“Architect and lead litigator in groundbreaking lawsuit forcing the City and County of LA to address homelessness in a comprehensive and compassionate manner”
Years have gone by in Austin, with tent cities popping up in every conceivable non-occupied area, including an attractive tent smack in front of City Hall. (Attractive as tents go....) I’ve not followed the debacle of housing those on the streets closely enough to explain why buying an empty multimillion dollar hotel was bought, and how it has since fared. I do know that tent clusters continue to pop up, get rousted by police, only to reappear in other areas. Because last year, Austin was hit by an unremitting heat wave for most of the summer, libraries and other such public areas were advertised as “shelters” for those otherwise without means to avoid dying of heat stroke.
We do have a group which is building “3D homes,” made of some kind of concrete, which can, using the 3D machinery, go up in a day, although plumbing and electricity still requires doing, presumably with some construction for windows and doors.
Overall, the displaced people--it is recognized--need more than housing. Some have disabilities, some need mental health services, others are addicts who may--or may not--benefit from “rehabilitation.” Then, we also have the working poor; they may work one or two or multiple part time jobs, yet don’t make enough money to afford Austin’s rising housing costs.
Last year, I encountered one of the working poor, while trying to check on my 2020 Kia Sportage, which had been stolen from in front of my house, then recovered by police & towed to an outrageously expensive private impound lot. I had seen the SUV the day before, and it was clearly not drivable. The front dashboard had been dismantled, along with the steering wheel. The front seat was covered with broken glass, from the shattered driver’s window, which gave the thieves access. Dirty clothes--not mine, were scattered about, the upholstery had been damaged & to top off the grim reality of what had happened, it was a cold day, gray clouds had rolled in, after the summer drought, soaking the inside of my car.
I arranged with my insurance company, USAA, to tow the vehicle to a Kia dealership. I chose one in Round Rock, having had a poor experience with two Kia dealerships in Austin...but that’s another story.
When I arrived, I eventually talked to the clerk, and found out my Kia had already been retrieved by the towing company. As I was leaving, it was late afternoon. A lone clean-cut well-dressed man, about 30ish, was sitting alone outside. My reporter’s instincts kicked in, and I stopped to ask what he was doing. Well, he told me that his car had been stolen, he had been assaulted. He was waiting for detectives to go over his car, which they believed had been used in a murder
He asked if he could wait in my car, to warm up. I had nothing I needed to do, and motioned him to get in. (At this point, I had a rental car, supplied as part of my insurance policy.) I wasn’t reporting for any news outlet, so I didn’t press him for details; but as often happens, that’s the best way to actually get a story. He had just recently arrived in Austin from California. He had been the manager of a grocery store, there. His wife had died, and the men who stole his car had taken everything, including $2 bills, which had been his wife’s...he cried at this point.... He was driving for Uber, trying to save up enough money to afford an apartment, and sleeping in his car at night.
Very early that morning, he was awakened by someone pounding on his car door. Thinking it was the police--who had awakened him in this way before--he opened the door, to see guys in ski masks.
He tried to fight them, but then saw there were four men. They overpowered him, took his wallet and cell phone, and drove off with his car.
He had been able to buy a temporary cell phone, and called his mom. (She was in a nursing home in Canada.) After reassuring her he was all right, he talked to someone else--a woman--possibly a sister or aunt.
She had arranged three nights in an Austin motel for him.
“At least you can get cleaned up, and get some rest,” she said.
Finally, the detectives arrived, with his car. It was a late-model hybrid, but one tire was the mini spare. The detectives left. He looked in his trunk--where he had stored everything he owned--it was all gone. Then he opened the driver’s door, and cried out in anguish. It had been torn apart!
“Ahhh! It’s completely trashed!” he said.
I was wordless--shocked at how in such a short time his fortunes had gone from bad to disastrous! There was no way he could drive for Uber with a wrecked car. I sat in my rental car, and watched him drive away.
Just when I thought my luck was rotten, I saw how fortunate, comparatively, I am. It’s impossible to generalize why people are homeless, but here was one homeless man--whose whole story I didn’t know--who had been working hard to turn his fortunes around. And instead, he’d been beaten down again.
My Kia has been an Albatross, during the recent past; in the shop more often than not: I was on my way to northern Minnesota, from Austin last September, with my camper and three dogs. Just as we reached a small town in southern Iowa, and only a mile from our campsite for the night, all the warning lights came on, and the engine stopped. I coasted to the side of the street. I called 911. A police woman showed up in less than a minute. She immediately saw what had happened: the oil plug had dropped out, which destroyed the engine. She had already called the county camp director and a tow truck.
