Homelessness Is Down in Alameda County. Can It Maintain That Progress?
Fewer People Are Sleeping on San Francisco Streets. But Family Homelessness Is Up
Did Newsom’s $3.8 Billion Hotels-to-Housing Program Pay Off?
H-2A Program Sparks Debate in California's Farming Communities
Following Newsom’s Veto, Lawmaker Returns With Drug-Free Homeless Housing Bill
Homeless Funding Plan Raises Concerns as San Francisco Looks to Narrow Budget Deficit
Oakland Makes It Easier to Sweep Encampments, California Billionaire Tax and SF Library Weddings
Oakland Passes Controversial Policy Easing Restrictions on Encampment Sweeps
As Legal Aid Groups Face Budget Cuts, San Francisco Awards 1 Group Millions
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/alameda-county\">Alameda County \u003c/a>saw its largest overall reduction in homelessness to date over the last two years, according to new data released by county officials on Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county’s biennial Point In Time count found a 13% drop in overall homelessness and 18% drop in unsheltered homelessness since 2024, bringing the proportion of unhoused people outside to its lowest point in more than a decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jonathan Russell, the county’s director of Housing and Homelessness Services, said Tuesday that the preliminary data from this year’s tally is “a good sign that we know what works, that we can end this entrenched suffering, and that we need to do it together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The biggest decrease was in Oakland, which saw a 20% drop in its unhoused population. The result reverses a trend recorded in 2024, when the city’s homelessness rose 9% while the county overall saw a modest decline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today’s proof is that we are doing the right thing,” Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Oakland, which accounts for more than half of the county’s unhoused individuals, despite representing just 22% of the population, is the “epicenter” of the county’s crisis, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Alameda County's Homeless Population\" aria-label=\"Line chart\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-VtVL3\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/VtVL3/2/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border: none;\" width=\"600\" height=\"527\" data-external=\"1\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The homelessness crisis in Alameda County, here in Oakland specifically, is at its root a racial equity crisis,” Lee said. “It’s a product of decades, and I mean decades, of redlining, disinvestment and displacement. We can’t sweep this under the rug.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee said Oakland has the lofty goal of reducing homelessness by 50% in five years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city has 1,000 units of housing for formerly unhoused people that are already in construction or set to break ground next year, and 2,000 new affordable housing units in its pipeline, according to Lee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Oakland is also facing budget headwinds, and Lee warned that without additional funding, the city could have to cut about 190 shelter beds. In June, Oaklanders will vote on whether to pass \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide/alameda/measure-e\">Measure E\u003c/a>, an annual parcel tax that could raise $34 million for the city annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A daylong count of homelessness, the PIT is a federal survey conducted every other January in counties across the country. While the method is considered an imperfect measure of homelessness, it is useful for identifying trends.[aside postID=news_12083310 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/005_KQED_SanFrancisco_SafeSleepingVillage_05142020-1020x680.jpg']The 1,300 volunteers who walked Alameda County block by block in one morning this year found that the number of families with children and unaccompanied youth under 25 experiencing homelessness decreased, while veteran homelessness rose slightly. A few cities, including Berkeley, Fremont and Livermore, saw slight upticks in their total unhoused populations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the survey’s biggest findings was a continued rise in the number of unhoused people who are sheltered in Alameda County, with 1,140 fewer people sleeping on the streets compared to 2024. Since 2019, that percentage has increased from 21% to 37%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not entirely clear whether the number of unsheltered unhoused people was impacted by policy shifts after the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision gave cities the right to enforce camping bans, though Oakland and Berkeley are among the cities that tightened encampment management policies that had been disallowed under a previous lower court order.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In neighboring \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083310/fewer-people-are-sleeping-on-san-francisco-streets-but-family-homelessness-is-up\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, which has focused aggressively on clearing encampments since the 2024 ruling, unsheltered homelessness plummeted 22%. More than 50% of the city’s homeless population is sheltered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heather Freinkel, the outreach team supervisor with Alameda County’s Homeless Action Center, said that after sweeps of larger encampments, “It’s likely that unsheltered residents are seeking solitary and scattered locations to avoid being targeted, which would make them harder for [Point In Time] volunteers to find.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said she does not believe that there has been a significant net increase in the number of unsheltered people being offered housing or shelter since the last count in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12042903\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12042903\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20250529_OhloneParkEncampment_GC-16_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20250529_OhloneParkEncampment_GC-16_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20250529_OhloneParkEncampment_GC-16_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20250529_OhloneParkEncampment_GC-16_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20250529_OhloneParkEncampment_GC-16_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20250529_OhloneParkEncampment_GC-16_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20250529_OhloneParkEncampment_GC-16_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The homeless encampment at Ohlone Park in Berkeley on May 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Local leaders from across the county credited an influx of local policy to fund homelessness services and build new housing, including Measure W, a 0.5% sales tax passed in 2020 to generate about $150 million a year for rapid rehousing, rental subsidies and expanded emergency shelter and permanent supportive housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, the county \u003ca href=\"https://www.achcd.org/measure-w-home-together-fund/\">awarded $50 million\u003c/a> in Measure W revenue to 10 projects in various cities, which will provide 900 new housing units, including 346 for people experiencing homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, who represents parts of Oakland and Pleasanton and Castro Valley, said Measure W would allocate another $50 million to focus on homelessness prevention in the next year. For the first time on record, Alameda County saw more people move out of homelessness into housing than enter homelessness in 2025, Russell said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we can turn off that spigot and stop people from becoming homeless, then we’ll eventually work our way out of this crisis,” Miley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Oakland saw a 20% drop in its unhoused population over the past two years. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/alameda-county\">Alameda County \u003c/a>saw its largest overall reduction in homelessness to date over the last two years, according to new data released by county officials on Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county’s biennial Point In Time count found a 13% drop in overall homelessness and 18% drop in unsheltered homelessness since 2024, bringing the proportion of unhoused people outside to its lowest point in more than a decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jonathan Russell, the county’s director of Housing and Homelessness Services, said Tuesday that the preliminary data from this year’s tally is “a good sign that we know what works, that we can end this entrenched suffering, and that we need to do it together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The biggest decrease was in Oakland, which saw a 20% drop in its unhoused population. The result reverses a trend recorded in 2024, when the city’s homelessness rose 9% while the county overall saw a modest decline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today’s proof is that we are doing the right thing,” Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Oakland, which accounts for more than half of the county’s unhoused individuals, despite representing just 22% of the population, is the “epicenter” of the county’s crisis, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Alameda County's Homeless Population\" aria-label=\"Line chart\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-VtVL3\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/VtVL3/2/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border: none;\" width=\"600\" height=\"527\" data-external=\"1\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The homelessness crisis in Alameda County, here in Oakland specifically, is at its root a racial equity crisis,” Lee said. “It’s a product of decades, and I mean decades, of redlining, disinvestment and displacement. We can’t sweep this under the rug.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee said Oakland has the lofty goal of reducing homelessness by 50% in five years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city has 1,000 units of housing for formerly unhoused people that are already in construction or set to break ground next year, and 2,000 new affordable housing units in its pipeline, according to Lee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Oakland is also facing budget headwinds, and Lee warned that without additional funding, the city could have to cut about 190 shelter beds. In June, Oaklanders will vote on whether to pass \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide/alameda/measure-e\">Measure E\u003c/a>, an annual parcel tax that could raise $34 million for the city annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A daylong count of homelessness, the PIT is a federal survey conducted every other January in counties across the country. While the method is considered an imperfect measure of homelessness, it is useful for identifying trends.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The 1,300 volunteers who walked Alameda County block by block in one morning this year found that the number of families with children and unaccompanied youth under 25 experiencing homelessness decreased, while veteran homelessness rose slightly. A few cities, including Berkeley, Fremont and Livermore, saw slight upticks in their total unhoused populations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the survey’s biggest findings was a continued rise in the number of unhoused people who are sheltered in Alameda County, with 1,140 fewer people sleeping on the streets compared to 2024. Since 2019, that percentage has increased from 21% to 37%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not entirely clear whether the number of unsheltered unhoused people was impacted by policy shifts after the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision gave cities the right to enforce camping bans, though Oakland and Berkeley are among the cities that tightened encampment management policies that had been disallowed under a previous lower court order.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In neighboring \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083310/fewer-people-are-sleeping-on-san-francisco-streets-but-family-homelessness-is-up\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, which has focused aggressively on clearing encampments since the 2024 ruling, unsheltered homelessness plummeted 22%. More than 50% of the city’s homeless population is sheltered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heather Freinkel, the outreach team supervisor with Alameda County’s Homeless Action Center, said that after sweeps of larger encampments, “It’s likely that unsheltered residents are seeking solitary and scattered locations to avoid being targeted, which would make them harder for [Point In Time] volunteers to find.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said she does not believe that there has been a significant net increase in the number of unsheltered people being offered housing or shelter since the last count in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12042903\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12042903\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20250529_OhloneParkEncampment_GC-16_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20250529_OhloneParkEncampment_GC-16_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20250529_OhloneParkEncampment_GC-16_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20250529_OhloneParkEncampment_GC-16_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20250529_OhloneParkEncampment_GC-16_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20250529_OhloneParkEncampment_GC-16_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20250529_OhloneParkEncampment_GC-16_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The homeless encampment at Ohlone Park in Berkeley on May 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Local leaders from across the county credited an influx of local policy to fund homelessness services and build new housing, including Measure W, a 0.5% sales tax passed in 2020 to generate about $150 million a year for rapid rehousing, rental subsidies and expanded emergency shelter and permanent supportive housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, the county \u003ca href=\"https://www.achcd.org/measure-w-home-together-fund/\">awarded $50 million\u003c/a> in Measure W revenue to 10 projects in various cities, which will provide 900 new housing units, including 346 for people experiencing homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, who represents parts of Oakland and Pleasanton and Castro Valley, said Measure W would allocate another $50 million to focus on homelessness prevention in the next year. For the first time on record, Alameda County saw more people move out of homelessness into housing than enter homelessness in 2025, Russell said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we can turn off that spigot and stop people from becoming homeless, then we’ll eventually work our way out of this crisis,” Miley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Fewer People Are Sleeping on San Francisco Streets. But Family Homelessness Is Up",
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"content": "\u003cp>The number of people sleeping outside on San Francisco’s sidewalks is plummeting, but families continue to struggle to find affordable, stable housing amid rising rents and a skyrocketing cost of living.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/2026-point-in-time-count-preliminary-results\">preliminary data\u003c/a> from this year’s Point in Time (PIT) Count, a federal survey of the city’s homeless residents conducted in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It found that there were 1,000 fewer unsheltered people compared to the 2024 survey, marking a 22% decrease and the lowest recorded level since 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“More people are coming inside to get shelter and treatment, and we are moving in the right direction,” Mayor Daniel Lurie said during a press conference on Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie campaigned on addressing street homelessness and outdoor drug use in the lead-up to his 2024 election as mayor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city has made a number of changes to its approach to both issues since he stepped into office in January 2025, including opening a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12038376/tenderloin-welcomes-mental-health-clinic-demands-broader-city-action-on-homelessness\">crisis stabilization center\u003c/a> at 822 Geary St. and, most recently, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12081889/not-a-jail-not-an-emergency-room-what-is-daniel-luries-new-reset-center\">the RESET Center\u003c/a>, a controversial sobering center and jail alternative where police bring people using drugs outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"San Francisco's Homeless Population\" aria-label=\"Line chart\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-Yvyf5\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Yvyf5/1/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"500\" data-external=\"1\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When more than 800 people died of overdose in 2023, how could we expect San Franciscans or anyone else, for that matter, to feel like we were at our best as a city,” Lurie said at the press conference outside of Hope House, a recovery-focused transitional housing site. “I thought we had lost our way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, the city saw a 4% decline in all homelessness in the latest count, dropping from 8,323 to 7,973 people since 2024, according to the PIT data.[aside postID=news_12081889 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042906RESET-CENTER_GH_018-KQED.jpg']The tally, which takes place every two years, sends surveyors out to scan the city block by block in a single day to count the number of people who are homeless both outside, including in cars and tents, and in shelters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is widely considered an imperfect measure, but a valuable tool in measuring broad changes in the city’s homeless population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the encouraging overall decrease, this year’s PIT Count found a 15% increase since 2024 in families experiencing homelessness. Many live in their vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The finding comes as rent prices and evictions in San Francisco have increased. Kunal Modi, the mayor’s homelessness chief, pointed to the city’s rising cost of living as a key reason families are struggling to stay housed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s everything from the availability of affordable housing to the cost of everyday living, whether it’s gas or groceries or rising rents,” Modi said. “The homeless response system sits alongside other work around family zoning or efforts to keep people enrolled in their benefits… and we’re going to think about all of these elements working together to keep families housed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie’s administration has focused on clearing RVs as part of its overall approach to homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073557\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073557\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DanielLurieSFUSDStrike.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DanielLurieSFUSDStrike.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DanielLurieSFUSDStrike-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DanielLurieSFUSDStrike-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayor Daniel Lurie speaks at a press conference on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in San Francisco, addressing the San Francisco Unified School District’s newly reached agreement with the teachers’ union. \u003ccite>(Sydney Johnson/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In October 2025, permits were issued to large vehicles and RVs to avoid towing and citations as the city worked to move families and individuals living in campers into housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A total of 132 households have moved from their vehicles to housing, and the city has cited nearly 800 large vehicles and towed 240 since the start of the program, according to city data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie, who, according to a recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/mayor-lurie-still-popular-poll-120000359.html?guccounter=1\">\u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> poll,\u003c/a> has a whopping 74% approval rating among the more than 1,000 registered voters surveyed, said the bump in the number of families experiencing homelessness has been tied to the RV program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Most of those families [in the survey] were in shelter, but among those who weren’t, many were living in RVs,” he said. “I’m optimistic that our work around RVs has shown progress, and we are on track to have every family with a permitted vehicle in shelter or housing by the end of this year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest PIT Count recorded a roughly 85% decline in tents and other shelter structures outside, compared to the nearly 650 people identified in tents in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike previous years where the PIT Count took place overnight, this year’s survey was conducted in the early morning. Some homelessness advocates argued that the data was manipulated “for political gain” because the count took place when many working homeless people were out at service jobs or other responsibilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The PIT Count results can also be skewed by the Lurie administration’s refusal to halt sweeps during the count,” reads a statement from the Coalition on Homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The findings come as the city has ramped up efforts to clear sidewalk encampments and move or arrest people on sidewalks who are using drugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"San Francisco's Homeless Population\" aria-label=\"Stacked Bars\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-8a3tf\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/8a3tf/1/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"460\" data-external=\"1\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie campaigned on a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059460/bay-area-cities-expand-homeless-shelters-winning-over-neighbors-is-the-hard-part\">promise to build 1,500 shelter beds\u003c/a> within his first six months in office. But the mayor later pivoted, saying instead that the city needs the “right kind of beds,” such as treatment beds and transitional housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city has closed some non-congregate shelter options under Lurie’s administration, but overall has added a net total of 408 shelter beds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some homelessness advocates have criticized Lurie’s focus on short-term shelter, saying that the city must do more to focus on preventing homelessness and providing long-term housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Municipalities that overinvest in shelter see a short-term decrease in street counts, but without investment in prevention and housing, street counts will undoubtedly balloon in future years,” the Coalition on Homelessness said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, 57% of San Francisco’s homeless population is sheltered, and there are not enough beds for everyone who wants a spot. There were 500 people on the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/data--check-your-position-adult-shelter-waitlist\">waitlist for shelter\u003c/a> as of Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The full survey results from January’s PIT Count will be released this summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The number of people sleeping outside on San Francisco’s sidewalks is plummeting, but families continue to struggle to find affordable, stable housing amid rising rents and a skyrocketing cost of living.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/2026-point-in-time-count-preliminary-results\">preliminary data\u003c/a> from this year’s Point in Time (PIT) Count, a federal survey of the city’s homeless residents conducted in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It found that there were 1,000 fewer unsheltered people compared to the 2024 survey, marking a 22% decrease and the lowest recorded level since 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“More people are coming inside to get shelter and treatment, and we are moving in the right direction,” Mayor Daniel Lurie said during a press conference on Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie campaigned on addressing street homelessness and outdoor drug use in the lead-up to his 2024 election as mayor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city has made a number of changes to its approach to both issues since he stepped into office in January 2025, including opening a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12038376/tenderloin-welcomes-mental-health-clinic-demands-broader-city-action-on-homelessness\">crisis stabilization center\u003c/a> at 822 Geary St. and, most recently, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12081889/not-a-jail-not-an-emergency-room-what-is-daniel-luries-new-reset-center\">the RESET Center\u003c/a>, a controversial sobering center and jail alternative where police bring people using drugs outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"San Francisco's Homeless Population\" aria-label=\"Line chart\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-Yvyf5\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Yvyf5/1/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"500\" data-external=\"1\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When more than 800 people died of overdose in 2023, how could we expect San Franciscans or anyone else, for that matter, to feel like we were at our best as a city,” Lurie said at the press conference outside of Hope House, a recovery-focused transitional housing site. “I thought we had lost our way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, the city saw a 4% decline in all homelessness in the latest count, dropping from 8,323 to 7,973 people since 2024, according to the PIT data.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The tally, which takes place every two years, sends surveyors out to scan the city block by block in a single day to count the number of people who are homeless both outside, including in cars and tents, and in shelters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is widely considered an imperfect measure, but a valuable tool in measuring broad changes in the city’s homeless population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the encouraging overall decrease, this year’s PIT Count found a 15% increase since 2024 in families experiencing homelessness. Many live in their vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The finding comes as rent prices and evictions in San Francisco have increased. Kunal Modi, the mayor’s homelessness chief, pointed to the city’s rising cost of living as a key reason families are struggling to stay housed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s everything from the availability of affordable housing to the cost of everyday living, whether it’s gas or groceries or rising rents,” Modi said. “The homeless response system sits alongside other work around family zoning or efforts to keep people enrolled in their benefits… and we’re going to think about all of these elements working together to keep families housed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie’s administration has focused on clearing RVs as part of its overall approach to homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073557\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073557\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DanielLurieSFUSDStrike.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DanielLurieSFUSDStrike.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DanielLurieSFUSDStrike-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DanielLurieSFUSDStrike-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayor Daniel Lurie speaks at a press conference on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in San Francisco, addressing the San Francisco Unified School District’s newly reached agreement with the teachers’ union. \u003ccite>(Sydney Johnson/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In October 2025, permits were issued to large vehicles and RVs to avoid towing and citations as the city worked to move families and individuals living in campers into housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A total of 132 households have moved from their vehicles to housing, and the city has cited nearly 800 large vehicles and towed 240 since the start of the program, according to city data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie, who, according to a recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/mayor-lurie-still-popular-poll-120000359.html?guccounter=1\">\u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> poll,\u003c/a> has a whopping 74% approval rating among the more than 1,000 registered voters surveyed, said the bump in the number of families experiencing homelessness has been tied to the RV program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Most of those families [in the survey] were in shelter, but among those who weren’t, many were living in RVs,” he said. “I’m optimistic that our work around RVs has shown progress, and we are on track to have every family with a permitted vehicle in shelter or housing by the end of this year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest PIT Count recorded a roughly 85% decline in tents and other shelter structures outside, compared to the nearly 650 people identified in tents in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike previous years where the PIT Count took place overnight, this year’s survey was conducted in the early morning. Some homelessness advocates argued that the data was manipulated “for political gain” because the count took place when many working homeless people were out at service jobs or other responsibilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The PIT Count results can also be skewed by the Lurie administration’s refusal to halt sweeps during the count,” reads a statement from the Coalition on Homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The findings come as the city has ramped up efforts to clear sidewalk encampments and move or arrest people on sidewalks who are using drugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"San Francisco's Homeless Population\" aria-label=\"Stacked Bars\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-8a3tf\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/8a3tf/1/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"460\" data-external=\"1\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lurie campaigned on a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059460/bay-area-cities-expand-homeless-shelters-winning-over-neighbors-is-the-hard-part\">promise to build 1,500 shelter beds\u003c/a> within his first six months in office. But the mayor later pivoted, saying instead that the city needs the “right kind of beds,” such as treatment beds and transitional housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city has closed some non-congregate shelter options under Lurie’s administration, but overall has added a net total of 408 shelter beds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some homelessness advocates have criticized Lurie’s focus on short-term shelter, saying that the city must do more to focus on preventing homelessness and providing long-term housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Municipalities that overinvest in shelter see a short-term decrease in street counts, but without investment in prevention and housing, street counts will undoubtedly balloon in future years,” the Coalition on Homelessness said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, 57% of San Francisco’s homeless population is sheltered, and there are not enough beds for everyone who wants a spot. There were 500 people on the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/data--check-your-position-adult-shelter-waitlist\">waitlist for shelter\u003c/a> as of Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The full survey results from January’s PIT Count will be released this summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "did-newsoms-3-8-billion-hotels-to-housing-program-pay-off",
"title": "Did Newsom’s $3.8 Billion Hotels-to-Housing Program Pay Off?",
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"headTitle": "Did Newsom’s $3.8 Billion Hotels-to-Housing Program Pay Off? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/covid-19\">COVID-19\u003c/a> tore through California, Jennifer Hark Dietz had a decision to make. The state was making perhaps its biggest push ever to get people off the street, offering up billions of dollars for cities and organizations like hers to turn old motels into new homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was risky. The Homekey program came with up-front cash and a promise to move fast and cut red tape. But it also meant taking on old buildings with little vetting, which had the potential to put a developer in a deep financial hole.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At first, the gamble paid off. In just a few months, Hark Dietz’s nonprofit, People Assisting The Homeless, was housing people in the old 40-room Hollywood Orchid Suites in Los Angeles. She called it a “shining light” for what seemed possible with the radical new program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But then came a pale pink Travelodge in the suburb of Gardena. The city of LA had already bought the motel for $9 million, and Hark Dietz said her team didn’t have a chance to vet or tour the site. They’d only seen online photos and basic inspection reports before they took it over in December 2020. A city consultant estimated that it would take about $50,000 to start moving people into the roadside motel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Of course,” she said, “we know now that’s not the case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than five years and nearly $3 million later, the motel — which turned out to need all new windows, plumbing and electrical, among other issues — was still vacant earlier this year. There was plywood over some of the windows, and someone had graffitied a ghost on one side.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082684\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082684\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey2.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey2-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey2-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Live Oak Apartments in Ukiah on Feb. 26. Live Oak offers its residents access to common spaces, such as a community garden and meeting rooms for visitors. \u003ccite>(Manuel Orbegozo for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The boom-or-bust results in Los Angeles underscore how little is known publicly about a generational project with a high price tag and even higher stakes. Some projects were huge successes. Others were total failures. Dozens remain stuck in limbo. CalMatters found there’s been little public accountability for any of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Launched by Gov. Gavin Newsom in the summer of 2020, Homekey awarded more than $3.8 billion to local governments to convert motels and other buildings into homeless housing, thrusting many local governments into a new role running multimillion-dollar real estate projects. Cities and counties could hire outside contractors to help or do the work themselves, skipping some of the usual building process for the sake of speed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was unlike anything the state had ever done, largely because it sprang from desperation. Homekey launched during peak COVID, five months before vaccines were available, and after cities had already moved thousands of unhoused people into motels through \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2024/05/california-homeless-project-roomkey/\">Project Roomkey\u003c/a>, another Newsom program. But those rooms were temporary, and officials were scrambling to prevent a mass exodus back to the streets.[aside postID=news_12082132 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250218-SFDowntown-12-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg']With Homekey, local officials across the state bought and gutted Motel 6s, Best Westerns and roadside inns. They got more creative as the program evolved: Tiny homes sprouted in Silicon Valley, and Santa Cruz retrofitted an old dentist’s office. In Southern California, housing took shape in a former Tri-Delt sorority house, an earthquake-stricken church and a hostel that once served as a refuge for Japanese Americans returning from World War II internment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we’re doing here today is multiples of what any state in American history has committed to address this crisis of homelessness,” Newsom said at a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2021/05/newsom-end-homelessness-pandemic-lessons/\">2021 press conference\u003c/a> announcing a major Homekey expansion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program came with little built-in oversight. Earlier this year, state lawmakers killed a bill to audit Homekey. No state agency has publicly analyzed the program in detail to find out what’s working and what’s not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The challenge now: A new and more complex phase is already underway with up to $2 billion from the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/mental-health/2025/06/prop-1-mental-health-awards/\">voter-approved Prop. 1\u003c/a> mental health bond. But no one has publicly accounted for how many of the program’s original projects stalled out and how many succeeded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To find out what happened, CalMatters filed more than 100 public records requests with cities and counties that were awarded Homekey funds. We asked for key details on 250 projects announced through the end of 2024, covering all but a handful of projects for which less public data was available. Those state and local records — along with dozens of visits to Homekey sites, plus interviews with people who built and lived in them — create a first-of-its-kind window into how it all played out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among our findings:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Homekey made producing housing simpler. But it came at a cost\u003c/strong>. Homekey provided billions of dollars in housing funding up front, allowing some developers to sidestep the usual webs of investors and lenders and finish much faster than normal. But fewer funders also means less oversight. With rushed vetting, some projects got bogged down in delays, blown budgets or worse. At least one Homekey developer was forced out of business by an unwieldy project. Another is facing fraud charges.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>When Homekey worked, those involved stress that it \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>really\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong> worked.\u003c/strong> Nearly 13,500 people now live at Homekey sites, according to the state Housing Department. For small and rural communities, such as Glenn County, the program provided crucial cash for their first-ever homeless housing. Officials from Mendocino County to Ventura say they were able to stabilize people longer term by adding stronger ties to public services and extra investment in resources such as counseling.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Those successes magnify the opportunities squandered. \u003c/strong>Projects involving about 3,000 homes — roughly 1 in 5 promised by the program — weren’t finished as of the end of last year. Another 2,000 units have people living in them on a temporary basis but haven’t been converted into permanent housing, the program’s main goal. In 10 instances involving 500 more units, the state publicized grants that later were canceled or that never materialized because local officials or developers backed out.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>A lack of transparency raises familiar questions about the program’s future\u003c/strong>. State officials stress that they have extended deadlines and improved vetting for the program’s latest bond-funded iteration, Homekey+. But they refused to publicly provide details about that vetting process. And as homeless services providers have long warned, there remains no guaranteed state funding to keep existing or planned Homekey projects going.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Yes, many Homekey projects opened late or over budget. But, officials emphasize, they still opened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom said he considers the program a “phenomenal success.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12076525\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12076525\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-33-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-33-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-33-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-33-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference at the Friendship House Association of American Indians in San Francisco on Jan. 16, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We’re talking about hundreds and hundreds of projects all across the state of California that they’re trying to manage and organize and operate,” he said when CalMatters asked about it at a recent press conference. “And I imagine each one of them brings its own opportunities and own challenges as we move forward and implement at a scale we’ve never implemented in the state’s history.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taryn Sandulyak knows that better than most. The Bay Area developer thought Homekey might be her big break, but it ultimately put her out of business. She sees a fundamental mismatch at the heart of the program. It wanted high quality, high speed and low budgets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can only have two of those,” Sandulyak said. “You really can’t ever have three. That’s the issue with Homekey, is they give you not quite enough money to do it, and they want you to do it really, really fast and really, really well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chasm between Homekey successes and failures isn’t a simple, one-size-fits-all story. But it does provide an outline of what it will take to make good on California’s big effort to finally make a dent in its homelessness crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Failing was not an option’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On the west side of Ventura, just as the surf town creeps up into the hills toward Ojai, sits what used to be one of the city’s worst nuisance properties: a nearly 100-year-old apartment building once known, in a nod to local drug slang, as the “Booyah Mansion.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city’s housing authority, Ventura Housing, cobbled together enough money in 2019 to buy the building. But it didn’t have enough cash to fix all 300-something code violations at the crime-ridden property — until Homekey came along.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had some scary stuff go on here,” said Karen Flock, Ventura Housing’s real estate development director. “This property failing was not an option.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082685\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082685\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey3.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey3.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey3-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey3-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Live Oak Apartments in Ukiah on Feb. 26. Live Oak offers its residents access to common spaces, such as a community garden and meeting rooms for visitors. \u003ccite>(Manuel Orbegozo for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now known as El Portal, the 29-unit apartment complex today serves as a lifeline for a mother with 9-year-old twins, one severely autistic. It’s a refuge for a woman who lived for six years in a city-funded Tuff Shed. Another neighbor still keeps his shopping cart from the street in his apartment as a reminder of what he’s been through, and why he can never go back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ventura and other cities and counties that were able to pull off Homekey projects relatively on time and on budget credit a variety of factors for their success. Some grantees provided services themselves rather than contracting them out, better integrating public resources. Others raised extra money for on-site social services or worked closely with first responders to head off concerns about crime and stabilize residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jeffrey Lambert, CEO of Ventura Housing, said the crucial thing was realizing early that Homekey money alone isn’t nearly enough. Instead, the city combined it with other public and private funding, staffing and resources. Projects that failed or got stuck in limbo often fell apart after they ran out of money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Homekey works,” Lambert said, “because of all the stuff added on top of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Look up Homekey projects in your city or county\" aria-label=\"Table\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-kiDgD\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/kiDgD/8/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"550\" data-external=\"1\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For housing researchers such as Ryan Finnigan, deputy director of research at UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation, the real strength of Homekey was not the building minutiae. It was an attempt to challenge the state’s status quo of painstakingly slow housing development while people kept pouring onto the streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we’re not willing to try a new approach,” he said, “then we’re not going to learn as much about how we can be more creative, how we can work with more urgency than the current systems.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As fraught and full of delays as the construction process can be, getting a project completed is often just the first hurdle for Homekey. Once a project opens its doors, it typically needs significant resources in addition to the state funding. Mendocino County credits much of its project’s success to extra services for residents, which aren’t paid for by the state grant, said Megan Van Sant, a senior program manager for the county who oversees the Homekey site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the former Best Western hotel now known as Live Oak Apartments, there’s a therapist on retainer for tenants, plus a dog trainer paid to work with problem pets. Both try to help residents resolve any issues that come up before they escalate into grounds for an eviction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To provide those extras, the county runs the project itself, rather than contracting with an outside service provider as many Homekey projects do. Two county staffers work full-time inside the building, using their connections to do everything from enrolling residents in Medi-Cal to pairing them with mental health services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All that is expensive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082686\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082686\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey4.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey4.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey4-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey4-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Resident Sherry Collins inside her room at Live Oak Apartments in Ukiah on Feb. 26. \u003ccite>(Manuel Orbegozo for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I think the state should continue to support these projects,” Van Sant said. “The state asked communities to do these projects, and they cost more to do well than what you can earn in rent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sherry Collins, 66, moved into the project three years ago, at a time when she was terrified of what would come next. Her husband had died, her health was failing, she couldn’t work, and she couldn’t afford to keep living in her cabin in the tiny coastal city of Fort Bragg.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now she feels like she’s home. Collins decorated the window of her room with little red and pink hearts and adopted a kitten with extra toes, whom she named Mr. Handsome.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She continues to deal with health challenges after losing a leg to diabetes about a year ago. The building has only four units accessible for people with disabilities, making it a challenge to accommodate everyone, but one recently opened up for Collins, where she can more comfortably shower.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They have been awesome to me,” Collins said. “They’re more like family.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Never-ending projects\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For Sandulyak, Homekey was too good to refuse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five years earlier she had co-founded Firm Foundation Community Housing, which helped Bay Area churches turn their parking lots and backyards into tiny homes for homeless residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Homekey was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dramatically scale up that vision by using millions in state funds to house dozens of people in Vallejo. It would be the small nonprofit’s most ambitious project by far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082687\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082687\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey5.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey5.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey5-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey5-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The official ribbon cutting at the grand opening of Broadway Village in Vallejo on March 5. \u003ccite>(Nathan Weyland for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Sandulyak never suspected that by applying for Homekey, she had doomed her organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firm Foundation was awarded $12 million in 2022 to build a 47-unit modular apartment building called the Broadway Project. Over the next four years, nearly everything that could go wrong did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some problems had nothing to do with Homekey. The general contractor went bankrupt, and the nonprofit tapped to operate the facility squabbled with the city, leaving the project in limbo for a year. The state wouldn’t let Firm Foundation pick a new partner to run the housing, which Sandulyak says further delayed the opening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other problems were directly related to Homekey. By design, the program forced cities to take a much more hands-on role with housing development than they were used to. Vallejo wasn’t prepared for that responsibility. It fumbled its attempt to get a key federal grant and failed to set up important safeguards that protect affordable housing projects from financial risks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soon, Sandulyak had $2 million in bills and no way to pay them. With construction three-quarters done, the project ran out of money. Firm Foundation was forced to stop work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It became such a nightmare that the Vallejo City Council asked for an independent audit to find out what went wrong and why. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28094481-vallejo-broadway-affordable-housing-report/\">audit blamed\u003c/a> both the city and Firm Foundation for allowing the project to run out of money before it was finished. Firm Foundation vastly underestimated the project’s cost, and the city bungled efforts to secure additional funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some ways, the audit found, the very nature of Homekey helped set the project up for failure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12023514\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12023514\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00333.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00333-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00333-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00333-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00333-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00333-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A kayaker floats down the Napa River past the Navy Yard of Mare Island in the city of Vallejo, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One big problem was the timeline. Homekey required projects to finish construction within one year of their award, and to move people in 90 days after that. To meet those deadlines, Firm Foundation created budgets before the architectural drawings were even done, contributing to serious cost underestimates, the audit found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The audit also found a lack of oversight at the Broadway Project, which it said is typical of Homekey projects. Normally, a single affordable housing project uses funding from multiple sources, including the city, the county, the state, federal funds, tax credits, private banks and more. The more funders and investors, the more eyes watching and holding the developer accountable. With Homekey, the city applying for the grant typically takes on all those risks by itself, the audit found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a recent Thursday morning, Sandulyak gathered with city officials and her construction partners in front of a crowd to celebrate what they, at times, had thought would be impossible: the Broadway Project was finally open. Behind them rose the terracotta-colored wall of the sleek, new, modular apartment building. A red ribbon waited in front of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the count of three, Sandulyak helped Vallejo’s assistant city manager snip the ribbon. The crowd cheered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The project ended up coming in two and a half years late and 70% over budget. Despite those setbacks, the audit found it \u003cem>still \u003c/em>cost less per unit and was built more quickly than the region’s average affordable housing project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it cost Sandulyak everything. She laid off three of her four employees, and she plans to lay off the last one and dissolve her organization. The nonprofit is still on the hook for more than $1 million in unpaid bills related to the project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082708\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082708\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2172244931.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1367\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2172244931.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2172244931-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2172244931-1536x1060.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference of housing & homelessness with new legislation and funding and bills signing, along with other local, state and federal leaders are gathered in San Francisco, California, United States on Sept. 19, 2024. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Despite her pride in the finished building, Sandulyak wonders how much more housing her nonprofit could have built — if only she’d never applied for Homekey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, 52 people now have somewhere to call home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m unshaken in my belief that that is worth it,” Sandulyak said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of those people is 62-year-old Terrence White, a former refinery worker who was forced into early retirement by an injury and can’t afford market-rate rent. Now, he pays $294 a month and finally has his own place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It feels wonderful,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Homekey gold rush\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>During the frantic first two years of Homekey, when many experienced affordable housing developers were sitting out the untested new program, an LA company called Shangri-La Industries stepped in to help fill the void. It scored nearly $115 million in contracts to build 500 homes for homeless Californians in cities from Salinas to San Bernardino.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28097013-holmes-indictment/\">federal indictment\u003c/a> and a separate civil lawsuit allege that millions in state funds instead went to fund a lavish lifestyle for the company’s chief financial officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the charges attributed in \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28097094-shangri-la-v-holmes/\">court records\u003c/a> to Shangri-La’s former CFO, Cody Holmes: $46,000 in monthly rent for a Beverly Hills house with a pool. Designer gifts for a girlfriend, including a $127,000 diamond necklace and a $111,000 crocodile Birkin bag. A $5,000-a-month lease on a Ferrari Portofino. Another $53,000 for Coachella passes, and $44,000 for flights on private jets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082689\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082689\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey7.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey7.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey7-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey7-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Quality Inn & Suites building, a former Shangri-La project, stands vacant in Thousand Oaks on Feb. 26. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo-Bermudez for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>All this while many of the desperately needed motel rooms sat empty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Homekey set a low bar for contractors to qualify: They had to have worked on at least two affordable housing projects that included at least one homeless tenant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shangri-La easily cleared that hurdle. But had any state or local officials done more digging, they might have seen warning signs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shangri-La’s construction business was sued twice for breach of contract in \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28094732-shangri-la-2018-breach-contract-complaint/\">2018\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28094731-shangri-la-2019-contract-fraud-complaint/\">2019\u003c/a>, court records show, after two firms alleged that it failed to pay them. The company was also a contractor on a troubled LA veteran housing project, where records first \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcrw.com/shows/greater-la/stories/30-million-motel-homeless-shelter-prop-hhh-taxpayer-oversight-la\">reported by KCRW\u003c/a> show Shangri-La partners sold the property to themselves, increasing the project’s budget by $8 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With Homekey, federal \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/beverly-hills-man-arrested-brentwood-man-charged-separate-criminal-cases-linked-fraud\">prosecutors allege\u003c/a> that Holmes “knowingly submitted fake bank records” to the state Housing Department to boost Shangri-La’s credentials — financial claims that state officials apparently failed to verify with the banks. Holmes has pleaded not guilty, and an attorney representing him declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the company took on the Homekey projects, property records show that entities connected to Shangri-La or its partners paid around $13 million for actress Milla Jovovich’s Beverly Hills mansion, adding to a portfolio that included a $7 million oceanfront home in Long Beach purchased two years earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082690\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082690\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey8.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey8.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey8-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey8-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Quality Inn & Suites building, a former Shangri-La project, stands vacant in Thousand Oaks on Feb. 26. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo-Bermudez for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a separate \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28093061-hcd-vs-shangri-la-complaint/\">civil fraud case\u003c/a>, state prosecutors allege in court records that Shangri-La went behind the state’s back and took out undisclosed loans on the Homekey buildings, giving up control of the sites and violating their contract with the state. That became a major problem when the company defaulted on the loans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For several of the properties, no one had filed crucial paperwork to ensure that they remained affordable housing. After the buildings ended up in foreclosure, some were scooped up by companies with no commitment to homeless housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Homekey contracts tasked local officials with vetting projects and reviewing contractors’ organizational documents, budgets and other key details. But records show state officials also reviewed Shangri-La’s financials, and once they paid out the Homekey money, they failed to verify that paperwork was completed to restrict the buildings to affordable housing.[aside postID=news_12068047 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251211_YOUTHHOMELESSNESS_DECEMBER_GH-5-KQED.jpg']The state Housing Department and several local governments that hired Shangri-La for Homekey projects declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Andy Meyers, the former CEO of Shangri-La, acknowledged in an interview that he had “a lack of control” over his company. He has sued Holmes for fraud. He also blamed the local and state officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My CFO had a lot of wrongdoing,” he said. “But it was a confluence of events that caused each project to go bad.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meyers said officials’ failure to file the proper affordable housing restrictions, which were also required by his lender, triggered a financial disaster that led his company to default on some of the properties. On two projects that Shangri-La did open in San Bernardino and Salinas, he estimated that the company incurred around $11 million in unexpected costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have spent so much money following their guidelines and following their timetables,” he said, “and they never followed their guidelines or timetables.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez rallied support for a Homekey project in his hometown of King City. He thought Shangri-La made sense for four projects in the county, since it had already opened one Homekey site in Salinas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it didn’t take long for constituents to start asking why rooms were sitting empty behind chain-link fences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12028078\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12028078\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/021125-ICE-Schools-Salinas-LV_34-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/021125-ICE-Schools-Salinas-LV_34-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/021125-ICE-Schools-Salinas-LV_34-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/021125-ICE-Schools-Salinas-LV_34-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/021125-ICE-Schools-Salinas-LV_34-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/021125-ICE-Schools-Salinas-LV_34-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A person drives a tractor through a field of crops on farmland near Salinas on Feb. 