California Republican leaders appeared to mock Gov. Gavin Newsom’s fiery response to a critical analysis of his handling of the Golden State’s homelessness crisis, saying that any increase in homelessness is not admirable.

State Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones criticized Newsom, calling the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s year-end Homelessness Assessment Report an indictment of his capabilities.

“Gavin Newsom literally lost track of the $27 billion he spent on the homeless crisis,” Jones said, citing the report as listing California first in homelessness, with an increase of 3% to 187,000.

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“Today’s HUD report makes it clear that instead of solving the problem, Newsom’s endless spending ‘solution’ has only made it worse,” said Jones, R-San Diego.

In a recent statement, Newsom’s office indicated the state “distributed $24 billion to local governments to address homelessness through numerous state programs.”

“All that money is accounted for,” the statement continued, appearing to reference the funds Jones had claimed were “lost.”

“The audit showed that previously not all state programs required locals to report how those dollars improved homelessness for the most recent years and lacked data to compare the effectiveness of one program versus another. That’s been fixed. 

“This administration has added strong accountability and reporting requirements for local governments that receive state funding. Any notion that we don’t know where the money went is preposterous, and that’s not what the audit reported,” the statement said.

The report also cited that Illinois, Wyoming, Hawaii and Colorado were the states where family homelessness doubled or worse.

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A statement from the Republican caucus of the California State Assembly keyed into Newsom’s recent thorough defense against an op-ed in the outlet CalMatters that made similar criticisms.

“In case you missed it, Governor Newsom’s office threw a tantrum over a column… that broke down his history of failure on homelessness,” the caucus, led by Assemblyman James Gallagher of Yuba City, collectively wrote.

The CalMatters op-ed claimed Newsom’s handling of the homelessness crisis will be a key point of attack for his prospective 2028 Democratic presidential primary challengers if he chooses to seek higher office then.

The column cited Newsom as saying “what’s happening on the streets has to be a top priority,” and reported he indicated a willingness to hold local officials accountable as well.

“People have to see and feel the progress and the change…” Newsom said, according to the column.

Gallagher’s caucus then cited Newsom’s response to the column, which consisted of a series of pointed posts.

“Given the sheer population size of California, to talk about homelessness without any of the broader context or how this administration’s efforts compare to the prior is a disservice to Californians, plain and simple,” Newsom’s office’s account wrote on X.

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“As the Governor has said many times, the work is far from over and urgency and results at the local level are needed more than ever. It’s why new accountability tools have been put in place, for quicker results. It’s also a longer-term effort — through implementation of Prop 1, CARE Court, conservatorship reform, the just approved BH-Connect waiver all of which are aimed at addressing the systemic issues of homelessness but not yet fully online.”

Newsom’s office also posted that unsheltered homelessness grew four times faster during the waning years of Gov. Edmund “Jerry” Brown’s administration than under his.

“The number of unsheltered homeless increased by 13.83% during the Newsom Administration (2019-2023), compared to an increase of 51.79% in the five-year period prior to the administration (2015-2019),” the post read.

California’s 14% homelessness increase in 2023 also fell below the national increase of 21%, the governor’s office added in the statement released just before this year’s numbers.

In 2024, California saw a homelessness increase of 3%, according to a weekend statement released by Newsom’s office. The rate bests 40 other states, the release said. 

Assembly Republicans responded to Newsom’s original comments.

“Since the governor is committed to gaslighting on this issue, we’ll state the obvious: an increase of 20% is not progress,” their statement read.

Jones, the Senate minority leader, cited Friday that he co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to change California’s homelessness policies and focus on “compassionate enforcement” of encampment violations.

One of his proposals from this past term, which did not make it to Newsom’s desk, focused on existing state law deeming “lodging” in a public or private place without permission to be disorderly conduct.

The bill would have delayed any indictment on that count for 72 hours after first notice and imposed a “state-mandated local program” for homeless individuals in those situations.

In a separate statement, Newsom said no American should be without a place to call home:

“Homelessness continues to rise and increase at ever-higher numbers nationwide, but we are seeing signs of progress in California,” he said.

“We have turned the tide on a decades-long increase in homelessness – but we have more work to do. California‘s plan is ambitious and challenging but the data is proving that it is not impossible: our strategies are making a positive difference.”

Data also showed other large-population states like New York, Florida, Illinois and Texas also suffered a higher growth in unsheltered homelessness than California’s, which the governor’s office said was under one percent.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The quarter-mile stretch of 6th Street in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood has long struggled with open air drug usage, but Supervisor Matt Dorsey says it’s only getting worse.

It’s why he’s calling for mass-arrests of drug users to put them into “compulsory detox and treatment” and off the streets.

Dorsey first told ABC7 News about his request to the city agencies that deal with these issues to come up with an enforcement plan in order to solve drug-related “lawlessness” on the streets.

“Historically, most of the work that we’re doing is focused on drug dealers, and I think that’s something that needs to continue, but we also need to be making criminal justice interventions in public drug use,” he said. “We do need to be making arrests of drug users with an eye toward making sure that any criminal justice intervention we make is a medical and life saving intervention.”

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The San Francisco Police Department estimates that at least 200 people “loiter and use drugs” in the area on a nightly basis. Dorsey wants to see no fewer than 100 arrests per night going forward.

It’s not the first time the city has tried to use the criminal justice system to get those with substance use disorders off the streets and into treatment. In 2023, Mayor London Breed directed SFPD to make more drug-related arrests.

