Death toll up to 18 in Phoenix heat wave (mostly homeless)

[UpInArms]

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/12181395.htm

PHOENIX - A record heat wave has led to the deaths of 18 people, most of them homeless, leaving officials scrambling to provide water and shelter to the city's transient population.

For the first time in years, homeless shelters opened their doors during the day to offer respite from the blistering sun, which has delivered above-average temperatures every day since June 29. Police began passing out thousands of water bottles donated by grocery stores, and city officials set up tents for shade downtown.

"I don't know why I'm not burnt to pieces," said Chris Cruse, 48, after taking refuge in a shelter.

Four more bodies were found Wednesday. Fourteen of the victims were thought to be homeless. Authorities did not know if a man found by the side of a road Sunday had a permanent residence.

<snip>

Maricopa County, including Phoenix and its suburbs, has a homeless population between 10,000 and 12,000 people, said Gloria Hurtado, the city's human service director.

...more...

[Erika]

1. Christ said how we treat the least of us is how

we will be judged.

Illegal immigrants are not part of this total. They are repored separately. They just don't tell us where.

[johnnypneumatic]

2. the old man with the shopping cart

There is an overpass I drive under on my way to work by sky harbor airport, where an old black man with a shopping cart full of stuff lives. I havent seen him this week though. I was wondering just a few weeks ago how he could survive there, laying all day on hot cement on the embankment in 110 degree weather. You'd have to have gallons of water a day to drink. All last week it was 115 each day. I hope he is ok.
I have noticed there are more homeless on the streets, just like in the GHWB administration years

[UpInArms]

3. the curse of the BFEE is that everyone but them and theirs

suffer dreadfully.

Welcome to DU johnnypneumatic :hi:

I, too, remember all the homeless after the 12 years in the desert with RayGun and Bush I.

We can't be rid of these monsters any too soon..

[Algorem]

24. eh,those "street people" don't count anyway

"people are poor because they are lazy." He was opposed to labor unions, social security, environmental protection, Medicare, and public schools. To him, the antitrust watch dog, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Securities Exchange Commission were unnecessary hindrances to "free market competition." To him, Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal was "socialism." Recently, President Bush's Federal Appeals Court Nominee, California's Supreme Court Justice Janice Brown, repeated the same broadside at her Senate hearing. She knew that her pronouncement would please President Bush and Karl Rove and their Senators. President Bush and his brain, Karl Rove, are leading a radical revolution of destroying all the democratic political, social, judiciary, and economic institutions that both Democrats and moderate Republicans had built together since Roosevelt's New Deal.

In June 2003, Bill Moyers said that "Karl Rove has modeled the Bush presidency on that of William Mckinley (1897-1901) and modeled himself on Mark Hanna, the man who virtually manufactured McKinley. Mark Hanna saw to it that Washington was ruled by business, railroads, and public utility corporations." President Bush's tax cuts have given over 93% of their benefits to large corporations and well-to-do households with over 250,000 dollars of annual income (about 10% of the U.S. households). Moreover, President Bush's tax cuts are abolishing taxes on such asset-based income as stock dividends and capital gains. He is opposed to taxing management aristocrats' self-dealt stock options (salary payment in kind). He is opposed to requiring the corporations to treat such stock options as their personnel expenses. More than anything else, management aristocrats' stock options are encouraging many corporations to abandon manufacturing-and-supply procurements at home and switching to imports from China and other lower-wage countries. He is phasing out estate taxes. All these measures are transforming the past "potbelly flower vase" shape of the U.S. income distribution to the "bottom-heavy hour glass" shape.

This was the same kind of income distribution that the U.S. built during the McKinley-Gilded Age. There was no Securitiesy Exchange Commission to check "creative accounting" and Enron-WorldCom like malfeasance of corporations. America had poor public schools and medical care. There was no minimum wage or labor standard. Both federal and state governments and courts were hostile to labor unions and civic groups protesting the "injustices" of the society. The natural environment was ravaged by railroads, mining, lumbering, and newly emerging oil and gas firms. Abortion was illegal. Women did not even have the vote. In the South, Christian fundamentalists were pressuring public schools to stop teaching Charles Darwin's evolution theories. During the McKinley-Gilded Age, America's democracy atrophied. And America embarked on her imperialistic expansions of colonising Cuba, Panama, and the Philippines.

http://www.glocom.org/opinions/essays/20040301_tsurumi_president/

[ShockediSay]

4. Wonder how many vets -

are included in the homeless dead; one or more I'll bet.

