants to close my sister down. Where will my so they can be a friendly neighbor. God’s work. children go to keep their tails clean? Can you see me now? I know Buddy Gray is turn­ Can you see me now? With the facelift around Mu­ Can you see me now? ing over in his grave. This is not what his dream was sic Hall, the School for the Creative and Performing I used to be Over-the-Rhine. I am quite sure they about. Arts, look out, for the new sheriff has moved into are already changing my name. Oh, well. I wonder how many tickets the police have writ­ your neighborhood. They might just fence in my Can you see me now? ten in Washington Park now, with the so-called ma- kids in Washington Park. (Home on the range.) Have something on your mind? Do you agree or disagree with an article? Let us know: 117 E. 12th Street 1 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 1 streetvibes2@yahoo.com 1 �STREETVIBES June 1 - 14, 2010 11 Music The Fedora That Changed a Life Interview with Mia Carruthers of the The Retros By ariana SHaHandeH Contributing WritEr M ia Carruthers founded the Cincinnati band, The Retros, with brother Alex Carruthers and friends Seth Huff, Stevan Wright and Aaron Breadon, who recently left the band. She was also a leading character in season one of MTV’s Taking the Stage, set in the Cincinnati School for the Creative and Performing Arts. Mia Carruthers spoke with Streetvibes about lyricism, Lady Gaga and the story of how a fedora and stranger in an airport, changed her life. What’s the most vulnerable lyric you’ve ever written? It would have to be something from “Nothing to Believe In.” That entire song was just accepting something that I didn’t want to for a long time and was afraid to for a long time. What was the condition of your faith in humanity when you were writing that song? It’s less about faith in humanity, more about a lack of faith in … a God? Or … a higher power? Or something I’m sup­ posed to be afraid of that’s beyond me? For me, that’s what I was talking about. I was talking about religion. I was talking about how I’ve never felt like a true believer and that was hard for me because I want to try to be a good person. That was the confusion for me. It was, “Oh if I don’t believe in God then I’m not a good person.” To so many people out there, that makes me a bad person in their eyes. And I’m just trying to do what’s right. Not what's accepted. Just what’s right. So there was a period of time when what other people Mia Carruthers of The Retros. thought was affecting you a great deal. Oh, every moment. Every moment I lived in someone else's there’s something great, like passion, that is so pure and so wonderful, it’s sad head. It’s a horrible way to live. No one should live like that. that there has to be something equally as dark. What changed? So do you ever think that, if you want to pursue something, if you want to I was in the Dayton Airport, traveling for a gig with The Retros. We played a pursue a passion, you have to pursue it moderately and keep it checked? cancer benefit at UNC. But I had to do something in the city the day before we No. I think you say, “Fuck it” to that, and you go after it just as hard anyway. were supposed to leave so I had a flight coming a day later, meeting the band That’s what you have to do. When you’re in that position, when you’re that pas­ there. I was going through security, getting all my stuff. I had a fedora – put my sionate, there isn’t a choice. There’s no other choice; you’ve never had choices. fedora back on. There’s been that and nothing else. Tunnel vision. That’s how I am with music This guy comes up to me and he’s like, “That hat is the most comfortable ac­ – it’s (music) and nothing else. cessory I’ve ever seen.” And I immediately just say, “Thank you,” got a coffee, Even if I woke up every day knowing that there would be horrible things that walked to my gate, popped in my headphones. He comes up to me again. Only happened if I reached my goal, I would still go after it just as hard. Because I this time he has something behind his back. He pulls out a book. He’s like, “If have to. you have room in your life for this, then it’s yours to keep.” And he handed me You recently experienced that flip side, when you had to make a personal this book, and it’s by Eckhart Tolle, called The Power of Now, A Guide to Spiri- sacrifice and ask a member of the band, and close friend, to leave for profestual Enlightenment. sional reasons. In any other circumstance, if I had looked at that book, I would be like, “This It’s confusing sometimes. Before that I would think, “Music is so great. How is complete bullshit. I’m not even going to read this.” I might’ve read it, but I come there’s so much pain that comes about because of this goal or this dream wouldn’t have believed in it. But because this stranger sought me out randomly, I have?” I couldn’t believe anything would be bad surrounding it because it is handed me this book and said that the way he said it, I had to pay attention. so good and so pure to me. But that’s how it is. I read (during) the flight. I got to my connection in D.C. I had read like half There’s ups and downs with any profession. Why should music be any dif­ of it, and I was already starting to internalize it. I get off and I have 20 minutes. ferent? Just because it’s more glamorous to people, because it’s pushed to the I’m running to my next flight, and when I get to the gate the (attendant) is clos­ forefront of more people’s minds? Doesn’t make it any different. ing the door: “The flight’s full.” The old Mia, would’ve been livid. I would’ve Is music glamorous to you? just freaked out thinking, “I’m not going to get to the gig on time. Everything is (Laughing) No, music is anti-glamorous! Music is roll outta bed, practice going to go wrong.” with no makeup on, all gross in cut-off jean shorts and sweaty boys. Music to But I was just like, “OK.” And I called my dad, completely calm. I ended up me is – is no different to me than breathing. Or walking. Or running Or clap­ having to stay in the airport in D.C. for 10 hours. I read the entire book, crying ping. most of the time. Basically I was in a state of meditation for 10 hours. For the Music for me has always been the guarantee of being myself. Writing a song: first time I wasn’t living in anyone else's head. I was living in my head. I can’t lie in songs, I can’t have a bad hair day in songs, I can’t do my makeup a My dad was just crying. He looked at me and just cried. He’s like, “My little certain way. That’s who I am: at the core of me, when I’m alone and vulnerable. girl is back.” So if anyone would want to get to know the real me, all they have to do is listen What’s the most surprising lyric you’ve written? to a record. Well, the song is called “Moon” and it’s literally just about a war on the moon that we won. That’s how it starts out. So we’re basically drinking beers around a fire because we just won the war and saved the moon. And that’s what the first lyric is: “We saved the moon.” (Crosstalk about favorite artists) I absolutely adore Lady Gaga. Now, you seem like a very logical person. I would love to hear an articulate argument in support of her as serious artist. It feels like she wakes up every day trying to think of the most outrageous thing she can do. That’s really who she is. I know in your mind you wanna say, “That’s (not) aFFordaBle rateS genuine. That has to be contrived because it’s something I’ve never seen before. But honestly, Gaga is Gaga. I think that’s who she is. many SizeS (full page, 1/2 page, 1/4 page, 1/8 page) All that aside, what I love about her is the music that she writes. I’m not just talking about the hits. I’m talking about the rest of her album. There were a few BlaCk & WHite and Color availaBle songs that just moved me, (such as) “Speechless,” the song she performed with Elton John. diSCountS For nonproFitS What moved you about that song? A lot of references to the stereotypical bad boy: “With your Johnny Walker Contact Lynne at 513-421-7803 ext. 11 eyes” and “Your tight jeans with the long hair and your cigarette-stained lies.” or lynneausman@cincihomeless.org I love it. I love that she just dates these bad rocker guys, which she talks about in interviews and then obviously things go wrong. And then she writes these for more information. awesome songs. I like her lyrics; they’re really interesting. Why is there so much pain, so much devastation in dream-chasing? There’s so much collateral damage. Because everything has to be equal, equal parts of bad and good. So when etvibes? tre nS rested in Advert Inte isin gi �12 Short Story STREETVIBES June 1 - 14, 2010 We, the Jury My adventures in the Hamilton County justice system By miCHael FanninG Contributing WritEr Throughout the whole selection process the court stenographer is sitting at her machine, but reads a Janet Evanovitch novel instead of typing anything. Part II: Trial Proper The defendant stares at the courtroom ceiling as if admiring the plaster work. He looks totally at ease. ere’s how it goes down. We find ourselves in a courtroom that The jury is finally selected. There are eight of us, with two substitutes. looks like anything you’ve seen on Matlock or Perry Mason. The judge says that, due to the late hour, we will stop now and continue The judge sits behind a desk that looks like a decommis­ tomorrow. He asks if any of us have any special needs. Fat Man, whose sioned wooden battleship. He is a stern looking fellow with thin black presence I hadn’t noticed until now, raises her hand. I don’t see Little hair and glasses – not the Boy anywhere and can type I’d try to lie to. only assume Fat Man ate We file into the jurors’ her. box. Everyone else is al­ “I got a torn ACL,” she ready present: attorneys, croaks. “I’m gonna need defendant, witnesses, an aisle seat so’s I can even law students observ­ stick my leg out.” ing from the back rows. “I’m sure that won’t The judge informs us be a problem,” the judge that this is a DUI case, and reassures her. “We can the attorneys will present make sure you are on the evidence to attempt to end or –” prove or disprove that the “If it locks up on me,” defendant was impaired she continues, “I won’t be by alcohol while driving. able to walk. Last month He says we will now begin I saw Benjamin Button, the jury selection process. longest movie I ever saw The attorneys for the de­ in my life. Couldn’t walk fense and the prosecution outta the theater. They will ask us questions and, had to wheel me out based on our answers, we in the manager’s desk will be excused or kept chair.” on for the duration of the I massage the bridge trial. of my nose as she wraps I wasn’t aware there up her tale. could be a jury trial for a Like Princess Leia step­ DUI case. The defendant, Fat Man, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. ping off the Millennium a suave, 40-something, Falcon into the belly of grey-haired guy with nice the space worm, I have a clothes, has a slick, Aldous Huxley look about him. I guess he is a psy­ bad feeling about this. chiatrist and imagine him with an Austrian accent. We will never hear his voice. Enter the Candy Man How exactly does one contest a DUI? Don’t you have to blow into one of those things? I guess we will find out soon enough. One thing is for The trial begins the next morning with the testimony of the police of­ sure, I think to myself: A case like this can’t last too long, can it? ficer who pulled over the defendant. He is in full uniform, and I wonder “A case like this usually lasts from two to five days,” the judge says. how often they have to do this stuff. He seems to be in close conten­ I hear the sound of 20 jaws dropping. tion with the defendant as far as who is the most disinterested in the The lawyers begin to question us. proceedings. It is immediately apparent these questions are to gauge our preju­ “I could smell alcohol on the breath of Mr. ___ and asked if he’d been dices, if any, toward drinking and those who partake. drinking,” he says. I am asked by the prosecutor, a tall African-American woman, if I “Then what did you do?” the prosecutor says. drink alcohol. “I asked him to step out of the vehicle and approach the front of my “Yes.” squad car so that I could test him for alcohol impairment.” I am asked if I’ve experienced the intoxicating effect of alcohol. A TV is pushed in front of the jury box. We are told we will now watch “Yes,” I respond, with an energetic nodding of the head that probably the police-cruiser video of the sobriety test. The video that follows can isn’t necessary. only be compared to a Laurel and Hardy movie. It shows the policeman Similar questions are asked around the jury box until finally a hand­ testing the coordination of a man who is plastered, plain and simple. some middle-aged woman reveals that she lost her only daughter in On the screen, the defendant is instructed to walk in a straight line an automobile accident. The defense attorney is asking the questions. for 10 paces, turn and come back. As he attempts to do this, it looks as He is young, handsome and carries himself as if, deep down, he knows if there are invisible people pushing and pulling him from all sides. He everyone in the world is on his side in any endeavor he wishes to take nearly falls on his face twice. Next the police officer tells the defendant up, including this one. to raise his arms at his sides and look up. “I’m sorry Miss … Taylor. I can’t imagine what it’s like to suffer a loss “Touch your nose with your left hand,” the officer says. like that.” The defendant touches his nose with his right hand. “No, you can’t.” “The other hand,” the policeman says. “But I have to ask,” he continues, looking at his notes, “do you think “Oh! Ha, ha, ha, ha,” the defendant chuckles. that tragedy will unfairly influence your decision making in this trial?” As he touches his nose with the correct hand, his entire upper body “My daughter was killed by another 16-year-old driver. Alcohol was tilts and sways from side to side as if the shoulder of the highway were not involved. It was lack of experience.” a clipper ship caught in a squall. “I understand that alcohol was not involved,” he goes on, “but do “OK,” the cop says. you still think it could unfairly influence your decision-making in this As he handcuffs the driver, the man mutters something unintelli­ case?” gible. “No, I do not,” she says. “Yes, you’re under arrest,” the policeman says. “Jesus,” I think, “couldn’t this case have been about anything else? End of video. Rape, murder, livestock pornography, mail fraud?” I would have en­ The prosecutor asks the police officer if, in his opinion, the defen­ dured anything to spare this poor woman from discussing her dead dant had been driving under the influence of alcohol. daughter with a room full of strangers. “Yes,” he says. She is cool and collected through the questioning, and I admire her The defense attorney approaches the stand. strength. “Officer, did you administer a breathalyzer test at the time of the ar­ She is dismissed from the trial. rest?” A young man in hip-hop clothes is asked if he has ever drunk alco­ “No, he was given the breathalyzer at the station approximately 30 hol. He is slouched in his chair as if the whole jury box is his own ’78 minutes after the arrest.” Crown Vic. “What were the results of that test?” “No,” he says. “He tested within the legal limit,” the policeman says. No one believes him, and he is excused. The defense attorney then tells us that the results of this test, plus the H See Jury, P. 13 �STREETVIBES June 1 - 14, 2010 Short Story We, the Jury Continued from page 12 13 Back to trial. Several more questions are asked of the policeman, but nothing new is revealed. Soon the windows of the courtroom reveal the sun is beginning to set, and before long the judge ends the trial for the day. He reminds us, as we go, not to discuss the case with anyone. I can’t imagine who would want to hear about it. late hour of the arrest, (about 1 a.m.) as well as the fact that he might not be a very coordinated guy all came into play during the coordina­ tion test on the side of the road. I admit this could be true, and I hope we will be able to watch the video again. Little do I know that, by trial’s end, I will have seen the ar­ ‘Unsullied and clear’ rest video more times than I’ve seen Dances with Wolves. The judge announces that we’ll take a break. The second day starts with the testimony of a toxicologist who also “We’ll give you a chance to watch the video again,” he says. “Discuss happens to be an attorney. He has been hired by the defendant to tes­ it, and if we have time, we’ll continue with more testimony.” tify on his behalf. The toxicologist is a short, grey-haired man in his fif­ We stand as the judge disappears through a door behind his desk. As ties who wears thick glasses that make his eyeballs look huge. He seems we file out of the jury box, we hear, “Hey, Paul!” Someone hurls a candy never to blink and possesses a rodent-like staring quality. He instantly bar at a courtroom guard. The guard easily catches it from apparent gives me the creeps. years of experience. It is the bailiff who has lobbed the candy bar – a This toxicologist had apparently, at the outset of the trial, given tes­ heavyset, jolly guy we jurors will soon come to know as “The Candy timony regarding this case that we jurors were not privy to. The court Man.” was now going to share this information We enter a tiny space just off of the with us. courtroom. It is the kind of setting that The judge says that, due to the late hour, we will “Mr. _______,” the defense asks him, would send anyone with claustrophobia stop now and continue tomorrow. He asks if any “would the results of the blood-alcohol into a frenzy. It has an ugly drop ceiling of us have any special needs. Fat Man, whose test, administered at the police station, and is painted a pale yellow. We sit facing presence I hadn’t noticed until now, raises her lead you to believe that the defendant one another around a circular table. was incapable of operating an automo­ hand. I don’t see Little Boy anywhere and can “Don’t give us much room, do they?” bile on that evening?” only assume that Fat Man ate her. Fat Man says. “I wonder how long we’re “I believe,” says the toxicologist, “that it gonna go on. I can’t sit for any length of was unlikely he was impaired.” time.” This statement was evidently not congruent with his prior testimony “Well, I think we should all introduce ourselves,” says a neat, middle- and pisses the judge off something fierce. aged woman with short hair and pearl earrings. “Now wait a minute!” the judge blasts, “that is not what you said in We look at one another and silently agree this is a good idea. There your statement. You’re contradicting yourself!” are many walks of life represented. One man modifies Hummers for “No, I’m not!” the toxicologist says, throwing up his hands in a de­ the Army. There are salespeople, stay-at-home moms and a young girl fensive pose. with terrible acne who works on a horse farm. And then, of course, The judge seems so upset that I’m half expecting the gavel to go right there is Fat Man. Another woman in the room is wearing a jacket with a into the middle of the toxicologist’s forehead. I have the impression fur-lined collar that someone compliments. Fat Man, sitting next to the that the judge had dealt with this toxicologist several times before and woman with the jacket, says, “My sister once got bitten by a ferret and had developed a hell of a dislike for him. had to get shots in her stomach for six months.” The defendant stares at the ceiling and looks very sleepy. There is, of course, no response to this, and all eyes stare at the center “What I said in my statement was …” the toxicologist continues, try­ of the table. Fat Man’s only prerequisite for throwing out an anecdote is ing to talk his way out of his little deviation, but the judge is having that it have nothing to do with the subject at hand. none of it. “Later my younger sister Norma got piles real bad and couldn’t drink “No! What you said in your statement was …” her Sanka for a year.” The judge then reads from notes in front of him. I do not catch his The door to our tiny little room bursts open as if kicked, and the last several comments because something extraordinary has just hap­ bailiff appears. He dumps a bag of candy across our little round table. pened in the courtroom. From out of the far side of the judge’s desk, Tootsie Rolls and miniature Chick-o-Sticks slide everywhere and drop creeping from behind the cowering toxicologist’s witness box, steps a into our laps. We must have been distracted from our hunger, for we gigantic black German shepherd. As the judge continues his diatribe, descend on the candy like so many falcons to field mice. The bailiff ad­ and the toxicologist squirms in his seat, the dog slowly walks in front of mires his work and rests an elbow high up on the doorframe. the judge’s desk towards the jurors’ box, sits and stares at us. “Everybody havin’ fun?” he asks. “You are bordering on contempt!” the judge booms, as I stare into We all silently nod, chewing our Chick-o-Sticks. the eyes of the giant dog. I wonder if I’m having a stroke or if it’s really We chat with him for a while as he rolls in the TV so we can watch the there. Is security this tight now in official buildings that they need large police tape again. aggressive dogs in the room? I imagine the defense attorney yelling, “What’s the craziest thing you ever saw happen in the courtroom?” I “Objection....AAAAAAAARG!!” as the dog leaps for his throat. ask the bailiff. The toxicologist gets up and leaves the witness box, and I have no He thinks for moment. idea how it panned out. The dog is still sitting at the edge of the judge’s “There was a guy once who got a 30-day sentence for something – I desk, staring at us. can’t remember what – and then he threatened to kill the judge for lock­ The judge says that this is the last of the testimony and we, the jury, ing him up. He went from one month to 10 years in the blink of an eye. will now try to come to a verdict. Some people are just stupid,” he says. We file back into our little room and sit in silence for a moment. No “My sister once had a warrant on her,” Fat Man adds. “She went to one says anything about the dog, and my fear of a stroke becomes more jury duty for one day, and then quit goin’. Stupid bitch.” pronounced. “Yep,” the bailiff says, “we need you here.” “I think we should start by reading the Juror’s Creed,” says Neat The judge sticks his head in the room. Lady. “I’d like you to watch the police tape again,” he says, “and then write I turn and look at the wall behind me, and in a big cheap frame is down any questions you have for the arresting officer. I’ll read them, something that looks like the Declaration of Independence. Neat Lady and anything I think should be brought up in court I’ll ask him for a reads: clarification.” • I am a juror. We watch the tape a second time. Any doubt put into my head by • I am a seeker after the truth. the defense attorney is quickly brushed aside as I again watch the de­ • I must listen carefully and with concentration to all of the evi­ fendant stagger all over the shoulder of the highway. Short of vomiting dence. into the policeman’s hat, he couldn’t have acted more intoxicated. It is • I must heed and follow the instruction of the court. hilarious, simply hilarious. • I must respectfully and attentively follow the arguments of the I stifle any urge to snicker, remembering this man is in big trouble. He lawyers, dispassionately seeking to find and follow the silver could receive jail time, lose his license, not to mention a lot of money. thread of truth through their conflicting assertions. “HAAA, HA, HA, HA, HAAAA!,” Fat Man brays. “He’s sauced!” • I must lay aside all bias and prejudice. We write our questions for the policeman. I can’t really think of any­ • I must be led by my intelligence and not by my emotions. thing to ask, except “How long do these things usually go on?” and • In fine, I must apply the golden rule by putting myself impar­ “Would your Taser work on someone like Fat Man?” tially in the place of the plaintiff and of the defendant. “Does anyone want to take a preliminary vote?” asks the Hummer • My verdict must do justice, for what is just is “true and righ­ builder. teous and altogether.” And when my term of jury service is We all say OK. The vote is eight to two for guilty. ended, I must leave with my citizenship unsullied and my con­ The two “not guilty” votes come from a man named Jeff, who – it science clear. came out in the selection process – had a DUI not long ago. The other “Where’s the john?” Fat Man asks. “I wanna make sure my pants are is a man named Ron who is the living double of W.C. Fields. He has a unsullied and clear first.” bulbous red nose that looks like a miniature globe of the Martian land­ All eyes close, and a nearly imperceptible shudder passes through scape. They both say that the police cruiser tape is “inconclusive.” the room. See Jury, P. 14 �14 STREETVIBES June 1 - 14, 2010 Short Story We, the Jury Continued from page 13 Silver thread of truth my ass, I think. What about that German shep­ herd? We watch the police-cruiser tape again and again and again. Each time the man in the video swoons and staggers all over the place. No matter how many times I see it, I still wait for the man to fall face-first onto the highway and eat a mouthful of gravel. He never does fall, but it really doesn’t matter. Not to most of us anyway. Afterward, Hummer Builder asks if anyone would like to take anoth­ er vote. It is still eight to two – guilty. We all sit in an awkward silence for a few moments, not sure how to proceed. Finally, Hummer Builder addresses the two “not guiltys.” “Well, with the minority opinion, could you tell us why you think he’s not guilty?” Ron (the W.C. Fields lookalike) looks to Jeff (the recent DUI) to speak on their behalf. This is fine because Jeff, as it turns out, has all the an­ swers. “I simply can’t find the man guilty based on this tape,” Jeff responds, with more than a hint of spite. The rest of us wonder which video he is referring to, because he sure as hell can’t mean the one in the VCR. “You do remember,” Neat Lady says, with an admittedly condescend­ ing tone, “that we are judging whether or not we think he is impaired, and not on the breathalyzer test results alone.” “Yes, yes, I know that,” Jeff says. “When I watch this video, I can’t tell if he’s drunk or not.” “You can tell us,” I want to say in Leslie Nielsen’s voice. “We’re ju­ rors.” “We can’t know for certain if he is, I’ll grant you that,” Hummer Build­ er says, “but I think he’s showing obvious signs of being under the influ­ ence of alcohol.” “He could be tired,” Jeff says. “He could be clumsy. And when it fi­ nally comes down to it, I’m still just guessing. I do not know for certain if he is truly intoxicated.” This goes on for six more hours. “This is worse than Benjamin Button,” says Fat Man. “I’m sure we’ll find something to wheel you out on,” says Neat Lady. After so much time, and another 10 viewings of the arrest video, we are all at our breaking point. I’m chewing on my twelfth Chick-o-Stick of the day, courtesy again of the bailiff. “OK,” Neat Lady asks Jeff and Ron, “after viewing the police video so many times, am I to assume you are only more dead-set in your ver­ dict?” “Absolutely,” says Jeff. He takes a deep breath through his nose as he looks up at the ceiling. “I think we all need to take a big step back here, folks. It’s easy, especially at this late hour, to go with the crowd and make quick decisions on matters upon which we have no proof. All we know for a fact is that the defendant took a breathalyzer test and passed it. Other than that we are only speculating.” “The guy on that video is falling down drunk,” I say. “Falling down drunk,” Jeff says, scowling at the center of the table. “OK, he’s staggering and he’s stumbling drunk. How’s that?” The room snickers as the judge pokes his head into the room. “I appreciate the time you are taking making a careful decision,” he says. “I had some paperwork regarding the testing at the police station and the arrest that may clarify some issues for you. There is really no new information in it, however, that hasn’t already been brought up.” He takes his leave, having left a stack of papers, and thanks us again for making a careful verdict. Hummer Builder gives the paperwork a cursory look. I wonder what Jeff blew on his own breathalyzer a few months back and, if he passed it, how he was convicted. I have the question on the tip of my tongue when Hummer Builder speaks up. “Good lord,” he says, looking at the paperwork. We all stop chewing our candy for a second. “I don’t think we’re supposed to have some of this,” he says. “What do you mean?” I ask. “This paper here mentions a prior arrest for a DUI less than a year ago for the defendant. At the bottom of this other page it says that, when he was pulled over this time, he was going over 90 miles per hour.” We sit in stunned silence. What if, because they gave us the wrong papers, they declare a mistrial after all this time? “We’ll have to tell the judge right away,” Jeff says. Despite my dread of a mistrial I have to agree. It wouldn’t be fair to consider evidence that hasn’t been allowed, but how can I put the new information out of my mind? The defendant had another DUI less than a year ago. And before this recent arrest, despite his condition, was driving at an incredible rate of speed. “Jesus,” I think, “is he crazy?” “He ain’t got the sense of a goddam Dalmatian,” says Fat Man, speak­ ing for eight out of 10 of us. We inform the judge and, within a half hour, he types up a paper instructing us to ignore any information in the paperwork that was not already introduced as evidence in the trial. Of course, I couldn’t do this if I tried. I can’t help but feel vindicated for all of my guilty votes, not to mention going up against the “nots.” This might very well be unfair, having seen the new papers, but I don’t give a shit. This is how people are killed by drunk drivers. I would not have wanted to be anywhere near the defendant on the road that night, especially with my family in the car. Jeff himself has children, as he mentioned at some point. I saw this trial as an opportunity to act, to take one recidivistic drunk driver off the road. I don’t expect he and Ron to change their votes, despite the new information we have been instructed to ignore, and, of course, they don’t. It is still eight votes for guilty and two for not guilty. We are a hung jury. The judge thanks us in court for our hard work and time spent on the case. The defendant continues to admire the ceiling as the judge an­ nounces that the case will be tried again with a different jury at a later time. The German shepherd is nowhere to be seen. No ice cream After the trial, back in the deliberation room, the judge and both at­ torneys come to speak to us. “What direction were you leaning?” the defense attorney asks us. His face sinks when we tell him all but two of us voted guilty. “It was the video,” several people say, to soften the blow. “What about the two not guiltys?” he asks, looking around the room. “What made you vote that way?” “It was the video,” they respond. The German shepherd was being trained as a seeing eye dog at the jail across the street. Some of these animals have “sponsors” who take them for walks and provide other services. The judge was his sponsor. Serving on a jury was a strange and interesting experience. It was not unlike the feeling one has when leaving his first Carnival Cruise. The malaise and disorientation were the same, just no soft-serve ice cream. Also, as in the end of Twelve Angry Men, we jurors all went our separate ways without really saying a word to each other. The Neat Lady, Hum­ mer Builder, Jeff, Ron and Fat Man all went back to their lives as before. I wondered if they felt the lack of satisfaction that I felt, the same sense of having just wasted a lot of time. And did I really feel that way? One thing was for certain, I wouldn’t be having jury duty fantasies again for a long while – at least not until Judgment At Nuremberg aired again. Michael Fanning lives in Hartwell with his trophy wife, Alex. Streetvibes vendors keep 75% of sales. Consider helping Streetvibes with our publication costs by making a tax-deductible donation or by purchasing a subscription. Streetvibes is the activist newspaper, advocating justice, building community. Your gift is tax-deductible and will go to producing the paper every two weeks. Started in 1997, Streetvibes is distributed by homeless and formerly homeless vendors who purchase the paper for 25 cents and sell it for $1, keeping the 75 cent profit. 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The program includes: • 7 p.m. Friday, “PeaceWorks: Teaching Art for Social Justice,” a docu­ mentary, Power Point presentation and discussion by Marie Lindsey, art teacher; • 8 p.m. Saturday, On the Fast Track, a film about the tribulations of a young man down on his luck, directed by Traven La Botz and Alexan­ dra Kuzik; • 7 p.m. Saturday, a poetry reading facilitated by Mary Pierce Brosmer, founder of “Women Writing for (a) Change”; • 9 p.m. Saturday, “Earth in Pain” a modern dance performance by Ta­ dashi Kato, Japanese dancer and choreographer ;and a didgeridoo per­ formance by Heather Hughes; • 3 p.m. Sunday, “America as a Piece of Art: The America I Love,” a panel discussion facilitated by Jerry Judge, poet and art activist; and • 4:30 p.m. Sunday, artists’ discussion and closing potluck reception. The entire program is free to the public. 859-491-8303 ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Center for Respite Care Call to Artists Brighton Center 863-3184 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 799 Ann St. Newport, KY Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 859-491-3335 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 Go Ahead: Ask a Vendor Invitation to a dialogue with our readers Streetvibes vendors see a lot that you might not. For example, some can describe what goes on in an abandoned building at night when they sleep there. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to stand on a street corner sell­ ing newspapers? That’s hardly a common occupation anymore. How much money do Streetvibes vendors make – and what do they do with it? Do they have other jobs? If you have questions, some of our vendors would like to answer them. “Go Ahead: Ask a Vendor” will be an occasional feature, with questions submitted by readers and answered by Streetvibes vendors. You may direct your question to a specific vendor or we’ll invite one to respond. Only include your name if you want to. Send questions to streetvibes2@yahoo.com Or to Streetvibes, 117 E. 12th St. Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. Go ahead. Ask. Missed an Issue? Check out the Streetvibes archive at www.cincihomeless.org/content/streetvibes �16 Artists as Activists STREETVIBES June 1 - 14, 2010 Flags and Penises “I do not see myself as special or different from anyone else. I am just an artist who enjoys what he does. My art makes me happy; it is my being.” - Aaron Kent K ent’s art is also his voice as he uses it, instead of words, to express and affirm who he is, convey his views, question and confront political and social issues and challenge viewers to think critically about our government and the values of our society. A versatile artist born in Springfield, Ohio, Kent now lives in Cincinnati. Encouraged by his nurturing mother, he has been drawing or involved in art classes since early childhood. In high school he studied commercial art, later switching to fine arts. He graduated from the Art Academy of Cincinnati with a bachelor of fine arts degree in sculp­ ture and worked at Casting Arts and Technology for seven years, practicing mold making, bronze casting and metal fabrication. Kent also uses other media including print­ making, painting and performance art. From the beginning his work has been unconvention­ al, questioning the status quo, triggering thinking about controversial issues such as religion, sexuality, money, freedom of speech and some aspects of punk culture. It Aaron Kent sitting next to casted bones for his Bones series. Saad Ghosn. has also been provocative both in its imagery and the of­ ten taboo subjects it addresses. His graphic series, America the Beautiful, recreated the American flag in various ways, associating it with money, religion and trinity in our society. war, thus using it to ad­ Kent’s sculpture, God Told Me It Was OK, represents a cross covered dress different issues that with Bible pages on which he silk-screened images pertaining to sexu­ pertain to America, its ality. His intention was to throw religion and the underworld of sex to­ politics and its culture. gether, questioning what is right and who judges wrong and points to It served to artistically the fact that religion looks down on lifestyles not of its likeness instead reaffirm the freedom of of accepting people for whom they are, appreciating their goodness. as speech that Kent believed Other artworks address the hypocrisy of religious institutions, for in­ the U.S. Constitution pro­ stance their tacit approval of wars and violence contradictory to their vided, at the same time peace teaching, just because they benefit from them materially and By Saad GHoSn raising awareness and monetarily. Contributing WritEr dialogue with the viewer. Kent’s latest series, Bones, consists of sculptures reflecting on death Hey Buddy Can You Spare and its spiritual connection to the circle of life. Based on bones repeat­ a Dime, a piece from the edly casted in bronze and arranged into unique, somewhat abstract series, consisted of an American flag made of $1 bills. By incorporating sculptural patterns, the pieces represent a shift from death to the beau­ money into the flag, Kent alluded to the important role money plays in ty and power of the continuous creative process. They connect indi­ U.S. politics, American wealth in the face of its coexisting poverty and viduals in a serene and harmonious way to their questioning of life and the increasingly changing economic horizons locally and worldwide. death, their own death, their survival through giving back. His sculp­ In New American Anthem, he used music bars as lines for a flag that tures illustrate at the same time the fragility yet the strength of all living he shot several times with a gun; he then had music written based on beings, neutralizing indirectly the fears imposed by religions. the shots-caused pattern. He thus associated firearms violence to the Kent also makes a point of putting his art outside galleries, in pub­ American flag, creating a new anthem lic spaces, in order to impact passers­ with a new message, making an implic­ by and make his art and message part it statement about the direction of our of their daily lives. For instance, he country. pastes his enlarged prints on blank, Another series, In God We Trust, chal­ abandoned walls, installs his sculptures lenges the thinking on who and what anonymously in the streets, sets spon­ God is, religion, right vs. wrong and taneous performance installations. how people use God for money and “I am an activist,” he says. “My art make money their god. Raised Catho­ says something that I want to commu­ lic, Kent disassociated himself early on nicate. It reflects who I am, what I be­ from religion as it did not answer his lieve in. I want it to raise questions and questions and was often, in his eyes, trigger thinking, irrespective of the im­ misused to perpetuate control, repres­ mediate reaction.” sion and self-interests. To point to sexuality and its impor­ “I do not need God to have a good tant role in life and fight its unhealthy heart,” he says. “Without religion one obliteration by society, Kent displayed can still be a good person.” in many public places large plasterAlthough agnostic, Kent remains casted penises, connecting them to spiritual, connecting to people and each other as if leading the way. To call helping others whenever he can – the attention to the terror of wars we inflict poor, homeless, abandoned and less on other people, he performed unan­ fortunate. This is his religion, being nounced, dressed up in a hazmat suit, honest, kind and supportive – not the public acts in restaurants and coffee materialistic, empire-building values shops, leaving behind him, unattended, promoted by institutions, which de­ small black boxes and briefcases. Per­ tract from the essential. ceived as a threat, he would be asked His print, In God We Trust, consists to leave, but after having generated in of $1 bills forming a cross. It shows those present the same uneasiness and the front of the bills with “The United fear others live on a daily basis because States of America” prominently printof the wars we have created for them. ed on them and the image of George In God We Trust, silk-screen print by Aaron “If I do not do art, I do not feel comWashington in their center. It directly Kent. Saad Ghosn. plete,” Kent says. “Art is my voice and links money to politics to religion, an my communication. It is also my share omnipresent, omnipotent, overlapping for a better world.” A rtists ctivists Artists as Activists is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati artists who use art as a vehicle for change. Saad Ghosn is the founder of SOS Art. Ghosn can be contacted at saad.ghosn@uc.edu. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2010 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource June 1-14, 2010 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Tell Me: Do You Want to Hold Me? Sheriff Wants to Follow Arizona Pg 2: Don’t Look Away Pg 3: One Thing Leads to Another Pg 4: Tell Me: Do You Want to Hold Me? Continued Sheriff Wants to Follow Arizona Continued Pg 5: Bright Smiles for the Homeless Building Confidence in Leadership Pg 6: One Thing Leads to Another Continued Pg 7: Barons Fight for Their Country Pg 8: How Does Hollywood Do Poverty? Pg 9: Out in the Open Pg 10: Can You See Me Now? Pg 11: The Fedora That Changed a Life Pg 12: We, the Jury Pg 13: We, the Jury Continued Pg 14: We, the Jury Continued Pg 15: Resources Pg 16: Flags and Penises Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource June 1-14, 2010 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Gregory Flannery Lynne Ausman Veronica Glass Jeni Jenkins Michelle Dillingham Samantha Groark Margo Pierce Paul Kopp Jeremy Flannery Michael Henson David Heitfield Corey Gibson Saad Ghosn Lew Moores Larry Gross Eli Braun Jesse Call Brendon McCartney Michael Fanning Aimie Willhoite Anthony Williams Vinit Murthy Jon Hughes Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Aaron Kent Activism Aimie Willhoite Anthony Williams Arizona Avondale Brendon McCartney Corey Gibson David Heitfield Eli Braun Gregory Flannery Hamilton County Hollywood Jeni Jenkins Jeremy Flannery Jesse Call Jon Hughes Justice System Larry Gross Lew Moores Lynn Baker Lynne Ausman Margo Pierce McMicken Dental Clinic Mia Carruthers Michael Fanning Michael Henson Michelle Dillingham Over-the-Rhine Paul Kopp Saad Ghosn Samantha Groark Stereotypes Street Paper The Retros Veronica Glass Vinit Murthy https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/a0d0dc29502f94981a64df04d9c09e46.pdf 9f4cc7e0d848c0163c50cea1cbc484f8 PDF Text Text Artists as Activists Page 16 Seeking Understanding Page 10 STREETVIBES $1 May 15-31, 2010 • Advocating Justice, Building Community • Issue 177 Cincinnati’s Marijuana Law Fiasco Whites use pot, blacks get arrested By Eli Braun Contributing Writer I n most of Hamilton County and Ohio, possessing a small amount of marijuana is a “mi­ nor misdemeanor,” the lowest level offense. If you are caught with a joint, the police simply give you a ticket and you pay a fine. In the city of Cincin­ nati, however, you take a ride to the Justice Center. On March 29, 2006, Cincinnati City Council voted 6 to 2 to increase the penalty for possessing small amounts of marijuana. Ordinance 910-23 el­ evated marijuana possession from a minor misdemeanor, a pay-out ticket that carries no more than a $100 fine, to a fourth-degree misdemeanor, or M4, which entails an arrest. With the M4, pot smokers now face up to a $250 fine and 30 days in jail. Those arrested a second time are charged with a first-degree misde­ meanor, which carries up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail. More than 13,000 arrests have been made under the M4 marijuana ordi­ nance as of May 5 – a total of 13,263, according to the Cincinnati Police Department. Thus Cincinnati distinguishes itself from other municipalities in Hamil­ ton County. “Literally you could be standing on one side of the street,” says Hamilton County Municipal Judge Fanon Ruck­ er, “then walk across the street and be subjected to a different penalty.” See Pot, p. 4 While California considers legalizing marijuana, Cincinnati has made it a jailable offense. REUTERS/Alexandria Sage. World Class Judge Mark Painter moves to the United Nations By GrEGory FlannEry editor the law is, the law is, unless the General As­ sembly enacts new legislation,” Painter says. ark Painter used to be a judge for Hamilton County. Now he is a judge for the world. The longtime jurist recently returned from the first sitting of the United Nations Appeals Tribunal (UNAT), which met for three weeks in Geneva, Switzerland. President Barack Obama nominated Paint­ er, and the UN General Assembly elected him to one of seven seats on the new court’s bench. Painter, who retired from the Ohio First District Court of Appeals to accept the new post, is the only U.S. judge in UNAT. The other six judges are from Argentina, France, Ghana, India, Canada and Uruguay. In its inaugural session, the panel heard 33 cases and ruled unanimously on all of them. “It’s a culturally, legally, racially and ethni­ cally diverse court, but we agreed on every case,” Painter says. UNAT is the final legal step in deciding em­ ployment conflicts at the United Nations. The cases include complaints about hiring, firing, sexual harassment, pension rights and other job-related disputes. “We’re the highest court, so whatever we say Important to Obama M Judge Mark Painter now serves on the United Nations Appeals Tribunal. Photo by Aimie Willhoite. You be the judge.... Should the Drop Inn Center move? Page 3 As a judge in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court and the state appeals court, Paint­ er distinguished himself by his independence. His opinions on the appeals court were a study in legal acuity and sometimes color­ ful writing. Last year, for example, he blasted both the Cincinnati Civil Service Commission for barring former felons from city jobs and his fellow appeals judges for upholding the rule. He called his fellow judges’ ruling “balo­ ney.” As for the city’s policy, he wrote, “When people do turn their life around, we should applaud and help them help themselves – not ban them from employment by imposing ar­ bitrary rules.” His appointment as a United Nations judge defied political conventions. Painter is a Re­ publican. His nomination was by Obama, a Democrat. Susan Rice, then the new U.S. am­ bassador to the UN, chose Painter, the candi­ date recommended by her staff. “The staff told me they almost didn’t rec­ ommend me because they didn’t want to be See Painter, p. 6 DCI Panhandling Leaflet Harmful or Helpful? Page 7 �2 The Vibe By The Numbers 87 The age at which historian Howard Zinn died (see page 7). None The amount of money Downtown Cincinnati Inc. wants people to give panhandlers (see page 7). 85 The percentage of arrests, under Cincinnati’s marijuana law, in which the suspects are African Americans (see page 1). 400 The amount of relocation assistance, in dollars, paid to people forced from the Metropole Apartments (see page 10). 60,000 The number of people who work for the United Nations (see page 1). 35 The age at which basketball star Kobe Bryant grew horns (see page 14). 19 The daily pay, in dollars, for a juror in Hamilton County a few years ago (see page 12). First The grade level in which Andy Au drew dinosaurs on his spelling tests (see page 16). 2006 The year Barbara F. Duke lost her house and become homeless (see page 11). StreetWise By GrEGory FlannEry editor Getting Beat Up Makes Us Look Bad The brutal attack on a homeless camp on Mitchell Avenue last month made national news, including a report in The New York Times. It wasn’t that John Johnson’s injuries – requiring 18 stitches to close his head wounds – were so extraordinary; violent crime is unfortunately common in the United States. It wasn’t that the attack was a deliberate hate crime; such a thing happens with increasing frequency. The attack made national headlines because three of the four alleged perpetrators, wielding baseball bats and metal pipes, are active-duty soldiers in the U.S. Army (see “Soldiers Attack Homeless Camp,” issue of May 1-14). Some people in Spring Grove Village were most displeased by what happened. It wasn’t that one of their neighbors was nearly killed by thugs who targeted him because he was homeless. It wasn’t that some of their neighbors are forced to live outdoors for want of affordable housing. No, what upset some residents was the fact that all that publicity was bad for the neighborhood’s public image. One concerned citizen sent a link to a TV news report (“Homeless Man Beaten by Campsite Intruders”) to Cincinnati Police Chief Thomas Streicher, City Manager Milton Dohoney and members of city council. Something must be done, the man wrote. “That’s not the kind of headline news you would like your family and friends to read about your neighborhood!” the letter said. “Well, neither do we.” Spring Grove Village Community Council was ready to act. A posse – er, group of vol­ unteers – was formed, intent on tearing down – “cleaning up” – the unsightly homeless camp. But not so fast. It turns out that homeless people camping on public property still have rights, as Cincinnati Police officers pointed out during a contentious meeting. Thanks to the settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, the city no longer bursts in and busts up homeless camps. Police officers now post a 72­ hour notice, giving homeless people time to move their belongings and social workers an opportunity to find them housing. With help from the commander and officers from Police District 5, Josh Spring, execu­ tive director of the Homeless Coalition, swayed the community council, appealing to what most motivated them. “If Spring Grove Village doesn’t want bad PR, they need to work with the people at the camp – not attack them,” Spring said. It took some doing, but a compromise was reached. The community council agreed to wait two weeks so that Spring and others could try to place the homeless campers in housing. It helped that Spring promised to have TV cameras and other news media on hand if the “volunteers” decided to take matters into their own hands. That letter bemoaning the bad publicity, by the way, wasn’t sent to Mayor Mark Mallory. That’s just as well. Mallory has been busy of late trying to force other homeless people out – namely the residents of the Drop Inn Center (see “An Open Letter to the City of Cincinnati,” page 3.) Does Uncle Sam Want Skinheads? Three of the four attackers have now been captured. Charged with felonious assault are Michael Hesson, 24, of Norwood; Private Riley Feller, 24, stationed at Fort Knox; and Spec. Travis Condor, 25, stationed at Fort Bragg. A fourth suspect, also stationed at Fort Bragg, has not yet been caught. STREETVIBES May 15 - 31, 2010 Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax: 513.421.7813 Email: streetvibes2@yahoo. com Website: www. cincihomeless.org Blog: streetvibes.wordpress. com Streetvibes Staff Editor Gregory Flannery Art Director Lynne Ausman Graphics/Layout Intern Veronica Glass Vendor Coordinator Jeni Jenkins Contributing Writers Michelle Dillingham, Samantha Groark, Margo Pierce, Paul Kopp, Jeremy Flannery, Michael Henson, David Heitfield, Valerie Fessler, Corey Gibson, Jeni Jenkins, Saad Ghosn, Lew Moores, Larry Gross, Eli Braun, Jesse Call Photography/Artwork Aimie Willhoite, Lynne Ausman, Anthony Williams, Vinit Murthy, Jon Hughes Proofreaders Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery “The message needs to get out there,” he said. “I’m just glad the media is staying on this so we can educate people.” The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati through coordination of services, public education, grassroots advocacy and Streetvibes. Johnson said he has learned that hate crimes against homeless people are a nationwide phenomenon. He has recently visited high-school students, describing his ordeal. The fact that three of the suspects are U.S. soldiers points to the seriousness of the problem, according to Johnson. We are proud members of: At an April 30 press conference, Johnson, 52, said he was encouraged by the attention the attack has received. “After I found out that the majority of them are military, that stepped it up, as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “I can see a group of guys just being stupid, but as far as being military, these guys are trained to injure people. That’s what they do – and that’s what they did. How far were they willing to go? These guys didn’t care that I was a white guy or a black guy. Their one concern was that I was homeless.” Spring hopes the attack will lead to expansion of Ohio’s hate-crimes law to include pro­ tection for homeless people. He wants the U.S. Army to invite the Homeless Coalition to conduct training sessions on homelessness for soldiers. He also wants the army to quit accepting racist skinheads into its ranks. “Why are they in the military?” Spring said. “If people are known for hate, do we really want them representing our country? Do we trust them on the battlefield? This should start a national conversation on who is allowed into the U.S. military.” �STREETVIBES May 15 - 31, 2010 3 Column Keep Drop Inn Center Where it Is Make room for diversity and redevelopment By MichEllE DillinGhaM Contributing Writer nues and reduce property crime. In cities across America and across the world (indeed the word “gentrification” origi­ was born in Boston on Joy Street in Bea­ nated in England), affordable-housing advo­ con Hill in 1972. My parents met in an cates voice their disapproval over the loss of art gallery at a poetry reading. It was a affordable units in the name of urban renewal. neighborhood of artists, poets and writers. Developers and politicians support redevel­ Now it is habitated by what my father back in opment that attracts higher-income residents. the ’80s would disdainfully call “yuppies.” To­ For housing advocates, our main concerns are day I would not be able to access, availability and afford an apartment on Joy inclusion of affordable Street, yet I have a signifi­ Other cities are experimenting housing in re-develop­ cantly higher income than ment. with inclusionary zoning both my parents did back Other cities are exper­ ordinances that require a share then. imenting with inclusion­ of new construction to be I take a quick look at the affordable by people with low to ary zoning ordinances old neighborhood on-line, moderate incomes. It is hard to that require a share of and the first description I imagine seeing such legislation new construction to be find says, “Beacon Hill is affordable by people in Cincinnati given the fact home to some of the most with low to moderate in­ that we are still fending off expensive real estate in comes. It is hard to imag­ exclusionary zoning. America.” Wow, a lot can ine seeing such legisla­ change in 30 (plus) years. tion in Cincinnati given Here in Cincinnati there has been a rapid the fact that we are still fending off exclusiontransformation in our urban core, specifi­ ary zoning. cally in one of our most historic and storied Recently it has come to light that our city’s neighborhoods, Over-the-Rhine. A non-profit political and economic leadership strongly development corporation (Cincinnati Cen­ encouraged the Drop Inn Center to relocate ter City Development Corp., better known as from its current location. The implications are 3CDC) has strategically and by design invested that, as Washington Park is undergoing signifi­ and taken advantage of various tax incentives cant improvement and the new School for the in order to restore and upgrade deteriorating Creative and Performing Arts has been built, properties along our main streets – Vine, Race there really is no place for the Drop Inn Cen­ and Walnut. The influx of middle-class resi­ ter. I would bet my reaction is shared by more dents and business owners and the displace­ than a few: While I really appreciate 3CDC’s ment of lower-income people will inevitably role in the rehabilitation of our historic Over­ increase property values, increase tax reve­ the-Rhine housing stock and all that it brings, I to uproot one of Cincinnati’s few homeless shelters that is centrally located for its clients is just going too far. Elizabeth Brown, president of the board of Affordable Housing Advocates (AHA), has of­ fered commentary outlining AHA’s concerns over this issue (see below), and it delineates many good points. My personal aversion to moving the Drop Inn Center is first concern for its clients and their ability to reasonably access services. Second, I just believe an ur­ ban emergency homeless shelter should be located in a city’s core. This morning I drove down Liberty Street and looked at the vacant, boarded-up build­ ings that line the street between Walnut and Vine. I am genuinely grateful for the re-devel­ opment that will be making its way to these buildings as 3CDC forges northward. I imag­ ine those buildings with window flower boxes, small businesses on the street level, benches in the courtyard … and hope that a few blocks over the Drop Inn Center will still be there to serve some of the 25,000 citizens a year who experience homelessness in our city – our veterans, families in foreclosure, some with chronic illnesses, but most who are there sim­ ply due to a lack of affordable housing. Clearly there is a delicate balance between factors of safety, perceptions of safety, a ra­ cially and economically diverse urban core, needed tax revenues to support city services and our urban identity. My appeal to our city’s leadership echoes advocates against displace­ ment everywhere: The Drop Inn Center must stay. An Open Letter to the City of Cincinnati L ast week AHA (Affordable Hous­ ing Advocates) learned of a meet­ ing where the board of directors of the Drop Inn Center were summoned to the mayor’s office at City Hall with very little no­ tice. Members of the board expected they were meeting with the mayor; however, they were greeted instead by a number of indi­ viduals including Vice Mayor Qualls, 3CDC's Steve Leeper, and other members of the city administration. The mayor reportedly in­ formed everyone it was his intention that the Drop Inn Center relocate, although to where he did not identify. 3CDC then offered to assist with the relocation cost to expedite their move. Also reportedly, 3CDC in turn then asked the city for funding to help them move the Drop-Inn Center. While 3CDC has been responsible for some needed redevelopment, many citizens are increasingly wary of their tactics and re­ liance on the city's coffers and political in­ fluence to promote an agenda that seems to envision a totally gentrified downtown and Over-the-Rhine. They seem to believe it is necessary to drive out those Cincinnatians who rely on affordable housing and social services to make ends meet, in order to at­ tract higher-income young professionals and families. Earlier this year 3CDC forced out the Metropole Apartments to replace it with a boutique hotel, and now they are demanding not just a downsizing but the com­ plete removal of the Drop Inn Center. We are extremely con­ cerned about the loss of diver­ sity and the loss of a mixedincome neighborhood. Other non-profits, property owners and businesses are asking, who will be next? Regardless of the decision of the Drop Inn Center Board, the community is concerned. Where is the transparency? The respect? Not just to the board, staff and clients of the Drop Inn Center but to the broader community? Behind closed-doors meet­ ings, convened with little notice, demanding hasty decisions with an alternative site not even identified? A matter that has such a profound effect on our community should not be conducted in such a manner. Instead, the parties in­ volved need to identify clear, constructive goals rather than this useless posturing. Members of the affordable-housing advo­ cates community hope that our political leadership and corporate community give serious consideration to the broader context of removing the Drop Inn Center and other institutions that serve our lower-income neighbors, because if we are serious about being an attractive city for young profession­ als, a dynamic, vibrant city, we best not zone out, buy out or force out the very diversity that will engender that vision. We believe it is possible for a new school, a homeless shel­ ter, arts institutions, high-end housing and affordable housing all to share a healthy, vi­ brant urban neighborhood. Please don’t draw the battle lines with “Get out of town” ultimatums. Let’s build this community together. Elizabeth Brown, AHA Board Chair Elizabeth.Brown@uwgc.org Want more Streetvibes? Check out the StreetvibeS blog http://streetvibes.wordpress.com �4 Local News STREETVIBES May 15 - 31, 2010 Cincinnati’s Marijuana Law Fiasco Continued from page 1 time, Thomas said the police would not spend their time targeting medical users and Cincinnati differs from other cities as well. college students. Philadelphia has taken steps to decrimi­ “That’s not who they’ll be going after,” he nalize possession in an effort to relieve its said. “I’m not concerned about that because crowded court system. In November, Cali­ crime is occurring in our troubled neighbor­ fornia voters will take the hoods.” initiative one step further: It seemed that coun­ On March 29, 2006, deciding whether to legal­ cil specifically intended Cincinnati City ize marijuana, allowing it to subvert “equal justice to be sold and taxed like Council voted 6 to 2 to under law.” While people any other commodity. in “troubled” neighbor­ increase the penalty While some cities have hoods would endure more for possessing small moved toward easing the serious criminal charges amounts of marijuana. penalties, Cincinnati has and greater penalties for Ordinance 910-23 moved in the opposite marijuana possession, elevated marijuana direction. The result has marijuana users in more possession from a minor been disastrous for po­ affluent areas – even in misdemeanor, a paylice effectiveness, court areas of the city where the out ticket that carries and jail crowdedness and same ordinance osten­ no more than a $100 community welfare. As we sibly applied – could get fine, to a fourth-degree approach the law’s fifth high without police medmisdemeanor, or M4, anniversary next year, the dling. which entails an arrest. national trend toward de­ Four years later, that’s criminalization presents precisely what’s hap­ an opportunity to evaluate its impact. pened. Streetvibes identified three key findings in ‘Who they’ll be going after’ police data: • Few of those arrested under the or­ City Councilman Cecil Thomas, a retired dinance were convicted of anything other 27-year veteran of the police department, than marijuana, meaning that police search­ led the 2006 effort to stiffen the penalty. He es have not, by and large, turned up guns or was and remains the chair of city council’s additional drugs. Public Safety Committee. Earlier this month, • African Americans bear the brunt of he narrowly lost the Democratic primary to the law. Almost 9 out of 10 people arrested Jim Tarbell in the race for Hamilton County between March 29, 2006, and May 5, 2010, Commissioner. were black (85 percent) and male (89 per­ Tarbell was Thomas’s fellow councilmem­ cent). Cincinnati is 46.5 percent black and ber in 2006 and condemned the “regressive” 52 percent white, and whites actually use ordinance. marijuana at a higher rate. Some 44 percent “This is a class issue,” Tarbell said (pro­ of whites, compared to 39 percent of blacks, phetically, as it turns out). “The people have used marijuana, according to the 2005 caught and prosecuted will be low-income National Survey on Drug Use & Health. Elev­ African Americans.” en to 12 percent of both whites and blacks But the new law would aid police, accord­ used marijuana in the previous year. ing to Thomas. • Simply put, despite the same usage “The most important aspect of this (ordi­ rate, blacks are six times more likely than nance) is it gives officers an additional tool whites to be arrested for using marijuana in for search and seizure,” he said. Cincinnati. Police cannot search people cited for mi­ • Certain neighborhoods are over­ nor misdemeanors. Petty marijuana posses­ represented. Most of the arrests occurred sion is a minor misdemeanor according to in Police District 1 (Downtown, Over­ Ohio state law. the-Rhine) and District 4 (Walnut Hills to “Bumping it up to an M4 might seem like Hartwell, including Avondale). For example, a small change, but in fact, all these proce­ in 2009, District 1 posted 29 percent of the dures kick in,” says Rob Wall, an attorney at marijuana arrests with just 6 percent of the the Ohio Justice & Policy Center. “Officers city’s population while District 2 (centered can arrest you, search you and bring you around Hyde Park) posted near-opposite downtown. The law wasn’t about marijuana; numbers: 8 percent of the arrests, 26 percent it was about initiating a police search.” of the population. David Crowley joined Tarbell in voting Streetvibes reached out to Councilman “no.” The “yes” votes were Thomas, Chris Thomas repeatedly over a three-week peri­ Bortz, Laketa Cole, John Cranley, Leslie Ghiz od to comment for this article. Phone and e­ and Chris Monzel. Jeff Berding was absent mail messages, left with both his city council on the day of the vote, but he voted for the office and his political campaign, were not measure two weeks earlier as a member of returned. the Public Safety Committee. The bill passed The Cincinnati Police Department pro­ with a veto-proof majority. Mayor Mark Mal­ vided recent statistics but declined to com­ lory, who opposed the measure, withheld his ment on the law. signature as the bill became law. Some backers of the law argued that The evidence heightened penalties could point offenders toward drug treatment. In fact, both then The anti-marijuana ordinance included a and now, drug court only accepts felony “sunset” clause, meaning council had to re­ drug offenders, not those arrested for small new it the next year or it would expire. Coun­ amounts of marijuana, who likely do not cil again took up the debate in March 2007. need drug treatment anyway. Council began by reviewing the impact. In According to newspaper reports at the the first 11 months of the law, according to Demographics: Marijuana Arrests March 29, 2006 - May 5, 2010 Race Black White % of arrests % who used drugs in the past year % who used drugs in their lives 85 12 39 14 11 Source: Cincinnati Police Department (2010); National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Table 1.78B (2005) 44 the city manager’s report, 3,285 individuals were arrested under the ordinance. Cincin­ nati Police confiscated 62 guns, 2.81 kg of crack cocaine, 0.24 kg of cocaine and 0.10 kg of heroin – altogether, about two percent of the 141 kg drug haul in 2006. Unsurprisingly, a law targeting petty users turned up a rela­ tively small amount of drugs. Of the first 3,285 arrests, 61 percent (2,010) resulted in the M4 marijuana conviction, while 14 percent (469) were convicted of dif­ ferent offenses or did not result in a convic­ tion, indicating that the law generally did not turn up guns or heavier drugs. Another 14 percent (452) resulted in open warrants and 11 percent (347) had not set­ tled by the time of the report. Seven arrests were unaccounted for. The city spent an additional $41,200 in the first 11 months, primarily to pay for defense attorneys to represent the new defendants. By law, anyone facing the possibility of jail time has the right to an attorney. That cost did not include police officers’ expenses, the expense of the additional court time re­ quired to try those cases or the cost of bring­ ing officers to testify at trial. Advocates for repeal argued that an indi­ vidual with a dime bag (worth $10) should not face the same penalty as someone car­ rying 200 grams (worth about $2,500). Both are fourth-degree misdemeanors under the ordinance. The Cincinnati Police told Streetvibes that arrest data do not include infor­ mation on drug weight. During the 2007 debate over whether to renew the law, council members seized upon the 62 confiscated guns and additional grams of drugs as evidence that the law was working. Jim Tarbell contested that view and ap­ pealed to the larger picture. He argued that the law and its repercussions had “the po­ tential to cause great harm to this commu­ nity.” “We now have 2,000 people who were not in the system before,” Tarbell said in remarks to the full council regarding those now marked by a criminal record. “I am compelled by the confiscation of 62 guns,” he continued, “but in the context of what else is going on here, I’m not (com­ pelled). I think that our attention to other enforcement issues would probably result in the same kind of success without the pro­ spective downside.” If the goal is to get guns off the street, it would be more effective to target criminal activity other than marijuana, according to Jason Haap and Michael Earl Patton of the Cincinnati Beacon, who have lobbied against the ordinance since it was first proposed. In the first 11 months, the ratio of guns per ar­ rest broke down to one gun per 53 marijuana arrests. But for all arrests in 2006, the guns per arrest ratio was 1 in 33 (1,442 guns con­ fiscated during 41,525 arrests). Marijuana users simply harbored guns at a much lower rate than other people arrested. Meanwhile, in the year after the ordinance became law, violent crime in Cincinnati ac­ tually increased – murders by 16 percent, burglaries by 7 percent and robberies by 44 percent. A review of anti-marijuana laws in the Journal of Drug Issues (April 2007) found that get-tough policies often increase violent crime. The economist-researchers hypoth­ esized that police crackdowns on marijuana disrupted flow, which increased demand for the limited supply, which in turn raised pric­ es and led users to commit more burglaries and robberies in search of cash. Since writing a ticket for a minor misde­ meanor takes 15 minutes, while completing an arrest for an M4 takes much longer, Cin- See Pot, p. 5 �STREETVIBES May 15 - 31, 2010 5 Local News Cincinnati’s Marijuana Law Fiasco Continued from page 4 cinnati Police officers have devoted more time to policing marijuana possession. Ac­ cording to the online watchdog Prioritize Cincinnati, Cincinnati police dedicated 2,261 hours in 2006 to enforcing marijuana possession, compared to 1,464 in 2005, an increase of 54 percent. “The police were so busy taking people to jail for smoking pot – I had several offi­ cers admit this to me – that they could not respond,” testified Price Hill resident Scott Jetter in front of city council in 2007 about a burglary on his home. “Three and a half hours response time, minimum. The same officers did admit that if I walked out to the street and lit up a joint, they’d be there in less than five minutes to arrest me.” The additional hours spent tracking down potheads did not reduce other crime, according to Many support the studies and statistics legalizing marijuana, above, and may have actu­ ally contributed to it by disincluding 37 percent of Ohioans tracting law enforcement from surer methods. and 59 percent of Nevertheless, city council those aged 18 to renewed the ordinance by 29, according to a 7-2 vote. No one changed a 2009 University his or her vote. of Cincinnati Council tweaked the lan­ poll. Presumably, guage in the 2007 renewal. even more The original ordinance Ohioans support criminalized 100 grams of decriminalizing marijuana or less as an M4. marijuana – that The new version criminalis, not making it ized 200 grams or less. The explicitly legal, as change had no impact, the poll queried, however, because possessbut treating it as a payout offense, on ing 100 to 200 grams was par with a speeding already an M4 under Ohio law. or parking ticket. Beyond crime, the ordi­ nance sets up repercussions that are less quantifiable but no less injuri­ ous to the community. The ordinance exac­ erbates court expenses and jail overcrowd­ ing, while undermining community morale and an offender’s opportunity for a second chance. Minor crimes, massive waste An entire cast of characters must assemble every time the court comes to order: pros­ ecutors, defenders, defendants (sometimes taking days off work), the judge, the judge’s clerk, witnesses, court stenographers and bailiffs, not to mention regular courthouse security and administration. As a result, prosecuting misdemeanors is not cheap, according to the National As­ sociation of Criminal Defense Lawyers in its 2009 report, aptly titled, “Minor Crimes, Massive Waste.” A recent report of the Ohio Justice & Policy Center raised another concern: “Flooding the system with these misdemeanor cases is equivalent to swamping an emergency room with head colds and nosebleeds.” The flood prevents police and court personnel from identifying truly important cases. The ordinance’s impact on jail overcrowd­ ing – a perennial topic in Hamilton County politics – is less pronounced but still notice­ able. After being arrested, an individual is processed through the Justice Center, which takes several hours. Some may stay over­ night. Since 2006, police have chosen to take three out of four people arrested under ordi­ nance 910-23 to the Justice Center. Despite the possibility of jail time, offend­ ers typically pay fines instead. “While every case is judged on its own facts, the typical penalty might be a $100 fine, plus court costs,” Municipal Judge Fanon Rucker says. A sampling of cases from the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts found that fines var­ ied from $20-$200 but hovered around $100, with defendants responsible for paying an additional $104 in “court costs.” No one gets sent to jail simply for mari­ juana possession, Rucker says. “For marijuana, I do not treat defendants differently based on whether their offense occurred in Cincinnati or outside city lim­ its,” he says. He acknowledges that the legal conse­ quences differ. Some defendants walk away with minor misdemeanors while others leave with fourth-degree misdemeanors. He also notes that many defendants charged under the city ordinance “tend to be of more modest means financially, so even a $100 fine can cause great disruption in their lives.” Their employers also might be less forgiving when defendants must leave work to attend court. Those who do not pay the fine may be held in contempt of court. Jail time is a pos­ sible penalty. “You may get a ‘stay to pay’ if you can’t pay the fine,” says Danielle Anderson, an at­ torney with the Ohio Justice & Policy Center who has defended marijuana cases. “The judge will say, ‘Come back on this date,’ and the defendant will come back, still unable to pay, and the judge will set another court date. It just goes on and on and on.” It is not unusual to see cases stretching six months or even a year until finally resolved. The city can still reverse these burdens by reclassifying marijuana possession as a mi­ nor misdemeanor, which would bring Cin­ cinnati into accord with Ohio law and most Ohio cities. ‘Disastrous’ impact For many people, however, the damage is done. There is no reversal. “Say a person made a mistake at age 18 and committed theft,” says Rob Wall, the Ohio Justice & Policy Center attorney. “Then at age 19, they get caught with a joint. That’s not uncommon; it happens all the time. With two convictions, they’ll never get that record sealed. Those convictions will be with them 20, 30 years later and for the rest of their lives. “In Ohio, you cannot get a misdemeanor or felony expunged if you have more than one. If that person had been caught with marijuana outside of Cincinnati, say in Norwood, the charge would have been a minor misdemeanor. Half a mile can make a big difference in a person’s life.” It would have allowed that individual to qualify for an expungement. “Your opportunity to get a second chance in Cincinnati is lower than elsewhere in the state,” Wall says. It’s a question of fairness, he says. Why should members of poor or marginalized communities, who tend to live within city limits, face greater obstacles? “Making it harder for people with records to work or get a second chance probably wasn’t the city’s intention,” Wall says, “but that is exactly what it does. The impact has 2009 Arrests by Geographic Region Region District 1 District 2 District 3 District 4 District 5 Total % of population % of marijuana arrests 6 29 26 8 28 20 19 29 21 14 100 100 Source: Cincinnati Police Department (2010); U.S. Census (2000) been disastrous.” Also important is the impact on housing. Individuals and their families lose hous­ ing vouchers on the basis of M4 marijuana convictions, disadvantaging Cincinnati resi­ dents over others in Hamilton County. Some 97 million Americans, 4 in 10 peo­ ple over age 12, have tried marijuana at least once. That doesn’t indicate great respect for legal authority. That lack of respect, some advocates have argued, has a multiplier ef­ fect. When lawmakers criminalize an activ­ ity that you do not find improper, you lose respect for the law. Many support legalizing marijuana, in­ cluding 37 percent of Ohioans and 59 percent of those aged 18 to 29, according to a 2009 University of Cincinnati poll. Presumably, even more Ohioans support decriminalizing marijuana – that is, not making it explicitly legal, as the poll queried, but treating it as a payout offense, on par with a speeding or parking ticket. These findings, the national trend toward decriminalization and new faces on city council raise hopes of a repeal. In a Cincin­ nati Beacon interview, newly elected Coun­ cilman Charlie Winburn said, “It should be repealed because it is taking up police time and bogging down our court system and jail space.” In another Beacon interview, newly elected Councilwoman Laure Quinlivan said, “If the ordinance has not produced good results for citizens and in fact is a drain on resources, I’ll be in favor of repealing it.” With those criteria, it is hard to see how she could vote any other way. Councilman Thomas, in arguing for ex­ panding police searches, suggested that the new ordinance would reduce violent crime. The opposite might have happened. Ordi­ nance 910-23 has not fetched more guns than the average arrest. It has exacerbated racial disparities as police rack up easy arrests in targeted neighborhoods. It has flooded our courthouse and crowded our jail. It has need­ lessly criminalized thousands of Cincinnatians over the past four years. On 13,263 oc­ casions, Cincinnatians have passed through our courthouse to plead before judges who then sentenced them as if they had been convicted of a minor misdemeanor anyway. That’s thousands of people who returned to the courthouse time and again to pay, ironi­ cally enough, their court costs. Ordinance 910-23 was based on wish­ ful thinking. With mounting evidence of its harm, members of city council would be wise to focus on misdemeanors that are ac­ tually worthy of that name, instead of offer­ ing up their constituents as casualties of the war on drugs. If you like what you read, but don’t live in the Cincinnati area, you can subscribe to Streetvibes. Call us at 513-421-7803 x 12 to learn more about subscribing to Streetvibes. �6 Local News STREETVIBES May 15 - 31, 2010 Painter Joins UN Appeals Tribunal Continued from page 1 $600 per night. “We found a hotel that was $250 per overruled on this first recommenda­ night, which was the best we were able tion,” Painter says. “They believed my to do,” Painter says. “You could not fall being a Republican would be a major in the room without hitting the bed.” factor and would queer the deal.” The court only has one law clerk for But prominent Democrats, includ­ seven judges. ing Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, State Sen. “We don’t even have office space Eric Kearney – whose wife attended in New York,” Painter says. “The UN law school with Obama – and Cincin­ Building is closed for three years for nati Mayor Mark Mallory, wrote letters renovations. Their offices are spread­ urging Painter’s selection. ing all over Manhattan.” “That neutralized the RepublicanThe United Nations Appeals Tribu­ Democrat thing,” Painter says. nal replaces a system of administra­ U.S. Sen. George Voinovich and for­ tive review for personnel complaints. mer U.S. Rep. Rob Portman, both Re­ “They called the last step a tribunal publicans, also urged Obama to nomi­ but it wasn’t a court because its deci­ nate Painter. sions were only recommendations to But that was just the first step. Paint­ your boss,” Painter says. “That’s not er was one of 200 judges from around necessarily a justice system.” the world who applied for the new In 2006 a blue-ribbon panel made court. Next came a two-hour exam at up of representatives of staff and man­ The Hague, in the Netherlands. Judge Mark Painter with United Mations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. agement came up with the new sys­ “They said you would have to study,” Photo courtesy of UNAT. tem, including a trial court and UNAT, Painter says. “I hadn’t taken an exam the appeals court. since the bar exam in ’73. They gave us a fact scenario, complex cases from the Although UNAT’s jurisdiction is limited to personnel issues, not criminal old system, staff rules that applied and said, ‘Write an opinion.’ The next day, matters, the first cases have already included the kind of drama that make law in the interview, they picked apart your opinion.” stimulating – and give a writer of Painter’s caliber ample fodder. Even when his The final hurdle was winning election to the court. That meant convincing writing is restrained, it is telling. Consider the opinion he wrote in the matter the UN General Assembly. of Mohammed Bustanji, who wanted to win back his job as a maintenance “I had never been at the United Nations Building until I went there to cam­ supervisor with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the paign in March of last year,” Painter says. “How do you campaign – put yard Near East (UNRWA). signs in the building?” “Suffice it to say that Bustanji was accused of making grossly improper ad­ Not exactly. Instead, Rice organized diplomatic receptions for fellow ambas­ vances to the wife of another UN employee,” Painter wrote. sadors. In another case – a pension fight whose international drama began with a “The American ambassador lives at the top of the Waldorf, which is very marriage certificate in Cincinnati and a “questionable” divorce in Cameroon – nice,” Painter says. “I got to talk to almost every European delegate. Susan Rice Painter’s opinion asserts the new court’s independence. did a lot of talking. She said it was very important to President Obama that I “Though the U.S. Probate Court finding is certainly not binding on this be elected.” court,” he writes, “it is evidence that we find credible.” Rice is one of three U.S. representatives with ambassadorial status at the That sentence also captures something of Painter’s legal persona: He be­ UN. lieves in plain talk, common sense and following rules. “All three of them worked the phones,” Painter says. “They really wanted an The United Nations has about 60,000 employees, including peacekeepers, American on the court.” with access to the UN’s new judicial system. Painter says UNAT expects to hear about 120 cases a year. ‘Suffice it to say’ The new court has made clear that it will be expeditious. Scheduled to hear 27 cases in its first session, UNAT decided 33. Being a United Nations judge is among the most prestigious judicial posts “The staff was shocked, because some of them had been with the old sys­ in the world but it isn’t especially lucrative. The job is “piece work,” as Painter tem,” Painter says. “They hadn’t been used to working with professional judges. puts it: Judges are paid by the case. The old system sometimes took a decade or more to get cases through. We’ve Painter has a pension for his long years as a judge in Ohio. He also gives taken the position that the time deadlines in the new system are just that – seminars on legal writing to attorneys around the world. deadlines.” “I’ll make more money on that than I will at the UN,” he says. And so it was that Mohammed Bustanji, who had made “grossly improper Painter’s colleagues will actually fare better than he. advances,” lost his last appeal. He was late on the paperwork – twice. The new “The U.S. is one of the few countries that taxes UN pay, so my colleagues court will have nothing of it. won’t have to pay taxes,” he says. “Bustanji has filed a time-barred appeal of a time-barred appeal,” Painter’s Traveling to Geneva for work might sound glamorous, but prices there out- ruling says. “He has provided no explanation for either delay; he does not com­ pace the per diem paid by the UN for expenses. ment on UNRWA’s argument that the case must be dismissed. It must, and we “Geneva has absolutely outrageous prices,” Painter says. do.” Breakfast could cost almost $50, a pint of beer $9, he says. One hotel was �STREETVIBES May 15 - 31, 2010 7 Local News Picking on Poor People Downtown Cincinnati Inc. goes after panhandlers By GrEGory FlannEry editor N ote to Downtown Cincinnati Inc.: It is legal to put money in your bank ac­ count unless you have embezzled it. It is legal to drive a Mercedes Benz unless you are drunk. It is legal to have sex unless your partner says no. Downtown Cincinnati Inc. (DCI) is distribut­ ing cards discouraging people from giving money to panhandlers. Headlined “Know the Facts,” the cards open by saying, “In summary, it is legal to panhandle except …” There follows a litany of Cincinnati’s panhandling restrictions. Asking strangers for help is protected as free This is the language rejected by Downtown Cincinnati, Inc. speech under the U.S. Constitution, according to the Supreme Court. Moreover, giving to beggars is DCI rejected the Homeless Coalition’s language. But DCI had to considered virtuous in nearly every faith tradition. Prophet Muham­ back down on a “feel good” closing to its anti-panhandling pitch. Its mad commanded almsgiving. Jesus of Nazareth told his disciples to original language listed the names and phone numbers of homeless beg for their sustenance. The Buddha begged. Jews consider giving shelters and food pantries that people could support instead of giv­ to beggars a mitzvah or good deed. Even so, beggars have been per­ ing dimes to penniless beggars on the sidewalk. But those organiza­ secuted in every age and almost every place. Thus, DCI’s effort to dis­ tions wanted nothing to do with DCI’s attack on panhandlers, and courage kindness has lots of unholy precedent. DCI dropped them from the literature. When DCI was preparing its anti-panhandler cards, the Greater DCI also agreed to a demand by the Homeless Coalition to drop a Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless proposed alternative lan­ photo of an unkempt beggar. But the card’s intent is plain: “It’s legal guage. The alternative listed facts about homelessness: Sixty percent to panhandle except …” of people who experience homelessness work daily, and only 1 per­ DCI hasn’t said whether it will issue instructional postcards on cent regularly panhandle … The fastest growing demographic with­ other themes. The opportunities are endless: It is legal to vote unless in homelessness is families with children … The primary causes of you have already cast a ballot in the same election. It is legal to enter homelessness are lack of affordable housing and living-wage employ­ a home at 4 a.m. unless it belongs to someone else and you don’t have ment. permission … A Film for a Time of Rebellion Howard Zinn takes on American history By corEy GiBson Contributing Writer I n the film Good Will Hunting, Matt Da­ mon’s character, Will Hunting, says, “If you want to read a real history book, read Howard Zinn's People’s History of the United States. That book will knock you on your ass.” And he was right. The People Speak, a film inspired by Zinn’s book, A People’s History of the United In one of the best States, captures the history of America and the strug­ performances in the film, Christina gle people went through to Kirk reads Susan overcome unfair treatment and achieve equality. B. Anthony’s Zinn – a radical historian, refusal in court to pay a $100 fine activist and teacher who died in January at age 87 – for trying to cast a ballot before the and director Chris Moore use spoken word and song 19th Amendment to tell the story of America to the U.S. Constitution gave in The People Speak. But in­ stead of looking at history the women the as it is usually presented, right to vote. through the eyes of presi­ dents and military generals, Zinn looks at history through the eyes of the radicals, the poor, the slaves, the feminists, the anti-war protesters and many more. The film asks us to change the way we see America. It asks us to forget what our history books have told us and to see the real history of America. To tell the stories of these people, actors and songwriters read from court transcripts, sing songs written by slaves and read speeches that changed the course of American history. The cast is well stocked, with actors such as Morgan Freeman and Sean Penn and musicians such as Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. Each reads a piece of written history with emotion and pas­ sion. Unlike the celebrities reading their words, the people who wrote much of what is read in the movie are people unknown to most Ameri­ cans. Benjamin Bratt reads a letter from J.W. Loguen, a former slave, who writes sarcastical­ ly to his master that he will never return to slav­ ery even if his former owner wants him to. Da­ vid Strathairn reads abolitionist John Brown’s remarks to the court after being sentenced to death for the raid on Harper’s Ferry, trying to launch an armed insurrection to end slavery. Other names and speeches are a bit more fa­ miliar, for example, Muhammad Ali’s speech to reporters stating he was not going to fight in the Vietnam War because the war is here in Ameri­ ca. Morgan Freeman reads an angry speech by Frederick Douglass about the hypocrisy of the Fourth of July. He was upset because the Unit­ ed States was celebrating its freedom and inde­ pendence, while more than four million people were being kept as slaves In one of the best performances in the film, Christina Kirk reads Susan B. Anthony’s refusal in court to pay a $100 fine for trying to cast a ballot before the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave the women the right to vote. The readings, coupled with video images and newsreels, show, “The rise of America came from the bottom, not the top,” Zinn, the film’s narrator, says. He also says America’s his­ tory is tyrannical and one of great wars, mass killings and expansion for money, yet a single rebellious group can bring about great change in a mighty nation. Rebellions brought about the New Deal, civil rights, women’s rights and many other aspects of our history; America was formed by its own people rebelling. The film, shown April 23 at the University of Cincinnati by the International Socialist Orga­ nization, was followed by a discussion that fo­ cused on the present state of the government and the ways we as people can step up, as the people in the film had, and make the changes we want. The film seemed to inspire everyone in the room. Discussion also turned to the edu­ cation system and new legislation in Arizona that is biased against people of Mexican de­ scent. The audience seemed energetic and positive. One person said, “We are capable of creating a society we enjoy and can be together in.” �8 STREETVIBES May 15 - 31, 2010 Recipe “Feed Me, Seymour, Feed Me All Night Long…” Scrumptious Idaho Potato Soup Serving Size: 4-5 bellies. 12 oz. veggie broth 6-7 large Idaho potatoes peeled and cubed (type depends on pref­ erence. Russet is the least expensive.) 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons butter (optional) 1 yellow onion skinned and chopped in ½ slices 4 cloves garlic, minced 2-3 fresh celery, sliced 1-2 carrot, diced 16 oz heavy whipping cream (or a milk substitute for vegans) Salt and pepper to taste • Photo by Jeni Jenkins. • By JEni JEnkins Staff Writer • M y former supervisor, Pat Mac, passed this scrumptious soup rec­ ipe on to me. A food connoisseur like me, he frequently came to work boasting about the “best meal” he made the night before and more often than not proceeded to elicit my hunger by describing in detail how he prepared each dish. It was a morning ritual. This soup interested me as I had tried to concoct my own potato soup recipes with haphazard success. I remember I jotted each ingredient on a cocktail napkin, which I still have hid­ den away in my recipe book today. Now I make it frequently for my family, especially on cool days. It’s super easy and inexpensive. This recipe appears to be the only dish I make for which both my children ask for seconds or thirds and then proceed to lick their bowls clean. • • • • • • In large stockpot, bring veggie broth and potatoes to boil. Cover, turn to low heat and simmer 30 minutes stirring frequently to keep potatoes from sticking. Once potatoes have simmered 15 minutes, heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat and sauté the onion and garlic 3-4 minutes until the onions turn translucent. Add celery and carrots to the onions and garlic and sauté an ad­ ditional 2 minutes. Add sautéed veggies to potatoes in stockpot and stir. Continue simmering about 10 minutes. Turn stockpot heat up slightly to medium-low and slowly mix in the cream. Cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly in a figure 8 pattern to keep from scorching the cream. Add salt and pepper and other preferred spices. Serve while hot. For an added yum factor, serve with rolls, bis­ cuits or Italian bread. Voila, FEED! Artwork By Anthony Williams ! ? t ha W y Sa ___________________ Women, who are a majority of the peoples of the earth, are indispensable to the accumulation of the kind of social capital that is conducive to development, peace, justice and civility. -- Mahnaz Afkhami �STREETVIBES May 15 - 31, 2010 9 Poetry Page Shutter Speed Eye of the Storm By alli cryDEr Dark light Not bright Confused by the site Am I here? Are we here? Is this where we’re supposed to be? Thoughts racin’ Time’s changin’ My mind’s a lacin’ The room quiet Filled with this unknown happy tension I sit, and ponder I walk, over yonder How long could they be in this storm? The invisible thunder crashing upon their innocence The colorless lightning striking their indestructible smile If only, if only they knew They are the future They are the light They are the way out I’m looking through the eyes of the voiceless Their sparkle gets me lost Am I here? Are we here? Is this where we’re supposed to be? They’re trapped Stuck in this life where they had no choice But their dreams have no barriers They are the carriers Of this forgotten light They are the eye of the storm What’s Going On By Willa D. JonEs Students at the University of Cincinnati made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches April 29 during WorldFest Week on campus. Intended to increase student awareness of homelessness and poverty in Cincinnati, the project was sponsored by Serve Beyond Cincinnati, which organizes service trips to help improve living conditions around the world, according to Mark Teschauer, the group’s vice president. Teschauer said the sandwiches went to the Drop Inn Center and other homeless shelters and soup kitchens in the city. Photo by Jon Hughes/ Photopresse. What’s going on asked singer Marvin Gaye What’s going on in our world of today Stealing from each other, killing one another Lying, cheating and still calling each other brother Disillusioned by what our lives should really be Misunderstanding that we were born in sin you and me Forgetting each day to let live and let love Forgetting to give all praises due to God from above Everyone needs to take time out to pray And ask God to forgive our sins each and every day To replace hate with peace and love wherever we can Only then can we see what’s going on all over the land So for me this is what’s really going on We as a people must come together before all life is gone Silence Cleo’s Joke Corner What do you call on an octopus that’s down on its luck? Squid Row. By Willa D. JonEs Silence is something the elders and the people from the old school call golden. Silence is something that, when you are homeless and confused, That is when your silence is stolen. Silence is God’s gift to man to either be quiet and listen Or close one’s mind. You must make a choice. Silence is everybody’s conscience. It is everybody’s chance To simply shut up and listen to God’s voice. �10 STREETVIBES May 15 - 31, 2010 Guest Column Seeking Understanding in OTR Students study 3CDC and poverty By TiM kopEnhaFEr anD FrancEsco DEsalvaTorE Contributing WriterS W hen the first New Voices meeting took place at Princeton High School, David Rosenthal, the New Voices instructor and director of Prairie Gallery, asked us one question: “Why are you doing this?” Answers varied. Some of us had more experience and knowledge with Over-theRhine, while others were less informed. But overall everyone shared a passion to learn and help out the Over-theRhine community. We were told to bring two things – our cameras and ourselves. From there our mission was to use our cameras to document and present the situation at the Metropole Apartments and the efforts of the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) in Over-the-Rhine. Our first week was met with shock and bewilderment as we walked past Washington Park. Many of us have had the privilege of growing up in picturesque suburbs and have never experienced poverty to such an extent. It was unsettling in a way, and we felt slightly uncomfortable with our expensive cameras. As we got used to this new reality, we began to gain confidence and understanding to capture the scenes laid out before us. We began to realize that we were not documenting Over-the-Rhine as a group of students but as individuals Photo by Tim Kopenhafer. with different perspectives and mindsets. Week one of our project began with a tour of the Drop Inn Center. We were shown all of their facilities and had a discussion with the staff about how one ends up in a place like the Drop Inn Cen­ ter. Whether it’s due to alco­ holism or the loss of a job, people at the Drop Inn Cen­ ter have experienced some of the harshest realities life has to offer. One of the most important things that we no- ticed at the Drop Inn Center was the lack of support that the city has shown. In the coming year, the new School for the Creative and Perform- ing Arts building will be com- pleted and some believe the Drop Inn Center will have to change locations, regardless of the fact that it has been at the same location for many years. In addition to the tour of the Drop Inn Center, Over­ the-Rhine resident Bonnie Neumeier also gave us a tour of the community. She reiterated some of the things that we had seen and heard at the Drop Inn Center. The city has continued to ignore the poverty problem in Overthe-Rhine and has instead stepped aside to let 3CDC continue constructing new buildings in the area. Week three of our project consisted of a tour of two buildings being renovated by 3CDC. We were able to see what kinds of apartments were being built and get the developer’s perspective. It was very clear from the beginning that the workers had no real connection to the area and had probably never spoken to a resident of Overthe-Rhine. They were very enthusiastic and praised the Photo by Francesco DeSalvatore. luxurious apartments that were being built, but not once did they mention how it would benefit the residents of Over-the-Rhine. There seemed to be a clear divide on Vine Street between 3CDC buildings and the rest of Over-the-Rhine. The difference between one end of the street and the other was quite surreal. Obviously, the people moving into these flats were not Over-the-Rhine residents but people from elsewhere. While it’s always a good sign to see business move into a neighborhood, it doesn’t solve all of the problems. Over-theRhine has an immense poverty issue and 3CDC is simply invading Over-the-Rhine, not moving in. After our time in Over-the- Rhine, our group went to the Metropole Apartments, where low-income housing is offered. 3CDC recently bought the building and is planning to open a hotel there. 3CDC has offered the residents $400 if they relocate. Immanuel, a long time resident of one of the low-income apartments, gave us a tour of the historic building. He explained to us that 3CDC was forcing Metropole residents to move and that the apartments they were offering residents were in communities that had high crime and poverty. Many of the residents have not only been fortunate enough to live in the center of Cincinnati, but are also able to live in low-income housing, something that is uncom- mon in the downtown area. This has made it very hard for the residents to move out because they have become so comfortable with the area. In addition to visiting the Metropole, we traveled to Louisville, Ky., to visit an apartment complex operated by 21C, the company that will operate the new hotel at the Metropole. 21C is a hotel developer known for its commitment to modern art and luxury. 