Thursday, March 19, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lawsuit-claims-high-levels-arsenic-found-some-california-made-wines/

"Very high levels of arsenic" in top-selling wines
CBS NEWS
March 19, 2015

Following recent warnings about the amount of arsenic in apple juice and rice, a proposed class action lawsuit is being filed Thursday in California that claims some of the country's top selling wines have high levels of the element: up to four and five times the maximum amount the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows for drinking water, reports CBS News correspondent Carter Evans.

There are almost no federal labeling requirements to tell you what's really in wine, that's why a Denver laboratory started running tests to find out.

After 15 years working in the wine distribution business, Kevin Hicks started BeverageGrades, a laboratory that analyzes wine. What he discovered shocked him.

"Some very, very high levels of arsenic," Hicks said.

He tested more than 1,300 bottles of wine. Almost a quarter of them had levels higher than the EPA's maximum allowable amount of arsenic in drinking water: 10 parts per billion. No one can say for sure why, but Hicks noticed a pattern.

"The lower the price of wine on a per-liter basis, the higher the amount of arsenic," he said.

They included Trader Joe's famed Two-Buck Chuck White Zinfandel, which came in at three times the limit, a bottle of Ménage à Trois Moscato was four times the limit and a Franzia Blush had five times the EPA limit for drinking water.

He took the test results to some of those wine companies.

"Most wine companies, when I mention arsenic and wine in the same sentence, literally almost hung up the phone on me," he said.

The next step, he said, was to supply the data to a law firm.

"He was trying to get their attention; he was trying to blow the whistle on them," attorney Brian Kabateck said.

Thursday, he plans to file a class action lawsuit in California accusing more than 24 California winemakers and sellers of misrepresenting their wine as safe.

"We've done testing with two separate labs," Kabateck said.

He said they've checked Hicks' results and they "absolutely" stand up.

CBS News took those results to epidemiologist Allan Smith, associate director of the Arsenic Health Effects research program at U.C. Berkeley.

"These are about two to three times in this particular sample, the drinking water standard, and they vary, they fluctuated, but some of them were up to three, four or five times the drinking water standard," Smith said.

Smith said 50 parts per billion of arsenic -- the highest level found in one of the bottles Hicks tested -- can be deadly over time.

Even though "parts per billion" seems like a very small amount, Smith said "Arsenic is highly toxic; it's astonishing."

"It has as many effects inside the body as cigarette smoking does," Smith said.

But he based that on studies of drinking water, which is the only beverage with an arsenic limit set by the U.S. Government.

"We estimate that approximately 1 in 100 people who drink water like that throughout their life will die from the arsenic, ultimately, due to mostly cancers from it," Smith said.

The federal government doesn't regulate wine like it does water, and a spokesperson for The Wine Group, one of the companies named in the lawsuit, told CBS News, "It would not be accurate or responsible to use the water standard as the baseline" because people generally drink more water than wine. He also pointed out that the highest level of arsenic cited in the lawsuit is "only half of Canada's standard for wine, of 100 parts per billion."

The FDA said it only handles contaminates in food and beverages on a "case-by-case basis."

"The industry, we believe, is not properly regulated, but the state of California has recognized the 10 parts per billion is a dangerous amount," Kabateck said.

He's interpreting a California law that requires businesses to warn consumers if their products contain "a chemical known to the state to cause cancer." California's threshold for arsenic is 10 parts per billion, the same as the EPA's water standard, but The Wine Institute, an advocacy group for California winemakers, said the industry already provides warning signs to be posted in retail stores.

The California attorney general's office confirmed that's all the law requires, but some think that's not enough.

"I think that all beverages should aim to meet the drinking water standard of 10 parts per billion," Smith said.

Two other defendants named in the lawsuit responded to CBS News' request for comment. Treasury Wine estates said its "brands are fully compliant with all relevant federal and state guidelines," and Trader Joe's, which sells Two Buck Chuck, said "the concerns raised in your inquiry are serious and are being treated as such. We are investigating the matter with several of our wine producing suppliers."

Kabateck said his ultimate goal is "to get the winemakers to recall these wines, to get them to refund the money that people paid for these wines, and ultimately to clean up the wine industry in California."

Smith said wine makers need to determine where the arsenic is coming from, but in the meantime, "it ought to have on the wine, 'this wine contains arsenic.'"

"To most consumers, that may or may not help them, but it would sure be a big incentive for the wine producer to get down to the drinking water standard," he said.

