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New LA mayor Bass declares homeless emergency as term begins
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Karen Bass, left, is sworn in as mayor of Los Angeles by Vice President Kamala Harris, a longtime friend and former California attorney general, in Los Angeles, on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022. Bass' stepdaughter, Yvette Lechuga, center, holds the Bible used in the swearing in. - photo by AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass began her first day in office Monday by declaring a state of emergency to grapple with the city's out-of-control homeless crisis, bidding to move swiftly to get thousands of unhoused people off her city's streets. Bass called the declaration “a sea change in how the city tackles homelessness,” making good on a campaign pledge to call the emergency the day she took power. The issue dominated her mayoral race against billionaire developer Rick Caruso and the crisis has continued to worsen despite vast public spending increases.