Connect with us

Los Angeles, Ca

Long Beach to begin removing homeless encampments following Newsom order

Published

on

Long Beach to begin removing homeless encampments following Newsom order

Weeks removed from Governor Gavin Newsom’s directive to remove unauthorized homeless encampments from the streets of California, one city is set to begin a teardown of tents this week.

Speaking to KTLA’s Annie Rose Ramos, Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said the city didn’t want to rush the actions, but now’s the time to act.

“We fully understand how sensitive this is for our residents and also the urgency of some of the chronic encampments, so we took our time,” Richardson said.

Long Beach has waited a little less than a month to dismantle encampments following the July 25 executive order from Newsom that encourages local governments to address the homelessness problem, giving them guidelines on processes that include clearing encampments and aiding the unhoused population with alternative options.

In the weeks since, Newsom himself has expressed deep frustration at the lack of action in removing encampments from some local governments, even after his executive order. The Democratic Governor has threatened to withhold funds from cities that fails to remove encampments.

Advertisement

“We need local government to step up. This is a crisis,” Newsom told reporters on Aug. 8. “The state’s unprecedented billions of dollars of support? I’m not interested in providing that support and not seeing the results. I’m a taxpayer, not just the governor. It’s not complicated. We’ll send that money to counties that are producing results.”

Newsom’s push against homeless encampments comes after a recent Supreme Court ruling that allowed governments to criminalize “public camping,” or sleeping on streets and sidewalks.

In a memo released last week, Long Beach officials detailed their intention to comply with the order, saying that unhoused people may be cited or arrested for refusing to leave encampments.

Tents outside of Billie Jean King Main Library will likely be removed as Long Beach plans to crack down on homeless encampments following Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order issued in July. (KTLA)

Critics of the recent push against encampments have raised ethics concerns regarding the treatment of California’s unhoused population, saying the criminalization of homelessness could create more problems than it solves.

“If the only crime you are arresting or citing someone for is just existing in public space, that’s criminalization [of homelessness],” said John Ralphing of Human Rights Watch.

Advertisement

Long Beach officials say that people experiencing homelessness won’t be arrested or cited outright without committing any other crimes in the process, but instead will be offered outreach programs first. The city does, however, intend to tear down tents in public spaces.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Los Angeles, Ca

19-year-old dies after being attacked in Koreatown

Published

on

19-year-old dies after being attacked in Koreatown

Detectives are investigating after a 19-year-old who was assaulted in Koreatown died from a head injury.

The victim was identified as Joon Hee Han, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Family members said Han was attacked in late July in the 700 block of South Harvard Boulevard. He fell down and injured his head during the violent altercation.

He remained hospitalized in a coma and earlier this week, police announced Han had died from his injuries.

A motive remains unclear as investigators work to piece together the events leading up to the assault.

Advertisement
The area near the 700 block of South Harvard Boulevard in L.A’s Koreatown neighborhood where the victim was attacked in late July 2024. (KTLA)

“West Bureau Homicide detectives are actively pursuing additional evidence, witness statements, and other information pertaining to the incident that might help us to determine what occurred,” authorities said.

No suspect description was released as the case remains under investigation.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call LAPD’s West Bureau Homicide at 213-382-9470.

Continue Reading

Los Angeles, Ca

Video captures fiery, high-speed crash at Southern California intersection

Published

on

Video captures fiery, high-speed crash at Southern California intersection

Dashcam video captured the moment a high-speed crash left a pickup truck in flames at a busy intersection in the San Fernando Valley.

The crash happened at Lassen Street and Sepulveda Boulevard in Mission Hills at around 5:09 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department. 

Dashcam video from a bystander showed a white Lexus sedan racing past him and slamming into the dark gray Ford pickup truck that was making a left turn.

The high-speed impact sent both cars spinning out of control and slamming into a traffic signal pole behind them. Flames were immediately ignited underneath the truck.

The truck landed on a nearby sidewalk and the white sedan crashed against a wall just outside of a CVS parking lot.

Advertisement
  • Dashcam video captured a high-speed crash that left a pickup truck in flames in the Mission Hills neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley on August 17, 2024. (Seth Gurlal)
  • The Ford pickup truck was engulfed in flames as bystanders worked to rescue the trapped driver in Mission Hills on August 17, 2024. (KTLA)
  • The suspect's white Lexus sedan crashed into a nearby wall after slamming into a pickup truck in Mission Hills on August 17, 2024. (KTLA)
  • Both vehicles spun out of control and the truck was engulfed in flames after a high-speed crash in Mission Hills on August 17, 2024. (KTLA)
  • Both vehicles spun out of control and the truck was engulfed in flames after a high-speed crash in Mission Hills on August 17, 2024. (KTLA)
  • The suspect's white Lexus sedan crashed into a nearby wall after slamming into a pickup truck in Mission Hills on August 17, 2024. (KTLA)

Both vehicles were totaled as a large amount of auto debris was strewn across the busy intersection.

“I saw on my rearview mirror that [the white sedan] was coming so fast, they’re going to hit somebody,” said Seth Gurlal, whose dashcam captured the collision. “They had no regard for anybody.”

Witnesses said bystanders in the area immediately ran over to help the female driver who was injured and trapped inside the burning truck.

“They pulled out a woman but her feet were stuck,” said Rosa Madrigal, a witness. “They pulled it out, but the moment they did, I saw she was bleeding on the side.”

The woman was transported to the hospital where her condition remains unknown on Saturday night.

It’s unclear whether the suspect driver was also injured as the incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information can call the LAPD at 1-877-527-3247. 

Advertisement

Footage of the crash can be seen in the video player above.

Continue Reading

Los Angeles, Ca

Woman in her 20s dies after Los Angeles hit-and-run; suspect still at large

Published

on

Woman in her 20s dies after Los Angeles hit-and-run; suspect still at large

A suspect is at large after he allegedly killed a woman in a hit-and-run collision in North Hollywood on Friday night, authorities confirmed.

The collision occurred around 7 p.m. at the intersection of Victory Boulevard and Beck Avenue. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, a man driving a Toyota Corolla westbound on Victory hit a woman who was crossing the street in a marked crosswalk.

The woman, identified only as a Hispanic woman in her late 20s, was transported to a local hospital, where she later died.

Her full identity is pending notification of next of kin.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, the man driving the Toyota failed to stop after the collision. The vehicle was later found abandoned along a curb on Victory, east of Troost Avenue.

The suspect was described as a white man in his 50s.

Anyone with information about this collision is encouraged to contact VTD Detective Ramirez at 818-644-8028 or Officer Ruiz at 818-644-8026.

Continue Reading

Trending