Newsom says bailing L.A. out of budget crisis is ‘nonstarter.' Bass remains hopeful
In an AI-generated image, the budget cover page featured the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco skyline, along with office workers who appear to be chatting it up in a forest glade next to an electric vehicle charging station. Not a hint of Los Angeles was anywhere to be seen.
Deeper in the budget proposal, no salvation was found for L.A. And at a news conference Wednesday, Newsom said flatly that he did not plan to provide cash to help dig the city out of its budget hole. The city is facing a $1-billion shortfall due to inflated personnel costs, higher than ever liability lawsuit payouts and below-expected revenues.
'The state's not in a position to write a check,' Newsom said. 'When you're requesting things that have nothing to do with disaster recovery, that's a nonstarter ... I don't need to highlight examples of requests from the city and county that were not related to disaster recovery and this state is not in a position, never have been, even in other times, to address those requests, particularly at this time.'
The governor's rejection of Mayor Karen Bass' pleas for state aid came as he discussed the state's own economic woes. The state is confronting a $12-billion budget deficit in part due to a 'Trump Slump,' Newsom said. The governor had to make cuts to his own signature program offering healthcare to immigrants without proper documentation.
The governor made sure to remind reporters Wednesday that the state had been more than willing to help with fire recovery efforts, but said that was the limit of its generosity. Newsom said that of the $2.5 billion offered to Los Angeles after the fires, more than $1 billion remained unused. That funding helped with emergency response and initial recovery from the January wildfires.
Despite Newsom's edict, Bass didn't appear ready to throw in the towel. She said she and the governor were 'in sync' and in regular contact about the situation. State money to help with the budget crisis would be fire-recovery-related, Bass insisted.
'We had to spend a great deal of money of our general fund related to the wildfires. If we are able to get that reimbursed that relieves some of the pressure from the general fund,' Bass said in an interview with The Times. 'We submitted a document to him where we are asking him if the state would be willing to give us the money up front that FEMA will reimburse — so we are requesting 100% fire-related.'
Bass visited Sacramento in March and April. She and L.A. legislators first requested $1.893 billion in state aid to help with the budget crisis and disaster recovery. The mayor has since pared down the request, but the amount she is now requesting is not public.
In the initial request, they asked for $638 million for 'protecting city services under budgetary strain.' That request is likely dead. But the $301-million request for 'a loan to support disaster recovery expenses pending FEMA reimbursement' still stands.
Bass said she most recently met with the governor two weeks ago, and he informed the mayor that the state's financial situation was not looking good.
The revision is just a starting point for final budgetary negotiations between the governor and the Legislature, and the state budget won't be completed until at least mid-June, weeks after the deadline for the City Council to approve its own budget.
'We have 36 members of the L.A. delegation fighting for the city and we'll just have to wait and see what happens in June,' said Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, who chairs the Los Angeles County Legislative Delegation.
McKinnor said she is confident that the state budget will have money not just for fire recovery, but also to help the city manage its broader financial woes.
'We will not fail L.A.,' McKinnor said.
With the state lifeline in serious doubt, the cuts the city will have to make to balance its budget took another step toward reality.
While Bass is still hopeful for state aid, the council seemed less hopeful.
'We expected and planned for this outcome, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating. The governor's decision to withhold support from California's largest city after we experienced the most devastating natural disaster in the state's history is a serious mistake, with consequences for both our long-term recovery and the strength of the state's economy,' said Katy Yaroslavsky, who chairs the council's budget committee.
'This will not be a 'no-layoff' budget,' Yaroslavsky said on May 8 at a budget hearing.
Bass stressed that she is still trying to avoid any layoffs. The city plans to avert further layoffs by transferring employees to the proprietary departments, like the harbor, the airport and perhaps the Department of Water & Power.
'We're all working very, very hard with the same goal in mind and that is having a balanced, responsible budget that avoids laying off city workers,' she said Thursday.
