California is home to Hollywood and Disneyland, sun and sand, and… nearly one-third of all unhoused people in the entire nation. Compare this to the fact that 12 percent of the nation resides in the Golden State and it becomes clear that there is a serious problem of housing that undercuts the Left Coast’s liberal reputation.
An extensive study of the state’s struggle with homelessness by the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) paints a detailed picture of the problem, and it’s not pretty. Homelessness is thriving at the intersections of racism, sexual violence, overpolicing, and more. The report’s authors explain, it “occurs in conjunction with structural conditions that produce and reproduce inequalities.”
LOS ANGELES, CA - Los Angeles is taking another step toward opening a city-owned public bank that would support projects driven by public interest.
The City Council voted last week to fund a feasibility study for the bank after advocates argued it would do better than private banks to serve Black and Latino communities, small businesses, green energy initiatives and affordable housing projects.
Corporate banks "don't give back to our community," said Gisele Mata, an organizer at the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) Action. "In fact, they just take. We have no way to move our communities out of predatory lending unless we create our own, because banks do not operate in a way that gives back to their communities."
LOS ANGELES, CA - The Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, the nonprofit closely associated with City Hall, is pivoting to focus solely on preventing homelessness, a departure from its broader approach under the last mayoral administration.
Mayor Karen Bass briefly mentioned the nonprofit’s new homeless initiative at an event Thursday, where local leaders announced a 10% rise in homelessness in L.A. compared with the previous year.
BAY AREA (Paywalled Article) - In a welcome if slight change after years of soaring prices, rents this year have declined across much of the Bay Area and beyond.
The median asking price for rent fell 4% from $2,963 to $2,844 in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward region this May compared to last May, while prices rose 1% from $3,314 to $3,347 in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara region, according to a new report from real estate website Realtor.com.
LOS ANGELES, CA - The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday, June 20, elected Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson its new president pro tempore, replacing Councilmember Curren Price who stepped down from the leadership post last week and is facing corruption charges.
The 12-0 vote to name Harris-Dawson the new president pro tempore was taken with no discussion by the council. Price has not attended a council meeting since the news broke about the charges against him and was absent for the vote. Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was also absent.
Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and…housing?
California lawmakers are trying to enshrine the right to housing in the state’s constitution. But what exactly does that mean in a state that lacks the resources to give everyone a roof over their heads?
Supporters say the constitutional amendment would hold state and local officials more accountable for solving California’s homelessness crisis.
“It’s really a way to make sure elected officials and the government does its job and doesn’t continue to fail so miserably in ensuring access to housing for all,” said the author of Assembly Constitutional Amendment 10, San Francisco Democrat Matt Haney.
When state Sen. María Elena Durazo introduced a bill in March to bolster the California Tenant Protection Act, she called for lowering the cap on rent increases to 5%, while closing loopholes landlords use to evict tenants when there’s no “just cause.”
By the time her “homelessness prevention” bill moved to the Senate floor on May 31, negotiations and compromise had watered it down. The rent cap provision was gone and several other provisions were significantly curbed.
Those victories are evidence, advocates say, that renters are gaining influence in the Capitol. Though groups representing landlords and real estate continue spending millions on lobbying and supporting candidates, tenants rights groups are starting to chip away at their influence.
Cuando la senadora estatal María Elena Durazo presentó un proyecto de ley en marzo para reforzar la Ley de Protección de Inquilinos de California, pidió que se redujera el tope de los aumentos de alquiler al 5%, mientras se cerraban las lagunas que los propietarios usan para desalojar a los inquilinos cuando no hay una “causa justa”.
Cuando su proyecto de ley de “prevención de la falta de vivienda” pasó al pleno del Senado el 31 de mayo, las negociaciones y el compromiso lo habían diluido. La disposición de tope de alquiler se eliminó y varias otras disposiciones se redujeron significativamente.