Dealing with possessions of homeless a big problem for cities, By Maria L. La Ganga and Alexandra Zavis, July 18, 2012, Los Angeles Times: “Everything in the warehouse mattered, at some point, to someone. A ceramic urn sprouting peacock feathers. A tool chest held together with duct tape. An oak table. A purple bike. Separated out from piles of trash during homeless encampment sweeps, the items were bagged, tagged and inventoried. In the seven weeks since San Jose started photographing and storing such belongings, no one has come to claim them. The city, faced with the specter of costly litigation, has embarked upon a difficult experiment — one that is playing out across California as fiscally strapped cities struggle to balance the health and safety of the general public with the property rights of growing ranks of homeless people. . .”
Day: July 19, 2012
Poverty and Child Asthma Rates – New York City
Poor children drive city’s asthma rate, By Sumathi Reddy and Jie Jenny Zou, July 17, 2012, Wall Street Journal: “One in eight New York City children has been diagnosed with asthma, with poor children nearly twice as likely to suffer from the respiratory disease, according to a report to be posted by the city health officials on Wednesday. The report was based on a 2009 survey and is the first time the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has estimated the number of children with asthma. The survey of parents found that 177,000 children 12 years and younger-or 13% of children in that age group-had received an asthma diagnosis at some point in their lives…”
State Voter ID Laws
- Study finds costs associated with voter IDs, By Krissah Thompson, July 17, 2012, Washington Post: “New laws in 10 states requiring voters to show IDs could present serious challenges to voters without financial resources and transportation, according to a report released Wednesday. The study by the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, which opposes the new laws, found several obstacles that could keep voters from being able to cast ballots, including limited access to offices that issue the IDs required under the new measures…”
- Study: Many could face obstacles in voter ID laws, By Pam Fessler, July 18, 2012, National Public Radio: “A new report by the Brennan Center for Justice finds that more than 10 million potential voters in states that require photo ID at the polls live more than 10 miles from offices that issue such ID. Nearly 500,000 of these voters don’t have access to a car or other vehicle. Many of these people presumably already have a photo ID, but for those who don’t, the new laws pose a special challenge, according to the Brennan center. The center, which advocates for wider citizen participation in government, opposes many of these new voter ID laws. The report, which details the obstacles to getting government-issued photo ID, is the latest volley in the battle over the impact of new state voting laws…”