A leptospirosis outbreak at a Berkeley encampment—a tropical disease rare in developed countries—was allowed to fester for months while courts blocked cleanup, illustrating how legal battles over homeless encampments now routinely override public health emergencies. Meanwhile, investigations into LA's homeless housing spending reveal $625,000-per-unit costs for buildings that sit empty for years, and San Francisco data shows drug arrest rates collapsed to near-zero just as overdose deaths tripled to 810 annually. Across the state, the gap between what's being spent and what's being solved keeps widening—and the costs are measured in lives.
Leptospirosis, common in underdeveloped countries, spread through Berkeley's Harrison encampment—and courts continued to prevent cleanup efforts.
Los Angeles emptied a building that was already housing people. Four years and $625,000 per unit later, it still houses nobody.
BART knew about the encampment, had legal authority to clear it, and asked Oakland nicely. Then it burned.
Drug arrests collapsed to zero. Overdose deaths tripled to 810 per year. The data is in, and so is the body count.
162 people have died of overdoses in their buildings since 2020. Their solution? Help the residents use drugs.
San Francisco's two most 'progressive' supervisors were the only no votes on Mayor Lurie's shelter for drug users. The body count speaks for itself.
A Seattle frontline worker exposes what we all see in the encampments—and why California banned the cure.
$30 billion stolen in unemployment fraud alone. California's gubernatorial candidate says fix it before raising taxes.
San Jose's mayor has cut homelessness 25% while Sacramento lets good policies die in bureaucracy. He's running for governor.
Dean Preston championed Providence Foundation as a model partnership. Now two employees face fraud charges.