Page 67 - AAGLA-JUNE 2022

Feature Story
Continued from page 64
Los Angeles Area Nonprofit Staff Embezzled $400,000 in Homeless Funds
Three nonprofit staff members for a Los Angeles based nonprofit were charged with embezzling $400,000 intended to assist people experiencing homelessness. The staffmembers enlisted friends and family members to apply for assistance with falsified documents. The fraud occurred in 2017 but since being brought to light the women involved have been charged with 56 felonies including embezzlement and grand theft.
Trains: Contractor Calls High Speed Rail Construction Delays “Beyond Comprehension”
A letter from one of the main contractors working on the high-speed rail project expressed dismay over delays related to the state securing right-of-ways, suggesting delays and cost overruns on the project would continue to worsen. The letter, obtained by the Los Angeles Times, stated: “It is beyond comprehension that as of this day, more than two thousand and six hundred calendar days after (official approval to start construction) that the authority has not obtained all of the right of way ... ”
Trains: Central Valley High-Speed Rail Segment a Year Behind and $1.4 Billion Over Budget
A segment of California’s troubled high-speed rail project under construction in the Central Valley will again have its completion date pushed back. This development is just the latest in a long series of delays and cost overruns related to the high-speed rail project, a scheme which has changed considerably and at least doubled in estimated cost from what was originally approved by voters.
Subways: How Does a Subway in Nancy Pelosi’s District Prevent Coronavirus?
Many members of Congress expressed dismay when a federal coronavirus relief package included $141 million for a South Bay BART project benefiting Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s district. While transit ridership has been declining throughout California long before the pandemic, ridership crashed especially once people began working from home and avoiding crowds, making the allocation especially nonsensical.
Trains: High-Speed Rail Contractor Four Years Behind and Over Budget
California’s high-speed rail officials awarded a contract for construction of a Central Valley segment of the route to the lowest bidder, a Spanish company named Dragados. Dragados promised it could deliver $300 million in cost savings with design changes. These design changes were later abandoned and Dragados is now four years behind schedule and has only completed 50% of the work it had planned. The High-Speed Rail Authority bears a share of the responsibility both for not doing its due diligence on the feasibility of the proposal itself and by failing to deliver 278 of 998 land parcels needed to complete construction.
Light Rail: 30 New Light Rail Trains in the Bay Area
San Francisco County Supervisors approved $200 million for 30 new light rail trains and new parking meters. However, given that transit ridership was falling even before the pandemic, whether this is actually a good idea is an appropriate question.
Concluding Thoughts
It’s always important to note that the waste, fraud, and abuse listed in the “Follow the Money” report is not a full list of government ineptitude and corruption for the year — it’s simply a selection of examples that were publicly exposed by watchdog organizations, media investigations and official inquiries. The fact that the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Foundation can compile such a report annually, each with new revelations of billions of dollars wasted, illustrates the extent of the problem.
People once flocked to California from around the country and around the world. Today, people are leaving in droves to go to states like Texas and Florida where taxes and lower and state governments are less overbearing. What is the solution? Perhaps the political class will continue to abuse their power with impunity so long as they know there will be no real consequence for their failed leadership. The first step, however, is simply to raise awareness among our friends, neighbors, and communities so that our fellow citizens can at least be informed about the situation at hand. You can help bring about this increased awareness by sharing this report with others.
About the Author. Eric Eisenhammer serves as Director of Grassroots Operations at Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Foundation and is Chief Executive Officer of Dauntless Communications. He earned his Master of Public Policy Administration from Sacramento State University and Baccalaureate in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from California State University, Northridge. He has worked on numerous political campaigns around California and Nevada and has served as a legislative aide and Senate Fellow in the Sacramento State Capitol. The opinions expressed in this article are those of its author and not necessarily those of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles. This article is being reprinted with permission from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association and the author.
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