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Boston Globe
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Boston's schools don't have to be mediocre
After all, the mayor controls the schools, because she appoints all the School Committee members. The buck truly stops at City Hall. Yet, with a mayoral election heating up, the quality of education in Boston Public Schools is shaping up to be at best a secondary issue in the race. Advertisement That's despite the fact that the Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up In a poll conducted last year, most So why isn't education at the top of the mayoral agenda? There are deeply rooted reasons why schools, despite being the biggest single operating department in the budget and the most important city service, tend to be oddly absent from mayoral races in Boston. Advertisement First, perhaps, is history: Until 1991, Boston had an elected School Committee so mayors could legitimately claim that the schools weren't under their purview. A few years later, former mayor Tom Menino made news when he That was more than 30 years ago, though, and neither Menino nor any of his successors have ever in fact been judged harshly for the schools. Then there's the demographic reality that the number of voters who have a direct connection to the district has decreased, because there are fewer students in schools than there were a generation ago. Boston's population is about 650,000 and there are about There's also sheer political calculation: It's not lost on anyone that when former city councilor John Connolly tried to run as an education candidate in 2013, he lost. 'There's a disturbing culture in Boston politics where politicians believe that you can't win on schools and it can only be a divisive issue,' Finally, as this editorial board put it in the Advertisement That, at least, is a problem voters can end: by getting into the habit of demanding more. We can't afford to be defeatist. Especially in a post-pandemic world, in which many white collar workers can live anywhere, Boston needs schools that are good enough to hold on to residents and produce students who can succeed at college or in careers — and not just those able to land a seat at an exam school. In public debates, the candidates should be pressed on how, or if, they would How would they bring the third of students who regularly miss school back into the classroom? What would they do to stop fistfights (and worse) in the schools? Would they ban cell phones during the whole school day and if so, how would they enforce bans? How would they turn the downsizing of the schools — an inevitability, considering long-term enrollment declines — into an opportunity to make the remaining schools better? When she first ran for mayor four years ago, Mayor Michelle Wu had a lot to say about school buildings — she promised a 'Green New Deal' for dilapidated school facilities — and relatively little about what happens inside them, reflecting the kind of play-it-safe mentality Connolly described. Advertisement Her record in office is more encouraging: Wu has started the painful, but overdue process of shrinking the physical size of the district. She hired an impressive superintendent, Mary Skipper. She But violence in the schools — and Her main opponent, Josh Kraft, has called for more Those ideas should get a full airing. So should Wu's record. But families should make sure to tell the candidates their ideas and their concerns, too, and their priorities. The part we all can play in making the schools better is to demand more — to insist that B or C isn't good enough, and that we won't accept buck-passing from mayors. Advertisement Four years ago, Editorials represent the views of the Boston Globe Editorial Board. Follow us
Los Angeles Times
10 hours ago
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. homeless population drops again. And yes, there's reason for hope
For nearly two decades, an official count confirmed what all of us could see: more and more people living on sidewalks, streets and other marginal spaces all over Los Angeles County. So it felt like only good news this week when the county's homeless agency announced a 4% decline in the homeless population and a 10% decline in those living in the street. To go a bit deeper than the numbers, I got hold of my colleague, Doug Smith. A deep thinker who's covered every big story in L.A., Doug has become The Times' foremost expert on homelessness. Here's what the essential Doug Smith had to say: What did you make of the latest figures? I expected it. I drive around a lot, as does [City Hall reporter] Dave Zahniser. We both have seen the difference made by [the city's] Inside Safe and [the county's] Pathway Home programs. Many of the largest encampments have been eliminated. Should we be hopeful that L.A. is finally tackling this problem? The [city and county] programs are very expensive and are barely two years old. The big question is how much more they will be able to expand, or even maintain the number of hotel and motel beds they now have. Does Mayor Karen Bass, or any other individual or group, deserve credit for this decline? She does, but she's not the only one. One of the most important initiatives is Housing for Health, a