— MOURNING ONE OF CITY HALL'S OWN: Former chief of staff to Councilmember Kevin de León and longtime L.A. politico Jennifer Barraza Mendoza died Tuesday at 37 following a long battle with cancer. Barraza Mendoza began her career organizing with SEIU Local 99, helped lead De León's Senate campaign and also served as a principal at Hilltop Public Solutions, among other roles. 'In a political world of shapeshifters, she stood out as fiercely loyal and guided by principle,' De León said in a statement. 'She never sought the spotlight — but when tested, she rose with unmatched strength to protect her team, her community, and what she knew was right.'
— MINIMUM WAGE WAR: The City Council voted Wednesday for a sweeping package of minimum wage increases for hotel workers and employees of companies at Los Angeles International Airport. One hotel executive said the proposal, which would take the wage to $30 in July 2028, would kill his company's plan for a new 395-room hotel tower in Universal City. Other hotel companies predicted they would scale back or shutter their restaurant operations. The hotel workers' union countered by saying business groups have made similar warnings in the past, only to be proved wrong.
— SECOND TIME'S A CHARM: Surprise! On Friday, the City Council had to schedule a do-over vote on its tourism wage proposal. That vote, called as part of a special noon meeting, came two days after City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto's office warned that Wednesday's vote had the potential to violate the city's public meeting law.
— READY TO RELAUNCH: Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez plans to host her campaign kickoff event for her reelection bid Saturday in Highland Park, where she was born and raised. She already has a few competitors in the race, including Raul Claros, who used to serve on the Affordable Housing Commission, and Sylvia Robledo, a former council aide.
The left-wing councilmember has already won the endorsements of Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson and from colleagues Heather Hutt, Ysabel Jurado, Hugo Soto-Martinez and Nithya Raman. Controller Kenneth Mejia also endorsed her.
— PHOTO BOMB: Recently pictured with Eunisses Hernandez: Political consultant Rick Jacobs — the former senior aide to then-Mayor Eric Garcetti who was accused of sexual harassment. Jacobs now works as a consultant for the politically powerful Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters. Per a post on Jacobs' LinkedIn, Hernandez posed for a photo this week with Jacobs and several union members while presenting the group with a city certificate of recognition.
Jacobs has denied the harassment allegations, but the scandal bedeviled Garcetti in his final years in office and nearly derailed his ambassadorship to India. Jacobs has remained in the political mix — some may remember his controversial appearance at Bass' exclusive 2022 post-inauguration Getty House afterparty. Also worth noting: The Carpenters are major players in local elections, and their PAC spent nearly $150,000 supporting Hernandez's then-opponent Gil Cedillo in the 2022 election.
'Councilmember Hernandez was proud to stand with the carpenters who built the little library at North East New Beginnings, the first-of-its-kind interim housing site she opened in 2024. She was there to honor their craftsmanship and community contribution — nothing more. She did not choose who else appeared in the photo,' said Naomi Villagomez Roochnik, a spokesperson for Hernandez.
— PARK GETS AN OPPONENT: Public Counsel attorney Faizah Malik is challenging Councilmember Traci Park from the left, the tenants rights lawyer announced Thursday. Malik is styling her campaign in the mold of prior progressive incumbent ousters, she said, though she has yet to garner any of their endorsements. But she did get an Instagram signal boost from former CD 11 Councilmember Mike Bonin, who characterized her as 'A Westside leader who will fight for YOU and your family.' Meanwhile, centrist group Thrive LA had a fundraiser for Park this week, and declared her its first endorsement of the 2026 cycle.
— FIREFIGHT: Active and retired firefighters blasted the council's recommendation to nix 42 'Emergency Incident Technicians,' who help develop firefighting strategy and account for firefighters during blazes. In a letter to the council, the firefighters said the 1998 death of firefighter Joseph Dupee was linked to removal of EITs during a previous budget crisis.
'Please do not repeat the same mistake that was made in 1998 when EITs were removed and said removal was found to be a contributing factor in the death of LAFD Captain Joseph Dupee,' the firefighters wrote.