The tow driver took one look, then set about attaching chains to the front end of the car.
The camp director had arrived in his truck. He offered to tow my camper the remaining half- mile, to my campsite. We unhooked the camper from my Kia.
We had just finished when the tow truck driver started lifting up the Kia, which backed into the trailer tongue, punching a hole in my back fender!
I spent five days at the campsite, while my car was being checked out; Covert Cadillac, where I’d taken my Kia for a tune-up and an oil change, just before I’d left, agreed to pay the cost to replace the engine.
I rented a truck with a hitch from Enterprise, in Des Moines. What was available was a brand new 250 King Ranch model, tricked out with leather everything! Knowing the truck was probably worth twice what my Kia cost, I immediately signed up for the $29/day insurance. I reached Jerry’s place, north of Virginia, MN, and south of Ely. We camped there. Jerry is my husband, and has a house on seven wooded acres in the Superior National Forest.
I drove 850 miles round-trip a month later, when my Kia was fixed, turned in the King Ranch, & picked up my Kia, still with a hole punched in the fender, but with a brand-new engine, and returned to Jerry’s place. About six weeks later, temperatures were dropping into the 30’s; it was too cold to camp, and I headed south.
On the I-35 Highway, going through Kansas City, I was alarmed by how much more traffic there was, since I’d last traveled that stretch. It was dark, and I was surrounded by 18 Wheelers.
Then, the radiator warning light came on, followed by all the other lights. Deja Vu! I pulled as far off the interstate as was possible, called 911. My sister, in Austin, located an Econolodge only a few miles away. The tow truck dropped my camper in the parking lot, along with my three dogs, and hauled my Kia to the Olathe, Kansas dealership.
The Kia service manager, the next day, let me know they would “get to my Kia when they could.”
He said they had dozens of cars in for repairs and “ only one mechanic.”
I had some food in my camper; I was able to feed the dogs, and find something for myself--fortunate, because the Econolodge was not close to any where to eat, whether fast food, or a grocery.
Five days later, the Kia manager called. Something had hit the front of my car, pushed back the radiator support, the radiator sliced through a line which emptied the contents. I needed work to the front end, headlights, a new radiator and a new engine!
I called USAA. They authorized repairs, less my $500 deductible, but wouldn’t pay for hauling my camper home. Enterprise requires all rentals to be returned to the same location. I rented a UHaul truck, to haul the camper home. About six weeks later, I got a frantic call from the service representative that my Kia was ready.
As it turns out, it had been ready for two weeks, but she had neglected to call!
I had to pay $950 to have my Kia trucked home, pay the $500 deductible and two weeks extra car rental.
Six weeks later, it was stolen. I had left Austin without any debt, which changed dramatically due to “The Year of The Kia Troubles!”
From the time my Kia was stolen until it was returned, repaired, with a new dashboard, steering column and all- new upholstery, it had been in the shop an additional six weeks. My insurance rate doubled.
But after hearing the story of the homeless man, who had been assaulted, had his car trashed, and everything he owned stolen, I’m sitting in my front yard, writing while I watch which birds come to my feeder.
I’m waiting for the plumber, because I probably need to get the disposal replaced.
Friday, I had clogged plumbing in the kitchen fixed--probably $300, for that, & Saturday, paid another $300 to have my Live Oak tree trimmed--it was that, or let it keep hitting the roof, when the wind blows!
The debt is piling up! I could be depressed about the high cost of all of these unexpected expenses.
But a mockingbird is competing with a Bewick wren and a Northern cardinal in the ligustrum shrubs. It’s a warm day with a breeze sufficient to keep mosquitoes away. I have a house, a limited income--but at least sufficient to cover my bills.
The Orange Menace & the threat to democracy worries me, and so does the rapidly increasing news of climate disasters, but for now,
#stopprop1 what is Shomof’s connection to the lawsuit exactly though? Is it through lawyers? https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-ca9-21-55404/pdf/USCOURTS-ca9-21-55404-0.pdf
Shomof hired Elizabeth Mitchell when he started the LA Alliance per his book.
“Matthew Donald Umhofer (argued) and Elizabeth A. Mitchell, Spertus Landes & Umhofer LLP, Los Angeles, California, for Plaintiffs-Appellees.”
