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If you thought California had a housing and homelessness crisis before COVID-19, just wait. The pandemic could make it all so much worse.

And right now, it’s a make-or-break moment.

latimes.com/opinion/story/…
Experts are warning that California could see a 20% increase in homelessness, with the surge even more severe in other parts of the country. If the downturn drags on, we could see more evictions and foreclosures than the Great Recession triggered.

latimes.com/opinion/story/…
The L.A. Times editorial board spoke to experts about what new policies and programs could help prevent the next housing crisis. Here are 7 pragmatic proposals that could be embraced right now.

latimes.com/opinion/story/…
The editorial board, which is a team of @latimesopinion writers and editors, does its work separately from news reporters and editors, who have no input in the endorsement process.

Learn more about the editorial board, how it works and who sits on it: latimes.com/opinion/about-…
1. Help tenants pay their rent

The easiest and fastest — and yes, most expensive — way to prevent a housing crisis is for the federal government (and federal taxpayers) to put up the money to keep renters in their homes and landlords whole. latimes.com/opinion/story/…
2. Help landlords cover their losses

Even if the federal government enacts a rental assistance program, it likely won’t cover all distressed renters. But a group of CA lawmakers have a promising new idea to encourage landlords and tenants to make a deal. latimes.com/opinion/story/…
3. Help small landlords

Most landlords are small-business owners, and most rental properties, particularly in California, are buildings with 10 or fewer apartments. Some cities are looking to create relief funds to help these landlords stay in business. latimes.com/opinion/story/…
4. Buy hotels and motels

California cities and counties are already renting hotel rooms during the pandemic for homeless people who are 65+ or have an underlying medical condition. Now Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to turn them into permanent homeless housing.
latimes.com/opinion/story/…
5. Put up tiny houses or trailers

This is another old idea that started to gain steam earlier this year. But the pandemic showed it’s possible to find and quickly install temporary housing to get people off the streets. latimes.com/opinion/story/…
6. Encourage short-term rentals to convert to long-term tenancy

Cities should consider ways encourage property owners to rent their units to long-term tenants, which could help owners pay their bills and get much-needed rental housing on the market. latimes.com/opinion/story/…
7. Make it easy to repurpose commercial properties into housing

Will COVID-19 be the death knell for offices? Cities should start planning now for ways to make it easier for building owners to convert office complexes into new homes. latimes.com/opinion/story/…
Read more about these ideas: latimes.com/opinion/story/…

And share your own with us here: latimes.com/opinion/story/…
Under this proposal, landlords who agree to forgive rent payments and not evict tenants would get tax credits equal to the value of the lost rent. The tax credits would be transferable so the property owner could sell them to get cash immediately. latimes.com/california/sto…
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Los Angeles Times
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The healthcare gap between blue and red states has yawned wider in the 10 years since Obamacare was passed.

Now, the coronavirus crisis threatens to widen disparities further as tens of millions of Americans lose jobs and health coverage. latimes.com/politics/story…
Few states illustrate the divergence more starkly than California and Texas, the nation’s most populous states.

CA moved aggressively to implement and build on the healthcare law.

TX became the epicenter of resistance to the Affordable Care Act.

latimes.com/politics/story…
Today, Texas heads an effort to get the Supreme Court to invalidate theACA. That case has continued despite the mounting toll from the pandemic; the justices will consider it in the fall.

California leads a coalition of states defending the law.

latimes.com/politics/story…
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Los Angeles Times
@latimes
Despite their varied causes, the crowds protesting California’s stay-at-home orders have been almost entirely white — even in California, a state that mostly is not.

latimes.com/california/sto…
Raucous protests in wealthy, coastal counties and at the state Capitol have, for many, highlighted racial and class disparities amid a pandemic that has killed more than 2,500 Californians — a disproportionate number of whom are black, Latino and poor. latimes.com/california/sto…
A Times analysis found blacks and Latinos under 50 are dying of coronavirus in significantly greater numbers than other groups, including whites. Possibly because many work in “essential” service jobs.

latimes.com/california/sto…
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Los Angeles Times
@latimes
Breaking: Two coronavirus-infected people died in Santa Clara County on Feb. 6 and Feb. 17, the medical examiner revealed Tuesday, making them first documented COVID-19 fatalities in the United States. latimes.com/california/sto…
Until now, the first fatalities were believed to have occurred in Kirkland, Wash., on Feb. 29. latimes.com/california/sto…
Officials previously had said the first Silicon Valley death was March 9. But the Santa Clara County medical examiner revealed Tuesday that people who died Feb. 6, Feb. 17 and March 6 also died of COVID-19. latimes.com/california/sto…
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