The LAO found lawmakers lack the basic information needed to assess how well the effort — called Encampment Resolution Funding Program — is working and should hold off on further investment until it’s given “compelling evidence that program goals are being met.”
Newsom and legislators rolled out the competitive grant in 2021 to help local governments address “specific, persistent encampments” with the aim of moving people into permanent housing or temporary shelter until long-term housing becomes available. The state invested $900 million in the program since its launch, according to the report.
Gov. Gavin Newsom called it “deeply unfair” for transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports this week — a notable change in his position that thrust the Democratic governor into the center of a national maelstrom. It was unclear whether he will act on his new position as Republicans urged him to follow conservative states in banning transgender athletes from girls’ sports.
The comments came on the first episode of Newsom’s new podcast, “This Is Gavin Newsom,” on which the governor has said he plans to interview political figures he disagrees with about the major issues of the day. In a chummy conversation with Charlie Kirk, the Donald Trump-aligned conservative activist, Newsom repeatedly conceded to criticisms of a transgender high school track athlete who recently won a regional meet.
Allies were angered by Newsom’s comments, which break with the mainstream Democratic Party position supporting transgender athletes, with some arguing that he was abandoning transgender youth at the same time they face a wave of laws nationwide rolling back their rights.
“In this moment of crisis, they need leaders who will unequivocally fight for them,” Tony Hoang, executive director of Equality California, the state’s leading LGBTQ+ advocacy group, said in a lengthy statement. “Instead of standing strong, the Governor has added to the heartbreak and fear caused by the relentless barrage of hate from the Trump Administration.”