Should vacant hotels in Los Angeles house the homeless? Voters will decide.
CNN
On an average night in Los Angeles County, more than 60,000 people are homeless. And on an average night, there are more than 20,000 vacant hotel rooms. In 2024, residents will get to vote: Should those vacant rooms be offered to the unhoused?
"It's insane. It isn't going to solve the problem," says Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association, which represents hotels and other businesses across the north of the city. He fears housing the homeless in hotels will put people off visiting Los Angeles.
"I wouldn't want my kids around people that I'm not sure about. I wouldn't want to be in an elevator with somebody who's clearly having a mental break," he says. "The idea that you can intermingle homeless folks with paying, normal guests just doesn't work out."
Hours after President Joe Biden touted its success during his commencement speech at West Point last Saturday, White House staffers learned that the temporary pier the military had just constructed into Gaza was falling apart. Four Army vessels had been beached, two in Gaza and two along the coast of Israel.