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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The city agreed to pay for the beds in an agreement overseen by a federal judge, but withheld spending summaries from court auditors. -
LAHSA officials had refused to disclose the documents, but reversed themselves after weeks of questions by LAist and criticism from attorneys who said the agency was violating public records laws.
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Do is scheduled to be sentenced in June to up to five years in federal prison. County supervisors voted 4-1 to call for a tougher sentence.
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Here’s a look at ways the documents could come to light.
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LA homeless agency refuses to release records on $800,000 in payouts for wrongful termination claimsThe government agency known as LAHSA settled wrongful termination claims with two former executives of the agency last month and is alleging the public cannot see the records. “That is something the public absolutely has the right to know,” said public records attorney David Loy.
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Some on the board contend that the disgraced supervisor's deal equates to “special treatment” compared with other major corruption cases and doesn’t reflect “the severity and extent" of Do’s behavior.
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Va Lecia Adams Kellum’s departure from LAHSA comes after L.A. County leaders voted to pull hundreds of millions of dollars from the agency’s budget.
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Supervisors Janet Nguyen and Doug Chaffee argue the disgraced official's plea deal 'stands in stark contrast to harsher penalties imposed on others.'
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The homelessness agency known as LAHSA has been criticized for failing to account for its use of taxpayers' money.
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A federal judge convenes a who’s who of top officials, lambasting a failure to properly track billions in spending on homelessness.
![A Black woman sits at a dais with a flag in the background. A name placard in front of her reads: Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kell[um].](https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/30b2650/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5997x4198+27+0/resize/180x126!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscpr-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2F76%2F00%2Febed9a7a4fbd9e5ba12997e51d59%2Fgettyimages-1258669633.jpg)
