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LOS ANGELES—Newly sworn in Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, in her first order of business, declared a state of emergency Dec. 12 on the city's sprawling homelessness.
Bass, who spent her first morning as mayor meeting with the city's various department heads to brief them on the declaration, signed it inside the city's Emergency Operations Center in a room designated as the "United Homelessness Response Center."
"Using the emergency order is our ability to fast-track things," Bass said.
Vice President Kamala Harris swears in Karren Bass as Los Angeles Mayor at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles on Dec. 11, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
In her inaugural speech Sunday, Bass said the declaration will officially recognize the homelessness issue as a crisis. The city saw a rise in homelessness over the last two years—a 4.1 percent increase since 2020—with nearly 42,000 people living on the streets, according to the city's 2022 homeless count....