Housing

Homelessness

About-face: Why Newsom relented, released $1 billion despite lackluster local homeless plans

The governor threw communities into disarray two weeks ago by withholding $1 billion in homelessness funding for plans he saw as unambitious. But local officials said the assignment itself discouraged ambition. Now Newsom is yielding.

By

Manuela Tobias

• November 21, 2022

Housing

How California’s housing crisis hurts college students

In the new episode of "Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast," CalMatters' Manuela Tobias and the Los Angeles Times' Liam Dillon break down how California’s housing shortage drives some college students into homelessness.

By

Manuela Tobias

• November 17, 2022

Housing

Gimme Shelter: Gavin Newsom promised 3.5 million homes. How’d he do?

Last time he was on the campaign trail, Gov. Gavin Newsom promised 3.5 million new homes to fix California’s housing crisis. Two housing reporters take stock of what he’s done so far.

By

Manuela Tobias

• November 3, 2022

Residential single family homes under construction in the community of Valley Center on June 3, 2021. Photo by Mike Blake, Reuters

Housing

Newsom campaigned on building 3.5 million homes. He hasn’t gotten even close

Gov. Gavin Newsom campaigned on housing production, an issue important to many Californians. But despite some accomplishments, the housing crisis is worse now than when he took office.

By

Manuela Tobias

• October 31, 2022

Housing

Gimme Shelter: How L.A. became the nation’s most housing-overcrowded place

Please subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud and Stitcher. When it comes to the housing crisis, Los Angeles tends to hog the spotlight — and for good reason. It’s both the capital of single-family-home suburban sprawl and the most crowded place to live, as highlighted by a new investigation by the Los Angeles Times. […]

By

Manuela Tobias

• October 20, 2022

Parking lot of a strip mall just off of Blackstone Avenue in central Fresno on Oct. 4, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Housing

Gimme Shelter: How California’s new parking law could lower housing costs

A new state law unravels decades of parking rules in California cities. On this episode of “Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast” CalMatters’ Manuela Tobias and The Los Angeles’ Times’ Liam Dillon explain how that could trim housing costs.

By

Manuela Tobias

• October 7, 2022

Victoria Gonzalez-Gerlach interviews an unhoused person during Sacramento's Point-in-time count of the homeless population in the city on Feb. 24, 2022. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Housing

California homeless population grew by 22,000 over pandemic

The latest point-in-time count of California’s homeless population shows that it increased at roughly the same pace as previous years, although it appears to have disproportionately affected Latinos. Experts say homelessness interventions are paying off but “the inflow is killing us.”

By

Manuela Tobias

• October 6, 2022

Skid Row in Downtown Los Angeles on June 20, 2021. Photo by Teun Voeten, Sipa USA via Reuters

Housing

Gimme Shelter: Los Angeles mayoral candidates discuss homelessness plans

In this crossover episode, L.A. Times reporters Dough Smith and Ben Oreskes discuss plans by mayoral candidates Karen Bass and Rick Caruso to deal with homelessness.

By

Manuela Tobias

• September 22, 2022

Lawyers address a judge in Madera County Superior Court in Madera on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2021. Photo by Larry Valenzuela for CalMatters

Housing

California lawmakers approved CARE Court. What comes next?

Now that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s court system for people with severe mental illness cleared the state Legislature, counties face a series of practical questions critical to turning the fuzzy concept into a reality.

By

Manuela Tobias

and

Jocelyn Wiener

• September 8, 2022

Abandoned businesses at a Fresno strip mall on Aug. 25, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Housing

Gimme Shelter: What would California look like with housing on commercial strips?

On this episode of “Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast,” CalMatters’ Manuela Tobias and the Los Angeles Times’ Liam Dillon sit down with Peter Calthorpe, a San Francisco-based architect, urban designer and urban planner to discuss a new bill that could allow a lot more housing along California’s commercial strips.

By

Manuela Tobias

• September 7, 2022