Kerry Jackson
California
High-Speed Rail is Now California’s Runaway Train
If it wasn’t before, California’s high-speed rail project is now a runaway train. Officials announced Friday that the project will cost $77.3 billion, roughly $13 billion more than the most recent forecast. Someone with political clout needs to hit the brakes. But it seems this is a project that has ...
Blog
Translating Government-Speak Shows Real Depth of State Pension Crisis
The Pacific Research Institute has extensively documented California’s public employee pension crisis through a comprehensive study, as well as a collection of op-eds and blog posts. But PRI is not alone. The California Policy Center has been covering the issue in depth, as well, most recently with “The Underrecognized, Undervalued, ...
California
Feinstein Foreshadowing
What a difference a few decades make: in 1990, Dianne Feinstein was apparently too far left for California voters, losing a gubernatorial race to Republican Pete Wilson. Nearly 30 years later, she’s not left enough—at least for the state Democratic Party, which has refused to endorse her for a fifth ...
Blog
California’s Housing Crisis Also Hurts Our Business Climate
When asked which factors influence their decisions about locating their businesses in California, the top concerns, according to a group of surveyed executives, are housing and real estate costs. No surprise, there. This state’s housing crunch is an enormous problem that threatens the future. The California business climate survey included ...
Blog
Today Could Be a Red-Letter Day for Worker Freedom
The two red-letter days on labor union calendars are May Day and Labor Day. After today, though, February 26 might appear as a black-letter day, marking the downfall of once-mighty organized labor. The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments today in Janus vs. AFSCME. The plaintiff is Mark Janus, an ...
Blog
Desalination Should Be Part of California’s Water Future
In California, we seem to be living in the days of “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” As Steve Milloy said last week, there’s water, water everywhere, but almost nary a drop to drink. California has “840 miles of coastline,” tweeted Milloy, the author who is primarily responsible for giving ...
California
Cities Aren’t Meeting Housing Goals, But New State Law Won’t Help Much
Hundreds of cities and counties across the state are going to have to make it easier to build new homes, says one state agency, if the housing supply is to keep up with demand. But it will never happen if politics continue to interfere. The Department of Housing and Community ...
Blog
Lack of Trust Sparks Motor Voter Fears
There’s some concern that the 2015 motor voter law will automatically register illegal immigrants to vote in California when they renew their driver’s license after April 1. The Department of Motor Vehicles is bound by a January court ruling to send information about drivers to the secretary of state’s office ...
California
Long-Overdue Audit Will Hopefully Bring Sense to California’s Crazy Train
California’s “bullet train,” which has a deserved reputation for running late even before the first car has rolled along the tracks, is the most expensive public works project in state, and also in U.S. history, outside the federal interstate highway program. It should also be the most transparent public works ...
Blog
LA Takes Crown Again as Nation’s Worst Traffic
Ask anyone who drives even on a semi-regular basis in Los Angeles which city has the worst traffic in the world and the answer will invariably be “Los Angeles” with no moment of hesitation. By no coincidence, a transportation analytics firm says the same thing. Inrix, which provides “a data-rich ...
High-Speed Rail is Now California’s Runaway Train
If it wasn’t before, California’s high-speed rail project is now a runaway train. Officials announced Friday that the project will cost $77.3 billion, roughly $13 billion more than the most recent forecast. Someone with political clout needs to hit the brakes. But it seems this is a project that has ...
Translating Government-Speak Shows Real Depth of State Pension Crisis
The Pacific Research Institute has extensively documented California’s public employee pension crisis through a comprehensive study, as well as a collection of op-eds and blog posts. But PRI is not alone. The California Policy Center has been covering the issue in depth, as well, most recently with “The Underrecognized, Undervalued, ...
Feinstein Foreshadowing
What a difference a few decades make: in 1990, Dianne Feinstein was apparently too far left for California voters, losing a gubernatorial race to Republican Pete Wilson. Nearly 30 years later, she’s not left enough—at least for the state Democratic Party, which has refused to endorse her for a fifth ...
California’s Housing Crisis Also Hurts Our Business Climate
When asked which factors influence their decisions about locating their businesses in California, the top concerns, according to a group of surveyed executives, are housing and real estate costs. No surprise, there. This state’s housing crunch is an enormous problem that threatens the future. The California business climate survey included ...
Today Could Be a Red-Letter Day for Worker Freedom
The two red-letter days on labor union calendars are May Day and Labor Day. After today, though, February 26 might appear as a black-letter day, marking the downfall of once-mighty organized labor. The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments today in Janus vs. AFSCME. The plaintiff is Mark Janus, an ...
Desalination Should Be Part of California’s Water Future
In California, we seem to be living in the days of “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” As Steve Milloy said last week, there’s water, water everywhere, but almost nary a drop to drink. California has “840 miles of coastline,” tweeted Milloy, the author who is primarily responsible for giving ...
Cities Aren’t Meeting Housing Goals, But New State Law Won’t Help Much
Hundreds of cities and counties across the state are going to have to make it easier to build new homes, says one state agency, if the housing supply is to keep up with demand. But it will never happen if politics continue to interfere. The Department of Housing and Community ...
Lack of Trust Sparks Motor Voter Fears
There’s some concern that the 2015 motor voter law will automatically register illegal immigrants to vote in California when they renew their driver’s license after April 1. The Department of Motor Vehicles is bound by a January court ruling to send information about drivers to the secretary of state’s office ...
Long-Overdue Audit Will Hopefully Bring Sense to California’s Crazy Train
California’s “bullet train,” which has a deserved reputation for running late even before the first car has rolled along the tracks, is the most expensive public works project in state, and also in U.S. history, outside the federal interstate highway program. It should also be the most transparent public works ...
LA Takes Crown Again as Nation’s Worst Traffic
Ask anyone who drives even on a semi-regular basis in Los Angeles which city has the worst traffic in the world and the answer will invariably be “Los Angeles” with no moment of hesitation. By no coincidence, a transportation analytics firm says the same thing. Inrix, which provides “a data-rich ...