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The longer it went on without seeing any movement, the flag started to get raised,” Lopez said. “I was starting to hear less and less communication and more sort of finger pointing\u003cem>.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local officials like Lopez had to start from scratch, raising millions more dollars to revive the projects as encampments swelled. It took 10 different deals totaling $16 million to open the King City project in March, three years behind schedule.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The full trail of Shangri-La’s deceit stretches from the state’s agricultural heartland to the edge of the Southern California desert. A $27 million Thousand Oaks hotel project sits abandoned today, robbing a region of 77 homes while it had a decade-long housing waitlist. Another $16 million project scrapped in Salinas would have provided 58 homes. Officials still plan to salvage 200 homes in other parts of Monterey County. The only two Shangri-La projects that stayed open during the legal battle, two motels in Southern California, were full of people who were plunged into messy foreclosure disputes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carrie Harmon, San Bernardino County’s director of community development and housing, said in an email that “the county entered into this effort in good faith, relying on representations that later proved to be inaccurate.”[aside postID=news_12082518 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/OAKRIDGE_11_qed-1.jpg']Even some of those whose Homekey projects went well say they’re not surprised that things went sideways. In Mendocino County, Van Sant said the state’s oversight was limited to quarterly progress reports. Once the money was spent, the state stopped asking for any information at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They gave us a bunch of money, made us do some paperwork, and then they’re out of here,” Van Sant said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Colleen Robinson, public officials’ failure to see the red flags with Shangri-La was life-changing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robinson, now 62, survived years on the street after losing her job and fleeing a bad relationship. The All Star Lodge in downtown San Bernardino was her chance to start over. Shangri-La did manage to renovate and open that project in late 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years later, the bank foreclosed. Because no one had put the affordable housing restriction on the property, the new owner told Robinson and other tenants that it was going to quadruple the rent. She said the new owner neglected the building; weeds and stray cats reclaimed the parking lot, police sirens blared, and neighbors died with little explanation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This would give hell a run for its money,” Robinson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harmon said the county was still trying to buy the building and figure something out, but Robinson didn’t wait around to see how the saga ended. On a Thursday in February, she packed up and boarded a Greyhound bus for Iowa, where one of her children lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Homeless veterans still waiting\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Some Homekey projects still haven’t opened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Cruz County has three badly delayed Homekey projects, one of which will be more than four years late when it is slated to finally be finished at the end of next year. For that project, the county obtained more than $6 million to convert rustic vacation cabins under a grove of redwood trees into housing for homeless veterans. The state initially set a completion deadline of 2023, but the project ran out of money before it crossed the finish line, forcing construction to stop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were many reasons why, but one stands out: underestimating the cost, said Robert Ratner, director of Santa Cruz County’s Housing for Health division.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082694\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082694\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey9.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey9.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey9-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey9-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An unfinished motel conversion in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles on January 27. The project is expected to finish more than a year after the original deadline, city records show. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The developers had never undertaken a project this large, and that inexperience contributed to the budgeting error, Ratner said. But so did the design of Homekey, which capped what the state was willing to pay per unit at about half what it takes to build affordable housing in some parts of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The idea was that projects would be cheaper because they were converting existing buildings, while also cutting out extra layers of bureaucracy that add time and expense. That led developers to low-ball budgets, which came back to bite them when the savings weren’t as great as anticipated, Ratner said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once the budgeting error was made, neither the state nor the county caught it, Ratner said. The county assumed that the state would scrutinize all Homekey applications and throw out any that didn’t seem viable, Ratner said. But it appears that in reality, the state was relying on the counties to do that vetting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Cruz County had little experience analyzing whether a construction project was adequately budgeted. Typically, the county relies on other funders, such as construction lenders and tax credit investors, to do that job. But those investors weren’t present here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked whether he and his colleagues had done their due diligence to make sure the projects were realistic, Ratner was straightforward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11682474\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11682474\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach.jpg\" alt=\"Visitors enjoy the beach below West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz County has the second-highest poverty rate in the state, after Los Angeles.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1226\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach-160x102.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach-800x511.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach-1020x651.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach-1200x766.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach-1180x753.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach-960x613.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach-240x153.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach-375x239.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach-520x332.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors in Santa Cruz enjoy the beach below West Cliff Drive. Santa Cruz County has the second-highest poverty rate in the state, after Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I would say no,” Ratner said. “I can’t say yes with a straight face at this juncture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other projects just never happened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A $14 million Homekey award was supposed to help breathe new life into the Hotel Travelers, a rundown, century-old building in Oakland’s Chinatown, as housing for people returning from incarceration. But once the developer got a look at the building, that plan fell apart. An inspection revealed such severe issues with the building’s construction that the developer determined it would be “morally untenable” to proceed. Oakland returned the grant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In total, CalMatters found at least 10 cases where a Homekey award was announced, only for the grantee to later withdraw their application, return or redirect the money, or have the state claw it back. Some instances had more public explanation than others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City officials in Fresno voted down their own project. Long Beach was unable to come up with a suitable location for $2 million worth of brand-new tiny homes left sitting in storage. Projects in Marin and Mariposa counties evaporated when real estate deals fell through, and the state rescinded its grant for a project in Salinas after a nonprofit partner pulled out.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Newsom’s legacy and a financial cliff\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Despite the vastly different outcomes at Homekey projects around the state, there’s no plan for a comprehensive audit to see what worked and what didn’t — a decision that raises the question of whether the state has done enough to grapple with Homekey as it forges ahead with the new version of the program, Homekey+.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, lawmakers nixed a public accounting proposed by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/leticia-castillo-187479\">Assemblymember Leticia Castillo\u003c/a>, a Republican from Corona.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While the program has expanded housing options, critical questions remain about its long-term impact and cost-effectiveness,” a \u003ca href=\"https://ad58.asmrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Homekey-Program-Audit-Fact-Sheet.pdf\">summary\u003c/a> of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab505\">Assembly Bill 505\u003c/a> said. “It is unclear how many Homekey-funded units remain occupied after one year, how many individuals successfully transition to stable, long-term housing, and whether Homekey’s cost per unit is competitive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029662\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12029662\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020624_No-Place-Like-Home_CC_CM_12-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020624_No-Place-Like-Home_CC_CM_12-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020624_No-Place-Like-Home_CC_CM_12-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020624_No-Place-Like-Home_CC_CM_12-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020624_No-Place-Like-Home_CC_CM_12-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020624_No-Place-Like-Home_CC_CM_12-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020624_No-Place-Like-Home_CC_CM_12-copy-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Framers work to build the Ruby Street apartments in Castro Valley on Feb. 6, 2024. The construction project is funded by the No Place Like Home bond, which passed in 2018 to create affordable housing for homeless residents experiencing mental health issues. \u003ccite>(Camille Cohen for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The bill was never publicly debated. It died in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state did do one \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2024/04/california-homelessness-spending/\">audit of multiple homeless services programs\u003c/a> in 2024. It didn’t get into Homekey delays or what actually happened to people living in the buildings, but it analyzed the costs of eight projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on that small sample, the auditor concluded that Homekey was “likely” cost-effective, with an average cost of $144,000 per unit, compared to the hundreds of thousands of dollars more it can cost for new construction in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The challenge is that when Homekey plans fell short of ambitions at job sites around the state, the consequences were often murky. In extreme cases, where cities acknowledged that projects failed to materialize, the state has clawed back grants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But usually, the main penalty for blown deadlines or other missteps is that the state may hold it against a local government or developer the next time it applies for funding — a dynamic that provides no public transparency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What happens next will be left up to a new state housing agency \u003ca href=\"https://www.bcsh.ca.gov/about/reorganization.html\">set to be launched\u003c/a> this summer, the California Housing and Homelessness Agency. That effort is expected to include a new development committee to “provide centralized, coordinated guidance to state housing policy and funding decisions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11877271\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11877271\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/RS49740_009_MountainView_ProjectHomekey_06082021-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1278\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/RS49740_009_MountainView_ProjectHomekey_06082021-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/RS49740_009_MountainView_ProjectHomekey_06082021-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/RS49740_009_MountainView_ProjectHomekey_06082021-qut-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/RS49740_009_MountainView_ProjectHomekey_06082021-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/RS49740_009_MountainView_ProjectHomekey_06082021-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Final construction is completed on a row of housing units at LifeMoves Mountain View, a modular housing community, on June 8, 2021. The site, part of California’s Homekey program, provides temporary housing and resources to people in the city who are currently homeless. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For now, the state’s Housing Department maintains that it “monitors each project closely” if issues arise or deadline extensions are granted. Even with widespread delays, the agency maintains that “Homekey has helped build more and faster.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state said it is learning as it gives out the new Homekey+ funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After seeing so many projects miss the one-year deadline, the state doubled the timeline for new construction to two years. Homekey+ projects that \u003ca href=\"https://www.hcd.ca.gov/sites/default/files/docs/grants-and-funding/homekey/hk-plus-nofa-amendment.pdf\">serve veterans\u003c/a> now can propose bigger budgets for new builds, potentially addressing the issue of under-budgeted projects running out of money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials also said they’re scrutinizing applications more closely now, including looking carefully at whether applicants are budgeting enough funds for their proposed projects, said California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Johnson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are improving our own vetting process, if you will,” she said during a recent news conference, “to ensure these projects are successful in delivering.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s housing department maintains that Homekey accomplished a major feat: building thousands of units despite a global pandemic, labor shortages, supply chain issues and other challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082698\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082698\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey9-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey9-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey9-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey9-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gary Wish stands outside El Portal apartments in Ventura on Feb. 26, 2026. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo-Bermudez for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It is tremendously rewarding to see so many vulnerable Californians housed so quickly, and to have voters expand the successful Homekey model to house and support veterans and others facing behavioral health challenges,” Assistant Deputy Director Cari Scott said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the state’s housing policies shift, there’s one big question left for people like Van Sant in Mendocino: Will there be enough money to keep Homekey projects running?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of the projects have a pay-as-you-go model, versus standard 10- or 15-year affordable housing financing — a calculation that leaves a financial cliff looming for thousands of Homekey homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If [Homekey] is going to be a long-term, permanent, successful program,” Van Sant said, “I think the state’s going to have to find a way to find some ongoing funding for it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Data reporters\u003c/em> \u003cem>Erica Yee and Kate Li contributed to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2026/05/newsom-homekey-records/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/covid-19\">COVID-19\u003c/a> tore through California, Jennifer Hark Dietz had a decision to make. The state was making perhaps its biggest push ever to get people off the street, offering up billions of dollars for cities and organizations like hers to turn old motels into new homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was risky. The Homekey program came with up-front cash and a promise to move fast and cut red tape. But it also meant taking on old buildings with little vetting, which had the potential to put a developer in a deep financial hole.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At first, the gamble paid off. In just a few months, Hark Dietz’s nonprofit, People Assisting The Homeless, was housing people in the old 40-room Hollywood Orchid Suites in Los Angeles. She called it a “shining light” for what seemed possible with the radical new program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But then came a pale pink Travelodge in the suburb of Gardena. The city of LA had already bought the motel for $9 million, and Hark Dietz said her team didn’t have a chance to vet or tour the site. They’d only seen online photos and basic inspection reports before they took it over in December 2020. A city consultant estimated that it would take about $50,000 to start moving people into the roadside motel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Of course,” she said, “we know now that’s not the case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than five years and nearly $3 million later, the motel — which turned out to need all new windows, plumbing and electrical, among other issues — was still vacant earlier this year. There was plywood over some of the windows, and someone had graffitied a ghost on one side.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082684\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082684\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey2.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey2-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey2-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Live Oak Apartments in Ukiah on Feb. 26. Live Oak offers its residents access to common spaces, such as a community garden and meeting rooms for visitors. \u003ccite>(Manuel Orbegozo for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The boom-or-bust results in Los Angeles underscore how little is known publicly about a generational project with a high price tag and even higher stakes. Some projects were huge successes. Others were total failures. Dozens remain stuck in limbo. CalMatters found there’s been little public accountability for any of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Launched by Gov. Gavin Newsom in the summer of 2020, Homekey awarded more than $3.8 billion to local governments to convert motels and other buildings into homeless housing, thrusting many local governments into a new role running multimillion-dollar real estate projects. Cities and counties could hire outside contractors to help or do the work themselves, skipping some of the usual building process for the sake of speed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was unlike anything the state had ever done, largely because it sprang from desperation. Homekey launched during peak COVID, five months before vaccines were available, and after cities had already moved thousands of unhoused people into motels through \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2024/05/california-homeless-project-roomkey/\">Project Roomkey\u003c/a>, another Newsom program. But those rooms were temporary, and officials were scrambling to prevent a mass exodus back to the streets.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>With Homekey, local officials across the state bought and gutted Motel 6s, Best Westerns and roadside inns. They got more creative as the program evolved: Tiny homes sprouted in Silicon Valley, and Santa Cruz retrofitted an old dentist’s office. In Southern California, housing took shape in a former Tri-Delt sorority house, an earthquake-stricken church and a hostel that once served as a refuge for Japanese Americans returning from World War II internment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we’re doing here today is multiples of what any state in American history has committed to address this crisis of homelessness,” Newsom said at a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2021/05/newsom-end-homelessness-pandemic-lessons/\">2021 press conference\u003c/a> announcing a major Homekey expansion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program came with little built-in oversight. Earlier this year, state lawmakers killed a bill to audit Homekey. No state agency has publicly analyzed the program in detail to find out what’s working and what’s not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The challenge now: A new and more complex phase is already underway with up to $2 billion from the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/mental-health/2025/06/prop-1-mental-health-awards/\">voter-approved Prop. 1\u003c/a> mental health bond. But no one has publicly accounted for how many of the program’s original projects stalled out and how many succeeded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To find out what happened, CalMatters filed more than 100 public records requests with cities and counties that were awarded Homekey funds. We asked for key details on 250 projects announced through the end of 2024, covering all but a handful of projects for which less public data was available. Those state and local records — along with dozens of visits to Homekey sites, plus interviews with people who built and lived in them — create a first-of-its-kind window into how it all played out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among our findings:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Homekey made producing housing simpler. But it came at a cost\u003c/strong>. Homekey provided billions of dollars in housing funding up front, allowing some developers to sidestep the usual webs of investors and lenders and finish much faster than normal. But fewer funders also means less oversight. With rushed vetting, some projects got bogged down in delays, blown budgets or worse. At least one Homekey developer was forced out of business by an unwieldy project. Another is facing fraud charges.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>When Homekey worked, those involved stress that it \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>really\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong> worked.\u003c/strong> Nearly 13,500 people now live at Homekey sites, according to the state Housing Department. For small and rural communities, such as Glenn County, the program provided crucial cash for their first-ever homeless housing. Officials from Mendocino County to Ventura say they were able to stabilize people longer term by adding stronger ties to public services and extra investment in resources such as counseling.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Those successes magnify the opportunities squandered. \u003c/strong>Projects involving about 3,000 homes — roughly 1 in 5 promised by the program — weren’t finished as of the end of last year. Another 2,000 units have people living in them on a temporary basis but haven’t been converted into permanent housing, the program’s main goal. In 10 instances involving 500 more units, the state publicized grants that later were canceled or that never materialized because local officials or developers backed out.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>A lack of transparency raises familiar questions about the program’s future\u003c/strong>. State officials stress that they have extended deadlines and improved vetting for the program’s latest bond-funded iteration, Homekey+. But they refused to publicly provide details about that vetting process. And as homeless services providers have long warned, there remains no guaranteed state funding to keep existing or planned Homekey projects going.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Yes, many Homekey projects opened late or over budget. But, officials emphasize, they still opened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom said he considers the program a “phenomenal success.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12076525\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12076525\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-33-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-33-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-33-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-33-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference at the Friendship House Association of American Indians in San Francisco on Jan. 16, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We’re talking about hundreds and hundreds of projects all across the state of California that they’re trying to manage and organize and operate,” he said when CalMatters asked about it at a recent press conference. “And I imagine each one of them brings its own opportunities and own challenges as we move forward and implement at a scale we’ve never implemented in the state’s history.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taryn Sandulyak knows that better than most. The Bay Area developer thought Homekey might be her big break, but it ultimately put her out of business. She sees a fundamental mismatch at the heart of the program. It wanted high quality, high speed and low budgets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can only have two of those,” Sandulyak said. “You really can’t ever have three. That’s the issue with Homekey, is they give you not quite enough money to do it, and they want you to do it really, really fast and really, really well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chasm between Homekey successes and failures isn’t a simple, one-size-fits-all story. But it does provide an outline of what it will take to make good on California’s big effort to finally make a dent in its homelessness crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Failing was not an option’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On the west side of Ventura, just as the surf town creeps up into the hills toward Ojai, sits what used to be one of the city’s worst nuisance properties: a nearly 100-year-old apartment building once known, in a nod to local drug slang, as the “Booyah Mansion.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city’s housing authority, Ventura Housing, cobbled together enough money in 2019 to buy the building. But it didn’t have enough cash to fix all 300-something code violations at the crime-ridden property — until Homekey came along.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had some scary stuff go on here,” said Karen Flock, Ventura Housing’s real estate development director. “This property failing was not an option.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082685\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082685\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey3.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey3.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey3-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey3-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Live Oak Apartments in Ukiah on Feb. 26. Live Oak offers its residents access to common spaces, such as a community garden and meeting rooms for visitors. \u003ccite>(Manuel Orbegozo for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now known as El Portal, the 29-unit apartment complex today serves as a lifeline for a mother with 9-year-old twins, one severely autistic. It’s a refuge for a woman who lived for six years in a city-funded Tuff Shed. Another neighbor still keeps his shopping cart from the street in his apartment as a reminder of what he’s been through, and why he can never go back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ventura and other cities and counties that were able to pull off Homekey projects relatively on time and on budget credit a variety of factors for their success. Some grantees provided services themselves rather than contracting them out, better integrating public resources. Others raised extra money for on-site social services or worked closely with first responders to head off concerns about crime and stabilize residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jeffrey Lambert, CEO of Ventura Housing, said the crucial thing was realizing early that Homekey money alone isn’t nearly enough. Instead, the city combined it with other public and private funding, staffing and resources. Projects that failed or got stuck in limbo often fell apart after they ran out of money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Homekey works,” Lambert said, “because of all the stuff added on top of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Look up Homekey projects in your city or county\" aria-label=\"Table\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-kiDgD\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/kiDgD/8/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"550\" data-external=\"1\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For housing researchers such as Ryan Finnigan, deputy director of research at UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation, the real strength of Homekey was not the building minutiae. It was an attempt to challenge the state’s status quo of painstakingly slow housing development while people kept pouring onto the streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we’re not willing to try a new approach,” he said, “then we’re not going to learn as much about how we can be more creative, how we can work with more urgency than the current systems.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As fraught and full of delays as the construction process can be, getting a project completed is often just the first hurdle for Homekey. Once a project opens its doors, it typically needs significant resources in addition to the state funding. Mendocino County credits much of its project’s success to extra services for residents, which aren’t paid for by the state grant, said Megan Van Sant, a senior program manager for the county who oversees the Homekey site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the former Best Western hotel now known as Live Oak Apartments, there’s a therapist on retainer for tenants, plus a dog trainer paid to work with problem pets. Both try to help residents resolve any issues that come up before they escalate into grounds for an eviction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To provide those extras, the county runs the project itself, rather than contracting with an outside service provider as many Homekey projects do. Two county staffers work full-time inside the building, using their connections to do everything from enrolling residents in Medi-Cal to pairing them with mental health services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All that is expensive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082686\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082686\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey4.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey4.