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LA County sales tax increase for homeless programs takes effect
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LA County to create homeless department, gutting funds for joint city-county agency By Anusha Shankar, City News Service
Former Anaheim mayor gets 2 months prison, fine over stadium sale case
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A LAHSA Pathway Home outreach team clears an encampment in January along the San Gabriel River in south LA County. | Photo courtesy of the LA Homeless Services Authority/X
Councilwoman Nithya Raman wrote a letter to board members asking them to reject the proposed new county department, insisting that progress has been made in the fight against homelessness in the past two years through the coordinated citycounty agency, and "we must keep building on this and confronting our challenges, together." During the board debate, Mitchell proposed an amendment extending the timeline for the creation of the new department to provide more input from regional stakeholders, and to establish metrics to help determine if
the new agency was actually an improvement on the current system. The board rejected that amendment. Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who championed the motion along with Supervisor Kathryn Barger, said the county's urgency is warranted, saying, "Seven people a day die on our streets in Los Angeles County." "We have studied the homeless service system to death," Horvath said. "Three years ago, the Blue Ribbon Commission on Homelessness conducted an exhaustive study of our complex system
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By Paul Anderson, City News Service
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n the day a new local tax took effect to combat homelessness, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to create its own department to coordinate regional homeless services, effectively de-funding a joint county-city agency that has long overseen such programs but has come under fire due to the persistent crisis of people living on the streets. Under the plan approved on a 4-0 vote, with Supervisor Holly Mitchell abstaining, the new county agency is expected to be in place by Jan. 1, with all funding pulled from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and transferred to the new county department by July 1, 2026. The speed of the transition prompted some criticism from the public, including several members of the Los Angeles City Council who spoke to the board and urged more due diligence and coordination with the city before undercutting LAHSA. The LA City Council has voted previously to study the possibility of parting ways with LAHSA, but it has not yet taken action to do so. Mayor Karen Bass and
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and offered common sense reforms. Today, we're discussing implementing two of the (commission's) recommendations, at long last." Horvath insisted that the current system of homeless services is "siloed and accountability is diffuse." "It's fair to ask, how will this be different, and how will a county department lead to different outcomes?" she said. "And I want to be clear that this is not more government, it is better government." In their letter to the board, however, Bass and Raman said the county's action represents
See Homeless department Page 27
ormer Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu was sentenced Friday to two months behind bars and was ordered to pay a $55,000 fine for his guilty plea to obstruction of justice, wire fraud and lying to federal investigators about his role in the city's effort to sell Angel Stadium. Sidhu, 67, was also ordered to spend one year on supervised released following his prison time. When Sidhu pleaded guilty in September 2023 he was facing eight to 14 months in prison. Sidhu's attorneys filed court papers March 14 arguing for three years of probation and a $40,000 fine. Probation officials recommended three years of probation along with a $175,000 fine and 400 hours of community service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Rabbani argued for an eight-month sentence. U.S. District Judge John Holcomb sided with prosecutors' argument that prison time was justified. "I do believe the defendant did betray the city of Anaheim," Holcomb said. "He lied to FBI agents and
there are consequences to these actions. ... You acknowledged that in your letter (to the judge). ... That breach of trust warrants a term of incarceration." But Holcomb credited Sidhu for "significant cooperation" with authorities and his quick admission of guilt as factors justifying a lesser time behind bars. The judge agreed with Rabbani and defense attorneys that offsetting some custody time for a higher fine would send the wrong message. Sidhu has until Sept. 2 to turn himself in. Sidhu's attorneys Paul S. Meyer and Craig Wilke drilled down on their arguments that the emails the ex-mayor deleted and his statements on a wire that he wanted a $1 million campaign contribution from the Angels did not justify a tougher punishment under the federal government's sentencing guidelines. Meyer acknowledged they were making a "fairly nuanced" argument, pointing out the investigators already had an email of the terms of the deal that Sidhu received
See Anaheim mayor Page 15
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