Morning Wire XX
[0] San Francisco invested $160 million to shelter the homeless in hotels.
[1] A new investigation into the program reveals shocking conditions and a trail of death.
[2] It doesn't deal with the root problem, which is untreated mental illness and addiction.
[3] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor -in -chief John Bickley.
[4] It's May 14th, and this is your Saturday edition of Morning Wire.
[5] Despite a series of rolling blackouts in the state, California is set to shut down its last nuclear power plant.
[6] But now the governor is signaling that he might be rethinking shuddering the key source of energy for the state.
[7] And tens of thousands of Americans are packing up and leaving big cities.
[8] What's driving the urban exodus and which cities are suffering the biggest losses?
[9] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[10] Stay tuned.
[11] We have the news you need to know.
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[20] Nearly half of all the homeless people in America live in California.
[21] A recent investigation in San Francisco shows that policies meant to fight the problem are failing.
[22] In the 20 teens, San Francisco expanded a housing program where homeless individuals were placed in hotels around the city.
[23] A recent investigation into the program revealed shocking conditions and prompted calls for accountability.
[24] Daily Wire investigative reporter, Maraid, Alorty, is here with the details for us.
[25] So, Marade, what's going on here?
[26] What did this investigation find?
[27] Yeah, so this investigation by the San Francisco Chronicle found that San Francisco's homeless program, a $160 million program called Permanent Supportive Housing, has devolved into, quote, quote, chaos, crime, and death.
[28] The way it works is that the city's Department of Homelessness in Support of Housing pays non -profit groups to provide rooms and aid to about 6 ,000 homeless people in about 70 hotels.
[29] But because of lack of oversight from the city government and neglect of the hotels, the formerly homeless residents have dealt with horrific situations like unsanitary living conditions.
[30] For example, there are reports of severe rodent infestations, violence, and frequent overdose deaths.
[31] and overdosing was much more common in these hotels than on the streets.
[32] Many of the residents exposed to these conditions are disabled.
[33] The idea behind the program is to provide people with free housing until they're ready to live more independently, but it's unclear whether these conditions are actually better than life on the streets.
[34] The government tracked 515 tenants who exited the program and found that fully a quarter died while in the program.
[35] Another 21 % chose to return to the streets.
[36] Only about a quarter ended up in stable living situations, usually with friends or family, some in another taxpayer -subsidized building.
[37] Michael Schellenberger is a California gubernatorial candidate who is running on the platform of solving the homeless crisis.
[38] Here's what he had to say about the program.
[39] What we know works, in fact, the only thing that works and has performed well in study after study for really decades is what's called contingency management, which is basically giving people a reward of their own room or some other reward.
[40] You do cash rewards.
[41] You can give other rewards.
[42] But some kind of rewards for abstinence or taking your psych meds or going to work, that housing should be a reward.
[43] It should not be an entitlement.
[44] So how did the journalists at the San Francisco Chronicle describe life in these hotels?
[45] So they basically said that the conditions in the majority of these buildings are entirely unsafe, due in part to the nonprofits failing to maintain the buildings, but also because of the actions of some residents.
[46] For example, the sinks and appliances have been ripped from the wall, fecal matter has been found clogging sinks and mattresses have been set on fire.
[47] One resident reported sleeping in a tent in the room due to the rodents.
[48] When residents die, their bodies sometimes aren't discovered until their room begins to smell.
[49] The maintenance issues are not trivial either.
[50] One 57 -year -old wheelchair -bound man lived on an upper floor of one of the hotels, and he said that he missed several chemotherapy treatments when the elevator broke, and he was unable to leave his room for weeks.
[51] One resident interviewed said that there is no hope in these living situations.
[52] So how have city officials responded to these concerns?
[53] Well, Mayor London Breed has admitted that people, should not have to live in these conditions, but she blamed the nonprofit to run the program.
[54] She has supported accountability measures for the program, but to date none have been enforced.
[55] Now, are there any proposed solutions to the city's current approach?
