Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass delivered her State of the City Address, reflecting on the community’s resilience and her administration’s progress with the Palisades recovery, public safety, homelessness, economic development, job creation, and upcoming major events in the city.
Mayor Bass noted that homes are being rebuilt in the Palisades, with permits to rebuild issued more than twice as fast as after the Camp and Woolsey fires. Water was restored nearly a year and a half faster than after the Camp Fire, and power was restored in just two months. She cited sweeping emergency orders and shared that the fires also cost people their jobs, which is why four Impacted Worker and Family Recovery Centers were opened across the city to provide assistance to workers and businesses.
Mayor Bass highlighted her comprehensive approach to public safety, which encompasses law enforcement and community safety efforts, resulting in a decline in violent and property crime in Los Angeles. Last year, homicides fell 14%, gang-related homicides in communities most impacted fell 45%, and victims shot dropped 19%. The Mayor also spotlighted the first decrease in homelessness in Los Angeles in years, which bucks nationwide trends. She shared the work of the Mayor’s Fund to prevent homelessness and the efforts of LA4LA to develop new models for making housing more affordable.
Mayor Bass shared projects that will bring economic growth to Los Angeles, including the new Los Angeles Rams practice facility in the Valley, Destination Crenshaw, new contracting and construction at LAX, and ongoing efforts to renovate the Convention Center. She also emphasized a continued commitment to supporting Hollywood with an expanded California Film and TV Tax Credit. California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program, which was created when Mayor Bass served as Speaker of the California State Assembly, has generated tens of billions of dollars in investments while creating nearly 200,000 jobs.
Watch the Mayor’s full remarks here.