21C likes to display local modern art and also work with the community to de­ velop art within the city. The vice president of 21C said the company is excited to build a hotel in Cincinnati and is confident it will be success­ ful. After seeing and hearing both sides, it is still unclear if the residents at the Metropole are being treated fairly. There have been many construction companies that have simply evicted their residents with­ out even offering another op­ tion, however 3CDC’s option is not one viewed with much favor. From the beginning of this project, our goal was to find our opinion about the situation in Over-the-Rhine and at the Metropole and then show it through our im­ ages. While there is still a lot to learn, it is very clear that Cincinnati has failed to deal with the poverty in Over-theRhine. Until the city does so, it will be very difficult to dis­ cuss the possibility of chang­ ing Over-the-Rhine for the better. Tim Kopenhafer and Francesco DeSalvatore are seniors at Princeton High School. The work from New Voices will be presented at The Coffee Emporium May 28 and remain on display through June. �STREETVIBES May 15 - 31, 2010 11 Issues Facebooking the Facts Two college students take on the network media By ariana shahanDEh Contributing Writer A few months ago I sent an invitation on Facebook to about a quarter of the people on my friends’ list. I thought they’d appreciate an effort to recognize a political leader's posi­ tive contributions. The invitation was to join a group called “Accom­ plishments of President Barack Obama.” The next day my inbox was full of mixed responses. One message that stood out was, “You know Obama, like, deleted habeas corpus, right?” What followed was an extensive online conversation during which I had to minimize my browser window several times to verify claims my friend had made and hastily recheck claims I intended to make. Ultimately, we both walked away in civility, thinking about quota­ tions, policies and legislation we hadn’t originally known about. However, with such a charged subject, I can’t imagine what kind of interchange it would have become had we not had other resources in front of us. Or maybe I can. It might have been similar to the interactions between guests and hosts on Sunday morning news shows such as Meet the Press with host David Gregory. An online fact-checking group, Meet the Facts, recently started raising awareness about the amount of misinformation that goes unchecked. “This whole issue is kind of like a sore – a sore on the media,” says Paul Breer, co-founder of Meet the Facts. “When people go on Meet the Press, it’s anything goes. They can say whatever they want. Sure, every once in a while Gregory will call them out on it, but the guests know what they can get away with when they appear.” NYU Journalism Professor Jay Rosen laid out a simple plan on his blog to rectify the “anything goes” attitude on most Sunday morning shows: a post-show fact-checking session on Sunday, publishing the results online Wednesday. “The beauty of this idea is that it turns the biggest weakness of po­ litical television into a kind of strength,” Rosen writes. “The format beckons (guests) to evade, deny, elide, demagogue and confuse. … But then they pay for it later if they give into temptation and make that choice.” There were two major responses to Rosen’s post from the Sunday shows. Jake Tapper, temporary host of This Week on ABC, embraced the idea and is now collaborating with the Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-check source, Politifact.com. Gregory, however, brushed off the idea, telling Washington Post columnist Howard Kurtz, "People can fact-check Meet the Press every week on their own terms." Breer, a political-science student from Colorado, was inspired by Rosen’s suggestion and started a Facebook group, Meet the Facts, as a grassroots effort to urge Gregory and Meet the Press to embrace the pro­ posal. Shortly thereafter, Chas Danner, a journalism student from Brooklyn, approached Breer on Facebook about de­ veloping a site for the project. Far before the Meet the Facts Facebook group reached 600 members, Breer and Danner’s grassroots effort rapidly received media commentary and coverage, even a nine-minute segment on The Colbert Report. When asked why he thinks press coverage has become a popular issue, Breer said, “It’s such a cool subject (to the media), you know, because it’s about them. (And) to see that two young college kids, that aren’t 50­ plus, are interested in this, has really grabbed their attention.” After nearly a week of being ignored by Gregory and Meet the Press, Breer and Danner gave in to many supporters’ requests that Meet the Facts facilitate the fact checking for Meet the Press. Meet the Facts posted its first fact check on April 28, “to see how difficult it would be for a team of three people, amateurs really, to try to do the job of professional journalists – the job Meet The Press is so far unwilling to do,” Danner wrote. Since then, Meet the Facts has incorporated crowd-sourcing factcheck efforts from Twitter followers, Facebook supporters and any­ one else interested in being a part of the project. Although it is not likely most of the Sunday morning viewers will look online through­ out the week for results, the goal is to at least create some conse­ quences if guests deliberately make false claims on the air. “The fact check might, over time, exert some influence on the speakers on Sunday,” Rosen’s original proposal said. “At the very least, it would guide the producers in their decisions about whom to invite back.” But I disagree. At the very least, we might, over time, be able to ex­ pect the hosts of Sunday morning shows to guarantee their profes­ sional platform is more sophisticated than a Facebook interchange between two amateurs. Letter to the Editor kept getting bills and sent proof of my insurance to them and called them three Employed and Homeless or four times. My sister and brother-in-law thought I should be ashamed of having to To the Editor: This is for Margo Pierce. I read her cover story in the Contributor, “Being Homeless is Illegal” (see the March 1 edition of Streetvibes). I have wanted to tell my story for a long time. I contacted the local news and so did some of my newfound friends back then, but no one was interested in my story. My home was foreclosed on in April 2006. From April to October 2006, I tried the weekly-rate places. I finally found some who would rent to me and let me pay part and part. It was a duplex/townhouse type place. Bad move. The owners did not keep the property up; and during the winter of 2006, with my heat on 80 degrees, I had two to three inches of ice on the inside of the windows and a light bill I could not pay. On April 1 or 2, 2007, I went to the women's mission. There is more but it would take too long. I know from personal experience there are homeless women who actually have jobs, but due to their income they cannot get enough together to get back into a place to call home. Like me, I did not make enough to get back in a place, but yet I made too much to qualify for assistance. It works the same way today. I make like $20 too much to get help with utilities, but in the winter I don't make enough to pay them current. I am usually two to three months behind. It is hard to pay it all and still have food. But I will be back into a place to call home two years come July. The way I got back into a place was because of my yearly longevity, income tax refund and new friends. And thank God because of the economy some utility companies have been more understanding, if you talk to the right person to make arrange­ ments. And one thing I learned during my homelessness: Your old friends who were for you when things were good are not there when things are bad. I recall one incident while staying at the Women's Mission in May of 2007, over the Memorial Day weekend. I went to bed with a headache, thought it would go away once I got some sleep. Woke up about 3 a.m. it was just a pound­ ing. I asked the mission staff to call 911. When the medics arrived, by it being the mission, they assumed I was homeless, with no job or insurance. When they found out, a female medic's reply was, “I thought only drug addicts, etc. stayed here.” I let her know there were several women there who had jobs. She apologized. It took me months to get Metro Ambulance to file my insurance. I spend time at the mission and losing my home. And that is another interesting story as well. No contact with me for 10 years by her choice – then out of the blue, my brother-in-law calls. Even to this day, since I work downtown, if I come across a lady I knew from the mission, I will speak and take the time to ask how are they. I also know what it is like to have pets and be homeless as well. I know how those from Tent City feel. Barbara F. Duke Nashville, Tenn. Have something on your mind? Do you agree or disagree with an article? Let us know: 117 E. 12th Street 1 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 1 streetvibes2@yahoo.com �12 STREETVIBES May 15 - 31, 2010 Short Story We the Jury Adventures in the Hamilton County justice system By MichaEl FanninG Contributing Writer dressed older woman who seems the typical sidekick to a person of this sort, meek and comparatively quiet. I dub these women Fat Man and Little Boy respectively, despite the sex discrepancy. Part I: Waiting I flip through the “Juror’s Handbook.” It is only a few pages, outlining how we are chosen for juries and what to expect. It informs us we will ’ve always wanted to send somebody to the Chair. My fantasies be paid $19 per diem and warns, “Don’t try to discover evidence on your usually feature myself in the small, tension-filled deliberating own.” Fat Man cackles as I leaf through it. room, being the lone “not guilty” in a room full of vindictive snapBy 9 o’clock 40 or 50 people are in the waiting room. There’s quite a va­ decision makers. My fellow jurors then give me the look of death because riety of characters. They range from Fat Man and Little Boy to a few men lunch will now have to be ordered in. who look like retired four star generals or CEOs. The latter group clearly “It was the right thing to do,” I’d tell my grandchildren, they gazing looks disappointed to be here as they watch the drooling and unkempt at me with admiration, having heard my story a thousand times before leaf through their handbooks while simultaneously keeping an eye out from other admirers. Would they, too possess, my strength of character if for Sam Waterston. the need presented itself? A beautiful young blond woman enters the waiting room. She is stun­ Needless to say, these fantasies never involved petty crimes, like a ning, the kind of woman who makes you want to slay a dragon. From lady kicking a cop in the shins or some lunatic exposing himself to the all directions of the room, disheveled men descend on her. She wears a public library’s children’s department. Oh, no. I’m at skimpy black top with spaghetti straps and her arrival Nuremberg. I’m at the Scopes Monkey Trial sweltering is the most interesting turn of events thus far. That in tweed, watching the veins in William Jennings Bryan’s The thought that this man interest abates somewhat when her cell phone rings temples swell. out to the tune of “Jump Around” by House of Pain. Fat could be deciding the fate I have shaped history with my verdict – or at least of another human being in Man cackles. watched the accused writhe in nervous agony as we, the I have brought a book with me in case there is noth­ a court of law makes me jury, file back into the box. blanch. However, he might ing to read. My fears were in vain. There is an extraor­ Guilty, not guilty, life, death, 20, 40, 60 years, to be have been making a public dinary selection of magazines available on all conceiv­ served concurrently, consecutively, whatever. But I had display of his cognitive im- able topics. The selection includes Health, Cooking never done it for real. potence in an attempt to be Light, Fitness, Symphony, In Style, Country, Travel and When I received my first summons to appear for jury Leisure, Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly, People, Betexcused from duty. duty, it was an oversized postcard with a perforated ter Homes and Gardens, Field and Stream, National questionnaire to be taken to the jury commissioner’s of­ Geographic, Golf, Fortune, Redbook, Sports Illustrated, fice. The questionnaire asked how many people were in my household, Parenting, Fashion Rocks Inc. Popular Science, Time, This Old House, Town my income bracket and whether my employer would compensate me and Country, Woman’s Day, Money, Business, 2.0, Southern Living, Southwhile I was serving. ern Living Home Companion, Family Circle, In Touch, Gourmet, Real Sim“Just tell ’em no,” my immediate supervisor told me. “That’ll get ya ple, GQ, Vogue, Good Housekeeping, Gardens Illustrated, Small Gardens, off.” Smithsonian, Cincinnati Magazine, Backyard Living, Great Backyards, Us Though I would be compensated, I realized this could be an effective and Martha Stewart Living. There is also Highlights (for those soon to be way to get out of serving. But I was too excited at the prospect of being excused from duty). part of a jury, getting to see a real case unfold before me. Not to men­ There are Reader’s Digest condensed books as well. I have never picked tion the fact that I wanted a short vacation from my job, which I loathed, up a condensed book, but I imagine Treasure Island with the character along with my immediate supervisor. of Jim omitted or Tom Clancy novels cut to an appropriate length. I also imagine adding water to a condensed book and having all the edited text Where’s Waterston? suddenly reappear. I We start at 8 a.m. on a Tuesday. There are so many signs inside the courthouse telling prospective jurors where to go that it would be im­ possible, save for blindness or illiteracy, to become lost. The jury com­ missioner’s office is nothing more than a large waiting room with a few small offices for secretaries and the commissioner himself. The waiting room resembles a small movie theater with six rows of interconnected black plastic seats. These seats face a bare white wall, and the U.S. and Ohio flags adorn either corner. There are no windows, for reasons which will seem obvious before long. I choose the seat with the least amount of dandruff. People trickle in and seats begin to fill. For some time the room is vir­ tually silent until two women enter and seat themselves in the front row. They are having a loud conversation, but it becomes clear after a minute that only one of them is doing the talking. She is morbidly obese, walks with a cane and looks and is dressed like an aged Janis Joplin. She must be about 50. Her voice reverberates in the quiet room, and after every sentence she cackles madly. The sound is obnoxious and shrill, a sort of “YAAAAA, HA, HA, HA, HAAAAA, HA,HA!” With her is a petite, neatly Empty jury box. REUTERS/Fred Prouser. Courtroom fashion Nineteen dollars per day. My immediate supervisor, who had served on a jury the previous year, told me that, at that amount, after the cost of food and parking, I’d be in the hole by the end of the week. I had to re­ mind him that, while working for him, after the cost of food and parking, I am well acquainted with said hole. I have no idea if any of the other people are being compensated by their employers for this civic duty or have to rely on the 19 bucks. The retired CEOs would survive, but I imagine some others could be hard hit. When handing in our questionnaires, I caught a Glimpse of Fat Man’s paper; she had checked “Disabled” and “Less than $10,000 per year income.” I would be sympathetic but her incessant cackling, which has been going on for more than an hour, only makes me want to disable her further. At last the jury commissioner comes to address us. He tells us to scoot forward and fill the remaining seats, as more will be joining us shortly. Looking around the room at our motley crew, I think we resemble an enormous bus stop. The commissioner is a profoundly congenial man, 50ish, with a thick head of silver hair. I must admit that – no doubt to the thrill of more than a few in the room – he looks just like Sam Waterston. He thanks us profusely for serving and not coming up with lame ex­ cuses for not showing up. He explains that we will sit in this room until our names are called over the intercom to begin jury selection for a case. If for some reason we cannot sit in on a case – if we know the cops involved or went to high school with the defendant and hated his guts, etc. – we will return to this room until called again. Jury duty can last as long as two weeks, depend­ ing on the cases. The issue parking is addressed, and we are told which lots offer discounted rates to jurors. These lots are all a good 10-minute walk or more from the court­ house. The commissioner then pushes a TV to the front of the room and begins a tape that, he says, will last, “Sixteen minutes and 10 seconds.” The tape reit­ erates everything he’s just explained to us. A Q&A session follows the video. The first question is from a heavyset man in the back row who gruffly asks, “Why aren’t the names of the discount parking lots just printed on the summons card we all received See Jury, p. 13 �STREETVIBES May 15 - 31, 2010 Short Story We the Jury Continued from page 12 13 being read. The man on the phone goes on and on, yelling something about pressure readings or release valves. I am left to assume that the in the mail?” This is an excellent question; but, as the commissioner po­ party on the other end is either in a boiler room or perhaps in the boiler. litely points out, the addresses are printed on the summons card. In fact, A few minutes pass and I begin to feel bad about my attitude toward the addresses – and directions to the garages from all the major high­ my companion on the phone. He’s given up his time – profitable work ways, as well as the rates – comprise 95 percent of the text on the card. time – to be here to serve, darn it. Doesn’t he deserve my respect? People The thought that this man from the back row could be deciding the fate might need to talk to their employers and employees while waiting, and of another human being in a court of law makes me blanch. However, it I shouldn’t get so irritable. Here, in this moment, I feel a sudden bond later occurs to me that he might have been making a public display of his with my fellow citizens that I hadn’t felt up to this point. I am proud to be cognitive impotence in an attempt to be excused from duty. If this were here. Proud to serve with each and every one of them. the case, kudos! Though they be decrepit, bizarre or without a nerve in The commissioner pulls no punches about jury duty. The pay is “not their body, we are all on the same team now. Anything The waiting room great,” there is a lot of tedious waiting; but, he assures us in the same they want to do is fine with me, and I will leave my is church-quiet warm manner with which he has informed us of everything else, our ser­ snobbish attitude at the door. now. Fat Man vice is greatly appreciated, and we are the very heart of the American Jus­ Then the TV is pushed to the front of the room. Is and Little Boy tice System. He means it, and you can tell. this some sort of a plot? Can’t they handle quiet? An- are sleeping – or We are also informed that our pay can be donated to various organiza­ other day without TV is apparently too much to ask of someone has tions, charities, and even to the Justice Center itself. The commissioner this crew. A man with no fingers on his right hand has blackjacked them, expounds on the impact these programs have had citywide since their positioned the TV, turned it on and flopped into the I guess. inception. The United Way has benefitted greatly as has the courthouse, seat in front of it. Divorce Court is on, followed by Texwhich uses the money for, among other things, better accommodations as Justice. I watch for a few minutes with a look that re­ for the jurors. Programs have also been started by the Hamilton County flects my disappointment. I look around the room hoping to find similar Justice Center to help local youths set goals for themselves, and otherwise looks of distaste and intrusion. But what do I find? They are enraptured turn them away from the path to prison, upon which they have already by the programs. There are giggles and cathartic grins when the judge begun to tread. I donate nothing. comes up with a witty slam. The dress code, the commissioner explains, can be anything that I close my book and go to the restroom to purge something. The fat guy would be appropriate to wear in a courtroom. He directs a glance at the at the end of the row stands as I pass. spaghetti strapped blond, which seems to mean, “We won’t be wearing Two hours go by. that again, will we?” The TV is still on, and everyone is watching except the spaghettistrapped hottie (today wearing a brown long sleeved sweater) who ap­ Lost in space pears to be watching nothing at all. No wonder there’s not a window in this place, for I would surely be crawling out of it and leaping onto Syca­ At 10:30 a.m. the commissioner takes his leave. more Street. My fall, no doubt, would be cushioned by hundreds of dis­ I read for over an hour. Becoming a little drowsy, I decide to close my carded jurors’ handbooks. book and observe those around me. The waiting room is church-quiet Not a single call yet for a jury selection. Yesterday they had called two now. Fat Man and Little Boy are sleeping – or someone has blackjacked by now. them, I guess. I have to admit I love the idea of this jury thing so far. I’ll I excuse myself from the aisle again, this time to sample the hot choco­ catch up on some books, sit in on a case or two, all the while getting paid late in the next room. There is also coffee, but I know that as soon as I by my boss. What more could anyone ask? finish a cup I’ll be called for a lengthy trial. It is easy for A few minutes later, 20 names are called over the in­ me to picture myself sitting in the jurors’ box, needing tercom. I am not among them. These people get up and She is stunning, the kind desperately to urinate and urging the judge to declare file out of the room. of woman who makes you a mistrial, which I’m pretty sure the handbook says is Most people are reading at this point. Some have want to slay a dragon. From not allowed. In the last few years this need to urinate brought their own books, some read from the stagger­ all directions of the room, after coffee is no ordinary urge, but a compulsion, ing selection of magazines. No one reads the condensed disheveled men descend sudden and violent. This is one of the many treats of books. Most of the books from home are James Pat­ getting older I have recently experienced, along with upon her. terson’s now co-written travesties or Nicholas Sparks profuse hair loss and marriage. books like The Notebook. Women read these; men read The hot chocolate is pretty good. Seating myself the magazines. Some of the men sleep in their chairs, and some sit and again, I notice that Texas Justice has been served and the TV is off. People do nothing. The man next to me seems perfectly content to stare at the are beginning to look restless, and I don’t blame them. Blond Hottie looks walls. He is well dressed, looks educated and yet apparently has the ca­ frazzled. Her head darts from side to side like a cornered animal. pacity to shift his brain into such a low gear that he can pass the time in The overhead speaker pops to life with an announcement that it is this manner. He’s been at it for over an hour. I am reminded of 2001 A time for our lunch hour. It is most welcome news, although the thought Space Odyssey: The crew are kept in a sort of suspended animation during of returning afterward will be tough to stomach. We are instructed to re­ the interminable voyage to Jupiter, because there simply isn’t anything to port back in a timely manner. do. It’s like that. I pass my hand in front of his eyes – nothing. Soon another large group of people are called for cases. Again I am not Don’t touch that dial picked. Why am I reminded of the fifth grade? The worst part about the layout of the waiting room is made clear when After a $5 meatball hoagie from Subway, which feels like a sleeping rac­ having to get up for something. In this case, the waiting room is exactly coon in my stomach, I reluctantly climb the marble stairs to report back like a movie theater. Legs have to be retracted, magazines go flat against to purgatory. The fingerless man has turned on the TV again and for the the chest. The heavyset man at the end of my row has to stand as I pass next hour will be watching a show about safety in the workplace and the to use the restroom. environmental responsibility of major corporations. It is stultifying. The Upon arriving back at my seat, there is an announcement that no other whole thing has the production value of one of those instructional vid­ juries will be selected today, and we are to return in the morning. eos you watch when you get a low-paying job (like jury duty). Monotone voices give lifeless testimonies of what life in their small town before such The urge to jump and such company came along, put up a factory and killed off the perch population. The next day only 23 of us are in the waiting room. I had debated After a time I observe the fingerless man. He is seated in front of the TV whether to bring my book for the second day, figuring I could just kill again but is clearly not watching it. His head is resting on his shoulder. He the half hour or so before my group is assigned to a case by perusing the is obviously asleep. The program is maddening and impossible to ignore boggling array of trade-specific magazines. I’m glad I brought my book. as the volume is way up. I consider being bold enough to turn it off, but I Little did I know that, before actually getting a case, I would have time to get a look from the fat guy at the end of my aisle that means, “Don’t even start crocheting an afghan. think about it.” How can there possibly be nothing else to watch? Where’s More than an hour passes and I take a break from reading. Aside from Judge Judy, for God’s sake? Fat Man’s periodic outbursts (she wasn’t picked yesterday) the waiting The fingerless man gets up and leaves the room. No one turns off the room is quiet. This place is, of course, not a library, but a certain pro­ TV. tocol has been established, built on mutual respect, to keep the atmo­ A few minutes later I hear the most delightful words I have ever heard sphere tranquil. Silence, we have voted without ballots, is the best mode in my life. Not the “I love you” of a beautiful girl or “We’ve decided to hire for this. you anyway, despite your woeful lack of qualifications.” This is something But, as in all libraries, there are troublemakers. There is a vibrating more meaningful, resonant. It stirs a feeling deep within that, noise to my right, and suddenly the man seated there became engaged in I imagine, was shared by the prisoners of war liberated in the Philip­ the loudest phone conversation I have ever witnessed. Navy flight-deck pines. These words are, “Will the remaining jurors please report to the crews do not shout this loudly. I look around, expecting turning heads hall?” and surly expressions but, to my surprise, no one seems to notice. This After the morning’s viewing pleasure, courtesy of the fingerless man, man’s voice is the only sound in the room – period. However, people take I’m in a salty humor and ready to send somebody to prison. magazines from the bountiful magazine rack as if nothing is amiss. Titles Part II will appear in the June 1 edition. such as Ombudsman Digest and, Roller Coaster Mechanic’s Journal are Michael Fanning lives in Hartwell with his trophy wife, Alex. �14 STREETVIBES May 15 - 31, 2010 Sports The Horns of Kobe Bryant A player fades and an antichrist rises By B. cliFTon BurkE Contributing Writer T he bumps on Kobe's head grew a little more every off-season. Some figured he had developed brain tumors, oth­ ers thought he wore his hats too tight, but no one knew for sure. Kobe himself said he was fine and that he had it checked out regularly by doctors, though their names were never divulged. He admitted that it was a strange condition, but that it was not harming his game or his life and that it didn't hurt. Then, at 35, when he returned to play his 16th season, the horns started to show. At first the bumps opened into small sores and Kobe refused to talk with reporters, covering the openings with bandages and wearing his tight hats more than usual. But the season soon began, and the media pressure became too great. The original reason Kobe gave for the bandages was that he had a skin disorder that had become inflamed. Wild speculation began to circulate that he had contracted a bizarre STD and would soon be dead. Kobe brought out a doctor who said it was a skin disorder that had become inflamed and that he was not expected to die anytime soon. Meanwhile, his play reached new levels. Not only did he average 38.3 points a game after his first 20 games, but to a man, each player Kobe defended said that they had never faced defense that intense. More than one player said Kobe was playing like a man possessed and most wondered how an aged veteran could raise his game so dramatically. Soon the bandages couldn't cover what was happening underneath. The horns were nearly half an inch long and quickly became the worst kept secret in the NBA. The first to talk was teammate Lamar Odom, who grew tired of answering questions about it. “They're horns, all right? Kobe has horns. I don't get it either,” Odom said. The league said Odom was out of hand to make such a farfetched accusation about an­ other player and fined him fifty grand. Kobe's publicist announced via Twitter that Kobe did not have horns and didn't think Odom's statement was funny. Kobe himself had no comment. Then came the clincher. On a Christmas Day game against the Knicks in New York, Kobe, guarded by Jon Wall, took one dribble to the left, made a quick crossover to his right and aggressive­ ly drove the lane. He cocked back his arm and prepared to boom a thunderous dunk when Wall wantonly crashed into him, send­ ing Kobe into the throng of photographers perched just behind the basket. His right bandage fell off when he hit the floor – and his horn was exposed. The players on the court reacted right away. Knicks forward David Lee saw it and sprinted into the locker room. Kobe's teammate Pau Gasol, saw it and refused to play. Eventually, the whole arena saw it on the big screen and freaked out. The refs were flummoxed. They made Kobe leave the game for what was later explained as “concern for his health.” Once Kobe was removed from the game, play re­ sumed but the outcome no longer mattered. It became arguably the most famous NBA game of all time, yet very few remember who won. Afterward, Kobe's publicist once again de­ nied his client had horns. Kobe wouldn't talk to anyone. But it was too late. The cameras had caught it, all those close-up had seen it, and it simply couldn't be mistaken for any­ thing else. They were still just nubs, but they curled upward to a point, almost like an el­ ephant's tusk. There were two of them, and they bulged from his forehead. Kobe had to admit it; he could hide it no longer. He gave a press conference where he wore no bandages on his head for the first time in months. There he displayed both of his horns, which had grown to a full inch. He explained that he didn't know why he had horns, that he was sorry for lying about it and that they still didn't hurt. The world had a hard time dealing with Kobe Bryant growing horns. Many, many people assumed he was the antichrist and some cities experienced riots anticipating Armageddon. Others threatened to kill Kobe if he surfaced, claiming to do so would be to conquer the devil himself. It was determined that it was unsafe for him to play and he was effectively banned in the name of his person­ al welfare. Kobe was furious; he only wanted to play basketball; and even though he was clearly the world's best player, he was not allowed to do so because of his physical abnormality. He sued the NBA under the Americans with Dis­ abilities Act but the court ruled that having horns was not a disability, and he missed the rest of the season. The Lakers barely made the playoffs without him and were swept in the first round. The league itself raised questions, asking if Kobe should even be considered human. The NBA decided that every win Kobe had partic­ ipated in would be upheld but denoted with asterisks, and he would be allowed to play the following season. That seemed to settle the issue. The public furor against him lessened. The news sensation of Kobe and his horns slipped off the front page. He returned for his 17th season brandish­ ing two-inch horns on each side of his fore­ head, but he was not the same player on the court either. He appeared physically smaller and less muscular and lacked his normal ath­ leticism; the Lakers fell out of playoff conten­ tion early on in the season. Once Cleveland finally captured its first championship and LeBron announced he was a homosexual, the world completely forgot about Kobe and his physical oddity. As did the NBA. Once the Lakers cut the former MVP, there weren't any other takers for a 37-year-old veteran with nothing left in his tank and horns on his head. So, with nothing else to do, Kobe went about his busi­ ness of bringing about Armageddon and ful­ filling his actual role of the antichrist. The religious zealots were right after all. Once the end of the world was complete and Kobe could rest comfortably again, someone asked him about what happened that last year of his playing career. “I could have used special powers to play basketball but I never did,” he said. “I always just used my human capabilities. But once everyone found out what I really was, they would never accept me again. Sure, I was al­ lowed to come back. But what did it matter? Any success would have been looked down upon. To fade away like that wasn't what I wanted to do, but it was the human thing to do.” Call to Artists Go Ahead: Ask a Vendor SOS Art 2010 accepting entries Invitation to a dialogue with our readers SOS Art 2010, a group art show and event of sociopolitical expressions for peace and justice, will take place May 28-June 6 at the Art Academy of Cin­ cinnati. Streetvibes vendors see a lot that you might not. For example, some can describe what goes on in an abandoned building at night when they sleep there. Organized by Streetvibes columnist Saad Ghosn, the annual show is in its eighth year. Ghosn writes the bi-weekly column, “Artists as Activists.” (See page 16.) Have you ever wondered what it’s like to stand on a street corner sell­ ing newspapers? That’s hardly a common occupation anymore. Greater Cincinnati artists of all expressions – visual, verbal, musical, cin­ ematographic, etc. – are welcome to participate in SOS Art 2010. All sub­ missions will be considered and all works will be included, provided they adhere to the theme of the show, are inclusive and space permits, Ghosn says. A submission form is required for the visual-art component of the event. Artists of other expressions may submit proposals by e-mail return. Write Saad Ghosn at 216 Erkenbrecher Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45229 or at saad. ghosn@uc.edu. How much money do Streetvibes vendors make – and what do they do with it? Do they have other jobs? If you have questions, some of our vendors would like to answer them. “Go Ahead: Ask a Vendor” will be an occasional feature, with questions submitted by readers and answered by Streetvibes vendors. You may direct your question to a specific vendor or we’ll invite one to respond. Only include your name if you want to. Send questions to streetvibes2@yahoo.com Or to Streetvibes, 117 E. 12th St. Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. The deadline is May 10. Go ahead. Ask. Missed an Issue? Check out the Streetvibes archive at www.cincihomeless.org/content/streetvibes �STREETVIBES May 15 - 31, 2010 15 Resources Need Help or Want to Help? Shelter: Women and Children Central Access Point Cincinnati Union Bethel St. Francis Soup Kitchen Churches Active in Northside 381-SAFE 768-6907 FreeStore/FoodBank 557-2873 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Bethany House 681-2365 241-1064 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 St. Vincent de Paul 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Salvation Army 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 535-2719 591-2246 762-5660 562-8841 872-9259 381-2247 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Health Resource Center Homeless Mobile Health Van McMicken Dental Clinic 357-4602 352-2902 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John 558-8888 981-5800 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter Crossroad Health Center 458-6670 977-4489 Treatment: Men Other Resources Shelter: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 921-1613 Center Independent Living Options Emmanuel Community Center 961-2256 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Justice Watch 241-0490 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Starting Over Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 961-4080 Treatment: Both 761-1480 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 Drop Inn Center 721-0643 471-1100 221-3350 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 Housing: CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House Dana Transitional Bridge Services Volunteers of America Anna Louise Inn 961-4555 751-0643 381-1954 421-5211 621-5300 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 621-6364 771-4800 751-0600 721-4811 241-2965 People Working Cooperatively The Caring Place United Way Women Helping Women Off The Streets 351-7921 631-1114 211 977-5541 421-5211 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Hamilton County ADAS Board Recovery Health Access Center Sober Living Talbert House 946-4888 281-7422 681-0324 641-4300 Hamilton/Middletown 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 Northern Kentucky Advocacy Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Food/Clothing Lord’s Pantry OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 351-0422 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) AA Hotline CCAT Goodwill industries Healing Connections Mary Magdalen House 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 381-0111 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 First Step Home Anthony House (Youth) 621-5514 214 E. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 661-4620 Shelter: Both 241-2600 241-2563 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Treatment: Women 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mt. Airy Shelter Prospect House Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 721-4700 421-7803 579-8547 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 421-2437 Health Center for Respite Care 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 Brighton Center 863-3184 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 859-491-8303 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center Faces Without Places Stop AIDS St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 621-1868 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 859-491-3335 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 �16 Artists as Activists STREETVIBES May 15 - 31, 2010 The Opposite of Counterfeit Andy Au’s new money shows true values “As a child, if you’re sensitive with a crazy imagination, the world scares you and bad things impact you,” says Andy Au. “You need to let them out.” This is why since, as early as he can remember. Au has been draw­ ing – and mostly monsters, creatures with many arms, legs, eyes. At age 5, after watching the movie Star Wars, he spent hours trying to draw from memory what he had seen. In first grade, during spelling tests, he drew dinosaurs eating the words; as a “reprimand,” he had to do a “star wars” display on the blackboard. His parents and high school art teach­ er encouraged his artistic inclinations; they provided him with paper to draw, praised his ability, and exposed him early on to the world of art. Au, an artist printmaker born in Chicago and raised in rural West Virginia, has also lived in Washington, D.C., and New Orleans. He re­ cently settled in Cincinnati. He received his bachelor of fine arts degree at Asbury College in Kentucky and his master of fine arts degree at the University of Cincinnati, majoring in printmaking. As an undergraduate, his work had no unifying theme; it was mostly intuitive, focusing on skills and techniques. In grad school, however, it dealt with content, looking at the big picture, connecting dots between the whys and whats. A recurrent subject in Au’s earlier prints was “uto­ pia,” what life should be as opposed to what it is; and the truncated illusion of the ideal world American society wanted to project. Utopia appeared as unrealized hope, ironically represented by twist­ ed interconnected figures, fighting for space, for fulfillment, aiming at something different, hopefully better. Au wanted it to be a reflection on both the world’s situation – with its overwhelming growing popula­ tion and conflicts – and the individual, his personal and spiritual space invaded and obstructed. Another topic he explored was the takeover by civilization of tribal life. Au pointed out that, thanks to its efficient organization, specialization, successful means of survival, control and domination, “civiliza­ tion” was imposing itself and its “uncivilized” val­ as ues, effacing worldwide the more humane com­ munal ways of living. By saaD Ghosn At the beginning Au felt Contributing Writer ill at ease showing and sharing his critical work. Someone had told him he was only depicting the bad and not contributing any solution. “My work addresses problems rather than providing fixes,” he ac­ knowledges. “I often do not have the answer. I think, however, that by pointing to the wrong, I’m also pointing to the right … by showing A rtists ctivists Bank Note #1: Project for the New American Century by Andy Au. Photo by Andy Au. Andy Au. Photo by. what is, my art hopefully implies what should be. One cannot provide solutions unless knowing the cause of the problem.” After graduating and living with his wife in Italy, then Washington, D.C., Au’s work became more political. His experience abroad exposed him to diverse political issues and opinions reflected by varying, more factual and critical news in the European media. Washington immersed him in a daily political bath and multifaceted reality that sharpened his awareness. This is also when he became acutely conscious of excess in the midst of poverty in the world. He has since created numerous politically themed print portfolios, all connected, each addressing particular concerns of societal life. The Five Evils, inspired by the book, God’s Last Offer by Ed Ayres, con­ sisted of 10 etchings addressing the four primary alarming increases on earth identified by Ayres as threats to humanity: overpopulation, carbon dioxide emission, consumption of resources and extinction of species. Au added a fifth enactor, war. The Mechanical Animals represented sociopolitical creatures acting mechanically, without much thinking, regardless of their knowledge of the problem. They each contribute individually to the creation and persistence of a dire situation, unaware of its consequences. The im­ ages referenced the clockwork mechanisms of oppression, conquest, power and war. Mechanical Animal #2, for instance, titled Civilizer and Pyramidicus Societus, depicts civilization’s pyramidal system of orga­ nization with a ruler at the top controlling and subjugating the masses of individuals underneath, using them to perpetuate domination and self-benefit. Au’s History of Thugs was an extension of his research on histori­ cal perspectives, influenced by Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. Following the premise that history needed several per­ spectives – not only of those in power – to yield a complete view, Au re­ searched and pictorially depicted 70 American history figures heralded as brave vanguard elements of a Democratic nation. Examined from the side of the oppressed, marginalized and minorities, the actions of these “heroes,” however, proved base and corrupt. Au drew them as grotesque monsters. Realizing that what is displayed on money states what is valued by the system, Au wanted to create alternate money illustrating the nega­ tives society has created. The Banque d’Epoch Eclipse was his new cur­ rency. Bank Note #1: Project for the New American Century, a print from the series, represents a bill displaying a rhinoceros, with a lighthouse for a horn, standing on top of a government building. The rhino, an extremely nearsighted, powerful animal will charge at things not know­ ing what they are. Au used it as a metaphor for the actions of our mightdriven government, which stands defiantly above the offices it holds, acts as a beacon for the world, yet follows a shortsighted, self-confident approach. A moth in the background alludes to those who do not see the truth, just follow the light and burn themselves. Au’s latest print series, Memebiotics and Binarians address “memes,” broad-based sociopolitical views, possibly false, that one is taught from a young age, passed on by parents, rarely questioned. They be­ come transmitted like genes, spread like viruses, strengthening each other’s effects. Many have binary functions of polarity within a culture, “either/or” truth claims that divide and separate individuals. One ex­ ample is literal interpretation of the Bible versus scientific reality. Au uses his art to reflect on the world, express his knowledge and thinking, state his beliefs and affirm himself as a human being. His im­ ages are meant to push buttons in the viewer, aggravate a response, trigger thinking, raise consciousness. “My art is my communication,” he says. “It is my means to express and share who I am, my values, convey ideas difficult to put in words and state them poetically.” Artists as Activists is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati artists who use art as a vehicle for change. Saad Ghosn is the founder of SOS Art. Ghosn can be contacted at saad.ghosn@uc.edu. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2010 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource May 15-31, 2010 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cincinnati’s Marijuana Law Fiasco World Class Judge Pg 2: Street Wise Pg 3: Keep Drop Inn Center Where it is An Open Letter to the City of Cincinnati Pg 4: Cincinnati’s Marijuana Law Fiasco Continued Pg 5: Cincinnati’s Marijuana Law Fiasco Continued Pg 6: Painter Joins UN Appeals Tribunal Pg 7: Picking on Poor People A Film for a Time of Rebellion Pg 8: “Feed Me, Seymour, Feed Me All Night Long…” Pg 9: Arts & Poetry Pg 10: Seeking Understanding in OTR Pg 11: Facebooking the Facts Pg 12: We the Jury Pg 13: We the Jury Continued Pg 14: The Horns of Kobe Bryant Pg 15: Resources Pg 16: The Opposite of Counterfeit Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource May 15-31, 2010 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Gregory Flannery Lynne Ausman Veronica Glass Jeni Jenkins Michelle Dillingham Samantha Groark Margo Pierce Paul Kopp Jeremy Flannery Michael Henson David Heitfield Valerie Fessler Corey Gibson Jeni Jenkins Saad Ghosn Lew Moores Larry Gross Eli Braun Jesse Call Aimie Willhoite Anthony Williams Vinit Murthy Jon Hughes Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF 3CDC Aimie Willhoite Andy Au Anthony Williams Arts & Poetry Cincinnati College Corey Gibson David Heitfield Drop Inn Center Eli Braun Facebook Gregory Flannery Hamilton County Howard Zinn Jeni Jenkins Jeremy Flannery Jesse Call Jon Hughes Kobe Bryant Larry Gross Lew Moores Lynn Baker Lynne Ausman Margo Pierce Marijuana Mark Painter Michael Henson Michelle Dillingham Over-the-Rhine Panhandler Paul Kopp poverty Rebellion Saad Ghosn Samantha Groark Students United Nations Valerie Fessler Veronica Glass Vinit Murthy https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/7c52411ec74c5b461d5f40963a27f0fb.pdf 311f8f8b49a49ea65d560ead397528a1 PDF Text Text Artists as Activists ‘An Awesome Book’ Review Page 3 Page 16 STREETVIBES $1 May 1 -15, 2010 • Advocating Justice, Building Community • Issue 176 Soldiers Attack Homeless Camp Man survives injuries, fears gang will strike again By GreGory Flannery editor sleeping under a highway overpass at about 3 a.m. when four men attacked him. gang went hunting “I was awakened by four in Spring Grove vil- young men telling me to exit lage for the property,” a homeless man he says. “As I “This one was to beat up April was complying planned. They had 10. When they with them, they the same haircut, were finished, started beating they had the same John Johnme with pipes clothes. They son needed 18 and bats upside stitches in his went to where the head and up head, and his and down the these people were girlfriend was sleeping. When they left side of my in fear for her left, they kept their body.” life. The brutalInitial reports headlights off.” ity of the attack speculated that - Josh Spring was shocking in the assailants itself – but even were skinheads. more so was the fact that But 16 days after the attack three of the four suspects are Cincinnati Police obtained soldiers in the U.S. Army. Johnson, 52, says he was See Attack, p. 5 A A woman who asked not to be identified was threatened when a gang attacked John Johnson at a homeless camp on Mitchell Avenue. Photo by Jon Hughes/photopresse. Tenants Rally, Landlord Arrested Electricity, water restored but crisis isn’t over By roB Goeller Staff Writer Hurricane Katrina in New Or­ leans. “This is a terrible, terrible riving down Forest situation,” she said. “We con­ Avenue in Avonsider this to be a Katrina situ­ dale, the situation ation where we may need to became apparent, thanks to bring water and whatever a banner hung on a wroughtelse these individuals need in iron fence in front of a large order to sustain life.” apartment build­ In the meantime, re­ ing. A message silient tenants contin­ “Guess what? Our Land Lord is at a scribbled on a ued to make sacrifices. bed sheet said, hotel while we are w/ no electric – Help!” Lake McCowan, 44, kept “Guess what? Our - a sign made by residents when a generator running for Land Lord is at a days. The generator – their power was shut off. hotel while we set up in a courtyard are w/ no electric at the main building at – Help!” As the week passed, Len- Washington and Forest – was The banner was a clear tine, staying elsewhere, re­ quite a sight, with extension sign of distress – over 40 fam­ peatedly promised to restore chords reaching into secondilies had survived without energy, according to resi­ and third-floor windows, af­ electricity or gas for an entire dents. But as the promises fording tenants the chance week. withered away, so did the food to cook food in microwave “(Landlord Joseph Lentine, in residents’ refrigerators. ovens. III) took our money and ran,” While the Legal Aid Society “We’ve shared as much as said Tiffany Hobbes, a moth­ of Southwest Ohio took legal we can,” said the Rev. Ken­ er of five. action against property own­ neth Simpson, a resident. “It’s Lentine, who owns three ers, the Cincinnati Chapter of the only way we can make it. apartment buildings in Avon- the National Association for We’ve had nothing but each dale and lives in one of them, the Advancement of Colored other. A lot of people in these collected rent and deposit people (NAACP) publicized buildings didn’t know each payments from tenants, then the residents’ plight. other before all of this.” left his neighbors to suffer the At a press conference, Juan­ People from around Cin­ consequences of a massive ita Adams, first vice president cinnati pitched in to provide back payment owed to Duke of the NAACP compared the Energy and Cincinnati Water situation to the aftermath of See Tenants, p. 6 D Rob Goeller, civil rights outreach coordinator, collected information from residents about the electricty and water outage. Meanwhile, residents made the best of the situation by enjoying popsicles as a community. Photos by Andrew Haynes. Works. Laeid McCowan, 72, said she had just gotten out of the hospital when she paid Lentine $450 for rent plus a $200 deposit. The very next day, April 6, McCowan and her neighbors were without elec­ tricity. �2 The Vibe By The Numbers $2.50 The cost of a fancy meal in southern India (see page 3). 16 The age at which artists Halena Cline dropped out of school (see page 16). 1 The number of days Laeid McCowan had electricity before it went off due to her landlord’s non-payment (see page 1). 1922 The year the last emperor of Austria died (see page 4). 40th The anniversary this year of the Kent State massacre (see page 14). $5,000 The size of the bond required of a soldier charged with an attack on a homeless man (see page 1). 2110 The year in which Anne Skove was supposed to meet her Ascended Master Self (see page 9). 295 The Bengals’ target weight for defensive end Carlos Dunlap (see page 10). 12 The number of hours a day laborer works to earn $30 (see page 11). First David Singleton’s spot in the history of Canary Award winners (see page 6). StreetWise By GreGory Flannery editor Believing What They Read Our April Fools gags were a little more successful than is comfortable. More than two weeks after the fact, Channel 9 News (WCPO) called Streetvibes, saying our story about the use of waterboarding in the Hamilton County Justice Center had alarmed a local bishop, who contacted the American Civil Liberties Union, which contacted Channel 9. The TV news crew apparently realized the story was a satire only after noticing the publication date, April 1. The good news is that readers who thought human rights were being violated by Sheriff Simon Leis Jr. reacted in outrage. The bad news is that some readers imagined that conditions in the United States had actually deteriorated to that point. Not yet, friends. Not yet. Couldn’t Believe What She Heard A few readers objected to our satirical report that Cincinnati City Council had passed an ordinance requiring homeless people to pull rickshaws. The intention of political satire is to make a serious point by means of exaggeration and humor. Others will have to decide whether our effort worked. There is a difference, of course, between satire and crude jokes that belittle vulner­ able people. Last month the Ohio Chapter of the National Association of Social Work­ ers (NASW) took strong exception to banter on Rover's Morning Glory Morning Show, which originates on WMMS (100.7 FM) in Cleveland. Shane French, the host of the show, who uses the on-air name of Rover, commented on a lawsuit against movie star Steven Seagal, recently sued by an employee who accused him of keeping her as a “sex slave.” Rover called Seagal a “hero” and joked about wanting to have sex slaves of his own. Someone from NASW called to complain, only to be asked, on the air, if she’d like to be Rover’s sex slave. The NASW staffer described the exchange in an e-mail criticizing the show. “I stated that what the hosts were talking about is called human trafficking and is, in fact, illegal,” the staffer wrote. “Toward the end of the exchange, I questioned where the respect for women and human beings is. As the hosts talked over me, I heard one of them say, ‘Someone needs to tie her down and exploit her.’ ” WMMS is owned by Clear Channel Communications, the same company that owns WLW (700 AM) in Cincinnati. When the Dayton Human Trafficking Accords heard about the incident, it asked Clear Channel for an on-air apology and disciplinary ac­ tion against the DJs. But Brian Dytko, regional manager for Clear Channel, disagreed with the complaint. “We are in the process of reviewing that edition of the Rover Morning Show and the conversation about it in our coverage area,” Dytko wrote. “Based on what I heard of the broadcast, I would respectfully disagree with your impression of it. The irreverent hosts approached a news story that was widely covered and commented on that day – a lawsuit accusing actor Steven Seagal of sexual harassment – with their typical broad humor. A caller to the program raised the subject of human trafficking in the context of the Seagal lawsuit. Although our hosts expressed their belief that these were in fact two separate subjects, they allowed the caller considerable time to express her equally strong belief that human trafficking was relevant to the Seagal case.” Simply Unbelievable Sometimes people in public roles come off sounding ridiculous and offensive without even trying to be funny. Thus we have Cincinnati Archbishop Dennis Schnurr warning Catholics that press coverage of the Pope’s handling of child sexual abuse by priests has been unfair. Schnurr wrote a letter saying Catholics should keep an open mind about the allegations. “I urge you not to form judgments based on secular press accounts alone,” he wrote. Skepticism is important whenever someone reads the news – and all the more so when someone reads a letter from a Catholic prelate on his church’s history of covering up and enabling the sexual abuse of children. This is all the more true when that prelate is archbishop of Cincinnati, an organization convicted of failing to report sex crimes against children. That conviction came during the tenure of Schnurr’s predecessor, re­ tired Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk, who, like the Vatican and Schnurr, made a point of criticizing the media before finally – in the face of lawsuits and the arrest of priests – admitted that, yes, in fact, the church had covered up child sexual abuse. That is not to say that Pope Benedict XVI has done anything wrong; that hasn’t yet been proven. The point is that by now one would expect something different from a Catholic archbishop, something more edifying than criticism of the press. “The Church welcomes honest reporting, even when it is critical of the Church and painful,” Schnurr wrote. That, however, is a lie. Far from welcoming honest reporting on this scandal, the Catho­ lic Church spent years denying the truth. Schnurr’s letter is a sign that the church is still more concerned with its image than with the children in its care. STREETVIBES May 1 - 14, 2010 Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax: 513.421.7813 Email: streetvibes2@yahoo. com Website: www. cincihomeless.org Blog: streetvibes.wordpress. com Streetvibes Staff Editor Gregory Flannery Art Director Lynne Ausman Graphics/Layout Intern Veronica Glass Vendor Coordinator Jeni Jenkins Contributing Writers Michelle Dillingham, Samantha Groark, Margo Pierce, Paul Kopp, Jeremy Flannery, Michael Henson, David Heitfield, Valerie Fessler, Alecia A. Lott, Jeni Jenkins, Saad Ghosn, Lew Moores, Larry Gross, Eli Braun, Jesse Call Photography/Artwork Aimie Willhoite, Lynne Ausman, Anthony Williams, Vinit Murthy, Jon Hughes Proofreaders Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati through coordination of services, public education, grassroots advocacy and Streetvibes. We are proud members of: �STREETVIBES May 1 - 14, 2010 8 3 Column M I N U T E S with a Wide-Eyed World Traveler Looking at America from the outside-in By MarGo Pierce Contributing Writer A mericans are spoiled. Americans are ar­ rogant. Americans are shortsighted. Americans have no sense of what goes on in the rest of the word. These are statements I’ve often heard but never fully understood. When there’s an earthquake in Haiti, famine in southern Africa or a tsunami in Sri Lanka, Americans respond with an outpouring of aid. OK, so we’re already tuning out the destruc­ tion in Haiti. We were really slow in responding to those starving people, but politics was involved. And even though one Christian group exploited the tsunami devastation to swarm in, thumping Bibles during the rebuilding in order to “save” the people from Buddhism, that wasn’t every religious group. We’ve given – not loaned – billions in aid in­ cluding cash, medical supplies, water, tents, food, etc. Doesn’t the genuine concern for the suffering of others outweigh that other stuff? It wasn’t until I left the cocoon of the United States at the impressionable age of 40 that I began to gain a deeper understanding of the source of those “Americanisms.” I didn’t go in search of an­ swers as I would when investigating a story; I mere­ ly observed. My first trip was to Mongolia in 2007 with a group of professional travelers, regular world travelers and one overseas rookie – me. My empty passport was all the talk. We had three plane changes, crossed the inter­ national dateline and enjoyed approximately 24 hours of travel (16 of it non-stop from Chicago, Ill., to Tokyo) with an overnight in Seoul, South Korea. Our reception was hardly that of the average tour­ ist; we were met by a group of locals and escorted to the presidential lounge of a Mongolian airline. (Our group leader knows the company’s owner). We enjoyed tea and other refreshments while our bags were collected and taken to waiting cars. Our passports were taken and returned – no standing in line at customs. Are you hearing “spoiled” yet? I was already feeling it. Then reality hit – our entourage of sport util­ ity vehicles, cars and passenger large vans zipped out of the airport and into Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. On one side, beautiful, green rolling hills; on the other, tents crammed together in vast tracts of a makeshift community with livestock and children roaming rows of dirt between them. More tents squeezed into spaces next to what would be $500,000 homes in the United States. Luxury cars of every make and model whizzed past people carrying huge bundles of firewood on their backs. Long, concrete walls lined some sections of road with graffiti in a language we didn’t understand and pictures of people we didn’t know, until we saw the anti-American slogans in English and images we knew, such as stars and stripes. We stayed in modern apartments with all the usual amenities – electricity, hot/cold running wa­ ter, Internet access, trash removal – but the power would go off unexpectedly and for varying peri­ ods of time, as would Internet access. Sometimes there was no hot water, and some of the trash was heaped in piles on the street near a construction fence, picked through by dogs until it was shoveled by hand into a garbage truck. This schizophrenic barrage of images and experi­ ences continued for the duration of the trip. In one Margo Pierce during her travels in Mongolia in 2007. direction, the roads were so badly damaged it was impossible to drive over 5 m.p.h. in another direc­ tion were flat, smooth highways. The Gobi desert was a wasteland of tan dirt and rock, and our driv­ ers appeared to navigate by intuition because there wasn’t a road or a street sign anywhere. We spent a great deal of time driving from place to place and observing towns, people and tent clus­ ters of nomadic herders. I was struck by how little it took for these people to be happy and how will­ ing they were to open their homes and pantries to perfect strangers. But were these just more vague generalities based on too little exposure to a new culture? Was I making an over-simplified compari­ son with the “spoiled, arrogant, shortsighted, un­ aware” standard? To India two years later. On every bridge, over the sidewalks were makeshift shelters erected of scrap wood and tarps – cars barely missing the structures and individuals walking around them. People lay on the side of the road or on narrow, concrete me­ dian strips separating high-traffic roads. (I hoped they were sleeping, not dead.) Cows roamed every­ where, digging into piles of trash. And this, I was told, wasn’t the worst to be seen. A quick plane ride south out of the pollution and grime and incessant noise, we ventured into areas where tourists rarely go – farming communities and small towns – and watched our money buy more than it ever would in the states (a fancy meal for $2.50), and again strangers greeted us with tea and a warm welcome wherever we went. At our first destination, the generators were turned off in the middle of the day – the facility didn’t have its own power sources – and we only drank bottled water or beverages made with boiled water. The restrooms had no hot water, but the cold showers felt good because it wasn’t really all that cold. We washed our clothes by hand in the sink where we brushed our teeth. Beggars were everywhere. One stick-of-a-woman breastfed a tiny baby as another little one – nothing but skin and bones – hung onto her sari. “Do not give her money,” we were told. How could we turn away from such obvious need? And why were the locals so callous? The an­ swer to that is simple: We were using our own frame of reference to define others and the situation. The pudgy knees and dimpled cheeks of our chil­ dren mean we equate knobby knees with malnutri­ tion and hunger. The piles of clothes in our suitcas­ es taken from closets and drawers full of clothing choices means we see dirty and torn fabric as rags. I didn’t know anything about that woman. While I do not believe she was returning to a well appoint­ ed home and slipping into a silk sari at the end of the day, any more than the man in Mongolia haul­ ing a bundle of wood into his tent was hiding a mi­ crowave oven, I had no way of knowing if they were happy. I see an open pit toilet and think, “Ew!” but some­ one else could see that as a luxury when she is used to squatting in an open field with no toilet tissue. Material possessions and quality of clothing are easy measures for identifying differences – have and have-not. Polarizing and separating, sorting is what we do instead of looking for commonalities and trying to connect. The hardest part was, and is, seeing life experience in the relevant context – not the one I’m used to. When you have less stuff, you don’t have the wor­ ries of keeping it secure and in good working order. When you have enough food, water, shelter and ac­ cess to the things that make life possible when oth­ ers don’t even have those fundamentals, it’s pos­ sible to see how you could be happy. A standard applied as “one size fits all” diminish­ es what is valuable to a narrow scope and dismisses other options. Not all people who look sad are de­ pressed. People who are not visibly chained are not always free. What traveling outside the United States has shown me is that Americans have a whole lot of stuff – things, money, issues – and we’re so caught up in dealing with all that (maintaining it, acquiring more of it, trying to get past it) that it’s difficult to see beyond our own pain and priorities. If we con­ tinue to be fixated on our own stuff, we’re going to miss out on opportunities to learn, try new things and maybe, just maybe, enjoy something else. I would like to travel the United States and see more of my own country, and I believe going be­ yond my borders will make it possible for me to do that – see more – no matter where I go. It ain’t all about me, and it ain’t all about you, America. It’s about living this life and making the most of it. The good part is that you don’t need a passport to “get” it. Many people work hard to make a difference for the less privileged in the Queen City. “Eight Minutes” is an opportunity to learn who those people are and what motivates them to be a positive influence. �4 Local News STREETVIBES May 1 - 14, 2010 Anti-Semite Organizes Precincts Bashing Jews and selling health products By GreGory Flannery editor A Republican Party activist in Cincinnati says Jews were responsible for the Holocaust. Jim Condit Jr. – the star of The Nazi-Zionist Connection: The Final Solution to Adolf Hitler – is trying to organize precinct committees in counties throughout the Tri-State. In the 1980s, Condit – who has often run for city council and Congress, never winning election – was part of the Platform Republican movement, a group of anti-abortion activists who unsuccessfully sought to take control of the Hamilton County Re­ publican Party. His latest effort, Precinct Activists Greater Cin­ cinnati Meetup for 2010, is bi-partisan. An online appeal describes the organization’s purpose. “The goal … is to educate and mobilize at least 500 citizens in Hamilton County and a comparable A French policewoman inspects walls spray-painted with swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans. REUTERS/ number of individuals in all surrounding counties Stringer. in the Greater Cincinnati area to attend one of the major party (Democratic or Republican) county He, too, it seems, fell victim to the grand world tions to accept political ads from candidates in precinct organizational meetings circa June 2010,” conspiracy. elections for federal office – a fact duly noted by Condit writes. … “Through intelligent participation “He reigned as Charles I, Emperor of Austria Real News 24/7. in the precinct system, Americans can restore all (and, also, Charles IV, King of Hungary) from 1916 “The stations must run the ads in the time blocks the true freedoms enumerated under the Constitu­ until 1918, when Austria was proclaimed a repub­ (i.e. noon to 3 p.m.) specified by the candidate tion, institute an honest money system and once lic by the Freemasonic forces in the empire, backed (who is subject to the same rules the stations apply again put America on the path of its true destiny.” by the international Jewish banking houses,” Real to business advertisers), and the stations must give That might sound innocent enough, but Condit News 24/7 says. the candidate the equivalent of the lowest price has a well-documented history of anti-Semitic dia­ Fortunately, there are some things we can do to which they have charged a business in that calen­ tribes, asserting that Jews and Freemasons run dar year,” Condit’s website says. the financial system and news media. That Curiously, however, Condit doesn’t explain context is useful in weighing his latest effort to “Overwhelming evidence indicates that 9-11 was an how the Jewish-Masonic conspiracy that change the United States from the bottom-up, controls the media overlooked such a big ‘inside job,’ using remote controlled airplanes and at the precinct level, so that political parties loophole. controlled demolition bombs in the World Trade can be taken over by “normal” people. Perhaps the most offensive of Condit’s Towers … pulled off by traitorous elements within “This meetup is devoted to training normal the U.S. military that are loyal to the nation usurping anti-Semitic rants is The Nazi-Zionist ConAmericans how to participate in the precinct nection, a DVD in which he lays out his ar­ the name ‘Israel’ and to the worldwide Jewish system in the major party of their choice,” Con­ gument that Jews perpetrated the Holocaust. Supremacist/Freemasonic financial network.” dit writes. … “Until enough normal Americans Among other assertions, Condit purports to - Real News 24/7, a website owned by Jim Condit, Jr. understand the how and why of the precinct prove that Hitler had “Jewish ancestry.” system, we are not even on the playing field.” Real News 24/7 pitches the DVD as the protect ourselves from some of the calumny un­ “most controversial of the year.” Fighting Jews and swine flu loosed by the conspirators. In order to help support “An attempt has been underway since 1945 by his political machinations – and to keep “normal” the organized worldwide Jewish lobby to replace Few would call the playing field on which Condit Americans healthy – Condit urges people to buy a the crucifixion of Christ with the ‘crucifixion’ of operates “normal.” He operates Real News 24/7, a mineral concoction. the Jewish race as purveyed by the Hollywood ver­ Web site full of bizarre conspiracy theories. His take “You can also help the precinct strategy – and sion of the Holocaust,” Condit’s website says. “The on the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, for example, help your family fight infections, viruses, swine flu information on this DVD makes clear that, while has nothing to do with Al Qaeda. or any other potential plague – by investigating and numerous everyday Jews were rounded up, aban­ “Overwhelming evidence indicates that 9-11 was purchasing MMS mineral breakthrough ($20 per doned, and sacrificed by the top Zionist organiza­ an ‘inside job,’ using remote controlled airplanes year per family!) … Seriously, this may be our only tions and rulers who were working in cooperation and controlled demolition bombs in the World hope against a real or contrived plague or pandem­ with the Nazis. The series of events known today Trade Towers … pulled off by traitorous elements ic,” Real News 24/7 says. as the ‘Holocaust’ was the product in large part of within the U.S. military that are loyal to the nation Zionist-Jewish Elite financing and Zionist-Jewish usurping the name ‘Israel’ and to the worldwide ‘So beyond the pale’ Elite scheming. (This is, of course, not to minimize Jewish Supremacist/Freemasonic financial net­ the death of even one innocent person who was work,” Real News 24/7 says. Condit describes himself as “an investigative caught in the hellish crossfire known as World War If you don’t know about this, it’s not because journalist in the fields of honest elections, current II.)” you haven’t been following the news. In fact, your events, history, grassroots strategies, and health, That disclaimer does little to soften Jaffee’s as­ ignorance comes from the fact that you have been whose career now spans over 37 years.” In years sessment. following the news. The journalists are all in on the past, he printed and sold T-shirts. “That is so beyond the pale it’s hard to know conspiracy, according to Condit. Brian Jaffee, executive director of the Jewish how to respond,” he says. “Unfortunately, there are “The five big TV networks, every major radio sta­ Community Relations Council (JCRC), says he is people like Mr. Condit from the radical fringe who tion and every big city daily newspaper in the USA familiar with Condit’s work. propagate this nonsense.” is now owned or controlled by the top anti-Christ “It’s offensive,” Jaffee says. “It repeats a lot of vi­ Advocates and journalists face a difficult choice Jewish Supremists,” Real News 24/7 says. cious canards and odious lies that have been harm­ when anti-Semitism or other kinds of racism ap­ The Federal Reserve, the system for counting ful to Jews and other minorities. The notion of Is­ pear, according to Jaffee: Expose it, with the risk of ballots in elections across the United States and raeli responsibility for 9/11 is beyond outrageous.” giving hate speech further publicity; or ignore it, even the Roman Catholic Church have all been tak­ Jaffee says he has been monitoring Condit’s ac­ with the risk that it will spread unchallenged. en over by the Jews and Freemasons, according to tivity for years, including radio ads that aired on “Our mission is to protect Jewish security,” Jaffee Condit. Real News 24/7 says the Vatican was threat­ Cincinnati stations during his past congressional says. “With that in mind, I have to navigate a bal­ ened with a nuclear attack in 1958 if it didn’t pick campaigns. ancing act between inadvertently publicizing this a pope chosen by the Jewish-Masonic conspiracy. “Every couple years he sort of re-emerges,” Jaffee man and his views, versus letting the community The church hasn’t been right ever since, according says. “His favorite tactic is to use the law to his ad­ know that we are not going to put up with this kind to Condit; even the Mass has been deliberately ru­ vantage. We have free speech in this country, thank of hate speech.” ined. goodness. But he uses the fair-access law to spread The good news is that Condit’s conspiracy theo­ It’s not as though Condit sees no good in the this kind of material. Every October and Novem­ ries, like his past political campaigns, seem to have world, however. He stretches back to 1922. That’s ber my phone rings from alarmed members of the had no measurable success. when Karl Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert Georg Ma­ community, both Jewish and non-Jewish, saying, “What I haven’t noticed is any up-tick in nasti­ ria von Habsburg-Lothringen died. Don’t know ‘Do you know there is this man claiming Jews con­ ness,” Jaffee says. “One hundred percent of the calls the name? He was the last emperor of Austria. Real trol the banking system and media?’ ” I’ve gotten have been in opposition to his mes­ News 24/7 has a tribute page to him. The Fair Access Law requires TV and radio sta­ sage.” �STREETVIBES May 1 - 14, 2010 5 Local News Soldiers Attack Homeless Camp Continued from page 1 warrants for three men serving in the U.S. Army. On April 26, police charged Michael Hesson, 24, of Norwood with felonious assault. His bond was set at $5,000. The next day Riley Feller, 24, stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was arrested at the base in Fort Knox, Ky., pending extradition to Hamilton County. Military police were looking for the other two suspects, who are also stationed at Fort Bragg. At Streetvibes press time, those two soldiers had not been named. ‘Cold and calculated’ Johnson was attacked a few weeks after the city of Cincinnati had trimmed trees obscuring a small homeless camp on Mitchell Avenue near Interstate 75. As a result, the handful of people living there were exposed to almost constant public view during daylight hours. What wasn’t well known was that people at the camp didn’t sleep in the shack that was visible to traffic; they slept under an overpass bridging Mill Creek. The fact that the four attackers knew where to find Johnson indicates that the assault was pre-meditated, according to Josh Spring, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. “This one was planned,” he said. “They had the same haircut, they had the same clothes. They went to where these people were sleeping. When they left, they kept their headlights off.” Johnson’s description of the assailants made them sound like skinheads – racist thugs whose trademark is a shaved head. He said the suspects had short haircuts and wore black jackets with some kind of metallic insignia. “I got a good look at a couple of them,” Johnson said. But for three of the men accused of attacking Johnson, short haircuts were the mark of military service. The attackers allegedly beat Johnson and chased him up a hill, calling him a “bum” and saying, “We don’t want you here,” and “Get a job.” The assailants threatened a woman staying with Johnson but didn’t harm her, he says. Like Spring, Johnson believes the attack was pre-meditated. “This was not some guys out halfdrunk, having a good time at my expense,” he says. “These guys were cold and calculated. It was planned.” Johnson participated in an April Two of the four suspects have been apprehended. Michael Hesson, 24, (L) 23 press conference with Spring, who and Riley Feller, 24, (R). said the Homeless Coalition waited nearly two weeks to publicize the at“I’m hearing more and more about concern is to get these people off the tack at the request of Cincinnati Police these kinds of incidents,” he says. streets.” investigators. Spring said police asked “There seems to be some escalation. Prior to the attack, the homeless him to keep the asHate of any kind camp on Mitchell Avenue had been sault quiet so the cannot be toler- the scene of occasional good deeds. suspects wouldn’t “They’re dangerous people ated.” Employees of a nearby car dealership be alert. Spring In the past year delivered food there during Thanksand could end up killing developed several at least four home- giving last year. Scott Cowans, a towsomebody. I came through leads, including a this OK. My concern is to get less people in Cin- truck driver, has also taken food to the woman who told these people off the streets.” cinnati have been camp. The attack on Johnson made police that several assaulted. While Cowans angry. - John Johnson of the assailants the motivation be“This is something I’m not going to were U.S. soldiers. hind some of those stand for,” he says. “I was homeless assaults might be unclear, the attack once because of heavy drugs.” ‘They were targeted’ on Johnson was plain in its purpose, Cowans says he plans to organize Spring says. monthly food deliveries from his Cheryl Meadows, director of the “This is not just one person beating church and wants to make sure no Cincinnati Human Relations Com- another person,” he says. “They were one else at the Mitchell Avenue camp mission, says the attack on Johnson is targeted because they were homeless. is attacked. part of a growing trend. That means they might do it again.” “I got hold of my police friends and “Because of the recent economic Johnson says he lived at the camp asked them to check the camp and crisis, we’re beginning to see hate on Mitchell Avenue for about two make sure everybody is OK,” he says. crimes that we haven’t seen before,” years and never experienced any difCowans says many people tend to she says. “It is quite a concern that the ficulty until April 10. He says he is no look down on homeless people who Human Relations Commission wants longer living outdoors. He, too, fears live outdoors. to bring to the forefront.” the people who attacked will strike “They call them ‘squatters,’ ” he The Rev. Dave Weaver, pastor of again. says. “I call them homeless people Nast Trinity United Methodist Church “They’re dangerous people and who need help.” in Over-the-Rhine, also says hate could end up killing somebody,” he crimes are on the rise. says. “I came through this OK. My Letters to the Editor ‘Hang in There’ Have something on your mind? To the Editor: I’m not quite sure why I am writing to you, but I read your paper and I won­ der why some are treated as they are – especially children. It breaks my heart knowing kids and young adults, especially, are homeless, are “falling through the cracks.” I wish I could reach each and every one of them just to tell them that God loves us all and to hang in there with prayer. Anthony Eversole Cincinnati Why Not a Democrat? “Dan La Botz runs for U.S. Senate” is great news (issue of March 15-31), but I have to wonder about running as a Socialist. I think if he ran as a Democrat, he could reach more people and shake things up more. He’d be a long shot but at least he’d have a chance. Do you agree or disagree with an article? Let us know: 117 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvibes2@yahoo.com Jim Byrnes Hyde Park Follow Streetvibes www.facebook.com/streetvibescincinnati twitter.com/streetvibesnews streetvibes.wordpress.com �6 Local News STREETVIBES May 1 - 14, 2010 This is Why the Caged Bird Sings Senator Brown honors David Singleton By MarGo Pierce Contributing Writer T he image of a caged bird hardly seems inspiring: Trap­ ping wildlife and holding it hostage is a good thing? When that bird is a canary and the confinement saves lives, however, the symbolism takes on a new meaning. David Singleton, executive director of the Ohio Justice and Policy Cen­ ter (OJPC), is the first recipient of the Canary Award, presented April 24 by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). The award is a plaque with the image of a canary in a cage. “The Canary Award takes its name from the century-old practice of coalminers taking a canary with them into the mines as protection from tox­ ic fumes,” says a statement by OJPC. “The symbol is emblematic of the po­ litical philosophy of U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who wears a canary pin each day instead of more traditional lapel pins worn by U.S. senators.” Brown, who presented the award at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, praised Singleton’s efforts on behalf of those who usually don’t have anyone to champion their cause – people convicted of a crime. Singleton credited the OJPC staff and others. “It really means a lot to OJPC be­ cause the work of the staff attorneys and the advocates there are the reason why I get recognized,” he said. “I just happen to be the executive director. We’re doing cutting-edge work to try to make the criminal-justice system fair, to try to help people who have been in the criminal-justice system get on their feet and be productive. I am glad that body of work is worthy of recognition.” Singleton talked about OJPC’s law­ suit against the Ohio Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on be­ half of mentally ill prisoners, released with only a two-week dose of medica­ tion and a bus ticket but no housing or medical care. That’s a recipe for re­ cidivism, according to Singleton. He’s most vocal about the hurdles that prevent successful reentry for people who have felony convictions. Singleton said there are 410 barriers in the state of Ohio that make hous­ ing, education and employment un­ obtainable by someone who wants to go straight and stay out of prison. “The biggest thing … is the work that we’re doing to change the city of Cincinnati’s hiring practices with re­ spect to felony records,” he said. “The city needs to make it crystal clear that you’re not barred automatically be­ cause of a record.” Singleton called on Brown to help pass federal legislation that would re­ quire states receiving federal Second Chance money to make a concerted effort at eliminating barriers that keep anyone with felony convictions from state jobs. Barbara Gould, the OJPC board member who nominated Singleton for the award, said he is the “perfect” first winner and will “set the bar” for future recipients. “In David’s case, he sees not prob­ lems but challenges, and he has a vi­ sion of a better world, a better time of more fair, equitable treatment for individuals who oftentimes have not had an individual to be a voice for them,” Gould said. David A. Singleton accepts the Canary Award from U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown. Photo by Jon Hughes/photopresse. Tenants Rally, Landlord Arrested Continued from page 1 the Lentine apartments, it didn’t take long for stereotypes and mis­ understandings to be aired. A small handful of tenants at the Lenaid. Churches provided food, including hot meals, while plumbers of- tine properties receive federal Section 8 housing assistance, but some fered to replace missing piping in one of the buildings. readers assumed that all do – and that section 8 pays more than rent. Lentine was arrested April 8, charged with violating the city’s hous- One reader wrote, “I can’t believe this! If I’m going to pay for their ing code. electricity, it better work!” But in fact, taxpayers do not subsidize tenOn April 16, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Andrew West ants’ utility bills. appointed an emergency receiver to act as an interim manager of the Problems like those at the Avondale apartments occur daily in three buildings. Cincinnati and throughout the United So the question remains: What hapStates. While aid has poured in from all pened at Washington and Forest? And Problems like those at the Avondale around the community for the residents the answer: nothing new. in this case, they have no guarantees that apartments occur daily in Cincinnati and In fact, it happens all the time. Land­ conditions will improve. throughout the United States. While aid has lords rent apartments in properties fac­ Tenants have had electricity restored. poured in from all around the community ing foreclosure. Landlords neglect to pay A temporary receiver has been appoint­ for the residents in this case, they have no utilities on time. Landlords live comforted for the properties, but the housingguarantees that conditions will improve. ably while their residents are in moldy, code violations still exist. There are infested and dilapidated buildings. While fears among tenants that their building the exact situation might differ, the common denominator is that the will be shut down and boarded up. Some speak of moving, but with tenants are low-income. what money? Others want to start a tenant association and manage The nationwide foreclosure crisis hasn’t only affected homeown- the building themselves, but are the buildings too far gone to be re­ ers. stored? “Roughly 40 percent of the families facing eviction as a result of the Many people are hostile to affordable housing. But instead of vilifyforeclosure crisis were renters in 2008,” according to the National Low ing renters for unkempt lawns or poor waste disposal, what works is Income Housing Coalition. holding landlords accountable when they neglect to pay energy, waBut ignorance persists. Consider the comments posted on the Cin- ter and waste-disposal bills. cinnati Enquirer’s website. When the Enquirer broke the story about If you like what you read, but don’t live in the Cincinnati area, you can subscribe to Streetvibes. Call us at 513-421-7803 x 12 to learn more about subscribing to Streetvibes. �STREETVIBES May 1 - 14, 2010 Column Poverty and Invisibility Poverty is more than a state of mind In the Bible, Jesus says, “The poor ye have always with ye.” But, please, we say, not in our faces. One of the great advantages the wealthy have over the rest of us is that they have no need to deal with the rest of us. They can, if they choose (and they usually do), stay within their gated communities or high in their pent­ houses. And the reason this is such a great ad­ vantage is o bv i o u s , for, in general, the poorBy Michael henson er we are, the more inconve­ nient we are, the messier our lives, the more we are fearsome, the more contagious, the more to be avoided. It can be very troublesome to consider the poor, for to consider the poor means to consider yourself, your position in the world, your defenses, your privilege, the whole ugly question of on whose backs was this wealth raised, that whole guilt and responsibility thing. It’s easier to just build a wall around it, declare it someone else’s problem, and keep it clear of your mind. As Barbara Bush said (she was speaking of the war, but it could easily apply to pov­ erty), “Why should we hear about body bags and deaths? It’s not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind over something like this?” That’s a line that deserves to be preserved alongside “Let them eat cake.” It’s as if a mind is like a well-appointed liv­ ing room, fit not for actual living, but only for display. You look at a living room like that and you see only those things which mark the good taste of the owner. There is nothing to disturb (or challenge) you, nothing to indi­ cate mess or complication. To maintain a mind like this, it helps keep your life free of the clutter of the inconve­ nient, fearsome, unbeautiful, possibly conta­ gious poor. To maintain a mind like that, you need to shut out half the world. We spend a lot of time and effort in shut­ ting out that half of the world. Our cities are set up to avoid encountering the poor. We set ammered H up exclusive communities with protective police. We create gated communities to keep them out and trailer parks to keep them in. And jails, of course. Don’t forget the jails. ***** There is a reason why the rich are said to have a harder time getting into heaven than a camel going through the eye of a needle. Because all this “beautiful mind” business is fundamentally immoral. ***** “Jimmy Brown the Newsboy” is a lovely old song, first recorded by the Carter Family and later made famous by Mac Wiseman. This is how it starts. I sell the morning paper, sir, My name is Jimmie Brown. Everybody knows I am the newsboy of this town. You can hear me yelling Morning Star Selling on the street. I got no hat upon my head, No shoes upon my feet. I’m often cold and hungry, sir My shoes are worn and thin I wander ‘bout from place to place My daily bread to win. It doesn’t matter how I look, Don’t look at me and frown. I sell the morning paper, sir. My name is Jimmy Brown. You can listen to “Jimmy Brown” a few hun­ dred times and enjoy it without bothering to read into it what I’m about to. And usually, I don’t. But I think the song speaks to some­ thing crucial about the nature of poverty and of the psychic wound it imposes. I’m often cold and hungry, sir . . . The words of this song are directed to someone in particular, someone he addresses as “sir.” So we can make the assumption that the man the newsboy addresses is of a higher social status. I like to imagine that someone has stopped to buy a paper just outside a the­ ater or a place of business and that Jimmy wants him to hear his story. It’s a tough story: My father died a drunkard sir I heard my mother say. And I am helping mother, sir To journey on her way. The man might be busy, but Jimmy Brown wants him to hear this story. He might be scornful, but Jimmy insists on his dignity. “It doesn’t matter how I look,” he tells the man. By his persistence, by holding his ground, by insisting on his dignity, by being visible, Jim­ my Brown reverses for himself some of the impact of the psychic wound of poverty. Part of that wound is a sense of disdain, ex­ clusion, invisibility, voicelessness. “Nobody knows you when you’re down and out,” say the words of another song. To be poor is to lose the sense of connectedness to society that makes us feel worthwhile. This is not just a psychological problem, something to do some reality testing with. The disparagement and exclusion are real. And if certain devel­ opers and certain politicians get their way, the poor will become even more invisible, even more voiceless. ***** So how should we relate to the poor? A neighbor, formerly homeless and now in recovery, tells me how he visits the camps of the homeless with gifts of food and hygiene items. He has not forgotten what it was like, nor what he felt, and so he does not look at them and frown. He hears their stories. He makes it a point to shake hands with them. One man told him, “You’re the first person I’ve met who would shake my hand.” ***** Jimmy Brown does not ask for pity. He asks for respect. He asks to be recognized: I sell the morning paper, sir. My name is Jimmy Brown. Michael Henson is author of Ransack, A Small Room with Trouble on My Mind, The Tao of Longing and Crow Call. Streetvibes vendors keep 75% of sales. Consider helping Streetvibes with our publication costs by making a tax-deductible donation or by purchasing a subscription. Streetvibes is the activist newspaper, advocating justice, building community. Your gift is tax-deductible and will go to producing the paper every two weeks. Started in 1997, Streetvibes is distributed by homeless and formerly homeless vendors who purchase the paper for 25 cents and sell it for $1, keeping the 75 cent profit. Make checks payable to “Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless” I want to support Streetvibes and the vendors. $25 Please return your contribution to: GCCH 117 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 $50 $100 $150 Other $ _______ Name: Address: E-mail: Want more Streetvibes? Check out the StreetvibeS blog http://streetvibes.wordpress.com 7 �8 STREETVIBES May 1 - 14, 2010 Recipe “Feed Me, Seymour, Feed Me All Night Long…” Savory Stuffed Mushrooms Serving Size: 8-12 bellies (fewer if they’re ruthless) 24 whole fresh stuffing or baby bella mushrooms 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 tablespoons minced garlic 1/8 cup water 8 ounces sun dried tomatoes chopped into ¼ inch pieces 2 cups fresh spinach 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 teaspoon onion powder 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper Photo by Jeni Jenkins. By Jeni Jenkins Staff Writer I t wasn’t until I was an adult that I discovered that I actually liked mushrooms. Soon after, I went to a catered event where I was introduced to the wonder of spore-bearing fungus jam-packed with goodies. I was pleas­ antly surprised by this newfound love, and I remember repeatedly returning to the buffet table to nonchalantly sneak one or two more mushrooms onto my plate. I concocted this recipe from a combination of other stuffed-mushroom rec­ ipes I have tried over the years. I take this and other variations to weddings, birthdays and potlucks and they are always a hit. This recipe combines a few staple ingredients from Italian cuisine with an added kick. Artwork By Steven Paul Lansky ! ? t a h W 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 2. Briefly rinse mushrooms under cold water and thoroughly blot dry with a paper towel. 3. Break off the stems, being careful not to break mushrooms in half. 4. Place mushrooms top-down in glass baking dish. 5. Use half the stems. Cut off the tough ends and chop finely. 6. In a skillet, sauté stems and garlic in oil over medium-high heat for approximately 1 minute. 7. Add water and sun-dried tomatoes and cook an additional min­ ute. 8. Carefully add spinach and cook until wilted. Turn off heat and let cool. 9. Stir in softened cream cheese until well blended. 10. Stir in Parmesan, onion powder and cayenne pepper. 11. Put contents into a large ziplock bag and zip shut. Using scis­ sors, cut the tip off one bottom corner. 12. Squeeze 1-2 heaping tablespoons into each mushroom cap. 13. Bake 15-20 minutes in oven or until the stuffing is lightly browned and liquid starts to form under caps. 14. Voila, feed! Artwork By Anthony Williams Say___________________ “Washing one’s hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.” --Paulo Freire �STREETVIBES May 1 - 14, 2010 Local News Fragrant Messages from Fairies Mystery for sale at the Psychic Festival By anne skove Contributing Writer W ho knew the para­ normal could be so darned normal? As the person most likely to finish “If you can’t say anything nice” with “come sit by me,” born and bred in Clifton (where chi­ ropractors almost outnumber gift shops), and an Aquarius, I seemed to be the perfect candi­ date to tour the Psychic Fair. The Streetvibes editor couldn’t go due to his past life as an agitator of psychic clergy. The photographer was ejected on sight. So I drove my Chevy to Sharonville, Best of Joan Jett blaring, my inner Cherry Bomb ready for anything. But something went horri­ bly wrong. Inside it looked like any other convention – large halls with rows of table-clothed booths, seminars in small beige rooms and attendees milling about. The exhibitors have a job remarkably like mine – sales. I blended. The first person I saw wore beaded jeans – hers had butterflies, mine had flowers. The woman whose job it was to help entrants don bracelets (the kind you get if you’re old enough to buy alcohol at an all-ages show) was swathed in tie-dye and had a Lauperesque (without the day­ glo colors) headwrap/hairdo. She said I looked “Awesome!” ‘You don’t know?’ Immediately, the shopping be­ gan. There are many wonderful smells in the world. Patchouli is not among them. The lavender booth, though, smelled fabu­ lous. The proprietor, a younger guy with tattooed arms, told me about his purple acre in Clinton County. I got an “intuitive fairy message” – a small glass bottle with a cork, full of beautiful smells, dried flowers, glitter and a tiny scroll tied with thin ribbon. One booth reminded me of my cousin’s import business. Barak (not to be confused with “Barack” or “Borat”) and I dis­ cussed the import business and how conservative (yet friendly) Cincinnati is. He said, “Ciao!” as I left, something I have not heard since the days when I worked with Alessandro. People in colorful witch hats, possible belly dancers, and a woman in a tiara pushing a tod­ dler in a stroller strolled the aisles. The scene was shockingly similar to shopping at CVS. “O mighty Isis!” Buddha, Na­ tive Americans, Mayans and an­ cient Druids are in. Absent are other old-time religions – Greeks, Romans, the fairies of Slavic folk­ lore. (Here come the letters from neo-Delphic oracles…) Note to self: ask anthropologist and reli­ gious studies friends why some religions are co-opted by New Agers while others wither in ob­ scurity. I reached into my pocket and found a message from a Chinese restaurant in my past. I pulled it out: “Experience is the mama of Science.” B-side: “La experien­ cia es la mama de la Ciencia.” (Whatever happened to “learn Chinese?”) There was at least as much science here as in a Texas textbook. Some vendors tried – CranialSacral Therapy had a poster of anatomical drawings. I asked about the technique. She explained, “It’s like reiki!” The only thing I knew about reiki was that some nuns were told not to do it anymore. She looked at me like I was an utter noob: “You don’t know what reiki is?” Here’s what not to say to Edgar Cayce enthusiasts: “Didn’t he get run out of town?” Makes them livid. He blamed Pat Robertson and told me someone had been telling me “Bald-faced LIES!!!” I didn’t mention that my mom used to eat four almonds a day, just in Cayce, or that Virginia Beach, where Cayce central oper­ ates down the road from Regent University, is the California of Virginia. The place was rife with Ghostbuster-type entrepreneurs. Para­ normal Investigations of North­ ern Kentucky should win a prize for best acronym. I showed a picture of a house with a ghostly reputation to a woman at a dif­ ferent table. She sensed that it This house is unhaunted and for rent. Photo by Anne Skove. Smells pretty and says mysterious stuff. Photo by Anne Skove. had been “visited” but was not currently haunted. Perhaps the “For Rent” sign in the window was her clue. My psychic friend, Blanchard, told me the place “had some energy” but he couldn’t tell much. Granted, it was a crummy photo. But he did tell me this fun fact: The apartment across the street from this house gave him “a vibe.” Surely it comes from the orange carpet they had there in the ’70s. I can still picture it glow­ ing on the huge stairwell under the skylight. New Age cafeteria To stop myself from running amok in sparkles, I decided to take a more academic approach and attend a lecture: Meet Your Ascended Master Self! The one who tells white lies to make peo­ ple feel better, stands up straight, never needs a ride home, doesn’t shoot herself in the foot, loses her appetite when she’s stressed and can gracefully decline a free mar­ tini. The soft-spoken lecturer asked whether anyone ever felt left out. A few hands went up. She told us we could change reality – includ­ ing our past – with our thoughts. I tried to think that the room was warmer but my goose bumps did not vanish. She spoke a few phrases of the “language of light” (or “lite?”). When she finished speaking in tongues, she asked, “Sound fa­ miliar?” A man in the next row whispered something to the woman beside him. She burst out laughing. They soon left. The rest proceeded on a guid­ ed meditation (the lecturer called it “real”) 1,000 years into the fu­ ture to meet that Ascended Mas­ ter Self. Our A.M.S. gave us a robe and hugged us. What was it like? “I saw colors,” a woman noted. “I walked through a waterfall,” vol­ unteered another. “I was wearing a kimono,” said one man. (Me, too!) Good news: time doesn’t ex­ ist, she explained. Thus, my hour was not wasted. Outside again were Dreams of Stardolphin, mystical artwork (photos of “auras” date back to the beginning of photography), beer (lite or not) and hot salty pretzels. People lay supine on massage tables. Some sat soaking their feet. With the exception of the Yanni wannabe playing keyboard in the lobby, quiet music played. But for the crowd, it resembled a scene from a spa. We are all cafeteria New Agers, choosing what works – aromatherapy (AKA “pleasant smells that don’t make you feel worse”), the sanely po­ sitioned furniture of feng shui, relaxing music – and tossing that which does not pass through our threshold of normalcy. Candles, incense, spirituality – sound familiar? You’ll either bust out laughing and leave the room, or stay awhile. “The amazing beauty of this earth holds the potential of our entire being. The birds echo for miles, and the seasons change with such amazing enthusiasm. … It is the natural state of our soul … BLISSFUL.” -- The fairies’ intuitive message 9 �10 STREETVIBES May 1 - 14, 2010 Book Review The Awesome Power of Dreams By Jesse call Contributing Writer who you would expect to curse God and the world There are places in the world where people do for all the struggles they are still going through. But not dream or dream of silly things, Clayton writes. most times they don’t. But those places aren’t sn’t it time we realized we live in an awesome Instead, they continue where we would expect world? to appreciate life and act Using creative and imaginative – with those endur­ Often when you pick up a newspaper like on dreams to make their ing the poverty crisis illustrations, Clayton showed his son that Streetvibes, you find yourself reading terrible things world better. They have in our country. There the world is in need of dreamers once such as community developers that pay only lip the more beautiful view again--dreamers focused on a life of joy and are many dreams in service to the members of the community they of the world. not a life that is better than someone else’s. those places. Dreams are trying to develop, city and county leaders try­ A truly exceptional of heaven. Dreams of ing to push out those experiencing homelessness children’s book by Cali­ friendships. Dreams of for someone else to deal with, homelessness being fornia author Dallas Clayton again reminded of the open parks and clean streets. as big as any natural disaster this country has ever joy of simplicity and what focusing on the imagina­ All too often the places where people do not seen or that you can’t even offer food to people ex­ tion and dreams can do. The book, which he first dream or dream of silly things are the corporate of­ periencing homelessness if they happen to be in a created for his son’s eyes only, is An Awesome World. fices of the skyscrapers we see, the perfectly match­ Cincinnati park. It offers inspiration to the ing bedrooms in our homes or the classrooms of But even with all those young and old. Using cre­ our colleges and universities. Dreams of bonuses woes, there is something in­ ative and imaginative illus­ and new bosses. Dreams of plasma screen TVs and “Please dream for those who’ve spirational about our world. trations, Clayton showed foot massagers. Dreams of mediocre jobs in a field given up, for those who never tried. There is something inspira­ Please use your dreams to make new his son that the world is that is hiring and dreams of being allowed to use tional about the vendor who dreams for all the dreams that died.” in need of dreamers once size 14 font this time. stands on the streetcorner again--dreamers focused The sound advice that Clayton gave to his son is, - Clayton wearing a clown nose and on a life of joy and not a life “Please dream for those who’ve given up, for those doing a dance to get you that is better than someone who never tried. Please use your dreams to make to buy a paper. There is something inspirational else’s. Using those simple words and beautiful im­ new dreams for all the dreams that died.” Advice we about seeing someone experiencing homelessness ages, he shares that message now with everyone should all take. giving something of his own to help another on the through the Very Awesome World Foundation. For Look around. Are there dreams around you that streets. every book sold on the website, veryawesome­ are alive and matter? If not, maybe you need to Some of the most wise and insightful observa­ world.com, the foundation provides a free copy to take a look at An Awesome World and see what it tions I have ever received have come from people someone who needs inspiration. inspires. I Big Draft for the Bengals And one might get even bigger By B. cliFton Burke Contributing Writer W hen the first discussions arose about the Bengals and their draft possibilities, Jermaine Gresham was the consensus pick. Cincinnati had a glaring weakness at the tight end position, and before his season-ending knee injury, Gresham was widely considered the best tight end prospect in the country. Yet as time went by, more and more hypotheses were formed on why the Bengals would choose someone else – namely wide receiver Dez Bryant. In the end, the original gut instincts proved correct; and even though Bryant was still available, Gresh­ am became the Bengals first-round pick. The move is a sensible one. Late last season Cin­ cinnati’s offense petered out based largely around the inability to convert crucial third-down and redzone attempts. A lack of sufficient weaponry, par­ ticularly of larger targets, was cited as the reason for the passing struggles. Changes were made. Gone is the diminutive Laveranues Coles as is the staggeringly bland J.P. Foschi; new in town are the much more muscular and, by default, more ex­ plosive replacements of Antonio Bryant and Gresh­ am. The brawnier prototypes of these new players reflect the organization’s commitment to remain a physical offense that pounds the run and maintains possession. Add another newly acquired big target in free-agent receiver Matt Jones, along with thirdround pick and scrappy possession-receiver Jordan Shipley from Texas, and suddenly the Bengals pass­ ing attack is brand new with size and grit. Bryant could go on to become the next great re­ ceiver in Dallas, and the Bengals might always live to regret overlooking him, but choosing Gresham instead makes a statement that the team philoso­ phy enacted on the field last year is here to stay – that is, to be bigger and more gruesome than their division. It’s not just the offense either. With every single defensive player returning from last season, the Bengals were able to window-shop their way through the draft and pick out some dan­ dies to add to their top-five defense. The first such impulse buy came in the second round when Mar­ vin Lewis, Mike Zimmer and the other defensive minds in the building chose defensive end Carlos Dunlap from Florida. For an end, Dunlap is adequately sized at around 275 pounds, but the coaches have already talk­ ed about adding 20 or more pounds to him. The scouting report on him is high in many athletic and technique categories, but his work ethic and seri­ ousness to the game have been questioned, which caused him to slip in the minds of many evaluators. But the Bengals had the luxury to take a chance on a risky yet very talented pass rusher and pulled the trigger on Dunlap. First, Dunlap must find a place among five ex­ isting defensive ends on the Bengals – all with sig­ nificant game action. If he is to become as large as the team has in mind, he could be used in the de­ fensive tackle position on passing downs to create more pressure up the middle. Lewis likes versatile defensive players, and no team can have too many pass-rushers, so I expect the coaching staff to use Dunlap right away; it’s up to him to make the most of it. The defense also added a defensive back, Bran­ don Ghee from Wake Forest, in the third round. Ghee could become a safety by the time Week 1 roles around and isn’t likely to see much action out­ side special teams right away, but some scouts liked his skill set enough for the NFL to invite him to the draft on the second day; he was the last player cho­ sen from the green room. The fact the Bengals passed on safeties with their first three picks showed how the team did not see the position as a need the way that many fans and pundits did. With veterans Roy Williams, Chris Crocker and Chinedum Ndukwe, presumably healed and ready to go this season, the team didn’t need to reach for a safety when there were better players on the board. Even though Ghee is likely to be listed on the safety depth chart, he is more of an experimental pick than a necessity, and shouldn’t be relied on too heavily in the short term. All in all, the Bengals seemed cool and comfort­ able with the way they handled this draft. There was no audible cheering like last year’s Rey Maua­ luga pick but nor was there any dazed confusion of a disheartening Mike Brown decision. I can only describe this year’s draft as solid. As always, only time will tell. �STREETVIBES May 1 - 14, 2010 11 Vendor Voice Sleeping in Cars, Lining Up for Meals M y life always seems to take a lot of different directions, in the sense that I find myself unsure of just what my next move should be. As of late, I have been mindful of those intermediate days, when I was in between living on the streets and living in my apartment. Alone. in my head I’m often reviewing or re­ living, if you will, the times of my life. There are some bright and dark places there; but be­ cause we are engaged here in the intermediate days, let’s look there. A typical day in the life is ev­ erything but typical. Visiting a day in the life, the life of the street, we have to start with the first light of day – or better yet, the By riccardo taylor first sounds of StreetvibeS vendor life in a new day. The chirping of the birds awakens you for your first aware­ ness. Time to get moving. I lay for a moment listening for sounds of the surrounding community. Hearing a ve­ hicle or two; no voices or slamming of doors, I peek from my prone position into the world around me. Once I am sure that the coast is clear, I make a quick exit from my spot. (I gen­ erally sleep in vehicles for safety). I have a first direction. Before sleep I plan the first move of the day. I have some options. I can try to get out of this morning with one of the labor companies or go to the shower house to bathe and change clothes, which gives me the opportunity to visit the soup kitchens. Of­ ten this has to be thought out on the basis of the past few days. If I don’t have the change in my pocket to see me through the day, I might choose the possibility of the temporary em­ ployment company. If I go this way, I have to sacrifice eating for the greater part of the day. Well, I’ll have a few dollars at the end of the day; I can eat then. Well, let’s see, I’ve worn these clothes, um, this is day two, I’m good. So it’s off to the temporary labor service. Arriving at the temp company, I check my watch. It’s about 5 a.m. The line’s not too long, so I might be in luck. A few hours after arriv­ ing, things start to move. I get out, and eight hours later we’re off. I get my little money, but Street Life as always it’s short, not what it was worth, see­ ing that I have spent the last 11 hours with the company. After paying for transportation, equipment, taxes and lunch, the check is about $30. I question my choice: Was it worth it? I’ve spent the whole day for this $30. It’s 6 p.m., and now I’ve been here for almost 12 hours. Well, I have to make do with what I have. Grab a bit to eat, a pack of cigarettes, a beet to relax and find something to do with the next few hours. Without obvious detail, you can imagine how much I have left when it’s time to retire. After making sure that my spot is secure, I’m again lying with my thoughts, making decisions for the next day. Mindful of my sur­ roundings, and what I need to do for myself, I decide to get a shower in the morning. Well, this is my other option, so let’s see what I have to do. When the birds start their chirping I know I must vacate my spot so that I’m not noticed, jeopardizing my safety and secrecy. (The best protection against harm and other security concerns is the secrecy of no one knowing where you sleep). So I’m up at about 5 a.m. and I’m on my way to the shower house. It’s been two and a half days and it’s time to freshen up. A few hours and I’m fresh and ready for the day. Getting my focus, I’ll make my first stop over at the soup kitchen to get a meal. I know that if I follow the meal circuit, I can eat all day. The same faces with the same con­ versations, dancing in poverty. I think I’ll eat just once today. I am grateful that there are places I can go to eat when I don’t have the money to feed myself, yet I’m discouraged by all the misery I perceive in this lifestyle. Line after line is the order of the day, and the frus­ tration puts me in a funk. So I guess it’s time to get out on the block. Every corner is basically the same. There are always three or four fellows passing around a 40-oz, sharing a smoke, kicking the breeze. Passersby are subjected to a shout or two as the alcohol takes effect. Arguments sometimes flare, yet that’s just a part of the program. Being attentive to the surroundings, we see the activities of all the players in the street game. The darting in and out of alleyways tells you that the action is drug related (at least for the most part). A few feet away is a panhandler, posted so that he/she encounters the most in the way of pedestrian traffic. Slim pickings with so much competition, yet it can get you Riccardo Taylor. Photo by Aimie Willhoite. a few dollars. I guess it’s time for me to get busy. I need a few dollars myself. I can sell a few Streetvibes to get a start, which will keep the hanks off. I can earn enough to buy some smokes, a snack for later and perhaps a 40-oz to end the day. Dawning my salesman’s face, I can spend two or three hours and net $8 to $10, which helps. The days are fast in the life of the street. There is never enough time to do everything that needs to be done. The name of the game is to do what you can do for yourself, get what you can and be satisfied. I am always mindful that the next day is going to be the same rou­ tine, yet there is a possibility that I can make a change. Well, I don’t have time to dwell, I’d best get on my way. Stepping up the block looking left to right, mind racing, previewing my options. There’s not much to choose from. Does it re­ ally matter? Let me get back into my head. Call to Artists Go Ahead: Ask a Vendor SOS Art 2010 accepting entries Invitation to a dialogue with our readers SOS Art 2010, a group art show and event of sociopolitical expressions for peace and justice, will take place May 28-June 6 at the Art Academy of Cin­ cinnati. Streetvibes vendors see a lot that you might not. For example, some can describe what goes on in an abandoned building at night when they sleep there. Organized by Streetvibes columnist Saad Ghosn, the annual show is in its eighth year. Ghosn writes the bi-weekly column, “Artists as Activists.” (See page 16.) Have you ever wondered what it’s like to stand on a street corner sell­ ing newspapers? That’s hardly a common occupation anymore. Greater Cincinnati artists of all expressions – visual, verbal, musical, cin­ ematographic, etc. – are welcome to participate in SOS Art 2010. All sub­ missions will be considered and all works will be included, provided they adhere to the theme of the show, are inclusive and space permits, Ghosn says. A submission form is required for the visual-art component of the event. Artists of other expressions may submit proposals by e-mail return. Write Saad Ghosn at 216 Erkenbrecher Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45229 or at saad. ghosn@uc.edu. How much money do Streetvibes vendors make – and what do they do with it? Do they have other jobs? If you have questions, some of our vendors would like to answer them. “Go Ahead: Ask a Vendor” will be an occasional feature, with questions submitted by readers and answered by Streetvibes vendors. You may direct your question to a specific vendor or we’ll invite one to respond. Only include your name if you want to. Send questions to streetvibes2@yahoo.com Or to Streetvibes, 117 E. 12th St. Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. The deadline is May 10. Go ahead. Ask. Missed an Issue? Check out the Streetvibes archive at www.cincihomeless.org/content/streetvibes �12 Local News STREETVIBES May 1 - 14, 2010 Buying Locally Not Always Good Good food seems to follow the money By Paul koPP Contributing Writer I f you drive down the main street of any low-income neighbor­ hood, the choices for food are slim and almost always unhealth­ ful. There are certainly no Whole Foods or organic food stores, and supermarkets with fresh produce and deli products are rare. A problem that has deeply affected small towns and big cities across the country is now beginning to be addressed: The quality of the food available to people in lower-income neigh­ borhoods. “(Findlay Market) Community advocates gathered April 10 in Cor­ looked like a pretty ryville for the Cincinnati Regional Food Congress to discuss the food system in Cincinnati and practices mixed group of people shopping,” that might change it for the better. The congress included discussions on the nature Winne says. “It of food policy, living with food insecurity, promot­ seemed that the market was pretty ing local food distribution and urban agriculture. It well integrated into featured presentations by Mark Winne, an author, Isaiah 58:7 Ministries held a cookout April 17 for homeless and other hunthe neighborhood.” speaker and consultant who has worked for 35 years to provide better and more healthful food to low-in­ gry people. About 300 people enjoyed free meals. Photo courtesy of Isaiah - Mark Winne come areas. 58:7 Ministries. Winne, author of Closing the Food Gap, lives in New Mexico. He travels the world speaking about his experience by good food retail outlets. working in food policy. He spent a large part of his career in Hartford, * There is not enough food democracy: Citizens and consumers Conn., where for 25 years he was the executive director of the Hart­ don’t have much opportunity to speak out and actually shape the de­ ford Food System while contributing to other food policy groups. cisions and polices that influence the quality of their food, where it’s “I’ve always believed that food was the root to produced, its price and so forth. social change,” he says. “It gave people a better op­ Each of these gaps relate very much to the is­ portunity to make a contribution to social change, “I’ve always believed that sue of poverty. Low-income people experience all if that’s what they were interested in. It may not be these problems at a much higher rate than the gen­ food was the root to social as profound as running for president, but it is a eral population. change. It gave people a place where someone with limited knowledge or Winne says the way to correct those issues is to better opportunity to make professional or expert experience can put in and work on eliminating the poverty that causes them. a contribution to social start to do something. That’s what I did.” Though programs by non-profit organizations, change, if that’s what they The nationwide movement for changing the were interested in. It may not philanthropists and government providing access food system has been a gradual process, according to more healthful food are instrumental in elimi­ be as profound as running to Winne. Though elements of community action for president, but it is a place nating the food gap, better education, jobs and on food policy have been in place for sometime, resources for low-income communities ultimately where someone with limited the new movement has taken cues from height­ will solve the problem, Winne says. knowledge or professional ened awareness of the health problems caused by “There is certainly a consciousness about the or expert experience can put poor food availability, as well as the impact that in and start to do something. food gap,” he says. “We are seeing innovative proj­ our food system has on society. ects – both public-policy solutions as well as pri­ That’s what I did.” “A lot of people I talk to say that food is kind of vate-sector solutions. That’s all good, but it’s still a - Mark Winne a gateway to a variety of change opportunities,” long way from making that playing field even.” Winne says. “It connects a whole lot of dots.” Winne says he often tells a story of a county in In his book as in his talks, Winne extensively discusses the issues New Mexico where the food stamp director was baffled at the high causing the disparity between the food available to the poor and the rate of residents applying, as the county only had a 1 or 2 percent un­ affluent – in his words, “the food gap.” He says there are four food gaps employment rate. The director realized this happened because the in the United States: major employer in the area, a Wal-Mart distribution center, paid such * A high number of people are hungry or food-insecure. low wages that its employees were eligible for food stamps. * A high number of people are overweight or obese. “What is the point of even having jobs, if people can’t even afford * A high number of communities are “food deserts,” underserved to eat?” Winne says. While in Cincinnati, Winne visited Find­ lay Market and says he was impressed with its location, community integration and participation in food assistance pro­ grams. “That is the community’s way of saying we want everyone to be able to participate in this market,” he says. A lot of public markets are somewhat isolated and or tend to end up being highend, appealing to upper income people and new urbanists, he says. “(Findlay Market) looked like a pretty mixed group of people shopping,” Winne says. “It seemed that the market was pretty well integrated into the neighborhood.” Asked if people in low-income areas without healthful food options were aware of the discrepancy between the food avail­ able to them and to more affluent neigh­ borhoods, he says low-income individuals pretty much want the same good food as high-income people. “It often comes down to a person’s awareness of their own health and their environment,” Winne says. “Also, if some­ one has children, they become more concerned with what their kids are eat­ ing. Those are indeed major factors in a person deciding to seek out local organic healthy food.” Klosterman Baking Company donated 500 half-loaves of bread to Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. The bread was distritubed by Our Daily Bread. Photo by Lynne Ausman. �STREETVIBES May 1 - 14, 2010 13 Poetry Corner We Are Under Siege They had the Biggest Table By sPencer ledyard The only thing we heard in the darkness We disregarded. When it was time to go The heart of a piano plinked and all the wax was melted. Every time they passed a dish we took a bite and passed it on. We could not have been any more in awe. It was a flickering dinner party. We were lucky to be invited. And for all the bad and all the good We could not have been more delighted. By reGinald Brock We are under siege, In this life of money, drugs, guns and murder Most of all ourselves Young black males So ready to make a name for ourselves But not understanding That we are already One foot in the grave I never thought I would see The day when 7 black males die One for each day Trying to take the right path But somehow went astray You don’t see me counting this money I made this all today Sleep or Rest I tried to get a job And what did they say? “Have you done time?” YES And they never looked my way By Willa d. Jones Being tired I often wonder do I need to sleep or rest Needing to know what I will do all day leaves my mind in a mess I be confused as to how and which way the world will turn for me every day I be confused which way to choose right or left before I lose my way I be confused should I just rest in peace or just sleep and awake to stay alive Then I realize that today God is in control and all I need to do is just abide So on the block I stand Knowing this is not God’s Plan But I know bills need to be paid And I’m supposed to be a man So now I stand With a gun in my hand Ready to kill Another Black Man Feeling that I have done All that I can But this is Real Life where I come from And We Only Get One Chance! We need to come together and Stop the Violence! Are you interested in helping with Streetvibes? Are you a proofreader, writer, poet, artist or photographer? If so, contact Greg Flannery 513.421.7803 x 12 or email streetvibes2@yahoo.com �14 STREETVIBES May 1 - 14, 2010 State News Tin Soldiers and Nixon Coming A student’s perspective on the Kent State shootings 40 years later By lynne ausMan art direCtor M ay 4 is the 40th an­ niversary of the Kent State mas­ sacre. This year’s memorial is especially important because the 17.4-acre site of the shoot­ ings has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. That designation for a site less than 50 years old dem­ onstrates its exceptional im­ portance, according to Patrick Andrus, a reviewer with the National Register of Historical Places. Civil rights leader and U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) is the keynote speaker of this year’s May 4 Memorial events. On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard fired shots on the Kent State University cam­ pus. Thirteen seconds later, four students lay dead and Students dive to the ground as the Ohio National Guard fires on faculty and students on May 4, 1970. nine were wounded. The mas­ Photo courtesy of Kent State University. sacre came after three contin­ uous days of student anti-war protests in downtown Kent, Ohio, and on campus. on the campus commons anyway. The National Guard tried to disperse The protests were in response to the Nixon administration’s an­ the crowd but was unsuccessful in using tear gas because of the wind. nouncement to invade Cambodia on April 30, an esca­ The guardsmen advanced on the protesters, forcing lation of the war in neighboring Vietnam. many up a hill close to Prentice Hall, a residence hall, Many of the events leading up to the shooting are On May 4, 1970, the Ohio and Taylor Hall, an academic building. At one point disputed. On May 1, following a peaceful protest, a riot National Guard fired shots the National Guardsmen found themselves backed erupted in downtown Kent. Local police were able to on the Kent State University into a corner, with a building on one side, protesters restore order, dispersing the crowd without major in­ campus. Thirteen seconds in front of them and a fenced-off sports practice field cident. later, four students lay dead on the other side. With nowhere to turn, the National The next day the mayor declared a state of emergen­ Guard assumed aggressive firing positions. and nine were wounded. cy and asked Ohio Gov. James Rhodes for assistance The Kent State shootings occurred years before I from the National Guard. That evening protesters on was born, and I don’t remember learning about it un­ the campus set the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) building on til I was in high school – ironically, just after I had decided to attend Kent fire. The National Guard dispersed the crowd; several students reported State University. guardsmen using bayonets to force students to disperse. As a student there, the May 4 Memorials were a time of reflection, dis­ On May 3 Rhodes – like Nixon, a Republican – made public comments cussion and learning. calling the protesters “un-American,” referring to them as revolutionar­ I remember sitting in my dorm room in 2003, watching television cov­ ies no better than communists. More protests followed on campus, and erage of the U.S. invasion of Iraq with some of the other people who the National Guard dispersed the crowd with tear gas. The protesters lived on my floor. There were several anti-war protests on campus, all reassembled on the edge of campus and began a sit-in, demanding a peaceful. meeting with the mayor. A curfew was implemented and the sit-in was In 2004 I was sitting in a political science class discussing the many dispersed that evening. reasons the Bush administration used to justify the war in Iraq and how The following day, May 4, a protest had been planned to start at noon. similar they were to the reasons Nixon used to justify the Vietnam War. The university distributed 12,000 flyers throughout campus, calling off In 2006 class discussions turned from discussing war justifications to the protest. But thousands of students and other protesters showed up the level of opposition to the war efforts. Class discussions about May 4 and its current implications continued to be dis­ cussed in many student activities and classes on campus and today, several years after graduating from Kent State, I still draw parallels between the events of May 4, 1970, and current events. Forty years later, what happened on campus May 4 remains in dispute. Did the protesters cause the violence? Did the gov­ ernment deliberately quash peaceful pro­ test? Did the guardsmen simply panic and open fire? The lessons of Kent State are as unclear as the lessons of the Vietnam War itself. The Ohio National Guard fires tear gas to disperse the crowd of students gathered on the commons on May 4, 1970. Photo courtesy of Kent State University. For more information about the events at Kent State University on May 4, 1970 or about the 40th Commemoration go to: http://www.kent.edu/may4. �STREETVIBES May 1 - 14, 2010 15 Resources Need Help or Want to Help? Shelter: Women and Children 381-SAFE 768-6907 Central Access Point Cincinnati Union Bethel 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 557-2873 Bethany House 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 681-2365 762-5660 Salvation Army 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 872-9259 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter Shelter: Men St. Francis Soup Kitchen Churches Active in Northside 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 FreeStore/FoodBank 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 241-5525 1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Justice Watch 241-0490 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mt. Airy Shelter 661-4620 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 St. Vincent de Paul 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Prospect House 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Starting Over 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 961-4080 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 Drop Inn Center 721-0643 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 471-1100 221-3350 Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 Housing: 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 721-8666 Tender Mercies 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 961-4555 751-0643 381-1954 421-5211 Tom Geiger House Dana Transitional Bridge Services Volunteers of America Anna Louise Inn Food/Clothing Lord’s Pantry OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 621-5300 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 621-6364 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Health Resource Center Homeless Mobile Health Van McMicken Dental Clinic 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 357-4602 352-2902 352-6363 558-8888 981-5800 458-6670 977-4489 NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach 784-1853 Other Resources 921-1613 Center Independent Living Options Emmanuel Community Center 961-2256 Peaslee Neighborhood Center Treatment: Women 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 961-4663 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 AA Hotline CCAT 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 351-0422 381-6672 241-2965 Hamilton County ADAS Board Recovery Health Access Center Sober Living Talbert House 946-4888 281-7422 681-0324 641-4300 Hamilton/Middletown 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 Northern Kentucky 721-4700 421-7803 ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Advocacy Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center Faces Without Places Stop AIDS 579-8547 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 421-2437 351-7921 631-1114 211 977-5541 421-5211 People Working Cooperatively The Caring Place United Way Women Helping Women Off The Streets Joseph House (Veterans) 863-3184 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 381-0111 771-4800 751-0600 721-4811 Goodwill industries Healing Connections Mary Magdalen House 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Treatment: Both 241-2600 241-2563 621-5514 214 E. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Anthony House (Youth) 562-8841 381-2247 Crossroad Health Center Treatment: Men First Step Home Shelter: Both 241-1064 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 Charlie’s 3/4 House City Gospel Mission 535-2719 591-2246 859-491-8303 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Health Center for Respite Care 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 621-1868 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 859-491-3335 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 Do you remember the magic of your First Book? Please consider giving the gift of reading to a low-income child in Cincinnati this year. Established in 2001, First Book - Greater Cincinnati has already granted more than 45,000 books and over $60,000 to local nonprofit literacy programs serving thousands of low-income children in Greater Cincinnati. Make checks payable to “First Book - Greater Cincinnati” I Want to Bring the Magic of Books to Children Who Need Them! $20 (10 books) Please return your contribution to: First Book Greater Cincinnati 572 Northland Blvd. Cincinnati, Ohio 45240 $40 (20 books) $80 (40 books) $100 (50 books) Other $ _______ Name: Address: E-mail: Call 513-421-7803 x11 to learn about Streetvibes subscriptions �16 Artists as Activists STREETVIBES May 1 - 14, 2010 The Liberating Power of Art Set free by art, she portrays what could be “A rt has always been part of me,” says Halena Cline, “It has been my inner resource and rescue during bad times I lived through. At 3 years old I was already painting with my mother’s lipstick.” Cline had a stormy childhood. At age 5 she and her five sisters were placed in an orphanage, then in foster homes. At age 16 she dropped out of high school, studied art for two years at what is now Antonelli College, got married, had a baby and worked as a waitress. Two years later she divorced and joined a reli­ gious group that served as her family. There she Femininity has always met her new husband and had another child. been an important and When her kids started grade school, she decided recurrent theme in to pursue her art education and enrolled for two her work. One of six years at Northern Kentucky University, studying daughters to a father printmaking, photography, drawing and paint­ who suffered from not ing. Becoming religious provided Cline with the having a son, Cline, fond of her father, security and stability she needed. She was taken care of and did not have to make any pressing de­ reacted strongly cisions on her own. After the death of her father, Halena Cline stands in front of her painting, Blue Boy with Toby. and emotionally to Photo by Bill Howes. the gender bias and however, religion did not hold back her depres­ sion or her sense of loss; unknowingly art then feelings of being served as her therapeutic escape. disposable. Early on she painted mostly “anatomic” land­ birth of her grandchild and a new mission she gave herself to care for scapes with figures added. Where she lived, na­ him and provide him with a secure and stable environment. This ap­ ture was being cut and destroyed to build a highway. Cline responded proach changed her life and her art. visually to the physical aggression, the earth in her mind similar to a Cline started painting about her grandchild, visually documenting fecund feminine individual, assaulted and made barren. his progress and joyful moments, about her family, individuals and Femininity has always been an important and recurrent theme in her animals important to her. Her art was thus connecting her to good work. One of six daughters to a father who suffered from not having a memories, the happiness of a harmonious and loving life, the kind she son, Cline, fond of her fa­ missed before and the one she wanted to ensure for her grandchild. It ther, reacted strongly and took away her depression and made her feel energetic, positive, and emotionally to the gender productive. bias and feelings of being “My grandchild gave me a new focus,” Cline says, “He filled my life. disposable. Bearing the My art followed and reflected it.” Dog, a large mixed media With the start of the Iraq war, Cline’s works took a political twist as as piece incorporating ce­ she was very affected by the unjustified violence and the resulting death ramics, represents her as and destruction. She created a series of large watercolors on which she a lifeless angel, symbol- stamped images alluding to war, might, hegemony. Most of the paint­ By saad Ghosn izing the negation of her ings were diptychs with direct references to American politics, often Contributing Writer identity as a woman, giv­ showing opposites, positive negative, good bad, man woman. They in­ ing birth to a dog, a state­ cluded images of puppets, marionettes, the American flag, an American ment questioning the dif­ eagle, cowboy and military boots, money elements; but also feminine ference between a boy and a girl. imagery implying reason, wisdom and a more humane approach. Another ceramic piece, A Live Dog Is Better off than a Dead Lion, links With the end of the George W. Bush administration, the war series womanhood to her personal family gave way to works focusing primar­ history. It represents her mother as a ily on femininity, stressing the beauty martyr and saint. Cline’s mother had a of women, their important role in difficult and tormented life, witness­ society; it was a connection to the ing as a child the death of her own feminine soul, a statement asserting mother, raised by a physically abusive womanhood, its quality and equality. stepmother, experiencing a violent In the past years Cline has been conjugal relationship. Cline depicted painting watercolors, including out­ her, arms amputated outstretched, line drawings of her dog and people as if crucified, a dog’s collar around who are part of her life: her sister, her neck, a saint’s spikes on her head. daughters, grandchildren and friends. She is stepping on a snake, reference It is her way to express her vision of to the feminine symbol of the Virgin people she loves and cares for. Mary, and from her womb escapes a Chloe’s Playtime is based on the dove, allusion to the children she gave outlines of her granddaughter, Chloe, birth to and who flew on their own. and Rachel, her friend. They are both A ceramic sculpture she created playing, worriless, surrounded by im­ during the same period, The Last ages of butterflies, slippers, hearts, Shall Be First and the First Shall Be flowers. At the bottom, represented Last, pertains to the ambiguity of her pictorially, is the progressive march life and the contradictory feelings she of a baby. It is Cline’s nostalgic look at experienced growing up. The piece the peaceful and harmonious world has two replicas of her face, one lightof a little girl, the innocence of child­ colored, the other dark-colored, and hood that she did not know but would an animal tail at its base. It addresses like to protect and maintain for her the darkness and lightness one en­ granddaughter and the children of counters in the same person and also the world. reflects on the raw, instinctive and “I felt all along the need to do art complex emotions Cline lived with all for my own sake,” Cline says. “I suf­ along. fered growing up and saw my wom­ Her artistic creativity during all that anhood negated early on. I want my time allowed her to get things out from art to contribute to a change, to com­ inside her, neutralize painful feelings municate the beauty of harmonious and experiences and heal. families, the essential dimension of Twenty-six years after joining her womanhood, the importance of a religious group, Cline decided to sepChloe’s Playtime, watercolor and mixed media stable and secure environment for arate from it. This coincided with the painting by Halena Cline. Photo by Jessica Cline. growing children.” A rtists ctivists Artists as Activists is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati artists who use art as a vehicle for change. Saad Ghosn is the founder of SOS Art. Ghosn can be contacted at saad.ghosn@uc.edu. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2010 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource May 1-14, 2010 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Soldiers Attack Homeless Camp Tenants Rally, Landlord Arrested Pg 2: Street Wise Pg 3: Eight Minutes with a Wide-Eyed World Traveler Pg 4: Anti-Semite Organizes Precincts Pg 5: Soldiers Attack Homeless Camp Continued Pg 6: This is Why the Caged Bird Sings Pg 7: Poverty and Invisibility Pg 8: “Feed Me, Seymour, Feed Me All Night Long…” Pg 9: Fragrant Messages from Fairies Pg 10: The Awesome Power of Dreams Big Draft for the Bengals Pg 11: Sleeping in Cars, Lining Up for Meals Pg 12: Buying Locally Not Always Good Pg 13: Arts & Poetry Pg 14: Tin Soldiers and Nixon Coming Pg 15: Resources Pg 16: The Liberating Power of Art Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource May 1-14, 2010 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Gregory Flannery Lynne Ausman Veronica Glass Jeni Jenkins Michelle Dillingham Samantha Groark Margo Pierce Paul Kopp Jeremy Flannery Michael Henson David Heitfield Valerie Fessler Alecia A. Lott Saad Ghosn Lew Moores Larry Gross Eli Braun Jesse Call Aimie Willhoite Anthony Williams Vinit Murthy Jon Hughes Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Aimie Willhoite Alecia A. Lott Anthony Williams Anti-Semite Arts & Poetry Bengals David Heitfield David Singleton Eli Braun Gregory Flannery Jeni Jenkins Jeremy Flannery Jesse Call Jon Hughes Kent State Shooting Larry Gross Lew Moores Lynn Baker Lynne Ausman Margo Pierce Michael Henson Michelle Dillingham Nixon Paul Kopp poverty Saad Ghosn Samantha Groark Senator Brown Soldiers tenants Traveling Valerie Fessler Veronica Glass Vinit Murthy https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/7ac2eca7cc13f14b648d1d9daf7ddc67.pdf 21ce8745d6524464ce16e11c61e2855a PDF Text Text Human Trafficking Page 3 Artists as Activists Page 16 STREETVIBES $1 A p r. 1 5 - 3 0 , 2 0 1 0 • A d v o c a t i n g J u s t i c e , B u i l d i n g C o m m u n i t y • I s s u e 1 7 5 Development for and of the People Bank bail out or abolition? By Jesse Call Contributing Writer I s self-worth tied to work? For advocates participating in a recent community forum at Xavier University, the common thread among their perspectives was how the government can better the livelihoods of those experiencing poverty and homelessness by diverting funds to activities that will create jobs. That way, people will find value in making a contribution to their community. On April 5 Xavier University Students for Economic Justice, an organization promoting education and fair trade, hosted “Urbanomics Panel: Controversial Topics in Cincinnati Urban Development.” The panel consisted of Dan La Botz, a Socialist candidate running to represent Ohio in the U.S. Senate; Rob Goeller, human-rights outreach coordinator for the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless; and Vlasta Molak, executive director of the Gaia Foundation. The panelists answered a range of questions from a student moderator before the audience was allowed to ask questions. The panelists agreed that local government is wasting re- See Development, p. 4 Dan La Botz, Socialist Party Candidate for U.S. Senate, makes a point at an April 5 panel discussion. The other panelists are Rob Goeller and Vlasta Molak. Photo by Jon Hughes/photopresse. The Stories of the Man in the Van Making art of recession’s woes By Dwayne Pride Street News Service D enver VOICE – Artprize is a national contest for fine artists and emerging artists from all around the world. It is said to be one of the largest prizes that an artist can hope to win to get recognized for his or her craft. All of the winners are chosen by the public. The top prize is $250,000. For most, when they think of somebody who would be part of a contest like this, they would not think of a poor man, a homeless man, as one of its participants. Artist/driver Aaron Heideman aka “The Man in the Van” proves this theory wrong. “I don’t want to panhandle,” he says. After losing jobs during the recession his life was more than just a struggle. He hit rock bottom. But he took a creative angle on his situation and found some freedom from a 9-to-5 with a road trip that eventually took him through at least 30 states. His mission: to make an enormous tapestry of people’s experience of the recession. State by state, city by city, he collected words. His project started in Medford, which he calls home. Driving through places like Portland, Fresno, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Denver, he met all types of people and had them share their experiences of a sagging economy and what it has done to their lives. People wrote their individual stories on rolls of 50-foot waterproof, tear-proof white Tyvek paper. All he asked was, “How has the recession affected you?” ‘There is no recession’ As people pass by Heideman hands them cards that say, “Help A Homeless Guy Make Art. History.” The card is how he starts every meeting with people before they write their stories on the van. “Tell Me Your Story” is written boldly on the side of the van to entice the public to participate in what he is offering them, a way to vent their feelings. People stop with a variety of comments. “There is no recession,” one man says as he refuses to take a card. “That’s a myth. The only reason people think Dwayne Pride literally took his show on the road. Photo by Aaron Heideman. there is a recession is because they say there is one.” Heideman says he is amazed by how many people blame Obama for all of the country’s problems. Despite his views, though, he has tried to keep his project open to everyone. “I’m not a Republican,” he says. “I am not trying to be political. It is not about what I have to say, it’s about what Americans have to say. I would like to have as many perspectives as possible. The object is to stay neutral.” About 5 percent of the people who walk by the van take a card and disagree and keep moving. By the end of his stay in Denver, Heideman came up with 137 stories from people who wrote what they felt as he stopped them or they stopped to see what the commotion around the van was about. Someone named VonHellFire ’09 on MySpace writes, “ ‘Thug Life’ hoping all of his criminal endeavors will pay off.” One man writes, “I sold my body!” Another person, responding to an onlooker’s comment – “Get a job” – writes, “Give me one.” See Work, p. 10 �2 The Vibe By The Numbers 7 The number of days between the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and passage of the U.S. Civil Rights Act (see page 10). 26.6 The salary, in millions of dollars, of the CEO of Procter and Gamble (see page 14). 6 The number of years artist Kevin T. Kelly worked in New York City (see page 16). 16 The date in March when Linda Zachary died (see page 14). 137 The number of stories elicited by the question, “How has the recession affected you?” (see page 1). 3-in-27 The number of field goals missed by Texas kicker Hunter Lawrence (see page 13). StreetWise By Gregory Flannery Editor Painter Completes First U.N. Cases Judge Mark Painter of Cincinnati, the only American on the new United Nations Appeals Tribunal (UNAT), returned April 2 from Geneva after the court’s first session ever. Sitting for three weeks in Geneva, the court decided 33 appeals. After translation, the cases will be released and posted on the UN website later this month. The UNAT is the highest court of the new internal-justice system, instituted in 2009 to provide access to independent and professional courts for U.N. employees and management. The judges were elected by the General Assembly. Cases included disputes over employee promotions, discipline, pensions, sexual harassment, contract matters and other issues. Because the court is new, the first cases begin the development of the U.N.’s internal law. “We had originally scheduled 27 cases, but we added more,” said Inés Weinberg de Roca, the court’s president. “One goal of the new system is timely justice, so we want cases to move as fast as is reasonable,” Painter is a former judge with the Ohio First District Court of Appeals. In addition to him and Weinberg de Roca of Argentina, the other judges are Jean Courtial of France, Sophia Adinyira of Ghana, Kamaljit Singh Garewal of India, Rose Boyko of Canada and Luis Maria Simón of Uruguay. We Were Only Kidding The truth can now be told. So far as we know, the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) isn’t really planning to start a rickshaw line powered by homeless people, Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis Jr. doesn’t really use waterboarding on prisoners, Bengals player Chad Ocho Cinco isn’t really contemplating changing his name to Chad Acht Fünf and Cincinnati City Councilman Jeff Berding hasn’t really been seen wearing a sign saying, “Help me, I’m an asshole.” These were among stories published in our April 1-14 issue. Satire is a dangerous business, because some people fail to see the humor. Others get taken in and believe what they read – and education isn’t always a barrier to credulity. Thus, we are sorry to report, an attorney, a former congressional candidate and a person with a master’s degree are among the people who fell for the gag, even though we tried to warn readers, posting “Fools of April” at the top of the two pages containing these stories. We won’t tell you the names of the people who got pulled in. They know who they are. Got to Keep Moving 1,740 This is no joke. So eager is the city of Denver, Colo., to keep homeless people from littering the landscape that it is illegal to sit or lie down in public, downtown areas between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. We learned this while researching a story on the criminalization of homelessness in the United States and Canada (see “Being Homeless is Against the Law,” issue of March 1-14). Tim Covi, editor of the Denver VOICE – a street paper – explains the anti-sitting law. 12 “The amazing thing is that it was passed in the spirit of the 10-year plan to end homelessness,” he says. “This is going on all over the state right now. Communities are defaulting to 10-year plans, saying they're being proactive by trying to implement housing programs and such, but pass punitive laws or maintain them in the same breath as they adopt 10-year plans. It's like the carrot and the stick. They say they won’t make arrests, they'll direct people to services, but that they're not going to tolerate people sitting around. The problem is that it sounds so rational and reasonable, it seems to impress people." The number of citations for public drinking issued by the Portland Police Department (see page 5). The age at which a Toledo girl was made a sex slave (see page 3). 3,000 The number of empty buildings in Cincinnati (see page 1). 4 The number of cloves of garlic in Veggie Spaghetti (see page 8). Correction An article in the April 1 edition (“Eight Minutes Behind Prison Bars”) misstated Ohio prison overcrowding. The article should have said that state prisons are at 130 percent of capacity. Kids Aren’t Inanimate Objects Maybe Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters was trying to sound rational and reasonable – or maybe he just wanted to impress people – when he denounced two suspects for allegedly giving sleep aids to children at Covenant Apostolic Church Day Care in Springfield Township. Both Pamela Hartley of Cleves and Donna Scott of Cincinnati were charged with three counts of child endangering. Deters’s outrage was well placed. But we wish he’d choose his words more carefully. He issued a statement denouncing the alleged drugging of children. STREETVIBES April 15 - 30, 2010 Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax: 513.421.7813 Email: streetvibes2@yahoo. com Website: www. cincihomeless.org Blog: streetvibes.wordpress. com Streetvibes Staff Editor Gregory Flannery Art Director Lynne Ausman Graphics/Layout Intern Veronica Glass Vendor Coordinator Jeni Jenkins Contributing Writers Michelle Dillingham, Samantha Groark, Margo Pierce, Paul Kopp, Jeremy Flannery, Michael Henson, David Heitfield, Valerie Fessler, Alecia A. Lott, Jeni Jenkins, Saad Ghosn, Lew Moores, Larry Gross, Eli Braun, Jesse Call Photography/Artwork Aimie Willhoite, Lynne Ausman, Anthony Williams, Vinit Murthy, Jon Hughes Proofreaders Jennifer Blalock Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati through coordination of services, public education, grassroots advocacy and Streetvibes. We are proud members of: “I understand how upset the parents of these children must be," the statement said. “Daycare workers are responsible for a very valuable commodity and must be held to a high standard.” Children are not commodities. People are not commodities. Language has consequences, and one possible result of viewing people as items to be bought and sold is that sometimes they are (see “Ohio is a Slave Market,” page 3). �STREETVIBES April 15 - 30, 2010 Local News 3 Ohio Has a Thriving Slave Market State begins studying human trafficking By Gregory Flannery Editor O hio is one of only eight U.S. states that have not enacted laws against human trafficking. Yet Ohio is a thriving market for human beings, according to a new state study. “Report on the Prevalence of Human Trafficking in Ohio,” issued by a subcommittee of the Ohio Trafficking in Persons Study Commission, is a first step in quantifying and addressing the problem of human trafficking in the state. Some of its findings are startling: • As a proportion of population, Toledo is the busiest slave market in the United States. • Children who have been involved with the juvenile-justice or foster-care systems are at high risk for being trafficked. • Police, hospitals, social workers and others largely do not understand and therefore do not properly respond to evidence of human trafficking. • The report includes first-person accounts by former slaves in Ohio and concludes that the state has failed to respond to the tragedy of slavery within its borders. Recommendations include legislation banning human trafficking, treating child prostitutes as victims rather than criminals and the establishment of safe houses across the state where slaves can seek refuge. Media and law enforcement can miss human trafficking when they see prostitution. Photo by Kay Chernush. are involved in the underground economy practices of sex trafficking. Those are the criminal justice system, the social-service system and the health-care system. Each system’s response, it could be argued, has been either ineffective or insufficient.” The study recommends several steps to improve Ohio’s response to the growing problem of human trafficking: ‘Most vulnerable’ • Stop arresting and incarcerating child victims of sex trafficking. Trafficking in humans is the second • Pass a state anti-human trafficking largest criminal enterprise in the world, law that includes provisions for protecexceeded only by illegal drug sales, the “Given that the city of Toledo’s population is 298,446 and tion, prevention and prosecution and report says. Quantifying the number of Lucas County’s is 440,456, this area can be considered to that attends to the overall issue including victims is difficult because the trade in lead the nation for the number of traffickers produced and the supply (victims), demand (customers) people is conducted underground, so and distribution (traffickers). number of victims recruited into the sex trade per capita.” the study used a series of models to de• Improve the oversight of massage - Report on the Prevalence of Human Trafficking in Ohio velop estimates. parlors, agriculture and other “traditionThe numbers show the problem is ally exploitative” markets not rare, with 783 foreign-born persons estimated and Las Vegas, Nevada. • Train health departments on human traffickto be trafficked into the labor or sex trade in Ohio ing. “Given that the city of Toledo’s population is and 1,078 youth who have been trafficked into the 298,446 and Lucas County’s is 440,456, this area can • Ask the Coalition on Homeless and Housing sex trade over the course of a year. in Ohio, when interviewing homeless youth, be considered to lead the nation for the number of A variety of factors make Ohio fertile ground for traffickers produced and the number of victims to ask whether they have traded sex for housthe slave trade. One is geography. ing or if pimps or boyfriends take their monrecruited into the sex trade per capita,” the report “Ohio’s proximity to the Canadian border makes says. ey. it possible for victims to be moved through MichiIn just the past four years, 60 U.S. citizens in To• Appoint an ongoing committee to coordigan and be trafficked in various venues throughout ledo have been identified as child victims of sex nate anti-trafficking activities of ImmigraOhio,” the report says. “Toronto’s international air- trafficking. tion Customs Enforcement, the FBI, state port has been identified as one of the arrival destiBut the crime goes on throughout the state, with and local law enforcement, child welfare, nations for some victims who are trafficked in Can- prosecutions for labor trafficking in Cincinnati, Coand the juvenile justice system. ada, while others are moved through to the United lumbus and Cleveland. • Have Ohio included in the national Human States.” Trafficking Reporting System’s database to A growing population of immigrants also means Rescue is only step one obtain better understanding of the problem a higher incidence of human trafficking. in Ohio. “Most of the migrant labor in Ohio and the UnitThe study details the horrors to which slaves are If Ohio is to stop human trafficking, a systemic ed States is concentrated in poorly regulated in- subjected – not just lack of wages or freedom of overhaul is in order, according to the study. Rescudustries that demand cheap labor,” the report says. movement but also beatings, broing slaves is only a first step. Take “Such industries include textiles (sweatshops), ag- ken bones, malnutrition, rape and the case of “Julie,” a 12-year-old Toriculture, restaurants, construction and domestic torture. After being freed, victims The lack of support for ledo girl pressed into sexual bondwork.” often suffer long-term psychologivictims isn’t merely age, servicing men at a PennsylvaBut not all slavery in the United States involves cal problems, sometimes leading to nia truck stop. a matter of tender immigrants. Ohio’s growing poverty rate makes suicide. “With the help of a truck driver feelings. Slaves are often “In 2007, one trafficked girl in ToU.S. citizens vulnerable, too. and an adult friend, also recruited treated as criminals “Those domestic populations who are most vul- ledo who testified in a case outside from Toledo into the sex trade, they – prosecuted for nerable to human trafficking are the poor,” the re- of the state of Ohio returned home were able to escape and call the poimmigration violations port says. “In 2008, 1.5 million Ohioans lived below to find little support, no safe halice,” the report says. or for engaging in the poverty level. This is the highest rate since 1994. ven and no escape from the interThe traffickers were prosecuted, prostitution. Since 2002, the population in Ohio grew a total nal depression and external stigma but Julie’s troubles didn’t end with of 1.2 percent while the number of those who are she found,” the report says. “With a her apparent liberation. poor grew to over 40 percent. … According to the baby left to care for, she ended her life at 17 years “Rescue out of the sex trafficking is not the end of National Center on Family Homelessness State Re- old.” the story, but the beginning The lack of support for victims isn’t merely a port Card (2009), Ohio is ranked 20th among the 50 of a longer, more difficult road to recovery,” the states for child homelessness, but is ranked 42 out matter of tender feelings. Slaves are often treated as study says. “After returning to school, Julie was ridiof 50 states for children’s vulnerability to homeless- criminals – prosecuted for immigration violations culed by her classmates for being a ‘prostitute.’ As ness, which in turn contributes to a higher vulner- or for engaging in prostitution, for example. a result, she refused to attend school, quickly fell “Ohio’s response to child sex trafficking is weak,” behind and quit.” ability to child sex trafficking.” Perhaps the most disturbing marker for children the study says. “There are three conventional instiSix years later she was struggling to overcome anat risk of becoming trafficking victims is having tutions that will intersect with trafficked youth who other kind of slavery – addiction to crack cocaine. been involved in the very systems that are meant to help troubled kids, namely foster-care, children’s services and juvenile court. “In Toledo, 77 percent of the trafficked youth had been involved with child welfare at some point in their lives and 52 percent had been involved in the foster care program,” the report says. Toledo has received the most attention in Ohio for human trafficking, with more arrests than any U.S. cities other than Miami, Fla.; Portland, Ore.; �4 STREETVIBES April 15 - 30, 2010 Local News Development for and of the People continued from page 1 to go to outsiders. “These are jobs that don’t sources on community devel- do anything for the communiopment projects that could ty,” Molak said. “There should be used for jobs creation to be a link between work in a community help the unand jobs. employed That link is and under“There are all these employed. beautiful empty buildings not clear in “ C h a r - in Over-the-Rhine. There is this society. ity is bad for no reason there should be … There is not much atpeople,” La 3,000 empty buildings in Botz said. Cincinnati and no reason tempt made “We don’t why we should have at any to help people learn want handone time 900 homeless.” trades and outs. They - Vlasta Molak then crewant a job. ate jobs that They want to contribute to society and would actually do something useful in this city.” have an identity.” Instead, the money should Jobs created under existing community-development be used to rehabilitate homes projects are often temporary in places such as Reading and don’t make a lasting im- Road, as that would better pact on Cincinnati neighbor- benefit the citizens of Cincinhoods, the panelists said. In nati, Molak suggested. “There are all these beautiaddition, developers don’t give preference to residents ful empty buildings in Overfor these jobs, allowing them the-Rhine,” she said. The Land of the Po “There is no reason there should be 3,000 empty buildings in Cincinnati and no reason why we should have at any one time 900 homeless.” Molak criticized the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) and other downtown interests. “The city council members have delegated their brains to 3CDC because they think these people know better. …They build stadiums and they don’t fix things in the community that needs to be fixed,” she said. The answer is for the community to take a stand and demand jobs, La Botz said. “What has to happen – there has to be a social upheaval from below in this country,” he said. “It would be the best thing to build a movement of the working class people of this city and help to set them in motion.” But not everyone in the au- dience was buying in to the idea that jobs creation was a solution. “Americans generally need to recalibrate their expectations,” said one audience member who identified himself as experiencing homelessness. “You live in a society which your parents created. Their expectations might be unrealistic. You have competition that they never experienced or anticipated. … I don’t know if jobs should be the end-all in this country.” One audience member asked the panelists, “Demand jobs from who?” All the panelists explained that they felt the government should create jobs, even if this means increased taxes. All the panelists also agreed that organizations such as 3CDC try to make it look as if they take the needs and viewpoints of community members into consideration and have made redevelopment a democratic process. But that is where it ends, according to the panelists: Meetings at which input is solicited are simply “smokescreens” at which developers “put up a façade” that they care about input from the neighborhoods they are changing. La Botz accused developers of engaging in “ethnic cleansing and class cleansing” to remove people of color and people experiencing poverty from Cincinnati neighborhoods. “These are not democratic processes anywhere,” he said. “We live in a society where banks rule. I think the banks and corporations which dominate our society are institutions that have outlived their time. We have to become the abolitionists of the corporations to become a democratic nation.” Letters to the Editor Eloquent Memorial To the Editor: To the Editor: Such is life in the Land of the PO and those homeless in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Nasty Natty – Know place like it in the World. We sit around and discuss the ills and proudly display the wounds given in the life of poverty and disappointment of being deserted by our families who have it so much better, almost as if a sort of pride in infirmity is present. There is the use of canes, as if all should lose the so human trait of bi-pedaling lacking them there walking skills. And we parade our injuries as if medals, our illnesses as if they are something to be desired, to accept and be prone to get and bask in the painful glory of being well, all messed up abiding with this sort of do-nothing spirit. My Me noticed that especially in the land of the homeless or the dire strait of being just poor there seems to be a certain amount of Unlikely Glee. Which is most likely found in that anticipation of a monthly check issued for a real or exaggerated, sometimes imagined, usually mental condition. And too many times we just hope for the status of that mental impairment as a Governmental Approved Check. Disability which pays the rent by the payee and buys the dope because you no longer need to work and you have nothing else to do like manage you own little piece of First of the Month Money. It is a strange selection of the meaning of status with just a hint of prejudice within this gargantuan fiction of holding wealth. My I knew for this sort of fantasized certainty that this privilege of being proud held too many aspects of elation, considering being held captive so far below at the Gott Damn Bottom of that there poverty line totem pole. Once in a while, standing in one of the too many Free Food Lines, a statement is made that was the truth but lord knows unfortunately this truth it should never be. The positioning of anyone at this location or station within this so beautiful life is really sad and depressing and just miserable. My own humble opinion is that being Po is nowhere that anyone desires or fondly wishes to become, and the Land of the Po and those in this city who choose to visit down here call us Po people and Homeless folk. “The people who ain't got nothing … those of you on the street.” These co-cohabitants just kinda smirk in that slander, being assured that they at least got more than us, as they put it, more than them if indeed they merely have housing; however, the fact that they are present – not in a voluntary way as in a civic duty capacity like the volunteers at the soup kitchens – is evidence that they, too, ain’t got that much. You see, they stand in the same line with all of us “ain't got nothings” to feel as if what they got is no less but so much more. Well, it ain’t. You ain't got nothin’ either and that, my friends, is a crime against nature. It sucks to be poor in Cincinnati, the Nasty Natty Know place like it in the World. “A voice is a human gift; it should be cherished and used, to utter fully human speech as possible. Powerlessness and silence go together.” Margaret Atwood’s words are a reminder of just how important having a voice in society is. In the world today, this human right has become a rare luxury. Through tyranny and fear, voice has been stripped from millions of human beings, whether it be because of their nationality, their religion or their sexual orientation. But where this loss also has a major effect is in economic status. Those who suffer from being homeless not only live without material positions, but without a voice of their own. In losing that right, these people lose a part of their dignity, of their persona, of themselves. The cover article in the Jan. 1 edition of Streetvibes says it all. “May They Finally Rest in Peace” is the title of Paul Kopp’s article, a heartening piece about those homeless who passed away in 2009. Kopp tells the story of many homeless individuals who died this past year and broaches a salient point about the effect of this condition. Homelessness strips a person of his or her voice in society. Too often homelessness is misconstrued as a result of laziness and poor choices by society. But this perception is often a falsehood. Homelessness can happen to anyone. It is often a matter of luck or health. And even in those situations of bad choices, those choices have root. They have root in family history, in severe addiction. But what brings one to homelessness is hardly the issue compared to the effect of the actual condition. As Kopp eloquently writes, “It seems that those who are homeless have lost their voice in society. Though they suffer from problems similar to those who judge them, they are ridiculed for their mistakes and viewed as a lesser class.” A voice is a human right. It is a personal definition. It is a mark of identity. Those who pass away without having the opportunity to have that voice need to be remembered. They were people. They deserve that much. Walter Madison Washington Jr. Over-the-Rhine Cody Pomeranz Cincinnati Unique Content To the Editor: I want to express my appreciation for your last issue (March 15-31). The two front-page articles (City Ignores Plea for Fair Hiring” and “Council Turns Backs on Metropole Tenants”) were quite interesting, and neither were something that I was likely to see in another place. Keep up the good work! I am a regular customer of the Streetvibes vendor who occasionally sells your paper outside of Saint Monica-Saint George after mass. He has been doing it for some time and is always a gentleman. Lawrence J. Mazlack Clifton �STREETVIBES April 15 - 30, 2010 National News 5 Street Drinking and Free Markets The value and the cost of public sobriety By Amanda Waldroupe Street News Service Neighbourhood Involvement, says another are some of the most popular products at the group of concern are teenagers and people stores. Street Roots interviewed nine storeowners in their twenties drinking in public while on ortland, Ore. – City Commissioner their way to shows, house parties and other for this article. Three requested anonymity Amanda Fritz’s office and the Of- social outings. Another population of street because they feared political backlash from fice of Neighbourhood Involvement drinkers, Marchetti says, are youths known the city and the Oregon Liquor Control Com(ONI) is attempting to decrease the amount by the police to favor boxed wine. mission (OLCC). For this article, they will be of public drinking in downtown Portland by Proponents of the alcohol ban say street referred to as Storeowner #1, Storeowner #2 convincing grocery storeowners to voluntari- drinking leads to other livability issues, such and Storeowner #3. ly not carry certain kinds of alcoholic bever- as aggressive panhandling, public urination Owners expressed concern about how the ages. agreement drafted at the first meeting would and defecation and an increase in littering. But all the initiative is resulting in so far is The Downtown Neighbourhood Associa- impact their sales. fury from grocery-store owners and collective tion, Old Town/Chinatown Neighbourhood “In this economy, I can’t believe that they’re agreement that it is not a real solution, with Association, Old Town Chinatown Business trying to do something like this when so many only a fraction of them agreeing to comply. Association, Downtown Retail Council, Travel small businesses are struggling,” Storeowner “VibrantPDX,” as the initiative is called, is a Portland and the social service agency voluntary agreement between grocery stores Central City Concern (founded in 1979 and the Office of Neighbourhood Involve- to specifically provide services for peo- The Portland Police Bureau gave 1,740 citations for ment not to sell alcoholic beverages with ple known as “public inebriates”) sup- public drinking in downtown Portland in 2009. That high-alcohol content. That includes malt li- port the initiative. accounts for 53 percent of all public drinking in the quor and beer with names such as Old Eng“We would like to see a limit on the city. Twenty-five percent of all individuals being lish 800, Steel Reserve, Milwaukie’s Best Ice accessibility of certain types of alcohol held in detox came from the downtown area. and Camo Malt Liquor. that are more amenable to chronic alSixty-seven grocery stores within assigned coholism that people are dying from,” limits of the city’s downtown area have been says Ed Blackburn, executive director of Cen- #3 says. asked to sign an agreement. The purpose of tral City Concern. “I can’t think of a good reaBoyer recognizes that concern and says the program is to decrease what proponents son to keep these high-level alcoholic bever- that economic considerations have stopped some owners from signing the agreement. ages available.” “It’s a tough pitch to make in a rough econ“These high-alcohol volume drinks are pretty mar- omy,” he says. Doug Peterson, owner of Peterson’s Conketed to our types of clients,” venience Stores, says 10 percent of his store’s Mattsson says. In exchange for entering sales are in beer. One storeowner said his sales into the agreement, Mar- could drop by as much as 20 percent. Chris chetti told storeowners that Girard, the owner of Plaid Pantry, is skeptical they would be recognized by that sales would be impacted, based upon his Commissioner Fritz for be- store’s experience in Seattle. Boyer argued during the first meeting that ing socially responsible and would have their store logos the grocery stores would ultimately become prominently displayed on her more profitable because stores would gain customers who in the past had been unwillWeb site. Public meetings with stor- ing to shop at those stores. Storeowners argued that the reason their eowners were held Feb. 4 and 18 and March 4. The meet- sales would be so negatively impacted is that ings, Marchetti says, were very few of their customers are street drinkdesigned to solicit feedback ers. from storeowners about the “I’m not catering to these people,” Peteragreement. son says, referring to the majority of his cusMalt liquor is among the products targeted in downtown Portland. “This is meant to be a col- tomers as “middle America” people. Photo by Amanda Waldroupe. laborative effort,” she says. One owner used the term “smorgasbord” to But from the moment the describe his clientele. During the first public call “street drinking” or drinking in public. It public process got out of the gate, there were meeting, it was expressed loud and clear that is illegal in Portland, and offenders are given problems. condo owners, Portland State University stua citation, which does not come with fines or dents, culinary students, tourists, people on other types of punishment. The economics of microbrews their way home from work, middle-income The Portland Police Bureau gave 1,740 ciand even higher-income people represent The first meeting Feb. 4 was attended by the majority of the people doing business at tations for public drinking in downtown Portland in 2009. That accounts for 53 percent of approximately 20 storeowners. All expressed grocery stores. all public drinking in the city. Twenty-five per- concern with the agreement as it had been “We have a lot of customers that prefer the cent of all individuals being lower cost beer without abusing held in detox came from the it,” Girard says. “We would like to see a limit on the accessibility of certain types downtown area. Girard’s point gets at a probof alcohol that are more amenable to chronic alcoholism that Steve Mattsson, the manlem with the alcohol ban more ager of Hooper Detox’s sobasic and philosophical than people are dying from. I can’t think of a good reason to keep bering station for intoxiimpacted sales. these high-level alcoholic beverages available.” cated individuals, says the Some business owners feel ~Ed Blackburn, executive director of Central City Concern. station has 12,000 admislike they are being told what to and what not to sell as it is. Many sions a year. Fifty percent of would only say off the record that the city is those people will return “on a repeated basis,” drafted by Marchetti and ONI. The agreement would have banned all acting inappropriately when telling busihe says. In his mind, there is no doubt that 16-ounce and 24-ounce containers, sold in- nesses what to do. The program, one owner there is a street drinking problem. “Over the last two years, one of the most dividually or in six-packs, and all beer with an says, negatively impacts free enterprise and frequent complaints we get were problems alcohol content over 5.75 percent per ounce. limits an individual’s ability, one said, to exaround street drinking,” says Mark Friedman, That would have included all beers from Old ercise free will. English 800 to beers made by local, popular “Let the consumer decide,” Peterson says. a Central Precinct officer. Owners, especially Peterson, argued that “It is a compelling problem in a small area,” breweries. Marchetti says the agreement’s original much of the agreement unfairly penalized says Theresa Marchetti, ONI’s liquor license stipulations were based on research that had stores. specialist. “The problem is pretty much identified She emphasizes that it is a location-based been conducted on other municipalities that had created similar programs, such as Seat- with cheap, high-alcohol content,” Peterson – not a store-based – problem. says. “The microbrews are not cheap. The “(And) it’s not a problem we can really ig- tle. “We started with what we thought was go- prices are too high for street drinkers.” nore,” Marchetti says. As a result of the initial meetings, Oregon Sources for this story largely pointed to ing to be the most effective way to deal with microbrews are now listed as an exception to homeless people when describing the pop- the issue,” she says. Storeowners pushed back when it came to the ban. Sixteen-ounce singles and six-packs ulation of street drinkers. But Mike Boyer, a crime prevention specialist in the Office of 16-ounce singles and six-packs, saying they were also listed as exceptions. P �6 National News STREETVIBES April 15 - 30, 2010 Street Drinking and Free Markets Continued from p. 5 As a result of the changes, Peterson says he probably will not have a problem signing the agreement. Girard would like a few more exceptions to be made so Plaid Pantry could continue carrying particular types of popular beer. He has been working with ONI to see whether those changes could be approved. If they are, he will sign on. Sketchy data The core data and statistics ONI used when crafting the ban agreement are not the citation reports from the Portland Police Bureau, but from Portland Patrol, Inc., according to Marchetti. Portland Patrol, Inc., a private security firm that contracts with the Portland Business Alliance to patrol downtown Portland, conducted a targeted mission between May 21 and June 17 last year to make contact with people drinking in public to find out what kind of alcohol they were drinking, where they were drinking it and what size container it was in. Portland Patrol officers made 289 contacts during that time. Portland Patrol, Inc. would not make the records available to Street Roots (the records are not public). Nor was the data made available during any of the three meetings. But a spreadsheet of compiled data provided by the Office of Neighbourhood Involvement shows that the common containers were 16and 24-ounce bottles and cans of beer with an alcohol content of 5.9 percent per ounce. (For comparison, Deschutes Brewery’s Mir“I don’t think (the street ror Pond Pale Ale is 4.53 percent alcohol drinking problem) is per ounce.) overwhelming, I do Many storeowners think that the reason said they were suspithey are finding so many street drinkers in cious of the data at downtown Portland is the Feb. 4 meeting. In that we have, through what parts of downthe (Portland Business town were the street drinkers found? What Alliance), we have (Portland Patrol, Inc.),” exactly did the statistics show? How was - Chris Girard ONI making a connection between street drinking and the stores? There are two reasons why the data would cause concern. First, Portland Patrol only patrols downtown. Any street drinking that takes place in inner Southeast Portland, for example, would not have been recorded or noticed by ONI. Second is the timing of Portland Patrol’s mission. The summer months in Portland, though glorious for much-awaited sunlight and farmers’ markets, are also the time when there is a noticeable influx of people and activity on the streets. “I don’t think (the street drinking problem) is overwhelming,” Girard says. “I do think that the reason they are finding so many street drinkers in downtown Portland is that we have, through the (Portland Business Alliance), we have (Portland Patrol, Inc.),” Girard says. Not so voluntary Responses from all stores were expected by March 12. April 1 is the date set for the beginning of the alcohol ban. A review will take place in October, according to Marchetti, to review how well the program is working and if there were any “unintended consequences.” As of March 17, only 12 of 67 stores had signed the agreement. Marchetti says she is not surprised more storeowners have not signed up, because the final draft of the agreement was not available until late in the week of March 8. Marchetti and Boyer were conducting street outreach to each store to make a last-ditch effort to get stores to sign the agreement. What the success of the program depends on, Boyer says, is bigger stores in the downtown area, such as Safeway, Whole Foods and Plaid Pantry, signing the agreement. Small stores will feel compelled to sign on if there is a critical mass. “If they don’t take the lead and step forward, you’re not going to get 100 percent compliance,” Boyer says. Marchetti is willing to up the ante if compliance isn’t voluntary. City council can be petitioned to allow Marchetti to work with OLCC to declare downtown Portland an “alcohol impact” area. Doing so would create mandatory guidelines storeowners would be required to follow regarding types of alcohol they could and could not carry. A similar string of events happened in Seattle. Seattle declared parts of its downtown “alcohol impact” areas in 2003 to respond to problems associated with street drinking. The program was voluntary at first. But businesses were not willing to voluntarily stop carrying particular types of alcohol because they were concerned “it was going to hit their bottom line,” says Kimberly Archie, the deputy director of Seattle’s Department of Neighbourhoods. As a result, “we weren’t seeing any improvement in chronic public inebriation,” Archie says. Seattle petitioned the Washington State Liquor Control Board in 2006 to make the alcohol ban mandatory. Archie says there were no legal repercussions. Since then statistics have shown a 21 percent decrease in admissions to detox centers, a 35 percent decrease in calls to the police and a 61 percent decrease of drinking in parks. Marchetti is hoping for similar results, voluntary or mandatory. An extensive public process is required before the OLCC can make a recommendation that the alcohol ban be mandatory. Marchetti says it would take at least a year, starting late this summer or early fall. than other places. It’s not feasible.” Spreading out the social services and low-income housing, self-policing stores, increasing fines and punishment for street drinking and increasing fund“In the long run, what ing for treatment solves the problem is were all ideas offered providing services that by storeowners. help people get off the Many storeowners streets and support already make efforts them in efforts to stop to self-police whom their drinking.” they sell alcohol to, - Ed Blackburn checking a person’s ID or asking for rent receipts given out by hotels to ensure that a customer has a place to take the alcohol to. “We’ll sell them alcohol if they have a street address,” Peterson says. “It’s easy to do,” Storeowner #1 says. This storeowner also thought it would be beneficial to require all store clerks to take the same class the OLCC requires of servers at bars and restaurants. Part of what that class teaches is how to recognize people who are visibly intoxicated. Clerks who sell alcohol to such people, or to people whom they know are chronic drinkers, should not have jobs at grocery stores, the storeowner says. Boyer and Marchetti said that, when the VibrantPDX initiative was being crafted, there was no effort to include a component that would increase the amount of alcohol treatment available or create some sort of outreach or education program for individuals engaged in street drinking. “This is the start of the efforts,” Boyer says. But is there an effort to partner with Multnomah County, which is the principal funder for alcohol treatment in the county, to increase spending or outreach for alcohol treatment? “There is not a well-thought out plan at this point,” Boyer says. Marchetti says treatment was not considered along with the alcohol ban because “our expertise and understanding of the problem is more on the supply line.” Marchetti says she is also not sure if alcohol treatment is relevant. “I don’t think we could say that all of the street drinkers are alcoholics,” she says. As Seattle crafted its alcoholic impact areas, investing further in alcohol treatment was not considered, Archie says. Yet she recognizes that Seattle’s policy is not “a total solution to the problem.” ‘Help people get off the streets’ Storeowner #2, along with a few other storeowners, said he would be willing to donate Almost everyone interviewed for this article the amount of money lost in sales as a result thinks downtown Portland has a street drink- of the alcohol ban – or at least a fraction – to ing problem. But no one will stand behind the social-service agencies that provide alcohol street drinking initiative as a solution to street treatment. There is a precedent for business drinking. At best, it will mitigate the problem. associations such as the Portland Business Al“It makes it harder for them to get a lot of al- liance putting their financial resources toward cohol,” Blackburn says. “I would never suggest creating programs and policies that address sothat it’s a cure to this type of alcoholism.” cial problems. “We don’t expect this to eliminate the prob“In the long run, what solves the problem is lem,” Marchetti says. providing services that help people get off the She does expect it to decrease. streets and support them in efforts to stop their Some think it will simply decrease because drinking,” Blackburn says. street drinking will move to other areas of the “I would say that every single one of our clicity. ents want treatment,” Mattsson says. “There are at least four stores just on the But the likelihood that they will actually enother side of the Interstate 405,” Storeowner #3 ter a treatment program is slim. Ten people says. “They can walk over there. What’s the dif- are discharged from Hooper each day. Only ference? It doesn’t make any sense to me.” 10 treatment slots open up per month. That It is not possible, Marchetti says, to make the means that people who have the potential to program citywide because “there are definite successfully complete a treatment program pockets of places that exhibit greater problems are only cycling through detox, over and over again. “It’s not the best way to treat these clients,” Mattsson says. Follow Streetvibes “We have to expect we’re going to see them over again.” www.facebook.com/streetvibescincinnati Reprinted from Street Roots © Street News Service: www. twitter.com/streetvibesnews street-papers.org streetvibes.wordpress.com �STREETVIBES April 15 - 30, 2010 Column Poverty, Choice and Serenity Deprivation and what we do with it 7 poverty lead to spiritual renewal like that of these others? Actually, most people in poverty do make the best of a bad situae had a pretty rugged winter this year, but I know at tion. And many achieve great spiritual levels. I have had great spirileast two people who slept out-of-doors through the tual teachers from among the poor. whole of it. I believe it has nothing to do with he weakness or failure of the One is a client. Driven by alcohol and poverty, he spent his nights individuals, and everything to do with the difference between volsleeping behind a downtown restaurant. On the reuntary and imposed poverty. Choice, in certain matally bad nights, he snuck into a parking garage. He ters, makes all the difference. For example, going back laughs about the experience, but there is an edge to to my friend the monk, there are only two sorts of peoThere is a sort of his laughter. He’s in his forties now. How many more ple who sleep in a cell: monastics and prisoners. The back-to-the-land, winters like this can he take? off-the-grid, out-of- monk chooses to take to his or her cell and can revoke I also have a friend the-rat-race poverty that choice at any moment. The prisoner is stuck in who lives a pretty celebrated by these his or her cell until the state decides. There is a world rugged life. He sleeps of difference between going on a fast and having your poems, stories outside year-round, food stamps stolen. If I’m on a fast, I can choose when and songs that is even in the harshest to start eating again. If I have been thrust into poverty, characterized by By Michael Henson weather. He owns I don’t necessarily have the choice. simplicity, dignity, nothing, or next to Choice is everything when it comes to the conseorderliness, calm nothing. If he wants and serenity. It is a quences of deprivation. But there is more than one to get somewhere, he usually walks. He will walk for poverty of freedom kind of choice. miles. He’s often alone for long stretches of time and and unfettered-ness. There is the choice some people make to go into really expects to stay that way. It improves the mind voluntary poverty. They are the most likely to gain But he suffers little, if at all, from the rigors of his something on a spiritual or personal level from the and spirit. It is the life. Although he lives in poverty, he is not poor. And poverty of the saints. experience of poverty. They go into it with a specific he has a serenity and peace of mind, something we all agenda; and there is a vast body of teaching, both resay we value, even if we don’t do much to get it. ligious and secular, that will take them through the My friend is a Trappist monk, one of many men and women who, experience. The other great advantage of voluntary poverty is that in joining a contemplative order, take a vow of poverty. (They also you can always leave. I’ve known several people enter monasterusually take a vow of chastity and obedience as well, but those are ies, then return to their lives, both spiritually and monetarily better way out of my topic.) off. There is a tradition in literature and song that associates poverty Then there are those who “choose” poverty by their actions. They and serenity. “The world is too much with us,” the poet tells us. gamble away their savings, either at the slots or in the stock mar“Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.” The poetry of ket. They drink it up and piss it out. They snort it up their nose or William Blake is haunted by the horrors of urban poverty, which burn it up in a pipe. They might “choose” to be born into the wrong he contrasts to the simple life of the rural poor. Yeats’s “Lake Isle family and they might continue to make choices that compound of Innisfree,” Thoreau’s Walden, and Willie Nelson’s “Luckenback their poverty: They have too many children, or have them too early. Texas” are all of the same mythic material. Blow up your TV, sings The wrong marriage or the wrong divorce can have John Prine: disastrous consequences on a person’s finances. I believe it has . . . Throw away your papers, But none of these choices involves an intention Go to the country, to become poor. People enter poverty for a vari- nothing to do with he Build you a home. ety of reasons, many of which have nothing at all weakness or failure Plant a little garden, to do with choices they make (corporate layoffs, of the individuals, Eat a lot of peaches, outsourcing, an injury, an illness – any one of these and everything to do Try and find Jesus will do the job nicely). with the difference On your own. People who enter voluntary poverty generally between voluntary It works for my friend. A photographer and poet, he is one of the benefit from it. People who have poverty thrust on and imposed poverty. happiest and most creative men I know. There is something about them generally suffer from it. Why? Choice, in certain giving up the race for more money and more status that clarifies the I read recently of Saint Juan of the Cross, a Spanmatters, makes all mind, lifts the spirit and soothes the soul. There is a sort of back- ish monk who was thrown into prison and tortured the difference. to-the-land, off-the-grid, out-of-the-rat-race poverty celebrated by for beliefs his tormentors could not understand. these poems, stories and songs that is characterized by simplicity, The result included the long poem we know of as dignity, orderliness, calm and serenity. It is a poverty of freedom “The Long Dark Night of the Soul. “ and unfettered-ness. It improves the mind and spirit. It is the povBut we are not all saints. erty of the saints. Is it real? My friend lives it. Poverty, involuntary poverty, is not just an economic problem. So if poverty is so damn good for us, why don’t more of us choose Poverty is a wound to the psyche. Some people have more wounds poverty? And why aren’t more poor people as happy as my friend? and deeper wounds than others, and it makes no sense to judge or The poverty most of us see is characterized instead by dirt, dis- to compare. ease, uncertainty, violence, stress, trauma, indignity, scorn, disorThat I have decided to make something positive out of degradaderliness, blocked goals, contempt and self-contempt. tion does not mean it stopped being degradation. Perhaps, instead of judging or comparing, we should consider Why should it be this way? Why can’t poor people get themselves together and make the best of a bad situation? Why doesn’t their eliminating the degradations of involuntary poverty. W ammered H Michael Henson is author of Ransack, A Small Room with Trouble on My Mind, The Tao of Longing and Crow Call. Streetvibes vendors keep 75% of sales. Consider helping Streetvibes with our publication costs by making a tax-deductible donation or by purchasing a subscription. Streetvibes is the activist newspaper, advocating justice, building community. Your gift is tax-deductible and will go to producing the paper every two weeks. Started in 1997, Streetvibes is distributed by homeless and formerly homeless vendors who purchase the paper for 25 cents and sell it for $1, keeping the 75 cent profit. Make checks payable to “Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless” I want to support Streetvibes and the vendors. $25 Please return your contribution to: GCCH 117 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Name: Address: E-mail: $50 $100 $150 Other $ _______ �8 STREETVIBES April 15 - 30, 2010 Recipe “Feed Me, Seymour, Feed Me All Night Long…” Veggie Spaghetti Serving Size: 3-4 bellies. 16-oz. package spaghetti or angel hair noodles 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 white onion chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 zucchini squash, diced 2 14.5-oz. cans stewed tomatoes, undrained 6-oz. can tomato paste 1/8 cup sugar 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 3 teaspoons dried basil or ¼ cup chopped fresh basil 1 teaspoon dried oregano or 3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano 2.25-oz can black olives, undrained Photo by Jeni Jenkins. By Jeni Jenkins Staff Writer T his dish is one that I have enjoyed weekly most of my life. My mother says that, when I was a child, I would have eaten spaghetti for breakfast, lunch and dinner, if she would have allowed it. Apparently when I was too young to even pronounce my words correctly, I would beg her for “basgetti.” Even as an adult, when I return home for visits, she teases me playfully, indicating her sarcastic surprise when I voice my desire to make spaghetti. This dish is one of the many spaghetti recipe variations I have explored over the years. This has become my favorite way to make spaghetti, combining my love for veggies, red sauce and stringy noodles. 1. Begin preparing the noodles as directed. 2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium low heat and sauté the onion and garlic 3-4 minutes until the onions turn translucent. 3. Add zucchini to the onions and garlic and sauté an additional 2 minutes. 4. Turn the heat up slightly to medium high and add the stewed tomatoes. Cook approximately 2 minutes, stirring continuously. 5. In a bowl, combine the tomato paste, oregano, basil and sugar. Stir with a spoon until smooth. Carefully add the mix to the skillet. 6. Add the undrained olives and stir, simmer an additional 4 minutes. 7. Spoon generous helpings of the prepared sauce over the finished noodles. 8. For added yum factor, sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese over the hot sauce and serve with garlic bread and fresh salad. 9. Voila, FEED! Artwork By Anthony Williams ! ? t a h W The fundamental rights of humanity are, first: the right of habitation; second, the right to move freely; third, the right to the soil and subsoil, and to the use of it; fourth, the right of freedom of labor and of exchange; fifth, the right to justice; sixth, the right to live within a natural national organization; and seventh, the right to education. – Albert Schweitzer Say___________________ �STREETVIBES April 15 - 30, 2010 9 Poetry Page Poetry is the Language of the People, and All is Poesy, and All is Holy By Carolyn R. Hanks I go among the people of the earth Listening and hearing all languages and manners of speech; I wander Among the fathers and sons of the earth and I hear the cries of their children And their children’s children, and to my ears all is Poesy. I go also Among the mothers and daughters and sons; I hear the holy sounds of their voices, All poetry, and all holy. I was told that the Word is a manifestation of thought: So in the beginning, the Great mother-Father God/Goddess was the Word, and the Word became Light, and there was Light. So also there was darkness, as well as All seasons and all days and nights, and also all holy. My lips were opened and I sang a song, it became my song for the people, And I, too, became holy, in the presence of the Great Spirit, whose many names Are Mother Walking Bear, Sister Moon and Brother Wolf and Goddess Kali and Mother of the sons and daughters of men and women and of God, And all is Poesy, all is Holy. Better than Rust By Spencer Ledyard “My god,” Laura said. As she felt the red, Thick weight of welling tears. “My dear, it’s been years.” “Oh, I know. Like ten, right? That is a while, a good while. So, what are you doing? Kids and a family, like everyone else?” “I work here, downtown, But no children, I’m not wed. I’m engaged to Harry Brown From high school,” Laura said. “Really! My old Harry! I haven’t thought of him in so long. We went to the Spring Formal! In 10th grade … 10th grade.” Laura said, “Oh yes, You wore that blue dress And I was there with … Umm … Joseph Smith?” “Joey was there but I think he was with Cheryl then ’Cause you started dating him After I broke up with Harry.” “You could be right,” Laura said, “I don’t recall. Anyway, later tonight We’ve got the Mayor’s ball.” “So you got to be going. Okay, sure, see ya later. Tell Harry I said hi. And, Laura, you have a good night.” Art by Steven Paul Lansky Poem of Inaction By Steven Paul Lansky yes i like doctrine of inaction it is the same as action only without movement presence of stillness lake is calm glass mirror very reflective The Ghost Bird By Chelsea Ostrow Through searing heat, In a sand coated tent hospital, A whip of pain, Fighting for life, The wheeze of a respirator greets Artistic Expression You’ve Been Dreaming Of. Welcome to the depths of the Beautiful Stranger. Words create Worlds Cementing the future. New life begins. A vast trove of buried treasure Recycling Instrument of Remembrance Introducing a Revolutionary New Dimension In The Happiness Effect. Nadav Kander recommends using a Permanent Birth Control. Something to put about. It lives! Real ingredients are ingredients you understand. Welcome back. “Well, now, hold on … how … Is there something I can, Can do for you, like, now?” Laura said, wringing her hands. “You got a couple bucks, That would be good. And Don’t ask me how it happened. This is just how things are.” Story World By Chelsea Ostrow Little Bo Peep fucked her sheep Maiden Mary was appalled This caused such a ruckus, The Lady in the Shoe stopped fucking Douglas And all her kids were mauled. The Three Blind Mice heard this thrice they couldn’t imagine the sight! Jack and Jill got a divorce and Jack ran off with Snow White The Seven Dwarfs shot Jack in the head after he took the Little Mermaid to bed. The entire time Alice thought she was just a little brain dead but truth be told she took a hold of what the White Rabbit was dealing. She followed the Rabbit down his hole hoping he’d put it in hers, she got on her knees, simply said please and the Rabbit gave it to Alice while kneeling. Alice died and lost her pride. and that was the end of that. Now you know that what you’re told can’t be all but true. Take into consideration the different aspects of information and everything you thought you once knew. �10 STREETVIBES April 15 - 30, 2010 Housing Issues King’s Death Led to Fair Housing Ending housing discrimination: The urgency marches on By Michelle Dillingham Contributing Writer O ne of my favorite quotations is credited to Otto von Bismarck: “Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made.” Yet one of my hobbies is to read about legislative history, sort of like how some people like to watch horror movies. Go figure. To research this article, I reviewed the legislative history of the federal Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act was adopted in 1968 and made it illegal to discriminate in housing transactions based on race, color, national origin, religion, gender, disability or familial status. I discovered an article written by Jean Eberhart Dubofsky contemporaneous to the law’s passage. It tells the story of how fair-housing legislation was added into the Civil Rights Act as an amendment by U.S. Sen. Walter Mondale in 1967. It is really fascinating but too lengthy to cover here. Near the end of the story, after much political maneuvering and debate, we find the bill referred to the House Rules Committee, where action was deferred and hearings were dragging on. On the morning of April 4, 1968, many feared the Senate’s civil rights bill might perish in committee. That evening, Martin Luther King was assassinated. “Martin Luther King’s death accomplished one thing; it dislodged the Civil Rights Bill of 1968 from the Rules Committee,” Dubofsky writes. “On April 8, shaken by the disorders in Washington, the committee concluded its hearings. …On April 10, with National Guard troops called up to meet riot conditions in Washington still in the basement of the Capitol, the House debated fair housing. … On April 11 the Civil Rights Act of 1968 became law. The new law begins with the following words: ‘It is the policy of the United States to provide, within constitutional limits, for fair housing throughout the United States.’ ” How bittersweet that King’s tragic death catapulted fair housing into the civil rights bill, and his passing provided the urgency needed to help that bill became law. Fast-forward 42 years. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) declares 2010 a “Time to Act” – a slogan to reflect the urgency of ensuring fair housing. As time passes, new varieties of housing discrimination continue to rear their ugly heads. HUD reports that it “for the first time ever is examining the prevalence of housing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and discrimination based on a tenant’s use of government assistance to pay rent.” Forty-two years later we are still urgently fighting housing discrimination. And then there are fair-housing issues related to land use and zoning. Two years ago the Cincinnati Planning Department proposed zoning text amendments that set limits on where certain organizations may serve certain people. Many citizens came out in opposition, including Elizabeth Brown, executive director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME), who testified that the proposed changes violate the Fair Housing Act. The planning department did not pursue the text amendments, although they will undoubtedly resurface in another form. I was recently asked to serve on behalf of Affordable Housing Advocates on the City/County Fair Housing Advisory Committee. Fair housing is not the same as affordable housing. Affordability refers to one’s ability to meet his or her housing needs. Fair housing refers to one’s right to engage in housing transactions that are not influenced by race, color, national origin, religion, gender, disability or familial status. However, often the affordability and discrimination are connected, because many people who live in subsidized housing happen to be families, minorities and people with disabilities, which are protected groups under the Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Committee’s charge is to help identify strategies to implement the recommendations made in the document, “Impediments to Fair Housing in Hamilton County” written by HOME last year. This committee is also in place because HUD requires municipalities that receive federal funding not only to refrain from discriminating, but also to exceed the basic requirements and affirmatively further fair housing. We gather for a noble cause, to make sure the recommendations made in HOME’s report are not shelved but rather implemented. This month, let us reflect on the untimely death of Martin Luther King Jr. and how it enabled us to have the Fair Housing Act. Learn about what your housing rights are. Help educate your friends, family and neighbors about housing discrimination. The Fair Housing Act protects all of us – black and white, male and female. We were all children once; and if we are lucky enough to live long, we will all have disabilities in old age. For more information about your fair-housing rights, please contact Housing Opportunities Made Equal at 513-21-4663. HOME exists to eliminate illegal discrimination in housing, especially racial discrimination, and to promote balanced living patterns. The Stories of the Man in the Van continued from page 1 A New Stage The project is putting Heideman in a new stage in his life. A better understanding. He has never made a living at art before, but has been making it since he was 18. Most of his work has been two-dimensional oil paintings. Some galleries in Seattle have displayed the paintings. He was supposedly the youngest artist to ever display his work in the Woodside Braseth Gallery. Before starting “The Man in The Van” project, Heideman was working on a screenplay. He eventually scrapped it, deciding that “The Man in the Van” project was a better way to express himself. He wants to try to build relationships again, so why not just start with the general public? “I wanted to be less selfish … have empathy,” he says. By letting others write, he thought he could reach out more to people. “This is much more rewarding,” Heideman says. “I don’t want to become a preacher. I don’t want to be political. The real goal is to get people out of their rut.” Since his visit to Denver, he has travelled the country and has experienced setbacks along the way. Sometimes he thought that he would not make it. But he never gave up. Heideman reached his destination, Grand Rapids, Mich., for the Artprize competition, though things did not end up as he had planned. “The Man in The Van” did not even place in the top 100. “That’s OK,” he says. “It wasn’t about winning a big prize. … I’ve been able to inspire a lot of people and spread a message of empathy and compassion.” Now, after a long road, Heideman is trying to get on with other parts of his life. He is moving to Seattle with a newfound sense of adventure. He has had a few offers from movie producers to discuss “possibilities.” “I’m also hoping to write a book about the whole experience (including transcribed stories), but that’s tough right now because things are a little stressful,” he says. “I’ve been living in a van for over one year now, and I’m ready to move on with my life.” But winning isn’t everything. “It’s amazing what kind of rewards come when you have the courage to serve others,” Heideman says. Reprinted from Denver VOICE © Street News Service: www.street-papers.org If you like what you read, but don’t live in the Cincinnati area, you can subscribe to Streetvibes. Call us at 513-421-7803 x 12 to learn more about subscribing to Streetvibes. �STREETVIBES April 15 - 30, 2010 11 Column A Night Walk Reveals the Action F or the average street person, the on- in and out all night, only being caught by set of the night is the crown of the the first light of day. Then it’s time to wind day. It often brings about fear – or down, to sleep most of the day. Amazingperhaps relief from the constant shuffling ly, you might give it some kin to the old of the day. Making one’s way to that place of Temptations song, “Psychedelic Shack.” refuge, which we call our spot, one can end For those who frequent this place, it is the day with a bit of sleep. However, for some where it’s at. of us, it’s just the beginning of a part of our Of course a visit to the Bat Cave is not routine. the only action of the night life. There is The night person is a small percentage of always the waiting game: waiting for the the overall, but is still a feature of the life of right person to come along or the right the street. They wear a telltale sign of the life- situation to occur. Vying to get what you style. Often known seek, you have to spend time by their movetrudging back and forth, from ments, they are a block to block, seeking those breed of a different who live like you do, doing species. Living off the things that you do. Living of their wits, they on the edge, the street people maintain by whatare oblivious to danger in the ever means necesnormal sense. The only fear sary. Most are honone has is of being stopped est by nature, but or detained by the police. The By Riccardo Taylor the life of the street worst-case scenario is to end Streetvibes Vendor can change that. up in jail. The violence, comWe are out on the petition, or other distractions block. OK, let’s see what’s happening. Let’s of the street pale in comparison to havgo over to the “Bat Cave” (usually an aban- ing to spend a night in the holding tank. doned building). Batman doesn’t live here, There is no getting back that time you and the only Robin you’ll see is the one try- lose sitting in the Justice Center. Time, the ing to turn a “trick,” or trick you out of some- most important element of the street life, thing. The Bat Cave is a squatters’ paradise, cannot be wasted sitting in the can. Every Riccardo Taylor. Phpto by Aimie Willhoite. usually set with electricity from a nearby moment of every day has to be utilized building. Without running water, buckets or for the betterment of one’s condition, the canteens are used for the water supply. The hustle for survival. The later – or, if you will, the earlier – the Bat Cave is furnished with discarded furniSomehow you become invisible in the hour, the slower things get. Feet starting to ture that the occupants have found. Keeping night as you duck and dodge through the hurt from all the walking, eyes feeling heavy, with its name, the Bat Cave is only alive with streets. Taking in every step, you don’t miss you know it’s time to find that spot to sleep. A few hours is all you expect. action during the late night. The fluttering a beat. Knowing where the Hate to miss any action, but of arms and legs in swift movement in and action is, you start that way. out of the cave gives the impression of those Anticipating the scene, your There is no getting back I’m done! In places where most who frequent the place, back and forth with- mind picks the route. On this that time you lose sitting people would be appalled, out direction. walk we see a huddle on this in the Justice Center. There he is the houseman directing where or that corner or cars passing. Time, the most important the street person is right at to sit, who gets in and who leaves. His main An occasional shout, an alert element of the street life, home. A lot of us are cast into job is to collect the entrance fee, usually a to which way to go, a nod cannot be wasted sitting the role we play. You learn to go with the flow, so to speak. hit of dope or a few dollars. Everybody tend- signals that it’s right here. in the can. Every moing his own habit: 40-ounces being passed, Often the walk is where the ment of every day has to Still, that reality that things a crack pipe being pushed or perhaps a action is. Much more move- be utilized for the better- are different and that we can joint being shared, each in their own world. ment than if we are stuck in ment of one’s condition, have a part of that eludes our senses. Chase the action, usThough it seems chaotic, there is order in the Cave or held up in some the hustle for survival. ing up all of your facilities the cave. The stays are generally short. When house. It’s the darting in and to come to the same conyou have nothing left to share, it’s time for out that attracts you, so you you to go; or when you have had your plea- walk the way that you know something is clusion. This becomes the mindset of those sure, you realize that it’s time for you to get happening. Number-one rule: Avoid conflict who live this way, and life goes on. The walk back to the block to come up. or dispute. There is enough mistrust and po- continues. The residents of this humble abode are tential violence waiting. Street Life Affordable Rates etvibes? tre nS rested in Advert Inte isin gi Many sizes (full page, 1/2 page, 1/4 page, 1/8 page) Black & White and Color available Discounts for Nonprofits Contact Lynne at 513-421-7803 ext. 11 or lynneausman@cincihomeless.org for more information. Go Ahead: Ask a Vendor Invitation to a dialogue with our readers Streetvibes vendors see a lot that you might not. For example, some can describe what goes on in an abandoned building at night when they sleep there. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to stand on a street corner selling newspapers? That’s hardly a common occupation anymore. How much money do Streetvibes vendors make – and what do they do with it? Do they have other jobs? If you have questions, some of our vendors would like to answer them. “Go Ahead: Ask a Vendor” will be an occasional feature, with questions submitted by readers and answered by Streetvibes vendors. You may direct your question to a specific vendor or we’ll invite one to respond. Only include your name if you want to. Send questions to streetvibes2@yahoo.com Or to Streetvibes, 117 E. 12th St. Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. Go ahead. Ask. Missed an Issue? Check out the Streetvibes archive at www.cincihomeless.org/content/streetvibes �12 Guest Column STREETVIBES April 15 - 30, 2010 Russian Women, American Men A cultural experience between young adults By Jeremy Flannery Contributing Writer F ive women from Russia visited Cincinnati in April 2003 to taste the sweet existence that is American. My roommates and I met them through their enrollment with the American Work Experience, a program that offers European college students a fourmonth summer adventure in the United States as low-wage workers. What was their American work experience? They became cashiers for McDonald’s in Corryville and Chipotle in University Heights. One of the women worked with one of my roommates. While at work she told him that they realized their landlord was “scary,” and they needed a new We pointed out such place for the summer. That landlord must sights as Fountain Square have been scary indeed if he compelled women from another nation to flee into the and the concrete river home of three unknown men. And so they that resembles the Rhine moved into the vacant third-floor bedroom River in Deutschland. of the Corryville house we rented. We told them the Taste The women were very shy at first. The of Cincinnati was third floor had a kitchen and bathroom with approaching, one of the a shower, but there was no way to bypass few times per year when the second-floor living room, where my hordes of suburbanites male roommates and I hung out, to access feel safe enough to visit the rest of the house. Even so, I never saw downtown and trash it. our new roommates after leaving work from downtown and the rest of the evening. As a gesture to show they seemed reclusive, I placed a cup of water next to their bedroom door every day. Maybe they thought it was some bizarre local custom – or simply considered it annoying. After two weeks of this routine, the Russian women filed down the stairs one night to join us in the living room. My roommates and I were the most American Americans in America at that time, so the ladies were fortunate to have us to guide them through Cincinnati. We pointed out such sights as Fountain Square and the concrete river that resembles the Rhine River in Deutschland. We told them the Taste of Cincinnati was approaching, one of the few times per year when hordes of suburbanites feel safe enough to visit downtown and trash it. We explained how University Heights becomes a lively locale thanks to the University of Cincinnati students, and we made sure the women knew how to reach University Hospital or call 911 for emergencies. We even said our local government is proficient with assisting people in need. And then we admitted we lied. At the time Cincinnati had a law requiring panhandlers to have licenses. “Why would you need a permit to ask people for money on the streets if the U.S. has freedom of speech?” they asked. Good question. One of the ladies fluently spoke Russian and German and learned some English words during her flight to the U.S. Whenever she couldn’t complete a sentence in English, she would add her native language. “I go to the university in Berlin and, um … (insert many Russian words).” The ladies laughed at our bewildered facial expressions. One was fluent with English and was dubbed the household translator. The other three understood varying degrees of English, but two often requested translations. When my roommates and I told jokes, their laughter became a chorus line, with the Berlin student excluded Interested in volunteering with Streetvibes? Contact Greg Flannery at 513-421-7803 x 12 or by e-mail at streetvibes2@yahoo.com from the crescendo as she awaited a full translation. College tuition didn’t exist at their universities in Russia, and they were required to study a second language by age 8. Cincinnati has more skyscrapers, while their Russian hometown provides more public transportation. These were the only significant differences they noted. The women enjoyed reading the local newspapers and collected bundles of copies to take home. I was surprised. Who actually reads newsAbove all, they reaffirmed my papers? They would huddle and read together as the household translator belief that humans everywhere clarified the writing. are equals simply divided by One of my male roommates prelanguages and national borpared to smoke marijuana. He asked ders. And they proved that it’s the women if they preferred that he possible to survive in the Unitdidn’t. ed States if you’re a Russian “It’s OK,” one of the ladies said. “We female visiting where American understand it is a part of your cul- fast-food chains proliferate, are ture.” accompanied by four friends My roommates and I laughed, and and have three American men the women seemed puzzled by our re- willing to disregard rent when action. faced with a scary landlord. “It’s actually illegal in this country,” God bless Siberia. I said. That is a cultural component of the “Land of the Free.” You might think it’s inappropriate for unmarried women and men to live together. How would we situate cycles to clean our clothes? One of my roommates and I thought we were alone in the house one weekend afternoon. The Russian ladies left to visit the Newport Aquarium. Apparently the Berlin student thought she was alone because she came down the third-floor steps wearing a T-shirt and no pants. She tried to explain she needed to get her clothes from the dryer. We couldn’t understand her, so she pendulously waved her hand, returned from the basement with her clothes and took them to her room – where she remained for the day. I hope she laughs at the memory now. Living with these women for three months was an educational experience. They showed us the Russian alphabet and some words to construct basic sentences. We’d hear them say “knee,” which is short for “nyet” or “no.” If you don’t speak Russian, it would sound like “knee, knee, knee,” and you might think they were about to kickbox. They cooked what they claimed to be Lebanese breakfast for us at 3 a.m. before we strolled through UC’s campus. The meal was pancakes and fruit jam. Then they added an unknown topping and said, “Now it’s Lebanese.” Above all, they reaffirmed my belief that humans everywhere are equals simply divided by languages and national borders. And they proved that it’s possible to survive in the United States if you’re a Russian female visiting where American fast-food chains proliferate, are accompanied by four friends and have three American men willing to disregard rent when faced with a scary landlord. God bless Siberia. My roommate and I drove the women in our cars to the Dayton Airport the night they left in early August. We thanked them for an interesting time and warned that not everyone in the United States is safe to live with. Then they were off to San Francisco. �STREETVIBES April 15 - 30, 2010 Sports Kickers Are People, Too 13 Time for the Bengals to draft one By B. Clifton Burke Contributing Writer W ith all the attention surrounding tall receivers and big guys named Tank and Bobbie, the small problem of the kicking situation remains in question. Shayne Graham is an unprotected free agent this year, and there has been no word about the Bengals showing any interest in resigning him. Cincinnati did bring back Dave Raynor – the kicker the Bengals signed after Graham injured himself in the pre-season – but can we trust Raynor more than Graham to make kicks in the playoffs? The Bengals could look to draft a kicker to develop; they selected Cincinnati native Kevin Huber in the fifth round last draft and turned him into an immediate upgrade at the punter position. Special-teams Coach Darren Simmons has attended various college pro days around the country, but that is a pretty standard off-season occurrence and probably shouldn't be analyzed too deeply. Still, there are a few good prospects in this draft. One is Kentucky native Aaron Pettry, an Ohio State alumnus, who is ranked atop many draft charts for kickers this year. Pettry showed a strong leg by making field goals from 50 and 52 yards last season, but his accuracy might be a concern as he missed four times with 40 yards. Texas kicker Hunter Lawrence only missed three times in 27 attempts but didn’t convert anything over 50 yards. There is always an emergency kicker in the free agent market – Billy Cundiff comes to mind – and the Bengals will have to address a long-term answer for that dainty yet crucial spot on the team someday anyway. To take a decent kicker in the middle rounds of the upcoming draft (April 22-24) makes a lot of sense and would be a welcome pick to most fans. But if the team finds itself at its next training camp with Raynor as the only kicker in sight, I think Chad Ochocinco should get a legitimate shot to compete for the starting kicker. We all saw that point-after split the uprights with grace, altitude and distance. Then we watched his ensuing kickoff driven deep to the 10-yard line. The man has a motor mouth, but he also apparently has a kicker’s leg, and it seems worth testing its range. Why not? It would save a roster spot and generate more interest in the team. Eighty-Five is a freak athlete who could probably play professional soccer and who once outraced a horse on television. He has the sleek elegance of a jungle cat on routes and can become boneless around the sidelines to get his feet in. He is a terrific football player, and that could very well include kicking. It is unlikely that Chad ends up the kicker next year, same as Graham. That still just leaves Raynor, and I don't think that’s good enough. The Bengals should either draft a kicker this year or allow Ocho to expand his carnival to special teams. To leave it unaddressed would be foolish; kickers might be small, but they matter too, damn it – they matter, too. Are you interested in helping with Streetvibes? Are you a proofreader, writer, poet, artist or photographer? If so, contact Greg Flannery 513.421.7803 x 12 or email streetvibes2@yahoo.com �14 Vendor Voice STREETVIBES April 15 - 30, 2010 Take Power From Corporations There are more of us than them By George Herrell Streetvibes Vendor W hen it comes to deciding the future of any populated neighborhoods, one would think that the residents would have a say. However, unfortunately for some citizens in one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city of Cincinnati, this is not the case. In fact, according to a 2008 study by Dan La Botz – “Who Rules Cincinnati?” – there are seven corporations that, by virtue of their enormous wealth and power, dominate not only the economic but also the social life on Cincinnati. They are Procter & Gamble, Kroger Co., Macy’s Federated Department Stores, Fifth Third Bancorp, Western & Southern Financial, American Financial Corp. and E.W. Scripps. These corporations, combined with some other influential companies, guide all of the important civic, cultural and social organizations of the city. To achieve their goals, large Cincinnati corporations have created a series of private organizations: the Cincinnati Business Committee, Downtown Cincinnati Inc. and Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. Together, these organizations have managed to seize democratic control from the city council, from city agencies and from the public. They’ve managed this by a number of methods – by creating the “strong mayor” system, by abolishing the city planning department and by handing over public planning functions to private organizations, all but destroying public discussion, debate, and democratic control. As any corporate executive will tell you, corporations exist solely to produce profits for their stockholders. Corporate control of the city’s economic and political life for the profits and the accumulation of corporate wealth and property has made Cincinnati the third-poorest midsized city in the United States. Furthermore, it has also served to preserve and sometimes deepen patterns of racial segregation and discrimination. Meanwhile, the corporate CEOs and leaders continue to rake in enormous salaries: *A.G. Lafley of Procter & Gamble, $26.6 million *Terry Lundgren of Macy’s, $16. 3 million *Ken Lowe of E.W. Scripps, $9.8 million *David Dillon of Kroger Co., $7.5 million *Carl Lindner III of American Financial Group, $7.1 million *S. Craig Lindner of American Financial Group, $6.8 million *Fernando Aguirre of Chiquita Brands, $1.9 million *Mike Contreras of E.W. Scripps, $1.3 million The sheer wealth of corporate directors and executives makes it possible for them to have a tremendous influence on the economic, social, and political life of Cincinnati and the region. The millions of dollars they earn in salaries – not to mention other sources of wealth – makes it possible for them to fund political parties, to donate to charities and to give to the arts. Through all of these activities they exert their influence on every aspect of life in our city. Yes, the power of corporations is enormous and yet the situation is not hopeless. The hope for the future of Cincinnati lies not with those at the top who now rule it, but with the majority of the city’s middle-class and workingclass people who, in a democracy, have (if they organize) the numbers, the power and the votes to decide the city’s fate. When Cincinnati citizens voted against David Pepper, the son of a Proctor & Gamble CEO, and for Mark Mallory, many were voting against corporate control and for a larger voice for the people, though others (keeping it real) cast their vote against the long history of white domination over what is now a half-black city. We need to unify our African-American organizations; our progressive churches, temples and mosques; our community-based organizations, our unions and our city’s immigrants. We can accomplish this if we create opportunities for African-American, white and immigrant community activists to meet to talk about organizing unified movement for social change. We need to unite around common struggles and common issues of concern, and we need to find opportunities to put forward candidates of the local social movements. If we are to challenge corporate power, then we must create platforms that speak to working people and to poor people in our city. There must be no more chances for corporate-backed organizations to attempt to herd human beings around the city like they hope to the tenants of the Metropole Apartments for no other purpose than to fuel their all-consuming corporate engines. Stand up, stand out, stand strong! One mile from corporate headquarters. Photo by Rob Goeller Personifying Recovery Remembering Linda Zachary By Larry Gross Contributing Writer A fter battling cancer and surrounded by family and friends, Linda Zachary passed away March 16. Zachary wore many hats as an employee at the Recovery Center – a openly about her own mental illness, schizophrenia. “The more I learn about my illness, the more I let them (her family) know, because my illness runs in our family,” she said. Regarding her involvement with the Recovery Center, she said, “It’s like missed by many. Linda had amazing talent as an artist and dreamed of becoming an art therapist. In the near future, the Recovery Center will be setting up a fund to establish a scholarship fund in honor of Linda to help “Linda has touched many of our lives and truly personified what Recovery was all about. She will be greatly missed my many. Linda had amazing talent as an artist and dreamed of becoming an art therapist.” ~ Linda Ostholthoff non-profit, consumer-driven agency located in Walnut Hills. The agency offers peer support, self-help, and education and community involvement activities for those recovering from mental illness. Zachary taught classes, answered the phone and even swept the floors if needed. She was featured in “All Right to be Different” (see issue of July 1-14, 2010), a story about the Recovery Center. In the story, Zachary talked home. You don’t have to put on airs. There’s peace.” Zachary made a mark at the center, according to Linda Ostholthoff, training coordinator. “Linda has touched many of our lives and truly personified what Recovery was all about,” Ostholthoff says. “She will be greatly Linda Zachary. Photo by Andrew Anderson. a student wanting to become an art therapist.” For more information on The Recovery Center, visit recoverycenterhc. org or call 513-241-1411. �STREETVIBES April 15 - 30, 2010 15 Resources Need Help or Want to Help? Shelter: Women and Children Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 Central Access Point Cincinnati Union Bethel 381-SAFE 768-6907 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Bethany House 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 357-4602 352-2902 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John 558-8888 981-5800 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Salvation Army 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Health Resource Center Homeless Mobile Health Van McMicken Dental Clinic 762-5660 458-6670 977-4489 Treatment: Men 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter Other Resources 872-9259 Charlie’s 3/4 House Shelter: Men 784-1853 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 DIC Live In Program Prospect House 721-0643 921-1613 961-2256 381-0111 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 661-4620 First Step Home Shelter: Both 621-5514 214 E. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart Treatment: Women 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mt. Airy Shelter Starting Over 241-2600 241-2563 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Justice Watch 241-0490 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Center Independent Living Options Emmanuel Community Center 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Goodwill industries Healing Connections Mary Magdalen House 771-4800 751-0600 721-4811 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Anthony House (Youth) 961-4080 Treatment: Both 761-1480 AA Hotline CCAT 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 Drop Inn Center 721-0643 Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) 471-1100 221-3350 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 Housing: CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 961-4555 751-0643 381-1954 421-5211 Food/Clothing Lord’s Pantry OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 621-5300 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 621-6364 Hamilton/Middletown 946-4888 281-7422 681-0324 641-4300 St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry 863-3184 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 Advocacy Northern Kentucky Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 579-8547 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 421-2437 621-1868 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 859-491-8303 799 Ann St. Newport, KY ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center Faces Without Places Stop AIDS Brighton Center 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Health Center for Respite Care 859-491-3335 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen Hamilton County ADAS Board Recovery Health Access Center Sober Living Talbert House 351-7921 631-1114 211 977-5541 421-5211 241-2965 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House Dana Transitional Bridge Services Volunteers of America Anna Louise Inn Our Daily Bread 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 351-0422 381-6672 People Working Cooperatively The Caring Place United Way Women Helping Women Off The Streets 535-2719 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 Do you remember the magic of your First Book? Please consider giving the gift of reading to a low-income child in Cincinnati this year. Established in 2001, First Book - Greater Cincinnati has already granted more than 45,000 books and over $60,000 to local nonprofit literacy programs serving thousands of low-income children in Greater Cincinnati. Make checks payable to “First Book - Greater Cincinnati” I Want to Bring the Magic of Books to Children Who Need Them! $20 (10 books) Please return your contribution to: First Book Greater Cincinnati 572 Northland Blvd. Cincinnati, Ohio 45240 $40 (20 books) $80 (40 books) $100 (50 books) Other $ _______ Name: Address: E-mail: Call 513-421-7803 x11 to learn about Streetvibes subscriptions �16 Artists as Activists STREETVIBES April 15 - 30, 2010 Dark Humor and Harmony Kevin T. Kelly’s spiritual trek “A rt is the tangible manifestation of an eternal spirit that flows through all things,” says Kevin T. Kelly. “When I get immersed in creating art, I lose track of time and space; I am only in the ‘now’ moment, communing with the sacred and spiritual, with a universal energy, a force bigger than me that manifests itself through me. I feel deeply satisfied and connected, as if touched by the hand of God.” Kelly is an artist and educator who grew up in Ludlow, Ky. After high school he attended the Art Academy of Cincinnati and earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in sculpture. He moved to New York City for six years, working as a studio assistant to Pop artist Tom Wesselmann. As a child Kelly drew non-stop, inspired and coached by his father, who nurtured his talent, teaching him perspective, creating images for him to copy. Although his degree is in sculpture, Kelly shifted entirely to painting after college. “My sculptures were more akin to assemblages, comparable to drawings in 3D,” he says. “I always Kevin T. Kelly stands in front of his new landscape paintings. Photo by Bill Howes. liked the Pop genre and decided to explore it in painting to reflect my perceptions on personal experiences, the huWith humor, Kelly’s work examined various facets of the human man condition, as well as on society in general. “ drama. Family issues, relationships, communication and mispercepFrom the beginning, tions all found their way into his paintings, often with a dose of cyniKelly felt that art needed cism and sarcasm. content and that it needParadigm Lost is based on a car advertisement from the 1950s. A ed to convey a message. man is driving; his wife is blindfolded. The message of the ad is that He is not an abstraction- the car runs so smoothly the wife is not even aware of the ride. Kelist, but rather a figurative ly re-contextualized the image to reflect upon the issue of the everas painter whose work tells changing roles of gender and identity in society. a story, is socially aware, In Club Lust, an apparently wealthy married couple is shown in and taps into the emo- the intimacy of their bedroom. While the wife is waiting, sitting on By Saad Ghosn tions of the time. As an the bed, her husband is instead admiring and enamored with a golf Contributing Writer undergraduate he cre- driver. The bedroom window opens on a golf course and an image of ated works on apartheid the same hangs on the wall. Kelly used the painting as a metaphor for and Nazism, in particular the hidden aspects of relationships, for what is expected, what actuthe “Monster of Vienna,” a Nazi with no remorse for his atrocities – ally happens or does not happen; he depicted in it the openly unspotopics prominent in the news. While working at Wesselmann’s studio ken truth, reality versus perception, the dissonance of the moment Kelly continued his own art. He created a series of black cutout still encountered in personal exchanges. The painting also alluded to the lifes that did not satisfy him; they prompted him, however, to move in role sports play in people’s lives, particularly at retirement – a curse a different direction – Pop art. and a blessing at the same time. “Pop art allowed me, through visual metaphors, to establish allegoMany of Kelly’s topics come from his personal experiences and reries and narratives which looked at personal dilemmas and percep- flections. The more he delves into them, the more he connects with tions, and apply them to a general societal context,” he says, “It let me himself, his emotions, his beliefs and values. It is an uncovering proopen a visual dialogue with the viewer while trying to get to universal cess, like peeling off the skins of an onion, exposing layer after laytruth.” er. Often and sometimes after the fact , he says, he realizes that his paintings subconsciously relate to his own history – his divorce, for instance – yet have a universality due to their basic human subject. Kelly always tries to convey his thoughts and messages with subtlety and humor. He does not want his paintings to impose his views; he strives to understand and represent the other side, engaging viewers in the debate, expanding their awareness, indirectly leading them to the spirituality of life. All along Kelly has been interested in his own spiritual quest. A year ago he became dissatisfied and wanted to part with the cynical dark humor of his work, striving instead for more beauty, joy, serenity. He began reevaluating his belief system, meditating daily, embracing Taoist philosophy and learning the disciplines of Qi Quong and Tai Chi. This led his work into a new direction. He is now focusing on painting calm and harmonious landscapes, conveying the awe and grandeur of nature, its perpetual change, its peace and spirituality. They are small, intimate, meditative paintings. “I began looking at places I’ve passed hundreds of times, really noticing their beauty and abundance for the first time,” Kelly says. “Nature is in a continual state of becoming, and I equate it metaphorically in these new landscape paintings to one’s journey from ego to spirit. “It’s my attempt at conveying to the viewer a transpersonal experience which transcends the mundane veneer of just focusing on personal and societal ills. I want to offer in these works the gift of serenity, a haven of solace and tranquility for anyone willing to take the time to look.” Kelly’s art always comes from his heart. Whether through Pop art or new landscape paintings, it affirms who he is, conveys his beliefs and worldly views, shares his spiritual journey. Using symbols and metaphors, it aims at a higher level of understanding Club Lust, acrylic painting by Kevin T. Kelly. Photo by Kevin T. Kelly. and consciousness, at the fullness of life, at the universality of truth. A rtists ctivists Artists as Activists is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati artists who use art as a vehicle for change. Saad Ghosn is the founder of SOS Art. Ghosn can be contacted at saad.ghosn@uc.edu. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2010 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource April 15-30, 2010 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Development for and of the People The Stories of the Man in the Van Pg 2: Street Wise Pg 3: Ohio Has a Thriving Slave Market Pg 4: Development for and of the People Pg 5: Street Drinking and Free Markets Pg 6: Street Drinking and Free Markets Continued Pg 7: Poverty, Choice and Security Pg 8: “Feed Me, Seymour, Feed Me All Night Long...” Pg 9: Arts and Poetry Pg 10: King’s Death Led to Fair Housing Pg 11: A Night Walk Reveals the Action Pg 12: Russian Women, American Men Pg 13: Kickers Are People, Too Pg 14: Take Power from Corporations Pg 15: Resources Pg 16: Dark Humor and Harmony Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 15-30, 2010 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Gregory Flannery Lynne Ausman Veronica Glass Jeni Jenkins Michelle Dillingham Samantha Groark Margo Pierce Paul Kopp Jeremy Flannery Michael Henson David Heitfield Valerie Fessler Alecia A. Lott Jeni Jenkins Saad Ghosn Lew Moores Larry Gross Eli Braun Jesse Call Aimie Willhoite Anthony Williams Vinit Murthy Jon Hughes Jennifer Blalock Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Aimie Willhoite Alecia A. Lott Anthony Williams Arts & Poetry Bengals civil rights David Heitfield Eli Braun Gregory Flannery Human Trafficking Jeni Jenkins Jennifer Blalock Jeremy Flannery Jesse Call Jon Hughes Kevin T. Kelly Larry Gross Lew Moores Linda Zachary Lynn Baker Lynne Ausman Margo Pierce Martin Luther King Jr. Michael Henson Michelle Dillingham Ohio Paul Kopp poverty Saad Ghosn Samantha Groark Slavery Valerie Fessler Veronica Glass Vinit Murthy https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/fc5e5ea7c0d27b46906f8d21f4c3b44c.pdf d359a19c8cd4b412421724083bfb14fe PDF Text Text The Fools of April Pages 4 and 5 Artists as Activists Page 16 Affordable Housing Pages 10 and 13 STREETVIBES $1 A p r. 1 - 1 4 , 2 0 1 0 • A d v o c a t i n g J u s t i c e , B u i l d i n g C o m m u n i t y • I s s u e 1 7 4 Too Many Prisoners, Little Justice Widespread incarceration isn’t keeping us safe By marGo Pierce Contributing Writer C riminals: They all deserve to go to prison and be pun­ ished in perpetuity. That isn’t exactly an accurate summary of the criminal justice system in Ohio, but taking into ac­ count the budget crisis and the annual $1.7 billion line item for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilita­ tion, criminal policies and procedures won’t escape scrutiny. With 31 prisons and 13,000 employees, bricks and mortar are only one consideration – sentencing requirements, programming, post-release supervision and recidivism reduction, among other things, are also getting atten­ tion. It naturally follows that we ask, “Who are we putting in prison and why?” That was the focus of the March 25 panel discussion, “Prisons and Prisoners: Impact Ohio,” at Isaac M. Wise Temple. Rabbi Ilana G. Baden opened the discussion by explaining that the topic of prisons and prisoners has deep roots in Judaism. She referenced one of the most famous lines from the Torah – “Justice, justice shall you pur­ sue” – and went on to explain why this passage has “fasci­ nated” sages over the years. “The use of the verb … ‘pur­ sue,’ or ‘chase after,’ for how does one chase after justice or righteousness? Isn’t justice or righteousness something that we should just simply do?” Baden said. “Our tradi­ tion teaches us that justice and righteousness are more ongoing endeavors. It’s not so clear-cut, and we must always be heedful to follow through, to not just to do justly, but to also make sure that we con­ tinue, that we go back, that we ensure that we’ve done justly, that we continue to do justly.” She pointed out that the Terry Collins, former director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Corrections (L), David Yost, Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney (C), David Singleton, executive director, Ohio Justice & Policy Center (R), at the Prisons & Prisoners: Impact Ohio panel discussion, March 25, at the Issac M. Wise Temple, 8329 Ridge Road, sponsored by the Critical Topics Committee of Wise Temple and The Woman’s City Club. Jon Hughes/photopresse. sages also note the repetition of the word “justice,” which serves to underscore the point that justice is multifaceted. It is a call to practice justice for “all parties, not just for those who are wronged but also for those who are al­ leged to be wrongdoers and those who are found to be guilty. They deserve justice and righteousness as well.” This broad view made it clear that the panel, spon­ sored by 13 communityminded organizations, was See Justice, p. 6 ‘We Just Want to Work’ Immigrants and supporters rally in Washington By Samantha Groark Contributing Writer M Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, addresses a send-off rally for the proimmigration demonstration. Jon Hughes/photopresse. ore than 200,000 immigrants and ac­ tivists gathered March 21 in Washing­ ton, D.C., chanting, “Si se puede!” and “Yes we can!” Waving American flags and carrying signs saying, “Justice and Dignity for All U.S. Im­ migrants” and “We Just Want to Work,” the dem­ onstration filled five blocks of the National Mall. The rally was part of a nationally organized campaign supporting an immigration-reform bill in Congress. Supporters traveled from around the country in hopes that the rally will re-energize Congress to address the broken immigration sys­ tem, which affects the lives of nearly 12 million undocumented U.S. residents. With the help of the Cincinnati Interfaith Work­ ers Center, four buses full of local activists and im­ migrants traveled 10 hours to Washington to take part in the rally. One of the Cincinnati activists who attended the rally is Alma Díaz, a 28-year-old bartender and an immigrant from Mexico, who arrived in this country seven years ago. Shortly before the rally, Díaz said she felt over­ whelmed with anticipation and enthusiasm. “I feel like my heart’s on fire,” she said. Now she recruits other immigrant activists for the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center, which helps immigrants know their rights as laborers. In January the center helped organize a local im­ migration reform rally that attracted over 2,000 demonstrators (see “Demanding Justice for Im­ migrants,” issue of Feb. 1-14). U.S. Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, (D-Ill.), the leader of the immigration-reform movement in Congress, took the stage at the rally and applauded the ef­ forts of the thousands who gathered. He prom­ ised that he would work his hardest to continue to support them, but also added that activists would have to be steadfast in their efforts. “If we see this protest as a culmination of our struggle, we’re going to lose,” Gutiérrez said in an interview. “We have to take the struggle to the street.” President Barack Obama did not attend the demonstration because of the health-care vote taking place in the House of Representatives, but in a videotaped message on giant screens, he warned of the cost of inaction. “In the end, our broken immigration system affects more than a single community; it affects our entire country,” Obama said. “And as we con­ tinue to strengthen our economy and jumpstart job creation, we need to do so with an immigra­ tion system that works, not the broken system we See Work, p. 12 �2 The Vibe By The Numbers StreetWise 1 the percentage of construction contracts awarded to African-American firms by Cincinnati Public Schools (see page 2). 31 the number of state prisons in Ohio (see page 3). 91:1 the ratio of benefits to costs, measured in dollars, for advocacy programs in Los Angeles (see page 10). 13 the age at which Carmen Bowen Bush’s artistic talent was recognized (see page 16). 1 the number of atheists ever elected to Congress (see page 9). 89 the number of housing units to be built with a new federal grant (see page 13). 9 Holly Parker’s age when her parents raped her (see page 12). 200,000 the number of people rallying for immigration reform March 21 (see page 1). 62 the percentage of felons who stay out of Ohio prisons after their release (see page 1). 1971 the year Alex Chilton formed the band Big Stare (see page 11). By GreGory Flannery editor Public Administration Award for ‘Streetvibes’ designer Lynne Ausman isn’t only the Streetvibes art director; she’s also the person who makes the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless run day to day. As administrative coordinator, she manages the coalition’s finances, oversees fundraising, designs Streetvibes, maintains the computers, orders supplies and takes care of the mailings. Now a professional organization has taken note of her considerable talents and accomplish­ ments. The Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the American Society for Public Administra­ tion has named Ausman winner of a Public Administrator of the Year Award. Ausman received the award in the student division. She is finishing work on her master’s de­ gree in public administration at Northern Kentucky University. Ausman started at the Homeless Coalition in 2006 on a placement with Volunteers in Service to America. Her passion for social justice isn’t only local. In July she’ll serve a month-long internship in Bangladesh, working with a program founded by Muhammad Yunus. The winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, Yunus started Grameen bank, which gives micro loans to help poor people start businesses. ‘Off the Streets’ Gets Global Attention As Ausman prepares to study abroad, international visitors recently came to learn about Off the Streets, a program at Cincinnati Union Bethel that helps women escape prostitution. Five women with the U.S. State Department’s International Visitors Lead­ ership Program visited March 12 from India, Nigeria, the People’s Republic of China, Cape Verde and Turkey. Off the Streets, staffed by women who once were on the streets, provides emergency shelter, referrals to community resources and support and educa­ tion groups. “So much of the conversation about prostitution has been whether it should be le­ galized or not,” said Sumathi Kasturi, an advocate from India. “It was refreshing to see that instead your focus is on rebuilding the women’s lives and including them as hu­ man members of society.” In four years of operation, Off the Streets claims a phenomenal success rate for wom­ en who use its services for 30 days or more: Six months later, approximately 85 percent had no new prostitution convictions. NAACP Demands Work for African Americans Onto the streets is where Christopher Smitherman has taken his demand that Cin­ cinnati Public Schools hire more African-American contractors on construction jobs. Smitherman, president of the Cincinnati Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the Rev. Dock Foster, president of the Baptist Ministers Conference, were arrested March 18 when they blocked a construc­ tion entrance at North Avondale Montessori School. The NAACP has criticized Cincin­ nati Public Schools’ contracting practices for years, recently filing a public-records law­ suit and winning Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland’s support for an audit. The school district has said it is proud of its minority-contracting record and is working to improve it. But after his arraignment on a charge of criminal trespassing, Smitherman said the media has helped the school district blur the issue by its use of language. “We’re not here standing for minorities,” he said. “We’re here standing for African Americans. We’re here because African Americans get 1 percent of $701 million (in contracts). They’ve been lying about the minority number. They’re saying it’s 12 per­ cent. But it’s actually 9 percent. Out of that, African American is 1 percent.” Smitherman and Foster, who pled not guilty, are free pending trial. Foster said the ar­ rests gave them a view of another racial disparity – this one inside the Hamilton County Justice Center. “It was 95 percent of African Americans in jail,” he said “Go over there and it looks like a slave ship. I was so shocked. They’ve lost everything. Their spirits are broken.” Health Bill Passes, Republicans Pout U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-Cincinnati) voted in fa­ vor of President Obama’s health-care reform. Obama signed the bill into law mere seconds before Republicans started threatening to sue to stop the reform. Driehaus had wavered but ultimately voted for the watered-down bill. Supporters of the mea­ sure rallied in front of the Weston Hotel as Driehaus hosted a campaign fundraiser attended by Vice Pres­ ident Joseph Biden. STREETVIBES April 1 - 14, 2010 Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax: 513.421.7813 Email: streetvibes2@yahoo. com Website: www. cincihomeless.org Blog: streetvibes.wordpress. com Streetvibes Staff Editor Gregory Flannery Art Director Lynne Ausman Graphics/Layout Intern Veronica Glass Vendor Coordinator Jeni Jenkins Contributing Writers Michelle Dillingham, Samantha Groark, Margo Pierce, Paul Kopp, Jeremy Flannery, Michael Henson, David Heitfield, Valerie Fessler, Alecia A. Lott, Jeni Jenkins, Saad Ghosn, Lew Moores, Larry Gross, Eli Braun, Jesse Call Photography/Artwork Aimie Willhoite, Lynne Ausman, Anthony Williams, Vinit Murthy, Jon Hughes Proofreaders Jennifer Blalock Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati through coordination of services, public education, grassroots advocacy and Streetvibes. We are proud members of: Jon Hughes/photopresse. �STREETVIBES April 1 - 14, 2010 8 Column 3 M I N U T E S Behind Prison Bars Being dumb on crime makes it worse and more expensive By marGo Pierce Contributing Writer T he average length of stay in prison for an Ohio in­ mate is about two years. Of the more than 52,000 people currently behind bars in Ohio, 98 percent will return to the community whence they came. Having done their time, the theory goes, they get a second chance. Not so, according to David Singleton, executive director of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center. This is because we, as a society, have labeled all of them “criminals” or “felons” and have created an extensive list of restrictions designed to keep “them” away from “us,” he says. “We have to fight hard against these labels that we put on people,” Singleton says. “When you think of some­ one as a felon or a criminal or a sex offender (it’s) a way of pushing someone to the margins. It’s a way of keeping them at arm’s length – and then when you do that, you don’t really care what happens to that person.” That alienation has consequences for everyone, includ­ ing a high recidivism rate. Up to 62 percent of all people convicted and sent to prison will reoffend. However, until they return to prison, they will be the woman next door and the man in the line at the gro­ cery. “The goal should be, “People in the criminal justice system are people who are going of the criminal justice to be our neighbors, who are going system, to make sure we keep the community to live amongst us, and we have to safe. … We don’t do that make an effort to see them as the when we make it impos- people they are,” Singleton says. sible for people returning “Because if we don’t, we’re almost going to guarantee that they’re go­ from prison to get on their feet and get a job. ing to go back to prison, because David Singleton. John Hughes/photopresse. … And all too often folks we’re going to tolerate the dumbon-crime approach that we’ve been give up and return to a life of crime because of doing here in Ohio for a long time the problems they face that says, ‘You never get a second by Collins allows those who fail to pay child support to remain in when they come home.” chance. You never can be trusted again.’ And when you say that message to the community and work. If they miss a scheduled payment, they - David Singleton people, eventually they go and commit more spend the weekend confined. By losing their freedom temporarily as crimes again.” an incentive to not miss the next payment, the individuals released Singleton was one of three panelists March 25 at “Prisons and on Monday to go back to work are more likely to pay support. If im­ Prisoners: Impact Ohio” at Isaac M. Wise Temple in Amberley Vil­ plemented statewide, this program alone would reduce the prison lage. The discussion addressed questions such as, “How does our population by 750 and cost less per person. community’s prison system really work?” and “How does sentencing “We need to also focus on making sure we have the right people policy affect society’s choice about prisons?” (See “Too Many Pris­ locked up behind bars,” Singleton says. “All too often we have loweroners,” page 1.) He explained that people with a conviction on their level offenders who could be managed and supervised in the com­ record are routinely denied employment, housing and essential ser­ munity at a much-reduced cost to the taxpayer. vices because fear rules legislation and public policies. “We have them behind bars in the state system, and it’s expensive. “The Ohio Justice and Policy Center represents individuals who They learn how to be better criminals when they’re locked up; and are in the criminal justice system … and we also advocate for what when they come home, they haven’t gotten the rehabilitation they we call smart-on-crime criminal justice reform,” Singleton says. need because prisons are overflowing and services are hard to pro­ “Smart on crime means having policies and criminal justice laws vide in an environment where everybody’s stretched thin.“ that are grounded in research and evidence and best practices that The state budget for maintaining the existing prison system is are shown to keep the community safe rather than a fear-based, re­ $1.7 billion annually for 31 institutions employing 13,000 individu­ actionary approach that says, ‘Lock up as many people as we can als. This doesn’t include the 352 county jails that are funded by 88 lock up.’ counties. Singleton believes we’re investing our tax dollars in a way “The goal should be, of the criminal justice system, to make sure that doesn’t accomplish the goal of community safety, and it’s time we keep the community safe. … We don’t do that when we make it for a dramatic paradigm shift. impossible for people returning from prison to get on their feet and “We have to double, triple, quadruple our commitment to making get a job. … And all too often folks give up and return to a life of sure that, when people return home from prison, they have an op­ crime because of the problems they face when they come home.” portunity to succeed – to get a job, pay their taxes, be good members Given the overcrowding in Ohio’s prisons – they are 130 percent of this community,” he says. “We all win when that happens, and we over capacity, according to Terry Collins, the recently retired director all lose when it does not happen. So, I think that’s really critical that of the Ohio Department Rehabilitation and Correction – inmates are we embrace meaningful reentry programs for people coming out. only being punished. Drug rehabilitation, GED and other services “We also have to be smart in terms of who we’re locking up. We’re that will help people find an alternative path on the outside can’t locking up people that we’re mad at, not necessarily the people who meet the current demand. With this in mind, support in the commu­ are the most dangerous. And we can’t continue that, because for ev­ nity for former inmates is essential for enhancing public safety. ery dollar that we spend on education, we’re spending 69 cents on One alternative to jail for a non-violent offender is community keeping people confined in the state prison system – and that’s just supervision. An example of a successful pilot program spearheaded absurd.” Many people work hard to make a difference for the less privileged in the Queen City. “Eight Minutes” is an opportunity to learn who those people are and what motivates them to be a positive influence. �4 STREETVIBES April 1 - 14, 2010 The Fools of April People Power: Rickshaws on Vine Street C incinnati City Council last week approved a plan to establish a six-mile rickshaw route from downtown to University Heights. The rickshaws will replace a $200 million streetcar plan previously approved by council. The city failed to win federal funding for the streetcars, derided in a congressional debate as “typical Cincinnati – reaching back 50 years for a path to the future.” The Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) proposed the rickshaw line, saying it will promote multi-culturalism and attract upper-income residents to Over-the-Rhine. “People will enjoy being transported on rickshaws, and they’ll enjoy watching them go by,” says 3CDC President Stephen Leeper. “They have a certain charm that cars don’t have – not to mention reduced emissions, so this is a green project, too.” Council approved an ordinance requiring homeless people to pull rickshaws in order to qualify to stay at emergency shelters, eat at soup kitchens or receive treatment at city clin­ ics. The city will pay $100 million to 3CDC to provide and maintain a fleet of 30 rickshaws and to train and supervise the pullers. City Councilwoman Leslie Ghiz said the contract will save taxpayers money by keeping homeless people trim, thereby reducing long-term health-care costs. “This is the first fiscally responsible decision we’ve made as a council,” Ghiz said. Rickshaws are 3CDC's plan for employing homeless people and expanding public transportation. REUTERS/STR New. (Ima Tryin) Enquirer Nominated for 17 AP Awards Dunkin’ Isn’t Just for Donuts T he Associated Press Society and hardly ever get arrested. You of Ohio announced today could possibly step in it when they that the Cincinnati Enquirer, don’t use a can, and it really messes the leading newspaper on cincinnati. up the sweet smell emanating from com, is a finalist for the Ohio River 17 AP awards in 14 when the wind categories for 2009. “It’s an amazing testament blows north. “It’s an amaz• Best Explan­ to our commitment to ing testament to journalistic excellence. Sixty- atory Reporting: our commitment “We’re Pretty five newspapers in Ohio to journalistic exSure Laketa Cole sent in 2,794 submissions. cellence,” says EdiPees Standing Of course, we only compete tor Tom Callinan. against five other newspapers Up,” one of an “Sixty-five newspaindefinite series in our circulation group.” pers in Ohio sent in of articles explor­ - Editor Tom Callinan 2,794 submissions. ing why we find Of course, we only a strong black compete against five other newspawoman with political connections pers in our circulation group, and to be really, really scary. Hitler peed there are 35 categories if you count standing up, too. That’s just a fact. General Excellence, and usually about • Best Breaking News: “5 Million Atfour or five finalists for each category. tend Tea Party Rally; None of Them But we’ll leave that last stuff out of Have to Poop or Pee,” documentour press release, and it’ll look pretty ing the hoards of Great Americans good, and we’ll be keeping with our who attend every Tea Party event, general editorial policy of avoiding dreaming of their desire to end all too much information that hurts our gubmint and live in a Somalian readers’ heads.” paradise where all the women are Some of the nominations include: strong, all the men are good-look­ • Best Community Reporting: “Who ing and all the pirates are aboveKnew? The Homeless Poop, Too,” a average. shocking warning to the commu­ nity that selfish homeless people (Mo Cash) continue to have bowel movements C. Johnson Ocho Cinco Acht Fünf “Cincinnati is a German city, so I’m going with that. I love that chicken dance they do at Oktoberfest every year.” - Chad Acht Fünf H amilton County Sheriff Simon Leis Jr. says he will continue the use of waterboarding at the Justice Center. Waterboarding has decreased disciplinary infractions in the jail and saved the court system money, he says. In its first three months, waterboarding at the jail has prompted 63 confessions leading to felony convictions, saving taxpayers millions of dollars in court costs, according to Leis. The American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit in U.S. District Court in an effort to stop Leis from waterboarding prisoners, saying the practice is unconstitutional. Leis sneered at the lawsuit. “It was filed by the ACLU,” he said. “That should tell you something right there.” First used by the Inquisition during the Dark Ages and later by the Japanese Army during World War II, waterboarding is considered torture throughout the civilized world. The Bush administration was widely condemned for using waterboarding in the U.S. terror war. President Obama banned waterboarding of prisoners captured by the U.S. military but Leis says that ruling doesn’t apply in domestic criminal cases. “Obama might have taken over the auto industry and the hospitals, but he doesn’t run the Hamilton County Justice Center,” Leis said. “Obama can use his health-care reform to help the little darlings after we’re done with them.” The procedure isn’t as bad as critics make it out, according to the sheriff. “These criminals know what they did,” he said. “It’s just water – it isn’t poison. If a good dousing helps them talk, what’s wrong with that? When did discipline become a bad word?” The only negative impact so far has been a slight increase in the jail’s wa­ ter bill, Leis says. At a Tea Party rally in Western Hills last week, Leis won loud applause when he announced that he has a committee looking into other cost-ef­ fective ways to maintain discipline in the jail and encourage confessions. “You ever heard of the thumbscrew?” Leis said. “Nobody ever died from having their thumbs pinched, but I’ll tell you what: I bet the ACLU would object to that, too. We’re going to do whatever we can to fight crime, and the socialists can go straight to hell.” (Siegfried Heil) Eight Five Will be Eight Five C incinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ocho Cinco, nee Chad Johnson, will soon be known as Chad Acht Fünf. Ocho Cinco recently filed papers in Hamilton County Probate Court to legally change his name again. The move came after he was arrested in Middletown on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant. Ocho Cinco, who was born in Miami, Fla., is African-American. Butler County Sheriff Rich­ ard O. Jones, whose harsh anti-immigrant policies have attracted national attention, defended the arrest of the football star. “A lot of the Mexicans in Cuba are black,” he said. “In Brazil, too. A lot of their Mexicans are black. So that shows we’re not discriminating. It doesn’t matter to me what country they come from. They’re still Mexicans, not Americans. If he just had a regular American name, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.” Butler County turned Ocho Cinco over to U.S. immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.), which released him after 24 hours. An I.C.E. spokesmen said the agency found that Ocho Cinco has some foreign ancestry but is a U.S. citizen. Ocho Cinco means “eight five” in Spanish, a botched translation of his jersey number, 85. Following his arrest, Ocho Cinco released a statement saying he now wants to be known as Chad Acht Fünf. “Cincinnati is a German city, so I’m going with that,” he said. “I love that chicken dance they do at Oktoberfest every year.” Acht Fünf means “eight five” in German, a botched translation of his jersey number, 85. (Bill Cunningman) �STREETVIBES April 1 - 14, 2010 5 The Fools of April Council Solves Metropole Controversy C incinnati City Council voted 8-1 to ap­ am. Paradox, is not.” prove $50 gajillion in grants and loans C3PO and its development partner, R2D2 to developers who plan to turn the Metropole Hotels of the out-of-town Louisville Empire, Apartments into a boutique hotel after they hope to use the vast surplus in city coffers to presented Council with “round out” the back­ a plan that would not stage entertainment dis­ “Homeless people, one of you, I trict by catering to drunk only please the current Metropole tenants, but am. State of mind, homelessness white people who think would cure all homeless­ paying obscene prices is. Force, you must use. Give ness in Cincinnati. money, I do; fiscal conservative, I for a 10-year-old Broad­ “It’s simple, really: way touring spectacle am. Paradox, is not.” We’ll just tell them to counts as a night of “go­ - Charlie “Yoda” Winburn Use the Force,” said Ste­ ing to the theater.” phen Leeper, president “I don’t care whatcha of Cincinnati City Center Planned Obsoles­ all do, you can kiss my ass because I’m outta cence (C3PO). here,” Princess Laketa added. Mayor Han Solo “Homeless people, one of you, I am,” said Mallory was doing reconnaissance work in Councilman Charlie “Yoda” Winburn. “State another galaxy. of mind, homelessness is. Force, you must use. Give money, I do; fiscal conservative, I (Leslie G. Whiz) Photo by Bill Haigh. Poetry Corner Berding Proctors Asshole Tax C We Won’t Give Up By chriS Bortz Over there, over there Kill the poor, cut them off, strip them bare Charity proliferation, hurts commercial masturbation So beware, God hates poor prayer. Kill the poor, cut them off, Nobamacare Problems will be over, the Rhine will be Over, And we won't give up until Over-the-Rhine is bare incinnati City Councilman Jeff Berding has revised an idea he proposed last year that would require panhandlers to pay a registration fee and car­ ry a sign when panhandling. “I thought, like many of my constituents, that all the problems of the city were caused by homeless people and others without power,” Berding said last night. “Now I realize the problems of the city are caused by assholes. “Assholes detract from our vibrant city and, some would argue, is one of the major impediments to attracting shoppers, diners and other visitors downtown,” Berding continued, reading from an op-ed he submitted to the Enquirer. “It is an uncomfortable truth, but one we need to face head-on. Enabling assholes is not the answer.” Berding wore a sandwich board saying, “Help me – I am an asshole” that all as­ sholes would be required to wear after registering with the city. In addition to the city asshole tax, Berding said there would be an aggressive billboard campaign to raise awareness of the negative impact assholes have on attracting new business to the region. “Look, I have consistently supported city funding for programs to help the as­ sholes,” Berding said. “Yet we continue to have this problem with assholes in the city, on council, broadcasting on the airwaves and generally telling the world that Cincinnati is a great place for assholes. Compassionate treatment means helping those in need – not enabling further destructive behavior. “It’s time to wipe out the assholes,” Berding concluded, smiling as he pointed to his sign. (Sarah Palor) Want more Streetvibes? Check out the StreetvibeS blog http://streetvibes.wordpress.com Streetvibes vendors keep 75% of sales. Consider helping Streetvibes with our publication costs by making a tax-deductible donation or by purchasing a subscription. Streetvibes is the activist newspaper, advocating justice, building community. Your gift is tax-deductible and will go to producing the paper every two weeks. Started in 1997, Streetvibes is distributed by homeless and formerly homeless vendors who purchase the paper for 25 cents and sell it for $1, keeping the 75 cent profit. Make checks payable to “Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless” I want to support Streetvibes and the vendors. $25 Please return your contribution to: GCCH 117 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Name: Address: E-mail: $50 $100 $150 Other $ _______ �6 Local News STREETVIBES April 1 - 14, 2010 Too Many Prisoners, Little Justice continued from page 1 going to challenge the popular focus of only giving weight to crime and victims, exclud­ ing the perpetrators. Such a radical departure from the “The politicization of crime current punishment meant is really disturbing to me, mentality and I think we all owe it to sparks were bound ourselves, to our children, to fly, and they did. to our grandchildren to put Posing the challenge to think differently the brakes on that.” were Terry Collins, - David Singleton recently retired head of the Ohio Depart­ ment of Rehabilitation and Correction, and David Singleton, executive director of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center, with much disagreement from Delaware County Pros­ ecutor David Yost. Marianna Brown Bettman, a professor of clinical law at the University of Cincinnati and former Ohio appeals judge, moder­ ated the discussion. It began with the most pressing bottom line – money. Politicizing crime “Currently we spend close to $2 billion on Ohio’s prison system – money that the Co­ lumbus Dispatch recently editorialized isn’t going to schools, hospitals, libraries, parks, highways or health care,” Bettman said. “Ac­ cording to … the Dayton Daily News, prison populations are at 130 percent capacity in Ohio. If existing policies remain unchanged … the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction predicts the prison popula­ tion will rise 11 percent in the next decade. The cost to accommodate that increase will be $925 million annually … which is on top of the already existing costs.” Bettman said that State Rep. Bill Seitz (RGreen Township) has proposed a prisonreform bill, Senate Bill 22, to address this record-breaking increase in the number of people behind bars. Seitz says he is mov­ ing forward because, in his mother’s words, “You can’t put 10 pounds into a five-pound bag.” The Council of State’s Justice Center has been commissioned to collect data on Ohio’s criminal-justice system and develop solutions. If they talk with Collins, they’ll save a lot of time and cash, because he can tell lawmakers, based on firsthand experience, what he and a vast body of research already show. “The fact of the matter is when some­ one comes to the state prison system, they’ve got 90 days to do, they look at the staff … and say, ‘I don’t care about you. I don’t care about your programs because, guess what? I’m going home in 90 days, and there’s nothing you can do about it unless I commit a new felony.’ Coming to the prison system for just a few days does not work. “We have a lot of people in the state pris­ on system that should never get out. I will never argue that, but there’s a whole lot of other people who could be served in different, alternative options that would probably be far less expensive and much more productive and create a better rate of return for normal society.” Singleton used S.B. 22 as an example to illustrate how the exploding prison popula­ tion and unsuccessful policies have failed to achieve safer communities. He said the bill, proposed by a Republican, “narrowly passed” the Senate and is now being held up in the house by Democratic politicians who fear being “painted as soft on crime,” in part for showing support for the early re­ lease of some prisoners. He described those people who would qualify for this release as low-level, non- violent offenders whose release would help alleviate overcrowding and change the makeup of the prison population. “These issues ought not to be as political as they are,” Singleton said. “If I ever hear another politician say, ‘I’m tough on crime,’ I don’t know what I’m going to do. None of us like crime in our community. I’ve got a daughter, I’ve got a wife – I want them to be safe. I want to be safe. I want all of you to be safe. We have that in common. When we talk about ‘tough on crime,’ that’s just the rheto­ ric that pushes people’s buttons and allows us to … fall asleep at the switch where we go along with policies and laws that wound up exploding the prison population. “The politicization of crime is really dis­ turbing to me, and I think we all owe it to ourselves, to our children, to our grandchil­ dren to put the brakes on that.” (See “8 Min­ utes Behind Bars,” Page 3.) Batting .620 Yost stepped in to challenge Singleton’s assertion that the growing number of peo­ ple in prison is a bad thing. “The criminal-justice system is supposed to be about punishing the people that ac­ tually commit crimes and deterring other people who are similarly situation from do­ ing that,” he said. “What we ought to do is decide what people we need to lock up. … But at the end of the day this notion that sheer numbers should dictate our penal policy is absurd. We should figure out who needs to be locked up, who needs to be off the streets and then we should figure out a way to have them off the street. “What we’re talking about here tonight is rationing prison beds. The first function of government is public safety. Before we educate, before we medicate, we need to have safe streets and make sure there’s an ordered framework for liberty where we can all be safe and raise our families.” Yost offered no proof of his statement that punishment serves as a deterrent or that the growing number of people being incarcerated promotes public safety. “I don’t think our current approach is get­ ting us public safety,” Singleton said. “What we wind up having is a revolving door where we’re not really rehabilitating people Queen City. It’s all about perspective, and that’s what Collins wanted to add to the dis­ cussion about numbers. “To get people’s attention, you got to talk about numbers – 130 percent capacity, $1.7 billion budget,” he said. “When you talk re­ habilitation, 62 percent of the people who leave the state prison system don’t return. If I’m playing baseball and I hit .620, guess where I’m going to be? I’m going to be in the Hall of Fame. “But I don’t have anybody standing on the street corner saying, ‘I’m an ex-convict and I’m doing well.’ But let somebody do bad and it’s all over every paper across the country. I believe we can punish people without putting everybody in prison. I think we have to start thinking differently about what we do with individuals who break the law and what type of punishment do they get.” Collins wants the beds behind bars re­ served for “the worst of the worst” and al­ ways have space available for the people who should never leave prison. Closing debtors prison People who fail to pay child support oc­ cupy 750 beds in Ohio prisons. The illogic of throwing someone in jail for not making payments, which eliminates the possibility of keeping a job and fulfilling his commit­ ment, wasn’t lost on the panel. All agreed that alternatives are needed. In an effort to experiment with an alter­ native to prison for child-support violators, Collins helped implement a pilot program. Seven Ohio counties served as test sites. The success rate was astounding – an in­ crease of payment collection of more than 70 percent. “We went into seven different counties and said, ‘Don’t send those people to pris­ on,’ knowing that there’s some of them that need to come to prison but there’s more of them who don’t,” Collins said. “If you keep them in a job and make them pay their sup­ port and give intensive supervision … it’s a win-win situation to me because the chil­ dren were getting what they needed, the state prison system didn’t get somebody they didn’t need.” Yost agreed with this alternative ap­ proach. “How about instead of sentencing “I don’t get an incentive to take a shower. them to felony, we sentence them in­ stead to a first-degree misdemeanor I just like myself better and the way I smell and give them a 180-day sentence if I do take a shower. We shouldn’t have to to be served two days at a time?” he incentivize people to behave well.” said. “When you get paid, you show --Delaware County Prosecutor David Yost up to child-support enforcement agency, you make your payment and in prison. Some people may be beyond re- you go home and have your weekend. But habilitation, but there are some who should if you don’t make your payment, we’re not be rehabilitated, and we’re not focusing on going to put you in prison – we’re going to that. take you to jail on Friday night and you’re “They come home, they’re worse off, they going to stay there. … On Monday morning commit more crime. And I also agree that at 6 a.m. we’re going to roust you out of the we ought to decide who needs to be locked bunk. We’re going to throw you out the front up as a community and, yeah, the numbers door and say, ‘Go to work. Next paycheck, alone don’t dictate that. I wasn’t saying that. please pay your child support or we’re go­ My point is that our vision of who should ing to have another weekend.’ No fishing, be locked up is skewed by fear. … If we, as no hunting, no drinking beers, no football, a community, we let fear drive our policy, no hanging out with your buddies on the then we’re not going to lock up the right weekend. I’ll bet if you lost three or four or people. We’re going to over-incarcerate, and five of those weekends running, you’d start at the end of the day, that’s not helpful to to get the idea that you’d have to pay your community safety.” child support.” Singleton pointed to sensational crimes such as shootings highlighted in television ‘A better way’ news as a case in point of how a narrow sampling of crime “distorts our picture of Yost assumed that most people not paywhat’s actually going on.” He said, after liv­ ing child support have the kind of jobs and ing in New York and Washington, D.C., Cin­ disposable income to engage in sports cinnati has “got nothing” compared to poor and drink responsibly. He acknowledged areas in those cities, yet many people tell contributing factors him they don’t feel safe downtown in the such as addiction that See Justice, p. 10 �STREETVIBES April 1 - 14, 2010 Column Poverty and Grief 7 All suffer, but especially the poor 1 A few years ago a friend helped make was not just a place of fond memories of hot a video that documented the clos­ chocolate or old jokes about the intestinal ing of a White Castle restaurant in consequences of too many sliders. It was a Louisville. The restaurant stood at a corner place of genuine refuge. To these folks, poor where the bus lines crossed, and it had been and working-class people, mostly Africana popular place. It had been an institution for American, the White Castle at the crossroads years and served all sorts of people. I don’t re­ was a place of warmth in the winter, shelter call why it was closing, but I think it had to from the summer sun, the source of a hasty do with knocking the building down to make meal between jobs, a community hearth way for condos or corporate offices. where friends could meet. While those inside (What makes me say that? Do we ever go took part in a countdown to a midnight clos­ the other way? Do ing, a woman stood outwe ever knock down side and lamented, “What corporate offices are we gonna do now?” to make way for afHer image and her quesfordable housing for tion have remained fresh working families? in my mind for over 20 By Michael henson Does eminent do­ years. I’m not sure where main ever take over the line is between nostal­ a condominium at gia and grief, but I know half its value in order to build a school? Do I that what this woman felt was grief. Her loss even need to ask?) was real. The tone of the film was mostly upbeat. Interlaced with a countdown to a midnight * * * * * closing, the film’s producers interviewed a range of people for whom the White Castle Gwendolyn Brooks, in her poem, “Beverly restaurant had been a part of their lives. They Hills, Chicago,” tells of a carload of people interviewed businessmen and bus drivers, from the inner city who drive through an ex­ neighborhood characters, waitresses and a pensive suburb. The trip causes the poet to crew of Catholic high school students, one of ponder life and death and the difference be­ whom had prepared a rap for the occasion. tween life and death for the poor and life and It was a humorous rap. There was a lot of death for the wealthy. humor and a lot of light-hearted nostalgia. . . . . Not that anybody is saying that these Perhaps as a parody of the Ingmar Bergman people have no trouble. film, The Seventh Seal, a marathon chess Merely that it is trouble with a gold-flecked game ran in the parking lot. There was a lot of beautiful banner. laughter, a lot of celebration. Nobody is saying that these people do not But I remember also that there was a coun­ ultimately cease to be. And ter-current, visible on one side of the class Sometimes their passings are even more line but not on the other, a current of anger painful than ours. and grief. It is just that so often they live till their hair To some, the White Castle at the crossroads is white. ammered H They make excellent corpses, among the expensive flowers. I believe that the further we look down the economic scale, the more often and the more intensely we see grief. I do not mean to say that the rich don’t ex­ perience pain and loss. As Brooks points out in her poem, grief is built into life, no matter what your economic status. What I do mean, and what I think Brooks means, is that, for the poor, loss is more fre­ quent, more sudden and unpredictable, more likely to be violent, more often preventable and all the more painful for that. If you are poor, you’re more likely to see those around you die young, go to prison, disappear, dis­ locate, isolate. Connections across time and distance cost money. So even if the loss is not due to an early and preventable death, even if it is only that the loved one has had to mi­ grate to look for work, the loss is more likely to be permanent. The poor are more likely to lose children – to death, imprisonment, foster care and other official and non-official displacement – than their more wealthy counterparts. The work­ ing poor are more likely to suffer a careerending injury, so that the job that gave them a respite from the worst of poverty returns them to poverty with a vengeance. Those who go to prison suffer intense grief. They lose years from their lives. Children take their first steps, parents die, lovers discard them. … All sorts of losses can and do hap­ pen during the years of a sentence. No one disputes that everyone experiences grief and loss. The poor simply lose more, lose earlier, lose more painfully and lose more of­ ten. Intensified grief is one more example of how poverty is not simply a financial incon­ venience. It is a wound to the spirit. Michael Henson is author of Ransack, A Small Room with Trouble on My Mind, The Tao of Longing and Crow Call. Vendor Voice Street Life You’ve got to keep moving By riccardo taylor StreetvibeS vendor T he last time we were walking, we went on a stroll. Well, it’s good that we get to spend a little time together. Let’s walk and talk. Or better yet, let’s stroll and let me do the talking. Street life, not to get it twisted, is not the only life I know or understand. However, for the sake of explanation, you just listen and again I will do the talking. Just after midday we are on our way. Watch­ ing, listening to the sounds of the street. Voices raised in the heat of the beat that makes the street life move. Listening with your eyes and seeing with your ears, not much will get past you. It’s about being attentive to everything going on around you. Waiting for your opportunity to get in on some action. OK, enough schooling. Let’s get in the mix. Most days start out the same, though we don’t know how they will end. Nonetheless, starting out with little or no money, you have to come up with a bustle. For some of us, that can mean an honest day’s work, but for others it can be some deceitful move, playing some con game or engaging in some petty theft. Still, we all have the same objective in mind, getting those few dollars to see us through the day. Whichever option you use to get paid, one thing is for sure: You have to make something sleepers. In the life of the streets, everything is happen. We can cut to the chase. For me, trick­ a job. No vacations, no layoffs and most impor­ ery, theft or panhandling is not an option, tant, no giving up. The consistency of struggle so I revert to my norm, which is selling a few soon becomes routine. Sometimes it becomes Streetvibes, checking a few businesses to see if so much so that we are lost in its reality, miss­ they have something for me to do to earn a few ing an opportunity to get out of it. The feelings dollars or perhaps doing a little scrapping of of helplessness and hopelessness far outweigh meals. The least of my desires, but the misery that is part of the I know that there are always a few reality – in such a fashion that cans to gather or some discarded One thing is for this becomes the norm, and it meal to be found. becomes easy, almost essential sure: there is no Usually when you have your idleness in the life of for a person to just accept it. thoughts and ideas in the proper the street. Relaxing If you watch the faces, you see frame, things will come to you. Yeah, that abandonment. The actions is standing on the it takes a lot of effort at times, but tell you that this one or that one corner. Luxury is patience pays off. Well, we are sure hanging in the park. is lost in the ways of the street, to come up if we put in the time. often without the possibility of Every wakening One thing is for sure: there is no return to the mainstream. moment is being idleness in the life of the street. Re­ Yeah, well, we’ll stroll on. Up on the move. Body laxing is standing on the corner. the block, we cannot be fazed tired, mind racing, Luxury is hanging in the park. Every too much. The reality is that it’s one foot after the wakening moment is being on the better them than me. other beating the move. Body tired, mind racing, one Though I walk with some concrete. foot after the other beating the con­ compassion I fully understand crete. that the subjectivity is in stride During the summer we sweat without relief, with me, so I keep that glimmer, that belief that and in winter we freeze. Hands and feet cold, just a block or two away there is that possibility there’s nothing happening here, so we step to of help to lift me from the grips of the street, the next block. The consistency of movement is that hope that things will get better, so we’ll our guarantee that we will come up with some­ stroll another day. thing. Perhaps we can see what’s happening after Everybody knows that only dreams come to dark on our next stroll. Talk with you then. �8 STREETVIBES April 1 - 14, 2010 Artwork By Anne Skove By Anthony Williams ! ? t ha W y Sa ___________________ “Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities, has the power to make you commit injustices.” - Voltaire �STREETVIBES April 1 - 14, 2010 9 Book Review The Insufferably Atheist Buddhist Self-absorption by any other name By david heitField Contributing Writer L. Ron Hubbard was the most highly regarded in­ tellectual of his day, proven by his award-winning fiction and legions of celebrity followers, who with am glad I belong to a religion that wor­ their fame and wealth only followed the most ad­ ships a tree,” Stephen Batchelor writes in mired? his new book, Confession of a Buddhist Parts of the book are brilliant and engrossing – Atheist. his reconstruction of the actual person of Gotama Maybe that explains the Pew Research Study ear­ versus the myth of the king’s son who was sheltered lier this year that suggests while President Obama's from life until he escaped and saw people suffering election has possibly led to more acceptance of in­ is well worth reading. But by the end of the book, terracial marriages – 64 percent of African-Amer­ the whole thing seems as aimless as the middleicans and 71 percent of Hispanics would accept aged author regards much of his life. a child's marriage to a white, and 80 percent of Maybe it’s me, or maybe I’m just burned out on whites would accept a marriage to either – fully 7 of this New Atheist literature, which is more interest­ 10 Americans would not at all be happy about little ed in bashing religion as the root of all evil than in Michelle marrying an atheist. making cogent arguments about the existence of And considering that U.S. Rep. Pete Stark (D- God. The logic seems to be this: 1) 9/11 was an evil Calif.) is the only professed atheist in the history act caused by crazy fundamentalists; 2) We can’t of Congress, it's a pretty safe bet we'll see a female just blame Muslim fundamentalists, because that president, an Hispanic president and perhaps even would be politically incorrect; 3) Therefore, all reli­ a canine president before we ever see an atheist gions are responsible for all evil acts. president. Hitchens writes a blurb Of course, this might say praising Batchelor’s new book, While Batchelor seems very more about the institution of which is a little odd, consider­ marriage and that lack of rep­ ing that Hitchens had nothing sincere in his story-telling, it resentation in our representa­ does give one pause as to how nice to say about Buddhism in tional democracy than it does his book, calling it the sleep of far he was willing to sell out about the number of practic­ reason and Buddhists them­ to become one of the “cool” ing atheists. Church atten­ selves as mindless (and not in intellectuals of the moment. dance continues its downward a good way). While Batchelor trend in America, as the corol­ seems very sincere in his sto­ lary number of people who do not identify with any ry-telling, it does give one pause as to how far he religion rises. was willing to sell out to become one of the “cool” One could define theism as the old-school top- intellectuals of the moment. He does, in fact, do the down structure, in line with patriarchy – rules, mor­ deed that seems to be required for initiation to the als, life and meaning come from the top, the core club: He positively bashes his Tibetan lama teach­ of conservative authoritarian belief. The anti-the­ ers as fundamentalist idiots who were too rigid and ists believe the opposite, that the bottom-up order stupid to let go of little things such as reincarnation defines our existence, with meaning found at the or karma, when any thinking European Caucasian sub-atomic level, if anywhere. Naturalism is the can clearly see such ideas are silly. dominant liberal orthodoxy that many conserva­ Batchelor’s story is one of a man who abandons tives rail against in the academic community, but what he sees as sophistic inauthenticity, only to naturalism is no longer limited to liberals. Liber­ find what he sees as dogmatism, to arrive at the tarians and neoconservatives have been identified dogmatic sophistry practiced by the New Atheists. with the Brights movement, created to promote a It is part autobiography, part travelogue, part West­ naturalistic world view, including Penn & Teller, ern philosophy, part reading of the Pali Canon, part James Randi and Steven Pinker. revisionist history and part revisionist history of The atheism thing has gotten confusing, to say someone else’s revisionist history. the least. The ideas are not only jumbled, but he seems to miss his best opportunities for expanded stories. L. Ron Buddha Two examples: One, he talks about a version of the Pali Canon written by a man who was not only not a And so, spurred by the 9/11 attacks, we’ve had a Buddhist, but worked for a Nazi think tank explor­ coming-out party for atheists, who’ve written best­ ing the idea that the Buddha was of “good Aryan selling books that have inspired many to loudly stock.” While the Nazis were measuring Tibetan spout off about how anyone who believes in any skulls to see if they fit the mold, they were also de­ religion is functionally illiterate. They’re ironically ciding that the Pali Canon preserved the true Aryan known as the four horsemen of atheism: God Is Not spirit: Aristocratic, anti-spiritual, anti-evolutionist Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by neocon­ and (my favorite) “manly.” Not only does Batche­ servative journalist Christopher Hitchens, The End lor tell you nothing more about that, but he sorta of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason leaves you thinking … What? This is the Pali Canon by Buddhist/Hindu sympathizer Sam Harris, The you’re placing all your prayer beads in as the one God Delusion by evolutionary biologist Richard and true Buddha? And you call the Tibetans nuts? Dawkins and Breaking the Spell: Religion as a NatuThe other story he doesn't flesh out has to do ral Phenomenon by philosopher Daniel Dennett. with his four years in a Zen monastery in Korea, Karmically flying into that self-congratulatory where he went after he started getting disillusioned pile is Batchelor, a former Tibetan and Zen monk, with Tibetan ideology. The story of his time in Ko­ a self-described Boomer hippie who traveled to rea is rather short – Zen was considered inferior in India to escape his horrible suburban existence in ideology by the Tibetans (Zen was outlawed in Tibet England in search of enlightenment. I greatly ad­ in the eighth century), so he accepted that at face mired his earlier book, Buddhism Without Beliefs, value, even though he couldn’t swallow the reincar­ a meditation of sorts on an agnostic Buddhism. nation stuff. But he liked the meditation better, and Now, however, he argues for what he calls “secular he was falling in love with his translator, who would Buddhism” and uses the Pali Canon, written sev­ soon become his wife, and he would have to dis­ eral hundred years after the death of Siddhattha robe in order to marry, so that was about all he had Gotama, stripped of what he deems to be biased to say about Zen. commentaries and things Gotama probably didn’t But he teases about some of the monks who had or shouldn’t have said, to show that the Buddha to go through mandatory military training and himself agrees with him. how they had no problem killing or dying for their If you are thinking Jeffersonian Bible and His­ country and thought Batchelor to be something of torical Jesus, I think you’re onto something. The a coward for being a pacifist. And then he explained problem I have with that reconstruction process is, how the first brutal South Korean dictators after in our lifetime, when have we ever seen a religious the war were Buddhists, while the first democratic movement built around the sane and rational? Will reformed-minded president was a Catholic – and scholars 500 years from now uncover evidence that again, a great story begging to be explored that goes “I nowhere. Dr. Phil, but enlightened Much of the book is just hard to read; and un­ like his earlier book, I don’t think it was because it required reflection. “What really matters is inner spiritual experi­ ence, which, by definition, consists of irreducibly private states of mind,” he insufferably writes in his chapter on embracing suffering. “Rather than dis­ miss the self as a fiction, Gotama presented it as a project to be realized. By ‘self’ he referred not to the transcendent Self of the brahmins, which, by defi­ nition, cannot be anything other than what it eter­ nally Is, but the functional, mortal self that breathes and acts in the world.” I’ll admit my knowledge of Buddhism is limited, but I believe that Is bullshit. If I understand correct­ ly – and I'm not at all sure that I do – atheist Gota­ ma wants you to practice self-development (even though you have no reason to). Atheist Gotama is a 2,500-year-old Dr. Phil. And it goes on like that. His long descriptions of the suffering in life made me scream out, “Dude, just read Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament. It’s much briefer but more poetic and makes the same point that life is vain and meaningless, doo-dah, doo-dah.” Nothing new under the sun there. In fact, what Batchelor says we are left of the Buddha’s teaching, after stripping out the evil Hin­ du and other religious influences, are something like the 4 Ps of self-actualization: 1) The principle of “this-conditionality, conditioned arising”; 2) The process of the Four Noble Truths; 3) The practice of mindful awareness; 4) The power of self-reliance. Which I translate as: The only principle is sub­ jective relativism, and Truth is a process by which, through meditation, we learn to be completely selfabsorbed. How does one write a meditation on existential­ ism, religion and faith with barely a nod to Soren Kierkegaard? (Kierkegaard was a Danish 19th Cen­ tury Christian apologist regarded as the “father” of existentialism. He of the infamous “leap of faith,” which postulates that “faith” and “doubt” are insep­ arable; indeed, “faith” without “doubt” isn’t faith at all, but the mark of a Sarah Palin supporter.) Instead, he seems to wholly adopt Sartre’s view that any form of faith is an act of intellectual dishon­ esty. That’s French existentialist Jean Paul Sartre, he of the “Man is condemned to be free” school, a po­ sition I daresay modern behavioralists and neuro­ scientists would take umbrage at, if we’re gonna be scientific about it. Sartre also famously said, “Hell is other people,” inspiring generations of nihilistic alcoholics and addicts and, yes, ex-hippies who ran to India and found nothing of lasting import, out­ side of maybe worshiping a tree. �10 STREETVIBES April 1 - 14, 2010 Housing Issues Advocacy Pays Dividends Research shows the value of supporting advocacy organizations By Michelle Dillingham Contributing Writer E arlier this year I wrote about what advocacy is, and how an organized advocacy group like Affordable Housing Advo­ cates (AHA) can help your own advocacy. In this issue, I cover a research report that demonstrates that supporting advocacy actu­ ally results in increased community reinvestment. The Los Angeles Times article, “Getting More Back from Giving,” reports how researchers in Los Angeles County from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy collected data from 2004­ 2008 from 15 groups engaged in fighting poverty, improvThe 15 advocacy groups spent $75.5 ing health and education, de­ million over four years and generated fending minorities and other nearly $6.89 billion in benefits to resi- causes. A couple examples of dents. From this data, the Los Angeles these groups were: • InnerCity Struggle camTimes deduced that “for every dollar invested in the work of a selection of paigned for the construction of two new schools in East Los advocacy groups, there was $91 in benefits to local residents.” Clearly, a Angeles at a cost of $299 million. The first is set to open in good return on investment. fall 2010. • The Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and other groups helped persuade state leg­ islators not to abolish programs that provide food, cash and medical aid to legal immigrants. The 15 advocacy groups spent $75.5 million over four years and generated nearly $6.89 billion in benefits to residents. From this data, the Los Angeles Times deduced that “for every dollar invested in the work of a selection of advocacy groups, there was $91 in benefits to local residents.” Clearly, a good return on investment. As I write, my husband yells at March Madness basketball upstairs while I yell at the Senate vote on health-care reform downstairs. Soon thereafter, health-care reform has passed and President Obama ad­ dresses the nation. He assures us this historic change would not have been possible without community organizing “from the ground up,” that it would never have happened from the “top-down”. The “ground up” is what advocacy is about, and this remarkable change in health­ care policy again reinforces the argument of why organized advocacy efforts should be funded. Affordable Housing Advocates (AHA) had a membership drive ear­ lier this year, and some cited their inability to pay membership fees were due to the economic recession. Advocacy, like training and mar­ keting, is one of those costs that organizations tend to cut first in hard times. Another advocacy group that relies on membership dues is the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, an organization sup­ ported exclusively by contributions – and look at the immeasurable impact their advocacy has had. One example of an effort they led was the fight to retain human-services funding in the city budget. This funding was saved in the city budget in part because of the legislative monitoring, testimonies made before city council and the coordinat­ ed advocacy of the coalition and other non-profit agencies. AHA’s policy agenda for this year has highlighted legislative moni­ toring and public education on affordable housing issues as important initiatives for this year. We recognize that an essential part of advocacy is first educating. It is education about affordable-housing issues for those who oppose it. Also, it is educating supporters who might not be sophisticated enough to advocate in a compelling way. Simply put, I cannot make the case for affordable housing unless I have accurate information about the positive effects of affordable housing. I need to be armed with “myth-busting” information to counter those same old arguments – “not in my backyard.” When AHA receives funding, we can continue to invest in publiceducation initiatives that will ultimately support our mission: to fur­ ther the creation, retention and accessibility of affordable housing in our community. The research report cited above tells us that advoca­ cy has a positive impact on dollars being reinvested in communities. Take-home lesson? Support your local advocacy organization! Too Many Prisoners, Little Justice continued from page 6 plague much of the prison population, but he never acknowledged that the ability to address these issues and move toward noncriminal activity was part of the process of keeping communities safe. At one point he employed the dismis­ sive rhetoric used by many who see prison reform as a waste of time because some people are simply unworthy of attention, and anything beyond punishment is a priv­ ilege. “There is free will and “We in this state have a thing autonomy and many, that your debt to society has never been paid – that when you many, many go to prison and you get out of people will prison, your second chance ain’t not success­ fully be re­ your second chance.” habilitated,” --Terry Collins Yost said. “Re­ habilitation and drug treatment need to be an opportu­ nity and not the primary focus because you can’t fix people that don’t want to be fixed.” He disagreed that it is necessary to give inmates incentives to make changes in their lives to avoid returning to prison. “I don’t get an incentive to take a shower,” he said. “I just like myself better and the way I smell if I do take a shower. We shouldn’t have to incentivize people to behave well, to get treatment for your addiction. If you recognize that you’ve got an addiction, you ought to get out of it. If you recognize that you don’t have an education, you ought to take advantage of the opportunity that’s available. … “I do agree that we do have a sub-popu­ lation of people that require mental-health treatment, and of course they should be treated. I think the constitution does re­ quire that, just the same as if a prisoner has a heart attack, we’re going to take them to the hospital even if they’re a heinous mur­ derer. We also have things that are in place, for example, in my county, we have a mental-health docket. For lower level felonies, we are bringing these folks into court on a regular basis, they are being supervised and linked up to services in the community, and there’s been some success with that. “But let’s not make any mistake about it. We have mentally ill people among us inside and outside the prisons. And that is not a reason to relieve them of responsibility of their actions or to ignore the threat that they may pose to society. We need to recog­ nize that there are limits to our treatment and limits to our compassion.” Toward the end of the panel discussion, the moderator took questions from the au­ dience. Collins provided the best summary of the entire discussion. “There has to be a better way than what we’re currently working in this state,” he said. “People have chastised me, saying, ‘You’re saying let everyone out of prison.’ I’ve never said that in my life. … I never said, ‘Open the doors and let anybody out.’ I did say we should have earned credit. I did say we should give people incentives for peo­ ple to get education, to get drug treatment and do the things that will keep them out of prison because it reduces recidivism. “The reality of the matter is the bigger problem is not who comes to prison. It’s what happens when they leave prison, be­ cause we in this state have a thing that your debt to society has never been paid – that when you go to prison and you get out of prison, your second chance ain’t your second chance.” Call 513-421-7803 x11 to learn about Streetvibes subscriptions �STREETVIBES April 1 - 14, 2010 Music Review Remembering Alex Chilton 11 A legend known to few, a master of his own song 1 By Paul koPP Contributing Writer R Through various line-up changes, with Chilton and Stephens as the only constant members, they recorded three albums between 1971 and 1974. Though at the time of their formation Big Star was virtu­ ally unknown, there was a re­ surgence of interest in their music in the 1980s, which led to an almost cult-like follow­ ing for Chilton. Rolling Stone eventually put all three of Big Star’s albums in its top 500 greatest albums of all time. The story of Chilton and Big Star was a case of bad tim­ ing and complex and conflict­ ing personalities. The group’s name – taken from a chain of local convenience stores – and titles of their first two albums (#1 Record and Radio City) are sadly ironic considering the history surrounding them. Naming their first album #1 Record was clearly a joke by the band, maybe a half-heart­ ed attempt to coax the myste­ rious ways of pop culture in Alex Chilton. their favor. It also could have been Chilton letting the world know that he really didn’t care about mainstream success. If the band were going to become a hit, it was go­ ing to be on their own terms. #1 Record was recorded by producer John Fry at Memphis’s Ardent Studios and was released on the famed Stax Records. Though it might not have mattered to Chilton, all the elements were in place to break the band. Instead the album suffered from poor distribution and promo­ tion, despite positive critical reviews. Tension between band members and disappointment with the failure of the album led Bell to leave in 1972. Bell died in a car crash in 1978, and his ock musician Alex Chilton died March 17 of a heart attack. Chilton was best known as the front man of The Box Tops and Big Star, two groups he formed in his hometown of Memphis in the 1960s and 1970s. He later went on to a solo career, releasing nu­ merous albums over the past three decades. You might not know who Chilton is, but he should have been a bona fide rock star, in ranks with John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger. Instead he became an underground in­ die-rock icon, a mystical figure to a generation of record store rats who discovered his music long after it was made. Countless musicians and bands that went on to achieve much greater fame and recog­ nition than he ever did praised his work. The list of his followers includes REM, Ryan Adams, Elliott Smith, Wilco and many more. The Re­ placements even had a song titled “Alex Chil­ ton” with a chorus that says, “Children by the millions scream for Alex Chilton.” This lyric might have been a somewhat lov­ ingly ironic jab at the fact that Chilton, despite his incredible gift as a songwriter, never quite broke into mainstream American pop culture. As a tribute, it is fitting. What one realizes after studying Chilton and his career is that he prob­ ably never really wanted to be a star. He just wanted to be a musician and to have the free­ a time. The solo albums he released sounded dom to explore his own creativity. In today’s nothing like Big Star and were filled with ob­ world of pop culture excess, he was a true origi­ scure R & B covers and original songs with titles nal in that respect, especially as it would have like “Bangkok” and “No Sex.” They sounded lo­ been so easy for him to cash in on his talents. fi and edgy. Some songs sounded unfinished Discussing Chilton’s life is somewhat diffi­ and sparse but that added to their beauty. It cult, because little is known about his personal seemed he cut them in one take to capture life beyond his history as a songwriter and mu­ the energy of the moment, which worked. It sician. This is partly due to the innovative songs was like he was trapping pure rock ’n’ roll in its he will forever be associated with, as well as his most natural state. individual spirit that made his music possible. When revived interest in Big Star became ap­ The closest Chilton got to fame was with The parent, Chilton initially shied away from the at­ Box Tops in 1967, when they topped the charts tention. He was always interested in following with a song called “The Letter.” He was 16 at his own artistic direction, and because of that the time. Chilton’s instant success with he kept his integrity and legendary sta­ the group at such a young age might have tus. He could have sold out and jumped opened his eyes to the loss of freedom It seems that through all Chilton went through on the bandwagon of his old band’s new­ and integrity a musician sometimes faces found success, but he did the exact op­ in his life and career, he almost took on the when thrust into the limelight so quickly. mentality of a Buddhist monk, shunning attention posite. For him, it was a thing of the past. Based on the direction his career took, he It seems that through all Chilton went and accolades, keeping to himself and living obviously did not enjoy this, nor was he spontaneously and simply. He was at peace with in his life and career, he almost took on willing to play the game. the mentality of a Buddhist monk, shun­ his creative vision, and that’s all that mattered. After The Box Tops disbanded, he ning attention and accolades, keeping formed Big Star in 1971. The group in­ to himself and living spontaneously and cluded local Memphis Boys’ guitarist simply. He was at peace with his creative Chris Bell, bassist Andy Hummel and drummer own solo work wasn’t released until 1992’s I Am vision, and that’s all that mattered. In a New Jody Stephens. The band’s musical persuasion the Cosmos. York Times piece following his death, Paul was keenly grounded in their appreciation for The fate of Big Star’s second release, Radio Westerberg, Replacements leader and Chilton’s the classic British pop acts of the 1960s. What City, was similar. By the time they began re­ friend, remarked that the last time he saw Chil­ made them so interesting was the unique en­ cording their third album, Hummel had also ton, Chilton said that he had been living in a ergy and seeming innocence they crafted into left the group. That album, Third/Sister Lovers, tent in Tennessee. timeless pop anthems. Initially each member was considered too un-commercial for release In 1993 he reformed Big Star with Stephens contributed their own songs as well as collabo­ by Columbia, which held distribution rights to and two members of The Posies, bassist Ken rating and sharing vocal duties, including some Stax Records. It did not see release until 1978, Stringfellow and guitarist Jon Auer. They have amazing harmonies, but Chilton was their un­ when the group had already been disbanded released several live albums and studio album official leader – a title he probably wouldn’t for four years. In Space in 2005 as well as sporadically playing agree with. No doubt because of Big Star’s relative ob­ live shows. They were scheduled to play at this In Big Star’s early work, Chilton wrote lyrics scurity, they developed such a dedicated fan year’s SXSW. Instead Chilton’s remaining band about adolescent romance, teenage rebellion base over the years. Those who discover their members, and others, including Mike Mills of and angst but he did it in such a form, with music feel as if they are being let into a part of a REM, performed a tribute concert of all Big Star grace and attitude, that had never been done secret society, thinking, “How could music this songs. before or since. If anyone else would have sung good not be huge?” Fortunately, we still have his music, and fans his lyrics, it might have sounded trite and su­ That element of enigmatic energy carried will continue to be initiated into the secret so­ perficial. But his delivery struck a balance be­ over into knowledge of Chilton’s personal life ciety of Alex Chilton and Big Star for years to tween perfect harmony and the brash sincer­ as well. In the 1980s he moved to New Orleans come. ity of someone with a sensitive but hardened and kept a low profile working manual labor soul. to get by and often quitting music for years at If you like what you read, but don’t live in the Cincinnati area, you can subscribe to Streetvibes. Call us at 513-421-7803 x 12 to learn more about subscribing to Streetvibes. �12 Local News STREETVIBES April 1 - 14, 2010 The Poetry of Survival Holly Parker’s victory over abuse By valerie FeSSler Contributing Writer S ix children, 10 grandchildren, a book, abstract paintings and published poems. These are the many accomplishments of a woman beaten, bruised and raped before she had even reached dou­ ble digits in age. Holly Parker, a.k.a. Huniie, uses poetry and art to express her experiences as a young girl in an abusive household, a young woman in abusive relationships and a mother who has learned about self-worth. She has published some of her work in Streetvibes. Parker, 47, was born in Burlington, N.C. When she was 9 years old, her father and her mother raped her. Her mother used her as the reward to keep her father from cheating. This cycle continued for four more years. As the oldest of five children, Parker feels as though she was the “sacrifice” to her parents. Holly Parker. Photo by Vinit Murthy. At 13 years old, Parker courageously approached a counselor at school to explain the situation at home. She had always been afraid to tell someone because her parents threatened her. Parker was taken to the hospital and mentally and emotionally abused her. He is now deceased. found to be pregnant. The pregnancy was aborted by the hospital “Going through abuse growing up, you think that’s love,” Parker because her father was the baby’s father. says. Soon after, Parker was placed in the foster care system and a trial She had one child during her next relationship, but the man of­ against her parents for child abuse, molestation and rape ensued. ten cheated on her and was verbally abusive. Her sixth child was “The court prosecutor told me I was a slut and a whore, and it born to a man who left her while she was pregnant. was my fault because my clothes were too tight and too short,” Parker moved to Cincinnati in 2008 and “learned what love was.” Parker says. “Of course they were too small; they were hand-me­ She began to love herself, she says. downs.” In her book, Help with Your Inner Garden, Parker takes readers Her father was sentenced to 25 years in prison, but was paroled through a journey of exploration into the soul of a woman and after serving only 15 years. Her mother was never convicted. teaches them that growth is a lifelong process. Between the ages of 13 and 17, Parker was moved to numerous In April, Parker’s poem, “God, No, I Screamed” will be featured foster homes and orphanages in North Carolina and Virginia. Dur­ in an online magazine, The Village Griot, at www.thevilliagegriot. ing these years she again experienced the horrors of rape. One of com. her foster fathers raped her. Parker uses poetry, abstract art and spoken word to share her When Parker was 17, she left all the foster homes and orphanages message of hurt, hope and healing. In the future, she wants to be­ behind. She got a job and moved into her own place, but something come a motivational speaker and start a non-profit organization to was not left behind: abuse. Parker met a man, was in a relationship help those in similar situations. with him for 13 years and gave birth to four children. He physically, To find more information and learn more about Parker, visit www.huniiezxpressions.zzl.org. ‘We Just Want to Work’ continued from page 1 have now.” Obama said he would do everything in his power to forge a bipartisan consensus on immigration reform this year. Activists promise to hold Obama to that commitment. One local college student attended the rally because she wanted to represent other undocumented students who can’t achieve their dreams because of the broken immigration system. “I have a lot to offer,” said the woman, who declined to be identified in print. “I can do so much. My math professor wanted me to be an assistant and tutor students, but I had to decline; and I want to be a teacher after I graduate, but I can’t because I don’t have that nine-digit number or documents to show that I’m an American.” Despite academic achievements, she cannot move forward in a career in mathematics or seek out internships like normal college students. But she remains hopeful. “The rally has given me hope that something is go- ing to happen; and even if it doesn’t happen in May like we are hoping, I know we will continue to fight,” the stu­ dent said. “My original plan was that I was going to return to Mexico after I graduate, a country where I was born but did not grow up in, because there is nothing that I can do here. I refuse to work in a Mexican restaurant with a math degree. But this semes­ ter everything changed.” She has committed to remaining active in the immi­ gration reform movement and asks that others contact Congress and demand ac­ tion. “We have made a lot of noise,” she said. “Now we need to use the Easter recess to target (U.S. Sen. George) Voinovich for his support. We want to let Voinovich and (U.S. Sen. Sherrod) Brown know that we want immigra­ tion reform, and we want as many people as possible to call them or send faxes or drop in to their offices to tell them that we need their support.” Alma Diaz, a member of the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center (CIWC), rallies the marchers while Don Sherman (right), CIWC executive director; and Gary Gardner (second from right) of the AFL-CIO listen. A translator (left) from Voces de la Frontera takes notes. Jon Hughes/photopresse. For more information about immigration reform, text the word “Justice” or “Justicia” to 69866 or visit www.ri4a.org. �STREETVIBES April 1 - 14, 2010 Local News 13 Making a Bigger Pie in Cincinnati Community development corporations rebuild Cincinnati By JeSSe call Contributing Writer A major boost is coming to Cincinnati com­ munities to increase affordable housing and decrease blight. Eighty-nine housing units will be created in 2010 through the disburse­ ment of $400,000 in federal funds awarded to the city of Cincinnati, and another 140 will receive pre­ liminary work for scheduled completion in coming years. “This I am excited about because we haven't re­ ally had steady city funding on this order for quite a while,” says Patricia Garry, executive director of the Community Development Corporations Associa­ tion of Greater Cincinnati. “A lot of the (new hous­ ing units) will be coming on line this year.” Several non-profit groups have been established throughout Cincinnati to help rehabilitate neigh­ borhoods by using abandoned or dilapidated prop­ erties to develop housing or neighborhood-focused businesses. These organizations, community devel­ opment corporations (CDCs), bring together com­ munity members with banks, other businesses and the local government to collaborate for change. One of those programs is Over-the-Rhine Com­ munity Housing. It is developing the Jimmy Heath House in Over-the-Rhine, using the “housing first” model, which makes sure people have a safe place to stay so they can face their demons – not the other way around. In all, the project will create 30 hous­ ing units in 2010 and set up 72 more. Another is Cincinnati Housing Partners, which is rehabbing the Carthage neighborhood. It is a program “definitely growing in their production capacity,” Garry says. Cincinnati Housing Partners will have completed or started development on 10 units by the end of 2010, a huge growth for the program. The growth is a trend that Garry wants to see continue. A small pace of one house per year is all that some CDCs have been able to manage in years past. That rate will never catch on to the needs of the communi­ ties, particularly given the current national and local economic de­ cline, she says. “In Spring Grove, we were doing one house a year, and now they are doing three or four; and in a few years they will A CDC project house in Carthage. Photo by Vinit Murthy. be doing six or seven a year,” Garry says. “At that level, they can keep up with their need.” for the several CDCs throughout Hamilton County That need can only be met, however, if funding and parts of Northern Kentucky. continues to grow. The organization provides support in helping “Of course, I’d always like to see the money dou­ CDCs keep track of their financial accounting, pro­ ble or tripled,” Garry says. “We could get a lot more viding information technology and Web site devel­ things going with more money.” opment support, providing staff support to develop Garry says she is excited to be able to show how proposals and generally facilitating a spirit of coop­ much CDCs can do with so little money so that it eration instead of competiveness throughout the will help promote further funding. community building organizations. “As we demonstrate more bang for your buck “A neighborhood can make the plan, but they with this little bit of money, we'll build the case and don’t always have the staff,” Garry says. “We are this city will respond,” she says. going to start making that happen. That will mean The funding was administered through the Com­ a small CDC wouldn’t need a huge staff but could munity Development have one of our consultants to help make things Corporations Associa- happen. We don’t want to fight over the pieces of tion of Greater Cincin­ the pie. We want to work together to make the pie nati, whose role it is to bigger.” serve as a “back office” CDC Projects on the Way The following communities are developing housing units through a new federal grant: • • • • • • • • • Camp Washington Community Board: Three homes this year, three expected next year Cincinnati Housing Partners in Carthage & Hartwell: Six units this year, four more under development Northside: Six units this year Community Revitalization Agency on the West End: at least five and up to 12 units this year Cornerstone Corporation for Shared Equity: 17 units this year Over-the-Rhine Community Housing: 30 units this year, 72 more set up Westwood’s Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation: Three units this year Village Development Corporation: Four homes this year and set up 15-20 more to be completed within five years Working in Neighborhoods in College Hill, Northside and South Cumminsville: Eight units this year Are you interested in helping with Streetvibes? Are you a proofreader, writer, poet, artist or photographer? If so, contact Greg Flannery 513.421.7803 x 12 or email streetvibes2@yahoo.com �14 STREETVIBES April 1 - 14, 2010 Poetry Page Ghost On Ludlow The Epistle of Saint Michael to the Marginal by MiChael o'brian Clifton is a ghost town. I saw a ghost today, walking dead. I’d seen him before in his same old Salvation Army clothes walking up and down Ludlow. Where’s he going? What’s he doing? He’s living to a death that won’t come soon enough. I’ve seen him ask for change for the bus. I’ve watched the suits turn in disgust. They’re educated. They know what the deal is. He doesn’t want change for the bus. He’s saving up his nickels and dimes to score a quick forty. Suits belt out their frustrations on him. Working men work hard. “Get a job,” they scoff. “Support your own habit.” He has a bad habit, homelessness. Suits drive west into Harrison sunsets. Suits aren’t fools. They play by the rules written by their white fathers. Black man, homeless man cheats the system. He doesn’t play by the rules because he’s lazy. He’s so lazy that he wakes up at the crack of dawn from his mission cot hoofs across the street to score a quick casserole breakfast. Then he’s out going curb to curb checking out the library at 10 a.m. so he can sit with a book that he can barely read. If he’s lucky and he’s quick, maybe he’ll score a forty by six. Then he could relax and remember living in his own house with a clean set of clothes each day. Maybe he could dream of the death that one day will save him from the street. by MiChael henSon You are not forgotten. You are not alone. The center is the fringe The fringe is at the center. There is no center. There is no fringe You cannot fall off the edge. There is no edge. You cannot fall out of the eye of God. You and I by Willa d. JoneS You and I must make a pact To be mindful of how we act Towards each other no matter what And not hold hatred down in our gut We need to understand that each one is unique And know that a change in the world is what we all seek With time, patience and the help from up above We can conquer hate and replace it with God’s love For only with God’s grace and his so many blessings Can we learn to live together without ever guessing We’ll know what it is to live on Earth as one together To love each other for who we are and not what we are For now and forever Suits sleep in brass beds with cuddling wives. Suits aren’t fools they play by the rules written by their white fathers. Black man, homeless man ought to learn to play by the rules. Maybe someone should teach him how to play. I saw a ghost today. If I come here tomorrow, I’ll probably see him again. Maybe I’ll give him change for the bus. No Words by Morgan W. broWn become a Fan of Streetvibes on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/streetvibescincinnati there is nothing one could manage to put into words with which to describe all about oneself and one's life. anything spoken or written would be either too brief or lengthy as well as overly boring or otherwise unbelievable at times, with differently sized fragments of a huge puzzle missing many pieces, gaps that often get distorted, even worse when done by others who think they know better about what happened or why, concerning deep dark holes that were long ago torn through one’s shattered soul, never truly mended or healed, attempts having been tried several times over and in several ways, including uttering thousands upon thousand of prayers, usually going unanswered, or so it seems. yet life is still passionately held onto as the precious gift it is, far beyond words could ever fully relate or express. Do you remember the magic of your First Book? Please consider giving the gift of reading to a low-income child in Cincinnati this year. Established in 2001, First Book - Greater Cincinnati has already granted more than 45,000 books and over $60,000 to local nonprofit literacy programs serving thousands of low-income children in Greater Cincinnati. Make checks payable to “First Book - Greater Cincinnati” I Want to Bring the Magic of Books to Children Who Need Them! $20 (10 books) Please return your contribution to: First Book Greater Cincinnati 572 Northland Blvd. Cincinnati, Ohio 45240 Name: Address: E-mail: $40 (20 books) $80 (40 books) $100 (50 books) Other $ _______ �STREETVIBES April 1 - 14, 2010 15 Resources Need Help or Want to Help? Shelter: Women and Children Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 Central Access Point Cincinnati Union Bethel 381-SAFE 768-6907 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Salvation Army 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 241-5525 1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 DIC Live In Program Prospect House Starting Over Other Resources 721-0643 921-1613 Center Independent Living Options Emmanuel Community Center 961-2256 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Treatment: Women 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 721-0643 961-4663 Treatment: Both 471-1100 221-3350 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 Housing: CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House Dana Transitional Bridge Services Volunteers of America 621-5300 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 351-7921 631-1114 211 977-5541 Hamilton/Middletown 946-4888 281-7422 681-0324 641-4300 St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry 863-3184 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 859-491-8303 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 579-8547 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 421-2437 621-1868 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center Faces Without Places Stop AIDS Brighton Center ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 721-4700 421-7803 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Health 859-491-3335 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 Letters to the Editor The World’s Biggest Terrorist To the Editor: Does the War in Afghanistan mean ensuring the reign of U.S. imperialism? Calling the recent increase of U.S. troops in Afghanistan “Enduring Freedom,” the U.S. military is sending bombs and cruise missiles raining down on targets inside Afghanistan. After President Obama increased troops in that country, we are now supposed to cheer, wave the flag and fall in line over this high-tech version of Wild West justice. The U.S. willingly sent money, arms and training to the Taliban to encourage and support them waging war against the former Soviet Union. The intent was to turn Afghanistan into another Vietnam for Russia. However, as often the case, even the best laid plans of imperialism go awry, and like many of the U.S.’s earlier creations, the Taliban turned on their master – something that happens often enough that the CIA has a name for it, “blowback.” President Obama and the rulers of this country would have you believe that the British shoe bomber arrested headed for the U.S. was more significant than the 400 people gathered for religious services perished as a result of U.S. bombing of the Amariyah bomb shelter during the Gulf War. But we learned during our time as terrorists for U.S. imperialism that the lives of the people of this country are not worth more nor the rest of the world worth less. However, we need to show as much concern, if not more, for the lives taken in our names. We need to look behind the words and lies of our rulers and put a stop to the invasions and interventions, to the death and destruction being carried out by this country. By putting an end to this country’s reign as the world’s biggest terrorist, we will take a real step towards ending terrorism once and for all. Sonny Williams, Vietnam veteran Clifton People Working Cooperatively The Caring Place United Way Women Helping Women Advocacy Center for Respite Care 535-2719 771-4800 751-0600 721-4811 241-2965 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 621-6364 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 351-0422 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Hamilton County ADAS Board Recovery Health Access Center Sober Living Talbert House Goodwill industries Healing Connections Mary Magdalen House 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 961-4555 751-0643 381-1954 Food/Clothing Lord’s Pantry OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry AA Hotline CCAT Joseph House (Veterans) 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 381-0111 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 761-1480 621-5514 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 961-4080 241-2600 241-2563 214 E. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 First Step Home Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) 458-6670 977-4489 784-1853 661-4620 Shelter: Both Drop Inn Center 558-8888 981-5800 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Justice Watch 241-0490 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Anthony House (Youth) 357-4602 352-2902 352-6363 872-9259 Charlie’s 3/4 House Mt. Airy Shelter Health Resource Center Homeless Mobile Health Van McMicken Dental Clinic NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach Treatment: Men Shelter: Men City Gospel Mission 562-8841 762-5660 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 St. Vincent de Paul 381-2247 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Bethany House FreeStore/FoodBank Crossroad Health Center Have something on your mind? Do you agree or disagree with an article? Let us know: 117 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvibes2@yahoo.com �16 Artists as Activists STREETVIBES April 1 - 14, 2010 Respect and Nurturance Carmen Bowen Bush paints to promote life “A rt is my lover, my friend, my companion,” says Car­ men Bowen Bush. “It is my everyday life. I cannot give individuals the time I devote to it. My artworks are my people and my communication.” Bowen Bush, a Cincinnati artist, grew up in Walnut Hills and Evanston, raised primarily by her loving grandmother. Her child­ hood was full and colorful, surrounded by many talented individ­ uals: Her father was a successful boxer; her aunt, Sadie Birch, an influential jazz singer; her grandfather, Samuel Birch, a muralist and a virtuoso piano player; her godfather, Wallace “Bud” Smith, the famous world lightweight boxing champion. Bowen Bush did not receive a formal art education; she is a selftaught artist. Art, however, has been part of her life since her early years. Already at age 13, in fourth grade at Hoffman Elementary School, her art teacher, Mr. Orr, recognized her talent and entered her work in an exhibit. This acknowledgement stayed with her all her life, gave her self-confidence and still encourages her to al­ ways strive for the best. After high school she entered the University of Cincinnati and graduated in social work, but only many years later, her studies Carmen Bowen Bush standing in front of some of her Cityscapes paintings. having been interrupted by marriage, childbearing, parenting Photo by Bill Howes and living in Germany, for a while. When she returned to the United States due to death in her fam­ ily, Bowen Bush decided to settle for good in Cincinnati. Art deepseated inside her and dormant until then reemerged. She started and being attacked by two guns aiming at its head but it is also at­ painting again, initially landscapes from images stored in her mem­ tacking, two pistols brandished from its sides. It serves as an allegory ories during her Euro­ for kids’ violent and destructive behavior, killing and being killed, and pean trips, then socially- for society’s indirect negligent role in favoring such a situation. By themed paintings mostly not providing the required education, the parental, secure and sup­ dealing with cityscapes, portive needed structure, the caring and all that it takes to shape a youth violence, the ero­ solid and responsible individual, society is contributing to the youth’s sion of society. death; and the youth, not knowing better, are furthering the damage as “All my art comes from by killing each other, thus favoring societal demise. my heart, from experi­ In addition, Bowen Bush purposefully placed a gun pointing from ences I’ve had, from what between the doll’s legs, where its genitalia would be, alluding to the By Saad GhoSn I know,” she says, “also prevailing lack of respect and also to the wide-spread permissive and Contributing Writer from what’s going on right unprotected sexual activity of teens – in her mind, another killer. She now in society.” also added on the child’s face red, yellow, white and green colors stat­ A recurrent theme in ing that the problem is not only limited to blacks, but affecting all her work has been the young society, its violence, its lack of respect of ethnic groups; and around his head, a halo of bullets, an ironic glori­ the elderly, but also its need for stronger foundations, stable families, fication of death. love, nourishment – all that builds one’s character. In Solution, a companion mixed media piece, Bowen Bush wanted Problem, a mixed-media construction painting, is her statement to provide an answer, addressing what should be done as a remedy. about what is wrong. A dark-skinned baby doll representing child­ She represented a growing tree with a baby doll at its root. The tree, hood and also teenage, is in the center of the piece. It is threatened shaped as a person, has a face outline and rings composed of black- eyed peas looking at the viewer; they seem to invite all of us to join in and participate collectively in fixing the problem. The child at the roots of the tree is being nurtured by society and at its turn fulfills its role contributing to society’s life and growth. Bowen Bush dispersed in the branches small birds, symbols of rebirth, and various bean seeds implying diversity and potential for change. Bowen Bush is now planning a painting that will depict a baby’s coffin surrounded by older individuals in wheelchairs, pointing to the ironic reality of youth dying first, leaving behind, uncared for, a dis­ abled society. “My heart goes out to the youth,” she says. “I have a young grand­ daughter, 11 years old. We need to provide them with stability and support. We need also to impart onto them the love, nourishment and moral principles essential for their healthy development. We need to plant good seeds. That’s what I got from my grandmother. That’s what I want to give back.” This is precisely what Bowen Bush did when she taught art to chil­ dren at Peaslee Neighborhood Community Center, giving them love and appreciation, but demanding at the same time respect and re­ sponsible behavior. Another subject that appears often in her work is that of Cityscapes. Bowen Bush associates the tall buildings sprouting everywhere in her paintings to chaos, to the rigid, tight and somewhat inhumane bureaucracy that governs our world, a bureaucracy she experienced firsthand working for the city for over 20 years and which, like these big structures, is difficult to move or change. In her recent solo show, Peace and Chaos, held in Covington, Ky., she contrasted on one side her paintings of tall, dense, oppressive and labyrinthine buildings to those, on the opposite side, of abstracted landscapes – references to freedom, harmony and peaceful escape. Bowen Bush will continue to use her art to speak loudly, express her feelings and values and contribute to the shaping of a healthier society. “I am passionate about what I feel,” she says. “My art always comes from my heart; it conveys and communicates my emotions and be­ liefs. I do not want it to stop there, however. I want it to provoke a Problem, mixed media construction painting by Carmen Bowen Bush. response in the viewer, to lead the viewer to think and ask: What I can Photo by Bill Howes do to help, to make things better?” A rtists ctivists Artists as Activists is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati artists who use art as a vehicle for change. Saad Ghosn is the founder of SOS Art. Ghosn can be contacted at saad.ghosn@uc.edu. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2010 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource April 1-14, 2010 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Too Many Prisoners, Little Justice ‘We Just Want to Work’ Pg 2: Street Wise Pg 3: Eight Minutes Behind Prison Bars Pg 4: Enquirer Nominated for 17 AP Awards Pg 5: Council Solves Metropole Controversy Pg 6: Too Many Prisoners, Little Justice Pg 7: Poverty and Grief Pg 8: Arts & Poetry Pg 9: The Insufferably Atheist Buddhist Pg 10: Advocacy Pays Dividends Pg 11: Remembering Alex Chilton Pg 12: The Poetry of Survival Pg 13: Making a Bigger Pie in Cincinnati Pg 14: Arts & Poetry Continued Pg 15: Resources Pg 16: Respect and Nurturance Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1-14, 2010 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Gregory Flannery Lynne Ausman Veronica Glass Jeni Jenkins Michelle Dillingham Samantha Groark Margo Pierce Paul Kopp Jeremy Flannery Michael Henson David Heitfield Valerie Fessler Alecia A. Lott Jeni Jenkins Saad Ghosn Lew Moores Larry Gross Eli Braun Jesse Call Aimie Willhoite Vinit Murthy Jon Hughes Jennifer Blalock Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Advocacy Aimie Willhoite Alecia A. Lott Alex Chilton Arts & Poetry Atheist Buddhist Carmen Bowen Bush Cincinnati city council David Heitfield Eli Braun Enquirer Gregory Flannery Holly Parker Immigrants Jeni Jenkins Jennifer Blalock Jeremy Flannery Jesse Call Jon Hughes Larry Gross Lew Moores Lynn Baker Lynne Ausman Margo Pierce Michael Henson Michelle Dillingham Paul Kopp Prison Saad Ghosn Samantha Groark Valerie Fessler Veronica Glass Vine Street Vinit Murthy Washington Work https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/ba9b95de793295e61f13d9317a22b3b8.pdf 8052bc46bdb0a8b8ce1300ac96725ba9 PDF Text Text Artists as Activists Page 16 Vendor Profile Page 9 Metropole Page 1 STREETVIBES $1 M a r. 1 5 - 3 1 , 2 0 1 0 • A d v o c a t i n g J u s t i c e , B u i l d i n g C o m m u n i t y • I s s u e 1 7 3 City Ignores Plea for Fair Hiring Commission won’t listen, mayor misleads media By Eli Braun Contributing Writer respected community groups representing thousands of Cincinnatians apparently incinnati’s Fair Hir­ arose from a misunderstand­ ing Now Coalition ing that could be cleared up rallied at City Hall by a single phone call. on Feb. 25 to deliver over The morning after the rally, 1,000 letters from city resi­ Mallory taped a segment for dents and community groups WKRC’s Newsmakers with asking Mayor Mark Mallory Dan Hurley, in which he once and his ap­ again de­ pointed nied that Civil Ser“You have a First the city’s vice Comno-felon Amendment right to say mission to what you need to say. Please hiring poli­ end their cy existed. don’t be dissuaded.” policy of “There is - Stephen JohnsonGrove denying not a blan­ city jobs ket policy to qualified applicants who that says we cannot hire fel­ have felony convictions. ons,” Mallory said. “It’s always The Civil Service Commis­ been my belief that you have sion is responsible for estab­ to give people that second lishing screening standards opportunity. The city of Cin­ used in the hiring of certain cinnati can’t be exempt.” civil service employees for Mallory’s claim doesn’t the city of Cincinnati. match the evidence, accord­ For at least three years the ing to David Singleton, ex­ mayor and the Civil Service ecutive director of the Ohio Commission have refused to Justice & Policy Center. acknowledge that a no-fel­ “Bottom line,” he said on on hiring policy even exists, a different segment of Newsmuch less consider creating makers, “if you’re applying a smarter policy. The AMOS for a civil service job, you’re Project, the Ohio Justice & not going to get it if you have Policy Center and the Cincin­ a criminal record.” nati Human Relations Com­ While the mayor maintains mission therefore joined to­ one façade for the cameras, he gether to draw attention to presides over a government the discriminatory practice. that denies rehabilitated peo­ The city’s obstructionist ple with criminal records the stance was only more deeply opportunity to work for their confirmed by its response to city. the rally. Representatives of the Fair Stop That Singing Hiring Now Coalition planned to testify during the commis­ The commission canceled sion’s regular Feb. 25 meeting, its public comment section but upon learning of the rally, the afternoon before the rally. the commission canceled the It did not explain why. There section for public comment. was no time to alert commu­ Over 50 Cincinnati residents nity members who planned arrived at City Hall for the to attend. commission’s 9 a.m. meeting “That train had left the sta­ only to find that they would tion,” said organizer Stephen have no opportunity to tes­ JohnsonGrove, who directs tify. News crews from WLWT the Second Chance Project and WXIX captured their sur­ at the Ohio Justice & Policy prise on video. Center, where he focuses on After the rally, the mayor’s alleviating barriers faced by staff called the news stations former offenders. to deny that the city had a While organizers passed no-felon hiring policy. It was out an agenda and song sheet, all a miscommunication, the Cincinnati Police Sgt. Rich­ mayor’s staff asserted. The ard Antoine told the group, news stations pulled the sto­ “There will be no singing or ries. The concerted efforts of See City, p. 4 C The Fair Hiring Now Coalition demands change. Photo by Nate Wenstrup. Council Turns Backs on Metropole Tenants Millions in subsidies for boutique hotel By Paul KoPP Contributing Writer R ants while local business praised 3CDC for its work and its approach in helping the tenants with the relocation process. obert Britton sat calmly as he waited to speak at the March 3 meeting of ‘This should enrage’ Cincinnati City Council. “I would like to read a scrip­ Andy Church, president of the ture from the Living Way Bible,” Downtown Residents Council, he said. “Anyone that oppresses “I would like to said the group wants to mainthe poor insults God, who made tain diversity downtown. read a scripture them. That’s chapter 14 Prov­ “3CDC has gone above and from the Living Way erbs, the 31st verse." beyond what one would expect Bible. Anyone that Britton was among a group of many other companies pur­ oppresses the poor of activists attending the meet­ suing a similar deal,” he said. insults God, who ing to show their support for “We feel this project is a net made them. That’s the low-income tenants of the chapter 14 Proverbs, positive for the city.” Metropole Apartments. The ten­ Others discussed in more de­ the 31st verse.” ants, some of whom also spoke tail the positive effects the city - Robert Britton at the meeting, oppose a plan by could see from the addition of the Cincinnati Center City De­ the hotel. velopment Corp. (3CDC) that will force them Steve Loftin is president of the Cincinnati to move so the Metropole can be renovated Arts Association, which operates the Aronoff and turned into a boutique hotel. Center across the street from the Metropole. The topic of the council meeting was wheth­ He said he has seen the positive effect 21c has er to give 3CDC and its partner, 21c Hotels, a had in Louisville, where it opened a hotel in $2.5 million grant and a $4.5 million loan to 2006. help fund the renovation. Also being voted on David Ginsburg, president of Downtown was an ordinance that would exempt 3CDC Cincinnati Inc., said the hotel will help round from paying property taxes on improvements out the “backstage entertainment” area to the Metropole during the renovation. downtown and continue the neighborhood’s During the public forum, sides in the debate commercial revitalization, bringing jobs to were quickly drawn. Activists spoke against the funding and the forced relocation of ten­ See Metropole, p. 5 �2 The Vibe By The Numbers 8 The number of years Farron Allen worked for the West Virginia Turnpike before devoting himself to art (see page 16). None The number of citizens allowed to speak to the Cincinnati Civil Service Commission on its policy of barring felons from city jobs (see page 1). 546 The number of scientific studies used in an analysis of the effect that faith has on the human brain (see page 11). 1,200 The number of signatures Dan La Botz obtained when he sought 500 in order to qualify for the ballot (see page 3). 2000 The year President Clinton signed an order requiring government agencies to offer services for people with limited proficiency in English (see page 7). 1967 The year Sonny Williams was sent to fight in Vietnam, after a military recruiter duped him (see page 14). $400 The amount a Metropole tenant receives to help move to a new apartment (see page 1). $2.5 million The amount the city of Cincinnati is giving 3CDC to help kick out Metropole tenants (see page 1). 49cc The size of the motor on Kenny Bussell’s bicycle (see page 9). 1975 The year Va Vang moved from Laos to Thailand before emigrating to the United States (see page 10). StreetWise By GrEGory FlannEry editor Cincinnati Continues Attack on Charities Never mind the foreclosure crisis, the recession, unemployment rates of 10 percent and worse. The city of Cincinnati is still determined to restrict charities and socialservice agencies in its poorest neighborhood – a move that attorney Tim Burke finds mind-boggling. “At a time when governments, businesses and individuals are facing frightening eco­ nomic prospects, jobs are being lost to budget shortfalls, homeowners are losing their homes and increasingly long lines are forming at food pantries, it is difficult to under­ stand the city’s desire to curtail social services in the area of Cincinnati where they are needed the most, Over-the-Rhine,” Burke writes. His criticism is part of a response to the city’s effort to quash a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a 2008 resolution by city council. The resolution, sponsored by Councilman Chris Bortz, says the “unchecked proliferation” of social-services agencies has the potential to negatively impact Over-the-Rhine. U.S. Magistrate Timothy Black held a hearing March 5 on the city’s motion to dismiss the suit, filed by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, Bethany House Ser­ vices, Justice Watch, Joseph House, Mary Magdalene House, the Drop Inn Center, the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers’ Center and seven individuals. The resolution violates the U.S. Constitution’s Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause, infringes on free speech and is an abuse of the city’s powers under state law, according to Burke. “The resolution clearly tells plaintiff social-service agencies that they are not wel­ come in Over-the-Rhine, that any expansion of services or programming will be looked at with heightened scrutiny by the city of Cincinnati and that, if any excuse ‘permitted by law’ can be found to shut them down or restrict their ability to expand, then the city will do so,” Burke’s response says. “Should they seek to open or expand a program selling clothing to the poor for small amounts of money or for no money at all, such a service would be viewed with a more heightened scrutiny under the resolution than if Family Dollar, with its steeply discounted prices, moved in next door.” The city’s motion argues that council’s resolution hasn’t been implemented yet and therefore hasn’t caused any harm. “It is odd that the plaintiffs went to the trouble to try to make a federal resolution that expressly directed the city manager to follow and pursuant to which the city manager has not even acted,” the motion says. “The lawsuit is premature. The plaintiffs have not suffered any injury.” Nonsense, Burke says. “If the city had declared that the excess of lawyers in the downtown area was dimin­ ishing the quality of legal services or that doctors were so concentrated on Clifton’s pill hill that they were harmful to their patients, and then directed the city manager to limit their operations, as appropriate, would not the harm be clear?” he writes. “So it is here for the social-service agencies and their clients.” Black heard oral arguments March 5. He has not yet issued his findings. Other Madness is Under Control The same day that the Homeless Coalition was in federal court, its executive director, Josh Spring, was in Hamilton County Municipal Court for the arraignment of Michael K. Taylor, aka Madness, charged with felonious assault. Taylor allegedly beat Streetvibes vendor Robert Meehan so badly that he had to be placed in a medically induced coma (see “The ‘Madness’ of Hate Downtown,’ issue of Feb. 15-28). Taylor then fled to Las Vegas and was extradited to Cincinnati. He is now in jail under a $750,000 bond pending indictment. “Today Mr. Meehan is still recovering,” Spring says. “The bones in his face are pre­ cariously floating in place. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless believes that Mr. Meehan was beaten with such disregard for his life because Taylor believed he was homeless. Nationally there is a running trend of people who are homeless being at­ tacked and often killed. The attackers believe that because the person is homeless the person does not matter and there will be no consequences for such actions.” What if the City Helped Workers Instead? Meehan was attacked outside the Metropole Apartments, whose new owner, the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp., is forcing out the low-income tenants in order to build a boutique hotel for tourists (see “City Council Turns back on Metropole Tenants,” page 1). That kind of economic development, with the city constantly sup­ porting big money over working people’s interests, will be the topic of an April 5 forum sponsored by Xavier University Students for Economic Justice. The panel’s subject – “Controversial Topics in Cincinnati Urban Development” – is inspired in part by a study by Dan La Botz, Socialist candidate for an Ohio seat in the U.S. Senate (see “Maybe it’s Time for a troublemaker,” page 1). “In Cincinnati, seven dominant corporations and some other companies guide all the important civic, cultural, and social organizations of the city,” La Botz wrote. “They influence or control the boards of directors of foundations, universities, muse­ ums, and social welfare organizations. They sit on boards while community members and working people are virtually excluded from participation. Middle class and work­ ing class people have almost no role in these organizations or at best have token rep­ resentation.” The panel discussion is from 7-9 p.m. April 5 at Kelley Auditorium at Xavier Univer­ sity. Admission is free. STREETVIBES March 15 - 31, 2010 Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax: 513.421.7813 Email: streetvibes2@yahoo. com Website: www. cincihomeless.org Blog: streetvibes.wordpress. com Streetvibes Staff Editor Gregory Flannery Art Director Lynne Ausman Graphics/Layout Intern Veronica Glass Vendor Coordinator Jeni Jenkins Contributing Writers Michelle Dillingham, Samantha Groark, Margo Pierce, Paul Kopp, Jeremy Flannery, Michael Henson, David Heitfield, Valerie Fessler, Alecia A. Lott, Jeni Jenkins, Saad Ghosn, Lew Moores, Larry Gross, Eli Braun, Jesse Call Photography/Artwork Aimie Willhoite, Lynne Ausman, Jeni Jenkins, Anthony Williams Proofreaders Jennifer Blalock Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati through coordination of services, public education, grassroots advocacy and Streetvibes. We are proud members of: �STREETVIBES March 15 - 31, 2010 3 Local News Maybe it’s Time for a Troublemaker Dan La Botz runs for U.S. Senate By GrEGory FlannEry Editor T he further left one’s politics goes, the more argu­ mentative is the company he keeps. Thus while many progressives in Cincinnati might agree with Dan La Botz’s policy views, he is not necessarily every local activist’s favorite. That won’t faze La Botz, who brings an unusual combi­ nation of political scholarship and organizing experience to the Ohio race for U.S. Senate. A veteran of union campaigns, anti-war movements and the ongoing struggle against rac­ ism, La Botz has spent 45 years in the politics of the work­ place, the ballot box and the street. Now he’s making his first run for elective office, and he’s doing it under the banner of a party whose very name has been used as a smear against the far more moderate views of President Obama. La Botz is running as a member of the Socialist Party USA. “ ‘Socialist’ has become a dirty word but it’s also become an attractive word,” he says. He describes his effort to get 500 signatures to qualify for the May 4 primary election. He gathered 1,200 and has been certified for the ballot. Dan La Botz wants to abolish corporations. Photo by Drew Goebel. “Here’s the re­ sponses I got,” La Botz says. “There were some peo­ ple who just turned away. But I didn’t have one person who got nasty or call me names. For the first time in 45 years as an activist, I didn’t have one person tell me to go back to Russia. I also had people say, ‘You can’t be any worse than what we have in Washington now.’ Another response I got was people said, ‘This is America. Everybody has the right to run for office.’ Young people would turn away. They weren’t interested in politics in the usual way. But then, when you said, ‘Socialist candidate,’ they would turn around and say, ‘Here, let me sign that.’ These were not people who belong to political organi­ zations. They have come to self-identify as leftist or socialist. It had made people on the left and right think and say, ‘If I want health care, I guess I’m a socialist.’ ” “Today the corporation, like slavery, is an institution that should be abolished. Closing a factory, destroying the economy of a town, is too important a decision to be in the hands 10 or 20 men. That is a decision society should make.” -Dan La Botz Abolishing corporations La Botz explains his concept of democratic socialism as a contrast to the power of corporations in the so-called “free market.” “We have several corporate headquarters downtown,” he says. “Those headquarters can hold a board of directors meeting of 12 to 20, usually white men, and take a vote and decide to close a factory and put out of work an entire town. Today the corporation, like slavery, is an institution that should be abolished. Closing a factory, destroying the economy of a town, is too important a decision to be in the hands 10 or 20 men. That is a decision society should make. Skilled trades­ men, factory workers, secretaries, electricians, millwrights, accoun­ tants, advertising people – all of those people created that wealth, and that wealth should be seen as our common property.” The economic initiatives of the Bush and Obama administrations – bailing out failing mega-banks and the auto industry – primarily ben­ efited the corporations that profit from them, according to La Botz. “The government decided to save the auto industry,” he says. “They continue to move plants abroad. Even though they have been saved, they continue to go to the workers and demand concessions in wages and health care. Let’s use that money to create a kind of not-for-profit company that works for the people of Ohio. Let’s build solar panels. Let’s build wind energy. Let’s have them use their talent to create a new industry and have that industry run democratically. … We could build an industry, using our tax dollars under the priority of the peo­ ple of our state. What would it mean to have the secretary who reads Streetvibes make a good living wage and have a voice in running the company? How about a world where all the clerical workers have a vote in the way the company is run? “I don’t think democratic socialism is easy. But a system in which a very few people keep all the wealth for themselves and make all the decisions is a very poor option.” La Botz opposes the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He believes Obama’s continuation of those wars is causing disillusionment with his own supporters. “It seems to me Obama must be a big disappointment to those who voted for him,” La Botz says. “Many people voted for Obama because they wanted to end the wars. They wanted a different foreign poli­ cy. The war has continued in Iraq. It’s expanded in Afghanistan. It’s expanded to Pakistan. There is a danger of war in Yemen. There is a danger of war with Iran. Obama continues the same foreign policy as Bush. These wars are not good for America. They promote terror­ ism.” ‘Fight Back’ His Senate run isn’t the only new thing in La Botz’s life. At age 64 he has begun learning to play guitar, a useful aid in his new job as an elementary-school Spanish teacher. “It’s challenging because it’s all new,” he says. “I’ve neither taught Spanish nor taught young children before.” An adjunct professor of U.S. history at the University of Cincinnati, La Botz has also taught at Miami University and Northern Kentucky University. He is the author of books on the history of labor unions, Mexico and Indonesia, including Rank and File Rebellion and A Troublemaker’s Handbook: How to Fight Back Where You Work – And Win! La Botz has a history of working with “My goal right now is to reach out to people successful coacross the state to create a political movement. alitions. He is I’m trying to reach out to people who belong to a member of the faith community, people who belong to labor Cincinnati Prounions and young activists.” gressive Action, -Dan LaBotz which worked with the Cin­ cinnati Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to defeat a tax to build a new jail in Hamilton County. When voters defeated the tax, the county commissioners ignored the election and imposed the tax anyway. La Botz and his allies then or­ ganized to overturn it, and won again. In 2001 La Botz was active in the March 4 Justice, a large, non-vi­ olent movement against police violence after a Cincinnati Police of­ ficer killed an unarmed African-American teenager wanted on traffic citations. Although he is all but certain to win the Socialist Party primary – he is the only candidate on the ballot – he is more realistic about the general election in November. He recently spoke to a class at Seven Hills High School. “One of the students said, ‘Why would you do this when you know you can’t win?’ It seems to me the reason is to present an alternative and to network across the state and put people in touch with each other and kind of encourage people to fight back,” La Botz says. “The reason for doing this is there’s such incredible disenchantment with the government and political parties. “My goal right now is to reach out to people across the state to cre­ ate a political movement. I’m trying to reach out to people who be­ long to the faith community, people who belong to labor unions and young activists. I’m not going to be able to cover every precinct in the state but I think we can have a presence in all the larger cities. I would like this to be the kind of campaign that gives expression to the work­ ers’ concerns.” The opinions expressed here are not to be perceived as an endorsement or reflecting the views of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, which publishes Streetvibes. �4 Local Issue STREETVIBES March 15 - 31, 2010 City Ignores Plea for Fair Hiring Continued from page 1 chanting in these hallways! This is a workplace, not a place of pro­ test. If you need to sing, you’ll go outside where you need to be.” JohnsonGrove spoke up. “You have a First Amendment right to say what you need to say,” he reminded the group. “Please don’t be dissuaded.” At 9:15 a.m., when the commission opened the meeting room doors, over 50 Cincinnati citizens tried to squeeze inside. Half fit into the room, while others filled the outside hallway. “Ain’t council chambers the people’s house?” asked coalition member Marjorie Moseley. Inside the crowded meeting room, Fair Hiring Campaign orga­ nizers Pastor Troy Jackson and JohnsonGrove negotiated for two minutes of speaking time with the commis­ sion. Jackson, of University Christian Church, “Jesus was a felon. an AMOS Project congregation, spoke first. “Jesus was a felon,” he said. “Moses mur­ Moses murdered a dered a man. Joseph, Moses, Jeremiah, Peter, man. Joseph, Moses, Paul and James all spent time in prison. Jesus Jeremiah, Peter, Paul and James all spent time was a convicted criminal when he went to the cross. Our faith teaches us that people with in prison. Jesus was a convicted criminal when criminal records should not be forever condemned.” he went to the cross. JohnsonGrove also spoke. Our faith teaches us “The current policy of barring all former ofthat people with criminal fenders is wooden, rigid, one-size fits all, and records should not be we need a fairer way forward,” he said. “We’re forever condemned.” not asking for guaranteed jobs. We just want - Pastor Troy Jackson fair consideration for people with old and ir­ relevant criminal records.” The commission gave no reply. Others who wished to speak were not permitted. “If people have meaningful jobs, they tend to become produc­ tive members of society,” said Sheila Donaldson-Johnson, a reha­ bilitated former offender who would have spoken during the open forum. “Being able to support your family makes all the difference in the world.” From the third-floor meeting room, the crowd migrated down­ stairs to the mayor’s office to deliver over 1,000 letters of support, encouraging the city to change its hiring policy. Descending City Hall’s marble steps past the stained glass win­ dows, coalition members sang, “It’s my brother and my sister and it’s me, Oh Lord, standing in the need of jobs! It’s we, it’s we, it’s we, Oh Lord, standing in the need of jobs!” No one was arrested or asked to leave. The mayor’s office had locked its doors and police officers blocked the entrance. “Are you saying that the mayor doesn’t want to hear from us?” JohnsonGrove asked the officers, loud enough for the assembly to hear. Antoine replied that Mallory wasn’t in. “Are you saying that no one from the mayor’s staff wants to hear from us?” JohnsonGrove said. The doors opened. JohnsonGrove presented the letters in stacks of a hundred, fol­ lowed by organizational letters of support from multiple religious congregations, Talbert House, the Urban League, Cincinnati State Community and Technical College and the law offices of former Hamilton County Prosecutor Michael Allen and former Cincinnati Mayor David Mann. The crowd shuffled out to the City Hall steps, while police of­ ficers pulled the organizers aside. Standing on the City Hall steps moments later, Pastor Gregory Chandler, president of the AMOS Project, told the coalition that the police officers said that their gathering had been illegal. “I thought it was a public building!” someone cried out. “Not too public,” called another. Chandler rallied the group. “We thank them for the opportunity to have this discourse,” he said. Elsewhere he explained his opposition to the city’s policy. “Treating folks who have turned their lives around like pariahs damages them and it damages all of us. … The city’s no-felon rule violates our fundamental values, damages struggling families, and tears at the fabric of our society,” Chandler said. Second chances The letters that the Fair Hiring Campaign presented to the may­ or’s office encouraged the city to adopt guidelines to help deter­ mine whether an individual with a felony record should be hired. The city could consider the gravity of the offense, the age of the applicant at the time of the offense, the time elapsed, the relevance The dispute over the city’s ban on hiring former felony offenders started when Gene Mays was denied employment for a 15-yearold drug conviction. Photo by Calvin Chen. of the offense to the duties of the present job and evidence of re­ habilitation. But the city jettisons such nuance in categorically barring peo­ ple with irrelevant and seemingly ancient criminal records. These restrictions hinder the ability of former offenders to successfully reintegrate after completing their sentences. By condemning re­ habilitated people to unemployment and under-employment, the no-felon hiring policy ends up increasing the burden on the city’s own overloaded criminal justice and public welfare systems. Gene Mays, profiled in Nov. 1, 2009, of Streetvibes, was one such candidate for city employment. Mays ranked first in his class all five years of his union apprenticeship and is by all accounts a supreme­ ly qualified electrician. The commission saw extensive evidence of his rehabilitation from his nonviolent 13- and 19-year-old “Treating folks who have drug felonies, but concluded anyway that turned their lives around “he had a couple of felony convictions on like pariahs damages them his record, and could therefore not be hired and it damages all of us. for city employment.” … The city’s no-felon rule Their assessment came in spite of the violates our fundamental mayor’s claim that the city doesn’t bar for- values, damages struggling mer offenders from city jobs. The city’s law families, and tears at the department fought Mays’s appeal to the fabric of our society,” Ohio Supreme Court. - Pastory Gregory Chandler Advocates explain that after a certain period of time, someone with a criminal record is at no greater risk of offending than a same-aged coun­ terpart who has never offended. Researchers confirmed that fact in a May 2009 study in the journal Criminology. For example, they found that for 18-year-olds arrested for burglary in 1980, that pe­ riod was 7.7 years. Yet people convicted of crimes far less serious than robbery needlessly face job barriers decades later. The no-felon hiring policy is based on fear, not evidence. Far from making our communities safer, job restrictions serve to pun­ ish people with old criminal records years after they have paid their debt to society. They also apparently serve the interests of a duplicitous mayor who preaches a message of second chances that his own administration demonstrably ignores. His obfuscation thwarts not just the media’s responsibility to report honestly, but the efforts of rehabilitated people seeking to serve their families and, in spite of their mayor, their city. Call 513-421-7803 x11 to learn about Streetvibes subscriptions �STREETVIBES March 15 - 31, 2010 5 Local News Council Turns Backs on Metropole Tenants Continued from page 1 low-income individuals and increasing property values. But Josh Spring, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Home­ less, made the case against the funding pro­ posal. “This is the status quo,” he said. “This is why we have homelessness to the level that we know. Now in 2010, 3CDC desires to keep the status quo, desires to “The issue here is: Can we remove Metropole tenants make sure that there is a fair and equitable way which from downtown. These are people folks can be relocated? who are black, Four hundred dollars is just people who are not enough money (to help people someone) relocate. The other poor, who are handi­ issue is, if individuals are capped. These fearful of living in a certain neighborhood, I would not in are all protected any way support forcing that.” classes. To top it off, they come to - Councilman Cecil Thomas you and ask for $2.5 million to go to an out-of-town company to do this. This should enrage but instead most of you are deciding to work with them, deciding to join in displacing tenants.” Attorney Rickell Howard of the Legal Aid Society, who represents the Metropole Ten­ ants Association, noted that a past resolu­ tion by city council calls for a minimum of 1,300 units of affordable housing in the central business district. “3CDC and 21c is proposing turning 230 units of affordable housing into hotel rooms with no proposal for a replacement of those 230 units,” she said. Vlasta Molak, founder of the GAIA Foun­ dation, a non-profit educational and re­ search organization, said the Metropole is a poor choice for the site of the hotel. “There are many empty buildings just a few blocks north of the Metropole,” she said. “If 3CDC is such an efficient business organization that can develop the city, then let them fix what needs to be fixed. (The city) should not give them money to evict people from their homes while there are all these empty buildings.” Fortune 500 coalition Though council was solely addressing the funding issue, activists used the forum as an opportunity to also dis­ cuss other elements of the con­ troversy. Contrary to what some think, a relocation process has not been approved by the U.S. De­ partment of Housing and Ur­ ban Development (HUD), ac­ cording to Spring. “We have heard numerous stories of tenants giving up their leases under high amounts of intimidation and never actu­ ally getting what was supposed to be on the other end,” Spring said. “Tenants have said that they desire to stay downtown, and it should be a priority of this council to keep diversity in the downtown.” 3CDC President Stephen Leeper and spokeswoman Kelly Leon were at the meeting but did not speak during the forum. After the meeting Leeper gave With low-income residents evicted, a boutique hotel will interviews to local TV stations. move in. Photo by Bill Haigh. Asked about Metropole tenants’ concerns, Leeper expressed his interest in helping tenants relo­ cate smoothly. ceive safe and quality housing. I got that Vice Mayor Roxanne Quails held her gaze commitment from Mr. Leeper.” firmly on each speaker, while other mem­ Councilman Chris Bortz said he thinks bers of council looked on or quietly talked the addition of a hotel in the backstage among themselves. Neither Councilwoman entertainment district is happening at the Leslie Ghiz nor Mayor Mark Mallory were perfect time due to the increased amount present for the forum. of activity there. Council approved both ordinances 8-1. Thomas said he could not support the With the exception of Cecil Thomas, who plan for various reasons, including the fact cast the dissenting vote, each council mem­ that HUD hasn’t yet approved 3CDC’s plan ber spoke in support of the project. for relocating tenants. He also addressed Ghiz said that, when she learned of the other concerns about 3CDC’s relocation ef­ possibility of the renovation, her first ques­ forts: tion was, “What about the residents?” She “The issue here is: Can we make sure that added that it is very hard for political lead­ there is a fair and equitable way which folks ers to face this kind of dilemma, and she be­ can be relocated?” Thomas said. “Four hun­ lieves 3CDC has handled it very delicately dred dollars is just not enough money (to and with respect. help someone) relocate. The other issue is, Councilman Charles Winburn voted to if individuals are fearful of living in a cer­ back the hotel but claimed solidarity with tain neighborhood, I would not in any way Metropole tenants. support forcing that.” “I grew up on the streets of Cincinnati, Spring cast the issue as a moral dilem­ and I know firsthand what it’s like to be ma. homeless,” he said. “I will never turn my “Today we are here to judge your moral­ back on the homeless. Though I may not ity, to judge where you will side,” he said. have power to reverse the Metropole situa­ “We are the coalition for the homeless. We tion, I do have the power to hold 3CDC ac­ also have the NAACP and all these other countable. I have gotten certain assurances groups. 3CDC is the coalition of Fortune from them to make sure that residents re- 500 companies.” Streetvibes vendors keep 75% of sales. Consider helping Streetvibes with our publication costs by making a tax-deductible donation or by purchasing a subscription. Streetvibes is the activist newspaper, advocating justice, building community. Your gift is tax-deductible and will go to producing the paper every two weeks. Started in 1997, Streetvibes is distributed by homeless and formerly homeless vendors who purchase the paper for 25 cents and sell it for $1, keeping the 75 cent profit. Make checks payable to “Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless” I want to support Streetvibes and the vendors. $25 Please return your contribution to: GCCH 117 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Name: Address: E-mail: $50 $100 $150 Other $ _______ �6 STREETVIBES March 15 - 31, 2010 International News More Trouble Ahead for Haiti Only plastic between Haiti’s homeless and the coming storms A tent erected over the remains of a house in Port-au-Prince. REUTERS/Carlos Barria. By olEsya Dmitracova Street neWS ServiCe L ondon, England – Seasonal rains and hurricanes spell trouble for Haiti in the best of times, but with hundreds of thousands of people living in flimsy makeshift shelters after January’s earthquake, this year the dangers are much greater. The rainy season begins in earnest in early April and the hurricane season in early June, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Both can be deadly. “If a hurricane hits Haiti head on, the loss of life will be severe, and every temporary housing camp will be wiped out,” Cameron Sinclair, co-founder of non-profit design and building group Architecture for Humanity, wrote in a blog. Margareta Wahlstrom, U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva, offers a similar warning for the Haitian capital. It bore the brunt of the January 12 earthquake, which has killed up to 300,000 people. “Port-au-Prince is built on vulnerable small slopes and mountains,” she told Reuters AlertNet. “With the rains, these slopes start softening up and cause mudslides like we have seen in the past, causing schools to collapse and more deaths.” A series of storms in Haiti in 2008 already showed the extent of damage they can cause, even to sturdy buildings. More than 800 people were killed, and nearly 1 million left homeless or in dire need of help. Haiti is extremely vulnerable to floods and mudslides because most of its Go Ahead: Ask a Vendor Invitation to a dialogue with our readers Streetvibes vendors see a lot that you might not. For example, some can describe what goes on in an abandoned building at night when they sleep there. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to stand on a street corner selling newspapers? That’s hardly a common occupation anymore. How much money do Streetvibes vendors make – and what do they do with it? Do they have other jobs? If you have questions, some of our vendors would like to answer them. “Go Ahead: Ask a Vendor” will be an occasional feature, with questions submitted by readers and answered by Streetvibes vendors. You may direct your question to a specific vendor or we’ll invite one to respond. Only include your name if you want to. Send questions to streetvibes2@yahoo.com Or to Streetvibes, 117 E. 12th St. Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. Go ahead. Ask. hillsides have been stripped bare. Cutting down trees to make charcoal to sell for fuel is a last resort for many rural Haitians who have no other income between harvests. There is no talk in the Haiti aid community of building enough durable housing before the storms start and no mention so far of evacuation plans in case of floods or mudslides. “We have a huge challenge in terms of just providing emergency shelter –something that we feel that, if we put all of our weight behind, as we are do­ ing right now, we will be able (to do),” said Kristen Knutson, a spokeswoman for the U.N. office that is coordinating the international relief effort, in a tele­ phone interview from Haiti. She added that aid groups were for now focusing on providing plastic shel­ ter materials to earthquake survivors and that more robust housing would be needed in the longer-term. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), which is coordinating all shelter-related aid work in Haiti, is so far building only one model transitional house and hopes construction of more houses will begin before the rainy season. ‘Minimal Protection’ Beyond distributing waterproof shelter materials, aid agencies are also working to improve sanitation and health care – all essential in wet conditions which help infections spread. Neither tents nor tarpaulins, however, will provide more than minimal protection from the Haitian rainy season which peaks in May, when Port-auPrince gets an average 230 mm of rain and sometimes as much as 50 mm in two hours. The hurricane season, which begins later in the year, is of special concern,” IFRC said in a statement. When asked for more information, including on evacuation plans, an IFRC spokesman in Haiti declined to comment further. The WMO has also been asking Haitian authorities and some aid agencies on the ground whether it would be possible to anticipate floods and move the displaced people – many of whom have camped out in low-lying planes and near the sea – to safer ground, said Maryam Golnaraghi, who heads the disas­ ter risk-reduction program at the U.N. weather body. “I do not know the answer to that,” she told Reuters AlertNet. Before any evacuation can begin, reliable and consistent forecasts of ex­ treme weather must reach the government and relief groups quickly. In Haiti, that is difficult, as the earthquake shattered its weather stations; and now several countries are supplying meteorological information to the country. To prevent any confusion, the WMO is working with Haiti’s authorities to ensure that all weather forecasts are channeled through Haiti’s single official meteorological service. Another challenge is disseminating the information, now that only a fifth of all media in Haiti are working, Golnaraghi said. As those aims are achieved one by one, Haiti will become better prepared for the stormy season. But time is short and the number of people at risk enor­ mous. “We recognize that this is minimal perfection,” said Knutson from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Photo courtesy of Reuters. © Street News Service: www.street-papers.org �STREETVIBES March 15 - 31, 2010 Legal Affairs 7 Once Upon a Time: Access Justice Ohio courts translate forms for immigrants By annE sKovE Contributing Writer W hen my great-grandmother was 14, she left her fam­ ily in Eastern Europe, boarded a boat and ended up in Cleveland by way of Baltimore. She had a job, owned property, gave birth to children and got married as often as the Wife of Bath. Every year she renewed her green card. And she loved The Three Stooges – physical comedy that appeals to everyone, no matter what language they speak. You don’t need to translate a pie in the face. Most people can tell a similar a family story. Eventually, we go all Borg-like and assimilate. We learn to speak impeccable English – my great-grandmother and grandmother made sure their secret language wasn’t passed down through the generations. Meanwhile the federal government – not unlike Moe and friends – remains ac­ cessible to everyone, whatever their level of English. President Clinton signed Executive Order 13166, “Improving Ac­ cess to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency,” in 2000. Along with the Department of Justice’s Enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – National Origin Discrimination Against Persons With Limited English Proficiency, it required fed­ eral agencies to “prepare a plan to improve access to its federally conducted programs and activities by eligible LEP persons.” These documents follow our country’s longstanding tradition of welcoming im­ migrants by enThese documents follow our country’s suring that the longstanding tradition of welcoming immigrants by federal governensuring that the federal government and agencies ment and agen­ cies receiving receiving federal assistance are accessible to federal assis­ people with limited English proficiency (LEP). tance are acces­ sible to people with limited English proficiency (LEP). Last fall at the Ohio Judicial Conference, “the DOJ reminded at­ tendees of their obligations regarding language access and compli­ ance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act,” says Bruno Romero, man­ ager of the Supreme Court of Ohio Interpreter Services Program. This obligation led to the translation of court documents. With a grant from the Ohio State Bar Foundation grant, the Su­ preme Court of Ohio funded the translation project. Certain court forms are now available in the five most-requested languages: Ara­ bic, Mandarin, Russian, Somali and Spanish. Twenty-seven differ­ ent instructional forms were selected for translation. They include waivers of rights, forms relating to juvenile court and forms relat­ ing to domestic violence issues. “Often, interpreters, particularly unqualified interpreters, sum­ marize, omit or misinterpret documents, principally when the documents have to be sight-translated on the spot,” Romero says. “By having these documents, courts can avoid the consequences of mistranslated statements or misunderstood instructions.” The problem that has plagued courts is: How much knowledge of English is enough? There is no test, and it can be difficult to as- The Ohio Supreme Court building in Columbus, Ohio. sess just how much a person understands. Tools have been created to help identify people with limited Eng­ lish skills and their respective needs. Law enforcement can use the “I Speak …” cards, a list of languages from Arabic to Zulu used to help communicate with victims, witnesses and others who might come into contact with the criminal justice system. A bench card, “Working with Foreign Language Interpreters in the Courtroom,” is available to help judges decide whether an interpreter is needed and to help determine interpreter qualifications. The translated forms are yet another nail in the LEP toolbox. “Greater access to the courts comes from having parties ob­ tain these forms in their own “Often, interpreters, particularly language, ideally before com- unqualified interpreters, summarize, ing to the court,” Romero says. omit or misinterpret documents, “Even if parties do not have the principally when the documents forms beforehand, if they rehave to be sight-translated on the ceive them at the time of their spot. By having these documents, appearance, they can follow courts can avoid the consequences along and not only hear but of mistranslated statements or also read important informamisunderstood instructions.” tion. This, we believe, creates -Bruno Romero greater access.” In 1860 there were 328,249 immigrants in Ohio, representing 14 percent of the state’s popu­ lation. According to ohiohistorycentral.org, “Signs in (Lancaster, Ohio) were printed in both English and German. By 1809 a German-language newspaper, Der Ohio Adler, began to be published. Cincinnati and Cleveland Germans also established their own German-language newspapers. … Over-the-Rhine emerged as an im­ portant center of German immigrant culture. The neighborhood had its own churches, clubs, and German-language newspapers.” We still enjoy many of these “immigrant” traditions today – May Festival, Oktoberfest, Bockfest (sort of the Hallmark holiday of the bunch). Why else would we eat goetta? Access to government is for everyone. Our ancestors would be proud. See more Ohio immigrant history at www.ohiohistorycentral. org. For information about the state supreme court’s Interpreter Services Program, contact Program Manager Bruno Romero at 614-387-9404 or visit http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/ JCS/interpreterSvcs/default.asp. The forms are online at http:// www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/JCS/interpreterSvcs/forms/de­ fault.asp. Want to be a court interpreter? Visit http://www.su­ premecourt.ohio.gov/JCS/interpreterSvcs/calendar/default. asp. Become a Fan of Streetvibes on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/streetvibescincinnati �8 STREETVIBES March 15 - 31, 2010 Recipe Sexy,Yummy, Veggie Your tour guide into the steamy side of vegetarian cuisine Easy Black-Eyed Peas, Okra, and Tomatoes with Couscous Serves 2 2 cups black-eyed peas, cooked and drained (or 1 15-oz can, drained) 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes, with juice 12 oz. frozen sliced okra 2 cloves garlic, minced ½ tsp. red pepper flakes 3-4 drops liquid smoke Salt to taste 1 cup couscous 1 cup water 1 tsp. olive oil Lemon juice (optional) By alEcia a. lott Contributing Writer E ating according to the seasons is a big thing these days, as it should be. Everyone from nutritionists to environmentalists tell us that, because it’s March, we should load our grocery carts with carrots, Brussels sprouts and beets. Yes, food is more nutritious, better for the environment and tastes better when eaten fresh and picked during the season in which it was natu­ rally meant to be harvested. There, I said it. But lately, during this harsh winter when I should be looking for stew recipes, my tummy’s been craving summer foods like tomatoes and okra. Now don’t get me wrong, I would never buy a fresh tomato in March in Cincin­ nati. I’d rather eat Styrofoam. Canned tomatoes, however, are always a star in my pantry, regardless of the weather. 1. Combine the first seven ingredients in a saucepan, cover and bring to a rapid boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until couscous is done. Photo by Alecia A. Lott They’re OK, right? Surely no one would object to frozen sliced okra – or, as I like to call them, green penta­ gons of happiness. Although their annual time in the spotlight as a New Year’s Eve symbol of prosperity is over, black-eyed peas are still aces to me. I like to get dried ones and cook them myself, but the canned ver- sion is good as well. Put them all together with couscous, a teeny-tiny pas­ ta that cooks in literally 3-5 minutes tops, and what do you have? Ta-da, a lazy, politi­ cally incorrect meal that will keep the chill off your bones. But don’t tell the food police. Let’s be naughty together! 2. In a second pan, boil water. Add olive oil and couscous, stir quickly and cover. Remove from heat. Let sit for five minutes. 3. Fluff couscous with a fork. Served topped with tomato mixture. For added zing, squeeze a little lemon juice on top. Alecia Lott also writes for her food and travel blog, Bang-Bang’s Quest for Yay, Yum and Yes. Visit http://bangbangquest.wordpress.com Artwork By Anthony Williams ! ? t a h W “Development should be viewed as a human rights issue, not as a question of simply increasing the gross national product (GNP). When the national economy picks up, the situation of the poor is not necessarily improved. Therefore development should be redefined. It should refer only to a positive measurable change in per capita income of the bottom 50 percent of the population.” - Muhammad Yunus Banker to the Poor: Micro-lending and the battle against world poverty Say___________________ �STREETVIBES March 15 - 31, 2010 Vendor Profile You Can’t Keep a Vendor Down Kenny Bussell sells ‘Streetvibes’ and tomatoes By GrEGory FlannEry editor ack of transportation keeps many Streetvibes vendors from taking the paper to other neighborhoods. But Kenny Bussell isn’t one of them. Bussell, 49, is one of the few vendors who sell Streetvibes in Northern Kentucky. He gets from Covington, where he lives, to Over-the-Rhine, where he picks up copies of the paper, via a bicy­ cle. But his is no ordinary bike. Bussell rigged it with a 49cc Honda motor. In addition to “I put it on in about 45 minutes,” he says. “I’ve been selling Streetvibes, taking it wide open ever since.” The motor gets 100 miles per gallon of gas. Bussell Bussell is an could go 28 miles per hour when the motor was new. urban gardener, growing tomatoes It’s no longer new, however. The clutch is going out, where he can and he says. He hopes his next motor will be chain-driven. His friction-drive motor doesn’t work when it rains. selling them to “When it gets wet, I can’t get around,” he says. local restaurants. Don’t expect those kinds of obstacles to keep Bussell from getting around. Selling Streetvibes for the past four months is just the latest way he has adapted to challenges in life. Originally from Carlisle, Ky., where he grew up on a racehorse farm, he has lived in this area for the past 25 years. “I became a truck driver when I turned 21 and drove a truck for about 15 years,” Bussell says. “I enjoyed it but I don’t have very much education so it knocked me out of the ballgame. You’ve got to be able to read road signs and read them pretty fast.” In addition to selling Streetvibes, Bussell is an urban gardener, growing tomatoes where he can and selling them to local restau­ rants. He got started three years ago when he encountered Brenda Zachmeister, owner of Morning Glory Bed And Breakfast, outside one day. “She was out there one day deciding what to do with her empty lot,” Bussell says. “I asked her if I could grow tomatoes. She said, ‘I’m a vegetarian and I think that would work pretty well.’ ” The result is a community garden, with one plot for Morning L Bussell advertises that he sells Streetvibes on the front of his bike. Photo by Lynne Ausman. Kenny Bussell. Photo by Lynne Ausman. Glory, one for Bussell and four or five plots rented by others. In fact, the garden has experienced some unwanted popularity. “It’s been like a guerilla garden,” Bussell says. “Anybody could take anything. This year we’re going to get a fence around it.” But vegetable pilferers aren’t the only people who have noticed. A lawyer in Covington lets Bussell use an empty lot on Russell Street to grow vegetables, and he has asked the city for permission to grow on empty lots that it owns. “They like the idea and they’re going to work with me,” Bussell says. “They’ve got a bunch of plants they can give me and a few tools.” Last year Bussell grew 120 tomato plants. He is aiming even higher this year, hoping to find more lots to cultivate and hire oth­ ers to work with him. “I should be able to put this together and put people to work, too,” he says. “I’ve got two or three homeless people who do odd jobs. If we work together, we won’t go hungry.” Bussell’s entrepreneurial spirit doesn’t mean his problems are over, however. “I’ve got a roof over my head right now,” he says. “My brother’s in the process of remodeling a house right now. As soon as he’s done and it’s sold, I’ll be back out on the streets. I just go from friend’s to friend’s. I don’t care for shelters. I need to get where I can get some housing.” If you have vacant land that you’d like to let for vegetable garden­ ing, or if you own a restaurant and would like to donate vegetable waste for composting, call Bussell at 859-652-8904. Half for a Half Throughout the month of March, Klosterman Baking Company will donate one half loaf of bread to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless for every half loaf sold. Pick up a coupon for Klosterman Bread at www.facebook.com/klostermanbakingcompany 9 �10 Book Review STREETVIBES March 15 - 31, 2010 Every Woman a Road Warrior New anthology is a travelogue of women’s lives By GrEGory FlannEry editor ing up afterward. “We did it all in one day, with no help from the men,” Sedillo writes. “This is not to say that the guys wouldn’t have helped, had we asked ’ve never been a woman and never owned a truck, and I have them to help us. Uncle Johnny, however, had gone an eloquent shade enough lingering sexist prejudice that I’m still surprised when I of green the first time he smelled the papers that Paula and I carried see a woman driving one. That said, a truck might have been the through the house.” perfect cover illustration for When One Door Closes: Reflections from Other kinds of loss can be equally grievous. One author comes to terms Women on Life’s Turning Points. with learning that she must carry her dead fe­ Trucks figure prominently in two of the 56 es­ tus to delivery for several weeks, only to have says that make up this powerful anthology. One her husband make sexual overtures a few days author credits a garbage truck that crashed into later. Another writer, Erin Wilson, is shocked by her car with leading her to a career of religious the idiotic comment of a doctor who refuses to ministry. Another author describes the murder perform a vasectomy on her young husband of her daughter by an estranged husband, who because his “next wife” might want children. first rammed her car with his truck and then But Wilson’s essay, like others in this book, shot her as she dangled upside-down, suspend­ isn’t without humor – though in the case of her ed by a seat belt. essay, “Biology,” some of the laughs might be This diverse collection traverses the wind­ best appreciated by women. Wilson describes ing roadway from tragedy to triumph and all the pre-surgical preparation for the vasectomy points in between in the lives of women. Edited – “his rooster plucked of every last feather, head by Terri Spahr Nelson, a clinical social worker bowed in reverence to the upcoming chop.” In in Oxford, Ohio, When One Door Closes does “Shopping in the Sperm Aisle,” Rebecca J. Love not settle for blithe happy endings but relates reveals that an extra $85 will pay for the seed of the hard-earned wisdom of women who have a donor who has a Ph.D. encountered detours, road closings and pot­ Seemingly minor events can prove life-al­ holes and sometimes run out of gas on their tering. In “Ending the Tyranny of ‘Supposed journeys. To,’ ” Margo Pierce – a contributing writer for Readers will know from the start that this is no Streetvibes – describes the awakening she expe­ Chicken Soup for the Soul takeoff. The first es­ rienced when she put canisters on her kitchen say is by a woman married to a female-to-male counter-top. It was an act of rebellion against a transsexual, frustrated that so many questions domineering husband. But it was the reaction about their relationship are merely anatomical. by Pierce’s sister that made the author realize Another author talks about her four marriages. that something in her marriage was terribly Yet another describes herself as happily mar­ wrong. ried but unable to escape the feelings she has After each chapter, Spahr Nelson lists “Re­ for another man. flection Points,” and she closes the book with “Lessons Learned.” These Spahr Nelson has organized the essays into chapters that capture are helpful and un-intrusive but sometimes unnecessary. The authors some of the complexity of women’s lives – marriage and divorce, parent­ do a fine job of drawing the lessons on their own. ing, abuse, illness, addiction, finding one’s identity, careers and death. In “Winter Solstice,” Karen Ander Francis notes, “Resentment is like Death makes many appearances. taking poison and expecting the other person to die.” “I’m Here,” by Alice Coggin Bagley, “A New Challenge” by Va Vang, who caught me off guard. Her account of moved in 1975 from Laos to Thailand her friend’s dying day is excruciating. Readers will know from the start that this is and then to the United States, best sums Bagley had the unhappy task of helping up the book’s theme: “No one really no Chicken Soup for the Soul takeoff. The first her friend’s family prepare for the death knows what life might throw at us. One essay is by a woman married to a female-to-male – a task I had in the case of both my par­ transsexual, frustrated that so many questions about day we think that life will be the same ents but which didn’t affect me in the their relationship are merely anatomical. Another and we will be doing the same thing all gut-wrenching way this essay did. author talks about her four marriages. Yet another our lives. Then change strikes without In “Paula,” Vickie Andresen Sedillo describes herself as happily married but unable to warning.” discusses the suicide of her schizo­ Spahr Nelson is donating 35 percent escape the feelings she has for another man. phrenic mother: “By the time the news of profits from When One Door Closes to came that Mom had died, she had been charities: the Global Fund for Women; dead for years. Not her body, but whatever it was deep inside her that the Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network; the Beginning Over Founda­ made her my mother was long dead.” As if to drive home the point, the tion; the Washington Area Women’s Foundation; and Women's Legal Re­ mother’s body lay undiscovered for two months in her apartment in the source. To order a copy, visit sugatipublications.com. Arizona desert. To Sedillo and her friend fell the odiferous task of clean- I Want more Streetvibes? Check out the StreetviBeS Blog http://streetvibes.wordpress.com STREETVIBES Only purchase Vendor Streetvibes from BADGED vendors. Vendors wear their WHITE badges while they sell the Mary paper. �STREETVIBES March 15 - 31, 2010 Book Review The Chemistry of Faith 11 Neuro-science studies religion’s effect on the brain 1 By JErEmy FlannEry Contributing Writer D o you believe God exists? Whether or not She is with us, our brains crave faith exercised through prayer or meditation and discussion, accord­ ing to neuroscientist Andrew Newberg, M.D. and Mark Robert Waldman, an associate fel­ low of the University of Pennsylvania. The two authors of How God Changes Your Brain do not assert correctness for any ideology. Newberg writes he is open to the possibility of God’s existence while Waldman chooses to view the universe through evidence. I prefer an agnostic mesh that bor­ rows benevolent facets of the monotheisms and Buddhism. The book provides scientific evidence that suggests personal perspectives of faith are more complex than such labels as Hasidic Jew, Sunni Muslim and Method­ ist Christian; and certainty about faith eludes us, even atheists. “Ultimately, it is a mistake to assume Yawning, the fifth best that any self-assigned label, category or de­ way, is the best-kept scription of religious secret for maintaining belief accurately capa healthy brain, the tures a person’s value authors write. Smile system or moralat the idea and try it. ity,” the authors write. The authors say the act improves alertness, “Furthermore, our rememory recall, voluntary search suggests that control and temperature the more a person regulation, and it helps contemplates his or her values and beliefs, us relax and focus before taking on physical the more they are apt to change.” or mental tasks. The authors sought to study how faith neurologically affects the human brain and how views of God compare among various groups. So they ventured into the minds of Americans who participated in surveys to offer their personal perspectives of God. Par­ ticipants drew pictures of God and described how God feels along with other surveys for the authors to mold an anatomical explana­ tion of how people perceive God through the human senses. The majority of respondents expressed be­ nevolent views of God as an abstract notion beyond their ability to fully comprehend. Also, the religious demographic in the United States is shifting from religious denomina­ tions to individualized spiritual practices. The authors’ research suggests that God in the minds of Americans faces an identity cri­ sis: He might be She or neuter, loving, com­ manding, caring, damning or non-existent. Young children tend to see God as anthro­ pomorphic, they write. As our young brains develop, especially the frontal lobe, which is attributed toward logic and critical thinking, we begin to see God as more of an abstract notion and sometimes shed religious instruc­ tions to establish personal beliefs, they write. The authors used brain scans to see what parts of the brain become active during med­ itation or prayer. They scanned the brains of people who meditate or pray for about an hour each day to compare to those who do not by asking them to pray or meditate for 12 minutes. The results show that those who pray or meditate daily have decreased activ­ ity in their parietal lobes, the portion of the brain associated with concern for the ego. Religious fundamentalism is not a neuro­ logical pathogen sparking theistic violence, according to the authors. They write that, if the focus is positive, such beliefs can cause beneficial effects in the human brain. Fear of an angry god and resentment and anger toward infidels, however, cause brain dam­ age by releasing destructive neuro-chemicals into the brain. “Anger interrupts the functioning of your frontal lobes,” the authors write. “Not only do you lose the ability to be rational, you lose the awareness that you’re acting in an irrational way. When your frontal lobes shut down, it’s impossible to listen to the other person, let alone feel empathy or compassion.” But the authors offer brain exercises and meditation techniques to alleviate such neg­ ative thoughts. They offer their “eight best ways to exercise your brain.” “Neuro-scientific evidence has governed our choice in selecting the eight best ways to maintain a healthy brain,” they write. The list might be surprising. Repetitive smiling is the eighth best way to enhance your brain as it helps to maintain a positive outlook. Staying intellectually active ranks seventh. “This should be (if you will pardon the pun) a no-brainer,” they write. “When it comes to the dendrites and axons that connect one neuron to thousands of others, if you don’t use it, you will lose it.” Consciously relaxing with pleasant music, meditating for 12 minutes per day, engag­ ing in aerobic exercise and participating in meaningful discussions also rank upon their list. Yawning, the fifth best way, is the bestkept secret for maintaining a healthy brain, the authors write. Smile at the idea and try it. The authors say the act improves alert­ ness, memory recall, voluntary control and temperature regulation, and it helps us relax and focus before taking on physical or men­ tal tasks. The authors consider faith to be the best way to exercise your brain because it drives us to believe in ourselves and maintain an optimistic approach toward life. Is it possible to perform all eight activities together? The authors don’t say, but an at­ tempt seems like a healthful challenge. The book is a cornerstone for studying how certain activities positively or negatively affect your mind and ways to enhance your brain’s health and vitality. If you’re interested in understanding your own brain more, the authors cite 546 scientific studies related to their research. The most inspiring information in How God Changes Your Brain is that we can gener­ ate new brain cells, we can reroute our neu­ rological circuitry toward more compassion and optimism and we can understand the written results of neuro-scientific research. The proof? I grasped it, and I’m an idiot. �12 Local News and Views Typecasting Jim Tarbell Plays a dummy at League of Women Voters roast By JEssE call Contributing Writer T he League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area celebrated 90 years of political activism Feb. 27 at its annual Susan B. Anthony Dinner by tak­ ing jabs at Cincinnati politicians. Former Cincinnati Mayor Jerry Springer, now a tabloid talk show host, emceed the event, in which Republican Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Patricia Clancy, Democratic judicial candidate Dan Donnellon and Jim Tarbell, a Char­ ter Party candidate for Hamilton County Commissioner and Jim Tarbell. former Cincinnati vice mayor, were roasted. Mayor Mark Mallory was originally scheduled to be roasted, but was replaced by Donnellon when Mallory did not attend. Among the highlights of the evening was the response by Donnellon, a former stand-up comedian, to his roasting. Donnellon cracked jokes about Springer and his hosting the second season of the television show, America’s Got Talent. The winner in that season was a ventriloquist and impressionist. Donnellon apparently doesn’t have a high regard for ventriloquism, which he referred to as “doing singing impressions with puppets.” Donnellon then called Tarbell to the podium and used him as a dummy. Placing his hand on Tarbell’s back, Donnellon impersonated Louie Armstrong singing “What a Wonderful World” as Tarbell colorfully pretended to be performing. “Jerry!” Donnellon said. “That’s not talent, people!” Donnellon also said that one lesson he learned when going into politics was to “bear an odd resemblance to Mr. Clean” in order to get the Procter and Gamble vote, a clear jab at Tarbell’s bald head. Another highlight was when Tarbell finished his response by playing harmonica for the audience. The towering mural of Tarbell in Over-theRhine came up when Clancy said she feels safe in Over-the-Rhine. “The scariest thing I ever saw in Over-the-Rhine is that painting of Jim Tarbell,” she said. The mural has been a subject of controversy in Over-the-Rhine. Residents were not asked for input before the mural was painted, and there are differing views on whether Tarbell is a hero or villain in the community (see “Gigantic Insult? Towering Tribute?,” issue of Jan. 1-14). Many have accused Tarbell of backing gentrification, driving out the residents of the community in order to make it more appealing to people with higher incomes. Tarbell was an ardent foe of the late Buddy Gray, founder of the Drop Inn Center and the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. After the event, Springer said he didn’t mind the jabs he received. A week prior to hosting the League of Women Voters dinner, he hosted WWE Raw, a popular wrestling program on TV, but said that “people here have more teeth.” Springer also shared his perspec­ tive on how homelessness has changed in the years since he was Cincinnati mayor. “It’s getting better,” he said. “We’re not there yet. And particularly in tough economic times, people become less worried about taking care of each other and more about taking care of themselves. We see that with the health care. You become so blasé about it, and that scares me. I hope we aren’t losing our compassion.” Springer said he was unsure wheth­ er he would get involved in Cincinnati politics again, saying he still had it in his system but that he doesn’t need a job. When voters prepare for elec­ tions, the League of Women Voters is a better source of information than the news media, he said. “As cable news has become so obviously more partisan on both sides, there are more and more people that just want the straight scoop where they don’t feel there is going to be a bias even if there wasn’t one,” Springer said. “As we get closer to elections, more and more people are asking, ‘Where can we go to find out basic in­ formation on these people?’ … This is where the league can do great work.” Although the issue of homelessness didn’t come up during the roast, the league’s monthly publication, The Voter, features homelessness and its impact on the community. League President Alice Schneider discussed the issue in her letter to readers, shar­ ing an experience at a discussion group of women at the Drop Inn Cen­ ter. “One left because of abuse,” Schneider wrote. “Another found her­ self without the means to stay in her home after her husband died. Another was recovering from drug and alcohol abuse and was trying to stay sober. One talked about how the FBI was tracking her down – we guessed that mental illness might be a partial reason for her homelessness. The stories were all different but the one thing that was the same was that they were homeless now and needed a place to stay.” STREETVIBES March 15 - 31, 2010 Let me Explain Helping you understand me By larry Gross Contributing Writer statements, balance sheets and general ledger account analysis, enough was enough. However, for fun, some­ ’ve been a writer in Cincinnati times my old accounting buddies and for over 12 years now, and I’m I get together and prepare amortiza­ a w a r e tion schedules that a lot of – just for the you still haven’t pure enjoyquite figured ment of it. me out. PerLet me exhaps as a public plain why I’m service, I’d like now a writer: to explain why In my youth I am the way I and in a lot of am and maybe my adult life, also enlighten I was always you on some talked out of it things you – you know, I’ll probably don’t never be able know about to support myme. Ready? self by doing it. Let me exOver 12 years plain why I ago, I said the drink vodka: hell with it; it’s I like the way what I want to it tastes with do. So far I’m tonic water, Larry Gross. Photo by Andrew Anderson. still able to and somebody buy vodka and told me once it doesn’t have any car- cigarettes, so I’ll consider this career bohydrates. I’ll continue to believe change a complete success. that even if it’s not true. You also can’t Let me explain why I’m diabetic: smell it on my breath. I usually don’t It’s my mother’s fault. care if someone can smell alcohol Let me explain my view on friends on me, but if I’m standing in line at a who desert you when you’re down bank, I don’t want someone sniffing and when you really need them: They and trying to figure me out. really weren’t your friends anyway. Let me explain why bus drivers Let me explain why I’m not a beer should like me: I’m the kind of rider drinker: Before vodka, I was always a who always has the exact fare and beer drinker. But years ago, at a bar waiting to turn it over as soon as I get down around the river, I really got sick on the bus. I’m not the kind of pas- on a brand. I haven’t really enjoyed a senger who starts looking for change beer since. after getting on the bus or asking othLet me explain my opinion on Jay er passengers if they have change for Leno: Did you really think this guy a $5 bill. would walk away from late night? He Let me explain why I’m usually nice was always kind of “waiting in the to telephone solicitors: I’ve had to do lobby” for Conan to tank, but Conan this a few times in my life to help make didn’t get enough time to build his ends meet. It’s a thankless, shitty job. show, in part because of Leno’s poor You get paid very little money, and showing as the lead in at 10 o’clock. people can be nasty as hell. Really, all Whatever. I never thought Leno was a person has to do is say, “No, thank funny. I’ll continue to watch Letteryou” and hang up. man. Let me explain why I don’t answer Let me explain why I don’t really the phone after 8 p.m.: If I’m drink- care if you think I’m a “character” : ing – and I’m a big boy; sometimes I Now that I’m older with longish, grayam – I don’t feel like acting normal on ish blonde hair that’s too long, I’ve bethe phone when I’m clearly not. I’ve come increasingly known as someone heard other people’s slurred speech who says what he thinks – namely a on the phone, and it’s not very be- character. “Oh, he’s a character. … Oh, coming. you never know what’s going to come Let me explain my reason to con- out of his mouth.” Etc, etc, etc. The re­ tinue to smoke: It relaxes me and goes ality is I’m pretty much the same pergreat with my coffee in the morning. I son I’ve always been. If getting older like it when I’m writing. Something’s gives me a license to speak my mind gonna get me at the end, and it might without being judged, I’ll accept beas well be something I enjoy. ing that character you think I’ve reLet me explain why I enjoy going to cently become. Northern Kentucky bars: I can smoke Let me explain my continued aninside. noyance with iceberg lettuce: Even Let me explain why I have only two upscale restaurants in Cincinnati cups of coffee in the morning: I might continue to serve this crap. It has no want more; but if I have more than nutritional value. None. It’s like eating two cups, I start to feel sick and my tap water. heart starts to race. All right—done for now. Of course Let me explain my giving money there’s more to explain about myself, to panhandlers: I usually think I’m but Streetvibes refused to devote this a paycheck away from being there entire issue to me. Yeah, I know. Pretty myself. It can’t be a good time asking damn selfish. strangers for money, so I try to put myself in their place. Let me explain why I’m no longer an accountant: After 33 years of income I Larry Gross’s latest book, Living Out Loud, is available at barnesandnoble.com and other online bookstores. �STREETVIBES March 15 - 31, 2010 13 Sports Big, Fast and Costly Poetry Corner Living large in the NFL to By B. cliFton BurKE Contributing Writer Q uarterbacks will always rule the roost in the NFL, but the next hot­ test position this off-season appears to be the fat guys – the defensive tackles. The mania for the plus-sized run-stuffers technically started last season when the Wash­ ington Redskins paid $100 million for every ounce of the 350-pound Albert Haynesworth. That trend has grown in 2010 after witnessing multiple teams either franchise tag or sign big contracts to the big men who eat up space on the interior of the defensive line. The Green Bay Packers slapped their tackle, Ryan Pickett, with the franchise tag, as did the 49ers with Aubrayo Franklin and New Eng­ land with Vince Wilfork (though Wilfork even­ tually signed a five-year, $40 million contract with the Patriots). The divisional scumbags, the Pittsburgh Steelers, signed their aged be­ hemoth Casey Hampton to three more years for around 21 million bucks. Even the Bengals have made re-signing Tank Johnson a top off­ season priority. Part of the reason tackles have become a more valued commodity of late is because of the recent fad teams have adopted, switching to a 3-4 defensive scheme. In a 3-4, the most interior player is known as a nose-tackle, and this man's job is to be as large as possible and force ball carriers to the outside. Sounds sim­ ple, but nothing in the NFL is that easy. Even though some of these guys resemble small moons, they are still surprisingly nimble men who, when healthy, become a major setback the opposition's running game. Nearly every effective 3-4 defense has a formidable nose-tackle as its centerpiece. The rush to acquire good tackles is also showing up in early draft prognostications. The first two selections of the 2010 draft could very well be defensive tackles, Ndamukong Suh from Nebraska and Gerald McCoy of Oklahoma. Suh, with the build of a Volkswa­ gen, possesses the size and agility to fit into either a 3-4 or 4-3 scheme. McCoy is a little lighter and seems more suited to pair with another defensive tackle in a 4-3 set. Both of these players will be handed impressive con­ tracts and will become the building blocks for the defenses they play for. It doesn't end with the top two either. Up­ wards of five defensive tackles could be select­ ed in the first round this year. Heavyweights Dan Williams of Tennessee, Brian Price of UCLA and Jared Odrick of Penn State are also considered valuable prospects and won't like­ ly be around by the third round. There is even a player nicknamed “Mount” because of his sheer enormity. Terrence Cody of Alabama ac­ tually lost 20 pounds to weigh in around 350 at the Scouting Combine. The gobs of money going to the defensive tackles is yet another trend in the trendiest pro sports league on the planet. Because they are in such a high demand now, many will be locked into longer contracts and won't sur­ face on the free market again for quite awhile. What that translates to general managers and owners is this: Step right up and get your fat guy of the future. His big, he's fast and he's costly, but he will stop the run for years to come. A Paradox of Peace by SpenCer Ledyard Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances. -Mahatma Gandhi He took his time. There was no rush. He paused. A peace within: breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. The harmony of mind and body caused By vast experience; it spread throughout. The light was good. The wind was down. No clouds, No shadow cast by tree or building face, And underfoot, the little, rounded shrouds That glide along beneath the human race. His pulse was slow. His hand was still. He kneeled. He closed his eyes. He counted ten. And then He opened them and saw a crowded field Where people milled around. He said, “Amen.” And all he felt was nothing, cold or hot, As he took aim; and let off his first shot. Peace Between Reloading by SpenCer Ledyard Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading. -Unknown Two up, two across, then an X, an O, X,O,X,O,X. Tic-tac-toe, you win. Wanna play again? The game's all chance; no, Let's do something else before we move in. How many are inside or do we know? They shouldn’t be armed but, well, maybe ten ... Christ ... gimme a grenade before we go. Here. What are we waiting for? The captain ... Oh, when? Zero zero zero zero. That's like twenty minutes ago. ... So when? I don't know, we’ll give him ten more or so And if he ain’t here yet we'll start blastin’. So ... wanna play again? Nah, that game’s dumb, (Yawn) It only kills time and killin’ time’s dumb. Quiet Rebel by SpenCer Ledyard I am listening to Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited loudly on headphones that block out other noise. On this military base in Japan I take them off to scratch my ear and hear on the intercom The Star Spangled Banner. I quickly pull my headphones back on. Ode to the Homeless Man Passed Away by JuLeS Cantor Thirty springs, thirty summers, thirty short lived years Not to mention thirty winters through which he persevered Through thirty years he was a source of strength, though now he’s simply gone And though no longer with us, his legacy lives on �14 Letters to the Editor The Demise of Hip-Hop STREETVIBES March 15 - 31, 2010 Firing people isn’t Easy Dear Editor, To the Editor: I really enjoyed the piece by Ariana Shahandeh in your latest edition of Streetvibes, entitled “New Voices of the Voiceless” (issue of Jan. 1-15). Shahan­ deh writes so passionately about the demise of the hip-hop genre and about the amazing work of people like Radiant Amar and Jasiri X, who are working to save it. It really inspired me to seek out music such as theirs that really address all that the world is going through today. Music is such a strong outlet for so many individuals, and getting rid of all of the Hollywood-superficial musicians and going back to music that connects with reality could have such a strong impact on the youth of today. I hope that featuring Radiant Amar and Jasiri X in your newspaper speaks to other people like it spoke to me and raises awareness of the hardships that everyone faces in the world each day. Keep up the amazing work! First of all I’d like to applaud you on what a wonderful paper you are pro­ ducing. Streetvibes seems to be a wonderful outlet for news that I simply have not seen elsewhere. I am the photo-editor of The Scroll, the paper at my high school, and I definitely appreciate the breadth of content and the interesting perspectives presented in each of the articles. I received a copy of the paper following a presentation on the homeless, and it’s given me a perspective on certain hot-topic issues that I hadn’t seen before. One thing I wanted to comment on was the article “On the Streets, Not ‘Up in the Air’ ” (issue of Jan. 15-30). I definitely understand the author's point that not all those who get let go react angrily, but I suppose I have another one of those contrasting viewpoints. My father works in relatively the same business as Clooney’s character does, and I would argue that the reason the movie fo­ cused in so much on the people that became violent is because these people have the most effect on people like my dad. My father spends most of his time on his airplane (he is just about to break 2 million miles), and while the main portion of his job is not to fire people, this part certainly upsets him. Whenever you google my dad, up pop up blogs describing my father as Sa­ tan or even insulting his mother or my sister and myself. Even though my dad is just doing his job, many people take it personally and thus backlash against him and his team. In one office in Tampa, someone even threatened my father with a bomb. While smaller staffs may not respond in such an ugly manner, “corporate crap” is different. While the movie may not have taken the direction the author suggested (and please recommend the movie Outsourced to them as, if they really want to see O&O, that's their gig), I think it was successful in exploring the psychological toll that those kinds of jobs have on the people that do them. My dad is con­ vinced I think he’s a monster because of what he does. He’s never home, people hate on him over the Internet, and his job is basically to make some people miserable. It’s not all he does, but it’s a part of it, and it's something that affects him every day. I really enjoyed reading your paper, and if I have the opportunity to get my hands on another copy in the future, I certainly will take advantage of it. Claire Heinichen Cincinnati Music as a Refuge To the editor: In reading the local newspaper, the article that stood out to me was “New Voices of the Voiceless” (issue of Jan. 1-15) As I read it I just made so many con­ nections. The music and its importance in tough times relates to The Soloist and the story of Nathaniel on the streets getting by with his violin. Music really seems to be the best rehab for people going through tribulations, just like Jay Z. He is definitely a rare case since he made it big. However, I agree with the writer and the local artists’ views on how fame and big time artists are too fo­ cused on the money and fame. I almost hope Jasiri X doesn’t make it big so his views stay pure and his songs stay clean. The second connection I made in thinking about this article was the com­ ments made about self-absorbed musicians. I probably would never have thought much of it except that in school right now we are reading Walt Whit­ man. His poems were intended to reach out to the common man back in the late 19th century. However, his book was misunderstood and nationally re­ jected. I see the book’s failure at the time due to Whitman’s overuse of personal experiences. Many infer the poet is cocky and pompous. I do not agree yet I do see how they could make this judgment. I think that popular artists who only sing about themselves rub off to listen­ ers like Whitman did. While their songs may be catchy and appeal to the pub­ lics’ auditory senses, the meaning is often shallow. Jasiri X and Radiant Amar are totally right in their criticism of today’s trend to glorify hard-core partying when really alcohol can lead to homelessness. It’d be ideal to have more mod­ est, conservative artists spreading positive messages of hope rather than pro­ moting bad habits that lead to troublesome society. If you ever are in touch with either artist, please pass along my support. I listened to them both on youtube and enjoy their new outlook on hip hop as well as their messages. Lastly, I thought “Turn in your Gun Day” was a neat idea. While people prob­ ably underestimate me and most of my classmates for any connection or em­ pathy to what goes on downtown and in “bad” neighborhoods, I have a di­ rect connection through my tennis coach. He grew up in Over-the-Rhine and throughout his childhood alone saw friends and family members shot before his eyes. I admire him for making a life for himself, avoiding trouble when it tempted him. I think the music piece offers some hope to people who find themselves in what seems to be a terrible situation that feels never-ending. Slaves in the 1800s used music as therapy; it served as a kind of refuge they could enjoy in the midst of all their suffering. Music today can help people, too. First, if you’re good enough, you can turn it into a profession. If not, just singing can bring a smile to your face. The messages in songs also give hope to those feeling des­ perate. And the fact that all of this is discussed to a degree in the newspaper enhances people’s knowledge of musical healing. I really enjoyed the article and newspaper. Good luck to your vendors. God bless those who passed away last year. Thank you for coming to our school and talking to us. Elizabeth Ann Blackburn Cincinnati Military Recruiter Lied To the Editor: In response to “Stop Abuses by Military Recruiters” (issue of March 1-14), I went into the military in 1966, and the military recruiter at 500 Main St. told me I could go to Hawaii, if I signed up for four years, and avoid Vietnam. I arrived at Scho­ field Barracks, Hawaii, at the receiving barracks. Within a week I was assigned to an infantry company, and a month later I was training troops from Taiwan, Philippines and South Korea. I was with a jungle warfare training unit that was preparing new recruits for Vietnam. On Nov. 2, 1967, I was shipped out on a mer­ chant ship to Vietnam with the 11th Infantry Brigade. The recruiter lied. Sonny Williams Clifton Ilana Habib Cincinnati Homeless People Deserve Respect To the Editor: Reading the Jan. 1 edition of Streetvibes, I came across a phrase that really res­ onated with me. In the article, “Homeless Coalition Marks 25 Years,” Liz Carter is quoted as saying, “Ten years ago I was one of those people who thought that, in Cincinnati, if you're not making it, it's probably because you're not trying hard enough.” I have a confession, too: I believed the exact same thing. When I passed a homeless man I thought, GGosh. He should really get a job and stop begging for money.” I categorized all homeless people under the same, lazy, sloppy stereotype. But after hearing the representatives from the Homeless Coalition that came to my school last week, Grady’s story, and read­ ing your newspaper, I have a new understanding of the homeless. I now know that every person is different: different story, different person­ ality, different life. I know that many become homeless due to circumstances completely out of their control. I know that being homeless presents difficul­ ties and situations that I can't even begin to imagine. And, most importantly, I know that each homeless person deserves the same respect I give to every other person I meet. Thank you for helping me to better understand my fellow human beings. Ali Breneman Cincinnati Have something on your mind? Do you agree or disagree with an article? Let us know: 117 E. 12th Street 1 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 1 streetvibes2@yahoo.com �STREETVIBES March 15 - 31, 2010 15 Resources Need Help or Want to Help? Shelter: Women and Children Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 Central Access Point Cincinnati Union Bethel 381-SAFE 768-6907 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Salvation Army 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 357-4602 352-2902 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John 558-8888 981-5800 NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach Treatment: Men 458-6670 977-4489 872-9259 Charlie’s 3/4 House Shelter: Men 784-1853 Other Resources 721-0643 921-1613 Center Independent Living Options Emmanuel Community Center 961-2256 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Starting Over Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 961-4080 Treatment: Both 761-1480 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 Drop Inn Center 721-0643 471-1100 221-3350 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 Housing: CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House Dana Transitional Bridge Services Volunteers of America 621-5300 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread Hamilton County ADAS Board Recovery Health Access Center Sober Living Talbert House 351-7921 631-1114 211 977-5541 St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry 863-3184 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 Advocacy Northern Kentucky Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 Brighton Center 859-491-8303 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 579-8547 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 421-2437 ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 621-1868 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 721-4700 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center Faces Without Places Stop AIDS 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Health Center for Respite Care 535-2719 People Working Cooperatively The Caring Place United Way Women Helping Women Hamilton/Middletown 946-4888 281-7422 681-0324 641-4300 621-6364 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 771-4800 751-0600 721-4811 241-2965 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 961-4555 751-0643 381-1954 Food/Clothing Lord’s Pantry OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 351-0422 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) AA Hotline CCAT Goodwill industries Healing Connections Mary Magdalen House 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 381-0111 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 First Step Home Anthony House (Youth) 621-5514 214 E. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 661-4620 Shelter: Both 241-2600 241-2563 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Treatment: Women 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mt. Airy Shelter DIC Live In Program Prospect House 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Justice Watch 241-0490 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 St. Francis Soup Kitchen Health Resource Center Homeless Mobile Health Van McMicken Dental Clinic 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 762-5660 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 381-2247 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Bethany House FreeStore/FoodBank Crossroad Health Center 859-491-3335 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 Vendor Voice Halfway Houses Help the Community Rehabilitation and a way to become productive By GEorGE HErrEll StreetvibeS vendor case-management geared toward ensuring that ex-offenders are equipped to re-enter society as productive members of the community. They provide structure and guidance that individuals being released from The term “halfway house” might conjure up thoughts of illiterate convicts prison wouldn’t otherwise receive, while at the same time holding clients en­ who’ve spent most of their lives behind bars or of drug addicts who’ve fried tirely accountable for their actions, achievements and/or failures. their brains with dope until they can barely complete the In some instances they even serve an interventional func­ simplest thought without assistance. tion, accepting probationers with the hope that having the In fact, however, today’s halfway houses are “transition­ They provide structure and same services offered to them might prevent the need for ing stations” which contain a wealth of talents, ideas and expensive, extended incarcerations at state facilities. guidance that individuals abilities from all walks of life, and although there are those More often than, not halfway houses benefit the commu­ being released from prison few individuals who simply hope to use them as easy endnity as well as their clients by offering a centralized pool of wouldn’t otherwise receive, ings to long stints in jail, more and more you’ll find that while at the same time holding employable individuals eager to prove themselves in the job halfway house programs are last-ditch havens of hope for market and eventually releasing those individuals as suc­ clients entirely accountable men and women alike who’ve made poor choices in the cessful productive individuals to their respective communi­ for their actions, achievepast and now want nothing more than to improve the qual­ ties once their debts to society have been paid. ments and/or failures. ity of their lives. So the next time that you hear of the possibility that a Programs such as Volunteers of America, Talbert House halfway house might be opening in your neighborhood, and Cornerstone, just to name a few, offer such services as “corrective think- take the time to “play the tape all the way through,” honestly weigh the alter­ ing” courses, G.E.D. classes, employment counseling, as well as individual natives, check the statistics. Make an informed choice. �16 Artists as Activists STREETVIBES March 15 - 31, 2010 Farron Allen’s Body of Work Bits and pieces of humanity in a cry for freedom F arron Allen grew up in the mountains of southern West Vir­ ginia, the product of three generations of coalminers. He was raised by loving and religious grandparents who imparted to him the rigorous and somewhat rigid teachings of their Southern Baptist faith. As a child, he helped his father build things around the house; it gave him a good sense for materials and constructions that proved important in his artistic direction. Allen is a sculptor who uses primarily fabricated or found metal objects, casted and welded together, thus given a new life. “In my work, I usually incorporate fragments – found, given, from my own history, of my creation – that I weld together in a final form that bears a special meaning,” he says. “The finished product makes a statement and connects to me, my art, the history of the objects included, the people they represent.” Allen is also a popular art teacher at the University of Cincinnati (UC), where he teaches sculpture foundry. Despite his early inclinations to art, reflected by his constant draw­ ing as a child and throughout school, Allen did not pursue art educa­ tion until in his late twenties. In college, he earned two degrees in social work, specializing in aging. He worked then in nursing homes and community programs, an occupation he enjoyed but that he in­ terrupted, relocating to Florida for personal reasons. When he returned a few years later to his native West Virginia, not finding a satisfying job in social work, he worked as a toll collector on the West Virginia Turnpike. This allowed him to further his artistic interest: working on the midnight shift, he took advantage of its slow pace to re-immerse himself in art and create a whole body of drawings collectas ed by friends, coworkers and regular truckers who came through his lane. By saaD GHosn Eight years later, due Contributing Writer to the tedious nature of his otherwise well pay­ ing job, Allen decided to quit it and pursue instead an art career. He enrolled at West Virginia University, received a bachelor of fine arts degree in sculpture and graphic design, then at UC for a master of fine arts degree in sculp­ ture. Allen has lived in Cincinnati since then, creating his own art and teaching at the university. The human figure always held an important place in his work. Ab­ stracted life-size at the beginning, it became progressively decom­ posed into body parts, hands, faces, incorporated in sculptures with found objects, tools, spoons, crosses. Skulls and bones were also of­ ten prominent. This imagery, termed the Attack on Innocence by Allen, coincided with the emerging of the AIDS epidemic and Allen’s experience of the A rtists ctivists Hammered into Form, bronze and steel sculpture by Farron Allen. Photo by Bill Howes Farron Allen stands behind his sculpture, Reaching Out. Photo by Bill Howes. death of many of his friends and lovers. It was his reaction to the phys­ ical disintegration of a large generation of young individuals, also to his anger at the negative societal response to the disease because it affected predominantly homosexual men. Other concerns that transpired all along through Allen’s works pertained to religion, its conflict with sexuality, its misuse for power and control; the moral hypocrisy that frequently rules society, the imposed conformist values that disagree with the individual’s basic aspirations. Being raised in a poor area controlled by corporations, brought up in a religion that denied and denigrated his own sexual expression and brainwashed with a set of rules contradictory to his thoughts and beliefs generated anger that came out as a statement in his work. Allen’s response, initially visceral and cathartic, later be­ came message-laden, compassionate in its story telling. “I want my art to speak to people, to trigger questioning and think­ ing, to generate a reaction, even if not always positive,” he says. “I want the history behind my work and its implications to be commu­ nicated and perceived.” Commemorating those who died from AIDS, Allen did a series of altars with lights and mounds of bones, commentaries on death and life. Addressing the mixing of religion and sexuality, he did an installa­ tion that included a cross composed of thousands of small crucifixes and an altar made of waxed underwear having phallic lights inside them. Reflecting on his own religious upbringing, childhood and sexual­ ity, he did a series of Hair Boxes, incorporating his grandmother’s jew­ elry, family bibles, crucifixes, his own hair that his grandmother had saved, casted body parts. He was thus enclosing his personal history with its conflicts and contradictions inside a box. Hammered into Form, a bronze and steel black sculpture, repre­ sents a hand caught between two hammers, tools used to forge met­ al. He meant it as an allegory to how we’re formed as human beings, forged by our upbringing, education, external factors, opportunities. The hand appears stuck, yet seems to reach out for change. A spoon, symbol of what is spoon-fed and forced down one’s throat, but also of medicine and cure, is placed in front of it. A twisted piece of metal rod welded to the side alludes to knotted and painful internal organs. The piece also addresses the boundaries and regulations set by govern­ ment and laws, often to profit those in power, at the expense of the individual. Reaching Out, a similarly themed sculpture, represents a hand cov­ ered with nails, displayed on a heavy tall structure with a chain. The hand reaches out but is weighted down and imprisoned. “Body parts are a frequent metaphor in my work,” Allen says. “They deal with the idea of attack, initially centered on AIDS – the rejection of a generation of people by government policy, morality, fear of con­ tamination – but also attack on the essence and integrity of the indi­ vidual by religion, politics, power and greed.” Through his art and teaching, Allen continues his plea to liberate the human from all that ties it down, especially rules hypocritically condoned by society. The cocooned, enclosed body that appeared in his earlier installations gave way later to free winged figures and an­ gels. It is a transformation he would like to trigger and see happen in everyone, including himself. “I cannot imagine myself not doing art,” Allen says. “Art for me is everything. I make it, teach it, surround myself with it, use it to com­ municate and to hopefully make a change.” Artists as Activists is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati artists who use art as a vehicle for change. Saad Ghosn is the founder of SOS Art. Ghosn can be contacted at saad.ghosn@uc.edu. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2010 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource March 15-31, 2010 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: City Ignores Plea for Fair Hiring Pg 2: Street Wise Pg 3: Maybe It’s Time for a Troublemaker Pg 4: City Ignores Plea for Fair Hiring Continued Pg 5: Council Turns Backs on Metropole Tenants Pg 6: More Trouble Ahead for Haiti Pg 7: Once Upon a Time: Access Justice Pg 8: Sexy, Yummy, Veggie Pg 9: You Can’t Keep a Vendor Down Pg 10: Every Woman a Road Warrior Pg 11: The Chemistry of Faith Pg 12: Typecasting Jim Tarbell Let Me Explain Pg 13: Big, Fast and Costly Pg 14: Letters to the Editor Pg 15: Resources Pg 16: Farron Allen’s Body of Work Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 15-31, 2010 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Gregory Flannery Lynne Ausman Veronica Glass Jeni Jenkins Michelle Dillingham Samantha Groark Margo Pierce Paul Kopp Jeremy Flannery Michael Henson David Heitfield Valerie Fessler Alecia A. Lott Jeni Jenkins Saad Ghosn Lew Moores Larry Gross Eli Braun Jesse Call Aimie Willhoite Anthony Williams Jennifer Blalock Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Aimie Willhoite Alecia A. Lott Anthology Anthony Williams city council Courts Dan La Botz David Heitfield Eli Braun Farron Allen Gregory Flannery Haiti Hiring Immigrants Jeni Jenkins Jennifer Blalock Jeremy Flannery Jesse Call Jim Tarbell Justice Kenny Bussel Larry Gross Lew Moores Lynn Baker Lynne Ausman Margo Pierce Metropole Michael Henson Michelle Dillingham NFL Ohio Paul Kopp Rehabilitation Religion Saad Ghosn Samantha Groark U.S. Senate Valerie Fessler Veronica Glass Women https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/e462a6a14ebad3446165907ac85e068e.pdf 6a555e6c3b2a93ae0ae50e1cc4e1157b PDF Text Text Artists as Activists Page 16 Eight Minutes Lyrical Page 3 Worship Page 6 STREETVIBES $1 M a r. 1 - 1 4 , 2 0 1 0 • A d v o c a t i n g J u s t i c e , B u i l d i n g C o m m u n i t y • I s s u e 1 7 2 Being Homeless is Against the Law Economic profiling treats 1 homeless people as criminals 1 By Margo Pierce Contributing Writer A ffluent college students set up tents, cardboard boxes and crates on private property housed in their makeshift “shanty town” as a protest against the plight of homeless people. Living outdoors for a night – food, toilets and police protection readily available – this camping offers pro­ tection for a night spent in full view of the public. A ragtag group of people huddles under a highway bridge, cars thundering overhead, setting up tents and a few belongings. They are waiting out a storm. It will likely be a few days before the rain finally stops, so they are grateful for the protection and a measure of privacy in a public place. The first group will pass the night in relative calm after the TV cameras leave. The second group will be invaded by police issuing citations before forcing them back into the storm to look for some other shelter, possibly leading to more tickets. Both situations describe people creating their own shelter. The reason they are treated so differently is economic profiling. Like other forms of profiling – targeting individuals for suspicion because of their race, faith or nationality – economic profiling uses the appearance of poverty as a basis of suspicion. Economic profiling is also used to create laws and ordinances that inten­ tionally target economically disadvantaged people, frequently homeless, for the stated reason of improving public safety. The problem is that this profiling doesn’t work, and it sanctions discrimination against people who are different, feeding an irrational fear of “homeless people.” Beautiful people can be homeless, too If you saw David Letterman or Jim Carey sleeping in a car, wrapped in a sleeping bag against the cold, would you call the police and complain that he made you feel unsafe while walking your dog? Would Halle Berry, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt on a bus-stop bench, prompt you to tell a cop that a pros­ titute was soliciting in a place where children gather? Would those people in­ spire feelings of fear, disgust or self-righteous indignation? Of course not. You’d look for a piece of paper for an autograph and get your cell phone ready to take a photo. The only difference between Letterman, Ber­ ry and other people on the street is that they managed to move beyond home­ lessness and became rich. When they were homeless, however, a call to the cops would have been a more likely outcome, because we treat homelessness as a crime. See Homeless, p. 4 Stop Abuses by Military Recruiters Cincinnati Public Schools has no policy to protect students By SaMantha groark Contributing Writer T he Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center (IJPC) has been collecting information about military recruiters mis­ leading and harassing stu­ dents in the Cincinnati Pub­ lic Schools. The organization wants the district to adopt a policy to protect students. Cincinnati youth are tar­ geted by military recruiters to join the Army and the Ma­ rines, the military branches that have sustained 93 per­ cent of the casualties in the Iraq War, according to Kristen Barker, an IJPC staff member. Over the past five years the Army has increased the num­ ber of recruiters who would normally be barred because of criminal misconduct or drug abuse, raising concerns of students being exploited. An Associated Press study found that one out of 200 frontline recruiters – the ones who deal directly with young people – were disciplined for sexual misconduct between 1996 and 2005. Hundreds more were accused of assault and harassment in districts across the country, including Cincinnati Public Schools. Because of the national increase in recruiter abuses, districts in many states have recognized the need for poli­ cies that provide clear guide­ lines to protect students. “With ongoing wars in Af­ ghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. military has aggressively stepped up its recruiting ef­ forts in high schools, spend­ ing $4 billion a year on re­ cruiting efforts,” Barker says. “Due to rising allegations of recruiter misconduct, the Government Accountability Office analyzed almost 11,000 allegations during a two-year period.” The No Child Left Behind Act, passed in 2002, mandates that schools give military re­ cruiters the same access to students as college recruiters or lose federal funding. In the Cincinnati Public Schools, individual schools set their own policies on recruiters. In selected schools, military re­ cruiters enjoy greater access than others. This includes fre­ quent visits, prime locations in schools, administration of the Army Service Vocational Aptitude Test, access to some classrooms and presence in the cafeteria. IJPC has collected stories of recruiter abuses, including misinformation about edu­ cational benefits, level of risk, ability to select jobs in the military, recruiters following students around campus and repeatedly calling minors af­ ter hours. “We’ve gone into the schools, we’ve heard sto­ ries from young people here about recruiters following them outside of the school, inside of the school, being in the hallways, the cafeteria, we’ve heard all kinds of sto­ ries about false promises,” Barker says. High-school students not equipped to handle aggres­ sive recruiting tactics might See Military, p. 9 �2 The Vibe By The Numbers 670,000 The number of people who read The Big Issue UK, a British street paper (see page 3). 69 The percentage by which property values increased in a neighborhood, thanks to new subsidized housing (see page 7). 50s Gloria McConnaghy’s age when she decided to open a Cincinnati shop selling ethnic jewelry and folk art (see page 16). 2003 The year Cincinnati City Council passed a law requiring panhandlers to be licensed (see page 1). 84 The number of pages in a guide for people who want to file their own appeals before the Ohio Supreme Court (see page 13). 5 The number of minutes requested – but not granted – for a meeting between Metropole tenants and the secretary of Housing and Urban Development (see page 11). 11,000 The number of allegations of misconduct by military recruiters during a two-year period (see page 1). Twice The number of times Bill Walsh’s team beat the Bengals in the Super Bowl after the Bengals failed to hire him (see page 12). 9 The hour at which the lights went out for the night at London Prison Farm (see page 10). StreetWise By gregory Flannery editor Disposable Income Trumps Disposable People How many poor people is the city of Cincinnati willing to push out of the way in order to let rich people have some fun? The current number is 150. That’s how many residents are left in the Metropole Apartments, which is slated to become a boutique hotel. How much money is the city of Cincinnati willing to give to developers to help rich people have some fun? The current amount is $2.5 million, approved last week by city council’s fi­ nance committee. But in case that’s not enough, the committee also approved $4.6 million in loans for the project. The Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) purchased the Metropole Apartments late last year. The building has been a federally subsidized site for affordable housing since 1971, home to more than 200 elderly and low-income residents. But 3CDC finds their presence untidy; the corporation wants that part of Walnut Street to be a playground for people who have disposable income for theater productions, contemporary art, over-priced steakhouses and so forth. All members of the finance committee voted in favor of giving the money to 3CDC for its fancy new hotel except Cecil Thomas, who abstained. The full city council is scheduled to vote on the corporate welfare package this week. STREETVIBES March 1 - 14, 2010 Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax: 513.421.7813 Email: streetvibes2@ yahoo.com Website: www. cincihomeless.org Blog: streetvibes. wordpress.com Streetvibes Staff The Cincinnati Enquirer’s report on the finance committee’s vote contained a pleasant line about 3CDC’s treatment of Metropole residents: “The Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) is helping them relocate.” Sounds like noblesse oblige at its finest, doesn’t it? Too bad it isn’t true. 3CDC is, in fact, forcing residents out of their homes. Residents of the Metropole have filed a fair-housing complaint against 3CDC with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), alleging that their forced relocation constitutes discrimina­ tion – a fact the Enquirer didn’t include in its report. Unless HUD stops the deal, Metropole residents have until November to get their low-income butts out of the way of 3CDC and the rich tourists it wants in their place. The only reason residents have that long is because of HUD regulations. But that doesn’t mean residents feel welcome in their own homes. Since the sale of the apartment building, tenants report that 3CDC and its property manager, Brickstone Properties, have neglected to maintain the waterheating system, leaving tenants to bathe and wash dishes in water that is lukewarm at best during the frigid winter. Tenants also report being harassed by management and Brickstone personnel. Tenant Robert Wavra says he encountered a person in a hallway Feb. 10 and asked if she lived in the building. It turns out the woman was a Brickstone relocation specialist, who scoffed and asked, “Do I look like I live in the building?” “I think that is an attitude that is sent down by Brickstone,” Wavra says. “It’s a mindset that we’re different. I’m hurt by it. I’ve never considered myself ‘not as good.’ ” Rob Goeller, civil rights outreach coordinator at the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Home­ less, says he isn’t surprised. “This is exactly the kind of behavior we’ve been seeing with management and Brickstone rep­ resentatives,” he says. “They tell the tenants that they care, but there is an obvious lack of re­ spect here. It’s elitism. It’s discrimination and prejudice based on class. Sadly, this is the type of behavior we’ve come to expect from Brickstone Properties and 3CDC.” Required Reading for 3CDC Meanwhile Cincinnati has lost a woman who spent decades fiercely defending the rights and dignity of low-income people and others subjected to discrimination. Karla Irvine, who served for 27 years as executive director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal (H.O.M.E.), died Feb. 19. She was 76 years old. “She is remembered as a leader in the fair-housing movement and a strong woman who pas­ sionately fought for equality and justice,” says Kendal Schwab, education and outreach assis­ tant at H.O.M.E. For a full remembrance of Irvine’s career – or if you work for 3CDC and want to learn how to treat poor people with respect – visit cincyfairhousing.com. A Continental Production The article that leads this edition of Streetvibes (“It’s Illegal to Be Homeless,” page 1) is the firstever collaboration on a single topic by members of the North American Street Newspaper As­ sociation (NASNA). To produce the report, editors of street papers across the United States and Canada shared information about the ways that laws are used to penalize homeless people for doing things outside that polite society prefers to have done inside – namely, eliminating bodily waste, sleeping, bathing and other necessary activities. Margo Pierce, a contributing writer for Streetvibes, volunteered to write the article. Andy Freeze, executive director of NASNA and former education coordinator for the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, says street papers plan to collaborate several times a year on articles that have both continental and local relevance. Editor Gregory Flannery Art Director Lynne Ausman Graphics/Layout Intern Veronica Glass Vendor Coordinator Jeni Jenkins Contributing Writers Michelle Dillingham, Samantha Groark, Margo Pierce, Paul Kopp, Jeremy Flannery, Michael Henson, David Heitfield, Valerie Fessler, Alecia A. Lott, Jeni Jenkins, Saad Ghosn, Lew Moores, Larry Gross, Eli Braun Photography/Artwork Aimie Willhoite, Lynne Ausman, Jeni Jenkins, Anthony Williams Proofreaders Jennifer Blalock Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati through coordination of services, public education, grassroots advocacy and Streetvibes. We are proud members of: �STREETVIBES March 1 - 14, 2010 8 Issues 3 M I N U T E S with a British Street Paper A business solution to a social problem By Margo Pierce Contributing Writer der to support their lifestyle – both their substance misuse and their essentials such as omeless and “vulnerably food and housing, shelter. housed” individuals in “In the long term, we pro­ the United Kingdom (UK) vide what’s called a founda­ stand on the corners of “public high­ tion worker; our charity wing ways” (sidewalks) to sell street papers provides a worker in the office just like in the United States. Swap who has access to all of the in­ “sofa surfing” for “couch surfing,” formation about the services “night shelter” for “homeless shel­ that are offered to help them ter” and “misusing substances” for out of their problem. It is not “substance abuse” and the terminol­ mandatory for them to partici­ ogy describes an identical situation: pate and access that support The Big Issue magazine is the UK’s but very few people do not – version of a street paper, printed for very, very few. Those that don’t the purpose of giving those struggling tend to gain support from us in with poverty a way to earn an income other ways.” within the context of their current life The Big Issue Foundation is circumstances. a registered charity that has the “We do a very similar thing in that mission of helping “vendors vendors who are homeless or vulner­ gain control of their lives by ad­ ably housed in some way … purchase dressing the issues which have the magazine contributed from us first to their home­ – they don’t The Big Issue’s tag line is “a lessness.” For get it for free those who are hand up, not a handout ... a – and … then business solution to a social trying to break they sell it for problem, demonstrating that their addiction, a profit. That an organization can succeed the governcore thing is whilst being simultaneously ment provides a the same,” methadone pre­ driven by commercial aims says Emma scription. But and social objectives.” Kernahan, an there’s a long area manager waiting list, and for The Big Issue. “The main differ­ vendors need a way to survive. ence (is) we work with predominantly The importance of dealing white vendors – most homeless peo­ with the root causes of home­ ple are white in the UK – even in ar­ lessness and poverty, such as eas where there is a large, ethnic mi­ addiction and mental health, Emma Kernahan, The Big Issue UK. Photo by Lynne Ausman. nority population. That’s the biggest became apparent to one local and most obvious difference when government after they asked I walk into an office in the U.S. And The Big Issue to leave their commu­ the magazine to return. After lengthy that they need … because it’s slightly we work with a very large number nity about five years ago. The council negotiations, The Big Issue returned more informal,” Kernahan says. “And of people who are actively misusing of Brighton adopted a “local connec­ to Brighton and has an office in a they make sure that nobody’s sell­ substances and have mental health tion” policy that limits services by the privately held building. The reason ing the magazine that doesn’t have a problems. Those two things are in­ government or government-funded they’re back? badge or doing it in the wrong way. tricately linked, so 90 percent plus of agencies to those who have family or “The problems that they had five They feed that information back to our vendors in my area are misusing have lived at least six months in the years ago were still there but the peo­ us and help us run a tighter ship and substances, and it’s mostly heroin area. ple that would have been accessing a make sure there are less incidences and secondarily crack.” “This is in the southeast of the legitimate income did not have that (when) the public are unhappy with Kernahan, who is taking a three- country, which is an entry point for option open to them and so were of­ the service they get from The Big Is­ month sabbatical from her job, is visit­ many people who have migrated into ten engaged in criminal activity,” Ker­ sue.” ing various U.S. street papers in an ef­ the country from a different area,” nahan says. “They had problems with Impressed with the courteousness fort to find new ideas and approaches Kernahan says. “A lot of the people shoplifting, muggings, robbery, bur­ and personability of U.S. vendors, for successfully merging social policy who are homeless there have origi­ glary – all of the things that come with Kernahan hesitates to make any rec­ with business enterprise. Responsi­ nally come from elsewhere in the a large homeless population which ommendations for how U.S. papers ble for running four offices in an area country because it’s by the seaside. still exists in Brighton and, in fact, has could replicate their success. The Big called the West of England, one of the “The Big Issue company does not increased.” Issue currently supports over 2,900 biggest issues she must tackle is that receive government funding, so we The criminalization of homeless­ homeless and vulnerably housed the company knows vendors actively did not have to follow this local con­ ness in the UK continues, as it does people across the country and is read use illegal drugs. nections policy and on principle here in the United States (See “Being by more than 670,000 people every “We accept that it is a difficult issue would not. The council in the area Homeless is Illegal,” page 1), despite week. for the public to swallow, that many of was unhappy with this. We were oc­ efforts to work with the local councils What is readily apparent is that The the people that they are giving money cupying a space that was ultimately and police departments. The Big Issue Big Issue’s use of language – terms to are actively misusing substances owned by the local council, and we is continuing to find new and creative such as “supporting,” “vulnerable” like heroin and crack,” Kernahan were asked to leave. Rather than relo­ ways to assist vendors and educate and their tag line – “a hand up, not a says. “But the argument that we have cate, despite the fact that was a very the public. Volunteers are one exam­ handout” – are less pejorative and in is that those people would be misus­ lucrative area … we decided to leave ple. keeping with the company’s focus: “a ing those substances whether or not that area rather than continue to work “We have trained outreach volun­ business solution to a social problem, they were selling The Big Issue. In the with a council that would not support teers who … go out around to all of demonstrating that an organization short term, we provide them with a us and instructed agencies not to re­ our locations, meet with the vendors, can succeed whilst being simultane­ legal and legitimate and structured fer to us.” (and) often get a lot of information ously driven by commercial aims and alternative to criminal activity in or­ However, in 2009 the council asked from the vendors about the support social objectives.” H Many people work hard to make a difference for the less privileged in the Queen City. “Eight Minutes” is an opportunity to learn who those people are and what motivates them to be a positive influence. �4 National Issue STREETVIBES March 1 - 14, 2010 Being Homeless is Against the Law A ragtag group of people huddles under a highway bridge, cars thundering overhead, setting up tents and a few belongings. They are waiting out a storm. It will likely be a few days before the rain finally stops, so they are grateful for the protection and a measure of privacy in a public place. Homeless people camped under Interstate 5 until police forced them out. Photo by Libby Fernandez. Continued from page 1 • Sitting or lying in public places • Spitting • Failure to disperse from public places • Washing cars or windshields • Being without a shirt Using a toilet is a universal need. You might think a person could just use the facilities in a public place such as a library or subway or a shelter. But that ig­ nores facts that only become obvious when you are living on the street. Many public places can be too far away to walk to – assuming you can walk - and are locked much of the day. Many shelters have re­ stricted access; not anyone can just wander in when they want. And businesses rarely allow people who are not customers to use their facilities. Then there’s the challenge of taking a shower. or anywhere else unless you actually walked under the bridge.” In 2007 approximately 3.6 million people were Efforts to rid the streets of evidence of home­ homeless at some time in North America, ac­ lessness can increase during highly visible public cording to a number of non-profit organizations. events. At these times a city wants to look good by “Homeless” is defined in a variety of ways, so it is “sweeping” unpleasant aspects of the community impossible to paint a uniform picture of what this out of sight. Police in many cities conduct sweeps in reality looks like. But the numbers show that home­ which they round up individuals on the street and lessness has reached epidemic proportions. The take them to a specific location or simply dump the popular response is punishment. people far away from where they were picked up. “It’s illegal to be homeless in this country. We By the time they make their way back, the event will have a form of economic profiling similar to racial be over. profiling,” says Michael Stoops, director of commu­ The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British nity organizing for the National Coalition for the Columbia, is an example. Homeless in Washington, D.C. “It’s a major prob­ “What we have seen in Vancouver is an escalation lem, and it’s not going to go away unless citizens in the criminalization of poverty and homelessness demand that their cities do something about it in a in the lead up to the Olympics,” says Sean Condon, positive manner.” Olympic Kidnapping executive director of Megaphone. “Homeless advo­ This is true across all of North America. cates believe this is an attempt to sweep the poor “During the past 10 years the number of tick­ While advocates for the homeless recognize the away during the games. While that hasn’t been fully ets given to the homeless by the police has qua­ harmful impact of such laws, most communities actualized, it has led to displacement and further drupled,” says Serge Lareault, publisher of the are slow to recognize the added burdens they place criminalization. The first wave started last winter Canadian street paper L’Itinéraire. “Considered an on people already struggling to overcome signifi­ when the police, taking advantage of transition in ‘open city,’ many homeless have moved to Montré­ cant barriers. A single complaint can result in fines the mayor's chair, started handing out tickets to al, especially after the situation in Toronto, where for homeless people even if they are causing no homeless and low-income people in Vancouver's the police decided to ‘clean’ the downtown of the problems. When four police cars pulled up to an Downtown Eastside – a poor neighborhood that homeless through ticketing and harassment. area under the Interstate 5 bridge in Sacramento, is most well known for having an open drug mar­ “From 1994 to 2007 the population ket – for everything from jaywalking and of homeless in Montréal has passed riding a bicycle on the sidewalk. After a Using a toilet is a universal need. You might think a person from 15,000 to 30,000. The tickets public outcry and the new mayor’s own could just use the facilities in a public place such as a library given to the homeless between 2003­ opposition, the police finally backed off. or subway or a shelter. But that ignores facts that only become However, this past summer they started 05 total $3.3 million, and they will obvious when you are living on the street. Many public places another crackdown in the neighborhood never pay it, because they have no money. The majority of them say it’s can be too far away to walk to – assuming you can walk - and are on the vendors who sell often found a big reason why they will not be able locked much of the day. Many shelters have restricted access; goods on the street. Homeless/low-in­ to reintegrate the society, because not anyone can just wander in when they want. And businesses come people are unable to pay the $100­ they have too much to pay.” rarely allow people who are not customers to use their facilities. $500 tickets that were handed to them.” People who live on the street or A more benevolent label on another rely on shelters for temporary hous­ law recently enacted in British Columbia ing are on the outside of society because they ap­ Calif., and cops started ticketing the people shelter­ is the Assistance to Shelter Act, which authorizes pear to do things that are inappropriate. The law ing there, Paula Lomazzi, editor of Homeward, the police to “forcibly remove a homeless person and treats certain necessary behaviors as “anti-social” local street paper, was nearby. Lomazzi also works take them to a shelter when there is an extreme when they are performed in public. Criminal cita­ with the Sacramento Homeless Organizing Com­ weather warning,” Condon says. With approxi­ tions are often issued to homeless people for activi­ mittee (SHOC). mately 3,000 homeless people in Vancouver and ties that everyone else does indoors or on private “Safe Ground Sacramento was having a retreat approximately 1,000 shelter beds, plus a few emer­ property: earning income, sleeping, eating, going about a couple blocks away when we received a gency shelters, there are more homeless people to the bathroom or sitting down to rest. call about this,” Lomazzi says. “We all took a break than available beds. Stoops calls these “quality of life” behaviors. Some from the meeting to support the group under the “Dubbed the Olympic Kidnapping Act by locals, of the laws barring them are cited in the Homes Not bridge, including two attorneys. It was raining. The (the law) is troubling,” Condon says. “What the po­ Handcuffs: The Criminalization of Homelessness in group that was camping/living under the bridge lice, the shelter and the homeless person are sup­ U.S. Cities, a 2009 report by the National Coalition had moved there because their regular place was posed to do when all the shelters are full has not for the Homeless and the National Law Center on flooded out by (a) high river. They had nowhere been answered. In fairness, the Vancouver police Homelessness and Poverty. They include: else to go. Police gave them all citations and told department has said they will not forcibly take a • Bathing in public waters them they had to leave. … We found out later that homeless person to a shelter and will only encour­ • Urination/defecation in public a lady that lives in the area had complained. This age them to go. But police departments in other • Begging/panhandling bridge underpass is not located near any residents • Camping in public places or business. They were not visible from the street See Homeless, p. 5 �STREETVIBES March 1 - 14, 2010 5 National Issue Being Homeless is Against the Law Continued from page 4 municipalities, including other Metro Van­ couver cities, have not made the same guar­ antee.” As recently as December 2009, the Supreme Court of British Columbia has ruled in favor of the rights of homeless people. The court refused to reverse a decision made in 2008 by Supreme Court Justice Carol “What we have seen in Ross, which struck down byVancouver is an escalation laws in the city in the criminalization of poverty and homelessness in of Victoria pro­ hibiting home­ the lead up to the Olympics. people Homeless advocates believe less from camping this is an attempt to sweep in public parks. the poor away during the games. While that hasn’t been She wrote that the bylaws “vi­ fully actualized, it has led olate … the Ca­ to displacement and further nadian Charter criminalization.” of Rights and - Sean Condon, Megaphone Freedoms in that they de­ prive homeless people of life, liberty and se­ curity of the person in a manner not in ac­ cordance with the principles of fundamental justice.” Housing is cheaper There are no comprehensive studies prov­ ing that the criminalization approach to homelessness improves public safety. Advo­ cates for the homeless, however, cite scientif­ ic research and anecdotal evidence to prove that addressing the root causes of homeless­ ness – not the behaviors related to it – can have a positive long-term impact for the community as well as the individuals. Homes Not Handcuffs cites a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association in which Seattle researchers concluded that it’s “cheaper to provide supportive housing to chronically homeless individuals with severe alcohol problems than to have them live on the streets. “Researchers designed a study to evaluate the effect of a Housing First intervention for chronically homeless individuals with se­ vere alcohol problems on the use and costs of services,” the report says. “According to the study, the median costs of Housing First participants before the study were $4,066 per person per month. When participating in the Housing First program, median monthly costs decreased to $1,492 per person per month, after six months and $958 after 12 months.” Some cities make an effort to balance the criminalization approach with efforts to as­ sist individuals in connecting with service providers. The uneven application of harsh enforcement is illustrated in Colorado. Den­ ver’s Road Home – a 10-year plan to end homelessness – includes criminalization or­ dinances, but the city “adopted a policy of training officers on how to do outreach to the homeless,” says Tim Covi, editor of the Den­ ver VOICE. Law enforcement is expected to direct people to assistance rather than issue tickets right away. While the homeless on the Down­ town Business Improvement District say they have been treated with respect, others aren’t so fortunate. “Particularly along the Platte River and Cherry Creek areas, where the homeless often sleep at night and by law are not permitted to sleep, the Denver VOICE has received ac­ counts of people’s possessions being discard­ ed after they were roused in the morning and told to leave the area,” Covi says. “We have been told by at least five homeless people that the police make regular stops early in the morning on the Platte River and tell people to Trying to earn money with a squeegee in Denver. Photo by Rod Graham. leave, and that if they’re found there again, they’ll be ticketed or arrested.” Scarce financial resources and public sen­ timent means advocates for the homeless have the added responsibility of educating the public about the steps necessary to end homelessness. Most large cities have more homeless people than shelter beds and even fewer services to address the root causes of the problem – mental health issues, addic­ tion, job training, high unemployment rates, hiring practices that bar individuals with criminal records. Success stories are hard to come by. The “A Key Not a Card” campaign in Port­ land, Ore., allows outreach workers from five different service providers to offer people im­ mediate housing, instead of just a business card. “From the program’s inception in 2005 through spring 2009, 936 individuals in 451 households have been housed through the program, including 216 households placed directly from the street,” says the Homes Not Handcuffs report. Another innovative and successful pro­ gram cited by the report comes from Day­ tona Beach, Fla. In an effort to reduce the need for panhandling, a coalition of service providers, businesses and the city of Daytona Beach provides homeless people with jobs and housing. The Downtown Street Team program hires homeless people to clean up downtown Daytona Beach. Each is provided with shelter and then transitional housing. Some of the participants have secured other full-time jobs and housing as a result. Make them wear signs Unfortunately, failed programs tend to get the most attention. “What happens when a city proposes some new initiative to solve the homeless problem – and this is in a negative way, to criminal­ ize homelessness – it passes,” says Michael Stoops of the National Coalition for the Homeless. “The chamber of commerce, the police department, the business community will say that this new anti-panhandling pro­ gram is working. And then other cities hear about it. Cities are actually very lazy. They will copy and pass this same, exact panhandling ordinance that was passed in Cincinnati.” Indianapolis, Ind., and other municipali­ ties are currently considering the ordinance Stoops refers to. “In 2003 Cincinnati City Council passed an ordinance requiring panhandlers to ob­ tain licenses from the health department,” says Gregory Flannery, editor of Streetvibes. “Teachers, nurses, activists and others reg­ istered as panhandlers in an expression of solidarity. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (parent organization of Streetvibes) filed a civil-rights lawsuit in fed­ eral court alleging the ordinance was a vio­ lation of the First Amendment, which guar­ antees the right to free speech. In settling the lawsuit, the city, the Homeless Coalition and Downtown Cincinnati Inc. (DCI) agreed to create an outreach position at DCI, whose job includes connecting panhandlers with social services.” Politicians in Cincinnati, eager to appear tough on panhandlers, have sometimes tried to ignore the condi­ tions of the settle­ ment, however. Last Politicians in Cincinnati, summer City Couneager to appear tough cilman Jeff Berding on panhandlers, have proposed taxing pansometimes tried to handlers and makignore the conditions ing them wear signs of the settlement, stating how much the however. Last summer city spends to help City Councilman Jeff homeless people. In Berding proposed taxing response to these con- panhandlers and making ditions and other out- them wear signs stating rageous claims made how much the city in the proposal, Berd- spends to help homeless ing bowed to compeople. In response to munity pressure and these conditions and retracted the measure other outrageous claims but only after a signifimade in the proposal, cant amount of grandBerding bowed to standing. community pressure Advocates are workand retracted the ing to change the views measure but only after of lawmakers while sia significant amount of multaneously finding grandstanding. ways to get around the laws until they are re­ moved. In Sacramento it’s against the law to camp or use “camp paraphernalia” on any pub­ lic property. Camping is allowed on private property with an owner's permission as long as it’s not for more than 24 hours, according to Lomazzi. One unintended consequence of the law is that people who own houses could receive citations for camping violations. If a family wants to have a two-day camp-out in their backyard, they can’t get a permit: The limit is one day. The likelihood of a neighbor call­ ing the police isn’t great. But the net result is much more severe for homeless people. Even though Sacramento has more homeless people than shelter beds, people are not al- See Homeless, p. 6 �6 STREETVIBES March 1 - 14, 2010 National Issue Being Homeless is Leading Worship Against the Law Lyrics Continued from page 5 lowed to create their own shelter, de­ nying them even minimal protection against the elements. Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee is trying to adapt. “We have started a new organiza­ tion called Safe Ground Sacramento that is trying to establish legal places for people to stay until housing is available,” Lomazzi says. “Campers stay together and sleep illegally most nights. A church has offered sanctuary to the group on freezing cold nights. Currently, the strategy is to go from one private property to the next … in hopes of evading the anti-camping ordinance by taking advantage of the 24-hour private property loophole. “We set up a Safe Ground commu­ nity on private property near the cen­ tral city with the owner's permission, and that lasted for about a month be­ fore the police came in and arrested everyone. The city threatened to fine the owner, so the group vacated the land.” Support from the community in the form of donations for sleeping cottages and pledges for future finan­ cial support is coming, but locations for the rotating sleeping locations are not yet being offered. ‘Everyone has the right’ Although no data proves criminal­ ization efforts deter crime or increase public safety, municipalities continue to pass punitive laws. Research by the National Coalition for the Homeless illustrates how expensive that ap­ proach can be: * Los Angeles: $6 million a year to pay for 50 extra police officers to crack down on crime in the Skid Row area while the city budgeted only $5.7 million for homeless services. * Gainesville, Fla.: As part of its 10­ year plan to end homelessness, the city commission approved a plan to spend up to $75,000 on a fence to keep people off “Tent City” property, and only $20,000 to address the housing and service needs of those evicted. * Cincinnati, Ohio: A 2007 study by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless found that using the criminal justice system to deal with the consequences of street homeless­ ness is an expensive approach, cost­ ing $65 per bed per day in the jail, compared to $30 a day for permanent supportive housing. At a time when millions are being donated by private citizens and gov­ ernment to offer relief to 1.9 million Haitians left homeless by the recent earthquake, North Americans turn a blind eye to the policies that punish almost twice that many people in the same circumstance. But change is possible. “After two years of debate in front of the Commission of Human Rights of Québec, a victory has been achieved: On 9 Nov. 2009 the commission con­ demned strongly the city and the police regarding the social profiling of Montréal’s homeless,” says Serge Lareault, publisher of L’Itinéraire. “The government of Québec engaged a new lawyer for homeless at the beginning of December 2009. He is charged with the creation of a center for drunk homeless as an alternative to help them and not arresting them or giving tickets. But the fight con­ tinues. The police still arrest and give many tickets each day. Many peo­ ple are asking for programs to help homelessness. Others are asking for an amnesty to the hundreds of home­ less who have tickets.” Both Canada and the United States have signed and ratified and the Uni­ versal Declaration of Human Rights, but both have failed to universally incorporate its principles into their laws. The non-binding United Na­ tions (U.N.) declaration opens with a preamble recognizing “the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalien­ able rights of all members of the hu­ man family is the foundation of free­ dom, justice and peace in the world.” In 1948 the U.N. General Assembly adopted this declaration as a “com­ mon standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.” The recognition that everyone – regardless of any distinction includ­ ing an “other status,” such as home­ lessness – is “born free and equal in dignity and rights” of life, liberty and security of person, is detailed in ad­ monitions to prohibit slavery, torture, arbitrary arrest and a host of other behaviors that the United States and Canada routinely condemn as deplor­ able in other countries. The problem is that we refuse to do as we say. Laws that criminalize homeless­ ness routinely violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Re­ stricting the movement of people in specific locations violates article 13: “Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.” Confiscating and disposing of personal property because it happens to be on public land violates article 17: “Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of (his/her) property.” Perhaps the most egregious violation of all is the blatant disregard for Article 25: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living ad­ equate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disabil­ ity, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.” Homelessness has become a crime, but homeless people are the victims, not the perpetrators. Laws that wors­ en their plight aggravate the offense. Just as mental illness, sexual abuse and addiction are conditions that call for helping victims – not prosecuting them – homelessness deserves a re­ sponse rooted in compassion, fiscal sense and respect for international law. Helping homeless people is less expensive than jailing them. But more important, helping homeless people is the right thing to do. Jailing them for being homeless is wrong. Young faith leader speaks 1 openly about faith and music 1 By adriana Shahandeh Contributing Writer M att McCoy, a 24-year-old worship leader and graduate of the Uni­ versity of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, started his worship career at the Vineyard Church in Tri-County. He now leads worship for more than 12,000 adults every weekend at the Harvest Bible Cha­ pel in Chicago. He spoke with Streetvibes about his lyricism, his career and his faith. What’s the most honest lyric you’ve ever written? In “Will You Carry Me,” it’s really just me talking to God, saying, it’s been too long since I’ve spoken with you. “Will you welcome me back home / I know it’s time to lay down my pride / And give you the pieces that shat­ tered inside my heart / I’m so tired of running, so Lord will You carry me?” That lyric just re­ sounds to me because I feel like it’s really per­ sonal and true. Everyone has mo­ ments of doubt in their faith. What triggers those moments for you? Matt McCoy writes and performs music for worship. There are things you Photo courtesy of Matt McCoy. go through, where you … lose a loved one or family members get sick or … maybe things don’t go as you expected or hoped. It can just make you wonder, “God, where are you? Can you hear me? Do you even still see anymore? Am I on your mind?” (Doubt) is always a seasonal thing (for me). It’s never consistent. Maybe I’ll have doubts for a little bit, but I always end up seeing the faithfulness of God come through. And maybe I was going through that storm, that rough patch, just so God can show me character. Maybe God was allowing me to go through that. What triggers the moment when that doubt passes? Honestly I think it just takes … time. I think there’s nothing wrong with ask­ ing questions. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with doubting, because it causes you to question: why do I believe what I believe? And what is it that I believe? So I think doubt can actually be healthy, because it makes you start really thinking. You start looking for answers. You end up rebuilding that foun­ dation. Do you have the same kind of ups and downs when it comes to having faith in your music? Professionally? Yes, absolutely. I think one of the hardest things about being a musician is that you write these songs and you’re emotionally connected to them, so it’s hard to disconnect yourself from the song, and sometimes when you do, you start (doubting). Was there a specific time in your life where you felt something didn’t go as you had planned, instead unfolded into an even more positive experience and you felt it was a path orchestrated for you or that you were pushed toward? Yes. There was a time I was applying to schools all over the place. I didn’t know where I was going to go, and every time I got accepted into a school, I’d research the churches in that area, because I knew I wanted to be involved in the worship industry. In the end, I had my sights on (Indiana University). But, last minute, about a week before my graduation, there was an opening at the Vineyard Church. It’s an amazing church – great heart. It was just so last min­ ute. I applied for it, got the job and within a week or two I moved to Cincin­ nati. What’s the most surprising lyric you’ve ever written? “I want to be consistently faithful and break away from temporary highs.” And I think that surprised me because it showed that it’s so easy to get on these temporary God highs. Maybe for a season, maybe for a week, maybe for a month you’re all out for God. But then just maybe a month you start walking away again. I want to be consistent. I want to have a faithfulness that’s consis­ tent. When that lyric came out , it really showed me something about myself I tried to work on: Am I being consistent? How do you want to be remembered? As a person who passionately sought after God’s heart and cared for others more than himself. �STREETVIBES March 1 - 14, 2010 Housing Issues 7 Metropole Tenants Confront HUD Shaun Donovan leaves through the back door 1 By Paul koPP Contributing Writer “I ’m not going nowhere till the last minute,” Rob Porter said as he stood outside the offices of the Cincinnati Herald after attending a Feb. 18 press conference by U.S. Secretary of Hous­ ing and Urban Development (HUD) Shaun Donovan. Porter is a resident of the Metropole Apartments, a low-income housing site downtown. He went to the press conference to voice his disapproval of the relocation of Metropole residents. Last year the Cincinnati Center City De­ velopment Corp. (3CDC) bought the build­ ing and plans to turn it into an upscale ho­ tel. Under HUD regulations, residents have one year to move. The Metropole Tenants Association (MTA) has filed a fair-housing complaint with HUD, alleging the forced relocation constitutes discrimination. HUD has not yet ruled on the complaint. ‘Happy to sit down with you’ Donovan was in town to promote the re­ sults of President Obama’s American Recov­ ery and Reinvestment Act. He used the For­ Shaun Donovan, secretary of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. est Square senior apartments in Avondale as an example of the law’s positive impact serve affordable housing. are doing in other parts of the city, and dis­ on communities and workers. The project, Josh Spring, executive director of the band this contract, which is going to make still underway, has created 70 construction Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Home­ near zero amount of low-income hous­ jobs. less, told Donovan that the issue is not only ing in this area. It’s segregation downright, After introductions by State Sen. Eric about the loss of affordable housing but plain and simple.” Kearney (D-Cincinnati) and U.S. Rep. Steve also the fair-housing complaint. “We’re looking at it,” Donovan said. Driehaus (D-Cincinnati), Donovan contin­ “Our local fair-housing officer tells us Donovan answered some other brief ued to discuss the accomplishments of the that, if Metropole tenants are removed questions and then was directed by his recovery act. So far 79,000 jobs have been from downtown – a district that has had a aides to a photo shoot in the Herald offic­ saved in Ohio, he said. Donovan also dis­ status of being diverse for 30-plus years – es. Though he had expressed an interest in cussed topics ranging from his hopes of it could lose that diversity. It is a sense of meeting with MTA representatives, a time creating a green economy to compete with cleansing the downtown,” Spring said. “It is wasn’t set. MTA members, Howard, Spring China to his partnership with local senators about more than making sure the units are and Rob Goeller – civil-rights outreach to stop foreclosures on homes and the $25 dispersed about. We want to keep fair hous­ coordinator for the Homeless Coalition – million in stimulus money ing.” waited outside in hopes of setting up a time that has been allocated to Donovan said HUD has to meet with Donovan. But Donovan’s aides reverse the effect of fore­ “The reason we filed the strengthened enforcement said he was busy, and though he might not closures in Cincinnati. The of fair-housing laws with be able to meet with them, he was aware of complaint is because money will also be used to we know we are dealing substantial funding from the Metropole situation and is talking with help with neighborhood with a private company, Congress. He said HUD has local HUD officials about it. revitalization. As Spring walked around the building, and the Fair Housing Act a range of ways in which to Robert Wavra, a member ensure fair housing. With trying to locate another exit that Donovan does apply to private of the Metropole Tenants entities. All we want is those comments, he ended might use, Donovan went out through a Association, confronted the press conference. back door. to bring awareness to Donovan about HUD’s the issue and for Model The mood afterward was “Do you have five minutes to talk to ten­ delay on the fair-housing ants?” Spring said. “There are three tenants Group not to be able to tense. complaint, which was ini­ come in, because of their “What he had to say to me right out front. We could also talk later on tially filed four months reputation and what they was bullcrap,” Wavra said. today or anytime.” ago. “I have two meetings, and then I’m head­ are doing in other parts “You (Donovan) had our “Why aren’t you protect­ of the city, and disband complaint for four months ed to the airport,” Donovan said. ing us?” Wavra said. “It doesn’t look good when you won’t talk this contract, which is but now you are going to “We are reviewing that going to make near zero look at it this morning be­ to tenants,” Spring said. application as we speak Donovan and his aides apologized, gave amount of low-income cause I asked you a ques­ and looking at the con­ Spring the secretary’s card and left. housing in this area. It’s tion. That’s bullcrap.” cerns you have raised,” Earlier, while the group was waiting for segregation downright, Donovan said. “We haven’t Donovan ducks out Donovan, they spoke to Driehaus. Spring plain and simple.” made the decision yet, and and others asked if he could provide any in­ - Rickell Howard, that is why we haven’t got­ Rickell Howard, the Legal formation about a meeting with Donovan. Legal Aid Attorney ten back to you. Let me Aid attorney representing “He is talking to James (Cunningham, lo­ be absolutely clear: Our the MTA, criticized 3CDC’s cal HUD field director) locally,” Driehaus number-one goal is to preserve affordable use of the Model Group to help convince said. “He’s talking to a bunch of folks. This housing. We would be happy to sit down residents to move. guy’s schedule is packed. He is not ignoring with you.” “The reason we filed the complaint is be­ it. You heard what he said about big picture. Wavra asked why, if HUD hasn’t yet made cause we know we are dealing with a private From the big-picture perspective, he obvi­ a decision about the relocation plan for company, and the Fair Housing Act does ously has his time and his heart in the right residents, 3CDC is pressuring Metropole apply to private entities,” she said. “All we place, in terms of preserving affordable residents to move. Donovan said HUD is want is to bring awareness to the issue and housing. He gets it. He is aware of it. I trust still reviewing the plan and will continue for Model Group not to be able to come in, him. He’s not just a faceless bureaucrat.” to work with Metropole residents to pre- because of their reputation and what they Call 513-421-7803 x11 to learn about Streetvibes subscriptions �8 STREETVIBES March 1 - 14, 2010 Recipe “Feed Me, Seymour / Feed Me All Night Long …” Veggie Curry with Red Quinoa 1 cup red quinoa (and a rice cooker) 2 cups water 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 white or yellow onions, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 16 oz. bag frozen cauliflower/broccoli mix, defrosted 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped 3 tablespoons curry powder or paste 2 cups vegetable broth 14 oz can coconut milk Photo by Jeni Jenkins. By Jeni JenkinS Staff Writer T his is one of my recent food experi­ ments, an attempt at cultivating my tumultu­ ous love affair with Indian cuisine. In 2003 I attended a research conference in Los Angeles with a cohort of my colleagues. The first evening of our stay, members of my group decided we should eat at this little Indian restaurant near the beach in Santa Monica. I was cautious, as I had never eaten Indian food, and I sheepishly believed there couldn’t be a single item on the menu that I would enjoy. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I instantly fell in love with the rich spicy flavors and delectable aromas Indian food offers. Since that time I have invested a bit of time in re-creating Indian dishes at home, some with tremen­ dous success. Others were tossed into the trash with ut­ ter disappointment. This dish combines my love for veggies and creamy sauce with my exploration with the South American grain, quinoa (pronounced “keen­ wah). As a vegetarian, I am constantly looking for food with high protein content. Quinoa is one of the most complete proteins and is su­ perior to most other common grains. Quinoa is an excellent source of calcium and iron and contains a near-perfect balance of all eight essential amino acids required for hu­ man survival. Additionally, it is gluten-free. The texture is not grainy, and eating qui­ noa is like eating tiny little beads that pop a little in your mouth as you chew. Here is my first of many experiments with this grain. I hope you’ll enjoy as much as I did. 1. Prepare the quinoa, either as directed on the package or by putting 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water in a rice cooker for 45 minutes. 2. While the quinoa is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Sauté the onion and garlic 3-4 minutes until the onions turn translucent. 3. Turn the heat up slightly to medium high and add the defrosted cauliflower/broccoli mix. Cook approxi­ mately 3 minutes. 4. Gently stir in the chopped spinach and cook until wilted. 5. In a bowl, mix the vegetable broth with the curry powder. Pour mixture over the veggies and simmer to a low boil. 6. Stir in the coconut milk, cover and cook on medium for 5 minutes. 7. Serve the curried vegetables over the hot quinoa. 8. Voila, FEED! Serving size: 3-4 bellies. Artwork By Anthony Williams Cleo’s Joke Corner If you carrot for me, my heart beets for you with your turnip nose and your radish hair. Your chin is a peach. If we cantaloupe, lettuce marry and become a pear. ! ? t a h W “In thinking of the mechanisms of power, I am thinking of its capillary form of existence, the point where power reaches into the very grain of individuals, touches their bodies and inserts itself into their actions and attitudes, their discourses, learning processes and everyday lives.” Say___________________ - Michel Foucault, Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings �STREETVIBES March 1 - 14, 2010 9 Local News Stop Abuses by Military Recruiters Continued from page 1 be lured or pressured into military service for which they are not yet prepared, she says. Many students are giv­ en a fantasy portrayal of the military, with promises that they can avoid deployment or that they will be able to go to college without cost. “There have been docu­ mented cases of recruiters saying ‘Things are safer in the streets of Baghdad than downtown Cincinnati’ or ‘You’ll never go to Iraq,’ things about what types of benefits they would be able to receive or telling them they have full control of where they would be placed, or what type of job they would have, which is ab­ solutely untrue,” Barker says. Each school’s guide­ lines are subject to change as school administrations change. “Principals establish informal guidelines,” Bark­ er says. “They aren’t writ­ ten down or codified in any school policy. They are not available when you call to ask what they are.” Other districts Demonstrators stand with mock coffins outside U.S. military recruiting station in New York City. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton. have established policies that help protect students, including limiting military recruiters to the same areas allotted to college recruiters. School districts in Draft Resolution to Eliminate Recruiter Abuses in Toledo, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Seattle and dozens of other Cincinnati Public Schools: cities have implemented district-wide policies to protect stu­ dents from recruiting abuses, and some states have legislation All Recruiters (college, employment or military) shall be subject to these procedures: requiring statewide policies. 1. Recruiters must register with the school office and wear a visitor's pass. Cincinnati Public Schools has no policy on military recruit­ 2. All recruiters must sign a code of conduct before visiting campus. ment. No guidelines exist to ensure that students are given 3. CPS school board and Cincinnati Federation of Teachers will establish procedures to equal exposure to post-graduation options and protected document and resolve violations by recruiters of CPS policy. from recruiter abuses. IJPC is concerned about the extent of 4. Except for career and college fairs, recruiters shall have access only to interested recruiters’ access to students, misinformation by recruiters juniors and seniors in designated areas of the school. and the lack of balanced information for students. The orga­ 5. CPS employees shall not engage in recruitment activities on behalf of an outside nization wants a district policy to ensure that students and entity. parents are fully informed of their right not to have contact 6. Materials on making informed military enlistment and employment and education­ information released to recruiters, limit recruiters’ access to al opportunities shall be available wherever U.S. Armed Forces material is located. schools and promote an environment that allows students to 7. Schools should refer to the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Test (ASVAB) make informed decisions. by its full name if the test is administered, and ensure test scores are kept confiden­ “We are really hoping that Cincinnati Public Schools takes a tial by choosing “Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Test (ASVAB) Option systematic approach to recruiting and follow the lead of doz­ 8.” ens of districts in establishing a policy to protect student rights, 8. CPS shall educate students and parents/guardians on opt-out policies and other end the preferential treatment military recruiters receive and policies regarding recruitment. eliminate recruiter abuses,” Barker says. “The important thing 9. Equal access shall be granted by CPS to advocates for alternatives to military ser­ right now is to gather support.” vice. To help IJPC’s effort, call 513-579-8547. To sign a petition asking Cincinnati Public Schools to adopt a district-wide policy on military recruitment, visit http://www.change.org/ijpc-cincinnati/actions/view/stop_military_recruiter_abuses_in_cincinnati_public_schools. Streetvibes vendors keep 75% of sales. Consider helping Streetvibes with our publication costs by making a tax-deductible donation or by purchasing a subscription. Streetvibes is the activist newspaper, advocating justice, building community. Your gift is tax-deductible and will go to producing the paper every two weeks. Started in 1997, Streetvibes is distributed by homeless and formerly homeless vendors who purchase the paper for 25 cents and sell it for $1, keeping the 75 cent profit. Make checks payable to “Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless” I want to support Streetvibes and the vendors. $25 Please return your contribution to: GCCH 117 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Name: Address: E-mail: $50 $100 $150 Other $ _______ �10 STREETVIBES March 1 - 14, 2010 Poetry Page Count-Time The Touch of a Word By Sonny Williams By Alexis Victor 9 p.m. and the lights go out. London Prison Farm gets quiet. Headphones go on convicts’ ears. The guards symbolize the prison injustice and the pain Of not seeing a lover, mother or son. Ahmed Evans rings in the Minds of the men’s dreams Of freedom and human respect. Ahmed Evans, Ashby Leach, all Political prisoners, all fighters For all prisoners and justice. End prison construction! Lessons By George Herrell As a child we dreamt of growing up And then of growing old Of all that which was in between, “Ignore it!” we were told And now that lost experience Is like so much buried gold Childhoods crushed! Futures sold! God When the skyscrapers are skeletons And the nights never end And our minds bear the crosses Of all that might have been When we hear our children laughing Ignorant of sin Will we win? Or just start again? Interested in volunteering with Streetvibes? Contact Greg Flannery at 513-421-7803 x 12 or by e-mail at streetvibes2@yahoo.com the face worn by the cold, wrinkled with regret the smile faded, eyes blank. Lost. yearning for the warmth of a connection eyes meet, a smile, nod of the head. worth more than the filthy bill too precious to spare for someone in need an exchange of words can touch the soul, spark a light in the eyes alleviate the wrinkled problems on the face fill the mind, body and soul with purpose for change. The Unknown and the Unnamed By Kate Taylor The folds of thin, fraying fabric Form a crumbling resistance Against the tormenting Frost-bitten air A candle burns at the end of a dark street Sputtering light and warmth until The invisible thief snatches It away Pleas for help take the shape Of cardboard signs Silently crying out To passersby Individuals are built On hard, unforgiving concrete Stories without readers burn To ashes in graveside flames STREETVIBES Only purchase Vendor Streetvibes from BADGED vendors. Vendors wear their WHITE badges while they sell the Mary paper. If you like what you read, but don’t live in the Cincinnati area, you can subscribe to Streetvibes. Call us at 513-421-7803 x 12 to learn more about subscribing to Streetvibes. �STREETVIBES March 1 - 14, 2010 11 Housing Issue Myth-Buster: Affordable Housing and Property Values Research finds no negative impact By Michelle dillinghaM Contributing Writer W ho knew the world of property-value appraisal was so elusive, so complicated? After researching the topic – essentially a “real estate appraisal for dummies” Inter­ net search – I am now more mystified than ever. But there is good news, and it doesn’t require understanding the complexities of property valuation. The good news is that research­ ers have determined that the presence of affordable housing does not negatively impact property values. Dispelling this myth is im­ portant because communities have used this unfounded fear as a rationale to reject proposals for subsidized housing projects. Property values 101 The three major causes of a decline in property values are the removal of improvements from a property; a calamity or disaster, such as a fire or flood; and a decline in the real-estate market due to neighborhood changes, departure of a major industry and the economy in general. I spoke to a real-estate appraiser about the factors that go into valuing a property. He said having a gas station or factory adjacent to a property can negatively influence its value. Even in this case, however, if the neighborhood suddenly becomes popular to young homeowners, property values can still increase. He told me an ap­ praiser is not allowed to cite the presence of subsidized housing as by a community development corporation (CDC) actually caused an an explanation for a decrease in property value. increase in property values. The main factor that appraisers consider is the sales or foreclo­ “In one recent econometric analysis of the impacts of CDC de­ sures in the neighboring prop­ velopment work on prop­ erties. The appraiser I spoke to erty values, it was found that assured me that the fear that “In one recent econometric analysis of the impacts of CDC these groups have been able property values will decrease to spark a chain reaction development work on property values, it was found that these due to adjacent subsidized groups have been able to spark a chain reaction of investment of investment that leads to housing is unfounded. He did dramatic improvements to that leads to dramatic improvements to neighborhoods.” note that, if properties are not neighborhoods,” Bratt wrote. - Rachel G. Bratt well managed and litter and Bratt cited a 2005 study by blight proliferates, this can the Urban Institute showing cause adjacent homeowners to sell, thereby causing a decrease in that “CDC investments in affordable housing and commercial retail property values. facilities have led to increases in property values … that are some­ Property taxes are calculated using the assessed property values times as great as 69 percent higher than they would have been in the and millage rates. Therefore, property values determine how much absence of the investment.” property tax local government can collect. Our own city budget relies Bratt also cited a study by the MIT Center for Real Estate. heavily on property taxes. Having robust property values generates “Another rigorous research study conducted in Massachusetts more property taxes, which go to fund more city services. Clearly, no concluded that the ‘introduction of large-scale high density mixed in­ one wants to see property values decline, but let us not place blame come rental developments in single-family neighborhoods does not on affordable housing. affect the value of surrounding homes,’ ” Bratt wrote. Her conclusion is that, if housing is well designed and managed, The surprising truth “there are no negative impacts of affordable housing on the property values of neighboring single-family homes.” Sometimes communities will mobilize to fend off subsidized devel­ The next time someone uses property values as an excuse to block opment by citing fears their property values will decrease. Tufts Uni­ a building for senior citizens subsidized by the U.S. Department of versity Professor Rachel G. Bratt has reviewed a number of research Housing and Urban Development’s 211 fund, I will be sure to let them reports that measured the effect of affordable housing on property know their claims are based in fear, not fact. values. She found evidence that development of affordable housing Do you remember the magic of your First Book? Please consider giving the gift of reading to a low-income child in Cincinnati this year. Established in 2001, First Book - Greater Cincinnati has already granted more than 45,000 books and over $60,000 to local nonprofit literacy programs serving thousands of low-income children in Greater Cincinnati. Make checks payable to “First Book - Greater Cincinnati” I Want to Bring the Magic of Books to Children Who Need Them! $20 (10 books) Please return your contribution to: First Book Greater Cincinnati 572 Northland Blvd. Cincinnati, Ohio 45240 Name: Address: E-mail: $40 (20 books) $80 (40 books) $100 (50 books) Other $ _______ �12 Sports STREETVIBES March 1 - 14, 2010 Paul Brown’s Biggest Fumble Even the legendary coach had his flaws By B. cliFton Burke Contributing Writer for eight years, and the speculation began that he would become the next head coach of the Bengals. Instead, n the state of Ohio there is a Brown hired someone named Bill “Tifootball legend that compares ger” Johnson, and Walsh left Cincinto no other; he is Paul Brown, nati for other opportunities. and he is rightfully revered by those After coaching at Stanford for two who are familiar with his career. seasons, Walsh became the head The man revolutioncoach of the San Francisco ized the game in countless 49ers in 1979, going on to ways, ranging from a comThe man revolutionized the game in countless win three Super Bowls in 10 plex passing attack to the ways, ranging from a complex passing attack seasons. He is nicknamed face mask on helmets. He to the face mask on helmets. He coached his the “Genius,” and the same coached his way to an Ohio way to an Ohio state championship at Massillon offense he devised in Cincinstate championship at High, an NCAA championship at Ohio State and nati has since been dubbed Massillon High, an NCAA both an AAFL and an NFL championship with the West Coast Offense and is championship at Ohio the Cleveland Browns – a team named after him. now used in some variation State and both an AAFL by nearly every NFL team. and an NFL championship The twist to the story, with the Cleveland Browns – a team The facts are that Walsh was hired though, is that Walsh says that, when named after him. by the expansion Bengals in 1968 as he was passed over for the head He founded the Bengals in 1968, a receivers coach but quickly became coaching job and decided to leave, taking over as team president, general what would later be called an offensive Brown actively tried to sabotage his manager and head coach. Yet despite coordinator. He created an offense of career. The Bengals offered Walsh an all of his glory, Brown made two criti- short-yardage passing plays that ac- expanded role and more money but cal mistakes while in Cincinnati. One commodated the weak arm of back- not the top job; and when Walsh reis turning over the team to his son, up quarterback Virgil Carter once the fused, Brown saw it as an act of bewho now acts as team president, gen- promising starter, Greg Cook, went trayal. Brown recommended other eral manager and local villain. The down with a shoulder injury. Walsh teams ignore the future “genius,” calllesser known oversight, however, took led a proficient offense in Cincinnati ing him too soft to be a head coach or I place in 1976, when Brown refused to promote a bright offensive assistant coach who many suspected was being groomed to take over for Brown once he stepped down as head coach. That man is Bill Walsh, whose team went on to beat the Bengals in the Super Bowl – twice. even an offensive coordinator for another team. Former Bengals receiver Isaac Curtis, however, said that Brown once told him that he promised the head coaching job to Bill Johnson eight years earlier, but Bill Walsh said that Brown also promised him the same thing many times. The irony to it all is that Paul Brown, with his speedy players and their fancy passing, was once considered a less than rugged coach, too. The great innovator couldn't see enough of himself in Walsh to make him head coach for the same false drawbacks that were labeled on him. Or was it that Brown saw plenty of himself in Bill Walsh, and wasn't prepared to be replaced by someone as great as he was? Who knows? Sadly, both men have since passed on, and the repercus­ sions of the decisions made by the Bengals in 1976 are well documented. A Bengals fan can't help but wonder what would have happened if Walsh had stayed? How many Super Bowls would Cincinnati have won in the ’80s? Maybe still zero, but I would have liked to see it anyway. Ask a Vendor Dear Grady, Dear Nancy, You have been coming faithfully one Sunday each month to sell the Streetvibes newspapers at Bellarmine Chapel. You feel like a friend! I would like to know how you get to Bellarmine each month. And I would like to know what your days are like. Thank you, Grady! I’ve got my own transportation. But at one time, when I first started going to Bellarmine, Earline Moreland and I used to catch the bus up to Reading Road from downtown, where we stayed, and then walk to church. After Mass, different church members would give us a ride. Up until a year ago I accumulated enough money where I could get my own transportation. I really appreciate the fact that the money I earn helps me pay my rent. They’ve also helped me get in touch with other agencies, such as the St. Vincent de Paul Society. I’d like to send a special thanks to the families that helped me and some other people during the holidays. I didn’t get a chance to thank them in person. Lately I’ve been taking it day by day because I’ve been unemployed except for selling Streetvibes and doing a few odd jobs. If any other readers have small jobs, I’m definitely looking for work. Sincerely, Nancy Grady Cook Go Ahead: Ask a Vendor Invitation to a dialogue with our readers Streetvibes vendors see a lot that you might not. For example, some can describe what goes on in an abandoned building at night when they sleep there. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to stand on a street corner selling newspapers? That’s hardly a common occupation anymore. How much money do Streetvibes vendors make – and what do they do with it? Do they have other jobs? If you have questions, some of our vendors would like to answer them. “Go Ahead: Ask a Vendor” will be an occasional feature, with questions submitted by readers and answered by Streetvibes vendors. You may direct your question to a specific vendor or we’ll invite one to respond. Only include your name if you want to. Send questions to streetvibes2@yahoo.com Or to Streetvibes, 117 E. 12th St. Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. Go ahead. Ask. �STREETVIBES March 1 - 14, 2010 13 Legal Affairs ‘Do it Yourself’ Appeals New handbook tells how to do it in Columbus By anne Skove Contributing Writer W e will not repeat the old saw that “he who represents himself has a fool for a lawyer,” if only because the saying would be lost in the tide of self-represented (or pro se) litigants. The number of appeals filed pro se in Ohio has increased to over 40 percent. Lawyers cost money – something peo­ ple have less and less of lately. The poor economy plus a distrust of the legal system, the rise of DIY culture, and (con­ trary to what Dan Quayle told us back in the day) lack of af­ fordable attorneys creates the perfect storm for the trend. In the mid-1990s the Legal Services Corp. (LSC) experi­ enced critical budget cuts by the Republican Congress. It responded by promoting pro se assistance with what little money it had left. This ap­ proach was less controversial – the LSC was under political attack for “defending drug dealers,” even though grantee organizations generally did not take criminal cases – and seemed necessary, given the growing number of unrepre­ sented parties. The courts themselves stepped up to the challenges faced by unrepresented parties. One recent example is the Supreme Court of Ohio’s new publication, Filing an Appeal in the Supreme Court of Ohio: A Pro Se Guide. At 84 pages, this manual is no light read. It’s not easy to learn the legal system on your own. But the government trusts us to do our own taxes, fill out our own child-support worksheets, report our own income (both legal and ille­ gal), buy car insurance and elect candidates, so perhaps we can be trusted to file ap­ peals with the state supreme court as well. The book’s length is due in part to the large amount of graphics. Not content with simply providing written di­ rections for how to draft a notice of appeal, for example, the book provides a sample cover sheet identifying all the requisite parts – case name, title, addresses, etc. Other necessary documents are similarly presented. This fool, who found legal proce­ dure courses a bit like learning how to drive by reading a book, ap­ preciates the descrip­ tive pictures. Yale law professor Fred Rodell once said, “There are two things wrong with all legal writing. One is its style. The Ohio Supreme Court building in Columbus, Ohio. The other is its content.” The manual strikes a Twister – maps and driving gal advice” means. The state balance between avoiding directions to the state su­ supreme court recently held legalese whenever possible, preme court, court holidays a course on this very topic while managing to include and an overview of the state for staff. The checklist could the “real” terms. Here is the courts complete the package. be the cheat sheet for such a “perfect” example: Even represented parties and course. “The Rules of Practice of new lawyers might find the Is this book a good substi­ the Supreme Court of Ohio manual helpful for its general tute for a lawyer? In the introrefer to the act of properly fil­ information. duction, the authors play CYA ing an appeal as ‘perfecting’ Court staff, too, will find with this warning: “You are the appeal. For purposes of this manual to be a blessing. strongly advised, however, to simplicity, this guide substi- A handy checklist outlines hire an attorney to represent tutes the word ‘file’ for the le­ what they can and cannot do you through the appeals progal term ‘perfect.’ ” for the self-represented. For cess.” Appendix A is a fine reEnlarged text boxes pro- a long time, court staff mem­ source on locating legal help vide definitions, pronun­ bers around the country were in Ohio. Read the manual ciation and other important instructed, “Do not provide even if you do have a lawyer; notes. Easy-to-read time- legal advice,” and courthouse it will help you understand lines with crucial deadlines signage echoed the senti­ what’s going on. – missing one is the legal ment. Unfortunately, it can David Giacolone contrib­ equivalent to falling down in be tricky to tell what “no le­ uted to this article. The Guide is available online at http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/PIO/news/2010/proSeGuide_020410.asp, another nice user-friendly touch. Venice on Vine Pizza and Hoagies 1301 Vine Street in Over-the-Rhine Hours Monday-Friday 9:30 a.m. -8:00 p.m. 513-221-7020 Good food for a good cause in a friendly neighborhood restaurant. Dine in or take out. Hoagies, pizza, salads, soups, weekly specials, wifi and organic coffee too! Venice on Vine and Venice Catering are social enterprise programs of Power Inspires Progress (PIP), a nonprofit employment education program for inner city adults. STREETVIBES DISCOUNT: Present this coupon for a free drink with any large hoagie or medium or large pizza. One per customer, valid through March 1, 2010. �14 Football on a Rollercoaster STREETVIBES March 1 - 14, 2010 Letters to the Editor Start with Compassion Sweating the Aluminum To the Editor: To the Editor: To the Editor: My school was recently visited by a member of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, and shortly thereafter I was given a copy of Streetvibes to read. While thumbing through its pages, I happened upon an article concerning the Cincin­ nati Bengals and the emotional rollercoaster the team (and doubtlessly the city as well) had been riding throughout the season (“The Unexpected Might Be the Bengals’ Best Weapon,” issue of Jan. 1-14). My own feeling for the Bengals have fluctuated madly this whole year. For as long as I have lived here, the Bengals have been dismal. So when they lost the season opener on a fluke play, I felt familiar feelings of anguish, anger and resigned frustration. Another year we would be laughed at. But then we steadily rose and won and won again. Around midseason, I would say I share many of the sentiments that the author of the article has. When the Ben­ gals were riding high, I had misguided notions of the Super Bowl, a bright shiny trophy and bragging rights for the year to come. Slowly, however, those visions faded away. Oak­ land, Minnesota, San Diego, New York. Each week I watched the Bengals implode, and every week I lost a little faith. When Chris Henry went down with an injury, I knew it spelled trouble. When he died, I felt the wheels about to come off. I can’t imag­ ine the pain of Henry’s teammates, family, friends. It seems, however, that his death started the final unraveling of that football team, and that unravel­ ing was felt by everyone in the city. The joy of the division sweep, the anxiety of a mid-season slump, and the horrible, biting feeling of another playoff defeat. Nobody even knows what to say anymore. Beyond all else, I’d like to thank the author for writing about the Bengals in a very emotional and provocative way, I truly enjoyed it. On Wednesday, Jan. 27, the Upper School of Cin­ cinnati Country Day School gathered to learn about homelessness. Grades 9-12 watched the movie The Soloist, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr., which depicts how a talented musician ends up on the streets due to mental illness. The film awak­ ened us to the plight of homelessness, which can strike anyone. Immediately following the film, we heard two speakers from the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, who had both previously been homeless. The goal of the presentation was to erase stereotypes and enlighten students on ways to con­ tribute to the fight against homelessness. The most important lesson learned that day was compassion. Each person who lives on the streets has their own story and is a human being worthy of empathy and aid. I left the presentation wishing to give hope to those out there on the streets battling the cold and hunger. Hundreds of young adults had taken time out of their day to learn about the lives of those down on their luck, and we cared. We cared about the individuals that are seen as less than hu­ man because they don’t have the privilege of a daily shower; we cared about those who feel degradation from their fellow Americans. We cared and we will continue to care. If the message that hundreds of thousands of people worry and feel for those who suffer on the streets reaches the ears of the afflicted individuals, it might bring a moment of joy to those who need it the most. If I can put a smile on the frown-lined face of a homeless person, the first step towards raising them up to success has been accomplished. I want some feedback from consumers concern­ ing cosmetic-additive anti-perspirants. The market is dominated by aluminum anti-perspirants. Alu­ minum is a harsh metal that can cause cancer. Doc­ tors believe but haven't presented scientific facts that aluminum contained in hygiene products has no impact on human bodies. Competition is good for consumers. Having al­ ternatives to aluminum anti-perspirants can lower prices. Personally, as a consumer, I am tired of using aluminum cosmetic additives and want a change. I want to present a new formula using fortified iron as metal base. The formula hasn't been devel­ oped but a laboratory in South Carolina can com­ plete that task. The problem is formula-develop­ ment financing. Investors’ financial assistance will be appreciated if elimination of aluminum antiper­ spirants is desired. My fortified iron antiperspirant should be made available to consumers on mass market. Mac McKee Cincinnati Lindsay Dougan Cincinnati Broken Stereotypes To the editor: Eyes now Open To the Editor: I would just like to take the time to thank you for the work you are doing. My school was recently visited by a member of the Greater Cincinnati Co­ alition for the Homeless and I must say that that presentation, in addition to your paper, have really opened my eyes to the true nature of poverty. I now realize what I didn’t only a few short weeks ago, that homeless people can come from anywhere. My mental image of the homeless has changed irre­ versibly from this experience, and I hope to change those of the people around me as well. Sincerely, Michael Fitzgerald Cincinnati I am a junior at Cincinnati Country Day School who was recently introduced to your newspaper through a guest speaker at my school. I was im­ pressed with the quality of your publication and the work you are doing to raise awareness about the homeless community. I was particularly touched by the article “May They Finally Rest in Peace” (issue of Jan. 1). I think it is important to remember those who have died, and your article was a nice tribute to these people. I feel as though it broke the stereo­ type that homeless people have nobody who cares about them. I look forward to reading future issues of your paper and hope that you continue the work you are doing to help the homeless. Jordan Komnick Cincinnati Derrick Prophet busmen4life@aol.com Pure Hip Hop To the Editor: I really enjoyed reading the article “New Voices of the Voiceless” by Ariana Shahandeh (issue of Jan. 1-15). I found it very moving and inspiring. Al­ though I don’t know much about Hip Hop or the music industry in general, I found that I didn’t re­ ally need to when reading this piece. I really con­ nected with what the author was saying. After reading the comments about famous artists like Jay Z and Drake, it made me want to go back and listen to those songs to see what the artists are really saying in them. I found myself thinking about how, after an artist becomes famous, they don’t have many other meaningful experiences to draw from like rappers such as Jasiri X and Amar do. It is much more meaningful to hear a song that is about the truth, rather than a song about parties and money. Especially since the economy is in such a bad place and since so many people are suffer­ ing, it is not nearly as appealing to listen to a rap about wealth and money – people want to hear the truth. Like the rapper Common said, Hip Hop is best when it is pure, when it isn’t drowned in drugs and money. Spokespeople from Streetvibes actually just came and talked to my school, Cincinnati Country Day School, and with what they had just said fresh in my mind, this article really made me want to hear more songs by people like Jasiri X and Amar. Again, this article was very touching and I loved reading it. Keep it up. Caroline Perrin Cincinnati Have something on your mind? Do you agree or disagree with an article? Let us know: 1 Become a Fan of Streetvibes on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/streetvibescincinnati 117 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvibes2@yahoo.com 1 �STREETVIBES March 1 - 14, 2010 15 Resources Need Help or Want to Help? Shelter: Women and Children Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 Central Access Point Cincinnati Union Bethel 381-SAFE 768-6907 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Salvation Army YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 241-5525 784-1853 Other Resources DIC Live In Program Prospect House 721-0643 921-1613 Center Independent Living Options Emmanuel Community Center 961-2256 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Treatment: Both 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 721-0643 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) 471-1100 221-3350 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 Housing: CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House Dana Transitional Bridge Services Volunteers of America Food/Clothing Lord’s Pantry OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 621-5300 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 351-0422 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 Hamilton County ADAS Board Recovery Health Access Center Sober Living Talbert House 946-4888 281-7422 681-0324 641-4300 People Working Cooperatively The Caring Place United Way Women Helping Women 351-7921 631-1114 211 977-5541 St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry 863-3184 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 Advocacy Northern Kentucky Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless Brighton Center 859-491-8303 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 579-8547 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 421-2437 ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 621-1868 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 721-4700 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center Faces Without Places Stop AIDS 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Health Center for Respite Care 535-2719 771-4800 751-0600 721-4811 Hamilton/Middletown 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 621-6364 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen AA Hotline CCAT 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 961-4555 751-0643 381-1954 Goodwill industries Healing Connections Mary Magdalen House 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 761-1480 381-0111 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 First Step Home 961-4080 621-5514 214 E. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 661-4620 Shelter: Both 241-2600 241-2563 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Starting Over Treatment: Women 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Drop Inn Center 458-6670 977-4489 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 558-8888 981-5800 872-9259 Justice Watch 241-0490 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Anthony House (Youth) Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Charlie’s 3/4 House Mt. Airy Shelter 357-4602 352-2902 352-6363 NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach Treatment: Men Shelter: Men City Gospel Mission Health Resource Center Homeless Mobile Health Van McMicken Dental Clinic 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 762-5660 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 381-2247 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Bethany House Crossroad Health Center 859-491-3335 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 aFFordaBle rateS etvibes? tre nS sted in Adve e r e t rtis In ing i Many SizeS (full page, 1/2 page, 1/4 page, 1/8 page) Black & White and color availaBle diScountS For nonProFitS Contact Lynne at 513-421-7803 ext. 11 or lynneausman@cincihomeless.org for more information. �16 Artists as Activists STREETVIBES March 1 - 14, 2010 Ascending to the Pure Realms Gloria McConnaghy’s creations celebrate spirituality “W hy don’t you draw pictures about something from your heart, something you dream of, good things you remember?” That was the advice a junior high school art teacher gave Gloria McConnaghy when she was a pre-adolescent girl. It was an advice she would never forget and that shaped from then on all her artistic expression. Gloria, born in California, grew up in British Columbia and later located in Cincinnati. As a young child, she liked drawing, enrolled in scholastic art programs and won several awards. When ready to choose a career, a well-meaning adviser dissuaded her from going to art school and directed her instead toward nursing. She attended a small Jewish nursing school in San Francisco and mingled with stu­ dents from all ethnic backgrounds, African-American, Jewish, Japa­ nese, Chinese, Haitian. “This was the best thing that ever happened to me,” she says, “It woke me up to social reality and forged my tolerance by experience.” Gloria loved nursing and taking care of patients who opened her eyes to the world and its diversity. While working as a nurse, she took art classes at night, mostly drawing and painting. The paintings she did then were popular and sold well; she felt, however, they had noth­ ing to do with her. Frustrated, she decided to stop painting until she had something to say. Interested in public health, she joined the Cincinnati Health Department, then the Peace Corps and Save the Children, which took her for many years to Colombia, Fiji, Tuvalu and Bhutan. Not master­ ing the languages of these countries, she resorted to her drawing skills to generate public-health teaching documents based on images she would create. Their top­ ics varied from preven­ tion of malaria, maternal as and child health care, family planning, clean water and sanitation to a By Saad ghoSn complete primary health Contributing Writer care manual for Bhutan. The documents served as visual aids well suited to citizens of these countries who could not read well. They tied her art interest to her public-health concerns. When, after many years of overseas commitment, she decided to settle back home, Gloria was well in her 50s, out of synch with the nursing field and not easily marketable. To earn a living, she started an ethnic jewelry and folk-art shop in downtown Cincinnati and got A rtists ctivists Ascending from Evil into the Pure Realms, mixed media assemblage by Gloria McConnaghy. Photo by Saad Ghosn. Gloria McConnaghy. Photo by Bill Howes. back, seriously this time, into her own creative art. Inspired by her experiences abroad and the spirituality of the places she had lived in or visited, she started doing small construction pieces, shrines or altar-like, some with strong religious connotations, each with a per­ sonal story. They connected her to her dreams, to the mystical images she had in her mind, to her beliefs, to the people she had met, and to the important individuals who had influenced her views of the world. Gandhi, the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa, for instance, often ap­ peared in her works, reflecting on the values of peace, non-violence, love and compassion they promoted and imparted onto her. Corona Awaiting Her Ascent into Heaven is a small construction piece Gloria did in honor of a small and frail black lady she encoun­ tered one day on her way to work. The lady was quite ill but scared to go to the hospital because she had no money. Gloria arranged for an ambulance to take care of her; she died, however, shortly after. That same night she appeared in Gloria’s dream as a beautiful angel as­ cending into the skies. Ascending from Evil into the Pure Realms is about the Holocaust. Although not Jewish, Gloria grew up all her life haunted by the Ho­ locaust and the innocent people who were murdered. She won­ dered what happened to their souls and wanted to commemo­ rate them, floating in the universe, connecting with the world. She glued together two old wooden boxes and used an old broken doll, missing a hand and a foot, as a symbol of the victims. She dressed the doll with a striped outfit similar to the one the pris­ oners had to wear and planted in its open, cracked head, flowers representing hope and life. She also incorporated into the piece old ashes, burnt objects and bones and added pictures of her rela­ tives, underlining her own connection to the oppressed world. Another piece, Mother Teresa, is treated like an old Russian icon, holding in her hands a jewel, her offerings to humanity; and under her, two small statues of the Virgin Mary, a reference to her sainthood. Until two years ago Gloria had been very prolific in her art and participated in many exhibits all over town. Magical images from her experiences kept emerging in her memories, leading her to create a visual world of beauty, poetry, spirituality and positive feelings. “I have strong political views,” she says. “But what comes out in my work is the sweetness, the magic, the beautiful and not the ugliness. I am more interested in peace than just the absence of war. We need to get along and address fairly everyone’s concerns. That is my definition of peace; that is also what I want my work to achieve.” Her social concerns also got her involved in many community projects, for instance, painting murals for a soup kitchen in Cin­ cinnati and offering her services to the Red Cross. For the past two years Gloria’s time and energy have been to­ tally absorbed by the shop she owns and runs on Vine Street. She would like, however, to sell it soon and get back to her creative art. She feels she still has a lot to say and offer; she is in particular eager to create works to sensitize people to the problem of hunger in the world and participate in public art projects. “Art is very important to me,” she says, “It gives me happiness, and when I do it, I am in heaven. It helps me connect with myself and my experiences, also convey, in a poetic translation, the val­ ues I live and believe in.” Artists as Activists is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati artists who use art as a vehicle for change. Saad Ghosn is the founder of SOS Art. Ghosn can be contacted at saad.ghosn@uc.edu. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2010 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource March 1-14, 2010 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Being Homeless is Against the Law Stop Abuses by Military Recruiters Pg 2: Street Wise Pg 3: Eight Minutes with a British Street Paper Pg 4: Being Homeless is Against the Law Pg 5: Being Homeless is Against the Law Continued Pg 6: Being Homeless is Against the Law Continued Leading Worship Lyrics Pg 7: Metropole Tenants Confront HUD Pg 8: “Reed Me, Seymour/Feed Me All Night Long…” Pg 9: Stop Abuses by Military Recruiters Continued Pg 10: Arts & Poetry Pg 11: Myth-Buster: Affordable Housing and Property Values Pg 12: Paul Brown’s Biggest Fumble Pg 13: ‘Do It Yourself’ Appeals Pg 14: Letters to the Editor Pg 15: Resources Pg 16: Ascending to the Pure Realms Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 1-14, 2010 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Gregory Flannery Lynne Ausman Veronica Glass Jeni Jenkins Michelle Dillingham Samantha Groark Margo Pierce Paul Kopp Jeremy Flannery Michael Henson David Heitfield Valerie Fessler Alecia A. Lott Jeni Jenkins Saad Ghosn Lew Moores Larry Gross Eli Braun Aimie Willhoite, Anthony Williams Jennifer Blalock Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Aimie Willhoite Alecia A. Lott Anthony Williams Cincinnati Columbus David Heitfield Eli Braun Gloria McConnaghy Gregory Flannery housing HUD Jeni Jenkins Jennifer Blalock Jeremy Flannery Larry Gross Law Lew Moores Lynn Baker Lynne Ausman Margo Pierce Metropole Michael Henson Michelle Dillingham Military Paul Brown Paul Kopp Saad Ghosn Samantha Groark Schools Shaun Donovan Valerie Fessler Veronica Glass https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/e5403a3c26f637e079bf27c5e1f9518f.pdf 2dd7b2ed60ca191547f3e45e3a8652fa PDF Text Text 36 C R O S S W O R 37 S U D O K U D A N P A G 38 D E 12 Film Review Page 9 STREETVIBES $1 Feb. 15 - 28, 2010 • Advocating Justice, Building Community • Issue 171 The ‘Madness’ of Hate Downtown Attack leaves Streetvibes vendor badly injured By GreGory FLannery editor T he circumstances of the vicious beating endured Jan. 24 by Robert Meehan were fraught with irony. The attack occurred a few steps from the Metropole Apartments, purchased last year by the Cin­ cinnati Center City Development Corp (3CDC). Just days before being assaulted, Meehan wrote a letter to the editor of Streetvibes, criticizing 3CDC, which plans to convert the subsidized low-income apart­ ments into a boutique motel. The attack occurred soon after Meehan took training to become a vendor for Streetvibes, pub­ lished by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Both the newspaper and the coalition have been publicizing a recent spate of hate crimes against homeless people in Cincinnati. The attack was allegedly perpetrated by a man Michael K. Taylor, aka Madness (left), was apprehended by Las Vegas Police after a nationwide warrant was issued. Taylor allegedly attacked Robert Meehan (right), on Jan 24. Photo on right by Josh Spring. See Madness, p. 5 Postcards from Hell Lynching exhibit captures hatred’s horror By Lew Moores Contributing Writer Not all of the images depict AfricanAmerican men. Among the first images a visitor sees are of Laura Nelson and he images are beyond graphic. her son, L.W. Nelson, 14, hanging from a They are horrific. African-Amer­ bridge in Okemah, Okla., in 1911. Laura ican men hang from power lines Nelson wears a dress that reaches to her and bridges, a light pole, most from trees. calves, her arms and hands at her sides. A blooming dogwood, a cedar. Many of Her head is sharply angled to her left the images are – remark­ shoulder. In an image of ably – postcards. They them both hanging from “I would like students were sent through the the bridge, her son dan­ to focus on that third mail, postcards not from gles at least 100 feet away section. To understand – separated in death – as vacations, but sent from hell. On the back of a post­ that it just wasn’t in the a crowd stands on the card of a burned corpse, past, that it certainly is bridge and watches. one correspondent wrote Of the nearly 5,000 relevant to what is going about having a barbecue. on in their everyday lives lynchings that occurred About 75 of these imag­ – not physical lynchings in the United States be­ es are arranged on walls tween 1882 and 1968, anymore, but there that cover five rooms and certainly are hate crimes.” 3,437 were African 3,000 square feet of space Americans and the oth­ - Dina Bailey at the National Under­ ers included white, His­ ground Railroad Freedom panic, Chinese, Jewish Center. Without Sanctuary: Lynching and Native Americans, according to the Photography in America opened at the Tuskegee Institute. As signage in the ex­ Freedom Center Jan. 19 – the day after hibit points out, 70 women were among Martin Luther King Jr. Day – and contin­ those lynched, and lynchings occurred in ues through May 31. Halfway through the 41 states, mostly in the South. There were exhibit is a room called “Respite,” with 581 in Mississippi, 531 in Georgia, 493 in benches and two boxes of facial tissues. Texas, 391 in Louisiana. There were two And at the end are tables with “Reflec­ in New York and one in Vermont. tion” Journals, where visitors can leave There were 205 lynchings in Kentucky, their thoughts: 47 in Indiana and 26 in Ohio. Hangings This exhibit was way too sad for me. … took place in Butler and Clermont coun­ I can’t believe the things America let hap- ties. None are known to have occurred in pen. … It was very painful to view the pic- Hamilton County. tures and facts. We have come a long way but we still have a very long way to go. See postcards, p. 4 T Lynching, circa 1905, location unknown. Photo courtesy of National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. �2 The Vibe By The Numbers 31 The percentage of homeless people in Louisville who lost their homes last year because of inability to pay their rent or mortgage (see page 7). 5 The denomination of dollar bills depicted in Pachyderm’s Progress (see page 16). 144 The number of years in the future in which Avatar is set (see page 9). 644 The number of peace cranes created by a young victim of the U.S. nuclear attack on Hiroshima (see page 6). 45,000 The annual death toll caused by lack of health insurance in the United States (see page 3). 14 The age of L.W. Nelson, the victim of a lynching in 1911 (see page 1). 79 The percentage of people in Cincinnati who, when asked, signed a petition for the legalization of marijuana (see page 7). StreetWise By GreGory FLannery editor First, I Screwed Up A photo caption on page 9 of the Feb. 1-14 edition contained this statement: “Blah blah blah blah.” This error was an oversight on my part, and I apologize to the people in the photograph, the reporter and the photographer. This is how it happened. A “dummy line” was placed under the photo to indicate that a caption was needed. The editor was supposed to change the dummy line. In this case, the editor was a dummy. We Get By with the Help of Our Friends Homeless people and economically struggling people are so often maltreated that acts of kind­ ness – and even more rare, solidarity – deserve mention. Last week Streetvibes received a call from a woman who bought the paper in Northside from Riccardo Taylor. Hours later she saw Taylor downtown. She had parked at a broken meter, and Taylor offered to watch her car in case a meter attendant came by. The woman called to say that she was impressed by Taylor’s thoughtfulness and wanted to do something for him. This came a week after another vendor reported that employees at a pancake restaurant in Northern Kentucky came to his defense when he was about to be arrested. The vendor had nodded off in the restaurant, and another patron called the police to complain. But when the vendor was about to be arrested, restaurant employees intervened and told the officers he hadn’t done anything wrong. An Award and a Lawsuit for the Dalai Lama Last week the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center announced that it will bestow an International Freedom Conductor Award on the Dalai Lama in October. The Dalai Lama is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, a distinguished teacher of Tibetan Buddhism – and the de­ fendant in a lawsuit in India accusing him of violating the human rights of other Tibetan Bud­ dhists. Kuten Lama, abbot of a monastery in Colerain Township, is one of the founders of the organization suing the Dalai Lama. At issue is the alleged persecution of Tibetan exiles who honor Dorje Shugden, a deity banned by the Dalai Lama (see “Rejoicing Against Oppression,” issue of Sept. 15-30, 2009). Don’t Touch That Dial: ‘Streetvibes’ is on the air Streetvibes is now on the radio. Our writers are working with WNKU (89.7 FM) to put stories about homelessness and other social-justice issues on the air. Contributing writer Margo Pierce launched the effort last week by interviewing Kevin Finn, executive director of the Ham­ ilton County Continuum of Care. WNKU News Director Craig Kopp says he hopes to broadcast a new Streetvibes interview once a month. Visit the station at wnku.org. Street papers are growing in number and in circulation. In late 2009 two new street papers began publishing: One Step Away in Philadelphia, Penn., and St. Petersburg Homeless Image in St. Petersburg, Fla. One reason for the success of the street-paper movement is collaboration. Streetvibes is a member of both the North American Street Newspaper Association (NASNA) and the Interna­ tional Network of Street Papers (INSP). Like other professional or trade organizations, NASNA and INSP give members access to shared resources such as photographs by Reuters photogra­ phers and stories syndicated by the Street News Service. In early February, Streetvibes enjoyed a visit from Emma Kernahan, distribution manager for The Big Issue UK, a street paper headquartered in London, England. Kernahan came to see how our distribution works and told us about distribution at her paper. She also shared information about Streetwise, a street paper in Chicago. Kernahan is spending two months there as a volunteer helping to organize this year’s NASNA conference. 3 The number of women who stood and watched while Robert Meehan was beaten in downtown Cincinnati (see page 1). Competition is a time-honored convention in journalism. Collaboration has its own set of ben­ efits. 2010 The year that you should get over your fear of tofu (see page 8). Zilch The amount of food a charity can legally distribute to poor people in a Cincinnati park (see page 12). Emma Kernahan, ‘The Big Issue UK,’ visited ‘Streetvibes’ and ‘Streetwise’ (Chicago). Photo by Lynne Ausman. NASNA is working on its first continental collaborative article, with Streetvibes and other mem­ ber papers contributing research for a report of international scope with local relevance. You’ll see what we mean in the March 1 edition. Writers from street papers in the United States and Can­ ada are working on a story that will be published in both countries. Andy Freeze, executive director of NASNA and former education coordinator for the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, says he hopes NASNA members will collaborate on national articles several times a year. STREETVIBES February 15 - 28, 2010 Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax: 513.421.7813 Email: streetvibes2@ yahoo.com Website: www. cincihomeless.org Blog: streetvibes. wordpress.com Streetvibes Staff Editor Gregory Flannery Art Director Lynne Ausman Graphics/Layout Intern Veronica Glass Vendor Coordinator Jeni Jenkins Contributing Writers Michelle Dillingham, Samantha Groark, Margo Pierce, Paul Kopp, Jeremy Flannery, Michael Henson, David Heitfield, Valerie Fessler, Alecia A. Lott, Stephanie Dunlap, Saad Ghosn, Lew Moores, Larry Gross, Eli Braun Photography/Artwork Aimie Willhoite, Lynne Ausman, Jeni Jenkins, Anthony Williams Proofreaders Jennifer Blalock Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati through coordination of services, public education, grassroots advocacy and Streetvibes. We are proud members of: �STREETVIBES February 15 - 28, 2010 Issues 3 Health Care Reform on Life Support People are dying for lack of insurance 1 By eLi Braun Contributing Writer care. “We’re losing more Americans every day be­ welve-year-old Deamonte Driver died of cause of inaction ... than an abscessed tooth that a routine $80 tooth [because of] drunk driv­ extraction could have prevented. His fam­ ing and homicide com­ ily lacked health insurance and could not afford bined,” said study author to pay a dentist. So they waited, thinking they had David Himmelstein in an time for a toothache. While the toothache festered, interview with Reuters. bacteria from the abscess spread to Deamonte’s Himmelstein, a profes­ brain. The boy was hospi­ sor at Harvard talized. Then, after two op­ Medical School, erations, six weeks of hos­ In a study of people with favors extending pital care, and $250,000 in Medicare to all. appendicitis, uninsured bills, he died. People with­ people were 18 percent Was the cause of death a more likely to suffer a burst out health insur­ tooth abscess, or was it lack ance have more appendix than those with of health insurance? to worry about private insurance. It has been well docu­ than just death. mented that people with­ Besides pre­ out health insurance face poorer health prospects. mature death, uninsured Why? Perhaps they engage in riskier behavior, people with diabetes are smoke more cigarettes, or eat more junk food? Or, at greater risk of blind­ as a growing body of evidence suggests, uninsured ness and amputations, people face poorer health prospects simply because according to the Insti­ they are uninsured. For decades, covering the unin­ tute of Medicine, which sured has been a central goal of health-care reform. found that one in four While the current bill in Congress delights neither uninsured adult diabet­ the left nor the right, it represents the best chance ics go two years without in years to achieve this goal. If it dies, so will thou­ a doctor’s visit, compared sands of Americans. to one in 20 insured adult diabetics. T ‘Enough to make you sick’ What happens when sick people don’t have health insurance? In a study of people with appendicitis, uninsured people were 18 percent more likely to suffer a burst appendix than those with private insurance. Re­ searchers found that the people whose appendices burst tended to have waited longer before seek­ ing medical attention. In fact, the delay in seeking medical care was “the most important predictor” of rupture. These individuals waited because they could not access “primary and hospital care without cost con­ cerns.” That is, people who were uninsured waited. Insurance status was the most important predictor even after researchers controlled for age, sex, socio­ economic status and hospital type. As with Deamonte Driver, whose $80 barrier led to a $250,000 bill, delaying timely medical care has expensive repercussions. An appendicitis opera­ tion leads to a longer hospital stay and a larger bill if the appendix has burst. Insurance status affects the prognosis of people with ailments besides tooth abscesses and appen­ dicitis. Uninsured people are also more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage cancer. Consequently, uninsured people were almost twice (1.6 times) as likely as insured people to die within five years. “The truth is that our national reluctance to face these facts is condemning thousands of people to die from cancer each year,” wrote Elmer Huerta, president of the American Cancer Society, in an ed­ itorial that accompanied the study. “For too many hardworking ‘average Americans,’ paying for can­ cer treatment means not paying rent, mortgage (re­ sulting in foreclosure or eviction), or utility bills, or even going hungry.” The American College of Physicians tracked similar evidence in its 2000 report, No Health Insurance? It’s Enough to Make You Sick. In 2002, the Institute of Medicine calculated that 18,000 unin­ sured adults died each year because, lacking in­ surance, they do not seek medical care. The Urban Institute estimated that between 2000 and 2006, 137,000 people died who would still be alive if only they had had health insurance. The most recent estimate in 2009 found that nearly 45,000 people die in the United States each year – one person every 12 minutes – because they lack health insurance and cannot access medical Too little, too expensive House Minority Leader John Boehner is Dr. No on health-care reform. More than 46.3 million REUTERS/Yuri Gripas. U.S. residents, 15.4 per­ cent of the population, were uninsured in 2008, according to the U.S. Cen­ ance companies from excluding people with pre­ sus Bureau. One in 10 children – 7.3 million – were existing conditions. That would address one flaw uninsured. Only people who lacked insurance for of the current health-care system. Insurance com­ the entire year are counted as uninsured in the Cen­ panies cherry-pick customers, prioritizing profit at sus Bureau’s methodology, so these numbers might the expense of the sickest. understate the true number of uninsured Ameri­ The bill does not, however, change the for-profit cans. If you count people who were uninsured for model of the American insurance industry. Even if at least one month in 2006-07, 86.7 million. this bill passes, companies can continue to mini­ Comprising one in 3 Americans under the age of mize payouts and require higher co-pays. Medical 65, had limited access to medical care. bills are a frequent cause of bankruptcy, some crit­ The numbers vary by geographic region. In 2007­ ics note, and insurance is not serving its purpose if 08, Texas had the largest percentage of uninsured an illness can wipe out the family savings. residents (25 percent) while Massachusetts had the Despite the weaknesses of the existing system, smallest (5 percent). Ohio ranked toward the mid­ the public appears reluctant to tinker with it. A poll dle, with 12 percent of its population uninsured. conducted by the Health Foundation of Greater That’s one in eight Ohioans, or a million people to­ Cincinnati found that likely-insured Ohioans be­ tal. lieved that the proposed changes go too far. Insured The current health-care reform bill, despite people comprise the vast majority of the electorate, its faults, would reduce the number of uninsured which perhaps explains why health-care reformers Americans, according to the non-partisan Congres­ have been so modest in their approach. sional Budget Office. It would provide subsidies for Not surprisingly, according to the Health Foun­ poorer Americans, expand Medicaid eligibility to dation poll, Ohioans who were likely to be unin­ 150 percent of the federal poverty level (133 per­ sured thought the proposed changes don’t go far cent in the Senate version) and enough. institute various reforms to slow People with health insurance health care’s rising costs. Emergency-room care is have better access to health care Rising health-care costs are and better outcomes. Critics of too little, too late and too partly responsible for the numhealth-care reform sometimes expensive. It can hardly be ber of uninsured Americans. Bequip that uninsured people called satisfactory care for a tween 2001 and 2007, insurance patient with late-term cancer or can always go to an emergency premiums rose 78 percent while room. And yes, the 1986 Emer­ a ruptured appendix. wages rose only 19 percent. And gency Medical Treatment and as health-care costs rise, employ­ Active Labor Act guarantees ac­ ers drop benefits. The Census Bureau found that cess for everyone to emergency services. the percentage of Americans who receive health But many health conditions are chronic and re­ insurance through their employers has decreased quire routine attention. Emergency-room care is from 64 percent in 2000 to 59 percent in 2008. For too little, too late and too expensive. It can hardly many people, employment comes with fewer ben­ be called satisfactory care for a patient with lateefits. In fact, one in six full-time workers, or 21 mil­ term cancer or a ruptured appendix. It did not save lion people, were uninsured for the entirety of 2008 Deamonte Driver, and it can’t prevent another. meaning 45% of uninsured people actually worked Health-care reform might still pass Congress this full-time. year. But for the 45,000 people who died last year Of course, the current bill in Congress does more for lack of health insurance – or at that rate, the 123 than cover the uninsured. It would prevent insur- people who died today – it’s already too late. Read this article with links to sources at http://streetvibes.wordpress.com. �4 Local News STREETVIBES February 15 - 28, 2010 Postcards from Hell Continued from page 1 ‘I wish I didn’t know’ As much as Terryl Meador prepped the 39 juniors in her Advanced Placement U.S. history class at Northwest High School before visiting the exhibit in late January, they were still shocked. Even Meador, who as a teacher knew of this dark side of American history, was taken aback by the breadth of the cruelty. “It never stops shocking you, even after going through the teacher training, even after doing outside readings and a lot of other research and prepping the kids, both academically and emotionally,” she says. “There were a lot of times when I found myself very close to tears. “I felt frustrated and ashamed and embarrassed and shocked, thinking, ‘How did I not know this?’ And then thinking, ‘Oh my God, I wish I didn’t know this.’” Of the nearly 5,000 Paul Bernish, spokesman for the lynchings that occurred in Freedom Center, says the center the United States between worked to prepare the region as far 1882 and 1968, 3,437 back as October for the exhibit. “We went out of our way to pre­ were African Americans pare the community,” he says. “We and the others included white, Hispanic, Chinese, told people what it was going to be about, so that by the time it opened, Jewish and Native Americans, according to it opened with some degree of so­ lemnity.” the Tuskegee Institute. Bernish also says the Freedom Center learned from past venues where Without Sanctuary was displayed that incorpo­ rating some new features in this exhibition would help. One was having the Reflection Journals. “We took lessons from past exhibits,” Bernish says. “For some, there wasn’t an opportunity for people to vent their emotions. We’ve given people an opportunity to express themselves, their reactions and emotions. The number of people who have taken the time to write their journal entries is a very good indicator of the im­ pact it’s having.” And that impact has been for the most part positive, Bernish notes from both the journals and oral reac­ tion. “The response has been sober, reflective,” he says. “People feel it’s very powerful. We’re showing this be­ cause of our belief that freedom is a value that needs protecting. Beneath the veneer of civilization is an el­ ement that allows hate to overcome reason and that The lynching of Bennie Simmons. June 13, 1913, Anadarko, Okla.. threatens freedom.” Photo courtesy of National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Katie Johnson, public programs manager for the Freedom Center, says the center recruited more than two dozen education partners to get input on the pos­ sible reaction the community might have and how to mitigate ‘Have you stood up?’ against adverse reaction. Dina Bailey, associate curator at the Freedom Center, says there Images of a bludgeoned African American sitting in a rocking are three things they want visitors to take away from Without Sanc- chair, his clothes covered in blood; a charred corpse; dead Africantuary. American men tied to fences; a corpse chained to a tree face-first. “The first being a The more disturbing images are of crowds standing in the fore­ “So we talked about how hate doesn’t spring look back at histo­ ground of a lynching – staring, gesturing and even smiling at the ry, understanding camera. There is the image from July 19, 1935, of a black man hang­ up in one day, how it grows if you allow it to be unchecked. All of us have this potential of having a better where this ing in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., with children looking on. And the infamous photo of the lynching of Abram Smith, 18, and little dark side of ourselves. And if you don’t actively lynching era came work to stay on top of that, it overtakes you. That from and how it Thomas Shipp, 19, hanging from a tree in Marion, Ind., on Aug. 7, possible,” 1930. Some in the crowd look at the camera. One man points to the liberty is best protected when you guard against was Bailey says. “The hanging men. An entrepreneur mass-produced the photograph hate. That’s what I hope they took away.” second is bearing and sold copies for 50 cents each. - Terryl Meador witness, under­ Meador, the teacher at North­ standing what the west High School in Colerain lynching era was about. The third is reminding people there are Township, where African Ameri­ The more disturbing images are of still vulnerable populations today that we need to keep watch over. cans represent about 25 percent crowds standing in the foreground of I would like students to focus on that third section. To understand of the student body, attended a a lynching – staring, gesturing and that it just wasn’t in the past, that it certainly is relevant to what is teachers’ workshop at the Free­ even smiling at the camera. There is going on in their everyday lives – not physical lynchings anymore, dom Center in early December in the image from July 19, 1935, of a but there certainly are hate crimes.” preparation for visiting the exhib­ black man hanging in Ft. Lauderdale, “Homeless is one. I think it is one of the hate crimes that is on it. The Freedom Center was very Fla., with children looking on. the rise. We’re looking at different forms: LGBT, homeless, religious supportive, she says. Her students affiliations. They may not be in the exhibition, but it is a program spent the better part of the day at idea that we want to talk about. One of the things I’ve noticed is the Freedom Center and Without Sanctuary. that, the worse the economy, the more hate crimes there are. When “It was a very full day, but a very rich day,” Meador says. people are worried about not having enough of their own mon­ The students had been prepared. Some had sought out some im­ ey, then they look to blame immigrants, or illegal immigrants, or ages online or saw one or two in a textbook. But nothing compared homeless people. It goes back to those vulnerable populations.” to the enormity at Without Sanctuary. All I feel is sadness. … This exhibit is as important as it is disturbThe students lingered. They began to read every accompanying ing. … Their fight (and even their fear) created my grandmothers explanation at every image – so much so that Meador had to nudge and grandfathers, my mother and father, those women and men of them along, she said. the civil rights movement. From great pain and sadness there has been victory. See postcards, p. 5 �STREETVIBES February 15 - 28, 2010 Local News 5 The ‘Madness’ of Hate Downtown Continued from page 1 initially known to police only by his nick­ name, Madness. At about 3:48 a.m. Meehan was bodyslammed, punched and struck with a beer bottle during what Cincinnati Police Lt. Mi­ chael John called an unprovoked attack. Three women stood and watched the assault, captured on a surveillance camera outside the Metropole. For nearly two weeks Meehan was in a medically induced coma as a result of his in­ juries, which John described as so severe that he was surprised Meehan survived. Josh Spring, executive director of the Home­ less Coalition, launched a media blitz to bring attention to the attack and to encourage peo­ ple to provide information for the suspect’s capture. The effort paid off when TV coverage led one of the three women who were pres­ ent during the beating to contact police. John said police identified the other two women and interviewed all three of them. “I think they felt some pressure to come forward, but none the less they were help­ ful,” John wrote in an e-mail to a TV reporter. “They were all shocked to see the nature of Michael Stoops, National Coalition for the Homeless, spoke at the Cincinnati Homeless Mr. Meehan's injuries.” Coalition’s forum on hate crimes, where advocates were first informed of the attack. Equally shocking was the suspect’s behav­ Photo by Josh Spring. ior after the attack. “The night of the incident, Madness was Spring says. operating a white or cream colored late model Cadillac,” John wrote. In fact, Spring learned of the assault during a forum on hate crimes “He actually drove the vehicle southbound on Walnut, passing Mr. sponsored by the Homeless Coalition. Meehan (after the beating) before slowing outside the Subway to inLast year a homeless man was assaulted downtown by two drunk­ vite an unknown individual to the Anchor Grill in Covington.” en suburbanites, one of whom knocked a bottle of insulin out of the Police succeeded in tracking Madness to Las victim’s hand. The assailants were arrested and Vegas, Nev., where he was arrested Feb. 6. The fined. Last month a homeless man was set on suspect, now identified as Michael K. Taylor, is At about 3:48 a.m. Meehan was fire downtown by four youths. No one has yet wanted in Cincinnati on a charge of felonious body-slammed, punched and struck been charged in that case (see “Set Afire,” issue assault. of Jan. 15-31). with a beer bottle during what Spring visited Meehan at University Hospi­ Spring says these cases, like a series of stun­ Cincinnati Police Lt. Michael John tal on Feb. 8 after he was transferred out of the called an unprovoked attack. Three gun attacks in Cleveland, point to the need for intensive-care unit. hate-crimes laws to protect homeless people. women stood and watched the “He will have to go through rehab,” Spring assault, captured on a surveillance Bills are pending in Congress and in the Ohio says. “He was markedly exhausted physically General Assembly. Spring says Cincinnati City camera outside the Metropole. and mentally. He was in the office before this atCouncil should also pass an ordinance includ­ tack, and he spoke very fast. This time, if I didn’t ing homeless people as a protected class. talk, there wouldn’t be any conversation. Relative to what happened “People who are homeless are one group that it’s still OK to hate,” he’s doing very well, but it’s clear that this will change his life. He said he says. “We’re hoping at the local level someone will put forth a mohe was having trouble trying to remember what happened. He asked tion to protect people based on housing status. It doesn’t do a lot beme why someone would do this.” cause municipalities can only affect misdemeanors but it does signal Spring says he didn’t venture to answer Meehan’s question, but he to the state government that it’s important. We’re hoping this will be has a theory. The assault on Meehan was the latest in a series of hate a wake-up call. It’s gotten progressively worse. It’s important Cincin­ crimes against homeless people, according to Spring. nati doesn’t forget. We had a man almost beat to death. If we don’t do “Mr. Meehan has been known to have been homeless on the street something now, it’s going to get worse. This should be an eye-opener as well as regularly moving from the home of one friend to another,” for everybody.” Postcards from Hell Continued from page 4 “It was just conflicting emotions throughout the entire exhibit,” she says. “It ran the entire spectrum. I saw kids crying in the exhibit. I saw kids an­ gry. I mean just angry, like, ‘How could this happen? How could this happen in America?’ they asked. There was a lot of horror. As much as we talked about this, the graphic nature of the pictures was very stunning to them. It’s one thing to talk about women being lynched, but then to see that very famous picture of the woman (Laura Nelson) being hung off the bridge …” What did she want her students to learn from this? “What I wanted to resonate the most for them was that hate does not exist in time and place,” Meador says. “Hate ex­ ists. I think one of the blessings of living in America is that we do have free speech. I think the other thing really crucial for them to understand is the importance throughout American history of people in shaping and changing of America. “We talked about how, if you see things wrong, you have to stand up. It’s your duty as an American citizen. You can’t get caught up in these kinds of things. No one of you ever participated in a lynching, but have you stood up and cheered when a fight was happening? Have you watched a kid be bullied and not stand up for them? “So we talked about how hate doesn’t spring up in one day, how it grows if you allow it to be unchecked. All of us have this potential of having a little dark side of ourselves. And if you don’t actively work to stay on top of that, it overtakes you. That liberty is best protected when you guard against hate. That’s what I hope they took away.” �6 STREETVIBES February 15 - 28, 2010 Local News Walking to End the Nuclear Peril Footprints for Peace opposes nuclear bombs and plants 1 By VaLerie FessLer Contributing Writer H ow are walking and nuclear weap­ ons connected? By the people who dedicate their time, money and resources to peacefully raise awareness about alternative energy and sustainable lifestyles while exposing the deadly effects of the nuclear industry. On Feb. 13, Footprints for The 2010 Nuclear Peace began its three-month 2010 Nuclear Free Future Walk Free Future to the United Nations in New Walk is open to anyone interested York. The march began at the Y12 Nuclear Facility in Oak in walking for a nuclear-free future. Ridge, Tenn. Footprints for Peace is a global community of people dedicated to creating change through peaceful action. They organize events throughout the world in order to deepen others’ understanding of environmental is­ sues. Their goal is to educate, inspire and empower individuals and communities in building a sustainable future. Every five years, the Nuclear Non-Pro­ liferation Treaty, also known as NPT, is reviewed at a conference at the United Nations. The treaty calls on countries “to achieve at the earliest possible date the ces­ sation of the nuclear arms race and to un­ dertake effective measures in the direction of nuclear disarmament.” The NPT Review Conference begins in early May. Sophie Morel, 48, and her son, Noé, 12, of France came to Cincinnati to join Foot­ prints for Peace. They have participated in past anti-nuclear walks in Europe. Last year they walked from Geneva, Switzerland, to Brussels, Belgium, stopping at many nu­ clear power plants and nuclear weapons bases. “It was great, but sometimes it was hard because of rain,” Noé says. Participants walk an average of 15 miles per day. The distance depends on the phys­ ical capabilities of the group and on ac­ commodations. At night, towns and com­ munities provide shelter and hold potluck dinners for the walkers. “Walks are physically demanding,” says Jon Blickenstaff of Cincinnati, a member of Footprints for Peace. “You are not sleeping in your own bed, and you’re in a strange en­ vironment.” Although the walks are demanding, Blick­ enstaff says the group dynamic intensifies, Noé Morel (fourth from right) participated in an anti-nuke march in Europe last year. Photo courtesy of Footprints for Peace. and everyone makes decisions together. get better. She only made it to 644 before “It’s an amazing experience,” he says. her death. People from numerous countries, includ­ Noé Morel says he is “very sad about the ing Japan, Australia, France, children affected by bombs”. Canada and the United States, Not only does nuclear power come together in order to walk Participants walk an harmfully affect human beings, for peace. Nuclear weaponry average of 15 miles it poses a threat to the environ­ and nuclear power are con­ per day. The distance ment as well. cerns for the entire world. Mining uranium causes both depends on the “The French army tests new physical capabilities water and soil pollution, and nuclear missile, which is a of the group and on the process constantly releases contradiction with the NPT,” radioactive substances into accommodations. Sophie Morel says. “They don’t At night, towns and the environment, according to honor the treaty and are still communities provide Réseau Sortir du Nucléaire, or building nuclear weapons and “Network for Nuclear Phaseshelter and hold reactors.” Out.” Radioactive waste re­ potluck dinners for Both Morel and her son are mains dangerous for hundreds the walkers. passionate about stopping the of thousands of years. use of nuclear weapons and “Nuclear waste is a problem power. Each morning during the walks, the with no solution,” Blickenstaff says. group holds a “morning circle” in order to More than 20 people are expected to take thank their hosts for the shelter and food part in the 2010 Nuclear Free Future Walk. and give them gifts of peace cranes. A peace The group will walk through Tennessee, crane is an origami bird, with roots in Japan Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New and the atomic bombs that were dropped Jersey and finish in New York. They will also there by the United States during World War be holding a rally in Piketon, Ohio, where II. a new nuclear power plant is to be built by The story of Sadako, a young girl who Duke Energy and Areva, a French energy lived in Hiroshima when the first atomic company. bomb was dropped, inspired Footprints The 2010 Nuclear Free Future Walk is for Peace to fold peace cranes to symbolize open to anyone interested in walking for a the harmful and deadly effects of nuclear nuclear-free future. weapons. Sadako made cranes while in the For more information, visit footprints­ hospital as she died from radiation poison­ forpeace.net. To find where the march is ing. Legend stated that, if she made 1,000 at any given time or to contribute financial cranes, she would be granted the wish to support, call 513-843-1205. Streetvibes vendors keep 75% of sales. Consider helping Streetvibes with our publication costs by making a tax-deductible donation or by purchasing a subscription. Streetvibes is the activist newspaper, advocating justice, building community. Your gift is tax-deductible and will go to producing the paper every two weeks. Started in 1997, Streetvibes is distributed by homeless and formerly homeless vendors who purchase the paper for 25 cents and sell it for $1, keeping the 75 cent profit. Make checks payable to “Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless” I want to support Streetvibes and the vendors. $25 Please return your contribution to: GCCH 117 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Name: Address: E-mail: $50 $100 $150 Other $ _______ �STREETVIBES February 15 - 28, 2010 Housing Issues Out of the Cars and into Homes 7 “Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge.” --Kahlil Gibran By Michelle Dillingham Contributing Writer I t is perplexing that it is 18 degrees outside tonight, and there are families sleeping in cars on the streets of Cincinnati. Why is this happening? What is going on with the availability of affordable housing in our city? Affordable Housing Advocates (AHA) has entered the new year with an ambitious policy agenda for 2010. There is so much to advocate for in the area of housing – from issues around accessibility and visitabil­ ity, to the lack of understanding about barriers to creating more afford­ able housing, to ensuring affordable units are lead-safe and many more. AHA has nar­ Cincinnati’s family shelters rowed its focus to a few key areas. One area is the need for public education about afford­ now have waiting lists. able housing. At present there is no compre­ Louisville’s data analysis hensive assessment on the current state of shows what many of us know to be true here, that affordable housing in Cincinnati. The Metropolitan Housing Coalition in the economy and families’ inability to pay their housing Louisville, Ky., released its 2009 “State of Met­ ropolitan Housing Report,” which it calls “an costs have caused a substantial increase in the ongoing report card of the fair and afford­ number of individuals who able housing challenges and successes in the are homeless in Cincinnati. Louisville metropolitan region.” The Metro­ politan Housing Coalition is a formidable advocacy organization and has been pub­ lishing housing reports since 2003. The coalition considers nine hous­ ing measures in its assessments: Concentration of Subsidized Housing, Housing Segregation, Renters with Excessive Cost Burden, Production and Rehabilitation of Affordable Housing, Homeownership Rate, Ac­ cess to Homeownership, Foreclosures, Homelessness and Community Development Block Grants and HOME Funds. This year AHA has a goal to identify resources in order to conduct a similar assessment for our region. We recognize the critical importance of having objective measurements by which to gauge where we stand with respect to affordable housing in Cincinnati. One of the Metropolitan Housing Coalition’s measures is home­ lessness. The coalition reports, “A study released this year by the Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville examined the cost of housing, healthcare, correctional facilities, and shelters to de­ termine the true costs of homelessness to our community. The study found that Louisville spends about $88,802,380 every two years to aid 7,108 adults in our community (Coalition for the Homeless, 2009), an amount that is unsustainable.” It is information such as this that is use­ ful when trying to convince policy-makers that investing in permanent supportive housing is indeed more cost-effective than simply ignoring our citizens who are homeless. The coalition also reports, “About one-third (31 percent) of the sur­ vey respondents became homeless because of an inability to pay their rent or mortgage, up from 29 percent the previous year. Inability to afford housing costs is now the most-cited cause of homelessness by survey respondents, up from the third most cited cause last year. Only 16 percent became homeless because of substance abuse and only 6 percent because of mental illness. … Taken together, these data show that many of the people who are homeless in Louisville are educated and employed, have families, and often became homeless because of an inability to pay for housing costs.” Cincinnati’s family shelters now have waiting lists. Louisville’s data analysis shows what many of us know to be true here, that the economy and families’ inability to pay their housing costs have caused a sub­ stantial increase in the number of individuals who are homeless in Cin­ cinnati. The creation of a local State of Housing Report will hopefully bring us from perplexity to knowledge, from knowledge to informed advocacy, to no more families sleeping in cars. Chapter Wants to NORML-ize Pot Working for legalization By Jill Span Contributing writer many in the national orga­ nization working to end the prohibition of marijuana in group of 22 advo­ the United States. cates for the Miami “Our main goal is to edu­ Valley chapter of the cate the public about the re­ National Organization for the cent science behind canna­ Reform of Marijuana Laws bis,” Huber said. (NORML) gathered around The chapter supports the a small laptop screen on a complete use of cannabis, table in the dining room of including everything from the Hideaway Café in North- medical purposes to recre­ side at the start of their Feb. 6 ational use, according to Hu­ meeting. ber. They watched a new marWith supporters in attenijuana-legalization ad being dance ranging from college aired on television sets across students to middle-aged California. store owners, the members “Wow. That’s good,” said first discussed their individ­ one member ual reasons of the group for joining as they all “We’re demonizing a part of NORML. For stood in mo­ our population and making many, their mentary sithem hide in the shadows approach to lence when it the legaliza­ and feel like criminals.” was over. tion of mari­ “This is juana is both the type of ad I want to see on a civil-rights issue as well as a TVs in Cincinnati,” said Will personal one. Huber, the chapter’s meet-up “We’re demonizing a part organizer. of our population and mak­ The Miami Valley chapter ing them hide in the shadows of NORML, which started and feel like criminals,” said last September, is one among one member. “If we’re going A The National Organization for the reform of Marijuana Laws has a new local chapter. Photo by Rob Ryan. to be a caring nation, we have to stop harming our people.” Members discussed the overcrowding of jails by those charged with possession of marijuana, as well as the medical benefits and personal well-being of marijuana use. “In my mind, it’s a legalized hate crime,” said Rob Ryan, treasurer of the Miami Valley Chapter of NORML. “That’s what it boils down to.” Ryan shared with the group his experience of creating a petition last fall to send to elected representatives with signatures of people who be­ lieve that the drug war is a failure. He went around areas of Cincinnati and randomly polled 100 people. “I didn’t go to any hippy hang-outs,” Ryan said. “I didn’t wear any buttons. I just had my clipboard and asked people their thoughts.” Of the 100 people he polled, 79 signed the petition, he said. “A lot of people have been flying under the radar, and it’s time to change that,” Ryan said. Members of the chapter shared ideas for fundraising opportunities and future goals to get their mission statement out to the com­ munity. Ideas included in­ volvement in Comfest, an annual community festival in Columbus, and the annual Northside Independence Day Parade. Participants pulled togeth­ er to consider their resources, offering their store spaces for NORML’s effort, financial contributions and personal skills such as marketing. They also hope to run an ad promoting legalization of mari­ juana. Outreach is essential, Hu­ ber said. “What we really need is people to step up and write a letter to the editor because people don’t talk about this enough,” he said. The group meets monthly and has an active Facebook page titled “Miami Valley NORML,” where supporters can find more information on upcoming events and meetings. �8 STREETVIBES February 15 - 28, 2010 Recipe Sexy,Yummy, Veggie Your tour guide into the steamy side of vegetarian cuisine 1 10 ounces (approx.) wide, flat rice noodles ¼ cup tamari or soy sauce 3 tbsp. peanut butter (smooth or chunky, your choice) 2 ½ tbsp. fresh lime juice 1 ½ tbsp. sugar (more or less to taste – I like a sweet sauce.) ½ tsp. red pepper flakes ½ tsp. fresh ginger, minced 1-2 tsp. peanut or canola oil 2 cups broccoli florets 1 ½ cups seitan, cut into strips 1 large carrot, shredded 2 handfuls cashews or peanuts (I prefer cashews.) Lime slices for garnish I Photo by Alecia A. Lott ent is seitan (pronounced say-TAN), which is a proteinrich meat substitute made of wheat gluten. In fact, it’s also sometimes referred to as wheat gluten or just glu­ ten. You can make it yourself (maybe some other time?) or you can find it at health food stores, most Asian markets or even some Kroger locations. Like many meat substi­ tutes, it is not meant to taste like meat. It is meant to stand in for meat to provide protein Adapted from Vegan Yum Yum, by Lauren Ulm Serves 2 noodle fiends or 4 normal people By aLecia a. Lott Contributing Writer ’m so happy and proud to be writing for Streetvibes again. Did you miss me? No need to an­ swer—I know you did. When I wrote my column last summer, I made a list of ingredients I would not use in my recipes because I thought they were too “out there” and therefore might “scare the meat-eaters.” This list in­ cluded such vegan staples as tofu, soymilk and the various meat/cheese substitutes that are widely available. My job, however, is to share things that I, a “typical vegan,” like to eat, and I eat the above things all the friggin’ time. Ex­ cluding an occasional recipe that calls for at least one of these items is not being true to myself. Also, I’m not giving you, the reader, the opportu­ nity to try something new. Besides, does tofu really frighten you? Well, it’s 2010. Get over it. Today’s “scary” ingredi­ Lime Peanut Noodles with Seitan, Broccoli, and Carrots and possibly a meaty texture, but be enjoyable in its own way. You can’t possibly dislike seitan when it’s covered in a loverly, lickable peanut sauce that’s bursting with tangy lime flavor, as in today’s rec­ ipe. Enjoy, and be brave! Alecia Lott also writes for her food and travel blog,BangBang’s Quest for Yay,Yum, and Yes. http://bangbangquest. wordpress.com 1. Boil the water for the rice noodles. While that’s going, make the peanut sauce by combining the tamari, pea­ nut butter, lime juice, sugar, pepper flakes and ginger. Set aside. 2. Cook the noodles until just softened, then rinse with cold water and drain well. Use kitchen shears to “chop” the noodles into bite-size pieces, if you’d like. Set noo­ dles aside. 3. Heat the peanut oil in a large pan (or wok) over medi­ um-high heat. Add the broccoli and stir until slightly browned. The broccoli should be heated through but still crisp. Add the seitan and carrots, then reduce the heat. 4. Add the noodles and the sauce, reserving about a tea­ spoon of the sauce. Stir until everything is well com­ bined. 5. Toss the nuts with the remaining teaspoon of sauce. Plate up your noodles, and garnish them with the nuts. Artwork by Anthony Williams ! ? t ha W y Sa ___________________ “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” - Fannie Lou Hamer �STREETVIBES February 15 - 28, 2010 9 Film Review No Super Bowl on Planet Pandora ‘Avatar’ might be just what we need 1 By DaViD HeitFieLD Contributing Writer I went in with trepidation – anything as wildly popular as Avatar has got to suck – and came out physically shaken, a visceral reaction to immersion in a world de­ signed to appeal to an older part of my evolutionary brain. Herein lies the problem with this review. When Editor Greg Flannery asked if I'd be interested in reviewing the film, he e-mailed me that “I hear it's either anti-American or racist or both.” Anything that reeks of controversy gives an oldschool journalist like Flannery a boner, almost as much as using a word like “boner” elicits a wet dream of angry Catho­ lics threatening to set homeless people on fire for selling a newspaper that has dirty words in it. Since I loved the movie, does that mean I'm either antiAmerican or racist? I'm probably both, but I try to hide it most of the time. Doesn't that count for something? At the very least, it should make me an honorary Catholic. Avatar is set 144 years in the future. The allegory is pretty simple: A corporation wants to mine for the ore “unobta­ nium” on Pandora, because of Earth's environmental prob­ lems, and it has employed American mercenaries to wipe out the “blue monkeys” who interfere with their potential profits. The Na'vi are tall, blue beings with golden eyes who live in harmony with their environment – they have tails with nerve endings that allow them to either commune with other animals, such as flying horse-like thingies, or make love (which is a spiritual act of “mating for life”). The corporation had established mining operations on Pandora three decades earlier, and because the environment is toxic to hu­ mans, they use “avatars” to interact with the natives and search for the unobtanium. These avatars physically resemble the Na'vi, but move­ ments are controlled by the human living in a large MRI-looking con­ traption. An ex-military paraplegic, Jake Sully, is recruited at the last moment to become one of these avatars because his DNA matches his recently dead twin brother, for whom the avatar was created. The paraplegic – he explains there is a cure for his spinal condition, but budget cuts did not allow the American military to pay for the operation – who lacks the proper indoctrination for his mission, just can't wait to start running around in his avatar, and thus his adven­ ture begins. If all this sounds vaguely like Dances With Wolves, you'd be correct, but you'd also be missing the appeal of the movie. The 3D effects are so wonderfully executed that the immersion just feels real – the ap­ peal to that old fish or monkey brain. Words are not as important as the feeling, so the ideas are kept simple: Greed is bad, living with na­ ture is good, people who use phrases like “shock and awe” in dealing with indigenous people are evil. The world is beautiful, with hues and colors I've never seen. It's a world where honor and honesty are the important currency. There would be no Super Bowl on Pandora, let alone commercials filled with neurotic men who need pants and cars and Viagra to feel whole again. None of the females own shoes. And because it all comes alive so re­ alistically, you have no problem believing that the paraplegic would rather live in Pandora's world than his own. “How does it feel to be­ tray your own race?” Jake is asked at one point, and while he doesn't answer, he doesn't have to. You know the answer – it feels pretty damn good, if you must know. The conceit works – Jake is of course your avatar. The difference be­ tween this avatar and other avatars that we use to communicate online or in video games is that this avatar dares to dream of a world that is better in almost all respects, instead of a creating the same world but placing ourselves higher in the pecking order. And that, to me, is the true genius of James Cameron's movie. I remember when I started working at LexisNexis, and we were starting a large project where we would hire 700 attorneys working from home, writing summaries for every judicial decision ever writ­ ten. Our corporate leader said at the time, “We're free to create what­ ever world we want to. We can avoid all the unnecessary entrapments of working in a corporate office. We can create our own culture.” What we ended up creating, of course, was the same old shit. Meaningless virtual office meetings proliferated. One manager kept an enemies list. Rather than the size of the desk, people became pre­ occupied with the size of their phone cards or inboxes. Management became paranoid and fearful, and the worker bees learned that qual­ ity was not nearly as important as finding short cuts and kissing the right asses. And it's all the same – despite the thoughts of some that technol­ ogy will revolutionize how we communicate, interact with each other and live our lives, all evidence I see is that people just want the same old shit. From The Sims to blogging to dating sites to comments on online materials, we seem hell-bent on simply regurgitating the world we know. Cameron has invited us to use technology to at least envision a bet­ ter world. Yes, it's an unabashedly liberal world (Cameron is a Cana­ dian, although it's worth pointing out that the film is making money for Fox News Corp.), and I'm still not convinced that tail sex is bet­ ter than the human kind, but that Avatar allows people to experience something beyond the same old shit is itself a gift that a lot of us need right now. And for my friend and editor, Greg: Those who see Avatar as rac­ ist or anti-American should be pitied. Apparently, it's the only shitty world they'll ever know. Do you remember the magic of your First Book? Please consider giving the gift of reading to a low-income child in Cincinnati this year. Established in 2001, First Book - Greater Cincinnati has already granted more than 45,000 books and over $60,000 to local nonprofit literacy programs serving thousands of low-income children in Greater Cincinnati. Make checks payable to “First Book - Greater Cincinnati” I Want to Bring the Magic of Books to Children Who Need Them! $20 (10 books) Please return your contribution to: First Book Greater Cincinnati 572 Northland Blvd. Cincinnati, Ohio 45240 Name: Address: E-mail: $40 (20 books) $80 (40 books) $100 (50 books) Other $ _______ �10 International News STREETVIBES February 15 - 28, 2010 Disasters are Not Created Equal Responding to earthquakes, ignoring homelessness 1 By Jesse caLL Contributing Writer T he ground began to shake, and in just a moment the lives of hundreds of thou­ sands of Haitians changed drastically. In an instant, many of them became homeless. An outpouring of support from Americans has been continuous to the region, providing much needed funds and supplies to the devastated country as it deals with the emergency and looks ahead to rebuilding. Many of those donors have been from right here in the Cincinnati area. “There has been an outpour of support from the Tri-State area from those who have been touched by the Haiti earthquakes,” says Nikki Williams of the Cincinnati Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. “When people see that level of devasta­ tion, they are compelled to help, and it has shown through donations to the Red Cross International Relief Fund tremendously.” Who cannot be moved by the images from Hai­ ti? The suffering there is unimaginable for many of us. Haiti will need our help for years to come. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is helping in Haiti. Where is the response to homelessness here? But from where is all that money coming? How REUTERS/United Nations/Sophie Paris. is this affecting local donations? “I'm told that it can have a slight impact on local donations, as donors focus The people who experience homelessness have numerous causes, includ­ on the immediate issue,” says Bill Schinkal of the Southwest Ohio-Northeast ing natural disasters, financial disasters, relationship and familial disasters Kentucky Division of the Salvation Army. “However, we also observe that many and health disasters. donors for a disaster relief situation are new or additional donors, who are The victims in Haiti suffered from a circumstance beyond their control. For moved by what they see and hear about the disaster, and want very much to many people experiencing homelessness, the circumstances that placed them help. As such, their donations are above and beyond what is being contributed in that condition were also beyond their control. for our local programs.” Is it any less tragic when someone beAbove and beyond? That’s definitely true. comes homeless because of a man-made By Jan. 15 the American Red Cross raised “There has been an outpour of support from the Tri-State circumstance? Does that victim need or de­ $37 million. The Cincinnati chapter raised serve any less help? area from those who have been touched by the Haiti $134,000 in donations to the Haiti Relief earthquakes. When people see that level of devastation, they People might be limited in the financial Fund by Jan. 21. are compelled to help, and it has shown through donations to resources that they can give to others. Most In any given year, 3.5 million people will of us are not able to go to Haiti and offer the Red Cross International Relief Fund tremendously.” experience homelessness in America, achands-on assistance, but there is the oppor­ - Nikki Williams, Cincinnati Area Chapter cording to the National Law Center on tunity to do that here in the Cincinnati area of the American Red Cross Homelessness and Poverty. But funding and through several organizations. Remember donations to homelessness relief programs that many of the tragedies occurred in Haiti has not seen the same outpouring that this disaster has. happen around us everyday. Homelessness is a disaster of its own in the United States. It might not be The people of Haiti need help in recovering from their tragedy. And those concentrated in one area or have resulted from a single event, but it affects just battling homelessness everywhere need your support. as many each cold and wintry night – and almost half of them are children. To donate to the relief efforts in Haiti, visit http://www.redcross.org or text Haiti to 90999. Contact your local homelessness relief agencies to donate or volunteer to their efforts. Contact the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless at 513-421-7803 or at 117 E. 12th St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. Go Ahead: Ask a Vendor A Call to Greater Cincinnati Poets Invitation to a dialogue with our readers Write for ‘For a Better World 2010’ Streetvibes vendors see a lot that you might not. For example, some can describe what goes on in an abandoned building at night when they sleep there. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to stand on a street corner selling newspapers? That’s hardly a common occupation anymore. How much money do Streetvibes vendors make – and what do they do with it? Do they have other jobs? If you have questions, some of our vendors would like to answer them. “Go Ahead: Ask a Vendor” will be an occasional feature, with questions submitted by readers and answered by Streetvibes vendors. You may direct your question to a specific vendor or we’ll invite one to respond. Only include your name if you want to. Send questions to streetvibes2@yahoo.com Or to Streetvibes, 117 E. 12th St. Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. It’s time to get your verse on. SOS Art, the annual exhibit of art on themes of peace and justice, pub­ lishes a collection of poetry each year. Saad Ghosn, who organizes SOS Art and writes the “Artists as Activists” column for Streetvibes, is now col­ lecting submissions for For a Better World 2010, the seventh edition to date. Any poet from or connected to Greater Cincinnati may submit up to three poems related to themes of peace and justice. All submissions will be considered. The editors will be looking for quality, inclusiveness and appropriateness to the themes of peace and justice. If space becomes limited, priority will go to poets not published in previ­ ous books. The poems selected for publication will be illustrated in black and white by Greater Cincinnati artists. Poets included in the book will be invited to read their poems at SOS Art 2010. For a Better World 2010 will be released in May 2010. The deadline for submissions is Feb. 15, 2010. Go ahead. Ask. Send submissions as “Word” attachments or in full text By e-mail to saad.ghosn@uc.edu or On a CD to Saad Ghosn, 216 Erkenbrecher Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45229. �STREETVIBES February 15 - 28, 2010 11 Poetry Page To Old St. George’s Haiti, Le Monde Vous Écoute By anne skoVe By MaLcoLM o. Varner Proud people of the Haitian Isle, Stand firm with head held high. Though days may last for a while, The world has begun to hear your cry. Le monde écoute les voix criantes; On voit et ressent même votre douleur. Avec vous, on est priant. Avec vous, aussi on pleure. Two plus centuries ago, You proved strength and gained liberty. For your great past, there’s a greater tomorrow, In spite of the now, pursue prosperity. Le monde écoute votre voix d’éspoir; On voit tous votre courage. Quel beau pays et beau peuple noir – À vous, on dit “soyez brave, soyez brave!” Photo by Ben L. Kaufman. You were burning, breaking news. I removed my shoes, stepped closer to the blazing TV screen. Such a calamity to strike Port-au-Prince; May you raise capital walls and the hearts therein. Like those of Katrina, you will be remembered since; This time, may justice and compassion speedily win. This time, the dragon slayed you. Its flaming tongue licked your steeples. Fire trucks lined the street like beer vendors at a festival. Here friends’ older sisters married for the first (and sometimes last) time. After baptizing my brother Fr. Fritz fed worms to the turtles in the courtyard. My birthmother went into labor during 5 o'clock mass. Walgreens wanted to level you. Archbishop Pennychick sold you with a kiss. Theologians, never having slain anything, dismiss you as mere legend. Haïti, le monde écoute les cries de votre terre; On voit que vos avez tellement de besoins. Il nous semble qu’un parmi d'autres, c'est un frère. Donc, à vous on dit, “On vient!” Giving the Nameless Names The OCD group met Saturdays, 3 p.m. sharp, in neat rows. The historical society labeled you endangered. UC turned you into a holy rolling Starbuck's. Coming soon: a boutique hotel! By aLanaH GaBrieLLe knox Inside, little boy Christ sports armor and a Little Lord Fauntleroy haircut. I tried to fit my small feet into the shape of the tiles in the aisle. Blue and red votive candleglow warmed me. Small fingers extinguished long matches in soft white sand. Once I was tall enough I turned and lifted mine eyes to the balcony. The rosetta window blazed back with its match-blue glow. When I was little mom and I danced in the back pew. The folkies sang "Though the mountains may fall And the hills turn to dust." As though the blind flutist could see the future fire, flaming spires falling on power lines. Driving up Vine Street hill all that is visible, all that remains in this time of war and aftermath are two neatly wrapped stumps, amputated out of mercy just above the clock, which (call it a miracle) never stopped. Fanni Edwards, Derek Gibson, Frank Roper, Rodney Sosby, Eric Smothers, Eugene Burgess, Anthony Wright, Joseph Wright, Ken Tucker. On street corners, in dirty old clothing holding signs, huddled: they now have names and stories. on the side walk on the way to Paul Brown Stadium they’re given a wide berth cast a hurried glance with sympathy or concern, maybe curiosity often fear and even anger Nameless and faceless people. Fanni Edwards, Derek Gibson, Frank Roper, Rodney Sosby, Eric Smothers, Eugene Burgess, Anthony Wright, Joseph Wright, Ken Tucker. Feisty, Brother, mild mannered, middle-aged, spirited, drugs and alcohol, heart attack, navy veteran, victim of cancer. Believe It By wiLLa D. Jones Believe it when you see someone bundled up sleeping in the street believe it when you see someone looking in garbage cans for food to eat believe it cause all of these things are real and none are made up believe there are many men, women, and children just down on their luck believe with the economy all twisted and heading straight for hell believe there are many who just give up, commit suicide or simply go to jail believe to the homeless, jail with 3 meals, cell buddies for friends and a cot believe to some may mean nothing but to the homeless means one hell of a lot believe with faith all things are possible for all including you and me believe in God, have faith, pray constantly and change will come all you do is believe!!!! �12 Vendor Voice STREETVIBES February 15 - 28, 2010 Parks Aren’t so Kind to Poor People “If you have a problem seeing homeless folks you should end homelessness.” - Georgine Getty, former executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless By George Herrell Streetvibes vendor How many swing sets, jungle gyms, swimming pools, etc. were paid for by donated monies or materials? How many were erected by donated labor? Why then would an organization whose whole purpose is supposed to be ’ve heard a lot of quotes in my lifetime but none has ever rung stronger “public service” deny organizations the right to provide assistance to those or more true. It seems like such a simple solution to an overwhelming who are most in need? problem: House those who are homeless, feed those who are hungry, Most of these charitable organizations are “faith-based,” meaning they are help those who are truly in need and begin right here at home. churches – churches that not only provide the food and materials but serve it In Cincinnati City Parks it is against the rules to pass out food or clothing to as well and clean up afterwards. those in need. Sounds absurd, but it’s true. I sought to find out the origins of According to the Enquirer’s article, Julie Horne, who was the manager of this ruling back in June 2009 beginning at City Hall. I ques­ business services for the park board, said, “Those organiza­ tioned several officials, including those at the city attorney’s tions who want to distribute food or blankets are referred to office; however, no one was able to find any city ordinance The commissioner put me the Drop Inn Center or other social-service organizations.” prohibiting such actions. My next stop was to speak to the But my question is: Why should they be referred anywhere? in touch with one of his city’s health commissioner, who I found one Sunday after­ directors, Douglas Springs, Public parks are for use by the public; and although folks are noon attending an inspirational service in Washington Park. homeless or hungry, they are still citizens of the city of Cin­ who sent me an e-mail The commissioner put me in touch with one of his direc­ cinnati and should have the same courtesy as other citizens. stating that there wasn’t tors, Douglas Springs, who sent me an e-mail stating that The census people expect us to be counted so that the city a health department code there wasn’t a health department code that prohibited any that prohibited any one from of Cincinnati can receive the maximum amount of federal one from giving away food or clothing for free in any city park giving away food or clothing funding possible, and yet we can’t even receive a charitable or anywhere else for that matter. for free in any city park or hot meal within a city park. I continued to seek answers by asking policemen and fire­ anywhere else for that matter. To Julie Horne I say this: A man named Ebenezer Scrooge men, yet none of them claimed knowledge of or responsibil­ once said, “The poor should die and thus decrease the sur­ ity for any such ordinance. plus population.” Just as he realized the error of his thinking, Finally, I turned to one of the most informationally rounded organizations so can you. I know of, the public library. At the main branch, with the assistance of staff To the citizens of Cincinnati who are more fortunate than the homeless: Re­ members who helped me search through local history books and microfilms member covering up a problem won’t make it go away. There is a homeless of past newspaper articles, I finally found my answer. problem in the city of Cincinnati – 8,300 homeless in 2008, and that number A Cincinnati Enquirer article titled, “Feed My Lambs,” published Nov. 20, has grown in the past two years. 2007, stated that the Cincinnati Park Board doesn’t allow charitable organiza­ You can’t hide that many people and simply act as if they don’t exist. As hu­ tions to pass out food or clothing to those in need in city parks. In learning this, man beings, you shouldn’t want to. However, if you aren’t willing to help, then I began to wonder, “How many charitable organizations’ donations have the at least don’t hinder others from doing so. Cincinnati Park Board accepted on their own behalf?” I Crossword Puzzles Sudoku across 1. Stays 4. Brand 8. Ottoman Empire (7,6) 13. Lots 14. Shut in 15. Minor role 16. Stay too long 18. Lascivious 19. Ruptured 21. Female name 23. As well 27. Thoroughfare 31. Swordsman 33. Resort lake 34. Tall palm tree 35. Piece of news 36. Security operative (5,8) 37. Cold-shoulder 38. Contraction of need not Fill in the blank squares so that each row, each column and each 3-by-3 block contain all of the digits 1 through 9. Down 2. Harsh 3. Installment 5. Lure 6. Sand and cement 7. To do with religious study 9. City in central New York 10. Recognized 11. Troublesome person 12. Knowledgeable about 17. Yeah 20. Owns 22. Thing 24. Spiking 25. Polluted air 26. Expression of discomfort 28. Curse 29. Mild warning 30. Website 32. Helicopter feature The fundamental goal of a Sudoku puzzle is to use the provid­ ed numbers, or givens, to discover which numbers logically fill in the empty squares. The only rule of Sudoku is that each of the nine rows, each of the nine columns, and each of the nine 3x3 subsections must contain all of the numbers from one to nine, and each number consequently can occur in each row, column and subsection only once. �STREETVIBES February 15 - 28, 2010 13 Vendor Voice Lots of Room and an Endless View For a Better World 2006 Image by Blair Gibeau. One man’s take on street life 1 By Booger Love Streetvibes Vendor look back. But that’s life. What they don’t know: They could someday be out here with us. You will eing out on the streets is not know what it’s like being out there fun. It is a hard life to live. when you ask someone for help. They Every day you have noth- will walk right by you. Yes, it happens ing to do, nowhere to be. All you have all the time to us. It will happen to to do is walk around or hang out any- you. They don’t care how you are or where you can. Life is how long you been out hell out there. there. The streets is not The streets is not where We help each other. where you want to live That is all we have. If we you want to live at any at any time at all. Peo- time at all. People don’t didn’t help each other, ple don’t care about care about you being out we would not have any you being out – the – the men or the women. help at all. We are one men or the women. Some of them has little big family out there. Some of them has little So come take my kids. They don’t care kids. They don’t care hand. We will walk and about the women with about the women with talk about our time out the little kids. the little kids. here. We have lots of It’s not only here. It’s room with a good view everywhere. When you’re out there, as far as you can see. don’t nobody care. If you’re a man, So look down in your heart and you woman or a little kid, they see you on will see you could be out here with the streets, they walk by you like you me. was not there – keep walking, don’t B Check out the Streetvibes blog @ streetvibes.wordpress.com Poems and Drawings on Peace and Justice by Greater Cincinnati Artists, edited and curated by Saad Ghosn. Kennedy Heights Arts Center 6546 Montgomery Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45213 513-631-4278 or www.kennedyarts.org January 16 - February 27, 2010 Panel Discussion: Art as a Vehicle for Change facilitated by Jeff Hillard with Mary Pierce Brosmer, Greg Flannery and Jimi Jones February 27, 4-6pm; closing reception at 6pm Gallery Hours: Monday-Friday 10am - 5pm Saturdays 10am - 4 pm Venice on Vine Pizza and Hoagies 1301 Vine Street in Over-the-Rhine Hours Monday-Friday 9:30 a.m. -8:00 p.m. 513-221-7020 Good food for a good cause in a friendly neighborhood restaurant. Dine in or take out. Hoagies, pizza, salads, soups, weekly specials, wifi and organic coffee too! Venice on Vine and Venice Catering are social enterprise programs of Power Inspires Progress (PIP), a nonprofit employment education program for inner city adults. STREETVIBES DISCOUNT: Present this coupon for a free drink with any large hoagie or medium or large pizza. One per customer, valid through March 1, 2010. �14 STREETVIBES February 15 - 28, 2010 Letters to the Editor To the Editor: To the Editor: To the Editor: I am a high school student at Cincinnati Country Day School. I really appreciated your first article, “Bad Words are a Matter of Perspective” (issue of Jan. 1-15). Along with giving a very persuasive argu­ ment, there was some incredible writing in there. I was particularly struck by, “His paean to the pursuit of justice perverts the meaning of the concept.” It was a cleverly crafted article and I was left fully con­ vinced by your opinion on the issue – although I was biased in favor of your position to begin with. This person who complained about Streetvibes needs to take a look at history and realize that people need to hear the truth. Censorship is the breeding ground for corrup­ tion and oppression of all kinds. You mention Adolf Hitler in your next article. Just look at Nazi Germa­ ny from 1933 to 1945 under Hitler if you’re deluded enough to favor censorship. It disgusts me that someone would disturb the sale of this newspa­ per because it tells the truth. The truth needs to be told, and I think it commendable that this newspa­ per works to expose the truth about such a thing as misunderstood as homelessness. Who is this person? Is he responsible for all the children who may or may not read and be offended by this paper? I think not. It’s a parent’s or guard­ ian’s responsibility to decide what they want their children exposed to – yes, a form of censorship, but not one as harmful or less imbedded in society as the censorship this person is suggesting. I was lucky enough to grow up in a school and household that held the right freedom of belief and speech to the highest importance. It is something I guard aggressively and I thank you for your article promoting it. I have just finished reading the article “New Voic­ es of the Voiceless” (issue of Jan. 1-15), and I find it to be outstanding. Rappers like Jasari X and Radiant Amar are poets, and they deserve to be recognized as one. Such commentary is so real that it strikes a chord within me, although I have never experi­ enced what they have. It is these rappers that make Hip Hop art, while mainstream “rappers” produce flat, recycled tracks in order to make money. Describing despair and poverty, these artists write for a better tomorrow and offer a medium to share their sentiments with others. While some look down upon them, I find them inspiring and uplifting. Talented, driven, and benevolent, they take their cause to the streets and remain true to themselves. I think that my parents would find them off-putting, but I see true art and spirit in their words. It’s possible to feel their emotion and their struggles and know that there are many out there like them. Music can be relaxing, fun or good for dancing, but this music is something special, and more people should listen to it. This H.E.R. is art in its purest form, like it is meant to be. As of mid-January of 2010, Xavier Bertrand, head of the French conservative party, “wants a law” that Muslim women cannot wear face coverings and be citizens. “Clothes make the man” is one kind of ad­ vice to wear appropriate clothes. What is appropri­ ate where? When someone else makes the decision of what I have to wear, I may be a prisoner or be in for out­ patient surgery. Clothing used as a devotion or protection includes hijabs, yarmulkes, the habits of some Roman and Anglican Catholic men and women, surgical face masks, hats to protect fairskinned persons, scarves or caps for persons who have lost their hair, police and military uniforms. Costumes in theater can show us how clothes make theater in ordinary life. But when worship services, work, special duty or theater is completed, when Mardi Gras or surgery is over, the special clothing in which the person could not easily play golf, operate equipment, garden or do a variety of manual labors is reserved for the next appropriate occasion. For generations in the mid-East and in medieval Europe, clothing “made” and protected the wom­ an. When at home, some of these women can enjoy dressing up or down. Perhaps someday Muslim cul­ ture will develop like Western culture. This may or may not be good. In all events, reactionary imams, prelates or profiling politicians may be around to tell the women they have to put the veils back on. Whether veils or collars are experienced as secu­ rity risks, or when they have, as in the cases of child abuse in the past, been misleading, or when they are genuinely protective, there’s a whole new nexus in which no one law or dictum is always helpful. Some of the people I pray with really want wom­ en in religious vows to be put back into habits. Most of the people I know respect the choices of senior nuns who wear habits and are not in active min­ istry. The majority of vowed women in the Unit­ ed States wore period costume before the 1970s. (That’s costume from the eras in which their com­ munities were founded, not the wads the menstru­ ating women sat on as referenced in Genesis 31: 35.) Today some find exotic clothing unhelpful to their imitation of Jesus and the disciples, who did not set themselves apart from the community or need protection from it or special status within it through clothing choices. Why some persons would make clothing a major factor in their choices of persons to associate them­ selves with or persons to trust interests me. Will Duncan Cincinnati Kathryn Black Cincinnati Have something on your mind? Do you agree or disagree with an article? Let us know: 1 To the Editor: Thank you for including the article titled “An ‘AHA!’ Moment in Cincinnati” in the Jan. 1-15, 2010, issue of Streetvibes. I appreciate having the chance to learn more about housing advocates and their methods of advocacy. This can often be an ambiguous subject, so it was great to read an article that clearly explained advocacy to those of us who do not completely understand this vital method of support for the homeless. 117 E. 12th Street 1 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 1 streetvibes2@yahoo.com 1 Lilly Fleischmann Cincinnati aFForDaBLe rates etvibes? tre nS sted in Adve e r e t rtis In ing i Many sizes (full page, 1/2 page, 1/4 page, 1/8 page) BLack & wHite anD coLor aVaiLaBLe Discounts For nonproFits Contact Lynne at 513-421-7803 ext. 11 or lynneausman@cincihomeless.org for more information. Vickie Cimprich Fort Mitchell, Ky. �STREETVIBES February 15 - 28, 2010 15 Resources Need Help or Want to Help? Shelter: Women and Children Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 Central Access Point Cincinnati Union Bethel 381-SAFE 768-6907 557-2873 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 3600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 St. Vincent de Paul 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 681-2365 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Treatment: Men 872-9259 Charlie’s 3/4 House Shelter: Men DIC Live In Program Prospect House 241-5525 961-2256 Treatment: Women First Step Home 961-4663 961-4080 761-1480 721-0643 Joseph House (Veterans) 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 351-0422 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 241-2965 471-1100 221-3350 Hamilton County ADAS Board Recovery Health Access Center Sober Living Talbert House Hamilton/Middletown 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 Northern Kentucky Advocacy 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 961-4555 751-0643 381-1954 Food/Clothing Lord’s Pantry OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 621-5300 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen People Working Cooperatively The Caring Place United Way Women Helping Women 946-4888 281-7422 681-0324 641-4300 Housing: Tom Geiger House Dana Transitional Bridge Services Volunteers of America 771-4800 751-0600 721-4811 351-7921 631-1114 211 977-5541 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 Tender Mercies 381-0111 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 AA Hotline CCAT 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 621-5514 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Goodwill industries Healing Connections Mary Magdalen House Treatment: Both Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 661-4620 241-2600 241-2563 214 E. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Drop Inn Center Center Independent Living Options Emmanuel Community Center Peaslee Neighborhood Center Shelter: Both Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 458-6670 977-4489 Other Resources 721-0643 921-1613 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Anthony House (Youth) 558-8888 981-5800 784-1853 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Starting Over 1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Justice Watch 241-0490 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Mt. Airy Shelter Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 City Gospel Mission 357-4602 352-2902 352-6363 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 762-5660 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter Health Resource Center Homeless Mobile Health Van McMicken Dental Clinic 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 562-8841 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Salvation Army 381-2247 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Bethany House FreeStore/FoodBank Crossroad Health Center Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 721-4700 421-7803 579-8547 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 421-2437 Health Center for Respite Care Brighton Center 863-3184 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 859-491-8303 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center Faces Without Places Stop AIDS St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 535-2719 Puzzle Solutions Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 859-491-3335 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 �16 Artists as Activists STREETVIBES February 15 - 28, 2010 Re-shaping Ideas and Forms Stephen Geddes’s sculpture challenges conventional perceptions S tephen Geddes grew up in Wisconsin in a small rural community. He always wanted to be an artist. As a child he was good at painting and liked to carve wood with his pocketknife. His mother, whose own grandfather was an artist, and art teachers at his school encouraged his artistic inclina­ tions. Geddes attended the University of Wisconsin at Lacrosse, got a bachelor’s degree in art education, then got a master’s degree in sculpture at Ohio University. He intended to become a full-time college teacher. But due to limited available positions at the time, he worked instead as an artist in residence for the Kentucky Com­ mission on the Arts, then as a toy sculptor for various companies and later as a freelancer. Geddes’s art education emphasized both formal technical considerations and judicious use of ideas in order to give life and purpose to a product. “I am between a craftsman all about material and an artist all Stephen Geddes next to his sculpture of Pope Coleman’s head. about ideas” he says. “Ben Shahn’s writings, especially his book, Photo by Bill Howes. The Shape of Content, influenced me greatly. They taught me that successful art needed content and that content needed to be sculpted body of a rhinoceros on roller skates; influenced by the last shaped well.” gasp of roller derby as an organized sport, it was also partly based on Geddes has always been concerned about perfecting the form of Ionesco’s play Rhinoceros, a parody of the Nazi takeover in Germany his work in order to give it visual authority and thus become a strong and Austria. Hindu Wrestlers depicted wrestlers, each with four or five vehicle for his viewpoints, most often social commentaries. arms, stressing the exaggerated production value of the sport. In college at a time While in college, Geddes was against the Vietnam War and did not when minimalism was want to be drafted; he was not an activist, though, and all he desired very popular, Geddes, was to be left alone in the studio to do his art. The Reagan presidency, critical of the movement, however – with its cowboy mentality, the significant social changes created sculptural pieces it imposed in favor of the wealthy at the expense of the poor, the that included hard edges, wretched excess and entitlement it allowed – greatly offended him as curves, sharp angles, ma­ and served as a turning point in his political involvement and the di­ sonite, welded steel, ele­ rection of his art. ments and materials that Geddes’s works since then have dealt with violence, the role of By saaD GHosn composed a strong me- religion in politics, the hypocrisy of philanthropists, wealth and the Contributing Writer chanical image in which domination of the poor. Cylinder Head is the simplified image of a re­ human figures would be volver shaping into a human head, the bullet points of the chambers embedded, subjugated becoming the eyes. Fundamental Church-State Discrimination Test and trapped. He also worked on carousel imagery, replacing the tradi­ includes the sliced and fragmented heads of Christ and Uncle Sam tional horse with beautifully carved and painted fanciful figures such positioned on a checkerboard. Geddes intended their loose parts to as a muscleman centaur or a sphinx with a lion’s body, alluding to the be mismatched when reassembled, his reflection on the dangerous fantasy and escape into new identity that one usually lives during the and blurred overlap between state and church during recent adminis­ ride. trations and the powerful intrusion of religious zealots and extremists In the mid 1980s, influenced by his job as an industrial toy sculp­ into politics. tor that required frequently reassembling body parts, he developed a Carnegie Dream, a meditation on the nature of philanthropy in the sculptural technique of splitting and fragmenting the human head, American culture, represents a tower, its base referencing industrial afterwards mismatching its various sections. Geddes used the ap­ steel mining that made Carnegie’s fortune possible; and its top, a bed­ proach to comment on the misdirection that corporate structure was room-library depicting Carnegie in bed surrounded by books. Books imposing on citizens’ life. In a time when all was becoming very fast, and libraries were how Carnegie tried, as a philanthropist, to buy his he also sought to slow down the viewer’s eye to scrutinize the non- way back to heaven, having built his money at the expense of poor conventional, non-immediately recognizable form and to reflect and, workers. Another sculpture is of HC Frick, a coal and coke magnet as a result, see more. and partner of Carnegie, sitting in a coal car inside a carousel with Other works concerned the prevailing societal preoccupations with a golden dome. Frick holds a frame of a painting, a reference to the spectacles and contrived sports and the emphasis placed on super­ huge art collection he had amassed while exploiting the poor. Geddes ficial show business lacking content. The Roller Rhino represented a uses both businessmen to also reflect on the permissive and empow­ ering role that government imparts to the wealthy. Pachyderm’s Progress, a finely crafted wood sculp­ ture, represents an ornate sedan chair in which an oversized elephant is seated, alluding to both wealth and Republican affiliation. At its front and back, a scroll cage contains powerless mice expected to constantly run and move it forward. Geddes carved on its sides ornamental motifs taken from $1 and $5 bills, thus directly connecting money to privilege and politics. Jurassic Ark or Noah Saves the Dinosaurs was in response to the recently built Creation Museum. It is a sarcastic comment on how religion and fear are always used to trap, control and keep vulnerable people ignorant, providing simple answers and for­ mulas, dismissing any critical thinking. Geddes’s works always strike by their refined craftsmanship and elegant beauty. They also chal­ lenge by their thought-provoking, strident and of­ ten ironic, social and political viewpoints. They transmit his messages with potency and eloquence. “I do not expect my art to change many people,” Geddes says. “I expect it, however, to have formal authority, speak by its quality and clearly convey my ideas. My art is directly connected to my life; it Pachyderm’s Progress, wood sculpture by Stephen Geddes. Photo by Stephen Geddes. wakes me up in the morning, it keeps me going.” A rtists ctivists Artists as Activists is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati artists who use art as a vehicle for change. Saad Ghosn is the founder of SOS Art. Ghosn can be contacted at saad.ghosn@uc.edu. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2010 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource February 15-28, 2010 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: The ‘Madness’ of Hate Downtown Postcards from Hell Pg 2: Street Wise Pg 3: Health Care Reform on Life Support Pg 4: Postcards from Hell Pg 5: The ‘Madness’ of Hate Downtown Continued Postcards from Hell Continued Pg 6: Walking to End the Nuclear Peril Pg 7: Out of the Cars and Into Homes Chapter Wants to NORML-ize Pot Pg 8: Sexy, Yummy, Veggie Pg 9: No Super Bowl on Planet Pandora Pg 10: Disasters are Not Created Equal Pg 11: Arts & Poetry Pg 12: Parks Aren’t so Kind to Poor People Pg 13: Lots of Room and an Endless View Pg 14: Letters to the Editor Pg 15: Resources Pg 16: Re-Shaping Ideas and Forms Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource February 15-28, 2010 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Gregory Flannery Lynne Ausman Veronica Glass Jeni Jenkins Michelle Dillingham Samantha Groark Margo Pierce Paul Kopp Jeremy Flannery Michael Henson David Heitfield Valerie Fessler Alecia A. Lott Stephanie Dunlap Saad Ghosn Lew Moores Larry Gross Eli Braun Aimie Willhoite, Anthony Williams Jennifer Blalock Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Aimie Willhoite Alecia A. Lott Anthony Williams Arts & Poetry Avatar David Heitfield Earthquakes Eli Braun Gregory Flannery health care Jeni Jenkins Jennifer Blalock Jeremy Flannery Larry Gross Lew Moores Lynching Lynn Baker Lynne Ausman Margo Pierce Marijuana Michael Henson Michelle Dillingham Nuclear Bombs Parks Paul Kopp Saad Ghosn Samantha Groark Stephanie Dunlap Stephen Geddes Street Life Super Bowl Valerie Fessler Veronica Glass https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/2596cef9891db2743d9364840f3a6fea.pdf a5fd001ee3888f91fd192816ddef2537 PDF Text Text Eight Minutes Page 3 3CDC Bans Tenants Page 14 Remember Miep Gies Page 11 STREETVIBES $1 Feb. 1 - 14, 2010 • Advocating Justice, Building Community • Issue 170 Demanding Justice for Immigrants Large rally backs reform legislation By Samantha Groark Contributing Writer M Current U.S. immigration law sometimes splits families. Photo by Aimie Willhoite. ore than 1,500 immigrants and activists gathered Jan. 16 at the Hartwell Community Center, chanting, “Si se puede!” and “Yes we can!” The rally was part of a nationally organized campaign supporting an immigration-reform bill in Congress. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 75, Su Casa, AMOS project and the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers helped organize bus transportation for immigrants in various neighborhoods and provided child-care services during the rally. The rally was coordinated with nationwide demonstrations led by Reform Immigration for America to gather support for the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009. U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill) introduced the bill along with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and more than 90 House Democrats in December. In a press release, Gutierrez said, “This bill is not complicated. … It keeps families together, but understands we must secure our borders. It keeps people working, but understands the needs of our economy. It gives a pathway to citizenship, but understands that immigrants must learn English, pay taxes and contribute to their communities.” The immigration-reform movement is in a critical phase because it is now up to the Senate to produce a similar bill, according to Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, who is running for the Senate. “This legislation is important and it will take courage on everyone’s part,” Brunner told the crowd. “That is why we are here. This is about families, legal or not, tax payers and employers working for a better America.” U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), the Chairman of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, is tasked with creating a bipartisan bill that would likely include curbing illegal immigration, focusing on family reunification as a key value of the immigration system and initiating the registration of undocumented immigrants as a path toward U.S. citizenship. This path toward citizenship would require a criminal background check, a good employment record and fluency in the English language. Esther Lopez, director of the Civil Rights and Community Action Department of the UFCW, spoke over the crowd’s chanting. “Today Ohio, like the rest of the United See Justice, p. 9 Homecoming of Reggie Williams Stop AIDS remembers hometown AIDS activist By Larry GroSS Contributing Writer “I have had a wonderful life – I can’t say that enough. If I had to die tomorrow, it would be just fine, as I have lived. You have to have lived to be able to accept your own death. I’ve had a lot of love and support from my family, my lovers, my friends. I have been lucky enough to have been surrounded by wonderful people and have tried to circumvent those who have not been.” — Reggie Williams, 1987 E leven years after his death, Reggie Williams, one of this country’s first and leading AIDS activists, is coming home. Stop AIDS will host the Reggie Williams Exhibit from Feb. 7 through March 7, during Black History Month, to raise awareness of HIV in Cincinnati’s African-American and gay communities. The Cincinnati exhibit completes a three-city tour. The first was in Los Angeles in 2001, then in San Francisco in 2002-03. Williams lived in all three cities. “People can expect a very colorful exhibit of the lifetime of Reggie Williams,” says Wolfgang Schreiber, who’s bringing the exhibit here. “We’re going to have several computers where people can watch videos, but it’s mainly photographs that give you an impression of who he was. “He described himself as the little black boy from the projects, and I want to share what he had achieved.” Schreiber is paying homage to his friend and to his late lover, who had AIDS. Originally from Germany, Schreiber moved to Amsterdam in the early 1980s. He met Williams there in 1992. Williams was in Amsterdam for an AIDS conference, and Schreiber knew immediately that there was a connection. “There was a group in Amsterdam called Strange Fruit, for immigrant gays and lesbians, and I had always been wanting to go, so I went,” Schreiber says. “I’d been dancing my ass off, and he was sitting at the bar when we smiled at each other. I thought maybe he was looking at somebody else.” This encounter eventually led Williams to live in Europe after leaving Cincinnati and spending time in Los Angeles and San Francisco. See Williams, p. 4 Reggie Williams was an AIDS activist until his death in 1999. Photo by Andrew Anderson. �2 The Vibe By The Numbers 72 The number of years before personal information is made public by the U.S. Census (see page 7). 46 The number of vendors selling Streetvibes (see page 13). $560 The price of a ticket to a Tea Party convention in Nashville (see page 12). Zero The cost, in dollars, of a ticket to the Reggie Williams Exhibit at Stop AIDS (see page 1). 69866 The text-message address to request information about supporting justice for immigrants (see page 1). One at a Time The word count by which InkTank plans to change Cincinnati (see page 10). 107 The number of days Haleh Esfandiari was held in solitary confinement in Iran (see page 6). 100 The age at which Holocaust hero Miep Gies died last month (see page 11). 2011 The year in which the NFL might field no football games (see page 6). 4 The hour of the morning at which outreach workers awakened homeless people sleeping outdoors (see page 2). StreetWise By GreGory FLannery editor Homeless people are women and children. Homeless people have jobs. Homeless people do volunteer work. Homeless people care about their appearance. Homeless people vote. Homeless people attend parent-teacher conferences. Homeless people live in shelters, with friends, with relatives, in cheap motels. Some homeless people in Cincinnati – and they are the small minority – live in conditions straight out of the Dark Ages, in lean-tos, shacks and tents in tufts of urban woods or along the banks of the Ohio River, without electricity or running water. Some live without even that feeble shelter, staying under highway overpasses. This small sub-set of homeless people was the subject of the Homeless Count conducted in the very early hours of Jan. 26. Non-profit agencies that serve homeless individuals and families work to prevent the kind of living conditions endured by the unseen homeless, living in camps that are by turns primitive and resourceful. We know how many people live in shelters in Cincinnati. The purpose of the Homeless Count was to ascertain the number of people living outdoors, sleeping on the courthouse plaza, on downtown benches or near a produce warehouse in Queensgate. The Homeless Count is a requirement for funding of services to homeless people by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It was near that produce warehouse, under a highway overpass, behind a support pillar adorned by a mural of the crucifixion of Jesus, painted by a Xavier University student, that a team of outreach workers showed up in the wee hours. Leevaughn Brown, who works for Project for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH), approached a tent and announced, “We’ve got some food. Do you need anything?” Josh Spring, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, explained the need to obtain basic information – the occupant’s name, date of birth, the last four digits of his social-security number and how long he’d been camping there. From inside the tent a man said, “It’s 3 o’clock in the morning.” “It’s a necessary evil,” Spring replied. “It’s not a necessary evil for me,” said the man in the tent. Some homeless people do not want to be helped or counted. Some homeless people are on the run. Under the Eighth Street Viaduct was a man who declined to give his name or answer any questions. There was no sign that he’d been there any length of time – no belongings besides those he might have had in his pockets. “We’re not here to turn you in,” Brown said. “We just want to help.” Some homeless people want help but don’t know how to find it. That, too, was part of the reason behind the Homeless Count. Spring left business cards at each site he visited. Brown urged people to visit Tender Mercies, a partner with PATH. Along the Ohio River below the Underground Railroad Freedom Center, in a “tent” barely worthy of the name – essentially a plastic tarp supported by a pole – was Chris, 39, who said, “What can I do when I’m out here? What are my alternatives?” Near the Holiday Office Park, sleeping on a steep slope beneath an overpass, Lonnie, age 62, asked, “You don’t have a pair of underwear you could give me, do you?” Lonnie said he has lived there “a couple months. My wife passed away and I had to pay her funeral. I want to get off the streets.” Lonnie doesn’t actually live on the streets. He lives under the streets but the point still holds. Some homeless people are hospitable. Awakened by strangers at 4 a.m. on a frigid night after snow has fallen, sleeping on concrete littered by hundreds of cigarette butts, Lonnie told the outreach workers as they were leaving, “You guys watch that path now. It looks slick.” Spring pointed out the site near the off-ramp from River Road to Linn Street where a man was found dead last year. Along the riverbank, where a person’s feet were sticking out of a dilapidated tent – the tent wouldn’t close properly or the occupant was too tall – Brown kept trying to get a response. “Just grunt or something,” he said. “Let us know you’re all right in there.” George, 51, was “all right.” It’s just that he had to sleep outside in winter, or believed he had to. People who work with homeless people speak of the frequency with which they talk about respect – or, more precisely, about how often they feel dis-respected. Knowing that their arrival would be intrusive at best and frightening at worst, the outreach workers behaved as though they were in the living rooms of the people they roused. Kevin Finn, executive director of the Hamilton County Continuum of Care, ended one brief interview by saying, “Thank you very much. We’re sorry to bother you so early.” Some homeless people live in crates three feet high. Some sleep with the incessant roar of cars passing right overhead. Some live as couples in homemade structures large enough to stand in, with a barrel to hold a fire indoors, plastic chairs to sit on, pots and pans to cook with, trash bags of straw providing insulation, the Ohio River lapping the shore just three feet away. The Homeless Count tallied 78 people, up fro last year - and some people were no doubt missed, Spring said. Word came Jan. 27 from the National Weather service that the river is set to flood this weekend. The outreach workers will go back to warn the people camping there. Sometimes homeless people die outside. STREETVIBES February 1 - 14, 2010 Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax: 513.421.7813 Email: streetvibes2@ yahoo.com Website: www. cincihomeless.org Blog: streetvibes. wordpress.com Streetvibes Staff Editor Gregory Flannery Art Director Lynne Ausman Vendor Coordinator Jeni Jenkins Contributing Writers Michelle Dillingham, Samantha Groark, Margo Pierce, Paul Kopp, Jeremy Flannery, Michael Henson, David Heitfield, Kelissa Hieber, Jeni Jenkins, Stephanie Dunlap, Saad Ghosn, Lynne Ausman, Lew Moores, Larry Gross, Eli Braun Photography/Artwork Aimie Willhoite, Lynne Ausman, Jeni Jenkins, Anthony Williams, Bill Haigh, Clarissa Peppers Proofreaders Jennifer Blalock Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati through coordination of services, public education, grassroots advocacy and Streetvibes. We are members of: �STREETVIBES February 1 - 14, 2010 8 Column 3 M I N U T E S with a Bench Warmer and Cheerleader Sitting with the homeless, sometimes for years, in order to help By marGo Pierce Contributing Writer it can take four years. “I tell them there are some resources. I may name a couple of f your job is to “watch the Clifton area,” that resources available in the commakes it hard to leave if you’re a conscien- munity. Ask them their opintious worker. You certainly can’t leave your ion about it. … (if) they say, no, bench, you might miss something. That makes OK. We don’t force anything on it difficult to get some food to eat and have a safe anyone. The next day we’ll take place to sleep. them food, water, make sure While this might sounds a little weird, it can hap- that they’re OK. Need socks, pen to a homeless person as a result of mental ill- underwear? We take them that, ness. whatever they need. Sometimes “Someone maybe thinks it’s his or her job to it’s just sitting down with them, watch the Clifton area. They were told to do that, letting them know that someone and so the will sit there and literally watch the Clif- cares.” ton area,” says Arnita Miller, lead PATH worker. PATH workers are particularly “They’re unable to meet their own basic needs be- sensitive to the challenges mencause of their mental illness. tal health or substance abuse PATH stands for Project for Assistance in Transi- can add to the struggle of being tion from Homelessness. We work with people on homeless. the street who are homeless, who have a mental “It’s difficult. Some of the isillness and/or substance abuse to get them into sues they may face because of housing, to get them into case management servic- the mental health issues may es, substance abuse services – to connect them up prevent them from going into with what’s available in the community.” a shelter,” Miller says. “Because That assistance translates into seven outreach the shelter is so crowded with workers being out on the street with homeless peo- lots of people, and some people ple Monday through Friday 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Some- are just used to being alone … times that means walking, and sometimes it means people can become paranoid sitting. that someone is trying to do “We meet them where they’re at,” Miller says. “If something to them.” Arnita Miller helps homeless people who have mental illness. they’re on the bench, then we meet them on that When PATH workers aren’t Photos by Margo Pierce. bench. We continue to meet them on the bench. on the street, they can be found If it’s a weekly, daily thing, we do that and we con- at 1209 Elm St., the first floor of tinue that process until they become comfortable the Tender Mercies facility next to Music Hall and that’s why PATH partners with other organizations with us. As we’re going along we explain the pro- around the corner from the Drop Inn Center. Regu- such as the individuals conducting the homeless cess – explain what they’re options are. Sometimes lar office hours are 10 a.m.–noon daily (no weekend census count each quarter. hours) and those in need of assis“PATH’s role will be to assist the census worker tance can go there, too. in going out to the area, location where homeless Miller is also responsible for individuals are,” Miller says. “Because those inguiding and assisting other out- dividuals have a rapport with us, we feel it will be reach workers. She’s been with the much easier, better for us to go with them … so organization for nine years and has they can feel safe. We’re not going to ask anything, a wealth of experience to share. She PATH isn’t.” also works with Housing First client And it will be business as usual at 4 a.m. when case management. These are indi- the count begins. Miller says the workers will take viduals who have made a success- hygiene products, food, clothing and other essenful transition from homelessness to tials and make them available to anyone who has living in their own apartments. a need. This hands-on approach to makThis year PATH will also be assisting with the U.S. ing sure people have the help they Census for the first time. need is reflected in the way the “I was informed (by) the Census Bureau that PATH outreach workers special- Over-the-Rhine was the most difficult community ize – one specifically focuses on for individuals to be counted because people not the needs of military veterans and returning the questionnaire,” Miller says. “No one another is stationed at the Justice to my knowledge has ever asked for our assistance Center. A homeless person who is in making sure that those individuals who are unutilizing PATH services fills the role sheltered be counted.” of peer specialist. Whether she’s walking the streets, warming a People on the street get to know bench, scheduling services for a client or driving who is who and what each person someone to an appointment, Miller has a ready does and this familiarity is an asset smile and an easygoing manner that puts people at in doing the work. ease. Anyone who tries to fake that kind of concern “It helps because once you es- wouldn’t be able to gain the trust of those who need tablish a bond with individuals, you help. She’s straight up in a way that makes it clear know them and they know you and she knows her stuff and won’t bullshit you. they know when you’re coming,” “There are outreach services out in Hamilton Miller says. “They know where to County,” Miller says. “(If an individual) is on the find you, versus a stranger coming verge of becoming homeless who is homeless – up to them and they’re suspicious whether it’s a family member, a friend – feel free to that maybe the police are under- give PATH a call.” cover.” PATH is a partnership of the Greater Cincinnati PATH will help census workers find homeless people, Miller says. Being known is an asset for oth- Behavioral Health Services (513-354-7500) and ers trying to help the homeless, and Tender Mercies (513-639-7043.) I Many people work hard to make a difference for the less privileged in the Queen City. “Eight Minutes” is an opportunity to learn who those people are and what motivates them to be a positive influence. �4 Local News STREETVIBES February 1 - 14, 2010 Homecoming of Reggie Williams Wolfgang Schreiber, friend and partner of Reggie Williams organized the exhibit in his memory. Photo by Andrew Anderson. Continued from page 1 After Williams and his partner moved to Los Angeles, he spent the next 10 years working as a radiology technician at a hospital, but he had dreams of becoming a model or actor. Playgirl featured “I am the second oldest of her nine children. Most of all of him as one of the “Guys Next Door” in its June 1979 edition. Williams separated from Freeman when he met Tim Isbell. The us have different fathers. I did not know the identity of my father until I was 16 years old. But my mother always stressed two of them moved to San Francisco in 1981 – the same year an to us that, because we were all born from the same womb, we unknown disease was being diagnosed in gay men. In 1986, at the age of 35, Williams tested positive for HIV. were all brothers and sisters.” —1996 “He talked about having panic attacks,” Schreiber says, recalling Williams was born April 29, 1951, at the Cincinnati General Hos- when Williams would speak about first hearing the news. “Working pital; now known as the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. in the hospital, he had seen the first AIDS cases, so he knew what Born to Jean Carpenter Williams, Williams spent the first nine could happen.” years of his life living in Washington Terrace, a large housing projWanting to get involved in the fight against AIDS, in 1988 Wilect in Walnut Hills. Built after the Great Depression, it was a pre- liams became one of the co-founders of the National Task Force on dominantly black district. AIDS Prevention, the first nationwide organization advocating for At the age of 6 or 7, Williams felt attracted to boys and liked to black gay men. He served as its executive director. In 1989, along do things that were un-boyish – like trying to with five men, he started the San Francisco cook or playing with his sister’s dolls. He liked Gay Men of Color Consortium, supporting to comb his mother’s hair. HIV treatment and early intervention. The AIDS conference had been “He was very close to his mother,” Schreiber moved from Harvard to Amsterdam Williams was very open about his illness says. “She passed away in 1990. She had canthat year because of a law passed and became a leading spokesperson on AIDS cer. They would talk on the phone everyday. awareness. He was featured in several articles, by Congress in 1987 that banned He had lost one brother, got shot in L.A., so she HIV-positive persons from entering including two in the Wall Street Journal writhad already lost one son. At first, he hesitated the United States. Breaking this law ten by Marilyn Chase. In 1992, he was one of telling her about having HIV, but he was honfour HIV-positive African-American gay men could mean ending up in jail but est to her, open to her.” Williams, who moved to Amsterdam featured in the film No Regret produced by In regard to Williams’s sexual preference, in 1994, and Schreiber, who is also Marion Riggs. Schreiber says, “If you read all he wrote about In July 1992, Williams, still living in San HIV-positive, continued to travel to growing up in Cincinnati in the ’50s and ’60s, Francisco, attended the International Conferand from the United States. he never had a coming out because in the ence on AIDS in Amsterdam, where he met hood, he was special. Everyone knew that.” Schreiber. In his teens, Williams and some of his friends would spend time “When I met Reggie, I had just come back from San Francisco,” downtown in a gay bar called “223,” named after the street address. Schreiber says. “My sister, who lived there, had passed away. I told In some of his writings, Williams says at this bar he “stepped into a him I had just recently been in San Francisco. He asked, ‘Vacawhole new world,” and he came to terms with his sexuality. tion?’ And I said, ‘No, a funeral.’ In a way, the tone was serious right Williams graduated from Withrow High School in 1969. Within away.” a few years after graduation, Williams and his partner at the time, The AIDS conference had been moved from Harvard to AmsterAlphonso Freeman, moved from Cincinnati to begin a new life in dam that year because of a law passed by Congress in 1987 that Los Angeles. banned HIV-positive persons from entering the United States. Breaking this law could mean ending up in jail but Williams, who Ignoring the ban moved to Amsterdam in 1994, and Schreiber, who is also HIV-positive, continued to travel to and from the United States. “(AIDS) education programs need to be targeted to the black, “I never cared about the travel ban,” Schreiber says, “I just travgay and bisexual communities. We hope that will help them eled. When my sister passed, I just went, ‘You know?’ I always thought this was so discriminating – it’s nonsense, because if I get to do what they need to do to save their lives.” —1990 ‘A whole new world’ See Williams, p. 4 �STREETVIBES February 1 - 14, 2010 Local News Homecoming of Reggie Williams Continued from page 4 engaged with anybody, I’m going to have safe sex anyway. It never kept me out of the U.S. I just ignored it.” President Obama lifted the travel ban effective Jan. 4 this year. A Dutch housewife “I live my life as a Dutch housewife with a German lover. Who would have thought two years ago, while I was attending the International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam, that I would someday soon be living here?” —1995 5 didn’t believe it. You know, Amsterdam is so tolerant and accepting. But it was true. People would just look. In America, people would just say something.” In 1996, Williams was diagnosed with colon cancer. Despite many hospital stays, he and Schreiber continued to travel, visiting France, Germany, Britain and the United States – again ignoring the U.S. travel ban. When his health allowed it, Williams continued to write articles about AIDS and took part in several conferences in the United States and around the world. ‘You can be open’ Because of his declining heath, Williams retired from “So, what is this (AIDS) all his position as executive direcReggie Williams as a teenager. Photo by Andrew Anderson. about, you may be asking. I tor of the National Task Force guess what all this is about on AIDS Prevention in February is learning to use a walking 1994, moving to Amsterdam two stick when you just don’t months later. have the strength to walk “One of his dreams was to live in Europe,” Schreiber says. “In a way, when without one. It is about life turning when you least expect it and learnyou look back at it, it was meant to be. I had this American connection; he had ing to accept the shelter of a lover and friends because you can’t survive this dream to live in Europe.” without them. It is about my body beginning a process of giving up the Legally immigrating as Schreiber’s life partner, he could also get health inghost and me learning to live with that.” —1995 surance through Schreiber’s plan. “This has been in Holland since the 1980s,” Schreiber On Feb. 7, 1999, at the Academisch Medisch Centrum says. “Same-sex relationships were just the same as the In Amsterdam, Williams Hospital in Amsterdam, Williams passed away. other. It made it all so easy.” The funeral took place at Westerveld Crematorium. Mecontinued to be an activist Schreiber says that, for his first year in Amsterdam, Wilagainst AIDS. He wrote articles morial services were held in Amsterdam, San Francisco and liams suffered from depression. for gay publications and became Cincinnati. His ashes were buried at his mother’s grave. “When he moved to Amsterdam, he had his feeling of Since 2001 Schreiber has been trying to find a home in involved with “Strange Fruit: guilt: Why am I still here?” Schreiber says. “He had lost so The Real,” a group for gays and Cincinnati for his Reggie Williams exhibit. Last year Stop many, you know, and he felt like, ‘I’m still here and I can lesbians of color. They organized AIDS showed an interest. even move to Europe.’ ” “In May, I sent out e-mails again to several organizations safe sex and culture workshops. In Amsterdam, Williams continued to be an activist and David White at Stop AIDS replied he was interested,” against AIDS. He wrote articles for gay publications and Schreiber says. “He’s a blessing, because all I needed was became involved with “Strange Fruit: The Real,” a group for gays and lesbians one person who thinks it’s interesting, and we’re going to do it.” of color. They organized safe sex and culture workshops. “It was my goal all the time to bring the exhibit here because Cincinnati During the last years of his life, Williams began dressing more in African needs to know about this guy who lived here but moved away and who acclothing. complished so much in his life. He really made an impression. If this exhibit “He was really into his appearance,” Schreiber says. “He had this beautiful inspires one or two people to say, ‘Oh yeah, you can be open about being HIVwalking stick and would walk the streets of Amsterdam like a prince and lots positive,’ it’ll be worth it.” of people knew him. People would stare at him. I followed him once, because I The Reggie Williams Exhibit is sponsored by the Black AIDS Institute (www.blackaids.org) and will be on display at Stop AIDS (www.stopaidscincy.org) from Feb. 7 through March 7. Stop AIDS is at 220 Findley St., Over-the-Rhine. Admission is free. For more information about Williams, visit reggiewilliams.net. Interested in volunteering with Streetvibes? Contact Greg Flannery at 513-421-7803 x 12 or by e-mail at streetvibes2@yahoo.com STREETVIBES Only purchase Vendor Streetvibes from BADGED vendors. Vendors wear their WHITE badges while they sell the Mary paper. If you like what you read, but don’t live in the Cincinnati area, you can subscribe to Streetvibes. Call us at 513-421-7803 x 12 to learn more about subscribing to Streetvibes. �6 Local News End of the NFL Bengals might have one more chance By B. cLiFton Burke Contributing Writer open-market value even more than restricted free-agent status does. Franchise-tagged players receive a ell, that was fun. The Ben- one-year contract equaling the avergals brought the Queen age of the five top-paid players at that City some entertainment position (Shayne Graham was paid and enjoyment throughout most of around $2.5 million last season under their season and invigorated a bit of the terms of the franchise tag). Othoptimism for the er teams can sign team's future. tagged players, too, The problem is, The league’s collectivebut must give up there might not be two first-round draft bargaining agreement with much of a future – picks in compensaplayers is set to expire after at least not an imtion. This would be the 2010 season, and the mediate one – for negotiations on a new one in near suicide for any the Bengals or any team and is rarely time to play the next season other team in the seem as bleak as the Mayan worth trying. NFL. That means the calendar. A worst-case The league’s col- scenario is no NFL football in Bengals could tag lective-bargaining Graham again and 2011 and beyond. agreement with tag Tank Johnson or players is set to other unrestricted expire after the 2010 season, and the free agents this off-season. But on the negotiations on a new one in time to list of Bengals unrestricted free agents play the next season seem as bleak as – Graham, Johnson, Roy Williams, the Mayan calendar. The fear is that Reggie Kelly, Larry Johnson and othowners won’t agree on the percent- ers – not one seems worth the hefty age of team revenue that the players price of a franchise tag. demand and will lock out the players That frees up money to get somewithout a new agreement in place. A one else then, right? Well, maybe. I worst-case scenario is no NFL foot- always assume owner Mike Brown ball in 2011 and beyond. would rather work with what he's alA best-case scenario is that every- ready got than spend a lot on outside thing remains as is; a salary cap and improvements. Signing Laveranues salary floor stay in place, ownership Coles last off-season has been a huge shares specific types of revenue and letdown thus far, and it makes sense parity among teams remains the that management might be wary of league's strength. The two sides sit making that mistake again. But there down for 20 minutes, agree that noth- are some alluring names at wide reing needs to be changed and go have ceiver that will be tossed around by drinks. fans and media as nice fits with CinOf course, it won't work out that cinnati. way. Before his untimely passing in Some Bengals fans will surely 2008, Gene Upshaw – former execu- clamor over the verbose and illustritive director of the NFL Players As- ous Terrell Owens, and I could see sociation (NFLPA) and Hall of Fame why. He's a big target who remains a lineman – said that, difficult match-up once the salary despite the fact that cap disappeared, The big-market teams might his career is firmly in it would never be try to make a serious splash by its twilight. Brown is agreed upon by the overpaying lots of free agents well known for proNFLPA again. The viding a home for in light of no salary cap, but owners have alBrown and the Bengals can’t explosive personaliready voted to opt ties cast off by other compete that way. out of the last two teams, and TO peryears of the current fectly fits the mold. agreement, which means no salary Owens is beyond the big-paycheck cap next season and potentially no phase of his career, and if he chooses football after that. to play again next year, his motivation So what does it mean for the Ben- would likely be driven by a potential gals? championship and not by personal First and foremost, without a cap, glory. players ending their initial contracts The big-market teams might try to (signed out of college) are now re- make a serious splash by overpaying stricted free agents until their sixth lots of free agents in light of no salary season, rather than after four. A play- cap, but Brown and the Bengals can't er drafted in 2005 by the Bengals, compete that way. Nabbing one or entering his sixth season, can still be two crucial pieces to make a run for signed by another team, but the Ben- next season makes more sense than gals can match any offer and prevent financially strapping the team on a him from signing elsewhere. Should superstar contract for years to come, the player leave Cincinnati, his new especially if there truly is only one team would also have to compensate year left. the Bengals with draft picks. The NFL has enjoyed about 12 That means Brandon Johnson, years of a fantastic pro-sports league Frostee Rucker, Dennis Roland and that provided hope for every team’s others who would have been unre- city that this was their year, and instricted to sign wherever they chose toxicating this country with its sport. are now are essentially “stuck” with Football won't die completely –Amertheir team. ica needs it – but serious change is The other quirk in 2010 brought afoot, and it's hard to think that it will on without a cap is teams get to fran- be better than it is now. Here's to the chise-tag two players instead of one. Bengals of next year, because we can't The franchise tag is very unpopular see beyond that. with players because it restricts their W STREETVIBES February 1 - 14, 2010 Academic Freedom Fighter Scholar recounts Iranian captivity Haleh Esfandiari visited Xavier University to speak about her book, “My Prison, My Home: One Woman’s Story of Captivity in Iran.” Photo by Stephanie Carson. By ariana Shahandeh Contributing Writer body else." Following her lecture, members of the audience asked questions. One ranian-American academic person asked, “Why are they so paraHaleh Esfandiari visited Xavier noid? Does this mean they are not University on Jan. 19 to speak confident in their leadership?” Anabout her book, My Prison, My Home: other person had a contrasting view, One Woman’s Story of Captivity in Iran, saying, “The United States is a huge in which she chronicles her time as a consumer of oil … and the United prisoner of Evin Prison in Tehran. States invaded (Iran's) neighbor Iraq, “I never cried in front of these also an oil-rich country. In 1953 the people,” she said. United States was “If I wanted to cry, involved in the I cried under the “I never cried in front of these overthrow of Iran's shower or at night people. If I wanted to cry, I cried government, Moswhen I slept on the sadegh's governunder the shower or at night floor.” ment. Finally, the when I slept on the floor.” In late 2006 Espassage by the - Haleh Esfandiari fandiari was in Iran U.S. Congress of to visit her mother. the Iran Freedom As she was preparing to leave the in Support Act … My question is, ‘Is it country, the Intelligence Ministry of fair to characterize the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran charged Iran as being paranoid?’ ” her with endangering national seAsked how she kept hope alive durcurity and plotting a “velvet revolu- ing her darker moments in prison, Estion,” a term used to describe gradual fandiari said, “I'm a very disciplined persuasion through academic talks, person by nature.” conferences at universities and other She explained her attempt to cremeans of affecting public opinion. ate a routine, even of something as The charges against Esfandiari simple as a structured way to pace her stemmed from her work as an instruc- cell, in order to keep her mind from tor at the Woodrow Wilson Center in straying to a dark place. Washington, D.C., where she teaches Esfandiari’s memoir recounts an about Iranian foreign policy, culture event before the 1979 revolution in and history. Iran that demonstrated her disciIt was her extensive plined nature. As the record as an instructor first female journalist at at Princeton University Esfandiari’s memoir Kayhan, a newspaper in that indirectly led to her Iran, Esfandiari took a recounts an event release from Evin Prison stand against censorship before the 1979 in 2007, after 105 days of revolution in Iran that and quit the paper when solitary confinement. a government appointee demonstrated her “What moved me replaced the head editor. disciplined nature. more than anything else “Leaving Kayhan was was my former Princedifficult for me,” she ton students,” Esfandiari says. “When wrote, “It was the country's leading they heard about my ordeal, they newspaper; I took pleasure in the got together, they found each other work and in being a part of the Kayaround the world and they started han family. But I am proud of having another Free Haleh site. … You know, refused to work under a governmenteventually what you teach the young imposed editor who represented evpeople helps you. At the end, they erything I disdained in a profession I come to your rescue more than any- loved.” I �STREETVIBES February 1 - 14, 2010 7 Housing Issues The 2010 Census: Don’t Cheat Your Descendants Doubling-up, hidden dwellings, the disenfranchisement of not being counted 1 By Michelle Dillingham Contributing Writer A n army of 140,000 U.S. Census workers and postal workers delivering census forms will descend upon an estimated 134 million housing units across America in a couple months. The census, mandated by the Constitution, was born of the need to spread the debt of the Revolutionary War fairly across the 13 colonies – and also to help establish a truly representative form of government. In more recent times, the outcome of the census determines how much a state gets of about $400 billion dollars in federal funds allocated for schools, highways and programs such as Medicaid. Most households will receive a census form by mail in midMarch. The questionnaire asks for a count of all people who live and sleep in the household “most of the time” as of April 1. This does not include those who are living away at college, in the military, in a nursing home, or in a jail, prison or a detention facility. They are counted separately. An accurate count is important because the census count determines a state’s federal funding and representation. Many are noting that the effects of the recession will make it harder to find and count people. Individuals and families are doublingup due to job loss and foreclosure. answering questions they feel are too personal, too intrusive. Subsidized housing units and many private landlords have strict Despite worries that personal information will be shared, the Cenrules about how many people can live in a unit, and they have to be sus Bureau assures us they use statistical methods so that the inforon the lease. Clearly, the lack of affordable housing will impact an ac- mation they release does not identify individuals or businesses. The curate count. information collected by the census becomes public record only after Consider the following scenario: I live in a two-bedroom subsi- 72 years. For example, all census data from 1790 to 1930 was released dized apartment. About six months ago my sister lost her job, lost her in 2002. In addition, Title 13 of the U.S. Code protects the confidenapartment and so she and her two children temtiality of all your information, and violating this porarily moved in with me. Due to the job marlaw is a crime that carries severe penalties. The ket, “temporarily” stretched into six months. I The U.S. Department of Better Business Bureau (BBB) is advising people am very concerned the property manager might to be cooperative but cautious, so as not to beCommerce’s Office of Audit and find out they are living with me; they are not on come a victim of fraud or identity theft. For exEvaluation did a dress rehearsal the lease. ample, census-takers should not be asking for for the census in 2008 and found We go out of our way to avoid coming in and that canvassers were not counting your social security number. Some advocates are out a lot, especially when the property manager suggesting that people who are uncomfortable “hidden” dwellings such as sheds is around. I do not want my sister and her chil- and makeshift garage apartments. with the questions, “Are you of Hispanic, Spanish dren to leave, having nowhere to go, but I do not or Latino origin?” or “What is your race?” leave want to be evicted. those answers blank but at least answer the quesI receive the 2010 Census form in the mail, and it asks that I list all tion, “How many people are living or staying in the home?” the people living in my apartment and their dates of birth. Given our As I began researching the census, my mother coincidentally tells situation, how likely is it that I will provide this detailed information? me she is doing a genealogy search. The main source of information The census form says my sister and her children should be counted about our family she finds from the census. She excitedly tells me that in my household, because they have been living with me “most of the the census reveals our great-grandparents’ birthdates, their siblings, time” and they are not being counted anywhere else. But will they be when they immigrated, their occupation and marriage status. As she counted? Not likely. shares what she has learned about our distant relatives, it hits me. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Audit and Evaluation It’s not just the state budget that suffers from an under-count; there did a dress rehearsal for the census in 2008 and found that canvassers is a familial deprivation. Those who fear being counted, those who were not counting “hidden” dwellings such as sheds and makeshift avoid being counted and those who aren’t even approached to be garage apartments. Also, individuals and families in trailer parks that counted – all are excluded from our national treasury. In 200 years only display lot numbers corresponding to a unit’s physical space – their descendants will look them up, and they will not be found. One but not unit numbers – were not accurately counted. Additional prob- more unfortunate consequence of the affordable housing crisis. lems of an accurate count include issues related to culture, language, As they say, “Everybody Counts” – even people who don’t have acdistrust of government and the fact that some people tend to avoid cess to safe, decent, affordable housing. Streetvibes vendors keep 75% of sales. Consider helping Streetvibes with our publication costs by making a tax-deductible donation or by purchasing a subscription. Streetvibes is the activist newspaper, advocating justice, building community. Your gift is tax-deductible and will go to producing the paper every two weeks. Started in 1997, Streetvibes is distributed by homeless and formerly homeless vendors who purchase the paper for 25 cents and sell it for $1, keeping the 75 cent profit. Make checks payable to “Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless” I want to support Streetvibes and the vendors. $25 Please return your contribution to: GCCH 117 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Name: Address: E-mail: $50 $100 $150 Other $ _______ �8 Recipe Veggie Stir-Fry Yummy Roasted Veggies 6 tablespoons olive oil 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 4 cloves garlic, minced Salt and pepper One spice option from below Various types of root vegetables: 2 onions, quartered (red, yellow, white or a mix) 6 potatoes, quartered (red, Yukon gold, russet or a mix) 1 butternut squash, cubed 1 sweet potato or carrot, quartered 1 zucchini or other squash, cut in 1 inch slices and quartered 1-2 types of other vegetables: 2 sweet peppers, quartered (red, green, yellow, orange or a mix) 1 cup broccoli florets 10-12 whole button mushrooms Anaheim peppers Poblano peppers Serrano peppers Quartered Eggplant Spice options: Italian spice, 1 tablespoon fresh basil and 1 tablespoon fresh oregano Mexican spice, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro and 1 tablespoon chili pepper or 1 package taco seasoning Summer style, try 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary combined with 1 tablespoon fresh thyme Indian spice, 3 tablespoons curry powder Spicy twist, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, diced “Feed Me, Seymour, 1 Feed Me All Night Long” Photo by Jeni Jenkins. By Jeni JenkinS Staff Writer T STREETVIBES February 1 - 14, 2010 his delicious roasted vegetable recipe is extremely versatile in that you can prepare it for a number of occasions, as well as mix it up to be used for a side dish or a main dish. For example, the vegetables you choose are completely dependent on your taste, the type of food it will complement and what vegetables are in season. Every vegetable in this recipe is completely optional. Serving Size: 5 or 6 bellies Quick hint: For a breakfast burrito, make the night before using the Mexican or spicy spice option. Scramble an egg or egg substitute in a skillet, sprinkle with your favorite cheese, add the veggies and heat until warm. Wrap in a warm soft tortilla. Pre-heat oven to 475 degrees F. Prepare a roasting pan or glass casserole dish with baking spray. Combine half of the olive oil and half of the vinegar in a bowl; add one of the spice options and mix. Take the root vegetables (onions, potatoes, squash, carrots) and toss in a Ziploc bag or large bowl with the sauce mixture until they are well coated. Bake in pre-heated oven 30 minutes, stirring after 15. Toss the remaining vegetables with remaining sauce mixture. Stir into other vegetables and bake an additional 15-20 minutes. Voila, FEED! Happy Valentine’s Day By Anthony Williams ! ? t ha W y Sa ___________________ “The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn.” -- Gloria Steinem, “Women’s Liberation’ Aims to Free Men, Too”; Washington Post, 1970 �STREETVIBES February 1 - 14, 2010 9 Local News Demanding Justice for Immigrants Continued from page 1 States, is letting our government know that it’s time to fix the broken immigration system. … We are here to make sure we get the votes needed to cross the finish line, mobilizing every supporter in the country and educating those confused by the noise of our opponents. … The price of failure is unimaginable,” Lopez said. “We need to make sure Ohio politicians hear from every one of us.” Lopez, along with other community leaders, spent time debunking common misconceptions that have prevented immigration reform in the past, specifically those linking immigration to the poor economy. “The current economy is not an excuse for deterring immigration reform,” Lopez said. “They want us to believe all work is equal. They want you to believe workers are laid off because of immigrants, as if a New York banker who lost his job will go to California to pick strawberries. All while executives continue to make millions in bonuses. What they pay for their luxury could pay for a school in a poor community or health care. Blaming immigrants for the economy is an insult and distracts from the real problem and potential solutions. In reality, good immigration reform would earn the U.S. billions in revenue.” President Barack Obama has promised to address immigration reform in 2010. As a candidate in 2008, he said, “We need immigration reform that will secure our borders, and punish employers who exploit immigrant labor; reform that finally brings the 12 million people who are here illegally out of the shadows by requiring them to take steps to become legal citizens. We must assert our values and reconcile our principles as a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. That is a priority I will pursue from my very first day.” With Congress wrapping up health care reform, some demonstrators, including the Rev. Jorge Ochoa, pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Church, blah blah blah blah. Photo by Aimie Willhoite. see an opportunity to be seized. “The time for action is now,” he said. “America needs a solution that works for small business, taxpayers and immigrants. … Every day I meet families affected by the unfair immigration sys- tem; and as a member of the Catholic Church, as part of a faith community, we cannot let families suffer under injustice.” Griselda Geigel, one of the hundreds of Hispanic activists, said the rally sent a clear message. “We made a point here today, and President Obama, Congress and the entire nation needs to listen,” she said. The reform campaign plans to host public events in Cincinnati and throughout Ohio in the coming months. Those interested in receiving information are asked to text the word “Justice” or “Justicia” to 69866 or visit www.ri4a.org. Bridging the Religious Gap Muslims and Christians seek understanding By dan rozier Contributing Writer I slam is arguably the most misunderstood religion in the United States. Despite the fact that there are 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide – 7 million of whom live in the United States – there seems to exist an “us versus them” mentality in this country. That mentality was undoubtedly perpetuated by the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and media coverage that relentlessly peddled the attacks as the result of a holy war undertaken by Muslims. Reconciling that perception was one of the goals of a Muslim-Christian dialogue Jan. 17 at St. Monica-St. George Parish Hall in Clifton Heights. The program was sponsored by the Franciscans Network. Before the construction of the first mosque in Cincinnati, Muslims used St. Monica-St. George as a place to worship, so it was fitting that the site be used as a convergence point for the two faiths. Three guest speakers led the discussion: Roula Allouch, president of Cincinnati chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR); Homa Yavar of the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati and Muslim Mothers Against Violence; and Zeinab Schwen, president of CAIR Ohio. The speakers’ assessment of the religious dichotomy was that ultimately Christianity and Islam have the same message but different ways of praying. “What people need to understand is that there is a difference between Roula Allouch, center, is a Syrian-born attorney. Photo courtesy of Franciscans the teaching of religion and understanding the history and culture of a Network. people,” Yavar said. “There are many Christians that have the misconception that Muslims don’t believe in the prophet Jesus, which isn’t true. reiterating Yavar’s argument that one must differentiate between religious This is why discussions such as this one are so important.” teachings and historical and cultural makeup. Roula Allouch, a Syrian-born attorney, shared her experiences in Syria, speThe discussion touched on the conflict in the Gaza Strip. The area has seen cifically the city of Damascus, and its significance within the context of Mus- fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Hamas, the Islamic Resistance lim-Christian and Muslim-American relations. Movement. “Syrians love American culture,” she said. “When I visited in 2008, right be“I am a Palestinian-American Muslim,” Schwen said. “Israel is empowered fore the Democratic candidate had been chosen, it was amazing to see how by the silence. They have land-grabs, killings of innocent civilians go unpuninterested and knowledgeable the Syrian citizens were in American politics. ished, the wall, and the U.S. sends $3 billion in taxes there every year. It is imThe democratic thought process is inherent in people.” portant that we remind ourselves, because the media doesn’t give it the attenThe Syrian Arab Republic, on Iraq’s western border, has a population of ap- tion it deserves. I mean, I don’t know how much worse it can get.” proximately 18 million people, 12.6 million of whom are Sunni Muslims. Alawi, Because Israel tightly restricts access to Gaza, some consider it the world’s Ismaili and Shi'a Muslim groups include approximately 2.2 million people, and largest open-air prison. various Christian denominations total 1.7 million people. Coincidentally, the dialogue occurred the same day that protesters gathered Syria has a notorious human-rights record. Censorship, travel bans, torture in Beirut to rally against Egypt’s own border restrictions along the southern and gender discrimination are among the accusations against the nation. Gaza Strip. “In terms of gender equality, yes, much progress does need to be made – but To arrange a dialogue for your school, church or organization, write to franthis doesn’t stem from religion. It is from historical patriarchy,” Allouch said, ciscansnetwork@cinci.rr.com. �10 STREETVIBES February 1 - 14, 2010 Local News A Rising Star, A Laid Back Starr By PauL koPP Contributing Writer and though they approach songs like “Cousins” and “California English” from the Vampire Weekend – polished live-band setting they explored on their first Contra album, they seem to be interampire Weekend ested in branching out, takwas perhaps the ing the melodies and rhythms most hyped indie they are known for and craftband the past couple of years ing them into dense soundbecause of the success of its scapes such as the opening debut, self-titled track, “Horchata.” album, recognized The song is a swirlfor its unique apEvery band ing combination of proach in combin- needs a heart, echoing vocals and ing afro-beat, new someone stable dreamy vibraphone wave and early ska. enough to keep and strings tied toUnique, in so much gether with a rinkyeveryone in as it was played by dink drum-machine check. a group of preppy beat. looking Columbia Frontman Ezra University graduates. Koening also puts his college When I initially heard of degree to work with strange the band’s rapid success, I and inventive lyrics. Examwas quick to write it off as a ple: “In December, drinking “next big thing.” Though they horchata I'd look psychotic were good live, it seemed they in a balaclava.” Make sure to had somehow become media Google those strange words darlings for the wrong rea- to find out what they mean. sons. That puts their album, The band has kept up its Contra, in the position of be- approach to world music ing the potential “sophomore while simultaneously growslump.” How can a band that ing as song writers and arhas developed such a unique rangers, taking the template sound so early grow creatively of what they did well on their while still retaining the quali- first album and placing it ties that made it popular? in a more complex musical On Contra, Vampire Week- structure. Contra sounds like end does a good job of doing a band that is getting coma little bit of both. Drummer fortable in its boat shoes and Chris Tomson propels the maybe growing out of its fassongs with his jovial playing, cination with collegiate life. V Ringo Starr – Y Not Ringo Starr will forever be remembered as the lighthearted and goofy member of The Beatles who sang lead on “With A Little Help From My Friends.” Judging from the majority of his solo work, he is OK with that. On Y Not, Starr continues his lighthearted legacy with a set of songs that seem to focus mostly on reflecting on his storied life, looking ahead to his later years with a sense of satisfaction and peace. Starr keeps good company on the album, which features Joe Walsh of the Eagles, Ben Harper, Joss Stone, Richard Marx and a vocal duet with Paul McCartney. Musically, Starr isn’t trying to do anything new here, but in a way, that is comforting. The songs are mostly simple bluesbased rock, with a few ’80s radio rock moments, such as the guitar in the beginning of “Mystery of the Night.” On the album’s opening track, “Fill in the Blanks,” featuring Walsh’s signature, purposely cheesy blues guitar, Starr seems to reflect on his frustration with the meaningless things in his life. But even in his angst, it is easy to tell he is still having fun. This sentiment is the emotional back- drop for the whole record. He has the ability to talk about his experience and emotions in songs through the eyes of a simple storyteller, who doesn’t get too caught up in idealistic matters, like that of his former band mates. When Starr sings about peace on the aptly titled “Peace Dream,” he seems to feel that world peace would be nice, but it might not work out, so he’ll take what he can get. He even references John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s famous bed-in in Amsterdam. Starr sings with McCartney on the sentimental ballad, “Walk With You,” which Starr says is a song about friendship. Their voices don’t necessarily blend together as McCartney’s and Lennon’s did, but it doesn’t sound bad. It’s just not particularly memorable. I always thought Starr was the key element that kept the Beatles together. It seemed he kept the group grounded and having fun as long as he could. Every band needs a heart, someone stable enough to keep everyone in check. He was that guy. With a legendary image fully intact, and a laid-back and fun approach to songwriting, you can’t help but enjoy Y Not in some form, even if it’s not as influential and memorable as the other Beatles’ work. Words Can Change Everything InkTank wants you to share them By keara anita muLLen Contributing Writer J ai Washington comes bounding into the room with an energy that is instantly contagious. The executive director of Inktank, Cincinnati’s urban literacy and writing center, Washington is known in local circles as the exuberant host of Cincinnati Conscience, an Internet radio show where “the citizens are the celebrities.” This determination to get to know her neighbors and introduce them to everyone else fuels Inktank’s rebirth under Washington’s direction as she flings open the doors to the community, welcoming anyone inside to share their stories. Inktank was founded in 2004 in order to establish dialogue “from the trenches” after the unrest in Cincinnati earlier in the decade. Trying to create a legacy that values all citizens’ contributions, Inktank has brought free writing workshops to the Drop Inn Center, First Step Home and other recovery and socialservice settings, providing a voice to homeless people, to youth and to anyone who walks through the door. Open-mic nights are a mainstay, as is the Writers Salon, where writers of all experience levels and backgrounds are welcome to join in an active, sharing community of work. The Book Bank, located in Inktank’s 1311 Main St. storefront headquarters, houses the city’s only bookstore exclusively dedicated to local writers. Valuing locals’ creative voices is Inktank’s foundation. The organization’s revamped logo, “Rewriting Cincinnati’s Future One Word at a Time,” capitalizes on that very local energy that Washington thrives upon as she unlocks the doors everyday. “I live in a kick-ass city,” she says, pointing out the work of local artists adorning the walls and chatting with a local musician who stopped by to see what was going on at Inktank that day. Propelled by the efforts of volunteers enthusiastic about the mission and initiatives, the idea of “passion and empty pockets” bringing people together is what has kept Inktank dipping into its deep well of potential and inspiration. Inktank was on the verge of closing in recent years, even contemplating “going virtual” by keeping the Web site and leaving its building, but the consensus among those who are involved with the organization is that “the place is the face.” It provides a gathering space for pursuing community consciousness through live connections and sharing with one another. What Inktank and Washington offer when you walk in – a cup of coffee, an ear to listen and a pen to write – melts any cynicism that the power of community has disappeared. These notions are revolutionary in their simplicity; they are changing lives and giving dignity not out of pity but as a moral obligation. While Washington admits that sometimes she finds the “tortoise” pace of authentic community-building in tremendous conflict with the jackhammer pace of the corporate world she left behind, she would have it no other way. Emphasizing quality over quantity, the success of an organization like Inktank is measured by experiences and connections created through its ever-expanding network of impact. These networks, however, do not always meet the standards of “convention” in a city where too often the underprivileged are relegated to the “island of Misfit Toys”, as Washington puts it. “Society has decided that we are not the adequate representatives, but we are uniquely Cincinnati,” she says. Washington is constantly seeking ways to ask, “What makes our city great?” Then she pursues those leads as though to patchwork a quilt of experience that can be showcased for all to see. Bringing together voices in a “polyphonic salad” (in which one ingredient, or voice, would change the flavor completely), she is excited that Inktank is based in the city’s heart, Over-the-Rhine, once considered the Paris of the Midwest. All she needs from “you” is one hour to share coffee and conversation. She acknowledges that not everyone will walk away with the urge to help directly, but as long as that idea is planted – that there are many ways, needs and obligations to help someone – she thinks that one critical hour well spent. Washington explored other outlets before attending an Inktank poetry reading at Findlay Market last summer. She was drawn to Inktank because of the holistic and grassroots approach it takes. Inktank is community-based, only as successful as the people walk through the door. It’s a collaborative effort, with everyone from volunteers, panhandlers, musicians, the mail carrier and whoever else wants to chime in to have a voice and a place. The beauty and energy of Inktank stems from the fact that anyone can become involved, share their ideas, actualize projects and plans and use the space. Many community members have hosted workshops and events there, including tutoring programs, typewriter circles, monthly theater performances, musical events, poetry readings and open sessions for an endless variety of expression. Providing a venue for all of the people of Cincinnati to express themselves in any way they can muster is what Inktank opens its doors for everyday. Washington’s unrelenting enthusiasm for her city is propelling Inktank into a new era of urban initiative, changing Cincinnati’s future one – and ultimately many – words at a time. �STREETVIBES February 1 - 14, 2010 Guest Column Remembering Miep Gies 11 Gentle educator, fierce battler for justice By Steve SunderLand Contributing Writer “ sistance fighters who tried against unimaginable odds to keep people alive during the occupation of the Netherlands during the Nazi siege. I had come to meet her as part of my work for the Anne Frank Foundation and with the hopes of having a group of Cincinnati teachers meet with her in Amsterdam the following summer. A group of Cincinnati teachers had come together, along with Frank Harkavy, Fr. Bruggerman and the Cincinnati Interfaith Holocaust Foundation to find funds for the trip to Amsterdam and to one of the concentration camps. As teachers, we wanted to either create a separate curriculum that focused on Anne and/ or find critical materials to incorporate into high school classes about Anne and the Holocaust. I shared with Miep that knowledge about Anne and the Holocaust was minimal in our schools. Indeed, most students and teachers were unaware of the killing of Anne I hate all Austrians and Germans,” Miep Gies said with a bitter but quiet tone. “But, Miep, have you forgotten?” said her dear friend, Cor Suijk, then director of the Anne Frank Foundation. “You are an Austrian.” Miep looked up, distracted from her memory of the last day she saw Anne Frank and her family as they were carted off to the Westerbork transit camp on the way to the concentration camps. Miep gazed into Cor’s eyes and then shifted to look at me. And shrugged. This was my first meeting with Miep in 1987. We met in her comfortable second-story apartment in Amsterdam, the An unidentified visitor of the Anne Frank Museum signs a book of condolences for Miep Gies. Netherlands. With her was her She died at age 100 last month. REUTERS/Michael Kooren. husband, Jan, a retired social worker and former member in the Holocaust was little East,” a Nazi euphemism for I argued with Miep and Jan of the Dutch resistance in known and understood. Fol- concentration camps. Anne’s that so few Dutch Jews were World War II. Surrounding lowing the invasion of the sister, Margot Frank, was saved, so many turned over us in their living room and Netherlands in May 1940, the on such a list. Learning this to the Nazis and so few Jews spilling into the little dining Dutch resistance fought for prompted the Franks to put were left at the end of the room were stacks their plan of hiding war that she really couldn’t of boxes with letinto action. In July say that what she did was not ters from children Miep was uncertain and even uncaring about her place in the world. The 1942, the family en- heroic. Ninety percent of the and teachers from universe had come to learn of her courage in taking care of the Frank family tered the top floor Dutch Jews were taken and around the world of the warehouse killed in the death camps. and the other families hidden in the “attic,” the top floor of the warehouse who had questions and hoped to out“Nonsense, Steve,” she previously owned by Otto Frank. It was only because she immediately about Anne Frank, last the war. quickly replied. “I am a plain scooped up Anne’s diary, after the Nazi’s had left the warehouse, that the her life and death, Some of my person and did what I had to world has had the chance to read and reflect on Anne’s diary. and questions questions for Miep do.” about Miep, too. concerned Anne’s We continued our talk for “I will answer everyone in the Bergen-Belsen concen- a while but finally stopped energy and her dedication many hours, eating a large of these letters somehow,” tration camp. The power of when Hitler threatened to to her diary. “How could she bowl of Dutch chocolates, unshe said. “The children must the words of Anne’s diary, so bomb one of the great cities, keep going, writing so much, til I had asked all of my quesknow about Anne and her di- personal, so intense, so hope- Rotterdam, and kill thou- keeping her hopes alive and tions except one. I knew from ary, and I will tell them.” ful, seemed to communicate sands unless the Dutch capit- not being overcome by the Cor that Miep’s grief continMiep was uncertain and to many a belief that Anne ulated. Following the Dutch fear and anxiety of living in ued and that each August, on even uncaring about her place was indestructible. As teach- surrender, many of the Nazi hiding?” I asked Miep. the anniversary of the Nazi’s in the world. The universe had ers, we worried about sharing laws discriminating against “Anne never lost hope, nev- taking of the Frank family, come to learn of her courage a message that said that Anne Jews went into effect. Jews er gave up, never stopped be- Miep went into a period of in taking care of the Frank had died, and her hopeful- were required to wear a Star ing curious about the move- mourning. I wanted to know family and the other families ness was incorrect. Miep of David whenever they went ment of the Allied troops and how she was doing now that hidden in the “attic,” the top nodded her concern and said into the streets, Jewish busi- whether they were close to Anne’s book had been around floor of the warehouse previ- that many Dutch people ei- nesses were closed, children the Netherlands," she said. the world and that her own ously owned by Otto Frank. ther didn’t care about Anne or were forced from schools and “But Miep, she kept her book was helping to tell the It was only because she im- were unsure about her death. colleges began to spout Anti- hopes alive because of you,” story. mediately scooped up Anne’s Miep’s book about her experi- Semitic doctrines. Cor added, “because you “I continue to be angry,” she diary, after the Nazi's had left ences with Anne had recently Many Jews tried to leave visited every day with food, said. She paused. “I should the warehouse, that the world been issued, and she received but were caught in the web of newspapers and information have gone with Anne and has had the chance to read some letters that were angry Nazi regulations. As the Nazis about what was happening in Otto and Edith. I would have and reflect on Anne’s diary. about her “stirring up old prepared to empty the Neth- the war. You were her hope.” helped them in the camps. I Thanks to the play and wounds.” erlands of Jews and ship them Miep argued that she was was spared because I was an the movie about Anne, many “We all have a lot to re- to concentration camps, they merely a friend of Anne’s fam- Austrian. How stupid. I miss people have a picture of Miep member, a lot to understand set up the Jewish Councils. ily. She insisted she did noth- my best friend, Anne, and I in their mind. Yet, in fairness, and be responsible for, and a These groups, composed of ing unusual and “nothing she shall always miss her.” no picture or play can capture lot to learn,” she said to Cor Dutch Jews, had to come up wouldn't have done for any I knew that I had met a the spirit and soul of Miep, and me. with a list of Jews who were to friend. I was their close friend. great soul. She will not be forJan and every one of the reThe Dutch experience be sent to “work camps in the I had no choice. Did I?” gotten. Have something on your mind? Let us know: 117 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvibes2@yahoo.com �12 TV Review STREETVIBES February 1 - 14, 2010 The Tao of the Clear Channel Bill Cunningham is destroying our brains By david heitFieLd Contributing Writer entists in his pocket all agreeing with him, which led to Springer’s best line of the show: “Yeah, you and Joe McCarthy.” Tiger Woods was another topic. The show was set up like ESPN’s Paret me help you with the facts,” Bill Cunningham lectured don the Interruption, except instead of sports the topics were news, on the pilot episode of The Jerry ’n’ Bill Show. “To be poor in with the truthiness promise that “nothing is off limits.” Cunningham America means you’re probably morbidly obese, you have opined that Tiger Woods’s scandal was also the fault of liberals, spea cell phone, you have big screen TVs, you own your own home, you cifically the Great Society of LBJ, which apparently legislated against might own your own car, and you have charge accounts. morality through Medicare and the Civil Rights acts. Cunningham had “There are poor people but they’re fat. America has fat poor people. his best line here: As he wailed against “a few powerful men (who) can’t Most nations have skinny poor people. We have fat ones. Why? Because keep something in their pants,” he looked at Springer and said, “You we give them too much freebies because of people like you.” might know something about that.” “You” would refer to his co-host, Jerry Springer, and his liberal The show wrapped up with each giving their hopes for the new year. brood. Springer hoped for increased access to health care; Cunningham hoped “There are a lot of wealthy people who are fat,” Springer said. “What for the impeachment of Barack Hussein Obama. is that about?” The problem I “Yeah, but they have with the Tao pay for their own of CC is living with food.” the impact of its I don't much care message among my for Cunningham’s neighbors. Long shtick, but there’s gone are the days no denying his sucof “Better to remain cess and popularquiet and let others ity. Cunningham has think you’re a fool won two Marconi than to open it and Awards, in 2001 and remove all doubt.” 2009, took over Matt Now fools not only Drudge’s old synthink it better to dicated radio show talk, but they also in 2007, is BFF with believe they have an Sean Hannity and intelligent opinion appears on his Fox on matters, parrotNews show. Eric Deing something they ters wrote his biograheard on The Big phy, published a few One or Fox News. months ago. You can’t converse It’s not his politics with people who I dislike, because think “politics” is the man has none. simply hating mythThe late comedian ical liberals and big Bill Hicks once did a gubmint. And neudisturbing riff on his rology shows us that old friend Jay Leno, Jerry Springer arrives at the Daytime Emmy Awards in Hollywood in 2007. no matter your age, where Leno blew his REUTERS/Fred Prouser. if you challenge your brains out during a brain, your brain typically inane intergrows; and if you fail view on The Tonight to do so, your brain Show, “a company withers away. The man to the bitter end.” Cunningham likewise is just a chinless mouth- lack of opportunities for challenging discourse hurts all brains. piece for his Clear Channel overlords, a corporation that probably Then there’s the contempt for the audience factor. Take Cunningbenefited more than any outside of financial institutions via the “Let’s ham’s description of poor people in America – fat, stupid, live for their deregulate everything and watch the shit hit the fan” big screens; he’s describing his audience as he sees theosophy of the past 30 years. it. The part of the Tea Party movement I rather liked So, naturally, the topic of why politics has gotten Take Cunningham’s was some awareness that the Republican Party had so nasty was broached on the show. Springer sugcontemptuously sold them a bill of goods – “privadescription of poor people gested it had something to do with the 24-hour news tization” didn't mean smaller gubmint, but shifting in America – fat, stupid, live cycle. Cunningham, the man who earlier said all poor money from the public to the private sector, among for their big screens; he’s people are fat and happy, blamed liberals. Hollywood other things. But of course their focus is skewed and describing his audience as and Connie Chung, to name two. they’re again set up to be used. The Tea Party Convenhe sees it. The part of the This is the Tao of Clear Channel: Government has Tea Party movement I rather tion in Nashville next month is selling tickets for $560, no role in society except to field a military to protect according to Frank Rich, and offers a jewel-encrusted liked was some awareness copyrights and profit channels; and you should har- that the Republican Party had tea bag for $90. Sarah Palin is reportedly getting paid bor nothing but contempt for people who cannot afcontemptuously sold them a $120,000 to speak. The Tao of Teabagging: All gubmint ford to pay $150, plus a private corporate tax called bill of goods – “privatization” is bad (except the part that tells you when life begins “processing fees,” to watch a live show. didn’t mean smaller gubmint, or whether sodomy is outlawed), and if you can’t be At the beginning of the pilot, reportedly filmed at financially fleeced, you’re useless. but shifting money from the Fox 19 studios and produced by WGN in Chicago, So I’ll go back to my local watering hole, where the public to the private sector, when Cunningham started railing against Barack conversational arc always repeats: Something bad among other things. Hussein Obama, Springer asked him to simply say about Obama; liberals are to blame for everything; “our president.” Cunningham refused. Instead, he aren’t we superior to everyone else for thinking so? asked Springer to call Reagan or either Bush “our president,” which That is followed by debates about whether the new Angus burger at Springer did – explaining that he didn’t like them, but each was still our McDonald’s is better than the Quarter Pounder; why we need more president). “common sense;” the evils of political correctness; why no one makes Cunningham – who frequently goes by “Willie,” and if you likewise music as good as it was when I was in high school. All enlivened by witabbreviate his surname, he becomes “Willie Cunnie,” a name that for- ticisms such as calling a guy a “girl,” old movie or television references, nicates itself – kept the same company line throughout the program. or some variation of “I'm not but you are.” Global warming? A liberal myth, empirically proven by cold weather People’s brains are dying, and it’s in no small part because they Willie in the Midwest in January, designed to seize the American economy Cunnie themselves. and government. Cunningham said he had the names of 10,000 sci- “L Want more Streetvibes? Check out the StreetvibeS blog http://streetvibes.wordpress.com �STREETVIBES February 1 - 14, 2010 13 Vendor Voice Ask A Vendor To the Editor Dear Vendor Riccardo, To the editor: I would like to know if 3CDC tells vendors not to sell Streetvibes on Fountain Square. Also, do you get good sales reception in Westwood/Western Hills and Madisonville/Mt. Washington? 3CDC has a plan for Cincinnati, and it does not include you, the working citizen. Catering to the upper economic classes, this agency is determined to undermine democratic principles of the rights and values of average people. 3CDC is acting as the private contractor at the behest of Cincinnati city government – or lack thereof. We, the people of Cincinnati, take issue and do wish to weigh in, not be run over roughshod by corporate mouthpieces and pirate bankster capitalists. You have sold the square to upper-end businesses and hired security to enforce anti-public use by all citizens. Fountain Square belongs to all of us. Sonny Williams Clifton Dear Reader Sonny Williams, It was very appreciating to hear your question for “Ask a Vendor.” The first part of your question asks if 3CDC prohibits Streetvibes vendors from selling Streetvibes on Fountain Square. I would have to answer no to that. The fact is that Streetvibes vendors are not allowed to sell the paper on private property without permission from the owner or, in this case, certain public property. People can sell things on Fountain Square only if they are licensed or have permits from 3CDC. We can sell on the public sidewalk. To answer the second part of your question, I am sorry to say that sales in Westwood/Western Hills and Madisonville/Mt. Washington are perhaps not as great as it could be. Of our 46 vendors, few if any sell in those areas. I do believe that our sales could/would be better if vendors established themselves in these neighborhoods, but there are no other reasons for fewer sales in these neighborhoods. Riccardo Taylor Vendor Editor’s note: Cincinnati City Council passed ordinances banning sales of items on Fountain Square without a permit from the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC). This includes Streetvibes. To submit a question to “Ask a Vendor,” write to streetvibes2@yahoo.com or Streetvibes, 117 E. 12th St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. Gonzo Rob Meehan Clifton Go Ahead: Ask a Vendor Invitation to a dialogue with our readers Streetvibes vendors see a lot that you might not. For example, some can describe what goes on in an abandoned building at night when they sleep there. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to stand on a street corner selling newspapers? That’s hardly a common occupation anymore. How much money do Streetvibes vendors make – and what do they do with it? Do they have other jobs? If you have questions, some of our vendors would like to answer them. “Go Ahead: Ask a Vendor” will be an occasional feature, with questions submitted by readers and answered by Streetvibes vendors. You may direct your question to a specific vendor or we’ll invite one to respond. Only include your name if you want to. Send questions to streetvibes2@yahoo.com Or to Streetvibes, 117 E. 12th St. Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. Go ahead. Ask. Are you interested in helping with Streetvibes? Are you a proofreader, writer, poet, artist or photographer? If so, contact Greg Flannery 513.421.7803 x 12 or email streetvibes2@yahoo.com �14 STREETVIBES February 1 - 14, 2010 Local News 3CDC Bans Tenants For a Better World 2010 Leeper still won’t talk By roB GoeLLer Staff Writer S ince the purchase of the Metropole Apartments in November 2009 by the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC), Steve Leeper, president of 3CDC, and Adam Gelter, project manager, have refused to meet with the Metropole Tenants Association. This continued Jan. 19 when 3CDC held a meeting at Music Hall with the purpose of updating the community about its projects. At 7:45 a.m. members of the Metropole Tenants Association arrived outside Music Hall with members of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless and other housing advocates. During the demonstration, tenants demanded justice, declaring, “Homes Not Hotels” and “Renovation, not Relocation.” The tenants association demanded that two delegates be allowed to attend the 3CDC meeting. At 8:15 a.m., 3CDC spokeswoman Kelly Leon emerged from Music Hall and spoke with Josh Spring, executive director of the Homeless Coalition. Leon told Spring that a single member of the coalition could go into the meeting, but no Metropole tenants would be allowed to attend. The Homeless Coalition said that it would not attend unless Metropole tenants could attend. Tenants and supporters yelled, “You send police to our meetings – why can’t we come to yours?” Image by Blair Gibeau. Poems and Drawings on Peace and Justice by Greater Cincinnati Artists, edited and curated by Saad Ghosn. Kennedy Heights Arts Center 6546 Montgomery Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45213 513-631-4278 or www.kennedyarts.org January 16 - February 27, 2010 Opening Reception: Sat, January 16, 6-8pm Metropole tenants demonstrated outside Music Hall while 3CDC held a meeting to decide the fate of their homes without tenant input. Photo by Amy Silver. Panel Discussion: Art as a Vehicle for Change facilitated by Jeff Hillard with Mary Pierce Brosmer, Greg Flannery and Jimi Jones February 27, 4-6pm; closing reception at 6pm Gallery Hours: Monday-Friday 10am - 5pm Saturdays 10am - 4 pm 1128 Walnut St Pizza by the Slice Tues and Thurs Buffet($7.00)-11AM-2PM Wed-Thur-Fri-Sat 9PM-3AM become a Fan of Streetvibes on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/streetvibescincinnati �STREETVIBES February 1 - 14, 2010 15 Resources Need Help or Want to Help? Shelter: Women and Children Central Access Point Cincinnati Union Bethel 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Bethany House 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Salvation Army 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter Churches Active in Northside 381-SAFE 768-6907 557-2873 681-2365 1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 3600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 St. Vincent de Paul 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Charlie’s 3/4 House 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 DIC Live In Program Prospect House 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Starting Over 661-4620 Crossroad Health Center 241-1064 Health Resource Center Homeless Mobile Health Van McMicken Dental Clinic 562-8841 784-1853 721-0643 921-1613 961-2256 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 961-4080 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John 961-4663 First Step Home 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Center Independent Living Options Emmanuel Community Center 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 351-0422 381-6672 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 AA Hotline CCAT Drop Inn Center 721-0643 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 471-1100 221-3350 Hamilton County ADAS Board Recovery Health Access Center Sober Living Talbert House 946-4888 281-7422 681-0324 641-4300 Hamilton/Middletown 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 Northern Kentucky 721-4700 421-7803 ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Housing: CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tender Mercies 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House Dana Transitional Bridge Services Volunteers of America 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 721-8666 961-4555 751-0643 381-1954 Food/Clothing Lord’s Pantry OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 621-5300 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 621-6364 Advocacy Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center Faces Without Places Stop AIDS 579-8547 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 421-2437 St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 381-0111 771-4800 751-0600 721-4811 351-7921 631-1114 211 977-5541 863-3184 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 859-491-8303 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Health Center for Respite Care 535-2719 People Working Cooperatively The Caring Place United Way Women Helping Women 241-2600 241-2563 621-5514 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart Goodwill industries Healing Connections Mary Magdalen House Treatment: Both 558-8888 981-5800 Other Resources 214 E. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Treatment: Women 357-4602 352-2902 352-6363 458-6670 977-4489 NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach Peaslee Neighborhood Center Shelter: Both Anthony House (Youth) 381-2247 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 872-9259 241-5525 591-2246 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 Treatment: Men Justice Watch 241-0490 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Mt. Airy Shelter FreeStore/FoodBank 762-5660 Shelter: Men City Gospel Mission 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 621-1868 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 859-491-3335 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 A Call to Greater Cincinnati Poets aFFordaBLe rateS etvibes? tre nS rested in Advert Inte isin gi many SizeS (full page, 1/2 page, 1/4 page, 1/8 page) BLack & White and coLor avaiLaBLe diScountS For nonProFitS Contact Lynne at 513-421-7803 ext. 11 or lynneausman@cincihomeless.org for more information. Write for ‘For a Better World 2010’ 1 It’s time to get your verse on. SOS Art, the annual exhibit of art on themes of peace and justice, publishes a collection of poetry each year. Saad Ghosn, who organizes SOS Art and writes the “Artists as Activists” column for Streetvibes, is now collecting submissions for For a Better World 2010, the seventh edition to date. Any poet from or connected to Greater Cincinnati may submit up to three poems related to themes of peace and justice. All submissions will be considered. The editors will be looking for quality, inclusiveness and appropriateness to the themes of peace and justice. If space becomes limited, priority will go to poets not published in previous books. The poems selected for publication will be illustrated in black and white by Greater Cincinnati artists. Poets included in the book will be invited to read their poems at SOS Art 2010. For a Better World 2010 will be released in May 2010. The deadline for submissions is Feb. 15, 2010. Send submissions as “Word” attachments or in full text By e-mail to saad.ghosn@uc.edu or On a CD to Saad Ghosn, 216 Erkenbrecher Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45229. �16 Artists as Activists STREETVIBES February 1 - 14, 2010 Lifetime of Art and Moral Outrage Dorothy Fraembs: Illustrating injustice for decades “Drawing is such a part of my life that I can hardly speak without a pen in my hand,” says Dorothy Fraembs. “When I make lists, I often use little sketches instead of words.” Fraembs is an illustrator and visual artist. Her early memories with art are in the kitchen watching her mother artistically cooking and setting up a beautiful table. Her own introduction to art was in kindergarten and succeeding years when she received encouragement for her drawing skills in school clubs, Girl Scouts and at home. World War II was the focus of her high school years, 1942-1946, and a major influence of her life. At a high school club conference, she heard a teenage Japanese girl tell of her internment at a post-Pearl Harbor camp, describing the prejudice and hardship she and her family endured. That ignited her abhorrence of injustice in any form. Fraembs studied to become an illustrator and worked as such in a Chicago advertising agency, then in Urbana, Ill., for Our Wonderful World, a young people’s encyclopedia, then at General Electric in Cincinnati, where she relocated with her husband. In 1959, with the turmoil in China, Chinese fleeing commuDorothy Fraembs. Photo by Bill Howes. nism and children being abandoned, she and her husband adopted their son – and a year later their daughter – from Hong Kong. Fraembs quit her job and became a stay-at-home mother. Her young black kid murdered for whistling at a white woman; civil rights parenting years coincided with the Civil Rights Movement and the workers killed for their beliefs; and activists slaughtered for helping Vietnam War and their with voter registration in the South. At the bottom of the board was associated injustice and attached a page from the Bible, splattered with blood, and an enlargviolence. The events of ing lens in front of it to emphasize its message, “What you have done these tumultuous years, to the least of these, my brethren, so also you have done to me” – a in addition to the experi- reminder of the real teachings of Christ. The work also included the ences of her children, in- figure of a rat and a crumbled can, references to the poor neighboras spired her to start making hoods where these victims would most likely be remembered and social-commentary as- mourned. War incorporated plastic figures of soldiers, sculpted Vietsemblages. namese people and other elements of their life going through a meat By Saad GhoSn “I had little free time,” grinder, being smashed and destroyed. It emphasized the annihilaContributing Writer she says, “but whenever I tion of life caused by war. could, I would steal some “That’s the way it is,” a viewer commented. “ People don’t want to moments and go to my face the reality of war, and we want to believe that good guys always basement studio to paint, draw and work on my assemblages. I was win and innocents don’t get hurt.” God’s Favorite Child was trigfeeling pain and frustration that I needed to express, and art was my gered by the verbal discrimination Fraembs’s kids experienced due outlet.” In the 1960s and early ’70s, Fraembs created many statement to their Asian origin, also by the prevailing racism of the period. The pieces. Who Cares was in response to the many killings of innocent front showed grey shadows looking all alike against a translucent people, motivated by racism and discrimination. It consisted of a wall background and the question, “Which one is God’s favorite child?” on which were written names of many victims such as Emmett Till, the The other side included sculpted clay figures of children of different colors standing side by side with Fraembs’ answer: “All the children God shaped and styled.” She also produced this theme in smaller, silk-screened versions. Thoughts about the terrible happenings of the time kept coming fast, so she began a weekly human-relations cartoon panel that appeared in the Rochester, New York, Times-Union and the Philadelphia Inquirer. The drawing and text panels consisted of social commentaries presented under the heading, “My Mother Told Me...” An example of the content: “My mother told me with what we do and what we say, each of us makes the world the way it is today.” These later were compiled and printed as booklets. In 1973, Fraembs’ husband suddenly died of a massive heart attack. Needing to financially support her children, she taught commercial art at a vocational school for seven and a half years, an experience she treasures. She continued doing her panels. After retiring from teaching, she started a new series, based on family experiences, dealing with the absence of loved ones. The booklets she published included When My Father Died, When My Mother Died and When My Sister Died. She intended them as conversation starters between grieving adults and children to foster sharing and understanding of thoughts they might not otherwise express to each other. In 1996 her son, a police officer, was killed in the line of duty. Fraembs and her daughter again found themselves coping with untimely death. Fraembs’ commentaries also have been channeled through yearly Christmas cards in which she conveys her thoughts and her hopes for the New Year. They have dealt, for instance, with the Oklahoma City bombing, the Berlin wall, 9/11, oil and the environment and famine in Africa. They are not traditional but there are people who collect them. In the past few years she has also been a regular participant in SOS Art, exhibiting some of her old assemblages and new ones made especially for the occasion. At 81, Fraembs intends to continue sharing her values, beliefs and wisdom through her art; she would like her social commentaries to be used as thought-provoking discussion starters in places such as the Underground Railroad Freedom Center. “My mother wanted me to become a nurse. My husband thought I would have been a good God’s Favorite Child, showing front and back, assemblage by Dorothy engineer,” she says. “I cannot, however, imagine anything better than Fraembs. Photo by Bill Howes. communicating with people through art or teaching.” A rtists ctivists Artists as Activists is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati artists who use art as a vehicle for change. Saad Ghosn is the founder of SOS Art. Ghosn can be contacted at saad.ghosn@uc.edu. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2010 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource February 1-14, 2010 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Demanding Justice for Immigrants Homecoming of Reggie Williams Pg 2: Street Wise Pg 3: Eight Minutes with a Bench Warmer and Cheerleader Pg 4: Homecoming of Reggie Williams Continued Pg 5: Homecoming of Reggie Williams Continued Pg 6: End of the NFL Academic Freedom Fighter Pg 7: The 2010 Census Pg 8: Veggie Stir-Fry Pg 9: Demanding Justice for Immigrants Bridging the Religious Gap Pg 10: A Rising Star, A Laid Back Starr Words Can Change Everything Pg 11: Remembering Miep Gies Pg 12: The Tao of the Clear Channel Pg 13: Ask a Vendor To the Editor Pg 14: 3CDC Bans Tenants Pg 15: Resources Pg 16: Lifetime of Art and Moral Outrage Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource February 1-14, 2010 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Gregory Flannery Lynne Ausman Jeni Jenkins Michelle Dillingham Samantha Groark Margo Pierce Paul Kopp Jeremy Flannery Michael Henson David Heitfield Kelissa Hieber Jeni Jenkins Stephanie Dunlap Saad Ghosn Lew Moores Larry Gross Eli Braun Aimie Willhoite Anthony Williams Bill Haigh Clarissa Peppers Jennifer Blalock Lynn Baker Jeremy Flannery Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF 3CDC Aimie Willhoite Anthony Williams arts Bill Cunningham Bill Haigh Census Christians Clarissa Peppers David Heitfield Dorothy Fraembs Eli Braun Gregory Flannery Immigrants Injustices Iran Jeni Jenkins Jennifer Blalock Jeremy Flannery Kelissa Hieber Larry Gross Lew Moores Lynn Baker Lynne Ausman Margo Pierce Michael Henson Michelle Dillingham Miep Gies Moral Muslims NFL Paul Kopp Reggie Williams Religion Saad Ghosn Samantha Groark Stephanie Dunlap