LA Podcast - Infrastructure Weak

Alissa, Mike, and Godfrey discuss the next era for LA’s homeless services with a newly named interim CEO for LAHSA and a terrifying executive order from the Trump administration. Then LA’s charter reform commission is finally underway, starting with tackling much-needed infrastructure reforms. And Kamala Harris won’t run for governor — so what (and who) defines the race now?

Listen below, on Apple Podcasts, via Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

SHOW NOTES

LA Councilmember Traci Park has filed a motion to assess evacuation routes after last week’s tsunami advisory that seems to take aim at denser housing (no one tell her that scientists now recommend “vertical evacuation” where you go to higher floors of a building, as Alissa wrote in 2018)

Gita O’Neill is the new interim LAHSA CEO and some people are not happy about that choice; LA CAN put out a series of blistering statements opposing her appointment 

A new Trump executive order on homelessness is very alarming because federal grants will now only go to cities that ban urban camping — and a Trump appointee specifically told LA County their funding was at risk

Celebrating the order is Joe Lonsdale, the Palantir cofounder on Rick Caruso’s Steadfast LA board who shops anti-camping ballot measures around to states; here’s his thread praising the decision 

Meanwhile, ICE is using LAPD databases to track immigrants

LA’s charter reform commission got off to a contentious start with a leadership battle, before pivoting to a deep dive on questions of infrastructure, planning, and power

Alissa wrote about Investing in Place’s 16 recommendations for public space including a five-year Capital Infrastructure Program, two-year budget, and possibly dissolving the Board of Public Works? Read Investing in Place’s report

Join LA Forward’s Capital Infrastructure Program working group with a special meeting on Monday, August 4 from 8 to 9 p.m. on Zoom with Investing in Place

Fair Rep LA has a schedule of all the upcoming charter commission meetings

Kamala Harris announces she will not run for California’s governor

Politico: “The governor’s race truly begins”

Gavin Newsom wants to force a special election to redistrict the state to favor Democrats, although it’s politically risky

Listen to Mike’s upcoming episode of What’s Next, Los Angeles? featuring journalist Karen Ocamb on philanthropist Wallis Annenberg’s legacy

This week’s episode is produced by Olive Greenspan

Support for LA Podcast is provided by LA Forward and by listeners like you. The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. If you want to help us bring more independent voices to California media, you can subscribe at thinkforward.la

All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward