Rowena Itchon
Agriculture
An April Fool’s Day Quiz
Right by the Bay is celebrating (or lamenting) April Fool’s Day by creating the following quiz on weird and goofy laws beginning in 2019 in California. If you get a perfect score, you get a one-way ticket to Texas (April Fool’s!). True or False: Surfing is now the official sport ...
Blog
California’s War on Entrepreneurs
California is proving once again that it’s the worst place to do business in America. This time, the state is attempting to collect up to eight years of back taxes from Amazon sellers whose products were temporarily stored in Amazon warehouses throughout the state. Not content with a projected budget ...
Blog
USC: In Defense of a Half Million Dollars
Enough already. I’m tired of people snickering that USC, my old alma mater, isn’t worth the half-million-dollar bribe that actress Lori Loughlin allegedly paid to get her two daughters in the school. Here’s just a sample of the put downs: John Podhoretz (University of Chicago), editor of Commentary, said in ...
Blog
L.A. City Contractors Must Now Disclose NRA Ties
In another First in the Nation policy to come out of California, the L.A. City Council voted 14 to 0 to pass an ordinance requiring companies doing business with the city to disclose whether they or their workers have ties to the National Rifle Association (NRA). Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, who ...
Blog
A Tax on Ride Sharing Companies Hurts Working People Most
“Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases,” said Ronald Reagan, “If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” Uber and Lyft are on the move. And guess what? Government tax collectors are hot ...
Blog
Free College Is Worse Than You Think
When Barack Obama called college an economic imperative, he did a disservice to millions of young people. When the current cast of presidential hopefuls call for college that’s free, they do a disservice to America. For years, liberals have romanticized a college education as the key to greater income and ...
Blog
Round 1: Old Left vs. Far Left
They say that age and cunning always beats youth and exuberance. But when it comes to the latest dust-up between the Left’s old guard and the new Far Left, how it all plays out in the end isn’t so clear. The Left’s old guard has reacted with smug disdain to ...
Blog
Green New Deal is Already Here in California
A lot has already been said about the Green New Deal, including my favorite: “What planet is she on?” from Brian Kilmeade of FOX. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is on planet California, that’s where. The “green dream or whatever” as Nancy Pelosi dismissively called it, is being realized in her own home ...
Blog
Identity Politics Comes to STEM
In January, PRI had the pleasure of hosting Manhattan Institute fellow Heather Mac Donald at a luncheon in Southern California to discuss her new book The Diversity Delusion: How Race and Gender Pandering Corrupt the University and Undermine our Culture. One of the most disturbing points during her talk was ...
Blog
Oregon’s Scheme to Save Union Slush Funds
It’s not often that another state can top California when it comes to protecting public employee unions. But Oregon’s House Bill 2643 takes the prize so far for the most audacious attempt to thwart the U.S. Supreme Court’s Janus decision. Janus v. AFCFME allowed government workers to opt-out of paying ...
An April Fool’s Day Quiz
Right by the Bay is celebrating (or lamenting) April Fool’s Day by creating the following quiz on weird and goofy laws beginning in 2019 in California. If you get a perfect score, you get a one-way ticket to Texas (April Fool’s!). True or False: Surfing is now the official sport ...
California’s War on Entrepreneurs
California is proving once again that it’s the worst place to do business in America. This time, the state is attempting to collect up to eight years of back taxes from Amazon sellers whose products were temporarily stored in Amazon warehouses throughout the state. Not content with a projected budget ...
USC: In Defense of a Half Million Dollars
Enough already. I’m tired of people snickering that USC, my old alma mater, isn’t worth the half-million-dollar bribe that actress Lori Loughlin allegedly paid to get her two daughters in the school. Here’s just a sample of the put downs: John Podhoretz (University of Chicago), editor of Commentary, said in ...
L.A. City Contractors Must Now Disclose NRA Ties
In another First in the Nation policy to come out of California, the L.A. City Council voted 14 to 0 to pass an ordinance requiring companies doing business with the city to disclose whether they or their workers have ties to the National Rifle Association (NRA). Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, who ...
A Tax on Ride Sharing Companies Hurts Working People Most
“Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases,” said Ronald Reagan, “If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” Uber and Lyft are on the move. And guess what? Government tax collectors are hot ...
Free College Is Worse Than You Think
When Barack Obama called college an economic imperative, he did a disservice to millions of young people. When the current cast of presidential hopefuls call for college that’s free, they do a disservice to America. For years, liberals have romanticized a college education as the key to greater income and ...
Round 1: Old Left vs. Far Left
They say that age and cunning always beats youth and exuberance. But when it comes to the latest dust-up between the Left’s old guard and the new Far Left, how it all plays out in the end isn’t so clear. The Left’s old guard has reacted with smug disdain to ...
Green New Deal is Already Here in California
A lot has already been said about the Green New Deal, including my favorite: “What planet is she on?” from Brian Kilmeade of FOX. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is on planet California, that’s where. The “green dream or whatever” as Nancy Pelosi dismissively called it, is being realized in her own home ...
Identity Politics Comes to STEM
In January, PRI had the pleasure of hosting Manhattan Institute fellow Heather Mac Donald at a luncheon in Southern California to discuss her new book The Diversity Delusion: How Race and Gender Pandering Corrupt the University and Undermine our Culture. One of the most disturbing points during her talk was ...
Oregon’s Scheme to Save Union Slush Funds
It’s not often that another state can top California when it comes to protecting public employee unions. But Oregon’s House Bill 2643 takes the prize so far for the most audacious attempt to thwart the U.S. Supreme Court’s Janus decision. Janus v. AFCFME allowed government workers to opt-out of paying ...
