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Sunday, August 2

This Is A Sad Comment On the State of Affairs Here In the United States...

All the places HitchBOT went before it got here with no problem; it was in the United States for all of two weeks and it has been completely destroyed! What kind of people do we have here in this country???


From NBC News, U.S. News:

HitchBOT, Hitchhiking Robot, Meets Demise in Philadelphia After Two Weeks in U.S.

by 

Philadelphia may be the City of Brotherly Love — but that compassion apparently does not include robots.
The child-sized robot, hitchBOT, had hitchhiked across Canada and parts of Europe, was damaged beyond repair in Philadelphia, according to its creators.
HitchBOT and Family
The robot had set out to travel cross-country. It was immobile on its own, relying on the kindness of strangers. Those who picked it up often passed it to other travelers or left it where others might notice it.
From Tweet by @HitchBOT

It began its American odyssey in Marblehead, 
Massachusetts, on July 17. It made it to the Boston 
area and even took in a Red Sox game.


@HitchBOT with @AirCanada




                                 But after just two weeks in America, hitchBOT was "vandalized" in Philadelphia on Friday night, according to a statement from the team monitoring the robot's travels.

The creators were sent an image of the vandalized robot Saturday but could not track its location because its battery was dead, according to The Associated Press.
"Sometimes bad things happen to good robots," the statement said.
The robot was designed to be a talking travel companion. It could throw out random factoids.
"We want to see what people do with this kind of technology when we leave it up to them," Frauke Zeller, one of the creators and an assistant professor in professional communication at Toronto's Ryerson University, told the AP. "It's an art project in the wild — it invites people to participate."
The robot, wearing yellow wellies, attended a wedding in Germany, had its portrait painted in the Netherlands and was making big plans for its cross-country tour of the U.S., including taking in some jazz in New Orleans and snapping a selfie with the Hollywood sign.
From Tweet by ryan sokolowski @sokmelousy

The creators of the robot did not say whether the machine would try to complete its bucket list in the U.S., but promised that they would keep the project alive.
"We know that many of hitchBOT's fans will be disappointed, but we want them to be assured that this great experiment is not over," they said in a statement.

Saturday, July 18

A School Employee Uses Profanity Directed Toward A Student; Why Is She Not Fired?

     This story unfortunately is not different or new anymore. More and more often it is happening, or perhaps it's just that with the new technologies we are able to hear about the incidents in other parts of the world. Either way, it's happening way more than it should, and way more people are not being punished. Do the powers that be not realize the danger, the irreparable harm that is being done to these children? Or is it perhaps that those who should be punishing the offenders in reality agree with them? That's why the police don't get charged, and that's why high school teachers and coaches don't get fired....

Texas High School Coach Called Black Student Player’s Hair ‘Nappy and Nasty’: Report
   JULY 14 2015 8:23 AM

Brenda Jacobson
     Softball coach Brenda Jacobson reportedly also told a black student player, “The sun is more attracted to you because you are black.”
A Texas family is questioning the lack of serious punishment after a high school softball coach reportedly made several racial remarks about a black student player, Raw Story reports.
According to the report, over the weekend, dozens of people rallied in support of the Richland High School’s mascot name, “the Rebels,” which is a nod to the Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War.
The protest was staged days after local newspaper the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that high school softball coach Brenda Jacobson was reprimanded by the school’s principal, Carla Rix, for possibly making “inappropriate comments to students based on race or skin color.” Rix ordered Jacobson to “adhere to professional communication” and not to “make references to any person regarding race or skin color,” the news site notes.
However, the coach was not suspended but was instead put on administrative leave for less than a day.
According to the Star-Telegram, the letter detailed that Jacobson was accused of saying that a black player’s hair was “nappy and nasty,” saying that a black player wouldn’t perform a drill “because there is water on the ground and black people don’t like water,” and quipping, “See, everyone is white on the inside,” after a player cut her leg while sliding to a base.
According to WFAA 8, Kenzie Wilson, who is black, and her father, Kenneth, were among the first to raise concerns about Jacobson before the fallout. Some of the alleged racially charged comments were directed toward Kenzie.
“I felt like it was enough and I shouldn’t be treated like that anymore,” the high school junior told WFAA 8.
“There is no way you say what you did to my daughter with witnesses, and you keep your job,” her father added, voicing his concern as to why Jacobson was not suspended or even fired. The Wilsons have since reportedly moved out of the district.
Jacobson, for her part, denies making the comments.


