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Skid Row Power Play?

Over the last month, stories and allegations of homeless individuals being "dumped" in downtown Los Angeles' eastern reaches continue to trickle out. First County Sherrifs were said to have dropped off transients swept off streets elsewhere. Then local hospitals admitted to the practice because of the availability of treatment centers for patients who were without shelter.

But as the story continues to grow legs, there is a degree of mystery just how a few muttering bums happened to convince the Los Angeles Times to print their complaints.

Something tells me they didn't have to. While it's potentially the case that the Times pounded the pavement and figured out this story all by itself...it reeks of a big leak into the newsroom.

That's significant because there are two likely sources of who would provide such a lead. The first is someone in City Hall, eager to stop the practice. The second would be a developer or other real estate player confounded by the inability to move east because of "all these bums around". It's not real clear who at this point, but Mayor Villaraigoisa's response on CNN that he blamed the federal government hints he did not have a planned, locally-significant answer lined up.

That leaves John Q. Developer. More specifically however, Dodger owner Frank McCourt. It has been known for some time that McCourt was unable to buy the team in full, and that the organization owns Dodger stadium outright. Selling it would help balance the books, and the local government would be just so eager to help him publicly finance a new edifice. Suspend your disbelief for a moment that California politicans are usually tight with public money.

McCourt knows that in San Diego, the local police were all too eager to push out the transient population that used to live on the site of Petco Park to help make it a success. This relevation might be the way he gets a crack-down on the practice and frees up enough downtown real estate to build his stadium.

Nevermind the fact that no one is actually advocating from the transients' position. The homeless are not usually a major economic or political force. Still, "trash" often precipates some of the headiest public policy clashes...so don't be be surprised if the real impact is a much bigger struggle by the City of Los Angeles to exert itself on the County and the other 88 incorporated cities within it.
posted by Thomas at 3:46 PM 0 comments