“Architect and lead litigator in groundbreaking lawsuit forcing the City and County of LA to address homelessness in a comprehensive and compassionate manner”
https://www.umklaw.com/elizabeth-mitchell
It’s not clear how much he controls it at present, but clearly he could speak out!
You’re saying he hired Elizabeth Mitchell, Unhofer etc.? WOW
Good work Zachary
BOOM!
Yes it’s in his book!
Years have gone by in Austin, with tent cities popping up in every conceivable non-occupied area, including an attractive tent smack in front of City Hall. (Attractive as tents go....) I’ve not followed the debacle of housing those on the streets closely enough to explain why buying an empty multimillion dollar hotel was bought, and how it has since fared. I do know that tent clusters continue to pop up, get rousted by police, only to reappear in other areas. Because last year, Austin was hit by an unremitting heat wave for most of the summer, libraries and other such public areas were advertised as “shelters” for those otherwise without means to avoid dying of heat stroke.
We do have a group which is building “3D homes,” made of some kind of concrete, which can, using the 3D machinery, go up in a day, although plumbing and electricity still requires doing, presumably with some construction for windows and doors.
Overall, the displaced people--it is recognized--need more than housing. Some have disabilities, some need mental health services, others are addicts who may--or may not--benefit from “rehabilitation.” Then, we also have the working poor; they may work one or two or multiple part time jobs, yet don’t make enough money to afford Austin’s rising housing costs.
Last year, I encountered one of the working poor, while trying to check on my 2020 Kia Sportage, which had been stolen from in front of my house, then recovered by police & towed to an outrageously expensive private impound lot. I had seen the SUV the day before, and it was clearly not drivable. The front dashboard had been dismantled, along with the steering wheel. The front seat was covered with broken glass, from the shattered driver’s window, which gave the thieves access. Dirty clothes--not mine, were scattered about, the upholstery had been damaged & to top off the grim reality of what had happened, it was a cold day, gray clouds had rolled in, after the summer drought, soaking the inside of my car.
I arranged with my insurance company, USAA, to tow the vehicle to a Kia dealership. I chose one in Round Rock, having had a poor experience with two Kia dealerships in Austin...but that’s another story.
When I arrived, I eventually talked to the clerk, and found out my Kia had already been retrieved by the towing company. As I was leaving, it was late afternoon. A lone clean-cut well-dressed man, about 30ish, was sitting alone outside. My reporter’s instincts kicked in, and I stopped to ask what he was doing. Well, he told me that his car had been stolen, he had been assaulted. He was waiting for detectives to go over his car, which they believed had been used in a murder
He asked if he could wait in my car, to warm up. I had nothing I needed to do, and motioned him to get in. (At this point, I had a rental car, supplied as part of my insurance policy.) I wasn’t reporting for any news outlet, so I didn’t press him for details; but as often happens, that’s the best way to actually get a story. He had just recently arrived in Austin from California. He had been the manager of a grocery store, there. His wife had died, and the men who stole his car had taken everything, including $2 bills, which had been his wife’s...he cried at this point.... He was driving for Uber, trying to save up enough money to afford an apartment, and sleeping in his car at night.
Very early that morning, he was awakened by someone pounding on his car door. Thinking it was the police--who had awakened him in this way before--he opened the door, to see guys in ski masks.
He tried to fight them, but then saw there were four men. They overpowered him, took his wallet and cell phone, and drove off with his car.
He had been able to buy a temporary cell phone, and called his mom. (She was in a nursing home in Canada.) After reassuring her he was all right, he talked to someone else--a woman--possibly a sister or aunt.
She had arranged three nights in an Austin motel for him.
“At least you can get cleaned up, and get some rest,” she said.
Finally, the detectives arrived, with his car. It was a late-model hybrid, but one tire was the mini spare. The detectives left. He looked in his trunk--where he had stored everything he owned--it was all gone. Then he opened the driver’s door, and cried out in anguish. It had been torn apart!
“Ahhh! It’s completely trashed!” he said.
I was wordless--shocked at how in such a short time his fortunes had gone from bad to disastrous! There was no way he could drive for Uber with a wrecked car. I sat in my rental car, and watched him drive away.
Just when I thought my luck was rotten, I saw how fortunate, comparatively, I am. It’s impossible to generalize why people are homeless, but here was one homeless man--whose whole story I didn’t know--who had been working hard to turn his fortunes around. And instead, he’d been beaten down again.