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey4-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey4-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Resident Sherry Collins inside her room at Live Oak Apartments in Ukiah on Feb. 26. \u003ccite>(Manuel Orbegozo for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I think the state should continue to support these projects,” Van Sant said. “The state asked communities to do these projects, and they cost more to do well than what you can earn in rent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sherry Collins, 66, moved into the project three years ago, at a time when she was terrified of what would come next. Her husband had died, her health was failing, she couldn’t work, and she couldn’t afford to keep living in her cabin in the tiny coastal city of Fort Bragg.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now she feels like she’s home. Collins decorated the window of her room with little red and pink hearts and adopted a kitten with extra toes, whom she named Mr. Handsome.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She continues to deal with health challenges after losing a leg to diabetes about a year ago. The building has only four units accessible for people with disabilities, making it a challenge to accommodate everyone, but one recently opened up for Collins, where she can more comfortably shower.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They have been awesome to me,” Collins said. “They’re more like family.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Never-ending projects\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For Sandulyak, Homekey was too good to refuse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five years earlier she had co-founded Firm Foundation Community Housing, which helped Bay Area churches turn their parking lots and backyards into tiny homes for homeless residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Homekey was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dramatically scale up that vision by using millions in state funds to house dozens of people in Vallejo. It would be the small nonprofit’s most ambitious project by far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082687\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082687\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey5.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey5.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey5-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey5-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The official ribbon cutting at the grand opening of Broadway Village in Vallejo on March 5. \u003ccite>(Nathan Weyland for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Sandulyak never suspected that by applying for Homekey, she had doomed her organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firm Foundation was awarded $12 million in 2022 to build a 47-unit modular apartment building called the Broadway Project. Over the next four years, nearly everything that could go wrong did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some problems had nothing to do with Homekey. The general contractor went bankrupt, and the nonprofit tapped to operate the facility squabbled with the city, leaving the project in limbo for a year. The state wouldn’t let Firm Foundation pick a new partner to run the housing, which Sandulyak says further delayed the opening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other problems were directly related to Homekey. By design, the program forced cities to take a much more hands-on role with housing development than they were used to. Vallejo wasn’t prepared for that responsibility. It fumbled its attempt to get a key federal grant and failed to set up important safeguards that protect affordable housing projects from financial risks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soon, Sandulyak had $2 million in bills and no way to pay them. With construction three-quarters done, the project ran out of money. Firm Foundation was forced to stop work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It became such a nightmare that the Vallejo City Council asked for an independent audit to find out what went wrong and why. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28094481-vallejo-broadway-affordable-housing-report/\">audit blamed\u003c/a> both the city and Firm Foundation for allowing the project to run out of money before it was finished. Firm Foundation vastly underestimated the project’s cost, and the city bungled efforts to secure additional funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some ways, the audit found, the very nature of Homekey helped set the project up for failure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12023514\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12023514\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00333.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00333-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00333-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00333-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00333-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00333-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A kayaker floats down the Napa River past the Navy Yard of Mare Island in the city of Vallejo, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One big problem was the timeline. Homekey required projects to finish construction within one year of their award, and to move people in 90 days after that. To meet those deadlines, Firm Foundation created budgets before the architectural drawings were even done, contributing to serious cost underestimates, the audit found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The audit also found a lack of oversight at the Broadway Project, which it said is typical of Homekey projects. Normally, a single affordable housing project uses funding from multiple sources, including the city, the county, the state, federal funds, tax credits, private banks and more. The more funders and investors, the more eyes watching and holding the developer accountable. With Homekey, the city applying for the grant typically takes on all those risks by itself, the audit found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a recent Thursday morning, Sandulyak gathered with city officials and her construction partners in front of a crowd to celebrate what they, at times, had thought would be impossible: the Broadway Project was finally open. Behind them rose the terracotta-colored wall of the sleek, new, modular apartment building. A red ribbon waited in front of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the count of three, Sandulyak helped Vallejo’s assistant city manager snip the ribbon. The crowd cheered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The project ended up coming in two and a half years late and 70% over budget. Despite those setbacks, the audit found it \u003cem>still \u003c/em>cost less per unit and was built more quickly than the region’s average affordable housing project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it cost Sandulyak everything. She laid off three of her four employees, and she plans to lay off the last one and dissolve her organization. The nonprofit is still on the hook for more than $1 million in unpaid bills related to the project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082708\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082708\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2172244931.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1367\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2172244931.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2172244931-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2172244931-1536x1060.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference of housing & homelessness with new legislation and funding and bills signing, along with other local, state and federal leaders are gathered in San Francisco, California, United States on Sept. 19, 2024. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Despite her pride in the finished building, Sandulyak wonders how much more housing her nonprofit could have built — if only she’d never applied for Homekey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, 52 people now have somewhere to call home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m unshaken in my belief that that is worth it,” Sandulyak said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of those people is 62-year-old Terrence White, a former refinery worker who was forced into early retirement by an injury and can’t afford market-rate rent. Now, he pays $294 a month and finally has his own place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It feels wonderful,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Homekey gold rush\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>During the frantic first two years of Homekey, when many experienced affordable housing developers were sitting out the untested new program, an LA company called Shangri-La Industries stepped in to help fill the void. It scored nearly $115 million in contracts to build 500 homes for homeless Californians in cities from Salinas to San Bernardino.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28097013-holmes-indictment/\">federal indictment\u003c/a> and a separate civil lawsuit allege that millions in state funds instead went to fund a lavish lifestyle for the company’s chief financial officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the charges attributed in \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28097094-shangri-la-v-holmes/\">court records\u003c/a> to Shangri-La’s former CFO, Cody Holmes: $46,000 in monthly rent for a Beverly Hills house with a pool. Designer gifts for a girlfriend, including a $127,000 diamond necklace and a $111,000 crocodile Birkin bag. A $5,000-a-month lease on a Ferrari Portofino. Another $53,000 for Coachella passes, and $44,000 for flights on private jets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082689\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082689\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey7.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey7.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey7-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey7-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Quality Inn & Suites building, a former Shangri-La project, stands vacant in Thousand Oaks on Feb. 26. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo-Bermudez for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>All this while many of the desperately needed motel rooms sat empty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Homekey set a low bar for contractors to qualify: They had to have worked on at least two affordable housing projects that included at least one homeless tenant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shangri-La easily cleared that hurdle. But had any state or local officials done more digging, they might have seen warning signs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shangri-La’s construction business was sued twice for breach of contract in \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28094732-shangri-la-2018-breach-contract-complaint/\">2018\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28094731-shangri-la-2019-contract-fraud-complaint/\">2019\u003c/a>, court records show, after two firms alleged that it failed to pay them. The company was also a contractor on a troubled LA veteran housing project, where records first \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcrw.com/shows/greater-la/stories/30-million-motel-homeless-shelter-prop-hhh-taxpayer-oversight-la\">reported by KCRW\u003c/a> show Shangri-La partners sold the property to themselves, increasing the project’s budget by $8 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With Homekey, federal \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/beverly-hills-man-arrested-brentwood-man-charged-separate-criminal-cases-linked-fraud\">prosecutors allege\u003c/a> that Holmes “knowingly submitted fake bank records” to the state Housing Department to boost Shangri-La’s credentials — financial claims that state officials apparently failed to verify with the banks. Holmes has pleaded not guilty, and an attorney representing him declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the company took on the Homekey projects, property records show that entities connected to Shangri-La or its partners paid around $13 million for actress Milla Jovovich’s Beverly Hills mansion, adding to a portfolio that included a $7 million oceanfront home in Long Beach purchased two years earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082690\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082690\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey8.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey8.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey8-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey8-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Quality Inn & Suites building, a former Shangri-La project, stands vacant in Thousand Oaks on Feb. 26. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo-Bermudez for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a separate \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28093061-hcd-vs-shangri-la-complaint/\">civil fraud case\u003c/a>, state prosecutors allege in court records that Shangri-La went behind the state’s back and took out undisclosed loans on the Homekey buildings, giving up control of the sites and violating their contract with the state. That became a major problem when the company defaulted on the loans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For several of the properties, no one had filed crucial paperwork to ensure that they remained affordable housing. After the buildings ended up in foreclosure, some were scooped up by companies with no commitment to homeless housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Homekey contracts tasked local officials with vetting projects and reviewing contractors’ organizational documents, budgets and other key details. But records show state officials also reviewed Shangri-La’s financials, and once they paid out the Homekey money, they failed to verify that paperwork was completed to restrict the buildings to affordable housing.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The state Housing Department and several local governments that hired Shangri-La for Homekey projects declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Andy Meyers, the former CEO of Shangri-La, acknowledged in an interview that he had “a lack of control” over his company. He has sued Holmes for fraud. He also blamed the local and state officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My CFO had a lot of wrongdoing,” he said. “But it was a confluence of events that caused each project to go bad.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meyers said officials’ failure to file the proper affordable housing restrictions, which were also required by his lender, triggered a financial disaster that led his company to default on some of the properties. On two projects that Shangri-La did open in San Bernardino and Salinas, he estimated that the company incurred around $11 million in unexpected costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have spent so much money following their guidelines and following their timetables,” he said, “and they never followed their guidelines or timetables.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez rallied support for a Homekey project in his hometown of King City. He thought Shangri-La made sense for four projects in the county, since it had already opened one Homekey site in Salinas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it didn’t take long for constituents to start asking why rooms were sitting empty behind chain-link fences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12028078\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12028078\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/021125-ICE-Schools-Salinas-LV_34-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/021125-ICE-Schools-Salinas-LV_34-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/021125-ICE-Schools-Salinas-LV_34-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/021125-ICE-Schools-Salinas-LV_34-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/021125-ICE-Schools-Salinas-LV_34-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/021125-ICE-Schools-Salinas-LV_34-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A person drives a tractor through a field of crops on farmland near Salinas on Feb. 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The longer it went on without seeing any movement, the flag started to get raised,” Lopez said. “I was starting to hear less and less communication and more sort of finger pointing\u003cem>.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local officials like Lopez had to start from scratch, raising millions more dollars to revive the projects as encampments swelled. It took 10 different deals totaling $16 million to open the King City project in March, three years behind schedule.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The full trail of Shangri-La’s deceit stretches from the state’s agricultural heartland to the edge of the Southern California desert. A $27 million Thousand Oaks hotel project sits abandoned today, robbing a region of 77 homes while it had a decade-long housing waitlist. Another $16 million project scrapped in Salinas would have provided 58 homes. Officials still plan to salvage 200 homes in other parts of Monterey County. The only two Shangri-La projects that stayed open during the legal battle, two motels in Southern California, were full of people who were plunged into messy foreclosure disputes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carrie Harmon, San Bernardino County’s director of community development and housing, said in an email that “the county entered into this effort in good faith, relying on representations that later proved to be inaccurate.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Even some of those whose Homekey projects went well say they’re not surprised that things went sideways. In Mendocino County, Van Sant said the state’s oversight was limited to quarterly progress reports. Once the money was spent, the state stopped asking for any information at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They gave us a bunch of money, made us do some paperwork, and then they’re out of here,” Van Sant said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Colleen Robinson, public officials’ failure to see the red flags with Shangri-La was life-changing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robinson, now 62, survived years on the street after losing her job and fleeing a bad relationship. The All Star Lodge in downtown San Bernardino was her chance to start over. Shangri-La did manage to renovate and open that project in late 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years later, the bank foreclosed. Because no one had put the affordable housing restriction on the property, the new owner told Robinson and other tenants that it was going to quadruple the rent. She said the new owner neglected the building; weeds and stray cats reclaimed the parking lot, police sirens blared, and neighbors died with little explanation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This would give hell a run for its money,” Robinson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harmon said the county was still trying to buy the building and figure something out, but Robinson didn’t wait around to see how the saga ended. On a Thursday in February, she packed up and boarded a Greyhound bus for Iowa, where one of her children lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Homeless veterans still waiting\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Some Homekey projects still haven’t opened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Cruz County has three badly delayed Homekey projects, one of which will be more than four years late when it is slated to finally be finished at the end of next year. For that project, the county obtained more than $6 million to convert rustic vacation cabins under a grove of redwood trees into housing for homeless veterans. The state initially set a completion deadline of 2023, but the project ran out of money before it crossed the finish line, forcing construction to stop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were many reasons why, but one stands out: underestimating the cost, said Robert Ratner, director of Santa Cruz County’s Housing for Health division.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082694\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082694\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey9.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey9.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey9-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey9-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An unfinished motel conversion in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles on January 27. The project is expected to finish more than a year after the original deadline, city records show. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The developers had never undertaken a project this large, and that inexperience contributed to the budgeting error, Ratner said. But so did the design of Homekey, which capped what the state was willing to pay per unit at about half what it takes to build affordable housing in some parts of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The idea was that projects would be cheaper because they were converting existing buildings, while also cutting out extra layers of bureaucracy that add time and expense. That led developers to low-ball budgets, which came back to bite them when the savings weren’t as great as anticipated, Ratner said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once the budgeting error was made, neither the state nor the county caught it, Ratner said. The county assumed that the state would scrutinize all Homekey applications and throw out any that didn’t seem viable, Ratner said. But it appears that in reality, the state was relying on the counties to do that vetting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Cruz County had little experience analyzing whether a construction project was adequately budgeted. Typically, the county relies on other funders, such as construction lenders and tax credit investors, to do that job. But those investors weren’t present here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked whether he and his colleagues had done their due diligence to make sure the projects were realistic, Ratner was straightforward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11682474\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11682474\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach.jpg\" alt=\"Visitors enjoy the beach below West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz County has the second-highest poverty rate in the state, after Los Angeles.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1226\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach-160x102.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach-800x511.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach-1020x651.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach-1200x766.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach-1180x753.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach-960x613.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach-240x153.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach-375x239.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/07/SantaCruzBeach-520x332.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors in Santa Cruz enjoy the beach below West Cliff Drive. Santa Cruz County has the second-highest poverty rate in the state, after Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I would say no,” Ratner said. “I can’t say yes with a straight face at this juncture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other projects just never happened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A $14 million Homekey award was supposed to help breathe new life into the Hotel Travelers, a rundown, century-old building in Oakland’s Chinatown, as housing for people returning from incarceration. But once the developer got a look at the building, that plan fell apart. An inspection revealed such severe issues with the building’s construction that the developer determined it would be “morally untenable” to proceed. Oakland returned the grant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In total, CalMatters found at least 10 cases where a Homekey award was announced, only for the grantee to later withdraw their application, return or redirect the money, or have the state claw it back. Some instances had more public explanation than others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City officials in Fresno voted down their own project. Long Beach was unable to come up with a suitable location for $2 million worth of brand-new tiny homes left sitting in storage. Projects in Marin and Mariposa counties evaporated when real estate deals fell through, and the state rescinded its grant for a project in Salinas after a nonprofit partner pulled out.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Newsom’s legacy and a financial cliff\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Despite the vastly different outcomes at Homekey projects around the state, there’s no plan for a comprehensive audit to see what worked and what didn’t — a decision that raises the question of whether the state has done enough to grapple with Homekey as it forges ahead with the new version of the program, Homekey+.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, lawmakers nixed a public accounting proposed by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/leticia-castillo-187479\">Assemblymember Leticia Castillo\u003c/a>, a Republican from Corona.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While the program has expanded housing options, critical questions remain about its long-term impact and cost-effectiveness,” a \u003ca href=\"https://ad58.asmrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Homekey-Program-Audit-Fact-Sheet.pdf\">summary\u003c/a> of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab505\">Assembly Bill 505\u003c/a> said. “It is unclear how many Homekey-funded units remain occupied after one year, how many individuals successfully transition to stable, long-term housing, and whether Homekey’s cost per unit is competitive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029662\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12029662\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020624_No-Place-Like-Home_CC_CM_12-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020624_No-Place-Like-Home_CC_CM_12-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020624_No-Place-Like-Home_CC_CM_12-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020624_No-Place-Like-Home_CC_CM_12-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020624_No-Place-Like-Home_CC_CM_12-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020624_No-Place-Like-Home_CC_CM_12-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020624_No-Place-Like-Home_CC_CM_12-copy-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Framers work to build the Ruby Street apartments in Castro Valley on Feb. 6, 2024. The construction project is funded by the No Place Like Home bond, which passed in 2018 to create affordable housing for homeless residents experiencing mental health issues. \u003ccite>(Camille Cohen for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The bill was never publicly debated. It died in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state did do one \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2024/04/california-homelessness-spending/\">audit of multiple homeless services programs\u003c/a> in 2024. It didn’t get into Homekey delays or what actually happened to people living in the buildings, but it analyzed the costs of eight projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on that small sample, the auditor concluded that Homekey was “likely” cost-effective, with an average cost of $144,000 per unit, compared to the hundreds of thousands of dollars more it can cost for new construction in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The challenge is that when Homekey plans fell short of ambitions at job sites around the state, the consequences were often murky. In extreme cases, where cities acknowledged that projects failed to materialize, the state has clawed back grants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But usually, the main penalty for blown deadlines or other missteps is that the state may hold it against a local government or developer the next time it applies for funding — a dynamic that provides no public transparency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What happens next will be left up to a new state housing agency \u003ca href=\"https://www.bcsh.ca.gov/about/reorganization.html\">set to be launched\u003c/a> this summer, the California Housing and Homelessness Agency. That effort is expected to include a new development committee to “provide centralized, coordinated guidance to state housing policy and funding decisions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11877271\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11877271\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/RS49740_009_MountainView_ProjectHomekey_06082021-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1278\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/RS49740_009_MountainView_ProjectHomekey_06082021-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/RS49740_009_MountainView_ProjectHomekey_06082021-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/RS49740_009_MountainView_ProjectHomekey_06082021-qut-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/RS49740_009_MountainView_ProjectHomekey_06082021-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/06/RS49740_009_MountainView_ProjectHomekey_06082021-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Final construction is completed on a row of housing units at LifeMoves Mountain View, a modular housing community, on June 8, 2021. The site, part of California’s Homekey program, provides temporary housing and resources to people in the city who are currently homeless. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For now, the state’s Housing Department maintains that it “monitors each project closely” if issues arise or deadline extensions are granted. Even with widespread delays, the agency maintains that “Homekey has helped build more and faster.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state said it is learning as it gives out the new Homekey+ funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After seeing so many projects miss the one-year deadline, the state doubled the timeline for new construction to two years. Homekey+ projects that \u003ca href=\"https://www.hcd.ca.gov/sites/default/files/docs/grants-and-funding/homekey/hk-plus-nofa-amendment.pdf\">serve veterans\u003c/a> now can propose bigger budgets for new builds, potentially addressing the issue of under-budgeted projects running out of money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials also said they’re scrutinizing applications more closely now, including looking carefully at whether applicants are budgeting enough funds for their proposed projects, said California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Johnson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are improving our own vetting process, if you will,” she said during a recent news conference, “to ensure these projects are successful in delivering.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s housing department maintains that Homekey accomplished a major feat: building thousands of units despite a global pandemic, labor shortages, supply chain issues and other challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082698\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082698\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey9-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey9-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey9-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/homekey9-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gary Wish stands outside El Portal apartments in Ventura on Feb. 26, 2026. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo-Bermudez for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It is tremendously rewarding to see so many vulnerable Californians housed so quickly, and to have voters expand the successful Homekey model to house and support veterans and others facing behavioral health challenges,” Assistant Deputy Director Cari Scott said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the state’s housing policies shift, there’s one big question left for people like Van Sant in Mendocino: Will there be enough money to keep Homekey projects running?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of the projects have a pay-as-you-go model, versus standard 10- or 15-year affordable housing financing — a calculation that leaves a financial cliff looming for thousands of Homekey homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If [Homekey] is going to be a long-term, permanent, successful program,” Van Sant said, “I think the state’s going to have to find a way to find some ongoing funding for it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Data reporters\u003c/em> \u003cem>Erica Yee and Kate Li contributed to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2026/05/newsom-homekey-records/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "h-2a-program-sparks-debate-in-californias-farming-communities",
