School districts in Southern California are making good on their pledge to move away from local police departments this week; slashing hundreds of jobs to help fund new initiatives like “climate coaches.”
“After a monthslong push by students in the nation’s second-largest public school system, leaders in Los Angeles approved a plan on Tuesday to cut the district’s security force by a third, joining a growing number of cities that have reduced the presence of police officers in school hallways,” reports the New York Times.
Los Angeles School District Cuts More Than 130 Police Officer Positions And Will Replace Them With ‘Climate Coaches’ https://t.co/CLhSspi4XO
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 18, 2021
“The plan approved on Tuesday eliminates 70 sworn officers, who have arrest powers; 62 nonsworn officers; and one support staff member, leaving 211 officers on the district’s force. Officers at secondary schools in Los Angeles will be replaced with ‘climate coaches’ from the community who will mentor students, help resolve conflicts and address implicit bias,” adds the newspaper.
Read the full report here.
‘FROM BAD TO WORSE’: Homelessness in Los Angeles Spikes 13% in ONE YEAR, 66K+ on City Streets
The homeless crisis in Los Angeles, California went from bad to worse this year, with city officials reporting a 13% spike in those living on the streets during the Coronavirus pandemic.
“The number of homeless people counted across Los Angeles County jumped 12.7% over the past year to more than 66,400 and authorities fear that figure will spike again once the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic is felt, officials said Friday,” reports the Associated Press.
“The rise came a year after the previous tally also found a 12% jump in the county with one of the nation’s highest concentrations of residents living on the streets. California has an estimated 150,000 homeless people, the most in the U.S,” adds the AP.
“These are folks who are one missed paycheck, one family tragedy, healthcare crisis, car accident — whatever it is — away from losing their housing,” Heidi Marston, the homeless services authority’s new director, told reporters.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Source: Associated Press
‘LIKE DANTE’S HELL’: Los Angeles Airport Named ‘WORST AIRPORT IN THE WORLD’
Travel guidebook Fodor’s issued their ‘Travel Awards’ this week; officially labeling Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) the “worst airport in the world.”
“When you fly to a city like New York or D.C., you choose an airport based on location, quality and the amount of added time airport shenanigans add to your travel plans,” said the managing editor for Fodor’s. “In Los Angeles, you also have a choice: between the behemoth time-suck that is Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) or the straightforward, shenanigan-free experience that is Burbank airport.”
“For the poor souls who aren’t merely killing time in a layover, those who woefully call this their point of dis- or embarkation, they are forced to endure the purgatorial nightmare of traffic that leads to and from each of LAX’s nine terminals (as many terminals as Dante’s hell has circles),” she added.
Making matters worse for LA residents, the city continues to struggle with its rapidly escalating homeless crisis.
Los Angeles officials claimed they were “stunned” last week when new data showed a whopping 16% increase in the city’s homeless population in just one year; saying residents are now facing an “unprecedented” level of poverty.
“Despite an increase in spending on initiatives meant to get people off the streets, homelessness is up dramatically in Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, officials said Tuesday,” reports The Week.
“The annual count of the homeless found there are nearly 59,000 people living on the streets, in shelters, or in cars in Los Angeles County, up 12 percent from last year. More than 36,000 are in the city of Los Angeles, a 16 percent increase,” adds the website.
“At this point of unprecedented wealth in the county of Los Angeles, we are equally confronted with unprecedented poverty manifesting itself in the form of homelessness,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas told the Los Angeles Times.
“Overall, the service portion of the effort on mental health, substance use, the issue of housing, rent subsidies, those are important and we should stay the course,” he said. “Where we have to work much harder is in the area of affordable housing.”
Read the full story at USA Today.
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