Millbrae mayhem or County disdain?

“Information is power and I understand the emotion around it, I expected it, but I want people to understand housing the homeless is the responsibility of everyone,”

                    San Mateo County manager Mike Callagy

That is a quote from the Daily Journal's article titled Mayhem in Millbrae about the proposed purchase by the County of La Quinta Inn to convert it to a homeless project.  One has to wonder where these people in positions of authority come up with these look-down-their-noses ideas of what is and isn't someone else's responsibility.  The statement just oozes with disdain and a strong sniff of elitism.  "I understand, but...."

And then there are the financial consequences as laid out by the Millbrae city manager:

City Manager Tom Williams said the city is on track to receive around $540,000 in TOT from the La Quinta Inn in this year and taking on the inn’s potential residents will cost the city around $168,000 a year in services.

“The hotel market is becoming healthy and it’s a productive hotel,” Williams said Monday. “Every penny counts for this city. I am just worried we are taking three steps forward and four back.”

The county will reimburse the city for one year of TOT, and at the same time either supply it with a sheriff deputy and a mental health clinician, which the city said it needs, for 2 1/2 years or the cash equivalent, Callagy said Tuesday.

Permanent revenue losses and permanent additional costs, but short-term reimbursements.  What could go wrong?  This mindset seems to be pervasive at the County as more free money flows at every opportunity.  This letter writer to the DJ this week hit the nail on the head regarding the Jackie Speier plan to partially fund more welfare--50/50 with her foundation and County taxpayer monies:

Not to sound cold, but the new program announced by county officials doesn’t make sense. The pilot plan will give $300 a month to 200 families with children ages 0-3 who meet income requirements.

I see a couple of problems with this. First, a number of families who would qualify for this program are probably already on at least one form of assistance. Second, does this not further preach a lack of self accountability this country is sorely lacking? If you can’t afford to raise a child due to financial or time restraints, it should not be up to local taxpayers to fill the gap. Furthermore, as we’ve seen with the current welfare system over the last few generations, there will be plenty of people who will take advantage of assistance provided and use it as a lifestyle.

Joe Guttenbeil

Redwood City

I think he understates the number of programs that make up the free money flow.  They are everywhere at the federal, state and county level.  Food, health care, bus tickets, childcare, tuition, electricity, tax "credits" without paying any taxes--you name it there is a subsidy for it.  All the while more housing is shoved down our throats making it more expensive for everyone else to live here.  That's the real mayhem hidden behind the curtain.

Comments

[hollyroller@ gmail.com]

There are two Motels in SSF Right off the Main Road/Grand Ave.
@ 600 Units. 1800 Immigrants.
Come through there @ 8-10PM any night of the week and you will see SSF PD, ICE, and HLS.
Either Picking up, or just Patrolling.
All paid for by US.

[hollyroller@ gmail.com]

Nevertheless, there is a Family Atmosphere like nowhere in Burlingame.
More "Dirty Little Secrets" all @ Cal-Train or whatever Corp. makes money using the Train Tracks.

[Cassandra]

Cut HSR.

Build a facility in the Mojave to house the homeless and treat drug add and mental illness. Job training. Clients stay there until well and ready to join society.

Why the elected elite can’t hear the voters anguish and change the policies likely to harm their voters is a mystery for me unless I consider them having a snobbish pride that only seeks money and power.

Even the crazy bridge-toll increase was eventually stopped due to public and (!) political outcries. But the politicians pushing this idea promise to keep at it and can’t hear that the bridge tolls are simply too expensive.

[Spurinna]

Don’t keep voting for these folks.

[hollyroller@ gmail.com]

I never thought about it but Housing Homeless @ Mohave, CA. is a good idea. The Cost of building a 30,000-50,000 Homeless City would be way better than HSR.
However, there will have to be Hundreds of Hospitals. Hundreds of Doctors. Hundreds of Infrastructure Maintenance Personal. "Waste" Disposal. Police and Fire/EMT Personal. A Government that includes a Leader, as well as Elders. Financial Directors. This is such an expensive "Pipe Dream" it will NEVER Happen.

[HMB]

Maybe those tech bros building their own private city can "give back" by funding it. Now THAT'S a pipe dream.

[resident]

Yeah. And one of the tech bros is Nat Friedman the co-founder of California YIMBY. Where exactly is his backyard?

