Environment
Blog
Elon Musk is Right – California is Now the Land of Taxes, Overregulation and Litigation
A trio of troubles, says Elon Musk, is ruining California. He didn’t reveal anything new. He didn’t have to. Much of the world understands. Only those blinded by their blue-tinted glasses don’t know what’s wrong in this state. Speaking virtually earlier this month for a conference in Miami, Musk, an ...
Blog
State Budget Update – Nonpartisan Analyst Says May Revise Puts State on Path to Serious Budget Problems
Now that the calendar page has turned to June, it’s crunch time for lawmakers and the Governor to reach a budget agreement before the June 15 constitutional deadline to pass a balanced budget. However, a new multi-year analysis of the state budget’s picture released last week suggests that enacting the ...
Agriculture
Mental Health Awareness Month matters on the farm too
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and, with farm work in full swing, is an ideal time to check in with members of the agricultural community about how they are doing. Recent research suggests the stigma around mental health in farm country is beginning to break down, but it will ...
Business & Economics
Here’s why gas prices could skyrocket again
We’re all looking for relief from record-high gas prices these days. Gas prices are the highest in the United States history at a nationwide average of $4.59 as of May 19, according to AAA. Many states surpass this average with California at $6.050, Nevada at $5.224, Washington at $5.148, and ...
Agriculture
Beating Back Inflation: Team Reagan vs. Team Biden
Last week, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the consumer price index (CPI), a broad measure of the prices for everyday items like groceries, rents, and gas rose 8.3 percent in April from a year ago, just below March’s surge of 8.5 percent. Could this be a sign that inflation ...
CEQA
Let’s End the Suspense
On Thursday, the Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees held their “suspense hearings.” For those of you who are not Capitol insiders, every bill that has a fiscal impact greater than $150,000 is sent to the “suspense file”. Every one of these bills is weighed against one another for their fiscal ...
California
California Population Falls Again – The Start Of A Long-Term Trend Or A Short-term Blip?
By Kerry Jackson & Wayne Winegarden California lost population for the second straight year in 2021. Just as 2020’s loss was the first in state history, the repeat is unprecedented. This is not supposed to happen in America’s most dynamic state. Is California’s time at the top over? California is ...
Blackouts
California, Sunny With A Near-100% Chance Of Blackouts
In Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised budget released last week, he asked for $5 billion to shore up the state’s electrical grid, calling energy reliability “an endless struggle” in California. And endless will it ever be as long as policymakers continue to pursue, with zero flexibility, an all-green energy portfolio by ...
Gas Prices
Wayne Winegarden Highlighted in Great Lakes Wire on Oil Production and Gas Prices in Michigan
Wayne Winegarden was highlighted in the Great Lakes Wire piece by David Beasley: ‘Allowing more oil production would help reduce gas prices quickly’ in Michigan. “The domestic actions that restrict oil production worsen the inflation problems and the budget squeezes that too many families are facing across the states,” Wayne ...
Business & Economics
NEW BRIEF: City and State Climate Change Lawsuits Drive Up Gas Prices, Discourage Clean Energy Innovation
SACRAMENTO – City and state climate change lawsuits discourage private sector innovation required to meet America’s clean energy goals – and expensive judgements in these cases can increase gas prices by 31-cents per gallon, finds a new issue brief released today by the nonpartisan Pacific Research Institute. “Sustainably addressing ...
Elon Musk is Right – California is Now the Land of Taxes, Overregulation and Litigation
A trio of troubles, says Elon Musk, is ruining California. He didn’t reveal anything new. He didn’t have to. Much of the world understands. Only those blinded by their blue-tinted glasses don’t know what’s wrong in this state. Speaking virtually earlier this month for a conference in Miami, Musk, an ...
State Budget Update – Nonpartisan Analyst Says May Revise Puts State on Path to Serious Budget Problems
Now that the calendar page has turned to June, it’s crunch time for lawmakers and the Governor to reach a budget agreement before the June 15 constitutional deadline to pass a balanced budget. However, a new multi-year analysis of the state budget’s picture released last week suggests that enacting the ...
Mental Health Awareness Month matters on the farm too
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and, with farm work in full swing, is an ideal time to check in with members of the agricultural community about how they are doing. Recent research suggests the stigma around mental health in farm country is beginning to break down, but it will ...
Here’s why gas prices could skyrocket again
We’re all looking for relief from record-high gas prices these days. Gas prices are the highest in the United States history at a nationwide average of $4.59 as of May 19, according to AAA. Many states surpass this average with California at $6.050, Nevada at $5.224, Washington at $5.148, and ...
Beating Back Inflation: Team Reagan vs. Team Biden
Last week, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the consumer price index (CPI), a broad measure of the prices for everyday items like groceries, rents, and gas rose 8.3 percent in April from a year ago, just below March’s surge of 8.5 percent. Could this be a sign that inflation ...
Let’s End the Suspense
On Thursday, the Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees held their “suspense hearings.” For those of you who are not Capitol insiders, every bill that has a fiscal impact greater than $150,000 is sent to the “suspense file”. Every one of these bills is weighed against one another for their fiscal ...
California Population Falls Again – The Start Of A Long-Term Trend Or A Short-term Blip?
By Kerry Jackson & Wayne Winegarden California lost population for the second straight year in 2021. Just as 2020’s loss was the first in state history, the repeat is unprecedented. This is not supposed to happen in America’s most dynamic state. Is California’s time at the top over? California is ...
California, Sunny With A Near-100% Chance Of Blackouts
In Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised budget released last week, he asked for $5 billion to shore up the state’s electrical grid, calling energy reliability “an endless struggle” in California. And endless will it ever be as long as policymakers continue to pursue, with zero flexibility, an all-green energy portfolio by ...
Wayne Winegarden Highlighted in Great Lakes Wire on Oil Production and Gas Prices in Michigan
Wayne Winegarden was highlighted in the Great Lakes Wire piece by David Beasley: ‘Allowing more oil production would help reduce gas prices quickly’ in Michigan. “The domestic actions that restrict oil production worsen the inflation problems and the budget squeezes that too many families are facing across the states,” Wayne ...
NEW BRIEF: City and State Climate Change Lawsuits Drive Up Gas Prices, Discourage Clean Energy Innovation
SACRAMENTO – City and state climate change lawsuits discourage private sector innovation required to meet America’s clean energy goals – and expensive judgements in these cases can increase gas prices by 31-cents per gallon, finds a new issue brief released today by the nonpartisan Pacific Research Institute. “Sustainably addressing ...