Dr. Tyler TerMeer, CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, is critical of this approach, saying it does not address the root causes of substance abuse.

“Decades of research have shown that criminalizing people for their health conditions or circumstances perpetuates harm rather than fostering recovery. Forced treatment under the threat of incarceration undermines trust in health services and disproportionately impacts marginalized communities,” TerMeer said in a statement to ABC7 News. “What San Francisco truly needs is increased investment in overdose prevention services, voluntary treatment programs, and supportive housing. These approaches save lives, reduce public health crises, and strengthen our city.”

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Dorsey believes the city’s longtime harm reduction approach is no longer working. And as a former addict himself, it’s personal.

“What may have worked in the heroin era is not working in the fentanyl era. We are facing drugs that are deadlier than ever before in human history. And we’re seeing levels of addiction driven lawlessness that we have never seen even in a city that has taken a permissive approach to drug use in years past,” he said.

When asked what this will cost, Dorsey did not provide specifics but said San Francisco cannot afford to ignore this problem.

Dorsey’s letter of inquiry asks five different agencies to come up with a plan for large-scale arrests and involuntary holds within the next 30 days. It is directed to the following agencies: San Francisco Police Department, San Francisco Sheriff’s Office, San Francisco Fire Department EMS Division, San Francisco Department of Public Health, and San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.

They did it again.

For the second time this season, the Colorado Avalanche completed a remarkable comeback against the Buffalo Sabres. Devon Toews scored 48 seconds into overtime Thursday night to give the Avs a wild 6-5 victory at Ball Arena that was not without controversy or a cost.

“It felt great because our guys dug in and they got the win,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “We needed that win and we wanted that win. I think that play … everyone on the team is pissed off so they dig in extra hard. I’m glad to see them get rewarded. I thought it was an unbelievable effort down the stretch.”

The play Bednar referenced was when this game took a wild turn early in the third period. Just 22 seconds after Ross Colton had brought Colorado to within a goal, Zach Benson scored to put Buffalo ahead 4-2.

Benson had been checked into the crease behind Wedgewood. After Wedgewood fell backwards onto him and was clearly injured, Benson got up and scored a wraparound goal while the Avs netminder was still writhing in pain.

Bednar went off on the officiating after the game, a move that will likely come with a fine from the NHL.

“Listen, this isn’t against the two refs that called the game tonight,” Bednar said. “It’s the inconsistency in that call. It seems pretty common sense to me, right? He’s hurt. The puck goes to the corner. He’s not getting up. Just blow it dead. … When you’re doing it for every other player on the ice, but you’re not going to do it for the goalie, that makes no sense to me.”

The Avalanche challenged for goaltender interference, but it was upheld. Wedgewood left the game and could not put any weight on his right leg.

Colorado’s new backup goaltender has been excellent since arriving in a trade from Nashville on Nov. 30. He was 4-2 with a .932 save percentage in six appearances since the deal.

“We need everyone,” Toews said. “We’re a family in here. We pick each other up. When one guy goes down, when (Wedgewood) went down, we were able to pick him up. It takes everyone.”

Colorado rallied after allowing the first three goals, then trailing 4-2 and 5-3. Jason Zucker scored his third goal of the night to give the Sabres a two-goal lead with 3:51 remaining, but the Avs stormed back yet again.

They also rallied for a 5-4 win at Buffalo last month after yielding the first four goals of the contest. This one might have been even more improbable.

Cale Makar had his second of the evening with 2:28 left and Jonathan Drouin sent it to overtime with eight seconds remaining on Nathan MacKinnon’s third assist of the contest. It was the latest game-tying goal for the Avs since a MacKinnon tally with seven seconds left at Tampa Bay on Jan. 17, 2015.

Buffalo took a pair of penalties shortly after the Benson tally, and Mikko Rantanen made it a one-goal game again on a one-timer from MacKinnon at 4:17 of the third. It was Rantanen’s team-leading 22nd goal, and one of three MacKinnon points to push his league-leading total to 64.

Zucker helped the Sabres build a 3-0 lead with a pair of power-play goals. Colorado’s penalty kill had been red hot coming into this game. The Avs had erased 23 of the past 25 opposing power plays during the past 11 games.

In between the first two Zucker goals, an old friend burned the Avs. Bo Bryam, playing in his first game at Ball Arena with the Sabres since he was traded to Buffalo before the deadline last season, got behind the Avalanche defensemen on a rush and tucked a pretty backhanded goal past Wedgewood.

The Avs traded Byram to Buffalo for Casey Mittelstadt in a swap of recent top-10 draft picks on March 6, shortly after sending Ryan Johansen and a first-round pick to Philadelphia for Sean Walker. It was Byram’s fifth goal of the season. He’s also averaging more than 23 minutes per contest while playing next to Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin on the top pairing.

Colorado had a MacKinnon goal waived off after an offsides review earlier in the second period. The Avalanche did get one back with 5:02 remaining in the second.

Makar took a drop pass from Drouin near the right point, then juked past Zucker before snapping a shot under the crossbar. His two-goal night gives him 13, which leads all NHL defensemen.

The second one began the late-game fireworks and kicked off another incredible comeback.

“I don’t even know what to say, to be honest,” Avs goalie Mackenzie Blackwood. “(I had) the best seat in the house. Obviously, it sucks for (Wedgewood). I feel bad for him. You never want to see anyone get hurt. That was tough. But the way we rallied back was fun to watch.”

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Originally Published: January 2, 2025 at 10:12 PM MST