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Are Tiny Homes A Viable Solution To Help With Homelessness Crisis?

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A woman wearing sunglasses stands outside the door of a grey tiny home.
Amanda Mora stands outside of her temporary home at Evans Lane housing, an interim housing facility located on city-owned land, in San José on Jan. 30, 2023. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, June 4, 2024:

  • The city of San Jose has embraced the idea of tiny homes as a way of getting more unhoused people off the street. There’s no statewide data tallying these homes — the term has become shorthand for everything from rudimentary sheds to multi-story modular housing — but cities across California, from Los Angeles to Sacramento to Oakland, have each added scores of them in recent years. But should the state do the same?
  • For the second time in recent weeks, the state’s Public Employment Relations Board has denied a request from the University of California, for an injunction against an ongoing strike by graduate students and other academic workers. UC maintains the strike is illegal. A statement from the union says, quote – “it’s time for UC to face reality” and negotiate with the union on issues relating to campus protests and free speech.
  • California’s newest congressman has been sworn in. Vince Fong took the oath of office on the House floor Monday. He’s serving the remainder of the term of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the 20th Congressional District.

Should California Double Down on Building Tiny Homes for People Experiencing Homelessness?

More than 1,600 people have lived in a tiny home in San Jose — a city that has embraced this type of temporary housing more aggressively than nearly any other in the state. There’s no statewide data tallying the homes — the term has become shorthand for everything from rudimentary sheds to multi-story modular housing — but cities across California, from Los Angeles to Sacramento to Oakland, have each added scores of them in recent years.

Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signaled his support for the approach when he promised to distribute 1,200 more to select cities, including San Jose. But that promise has not come to fruition.

Now lawmakers are considering a plan to expedite their construction. A proposed state law, SB 1395, would make it easier to build tiny home villages by clearing some of the red tape that slows new projects.

State Board Upholds UC Workers’ Right to Strike Over Response to Campus Protests

State regulators denied the University of California’s claim that recent academic workers’ strikes are illegal, clearing the way for thousands of graduate teaching assistants, researchers and others to continue walking off the job as the union expands its strikes this week.

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The decision by the California Public Employment Relations Board, or PERB, found the UC did not demonstrate “sufficient grounds” for bringing its complaint, the second time in recent weeks that it declined to order an immediate end to the strike.

Before this week, academic workers were already striking at UC Santa Cruz, UCLA and UC Davis.  UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego followed suit on Monday and UC Irvine is expected to join the strike on Wednesday.

Republican Vince Fong Takes Oath Of Office To Complete McCarthy’s Term

Republican Vince Fong of California was sworn into Congress on Monday after winning a special election to complete the remainder of the term of deposed former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Fong was a member of the California State Assembly before running for the House. He was backed by former President Donald Trump and McCarthy, who watched the ceremony in person from the House floor. Fong’s swearing-in gives Republicans a 218-213 majority.

Fong said that as he has traveled his Central Valley-based congressional district, he heard that Congress must do more to address the U.S.-Mexico border, stop the rising cost of everyday essentials and work to keep communities safe, among other priorities.

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