Page 10 August 2012 Courts take effort to aid homeless Justice Steven Sarkis By Steven Sarkis People often talk about the cycle of homelessness and how hard it is to break. Working within the criminal justice system, I can vouch for this. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen the same faces in the same predicaments, sometimes with un fi nished cases dating back 10 or more years. These people often are homeless or on the brink. They come to court with no job and no way to pay their fi nes. It doesn’t make sense to put them in jail since housing someone in jail costs money. And if they can’t pay their court fi nes they likely can’t pay jail fi nes. Then the burden of jail costs shifts to the taxpayers. Let me explain the cycle from the court’s viewpoint. Homeless people often are cited with such violations as loitering, vagrancy or trespassing. Since they are constantly on the move they often are cited for these same violations time and again, except in different jurisdictions. Then they have multiple court dates in different courts spread throughout Arizona. With no money for transportation, and certainly no money to pay the fi nes, they often don’t show up. For most homeless people, other priorities take precedence, like eating. The court dates come and go. Fines go into default. Warrants are issued. When warrants are issued it becomes nearly impossible to get a driver’s license, fi nd housing, employment or otherwise be reintegrated back into society. That’s the cycle. Arizona has taken a giant leap in terms of breaking it. The Phoenix-area Regional Homeless Court has been in existence for quite a few years, though it was limited in its effectiveness. Gov. Brewer recently signed into law a bill expanding the court to all 50 municipal and justice courts in Maricopa County. This means any of these 50 courts can refer a case to the Regional Homeless Court Continued on page 14 rebecca@thejoffegroup.com Michael Saavedra, MD, FAAAAI Board Cer Ɵ Į ed in Allergy & Immunology for both children and adults. 4901 N. 44th St., Ste. 103 • Phoenix, AZ 85018 (602) 954-0405 • www.phoenixallergyclinic.com & Immunology for both children and adults. 4901 N. 44th St., Ste. 103 • Phoenix, AZ 85018 Allergy Testing Allergy Shots Rapid Desensitization Asthma Treatment Eczema Food Allergy Hives/ Contact Dermatitis Hay Fever Chronic Cough Watery, Itchy Eyes Adult and Pediatric Allergy and Asthma Care Contact us at (602) 954-0405 to schedule your appointment TODAY! YOUR RUNNING SHOP WITH A TRAIL VIBE INDIAN SCHOOL RD. & 48TH ST. IN THE SAFEWAY CENTER 602-368-5330 WWW.IRUNSHOP.COM GROUP RUNS: TUESDAY 5:30 AM THURSDAY 5:30 PM / SATURDAY 6:30 AM Mileage Options 3.69mi / 5mi Elevation Gain 1200 ft / 1800 ft Difficulty Rating (out of 5) Terrain Rating (out of 5) Scenic Rating (out of 5) CIRCUMFERENCE TRAIL 302 PHOENIX, AZ Featured Trail GETTING TO THE TRAILHEAD Take AZ 51 N to Glendale Ave. E (turns into Lincoln Dr.). Turn L onto E Squaw Peak Dr. and go .5 mile to park entrance. Park in the turnaround at the end of Squaw Peak Dr. or base of Piestewa Summit Trail. Mark Cosmas has been running ultra’s since 2000. He is the owner of iRun located at 48th St. and Indian School. He is passionate about trail running and has a long list of races under his belt including the Hard Rock 100, Western States 100 and Leadville 100. To reach Mark, visit irunshop.com.

Page 11 August 2012 Cool Fourth meant cool fun at Arcadia Parade Incredibly cool weather and the usual neighborhood participation led to one of the best Arcadia Fourth of July Parades in history. Photographers Edward Vient and Jenet Simmons captured the day. For more photos, check out arcadiadaily.com. Photos by Edward Vient & Jenet Simmons More at arcadiadaily.com Photo by Edward Vient Photo by Edward Vient Photo by Edward Vient Photo by Edward Vient Photo by Jenet Simmons Photo by Jenet Simmons Photo by Jenet Simmons by Edward Vient net Simmons rcadiadaily.com Phot More