"title": "H-2A Program Sparks Debate in California's Farming Communities",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, May 5, 2026\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A major change to a federal farmworker visa program known as H-2A is sparking a heated debate across California. The program allows farms to bring in temporary workers from other countries, but a change from the Trump administration has altered how they are paid, sparking a lawsuit from the United Farm Workers union. Supporters say it’s a lifeline for farmers facing rising labor costs. Critics call it a wage cut that could push local workers out of the fields. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A man who was \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/carlos-ivan-mendoza-hernandez-ice-shooting-california-4c1e3dc426ac06a1498e295999f0827b\">shot multiple times by immigration agents\u003c/a> last month in the Central California community of Patterson pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">San Francisco Assemblymember Matt Haney is trying again to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082132/following-newsoms-veto-lawmaker-returns-with-drug-free-homeless-housing-bill\">expand drug-free housing for people leaving homelessness\u003c/a>, after Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar bill last year. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A bill moving through the California legislature would \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/early-childhood-education-pre-k/new-education-programs-transitional-kindergarten-evaluation-bill\">require independent evaluations\u003c/a> of new education programs, like transitional kindergarten.\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Changes to H-2A visa program roil California farmworkers\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A major change to a federal farmworker visa program known as H-2A is sparking a heated debate across California. The program allows farms to bring in temporary workers from other countries, but a change from the Trump administration has altered how they are paid, sparking a lawsuit from the United Farm Workers union. Supporters said it’s a lifeline for farmers facing rising labor costs. Critics call it a wage cut that could push local workers out of the fields.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cesar, a farmworker in Salinas, shares that fear. He’s tended plants in a greenhouse for nearly a decade. He’s 45, a father of two, and like many in the Salinas Valley, his job is the only thing keeping his family afloat. “My family, making sure they have everything they need,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in the last couple years, that’s felt like a losing battle. After the pandemic, Cesar noticed more guest workers arriving under the H-2A program. At first, he hoped the extra hands would help. Instead, his hours were slashed, sometimes to just 16 a week. “It was a hard blow,” he said. “You still have bills, but don’t know where the money will come from.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new federal rule reclassifies many agricultural jobs into lower pay categories. Daniel Costa with the Economic Policy Institute said the losses could add up quickly. “Both migrant farm workers on H-2A visas and U.S. farm workers combined are probably going to lose between 4.4 and 5.4 billion,” Costa said. In recent years, many California farmworkers earned close to $20 an hour. Under the new rule, base wages could fall closer to about $16.90. Advocates said even small cuts will hit workers who are already struggling. That’s why the United Farm Workers is suing the Trump administration over these changes. UFW President Teresa Romero said even a few dollars can make a big difference. “If you cut their salary by $3 an hour, it is impossible for them to have a decent place to live, to support their families,” Romero said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Farm industry advocates said it’s too early to know the full impact.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"Page-headline\">\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/carlos-ivan-mendoza-hernandez-ice-shooting-california-4c1e3dc426ac06a1498e295999f0827b\">\u003cstrong>A man shot by ICE in California pleads not guilty to federal charges\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A man \u003cspan class=\"LinkEnhancement\">\u003ca class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-ice-shooting-carlos-ivan-mendoza-hernandez-71b60ba1007bd705454a4cef5293da6e\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\">who was shot\u003c/a>\u003c/span> multiple times during an arrest by immigration officers in the Central California community of Patterson in April pleaded not guilty on Monday to federal charges that he rammed his vehicle into two agents, prosecutors said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A federal grand jury on Friday indicted Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, who has dual citizenship in El Salvador and Mexico, on two counts of assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and one count of damaging government property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patrick Kolasinski, one of his lawyers, has said Mendoza panicked and tried to flee when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents blocked his car and that he did not intend to run over anyone. Kolasinski also disputed claims by officials that his client was a suspected gang member wanted in El Salvador for questioning in relation to a murder. Salvadoran court documents show he was acquitted of murder in El Salvador and Mendoza has denied ever being in a gang, his lawyer has said. He came to the U.S. in 2019 and has no criminal record, Kolasinski has said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Monday that Mendoza has requested a jury trial. A status conference was set for July 27. Mendoza is recovering after several surgeries for multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the jaw, his attorney said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"routes-Site-routes-Post-Title-__Title__title\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082132/following-newsoms-veto-lawmaker-returns-with-drug-free-homeless-housing-bill\">\u003cstrong>Following Newsom’s veto, lawmaker returns with drug-free homeless housing bill\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Assemblymember Matt Haney is reviving a proposal to allow drug-free housing for people transitioning out of homelessness, months after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haney’s new proposal, AB 1556, would set rules for how “recovery residences” can operate within California’s Housing First framework, the \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1556/id/3425398\">state’s policy\u003c/a> of offering permanent housing without first requiring people to meet conditions like sobriety, mental health treatment or employment. “We should give people who are ready to take the steps to get to recovery and stability an opportunity to do so,” Haney said at a press conference in San Francisco on Monday. “People want to live in housing where they receive the support to be off of and away from drugs with people who will support them in that process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation comes after Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AB-255-Veto.pdf\">rejected \u003c/a>Haney’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058779/newsoms-veto-of-sober-housing-bill-sparks-a-backlash-in-sf\">AB 255 last year\u003c/a>. That bill would have allowed some state homelessness dollars to support sober housing programs. In his veto message, Newsom said recovery-focused housing is already allowed under state law and argued the bill “wrongly suggests incompatibility with Housing First.” He also raised concerns about creating a separate certification and oversight process that could cost taxpayers money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Housing First has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12054270/trumps-tectonic-shift-on-homelessness-could-have-dire-impacts-in-california\">credited with reducing barriers\u003c/a> for people who might otherwise be denied housing because of substance use, mental health challenges or other issues. But some local officials and advocates argue the policy has also made it harder to fund housing where residents can live away from active drug use.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"ArticlePage-headline\">\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/early-childhood-education-pre-k/new-education-programs-transitional-kindergarten-evaluation-bill\">\u003cstrong>After criticism of how California rolls out education programs, a new bill would trigger evaluations\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A bill moving through the state legislature would require independent evaluations of any new education initiative that costs at least $500 million a year or $1 billion in one-time spending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed requirement is part of \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2117\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">\u003cu>a larger bill\u003c/u>\u003c/a> that would \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/schools-chief-was-caught-off-guard-by-newsoms-plan-to-pare-down-the-future-scope-of-his-job\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">\u003cu>restructure the role of the state\u003c/u>\u003c/a> superintendent, an elected position that currently oversees the California Department of Education. “That means that as we make massive investments, as have occurred in the last several years, like universal transitional kindergarten, that there is a built-in independent check to tell us what is actually working,” Assemblymember David Alvarez, the bill’s author and chair of the assembly subcommittee on education, said at \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://aedn.assembly.ca.gov/hearings/2026-bill-hearings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">\u003cu>a hearing\u003c/u>\u003c/a> a few weeks ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While research shows a child’s early years are critical for learning, in February, reporting by LAist found the \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/early-childhood-education-pre-k/california-legislature-newsom-transitional-kindergarten-budget-research\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">state had no formal plans to evaluate transitional kindergarten\u003c/a> — a new grade for \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/transitional-kindergarten-california-preschool-classroom-learning-behavior\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">4-year-olds in the public school system\u003c/a> that was fully implemented this year. ”For TK, as you’ve covered well, you know, it’s nonexistent,” Alvarez told LAist. The state has spent billions on the program, including \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Education/EdBudget/Details/1076?_gl=1*161scwa*_gcl_au*MTI1NzgzMjM5My4xNzc3MzI2MDQz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">\u003cu>$3.9 billion\u003c/u>\u003c/a> to administer it this fiscal year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The amendments to the bill also follow reports from the research group \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://edpolicyinca.org/publications/tk-12-education-governance-california\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">\u003cu>Policy Analysis for California Education\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, as well as the \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5165#Research\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">\u003cu>Legislative Analyst’s Office\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, that recommend reshaping the role of an elected state superintendent to include evaluation duties. But Alvarez said he thought it was crucial to take the legislation a step further and include a fiscal trigger to make evaluations mandatory, and envisions the requirement to apply to new state spending.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, May 5, 2026\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A major change to a federal farmworker visa program known as H-2A is sparking a heated debate across California. The program allows farms to bring in temporary workers from other countries, but a change from the Trump administration has altered how they are paid, sparking a lawsuit from the United Farm Workers union. Supporters say it’s a lifeline for farmers facing rising labor costs. Critics call it a wage cut that could push local workers out of the fields. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A man who was \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/carlos-ivan-mendoza-hernandez-ice-shooting-california-4c1e3dc426ac06a1498e295999f0827b\">shot multiple times by immigration agents\u003c/a> last month in the Central California community of Patterson pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">San Francisco Assemblymember Matt Haney is trying again to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082132/following-newsoms-veto-lawmaker-returns-with-drug-free-homeless-housing-bill\">expand drug-free housing for people leaving homelessness\u003c/a>, after Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar bill last year. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A bill moving through the California legislature would \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/early-childhood-education-pre-k/new-education-programs-transitional-kindergarten-evaluation-bill\">require independent evaluations\u003c/a> of new education programs, like transitional kindergarten.\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Changes to H-2A visa program roil California farmworkers\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A major change to a federal farmworker visa program known as H-2A is sparking a heated debate across California. The program allows farms to bring in temporary workers from other countries, but a change from the Trump administration has altered how they are paid, sparking a lawsuit from the United Farm Workers union. Supporters said it’s a lifeline for farmers facing rising labor costs. Critics call it a wage cut that could push local workers out of the fields.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cesar, a farmworker in Salinas, shares that fear. He’s tended plants in a greenhouse for nearly a decade. He’s 45, a father of two, and like many in the Salinas Valley, his job is the only thing keeping his family afloat. “My family, making sure they have everything they need,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in the last couple years, that’s felt like a losing battle. After the pandemic, Cesar noticed more guest workers arriving under the H-2A program. At first, he hoped the extra hands would help. Instead, his hours were slashed, sometimes to just 16 a week. “It was a hard blow,” he said. “You still have bills, but don’t know where the money will come from.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new federal rule reclassifies many agricultural jobs into lower pay categories. Daniel Costa with the Economic Policy Institute said the losses could add up quickly. “Both migrant farm workers on H-2A visas and U.S. farm workers combined are probably going to lose between 4.4 and 5.4 billion,” Costa said. In recent years, many California farmworkers earned close to $20 an hour. Under the new rule, base wages could fall closer to about $16.90. Advocates said even small cuts will hit workers who are already struggling. That’s why the United Farm Workers is suing the Trump administration over these changes. UFW President Teresa Romero said even a few dollars can make a big difference. “If you cut their salary by $3 an hour, it is impossible for them to have a decent place to live, to support their families,” Romero said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Farm industry advocates said it’s too early to know the full impact.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"Page-headline\">\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/carlos-ivan-mendoza-hernandez-ice-shooting-california-4c1e3dc426ac06a1498e295999f0827b\">\u003cstrong>A man shot by ICE in California pleads not guilty to federal charges\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A man \u003cspan class=\"LinkEnhancement\">\u003ca class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-ice-shooting-carlos-ivan-mendoza-hernandez-71b60ba1007bd705454a4cef5293da6e\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\">who was shot\u003c/a>\u003c/span> multiple times during an arrest by immigration officers in the Central California community of Patterson in April pleaded not guilty on Monday to federal charges that he rammed his vehicle into two agents, prosecutors said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A federal grand jury on Friday indicted Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, who has dual citizenship in El Salvador and Mexico, on two counts of assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and one count of damaging government property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patrick Kolasinski, one of his lawyers, has said Mendoza panicked and tried to flee when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents blocked his car and that he did not intend to run over anyone. Kolasinski also disputed claims by officials that his client was a suspected gang member wanted in El Salvador for questioning in relation to a murder. Salvadoran court documents show he was acquitted of murder in El Salvador and Mendoza has denied ever being in a gang, his lawyer has said. He came to the U.S. in 2019 and has no criminal record, Kolasinski has said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Monday that Mendoza has requested a jury trial. A status conference was set for July 27. Mendoza is recovering after several surgeries for multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the jaw, his attorney said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"routes-Site-routes-Post-Title-__Title__title\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082132/following-newsoms-veto-lawmaker-returns-with-drug-free-homeless-housing-bill\">\u003cstrong>Following Newsom’s veto, lawmaker returns with drug-free homeless housing bill\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Assemblymember Matt Haney is reviving a proposal to allow drug-free housing for people transitioning out of homelessness, months after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haney’s new proposal, AB 1556, would set rules for how “recovery residences” can operate within California’s Housing First framework, the \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1556/id/3425398\">state’s policy\u003c/a> of offering permanent housing without first requiring people to meet conditions like sobriety, mental health treatment or employment. “We should give people who are ready to take the steps to get to recovery and stability an opportunity to do so,” Haney said at a press conference in San Francisco on Monday. “People want to live in housing where they receive the support to be off of and away from drugs with people who will support them in that process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation comes after Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AB-255-Veto.pdf\">rejected \u003c/a>Haney’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058779/newsoms-veto-of-sober-housing-bill-sparks-a-backlash-in-sf\">AB 255 last year\u003c/a>. That bill would have allowed some state homelessness dollars to support sober housing programs. In his veto message, Newsom said recovery-focused housing is already allowed under state law and argued the bill “wrongly suggests incompatibility with Housing First.” He also raised concerns about creating a separate certification and oversight process that could cost taxpayers money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Housing First has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12054270/trumps-tectonic-shift-on-homelessness-could-have-dire-impacts-in-california\">credited with reducing barriers\u003c/a> for people who might otherwise be denied housing because of substance use, mental health challenges or other issues. But some local officials and advocates argue the policy has also made it harder to fund housing where residents can live away from active drug use.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"ArticlePage-headline\">\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/early-childhood-education-pre-k/new-education-programs-transitional-kindergarten-evaluation-bill\">\u003cstrong>After criticism of how California rolls out education programs, a new bill would trigger evaluations\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A bill moving through the state legislature would require independent evaluations of any new education initiative that costs at least $500 million a year or $1 billion in one-time spending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed requirement is part of \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2117\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">\u003cu>a larger bill\u003c/u>\u003c/a> that would \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/schools-chief-was-caught-off-guard-by-newsoms-plan-to-pare-down-the-future-scope-of-his-job\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">\u003cu>restructure the role of the state\u003c/u>\u003c/a> superintendent, an elected position that currently oversees the California Department of Education. “That means that as we make massive investments, as have occurred in the last several years, like universal transitional kindergarten, that there is a built-in independent check to tell us what is actually working,” Assemblymember David Alvarez, the bill’s author and chair of the assembly subcommittee on education, said at \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://aedn.assembly.ca.gov/hearings/2026-bill-hearings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">\u003cu>a hearing\u003c/u>\u003c/a> a few weeks ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While research shows a child’s early years are critical for learning, in February, reporting by LAist found the \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/early-childhood-education-pre-k/california-legislature-newsom-transitional-kindergarten-budget-research\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">state had no formal plans to evaluate transitional kindergarten\u003c/a> — a new grade for \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/transitional-kindergarten-california-preschool-classroom-learning-behavior\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">4-year-olds in the public school system\u003c/a> that was fully implemented this year. ”For TK, as you’ve covered well, you know, it’s nonexistent,” Alvarez told LAist. The state has spent billions on the program, including \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Education/EdBudget/Details/1076?_gl=1*161scwa*_gcl_au*MTI1NzgzMjM5My4xNzc3MzI2MDQz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">\u003cu>$3.9 billion\u003c/u>\u003c/a> to administer it this fiscal year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The amendments to the bill also follow reports from the research group \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://edpolicyinca.org/publications/tk-12-education-governance-california\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">\u003cu>Policy Analysis for California Education\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, as well as the \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5165#Research\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">\u003cu>Legislative Analyst’s Office\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, that recommend reshaping the role of an elected state superintendent to include evaluation duties. But Alvarez said he thought it was crucial to take the legislation a step further and include a fiscal trigger to make evaluations mandatory, and envisions the requirement to apply to new state spending.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>San Francisco Assemblymember Matt Haney is reviving a proposal to allow drug-free housing for people transitioning out of homelessness, months after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haney’s new proposal, AB 1556, would set rules for how “recovery residences” can operate within California’s Housing First framework, the \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1556/id/3425398\">state’s policy\u003c/a> of offering permanent housing without first requiring people to meet conditions like sobriety, mental health treatment or employment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We should give people who are ready to take the steps to get to recovery and stability an opportunity to do so,” Haney said at a press conference in San Francisco on Monday. “People want to live in housing where they receive the support to be off of and away from drugs with people who will support them in that process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation comes after Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AB-255-Veto.pdf\">rejected \u003c/a>Haney’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058779/newsoms-veto-of-sober-housing-bill-sparks-a-backlash-in-sf\">AB 255 last year\u003c/a>. That bill would have allowed some state homelessness dollars to support sober housing programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his veto message, Newsom said recovery-focused housing is already allowed under state law and argued the bill “wrongly suggests incompatibility with Housing First.” He also raised concerns about creating a separate certification and oversight process that could cost taxpayers money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Housing First has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12054270/trumps-tectonic-shift-on-homelessness-could-have-dire-impacts-in-california\">credited with reducing barriers\u003c/a> for people who might otherwise be denied housing because of substance use, mental health challenges or other issues. But some local officials and advocates argue the policy has also made it harder to fund housing where residents can live away from active drug use.[aside postID=news_12034006 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250327_SoberHousing_GC-9-1020x680.jpg']Supporters of sober housing have said those environments are especially important as cities like San Francisco continue to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034006/san-francisco-mans-housing-struggle-relapse-put-him-back-on-streets\">confront homelessness and addiction\u003c/a>, including its ongoing fentanyl crisis. But the proposal is likely to face pushback from some homelessness advocates, who have long warned that sobriety requirements can become a pathway to eviction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haney said the new bill is meant to provide clarity for housing providers, local governments and people in recovery who want a sober living environment. According to Haney’s office, AB 1556 would allow recovery residences to maintain sobriety standards, while requiring a “non-punitive” response when someone relapses, including connecting residents to alternative housing and services rather than kicking them out of the program and pushing them back into homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Housing California, a statewide affordable housing advocacy group, has already listed its opposition to AB 1556, \u003ca href=\"https://housingca.org/policy/policy-priorities-2026/\">citing concerns\u003c/a> about residents being required to choose recovery housing and harm-reduction housing options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom’s veto last year did not dismiss recovery housing outright. Instead, he said the state should continue working on ways to support recovery-focused models without undermining Housing First.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "AB 1556 would set rules for how “recovery residences” can operate within California’s Housing First framework, the state’s policy of offering permanent housing without first requiring people to meet sobriety and other conditions.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>San Francisco Assemblymember Matt Haney is reviving a proposal to allow drug-free housing for people transitioning out of homelessness, months after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haney’s new proposal, AB 1556, would set rules for how “recovery residences” can operate within California’s Housing First framework, the \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1556/id/3425398\">state’s policy\u003c/a> of offering permanent housing without first requiring people to meet conditions like sobriety, mental health treatment or employment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We should give people who are ready to take the steps to get to recovery and stability an opportunity to do so,” Haney said at a press conference in San Francisco on Monday. “People want to live in housing where they receive the support to be off of and away from drugs with people who will support them in that process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation comes after Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AB-255-Veto.pdf\">rejected \u003c/a>Haney’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058779/newsoms-veto-of-sober-housing-bill-sparks-a-backlash-in-sf\">AB 255 last year\u003c/a>. That bill would have allowed some state homelessness dollars to support sober housing programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his veto message, Newsom said recovery-focused housing is already allowed under state law and argued the bill “wrongly suggests incompatibility with Housing First.” He also raised concerns about creating a separate certification and oversight process that could cost taxpayers money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Housing First has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12054270/trumps-tectonic-shift-on-homelessness-could-have-dire-impacts-in-california\">credited with reducing barriers\u003c/a> for people who might otherwise be denied housing because of substance use, mental health challenges or other issues. But some local officials and advocates argue the policy has also made it harder to fund housing where residents can live away from active drug use.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Supporters of sober housing have said those environments are especially important as cities like San Francisco continue to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034006/san-francisco-mans-housing-struggle-relapse-put-him-back-on-streets\">confront homelessness and addiction\u003c/a>, including its ongoing fentanyl crisis. But the proposal is likely to face pushback from some homelessness advocates, who have long warned that sobriety requirements can become a pathway to eviction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haney said the new bill is meant to provide clarity for housing providers, local governments and people in recovery who want a sober living environment. According to Haney’s office, AB 1556 would allow recovery residences to maintain sobriety standards, while requiring a “non-punitive” response when someone relapses, including connecting residents to alternative housing and services rather than kicking them out of the program and pushing them back into homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Housing California, a statewide affordable housing advocacy group, has already listed its opposition to AB 1556, \u003ca href=\"https://housingca.org/policy/policy-priorities-2026/\">citing concerns\u003c/a> about residents being required to choose recovery housing and harm-reduction housing options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom’s veto last year did not dismiss recovery housing outright. Instead, he said the state should continue working on ways to support recovery-focused models without undermining Housing First.