Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is LA’s top cop. He runs the largest county sheriff’s office in the United States and manages one of the world’s largest jail systems. With an annual budget of $3.6 billion dollars, the Sheriff oversees thousands of deputies who patrol California’s largest county, with a population of more than 10 million people.

And he is downright dangerous. He is threat to democracy and to public safety.  Journalist Cerise Castle joins me this week to discuss "10 Reasons Alex Villanueva is Dangerous."

Cerise Castle
https://cerisecastle.me/
@cerisecastle
@lasdgangs

Editorial: Alex Villanueva, L.A.’s loosest cannon and pettiest cop https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-09-16/villanueva-kuehl-search-warrant

A Tradition of Violence: The History of Deputy Gangs in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department: https://knock-la.com/tradition-of-violence-lasd-gang-history/

Dozens of Sheriff Villanueva’s donors received permits to carry guns in public https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-09-15/sheriff-villanueva-donors-concealed-weapons-gun-permits

‘We’re terrorized’: LA sheriffs frequently harass families of people they kill, says report https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/04/los-angeles-sheriffs-harass-families-of-victims-report

Sheriff Villanueva Continues To Defy Subpoena And Refuses To Testify At Hearing On Alleged Deputy Gangs https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/sheriff-villanueva-subpoena-continues-to-defy

California attorney general launches civil rights probe of L.A. County Sheriff’s Department https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-01-22/attorney-general-civil-rights-investigation-los-angeles-sheriffs-department

 Claim alleges Sheriff Villanueva directed cover-up of deputy kneeling on inmate https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-04-25/deputy-force-kneeling-cover-up-claim

 Vanessa Bryant: ‘I’m willing to go through hell and back to get justice for my husband and daughter’ https://www.courthousenews.com/vanessa-bryant-im-willing-to-go-through-hell-and-back-to-get-justice-for-my-husband-and-daughter/

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

As we emerge from the COVID pandemic, renters could be at risk of eviction and of big rent hikes. What can we do to stop that?  In this episode, we discuss 7 Things Los Angeles Can Do To Protect Renters and Prevent Homelessness with guest Greg Bonett, Senior Staff Attorney with Public Counsel, a pro bono law firm representing tenants, and a keep organizational partner in the Keep LA Housed Coalition.

Keep LA Housed on Twitter: @KeepLAHoused
Public Counsel on Twitter: @PublicCounsel
Greg Bonett on Twitter: @gsbonett

7 Things Los Angeles Can Do To Protect Renters and Prevent Homelessness

1. Expand just cause eviction protections to cover all tenants 
2.  Prohibit family separations
3. Enact permanent limits on evictions for failure to pay rent.
4. Reduce allowable rent increases allowed under the Rent Stabilization Ordinance.
5. Require relocation assistance for non-RSO tenants displaced by large rent increases.
6. Adopt a codified right to counsel 
7. Adopt the Fair Access for Renters package to remove discriminatory barriers to housing.

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

As homelessness continues to increase nationally and locally, we need fast, urgent, and cost-effective solutions. Shared housing is a model where homeless people live together as a group, often in a single-family home, sharing a bedroom with a roommate.  It does not require long waits for government-approved vouchers, and it does not require a ton of staff or bureaucracy. And it does not require new lengthy and expensive construction.

 In this episode, Mike talks with people with lived experience with homelessness and shared housing: Natasha, who currently lives in shared housing after being homeless in Los Angeles; Sarah Gabriel, a former resident of shared housing managed by SHARE! (Self-Help and Recovery Exchange), who now works as a peer bridger for the agency, and Jason Robison, SHARE's executive director.

 The Culver-City based SHARE! the Self-Help And Recovery Exchange (SHARE!), has been getting people off the streets quickly since 2005 with a model of shared housing called Shared Recovery Housing — a nationally-recognized and evidence-based treatment. 

 Shared Housing: A Faster, More Cost-Effective Solution to Homelessness (Mike Bonin)

Increasing Housing Options for Homeless Populations Through a Shared Housing Approach (HUD)

Shared Housing as a Solution for Single Adults (National Alliance to End Homelessness)

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

Can a federal court make LA solve homelessness? That's the key question in LA Alliance for Human Rights vs. the City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles, a provocative federal lawsuit overseen by Judge David O. Carter. In Part 2 of this two-part episode, Mike (who has called for greater court intervention to solve homelessness) talks with with Pete White of LACAN, and Shayla Myers of LAFLA, who sharply criticize the thinking behind the lawsuit, and say it distracts from real solutions. (In Part 1, posted simultaneously, Mike talks with Elizabeth Mitchell, the lawyer for the LA Alliance about what the lawsuit hopes to accomplish, and criticisms from opponents of their approach.)

Recorded Saturday, March 13, 2021

Reading List
Coalition Sues LA to Force Action on Homelessness Crisis - Courthouse News

With homeless people as an audience, federal judge brings L.A. officials to skid row - LA Times

'Extraordinary' homelessness hearing held in LA's Skid Row - ABC News

LA City Councilman blasts city, county as 'structurally incapable' of responding homelessness - KNX Radio

A Path Toward Progress: Why Los Angeles Needs a Consent Decree - Mike Bonin

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

Can a federal court make LA solve homelessness? That's the key question in LA Alliance for Human Rights vs. the City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles, a provocative federal lawsuit overseen by Judge David O. Carter. In Part 1 of this two-part episode, Mike (who has called for greater court intervention to solve homelessness) talks with Elizabeth Mitchell, the lawyer for the LA Alliance about what the lawsuit hopes to accomplish, and criticisms from opponents of their approach. (In Part 2, posted simultaneously, Mike talks with Pete White of LACAN, and Shayla Myers of LAFLA, who sharply criticize the Alliance approach and say it distracts from real solutions.)

Recorded Friday, March 12, 2021

Reading List
Coalition Sues LA to Force Action on Homelessness Crisis - Courthouse News

With homeless people as an audience, federal judge brings L.A. officials to skid row - LA Times

'Extraordinary' homelessness hearing held in LA's Skid Row - ABC News

LA City Councilman blasts city, county as 'structurally incapable' of responding homelessness - KNX Radio

A Path Toward Progress: Why Los Angeles Needs a Consent Decree - Mike Bonin

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

What do transit riders think of LA Metro? And what do they think the regional transit agency thinks of THEM? Councilmember Mike Bonin, a member of the Metro board, talks about the bus system, service cuts, transit policing, fare free transit and more with Metro passengers and transit advocates:  Scarlett De Leon of ACT-LA, Oscar Zarate of SAJE, and  Scott Frasier of LA Podcast and Investing in Place.

Recorded Friday, March 12, 2021


Recommended Reading
Priorities All Wrong at Metro: - Streetsblog LA
Most Metro Rides Could Ride Free Starting Next Year - LAist
Metro Board Approves Steps Towards Reworking Transit Policing - Streetsblog LA
Metro (Again) Orders Bus Service Increases, Seeks to Regroup on Police Overruns - Investing in Place
Metro Overspent Its Policing Budget By How Much? - Investing in Place
Metro Rejects Board Directive to Urgently Restore Bus Service For Essential Workers - Investing in Place
Metro to maintain service cuts despite $300M sales tax windfall - Investing in Place
Metro Next Gen Bus System - LA Metro
CEO Phil Washington Leaving LA Metro in May - Streetsblog LA

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

The COVID pandemic has given birth to a brutal recession. A new report from the Economic Roundtable predicts job loss from this recession will cause homelessness in Los Angeles to skyrocket. How bad could it get? Who will it hurt? And most importantly, how can we prevent it?  Mike talks about that with the report’s author, Dan Flaming, this week on What’s Next, Los Angeles.  (Plus, Mike shares a few thoughts on the Biden inaugural.)

Important Links
Economic Roundtable
Locked Out: Unemployment and Homelessness in the COVID Economy
Dan Flaming Bio

Coverage of the Locked Out Report
LA Times: Covid 19 job losses will worsen LA homelessness by 2023, new report says
Fast Company: The pandemic recession could cause an enormous spike in homelessness

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

Riding a wave of public support for criminal justice reform,  George Gascón won election as Los Angeles County District Attorney last fall. When he took office in December, he announced  a package of sweeping reforms to remake the criminal justice system in Los Angeles.

In this edition of What's Next Los Angeles, Mike Bonin talks with Gascón, who explains why he’s getting rid of cash bail,  reviewing sentences, reopening investigations into fatal police shootings, and ending prosecutions of cases that criminalize homelessness and addiction. He talks about how  he feels critics are peddling fear and propping up a system that perpetuates crime.

George Gascón
Twitter: @georgegascon
Campaign website: GeorgeGascon.org
Official Website: da.lacounty.org

You can see his package of reforms here. You can read Gascón's new cash bail policy here.

You can the read UC Irvine analysis of the impacts of Prop 47 here. You can see the PPIC report on Prop 47's impact on crime and recidivism here, and the PPIC report on how Prop 47 has reduced racial disparities in the criminal justice system here.

You can see the LA Times precinct by precinct of Gascón's victory here.

