Kerry Jackson
Business & Economics
Local Businesses Shrug Off California’s Strict COVID Restrictions
It’s not hard to argue that California has the country’s harshest pandemic restrictions, though New York and Michigan are close enough to call it a tie. This would be news to anyone visiting from elsewhere, though. Aside from a few exceptions, things look rather normal. About 33 million of the ...
California
A Single-Payer Healthcare System Would Have Made the Pandemic Worse
The intended-to-scare-readers headline said “California hospitals discuss rationing care as virus surges.” And it should frighten anyone who saw it. Though not necessarily for the reason the headline writer had in mind. The alarmist string of words topped a Dec. 21 Associated Press story, which warned that “overwhelmed hospitals” in ...
Blog
What’s Up with the New “California Driver Benefits Fee”?
Uber customers might have noticed a new fee that’s appearing on their charges. Now, who do we have to thank for that? Oh, yes, the lawmakers who tried to destroy the gig economy and its millions of jobs. Uber added a “California Driver Benefits Fee” to its charges on Dec. ...
Commentary
California’s Self-Inflicted Mental Health Crisis
Nine months into California’s pandemic restrictions and no one knows how things will end. Are most of us going to succumb to “poverty… depression … (and) suicide” brought on by being locked down? Or will history validate those who insisted that the only course was to “cancel everything”? No one ...
Blog
Is Newsom Learning Anything From The Courts That Are Telling Him ‘No’?
Twice in recent weeks, California superior court judges upended government pandemic restrictions. Is the governor’s office getting the message? On Dec. 8, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant told the county that its ban on outdoor dining “is an abuse of the (health) department’s emergency powers, (and) is not ...
Blog
Will Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ‘Do Something’ About Lockdown Rules Made Absent Evidence?
Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and others using the pandemic to restrict Californians’ movements should not be surprised that there’s been a pushback. While it’s due in part to the habit of officials failing to follow the rules they set, much of the frustration and defiance we’re ...
Blackouts
Lockdowns, Power Shutdowns, And Feeling Rundown – Life In California Is Hard
The image of California living is that of a never-ending vacation. Sun. Surf. Endless entertainment. Plenty of good jobs. The leaves are never brown, nor the sky gray. Always safe and warm. But the reality is different. The coming winter looks to be one that will keep the entire state ...
Blog
The Numbers Don’t Lie: California Has an Outmigration Problem
Recent Census Bureau data tell a story that surprises no one who keeps up with current events in California: The state is losing residents like few others. According to economist Mark J. Perry, only four other states – New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Louisiana – had a greater net outflow ...
California
The (Back) Rent Is Too Damn High
Did someone say that suspending the responsibilities for renters to make their payments due to the pandemic on time would create problems? Of course they did. And of course it has. By the end of the year, Californians will owe as much as $1.7 billion in back rent, says a ...
Blog
No Thanksgiving For You, California
Thanksgiving has not been canceled. Yet. But given what we’ve learned in recent days, would anyone be surprised if officials insisted we mark the holiday this year by cowering in our basements? On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the governors of Oregon and Washington issued a travel advisory “urging visitors ...
Local Businesses Shrug Off California’s Strict COVID Restrictions
It’s not hard to argue that California has the country’s harshest pandemic restrictions, though New York and Michigan are close enough to call it a tie. This would be news to anyone visiting from elsewhere, though. Aside from a few exceptions, things look rather normal. About 33 million of the ...
A Single-Payer Healthcare System Would Have Made the Pandemic Worse
The intended-to-scare-readers headline said “California hospitals discuss rationing care as virus surges.” And it should frighten anyone who saw it. Though not necessarily for the reason the headline writer had in mind. The alarmist string of words topped a Dec. 21 Associated Press story, which warned that “overwhelmed hospitals” in ...
What’s Up with the New “California Driver Benefits Fee”?
Uber customers might have noticed a new fee that’s appearing on their charges. Now, who do we have to thank for that? Oh, yes, the lawmakers who tried to destroy the gig economy and its millions of jobs. Uber added a “California Driver Benefits Fee” to its charges on Dec. ...
California’s Self-Inflicted Mental Health Crisis
Nine months into California’s pandemic restrictions and no one knows how things will end. Are most of us going to succumb to “poverty… depression … (and) suicide” brought on by being locked down? Or will history validate those who insisted that the only course was to “cancel everything”? No one ...
Is Newsom Learning Anything From The Courts That Are Telling Him ‘No’?
Twice in recent weeks, California superior court judges upended government pandemic restrictions. Is the governor’s office getting the message? On Dec. 8, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant told the county that its ban on outdoor dining “is an abuse of the (health) department’s emergency powers, (and) is not ...
Will Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ‘Do Something’ About Lockdown Rules Made Absent Evidence?
Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and others using the pandemic to restrict Californians’ movements should not be surprised that there’s been a pushback. While it’s due in part to the habit of officials failing to follow the rules they set, much of the frustration and defiance we’re ...
Lockdowns, Power Shutdowns, And Feeling Rundown – Life In California Is Hard
The image of California living is that of a never-ending vacation. Sun. Surf. Endless entertainment. Plenty of good jobs. The leaves are never brown, nor the sky gray. Always safe and warm. But the reality is different. The coming winter looks to be one that will keep the entire state ...
The Numbers Don’t Lie: California Has an Outmigration Problem
Recent Census Bureau data tell a story that surprises no one who keeps up with current events in California: The state is losing residents like few others. According to economist Mark J. Perry, only four other states – New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Louisiana – had a greater net outflow ...
The (Back) Rent Is Too Damn High
Did someone say that suspending the responsibilities for renters to make their payments due to the pandemic on time would create problems? Of course they did. And of course it has. By the end of the year, Californians will owe as much as $1.7 billion in back rent, says a ...
No Thanksgiving For You, California
Thanksgiving has not been canceled. Yet. But given what we’ve learned in recent days, would anyone be surprised if officials insisted we mark the holiday this year by cowering in our basements? On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the governors of Oregon and Washington issued a travel advisory “urging visitors ...
