Editorial: L.A. officials lied to justify seizing homeless people's belongings. That's despicable
by Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times— For homeless people, the only place to store their belongings is on the ground or inside a tent. When city workers clean up a sidewalk and take those belongings and destroy them, the effect is devastating. People have lost their tents, clean clothes, personal records, IDs, medications and more, according to a lawsuit accusing the city of Los Angeles of illegal seizure and destruction of property. Janet Garcia, one of the eight plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed by the Legal Aid Foundation of Los...
NBC News—Karen Bass aims to reverse L.A.’s — and the nation’s — decadeslong struggle with homelessness. Karen Bass’ first act after taking the oath of office as Los Angeles’ mayor in December 2022 was to declare a state of emergency on homelessness. Now, Bass, the first woman to lead the City of Angels, has also set her sights on tackling homelessness at the national level as chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Task Force on Homelessness. This week, the former California congresswoman helped lead a bipartisan group of more than 50 mayors from across the country back to her old stomping...
@Marketplace—Why it’s gotten more expensive to house people experiencing homelessness. Higher interest rates and insurance costs make building low-income and supportive housing more costly — especially in California, home to 28% of the U.S. homeless population.
Los Angeles Times—Letters to the Editor: Get used to more DIY houses in L.A. built by homeless people. To the editor: Your article on the DIY house built by homeless immigrants in Highland Park vividly brought to mind the various favelas I saw in Rio de Janeiro many years ago. Many of them were intricately constructed of several different materials, some with a great deal of skill and artistry. And I could not help wondering at the time how there was such a disparity in that city between the extremely wealthy and so many poor people living in these shacks. I keep wondering the same thing now. If...