With homelessness exploding and an estimated street population of nearly 4,800, Wagner said he thinks “the county has been deficient in its responses for years.” Officials only decided to act after the prodding of a federal judge overseeing civil lawsuits against the county and multiple cities, sparked by the evictions of residents at the largest illegal tent city along the Santa Ana River trail last year, he added. “I need to take off my Irvine hat and put on my county hat to study the issues and focus on what must be done.”

Source: Los Angeles Times March 16, 2019 02:12 UTC