San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe won’t leave office — for now – San Bernardino Sun

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San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowewon’t leave office — for now

San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe won’t leave office — for now – San Bernardino Sun

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By SANDRA EMERSON | semerson@scng.com |PUBLISHED: January 23, 2020 at 6:55 pm | UPDATED: January 23, 2020 at 6:55 pm

The state’s highest court says Supervisor Dawn Rowe can remain in office as San Bernardino Countycontinues to appeal an earlier ruling that her appointment was “null and void” and must be revoked.

The California Supreme Court issued the order Thursday, Jan. 23, putting San Bernardino SuperiorCourt Judge Janet M. Frangie’s order on hold, county spokesman David Wert said.

The Board of Supervisors will not consider rescinding Rowe’s appointment Tuesday, Jan. 28, as hadbeen previously discussed.

“She remains a supervisor,” Wert said Thursday.

The California Supreme Court has said San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe can remain on the board while the countyappeals an earlier court ruling that her appointment must be rescinded. (File photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

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San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe won’t leave office — for now – San Bernardino Sun

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The county filed a petition with the Supreme Court Friday, Jan. 17, to allow Rowe to remain in officewhile the appeal moves forward. An appellate court had previously denied the same request.

The county is appealing Frangie’s finding that the process used in November and December 2018 tofill the 3rd District supervisor’s seat violated the state’s open-meeting law, the Ralph M. Brown Act.Frangie also ordered that the appointment be rescinded, giving Gov. Gavin Newsom a chance to picka new supervisor.

I.E. United, a political advocacy group, sued over Rowe’s appointment, arguing that supervisorsviolated the Brown Act when they appointed her to the seat Dec. 18, 2018.

The suit alleged that supervisors illegally met privately and used a secret ballot to narrow a list of 48applicants to 13 who would get public interviews. After interviews earlier that month, supervisors

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San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe won’t leave office — for now – San Bernardino Sun

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San Bernardino County Supervisor DawnRowe ‘no longer’ acting in official capacity

San Bernardino County will ask CaliforniaSupreme Court to let Supervisor DawnRowe stay

Judge voids San Bernardino CountySupervisor Dawn Rowe’s appointment

San Bernardino County faces court battleover naming Dawn Rowe 3rd Districtsupervisor

San Bernardino County supervisorspostpone decision on vacant seat; willweigh Brown Act question

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picked five finalists, including Rowe.

Frangie ruled that supervisors violated the Brown Act byconducting a secret serial meeting when board membersdeliberated on the applications and submitted their lists.

Supervisors also failed to cure the violation, making theirappointment null and void, the ruling stated.

It was unclear Thursday if or when the Supreme Courtwould take up the appeal.

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Sandra EmersonSandra Emerson covers San Bernardino County government and politics for the Southern California News Group.

Tags: courts, government, local politics, Top Stories IVDB, Top Stories PE, Top Stories RDF,Top Stories Sun

San Bernardino County officials, volunteers count homeless living in washes, under trees – Press Enterprise

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LOCAL NEWS

San Bernardino County officials, volunteers counthomeless living in washes, under trees

San Bernardino County officials, volunteers count homeless living in washes, under trees – Press Enterprise

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By SANDRA EMERSON | semerson@scng.com |PUBLISHED: January 23, 2020 at 5:57 pm | UPDATED: January 23, 2020 at 6:00 pm

Broken furniture, electronics and other items were scattered across the steep and rocky path into thewash from Highland Avenue in San Bernardino. Tucked behind a heap of stuff early Thursday, Jan.23, were Harry Jackson, 73, and Patricia Garrett, 72.

Between the money Jackson gets from handyman work and Garrett’s retirement, the couple said theycan’t afford rent. So they’ve been living in the wash area for the past three years.

“This is home,” Jackson said while holding their dog, Goldie.

Situations like Jackson and Garrett’s are commonly seen by deputies with the San Bernardino CountySheriff’s Homeless Outreach Proactive Enforcement, or H.O.P.E. Team, who headed out early

Harry Jackson, 73, and wife, Patricia Garret, 72, have been been living in the wash under Highland Avenue. They cuddle their dog,Goldie, after learning from officials during San Bernardino County s annual homeless count Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020, that they willreceive housing. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

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San Bernardino County officials, volunteers count homeless living in washes, under trees – Press Enterprise

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Thursday with Supervisor Josie Gonzales during San Bernardino County’s Point-In-Time-Count, anannual census of the homeless population.

Riverside County’s tally is set for Wednesday, Jan. 29; while officials in Los Angeles Countyconducted theirs Tuesday, Jan. 21.

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San Bernardino County officials, volunteers count homeless living in washes, under trees – Press Enterprise

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“It goes down to housing affordability,” Deputy Mike Jones said.

During the four-hour count, which started at 6 a.m., volunteers fanned across the county to collectbasic information from homeless individuals and families, such as their age, gender and how longthey’ve lived on the streets. In return for their answers, volunteers handed out hygiene kits and offeredinformation on services.

This was the second year volunteers used a smartphone app to transmit answers to the countygovernment center, where a team of employees and volunteers watched the data flow in.

Through the app, volunteers marked the locations of those they came across in the field.

This year, specialized teams comprised of various service providers were deployed to assisthomeless seniors identified by volunteers. Several housing units were made available ahead of thecount for seniors interested in a permanent place to live. At least 10 homeless seniors were in theprocess of getting housed near the end of the count, officials said.

1 of 22San Bernardino County Supervisor Josie Gonzales, right, checks on Kisha Toole, 32, who s been living homeless for two years, during SanBernardino County s Point-In-Time-Count, an annual tally of the region’s homeless. Toole was near Arden and Highland Avenues in San Bernardinoon Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

San Bernardino County officials, volunteers count homeless living in washes, under trees – Press Enterprise

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Teams were also deployed to the locations of homeless families to get them immediate shelter.

Data collected during the count will help government officials track the number, demographics andneeds of people experiencing homelessness. It also will be used to determine how much federalfunding will be given to the county to address the issue.

In the hours after the count, the H.O.P.E. team compared the data collected by volunteers to a mapcreated using information collected by H.O.P.E. team members over the past year to spot individualswho still need to be counted.

In 2019, volunteers counted 2,607 individuals without permanent homes, a 23% increase from the2,118 people counted in 2018.

The 2019 results showed a 71% jump in homeless persons 55 and older.

Of the 2,607 homeless people counted in 2019, 1,920, or 73%, were unsheltered, or had slept thenight before in a private or public place not designed for or used as a regular sleepingaccommodation. About 19% of the 1,873 adults counted became homeless for the first time in thepast year and nearly a quarter of adults living on the streets in the county, about 450, wereunaccompanied women.

San Bernardino led all municipalities with 890 homeless people, followed by Victorville with 333homeless people, then Redlands (183), Rialto (133), Ontario (128) and Fontana (94).

The number of homeless individuals 62 and older has climbed over the past couple of years, Jonessaid.

Social Security Insurance is based on national rent averages, which isn’t enough to cover the cost ofrent in California, he said. Only recently, has the state allowed those on Social Security to also sign upfor food stamps, Jones said.

Many factors lead to seniors living on the streets, Gonzales said. They may end up homeless aftertheir partner dies and no longer have a dual income householder, illness or they may not have enoughretirement to cover the cost of shelter, she said.

Others were already homeless and just got older, she said, recalling a 32-year-old man the team metearlier that morning.

“He said he’s been homeless 18 years,” Gonzales said. “What does that tell you? The propensity ofhim remaining homeless into his senior years is very high.”

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Homelessness in San Bernardino Countyjumps 23% in 2019

Volunteers, officials survey SanBernardino County homeless population

San Bernardino County approveshomeless emergency aid for 15organizations, with more to come

Gov. Gavin Newsom visits Loma Linda toannounce emergency homeless aid

Services must come before housing,homelessness chief tells San BernardinoCounty

RELATED LINKS

Around 7 a.m., Jerome Eoering, 73, was on his way to the bus stop outside Walmart in Highland whenJones and Gonzales caught up to him.

The former mechanic said he has been living under a tree near the East Valley Water District for thepast three years, but has been homeless since his wife died about 20 years ago.

A specialized team was sent to meet Eoering, who had reached out to the H.O.P.E. team a few weeksago to get housing assistance.

“I just need to get up out of here,” he said. “My eyes are getting so bad.”

Throughout the count, Gonzales highlighted some of thechallenges counting homeless people on state andfederally owned land near flood control channels andfreeways or even crossing city boundaries, where theprocess may be different. She pointed out severalproperties where homeless encampments were clearedbefore the count, possibly affecting the results, andstressed the importance for cities, the county and the stateto work together on an approach to addressinghomelessness.

This was Gonzales’ last count as a supervisor because sheterms out in 2020.

A longtime advocate for the homeless, Gonzales wasgentle when speaking to homeless people.

She got close, put a hand on their shoulder andencouraged them to reach out to her office or service providers for help. She gave her gloves to ayoung women in an encampment behind a vacant building in San Bernardino.

“I wish I could do more,” Gonzales said.

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Over 100 Residents of California’s InlandEmpire Occupy Amazon Developer'sOffices

Amazon is the rumored tenant of a newly approved air cargo facility

that working-class residents say would bring more dead end jobs

and air pollution to their community.

By Lauren Kaori Gurley

Jan 23 2020, 7:09am

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SAN BERNARDINO AIRPORT COMMUNITIES

On December 30, a local commission in the city of San Bernardino,California unanimously approved a $200 million air cargo facility. Thefuture occupant is rumored to be Amazon, the largest private employer inCalifornia’s Inland Empire—comprised of the sprawling San Bernardino andRiverside counties—which form the interior of greater Los Angeles.

Supporters of the airport’s expansion say the hub could generate as many as3,800 jobs and $5 million in revenue for the city.

But locals are concerned about the pollution and more grueling warehousejobs coming to the area. On Wednesday, roughly 150 residents, labororganizers, and former Amazon warehouse workers—known collectively asSan Bernardino Airport Communities protested at the of�ces of thedeveloper Hillwood, chanting, playing drums, and waving banners reading:“AMAZON: WE DESERVE GOOD JOBS AND CLEAN AIR.” The Texas-baseddeveloper Hillwood is a favorite of Amazon’s. Recent projects include aregional Amazon air hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and adelivery center outside Chicago.

“The Inland Empire is America’s shopping cart,” said Mario Vasquez, acommunications coordinator for Teamsters Local 1932, and one of the leadorganizers of San Bernardino Airport Communities, told Motherboard.“Living in San Bernardino, everyone knows someone who is affected byAmazon—someone who’s working in the warehouses, someone who’s hadtheir lungs damaged…. Everywhere you turn is a warehouse or a big asstruck.”

The protestors, who’ve organized under the name San Bernardino AirportCommunities, demanded the developer Hillwood and Amazon agree to a setof legally-binding community guidelines for wages and air and noisepollution—such as promising to provide soundproo�ng for homes andschools, supply zero emission trucks, and that new jobs will that pay at least$20 an hour.

“Hillwood and Amazon both have the available funds and the legalframework to provide bene�ts to the communities from which they havealready received millions in pro�ts and public bene�ts,” San BernardinoAirport Communities wrote in an letter delivered to Hillwood’s senior vicepresident John Magness on Wednesday that was provided to Motherboard.“We need more than the promise of 4,000 potential Amazon jobs. We need areal commitment to good jobs and real solutions to mitigate the negativeimpacts a project like Eastgate is sure to bring.”

Since 2012, when jobs were scarce in the Inland Empire, Amazon has opened14 ful�llment centers in the Riverside and San Bernardino counties. And inless than a decade, the region transformed into an e-commerce empire andAmazon’s largest regional concentration of logistics warehouses in theworld. An abundance of low-cost real estate and blue-collar workers—andproximity to some of the wealthiest enclaves in Southern California—madeit an appealing spot for the world’s largest shipping company to root itself.