Worth a letter to John McCain (maybe tomorrow when I have the strength) but don't let me hold you back.

Last I heard contact info for Sen McCain:
DC Phone: [phone]
DC Fax: [phone]

Is this what they call compassionate conservatism? Let the homeless die of exposure and then start handing out bottles of water? What a country.

[UpInArms]

7. Welcome to DU ShockediSay!

:hi:

Thanks for the contact info!

[DanCa]

12. welcome to du Love your call sign shockedisay (nt)

[PartyPooper]

5. Being in Phoenix in the summer is like living in an oven.

This is truly awful! A plea to anybody in the area: *please* give out water bottles to those folks in need. Please!

:-(

:cry:

[getmeouttahere]

6. Geez, this is awful, and here I was thinking....

that exposure would only be a problem for homeless people in NORTHERN climes.

DUers in Phoenix - take the homeless some water!

[Erika]

8. Las Vegas is having the same problem

But they are trying to keep it quiet for the tourists.

[PartyPooper]

9. I wonder what Celine Dion has to say about the matter?

I understand she has her car and home "humidified" to protect her voice.

Does she / can she ever go outside and act "normal" with her child/ren and husband with such hot, dry weather?

[KitchenWitch]

15. As they say, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas"

Terrible...

All is sanitized for the tourists' "protection"

[raccoon]

23. OK, yall, somebody help me understand this.

I don't doubt for one moment that Las Vegas businesspeople and politicians would try to keep this quiet. I'm sure this sort of thing happens a lot.

But does anybody here understand exactly how this happens? Is it like a hotel owner would allow journalists a free stay in order to get Las Vegas favorable media coverage?

Or is it more a group effort on the part of the Las Vegas movers and shakers?

If somebody out there with experience in journalism or local politics can clue me in, or anybody out there who just happens to know, I'd appreciate your information.

[krkaufman]

10. Not to diminish the suffering of the many across the US...

... but imagine 120 degree heat, with continual power outages every day.

[XemaSab]

11. Exactly

I can't imagine...

[DanCa]

13. Darn straight. (nt)

[Cocoa]

18. yep, and often no water as well

[krkaufman]

20. Or water sanitation

Just saw a TV report within the last week reporting on the completion of a major new water sanitation plant for part of Baghdad. Unfortunately, it runs less than 8 hours per day due to power outages.

[KitchenWitch]

14. This is terribly sad

Every winter here in Minnesota, we have a lot of homeless deaths due to subzero weather conditions. I am not entirely sure which death would be worse: freezing to death or dying of heat stroke.

Shame on our elected officials.

[htuttle]

16. Dying of heat stroke is probably worse

At least it's a lot more painful.

Or so I've heard, of course. Never died myself.

[Dora]

21. Heat is far worse

When you die of hypothermia, you just get sleepy, your heart slows down, and eventually stops.

I'd rather freeze, any day.

[Coventina]

17. It's been absolutely horrible here in Phoenix

The worst summer for several years now.

The other population (aside from homeless) that has been suffering a lot are the elderly living alone.

Several elderly women have been found dead in their homes.

If any DUers have elderly family members who have retired in this area, please call and check on them! Make sure they are taking care of themselves or someone is coming daily to make sure they are staying cool and hydrated!

[Pewlett Hackard]

19. was just in Phoenix last month

on business trip. the very first thing I though about when I felt the heat was "are there any homeless here? how can they survive?"
for 2 days all I could think about regarding Phoenix was "why would anyone choose to live in this godforsaken desolate wasteland?" It gets hot in FLA too where I grew up but I never heard of people roasting to death there.

[Bhaisahab]

22. welcome to DU ph, glad to meet you

i used to work for your cousin hewlett packard. a real pain in the ass, that one was. anyway, this is a nice place. stick around.