Matthew Fleming
California
As Los Angeles Burns, California Prevention Failures Made Clear
Not nearly enough is being done by California’s ruling class to mitigate wildfires, as the tragic devastation in Los Angeles has shown. Certainly, dry conditions and vicious winds fueled multiple wildfires that, at last count, had burned roughly 40,000 acres, destroyed more than 12,000 structures and claimed at least 25 ...
Blog
Restaurant Minimum Wage Hurting Businesses and the Workers Proponents Seek to Help
In August 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom took an erroneous victory lap celebrating his policy to raise the minimum wage for fast food workers. The law, AB 1228, effective in April, raised the minimum wage to $20 per hour for fast food workers. Citing preliminary federal data, Newsom claimed California gained ...
Blog
Learn how poorly California students scored on the latest national literacy test
Low Adult Literacy Screams for Science-of-Reading Instruction in Schools
The United States ranks 36th in the world at a 79% literacy rate, which is quite terrible considering the US’s status as one of the most developed nations in the world. “Developed nations consistently boast adult literacy rates of 96% or higher, while the least developed countries struggle with an ...
Blog
Ranked Choice Voting does nothing to improve local elections
Ranked Choice Voting does nothing to improve local elections By Matthew Fleming | November 5, 2024 A recent social media post by a San Francisco mayoral candidate announcing his political strategy for the city’s ranked-choice voting inadvertently highlights why ranked-choice voting is silly. Approved by San Francisco voters in 2002, RCV ...
Blog
Does Oakland show any hope of exiting its doom loop?
Does Oakland show any hope of exiting its doom loop? by Matthew Fleming | August 30, 2024 Even before FBI agents raided the home of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao in late June, it was safe to wonder: What the heck is wrong with Oakland? Defenders of the city point to ...
Blog
Read the latest on California's homeless crisis
Is drop in Sacramento homelessness a fluke or trend?
Officials reported a 29% decrease in overall homelessness in 2024 compared to 2022. But this coincides with a change in methodology in how people were counted, as well as a discrepancy between the count and what local nonprofits are finding on the ground. And one year does not make a ...
Blog
Patronage or problem solving? San Fran debates its proliferation of iffy commissions
Patronage or problem solving? San Fran debates its proliferation of iffy commissions Matthew Fleming | July 18, 2024 History of SF’s myriad commissions The first 21 commissions were founded in 1898 with the city and county charter, but the list has ballooned to 115 today for the city of around ...
Blog
Read about latest push for rent control
Even as rents fall, progressives push local rent controls
These local measures usually come with a tough cap on rent increases, as well as the creation of a new board of bureaucrats to monitor rents while diverting millions of dollars from other core city services. While local measures have fared better at the ballot box than the statewide efforts ...
Blog
Read latest from Free Cities Center
With motivation, even California can clean up its cities
Why can’t it be like this all the time? The efforts were criticized because so much of San Francisco has fallen into a state of disrepair, with pervasive homelessness, drug abuse, petty crime and even human feces (so much so that a map was created to document the location of poop) ...
Blog
How will scandal impact reforms?
Aftermath of a scandal: Anaheim council spars over reforms
The recent reform effort, led by Mayor Ashleigh Aitken, comes at a wild time at City Hall. Aitken’s predecessor, Harry Sidhu, recently agreed to plead guilty to federal corruption charges. The findings of an explosive independent investigation were recently published and support much of what the federal authorities alleged last ...
As Los Angeles Burns, California Prevention Failures Made Clear
Not nearly enough is being done by California’s ruling class to mitigate wildfires, as the tragic devastation in Los Angeles has shown. Certainly, dry conditions and vicious winds fueled multiple wildfires that, at last count, had burned roughly 40,000 acres, destroyed more than 12,000 structures and claimed at least 25 ...
Restaurant Minimum Wage Hurting Businesses and the Workers Proponents Seek to Help
In August 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom took an erroneous victory lap celebrating his policy to raise the minimum wage for fast food workers. The law, AB 1228, effective in April, raised the minimum wage to $20 per hour for fast food workers. Citing preliminary federal data, Newsom claimed California gained ...
Learn how poorly California students scored on the latest national literacy test
Low Adult Literacy Screams for Science-of-Reading Instruction in Schools
The United States ranks 36th in the world at a 79% literacy rate, which is quite terrible considering the US’s status as one of the most developed nations in the world. “Developed nations consistently boast adult literacy rates of 96% or higher, while the least developed countries struggle with an ...
Ranked Choice Voting does nothing to improve local elections
Ranked Choice Voting does nothing to improve local elections By Matthew Fleming | November 5, 2024 A recent social media post by a San Francisco mayoral candidate announcing his political strategy for the city’s ranked-choice voting inadvertently highlights why ranked-choice voting is silly. Approved by San Francisco voters in 2002, RCV ...
Does Oakland show any hope of exiting its doom loop?
Does Oakland show any hope of exiting its doom loop? by Matthew Fleming | August 30, 2024 Even before FBI agents raided the home of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao in late June, it was safe to wonder: What the heck is wrong with Oakland? Defenders of the city point to ...
Read the latest on California's homeless crisis
Is drop in Sacramento homelessness a fluke or trend?
Officials reported a 29% decrease in overall homelessness in 2024 compared to 2022. But this coincides with a change in methodology in how people were counted, as well as a discrepancy between the count and what local nonprofits are finding on the ground. And one year does not make a ...
Patronage or problem solving? San Fran debates its proliferation of iffy commissions
Patronage or problem solving? San Fran debates its proliferation of iffy commissions Matthew Fleming | July 18, 2024 History of SF’s myriad commissions The first 21 commissions were founded in 1898 with the city and county charter, but the list has ballooned to 115 today for the city of around ...
Read about latest push for rent control
Even as rents fall, progressives push local rent controls
These local measures usually come with a tough cap on rent increases, as well as the creation of a new board of bureaucrats to monitor rents while diverting millions of dollars from other core city services. While local measures have fared better at the ballot box than the statewide efforts ...
Read latest from Free Cities Center
With motivation, even California can clean up its cities
Why can’t it be like this all the time? The efforts were criticized because so much of San Francisco has fallen into a state of disrepair, with pervasive homelessness, drug abuse, petty crime and even human feces (so much so that a map was created to document the location of poop) ...
How will scandal impact reforms?
Aftermath of a scandal: Anaheim council spars over reforms
The recent reform effort, led by Mayor Ashleigh Aitken, comes at a wild time at City Hall. Aitken’s predecessor, Harry Sidhu, recently agreed to plead guilty to federal corruption charges. The findings of an explosive independent investigation were recently published and support much of what the federal authorities alleged last ...
