Blue state Gov. Gavin Newsom took to the streets of California to clean up trash left behind by homeless encampments Thursday, threatening municipalities that if they do not clean up encampments they’ll lose state funding next year.

A frustrated Newsom was seen picking up trash from a cleared encampment in Los Angeles — one of the largest hubs in the state for homeless people living outdoors — alongside the California Department of Transportation. California’s homelessness accounts for roughly one-third of the country’s crisis. 

“I want to see results,” Newsom told reporters Thursday. “I don’t want to read about them. I don’t want to see the data. I want to see it.”

GOV NEWSOM ORDERS HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS TORN DOWN ACROSS CALIFORNIA: ‘NO MORE EXCUSES’

Homelessness has skyrocketed in the Golden State under Newsom’s leadership. According to the 2024 point-in-time count, which provides a snapshot of homelessness on a given night, the number of homeless individuals in California increased to approximately 172,000. This represented an increse from the estimated 131,000 homeless individuals counted in 2018, the year Newsom took office.

Thursday’s announcement was a continuation of Newsom’s increasing efforts to urge local governments to conduct more sweeps of homeless encampments after the Supreme Court ruled governments can force people out of encampments. Last month, Newsom directed state agencies to begin clearing encampments from state property and has been pushing local officials to follow suit.

“We’re done with the excuses,” Newsom told reporters. “The last big excuse was, ‘Well, the courts are saying we can’t do anything.’ Well, that’s no longer the case, so we had a simple executive order: Do your job. … You’ve got the money, you’ve got the flexibility, you’ve got the green light, you’ve got the support from the state and the public is demanding it of you.”

MASSIVE CALIFORNIA RESIDENTIAL TOWER TO OFFER HOMELESS PRIVATE ROOMS, GYM, CAFE AND MORE AMENITIES

A homeless encampment in Oakland, Calif. (Getty)

But some local leaders don’t agree with Newsom’s approach. In a statement to ABC7 News, LA County officials said in part, “New bed capacity needs to be built to accommodate a population of patients who will require locked facilities when held for treatment involuntarily.

“Without first taking those steps, the work of moving people off the streets for their own health and safety would fail,” the statement continued. “This does not mean LA County is standing still. Our Pathway Home encampment resolution program already has moved hundreds of people inside as we have also extensively supported the City of LA’s Inside Safe program that has sheltered thousands of others.”

Kathryn Barger, an LA County supervisor, told the news outlet she “would love to explain to the governor what we are doing because we are.” 

HOMELESS PERSON ALLEGEDLY ABDUCTS 4-YEAR-OLD AT CALIFORNIA RESTAURANT AMID UPTICK OF CRIME

A homeless encampment on the sidewalk on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. (Toby Canham for Fox News Digital)

“I’m not going to criticize the fact that he issued that order because, actually, I support what he wants to do. My goal is to have us all in the same direction. You can go in and clear the encampment, but if you don’t coordinate with the different jurisdictions around you, you’re simply moving that problem,” she said. 

Earlier this year, Newsom’s administration blamed counties and cities after a state audit report found his own homelessness task force failed to track how billions of dollars have been spent trying to tackle the crisis in the last five years. 

At the time, a senior spokesperson for the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (CICH), which coordinates homeless programs across the state, told Fox News Digital the audit’s findings “highlight the significant progress made in recent years to address homelessness at the state level, including the completion of a statewide assessment of homelessness programs.”

Tents and belongings at a homeless encampment in Toriumi Plaza at 1st Street and Judge John Aiso Street in Los Angeles. (Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)

Over the past five years, the CICH didn’t consistently track whether the money actually improved the situation, the audit concluded.

The spokesperson added local governments “are primarily responsible for implementing these programs and collecting data on outcomes that the state can use to evaluate program effectiveness.”

Since 2016, California has spent over $25 billion on homelessness. This includes state, local and federal funding allocated toward boosting the state’s “Housing First” ideology through various programs, which prioritizes placing people in housing first before addressing mental illness or substance abuse problems. 

The Housing First model began in 2016 through SB 1380. Authored by Democratic state Sen. Ed Hernandez, the bill expanded state resources for permanent housing to homeless individuals without requirements like sobriety or employment. 

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In a response to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, a spokesperson for Newsom referred to Thursday’s news conference and provided a statement.

“The State of California’s doing more than ever. We’ll continue to do more. But this will be my final words on this: If we don’t see demonstrable results, I’ll start to redirect money. I’m not interested in status quo any longer. And that will start in January with the January budget. We’ve been providing the support to local government that embraces those efforts and focuses on a sense of urgency — and we’re going to double down. If local government is not interested, we’ll redirect the money to parts of the state, cities and counties that are.”