My Kia has been an Albatross, during the recent past; in the shop more often than not: I was on my way to northern Minnesota, from Austin last September, with my camper and three dogs. Just as we reached a small town in southern Iowa, and only a mile from our campsite for the night, all the warning lights came on, and the engine stopped. I coasted to the side of the street. I called 911. A police woman showed up in less than a minute. She immediately saw what had happened: the oil plug had dropped out, which destroyed the engine. She had already called the county camp director and a tow truck.
The tow driver took one look, then set about attaching chains to the front end of the car.
The camp director had arrived in his truck. He offered to tow my camper the remaining half- mile, to my campsite. We unhooked the camper from my Kia.
We had just finished when the tow truck driver started lifting up the Kia, which backed into the trailer tongue, punching a hole in my back fender!
I spent five days at the campsite, while my car was being checked out; Covert Cadillac, where I’d taken my Kia for a tune-up and an oil change, just before I’d left, agreed to pay the cost to replace the engine.
I rented a truck with a hitch from Enterprise, in Des Moines. What was available was a brand new 250 King Ranch model, tricked out with leather everything! Knowing the truck was probably worth twice what my Kia cost, I immediately signed up for the $29/day insurance. I reached Jerry’s place, north of Virginia, MN, and south of Ely. We camped there. Jerry is my husband, and has a house on seven wooded acres in the Superior National Forest.
I drove 850 miles round-trip a month later, when my Kia was fixed, turned in the King Ranch, & picked up my Kia, still with a hole punched in the fender, but with a brand-new engine, and returned to Jerry’s place. About six weeks later, temperatures were dropping into the 30’s; it was too cold to camp, and I headed south.
On the I-35 Highway, going through Kansas City, I was alarmed by how much more traffic there was, since I’d last traveled that stretch. It was dark, and I was surrounded by 18 Wheelers.
Then, the radiator warning light came on, followed by all the other lights. Deja Vu! I pulled as far off the interstate as was possible, called 911. My sister, in Austin, located an Econolodge only a few miles away. The tow truck dropped my camper in the parking lot, along with my three dogs, and hauled my Kia to the Olathe, Kansas dealership.
The Kia service manager, the next day, let me know they would “get to my Kia when they could.”
He said they had dozens of cars in for repairs and “ only one mechanic.”
I had some food in my camper; I was able to feed the dogs, and find something for myself--fortunate, because the Econolodge was not close to any where to eat, whether fast food, or a grocery.
Five days later, the Kia manager called. Something had hit the front of my car, pushed back the radiator support, the radiator sliced through a line which emptied the contents. I needed work to the front end, headlights, a new radiator and a new engine!
I called USAA. They authorized repairs, less my $500 deductible, but wouldn’t pay for hauling my camper home. Enterprise requires all rentals to be returned to the same location. I rented a UHaul truck, to haul the camper home. About six weeks later, I got a frantic call from the service representative that my Kia was ready.
As it turns out, it had been ready for two weeks, but she had neglected to call!
I had to pay $950 to have my Kia trucked home, pay the $500 deductible and two weeks extra car rental.
Six weeks later, it was stolen. I had left Austin without any debt, which changed dramatically due to “The Year of The Kia Troubles!”
From the time my Kia was stolen until it was returned, repaired, with a new dashboard, steering column and all- new upholstery, it had been in the shop an additional six weeks. My insurance rate doubled.
But after hearing the story of the homeless man, who had been assaulted, had his car trashed, and everything he owned stolen, I’m sitting in my front yard, writing while I watch which birds come to my feeder.
I’m waiting for the plumber, because I probably need to get the disposal replaced.
Friday, I had clogged plumbing in the kitchen fixed--probably $300, for that, & Saturday, paid another $300 to have my Live Oak tree trimmed--it was that, or let it keep hitting the roof, when the wind blows!
The debt is piling up! I could be depressed about the high cost of all of these unexpected expenses.
But a mockingbird is competing with a Bewick wren and a Northern cardinal in the ligustrum shrubs. It’s a warm day with a breeze sufficient to keep mosquitoes away. I have a house, a limited income--but at least sufficient to cover my bills.
The Orange Menace & the threat to democracy worries me, and so does the rapidly increasing news of climate disasters, but for now,
I’m OK.
IT COULD be worse!