[56] There are a few, yeah.
[57] Other cities do something called a scattered site approach where homeless people use vouchers to rent apartments and case managers help them get on the right track.
[58] San Francisco has also invested in a much higher quality building for homeless people with medical issues called the Kelly Colling community.
[59] So the city wants to invest more money in these higher quality buildings with services?
[60] Yes, but from the data, it's unclear whether that will help.
[61] The Department of Homelessness and Support of Housing, which is responsible for implementing these programs, debuted in 2016.
[62] And since that time, the homeless population in the city has shot up by 56%.
[63] About two -thirds of Californians now say the homeless crisis is the state's biggest problem.
[64] Right.
[65] becoming an issue across California, not just San Francisco.
[66] Mairead, thanks so much for reporting.
[67] That's Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade Allorty.
[68] Coming up, California might be changing its mind on nuclear power.
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[78] As California's need for energy continues to rise, Governor Gavin Newsom is now reconsidering whether or not to close the state's last remaining nuclear power plant.
[79] Here to tell us more is Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
[80] All right, Charlotte, we have what appears to be a reversal here on nuclear power in California.
[81] What are we seeing from the governor?
[82] Yeah, what's happening here is that California's last remaining nuclear power plant was set to close by 2025.
[83] But now Governor Newsom seems to be getting cold feet.
[84] He told a local TV station that he is in support of quoting here, keeping all options on the table to ensure the state has a reliable grid heading into the summer.
[85] The planting question is Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, and it's owned by Pacific gas and electric, or PG &E, which was planning to shut down the plant by 2025.
[86] The plant created about 6 % of California's power last year.
[87] In 2016, PG &E reached an agreement with environment organizations and its union workers to stop its nuclear work after its licenses for nuclear reactors and in 2024, in 2025.
[88] But Newsom is shifting the goalposts a little bit.
[89] He said he's looking into trying to get federal funds up to $6 billion that are, directed at helping save nuclear reactors that are facing shutdowns.
[90] The Biden administration announced this funding in April.
[91] Newsom said state authorities could determine later on whether or not they want to go forward with that as a possibility.
[92] A spokesperson for Newsom told the times that he still supports shutting down the plant eventually.
[93] Does Newsom actually have the authority to keep it open?
[94] So technically, Newsom doesn't actually make the call since he doesn't own the plant.
[95] The Biden administration's guidance, quote, directs owners or operating.
[96] of nuclear power reactors that are expected to shut down due to economic circumstances on how to apply for funding to avoid premature closure.
[97] So it sounds like PG &E has to actually apply for the funds itself.
[98] But it looks like PG &E might go for it.
[99] A spokesperson for PG &E, Suzanne Hosen, told me in an email, quoting again, PG &E is committed to California's clean energy future.
[100] We are always open to considering all options to ensure continued, safe, reliable, and clean energy delivery to our customers.
[101] I spoke to Katie Tubb at the Heritage Foundation about all of this, and she had doubts it would actually stay open.
[102] It is very, very hard at this point to turn this battleship around.
[103] The first reactor is scheduled to close in 2024, the second in 2025.
[104] There's a process to actually getting beyond those dates.
[105] When they made this agreement with the environmental community, labor unions, they said, let us just run the plants till their scheduled closure date, we will pull back our license renewal request.
[106] The Public Utility Commission in California accepted that arrangement in 2018.
[107] So you have all of these kind of legal agreements in place that would have to be unwound.
[108] Also, there's a question as to whether the plant qualifies for the federal funds.
[109] Last fall, Congress passed the infrastructure bill.
[110] And in that package, there is a $6 billion nuclear credit program.
[111] Basically, the idea is to subsidize nuclear power plants that are struggling economically.
[112] I don't think the Diablo Canyon plant will actually qualify for that program because the plant isn't closing for economic reasons, it's closing for political reasons.
[113] Now, you said the nuclear power plant provided 6 % of the state's energy last year.
