Bay Area Woman's Legal Victory Challenges State Encampment Crackdown

Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, March 4, 2025…

• An unhoused Bay Area woman and her advocates are claiming a big win after a judge stopped officials from clearing her elaborate shelter. It’s believed to be the first court victory of its kind since the U.S. Supreme Court last year made it harder to stop encampment sweeps.
• California is rolling back its more flexible work from home policies that began during the pandemic. Governor Gavin Newsom has issued an executive order requiring state employees to work from the office at least four days a week.
• 30 Los Angeles County detention officers are facing felony charges for their alleged roles in allowing so-called gladiator fights at the Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey.

This Bay Area Woman’s Legal Victory Challenges California’s Homeless Encampment Crackdown

Over the course of two years, Evelyn Alfred built a home on vacant city-owned land in Vallejo. Using wooden beams, insulation, tarps and some experience in construction, she built a two-room structure, complete with windows and blinds, a shower, leather couches and a raised bed.

For Alfred, who is 64 years old, has several disabilities, and has been unhoused for more than two decades, her makeshift home provided shelter and stability. But when city officials told her she had to leave in late October, her eviction seemed all but inevitable. Just a few months earlier, the Supreme Court had given cities greater leeway to remove people living in structures like hers, under threat of fines and jail time — even if no alternative shelter was available.

She sued. And in February, a district court judge determined she could stay until the case is resolved in a victory legal advocates say is the first of its kind in the country since the Supreme Court’s order last year — and one they say could have broad implications for legal fights over homeless encampments across the nation.

Newsom Orders State Workers Back To Office Four Days A Week

Governor Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order mandating that all state agencies and departments that continue to offer remote work require a minimum of four in-person days per work week starting on July 1. Exceptions may be offered on a case-by-case basis.

“In-person work makes us all stronger — period,” he said in a statement. “When we work together, collaboration improves, innovation thrives, and accountability increases. That means better service, better solutions, and better results for Californians, while still allowing flexibility.”

The order is likely to inflame tensions between the governor and labor unions representing public employees, which have fought back against previous efforts to limit telework for the state workforce. About 95,000 employees continue to work remotely or in a hybrid capacity, according to the governor’s office.

30 LA County Probation Officers Accused Of Allowing ‘Gladiator Fights’ In Juvenile Hall

Thirty Los Angeles County detention officers face felony charges — including child endangerment, abuse and battery — stemming from accusations that they allowed youths in juvenile hall to participate in “gladiator fights” two years ago, according to state authorities.

In an unsealed grand jury indictment, the California attorney general’s office said the officers “allowed and, in some instances, encouraged” 69 fights between youths at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey during a six-month period in 2023.

More than 140 victims between ages 12 and 18 were affected. Most of the defendants were arraigned Monday in L.A. County Superior Court, the attorney general’s office said. The rest are expected to be arranged next month.