— EMPLOYMENT LAW AND ORDER: Some LAPD officers are hitting the jackpot on what are known as 'LAPD lottery' cases. The city has paid out nearly $70 million over the last three years to officers who have sued the department after alleging they were the victims of sexual harassment, racial discrimination or retaliation against whistleblowers.
The massive payouts are not helping the city's coffers. One of the leading causes of the current fiscal crisis is the ballooning liability payments that the city makes in settlements and jury verdicts.
— WATER OLYMPICS: L.A. County's plan to run a water taxi between Long Beach and San Pedro during the Olympics paddled forward this week. Supervisor Janice Hahn introduced a motion, with co-author Mayor Bass, to launch a feasibility study assessing ridership demand, cost and possible routes.
'[The water taxi] would give residents, workers and tourists an affordable alternative to driving and parking at these Games venues,' Hahn said.
— ROBO-PERMIT: City and county residents submitting plans to rebuild their burned down properties could have their first interaction with an AI bot who would inspect their plans before a human. Wildfire recovery foundations purchased the AI permitting software, developed by Australian tech firm Archistar, and donated it to the city and county. The tech was largely paid for by Steadfast L.A., Rick Caruso's nonprofit.
— TRUMP'S VETS MOVE: President Trump signed an executive order calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs to house up to 6,000 homeless veterans on its West Los Angeles campus, but even promoters of the idea are skeptical of the commander in chief's follow-through.
'If this had come from any other president, I'd pop the Champagne,' said Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks), whose district includes the West Los Angeles campus. Trump, he said, follows up on 'like one out of 10 things that he announces. You just never know which one. You never know to what extent.'
— ADDRESSING THE ELEPHANTS IN THE ROOM: A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge denied a motion for a temporary restraining order Thursday that sought to stop the L.A. Zoo from transferring elephants Tina and Billy to the Tulsa Zoo. The judge said the decision was out of the court's purview. The zoo said Thursday that the 'difficult decision' to relocate the pachyderms was made with the 'care and well being' of the animals at top of mind.
'Activist agendas and protests are rightfully not a consideration in decisions that impact animal care,' the statement said.
— CHARTER SQUABBLE: Bass made her four appointments to the Charter Reform Commission this week. She selected Raymond Meza, Melinda Murray, Christina Sanchez and Robert Lewis to serve as commissioners. She also named Justin Ramirez as the executive director of the commission. Bass's appointments came on the heels of reform advocate Rob Quan sending out mailers about the mayor's delay in making appointments, which left the commission unable to get to work.
'Karen Bass wasted eight months. That was when her appointments were due. Eight months ago,' Quan said in an interview.
— WORKDAY TROUBLE: The Department of Water and Power is slated to adopt a new human resources software, Workday, in mid-June. But Gus Corona, business manager of IBEW Local 18, warned of 'serious concerns' and the potential for 'widespread problems and administrative chaos.' In a letter this week to DWP CEO Janisse Quiñones, which The Times obtained, Corona said there was a 'consistent lack of clarity' about the new system, especially around union dues and benefit deductions, retroactive pay and cost of living adjustments. 'The level of uncertainty so close to a planned launch date is deeply troubling,' Corona wrote.
That's it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@latimes.com. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.
