California governor seeks free surplus federal land to help house homeless
California Governor Gavin Newsom, stepping up his bid to enlist U.S. government help to combat homelessness, has urged the Trump administration to open up surplus federal property for construction of more low-cost housing across the state. The governor, a first-term Democrat who has placed homelessness at the top of his agenda, said his administration already had moved to turn over excess state-owned land to cities and counties for the purpose of building affordable housing.
"You could match our commitment by similarly providing free surplus federal land to local governments across the state so they can build housing for the homeless," Newsom wrote.
Newsom's request came in a letter on Tuesday to U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson, who rejected pleas from California in September for more money to fight homelessness.
A HUD tally published last month put California's homeless population at more than 151,000, up 16 percent from the year before and the highest of any state. California is the nation's most populous state, with some 39.6 million residents. Newsom's appeal came nearly two weeks after Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti addressed a joint letter to Carson and President Donald Trump seeking federal assistance in tackling homelessness in the nation's second-largest city.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/california-governor-seeks-free-surplus-024635733.html
