Rising costs and gentrification threaten Northern Pasadena communities

Share: The double-edged sword of gentrification has become a fact of life for long-time residents and community college students of Pasadena over the past few years. While San Francisco, New York City and Downtown Los Angeles might get the lion’s share of media attention for the cost of renting an apartment to astronomical levels, the generally quiet town of Pasadena has come close to entering California’s top 20 list of most expensive places to rent in recent years. Follow:

Oppressive police need massive civilian oversight

Share: In 1965, New York Mayor John Lindsay proposed including civilians on a review board as a way to address complaints from minority groups about police misconduct. The move backfired, and the police union and conservatives rallied against civilian oversight. Voters later defeated the idea in a citywide vote. Two decades passed before civilian oversight was approved in NYC and during that time police misconduct and abuse soared in the city, particularly against minorities. Follow:

The war on drugs does more harm than good

Share:   Among the many wars that America has been involved in over the years, the war on drugs has perhaps had the largest and most negative effect on civilian lives to date. Rather than protecting people from the dangers of life-threatening drugs, the continuation of criminalizing virtually harmless recreational drugs has only increased incarceration rates and ruined the lives of casual, nonviolent users. Follow:

Editorial: Advisers inspire JACC wins

Share: This past weekend the Courier staff attended the Journalism Association of Community Colleges State Conference in Burbank where we not only attended panels and workshops but also competed in State Publication contests and On-the-Spot contests. We did extremely well individually and as a whole, winning a total of 19 awards including the Pacesetter Award, which is given to the top four student publications in the state. Follow: