Homeless for the holidays
Here are the headlines to ponder as you make tamales and bake cookies.
Before we dig in, a quick note to procrastinators: If you're not done shopping, here's a list of stores open the night of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Spoiler alert: It's slim pickings.
It's Wendy Leung, filling in for Arlene Martinez.
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Holiday cheer in an East Palo Alto parking lot
In the Bay Area, where the housing crisis is particularly stark, the homeless have found a safe place to park their homes on wheels. They've even found Christmas cheer in the form of presents, a decorated tree and donuts.
The Rev. Paul Bains, founder of Project WeHOPE, worked with East Palo Alto city officials to establish the RV lot.
“People hear ‘homeless’ and immediately think ‘drugs and alcohol problems,’” said Bains. "That’s not what is going on. Almost all of these people were simply forced out due to rents that suddenly go up 30% or more. They have jobs, more than one. They just want a chance to live like the rest of us.”
This time of the year is especially hard for families who rely on school meals to make ends meet. A recent study out of UCLA found that across the state, more than 200,000 students — 3.3% of the student population — are experiencing homelessness. Santa Barbara ranks highest, with 12% of its students reporting living conditions that qualify as homeless under the McKinney Vento Act.
California is home to a quarter of the nation’s 600,000 homeless people, and the state's surge has pushed up the national rate.
In today's animal news
We introduced you to a horse named One Ear yesterday. Today, meet Zeke.
A 101-year-old Indian Wells woman has a special relationship with her pet. Thella Muncy would give toys to Zeke and he would bury them in the ground. When she used to come home from work, Zeke would run up to meet her. Zeke, who's about to turn 33, is a donkey.
What we're eating and drinking
Even if you don't have a Black Bear Diner in your neighborhood, you've probably seen them or eaten at one on road trips. The restaurant chain has doubled the number of its locations in the past four years. As the cabin-theme diner celebrates 25 years in business, read more about their expansion plans. (This story is for subscribers of the Redding Record Searchlight. Consider supporting local journalism with a subscription today.)
Meanwhile, some Bay Area coffee shops are asking customers to BYOM. To eliminate paper and plastic cups, the cafes want you to bring your own mug. Will it become a trend?
If you're someone who passes on the eggnog and reaches for a coquito, you're in luck. L.A. Taco has found a "place" to get this authentic Puerto Rican drink.
Wildfire insurance crisis 'years in the making'
After consecutive years of wildfires, things don't look good for some California homeowners who want to renew their insurance. Data from the California Department of Insurance shows 33,000 policies were not renewed by insurers in zip codes affected by the major wildfires.
So what are lawmakers doing about it?
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said this wildfire insurance crisis has been years in the making, but it's an emergency we must deal with now.
Detention beds increase with new ICE contracts
New U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement contracts with the GEO Group, worth nearly $4 billion, include three facilities in McFarland and Adelanto that were not previously used for immigration detention.
The revelation that ICE is adding new private detention center beds in the Golden State comes just over a week before a new state law takes effect, phasing out the use of private, for-profit prisons and detention centers.
The news also escalates a brewing fight between California leaders and federal immigration officials. California’s congressional delegation, state leaders and immigration advocates have slammed ICE for potentially violating federal procurement law in an attempt to lock in long-term contracts for the state’s existing private detention centers before AB 32 takes effect on Jan. 1.
Keeping tradition alive despite the haters
Las Posadas ends tonight and in north Salinas, residents are keeping this Mexican holiday tradition alive even though fewer young people are participating. Some neighborhoods have even started petitions banning them.
Every family has their own holiday tradition. Do pepperoni pizzas and watching "The Twilight Zone" sound festive? Sure, I mean, why not?
And finally, still dreaming of a white Christmas? Yeah, California's got that.
In California is a roundup of news compiled from across USA TODAY Network newsrooms. Also contributing: Associated Press and L.A. Taco
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Homeless for the holidays
