Deep cuts push Californians to edge

[bemildred]

They call it Tortilla Flats - a haphazard cluster of tents and tarps sprawling across a sidewalk and a vacant lot smack in the middle of Fresno, a city of 500,000 in California's Central valley.

The tent city, reminiscent of the Depression-era "Hoovervilles" depicted by author John Steinbeck in his classic novel The Grapes of Wrath, is home to a shifting population of about 70 homeless people.

That's where I met a couple named Kerry and John. They asked me not to use their last names. They live in a cramped two-person tent strewn with blankets and clothes. Both are native to the Valley.

And both are now homeless for the first time in their lives.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/10/20091019205530422375.html

[OffWithTheirHeads]

1. What a country! Welcome to the third world. USA, USA!

[KamaAina]

2. Interesting that we have to read about this on Al Jazeera

you'd think our own M$M would find some time to report this in between faux balloon boys and what not. :eyes:

[Nikki Stone1]

4. I know. Al Jazeera is becoming a necessary domestic news source.

Who knew!

[00barcode]

3. Fresno

I lived in Visalia, which is a little bit south of Fresno, and my grand parents had immigrated during the WWII by the Bracero program. A major issue now a days with our culture and society is education. Students don't feel the need to education themselves. Our state is falling behind and the number of distance education students is increasing significantly, as well the completion rates of D.E are doping. The fundamental value of eduction needs to be reinforced. My prediction, the concentration of tortilla flats will increase even drastically in the next 5 years as well high school drop out rates will increases. Fresno does got some good schools but hopefully they keep the students on the right track or the flats they go...

[mackerel]

5. I've been told it's called Taco City

http://www.hcn.org/articles/tent-city

[Le Taz Hot]

6. Tent cities are springing up all over California as

well as the country, but, by all means, ONLY highlight Fresno's. More geographical bigotry.

In case you're interested (although it just might take the fun out of your Fresno bashing):

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=tent+cities+%2Bcalifornia&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=WbIfS_b5AoK0sgPDxa3_CQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBAQqwQwAA#q=tent+cities+%2Bcalifornia&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=WbIfS_b5AoK0sgPDxa3_CQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBAQqwQwAA&qvid=tent+cities+%2Bcalifornia&vid=-8185424778088916271

[00barcode]

7. lol

Ya, are right about that one