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Politico
9 hours ago
- Politico
The Republican donor ready to fight Newsom on redistricting
THE MUNGER GAMES TRILOGY — Charles Munger Jr. was one of California's best-resourced political hobbyists, a Palo Alto physicist who tapped a family fortune to sell voters on a series of good-government reforms before effectively announcing his retirement from ballot measure politics in 2020. But Munger, the 68-year-old son of Warren Buffett's longtime business partner, has been drawn back to the fray by Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed mid-decade partisan gerrymander of California's congressional districts. Newsom describes it as a tit-for-tat offset of a similar move underway in Texas, but there is one major difference between the two states: California voters would have to rewrite the state constitution to give politicians the right to intervene in the process. Now, according to Munger advisers, the donor who spent $13 million to establish that constitutional status quo is ready to spend more in defense of a signature achievement. As Newsom attempts to rally support from skeptical Democrats nationwide for his plan to revert back to partisan line-drawing, Munger is taking early steps to assemble a campaign that could defeat a Newsom measure at the ballot in a possible snap election this November. 'Any attempt to undermine the nonpartisan California Redistricting Commission will be strongly opposed in the courts and at the ballot box,' Munger wrote earlier this month on a newly created X account that as of press time had 56 followers. Prop 11, the 2008 amendment which first created an independent redistricting commission for state legislative districts, passed with about 51 percent of the vote. Its success was a bipartisan triumph: Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the measure's most vocal advocate, while prominent Democratic donors — including then- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (at the time a political independent), media investor Haim Saban and former Netflix CEO Reed Hastings — were among its most generous backers. Prop 11's proponents then came back two years later to extend the commission's authority to U.S. House districts in time for the decennial redistricting season via Proposition 20. This time, the campaign was funded almost entirely by Munger, an ideological moderate trained in atomic physics at U.C. Berkeley, who had given $1 million to pass Prop 11 before shelling out $12 million to the Yes on 20 campaign. Newsom has said he would like to see California change its rules so that districting lines can be redrawn before the November 2026 midterm elections. (Newsom has spoken only of the congressional map and hasn't addressed whether his proposal would keep redistricting commission in place for state legislative seats.) That would likely mean a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on a special-election ballot this fall, leaving Munger limited time to rally opposition. Munger has recruited campaign consultants and earlier this month began commissioning polls and focus groups to determine the contours of a campaign that would likely turn again to a coalition of Republican leaders and good-government progressives — albeit in a very different partisan environment. 'The governor is trying to develop a bit of a national profile and sees this as a vehicle for doing that,' said Dan Vicuna, a senior policy director for Common Cause, which submitted voter arguments for Prop 20 in 2010 and likely would play part in any revived coalition. 'We have a straightforward narrative. Republicans in Texas, Democrats in California, are doing what they always do with redistricting — using it to their political advantage … I kind of like our odds in that political fight.' NEWS BREAK: Covid-19 spikes in California … Home prices drop in San Jose summer sales … University of California admits record number of California residents amid continued uncertainty. Welcome to Ballot Measure Weekly, a special edition of Playbook PM focused on California's lively realm of ballot measure campaigns. Drop us a line at eschultheis@ and wmccarthy@ or find us on X — @emilyrs and @wrmccart. TOP OF THE TICKET A highly subjective ranking of the ballot measures — past and future, certain and possible — getting our attention this week. 1. Save Prop 13 Act (2026?): The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is preparing to decide which of three versions of a constitutional amendment to take to voters, despite being what president Jon Coupal says is 'a little bit disappointed' by ballot language the attorney general's office has drawn up for two of them. (The third should get its title and summary by the end of August.) 2. Gross receipts tax repeal (Los Angeles, 2026?): Southland chamber of commerce leaders have launched an an initiative effort aimed at the city's gross-receipts tax, part of a counteroffensive to the city's new $30 minimum wage law and a series of related initiatives targeting the tourism industry proposed by Unite Here Local 11. 