“What. Is. Bohemia?“

A sharply dressed crowd assembled in the La Playa Hotel‘s Pacific Ballroom in Carmel chanted this refrain in unison, led by an ensemble of actors from the IAMA Theatre Company this past winter. Among the more than 250 attendees gathered for the celebratory weekend to mark the grand reopening of the historic venue were Lewis Pullman, Patrick J. Adams, actor Guillermo Diaz and writer/podcaster Evan Ross Katz. Scandal‘s Katie Lowes and The Bear and Never Have I Ever‘s Adam Shapiro beamed from the audience as they watched fellow thespians from the Atwater Village-based theater they co-founded perform the prologue of The Last Bohemian, a one-night, site-specific immersive play directed by Eli Gonda and commissioned for the occasion by hotelier John Grossman of Marc & Rose Hospitality.

Playwright Christian Durso’s story — set in 1907 and inspired by Carmel’s unorthodox creative legacy — proceeded to unfold throughout the property. Chef and food writer Andy Baraghani was there, too, having prepared a locally sourced dinner the previous night for this high-spirited convergence of guests representing many disciplines and fields.

Clint Eastwood is often associated with the hamlet located at the southern end of the Monterey Peninsula. But it’s also where over a century ago, figures such as Robinson Jeffers, Jack London, Edward Weston, Sinclair Lewis and painter Chris Jorgensen, found refuge and community. It was Jorgensen who in 1905 built the winter home that would become La Playa Hotel for his wife, San Francisco chocolate heiress Angela Ghirardelli.

Elements of this early bohemian culture are still felt around the gridded streets of the one-mile-square village of Carmel-by-the-Sea. There, storybook-style buildings and the conspicuous absence of numeric street addresses bolster its quirky charm. Homes are identified by descriptive names and geographic positions instead of conventional addresses, so residents collect their mail at the downtown post office (and deliveries can be challenging).

Standout Carmel real estate transactions indicate renewed attention. In 2022, Brad Pitt added a $40 million investment to his portfolio in the form of Seward, the 1918 stone-clad D.L. James House designed by architect Charles Sumner Greene, one of the architects responsible for the Gamble House in Pasadena. The 1951 Butterfly House outfitted with chic interiors by Jamie Bush sold in 2023 for $29 million; and Monaco businessman Patrice Pastor scooped up the compact yet dramatic Mrs. Clinton Walker house by Frank Lloyd Wright for $22 million, adding an especially rare jewel to his expanding crown of Carmel property holdings (an overall development that generates local concern).  

Casual yet sophisticated restaurants, hotels and boutiques are evolving Carmel’s offerings, gradually raising the profile of this long-beloved destination as a desired getaway for Hollywood.

A few miles north, snagging a tee time at Pebble Beach remains a prize for avid golfers such as Barack Obama, Bill Murray and Justin Timberlake. Monterey Car Week, which includes Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, attracts well-heeled visitors and celebrities every August. (Plus much of this scenery will look familiar to Big Little Lies viewers.)

In April, Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid chose to rendezvous in Carmel, dining together at La Bicyclette bistro and enjoying the rugged coastline in honor of Hadid’s birthday.

Where to Stay

“Carmel has a laidback sense of luxury, style and hospitality that feels equally comfortable and under the radar, which we love,” Palisociety founder Avi Brosh tells The Hollywood Reporter. He and his wife, Kirsten, have transformed two previously modest properties located a couple blocks apart under their Le Petit Pali brand. The lobby spaces and 24 rooms situated downtown at Le Petit Pali at 8th Avenue (Junipero St. and Eighth Avenue, from $395 a night) and 34 guest rooms on Le Petit Pali at Ocean Avenue (Junipero St. and Ocean Ave.) are now awash in Palisociety’s signature refreshingly light and whimsical decor that doesn’t shy away from skillful applications of bold stripes and botanical prints.

At La Playa Hotel (nightly rates from $450), Brooklyn-based design firm Post Company has incorporated moody, intimate retro-tinged moments throughout the Spanish Colonial Revival structures to contrast with the sweeping ocean views. All 75 guest rooms and suites were renovated from top-to-bottom complete with elaborate custom Art Deco-influenced standalone bars, while beloved local gathering spot Bud’s was respectfully updated with a light touch.

Tucked into the Carmel Point residential area, Villa Mara (2408 Bay View Ave., nightly rates from $825) exudes quiet luxury vibes and adds to the impression that Carmel-by-the-Sea likely has among the highest fireplace-to-resident ratio in the country. The lobby and Jesena’s Bar are an exercise in layered textures, subtle patterns and understated elegance, with bespoke details from the leather-wrapped stair handrails to the furnishings — all with a wabi-sabi element that avoids stuffiness.  

Relais & Châteaux member L’Auberge Carmel (Monte Verde at Seventh Street, rates from $590) is a touch of the Old World in town centered around a delightful central courtyard.