program created by L.A. County Department of Health Services when Mitch Katz was running it. It targets frequent users of the public health system. Judge Carter has forced the county to create 3,000 new mental health beds (still in the works). [California Community Foundation Chief Executive] Miguel Santana is now on the newly-created housing board that will be Proposition HHH on steroids. Janey Rountree at the California Policy Lab at UCLA has done more than anyone else to make usable information out of the oozing mash of data coming out of homeless services agencies and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. What are a few things that will be needed to keep moving people off the street? We are finally, mercifully, moving beyond the ideology of 'Housing First' as the one and only solution. The system has improved, but is still stuck in the binary thinking of interim vs. permanent housing. When you visit encampments, you quickly identify people for whom neither of those is the right first step. Some need detox and drug treatment, some long-term mental health treatment and some jail. The first two are woefully scarce, so they tend to all end up in jail. There are several valiant private enterprises out there trying to figure out a conventional financing model to build affordable housing. I hope they figure it out. Is there anything the average Angeleno can do? They can pat themselves on the back already for doubling the sales tax. Even if the recent trend continues, it's going to be a long way to 'Problem solved!' Try to be equally empathetic with the people living on the street and the people whose houses and businesses they live in front of. Finally, don't be too harsh in judging those in positions of responsibility who have made only incremental progress. Yes, they're imperfect. But all they have is local levers to budge a problem that has macro social and economic causes. The 2025 Emmy nominations have been announced. The best comedy category is stacked, with fan favorites including 'Abbott Elementary' and 'The Bear.' Who should win? Email us at essentialcalifornia@ and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. On July 17, 1969, the Apollo 11 crew continued their historic journey to the moon, which launched from NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. the day before. On July 20, two of its astronauts became the first people to step on the surface of the moon. For the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, The Times measured the mission by heartbeat. Jim Rainey, staff writerDiamy Wang, homepage internIzzy Nunes, audience internKevinisha Walker, multiplatform editorAndrew Campa, Sunday writerKarim Doumar, head of newsletters How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
Politico
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Politico
Divergent days for Mamdani and Adams
With help from Amira McKee Zohran Mamdani wants to help spread his revolution outside New York City — while embattled Mayor Eric Adams is trying to defend himself at home. It was a splitscreen day for an unpredictable mayoral campaign that underscored how the political left is trying to capitalize on Mamdani's moment. And it was a reminder that Adams, whose corruption case was dismissed after he cozied up to President Donald Trump, must still contend with allegations he has run a graft-prone administration after his former police commissioner filed a bombshell lawsuit. Mamdani spent part of his day in Washington huddling privately with lefty House Democrats to discuss lessons learned from his upset primary win over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The meeting was a chance for Mamdani, a previously unknown state assemblyman with scant experience, to burnish a growing national reputation as an adept retail campaigner and social media maven. He is also growing closer with the left's other big star, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 'Getting to know people in person can always help and something I share with Zohran is the way sometimes people are painted in media doesn't really align with who we are in person,' Ocasio-Cortez told reporters on Wednesday. Having powerful allies will help Mamdani if he's leading City Hall next year. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is yet to endorse him, has tried to reassure nervous business leaders that she will be a backstop to Mamdani's lefty ideas like hiking taxes on rich New Yorkers. Mamdani's efforts to expand his reach, though, weren't just confined to the halls of power: The Democratic Socialists of America sent a recruitment email signed by their newly famous member urging people to join the organization. Adams, meanwhile, was accused by his short-lived former interim NYPD commissioner of running the department as a 'criminal conspiracy' alongside top aides. The eye-opening suit filed by Tom Donlon alleged the Adams administration protected top brass, abused the promotion system and retaliated against whistleblowers. An Adams spokesperson called the suit baseless and accused Donlon of being a 'disgruntled former employee.' 