Newsom cheers Kaiser $25M pledge to California housing fund

OAKLAND (AP) — Calling California's homeless crisis a public health issue, hospital giant Kaiser Permanente on Friday pledged $25 million to a new state fund aimed at getting people off the streets. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order last week creating what he proposes to be a $750 million fund that providers could use to pay rents, subsidize affordable housing or help board and care homes. Kaiser said its donation is one of the first of its kind from the private sector. "Safe and stable housing is key to a person's physical, mental and social health," said Greg Adams, CEO of the Oakland-based nonprofit healthcare company. "Chronic homelessness has been shown to cut 27 years from the average lifespan and is associated with communicable diseases such as hepatitis and typhus, i