ByD NY 00
C 1ft
ICAl...AMAZOO-Mo than 330
p . one cram amazoo Coun-
ty Jail e open the door.
Sheriff Thoma Edmond
m t reduce the jail' population
to 293 or le to prevent ntence
reductio from being ordered
under the te' 0 ercrowding
emergency law.
Th commissione, and the
chief judge of the,county, while
seekm to apply the overcrowd­
ing· emergency law, are blatantly
viol ing many other righ of
t e confined, according to in­
mat at the jail.
for drunk tank nd i 01 tin
problem inmates.
Now, e ch lab h thre pi -
tic-coated mattre e. A two­
and-one-h If-foot w lkw y
divid the lab, which are p­
proximately three feet from the
concrete floor. Th w lkway
ends at metal ink/toilet com­
bination. Bees of i isolation
and lack of ventilation, Men'
Holding has an average tempera­
ture of between 95 and 110
degre .
Despite th e auna-like con­
ditio ,no hower i available for
the 36 men languishing there.
THE PRISONERS are
transported throughout the jail to
MANY QUESTION whether use available showers at the time
those in charge know what over- turnkeys feel inclined to give
crowding means in human terms. them.
M�t look beyond tbe overcrowd- After three to four wee in
ing issue as the reason for their Men's Holding, inmates are
unconstitutional deprivations and moved to other areas of the
lack of care. They point out four prison, Howing .thern acce to
specific areas where Edmonds telephones, T,V., hool and
failed to protect their constitu- religious programming.
righ t prilo
--",- ..
I D cl spent three months
whereby inmate can be Men's HOlding.
segregated ccording to age, "The bottom line," accordin
charge, and behavior. . to one prisoner,"i thi jail don't
- Maintenance of L have any policies, no proce-
Library. dures- they make up rule as'
- Health screening of incom- they go. Who they put btlck into
ing inmates. . this hole is whoev r 'Jl�y choo e,
An area of the jail particularly everybody else goes directly to '
potlighted for condemnation population."
was Men's Holding 1-6. Inability to secure personal
Six cells containing twelve 18- property, uch as cosmetics, let­
foot slabs of . concrete , Men's ters, and court papers, while in
Holding formerly' was reserved See JAILS. B-3
r Fred rick" J.R." Powell Jr. hi the tre chlilin on the Labor Day weekend
e or roll bars, b t no p rkln tlcke elther--ju t the purejoy of true Innocence. (N. cott
ou
BY JIM ABRAMS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
W ASHINGTON- Blacks and
. Hispanics encounter discrimina­
tion from s1ammed doors to
higher prices - half the' time
they try to rent or buy a home,
according to a government-spon­
sored nationwide survey.
"We were very distressed by
the high incidence of discrimina­
tion," said Margery Turner of
The Urban Institute, which-with
Syracuse University conducted
the survey for the Department of
Housing and Urban Develop-
ment.
TYPES OF discrimination
range from fairly rare instances
of being told that an advertised
housing unit is not available to
more ubUe and wide pread prac­
tices of being shown fewer
homes than whites, being
charged more for rental , being
given le s information on
mortgages or being' 'steered" to
predominantly minority or
lower-income neighborhoods.
The survey, conducted in the
spring and summer of 1989, con­
sisted of 3,800 audits, or paired
test, in 25 metropolitan areas.
Typically, a white tester po ed as
a customer interested in buying
or renting a home.
. Black or Hispanic testers,
characterized �s being of the
same income or educational
levels, inquired about the same
housing. Their treatments were
then compared. Among the
main findings:
-Eight percent of Black and
Hispanic home buyers were
denied an opportunity to meet
with a real estate agent or told
nothing wa available even
though uni t were shown to
whites. The figures rose to 15
percent for Blacks and 12 percent
ill thriv
.
for Hispanics trying to rent hous-
ing.
-Black renter were hown
18 percent fewer unit and
recommended 48 percent fewer
unit. Hispanic were shown 8
percent fewer units than white
renters and 25 percent fewer
uni ts were recommended to
them.
-Nearly one-fourth of both
Black and Hispanic renters faced
Ie favorable terms, such a
higher rents or higher fees for
parking or utilities. In 39 percent
of the cases, less information and
assi ranee on financing a home
y er
BENTON HARBO
There' new version of an
old g me: make merry on
the money of the poor.
To play, it take a corn­
bin tion 0 corporate wel­
fare program and "poverty
pimp - bure ucrat paid
wi th fun e rned by poor
fol .
The cene thi time
revolve around the new
Ford Motor Co./Dunlop
Automotive Compo i te
pl nt in Benton H rbor.
Lured by the incentive
of the tate' only
Enterpri e Zone, Dunlop i
erecting a $36 million plant
to produce composite
automotive components,
considered to be promi­
in field D e a 0 i -
duatry.
En terpri e Zone benefi ts
.Incfude exempuo trom
the State' Single B Ine
Tax, exemption from alJ
sale tax on good pur­
cha ed in Michigan for
business use, nd exemp­
tions from state u e taxe .
In addition, the firm will
receive a 65% reduction in
real and personal property
taxe .
S • JOB GAMES, B-3
Turner, deputy research
director f r the project, aid that
t .rve y revealed that
Hispanics face nearly the same
level of discrimination tllat
Blac s encounter in.the housing
market.
I
Overall, i as estimated that
B css face discrimination 56
percent of the time they seek to
rent a house, and 59 percent of
the time they try to buy a home.
The figures for Hispanics W#re
50 percent and 56 percent,
respectively.
purcba e were provided to
Blacks. Hispanics found les in­
formation and help in financing
37 percent of the time.
-Twenty-one percent of both
Blac and Hi panic ex­
perienced "steering" - when n
agent directs a potential buyer or
renter to an area wi th a higher
minority population or lower per
capita income d house values.
JOHN YINGER, profe sor
of economics and public ad­
mini tration at Syracu e Univer­
sity and research director of the
S •. HOUSING, P.g. B-3
.,