Vasquez’s group has been organizing around these demands for months. InNovember, San Bernardino Airport Communities sent the same list ofdemands to Jeff Bezos in a letter. And on December 2, Cyber Monday,hundreds of Inland Empire residents marched outside of an Amazonful�llment center in San Bernardino, blocking traf�c.

San Bernardino Airport Communities@SBACommunities

Residents & workers living around Amazon's anticipated expansion of San Bernardino Airport are at developer Hillwood's HQ today to demand a legally-enforceable Community Benefits Agreement.@SBACommunities demand clear-cut standards on good jobs and clean air, @Amazon

24 4:13 PM - Jan 22, 2020

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Senator Bernie Sanders caught wind, and declared his opposition to theairport expansion and his support for the community group—as did a groupof Amazon’s white collar employees in Seattle, Amazon Employees forClimate Justice.

San Bernardino Airport Communities contend that, based on the size of thefacility, an Amazon operation would bring an additional 24 �ights a day andan additional 7,515 vehicles—including 500 trucks moving through the areaeach day.

“I have very strong feelings about this. Amazon is one of the worst places towork. When I was there, I felt expendable,” Eric Guillen, a former Amazonwarehouse worker who spoke at Wednesday’s protest, told Motherboard.“I’m all for jobs in San Bernardino. But what I want is quality jobs. And withthe airport opening up, it’s gonna bring more trucks, more cargo, and it’sgoing to adversely affect the air quality. If you’re going to come into mycommunity, make it better, not worse.”

In recent years, idling trucks have begun to clog up residentialneighborhoods. Roughly 18,000 people in the county have taken updangerous, dead-end warehouse jobs in Amazon’s 14 ful�llment centers,according to data provided by the Economic Roundtable, a nonpro�teconomics research group in Southern California, to Motherboard.

In the greater Los Angeles area, 62 percent of Amazon workers receive someform of government assistance, according to a “Too Big to Govern: PublicBalance Sheet for the World’s Largest Store,” a recent report by theEconomic Roundtable on Amazon’s impact in Southern California. In otherwords, despite Amazon’s claims that its warehouse jobs pay a living wage,the shipping giant is letting its workers live in poverty and forcing thegovernment to pick up the tab. For every $1 in wages paid by Amazon,warehouse workers receive an estimated $0.24 cents in public assistance,according to the same report. Roughly 80 percent of the Inland Empire’sresidents are black or Latino.

“As a consequence of having low wages and insuf�cient incomes to affordadequate homes for their families, 57 percent of Amazon warehouse workerslive in housing that is overcrowded and substandard,” the authors of thereport write. “There is direct and indirect evidence of signi�canthomelessness among warehouse workers.”

TAGGED: ENVIRONMENT, POLLUTION, LABOR, TEAMSTERS, RIVERSIDE COUNTY, INLAND EMPIRE, SAN BERNARDINO,

HILLWOOD

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“Warehouse jobs are the only jobs that people can come by here. There’s apipeline from the high schools. I worked there because it was the best hoursI could get,” said Andres Garcia, 28, who spoke at the Wednesday protestand worked at a San Bernardino ful�llment center in 2014. “All of the issuesaround Hillwood airport have added to the collective misery in the area. Inthe last �ve years, there’s been a huge in�ux of warehouses. It’s kind of sobad that it’s completely situating whole neighborhoods next to massivewarehouse properties.”

To make matters worse, last year San Bernardino and Riverside Countiesreported the worst and second worst air pollution of all U.S. counties,respectively. Garcia, who was born with asthma, says the air quality makes itextremely dif�cult to enjoy the nearby wilderness.

The December 30 vote to authorize the airport cargo facility took place justdays before a California law came into effect that requires local agencies todisclose details about warehouse distribution centers before a vote.Protestors are particularly angry about a con�dentiality clause in the newground lease for the airport facility that, conveniently for the businessesinvolved, makes it dif�cult to prove that the future occupant is Amazon.

“We were totally blindsided by this special meeting that happened betweenNew Years and Christmas,” said Garcia, who was born and raised in thecountry. “It was a typical political staging where they gave the public noticeon a Friday and voted on a Monday. They’re squeaking by the law. It was ahuge loss for our group.”

“Our campaign is about raising standards, especially because this is a publicairport,” said Vasquez, the Teamsters communications director and a leadorganizer of the San Bernardino Airport Communities campaign. “If we’regoing to be Amazon’s �rst regional air hub, they damn better guarantee jobquality standards. Working families deserve this.”

Amazon and Hillwood did not respond to a request for comment.

OPINION

Op-Ed: Good intentions are forcing foster kids into bad places

A child removed from his home explores a Department of Children and Family Services o�ce in Compton. (Robert Gauthier/ Los Angeles Times )

By NAOMI SCHAEFER RILEY

JAN. 23, 20203 AM

The latest controversy roiling American foster care is all about children forced into inappropriate

settings.

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A Washington Post report on Dec. 30 noted that across the country “case workers and courts have

been funneling children into crowded emergency shelters, hotels, out-of-state institutions and

youth prisons — cold, isolating and often dangerous facilities not built to house innocent children

for years.”

“With few available beds in therapeutic care in Washington State,” reads a recent op-ed in the New

York Times, “foster youth, especially those of color, are frequently forced to stay in hotels.”

A Better Childhood has filed suit against 10 states in part because they assign children to

“institutional facilities and group homes that ignore their needs, disabilities, and case history.” The

nonprofit advocacy organization has documented placements outside the state that serves as the

child’s guardian and situations where youngsters with no criminal record are housed in prison

conditions.

Ironically, government policies meant to improve how and where kids are housed are behind these

bad decisions. In an effort to prioritize family placements (foster and adoptive), jurisdictions have

closed and reduced the funding for group homes. Less money means fewer “congregate care”

facilities. Now when families can’t be found to take in children, or when a family setting simply

won’t work, states, counties and municipalities are scrambling. And the situation is only getting

worse.

Over the last 50 years, the child welfare establishment has come to a consensus: Growing up in an

institution is not good for children; every child deserves a family. Orphanages have long been

stigmatized and, for the most part, shuttered. Many deserved their bad reputations, but Dickensian

assumptions aside, the data are mixed. UC Irvine emeritus economist Richard McKenzie, who grew

up in a Presbyterian kids home in the 1950s, found in a survey of 2,500 orphanage alumni in the

1990s that 85% looked back “favorably” or “very favorably” on their experience.

“Only 2.3 percent of the alumni had hostile assessments,” McKenzie wrote in an essay in the

Weekly Standard. “Moreover, the alumni reported that they had done better than the general

population on almost all measures, including education, income, attitude toward life, criminal

records, psychological problems, unemployment, dependence on welfare, and happiness.”

Nevertheless, the modern foster care system has been doing all it can to end congregate care except

for juvenile offenders (detention centers, in other words) or for children who require treatment

programs.

To meet the goal of family placements, states have mounted elaborate ad campaigns to recruit

more parents. In some jurisdictions, nurses and counselors are offered specialized training and

increased fees to take in children in need of medical or psychological care in order to keep them

from congregate settings. This year, the Department of Health and Human Services embarked on a

PR effort specifically to attract adoptive parents for teens in the foster system, a population for

whom homes are often difficult to find. But even with outsized efforts, most child welfare programs

can’t fill the need for foster families.

At the same time, some children, teens especially, don’t want to be fostered or adopted by a family.

They may have experienced multiple placements and prefer a group setting to trying to fit once

more into a family unit. Some have behavioral problems that torpedo adjusting to family life.

According to a 2012 report from the Health and Human Services Child Welfare Information

Gateway, “disruption rates”— meaning that a child is adopted and then “returned”— range from

about 10% to 25% nationwide. For older kids, the numbers tend to be higher.

Despite the “family first” consensus, there is a need for group homes that aren’t hospitals or jails.

Nonetheless, the incentives in terms of public relations and public dollars are all on the side of

reducing congregate care. Marie Cohen, author of the blog Child Welfare Monitor, pointed out that

disconnect in a 2019 report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The much publicized study, wrote

Cohen, “praised those jurisdictions with lower group home percentages” while “chastising those

with higher rates.”

“Nowhere,” noted Cohen, “did the authors mention the fact that eliminating too many congregate

placements may lead to foster youth staying in offices, hotels, emergency placements, and abusive

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out-of-state facilities.”

In 2015, the California Legislature enacted the Continuum of Care Reform Act specifically to

reduce reliance on group facilities and force the system to increase family placements. It didn’t

eliminate all group homes, but it designated such settings primarily as a short-term solution for

youngsters certified as having a medical or criminal problem that required a restrictive

environment. The state estimated that it would quickly move 65% of its group home population to

families. Instead it found it was only able to transfer 35%. With fewer group beds available, it had

to assign many children to medical and detention facilities who didn’t require such settings.

Unfortunately, the Family First Prevention Services Act, which passed Congress in 2018 with

bipartisan support, is modeled on California’s program. It is already leading states away from

congregant care, limiting the kinds of facilities that can be funded by federal dollars and by adding

regulatory burdens to group placements. For example, even group homes that aren’t specifically set

up for medical treatment must have 24-7 clinical staff to qualify for federal funding.

We should do as much as possible to place foster kids in loving temporary or permanent family

homes. But just reducing the options for this vulnerable population is not the answer.

Naomi Schaefer Riley is a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute studying child

welfare issues.

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Ontario airport saw 5.5 million passengers in 2019 — the most since 2008 – San Bernardino Sun

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NEWS

Ontario airport saw 5.5 million passengers in 2019— the most since 2008Freight shipments increased to more than 760,000 tons

• News

Ontario airport saw 5.5 million passengers in 2019 — the most since 2008 – San Bernardino Sun

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By STEVE SCAUZILLO | sscauzillo@scng.com | San Gabriel Valley TribunePUBLISHED: January 23, 2020 at 4:53 pm | UPDATED: January 23, 2020 at 4:55 pm

Last year, 5.5 million passengers used Ontario International Airport, the highest number of airtravelers in more than a decade, airport officials reported this week.

The 9.1% bump in passenger volume over 2018 was paired with a 5.1% rise in freight shipments,continuing a one-two punch for growth, the airport said in a news release Wednesday, Jan. 22.

Travelers walk past a sign announcing arrival and departure times in Terminal 4 at Ontario International Airport on Friday afternoonNov. 22, 2019. Ontario International Airport welcomed 5.5 million passengers in 2019, a 9.1% rise from 2018. (Photo by Will Lester,Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

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Ontario airport saw 5.5 million passengers in 2019 — the most since 2008 – San Bernardino Sun

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ONT has been on a growth plan since the local authorities,namely the city of Ontario and the county of San Bernardino, tookover operations from the city of Los Angeles in 2016. The airporthas been leasing more space to freight giants such as FedEx,Amazon and UPS, a model that helps increase airport revenues.Freight shipments increased to more than 760,000 tons last year,the airport reported.

Also, slowly but steadily, airlines have been increasing flights andadding new destinations. In 2019, Delta Airlines increased thenumber of flights to Atlanta to twice a day; United Airlines added

a flight to Houston and Southwest Airlines added four new flights to San Francisco, plus a Denverflight.

Construction crews work on the new FedExfacility at the northwest part of OntarioInternational Airport in Ontario on Friday,Sep. 20, 2019. (Photo by WatcharaPhomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

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Denver-based Frontier Airlines starting in April will add direct flights to Newark, N.J., serving New YorkCity; Las Vegas and Miami. On the international side, Frontier is adding flights to El Salvador in Mayand Guatemala in June, Atif Elkadi, ONT’s deputy CEO, said in a Jan. 23 interview.

