Measure ULA data dump, Spot road widening, and more

Here's what we're reading this week:

LA County supervisors vote to explore cutting homeless services agency’s budget, creating new department "The move comes after an audit of the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority found late payments to subcontractors and inadequate monitoring of contracts to make sure providers were complying with the terms of the funding agreements. LAHSA’s current annual budget is $875 million." (LAist)

For LA council member, new homeless services audit was ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’ "The findings leave LAHSA’s fate unclear. Created 31 years ago, the agency is jointly overseen by the county and the city of L.A. This year, the city contributed nearly $307 million to LAHSA’s annual budget of $875 million. The agency also receives $348 million in funding from L.A. County, and additional money from the state of California and the federal government." (LAist)

Comparing what happened in LA under Measure ULA to Culver City under its Measure RE transfer tax (Mott Smith Twitter)

Family mourns prominent LA landlord Neil Shekhter "Soviet-era immigrant went from taxi driver to owning 2,400 apartments." (The Real Deal LA)

Bike, Bus and Pedestrian Improvements Won the Vote in L.A. How Did Advocates Pull It Off? "Three lessons from a successful campaign for safer streets in car-dominated Los Angeles." (NextCity)

L.A. politicians ask Trump for $3.2 billion to pay for Olympic transportation projects "Most of Metro’s requests for funding from the Biden Administration were knocked down. Inside the agency, officials are worried that they are running out of time and money to prepare for the Games. And with many of the Olympic venues still not chosen, some are wondering whether a new administration may influence the selection." (LA Times)

Dickies to move HQ from Texas to Southern California "The decision marks a rare reversal of a string of business headquarters moves from California to Texas. High-profile departures include Chevron, one of the world’s largest oil companies, which said in August that it would relocate its headquarters from San Ramon to Houston. Elon Musk has said he will move his companies SpaceX and X from California to Texas." (LA Times)

In Absurd Twist, City of L.A. Serves Itself a ‘Notice of Violation’ After Installing Anti-Homeless Fence On Sidewalk "The city now finds itself in an embarrassing situation where one city department is using taxpayer dollars to erect a fence that limits people’s access to public space, while another city department uses up even more city resources to have that same fence taken down." (LA Taco)

Editorial: How L.A. got so many oddly shaped streets — and why it’s finally doing something about them "In theory, these spot street widenings are supposed to improve traffic flow. In practice, because development happens sporadically, the parcel-by-parcel widenings end up taking out mature trees, parkways and sidewalk space while providing little to no congestion relief." (LA Times)

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