The Kern County DA's ridiculous and over-the-top criticism of Gascón is here. You can read some coverage of the LA police union's $1 million campaign to stop Gascón from getting elected here.

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

With hundreds of thousands of households in Los Angeles at risk of eviction, local housing justice advocates are pushing a big proposal to cancel rent and mortgages -- relieving renters, homeowners and "mom and pop" landlords from financial obligations they cannot possibly meet. On this week's "What's Next, Los Angeles," Mike Bonin speaks with three of the leaders behind the local #CancelRent and #CancelMortgage movement:

Fanny Ortiz  is a renter in Boyle Heights, an organizer with Community Power Collective, and co-president of Fideicomiso Comunitario Tierra Libre, the first community land trust on the Eastside. She is on Twitter at @redhothellraise. Community Power Collective is @CPColectivo.

Faizah Malik is senior staff attorney for community development with Public Counsel, a public interest law firm in Los Angeles, and the largest pro bono law firm in the country. You can follow her on Twitter at @faizahmalik.  Public Counsel is at @PublicCounsel.

Laura Raymond is the Director of ACT-LA, a coalition of 39 community organizations working on housing and transit justice. She’s also on the coordinating committee of Healthy LA, a social justice coalition of more than 300 local organizations that have been focusing on the issuing of preventing evictions and housing justice. Twitter: @laurajraymond. ACT-LA is @All4Transit.

Healthy LA's website is here, and twitter account is @healthyla_coa.

Healthy LA's "Los Angeles Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Policy Platform" is available in English here, and in Spanish here.

The December #CancelRent #CancelMortgages townhall can be seen here.  A cool graphic outlining the proposal can be seen here.

Some coverage of the coming eviction crisis and the #CancelRent movement:

UCLA Study Warns of Looming Eviction Crisis in Los Angeles County

KCRW: An impending eviction crisis threatens struggling tenants. Is rent cancellation the answer?

CityWatch: The US is Facing an Eviction Tsunami. We Must Cancel Rent before it's too Late.

The Nation: It’s Time to Cancel the Rent

The

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

Los Angeles is the largest urban oilfield in the country, and oil drilling happens near homes, schools, parks and hospitals. It mostly happens in low-income, African-American and Latinx communities, and it is making people sick. A dedicated coalition of residents has been fighting to stop drilling where they are living.  On this episode of "What's Next, Los Angeles," Mike Bonin talks with three members of STAND-LA (Stand Together Against Neighborhood Drilling):

Wendy Miranda is a grad student studying Public Health and Urban planning at UCLA. She has lived in Wilmington most of her life and is currently an intern with Communities for A Better Environment. Wendy has experienced the impacts of oil drilling near hear neighborhood; she currently lives in close proximity to two plugged oil wells. She hopes to serve environmental justice communities like hers to create healthier and equitable environments.

Martha Dina Arguello is the Executive Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles and the Co Chair of STAND-LA   She has worked at PSR-LA for 21 years and has shaped the organization into a powerful voice for health and justice in California.  She is an active board member of numerous organizations, including Californians for Pesticide Reform, the California Environmental Rights Alliance, and Californians for a Healthy and Green Economy. She also co-founded the Los Angeles County Asthma Coalition and the Coalition for Environmental Health and Justice, and was appointed to Cal/EPA’s Environmental Justice Committee and the California Air Resources Board’s Global Warming Environmental Justice Advisory Committee.

Eric Romann became Coalition Coordinator for STAND-LA in 2017. He helps manage all aspects of STAND’s work, from policy advocacy to research, analysis, coalition-building and grassroots organizing. He also represents STAND-LA in county and statewide coalitions addressing oil and gas extraction.  He brings to STAND a deep commitment to and over 20 years experience in movements and organizations working for racial, economic, environmental, gender and immigrant justice.

Liberty Hill Foundation's Oil Drilling Report
https://www.libertyhill.org/news/reports/urban-oil-drilling-report

MORE INFORMATION ON STAND-LA
IG: @stand_loasangeles
Twitter: @stand_la
Facebook: @Stand Together Against Neighborhood Drilling

• Communities for a Better Environment (Co-Chair)
• Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles (Co-Chair)
• ​Esperanza Community Housing Corporation
• Holman United Methodist Church
• Redeemer Community Partnership
• Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy - Los Angeles
• Black Women for Wellness
• Liberty Hill Foundation

HOW TO FIND AN OIL WELL in LA and CA:
https://maps.conservation.ca.gov/doggr/wellfinder/

City Council File on STAND-LA Legislation
https://cityclerk.lacity.org/M.ClerkConnect/#cfmsSearch
Council File 17-0447 

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.