Skabewis

By Gillian Flaccus
Thermal, California (AP)

A federal judge ventured from his chambers and into the dusty streets of a migrant housing encampment December as he debated whether to grant a government motion to order drastic repairs or shut the place down.

Flanked by gun-toting federal marshals and the occasional stray dog, U.S. District Judge Stephen G. Larson spent more than an hour walking the narrow, muddy streets of the settlement, which as many as 4,000 farmworkers call home.

A court reporter, a bailiff, and an entourage of attorneys, sheriff’s deputies and reporters followed Larson from trailer to trailer as a private code inspector – who wore protective booties – pointed out unsecured propane tanks, thickets of twisted wiring, unstable foundations, standing water and exposed electrical outlets.

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