Thursday, July 2

It's Always the Children Who Suffer the Most...

        It seems that the people/organizations that should cherish children the most are the ones who are the most insensitive and unfeeling. A school full of educators, people who have sworn to care for children and protect them, especially educators in a school system sponsored by a church, should be aware of the effects their actions have on a child; they should be more caring of how what they say and do can effect children than on enforcing antiquated, unintelligent, and downright silly policies that have nothing to do with a child's ability to get an education.

So what is happening with poor Jalyn now? What will happen to him in the future, knowing that he was put out of school because of his haircut, and by extension, his race? It seems like we've gone three steps forward and two steps back in the fight to do away with racism.

Mom Takes Action After Catholic School Dismisses Kindergarten Son for Haircut

Posted: 
  



Mariana Broussard says Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Belmont, Calif., is discriminatory and culturally unaware.Jalyn Broussard went to kindergarten one day, proudly sporting a new hairstyle. But his modern fade quickly raised eyebrows among administrators at his Belmont, Calif., Catholic school. Officials called the 5-year-old’s mother to pick him up because his haircut violated the school’s standards. She was outraged. 
The school and Jalyn’s family reached a stalemate. According to the San Jose Mercury News, the family filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights last week, accusing Immaculate Heart of Mary School of discriminating against their African-American child.
Mariana Broussard, Jalyn’s mother, said in the complaint that the principal, Teri Grosey, told her that Jalyn’s haircut was distracting and violates the school’s hairstyle policy, according to the Mercury News.
Broussard said Jalyn felt embarrassed and unfairly singled out. “He knew exactly what it was about—because of how his hair as an African-American looked,” she added, according to the newspaper.
In her discussions with school officials, Broussard said she showed the principal a photo of talk show host and former NFL star Michael Strahan, who has the same haircut. She also noted the difference between a “modern fade” and the “faux hawk” cut that the school bans. Furthermore, Broussard said, she pointed out students of other ethnicities at the school wearing the same hairstyle as Jalyn’s.
Grosey did not respond to phone calls from the Mercury News. And the Archdiocese of San Francisco declined to comment because it had not read the complaint. However, a spokesman told the newspaper, “School policy on hairstyles is very explicit and clear. Parents acknowledge and accept that policy.”
Broussard seeks about $16,000 for tuition reimbursement for Jalyn and his brother, who was a second-grader at the school. She also wants the staff and administrators to have cultural and sensitivity training. Her sons now attend public school, where she says there’s more cultural awareness, the Mercury News reports.
Read more at the San Jose Mercury News

Saturday, May 2

Is A Time Coming When Racism Won't Mean Black vs White?

Have you ever noticed the bumper sticker that HRC puts out, the blue square with yellow bars running through it? It looks like this:
HRC Equality Sticker

 A couple of years ago I started seeing this:
'Thin Blue Line' Sticker
It's called "the thin blue line", and supposedly it means support for the police department from those related to it or friends of it. Actually, based on what I've seen and heard (and this is totally my opinion!) it is also being used as a means of identifying themselves to each other, in order to curry a favor, or to receive 'professional courtesy' ...

They took a symbol that for YEARS has meant Equal Rights for Everyone, and turned it into a symbol for their systematic disregard for the law, (getting other officers to turn a blind eye when they're speeding, driving drunk, or worse) as well as a symbol of the "blue wall" that investigators run into when they try to get the truth about one officer from another. Cops don't tell on other cops, regardless of the cop's crime...

So, what does this bumper sticker have to do with the color of racism you may ask? Only this:  the cheerful colors of the HRC emblem have been turned into something dark and menacing, just as the meaning of the bright blue of a policeman's uniform has undergone a transition from "the policeman is your friend' to "the cop will shoot you dead".

 In recent times we've begun to see that racism has undergone a similar change. Instead of the centuries-old picture of black against white, we're now seeing a pattern of officers against citizens, and it's mainly against black citizens. In my opinion it's been going on for quite a while, it's just that we are only now seeing how brutal and widespread it really is, thanks to cell phone cameras and social media. There have always been cases of young black men dying suspiciously in police custody, or even before they were in custody, but people were afraid to speak out before. Now they can back up what they say with video proof, and they can even do it anonymously, so now we hear about all the cases that had previously been hidden behind that blue wall. 

We're heading for a time when racial prejudice will be a lot lower on the list of society's issues; IMO it will never be eradicated completely, because there will always be one group that hates another. If something isn't done soon though, IMO homelessness, AIDS, cancer and a lot of other 'hot button topics' of today will be eclipsed by the terror squad the police department is becoming. They will have more power than the old Mafia families, and will be just as ruthless (if not more, since they are supposed to be the law!). 

The world, it is a-changin....

Wednesday, March 4

Is That REALLY What They Discovered, Or Is This An Attempt To Placate the Public?

 From The Root:

DOJ Findings Accuse Ferguson Police of Pattern of Racial Bias


Finally the Department of Justice has completed its investigation, and are going to release their findings; do they honestly see what so many of us have known for years? Or is this an attempt to smooth things over with the angry Ferguson residents after the Grand Jury came back with the decision not to indict Darren Wilson?

During an extensive review that included hundreds of interviews and more than 35,000 pages of police records, Justice officials find a huge discrepancy in treatment toward Ferguson, Mo.’s black population.   
Police advance through a cloud of tear gas toward demonstrators protesting the killing of teenager Michael Brown Aug. 17, 2014, in Ferguson, Mo.  Scott Olson/Getty Images

The Department of Justice is preparing to release findings this week alleging that the Ferguson, Mo., Police Department practiced routine racial bias and violated the constitutional rights of residents, the Washington Post reports.

According to the report, department officials discovered that although 67 percent of Ferguson’s population is black, black people made up 93 percent of all arrests 2012-2014.

Currently, Justice officials are trying to reach an agreement with the Police Department to prompt a change in practices, which the DOJ says includes use of excessive force and unjustified arrests and traffic stops. If no settlement can be reached, the Justice Department could file a lawsuit against the department.
The Post notes that the findings indicate that black residents made up about 85 percent of all individuals stopped by police officers in Ferguson and 90 percent of all citations issued.

Police were also more prone to use excessive force against black citizens, who were involved in 88 percent of all cases in which force was used. All 14 canine-bite incidents for which race was available involved a black person, the Post notes.

Full evidence is set to be released this week as early as Wednesday, according to the Post. Part of the evidence showing racial bias included an email written by Ferguson police and municipal court officials, one of which, dated November 2008, claimed that President Barack Obama would not be president for long, since “what black man holds a steady job for four years.”

According to the Post, the review concludes that racial bias and prioritizing revenue above public safety have heavily affected Ferguson’s police and court practices, putting them in violation of the Constitution and federal law. 

Read more at the Washington Post.

Wednesday, February 4

Texas Trans Woman Fatally Shot; Police Search for Leads | Advocate.com

I AM SICK TO DEATH OF HEADLINES LIKE THIS!!!


And I'm not talking about the headlines about people being shot, although it is a shame that our news is filled with as much violence and hatred as it is. No, what I'm sick of is the fact that the media persists in labeling those who are killed with some term which denotes sexual orientation! Every time there is a death which involves someone that doesn't fit Moral Majority's idea of 'normal', instantly that murder becomes a "Texas Trans Woman Fatally Shot" or 'A Lesbian Shot Waiting for a Bus'; anything to denigrate the victim. Why can't it just be "Texas Woman Fatally Shot"? Or (as much as I hate the thought) someone like Fox would say "Texas Man Fatally Shot" and in the story they'd probably say something about 'him' undergoing a sex change. (After all, some do believe that's why she was killed.) Really though, they are not sure why she was killed; it says it in the headline! "Police Search for Leads"!! If you have no idea if it had anything to do with her trans status, why are you mentioning it???

I know I'm ranting, but this is one of my biggest pet peeves; you never see headlines reading 'White Pedestrian  Killed By Unknown Assailants" but you will see 'Pedestrian Killed, 2 Black Men Sought'. You don't see  'Straight Woman Shot While Waiting For a Bus', but you will see 'Lesbian Gunned Down In Bus Stop'. Do you see how they change the whole perception of the article with those few simple words? It is so aggravating; I would love to see some kind of movement to try to make them stop labeling people in the news media that way. It's just not right.

And that's MY opinion, straight and Live From Bikini Bottom!

Texas Trans Woman Fatally Shot; Police Search for Leads

BY 

 

No arrests have been made yet in the murder of Ty Underwood, but friends of the victim say police should consider the attack a hate crime. 
 
