LOS ANGELES: "Sheriff Alex Villanueva feels the responsibility to help clean the boardwalk up. He wants the boardwalk cleared of homeless encampments by the 4th of July and says that housing those willing to accept the help is doable.

“We have enough to get the ball started. In fact, we could have more than enough, but we’re not prioritizing. You know how many city and county buildings are empty that we can convert overnight into a temporary emergency shelter? Oh yes, if there’s a will there’s a way, and we can make it happen real quick,” he said.

If there’s enough housing, then what’s the stall?

“The stall is the city and the county basically need to pull their heads out of their butts, they are so afraid of offending somebody,” he added. The LA mayor’s office didn’t respond to our request for comment, but LAPD did, saying the department is committed to working with partner agencies to improve safety and provide services in Venice and elsewhere.

The sheriff says nothing will stop his plan to start the clear-out this week. The 4th of July may sound like a lofty goal for all of this, but the sheriff says he plans to do this using their homeless outreach services, right now only 10 employees, but he’s hoping to add within the next week, 20 more deputies."

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/sheriff-villanueva-hopes-to-curb-homelessness-out-of-venice-boardwalk-by-4th-of-july/2612163/