Kat Maxwell, of “Jane and Kat” Duo, Is Dead

Why are there homeless people in Santa Barbara?
Isn't this the home of countless millionaires and billionaires?
This is SHAMEFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Kat Maxwell, of “Jane and Kat” duo, is Dead"
"Timothy A. French, “Shakey,” is Dead"
"William “Lucky” Bedel Is Dead"

What's the deal with these headlines Independent? If the person who passes is homeless they get the "is Dead" treatment? Anyone else think it's a bit blatant. I didn't see a "Fess Parker is Dead" headline. The first one was offensive, the second one was obnoxious, the third one has me completely disgusted. Get it together Independent. It's rude.

Yeah, but it's not a death notice, it's an article. Death notices costs hundreds of dollars you know.

There are homeless people in Santa Barbara because we have this great climate and they can come here and live on the beach or in the park... we have a city full of bleeding hearts for people who refuse to work and who instead beg money (some even get threatening) from those of us that go to jobs all day at places we hate, so we can put a roof over our children's heads and food in their mouths. There are homeless people here becuase our taxes feed, cloth and house them... many of us who work hard are only a step above where they are because Santa Barbara would rather house the homeless than provide some type of rent control for the people who work hard to maintain the quality of life and high standard of living that the folks who advocate for the homeless get paid out of our taxes...

If the Independent is going to bother to 'report' on the death of a community member, homeless or not, they should have the decency to use more respectful language regardless of whether it's an article or a death notice. "'Woman Drowns Near Stearn's Wharf," "Local Woman Suffers Siezure" not "So and So is Dead." Come on now...

It's very difficult to understand what your point is, "cramer."

Are you saying that instead of reporting someone is dead in a headline you prefer a euphemism? That using the word "dead' is disrespectful, or used more for homeless deaths than others reported on this website?

Jane, I am so sorry about your loss. Were you able to be with Kat in the hospital? Was her family there and were they nice to you? You both were away from SB which makes it doubly as hard since you were in an unfamiliar place.
I understand how hard it is to lose a loved one. Hang in there, my condolences to you.

Gotta agree with Cramer on this. Use of the word "dead" is inappropriately selective in many papers. In this case, it's blatant sensationalism at its best.

And yes, that word in a headline has the delicateness of a baseball bat in impact.

Who next---Ding-dong the Wicked Witch . . .?

Condolences to Jane for her loss.

My point is that both Jane and Kat are someone's family members and if a paper did a news article on one of your family members with the headline "(Insert your mother's name here) is Dead" you might feel like it was tacky and disrespectful.

Thanks for answering my question, cramer.

It is common practice to headline stories of people's deaths with the words 'dead' and 'dies.'

Here are the first 5 headlines of today's New York Times obituaries:

- Gerald A. Lawson, Video Game Pioneer, Dies at 70
- Sidney Harman, Newsweek Chairman, Is Dead at 92
- Salvador Assael, 88, Dies; Coaxed Riches From Pearls
- Charles Laufer, Founder of Tiger Beat, Dies at 87
- Hedda Sterne, Artist of Many Styles, Dies at 100

And here are some others from today using the word dead:
- William Young, Who Helped U.S. Organize Secret War in Laos, Is Dead at 76
- Edwin Gaustad, Religious Historian, Is Dead at 87
- Bernard Clayton Jr., Cookbook Author, Is Dead at 94
- W. H. Prusoff, Who Developed AIDS Drug, Is Dead at 90

I guess the Independent headline writer could be accused of leaving off the age of Kat Maxwell, but I don't see any disrespect in the treatment or the article -- quite the contrary, Isabelle Walker runs a blog called "Homeless in Santa Barbara," giving voice and attention to people without housing, and treats the issue and the people with sensitivity.

RIP, Kat Maxwell.

Fair enough. It may be common in news media, but I certainly think 'Prusoff, Who developed AIDS Drug, Is Dead at 90' has a different ring to it than "Timothy A. French, “Shakey,” is Dead" and "William “Lucky” Bedel Is Dead." I'm not accusing the author of not caring about her subjects, but the lack of tact is palpable. Additionally, read the articles you're citing and then read the ones I've cited. The difference is clear. As a special educator and long time advocate for people with mental health issues and/or cognitive disabilities, I'm loathe to believe that these articles honor the deceased in the same way your articles do theirs and the primary difference, in my opinion, is how they are viewed by society.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/din...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/07/hea...

http://www.independent.com/news/2011/...

http://www.independent.com/news/2011/...

To be fair, however, the articles and obits on homelessinsb.org truly are (again in my opinion) quite lovely...

cramer:

It's good that you recognize the articles and obits in the Homeless in Santa Barbara blog are (your words) "quite lovely..."

They are one and the same, with the five or so paragraphs which appear in The Independent the same as what appears in the Homeless in Santa Barbara blog.

Including this article, of which you take such offense and (again, your words) "the lack of tact is palpable."