Letters to the Editor: Amid tree house standoff, 'what options do the unhoused have left?'
To the editor: Benito Flores' efforts in El Sereno must be commended ('Elderly man builds tree house to protest eviction from state-owned home,' June 3). Given the Grants Pass vs. Johnson ruling, Gov. Gavin Newsom's persistent encampment sweeps and local sit/lie bans, what options do the unhoused have left but to live in trees? The displacement of elders from our communities is cruel and often amounts to a death sentence. Surely Newsom is aware that an average of nearly seven people die on the streets of L.A. each day — many of them elderly.
How powerful it would be to see real leadership from our governor. Why are there dozens of vacant homes on state-owned land amid this humanitarian crisis? In fact, years ago, just across the street from Flores' home, the state granted a parcel of land to the city at a discount and it is now a thriving community garden. Does Newsom truly believe he can charm his way to Washington while making negligible progress on our state's central political and moral crisis?
Zach Murray, Los Angeles
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
4 hours ago
- Forbes
Gavin Newsom And Jay Pritzker Offering Red States The Deal Of Lifetime
Government spending saps economic growth, which is no insight. It's stated routinely in my upcoming book The Deficit Delusion that the centralized and politicized allocation of goods, services and labor in sub-optimal fashion by politicians lays a wet blanket on economic growth. What makes the economically enervating nature of government spending worth mentioning is the ongoing debate about state and local taxes, also known as SALT. Governors in high-tax blue states would like to return to the old state of tax play whereby state and local taxes paid could be 100 percent deducted against federal tax bills. Red state citizens should take this gift from people with names like Newsom and Pritzker and run with it. Except that red state politicians are largely balking. So are their citizens. They see unlimited deductibility of state and local taxes as a subsidy of blue state taxpayers, and an incentive for blue states to tax and spend with abandon at a cost to federal tax collections. Their critiques speak to the undeniable good of an unlimited SALT deduction, for red states. To suggest otherwise is to imply that blue states benefit economically from excessive spending, all at the expense of the federal government's ability to spend. Actually, that's a feature of SALT, not a bug. Once again, government spending is economically harmful. The goal for red state politicians should be to localize the certain damage of government spending to the extent they can. Let California, New York, Illinois and New Jersey pursue a lot in the way of economy and freedom-sapping government so that the federal government has fewer dollars to harm the U.S. economy with. It's certainly odd, but not surprising, that blue state governors would clamor for an enhanced ability to further damage their economies with excessive spending born of high taxes. Much odder is that red states aren't taking the blue states up on an arrangement that to some degree erects a fence around economic foolishness. Red state politicians and their citizens yet again claim the SALT deduction subsidizes high-tax and high-spend blue states. More realistically, it subsidizes the red states that want neither. No doubt blue states see excessive taxing and spending in state as advantageous, and it should be obvious to red staters why: the discredited economic vision of John Maynard Keynes lives on most harmfully in blue states. Their politicians almost to a man and woman buy into the Keynesian notion that government spending grows an economy. Quite the opposite. With full deduction of state and local taxes, what an opportunity for red states to show why Keynes was wrong. Within them there's an underlying understanding that a government that does least does best. Which is yet again why red state politicians and voters should eagerly take the deal being offered from their taxing and spending opposites. The deal implies that blue states will foist more Keynes on their people, the red states quite a bit less. What a deal! Unknown is why red state politicians won't accept such a gift unless, of course, they're more wedded to discredited notions of government waste than their limited government rhetoric suggests.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Letters to the Editor: Trump's looming cuts to high-speed rail project represent a 'backward vision'
To the editor: The Pentagon is projected to spend a staggering $2.1 trillion on the F-35 fighter jet program. This weapons system has been plagued by cost overruns, technical failures and delays. Many military analysts now consider the F-35 already obsolete, a Cold War relic in a world facing very different threats. Yet, the Trump administration has raised no concerns. In fact, it's proposed increasing the Pentagon's budget by $150 billion this year, funneling even more money into machines of war. Now contrast that with California's high-speed rail project: a first-of-its-kind system in the U.S. that's projected to create tens of thousands of jobs, stimulate billions in economic activity and drastically reduce carbon emissions. Instead of supporting this vision of a cleaner, more connected America, the Trump administration has actively undermined it ('Trump administration sees 'no viable path' forward to finish high-speed rail project, moves to pull federal funding,' June 4). It's a backward vision: We pour trillions into fighter jets designed to kill, while blocking a transportation system designed to move people, strengthen our economy and protect our planet. Imagine if we invested that $2.1 trillion into a nationwide high-speed rail network, connecting major cities, revitalizing regional economies and leading the world in sustainable infrastructure. It's time to rethink our priorities. The California high-speed rail project deserves more support, not less. Donald Flaherty, Burbank .. To the editor: The fight over high-speed rail is ridiculous. I just returned from three weeks in Japan, a place where bullet trains run the length and breadth of the country and ordinary trains that connect with them go to places the bullet trains don't. When someone wants to go from Tokyo to Kyoto, they don't think about flying or driving, they hop on a train. Compared to Japan, it's as if we're in the Stone Age when it comes to transportation. Plus, these trains run clean on electricity and don't spew harmful exhaust fumes. Murray Zichlinsky, Long Beach This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Newsweek
a day ago
- Newsweek
Hundreds in LA Protest ICE Raids as Mayor Says 'We Will Not Stand for This'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Hundreds of people have taken to the streets of downtown Los Angeles on Friday after reported U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids swept through the city earlier in the day. Newsweek reached out to ICE and Governor Gavin Newsom's office via email Friday night for comment. Why It Matters Since his January 20 inauguration, President Donald Trump has implemented sweeping change, mainly through executive orders, and has prioritized immigration control as a key pillar within the administration. Trump last month utilized the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime law that grants the commander in chief authority to detain or deport non-citizens. The implementation was originally blocked in federal court and sparked a contentious legal back-and-forth. The president also campaigned on the promise of mass deportations and appointed Tom Homan as his administration's border czar to execute his agenda. What To Know According to ABC 7 News Los Angeles, hundreds of protesters have gathered on downtown streets in resistance to the reported raids. The network added that the raids struck three separate sites on Friday. The protest began outside the federal courthouse in the afternoon near 300 N. Los Angeles Street and the crowd then began pushing toward the detention center in the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building, ABC 7 reports. Taking to X, formerly Twitter on Friday, Mayor Karen Bass posted a statement, saying, "This morning we received reports of federal immigration enforcement actions in multiple locations in Los Angeles." "As Mayor of a proud city of immigrants, who contribute to our city in so many ways, I am deeply angered by what has taken place," Bass said. "These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. My office is in close coordination with immigrant rights community organizations. We will not stand for this." Newsom also took to social media reacting to the reported raids and a post that Service Employees International Union President David Huerta had been injured and detained observing one of them. "David Huerta is a respected leader, a patriot, and an advocate for working people. No one should ever be harmed for witnessing government action," Newsom posted on X. This is a developing story that will be updated with additional information.
