The first day back from the July Fourth holiday turned out to be very, very busy for the California Legislature. Let’s get right to the highlights: Caste discrimination bill survives: The first-in-the-nation measure to add caste to California’s anti-discrimination laws is still alive after a key committee hearing on Wednesday....
4 Reasons Why California Can’t, or Won’t, Match Texas’ Approach to Homelessness
When looking at the numbers, there’s no question Texas is doing a better job of mitigating homelessness than California. For one thing, Texas’ homeless population shrunk by nearly a third over the past decade, while California’s grew by 43%, according to the federally mandated point-in-time count. And in the Golden State,...
A Texas City Shelters Nearly All Homeless Residents in One Place. It’s Turning Heads in California
It’s a common question as one walks past the sprawling tent camps that line the streets of so many neighborhoods in California: Why can’t we build a place for all these people to go? One city in Texas did just that, and some California leaders are taking notice. But can –...
This Texas Homeless Village Inspires California Replicas: Art, Movies, Fishing Pond
At first glance, Community First! Village looks more like an art commune or even a high-end summer camp than what it really is: Austin’s formidable, 51-acre solution to the homelessness crisis. Nestled amongst picturesque tiny houses and RVs – home to about 350 formerly unhoused people – are a ceramics studio, an...
How Texas Shrank Its Homelessness Population and What It Can Teach California
Lea este artículo en español. LaVoy Darden is looking for someone. Making the rounds through Houston’s homeless encampments as an outreach specialist for a local nonprofit group, he offers snacks, builds trust, and puts people on a waitlist for affordable housing. On good days he gets to tell them they’re...
California Can Learn a Lot From Texas on Housing the Homeless
When you’re facing an intractable crisis like homelessness, you’ll try to find answers anywhere. Despite a recent history of quarreling governors, California officials are looking at Texas. And maybe for good reason: While California’s homeless population grew by 43% (and 439 out of every 100,000 residents are homeless), Texas’ homeless...
California Supreme Court Decision Could Undermine Bedrock Voting Rights Law
Throughout my public service career, I’ve been guided by the principle that our democracy works best when as many eligible Americans as possible participate. That’s particularly important in a state as big and diverse as California. For two decades, the California Voting Rights Act, or CVRA, has strengthened our democracy by...
Electric Car Incentives, Homeless Programs Feel the CA Budget Ax
Monday night, Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders finally announced they had reached a budget deal. The bills will start being voted on today to finalize the agreement before the new fiscal year starts on July 1. The deal sets spending levels and policy across a wide range of issues...
She Lost Her Home. She Doesn’t Want to Lose Her City Council Seat
OJAI — On a pleasant June evening, in the airy chambers of the quaint Mission Revival city hall, the council gathered to discuss the fate of one of their own. It was more than a year since Suza Francina, a longtime councilmember in this small arts- and wellness-oriented town tucked...
Progressive California Is One of the Last Bastions of Legal Child Marriage
They stood on the steps of the state Capitol, in white bridal gowns and veils, their wrists chained together and their mouths taped shut. They are survivors of forced and child marriages — and they want California to finally outlaw child brides. “When I was 14 years old, my parents...