CBS News also spot-checked and tested the four wines listed in the lawsuit. They were not the same vintages, but the arsenic levels were all considerably lower than BeverageGrades' results. One of them, the Wine Group's Flip Flop Pinot Grigio, came in within the acceptable federal arsenic levels for water.

The others were at or above that limit, including Trader Joe's Two Buck Chuck White Zinfandel, which tested at more than twice that standard.




“He tested more than 1,300 bottles of wine. Almost a quarter of them had levels higher than the EPA's maximum allowable amount of arsenic in drinking water: 10 parts per billion. No one can say for sure why, but Hicks noticed a pattern. "The lower the price of wine on a per-liter basis, the higher the amount of arsenic," he said.... "Most wine companies, when I mention arsenic and wine in the same sentence, literally almost hung up the phone on me," he said. The next step, he said, was to supply the data to a law firm. "He was trying to get their attention; he was trying to blow the whistle on them," attorney Brian Kabateck said.... Thursday, he plans to file a class action lawsuit in California accusing more than 24 California winemakers and sellers of misrepresenting their wine as safe. "We've done testing with two separate labs," Kabateck said. He said they've checked Hicks' results and they "absolutely" stand up.... But he based that on studies of drinking water, which is the only beverage with an arsenic limit set by the U.S. Government. "We estimate that approximately 1 in 100 people who drink water like that throughout their life will die from the arsenic, ultimately, due to mostly cancers from it," Smith said.

“Smith said wine makers need to determine where the arsenic is coming from, but in the meantime, "it ought to have on the wine, 'this wine contains arsenic.'" "To most consumers, that may or may not help them, but it would sure be a big incentive for the wine producer to get down to the drinking water standard," he said.” This article notes that CBS News tested the four wines named in the lawsuit and found that the arsenic levels was “considerably lower” than the BeverageGrades results, and closer to or within the approved drinking water standards. So what is going on? Perhaps another lab needs to make the same tests and see what they come up with.

Clearly, though, the question to me is where the arsenic is coming from? The water used in making the wine? Toxins do sometimes build up in the body rather than being completely excreted, and if my Agatha Christie reading is correct, arsenic is one of those poisons. This is the first article on this subject that I have seen, so I was shocked when I read this. I missed the earlier ones on rice and apple juice. I don't use any of these products, but I'm sure I'm ingesting something deadly, if only the fact that I do drink lots of water. I'm getting so old now, though, that I feel I will make it until my mid-seventies or older,and that will be okay with me.





BLACK ISSUES – TWO ARTICLES



http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/03/19/394042609/virginia-s-governor-orders-inquiry-into-black-student-s-bloody-arrest

Virginia's Governor Orders Inquiry Into Black Student's Bloody Arrest
Bill Chappell
MARCH 19, 2015

Responding to an incident that has sparked street protests in Charlottesville, Virginia's Gov. Terry McAuliffe has ordered a state investigation into the arrest of a black University of Virginia student. Martese Johnson, 20, was left with blood streaming down his face after being arrested by Alcoholic Beverage Control agents.

The case created an uproar after photos emerged showing Johnson, a member of UVA's Honor Committee, lying on the sidewalk with uniformed ABC agents crouching over him. Portions of the concrete, as well as Johnson's head and shirt, are bloody.

Johnson was arrested after midnight on March 18 near an Irish-themed bar on the Corner, an area along the campus that holds many bars and restaurants. He was charged with public swearing or intoxication and obstruction of justice. The ABC says that its agents approached Johnson "after he was refused entry to a licensed establishment," and that they then decided to detain him.

"In the course of an arrest being made, the arrested individual sustained injuries," the agency says. Court records show that Johnson is with "obstruction of justice without force."

The incident comes nearly two years after Virginia's ABC agency was criticized for another high-profile in Charlottesville, in which plainclothes agents arrested a UVA student who had bought a case of bottled water. The young woman at the center of that case spent a night in jail and briefly faced felony charges. She later filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit (which was settled last year).

Those injuries resulted in 10 stitches for Johnson, who can be heard in a bystander's video of his arrest using a profanity to call one of the officers a racist and asking as they pinned him to the ground, "How did this happen?"

In arrest records, an ABC agent says Johnson "was very agitated and belligerent but [has] no previous criminal history," according to student paper The Cavalier Daily.

Johnson spoke at a large rally last night that was organized by a student organization called the Black Dot.

"You all being here is the absolute reason why I still believe in a community of trust — even with a busted head," he said, according to member station WVTF. "I know that we can be better. We just have to choose to."