[hollyroller@ gmail.com]

The Poor get Poorer. The Rich get, well, you know. If anyone has ever spent an Evening in Mojave, CA. Putting Emotionally, Undereducated, Drug Addicted, men and women in a place that can be 365 Days a year, 100 degrees in the AM, and 30 degrees at 7:00PM is the Worst Place to put people who have NO ABILITY to take care of themselves is a Death Sentence. As well as a MAJOR WASTE OF MONEY.

[resident]

It's fun to watch you change your mind day by day.

[hollyroller@ gmail.com]

Everything is Fun Resident. You had Fun posting your comment. Or did you?

[Joe]

I'm not much on conspiracy theories, but I also have never encountered a Daily Journal letter to the editor that was published in the hard copy, but not to be found on-line on the DJ site.

I saw a letter from regular B'game writer Tim Donnelly (whom I do not know) suggesting that before the Millbrae La Quinta deal goes through, County manager Mike Callagy should build some affordable housing in HIS neighborhood first. I don't have the paper anymore or I would retype it in its entirety here.

Also in today's DJ a letter writer from Millbrae notes "In the Aug. 18 town hall, County Executive Mike Callagy was evasive about vetting criteria for La Quinta residents. Why? Probably because the county doesn’t want us to know that many drug/alcohol abusers will be part of a La Quinta population. And, because of California’s permissive policies like Housing First, substance abuse is allowed within government funded housing units. So, while drugs are consumed, drug dealers and partiers flock to that housing, creating danger and blight for the community."

Millbrae residents are on this......

[Joe]

While I am at it, the Sunday Comicle had a rare bit of insight in its Insight section titled "4 Things S.F. needs to address drugs".

Authored by a Sutter doc, a public health exec and the founder of the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic, number 2 was eye-opening in the sense that I've never seen it before. Here you go:

A better conservatorship process
Patients who repetitively refuse to cooperate with their recovery, due to substance use or mental illness, should not be allowed to leave the hospital against medical advice without a legal release.

In 1967, California adopted the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act to create a process for holding patients with a mental illness against their will when they are deemed to be a danger to themselves or others or are gravely disabled. This process, however, falls short in two significant ways.

First, while alcoholism is considered grounds for involuntary holds, substance abuse is not. The act’s criteria for holding a patient also do not apply to medical conditions. As such, patients who are unable to assess these ailments in a rational manner are allowed to walk out of the hospital with life-threatening infections, uncontrolled diabetes and other diseases that need ongoing treatment.

A second flaw in the process are rules that allow us to hold people but make it hard to treat them for the disease we are holding them for. A specific legal process is required to initiate a physical hold, a separate hearing, called a Riese hearing, is needed to actually treat the patient, who lacks the capacity to make rational decisions, without consent. This mechanism currently exists only for psychiatric patients. There are no provisions in LPS conservatorship for incapacitated patients refusing medical treatment.

Paternalism — “doctor knows best” — has become an unpopular concept in medicine and society. But the current prevalence of homelessness, misery and premature death among the mentally ill and addicted is worse. We take oaths to “do no harm,” but, as was first noted a half century ago, we are letting people “die with their rights on,” even though many of them who refuse assistance lack the ability to rationally exercise their rights and self-interest.

The rest is here: https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/sf-recovery-drug-crisis-18327395.php

[hollyroller@ gmail.com]

I wonder how far those "Residence Homes" are "Close to Schools?" Or "Individuals?" "The Library?"
I am sure "everything will be fine."
By the way. I am renting out my Two Car Garage on Oak Grove to Family of Four. Until last week.
They pay for the "Porta Potty" too...
$4200.00 per month.
Sad to
Let me know if you have anyone to recommend.
I will even let the "New People" drink out of the Garden Hose. FREE!

[Joe]

You had to see this coming....

2 facing recall effort on Millbrae’s council
Proponents say it’s because of their La Quinta Inn support

An effort to recall Millbrae Councilmember Angelina Cahalan and Vice Mayor Maurice Goodman is in beginning stages, with advocates citing neglect for Millbrae’s financial limitations, ignoring community concern and pointing to their support of the county’s planned conversion of the La Quinta Inn into permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless.

https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/2-facing-recall-effort-on-millbrae-s-council/article_781182be-8da3-11ee-a090-9b6308aa9bd9.html?utm_source=smdailyjournal.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Fheadlines%2F%3F-dc%3D1701183606&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline

[Spurrina]

Elected officials: Startlistening to voters.
You don’t know better than they do.

[Jimbo]

The good guys won!

https://www.yimbylaw.org/millbrae-ca-homeless-housing

[Mom]

Don't count the Papan sisters out too soon.