According to Irene Smith of SJ's Independent Leadership Group, the City of San Diego has moved more quickly and effectively than other CA cities in addressing homelessness--most notably by implementing a citywide No Camping ordinance in 2023--even before the SCOTUS Grants Pass decision. While the City of San Jose recently began studying SD's safe sleeping sites program and is considering implementing something similar sometime in the future, Smith says SD is pioneering effective and compassionate homelessness programs.

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Taking advantage of the legal flexibility provided by SCOTUS' Grants Pass decision and in alignment with Gov. Newsom's requests, Fresno County has taken a more aggressive approach to ameliorating inhumane and unsafe homeless encampments on public land. The excellent Fresno Bee explains.

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Legislators in Florida, Georgia, and Utah are fed up, and took steps this year to redirect funds away from the deeply flawed Housing First approach to homelessness, and towards policies built on rehabilitation and behavioral health services, with the ultimate goal of independence from government support. Devon Kurtz from the Cicero Institute explains in City Journal.

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Thirty-four. That's how many felonies with which the fired boss of the scandal-plauged SF SAFE nonprofit was recently charged. Allegations include  misappropriation of public money, submitting fraudulent invoices, theft, wage theft and check fraud. Recent state and federal audits have also daylighted irregularities with South Bay-based non profits regarding taxpayer-funded housing programs. SF Standard continues to show how local news should be covered. 

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SF City staff has started towing RVs from a controversial encampment near the San Francisco Zoo. The move is part of Mayor Breed's commitment to get more "aggressive" about addressing inhumane, illegal, and unsafe homeless encampments. SF Standard is on the story.

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It's only early August, but change is in the air. Days a little shorter. Kids going back to school. Calibunga only open on weekends.  But still--summer lingers. And Peter Coe Verbica catches it all in his rooted-in-the-South-Bay-foothills free verse. An Opp Now exclusive.

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A measure on the November ballot that would double LA County's quarter-cent homeless sales tax does not yet have enough support to pass. Doug Smith reports for the LA Times. 

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The Los Angeles City Council approved a motion last Friday allowing the immediate towing of illegally parked vehicles, including RVs, across large areas of the city. Previously, the LAPD was required to ensure vehicles were unoccupied and to offer housing outreach services before towing. The always-enlightening Westside Currents reports. 

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What was the BAHFA board thinking when they tried to muscle through RM4--a clearly misguided and mis-timed mammoth new tax? Marc Joffe of the California Policy Institute suggests arrogance and hive-mind may have blinded the board from what citizens were really thinking.

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The defeat of RM4 showed that regular people of all political stripes can come together in the Bay Area and defend taxpayers from poorly designed policy measures, says Gus Mattammal, President of 20BillionReasons, the victorious grass-roots group that opposed RM4. {Ed. note: And let's ponder this: just one Bay Area resident found an embarrassing math error that played a huge role in knocking RM4 off the ballot.} In this Opp Now exclusive, Mattammal stresses how important it is for concerned Bay Areans to organize across party lines early and build a strong ground game.

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In honor of CSO Long Pham's life and service, the office of Councilmember Bien Doan will be holding a candlelight vigil on Thursday, August 22, at 7:30 PM at the Vietnamese Heritage Garden, located at 1499 Roberts Ave, San Jose, CA 95112. Below, comments from Doan.

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