The rally was attended by key school officials including its president, Teresa A. Sullivan. Yesterday, Sullivan said that she had asked McAuliffe to order an independent investigation into Johnson's arrest.

"The safety and security of our students will always be my primary concern, and every member of our community should feel safe from the threat of bodily harm and other forms of violence," Sullivan said in a letter to students and employees. "Today, as U.Va. students, faculty, and staff who share a set of deeply held values, we stand unified in our commitment to seeking the truth about this incident."

Protesters blocked part of University Avenue in Charlottesville last night, holding signs that echoed words they chanted: "Shut It Down."

Anger over the case has sparked a Twitter hashtag,#JusticeForMartese, that is being used to highlight the issue — and to counter the notion of Johnson as a troublemaker. In one photo that's been widely posted, the third-year student is seen wearing a bow tie, smiling as he poses alongside Sullivan.




This is another story of racism in law enforcement and out of control cops. The good news is that University officials are calling for an independent investigation. The student who was beaten also made some surprisingly peaceful statement to the group gathered for a rally. “Johnson spoke at a large rally last night that was organized by a student organization called the Black Dot. "You all being here is the absolute reason why I still believe in a community of trust — even with a busted head," he said, according to member station WVTF. "I know that we can be better. We just have to choose to."





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/black-america-is-in-crisis-national-urban-league-president-marc-morial-says/

"Black America is in crisis": Urban League president
CBS NEWS
March 19, 2015

Video – Racial bias influences officers, says FBI chief

Amid ongoing tensions over the deaths of unarmed black men and teenagers by police, the National Urban League released its 2015 State of Black America reportThursday.

"Black America is in crisis -- a jobs crisis, an education crisis and a justice crisis," the civil rights group's president and CEO, Marc Morial, told CBS News.

In part, the report analyzes nationwide figures from the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies to create equality indexes.

The measurements compare blacks and Hispanics to whites in terms of economics, health, education, the justice system and civic engagement, with 100 percent signifying total equality.

According to the report's executive summary, the overall index for black Americans is 72.2 percent, compared with a revised figure of 71.5 for 2014. The Hispanic index is 77.7 percent, an improvement from 75.8 percent a year ago.

For black Americans, the largest growth was in the area of social justice, which improved from from 56.9 percent in 2014 to 60.6 percent for 2015. The change was based on "fewer Blacks being victims of violent crimes and fewer Black high school students carrying weapons, while at the same time, the rates for white high school students increased," according to the Urban League.

That improvement comes despite high-profile cases of police violence over the last year, including the August 2014 shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, and a Justice Department investigation that found a pattern of racial bias by the city's police and courts.

While the Ferguson case and others have increased awareness of racial disparities, Morial said the issues are nothing new.

"Ferguson raised it to a high-profile nature. Ferguson woke many up who may have been dozing or sleeping about the nature of these problems," Morial said. "These problems are of a long-standing nature, they just didn't pop up yesterday. Now, I think, we must muster the resolve to try to fix them."

According to Morial, a wide-ranging discussion is needed "about police-community relations and police accountability and the criminal justice system."

"Working to keep the peace in a neighborhood does not give license to disrespect, use excessive force or violate the rights of citizens of that community," Morial told CBS News.

"You want good, strong law enforcement and you want policing that can police communities of color effectively," Morial said. "But what you don't want is a police department that becomes a de facto occupying force where many citizens in the community fear the police, distrust the police."

Morial said he hoped the report prompts people to take action, both on the individual level and for broader policy improvements.

"Change does not come by serendipity. Change does not come automatically," Morial said. "It comes because people work for it."




“Amid ongoing tensions over the deaths of unarmed black men and teenagers by police, the National Urban League released its 2015 State of Black America reportThursday. "Black America is in crisis -- a jobs crisis, an education crisis and a justice crisis," the civil rights group's president and CEO, Marc Morial, told CBS News. In part, the report analyzes nationwide figures from the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies to create equality indexes. The measurements compare blacks and Hispanics to whites in terms of economics, health, education, the justice system and civic engagement, with 100 percent signifying total equality.... While the Ferguson case and others have increased awareness of racial disparities, Morial said the issues are nothing new. "Ferguson raised it to a high-profile nature. Ferguson woke many up who may have been dozing or sleeping about the nature of these problems," Morial said. "These problems are of a long-standing nature, they just didn't pop up yesterday. Now, I think, we must muster the resolve to try to fix them.".... "Working to keep the peace in a neighborhood does not give license to disrespect, use excessive force or violate the rights of citizens of that community," Morial told CBS News. "You want good, strong law enforcement and you want policing that can police communities of color effectively," Morial said. "But what you don't want is a police department that becomes a de facto occupying force where many citizens in the community fear the police, distrust the police."