The Stillwell Hotel (San Carlos Street at Fifth Avenue. rates from $379) debuted this summer with 42 crisp contemporary guest rooms situated in the heart of downtown.

The earthy interior design at Carmel Beach Hotel (San Antonio Avenue at 13th Street, rates from $425) is paces away from oceanfront Scenic Road, with a robust spa and wellness program that ties into the enchanting garden setting.

Deluxe resorts dot the Carmel Valley hills, too. Romantic and family-friendly properties include the 850-acre, 93-room rebranded The Quail (8205 Valley Greens Dr., nightly rates from $495) operated by Peninsula Hotels, which also has an 18-hole, 3-par championship golf course and revamped Covey Grill.

The activity-loaded, all-suite Carmel Valley Ranch (1 Old Ranch Road, high season nightly rates from $525) appeals to multiple generations, while picturesque vineyards at Bernardus Lodge & Spa (415 W. Carmel Valley Rd., rates from $465) and Lucia restaurant speak to the area’s viticultural heritage, with the Bernardus winery a mere two miles away.  

Where to Eat

“The town’s always stunning natural landscape is being buoyed by outstanding new culinary talents alongside premier design and cultural events and gatherings that are attracting a very interesting, fresh and unexpected crowd to town and catering to them in a new and special way,” Avi Brosh observes.

This movement is palpable at Anthony and Alyssa Carnazzo’s minimalist Stationæry (San Carlos Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenue), where the perfectly crisp potato pancake piled with fromage blanc, prosciutto and delicata squash often sells out before brunch service ends. Destinaton-worthy venues within hotels also have striving culinary ambitions.

Chef Justin Cogley serves lavish tasting menus at the lauded Aubergine restaurant situated within L’Auberge, and Michael Chang showcases seafood sourced from Monterey Bay and other prized ingredients at Foray at the Stillwell Hotel.

Chez Noir centers on a strong locavore ethos and joins Aubergine as Carmel-by-the-Sea’s other Michelin-starred restaurant. Husband-and-wife chef team Jonny and Monique Black’s accolades include a James Beard Foundation nomination this year for Best New Restaurant, too. These alumni of Quince restaurant in San Francisco and Big Sur’s Post Ranch Inn first cooked pop-up meals at Stationæry, where the Carnazzos “gave us hope that Carmel could support our dream,” Monique Black says. Now the ever-changing, multi-course prix fixe menu ($150 per person) showcases seasonal California ingredients like Santa Cruz black cod and buttermilk-laced fried green tomato salad from Borba Family Farms. “If it wasn’t for the support of our neighbors and farmers, we wouldn’t be doing what we are today,” she adds.

Where to Shop

Carmel-by-the-Sea is a dream for avid browsers and shoppers who appreciate independently owned brick-and-mortar retail.

In this relaxed, slower-paced atmosphere, friendly chats with customers come easily to those minding the store. Hiroki Nakamura, Monterey Car Week enthusiast and founder of cult clothing and lifestyle brand Visvim (San Carlos Street near Sixth Avenue), opened a Carmel outpost complete with covetable vintage George Nakashima wood furnishings, collectible hifi equipment, handcrafted display cases and a coffee bar. Next to Stationæry, the collection of textiles and accessories with a focus on Japanese traditions stocked at Bee Bark & Moss (San Carlos Square, between Fifth and Sixth Avenue) is the project of Manhattan transplants, former fashion industry veteran Minori Shironishi and her husband Philip Rodrigue.

Inveterate dinner party hosts who are particular about their hemstitch, custom embroidered napkins and French linen tablecloths will admire the unrivaled inventory at Jan De Luz Linens (Dolores Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue). Neighboring home good shops/interior design studios Hart Habitats and Shoshin (San Carlos Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue) are full of welcoming colors, patterns and tempting wares. An impeccable curation of Nordic design classics by the likes of Finn Juhl and Hans Wegner are on offer at Fjørn Scandinavian nestled within the Shops at the Pine Inn Hotel (Ocean Avenue and Lincoln Street).

Sunny, hip Golden State cheer is the order of the day at Somewhere in Carmel (San Carlos between Ocean and Seventh Avenue), thanks to this boutique’s casual clothing and gift selection. The geodesic dome, zen vibes and spiritual books at Pilgrim’s Way Books and the Secret Garden (Dolores Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue) represent an authentic throwback to a certain Californian era. Tejido Collective’s (Mission Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue) sweaters support artisanal micro-enterprises in Peru and are perfect for bundling up against the chilly coastal fog.

The U.S. soccer team, which will play in the women’s gold-medal game at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, has five players from California. All four U.S. beach volleyball players who advanced to the quarterfinals are Californians, as are 11 of the 13 women on the water polo team, who advanced to the bronze medal game.

