The Grapevine: 2/20/23
Good morning. A new report says that California is still behind in combating homelessness after $10 billion spent, San Francisco struggles to get an affordable housing project off the ground courtesy of a beleaguered hospital, and a fire at a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. substation leaves California's fifth-largest airport without power. Here's what you need to know:
- A new report from the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, which oversees the state's aid to the unhoused, found that the state spent almost $10 billion on various efforts to combat homelessness. The bulk of that money was spent on housing services, but the report found that only 40% who used those services ended up in some kind of housing. (https://calmatters.org/homelessness-2/2023/02/california-homelessness-spending-report/)
- California Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Alameda), who chairs the Assembly subcommittee responsible for public safety spending, has recused herself from considering matters related to the state Department of Justice, which is headed by her husband, Attorney General Rob Bonta. (https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-02-19/california-ags-wife-recuses-herself-from-state-doj-budget)
- San Francisco is struggling to get an affordable housing project for low-income seniors off the ground as Laguna Honda Hospital, which owns the land on which the project would be constructed, says it would rather focus on regaining its certification to care for nursing home patients. Federal regulators revoked the hospital's certification in April after state inspectors found it was in a "state of substandard care." (https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/affordable-housing-project-delayed-17781644.php)
- The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will reconsider its decision upholding the dismissal of a 2019 lawsuit filed by the son of a woman who died of an overdose while in police custody on the grounds of qualified immunity. (https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/story/2023-02-19/9th-circuit-lawsuit-sdpd-custody-death)
- A fire at a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. substation caused an outage that left 50,000 Oakland residents without power Sunday, and halted operations at California's fifth-largest airport. (https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-19/oakland-impacted-by-major-power-outage)
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