3. School choice (2026?): Former Thousand Oaks Mayor Kevin McNamee is planning to file a constitutional amendment that would allow parents to use state money allocated to public schools for private schools or homeschooling instead. McNamee, who has enlisted Newsom recall veteran Mike Netter to develop a volunteer-driven petition drive, says he will file this week. 4. Prop 12 (2018): The federal battle over the animal-welfare initiative is dividing congressional Republicans, as Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, Andrew Garbarino and Brian Fitzpatrick take California's side against Rep. G.T. Thompson's efforts to gut the state's confinement regulations in an upcoming farm bill. They argue Congress shouldn't 'strip states of their right to govern agriculture practices within their respective jurisdictions,' according to a draft letter obtained by POLITICO. 5. Measure W (Alameda County, 2020): Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee has joined anti-homelessness activists in pushing the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to ensure hundreds of millions in sales-tax revenue go toward funding homelessness programs as promised by a 2020 ballot measure. An appeals-court judge ruled earlier this year that the county can spend the money however it wants because it was approved as a general tax and not a special tax. 6. Anti-incarceration funding (Los Angeles County, 2026?): The latest meeting of the task force to implement a sweeping governance reform approved by voters last fall was partially overshadowed by the administrative error that led the county to accidentally wipe out Measure J, a 2020 charter amendment to fund jail alternatives. A county attorney told the task force that officials are still figuring out how to fix that snafu — whether it can be handled administratively or would need to go before voters again in 2026. 7. Proposition K (San Francisco, 2024): Supervisor Joel Engardio is touting a 'first of its kind' endorsement from the Sierra Club as he aims to hold off a recall campaign triggered by a contentious initiative. The environmental group ranked him top amongst San Francisco supervisors on a recent scorecard, in part due to his support for closing off the coastal Great Highway to create a city park. I'M JUST A BILL BAY AREA TRANSIT FUNDING: Big business interests are hoping to smooth over a rupture within the coalition behind a likely November 2026 regional transit initiative by changing the conversation from how the measure would be funded to what it would actually do. Thus far the internal debate within the transit-funding coalition has revolved around the type of tax that could be used to raise cash for BART, MUNI and other struggling systems. The Bay Area Council, which has been expected to help fund a campaign, wants a half-percent sales tax. A labor-backed coalition called Bay Area Forward would like to instead see a gross-receipts tax, arguing voters concerned with cost of living would be more likely to support a tax paid by businesses. The Bay Area Council has begun making the case that rewriting the measure so it promises to upgrade public transportation, rather than simply maintaining service, can raise support for the sales-tax proposal. Rather than switch the funding mechanism, the group — whose corporate members would saddle the cost of a gross-receipts tax — is proposing the measure direct revenue to 'rider focused improvements' and include a financial efficiency review to ensure they do. Although there is already language in SB 63, the legislative vehicle that now awaits a hearing in the Assembly's appropriations committee, that notes the need to improve 'public transportation service,' it's not clear exactly how those promises will manifest in the final ballot language. 'It's unlikely that voters will support a tax increase that only funds status quo operations,' said Emily Loper, who leads transportation policy for the Bay Area Council. 'We need to deliver a better system for voters to support.' ON OTHER BALLOTS Seattle's electorate will weigh in next week on whether to continue the city's 'democracy vouchers' program, which gives voters each four $25 coupons that can be donated to political candidates of their choosing ... A court in Miami ruled the city can't postpone elections planned for this fall until November 2026 without giving voters a chance to weigh in, POLITICO's Kimberly Leonard reports for Florida Playbook ... A conservative advocacy group in Colorado has launched an initiative effort to exempt tips and overtime pay from state taxes, aligning the state's policy with provisions in Congress' recently passed megabill ... Environmental groups in Oregon are considering gathering signatures for a constitutional amendment that would guarantee residents the right to a healthy and safe climate after the state legislature declined to refer a similar measure to the ballot ... Slovenia's parliament voted to cancel planned national referendums on defense spending and the country's NATO membership ... and President Donald Trump's insistence on reverting the Washington, D.C. NFL team's name to the Redskins may inadvertently aid progressive backers of an anti-stadium ballot, POLITICO's Michael Schaffer writes in his 'Capital City' column. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ... PROP 63 (2016): Nearly 10 years ago, California voters approved a first-in-the-nation rule that banned high-capacity ammunition magazines and required background checks for the purchase of other bullets. Last week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals may have finally cast the deciding No vote on the measure. The citizen's initiative was developed by Newsom, then serving as lieutenant governor, whose ballot-measure committee ran the $3.3 million campaign. The coalitions broke down along predictable partisan lines, with the California Democratic Party spending to pass it and the state's most prominent Republicans against. (Barbra Streisand was on one side, Steven Seagal the other.) The initiative received 63 percent of the vote, slightly better than Hillary Clinton did on the same November 2016 ballot. Prop 63 faced multiple legal challenges from gun-rights groups representing citizens who claimed their constitutional rights were being violated. The 9th Circuit has thus far upheld the ban on high-capacity magazines, although the California Rifle & Pistol Association has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal. But in a separate case, a three-judge panel ruled last week that 'California's ammunition background check regime infringes on the fundamental right to keep and bear arms,' upholding a lower court's injunction against it. Newsom called the decision 'a slap in the face,' but neither he nor Attorney General Rob Bonta has declared plans to appeal it. POSTCARD FROM ... … SANTA CLARA: In recent years, many municipalities across the state have embarked on the unglamorous task of updating their aged city and county charters, many originally drafted in the 1940s and 1950s. Some, like Oakland, have pitched the changes as an antidote to all that ails them. Others, like Redondo Beach, aim to avoid outdated requirements like posting lengthy code changes in newspapers. Still more, like Alameda County, have preferred targeted reforms that nevertheless raise accusations of power grabs or political maneuvering. Now, as Santa Clara takes its bite at the charter-reform apple, city attorney Glen Googins is trying to get ahead of any concerns that the proposed changes the city voters see on a 2026 ballot are anything more than a boring local government at work on boring local-government things. 'It's really a very wonky exercise,' Googins said. 'This couldn't be less of a power grab.' Googins, who as Chula Vista's city attorney helped direct a 2022 charter revision there, was well aware of the hurdles and hoops an outdated founding document can place on a city when he joined Santa Clara's staff two years ago. One notable, time-consuming example Googins cites: a provision in the Santa Clara charter that required the council to approve any public work that costs over $1,000. 'At one time $1,000 was a lot, but now it's a ridiculous number for the city council to have to approve,' Googins said. 'It's not that anyone wants the public not to be aware of things. It's just good government.' The city council voted to empower a committee to review potential charter changes, including one that would raise the $1,000 threshold, which the council would then place before voters on the 2026 ballot. THAT TIME VOTERS ... … PASSED A VET: Californians have seen ballot measures on a wide variety of questions related to the state's military veterans, including to: Change tax policy for private property, with certain groups including war veterans exempted (1920, failed) ... Issue up to $10 million in bonds for U.S. Army and Navy veterans to acquire or develop farms or homes (1922, passed) ... Establish the Veterans Board as an independent agency with a board appointed by state officials (1985, did not qualify) ... Restore affirmative-action policies for disadvantaged groups, including disabled veterans, in educational opportunity programs, public contracts and employment (1996, did not qualify) ... Regularly audit the Cal-Vet Loan Program and impose criminal penalties on any state employees or others who knew of asserted wrongful use of Cal-Vet money (1999, did not qualify) ... Recommend that the U.S. government fund the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide quality and accessible health care to eligible veterans (2007, did not qualify) ... And allow the Legislature to provide full or partial property tax exemptions for homes belonging to disabled veterans or a disabled veteran's spouse (2012, did not qualify).
