Solutions in Plain Sight

By Edward Ring
08/24/2023
California could make a major dent in its homelessness problem merely by reversing some of its most destructive policies. Half of America’s so-called unsheltered homeless live in California. It’s not hard to understand why. Along with having the most hospitable weather on earth, California is a welcoming place for drug addicts, petty thieves, and anyone else attracted...

TAGS: homelessness, Housing, Housing First, Newsom

“Housing First” Policies Create More Homelessness

By Edward Ring
08/31/2022
Earlier this month a guest column in San Jose Spotlight defended efforts by homeless nonprofits to end homelessness in Santa Clara County. The author, Ray Bramson, is Chief Impact Officer at the nonprofit “Destination Home,” a tax exempt organization that collected over $62 million in contributions and grants in 2020. The CEO of this organization made a reported $335,404 in that...

TAGS: affordable housing, California housing crisis, homeless, Homeless Industrial Complex, homelessness, Housing

Fixing California – Part six: Homelessness and law enforcement

By Edward Ring
07/15/2021
Editor’s note: This is the fifth article in a nine-part series on how to fix California. Read the first article in the series here, the second here, the third here, the fourth here, and the fifth here. The homeless population in California now tops 160,000, concentrated in Los Angeles County, but growing in every major city and...

TAGS: Edward Ring, Edward Ring, fixing california, homeless, homelessness, Law and Order

The Regulatory Taking of Venice Beach

By Edward Ring
05/01/2020
With great crisis comes great opportunity… On April 18 LA City Councilmember Mike Bonin held a telephone town hall to discuss public health issues. His district includes Venice Beach, which has a high number of homeless still living on the streets and it was brought up that this is a major health concern. Towards the...

TAGS: Edward Ring, homelessness, Venice Beach

Public Sector Unions Continue Their Attack on Property Rights in California

By Edward Ring
04/30/2020
California’s legislature is controlled by Democratic super-majorities in both houses. These Democrat politicians, in turn, are controlled by public sector unions. They are now considering Assembly Bill 828, which will empower courts to summarily reduce rents by up to 25 percent and create additional barriers to the eviction process. Passage of this law would be a disaster. It’s...

TAGS: California, cronyism, homelessness, public sector unions

Venice Beach shut down except for homeless encampments

By Edward Ring
04/01/2020
California’s 40 million residents have now been under house arrest for over a week. But in the homeless haven known as Venice Beach, the party hasn’t skipped a beat. Law abiding residents have deserted the Los Angeles coast after a crackdown by Mayor Eric Garcetti, who condemned people getting “too close together, too often” the previous weekend....

TAGS: coronavirus, Edward Ring, Homeless Industrial Complex, homelessness, Venice Beach

California Dystopia Update, March 2020 edition: How the stage was set for a coronavirus homeless disaster

By Chris Reed
03/19/2020
The debate over homelessness in California seemed to shift last fall, when dozens of local governments supplied or co-signed amicus briefs in a case in which Boise, Idaho, officials urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower court ruling that banned arrests of people sleeping in public if they had nowhere else to go....

TAGS: Chris Reed, coronavirus, Gavin Newsom, homelessness, LA County

Gathered for the feast at the Hotel California

By Edward Ring
03/12/2020
Welcome to the Hotel California, such a lovely place… Plenty of room at the Hotel California, any time of year, you can find it here… – “Hotel California,” by the Eagles, 1977 For decades California’s aristocracy has engaged in unsustainable feasting, as they consume the leviathan carcasses of what were for a time the world’s the...

TAGS: affordable housing, Edward Ring, homelessness, LA County, Venice Beach

Fighting the One-Party State at the Local Level in California

By Edward Ring
02/12/2020
It isn’t a partisan observation to say that California is a one-party state. It’s just stating a fact. The Democratic Party controls all the levers of political power in California. Consider the evidence: GOP registration is down to 23 percent of registered voters. There is a Democratic “mega-majority” (75% or more) in both chambers of the...

TAGS: corporate cronyism, corporate welfare, Democratic Party, Edward Ring, Gavin Newsom, homelessness, initiatives, teachers union, Tom Steyer, Transparency

Using Online Resources to Qualify Ballot Measures

By Edward Ring
01/29/2020
There is a mass delusion afflicting millions of Californians. They endure a cost-of-living nearly twice the national average, high taxes, the highest incidence of poverty, the most hostile business climate, some of the worst K-12 schools, well over a $1.0 trillion in bond and pension debt, unaffordable homes, among the highest prices in the nation for gasoline and electricity, water rationing, and they drive on congested and decaying...

TAGS: Edward Ring, Edward Ring, Gavin Newsom, homelessness, water rationing