Nick Gerda
Why does it often seem like there’s so little progress around homelessness? What can be done to make systems more effective? From the halls of government to the streets, I follow money and policies to examine what’s working, what’s not, and how it’s affecting people in Southern California.
I grew up in L.A. and OC, and previously spent more than a decade at Voice of OC covering the county government in Orange County — often reporting on issues like homelessness, public safety, mental health, and the role of money in politics.
My reporting on corruption in Orange County spurred a federal investigation that led to a powerful O.C. supervisor — Andrew Do — pleading guilty to a federal bribery charge and resigning. That work won the Dan Rather Medal for News and Guts and was a finalist for an Investigative Reporters and Editors award.
If you have a tip, you can reach me on Signal. My username is ngerda.47.
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And if you're comfortable just reaching out by email, I'm at ngerda@scpr.org.
I’m always eager for story ideas and feedback. Your insights help inform my reporting.
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VA officials are running about four years behind on promises to create 1,200 homes for veterans at the campus. VA Secretary Denis McDonough told LAist he’s “completely unsatisfied” with the pace. -
L.A. County officials announced late Friday they plan to appeal a judge’s rejection of their deal to resolve a long-running federal lawsuit over L.A.’s systemic failures to confront homelessness.
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LAist has learned that biweekly reports ordered by the Los Angeles City Council on where the money is going and how many people have been sheltered have not been delivered.
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In a contentious hearing, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter said L.A. County's proposal was woefully inadequate.
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It’s a major jump from a previous proposal rejected by a judge, though still far short of the 3,000 additional mental health beds a county report found were needed as of 2019.
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“How do I say the state of the city is strong when 40,000 people are in tents?” L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said as she released her budget proposal.
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The mayor wants to scale up her Inside Safe program to $250 million, and hire hundreds more police officers.
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Billions have been allocated to address the homelessness crisis. State auditors will look at where that money is going in specific localities — including what’s working and what’s not.
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When it comes to spending the cash, the city of L.A. has been warned not to do much of that until a court decides if the tax is legal.