'This suit is nothing more than an attempt to seek compensation at the taxpayer's expense after Mr. Donlon was rightfully removed from the role of interim police commissioner,' City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus said. The allegations go to the heart of Adams' original appeal to many voters as a former police captain who pledged to tackle public safety and railed against criminal justice law changes in Albany. The suit hits as Adams is fighting for his political life, distantly trailing Mamdani, Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in polling as he mounts an uphill campaign to keep his job. Yet the mayor will continue to have a bully pulpit that comes with leading the nation's largest city — something his rivals don't enjoy. And he will continue to lean into support from cops: More than a dozen law enforcement unions today will endorse Adams' campaign for a second term. — Nick Reisman HAPPY THURSDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman. WHERE'S KATHY? In Albany and Saratoga County holding a cabinet meeting to discuss the impact of federal cuts. WHERE'S ERIC? Schedule not available as of 10 p.m. Wednesday. QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'He's incredibly dynamic, but it's not just that he's dynamic. People are so curious. They want to know what all the fuss is about.' — Julie Samuels, president and CEO of Tech:NYC, cohost of a gathering of about 150 business and tech leaders who met with Mamdani as he confronts his skeptics head on, POLITICO reports today. ABOVE THE FOLD ADAMS' HAUL: It wasn't all bad news for Adams. A new filing from the city's Campaign Finance Board showed his money problem abating. The incumbent's reelection campaign reported a monster $1.5 million haul from donors between June 10 and Friday. Nearly all of that cash came after the June 24 primary won handily by Mamdani. And with only $263,000 in expenditures — mostly going toward fundraisers at venues like the mayor's longtime haunt Osteria La Baia and consultants including Brianna Suggs of FBI-raid infamy — the mayor is suddenly sitting on a cool $3 million, more than either Mamdani or Cuomo. The hefty sum is a seven-figure symptom of the panic gripping boardrooms across the city's business districts as titans of industry search for a way to prevent Mamdani, a democratic socialist, from reaching City Hall. The list of Adams contributions is rife with donors from law firms like Fried Frank, development firms including Silverstein Properties and commercial brokerages like Cushman & Wakefield. They've latched onto the incumbent as their champion following a lackluster performance from Cuomo in the primary, losing by roughly 13 points despite $26 million in outside expenditures boosting his candidacy. 'Voters are looking at the alternative and saying, 'We can't afford to go backwards,'' campaign spokesperson Todd Shapiro said in a statement, referring to Mamdani. 'That's why support is pouring in — this campaign is energized, unified, and ready to win.' The support of the monied class comes even as Adams faces enormous obstacles to reelection. To start with, he is running on an independent ballot line in a city of staunch Democrats. And despite his impressive haul, he will still need millions of dollars in public matching funds from the Campaign Finance Board to run a viable campaign. The mayor's legal team is confident he will get the crucial infusion following a judge's ruling, but the board has said its investigation into Adams' fundraising practices is ongoing. And then there's the matter of Adams' standing with voters. For an incumbent, it is atrocious. A recent poll from Data for Progress found the mayor coming in third behind Mamdani and Cuomo in a general election with 15 percent of the vote. The same survey found Adams with a 29-70 negative approval rating. — Joe Anuta CITY HALL: THE LATEST GOP DIGS IN: Mamdani's warm reception from progressive House Democrats in Washington offered fresh fodder for Republicans intent on casting him as the face of a party they say is headed way too far to the left. Both parties are gearing up for a competitive midterm cycle with control of the House at play. Mamdani has said he wants to help Democrats retake the speaker's gavel, noting the health care and food aid cuts in President Donald Trump's 'one big, beautiful bill.' Republicans say his ascent is the reason they'll keep control of the chamber. 'Zohran Mamdani is the socialist hero Democrats have been waiting for, and we look forward to seeing him on the campaign trail with House Democrats in every swing district in America,' National Republican Campaign Committee spokesperson Mike Marinella said in a statement. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, New York City's only House Republican, posted, 'Congressional Democrats in Washington are spending the morning embracing Karl Marx-loving #Mamdani.' (Mamdani identifies as a democratic socialist, not a communist.) Rep. Nick LaLota of eastern Long Island, a battleground Republican, sent a fundraising email pegged to the meeting: 'While I fight for safer streets, real tax relief, and service over socialism, the Squad is trying to grow their ranks with fringe radicals like Mamdani.' — Emily Ngo More from the city: — A proposal to switch New York City to an open primary system will not be added to this November's ballot, the Charter Revision Commission said. (THE CITY) — Out-of-state donors are flocking to Mamdani's campaign to the tune of more than $350K since his primary win. (New York Post) — Andrew Cuomo, conceding his failed primary campaign was flawed, takes to NYC streets. (Daily News) NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY MAPPING IT OUT: Fifteen state lawmakers are urging Apple and Google to adjust their mapping software so drivers are warned when they cross an international border. The demand, contained in a letter released by Assemblymember Grace Lee's office, follows reports that navigation apps directed people to bridges and roads that reached border checkpoints. For some drivers in New York and Michigan, the mistake has led to their detention. 'As elected officials, it is our duty to protect our communities,' the lawmakers wrote in the letter. 'We believe your company shares a responsibility to ensure your tools do not inadvertently put users in harm's way.' Reps for Google and Apple did not return messages seeking comment. The letter underscores broader concerns immigration advocates and Democrats have over the aggressive approach the Trump administration is taking toward deportations. New York lawmakers are yet to propose legislation to address the mapping issue. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — New York's tax collections are coming in higher than expected. (Spectrum News) — Bills for gender-affirming care are awaiting Hochul's signature. (Gothamist) — Corrections officers accused of beating a prison inmate to death will face an October trial. (Times Union) KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION LAWLER V$ THE DEMS: GOP Rep. Mike Lawler had slightly more campaign cash on hand at the end of June than all seven of his Democratic challengers combined, according to their latest Federal Election Commission filings. The battleground Republican had more than $2.2 million to spend on his reelection campaign, as first reported by Playbook, including a transfer from House Speaker Mike Johnson's PAC. The Democrats' filings showed that they collectively had less than $2.19 million cash on hand. Lawler is weighing whether to run for a third term in the Hudson Valley or make a bid for governor. He has been a top target for House Democrats who are eager to spotlight his vote in favor of the GOP megabill. Several of the Democratic candidates are later entries to the race still finding their fundraising footing, and the cash will undoubtedly flow more readily as 2026 draws closer. Three — Peter Chatzky, Jessica Reinmann and Effie Phillips-Staley — loaned their campaigns money. One — Phillips-Staley — had a negative cash-on-hand balance, according to her filing, but her campaign said she actually has $99,000 in the bank. That total, while not reflected in her filing Tuesday, would put the field of seven Democrats ahead of Lawler's cash on hand. Beth Davidson and Cait Conley had the largest war chests without self-financing — $489,319 and $315,778, respectively. Lawler campaign spokesperson Chris Russell sniped: 'The radical Democrats' collective weakness is so glaring, even Sean Patrick Maloney is considering jumping back in to try, and fail, to rescue Democrats from their paltry effort to flip NY-17.' — Emily Ngo More from Congress: — GOP Rep. Andrew Garbarino is vying to be the next head of a powerful House committee with broad sway over U.S. cyber policy. (POLITICO Pro) — Inside House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' embrace of the Jeffrey Epstein strategy. (Axios) — Nearly a dozen Senate Republicans are pressing the Trump administration to release billions of dollars in federal education funding. (POLITICO) NEW YORK STATE OF MIND — State Attorney General Letitia James is investigating a cop who shot a knife-wielding man. (New York Post) — The federal megabill guts a $29 million healthy food program. (Gothamist) — Why flash floods like those in New York are becoming more common. (Axios) SOCIAL DATA MAKING MOVES: Kirsten Bladh has joined Open New York as policy manager, coming from Los Angeles advocacy group Streets for All where she was associate director of state policy. WEDDING VOWS: Timothy Nerozzi, foreign affairs reporter at the Washington Examiner, and Diana Glebova, White House reporter at the New York Post, got married June 28 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. They first met working at the Daily Caller in 2021 and reconnected via the D.C. media world. Pic — Greg Drilling, former managing director at Mercury Public Affairs, and Shar Shuai, engineering manager at Barclays Capital, got married on Sunday at Arrow Park in Monroe, New York, in a multicultural wedding celebration. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Morning Consult's Kyle Dropp … Reuters' Mike Stone … former U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios … Kayla Tausche … Emma Loop … Katie Zezima … Ben Softy … Caitlin O'Connell Fitchette … Matt Berger … (WAS WEDNESDAY): Julian A. Brodsky ... Sidney Stein ... Tony Kushner Missed Wednesday's New York Playbook PM? We forgive you. Read it here.
Los Angeles Times
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Six months after the fire, has Mayor Karen Bass done enough for the Palisades?