Ty Underwood, a 24-year-old transgender woman of color, was fatally shot early Monday morning in North Tyler, Texas, reports local news station KYTX.
Police found Underwood when responding to a 911 call from a woman who said her children had heard gunshots and that a car had run into a telephone pole nearby. Detective Andy Erbaugh told reporters he believes that Underwood was near or inside the car when shots were fired at it; Underwood was likely struck while she was trying to drive away.
While Tyler police say they are still investigating a few leads and have yet been unable to make arrests in the murder, Underwood's friends told KYTX that they believe Underwood was targeted for being trans.
"She was lovely, just a lovely person. Very real, down to earth person who didn't deserve this, did not deserve this at all," Underwood's roommate Coy Simmons told KYTX. "This has to be a hate crime, this has to be a hate crime, nothing else because that was an upstanding person with a good heart."
Underwood's friends and family fondly remember her as a dedicated nursing assistant who wanted to return to school to further her career. She had recently been accepted into and was planning to attend Kilgore College's nursing program in Longview.
The Tyler Police Department has offered a $1,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest for Underwood's murder.
Anyone with relevant information is asked to call the Tyler Police Department at (903) 531-1000 or Tyler-Smith County Crime Stoppers at (903) 597-2833.
Underwood is the second transgender woman of color reportedly murdered in 2015, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. On January 23, police in Norfolk, Va., found Lamia Beard, a 30-year-old trans woman of color, suffering from a gunshot wound. Beard later died at a hospital from her injuries, prompting the local anti-violence program to organize a crowd-funding campaign for Beard's family to offset funeral costs.

Wednesday, January 28

Another Example of Our Nation's 'Finest' At Work!

Watch:


 How Ellen DeGeneres’ Dance Dare Got a Black Man Thrown to the Ground by an NYPD Officer



What is happening to the force that is meant to “Serve & Protect” the citizens of this country? Alexander Bok did nothing, but from the first moment the officer he was behind saw him the attitude shown  was one of aggressiveness and arrogance, and for what? Even before the man said he was dancing the officer was using profanity toward him and his body language simply screamed “Just give me a reason!” What, did he not get any the night before and so he was cranky? Oh wait, perhaps it was because he thought Alexander Bok is gay, (considering his slender frame), and the officer’s homophobia kicked in… After hearing the name Ellen DeGeneres I’m sure that same homophobia went into hyper drive, and the officer thought he’d been singled out and was being called ‘gay’.  As strange as it sounds, it wouldn’t surprise me a bit… Here’s the video, leave a comment and let me know what you think. Did the cop overreact? Did all the other cops that joined the first one overreact? And what about the final move by the officers?


This is the short version, it's just the incident. If you notice, the cop behind the wheel of the van is the one who (it appears) drew the cop in front's attention to what was happening; that's when they all begin to converge on Alexander, hurling insults at  him.



This is the long version, it includes a lot of the other dances he did all day. It really is kinda funny!


What's happened to the cops that would have laughed when they heard what was happening and danced along with him? (Especially if they knew it might go on TV!) What happened to the days when we taught our children that the police were their friends and we didn't have to worry about the child running into the type of officer in this video? What's happened indeed.....


Tuesday, January 20

Why Is the First Word in This Headline the Word LESBIAN????

What does her sexual orientation have to do with it? Do we know for sure that it had anything to
Kim Jones, 56, killed while at the bus stop
do

with her being gunned down? I was getting undressed to go to bed, and happened to glance at the computer;  it made me so angry I just dropped everything and had to sit down and write this post.  Come on people!! 

If we don't know that being a lesbian had anything to do with why she was killed, then the word 'lesbian' shouldn't be in the headline AT ALL, let alone be the first word!! In doing that, the media has made the article all about ‘a lesbian'; not about a woman, not about a Philadelphia resident, not even about a black woman! It's simply about 'a lesbian', and that's what everyone is going to jump on. The reason I saw this is because someone I know posted it on her Facebook and was talking about how angry she is about this lesbian being killed. Not about a human being that was just shot while standing at the bus stop waiting to go to work, but about a lesbian being 'gunned down'. Do you ever see articles reading "Heterosexual man hit by a car while crossing the street" or "CIS woman stabbed while grocery shopping"?? For some reason, the "gunned down" part irks me too, because it sounds like what mobsters do to each other, or gang members. Straight people who live in North Hollywood don't get "gunned down", they get "fatally shot", so why is a black lesbian from North Philly "gunned down"?? The majority of the people who read this article won't know Kim Jones, her wife, or her family, but what they will remember in the future when anyone brings this up will be that a lesbian was killed. She was a mother, a daughter, and a wife. People loved her for being Kim, not just for being lesbian. She was a human being, and all human beings deserve more respect than that.

