The homelessness crisis continues to grow. My office receives more calls, emails and online posts about this issue than any other.
The growing population of people living unsheltered on our streets, parks and open spaces brings human suffering to our doorsteps and represents a failure of government to provide safe and sanitary shelter and meaningful treatment programs for addiction and mental illness.
The Gavin Newsom recall began as a referendum on the governor’s handling of the pandemic. But homelessness has become a critical issue for Republican candidates eager to replace Newsom in this month’s special election.
Businessman John Cox has been hauling an 8-foot ball of garbage around California to symbolize “the trash that’s left behind” by homeless people.
When someone asks if I am a right-wing conservative Republican or a left-wing liberal Democrat, I shudder. There’s no useful answer. In the best case, the response produces a friend who parrots your beliefs. In the worst case, you are ridiculed and dismissed.
When I learned I would be paired with a Democrat in a journalistic experiment where we swap news diets in the spirit of bipartisanship, I was nervous. I don’t like the idea of one’s life experience being boiled down to a single word. It leaves too much to the imagination. In the current political climate, imagination can be uncharitable.
Everyone knows bicyclists are scofflaws because they incessantly run stop signs. For some observers, this behavior merely puts bike riders in a bad light. For others, it really gets their goat. They vilify, and perhaps even hate, bicyclists because of it.
I try to obey laws. Heck, I even annoy my wife by driving at the speed limit. But there is one law I routinely ignore—coming to a complete stop at stop signs when I bike. The requirement to do so is simply bad law. Stop signs were invented for vehicles.
Sacramento city planners say single-family zoning must go. For now, the City Council agrees. Unfortunately, the city has failed to consider the negative impact of this proposal. There’s no fact-based justification for it.
The proposed 2040 General Plan, which takes effect next year, seeks to eliminate single-family zoning. It would allow fourplexes on any single-family lot. Under state law, two Accessory Dwelling Units (or in-law units) are already permitted. This means up to six residential units would be allowed on lots currently zoned for single-family homes.