Latin American destinations continue an international trend, which started in 2018 with China Airlinesflying once daily out of ONT to Taipei, Taiwan. That service increased in 2019 when the airline startedusing the larger capacity Boeing 777 300ER, which holds 100 more passengers than the A350 it usedto use.

“This significant expansion of air service adds to Ontario’s momentum and reaffirms our status as thenation’s fasting growing airport,” Alan D. Wapner, president of the Ontario International AirportAuthority (OIAA) Board of Commissioners and a member of the Ontario City Council, said in aprepared statement.

The airport draws customers from north Orange County, the east San Gabriel Valley and the InlandEmpire. Elkadi said it is the closest airport to 11 million Southern Californians.

Passenger volume in 2019 was the highest ONT has recorded since 2008 when passenger volumewas about 6.2 million. Despite gains in recent years, the airport still has a long way to go to reach itsrecord high of 7 million passengers set in 2007.

Most of the time, travelers find uncrowded terminals. ONT officials maintain a passenger can get fromthe parking lot to the gate in less than a half-hour. The buzz on social media sites such as Reddit isgenerally positive. The airport is seen as an alternative to LAX, as is Hollywood Burbank Airport andJohn Wayne Airport in Orange County.

Some who live more than 20 miles away have said on social media that the drive on increasingly

Woman dead after pedestrian-involved crash in San

Ontario airport saw 5.5 million passengers in 2019 — the most since 2008 – San Bernardino Sun

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After 3 years of local control, Ontarioairport has more passengers but transitoptions remain iffy

Ontario airport surpasses Atlanta tobecome nation’s busiest outbound freighthub

Why Ontario International Airport ismaking more than $1 million inimprovements ahead of China Airlines’arrival

FedEx expanding operations at Ontarioairport but old military buildings areroadblocks to future projects

Lyft providing free or discounted rides toOntario airport from 4 Metrolink stations

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crowded local freeways taints the positive experience at the airport. Some Redditors have asked for aFlyAway, a dedicated bus or van from a train or bus depot to and from ONT, similar to those thatoperate to LAX from remote locations.

“We’ve heard that from multiple customers,” began Elkadi. “That is something we are currently in theprocess of investigating. We are talking to a number of different partners.”

Omnitrans offers the only bus service to the airport. Uber, the ride-hailing company, pulled all itsdrivers from ONT last summer after saying airport fees were too high. Lyft continues to pick up anddrop off passengers at ONT and in partnership with the San Bernardino County TransportationAuthority offers free or discounted service from four train stations.

“That will continue through the entire year,” Elkadi said.

As the logistics business grows with new warehouses being built in the IE, air freight companies areexpanding operations at ONT. For example, FedEx is spending $100 million on a 51-acre facility thatalmost triples its acreage for cargo storage and sorting.

“We are really becoming the hub for economic activity,” Elkadi said. “Airlines, air travelers and freightshippers are all recognizing the value of the airport as first-rate.”

Some residents in south Ontario and Chino said theincreasing passenger and freight business has meant moreplanes flying over their homes, creating more frequentnoise interruptions and additional sleepless nights.

Richard Sherman, a Chino resident, lives about 6 milesaway, where the westward planes make a sweeping turn togo easterly. He’s logged 332 late-night noise complaints in2019 and 32 so far this month to the Federal AviationAdministration, he said.

“It’s mostly the cargo planes. They are older and they don’thave the noise dampening systems like the new, modernjets do,” he said in a Jan. 23 interview. “We say just keepthe noise down after midnight.”

The FedEx facility is anticipated to open in November andbe ready for the peak holiday season, Elkadi said.

By Rene Ray De La Cruz Staff Writer Posted Jan 23, 2020 at 7:24 PMUpdated Jan 23, 2020 at 7:24 PM

Local officials expect completion on multiple industrialand retail projects in the city this year.

BARSTOW — City leaders here say several major projects should be unveiledsometime this year, with American Quartz at the top of the list for its potentialto create jobs and spur further development.

Christina Rudsell, executive assistant to Barstow’s city manager, shared a glimpseinto some of the industrial and retail developments coming to the city in 2020.

Rudsell said American Quartz’s entry into the city is among the many indicatorsthat show how the city continues to experience strong economic growth. TheChina-based quartz countertop manufacturer expects to hire some 300employees by the time the plant goes online sometime in 2020.

“Barstow’s most significant industrial growth comes from American Quartz,”said Rudsell, about the company that broke ground in November at the formerYellow Freight Systems trucking terminal on Lenwood Road.

During the groundbreaking, American Quartz Group President and CEOTommy Hu estimated that the first year of operation would generate over $75million in revenue.

Demand for engineered stone countertops is growing at more than twice the rateof natural stone surfaces, according to the company’s website. By 2022,engineered stone will account for nearly 20% of the $30 billion market forcountertops in the U.S.

Look ing ahead: Barstow development in 2020

In 2001, Yellow Freight relocated to San Bernardino after operating its facility inBarstow for more than three decades. After the closure, much of the propertywent unused.

Another project in the works is the Victor Valley Transportation Authority busmaintenance and administrative facility that broke ground last July. It should beoperational by the end of August.

The 8,500-square-foot VVTA facility, which is located near the corner of MainStreet and Sandstone Court, will integrate with the existing VVTA CNG/LNGpublic Fuel Station and will deliver more benefits compared to VVTA’s leasedfacility located in east Barstow, the Daily Press previously reported.

The new facility will also feature three modern service bays, updatedmaintenance equipment, room for operations and administration staff, and acomfortable lobby for riders who come in to purchase bus passes. The facility isexpected to hire an estimated 30 employees.

City Economic Development Administrator Amanda Hernandez shared detailson other new businesses coming to Barstow in 2020, including two hotels nearThe Outlets at Barstow.

Located at 2570 Fisher Boulevard, Home-2-Suites will include 106 rooms andemploy 20 staff members when the hotel opens. The city expects that to happenin July.

The Fairfield Inn by Marriott, meanwhile, will be located near Lenwood Roadand Mercantile Way. The proposed hotel will include four floors and 178 rooms.

Other developments include:

Terrible Herbst Station

City staff said Terrible Herbst is not sharing specifics about the new fuel stationon the northwest corner of Commerce Parkway and Lenwood Road.Convenience Store Products reported that the company consists of more than160 gas/store locations across California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. Manylocations include car washes and lube stations. The company is known for itslarge American flags and mustachioed caricature logo.

Marketplace Route 66/Cattlemen’s on Route 66

Located inside the former Sizzler restaurant at 1523 E. Main Street, theMarketplace is billed by the owners as a one-stop dining and shoppingexperience that offers healthy foods. Hernandez said the Marketplace is inpartnership with the CalFresh program for the produce section and CalWORKSon employment.

Cattlemen’s is a full-service steakhouse restaurant, and the Marketplace willprovide fresh produce, bakery and butcher shops. The establishment will hire 25employees and is expected to open by the end of March.

Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers

City Manager Nikki Salas said a new Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers will soonoccupy the old Dickey’s BBQ Pit at 2620 Fisher Boulevard, north of LenwoodRoad. Business Insider reported that Raising Cane’s is one of the fast-growingchains in the U.S., increasing sales by nearly 30% in 2016.

California Truck Driving Academy

The commercial truck driving school is expected to hire 100 to 120 employees atthe business located at 2161 W. Main Street. Opening is expected in February.

In 2019, Barstow issued several certificates of occupancy for new buildingsincluding a BNSF intermodal facility, Jack in Box, Taco Bell, Safeguard StorageFacility, Best Western Hotel and Dunkin Donuts, Rudsell said.

Barstow also issued tenant improvements for the Armed Forces RecruitingCenter, Baja Taco at Barstow Station, The Luggage Factory, The CosmeticCompany Store, Vans, Cole Haan, Bally, New Balance, DKNY and Reebok.

Reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227,

RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com, Instagram@renegadereporter, Twitter

@DP_ReneDeLaCruz.

Norms is heading for Ontario Mills’ ‘restaurant row’ – San Bernardino Sun

https://www.sbsun.com/2020/01/23/norms-is-heading-for-ontario-mills-restaurant-row/[1/24/2020 7:49:51 AM]

LOCAL NEWS

Norms is heading for Ontario Mills’ ‘restaurantrow’

Norms is heading for Ontario Mills’ ‘restaurant row’ – San Bernardino Sun

https://www.sbsun.com/2020/01/23/norms-is-heading-for-ontario-mills-restaurant-row/[1/24/2020 7:49:51 AM]

By DAVID ALLEN | dallen@scng.com | Inland Valley Daily BulletinPUBLISHED: January 23, 2020 at 12:53 pm | UPDATED: January 23, 2020 at 4:57 pm

So long, Chevys; hello, Norms. The 24-hour diner is coming to Ontario Mills.

I was driving past the Mills to lunch on Wednesday, Jan. 22, when my eye was caught by a bannerreading “Norms Coming Soon” draped over the Fourth Street side of the old Chevys, which closed inNovember 2018. On my way back, I stopped for photos.

There’s a Norms banner on the side that faces the Mills mall as well.

“They’re going in there,” John Andrews, Ontario’s economic development director, told me. “That’s ourrestaurant row. It’ll be a good fit.”

Norms wants to take over this boarded-up Chevys in Ontario. (Photo by David Allen, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)M

Norms is heading for Ontario Mills’ ‘restaurant row’ – San Bernardino Sun

https://www.sbsun.com/2020/01/23/norms-is-heading-for-ontario-mills-restaurant-row/[1/24/2020 7:49:51 AM]

Dine 909: Last Name Brewing’s Brews &Bros Fest benefits schoolchildren

Dine 909: More eateries debut at RanchoCucamonga shopping center

Dine 909: Construction updates on futureInland Empire eateries

Dine 909: Cracker Barrel, Norms, Sonicand more planned for north Rialto

RELATED LINKSNorms wants to completely overhaul Chevys — and goodriddance — and orient its entrance toward the west ratherthan turning its back to the street as Chevys did. (Chevysand Norms do have one quirk in common: No apostrophein their names.)

“We will be remodeling the exterior sight lines but installinga completely new interior design,” Peter Schultz, director offacilities and construction for Norms, told me via email. “Wehope to start construction in April and open by October.”

The 24-hour Norms will have the 24-hour Krispy Kreme asits neighbor. I’m not sure Ontario is ready for that level of

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Every driver license expires even if yours says ‘END

Norms is heading for Ontario Mills’ ‘restaurant row’ – San Bernardino Sun

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excitement.

Woman dead after pedestrian-involved crash in San Bernardino – San Bernardino Sun

https://www.sbsun.com/...n-bernardino/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-sbsun[1/24/2020 7:39:19 AM]

By ROBERT GUNDRAN | rgundran@scng.com |PUBLISHED: January 23, 2020 at 11:10 pm | UPDATED: January 23, 2020 at 11:10 pm

A 65-year-old woman died after a pedestrian-involved crash in San Bernardino on Wednesdayevening.

The crash happened just before 5:45 p.m. near the area of Baseline Street and Wall Avenue,according to the San Bernardino Police Department.

A woman was standing in the center median of Baseline Street as a gray Infiniti was driving west onthe same street, authorities said.

NEWSCRIME + PUBLIC SAFETY

Woman dead after pedestrian-involved crash inSan Bernardino

Woman dead after pedestrian-involved crash in San Bernardino – San Bernardino Sun

https://www.sbsun.com/...n-bernardino/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-sbsun[1/24/2020 7:39:19 AM]

Coroner identifies victims of deadly planecrash at Corona airport

Three teens killed in Temescal Valleycrash were ‘inseparable’

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Police said the woman walked into the roadway as the Infiniti approached and was hit. She died of herinjuries at the scene of the crash.

The woman was identified as Dorothy Velarde, a San Bernardino resident. Officials said it did notappear that the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

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Woman dead after pedestrian involved crash in San

SEIU members ratify four-year contract with Riverside County – Press Enterprise

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LOCAL NEWS

SEIU members ratify four-year contract withRiverside County

SEIU members ratify four-year contract with Riverside County – Press Enterprise

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By JEFF HORSEMAN | jhorseman@scng.com | The Press-EnterprisePUBLISHED: January 23, 2020 at 6:59 pm | UPDATED: January 23, 2020 at 7:01 pm

Members of a union representing more than 7,400 Riverside County employees have ratified a four-year contract, potentially ending years of labor strife that led to a boisterous strike in 2017.

Leaders of Service Employees International Union Local 721 announced the ratification Wednesdaynight, Jan. 22, in a news release. The Riverside County Board of Supervisors is set to vote on thecontract Tuesday, Jan. 28.

“We are very proud of our hard-fought victory, this contract helps protect working families in Riverside

Members of Service Employees International Union Local 721 strike in front of Riverside University Health System – Medical Centerin Moreno Valley in September 2017. Union members have ratified a four-year contract with the county. (File photo by JohnValenzuela, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

R

SEIU members ratify four-year contract with Riverside County – Press Enterprise

https://www.pe.com/...-county/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise[1/24/2020 7:38:13 AM]

as well as the critical public services we provide,” Kenneth Bowling, a union member and a clinicaltherapist, said in the release. “None of this was easy, but in the end, we stood union strong andensured that the voices of working people were heard.”

One of the county’s largest bargaining units, the union represents nurses and social workers amongother employees. Its last contract expired in 2016.

Since then, union and county negotiators have met repeatedly, but failed to reach a deal. A key issuewas employee raises. The county sought strict limits on pay increases, citing ongoing financialchallenges straining the county budget.

Union leaders contended that the county, which in August 2017 declared an impasse in talks, wasunwilling to bargain and was using tough times as an excuse to roll back gains made by employeesover the years. They also took supervisors to task for spending tens of millions of dollars on consulting

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Paloma Valley edges Temescal Canyon to win Ivy

SEIU members ratify four-year contract with Riverside County – Press Enterprise

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Riverside County imposes terms on oneunion, will keep negotiating with another

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firm KPMG to find savings and efficiencies in county government while saying there was nothing left togive employees.

In August 2017, sign-waving union members clad in the union’s signature purple T-shirts shoutedslogans while delivering a strike notice to the board. The union staged a three-day strike thatSeptember at Riverside University Health System – Medical Center in Moreno Valley and the CountyAdministrative Center in downtown Riverside. The event drew then-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and othergubernatorial candidates as well as 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Tom Steyer.

The union also filed a number of unfair labor practice charges against the county with the state PublicEmployment Relations Board. That didn’t stop supervisors in December 2018 from voting 3-2 toimpose terms of the county’s final contract offer – including a 2.71% yearly raise and no cost-of-livingraises – on the union, a move denounced by union leaders as insulting.

The union and county engaged in mediation under a judge’s oversight last fall, and that led to the newcontract, the union’s news release states.

According to the union, the new deal, which runs through 2023, includes yearly raises for mostemployees, as well as more health insurance options, a bank of 60 additional vacation hours, and thecreation of a labor-management committee to address workplace issues.

The contract also restores “many of the takeaways from the imposed terms and conditions employeeshave been working under for more than a year,” the news release read.

According to county spokeswoman Brooke Federico, thecontract calls for 4% raises to employees on theiranniversary dates. The bottom three rungs of the salaryranges will be removed and the top rings of the salary

SEIU members ratify four-year contract with Riverside County – Press Enterprise

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Riverside County supervisors approvetwo-year contract with 7,200 workers

Riverside County supervisors OK newcontract with deputies’ union

Riverside County declares impasse withlabor union contract talks

What SEIU’s Riverside strike says aboutlabor’s political power in California

ladder will go up by 2% in May 2021 and May 2022 and by2.5% in May 2023.

The contract is expected to add about $7 million to countyexpenses for the rest of this fiscal year, which ends June30. The full contract cost is $86.9 million over four years, ofwhich $6.1 million is net county cost, or the amount forwhich county government is on the hook.

If approved, the contract would be the third deal approvedby supervisors with a major bargaining unit since last year.The board approved a two-year pact with Laborers’International Union of North America Local 777 in March and in December, the board signed off on a5-year contract with the Riverside Sheriffs’ Association, which represents deputies and other lawenforcement personnel.

Federico said contract talks continue with the Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Association,which represents prosecutors, as well as probation officers represented by the sheriffs’ associationand the SEIU bargaining unit representing temporary employees at the county hospital.

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Jeff HorsemanJeff Horseman got into journalism because he liked to write and stunk at math. He grew up in Vermont and he honedhis interviewing skills as a supermarket cashier by asking Bernie Sanders “Paper or plastic?” After graduating fromSyracuse University in 1999, Jeff began his journalistic odyssey at The Watertown Daily Times in upstate New York,where he impressed then-U.S. Senate candidate Hillary Clinton so much she called him “John” at the end of aninterview. From there, he went to Annapolis, Maryland, where he covered city, county and state government at TheCapital newspaper before love and the quest for snowless winters took him in 2007 to Southern California, where he

Tags: government, Top Stories PE

Will Riverside County do something about its pension problem? – San Bernardino Sun

https://www.sbsun.com/2020/01/23/will-riverside-county-do-something-about-its-pension-problem/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-sbsun[1/23/2020 11:13:04 AM]

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OPINION

Will Riverside County do something about its pension problem? • Editorial, Opinion

Will Riverside County do something about its…

Will Riverside County do something about its pension problem? – San Bernardino Sun

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By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | opinion@scng.com |PUBLISHED: January 23, 2020 at 11:01 am | UPDATED: January 23, 2020 at 11:01 am

Will Riverside County do something about its pension problem?

Will Riverside County do something about its pension problem? – San Bernardino Sun

https://www.sbsun.com/2020/01/23/will-riverside-county-do-something-about-its-pension-problem/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-sbsun[1/23/2020 11:13:04 AM]

Riverside County’s unfunded pension liabilities hit $3.5 billion as of June 30, 2018, according to the county’s Pension Advisory Review Committee.

That’s up over $400 million from the year before.

Worse, current forecasts suggest continually escalating pension costs through the early 2030s.

Clearly, action on curtailing pension costs is overdue, something every member on the Board of Supervisors recognizes.

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Will Riverside County do something about its pension problem? – San Bernardino Sun

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Streamline all, not some, Californiadevelopment

Congress needs fewer lawyers and morebartenders

Cut taxes on the legal marijuana market,pass AB1948

SoCal Policy Forum live event on Jan. 30

California’s budget depends on the rich

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The committee’s annual report on the county’s pension obligations was discussed by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Jan. 16.

“We need fundamental changes,” said Supervisor Jeff Hewitt. “Either we act, or we go another year and be that much closer to catastrophe.”

He’s right.

As pension costs rise, there’s a crowding-out effect that puts pressure on the county to cut services, creating a situation where county residents are paying for less.And it puts pressure on cities that contract with the county.

We’ve already seen this over the last several years, and that’s in good economic times. It shouldn’t take a recession to spur government to pursue reforms to putthemselves on a more sustainable trajectory.

Hewitt, for example, noted what should be an obvious point: defined-benefit retirement plans are fundamentally flawed.

Californians all across the state are dealing with the consequences of politicians decades ago, in good economic timesand with the giddy enthusiasm of public employee unions, setting in motion a public sector pension time bomb that hasprompted service cuts and tax hikes across the state.

“This current Ponzi scheme of the CalPERS system is going to shortchange our employees,” said Supervisor KevinJeffries. “It’s going to shortchange our county. It’s going to shortchange our taxpayers.”

That’s right.

So what’s key now is for the Board of Supervisors to take these insights and turn them into action.

Fortunately, Supervisor Hewitt has, with his colleagues’ support, vowed to seek and develop concrete recommendationsfor what the county can do. Kudos to him. The county can’t afford any more foot-dragging and more of the same only

SKIP ADStreamline all not some California development

https://www.newsmirror.net/opinion/letters_to_editor/smug-supervisor-is-what-s-wrong-with-american-politics/article_cc273e24-3e0c-11ea-92b6-f3146db9fed5.html

Smug Supervisor is what’s wrong with American politicsJan 24, 2020

Riverside County Supervisor Je� Hewitt was a key note speaker at the Calimesa Chamber

installation dinner and if I were him, I would be embarrassed. If his bad jokes and verbal

stumbling wasn’t enough, his sarcastic comments show how out of touch he is with everyday

voters, which is the number one disease running rampant in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

In talking about AB 5 (Sacramento’s newest form of stupidity) he brought up its impact on

newspapers “… it doesn’t matter print papers will be out of business in a year anyway ...”

Really? A Libertarian celebrating the closing of private businesses? A Libertarian celebrating

people losing their jobs and communities losing their information? Wow that is not what I

thought a Libertarian was. Not to mention the total lack of respect for the o�cial media

sponsor of the event, The Yucaipa Calimesa News Mirror. When he made his comments, half of

the room gasped and looked back at the table full of News Mirror employees. Supervisor

Hewitt is not only Calimesa’s county supervisor he is from Calimesa, he graduated from

Yucaipa High. So, he knows what a big deal The News Mirror is to our communities. His

comment is proof that he has forgotten where he came from. He suddenly is above the fray

and out of touch. I guess you can say that the Supervisor Hewitt has graduated from small

business owner to a politician.

This is the problem with Sacramento and D.C. average Americans run for o�ce and then

magically forget who they are. They transform into baby kissing, sel�e taking, hand shaking,

snake oil salesmen with very little regard for the hardworking constituents they supposedly

serve. I hope for Supervisor Hewitt’s sake he can take stock and change his attitude otherwise

he will fully develop into a smarmy politician. I believe that he owes the Chamber and the News

Mirror an apology but I won’t hold my breath. I have met plenty of politicians.

Kristal McEntire

Calimesa

CALIFORNIA

In California’s presidential primary, confusion and conflict over‘independent’ voters

A stack of vote-by-mail ballots sits in a box after being sorted at the San Francisco Department of Elections. Three politicalparties are allowing independent voters to participate in California’s presidential primary, three others are not. Democratsare a yes, Republicans a no. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

By JOHN MYERSSACRAMENTO BUREAU CHIEF

JAN. 24, 20205 AM

ADVERTISEMENT

SACRAMENTO — As election day approaches, social media posts warn of a nefarious plot to limit

who can vote in California‘s Republican presidential primary.

But the message is false: The only limit on participation is one imposed by the GOP‘s state and

national leaders.

Their decision bans California’s 5.4 million so-called “independent” voters from casting primary

ballots for President Trump or any of his six challengers in the March 3 statewide election.

“This is a self-inflicted wound,” said George Andrews, a GOP campaign organizer. “We can’t be the

kind of Republicans anymore [who] exclude people.”

The move by Republicans stands in contrast to a decision made by Democrats to allow Californians

registered as having “no party preference” to vote for any of the party’s 20 presidential hopefuls

whose names will appear on the ballot. Confusion over the different rules has increased as local

elections officials begin sending out mailers to unaffiliated voters explaining how to vote in the

primary for president — mailers that don’t include the Republican Party as one of the choices.

Andrews, a legislative staffer who also works on GOP campaigns, recently complained on Twitter

about what he believes is a failure by GOP leaders to embrace the changing habits of voters who

may focus more on particular candidates and policies than party membership.

“We’re throwing away Republican votes,” he said in an interview. “We’ll just continue to shrink and

shrink.”

A statewide survey conducted in November by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California

found a limited but noticeable number of unaffiliated voters receptive to the GOP message.

Twenty-five percent of independent voters polled said they have a favorable view of the Republican

Party; among those likely to vote, the number rose to 34%.