Six months to the day that flames ravaged Altadena and Pacific Palisades, Mayor Karen Bass was preparing to mark the occasion alongside Gov. Gavin Newsom and other leaders. But instead of heading north to the Pasadena news conference last week, the mayor's black SUV made a detour to MacArthur Park, where a cavalcade of federal agents in tactical gear had descended on the heart of immigrant Los Angeles. In a seafoam blue suit, Bass muscled her way through the crowds and could be heard on a live news feed pushing the agents to leave. Ultimately, she sent an underling to join Newsom and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla to discuss fire rebuilding and recovery, as she held an impromptu City Hall news conference decrying the immigration raid. This is the delicate dance Bass has found herself doing in recent weeks. Recovering from one of the costliest natural disasters in American history remains a daily slog, even as a new and urgent crisis demands her attention. The federal immigration assault on Los Angeles has granted Bass a second chance at leading her city through civic catastrophe. Her political image was badly bruised in the wake of the fires, but she has compensated amid a string of historically good headlines. Killings have plummeted, with Los Angeles on pace for the lowest homicide total in nearly 60 years. Bass has also made progress on the seemingly intractable homelessness crisis for the second consecutive year, with a nearly 8% decrease in the number of people sleeping on city streets in 2024. But there is a widening gulf between Pacific Palisades, where the annihilation remains palpable as far as the eye can see, and the rest of the city, where attention has largely flickered to other issues. Amid her successes, the mayor still faces harsh critics in the wealthy coastal enclave. 'The mayor has been very clear that every day that families can't return home is a day too long, and she will continue taking action to expedite every aspect of the recovery effort to get them home,' Bass spokesperson Zach Seidl said. Bass was on a diplomatic trip to Ghana, despite warnings of severe winds, when the conflagration erupted in early January. She floundered upon her return, fumbling questions about her trip, facing public criticism from her fire chief (whom she later ousted) and appearing out of sync with other leaders and her own chief recovery officer. Those initial days cast a long shadow for the city's 43rd mayor, but Bass has regained some of her footing in the months since. She has made herself a fixture in the Palisades, even when the community has not always welcomed her with open arms, and has attempted to expedite recovery by pulling the levers of government. Her office also led regular community briefings with detailed Q&A sessions. Bass issued a swath of executive orders to aid recovery, creating a one-stop rebuilding center, providing tax relief for businesses affected by the fires and expediting permitting. The one-stop center has served more than 3,500 individuals, according to the mayor's office. A number of restaurants and other amenities have also reopened in the neighborhood. The Starbucks on Palisades Drive is set to return later this month. Bass frequently touts the Palisades fire recovery as the fastest in modern California history, though recent natural disasters don't offer an apples-to-apples comparison. Sue Pascoe, a Palisades resident who lost her home in the Via Bluffs neighborhood and helms a hyperlocal website called Circling the News, said the mayor has made some inroads. 'I think she's tried very hard to repair relationships. She's come up there a whole lot,' Pascoe said. 'But I'm not sure it's worked, to be honest with you.' When Bass visits the Palisades, said Maryam Zar, head of the Palisades Recovery Coalition, residents tell her she has not done enough to hasten rebuilding. 'She always seems truly mind-boggled by that' accusation, Zar said. 'She looks at us like, 'Really? What have I not done?'' The issue, in Pascoe's view, is more about the limitations of the office than Bass' leadership. Residents traumatized by the loss of their homes and infuriated by a broken insurance system and cumbersome rebuilding process would like to see the mayor wave a magic wand, slash red tape on construction and direct the full might of local government to reviving the neighborhood. But Los Angeles has a relatively weak mayoral system, compared with cities such as New York and Chicago. The mayor is far from powerless, said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation and a scholar of local government. But he or she shares authority with other entities, such as the 15-member City Council and the five-member L.A. County Board of Supervisors. 'To move things in L.A., you always need mayoral leadership, combined with the cooperation, collaboration — or hopefully not opposition — of a lot of powerful people in other offices,' Sonenshein said. 'And yet, the mayor is still the recognized leader. So it's a matter of matching up people's expectation of leadership with how you can put the pieces together to get things done.' Take the issue of waiving permit fees. In February, City Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the fire-ravaged area, introduced a proposal to stop levying fees for permits to rebuild Palisades homes. Pascoe and others cheered in late April when the mayor signed an executive order supporting Park's plan. But as Pascoe moved forward with rebuilding her longtime home, she was confused when her architect gave her a form to sign that said she would pay the city back if the City Council doesn't move forward on the fee waivers. As it turned out, Bass' order did not cancel permit fees outright but suspended their collection, contingent on the council ultimately passing its ordinance, since the mayor can't legally cancel the fees on her own. Park's proposal is still wending its way through the council approval process. Officials estimate that waiving the fees will cost around $86 million — a particularly eye-popping sum, given the city's budget crisis, that may make approval difficult. Apart from the limitations of her office, Bass has also confused residents and made her own path harder with a seemingly