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- Salty Ginger Talk Newsletter
California bureaucrat axed after misconduct probe
Our take: We have and will continue to unapologetically warn that because of the power entrusted to those in the government, especially those in positions that are not accountable to the voters, represent a serious risk for self dealing and fraud when the proper oversight is not in place. This story out of California is a good example of what can happen when this situation comes to fruition.
The embattled director of the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women has been removed from her position amid allegations that she failed to disclose work for a political group and approved questionable expenditures.
Kimberly Ellis, once considered a power player in California Democratic politics, was appointed by former Mayor London Breed in 2020 to oversee the agency.
The Commission on the Status of Women, the department's oversight board, unanimously voted late Wednesday night to oust Ellis "for the benefit and the future success of the department," commission president Sophia Andary said.
The seven-member panel, which chose not to disclose its discussions on her dismissal, announced the decision after two hours of deliberation.
The dismissal is effective immediately and comes after Mayor Daniel Lurie, who does not have the authority to remove Ellis, asked the commission to do so.
"I have the highest expectations for city employees, and the City Attorney's investigation found that Director Ellis committed a range of misconduct, unlawful activities, and mismanagement," Lurie said in a statement to Axios.
Shockingly, Ellis claims she is the victim of a targeted and baseless attack, and has filed a lawsuit against the city. We will see what comes of that lawsuit. We expect it to have the same validity as O.J. Simpson’s vow to “find the real killers” after he was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and Ron Goldman in 1994.
COURTESY: MSN
Gen Z is increasingly shunning college for careers in the trades
Our take: This is a story we are happy to share with you. Gen Z is starting to see that there is more than one way to success, despite being hammered with the message that earning a college degree is the one and only way to be financially successful.
"There are about 2 million fewer students in a traditional four-year university now than in 2011," says Nich Tremper, senior economist at payroll and benefits platform Gusto.
Instead, many young peopleare entering skilled trades like construction, plumbing, electrical contracting and automotive repair. In the first quarter of 2024, Gen Z made up 18% of the workforce, according to the Department of Labor, but 18- to 25-year-olds made up nearly 25% of all new hires in skilled trade industries that year, according to Gusto.
The story goes on to profile a young lady who learned to weld and is working her way up the ladder in her industry and a young man who started his own landscaping company and earned over $1 million in sales in 2024.
Kudos to these young people for looking at their options and following the options they think are best for them. There is nothing wrong with going to college and pursuing a career in your chosen field of study. There are also many other options for people, and it is great to see that this generation seems to be thinking things through before blindly following a path that may not be right for them.
COURTESY: CNBC
California mayor proposes jailing homeless people who refuse help
Our take: The homeless crisis in America is significant in many places. It’s hard to imagine it is worse anywhere than in California. One mayor in California proposed forcing people off the streets and into jail if they refuse to accept help to get off the streets.
"There's an extremely vulnerable subset of folks who refuse those options, no matter how nicely designed they are," San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan told Fox News Digital in an interview Wednesday. "That speaks to me of a persistent challenge we face with addiction and mental illness on our streets, and we've sort of built a system that biases toward helping those who want help, while turning a blind eye to those who are trapped in a cycle of addiction. And the reality is it's deadly. We're sentencing people to die on the streets."
Mahan offered the proposal last month after observing how homeless people in his town have avoided the housing services offered as well as talking with recovery groups to find out what most commonly breaks the cycle of addiction.
A new study from the University of California San Francisco's Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (BHHI) last month found that approximately 37% of California's homeless population are regular illicit drug users. The study also found that 48% have complex behavioral health needs, encompassing regular drug use, heavy drinking, hallucinations or recent psychiatric hospitalization. Additionally, 66% reported experiencing mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, hallucinations or cognitive difficulties.
"I think the appropriate response is to say, you've got to, at a minimum, come indoors," Mahan said. "Camping can't be a choice when we're offering housing. And if you're so caught in the throes of addiction that you can't say yes to interim housing or dignified shelter, we need to create accountability."
Mahan said "it's the threat of consequence, it's the intervention, it's disrupting the pattern" that actually propels people who "are most susceptible to addiction to break out of that cycle."
In general, we are strong advocates that the incarceration complex in the Unites States is much too broad and many people are in jail for infractions and issues that do not warrant jail time.
With that said, we think the mayor may be onto something here. Removing people from the streets that need help but won’t accept it might be the thing to disrupt their patterns and habits and force them to start to confront the issues that are holding them back. This is only a proposal at this point, so it remains to be seen if it will come to fruition.
COURTESY: FOX NEWS
Tip of the day
It was Seneca who put the best one-liner to this feeling: “We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.” So “what I advise you to do is,” Seneca continued, “do not be unhappy before the crisis comes…We are in the habit of exaggerating, or imagining, or anticipating, sorrow.” Don’t anticipate sorrow. Don’t let anxiety and worry get the best of you. Don’t let your worries grow out of proportion to what might actually happen. Don’t let imagination overtake reality.
Quote of the day
The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today. - Seneca