Jessica Millan Patterson, the chairwoman of the California Republican Party, rejected the idea that

a closed presidential primary has a negative effect on a voter’s perception of the GOP.

“Our party believes our nominee should be chosen by Republicans,” she said. “We are trying really

hard to build a California Republican Party that everyone feels welcome in.”

Patterson said a key challenge is that each county’s GOP leadership is chosen during a presidential

primary. Allowing non-Republicans to help choose those leaders, she said, would be a problem. So

too would be changing election rules to split local leadership races from the GOP presidential

primary.

“It would be an incredibly expensive endeavor,” she said.

Republicans are not alone in segregating their presidential primary from California’s open-to-

everyone races for Congress and the Legislature. The question of whether to allow unaffiliated

voters to cast presidential votes has divided the state’s six political parties into two equal-sized

camps. Democrats, Libertarians and American Independents have an open primary for president;

Republican, Green and Peace and Freedom party leaders have kept their primaries closed to all but

registered members.

Democrats have used the California GOP’s decision to keep its presidential primary closed as a

talking point in their effort to brand themselves as members of a party of inclusion — one whose

elected officials have crafted a series of changes to the law designed to boost voter registration and

increase the amount of time to vote and count ballots.

“Republicans might be saying, ‘Commit to our party.’ But Democrats would say, ‘Commit to our

democracy,’” said Rusty Hicks, chairman of the California Democratic Party. “Something as simple

as allowing no-party preference voters to participate in our primary is in line with that direction.”

Rules vary by state when it comes to presidential primary access for voters who are not registered

with a political party. Republicans in several states that will hold their presidential primaries on

March 3 are allowing unaffiliated voters to participate. Should California GOP leaders change their

minds for the 2024 presidential election, they would need the approval of state party members and

the Republican National Committee.

ADVERTISEMENT

Perhaps no trend has dominated California politics more over the past decade than the growing

ranks of unaffiliated, independent voters. There are more than twice the number of nonparty

voters now as there were in January 2008. Taken as a group, they outnumber Republicans and are

second only to Democrats. In 2016, no party preference voters played a sizable role in the state’s

Democratic presidential primary — though there were some reports that independent voters found

the procedures to cast a ballot confusing.

This time, the process could be easier under a new state law that allows voters to change their

registration status or register for the first time on election day. And to limit confusion, election

officials are reminding unaffiliated voters by mail that they must proactively request a “crossover”

ballot from one of the three parties that have open presidential primaries.

It’s that piece of mail, which doesn’t list the Republican Party, that is falsely being portrayed on

social media as evidence of an anti-GOP campaign.

Andrews, who said the mailed out cards are a painful reminder that his party might be missing out

on an opportunity to connect with like-minded independent voters, said he realizes some GOP

officials won’t be happy with him speaking up.

“I’ve been getting text messages saying, ‘You sure you want to pick a fight with them?’,” he said of

party leaders. “But if I don’t pick a fight with these guys, I won’t even have a Republican Party in

California to fight for in 10 years.”

CALIFORNIA POLITICS CALIFORNIA LAW & POLITICS CAMPAIGN 2020

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HOUSING POLITICS POVERTY

You’ve just been named California’shomelessness czar — what’s your first move?

BY MATT LEVIN

PUBLISHED: JANUARY 23, 2020

A homeless encampment next to Interstates 101 and 280 in San Jose, February 3, 2018. Photo by LiPo Ching/Bay Area News Group

Archives

IN SUMMARY

Options for addressing the state's most pressing socialproblem range, at best, from limited to imperfect. What wouldyou choose?

Gov. Gavin Newsom has taken grief for failing to fulfill what seems like a pretty achievable

campaign promise: appointing a homelessness “czar” to help the 150,000 Californians living in

shelters and on the streets. Newsom’s quest, which at various points had the mayor of

Sacramento, the state secretary of health and human services and a Washington DC-based

consultant co-wearing the “czar” crown, culminated earlier this month in a Truman-esque “buck

stops here” declaration.

“You want to know who’s the homeless czar?” Newsom said, index finger pounding the podium.

“I’m the homeless czar in the state of California.”

Well, good czars are hard to find. But that’s partly because homelessness is a complex and difficult

problem, with options that range, at best, from imperfect to limited. Some choices might bring

people in from the streets over the long term, but are expensive and time-consuming. Others

might prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place, but are difficult to efficiently

target.

Poll after poll suggests Californians want something done about homelessness, ASAP. So, we’re

temporarily making you czar. Here’s a menu of talked-about “solutions” rated with expert input

according to speed, cost, and political feasibility. What would be your battle plan?

Option 1: Build way more permanentsupportive housing

What is it?

Subsidized apartments that charge people experiencing homelessness minimal rents with no

limits on how long they can stay. Built by nonprofit developers and paid for with public dollars,

they “support” residents with in-house or visiting case managers who bring tenants to health

Alameda Point Collaborative runs 200 permanent supportive housing units in former US Naval Air Station housing.

Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

appointments, show them how to use appliances and connect them with job and safety net

programs. Permanent supportive housing primarily helps the chronically homeless, who often

have severe disabilities such as serious mental illness, drug addiction and physical ailments.

Cost: 💰💰💰💰 (Expensive)

Nonpartisan research consistently says permanent supportive housing is very effective at keeping

the chronically homeless housed, which saves on health and law enforcement costs. But the

upfront cost of building it is a lot, especially where it’s needed most — $500,000 per unit in Los

Angeles, for example. Newsom recently pledged $750 million in new emergency homelessness

funding for the entire state. If you used all of that to build new permanent supportive housing in

L.A., you’d get 1,500 units. Los Angeles County alone had nearly 16,000 chronically homeless

people in 2019.

Speed: ⏳ ⏳ (Relatively slow)

It takes one to three years in California to build this kind of housing. You can do some things to

speed up the process, such as get rid of environmental reviews for new projects. But unless you’re

buying a motel and converting it (more on this later), this is still going to take some time.

Political support: � � � (Decently strong)

Many homelessness advocates tout permanent supportive housing as the solution most worthy of

more dollars, and the governor and big city mayors champion it frequently. Neighbors may not

love the idea of new low-income housing on their block, but they hate it less than shelters. But ask

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti how the cost and time of building new supportive housing plays

politically. Once a rising star among Democrats with national ambitions, Garcetti has seen his

popularity falter as a $1.2 billion voter-approved bond has generated just one unit after three

years.

Option 2: Embrace ‘Right to Shelter’

What is it?

A legal obligation for every city and county in California to provide shelter beds for every person

experiencing homelessness, and a legal obligation for the homeless to accept shelter when

offered. Advocates for “right to shelter” cite New York City’s success in using the policy to bring

its homeless population indoors — New York has a much smaller rate of “unsheltered” homeless

than California. Detractors argue “right to shelter” simply warehouses people experiencing

homelessness and that in a world of finite resources, permanent housing should take priority.

Cost: 💰💰💰💰 (Expensive)

No reliable estimate exists for what “right to shelter” would cost statewide. But it’s not cheap for

New York City, which spends nearly $2 billion annually on its shelter system. California has a much

larger homeless population than New York, and would need more upfront investment to get new

shelters built. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated providing a bed in a shelter

for every homeless person in the state would cost $2 to $3 billion annually — not including the

upfront cost of new construction.

Amber Tanase greets her dog, Bandit, at the Sacramento Winter Triage Center in Sacramento, California, February 27,

2019. Photo by Max Whittaker for CalMatters

Speed: ⏳ ⏳ (Relatively slow)

Building a shelter takes less time than permanent housing — if you can get neighbors and local

elected officials to sign off. That’s a big if. Even progressive places like San Francisco have seen

attempts to build new shelters blocked or delayed by lawsuits from neighborhood groups who fear

crime and declining property values if a shelter is placed nearby. State laws have made it tougher

to file these lawsuits in recent years.

Political support: � (Weak)

Not a ton of support for this one. The governor fears its cost, homelessness advocates fear its

potential civil liberties restrictions and cities and counties would demand more funding if

obligated to build new shelters. Speaking of…

Option 3: Sue cities that don’t do enough

What is it?

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, left, and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, are pushing for

legal leverage to force action on homelessness. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Most of what California cities and counties do to address homelessness is voluntary; no state law

punishes cities that fail to make progress towards reducing the number of people sleeping on the

streets. Newsom’s Council of Regional Homeless Advisors recommended changing that earlier this

month, with a new “legally enforceable mandate” that would force municipalities and the state to

take specific actions towards ending homelessness. A “designated public official” could sue a city

or county for failing to hit benchmarks on emergency shelters and permanent housing, and a

judge could then seize control of a local government’s homelessness initiatives.

Cost: 💰💰💰💰 (Expensive)

Yes, we know all the options so far are expensive. Newsom’s task force conveniently omitted how

much a “legally enforceable mandate” might cost the state. But it’s not going to be cheap. Cities

and counties will demand additional resources to meet the state’s goals, whatever they are. Those

funds also would likely have to be annual and ongoing — something the governor has been

reluctant to approve.

Speed: ⏳ ⏳ (Relatively slow)

Newsom’s task force was also ambiguous on how quickly the state should force cities to reduce

their homeless populations, recommending only an “aggressive but reasonable period of time.”

Pressed, task force co-chair and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said he would expect the

vast majority of his medium-sized city’s homeless population to be housed in five years. Not every

local government may be as ambitious, and it will take time for the state to set up the legal

apparatus to make this work.

Political support: � � (Mixed)

The idea has broad support, ranging from big city mayors to progressive homelessness advocates

to elected officials from some smaller local governments. But to become law, such a measure

would need a two-thirds vote of both chambers in the Legislature to be placed on the November

ballot, and then a majority of the vote statewide. Democrats hold a supermajority in the

Legislature, but the odds would be complicated if cost-conscious cities and counties push back.

Option 4: Go big on prevention

What is it?

Many California cities have made strides in moving people from streets and shelters into safe,

stable housing. But progress is hard to show when, as in San Francisco, three people are losing a

safe place to live for every homeless person who’s being housed. Enter the many state and local

programs designed to prevent individuals from falling into homelessness: emergency rental

assistance, for instance, or eviction defense or “shallow subsidies” to keep families in precarious

housing situations from falling through the cracks.

Cost: 💰💰 (Less expensive…but less efficient)

A Chicago call center for people on the brink of homelessness distributed $3.7 million in

prevention funds to nearly 3,000 households in 2018. A few hundred dollars cash was often

enough to prevent tenants from losing their homes. But it’s difficult to target those programs

because it’s hard to know which low income families might have managed to avoid homelessness

even without the cash assistance. Only a fraction of low-income Californians fall into

homelessness.

San Mateo County Legal Aid provides a weekly housing clinic at the Colma Civic Center for county residents. Photo by

Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Speed: ⏳ ⏳ ⏳ ⏳ (Relatively fast)

It’s easier to expand rental assistance programs quickly than to build new housing.

Political support: � � � � (Strong)

Pretty much everyone is on board with doing more to prevent people from falling into

homelessness. The real fight comes when finite financial resources are divided among prevention,

shelter and permanent housing.

Option 5: Convert more motels and SRO’s tohomeless housing

What is it?

Not all permanent housing and emergency shelters need to be built from scratch. Local

governments also can purchase and convert existing housing — like motels and single-room-

The Abigail Hotel, formerly a single resident occupancy building in San Francico, is being converted into homeless

housing. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

occupancy properties — into homeless housing. Or they can partner with motel owners to lease

rooms or entire buildings. The state could incentivize local governments to do more of this by

altering grant criteria and tweaking state law.

Cost: 💰💰 (Relatively inexpensive)

Buying and rehabbing an existing apartment building or motel is typically much cheaper than

building a new one. New permanent housing units could be brought online for roughly half the

cost of building new ones, according to Sharon Rapport from the Corporation for Supportive

Housing. Costs are rising, however — SRO’s in particular have been snatched up by private

developers in recent years and converted to higher-end housing.