In fact, everywhere Team USA has competed in these Paris Olympics, chances are a Californian or three were involved. One hundred twenty-one of the 594 athletes on the American team — more than one in five — are from the state. And that doesn’t include the California natives who competed for other nations, such as Trinidadian swimmer Dylan Carter, Filipina gymnast Emma Malabuyo and Japanese tennis player Ena Shibahara.

Not only is no state better represented in France than California — fewer than 24 countries have more Olympians in these Games than California. And the reasons are simple, said David Wallechinsky, president of the International Society of Olympic Historians and a native Californian.

“Obviously it’s the weather,” he said. “But also it’s the universities. People from other states come to UCLA, USC and Stanford and they stay. Having good coaching at the universities really helps attract people to California.

“And then the other factor, which I think is really important, is that it’s role models. You grow up in Minnesota or Vermont, your role model, if you have any in sport, is not going to be an Olympic summer sport [athlete]. But if you’re Californian, it’s going to be. Or it’s more likely to be.”

The population is also a plus. With 39.5 million residents, California has 10 million more people than the next most-populous state, Texas. As a result, the number of kids playing high school sports in California last year was larger than the number of people living in Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska or North Dakota.

Bob Larsen, a former track coach at UCLA, also credits the state’s geography, which allow athletes to train at sea level or on the slopes of Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous 48 states, on the same day. California, he said, also has excellent facilities and a robust system for finding and grooming young athletes.

“Youth clubs and middle and high school programs identify and encourage talented athletes early,” said Larsen, who coached at the club, high school and college level, helping Deena Drossin of Agoura Hills to a marathon bronze medal in 2004. “Many college and university teams with good coaches grow the sport.”

And the schools take that mission seriously, even if it doesn’t just benefit Team USA. Stanford, for example, sent 60 Olympians, representing 15 countries, to Paris. UCLA sent 40 athletes from 18 countries and USC 66 from 26 nations. Even UC Irvine had four former athletes in Paris and Santa Barbara City College one.

“We place a significant emphasis on the development of Olympians and other world-class competitors,” said Stanford athlete director Bernard Muir, whose school, if it were a nation, would have finished 11th in the medal count in Tokyo and 10th in Rio de Janeiro. “Several of our peer institutions throughout the state operate the same way. We take tremendous pride in things like leading the medal count among colleges.”

Mark S. Dyreson, professor of kinesiology and history and the co-director of the Penn State Center for the Study of Sports in Society, said California’s rise toward becoming an Olympic power took root about a century ago when the state — and especially Hollywood — began to alter the country’s culture.

California was seen as a land of affluence, fashion, celebrity and new ideas — no matter that much of that was a facade. So when Los Angeles hosted the 1932 Olympics, whose scale and quality were beyond anything that had come before, sports became an indelible part of that brand. Hollywood’s film industry, which heavily promoted the Los Angeles Games, then sold that brand to a global audience.

A boom in swimming pool construction tied to the post-war suburbanization of the state was another factor popularizing an idealized California lifestyle built around leisure and recreation. (It’s also why the state has traditionally produced more Olympic swimmers than any other, though just two Californians, male butterfly specialist Luca Urlando and relay medalist Abbey Weitzeil, were part of this summer’s team.)

More recently, the addition of sports such as skateboarding, beach volleyball, table tennis, badminton, golf and surfing, which have long been ingrained in the California culture, has also swelled the number of Olympians from the state. Thirty of the 44 U.S. Olympians in those sports come from California.

“You know, another thing is, I’ve been reading been reading a lot of the [athletes’] biographies. There’s one thing that comes up over and over again, and it’s very strong, which is the parents,” Wallechinsky said. “They’ve got an overactive kid, and they’ll just enroll them in five or six different sports, and then eventually one takes. It’s not so much that the parents are pushing them, they’re just giving them a lot of opportunities. And they find something they like.

“Part of it is the enthusiasm.”

And part of it is the competition. Trinity Rodman of Newport Beach, whose three goals in the Olympic soccer tournament are tied for the team lead heading into the women’s final Saturday, said it’s nice to have weather that allows you to play year-round. But what really made her better was being matched against talented players growing up in South Orange County.

“The clubs that I faced in California were good, like, really good, and top level,” she said. “I don’t know what it was. I can only speak to my experience. [But] we played a lot of good teams, which was nice.”

California just seems to breed stronger, healthier people, which even makes the non-athletes better, something Wallechinsky learned after taking a physical fitness test in junior high.

“I saw the results and I was way down in my school. Way, way down,” he said. “Then they released the national results and I was like, in the top 5%. Wow, I guess I’m not so bad after all.

“Even at the age of 13, it gave me a perspective how different California was than the rest of the country when it came to youth sport.”

Sixty-three years later, that hasn’t changed. And the US. Olympic team is reaping the benefits.