California
Blog
California’s Train Drain
It’s an interesting question: Will California’s high-speed rail make its first run before BART trains make their last? Actually, it’s a tricky question. The bullet train might never run. We’ve chronicled the troubles that have bedeviled the high-speed rail project, most recently when we reported on its financial problems. The ...
Blog
Anti-camping ordinances or Housing First programs?
It’s no surprise to any resident that, for more than a decade, a disproportionate share of the homeless population has been living in California, and that number continues to grow. We see it every day: on the way to work, dropping our kids off at school, enjoying a nice dinner ...
Blog
How Eminent Domain Obliterated the Character of Cities
No city can possibly express its character – the many urban quirks and idiosyncrasies, as well as the strangely appealing grittiness and shining luxury that often coexist side-by-side – when government planners use the bulldozer to “improve” cities. Writing about the “wave of urban renewal that swept the world in ...
Blog
Push for Unionized College Athletics Would Be Real March Madness
This push would trample upon free market reforms that are working and ensure college athletes are compensated for their name, image, and likeness. Four years ago, California launched a national revolution in college athletics by enacting Fair Pay to Play Act, which allows athletes to earn money from endorsements from ...
Blog
Crime in Oakland – More Mass Victimization
Criminals in Alameda County just caught a break. Newly elected District Attorney Pamela Price has issued a draft memorandum to her staff requiring them to seek probation in nearly all felony cases with the exception of murder and some sex crimes involving children. Further, it requires that more severe ...
Blog
CAPITAL IDEAS–California’s Green Energy Transition: Is the State Getting Ahead of Itself?
No state is rushing toward a zero-carbon power grid faster than California. By 2045, every watt of electricity used in this state has to be produced by a source that emits no carbon dioxide. Sacramento is convinced it will happen because it has said so. Reality is likely to have ...
Blog
Private Sector High Speed Rail Moves Forward While State Bullet Train Cost Estimates Climb
It has been called a dud, the train that couldn’t, a train that went off the rails, a train wreck, the train to nowhere, and a crazy train. The high-speed rail is also a financial fiasco, its cost now almost four times the initial estimate Californians based their votes on ...
California
PRI Sacramento Policy Conference: Improving the Quality of Life in Our Cities
Our podcast this week features a panel from PRI’s 5th Annual Ideas in Action Conference in Sacramento.
Blog
Previewing Gov. Newsom’s Political Roadshow State of the State
The Associated Press reports that “Newsom plans to fulfill his constitutional requirement by sending a letter to the State Legislature” instead of delivering the usual speech at the State Capitol. Part of me felt a little nostalgic by the news. I’ve had the chance to work on both sides of ...
Business & Economics
PRI Sacramento Policy Conference: The Best and Worst Big Cities in America
This podcast is a recording of a panel discussion on the conditions of America’s largest cities from PRI’s 5th Annual Ideas in Action Conference in Sacramento.
California’s Train Drain
It’s an interesting question: Will California’s high-speed rail make its first run before BART trains make their last? Actually, it’s a tricky question. The bullet train might never run. We’ve chronicled the troubles that have bedeviled the high-speed rail project, most recently when we reported on its financial problems. The ...
Anti-camping ordinances or Housing First programs?
It’s no surprise to any resident that, for more than a decade, a disproportionate share of the homeless population has been living in California, and that number continues to grow. We see it every day: on the way to work, dropping our kids off at school, enjoying a nice dinner ...
How Eminent Domain Obliterated the Character of Cities
No city can possibly express its character – the many urban quirks and idiosyncrasies, as well as the strangely appealing grittiness and shining luxury that often coexist side-by-side – when government planners use the bulldozer to “improve” cities. Writing about the “wave of urban renewal that swept the world in ...
Push for Unionized College Athletics Would Be Real March Madness
This push would trample upon free market reforms that are working and ensure college athletes are compensated for their name, image, and likeness. Four years ago, California launched a national revolution in college athletics by enacting Fair Pay to Play Act, which allows athletes to earn money from endorsements from ...
Crime in Oakland – More Mass Victimization
Criminals in Alameda County just caught a break. Newly elected District Attorney Pamela Price has issued a draft memorandum to her staff requiring them to seek probation in nearly all felony cases with the exception of murder and some sex crimes involving children. Further, it requires that more severe ...
CAPITAL IDEAS–California’s Green Energy Transition: Is the State Getting Ahead of Itself?
No state is rushing toward a zero-carbon power grid faster than California. By 2045, every watt of electricity used in this state has to be produced by a source that emits no carbon dioxide. Sacramento is convinced it will happen because it has said so. Reality is likely to have ...
Private Sector High Speed Rail Moves Forward While State Bullet Train Cost Estimates Climb
It has been called a dud, the train that couldn’t, a train that went off the rails, a train wreck, the train to nowhere, and a crazy train. The high-speed rail is also a financial fiasco, its cost now almost four times the initial estimate Californians based their votes on ...
PRI Sacramento Policy Conference: Improving the Quality of Life in Our Cities
Our podcast this week features a panel from PRI’s 5th Annual Ideas in Action Conference in Sacramento.
Previewing Gov. Newsom’s Political Roadshow State of the State
The Associated Press reports that “Newsom plans to fulfill his constitutional requirement by sending a letter to the State Legislature” instead of delivering the usual speech at the State Capitol. Part of me felt a little nostalgic by the news. I’ve had the chance to work on both sides of ...
PRI Sacramento Policy Conference: The Best and Worst Big Cities in America
This podcast is a recording of a panel discussion on the conditions of America’s largest cities from PRI’s 5th Annual Ideas in Action Conference in Sacramento.