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco’s\u003c/a> Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) could lose about $10 million dollars from the city’s general fund, due to budget cuts meant to address a gaping deficit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s according to city officials who presented the department’s budget outlook at a Board of Supervisors hearing on Wednesday. The proposed cuts come as San Francisco faces a nearly $643 million budget shortfall over the next two years, and the mayor’s office is looking to trim hundreds of millions of dollars in spending across city departments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The plan alarmed some advocates, who say the city could desperately use more funding for its homelessness response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It looks like it is a decrease in the [homelessness] budget, but it is not a decrease, and services will not be cut,” Sophia Kittler, the mayor’s budget director, said to supervisors about the funding changes at Wednesday’s hearing. She stressed that the city is not proposing any cuts to actual homeless services, and rather moving funding around to meet the goal of reducing the general fund deficit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is a one-time revenue that is going away,” Kittler said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To avoid cuts to services, Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office wants to replace that revenue with an increase in funding from another source: a business tax known as Proposition C, or Our City, Our Home, that was created to support homeless services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12055819\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12055819\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250912-FREE-BOOKS-FROM-DOLLY-PARTON-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250912-FREE-BOOKS-FROM-DOLLY-PARTON-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250912-FREE-BOOKS-FROM-DOLLY-PARTON-MD-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250912-FREE-BOOKS-FROM-DOLLY-PARTON-MD-02-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie speaks at the Main Library in San Francisco at an event celebrating a new partnership between city officials and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library on Sept. 12, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But advocates say that if the city has a surplus of Proposition C funds, the mayor’s office should direct more money to shelters and permanent supportive housing, rather than using it to back-fill other cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It does seem like, then, if it’s not a service reduction, we could be doing more, because we have money,” Supervisor Shamann Walton said at the hearing. “Since we’re not losing services, but we have surplus, we could actually be doing more to address homelessness.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was not the only supervisor to question why the city is not directing the recent surplus in Proposition C funds toward homeless services.[aside postID=news_12081330 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/231214-SF-OVERDOSE-GETTY-SS-KQED-1020x680.jpg']“I do believe the best way to solve homelessness is actually to prevent it from happening in the first place,” Supervisor Connie Chan said. “That means to increase subsidies, particularly rental subsidies. And of course, rapid rehousing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The number of people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco has steadily increased over the last two decades, as the cost of housing in the city has skyrocketed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 8,300 people were homeless in the city according to the 2024 Point-in-Time count, a federal survey, and more than 4,300 of those individuals were living in a homeless shelter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While city officials said last year that the number of tents on sidewalks had decreased, there are hundreds of people waiting on the list for a San Francisco shelter bed on any given day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>HSH department officials said they have also cut 8 vacant positions as part of the proposed spending reductions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The budget proposal arrives a year after the city reallocated some Proposition C funding set aside for permanent supportive housing to temporary shelter, a controversial decision that marked a shift in the city’s approach to homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12072189\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12072189\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260127-SUPERBOWLHOMELESSNESS-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260127-SUPERBOWLHOMELESSNESS-08-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260127-SUPERBOWLHOMELESSNESS-08-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260127-SUPERBOWLHOMELESSNESS-08-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Department of Public Works employees clean up debris after a sweep of an encampment on Merlin Street in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood on Jan. 27, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Revenue generated from Proposition C came in higher than budgeted the last two fiscal years, according to Shireen McSpadden, HSH director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mayor’s budget proposal, which is not yet finalized, also includes one-time funding for the mayor’s homelessness plan, called the Breaking the Cycle initiative, through funds appropriated in the last budget cycle. That program funding ends in fiscal year 2027-28.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McSpadden presented data showing the city’s overall shelter inventory has increased consistently in recent years, totalling nearly 5,000 emergency and transitional housing beds. During Lurie’s time as mayor, the city has opened new shelter facilities like Hope House and Jerrold Commons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But homelessness advocates who also spoke at the meeting pointed to how the city has simultaneously lost hundreds of non-congregate shelter beds, which offer people more space and, often, stability than a crowded shelter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They pointed to the closures of shelters like the Adante and Monarch hotels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates and housing researchers at the hearing urged the city to invest more in the city’s permanent supportive housing inventory, pointing to evidence that many people are more likely to successfully exit homelessness once they have stable housing with support services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12072185\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12072185\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/020226SUPER-BOWL-HOMELESSNESS-_GH_008-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/020226SUPER-BOWL-HOMELESSNESS-_GH_008-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/020226SUPER-BOWL-HOMELESSNESS-_GH_008-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/020226SUPER-BOWL-HOMELESSNESS-_GH_008-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Guests sleep on cots arranged throughout the sanctuary at St. John’s the Evangelist Episcopal Church, where the Gubbio Project is operating overnight shelter during Super Bowl weekend on Feb. 2, 2026, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If you put all your eggs into the basket of shelter, you see people off the street at first. Then shelters become less efficient because shelter [beds] don’t turn over,” said Jennifer Friedenbach, who leads the Coalition on Homelessness. “When you do a deep investment in housing… you have a much more efficient system because the shelter beds turn over.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But experts like Ryan Finnigan, deputy director of research at UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation, said that permanent supportive housing can fall short when it’s under-resourced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In many cases, funding for subsidized units in San Francisco has not kept up with costs for ongoing maintenance, adequate staffing and other needs to keep those housing options efficient, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are limited opportunities for people to move from shelter programs into permanent housing solutions,” Finnigan said. “Undermining the effectiveness of permanent supportive housing leads to lower effectiveness to other programs in the overall homeless system, including shelters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco’s\u003c/a> Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) could lose about $10 million dollars from the city’s general fund, due to budget cuts meant to address a gaping deficit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s according to city officials who presented the department’s budget outlook at a Board of Supervisors hearing on Wednesday. The proposed cuts come as San Francisco faces a nearly $643 million budget shortfall over the next two years, and the mayor’s office is looking to trim hundreds of millions of dollars in spending across city departments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The plan alarmed some advocates, who say the city could desperately use more funding for its homelessness response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It looks like it is a decrease in the [homelessness] budget, but it is not a decrease, and services will not be cut,” Sophia Kittler, the mayor’s budget director, said to supervisors about the funding changes at Wednesday’s hearing. She stressed that the city is not proposing any cuts to actual homeless services, and rather moving funding around to meet the goal of reducing the general fund deficit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is a one-time revenue that is going away,” Kittler said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To avoid cuts to services, Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office wants to replace that revenue with an increase in funding from another source: a business tax known as Proposition C, or Our City, Our Home, that was created to support homeless services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12055819\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12055819\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250912-FREE-BOOKS-FROM-DOLLY-PARTON-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250912-FREE-BOOKS-FROM-DOLLY-PARTON-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250912-FREE-BOOKS-FROM-DOLLY-PARTON-MD-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250912-FREE-BOOKS-FROM-DOLLY-PARTON-MD-02-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie speaks at the Main Library in San Francisco at an event celebrating a new partnership between city officials and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library on Sept. 12, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But advocates say that if the city has a surplus of Proposition C funds, the mayor’s office should direct more money to shelters and permanent supportive housing, rather than using it to back-fill other cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It does seem like, then, if it’s not a service reduction, we could be doing more, because we have money,” Supervisor Shamann Walton said at the hearing. “Since we’re not losing services, but we have surplus, we could actually be doing more to address homelessness.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was not the only supervisor to question why the city is not directing the recent surplus in Proposition C funds toward homeless services.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I do believe the best way to solve homelessness is actually to prevent it from happening in the first place,” Supervisor Connie Chan said. “That means to increase subsidies, particularly rental subsidies. And of course, rapid rehousing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The number of people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco has steadily increased over the last two decades, as the cost of housing in the city has skyrocketed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 8,300 people were homeless in the city according to the 2024 Point-in-Time count, a federal survey, and more than 4,300 of those individuals were living in a homeless shelter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While city officials said last year that the number of tents on sidewalks had decreased, there are hundreds of people waiting on the list for a San Francisco shelter bed on any given day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>HSH department officials said they have also cut 8 vacant positions as part of the proposed spending reductions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The budget proposal arrives a year after the city reallocated some Proposition C funding set aside for permanent supportive housing to temporary shelter, a controversial decision that marked a shift in the city’s approach to homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12072189\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12072189\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260127-SUPERBOWLHOMELESSNESS-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260127-SUPERBOWLHOMELESSNESS-08-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260127-SUPERBOWLHOMELESSNESS-08-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260127-SUPERBOWLHOMELESSNESS-08-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Department of Public Works employees clean up debris after a sweep of an encampment on Merlin Street in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood on Jan. 27, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Revenue generated from Proposition C came in higher than budgeted the last two fiscal years, according to Shireen McSpadden, HSH director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mayor’s budget proposal, which is not yet finalized, also includes one-time funding for the mayor’s homelessness plan, called the Breaking the Cycle initiative, through funds appropriated in the last budget cycle. That program funding ends in fiscal year 2027-28.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McSpadden presented data showing the city’s overall shelter inventory has increased consistently in recent years, totalling nearly 5,000 emergency and transitional housing beds. During Lurie’s time as mayor, the city has opened new shelter facilities like Hope House and Jerrold Commons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But homelessness advocates who also spoke at the meeting pointed to how the city has simultaneously lost hundreds of non-congregate shelter beds, which offer people more space and, often, stability than a crowded shelter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They pointed to the closures of shelters like the Adante and Monarch hotels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates and housing researchers at the hearing urged the city to invest more in the city’s permanent supportive housing inventory, pointing to evidence that many people are more likely to successfully exit homelessness once they have stable housing with support services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12072185\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12072185\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/020226SUPER-BOWL-HOMELESSNESS-_GH_008-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/020226SUPER-BOWL-HOMELESSNESS-_GH_008-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/020226SUPER-BOWL-HOMELESSNESS-_GH_008-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/020226SUPER-BOWL-HOMELESSNESS-_GH_008-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Guests sleep on cots arranged throughout the sanctuary at St. John’s the Evangelist Episcopal Church, where the Gubbio Project is operating overnight shelter during Super Bowl weekend on Feb. 2, 2026, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If you put all your eggs into the basket of shelter, you see people off the street at first. Then shelters become less efficient because shelter [beds] don’t turn over,” said Jennifer Friedenbach, who leads the Coalition on Homelessness. “When you do a deep investment in housing… you have a much more efficient system because the shelter beds turn over.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But experts like Ryan Finnigan, deputy director of research at UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation, said that permanent supportive housing can fall short when it’s under-resourced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In many cases, funding for subsidized units in San Francisco has not kept up with costs for ongoing maintenance, adequate staffing and other needs to keep those housing options efficient, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are limited opportunities for people to move from shelter programs into permanent housing solutions,” Finnigan said. “Undermining the effectiveness of permanent supportive housing leads to lower effectiveness to other programs in the overall homeless system, including shelters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "oakland-makes-it-easier-to-sweep-encampments-california-billionaire-tax-and-sf-library-weddings",
"title": "Oakland Makes It Easier to Sweep Encampments, California Billionaire Tax and SF Library Weddings",
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"headTitle": "Oakland Makes It Easier to Sweep Encampments, California Billionaire Tax and SF Library Weddings | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>In this month’s edition of The Bay’s news roundup, Ericka, Alan, and KQED outdoors reporter Sarah Wright discuss Oakland’s new policy that will make it easier to sweep homeless encampments and RVs. Plus, a measure to tax the wealth of California’s billionaires seems headed for the November ballot, and a small group of lucky booklovers gets married at the San Francisco Public Library.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Links:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079903/oakland-passes-controversial-policy-easing-restrictions-on-encampment-sweeps\">Oakland Passes Controversial Policy Easing Restrictions on Encampment Sweeps | KQED\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12081502\">California Billionaire Tax Nears the November Ballot | KQED\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12081122/bay-area-book-lovers-we-have-highly-literary-date-or-friend-hang-ideas-for-your-weekend\">Bay Area Book Lovers: We Have Highly Literary Date (or Friend Hang) Ideas for Your Weekend | KQED\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC2036343174\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Episode transcript\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:07] \u003c/em>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevara and welcome to the Bay’s Monthly News Roundup where we talk about some of the other stories on our radars this month. Joining me today is Senior Editor Alan Montecillo. What’s up, Alan?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:19] \u003c/em>Hello, good morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:20] \u003c/em>And our very special guest this month is KQED’s outdoors reporter, Sarah Wright. Hey Sarah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:26] \u003c/em>Hey, how’s it going?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:27] \u003c/em>Good, thank you so much for joining us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:28] \u003c/em>Thank you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:33] \u003c/em>You’ve been on the show before, but for folks who maybe aren’t as familiar. Can you tell us a little bit what you do here at KQED?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:39] \u003c/em>Yes, so I have the best job in the whole building, which is I get to write about parks and outdoors and recreation. I get write about my favorite hiking trails and kayaking and truly everything related to enjoying the outside here in the Bay Area in particular. And I also follow the news with national parks, so it’s a lot of fun. I also get to go out into the outdoors for my job, which a huge bonus of the position.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:09] \u003c/em>Yeah, you kind of got to be outdoors to do your job, which is pretty cool. Yeah, so you mentioned you sort of follow what’s happening at the national level. You’re covering news about the outdoors, but also like fun stuff. So what is sort of driving your coverage at this particular point in the year?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:27] \u003c/em>Yeah, so because it’s spring, a lot of people are looking ahead to summer plans and trying to figure out how to spend their weekends or any trips they want to plan. So I’m doing a couple of stories around how to camp on the cheap, for example. We’re going to be talking about disperse camping, how to find spots when all your favorite campsites are already booked up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:47] \u003c/em>Ooh, that’s helpful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:48] \u003c/em>So yeah, just really trying to help people kind of like navigate kind of a complex system we have sometimes here with accessing the outdoors and just try to make it more accessible for everyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:59] \u003c/em>Have you already locked down some camping reservations?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:02] \u003c/em>I have, I’m actually going to the newly reopened D.L. Bliss up in South Lake Tahoe, and I snagged a campsite for Memorial Day, so I’m so excited. I’m going to be up there, bring my paddleboard, hike the Rubicon Trail, have a nice time, so yeah, it’s going to great.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:23] \u003c/em>Well, we’re so excited for you to be joining us in this edition of our News Roundup. And I guess we could just dive right in to some of the stories we’ve been following. Starting with my story out of Oakland, where earlier this month the city passed a pretty controversial new policy that makes it easier for the city to sweep both encampments and also RVs without necessarily offering shelter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:53] \u003c/em>I feel like I’ve seen news like this come out of different cities in the Bay Area, San Francisco, San Jose. What would this policy in Oakland do?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:03] \u003c/em>Yeah, so this new policy which was passed earlier this month, one of the biggest things it does is it redefines what an encampment in Oakland is. This is according to reporting by Ella Jackson and Paula Sibulo for KQED. So this policy makes it possible for the city to site and tow inhabited vehicles and also authorizes immediate encampments enclosures including tents blocking sidewalks. City officials or city staff having to offer folks shelter before they sweep their encampment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:41] \u003c/em>So why why are they allowed to do this basically like why are they allowed to say you have to leave you can’t be here and also we don’t have a place for you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:50] \u003c/em>So yeah, it’s this combination of this 2024 Supreme Court ruling, which really lowered the barrier for cities across the country to really criminalize homelessness, even if shelter beds weren’t available. This policy was introduced by District 7 council member Ken Houston, who really built this policy as a public health and public safety issue aimed at reducing fires and assaults and robberies and other crimes. And as part of this policy, it also expands the definition of what are called high sensitivity areas. These are areas where encampments are assumed to negatively affect the health and public safety of the area, like schools, for example, or hospitals. Now that’s expanded to include public utilities and also public transit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:44] \u003c/em>I mean, over the last few years we’ve seen increasing public anger over street homelessness in particular. What does this look like in Oakland specifically? I mean is there more homelessness now than there was several years ago?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:58] \u003c/em>Yeah, I mean, the context is really important here. Homelessness is on the rise in Oakland. It was up 8.5% between 2022 and 2024, and people living in RVs has really exploded. And simultaneously, three Oakland shelters closed in the last few months. So currently, there are about 5,400 unhoused folks living in Oakland, and that far outpaces the number of overnight parking spots, shelter beds, and housing that the city currently provides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:34] \u003c/em>And so can you tell me a little bit about the people who came to the meeting, what were they saying, what solutions were they offering?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:41] \u003c/em>Yeah, so this new policy passed by a five to one vote and council member Carroll Fife abstained from the vote, saying that she couldn’t vote for a policy that didn’t address this big question of where folks go after their encampments are swept.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Carroll Fife: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:00] \u003c/em>And until we address that very fundamental issue, we are going to consistently have challenges with housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:10] \u003c/em>There were also a bunch of folks who came to speak out against this policy. According to reporting from KQED, the number of folks who spoke against it were really the loudest voice in the room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Public Commenter: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:23] \u003c/em>My name is Renee Hayes. Evidence shows that encampment abatement or sweeps, that’s what they really do, that’s what they are, they do nothing to solve homelessness. The fact that they have to be repeated over and over again suggests that that’s ineffective.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:42] \u003c/em>Advocates for the unhoused, you know, say that homeless encampment sweeps really set people back. They’ll take people’s stuff. Folks have to find another place to be. And Councilmember Ken Houston, who brought this policy forward, actually said he wasn’t even happy at the end of the council meeting, even though his policy passed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ken Houston: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:02] \u003c/em>This is a very, very difficult policy to move. It’s not perfect, but it’s a starting point. I appreciate the people that was against it or the people who just opposed it. I appreciate your words, your effort. This is what this country is about.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:20] \u003c/em>Were there any changes to this policy before it was passed?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:23] \u003c/em>The original text actually would have allowed the arrests of people simply camping but not necessarily engaged in criminal activity. That has been taken out. And also the policy does now require city staff to make, quote, reasonable efforts to shelter. Many still see this policy as another example of how homelessness is being criminalized in the Bay Area. How folks just get pushed from one place to the next without real offers for help, and a policy that just makes it harder for folks to get back on their feet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:06] \u003c/em>And that is it for my story this month. We’re gonna take a quick break, but when we get back, we’ll talk with Alan and Sarah about some of the other stories they’ve been following this month, stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:16] \u003c/em>And welcome back to The Bay’s Monthly News Roundup where we talk about some of the other stories on our radar this month. The Bay’s Senior Editor, Alan Montecillo, I’m gonna turn to you. What story did you bring today?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:40] \u003c/em>Well, I don’t know if either of you’ve heard of the California billionaire tax. This is a proposed ballot measure that lots of people have been talking about. In fact, for a ballot measure that won’t be on the ballot this June, it’s gotten a lot of attention. There’s reporting on this from our colleague at KQED, Izzy Bloom. But the latest bit of news here is that this billionaire tax is now on track to make the November ballot. The union bringing forth this tax is SEIU. Which represents health care workers throughout the state. And they say they have submitted double the amount of signatures required for this to get on the November ballot. And so all that needs to happen is for the Secretary of State’s office to verify at least 850,000 of these signatures. So it’s extremely likely that all of us here will be voting on a potential billionaire tax this November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:31] \u003c/em>So billionaire tax, that sounds to me pretty straightforward, but tell us what it actually means. What does it do?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:37] \u003c/em>It’s actually quite interesting. This is a one-time 5% tax on the wealth and assets of California’s billionaires. That’s about 200 people. This would be the first tax of its kind in the United States. There’s no national wealth tax, there are no states that have passed a tax that specifically goes after the assets of billionaires, it is a direct response in many ways to the One big beautiful bill act signed into law by President Donald Trump last year. As many people may know, it made huge cuts to programs like Medi-Cal. And in fact, the union, SEIU, really framed this as a way to try and backfill some of those cuts. Suzanne Jimenez with SEIU talks about the goals of this tax.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Suzanne Jimenez: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:23] \u003c/em>At the end of this, this is really about solving a problem that is making sure hospitals, clinics and ER stay open.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:29] \u003c/em>Most of that money would go to Medi-Cal, some would go to K through 12 education, community college programs, CalFresh. It also has support from major progressive figures in the Democratic Party, notably Senator Bernie Sanders, Silicon Valley Representative Ro Khanna, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:46] \u003c/em>And do we have a sense of how much money this new tax is supposed to generate and whether it would actually fill the gaps created by the One Big Beautiful Bill?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:00] \u003c/em>So right now, it’s estimated that this tax would generate about $100 billion in revenue. I don’t think it would necessarily restore all of the cuts that are going to be made to Medi-Cal. Federally, the cuts to Medicaid are estimated to be in the $900 billion to $1 trillion range over the next decade. In terms of the funds generated from this tax, this is not a tax that would be in place permanently. Billionaires who would be subject to this tax could pay 5% immediately or 1% over five years. So, certainly it would generate funds, and the intent is that it would help make up for these federal cuts, but I don’t think it’s going to make those programs whole in perpetuity because this is a one-time tax.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:41] \u003c/em>Just judging by the number of signatures this got, it seems like it’s somewhat popular. Is there any major opposition to it, or how’s it going to fare in the actual ballot box?