[114] How much could nuclear impact things going forward?
[115] It could have a massive impact.
[116] In 2020, nuclear energy made up more than 9 % of the state's total power mix.
[117] And for Diablo Canyon specifically, it's significant.
[118] The two reactors at the plant create a total of 18 ,000 gigawatt hours of electricity each year, which PG &E says is enough energy to power 3 million northern and central Californians.
[119] And nuclear energy makes up almost as much as all other renewable energy sources combined in the U .S. So this isn't just a California issue.
[120] States across the country are looking to create renewable energy and do it in a climate -friendly way.
[121] So nuclear could be an option that multiple sides to this debate can get on board with.
[122] Well, Charlotte, thanks so much for reporting.
[123] That was Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence -Bond.
[124] The latest census data shows a massive urban migration out of major U .S. cities, suggesting Americans are rethinking how and where they want to live.
[125] Here to explore some of the factors driving this significant demographic shift as Daily Wire Culture Reporter, Megan Basham.
[126] So, Megan, what are the big factors causing cities to shrink?
[127] Well, you know, obviously politics plays a big role in this, and we'll get to that in just a second.
[128] But arguably, the most significant factor here is technology.
[129] So COVID really ramped up the change in the way we work, even before that many jobs were shifting to some sort of remote arrangement.
[130] workers no longer obviously need to live near their office.
[131] That option provided a lot of people with the opportunity to move further afield of the biggest metro areas where rents tend to be, you know, we all know, pretty high and often the school quality is very low.
[132] Yeah.
[133] From 2020 to 2021, L .A. lost 176 ,000 people.
[134] San Francisco lost 116 ,000.
[135] Chicago, 91 ,000, San Jose, Boston, Miami, D .C., They were all down tens of thousands of residents.
[136] And then you have sort of the granddaddy of all this movement, and that's New York, which lost almost 328 ,000 residents.
[137] Wow.
[138] Yeah, and these are cities that also gain influxes of immigrants from other countries who usually offset those leaving.
[139] Now, there was obviously less migration during the pandemic, so that was affecting those numbers as well.
[140] But still, to have those net losses in the hundreds of thousands is just hugely significant.
[141] Yeah, it really is.
[142] But hasn't movement out of cities been a common story for a long time now?
[143] I feel like I remember stories like this maybe a decade ago.
[144] What's changed here?
[145] Well, you know, that's true.
[146] But I think what we're seeing now is that same trend sort of on steroids.
[147] So one consultant in the home building industry, for example, told the economist that the changes they're saying, and keep in mind their business depends on seeing those shifts accurately.
[148] They said this is unlike anything they've seen in decades.
[149] Are there any other issues at play here?
[150] Well, yeah, you have to say that there are because while a lot of those big urban centers lost population, not all of them did.
[151] And that's where I think those local policies come into play.
[152] So to give you one example, a UCLA survey looked at why people are leaving Los Angeles County, and it found that the biggest issues are the high housing prices, homelessness, rising crime, and health concerns.
[153] Businesses, they're also feeling the effects of those policies.
[154] So as they're leaving for areas with friendlier tax and regulation policies, they're offering more opportunities in smaller cities as well.
[155] So you're really seeing this self -reinforcing cycle.
[156] So COVID and politics are the biggest influences.
[157] Anything else driving this?
[158] Yes, there is one more big category.
[159] And that's the degree to which these numbers are being impacted, not by movement, but by a lack of new arrivals.
[160] And by that, I don't mean immigration.
[161] I mean babies.
[162] So, as we all know, Americans are having fewer children, and that is especially true for city dwellers.
[163] So we're hearing from some demographers that cities are going to become the playground of rich, childless professionals.
[164] Well, the drop in birth rate is having an impact on many of the stories we cover.
[165] This is obviously no exception.
[166] Thanks for bringing us the story, Megan.
[167] That was Daily Wire culture reporter, Megan Basham.
[168] Thanks for listening to Morning Wire.
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