Speed: ⏳ ⏳ ⏳ (Relatively fast, if…)

The problem here is finding available properties. There just aren’t that many motel owners with

tons of vacant units desperate for local governments to make them offers. Local zoning

restrictions on motel conversions don’t help. Plus, if you’re going to use public funds, you can’t

just throw people on the street into a dilapidated SRO — homeless housing has to meet certain

standards. Motel and SRO conversions are a tool in the toolbox, but not a silver bullet.

Political support: � � � � (Strong)

A popular idea with fairly widespread support and not a ton of opposition.

Option 6: ‘Special courts’ for the homeless

What is it?

Former state lawmaker Mike Gatto is gathering signatures to get the “California Compassionate

Intervention Act” on the November ballot. The initiative would ramp up enforcement of “quality of

life” crimes like public intoxication and “willfully disturbing others” on public transit that are often

ignored or deprioritized by law enforcement. Those arrested and convicted for such crimes and

found to be suffering from drug addiction or mental illness would be sentenced to a three month

drug rehabilitation program or up to nearly a year in a mental hospital.

Cost: 💰💰💰 (Relatively expensive)

An estimated $900 million a year, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Although it’s

possible it could cost more.

Speed: ⏳ ⏳ ⏳ (Relatively fast, if…)

Unclear how long it would take to set up the alternative court system, but in theory it could be law

January 1.

A special homeless court could go to voters in the fall.

Political support: �� (Mixed)

While the initiative’s author insists that private polling shows widespread public support, many

progressives in the state detest it. Critics say it criminalizes homelessness and poverty without

attacking the root of the problem: a lack of affordable housing. It’s also unclear what happens to a

person experiencing homelessness after they exit rehab or a psychiatric facility.

Option 7: ‘Cabin communities’ and tiny homes

What is it?

Pioneered in Oakland, “cabin communities” offer small, tough-shed like structures in place of tent

encampments. Two people can occupy a cabin at a time, and occupants can bring pets and their

own belongings — something many emergency shelters don’t allow. Each community can shelter

about 40 people at a time, offer meals, and restroom facilities, and provide case workers who try

to place residents in longer-term housing. In a variation, some cities have explored “tiny home”

villages with 500 square feet per unit of living space.

A “cabin community” in Oakland. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Cost: 💰💰 (Relatively inexpensive)

Cabin communities are cheap. According to budget documents analyzed by the Bay Area Council

Economic Institute, cabin communities cost $5,000 per bed to build and $21,250 per year to

operate.

Speed: ⏳ ⏳ ⏳ (Relatively fast, if…)

Quicker than building new emergency shelters or permanent housing. Oakland put up four cabin

communities within 15 months. But that’s assuming land and resources are immediately available.

Political support: ���� (Strong)

Lower cost, quicker deployment, reduces visible homelessness — what’s not to like? Homelessness

advocates say while cabin communities can help, they’re a stopgap, not a long-term solution.

Option 8: Build way more ‘extremely low-income’ housing

What is it?

Proposed Habitat for Humanity affordable housing project in Redwood City.

Housing for very poor Californians, heavily subsidized by public dollars. These typically look like

apartment buildings but don’t include case managers or wrap-around services for people with

mental illnesses or physical disabilities. According to the nonprofit California Housing Partnership,

1.3 million California renter households are considered “extremely low income”, making less than

$25,000 a year. They compete for less than 300,000 affordable and available rental homes.

Cost: 💰💰💰💰 (Expensive)

Expensive if you want to tackle the problem comprehensively. The nonpartisan Legislative

Analyst’s Office estimated it would cost $15 billion to $30 billion annually to build new housing for

every low-income Californian who needs it. Targeting those at the lowest end of the income ladder

will reduce those costs, but the price tag will still be expensive.

Speed: ⏳ (Slow)

Building any new housing takes time. Building subsidized low-income housing typically takes even

longer, as nonprofit developers must cobble together disparate funding sources before pitching a

viable project, a process that often takes years. A homelessness czar could push for some policy

tweaks here and there to speed things along, but this won’t happen overnight.

Political support: �� (Mixed)

Most homelessness experts and advocates agree building more low-income housing is one of the

best long-term homelessness prevention strategies. Voters tend to agree, approving billions in

affordable housing bonds at the state and local level over the last few years. But the ongoing

dollars required to meet the scale of the problem make this tough politically.

Option 9: Tax empty houses

What is it?

A group of homeless Oakland mothers made national headlines when they occupied a vacant

property owned by a corporate house-flipper. Social justice organizations have lobbied for years

to transform vacant housing into homeless housing, citing the cruel irony of luxury units

remaining tenant-less while people slept on the streets.

One option would be to levy a special tax on vacant units to underwrite housing for homeless

people. Nonprofit developers and community land trusts also could have right of first refusal over

properties auctioned off after foreclosure. A universal property registry could be created so every

landlord has to report whether their unit is occupied.

Cost: 💰💰? (Relatively inexpensive but…)

This really depends on how vacant properties are sanctioned, how many a city has and how many

can legally be turned into homeless housing. Implementing a tax would be straightforward, but

local governments still have to certify occupancy. And it’s no silver bullet. Cities such as

Moms 4 Housing members Sharena Thomas, left, Misty Cross, Dominique Walker and Tolani King meet the press

outside the house they occupied in Oakland, on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. Photo by Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group

Vancouver and Washington D.C. have adopted vacancy taxes but homelessness remains a

problem.

Speed: ⏳⏳⏳ (Relatively quick but..)

It depends again on the plan for the housing. A vacant property tax can be approved quickly, but it

can take time to make vacant property habitable.

Political support: �� (Mixed)

Tenant rights groups and anti-gentrification activists love this idea. Not so popular among

moderates, landlords or anyone who owns a vacation home.

Option 10: Do nothing

Will, who provided his first name only, panhandles on the sidewalk across the street from LAC+USC Medical Center.

Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

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Want to submit a guest commentary or reaction to an articlewe wrote? You can find our submission guidelines here. Pleasecontact Dan Morain with any commentary questions:dmorain@calmatters.org, (916) 201.6281.

BECOME A MEMBER TODAY

What is it?

The status quo. No additional state resources beyond what we currently spend, no major policy

changes, no ballot initiatives…nada.

Cost: 💰💰💰💰💰 (Very expensive)

Many of your options as homelessness czar have high price tags. But keep in mind homelessness

already drains billions of dollars from state and local coffers in indirect costs. The state doesn’t

have a total for how much homelessness strains public health, law enforcement, park and street

maintenance…but it’s a lot. One study estimated that Santa Clara County alone spent a half-billion

dollars annually on indirect costs associated with homelessness, such as emergency room visits

and court costs. Not to mention lost business, tourism and other private sector costs.

Political support: � (Not much)

California voters want this problem fixed, one way or another. In a recent nonpartisan poll,

Californians identified homelessness as the most important issue confronting Newsom and state

lawmakers this year — more important than the economy or the environment or health care. No

pressure, Czar.

POLITICS & GOVERNMENT

Require homeless housing? Darrell Steinberg makeshis pitch in D.C.

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN

JANUARY 23, 2020 02:09 PM

Stephen Watters, executive director at First Step Communities, describes the features of his group’s proposedsleeping cabins for the homeless displayed outside of City Hall in Sacramento, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019.BY DANIEL KIM

WASHINGTON

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg Thursday brought his bid to make housing the homeless agovernment mandate to Washington, D.C. Thursday, explaining how funding the massive effortwould work without offering a specific price tag.

Steinberg spoke at a forum of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, where mayors from around thecountry, including Los Angeles’ Eric Garcetti, offered their own solutions.

Most of their ideas were in the same spirit as Steinberg’s, though none had as specific or ascomprehensive a plan.

TOP ARTICLES

Listen to this story now02:42

DW

The mayor, who chairs a state task force on homelessness, pressed his requirement idea. Hecompared the need for a mandate to other requirements from governments, such as publiceducation for all children.

While Steinberg has talked to federal representatives, and found the Democratic-led House ofRepresentatives sympathetic to his calls for aid, the White House has been critical of the state’sefforts to address its homeless crisis. Mayors are scheduled to meet with President Donald TrumpFriday.

Steinberg does not plan to attend, explaining he has obligations back home.

On Thursday, he found a friendly audience among the mayors, who will wrap up their three-dayWashington meeting Friday.

He cited the growing number of unsheltered homeless people, particularly in Sacramento andCalifornia, and lamented, “What is missing is there is no legal requirement or mandate to actuallybring people indoors.”

Earlier this month, the state task force called for a November ballot measure to require localitiesand the state to meet goals that would house the homeless.

If approved, localities would in 2021 set what Steinberg calls “aggressive but reasonable”benchmarks and timelines. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2022, failure to meet those goals could result incourt action.

California would be the first state with that sort of requirement if the Legislature, in a two-thirdsmajority vote, places the constitutional amendment on the ballot by June 25.

But a big political question would involve how much such a plan would cost and where the moneywould come from.

“We need more money, but I don’t think that’s where you start,” Steinberg said. “You start with theassumption this is a public policy and a systems failure. And that there is no incentive currently forall the different funding sources, all the different programs to be collected and for us to get themoney out with the urgency that is so desperately required.”

The best way to make a case for more funding, he said, is to show results and progress with fundingalready available – accountability Steinberg said is now often lacking.

“I’ve always been for raising the revenue to be able to meet the social needs. That’s what my wholecareer’s been about,” he said. As a member of the Legislature, Steinberg wrote the Mental HealthServices Act, which imposed a 1% tax on millionaires to help pay for enhanced mental health care.

“The way to make the case is that you set up a system of accountability that demonstrates we’respending the money we have currently with greater urgency,” he said, “and that there’s a gap andthat we need more.”

POLITICS

L.A. Mayor Garcetti foresees progress on homelessness via talkswith HUD Secretary Ben Carson

Los Angeles police o�cers collect shopping carts at a homeless encampment in downtown L.A. during a cleanup of skidrow. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

By NOAH BIERMAN, BENJAMIN ORESKES

JAN. 23, 20207:44 PM

WASHINGTON — Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Thursday that he hopes to reach a

preliminary agreement with the Trump administration on a joint plan to help combat the city’s

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swelling homelessness crisis when he meets with Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Ben Carson on Friday.

Garcetti said a final deal was still days or weeks away but expressed optimism that the two sides

were making progress toward an agreement to provide federal resources, including land, to

augment local efforts to erect more shelter space for people living on the streets.

“I hope we’ll get very close,” Garcetti said on the sidelines of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ annual

meeting in Washington.

Citing the negotiations, Garcetti would not say how much money the Trump administration might

contribute. But he said the federal aid would not match the hundreds of millions of dollars spent at

the local level.

Garcetti also said he could not yet publicly say where temporary shelters would be located. But he

added that federal officials had visited sites in L.A. County including property owned by the

Department of Veterans Affairs.

“There’s surplus property that they have all over, so I think they looked at everything,” he said.

Garcetti’s aides met with Carson’s staff this week following months of phone calls and site visits. A

HUD spokesperson confirmed the scheduled meeting between Garcetti and Carson.

In his comments to the mayors’ conference, Garcetti downplayed hopes of a massive federal aid

package to helps cities and states fight homelessness.

“There’s no cavalry coming from Washington,” he said. “But we will not solve this locally without

our state capitals and our nation’s capital.”

Garcetti faces intense pressure to find housing for the city’s burgeoning homeless population.

Despite his aspirations for higher office as a Democrat, he has been eager to court help from the

Trump administration as the crisis has worsened.

President Trump, a Republican, threatened for months to take action without consulting the city.

But he has struck a more cooperative tone in recent weeks as it became clear federal officials could

do little without local cooperation.