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:50] \u003c/em>Oh yeah, there’s a lot of opposition. I mean, as you might imagine, the tech industry, billionaires, moderate Democrats are very much against this. I think that the main argument against this is that wealthy people will leave and take their tax revenue with them, and that in California, which already has a very progressive tax system, we already rely disproportionately on tax revenue from rich people to fund social services. In many ways, this measure has also divided the Democratic Party in California. Governor Gavin Newsom is against this. Another opponent is San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who is running for governor and is a favorite of the tech industry. And he says ultimately this will hurt middle-class taxpayers in the long run.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Matt Mahan: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:12:32] \u003c/em>A wealth tax in particular is fundamentally different from other taxes, and it has the highest unintended consequences. It will lead to middle class people having to pay higher taxes in the long run.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:12:42] \u003c/em>Just saying they don’t like this, they are taking action. Opponents are likely to submit a rival ballot measure later in the week called the Transparency Act of 2026, funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, including Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google. Sort of complicated, but it would require audits or programs funded by new taxes. And the big thing here, and this is a very California thing to do, is that this ballot measure would potentially nullify the billionaire tax. So. It wouldn’t be a California election if we weren’t voting on dueling ballot measures. So if both measures qualify for the ballot and they both pass, whichever one has the most votes goes into effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:22] \u003c/em>I’m assuming we might be seeing lots of ads coming very soon related to both of these ballot measures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:31] \u003c/em>Oh yeah, get- get ready. I think once the June primary is over, you’re gonna see just an avalanche of ads. I mean…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:38] \u003c/em>My YouTube’s gonna be crazy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:40] \u003c/em>Yeah, mine’s already crazy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:48] \u003c/em>Allen Montecillo, senior editor for The Bay, thanks for bringing that story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:52] \u003c/em>You’re very welcome.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:58] \u003c/em>And last but not least, Sarah Wright, Outdoors reporter for KQED. What story did you bring for us today?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:04] \u003c/em>Yes, so I am obsessed with this story. This was written by my colleague Nisa Khan and Lakshmi Sarah. And they looked into this past month of weddings that were held at the San Francisco Public Library.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:18] \u003c/em>Hmm\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:19] \u003c/em>It was a unique event, this has never happened before, but for the whole month of April, people for the first time were allowed to get married at the San Francisco Public Library and they did and it was beautiful. The library is thinking about making this an annual thing, there were only nine couples who were able to do it, the weddings were free, they won the opportunity through a lottery. It’s so fun to see people kind of like celebrating their home city, each other and like The fact that we as a community get to witness that I think is really beautiful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:52] \u003c/em>Yeah, that’s so sweet and also, I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of someone getting married in a library. I feel like typically if you’re getting married in San Francisco, you’re getting married at San Francisco City Hall. So why is SF Public Library doing this?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:07] \u003c/em>Yeah, so it’s their 30th anniversary, so they really wanted to have a big celebration. They told these reporters that they have been begged, basically, to be doing this for a while, but they just didn’t really have the processes in place to be able to legally officiate and host weddings. And once they got all of that settled, the demand was just incredible. So they were more than happy to provide the service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:33] \u003c/em>What are some of these library weddings like? I mean, I have to imagine they would run a little smaller, a little quieter than a usual wedding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:44] \u003c/em>Absolutely. There is like a very cutesy book backdrop. They’re between the shelves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Officiant: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:50] \u003c/em>Always promise to abide by all library rules, try to keep your library card to active, and promise to always help each other return your borrowed books and materials on time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:06] \u003c/em>Everyone’s a little emotional, as people are at a wedding, some of the library staff were there to witness it and they said, you know, we don’t even know these couples, but this is so beautiful and special to be just a regular day at the library, except it’s not because it’s somebody’s biggest day of their lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Officiant: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:24] \u003c/em>By virtue of the authority vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:36] \u003c/em>If you’re looking for like a really intimate, beautiful, personal ceremony, I can see how this would be absolutely perfect. And a lot of the couples said like, you know, there’s even books that have played just like such a huge role in our relationship. So to be able to like celebrate among them is like true to us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:55] \u003c/em>You mentioned it’s the San Francisco Public Library’s 30th anniversary, and they’re planning to make this more of a thing from now on. Like, how does one get married at the library if they are interested?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:17:10] \u003c/em>Yes, so they haven’t announced officially, but they’re talking about annually doing a month like this past month where, you know, they can hold another lottery, more people can come on. But for this story, my colleagues offered some alternatives because this isn’t an opportunity everybody can take, right? They kind of pulled together this wonderful list of dates and romantic adventures for you and your book lover, basically, or book friend or book lover self. Personally, I live in Noe Valley. And so we have the Noe valley bookstore and it’s incredibly cute right across the street from Bernie’s, which is a coffee shop that sells some of their books. So that to me was like, ah, that is a perfect date. I should go there. So it just really spoke to me because I’ve heard of many of these spots, but it’s clear that there’s like just so such a wealth of book loving opportunities in the bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:18:05] \u003c/em>What’s the Venn diagram you think between public radio people and people who would get married in a library?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:18:09] \u003c/em>Like, is it a circle? Possibly. I said, you know, I was reading the story, and I was like, this is the most KQED story ever. I love that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:18:19] \u003c/em>Yes, support your public libraries and your public radio stations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:18:23] \u003c/em>Absolutely Well, Sarah Wright, thank you so much for bringing that story for us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:18:32] \u003c/em>Yes, thank you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:18:34] \u003c/em>And Senior Editor Alan Montecillo, thanks for joining me as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"\" title=\"\">\u003ci>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/i>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In this month’s edition of The Bay’s news roundup, Ericka, Alan, and KQED outdoors reporter Sarah Wright discuss Oakland’s new policy that will make it easier to sweep homeless encampments and RVs. Plus, a measure to tax the wealth of California’s billionaires seems headed for the November ballot, and a small group of lucky booklovers gets married at the San Francisco Public Library.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Links:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079903/oakland-passes-controversial-policy-easing-restrictions-on-encampment-sweeps\">Oakland Passes Controversial Policy Easing Restrictions on Encampment Sweeps | KQED\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12081502\">California Billionaire Tax Nears the November Ballot | KQED\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12081122/bay-area-book-lovers-we-have-highly-literary-date-or-friend-hang-ideas-for-your-weekend\">Bay Area Book Lovers: We Have Highly Literary Date (or Friend Hang) Ideas for Your Weekend | KQED\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC2036343174\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Episode transcript\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:07] \u003c/em>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevara and welcome to the Bay’s Monthly News Roundup where we talk about some of the other stories on our radars this month. Joining me today is Senior Editor Alan Montecillo. What’s up, Alan?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:19] \u003c/em>Hello, good morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:20] \u003c/em>And our very special guest this month is KQED’s outdoors reporter, Sarah Wright. Hey Sarah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:26] \u003c/em>Hey, how’s it going?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:27] \u003c/em>Good, thank you so much for joining us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:28] \u003c/em>Thank you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:33] \u003c/em>You’ve been on the show before, but for folks who maybe aren’t as familiar. Can you tell us a little bit what you do here at KQED?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:39] \u003c/em>Yes, so I have the best job in the whole building, which is I get to write about parks and outdoors and recreation. I get write about my favorite hiking trails and kayaking and truly everything related to enjoying the outside here in the Bay Area in particular. And I also follow the news with national parks, so it’s a lot of fun. I also get to go out into the outdoors for my job, which a huge bonus of the position.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:09] \u003c/em>Yeah, you kind of got to be outdoors to do your job, which is pretty cool. Yeah, so you mentioned you sort of follow what’s happening at the national level. You’re covering news about the outdoors, but also like fun stuff. So what is sort of driving your coverage at this particular point in the year?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:27] \u003c/em>Yeah, so because it’s spring, a lot of people are looking ahead to summer plans and trying to figure out how to spend their weekends or any trips they want to plan. So I’m doing a couple of stories around how to camp on the cheap, for example. We’re going to be talking about disperse camping, how to find spots when all your favorite campsites are already booked up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:47] \u003c/em>Ooh, that’s helpful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:48] \u003c/em>So yeah, just really trying to help people kind of like navigate kind of a complex system we have sometimes here with accessing the outdoors and just try to make it more accessible for everyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:59] \u003c/em>Have you already locked down some camping reservations?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:02] \u003c/em>I have, I’m actually going to the newly reopened D.L. Bliss up in South Lake Tahoe, and I snagged a campsite for Memorial Day, so I’m so excited. I’m going to be up there, bring my paddleboard, hike the Rubicon Trail, have a nice time, so yeah, it’s going to great.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:23] \u003c/em>Well, we’re so excited for you to be joining us in this edition of our News Roundup. And I guess we could just dive right in to some of the stories we’ve been following. Starting with my story out of Oakland, where earlier this month the city passed a pretty controversial new policy that makes it easier for the city to sweep both encampments and also RVs without necessarily offering shelter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:53] \u003c/em>I feel like I’ve seen news like this come out of different cities in the Bay Area, San Francisco, San Jose. What would this policy in Oakland do?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:03] \u003c/em>Yeah, so this new policy which was passed earlier this month, one of the biggest things it does is it redefines what an encampment in Oakland is. This is according to reporting by Ella Jackson and Paula Sibulo for KQED. So this policy makes it possible for the city to site and tow inhabited vehicles and also authorizes immediate encampments enclosures including tents blocking sidewalks. City officials or city staff having to offer folks shelter before they sweep their encampment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:41] \u003c/em>So why why are they allowed to do this basically like why are they allowed to say you have to leave you can’t be here and also we don’t have a place for you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:50] \u003c/em>So yeah, it’s this combination of this 2024 Supreme Court ruling, which really lowered the barrier for cities across the country to really criminalize homelessness, even if shelter beds weren’t available. This policy was introduced by District 7 council member Ken Houston, who really built this policy as a public health and public safety issue aimed at reducing fires and assaults and robberies and other crimes. And as part of this policy, it also expands the definition of what are called high sensitivity areas. These are areas where encampments are assumed to negatively affect the health and public safety of the area, like schools, for example, or hospitals. Now that’s expanded to include public utilities and also public transit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:44] \u003c/em>I mean, over the last few years we’ve seen increasing public anger over street homelessness in particular. What does this look like in Oakland specifically? I mean is there more homelessness now than there was several years ago?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:58] \u003c/em>Yeah, I mean, the context is really important here. Homelessness is on the rise in Oakland. It was up 8.5% between 2022 and 2024, and people living in RVs has really exploded. And simultaneously, three Oakland shelters closed in the last few months. So currently, there are about 5,400 unhoused folks living in Oakland, and that far outpaces the number of overnight parking spots, shelter beds, and housing that the city currently provides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:34] \u003c/em>And so can you tell me a little bit about the people who came to the meeting, what were they saying, what solutions were they offering?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:41] \u003c/em>Yeah, so this new policy passed by a five to one vote and council member Carroll Fife abstained from the vote, saying that she couldn’t vote for a policy that didn’t address this big question of where folks go after their encampments are swept.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Carroll Fife: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:00] \u003c/em>And until we address that very fundamental issue, we are going to consistently have challenges with housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:10] \u003c/em>There were also a bunch of folks who came to speak out against this policy. According to reporting from KQED, the number of folks who spoke against it were really the loudest voice in the room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Public Commenter: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:23] \u003c/em>My name is Renee Hayes. Evidence shows that encampment abatement or sweeps, that’s what they really do, that’s what they are, they do nothing to solve homelessness. The fact that they have to be repeated over and over again suggests that that’s ineffective.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:42] \u003c/em>Advocates for the unhoused, you know, say that homeless encampment sweeps really set people back. They’ll take people’s stuff. Folks have to find another place to be. And Councilmember Ken Houston, who brought this policy forward, actually said he wasn’t even happy at the end of the council meeting, even though his policy passed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ken Houston: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:02] \u003c/em>This is a very, very difficult policy to move. It’s not perfect, but it’s a starting point. I appreciate the people that was against it or the people who just opposed it. I appreciate your words, your effort. This is what this country is about.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:20] \u003c/em>Were there any changes to this policy before it was passed?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:23] \u003c/em>The original text actually would have allowed the arrests of people simply camping but not necessarily engaged in criminal activity. That has been taken out. And also the policy does now require city staff to make, quote, reasonable efforts to shelter. Many still see this policy as another example of how homelessness is being criminalized in the Bay Area. How folks just get pushed from one place to the next without real offers for help, and a policy that just makes it harder for folks to get back on their feet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:06] \u003c/em>And that is it for my story this month. We’re gonna take a quick break, but when we get back, we’ll talk with Alan and Sarah about some of the other stories they’ve been following this month, stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:16] \u003c/em>And welcome back to The Bay’s Monthly News Roundup where we talk about some of the other stories on our radar this month. The Bay’s Senior Editor, Alan Montecillo, I’m gonna turn to you. What story did you bring today?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:40] \u003c/em>Well, I don’t know if either of you’ve heard of the California billionaire tax. This is a proposed ballot measure that lots of people have been talking about. In fact, for a ballot measure that won’t be on the ballot this June, it’s gotten a lot of attention. There’s reporting on this from our colleague at KQED, Izzy Bloom. But the latest bit of news here is that this billionaire tax is now on track to make the November ballot. The union bringing forth this tax is SEIU. Which represents health care workers throughout the state. And they say they have submitted double the amount of signatures required for this to get on the November ballot. And so all that needs to happen is for the Secretary of State’s office to verify at least 850,000 of these signatures. So it’s extremely likely that all of us here will be voting on a potential billionaire tax this November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:31] \u003c/em>So billionaire tax, that sounds to me pretty straightforward, but tell us what it actually means. What does it do?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:37] \u003c/em>It’s actually quite interesting. This is a one-time 5% tax on the wealth and assets of California’s billionaires. That’s about 200 people. This would be the first tax of its kind in the United States. There’s no national wealth tax, there are no states that have passed a tax that specifically goes after the assets of billionaires, it is a direct response in many ways to the One big beautiful bill act signed into law by President Donald Trump last year. As many people may know, it made huge cuts to programs like Medi-Cal. And in fact, the union, SEIU, really framed this as a way to try and backfill some of those cuts. Suzanne Jimenez with SEIU talks about the goals of this tax.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Suzanne Jimenez: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:23] \u003c/em>At the end of this, this is really about solving a problem that is making sure hospitals, clinics and ER stay open.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:29] \u003c/em>Most of that money would go to Medi-Cal, some would go to K through 12 education, community college programs, CalFresh. It also has support from major progressive figures in the Democratic Party, notably Senator Bernie Sanders, Silicon Valley Representative Ro Khanna, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:46] \u003c/em>And do we have a sense of how much money this new tax is supposed to generate and whether it would actually fill the gaps created by the One Big Beautiful Bill?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:00] \u003c/em>So right now, it’s estimated that this tax would generate about $100 billion in revenue. I don’t think it would necessarily restore all of the cuts that are going to be made to Medi-Cal. Federally, the cuts to Medicaid are estimated to be in the $900 billion to $1 trillion range over the next decade. In terms of the funds generated from this tax, this is not a tax that would be in place permanently. Billionaires who would be subject to this tax could pay 5% immediately or 1% over five years. So, certainly it would generate funds, and the intent is that it would help make up for these federal cuts, but I don’t think it’s going to make those programs whole in perpetuity because this is a one-time tax.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:41] \u003c/em>Just judging by the number of signatures this got, it seems like it’s somewhat popular. Is there any major opposition to it, or how’s it going to fare in the actual ballot box?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:50] \u003c/em>Oh yeah, there’s a lot of opposition. I mean, as you might imagine, the tech industry, billionaires, moderate Democrats are very much against this. I think that the main argument against this is that wealthy people will leave and take their tax revenue with them, and that in California, which already has a very progressive tax system, we already rely disproportionately on tax revenue from rich people to fund social services. In many ways, this measure has also divided the Democratic Party in California. Governor Gavin Newsom is against this. Another opponent is San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who is running for governor and is a favorite of the tech industry. And he says ultimately this will hurt middle-class taxpayers in the long run.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Matt Mahan: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:12:32] \u003c/em>A wealth tax in particular is fundamentally different from other taxes, and it has the highest unintended consequences. It will lead to middle class people having to pay higher taxes in the long run.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:12:42] \u003c/em>Just saying they don’t like this, they are taking action. Opponents are likely to submit a rival ballot measure later in the week called the Transparency Act of 2026, funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, including Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google. Sort of complicated, but it would require audits or programs funded by new taxes. And the big thing here, and this is a very California thing to do, is that this ballot measure would potentially nullify the billionaire tax. So. It wouldn’t be a California election if we weren’t voting on dueling ballot measures. So if both measures qualify for the ballot and they both pass, whichever one has the most votes goes into effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:22] \u003c/em>I’m assuming we might be seeing lots of ads coming very soon related to both of these ballot measures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:31] \u003c/em>Oh yeah, get- get ready. I think once the June primary is over, you’re gonna see just an avalanche of ads. I mean…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:38] \u003c/em>My YouTube’s gonna be crazy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:40] \u003c/em>Yeah, mine’s already crazy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:48] \u003c/em>Allen Montecillo, senior editor for The Bay, thanks for bringing that story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:52] \u003c/em>You’re very welcome.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:58] \u003c/em>And last but not least, Sarah Wright, Outdoors reporter for KQED. What story did you bring for us today?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:04] \u003c/em>Yes, so I am obsessed with this story. This was written by my colleague Nisa Khan and Lakshmi Sarah. And they looked into this past month of weddings that were held at the San Francisco Public Library.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:18] \u003c/em>Hmm\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:19] \u003c/em>It was a unique event, this has never happened before, but for the whole month of April, people for the first time were allowed to get married at the San Francisco Public Library and they did and it was beautiful. The library is thinking about making this an annual thing, there were only nine couples who were able to do it, the weddings were free, they won the opportunity through a lottery. It’s so fun to see people kind of like celebrating their home city, each other and like The fact that we as a community get to witness that I think is really beautiful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:52] \u003c/em>Yeah, that’s so sweet and also, I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of someone getting married in a library. I feel like typically if you’re getting married in San Francisco, you’re getting married at San Francisco City Hall. So why is SF Public Library doing this?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:07] \u003c/em>Yeah, so it’s their 30th anniversary, so they really wanted to have a big celebration. They told these reporters that they have been begged, basically, to be doing this for a while, but they just didn’t really have the processes in place to be able to legally officiate and host weddings. And once they got all of that settled, the demand was just incredible. So they were more than happy to provide the service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:33] \u003c/em>What are some of these library weddings like? I mean, I have to imagine they would run a little smaller, a little quieter than a usual wedding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:44] \u003c/em>Absolutely. There is like a very cutesy book backdrop. They’re between the shelves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Officiant: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:50] \u003c/em>Always promise to abide by all library rules, try to keep your library card to active, and promise to always help each other return your borrowed books and materials on time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:06] \u003c/em>Everyone’s a little emotional, as people are at a wedding, some of the library staff were there to witness it and they said, you know, we don’t even know these couples, but this is so beautiful and special to be just a regular day at the library, except it’s not because it’s somebody’s biggest day of their lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Officiant: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:24] \u003c/em>By virtue of the authority vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:36] \u003c/em>If you’re looking for like a really intimate, beautiful, personal ceremony, I can see how this would be absolutely perfect. And a lot of the couples said like, you know, there’s even books that have played just like such a huge role in our relationship. So to be able to like celebrate among them is like true to us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:55] \u003c/em>You mentioned it’s the San Francisco Public Library’s 30th anniversary, and they’re planning to make this more of a thing from now on. Like, how does one get married at the library if they are interested?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:17:10] \u003c/em>Yes, so they haven’t announced officially, but they’re talking about annually doing a month like this past month where, you know, they can hold another lottery, more people can come on. But for this story, my colleagues offered some alternatives because this isn’t an opportunity everybody can take, right? They kind of pulled together this wonderful list of dates and romantic adventures for you and your book lover, basically, or book friend or book lover self. Personally, I live in Noe Valley. And so we have the Noe valley bookstore and it’s incredibly cute right across the street from Bernie’s, which is a coffee shop that sells some of their books. So that to me was like, ah, that is a perfect date. I should go there. So it just really spoke to me because I’ve heard of many of these spots, but it’s clear that there’s like just so such a wealth of book loving opportunities in the bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:18:05] \u003c/em>What’s the Venn diagram you think between public radio people and people who would get married in a library?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:18:09] \u003c/em>Like, is it a circle? Possibly. I said, you know, I was reading the story, and I was like, this is the most KQED story ever. I love that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:18:19] \u003c/em>Yes, support your public libraries and your public radio stations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:18:23] \u003c/em>Absolutely Well, Sarah Wright, thank you so much for bringing that story for us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sarah Wright: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:18:32] \u003c/em>Yes, thank you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:18:34] \u003c/em>And Senior Editor Alan Montecillo, thanks for joining me as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Amid major debate in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bay-area\">Bay Area\u003c/a> on how to handle people camping in public places, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland-city-council\">Oakland City Council\u003c/a> enacted a controversial new encampment policy Tuesday over the objections of dozens of advocates for the unhoused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The policy, which passed on a 5-1 vote, revises the way the city manages encampments and eases restrictions on sweeps. Councilmember Caroll Fife abstained, and Janani Ramachandran was excused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new policy allows Oakland to redefine “encampment” to exclude vehicles, including RVs, making it possible for the city to cite and tow inhabited vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also authorizes immediate encampment closures, including tents blocking sidewalks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation, introduced by District 7 Councilmember Ken Houston, also expands the definition of “high sensitivity areas,” where encampments are assumed to negatively impact health and safety, and are therefore subject to more aggressive sweeping. These high-sensitivity areas already include sites like schools and hospitals and now include utilities and public transit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials framed the new policy as a public health and safety issue aimed at reducing fires, assaults, robberies and other crimes associated with encampments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 100 Oakland residents came to the meeting to voice their support or concerns for the measure. Some public speakers said they hoped the new rules would protect infrastructure around BART, and others came to advocate for their neighborhoods and businesses to be included in the high-sensitivity zones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12045783\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12045783\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250304-OaklandHighStreetEncampment-14-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250304-OaklandHighStreetEncampment-14-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250304-OaklandHighStreetEncampment-14-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250304-OaklandHighStreetEncampment-14-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A section of an encampment on Alameda Avenue in Oakland is cleared on March 4, 2025. A shipping container barrier now surrounds the property. