California's housing crisis is not news. This week in covering that issue, there are individuals personally affected who brought this issue to the forefront again sharing their own personal struggles. Nichole Norris who has written about her journey on Redheaded Blackbelt.
How many of the self absorbed who spew their bile anonymously on Lost Coast Outpost, RHBB and other online forums about the environment or property rights are landlords with dilapidated, out of code, overgrown bushes and trees protuding sidewalk living the life and supporting their leech progeny on government funds for housing?
Gavin Newsom's office declined an interview with Alexei Koseff from CalMatters who called out Gavin on his failure to fix the homeless problem in California. The points made are the same I and many others have made for years. What makes this noteworthy is that CalMatters did this before a crucial election in a state controlled by Democrats. That is how all reporting should be and all the time. Non partisan and holding those in power accountable. Gavin also ignored former talk show host James Corden in a live interview about questions that were invonvenient.
For years I have made points about what needs to change to house people on this blog. Glad CalMatters finally woke up to publish what several of us already know are some of the issues in California.
On September 12, I sent a letter to Rob Bonta, Mike McGuire, Jared Huffman, City of Eureka and others in California. None of these elected Democrat officials responded.
I will include a few excerpts from that letter below. It is raw. It was not written to be shared on the blog. I have readers and others who support me who have been patient and understanding as I try and catch up with an ever increasing workload. Some who know what I have been through. Others don't.
I have not included certain parts in the excerpts below because even though I have been open and personal about my life and struggles on this blog, this letter was not written for a future news post. I am entitled to some privacy and it was written as a citizen of this country and resident of this state to my elected officials. I knew none of them would respond.
I know who my friends are in Humboldt. I know which acquaintances and readers actually care and unfortunately, even after this post, I know the same people who have consistently been there for me for the past 20 years and who reach out without being asked will be the only ones to do so and the only ones to support and do it without wanting anything in return.
My main reason for doing this post is that I started out as a journalist in 1988, wrote in the mainstream format for publications all over this country, took a break for a long time until I started this blog which is a new and future format for today's society. I saw what is accepted today as new and evolving media years ago. Mainstream media has always been controlled but now it is bought, owned and soulless. Not once have the paid tools who own and work for the preferred media by the useless fools in power and with money and bitter decade old insiders stood up for others in the press. They didn't for Rio Dell Times and they never have for me.
I have never faced the financial and personal retaliation for doing my job or been used and betrayed as I have in Humboldt. It isn't just me. The nastiness and expectations some of you in Humboldt have towards people who bring you news is inexcusable. The expectations you have of people who bring you information while not giving a damn about what they go through and draining us is inexcusable. You forget we are human beings.Some of us report and live under circumstances which most of you could not handle for a day; let alone years.
That is because you are miserable, unhappy, frustrated and instead of doing something about it, you drag down others who remain positive and strong despite adversity. Fortunately there are also decent people in Humboldt.
If you don't want to read the excerpts I have shared, just read this and keep in mind the challenges and personal struggles I finally shared on this blog in the last few years after being silent for 20 years where from the moment I came here, I was thrown a curveball and it was not any fault of mine. I gave back to this community over & over again, picked myself up countless times.
"...impacted others in this community who are afraid, burnout and discarded by society and will not speak up because they feel it will make no difference. This is based on 20 years of living in Humbolt which if you believe in hell, is hell on earth. For 10 years, I have been the voice for the afraid, the voiceless, even the wealthy and connected who are cowards but compliment me on my reporting."
Excerpts of my September 12 letter:
"I apologize for the length of the letter but after what I have been through for 20 years since I moved to Humboldt and especially since October 2019, the least you can do is give me a few minutes of your time. I am here because on every level, every agency, every elected official, every system has failed me. "
"You all are political beings. You can use this letter to be heroes and improve lives or you can ignore it like the Governor's office has when I have contacted them, most recently months ago about the interim application of Judge elect April Van Dyke. Gavin has never been to Eureka except once in the 20 years I have lived here and that was for a photo op. Jared Huffman and Mike McGuire only come here for photo ops for climate change or to pose with the tribe. The complete failure of Cal Poly Humboldt to make enrollment two years in a row is just an example of wasted leadership and funds. Nothing has been done while students are homeless."
"There is a whole lot of investigative reporting that should be done why Humboldt and California only funds ... and the politics involved but housing drug addicts vs those who have a chance does not help the social and political machine that funds and profits off the homeless. Maybe CAL Matters can do another useless article, Gavin and CA legislators can ignore."
"My experience is what many suffer. In a small county, non profits, developers, and entire systems are profiting off homelessness and housing and you don't care. This letter is 20 years of frustration and I wish I could focus on the positive. "
"UPLIFT Eureka and the City of Eureka do good work despite the challenges they face and the convoluted mess created by decades of the same failed leadership in Humboldt, the same entrenched people and petty insecure tyrants like Rob Arkley and Eureka Manager Miles Slattery... There are 5 lawsuits wasting time, holding up housing development because of two mini Trump egos. "
"I am working without the basic tools to survive or report on a cell phone, living day to day... fending off attacks, innundated with messages from people about the local tribes, the courts and issues because no one listens, the rest of the local media is a joke like MSM and those paid and elected don't do their jobs. These are not my problems to solve. I do what I can to shine a light because I care and because I have to stand up for me."
Why should I not go to the national media contacts who have contacted me previously and are interested, especially at election time to report on CA failures, especially on homeless?
"Why shouldnt I go to Rob Arkley or others with more resources, time and money with the information I have including people who have an interest in exposing Kreis, Rex? Rob, his family and others with local and national connections will answer and respond to me if I texted or emailed them right now. They know my value. Do I want to do that? I don't. I could. But that is not who I am or how I operate."
I ended the letter saying I am an independent voter who has briefly been both Republican and Democrat.
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