  Lesbian gunned down in North Philly

A North Philadelphia lesbian was shot in broad daylight Tuesday morning while on her way to work.

Kim Jones, 56, was shot in the head at 9:30 a.m. while she was standing on the corner of 12th and Jefferson streets near Temple University, waiting to take the bus to work, police said.
The gunman came up behind Jones, who was wearing headphones, and shot her point-blank in the back of the head.
Investigators believe Jones was targeted, but a motive had not been announced as of presstime.
"She had her purse, she had her cellphone, she had jewelry on, none of which was taken, none of which was disturbed," said Homicide Capt. James Clark in a press conference Tuesday.
Officer Tanya Little, a police spokesperson, said investigators are aware that Jones, who married her partner last month, was a lesbian, and do not yet know if that could have played a role in her killing.
“Investigators have not ruled out anything at this point,” Little said.
The gunman is described as a heavyset black male wearing black clothing and carrying a black duffle bag. Investigators are reviewing video footage from SEPTA, Temple and city cameras to continue looking for clues.
"Someone knew her routine, knew she waited for the bus and waited for her," Clark said in a press conference Tuesday. "For whatever reason, she was targeted."
David Fair, deputy CEO of Turning Points for Children, a service and support organization for youth where Jones worked as program director of the Families and Schools Together initiative for the past seven years, said Jones was an exemplary employee.
“Extremely smart,” he said about her. “Always thinking about how to address the challenges in her job.”
Jones' work focused on providing parent education and support services to families of children in city schools to enhance academic success.
“She lived and breathed the children and families she worked with. When it came to the kids, she was everyone’s mother and grandmother,” Fair said. “That’s what I will remember most about her. She was one of the most caring people that I met.”
Jones, who earned a master’s of business administration, had been divorced from her ex-husband for more than 25 years, and had two adult sons.
The city is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.


Tuesday, January 13

Homeless Man Dies of Hypothermia; No Foul Play Found.

Each time I see a section of a city where there is new construction going on, I'm usually struck by how much money is being spent there,  and then I usually think to myself how wasteful it is. I see not just more, but more expensive housing for the affluent in the inner cities of the nation, rather than housing for the homeless, and/or the mentally ill, and unfortunately this is what happens...

Robert Hunter Jr, 21
 A tenant entering the sprawling industrial complex at Bailey Avenue and Broadway spotted the body lying on the ground near the building at about 6 a.m. Thursday and called police.
Ronald Hunter Jr. was dead.
The temperature overnight had been 2 degrees, and a stiff wind took the wind chill to nearly 20 degrees below zero.
But the 21-year-old Hunter, who was homeless and mentally ill, had discarded his jacket and attempted to remove his shirt before he died, police said.
In the most severe cases of hypothermia, medical experts say, individuals have been known to undress when they become disoriented and think they are overheating as their blood vessels constrict.
Hunter’s 6-foot, 3-inch, 150-pound body was unable to produce heat quickly enough to replenish the warmth lost to the bitter cold and harsh winds.
“There was no foul play. Hypothermia caused the death,” said Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda, confirming an Erie County Medical Examiner’s autopsy.
Hunter’s death highlights just how at risk the homeless – especially those who are mentally ill – are in winter weather as severe as that which occurred during the past week, according to workers and volunteers who assist them. Some homeless people lack the ability to know when it is time to come in from the cold.
“On nights when it is declared a Code Blue, with temperatures below 15 degrees, we go out in a van trying to bring the homeless to shelters,” said Aubrey Pula, program manager at Harbor House, a downtown drop-in center where Hunter sometimes spent the night, pacing the floor and staying to himself.
“Some refuse us, and we give them food and blankets,” she said.
A surveillance video camera at the Acme Business Park captured Hunter’s final moments overnight Wednesday as he wandered into a desolate section at the north end of the business park – a massive, subdivided one-story structure with several tenants, ranging from Catholic Charities to an auto parts manufacturer. Authorities told Hunter’s family what was on the tape.
“He kept falling down and getting up,” said Ronald Hunter Sr. “It looked like he was trying to make his way to the building to maybe try and get inside, but he never made it. He was wandering around back there for some time.”
Hunter’s father went to the spot where his son died.
“I went Thursday evening, and the snow had been plowed away,” he said of the parking lot that rolls up to loading docks at the back of the complex, which is not far from a Bailey Avenue bridge over railroad tracks, north of where Bailey intersects Broadway.
“He was way, way in the back in that parking lot,” the father said of where his son collapsed and died. “I still hope the police continue their investigation. I have questions and I don’t think everything is known.”