"Change does not come by serendipity. Change does not come automatically," Morial said. "It comes because people work for it." If enough individuals improve their own personal attitudes toward other races and religions, we will have a large improvement. It does require a “change of heart” and a broadening of our minds to include the “differences” that we sometimes tend to hate in others.

The law is supposed to protect all people equally, but of course it doesn't. Police, the courts, the school systems, all tend to be “conservative,” in other words narrow minded. The poor have considerable difficulty avoiding painful interactions with those institutions. That's why we have the Bill of Rights and civil rights legislation, and we shouldn't keep whittling away at them with new Republican-lead laws, usually on the state and local level. The Supreme Court caused this several years ago when it took the teeth out of the Civil Rights legislation and women's rights, supposedly because government-fostered racism had been dismantled and was “no longer a problem.” As soon as they ruled that the federal government doesn't have to watch what the states do, those right wing abusive laws such as the picture ID for voting and tight restrictions on abortion clinics came into being. Our society hasn't really made progress toward fairness and help for the poor, at least not nearly to the extent we thought. Those ills have risen to the surface and became obvious again. The problem is that the “conservative” population likes white power and privileges for the wealthy. The human animal remains just as we have always been, constantly in conflict with others and struggling to survive. The thing we tend not to do is reach out on the human level, one by one and group by group, until we have a much greater state of peace. We need to live the gospel, not merely preach it.





MAN'S INHUMANITY – THREE ARTICLES


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/polite-note-leads-to-crude-reply-on-amputees-car/

Note on car leads to crude reply to amputee
CBS NEWS
March 19, 2015

A simple request that someone stop parking in a spot reserved for an Ohio woman with a prosthetic leg drew a reply that's raising eyebrows.

Ashley Brady, 26, of Miamisburg, lost her right leg in an accident last year, reports CBS Columbus affiliate WBNS-TV. She learned how to walk again with the prosthetic limb, but was having trouble negotiating her apartment complex's parking lot in winter conditions.

So she got the complex to give her a spot near her unit.

Days later, Brady found someone else parked in the spot, and left what she concedes was a stern note asking the motorist to keep out of the spot, the station says.

The handwritten reply Brady found on her car's windshield was, to put it mildly, extreme.

It read, "Hey handicap! First, never place your hands on my car again! Second, honey you ain't the only one with "struggles." You want pity go to a one leg support group! You messed with the wrong one! I don't care what your note said shove it, but you touch my car again I will file a report, I am not playing! I let the office know the cry baby one leg touches my property I will cause trouble so go cry your struggles to someone who cares cause I'm walking away with both mine! (expletive)"

"I read it probably like five times over and over because my brain just couldn't even process the level of mean that it was," said Brady.

Her sister posted a picture of the note on Facebook, hoping to spread awareness of the struggles people with disabilities face every day. It was widely shared.

Brady filed a grievance with the Miamisburg police. The complex's management has yet to decide what to do, WBNS says.




One thing this article doesn't tell is exactly how demanding and in what phraseology she first left a note on his car. The thing for her to do would have been to go to the building management asking them to protect the privilege that they did give to her over her handicap. I wonder, too, why the parking lot has no blue marked handicap spaces. They could also have painted “RESERVED” on the spot as soon as they gave it to her. Maybe they could charge her a small fee for that. Most buildings of any size do have some kind of preference for handicapped people now. No matter what she said in her note to him – almost at any rate – he was pointlessly abusive to her, and distinctly threatening. He's an AH as far as I'm concerned, and the management should get on his case.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/deaf-man-jailed-6-weeks-with-no-access-to-interpreter/

​Deaf man jailed 6 weeks with no access to interpreter
AP March 19, 2015

WASHINGTON - He knew he was in jail, but he didn't know why.

Eventually, Abreham Zemedagegehu learned that he'd been accused of stealing an iPad -- an iPad whose owner later found it. He spent the next six weeks in jail, unable to communicate with his jailers because he is deaf. He described a frightening, isolated experience in which medical procedures were performed without his consent and he feared for his safety.

