Category Archives: Homelessness
Ramada Homeless Project Nears $20M After 3 Years Vacant — No Construction in Sight
By ANGELA MCGREGOR Launched under former councilmember Mike Bonin with no clear plan, the Venice Ramada project displaced unhoused residents, burned through nearly $20M, and remains vacant years later with no timeline for housing. The Venice Ramada Inn served as...
Posted in City, City/Councilman Mike Bonin, Homelessness
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Brentwood School Houses Pali Elementary Students and Homeless
A scary situation developed at Brentwood Magnet Elementary School on Friday afternoon, September 5: the school went into lockdown. One parent reported “I’m on campus now. Apparently, there were some homeless people inside a building, the Brentwood Youth House, that’s...
Posted in Crime/Police, Homelessness, Schools
10 Comments
No More Lunches at Santa Monica’s Tongva Park
By HENRY KAMER After losing so many things that mattered in the January fires, my childhood home, my town, and my high school Palisades Charter, my school friends and I searched for a place that could mirror the natural beauty...
Posted in Homelessness, Schools
5 Comments
Homelessness in L.A. Not Decreasing. Why?
By TIM CAMPBELL Union Rescue Mission CEO Mark Hood used an excellent visual model to describe just how small a reduction has been made in LA’s homeless population, if LAHSA’s latest PIT (Point in Time) count is to be believed....
Posted in City, County Supervisors, Homelessness
1 Comment
America’s Streets Are Not Shelters: Time to Rethink Homelessness Policy
(Editor’s Note: Tim Campbell is a Westchester resident who spent a career in the public service and managed a municipal performance audit program. He wrote: “I’ve written a bazillion words about homelessness, and this guy sums it up perfectly in...
Posted in Homelessness
6 Comments
It Is Unsafe to Camp under Los Angeles Freeways
A fire under the 10 Freeway in November 2023, closed down that roadway. At least 16 homeless people — including a pregnant woman — living underneath the freeway were brought to shelters. More than 160 firefighters responded to the blaze,...
Posted in City, Homelessness
2 Comments
Shut Up! Opposing Viewpoints Not Wanted
By TIM CAMPBELL In early July, a member of the Venice Neighborhood Council notified me I was invited to speak at its upcoming meeting about recent developments in LA’s homelessness environment. About a week later, I was informed I’d been...
Posted in Homelessness, Viewpoint
5 Comments
On the Outside Looking In: My Evening with the Toyo Kids
(Editor’s Note: All names in this story have been changed. Writer Chaz Plager grew up in Pacific Palisades and lost his family home during the fire. He taught himself Japanese during Covid and is fluent. This August he is in...
Posted in Homelessness, Kids/Parenting
1 Comment
Homeless Bureaucracy not Helping People off the Streets
(Editor’s note: this article first appeared in CityWatch on August 11 and is reprinted with permission.) By TIM CAMPBELL Most of my regular readers know I have great respect for Union Rescue Mission (URC), and the work it does on...
Posted in City, County Supervisors, Homelessness
4 Comments
Executive Order on Homelessness Asks for Accountability
(Editor’s note: This article was first published in CityWatch on July 28, 2025 and is reprinted with permission.) BY TIM CAMPBELL A lot has happened in the homelessness arena in the past few days. Two of those events are particularly...
Posted in Homelessness, Viewpoint
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