Part 121: "A Big, Fat Grenade" - The Housing and Homelessness Crisis in Los Angeles
By Zachary Ellison and Ruth Roofless, Independent Journalists
Published October 18, 2024
“Leadership in L.A., someone is going to have to fall on a big, fat grenade to really change the way housing is produced,” read the quote from “economist and co-director of the RAND Center on Housing and Homelessness,” Jason Ward, in the Los Angeles Times story by journalists Doug Smith and Liam Dillon. Repeating the quote outside the courtroom of Judge David O. Carter, himself known for colorful language from his time in the U.S. Marines, suddenly didn’t seem like such a good idea. Most especially, in the presence of the U.S. Marshals Service, which staffs the courthouse entrance. If anyone has tried to jump on the “grenade” though in Los Angeles, it’s been Judge Carter, and he’s taken the blast from trying to tackle the issue.
Only minutes before, Judge Carter had threatened to get the U.S. Attorney’s office involved if the audit launched by firm Alvarez & Marsal didn’t get to the bottom of a hold-up in producing invoice data from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) to Los Angeles County to provide to the auditors. The audit was approved by Mayor Karen Bass and City Council last March. The Mayor said at the time, “We’ve reaffirmed our commitment to transparency and accountability,” promising that financial data would become even more transparent within a matter of weeks. Despite the optimism, things haven’t proved so simple at getting at why LA has failed so badly in addressing the crisis of the unhoused, at least in terms of official numbers and spending. Admittedly, the numbers can be more complex than they seem; some people are getting off the streets, but others are landing on them.
Link: https://zacharyellison.substack.com/p/part-121-a-big-fat-grenade-the-housing
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