Street Sense and the pre-inaugural concert

I finished my first story yesterday. It was a preview of the inaugural parade and it highlighted a few of the more than 90 groups selected to march.

The other day I bought a copy of Street Sense for the suggested donation of $1. Street Sense is Washington's only newspaper written, produced and distributed by the homeless. Seventy-five cents goes to the vendor and 25 cents helps fund the production of the paper. The articles mostly focus on social issues and homelessness. It is one of about 25 papers of its kind across the country. The main article in this week's edition was about violence against the homeless, specifically the story of one homeless man who was killed while sleeping outside in December. The paper also highlighted a few of its staff members, telling their stories and successes since working for the paper. One staff member said he had been working for the paper for a few months and can now afford some sort of independent housing. I think Lansing would benefit from having a similar paper.

Today the group is going to cover the pre-inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial. The concert will begin at about 2:30 p.m., though we will be arriving early to get photos, video and "crowd color."