‘I’m hearing voices’

The path to Ronald Hunter Jr.’s death began several years ago, when he started acting strangely and became alienated from those who loved him most, relatives said.
“When he was living with us, I found him curled up in a ball in the corner of a bedroom, and I said, ‘What’s wrong, baby?’ ” his father recalled.
“I’m hearing voices telling me to kill myself,” his son told him.
“We called Crisis Services, and they evaluated him,” his father said.
It was determined that the younger Hunter suffered from schizophrenia and behavioral disorders.
“But because he was 18, it was up to him if he wanted help,” said Sharon Hunter, his stepmother.
The elder Hunter said his son sought help from time to time from a mental health services provider but did not stick with it.
And his mental illness worsened in recent years, said his mother, Donna McNally.
“He began to have outbursts,” she said.
But her son, the youngest of seven children, could be the most gentle and loving person when he was calm, McNally said.
As a boy, Hunter attended Lincoln Academy grammar school. As a teenager, he went to Burgard High School, although he quit before graduating.
The last time his mother saw him was on New Year’s Eve, when Ronald Hunter Sr. drove him to her home in the Town of Tonawanda.
“He came in and said, ‘Mom, I love you,’ ” McNally recalled. “I said, ‘I love you, Ronald.’ ”
“We hugged and then he left.”
Ronald Hunter Sr. had driven his son to her home after picking him up at Erie County Medical Center, where the young man had spent two days in the psychiatric unit after police took him there following a disturbance at a West Side convenience store.
At about 10 a.m. Wednesday, the father said, he drove his son and a long-time friend to downtown Buffalo.
“Ronald was going to live with his friend, and he wanted to apply for cash to help with the rent. They were going to try and make ends meet by living together. I dropped Ronald off at Social Services,” the father said.
And that was the last time he saw his son.

Help at Harbor House

Staff members and residents at Harbor House, where Hunter sometimes stayed, recalled that Hunter kept to himself.
“He’d pace the floor, but he didn’t bother anybody,” said 57-year-old Eugene Jones, who has been homeless since he was evicted from his apartment after ownership of the building changed hands six months ago. “Ronald didn’t go wild like some people do.”
Thomas Kissell said he could relate to what Hunter had gone through. He, too, knows what it is like to be out in the extreme cold, saying he almost died Friday morning.
“I’d gone to the emergency room at Erie County Medical Center because my legs were swelling up and I didn’t feel well. I was released at 2 a.m.,” the 50-year-old Kissell said, showing hospital discharge papers. “I walked all the way here,” he said of the Harbor House facility on the 200 block of Genesee Street.
“It took me hours, almost till dawn. I knew if I stopped I’d freeze to death.”
Kissell pulled up his pant leg to reveal his bloated right calf.
“Look at how my leg is swollen,” he said. “Both my legs are swollen to the knees.”
A bottle of Brisk iced tea-lemonade in a side pocket of his knapsack was no longer liquid, but slush.

On the edge

On Wednesday, the day before Ronald Hunter Jr.’s body was found, Buffalo recorded the most frigid temperatures and negative wind chills of the week, according to National Weather Service data. Just before 9 that night, the temperature dropped to 2 degrees, while the wind chill dipped to minus 18 degrees.
The low temperatures for the entire week only exceeded single digits once, and the brutal wind chills continued into Thursday morning.
Where are the homeless to find shelter? Harbor House, which describes its operations as a “night-time drop-in center,” is open year-round. The Buffalo City Mission and St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy also offer shelter to the homeless.
The stories of the homeless who find shelter at Harbor House show how close they live to the edge of life, said Michael Broadus, who works at the facility, which specializes in assisting the mentally ill.
“If I were homeless, I’d hope that someone would be there for me,” Broadus said.
Harbor House’s Pula offered condolences to the Hunter family from the staff and those they serve.
“Our hearts and thoughts are with the family,” she said.
She then went out Friday night, on the fifth consecutive Code Blue effort of the week, to gather homeless from the streets and take them back to Harbor House.
“They’re really good people, even the ones that do bad things,” she said. “Once you talk with them, you see how good they are.”