Zemedagegehu sued the Arlington County sheriff last month in federal court, saying his treatment failed to meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"I felt like I was losing my mind," Zemedagegehu said through an interpreter in an interview at his lawyer's office. "I thought Virginia would give me an interpreter and they said no. That's why I felt lost."

Zemedagegehu, who is homeless, is a U.S. citizen who was born in Ethiopia. He grew up using Ethiopian Sign Language. He has learned American Sign Language, but he has never learned more than rudimentary written English.

Maj. Susie Doyel, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, which runs the jail, declined to comment on the specific allegations. She generally defended the jail's ability to handle deaf inmates and others with disabilities, and said several deputies in the jail are proficient in sign language.

But she also acknowledged that communication with a deaf inmate is more problematic in cases where the inmate can't communicate in written English.

In court papers filed Monday, lawyers for the sheriff ask a judge to dismiss the case, arguing that even if Zemedagegehu's allegations are true, they fail to show intentional discrimination because they attempted various different ways to communicate with him, including handwritten notes.

And even if the discrimination were intentional, the lawyers write that it would not violate federal law because there is a rational basis for the discrimination: "It takes extra resources and creates additional security considerations to bring in an ASL interpreter," they write.

Zemedagegehu's ordeal began Feb. 2, 2014, as he sought a warm place to sleep at Reagan National Airport. According to Zemedagegehu's lawsuit, officers from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority arrested him on a complaint that he had stolen another man's iPad.

Zemedagegehu says he requested an ASL interpreter to explain what was happening, but instead was taken to the Arlington jail for processing. He said the booking process was bewildering, with someone speaking on a video screen and he not understanding what was happening.

After he was booked, he underwent a medical screening, and says he was given forms to sign. He didn't know what they were, and refused to sign them. He says they stuck a needle in his arm without explaining what was occurring -- he later learned it was tuberculosis test, to which he suffered a bad reaction.

It was not until he was arraigned Feb. 4, and a court interpreter was present, that he understood the charge against him.

When he was offered an opportunity to communicate, he said the jail provided a TTY device. Zemedagegehu said the machine was useless -- it types out English text he doesn't understand, and as a practical matter, he said, no one in the deaf community still uses a TTY device. He needed instead access to a videophone or video relay service that is more commonly used, he said.

Maj. David Kidwell, director of the jail for the sheriff, also declined to comment specifically on Zemedagegehu's care, but generally defended the use of a TTY machine.

"It gets used, absolutely. It's an accepted practice, and we've had great success with it," he said.

On March 14, 2014, Zemedagegehu struck a plea deal, pleading guilty to lesser misdemeanor charges in exchange for time served. Zemedagegehu says he only took the deal to get of jail, and that he didn't steal the iPad.

Zemedagegehu's public defender filed a motion after the guilty plea seeking to have the conviction overturned, saying prosecutors failed to turn over evidence that the man who claimed his iPad was stolen actually had found it some time before the guilty plea. Prosecutors deny withholding evidence.

A judge refused to overturn the conviction, saying the appeal had been filed too late.

Zemedagegehu said he doesn't understand why it was so difficult for the legal system to accommodate him with an interpreter.

"They're doing this 25 years after the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed. They know better," he said.

Caroline Jackson, an attorney with the National Association of the Deaf, who is helping on Zemedagegehu's case, said cases like his are "distressingly common. There's an assumption that persons behind bars have no rights."

The ADA itself does not spell out exactly what kind of accommodations a jail must make for deaf inmates. But since the law was passed, several lawsuits have addressed similar issues. In 2010, the Virginia Department of Corrections reached a settlement requiring it to provide qualified interpreters during the booking process and when providing medical care, among other things.

Doyel said the county jail, which isn't part of the state prisons system, has passed audits conducted by the state Department of Corrections and has received accreditation from outside groups.

Larry Tanenbaum, a lawyer with Akin Gump, the firm that took Zemedagegehu's lawsuit on a pro bono basis, said he thinks the jail failed to meets its standards in its incarceration of his client.

"To me, it's a matter of human kindness. You see a person in your care who's lost. How do you not help him?" Tanenbaum asked.




