The State - News from Jan. 18, 1988

Merchants in Pittsburg are trying to block a minister’s plan to turn a vacant building at a shopping center into a shelter for about 20 homeless women and children in Contra Costa County. The Rev. Cynthia Smith, leader of the Radiant Life Ministries, said she plans to begin housing people in the former bingo parlor, but merchants have begun applying political pressure to quash the proposal. The Pittsburg City Council, which earlier approved a four-month operating permit for the shelter despite bitter opposition, has now asked its staff to draft an ordinance that would prohibit homeless shelters from operating in a shopping center.