HUD Secretary Ben Carson, center, talks with Andy Bales, chief executive of L.A.'s Union Rescue Mission, after touring thefacility last year. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Carson has also cited the need to work with local officials regardless of political party.

In San Francisco, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said state officials also have met with Trump

administration officials in an effort to secure federal resources. But those talks appear to be lagging

behind Los Angeles’ efforts.

Newsom said he sent a letter to Carson this week in his third attempt to convince the federal

government to adjust funding for housing vouchers for the homeless to account for California’s

high cost of rent.

Letter from Gov. Newsom to Secretary Ben Carson

Jan. 23, 2020

“We’ve got a lot of work to do across the state. We’ve got 151,000 folks on the streets and sidewalks,

more than any other part of the country,” Newsom said at a news conference Wednesday.

Newsom emphasized the state’s current efforts, saying he has authorized $650 million in

emergency aid and grants to get people off the street.

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The governor has proposed spending $1.4 billion on homelessness in the new state budget, and has

called for allocating $750 million to a new California Access to Housing and Services Fund meant

to support rent subsidies and develop affordable units to provide more stable housing options.

Newsom said he is seeking more than temporary assistance from the Trump administration. To

alleviate the homelessness crisis, California needs permanent supportive housing, he said.

“What I don’t want to see is a bunch of new trailers out there that become permanent,” Newsom

said. “We’re looking for some clarification.”

Times staff writers Dakota Smith in Los Angeles and Philip Willon in San Francisco contributed

to this report.

POLITICS CALIFORNIA WORLD & NATION HOUSING & HOMELESSNESS

Get our Essential Politics newsletterThe latest news, analysis and insights from our bureau chiefs in Sacramento and D.C.

YOUR LEAD

How Do People Become Homeless?People who have experienced homelessness share their stories.

By Jill Cowan and Marie Tae McDermott

Jan. 22, 2020

Good morning.

(Here’s the sign-up, if you don’t already get California Today by email.)

Here’s the latest dispatch from Marie Tae McDermott, who is helping us answer readers’ questions about inequality in California:

Swati Verma, a reader in Cleveland, asked us, “Were the homeless always homeless? If not, what brought them to the state ofhomelessness?”

To get a sense of some of the reasons people fall into homelessness, we asked people who have experienced it.

In the dozens of responses we received, readers talked about injury, job loss, domestic violence, mental illness and addiction.

According to San Francisco’s 2019 homeless survey, 26 percent of respondents cited job loss as the primary cause of homelessness,followed by drugs and alcohol (18 percent), eviction (13 percent) and mental illness (8 percent).

It’s clear that there is no one path to living on the streets. However, African-Americans are disproportionately affected as a result ofinstitutional racism. Also, last year many unsheltered adults, over half in LA County and 31 percent in San Francisco, said they werehomeless for the first time in their lives. As one reader put it: “We were both professional people and it happened to us.”

Below is a selection of readers’ stories in their own words. These readers were all homeless for a period of time but eventually obtainedhousing.

[Read about what formerly homeless people said helped them.]

An encampment of tents line the park at Echo park lake in Los Angeles. Bethany Mollenkof

for The New York Times

Karla GarciaKarla Garcia

https://nyti.ms/2vbjOcZ

Karla lived in her van with her family throughout high school. She later received a full scholarship to attend U.C. Berkeley.

My father was a carpenter and my mother was an aide at a school library. During the Great Recession, my father was unable to find workand my mother’s hours were cut. They could no longer afford their mortgage. We had to sell most of our things to keep the power on for aslong as possible. We lost power, heat and water, and in the end, we were all sleeping in one mattress in an empty home we knew anyminute would be repossessed. One afternoon, we came home to discover we were locked out of the house, and that’s when we startedliving in our van. We went from having a normal life and stable housing, to being homeless. We didn’t always have food, and sometimesmy mother would have to choose between gas and food. My parents would take us to the park or to the beach to play all day. In a way, itwas a time when I saw my parents and enjoyed them the most.

— Karla Garcia, 25, San Diego

Conor grew up in Palo Alto and as a result of substance addiction, he resorted to living on the streets for a year and a half.

I was so caught up in my addictions that a big part of me didn’t want help. After first going to college, my partying got completely out ofhand. I eventually was introduced to “harder” substances and became hopelessly addicted. I failed out and went through a series ofrehabs to no avail. Eventually my degenerating behavior shut me off from friends and family, and after getting kicked off the last couch, I

Conor KellyConor Kelly

went to the streets.

— Conor Kelly, 28, Santa Cruz

John spent a year living on the streets because of depression and a lack of alternatives.

I have a master's degree in business and marketing. About a decade ago, I was the victim of a hate crime and did not get the treatment Ineeded. Instead, I self-medicated which led to some poor decisions, the loss of my business and ultimately homelessness. I spent just shyof a year on the streets of San Diego. I used to look at homelessness as a result of personal decisions. Now I see things much more clearly.

The experience of being homeless is the most devastating of my life. I was suffering from major depressive disorder, anxiety and PTSDbefore I was on the street and those disorders only became worse while homeless. The one thing that kept me alive was the leadership ofthe Voices of Our City Choir and their belief in me.

— John Brady, 54, San Diego

Ethan used his college campus’s facilities while living out of his car.

I was enrolled full time at Los Angeles City College and living solely off financial aid because my priority was finishing school as quickly aspossible. Rent increased at my building and I had to choose between spending all my aid money on rent and not having money foranything else, or living in my car. I chose to live in my car for a year instead.

I quickly realized how easy it is for someone to lose housing and how that can eventually lead to losing hope. It was a daily chore to remindmyself that homelessness was a temporary situation.

— Ethan Ward, 37, Los Angeles

John BradyJohn Brady

Ethan WardEthan Ward

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT

Newsom pledged to fix California water politics. Now he’s bogged down in the delta

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is an imperiled estuary and also a source of water for agri-business and a majority of Californians. (Wally Skalij / Los AngelesTimes)

By BETTINA BOXALLSTAFF WRITER

JAN. 23, 202010 AM

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Soon after taking office last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged to break through the “status quo” of California water politics,

plagued by decades of litigation and impasse.

“We have to get past the old binaries, like farmers versus environmentalists, or North versus South,” the governor said in his 2019

State of the State address. “Our approach can’t be “either/or.” It must be “yes/and.”

One year later, the Newsom administration appears to be a house divided on water, as competing interests pull it in opposite

directions.

The main flash point is the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a threatened estuary and source of water for a majority of Californians.

In an unusual public disagreement with a sister agency, the California Fish and Wildlife Department said proposed state rules for

pumping water supplies from the delta would worsen conditions for delta smelt and other fish on the brink of extinction.

Newsom has also pledged to stand up to the White House on environmental issues. Yet two months after state officials vowed to sue

the Trump administration to block a rollback of federal endangered species protections for imperiled native fish, no lawsuit has

been filed.

And the state’s high profile attempts to negotiate a settlement with major water users over tough new flow requirements for delta

tributaries have stalled.

“A lot of people are wondering what’s going on,” said Kim Delfino, California director for Defenders of Wildlife, an environmental

group. “It’s a huge mess.”

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT

The next big California vs. Trump fight is over water and endangered species

Oct. 4, 2019

In interviews, Natural Resource Agency officials rejected suggestions of internal conflict and disarray.

“I don’t think there’s a divorce, I don’t think there’s a major split,” fish and wildlife director Chuck Bonham said of his department’s

polite, but highly critical comments on the Department of Water Resources’ delta pumping proposal.

Rather, he said, two departments with different authorities are working their way through a complicated environmental review

process in an unprecedented situation.

The State Water Project, which supplies Southern California with delta water, has historically adhered to federal Endangered

Species Act protections for delta smelt, chinook salmon and other imperiled species.

But in the face of the pending Trump rollbacks, the Newsom administration decided to do something California has never done

before — develop its own set of delta fish protections under the California Endangered Species Act.

That has set the resources agency down a path strewn with political and practical potholes.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and other state project customers want the administration to go along with

the Trump rollback and relax pumping restrictions that have cost them delta deliveries.

But embracing the Trump plans would not be good optics in a state that considers itself a leader of the Trump resistance.

Moreover, in formal comments filed Jan. 6, the fish and wildlife department argued that delta protections need “strengthening, not

weakening.” It added that “any diminishment of existing protections could worsen these species conditions.”

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has further complicated matters by signaling that its delta pumping operations would not comply

with stricter state endangered species rules.

That would create a practical nightmare in the Northern California delta, which serves as the center of the state’s vast water supply

system.

Tougher state standards, for example, could mean that federal irrigation customers of the Central Valley Project gain supplies at the

expense of Metropolitan and other state customers. On the other hand, if federal pumping violates state protections, California

could block the reclamation bureau from using state canals it sometimes needs to deliver supplies to San Joaquin Valley farms.

That scenario has kept state and federal water managers talking.

“I think all the agencies involved are open to finding a way forward to meet their concerns without lawsuits,” said Natural

Resources Sec. Wade Crowfoot. “There is a lot of constructive discussion happening on a daily basis between the federal and state

agencies on all manner of management questions.”

“We think litigation should be the last resort,” he added. “But if needed, we will pursue that.”

In a delta face-off with the Trump administration, California has some powerful weapons. It controls state pumps that can export

more water than the federal facilities. And both reclamation law and the 1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act dictate that

the federal water project meet state water quality standards.

“We’re not powerless. The state has some leverage,” said Jeffrey Mount, a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California.

But “nobody benefits from this kind of standoff — I get why the administration hasn’t pulled the trigger on the lawsuit.”

Environmental attorney Doug Obegi doesn’t. Noting that California has filed dozens of lawsuits against Trump policies, Obegi said

he is optimistic the state will sue “and that fish and wildlife will stick to its guns.”

“I think fish and wildlife’s letter highlights their consistent and ongoing concerns with weakening protections for salmon and

endangered species in the delta. What’s unusual is that this dispute between the state agencies has seen the light of day,” said Obegi,

a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

To operate delta exports under the state Endangered Species Act, the water resources department must obtain a permit from fish

and wildlife, which appears to be scoring some points.

In draft environmental documents released in November, the water resources department estimated that its proposed pumping

rules would boost the State Water Project’s annual delta exports by an average of roughly 200,000 acre feet — enough to supply

400,000 households for a year.

But the department’s December permit application outlined a less aggressive pumping approach. Water resources “considered the

feedback from parties, including fish and wildlife, and have come back with a permit application … that commits to no net increase

in exports,” Crowfoot said.

More changes are possible before fish and wildlife issues the permit this spring, said water resources director Karla Nemeth.

“I don’t think DWR was surprised by the fish and wildlife comments … because those are all the issues we’re talking about,” she

said. “There’s more work to do and we expect to keep going.”

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT

A report shows Trump’s water plan would hurt California salmon. The government hid it

Aug. 21, 2019

Fish and wildlife biologists also rejected a premise of the Trump rollback and the initial water resources proposal. Both would rely

on real-time monitoring of where imperiled fish are swimming in the delta to dictate pumping levels instead of the strict seasonal

guidelines that have been in place for the past decade.

Given that the numbers of delta smelt and longfin smelt have plummeted to record lows in recent years, fish and wildlife said such

an approach could create “a bias toward concluding that fish are not in the system when, in fact, they are.”

In a separate but related matter, the Newsom administration has been trying to negotiate a settlement with major water users to

avert a legal war over new flow standards that would make cities and farms leave more water in delta tributaries — and eventually

the delta — to support migrating salmon.

Major river users upstream of the delta have already filed a slew of lawsuits to block the first set of flow standards, which were

adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board in late 2018.

Westlands Water District, California’s biggest irrigation agency, walked away from the settlement talks after the state declared it

would sue to stop the federal rollbacks in the delta.

