Thankfully, this YouTube video should play for everyone viewing this petition update. And it's a must-see. As Brian Engelman (The New American Media), expressed, Tiny Homes are a "step towards building somebody back up." And at the 8 minute mark, Brian brought home the point that Elvis just needs land. When I learned that the VA (US Dept. of Veteran Affairs) has enough land for all the homeless veterans in the entire county to be temporarily housed in a Tiny Home, I was shocked by what I discovered. In this February 15th, 2016 post by Ward Carroll: http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/02/15/veterans-express-concern-vas-deal-with-ucla-baseball-stadium.html I learned that Jackie Robinson Stadium (a college baseball complex) was, in fact, illegally built on VA property. And I was saddened to learn that VA Secretary Robert McDonald signed a deal that allows the UCLA to keep the stadium there for (at least) another decade. So I researched this and found this press release dated August 29th, 2013: VICTORY! Judge rules Veterans Affairs misused land designated for homeless veterans in West L.A. https://www.aclusocal.org/press-release-va-land-victory On Aug 29th, 2013 (OVER 2.5 years ago), Federal Judge S. James Otero ruled that the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) violated federal law when it leased out portions of its West L.A. campus to 11 businesses / organizations for purposes unrelated to providing medical care or treatment to homeless and disabled veterans. The suit, Valentini v. Shinseki, was initially filed in June of 2011. [So, Elvis Summers and his team are not exaggerating when they say practically nothing is being done to help the city's homeless.] Sadly, many of our disabled homeless veterans slept "outside the gates of the campus." ACLU Foundation of Southern California's chief counsel, Mark Rosenbaum, remarked: “This is a victory for homeless and disabled veterans who served our nation in its time of need only to find that the VA deserted them in theirs. From today forward, the only leases on the VA campus will be devoted, as Congress mandated, to the delivery of health care, not tennis courts for private school students or laundry facilities for luxury hotels. And maybe it hasten the day when it is no longer true that in the home of the brave, the brave have no home." Santa Monica's former mayor, Bobby Shriver, added: "The vets finally won one. Instead of wasting more time appealing Judge Otero’s excellent decision, the government should immediately spend their energy creating housing and services for the men and women suffering from severe PTSD who, today and tonight, are living in dumpsters all over Los Angeles." So, what happened? On January 28th, 2015 VA Secretary Robert McDonald and attorneys representing homeless veterans in Los Angeles announced an agreement to launch a new master plan for West Los Angeles VA Campus to serve veterans in need. Notably, this Principles Document: https://www.aclusocal.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/012815-West-Los-Angeles-California-Principles-for-Partnership-Framework-for-Settlement-Executed.ocr_.pdf was set out to: "10. Ensure that those employees assigned to this effort are highly competent and committed to achieving the goal of ending veteran homelessness in Greater LA by 2015." And the plaintiffs' representatives were to: "11. Form a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation (hereinafter "the Non-Profit"). The Non-Profit's mission will be to work with VA, Federal, State, and local authorities, community partners, and charitable and philanthropic entities, to help meet the objective and goals in this Principles Document." It was signed and dated on January 18th, 2015 by Ronald L. Olson, the attorney for plaintiffs and VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald. Gee, in my last update, I linked to this map: https://plus.google.com/u/0/107889574670988423996/posts/N72EBH6eSf2 which shows in California there are 11,311 homeless veterans! In this January 28th, 2016 article by Hillary Jackson: http://mynewsla.com/government/2016/01/28/new-plan-calls-for-housing-for-thousands-of-la-homeless-vets LA mayor Eric Garcetti claimed,"This year, with the vital support of Secretary Robert McDonald, the VA, and our nonprofit partners, we will end it [chronic veteran homelessness] once and for all." And I found out that UCLA will be dishing $300,000 in rent, will pay $750,000 a year for family resource, well-being, mental health and addictions centers, spend $400,000 for the expansion and relocation of the veterans legal clinic, and provide $2 million (over the next 10 years) for recreation and mentorship programs – in order to KEEP its baseball complex on VA property. Wow, I guess money can make property "which was deeded to the United States in 1888 for the specific purpose of providing a home for disabled veterans" no longer be respected, honoured, and treated as such. Sad. I think we need to demand that the land used for this baseball complex be given back, preferably so Elvis Summers can put his Tiny Homes on it for homeless and disabled war veterans. I'm also willing to bet that majority of UCLA students, staff, and athletes would WANT to see our disabled, homeless vets have this land given back to them. How do we make this happen? Perhaps another petition is in order. However, those I am petitioning right now could reclaim this land use for its intended use – for disabled veterans who need a home. [I added VA Secretary Robert McDonald and UCLA Chancellor Gene Block to this petition]. On second thought, I can think of nothing more endearing than the UCLA students and athletes sharing this space with homeless veterans. (I'm sure there are washrooms and showering facilities within the facility). And wouldn't it be a beautiful sight to see homeless, disabled vets be able to attend every baseball game?