On April 13th, 2016, U.S. District Court Judge S. James Otero ruled the city can confiscate (or destroy) contraband, crime evidence, hazardous material, or rat-infested property that posed public health and safety issues. Source: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-homeless-injunction-20160413-story.html But Judge Otero recognized that the city "appears to be confiscating all property" and "afterwards, [homeless people] face significant challenges in recovering this property, some of which is necessary for their basic survival." The next day was the 2016 State of the City Address by mayor Eric Garcetti. You can real the 42-page transcript here: http://www.lamayor.org/sites/g/files/wph446/f/landing_pages/files/2016%20State%20of%20the%20City%20Address.pdf When I perused it, I realized that the following points don't add up (literally): On page 36, Garcetti stated: "Second, we must continue to aggressively tackle our homelessness crisis and find homes for the 25,000 Angelenos who have none." Wait . . what? 25,000? Gee, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), there are 44,359 homeless people in LA County. On page 38, Garcetti stated: "... goes above and beyond our $100-million-dollar commitment to address homelessness. My budget will dedicate $138 million dollars to get homeless people off the streets. That increases our investment in housing and services by ten-fold." Huh? How did $138 million become 10 times more than $100 million? He mentions calling on City Council to pass a linkage fee proposal. What's a linkage fee? Brace yourself, here's where things get even more ridiculous. In an October 2015 SCPR.org post by Josie Huang titled Mayor Garcetti asks developers to help fund affordable housing (updated): http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/10/23/55198/mayor-garcetti-seeks-developer-fee-for-affordable I discovered the following: The mayor wants 100,000 new housing units by 2021. He reasoned that charging developers a fee would ensure that 15,000 of those new units will be affordable. But over the next five years, affordable housing contracts (which protects about 15,000 units) will expire – meaning landlords can begin charging much higher market-rates. Tim Piasky, CEO of the local chapter of the Building Industry Association, recognized that this only amounts to a tax which will force developers to simply raise housing costs. This, of course, makes it harder for middle-class people to find affordable housing. Ergo, the divide widens between the rich and the poor. In Huang's excellent article, Piasky added: "Taxing new housing in order to produce housing seems counterintuitive. It will harm the middle-class people trying to find a place to rent or buy. Where they are already struggling, this is going to make it worse." And it seems that Garcetti knows this is just the dog continuing to chase its tail. On page 33 he stated: "Some have even proposed a moratorium on building. I want to find common ground that we can agree upon… But let me say one thing loud and clear: We cannot put the brakes on development." And for a few pages he goes on about what he wants to build in the city; mostly to help with traffic congestion. Then on page 37, Garcetti admits: "A year ago, we had no comprehensive strategy to take on homelessness in our city … And a year ago, we had no commitment of new dollars." Hmmm, what happened to that Principles Document that was suppose to ensure that "employees assigned to this effort are highly competent and committed to achieving the goal of ending veteran homelessness in Greater LA by 2015"? Source: https://www.aclusocal.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/012815-West-Los-Angeles-California-Principles-for-Partnership-Framework-for-Settlement-Executed.ocr_.pdf For more about the Aug 29th, 2013 ruling by Federal Judge S. James Otero [yeah, the same judge I referred at the beginning of this post] 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: https://www.change.org/p/curren-price-curren-price-reverse-your-order-to-confiscate-and-destroy-tiny-homes-for-la-s-homeless/u/15917456 It's getting hard to believe anything at all will be done to help the homeless. And on page 39, Garcetti made the Freudian slip when he stated: "We need to find a sustained source of funding." Got that? He wants a continuous stream of money coming in to keep fighting homelessness – he never mentions wanting to actually SOLVE it. Think I'm exaggerating? Consider this achievement Garcetti went on about on page 22: "... a full six months ahead of schedule. We’re making targeted investments [note the word "investments"] in our police force — my budget expands overtime for our officers by $10 million dollars... these steps are the equivalent of putting 260 more officers on the street." Now step back and look at these facts: In this eye-opening May 29th, 2015 Huffington Post article by Nick Wing: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/29/police-misconduct-settlements_n_7423386.html I discovered: A HuffPost examination of LAPD payment data released by the LA Times in 2011 showed "taxpayers paid more than $100 million to settle lawsuits against officers accused of civil rights violations, wrongful deaths, and other intradepartmental misconduct." Wing's point: That’s enough money for Los Angeles to match the entire amount it pays each year to cope with homelessness. My point: It's clear that Garcetti will continue to cater to developers who will pass along any "linkage fee" to buyers and renters. And it's obvious that more money is made via criminalizing homeless people rather than housing them. Of course, if homeless people are driven to suicide then the city saves money too. Right? Horrible, I know. So how do we fight back? We can complain to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Ethics and Compliance Office was created in 2015 to uphold the IOC's Code of Ethics. I cited numerous reasons such as violations of Article 1 in my petition update: https://www.change.org/p/curren-price-curren-price-reverse-your-order-to-confiscate-and-destroy-tiny-homes-for-la-s-homeless/u/16096433 Namely: 1.1 Respect for the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play 1.3 Maintaining harmonious relations with state authorities 1.4 Respect for international conventions on protecting human rights insofar as they apply to the Olympic Games’ activities and which ensure in particular: a) Respect for human dignity b) Rejection of discrimination of any kind on whatever grounds c) Rejection of all forms of harassment Anyone can give information concerning suspected non-compliance to the IOC's Ethics and Compliance Office. Choose the second option Integrity Non-Compliance (other than competition manipulation): https://secure.registration.olympic.org/en/issue-reporter/index The next thing we can do is call in the Feds. As I explained in my previous petition update: https://www.change.org/p/curren-price-curren-price-reverse-your-order-to-confiscate-and-destroy-tiny-homes-for-la-s-homeless/u/16148795 The first step in getting the Feds involved it to fill out a Department of Justice complaint form found here:https://plus.google.com/u/0/107889574670988423996/posts/frjp9bjQTk6 We need everyone who sees a crime committed against a homeless person (e.g. seizing property or harassment) to fill out a form. It can be sent to Elvis Summers at: elvis@startinghuman.org (to be delivered) or mailed directly to: United States Attorney's Office Central District of California 312 North Spring Street Suite 1200 Los Angeles, California 90012 We have the power to turn this around. More great news is coming, I can feel it. Take good care, Rose