haphazard approach to delegating authority. Within a month of the blaze, Bass announced the hiring of Hagerty Consulting as a 'world-class disaster recovery firm' that would coordinate 'private and public entities.' To many residents, Bass had appeared to give the firm the gargantuan task of restoring the Palisades. In reality, Hagerty was retained as a consultant to the city's tiny, underfunded Emergency Management Department, whose general manager, Carol Parks, is designated by city charter as the recovery coordinator. Bass also brought out of retirement another former EMD chief, Jim Featherstone, who has served as de facto recovery chief behind the scenes. But based on Bass' public statements, many Angelenos thought the recovery would be led by a familiar face — Steve Soboroff. Soboroff, a developer, civic leader and longtime Palisades resident, signed on for a three-month stint as chief recovery officer and was initially tasked with creating a comprehensive strategy for rebuilding. But his role was soon dramatically scaled back. When he left in mid-April, Soboroff said he had been shut out from high-level planning essentially from the start and spoke candidly about his issues with Hagerty. The city brought in a headhunter before Soboroff left, but the position has now been unfilled for longer than Soboroff's 90-day tenure. (Seidl said Wednesday that the city is 'in the process of interviewing and thoroughly vetting qualified candidates,' though he did not set a timeline.) In June, Bass shifted course again by tapping AECOM, the global engineering firm, to develop a master recovery plan, including logistics and public-private partnerships. Yet Bass' office has said little to clarify how AECOM will work with Hagerty, and at a public meeting last month, leaders of the Emergency Management Department said that they, too, were in the dark about AECOM's scope of work. 'We don't know a whole lot about AECOM other than their reputation as a company,' Featherstone said at the City Council's ad hoc recovery committee. Seidl said Wednesday that AECOM would be working in 'deep coordination' with Featherstone's department while managing the overall rebuilding process. The firm is responsible for developing an infrastructure reconstruction plan, a logistics planning in coordination with local builders and suppliers and a master traffic plan as rebuilding activity increases, he said. Hagerty, meanwhile, continues to work with EMD and has charged the city nearly $2 million thus far, Seidl said, most of which is reimbursable by the federal government. Zar, head of the Palisades Recovery Coalition, said she was told to expect a meeting with AECOM more than a month ago, but that meeting has been delayed 'week after week after week, for four or five weeks.' 'That organized recovery structure isn't there, and that void is really creating space for Palisadians to be fearful, fight against each other, and be divided,' said Zar. 'That our leaders and lawmakers have yet to come to the table with a plan is unforgivable.' The work awarded to Hagerty, AECOM and another firm, IEM, which is assisting in federal reimbursements, prompted City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez to remark in June, 'For a broke city, we find a lot of money to give out a lot of contracts.' Bass' 2022 mayoral opponent Rick Caruso has been a frequent — and very public — antagonist since the fires, questioning delays and taking other shots at the mayor. Caruso's Steadfast L.A., the nonprofit he launched to support fire victims, pushed for an artificial intelligence tool that could swiftly flag code violations in construction plans and trim permit processing times. Steadfast representatives got buy-in from L.A. County. When they presented the tool to Bass' team, they said they encountered general support but a plodding pace. Frustrated, Caruso reached out to Newsom, who, according to Caruso, quickly championed the technology, pushing the city to embrace it. Bass' spokesperson disputed the suggestion of delays, saying the mayor's team has discussed technological innovations with Newsom's office since February. This week, L.A. County rolled out a pilot program in which fire survivors can use the AI plan-check tool. The city launched beta testing of the tool Wednesday. The episode exemplified to Caruso why the recovery has moved slowly. 'There's no decision-making process to get things done with a sense of urgency,' he said.
Bangkok Post
16 hours ago
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Seven Thai locations make top 100 for digital nomads
Thailand is home to seven of the world's best places in which to work as a digital nomad, with Bangkok in first place, according to a ranking compiled by the hotel-finding website Hotelwithtub. The ranking gathered data from over 1,300 cities worldwide and ranked the top 100 based on factors that are important for digital nomads, such as affordability, safety, infrastructure, connectivity and quality of life. Seven Thai locations occupied places in the ranking: Bangkok (1), Nakhon Ratchasima (5), Koh Phangan (13), Chiang Mai (26) Koh Lanta (45), Phuket (59) and Krabi (93). Bangkok achieved a score of 91 out of 100 and was described as combining affordability — about $1,537 (50,000 baht) per month for a single person — and strong infrastructure. The city received high ratings from digital nomads with a score 4.5 out of 5, and it 'attracts over 23 million visitors yearly and boasts an 18% return rate', said the Hotelwithtub website, which specialises in bookings of rooms with hot tubs. 'To be ranked first not only helps attract more digital nomads to the city but also confirmed that Bangkok is highly effective at meeting social needs, including for high quality of work and a happy life,' said a City Hall spokesman. Nakhon Ratchasima, also known as Korat, won plaudits as the most affordable city in the top 10, with an average solo living cost of just $1,062 (34,500 baht) a month. Thatree Changlek, who works as a writer for a foreign game company, said he has a family in Chaiyaphum. He moved to Korat about two years ago and found the city really good for working remotely. 'There are many working spaces with fast internet here, and the living cost is cheap,' he said.