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The majority of speakers, however, called on the council to vote against the policy, saying relaxing limits on encampment sweeps amounted to “criminalizing homelessness,” and would have dire consequences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Father Dominic DeMaio, a Catholic priest who works with residents of an Oakland encampment, spent the morning in the council’s chambers, where he said he saw frustration from people hoping to see more care for unhoused residents and council members trying to do their best with limited resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DeMaio said many of the people who he works with have chronic conditions and are not receiving the appropriate care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not going to help to sweep them again,” DeMaio said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Armando Solorzano, an advocate working with Wood Street Commons, East Oakland Collective, and Love and Justice in the Streets, told KQED that the new policy is not consistent with Mayor Barbara Lee’s \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/03/04/homeless-action-plan-oakland-barbara-lee-prevention/\">proposal\u003c/a> to cut homelessness by 50%. The mayor’s plan said to “slow down the pace of sweeps to keep pace with shelter availability,” said Solorzano, but there are not more shelters available.[aside postID=news_12078480 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/AffordabilitySeriesIntro_Lede.jpg']This problem has not been helped by three Oakland shelters \u003ca href=\"http://oaklandside.org/2026/03/31/oakland-homeless-shelters-close-3rd-peralta-hceb/\">closed\u003c/a> their doors in the past few months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Homelessness is on the rise in Oakland, increasing 8.5% between 2022 and 2024, according to the city’s point-in-time count. The 5,485 unhoused people in the city far outpace the number of overnight parking spots, shelter beds, transitional housing or permanent supportive housing units than the city currently provides, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://oakland.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7493872&GUID=4D7B3D3D-ED16-403A-9988-B11E206E01E7&Options=&Search=\">bill text\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Encampment closures already skyrocketed from 240 closures in 2024 to 1,212 closures in 2025 following the Supreme Court Decision in Grant Pass v. Johnson, which permitted cities to punish people sleeping on the street even if there were no available shelter beds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city’s new abatement policy is less severe than Houston’s original text: Five council members amended the proposal to implement further notice and more safeguards for people who are at risk of displacement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These include considerations for towing vehicles that house families with children and people with disabilities, allowing more time to relocate and requiring referrals to appropriate shelters that would accommodate their needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city is also required to identify safe areas in all council districts to relocate affected individuals within 90 days of towing their vehicle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland’s new policy also clarifies the responsibilities of the city’s Department of Transportation and the police department, according to Houston.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12038000\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12038000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250428-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-FILE-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250428-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-FILE-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250428-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-FILE-MD-02-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250428-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-FILE-MD-02-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250428-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-FILE-MD-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250428-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-FILE-MD-02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250428-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-FILE-MD-02-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland City Hall in Oakland on April 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some public commenters at Tuesday’s meeting accused the council of trying to sneak the ordinance through with a 9:30 a.m. special meeting, outside the council’s regular schedule, because they knew how unpopular it would be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sharon Cornu, executive director of St. Mary’s Center in West Oakland, which advocates for seniors and young children, said she and her colleagues rescheduled their days to come to Tuesday’s meeting after closely tracking the policy for about nine months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the vote, Houston said he recognized Oaklanders’ frustrations around the new rules and said it was a necessary “starting point.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Most people would be happy if their policy passed. I’m not. I’m really not,” said Houston, lead sponsor of the bill. “I feel hurt that we had to come to this point to make something happen for an unhoused individual … We have to start somewhere.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Amid major debate in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bay-area\">Bay Area\u003c/a> on how to handle people camping in public places, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland-city-council\">Oakland City Council\u003c/a> enacted a controversial new encampment policy Tuesday over the objections of dozens of advocates for the unhoused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The policy, which passed on a 5-1 vote, revises the way the city manages encampments and eases restrictions on sweeps. Councilmember Caroll Fife abstained, and Janani Ramachandran was excused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new policy allows Oakland to redefine “encampment” to exclude vehicles, including RVs, making it possible for the city to cite and tow inhabited vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also authorizes immediate encampment closures, including tents blocking sidewalks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation, introduced by District 7 Councilmember Ken Houston, also expands the definition of “high sensitivity areas,” where encampments are assumed to negatively impact health and safety, and are therefore subject to more aggressive sweeping. These high-sensitivity areas already include sites like schools and hospitals and now include utilities and public transit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials framed the new policy as a public health and safety issue aimed at reducing fires, assaults, robberies and other crimes associated with encampments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 100 Oakland residents came to the meeting to voice their support or concerns for the measure. Some public speakers said they hoped the new rules would protect infrastructure around BART, and others came to advocate for their neighborhoods and businesses to be included in the high-sensitivity zones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12045783\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12045783\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250304-OaklandHighStreetEncampment-14-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250304-OaklandHighStreetEncampment-14-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250304-OaklandHighStreetEncampment-14-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250304-OaklandHighStreetEncampment-14-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A section of an encampment on Alameda Avenue in Oakland is cleared on March 4, 2025. A shipping container barrier now surrounds the property. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The majority of speakers, however, called on the council to vote against the policy, saying relaxing limits on encampment sweeps amounted to “criminalizing homelessness,” and would have dire consequences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Father Dominic DeMaio, a Catholic priest who works with residents of an Oakland encampment, spent the morning in the council’s chambers, where he said he saw frustration from people hoping to see more care for unhoused residents and council members trying to do their best with limited resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DeMaio said many of the people who he works with have chronic conditions and are not receiving the appropriate care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not going to help to sweep them again,” DeMaio said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Armando Solorzano, an advocate working with Wood Street Commons, East Oakland Collective, and Love and Justice in the Streets, told KQED that the new policy is not consistent with Mayor Barbara Lee’s \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/03/04/homeless-action-plan-oakland-barbara-lee-prevention/\">proposal\u003c/a> to cut homelessness by 50%. The mayor’s plan said to “slow down the pace of sweeps to keep pace with shelter availability,” said Solorzano, but there are not more shelters available.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>This problem has not been helped by three Oakland shelters \u003ca href=\"http://oaklandside.org/2026/03/31/oakland-homeless-shelters-close-3rd-peralta-hceb/\">closed\u003c/a> their doors in the past few months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Homelessness is on the rise in Oakland, increasing 8.5% between 2022 and 2024, according to the city’s point-in-time count. The 5,485 unhoused people in the city far outpace the number of overnight parking spots, shelter beds, transitional housing or permanent supportive housing units than the city currently provides, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://oakland.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7493872&GUID=4D7B3D3D-ED16-403A-9988-B11E206E01E7&Options=&Search=\">bill text\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Encampment closures already skyrocketed from 240 closures in 2024 to 1,212 closures in 2025 following the Supreme Court Decision in Grant Pass v. Johnson, which permitted cities to punish people sleeping on the street even if there were no available shelter beds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city’s new abatement policy is less severe than Houston’s original text: Five council members amended the proposal to implement further notice and more safeguards for people who are at risk of displacement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These include considerations for towing vehicles that house families with children and people with disabilities, allowing more time to relocate and requiring referrals to appropriate shelters that would accommodate their needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city is also required to identify safe areas in all council districts to relocate affected individuals within 90 days of towing their vehicle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland’s new policy also clarifies the responsibilities of the city’s Department of Transportation and the police department, according to Houston.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12038000\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12038000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250428-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-FILE-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250428-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-FILE-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250428-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-FILE-MD-02-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250428-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-FILE-MD-02-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250428-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-FILE-MD-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250428-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-FILE-MD-02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250428-OAKLAND-CITY-HALL-FILE-MD-02-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland City Hall in Oakland on April 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some public commenters at Tuesday’s meeting accused the council of trying to sneak the ordinance through with a 9:30 a.m. special meeting, outside the council’s regular schedule, because they knew how unpopular it would be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sharon Cornu, executive director of St. Mary’s Center in West Oakland, which advocates for seniors and young children, said she and her colleagues rescheduled their days to come to Tuesday’s meeting after closely tracking the policy for about nine months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the vote, Houston said he recognized Oaklanders’ frustrations around the new rules and said it was a necessary “starting point.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Most people would be happy if their policy passed. I’m not. I’m really not,” said Houston, lead sponsor of the bill. “I feel hurt that we had to come to this point to make something happen for an unhoused individual … We have to start somewhere.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Katie Danielson has been bracing for city budget cuts to reach her organization, the Homeless Advocacy Project at the Bar Association of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, which helps low-income San Francisco residents sign up for benefits and navigate civil legal issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City funding for organizations that provide civil legal aid is plummeting as San Francisco looks to narrow a more than $600 million budget deficit. That’s why Danielson and other groups were shocked to find out the city’s homelessness department awarded a $4.7 million grant without a competitive bidding process to a single nonprofit that also provides civil legal services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We completely agree that these types of services help prevent homelessness. That’s why we’ve been doing that work for so long. It’s just that while our funds are being cut, this other grant is being awarded,” Danielson said. “So it was just quite confusing and alarming.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing issued the grant to Open Door Legal, which wrote in a press release that they also expected to receive a matching investment of $3 million in private funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Founder and director of Open Door Legal, Adrian Tirtanadi, said the funds will allow the nonprofit, which has offices in the Excelsior, Sunset, Western Edition and Bayview neighborhoods, to expand its work by partnering with community organizations in other parts of the city, including in the Mission District and the Tenderloin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Tirtanadi agrees with attorneys from other organizations that offer legal aid services, who told KQED it doesn’t make sense that one city department is defunding civil legal services while another is adding funds through a one-time, 17-month grant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079036\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079036\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/LegalServices.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/LegalServices.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/LegalServices-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/LegalServices-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Civil legal services advocates Juliana Fredman, Katie Danielson and Laura Chiera stand outside the city’s Homeless Oversight Commission meeting on April 7, 2026, where they raised concerns about a grant awarded without competitive bidding. \u003ccite>(Sydney Johnson/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“You have one department that is the expert on homelessness and who has determined that civil legal services should be like a core anti-homelessness strategy that the city should employ. And then you have another department that holds most of the [civil legal service] contracts that is trying to wind down those services,” Tirtanadi said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco is staring down a $643 million budget deficit over the next two years, and city officials this week began issuing layoff notices to city employees across departments. So far, 127 layoffs have been issued, and the mayor said that at least 500 positions could be cut across the city. Around 2,000 vacant positions have also been frozen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year’s budget also called for tough decisions and cuts. The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, which historically has funded civil legal services, reduced spending for those programs from around $4.2 million in 2024-25 to about $3 million in 2025-26. It’s slated to drop to nearly $1.2 million in the upcoming fiscal year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates for civil legal aid say these services can help prevent homelessness by helping people navigate difficult legal systems, whether they are facing domestic violence, habitability issues, maintaining public benefits and other situations that can quickly spiral into an eviction case.[aside postID=news_12077101 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260310-UnhousedMail-02-BL_qed.jpg']But many said they were unaware that the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing would be backfilling funding for civil legal services that the mayor’s office had planned to cut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A group of around 10 organizations, including Asian Law Caucus, Bay Area Legal Aid, La Raza Centro Legal, and Legal Assistance to the Elderly, sent a letter to the mayor and other top officials on homelessness with their concerns about how the contract was issued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The noncompetitive process failed to consider existing services relied upon by the target communities and the providers with a proven track record who are positioned to quickly scale up services with existing infrastructure,” the letter reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shireen McSpadden, the outgoing director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, said at a recent Homeless Oversight Commission meeting that the department was able to circumvent the competitive bidding process due to existing policies that allow the city to more quickly award contracts for homelessness services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This funding for civil legal services, combined with financial assistance, is core to HSH’s homelessness prevention strategy. Legal services play an important role in the fight against homelessness and are a tool in the city’s homelessness responses system,” McSpadden wrote in a Medium post co-authored by Tirtanadi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other commissioners at the meeting, however, expressed concerns with the contract, which the body previously approved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Commissioner Bevan Dufty said the concerns raised by other legal aid groups were legitimate and called it “not a good look,” adding a personal apology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12043661\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12043661\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250610-LEGAL-AID-HUNGER-STRIKE-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250610-LEGAL-AID-HUNGER-STRIKE-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250610-LEGAL-AID-HUNGER-STRIKE-MD-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250610-LEGAL-AID-HUNGER-STRIKE-MD-02-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Adrian Tirtanadi stands outside of City Hall in San Francisco on June 10, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nasicmento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I should be better, and I’m going to be very careful in reading what comes before us at every turn,” said Bufty, a former supervisor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Legal aid providers that signed on to the letter have requested a meeting with city officials to discuss funding and the contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our point is, if you want to get the services out the fastest, which is the point of that provision that they use to circumvent the competitive bidding process, then you need to look where the need is, where the services are being provided, and who has the capacity to upscale quickly,” said Laura Chiera, executive director of Legal Assistance to the Elderly. “You give me funding for another lawyer, I would have a full calendar that day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As cuts to their programs loom, Chiera said it’s difficult to keep up with demand for support as evictions and rent prices in the city continue upward. She described a recent client, a woman in her 70s whose rent increased from $1,300 to $8,000 per month. They represented her and brought her case to the rent board, she said, allowing her to reach an affordable rent amount and remain housed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For a senior on a fixed income [without legal support], rent going from $1,300 to $8,000, that does mean homelessness,” Chiera said. “All of this funding is disappearing, and there’s so much need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tirtanadi did not comment specifically on concerns raised about the lack of transparency behind the contract, but said different City Hall departments are not on the same page over whether civil legal services should be funded or not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would encourage the city, especially the mayor’s office, to look at this holistically,” Tirtanadi said. “If the goal is to have ODL expand legal services, that will be undermined if contracts are being reduced or cut from other departments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Katie Danielson has been bracing for city budget cuts to reach her organization, the Homeless Advocacy Project at the Bar Association of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, which helps low-income San Francisco residents sign up for benefits and navigate civil legal issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City funding for organizations that provide civil legal aid is plummeting as San Francisco looks to narrow a more than $600 million budget deficit. That’s why Danielson and other groups were shocked to find out the city’s homelessness department awarded a $4.7 million grant without a competitive bidding process to a single nonprofit that also provides civil legal services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We completely agree that these types of services help prevent homelessness. That’s why we’ve been doing that work for so long. It’s just that while our funds are being cut, this other grant is being awarded,” Danielson said. “So it was just quite confusing and alarming.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing issued the grant to Open Door Legal, which wrote in a press release that they also expected to receive a matching investment of $3 million in private funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Founder and director of Open Door Legal, Adrian Tirtanadi, said the funds will allow the nonprofit, which has offices in the Excelsior, Sunset, Western Edition and Bayview neighborhoods, to expand its work by partnering with community organizations in other parts of the city, including in the Mission District and the Tenderloin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Tirtanadi agrees with attorneys from other organizations that offer legal aid services, who told KQED it doesn’t make sense that one city department is defunding civil legal services while another is adding funds through a one-time, 17-month grant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079036\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079036\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/LegalServices.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/LegalServices.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/LegalServices-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/LegalServices-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Civil legal services advocates Juliana Fredman, Katie Danielson and Laura Chiera stand outside the city’s Homeless Oversight Commission meeting on April 7, 2026, where they raised concerns about a grant awarded without competitive bidding. \u003ccite>(Sydney Johnson/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“You have one department that is the expert on homelessness and who has determined that civil legal services should be like a core anti-homelessness strategy that the city should employ. And then you have another department that holds most of the [civil legal service] contracts that is trying to wind down those services,” Tirtanadi said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco is staring down a $643 million budget deficit over the next two years, and city officials this week began issuing layoff notices to city employees across departments. So far, 127 layoffs have been issued, and the mayor said that at least 500 positions could be cut across the city. Around 2,000 vacant positions have also been frozen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year’s budget also called for tough decisions and cuts. The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, which historically has funded civil legal services, reduced spending for those programs from around $4.2 million in 2024-25 to about $3 million in 2025-26. It’s slated to drop to nearly $1.2 million in the upcoming fiscal year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates for civil legal aid say these services can help prevent homelessness by helping people navigate difficult legal systems, whether they are facing domestic violence, habitability issues, maintaining public benefits and other situations that can quickly spiral into an eviction case.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But many said they were unaware that the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing would be backfilling funding for civil legal services that the mayor’s office had planned to cut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A group of around 10 organizations, including Asian Law Caucus, Bay Area Legal Aid, La Raza Centro Legal, and Legal Assistance to the Elderly, sent a letter to the mayor and other top officials on homelessness with their concerns about how the contract was issued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The noncompetitive process failed to consider existing services relied upon by the target communities and the providers with a proven track record who are positioned to quickly scale up services with existing infrastructure,” the letter reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shireen McSpadden, the outgoing director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, said at a recent Homeless Oversight Commission meeting that the department was able to circumvent the competitive bidding process due to existing policies that allow the city to more quickly award contracts for homelessness services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This funding for civil legal services, combined with financial assistance, is core to HSH’s homelessness prevention strategy. Legal services play an important role in the fight against homelessness and are a tool in the city’s homelessness responses system,” McSpadden wrote in a Medium post co-authored by Tirtanadi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other commissioners at the meeting, however, expressed concerns with the contract, which the body previously approved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Commissioner Bevan Dufty said the concerns raised by other legal aid groups were legitimate and called it “not a good look,” adding a personal apology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12043661\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12043661\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250610-LEGAL-AID-HUNGER-STRIKE-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250610-LEGAL-AID-HUNGER-STRIKE-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250610-LEGAL-AID-HUNGER-STRIKE-MD-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250610-LEGAL-AID-HUNGER-STRIKE-MD-02-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Adrian Tirtanadi stands outside of City Hall in San Francisco on June 10, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nasicmento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I should be better, and I’m going to be very careful in reading what comes before us at every turn,” said Bufty, a former supervisor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Legal aid providers that signed on to the letter have requested a meeting with city officials to discuss funding and the contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our point is, if you want to get the services out the fastest, which is the point of that provision that they use to circumvent the competitive bidding process, then you need to look where the need is, where the services are being provided, and who has the capacity to upscale quickly,” said Laura Chiera, executive director of Legal Assistance to the Elderly. “You give me funding for another lawyer, I would have a full calendar that day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As cuts to their programs loom, Chiera said it’s difficult to keep up with demand for support as evictions and rent prices in the city continue upward. She described a recent client, a woman in her 70s whose rent increased from $1,300 to $8,000 per month. They represented her and brought her case to the rent board, she said, allowing her to reach an affordable rent amount and remain housed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For a senior on a fixed income [without legal support], rent going from $1,300 to $8,000, that does mean homelessness,” Chiera said. “All of this funding is disappearing, and there’s so much need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tirtanadi did not comment specifically on concerns raised about the lack of transparency behind the contract, but said different City Hall departments are not on the same page over whether civil legal services should be funded or not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would encourage the city, especially the mayor’s office, to look at this holistically,” Tirtanadi said. “If the goal is to have ODL expand legal services, that will be undermined if contracts are being reduced or cut from other departments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"marketplace": {
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"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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"planet-money": {
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"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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"rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"order": 16
},
"link": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
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},
"science-friday": {
"id": "science-friday",
"title": "Science Friday",
"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
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},
"snap-judgment": {
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