Streamline all, not some, California development – San Bernardino Sun

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California State Capitol in Sacramento (File photo: Robert Schlie, Getty Images)

OPINION

Streamline all, not some, California development

Streamline all, not some, California development – San Bernardino Sun

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By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | opinion@scng.com |PUBLISHED: January 23, 2020 at 8:00 am | UPDATED: January 23, 2020 at 8:01 am

When it comes to making modest and reasonable reforms to a California environmental law thatwould ease California’s housing crisis, state lawmakers say one thing and do another.

For decades, it has been obvious that tweaks to the California Environmental Quality Act, betterknown as CEQA, are required as the law is routinely abused by groups with no environmentalpurpose welding frivolous lawsuits to block developments. Attempts at reform usually die a quickdeath, though hypocritical lawmakers subtly seek exemptions — “streamlining,” as they call it —whenever they need something built.

The mere mention of CEQA reform makes many Californians knuckle up to defend California’s naturalbeauty. But data show CEQA abuse is not a fight between The People and developers, nor is it a fightto save the state from pollution or to protect open spaces.

A study conducted by Holland & Knight, a law firm specializing in environmental law and land use,found that half of all CEQA lawsuits are actually against taxpayer-funded projects. Another studyfound that 87 percent of the suits are against infill projects. And the studies determined a majority ofthe groups suing have no prior record of environmental activism.

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A handful of bills sitting before the Legislature seek exemptions — excuse us, seek “streamlining” —from CEQA requirements to quickly and easily build necessary projects like low-income housing,homeless shelters and temporary housing.

Exemptions are also often given to build fancy new homes for sports teams, like the SacramentoKings, the Golden State Warriors, the Rams, the Clippers. Even the Olympics needed exemptions,lawmakers said.

Of course, that doesn’t do much for the rest of us who just need more housing options to lower thecost of living. But the point stands: lawmakers who treat CEQA reform as a crime against humanityroutinely ask for exemptions from CEQA when they really want something to get built because theyknow it won’t get built otherwise.

As a means to safeguard against environmental degradation, CEQA is a useful tool. It was signed into

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law in 1970 by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan. Each of his successors, with the exception of GavinNewsom, has tried with varied success to reform the law. Jerry Brown even once called CEQA reform“the Lord’s work.”

Tales of abuse are legendary.

Unions abuse CEQA to hold projects hostage for personal gain. As Brown once said about thepolitical obstacles to reforming CEQA: “The unions won’t let you because they use it as a hammer toget project labor agreements.”

Certainly, many CEQA lawsuits have merit and the law should be used to ensure actualenvironmental concerns are addressed. Some reasonable tweaks have been proposed: requiringdisclosure of litigants’ identities and interests, eliminating duplicative lawsuits or simply affording everyproject the same “streamlined” privileges as sports arenas and homeless shelters.

Newsom promised to build 3.5 million new housing units in eight years, but was woefully short ofbeing on track after his first year. If he’s serious and hopes to accomplish his goal, then he should firststart with meaningful CEQA reform. By their actions, lawmakers already agree it’s needed, even ifthey won’t say it aloud.

The Editorial BoardThe editorial board and opinion section staff are independent of the news-gathering side of our organization. Throughour staff-written editorials, we take positions on important issues affecting our readership, from pension reform toprotecting our region’s unique natural resources to transportation. The editorials are unsigned because, while writtenby one or more members of our staff, they represent the point of view of our news organization’s management. Inorder to take informed positions, we meet frequently with government, community and business leaders on importantissues affecting our cities, region and state. During elections, we meet with candidates for office and the proponents

BUSINESS

The number of Californians represented by unions grows asnational labor organizing stagnates

Hundreds of airport workers, Uber and Lyft drivers, janitors, government and fast-food workers, home care providers andmore march through Terminal One at LAX in October. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

By MARGOT ROOSEVELTSTAFF WRITER

JAN. 23, 2020

ADVERTISEMENT

,

6 AM

The number of Californians represented by unions rose by 139,000 last year in the wake of

successful organizing campaigns across occupations as varied as nurses, electricians, animation

artists, scooter mechanics and university researchers.

The Golden State’s 2.72 million represented workers amounted to 16.5% of its labor force, up from

15.8% in 2018, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The uptick comes after years of declines in both numbers and share of the workforce, which

mirrored national trends. Two decades earlier, 18.3% of California workers were unionized.

“We’re seeing a reinvigoration in organizing across California, including in healthcare, online

media, technology and entertainment,” said Steve Smith, a spokesman for the California Labor

Federation, an umbrella group for 1,200 unions.

The growth has been enabled by a labor-friendly Legislature enacting measures to crack down on

wage theft and retaliation against union organizers. New laws require retail and construction

companies to take “joint employer” responsibility for labor violations by subcontractors. State

regulators have leveled millions of dollars in fines for misclassification of workers as independent

contractors, opening the way for employees to unionize.

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BUSINESS

New labor laws are coming to California. What’s changing in your workplace?

Dec. 29, 2019

Even as California labor notched gains, the number of U.S. workers represented by unions

stagnated. Nationwide, 16.4 million workers were represented by a union last year, up by just

3,000 from 2018.

The share of U.S. workers represented by a union declined slightly, to 11.6%, from 11.7% in 2018.

The drop can be partly attributed to the fact that, as the job market expanded, the number of

workers entering the labor force grew faster than the number represented by unions: 1.2% vs

0.02%.

Historically, however, unions have suffered a steep decline: in 1979, 27% of U.S. workers were

unionized.

The waning can be partly attributed to slower growth in industries with traditionally strong unions.

Manufacturing companies from aerospace to automobiles have expanded in less labor-friendly

Southern states and have outsourced blue-collar jobs to foreign countries.

In a paper analyzing the BLS numbers, Heidi Shierholz, senior economist for the Washington-

based Economic Policy Institute, a labor think tank, suggested that “the erosion of union coverage

is not because workers don’t want unions anymore — survey data show a higher share of nonunion

workers today say they would vote for a union than was the case 40 years ago,” she wrote.

Rather, she contended, the drop is the result of “fierce corporate opposition” and weak federal

penalties for intimidating and firing pro-union employees. “It is now standard for employers to

hire union avoidance consultants to coordinate intense anti-union campaigns,” she added, citing

an EPI study estimating corporate spending of $340 million per year on union avoidance.

BUSINESS

Trump makes wage-theft lawsuits harder — but not in California

Jan. 14, 2020

The corporate pushback is reflected in the fact that union membership is five times higher among

public employees than private-sector workers. In 2019, the share of public-sector workers

represented by a union held steady at 37.2%. The share of private-sector workers represented by a

union ticked down to 7.1%, from 7.2%.

A June 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Janus v. AFSCME, had been widely predicted as likely

to weaken public-sector union membership. The decision barred state and local unions from

charging workers “fair share fees” when they decline to join, but nonetheless enjoy raises and

benefits as a result of collective bargaining.

However, the new BLS data show no clear “Janus” effect. Union membership did drop among local

government workers last year, from 40.3% to 39.4%. But it was offset by the share of unionized

state government workers, which rose from 28.6% to 29.4%.

Within the public sector, union membership was highest among police officers, firefighters, and

teachers. Private-sector industries with high unionization rates included utilities, transportation

and warehousing, and telecommunications.

Among full-time wage and salary workers, union members had median weekly earnings of $1,095

in 2019, while nonunion members had median weekly earnings of $892.

ADVERTISEMENT

However, the BLS noted, “In addition to coverage by a collective bargaining agreement, these

earnings differences reflect a variety of influences, including variations in the distributions of

union members and nonunion employees by occupation, industry, age, firm size or geographic

region.”

More than half of union members in the U.S. lived in just seven states — California, New York,

Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio and Washington — the BLS said, although these states

accounted for only about one-third of U.S. employment.

The states with the highest percentage of represented workers last year were Hawaii (25.5%), New

York (22.7%), Washington (20.2%), Rhode Island (19.0%) and Alaska (18.7%). The states with the

smallest shares were South Carolina (2.7%), North Carolina (3.4%), Georgia (5.0%), Virginia

(5.2%) and Texas (5.2%).

Union membership in 2019 was similar among men and women: 10.8% vs 9.7%. The gap has

narrowed considerably since 1983 — the earliest year of comparable data — when 24.7% of men

and 14.6% of women were unionized.

Among major race and ethnic groups, black workers continued to have a higher union membership

rate in 2019 (11.2%) than white workers (10.3%), Asians (8.8%s) or Latinos (8.9%).

The BLS data cover both union membership (6.2%) and workers who are represented by unions

(7.1%) but not always members. It is collected as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a

monthly sample survey of about 60,000 eligible households that obtains information on

employment.

BUSINESS

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Why are there 234 local tax measures with government revenue at record high? – San Bernardino Sun

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OPINION

Why are there 234 local tax measures withgovernment revenue at record high?

• Opinion

Why are there 234 local tax measures with government revenue at record high? – San Bernardino Sun

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By DUSTIN WEATHERBY |PUBLISHED: January 23, 2020 at 3:31 pm | UPDATED: January 24, 2020 at 12:19 am

When Californians go to the polls in March, they will narrow the field of presidential candidates, decidea $15 billion school bond and face hundreds of local tax measures.

There are 234 local tax and bond measures on the March ballot, a 169 percent increase compared tothe 2016 presidential primary election. In that election in June 2016, voters were presented with 87local tax and bond measures, and approved 67.

(Photo by Dean Musgrove/Los Angeles Daily News)

Why are there 234 local tax measures with government revenue at record high? – San Bernardino Sun

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The influx of local tax proposals comes during of a time of impressive economic growth in California.

Since the beginning of the economic recovery in 2009, the state’s general fund budget has grownfrom $89.5 billion to $149.7 billion. It would increase to $153 billion under the budget proposed thismonth by Governor Gavin Newsom. During the same period, California built up $21 billion in statereserves.

The economic expansion has benefited local jurisdictions as well, as increased property valuestranslate to increased property tax revenue for local governments. Sales of homes and businesses,combined with a 2 percent inflation increase and reassessments for new construction, resulted in a 6percent increase in property tax levies in 2019 – continuing several years of similar revenue increasesfor this major source of local government revenue.

When he unveiled the annual property tax update for the largest county in the state, Los Angeles

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Why are there 234 local tax measures with government revenue at record high? – San Bernardino Sun

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County Assessor Jeff Prang reported “record growth and new all-time highs in real estate andbusiness property values across the county.”

Even after voters in 2010 approved Proposition 26 to strengthen the definition of a tax (to keepelected officials from getting around vote requirements simply by labeling taxes as “fees”), local taxesand fees increased by $47 billion (36.9 percent), according to data compiled by the California TaxFoundation. Since 2005, California voters have approved 72 percent of the 3,453 local tax and bondmeasures placed before them.

With increased tax revenue and growth, and so many tax hikes already approved, why are localjurisdictions placing hundreds of new tax measures on the ballot?

A report by the League of California Cities gives one reason: city pension costs will increase morethan 50 percent by the fiscal year 2024-25, to what the group describes as “unsustainable levels.”

“Often, revenue growth from the improved economy has been absorbed by pension costs,” the cities’report says.

Rising pension costs will require cities to nearly double the percentage of general fund dollars theypay to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. By 2024-25, more than a quarter ofCalifornia cities are projected to spend more than 18 percent of their general fund budgets onpensions.

Looking ahead, local governments will have to prioritize spending, control pension costs and improveefficiency. With many Californians already living paycheck-to-paycheck due to the high cost of living,there is no guarantee that taxpayers will authorize hundreds of additional taxes every year, especiallywhen revenue already is growing significantly under the taxes we already pay.

Why are there 234 local tax measures with government revenue at record high? – San Bernardino Sun

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VIEW COMMENTS

Dustin Weatherby is a policy and communications associate for the California Taxpayers Association.

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Dustin

Weatherby

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