Fox News
11 hours ago
- Fox News
Texas local official caught mocking DHS secretary as 'Homeland Barbie' after deadly floods
City officials in Kerrville were largely unprepared for the devastating floods that struck the Hill Country on July 4, according to newly released city communications, including emails and text messages obtained by KSAT through public records requests. The documents include a text exchange involving Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice, in which he jokingly referred to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as "basically homeland Barbie." Hours before participating in a July 5 press conference alongside federal, state, and local officials to update the public on rescue efforts, Rice received a message from a city employee that read, "Just saw you met Homeland Barbie. How is she?" Rice responded, "Basically homeland Barbie," followed by a string of laughter. The nickname, as well as similar terms like "ICE Barbie," has been used online to satirize Noem since she assumed her role as DHS secretary earlier this year. Her handling of the flood crisis has drawn sharp criticism, particularly after it was revealed that changes to federal contract approval procedures delayed FEMA's deployment by approximately three days. Concerns have also emerged at the state and local levels. Texas officials have long resisted implementing a warning siren system for the Guadalupe River, where the flooding proved most fatal. Additionally, a controversial reorganization by the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) resulted in the dismissal of a key National Weather Service emergency coordination officer just months before the disaster. The tragedy has left Kerrville and surrounding communities demanding answers and reforms before the next storm strikes. In response to mounting scrutiny, Secretary Noem defended the federal government's actions. "This was the fastest in history that FEMA has ever responded to a disaster," she said in a previous interview with Fox News. "Unlike FEMA's poor track record under the Biden administration, this time FEMA operated how President Trump wanted it to operate." She added, "I'm very proud of the fact that we didn't go there and manage it. We went there and allowed the local officials to manage it, to run it. The state did a fantastic job. We're there to support and give them what resources they need." The catastrophic flooding claimed at least 137 lives across Texas, with 108 fatalities reported in Kerr County alone. Among the dead were 27 campers and staff members at Camp Mystic, a century-old Christian summer camp for girls in the town of Hunt. Authorities are now investigating whether Camp Mystic officials received and appropriately responded to flash flood warnings prior to the tragedy. The incident has sparked broader questions about how youth camps and other vulnerable institutions assess and act on rapidly evolving weather threats. Fox News Digital reached out to Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice and the Kerrville city officials, but did not receive a response. Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to
Miami Herald
11 hours ago
- Miami Herald
FEMA to distribute $680 million to states to build migrant detention facilities
Over the past month, as the Trump administration has intensified its immigration crackdown, it has called on states to take a more active role in assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement by building temporary facilities to hold detained migrants. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will now distribute $680 million to states and local governments through a new 'Detention Support Grant Program' for the construction of new migrant detention facilities. 'This will relieve overcrowding in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's short-term holding facilities, further the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's immigration enforcement plans,' the description of the program states. The detention grant program is launching almost a month after the opening of Alligator Alcatraz, the state-run migrant detention facility in the Florida Everglades. Gov. Ron DeSantis said Florida is the leading example of a state cooperating with the federal government to detain undocumented immigrants The Everglades facility is estimated to cost Florida taxpayers $450 million and is capable of holding up to 3,000 to 5,000 detainees, according to FEMA. Contracts and purchase orders in the Florida Accountability Contract Tracking System show the state has already committed to spending more than $200 million with private contractors. FEMA has said the state can request reimbursement from the agency's $650 million Shelter and Service program fund. The program was established under the Biden administration to award grants to state, local and non-profit organizations that provide services to immigrants released from ICE custody. DeSantis said Friday the state will begin requesting reimbursement from the federal government. Despite complaints from detainees and their lawyers about unsanitary conditions such as clogged toilets, limited showers, and high temperatures, DeSantis has called Alligator Alcatraz a blueprint for temporary detention that other states can follow. The Florida Division of Emergency Management, which oversees the facility, did not respond to requests for comments on whether the state has filed for reimbursement from the federal government and if the state plans to apply for grants from the new program. The new detention grant program requires recipients not to use the funds to construct new permanent facilities, nor can they be used for the transportation of detained migrants between detention centers. It can only be used for 'the costs of sheltering aliens in a detained environment.' An environmental impact assessment is also required. Environmentalists and critics of Alligator Alcatraz have voiced concerns about the bright lights and new constructions, such as the roadway, disturbing the Everglades ecosystem. In June, environmental groups filed a lawsuit accusing the state and federal governments of failing to adhere to environmental regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act. The DeSantis administration has said it plans to build several detention sites similar to Alligator Alcatraz to hold undocumented immigrants. DeSantis has suggested a Clay County training site known as 'Camp Blanding' could be the next location for an immigration detention center. FEMA did not respond to a request for comments on whether the new program funds differed from those of the shelter program. It is also unclear whether there will be a limit on the amount each state is awarded. States and local governments have until early August to apply for the program.