“Eventually, Abreham Zemedagegehu learned that he'd been accused of stealing an iPad -- an iPad whose owner later found it. He spent the next six weeks in jail, unable to communicate with his jailers because he is deaf. He described a frightening, isolated experience in which medical procedures were performed without his consent and he feared for his safety..... Maj. Susie Doyel, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, which runs the jail, declined to comment on the specific allegations. She generally defended the jail's ability to handle deaf inmates and others with disabilities, and said several deputies in the jail are proficient in sign language. But she also acknowledged that communication with a deaf inmate is more problematic in cases where the inmate can't communicate in written English....Zemedagegehu's public defender filed a motion after the guilty plea seeking to have the conviction overturned, saying prosecutors failed to turn over evidence that the man who claimed his iPad was stolen actually had found it some time before the guilty plea. Prosecutors deny withholding evidence. … Larry Tanenbaum, a lawyer with Akin Gump, the firm that took Zemedagegehu's lawsuit on a pro bono basis, said he thinks the jail failed to meets its standards in its incarceration of his client. "To me, it's a matter of human kindness. You see a person in your care who's lost. How do you not help him?" Tanenbaum asked.”

“And even if the discrimination were intentional, the lawyers write that it would not violate federal law because there is a rational basis for the discrimination: "It takes extra resources and creates additional security considerations to bring in an ASL interpreter," they write.” There's a song that goes “Money, money, money, money,” and continues on in that manner. I always liked it for it's upbeat if silly sound. But that's what this story is about to me. Police should make an honest effort to solve the problem of a suspect being unable to communicate with them, even if they are homeless (to them “a bum”) and destitute. I wonder if they beat him when he didn't obey their orders? Besides, he should have been released as soon as it was discovered that the I-pad was no longer missing, so he couldn't possibly be a thief. I'm ashamed of Arlington, VA. I used to live there and loved it, but then I'm not an Ethiopian homeless man.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/san-francisco-catholic-archdiocese-dousing-homeless-cathedral/

S.F. Catholic archdiocese sorry for dousing homeless
CBS NEWS
March 19, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO -- St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco dismantled a sprinkler system that pours water on entrance areas of the Roman Catholic church frequented by homeless people after receiving a formal notice of violation from the city, CBS station KPIX-TV reports.

Meanwhile, the San Francisco Roman Catholic Archdiocese has apologized for the "misunderstood" and "ill-conceived" effort to keep homeless people out of alcoves used to enter and exit the church.

In a story first reported by KCBS Radio, the principal church of the archdiocese used the watering system to keep the homeless from sleeping in the cathedral doorways. The archdiocese acknowledged Wednesday it had been using the system for the past two years.

But the system also drenches some homeless people and violates city building and safety codes.

After inspecting the cathedral, the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection filed a notice of violation against the archdiocese and the cathedral, giving them 15 days to remove the system. In response, the archdiocese has taken out a plumbing permit to remove the entire watering system, which was observed to run for about 75 seconds every 30 to 60 minutes.

Word of the cathedral's homeless deterrent caused an uproar on social media. However, the rector of St. Mary's Cathedral and the auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese, Bishop William Justice, issued a statement defending the role of the archdiocese and the cathedral in supporting homeless programs.

Bishop said the sprinkler deterrent system has been in use for the last two years and modeled on similar systems used in the city's Financial District "as a safety, security and cleanliness measure to avoid the situation where needles, feces and other dangerous items were regularly being left in these hidden doorways."

"The idea was not to remove those persons but to encourage them to relocate to other areas of the cathedral, which are protected and safer. The purpose was to make the cathedral grounds as well as the homeless people who happen to be on those grounds safer.

We are sorry that our intentions have been misunderstood and recognize that the method used was ill-conceived. It actually has had the opposite effect from what it was intended to do, and for this we are very sorry."





“St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco dismantled a sprinkler system that pours water on entrance areas of the Roman Catholic church frequented by homeless people after receiving a formal notice of violation from the city, CBS station KPIX-TV reports. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Roman Catholic Archdiocese has apologized for the "misunderstood" and "ill-conceived" effort to keep homeless people out of alcoves used to enter and exit the church. In a story first reported by KCBS Radio, the principal church of the archdiocese used the watering system to keep the homeless from sleeping in the cathedral doorways. The archdiocese acknowledged Wednesday it had been using the system for the past two years.... "The idea was not to remove those persons but to encourage them to relocate to other areas of the cathedral, which are protected and safer. The purpose was to make the cathedral grounds as well as the homeless people who happen to be on those grounds safer. We are sorry that our intentions have been misunderstood and recognize that the method used was ill-conceived. It actually has had the opposite effect from what it was intended to do, and for this we are very sorry."

Very sorry? This is heartless. There is no way to know how many of the people got pneumonia after the soakings. Just call the police and have them remove the homeless people instead. Better still, set up a homeless center somewhere safely away from the church land, and have police take them there. WWJD?