Homelessness
California
Could Decades of Big Government Be Why Bay Area Residents Want to Leave?
Between 1850 and 1860, California’s population grew by 410 percent – a rapid expansion fueled by the Gold Rush. The rush today, though, is more outbound than inbound. From 2007 to 2016, 6 million people left the state while only 5 million moved in. One could argue that with a ...
California
Tia Boatman Patterson – Addressing California’s Home Affordability Problem
California Housing Finance Agency Executive Director Tia Boatman Patterson discusses the efforts of the self-supporting state agency she runs to help people find an affordable place to live, and gives her thoughts on what should be done next to address the state’s housing affordability and homeless problems.
Blog
Will California Cities Repeat Seattle’s “Amazon Tax” Mistake?
No one should wonder why executives keep saying California is the worst state to do business in. Too many politicians see businesses as nothing more than vessels available to be drained of their substance for the funding of foolish ideas. The most recent proposal among some Silicon Valley politicians is ...
Blog
This Year’s Budget Earns a “Participation Trophy”
It’s amazing what a difference one voter-approved proposition can make. The Legislature is poised again to pass a budget before the June 15 constitutional deadline. Gov. Brown has until June 30 to sign it into law. Budgets used to be a lengthy, messy fight at the Capitol. Back in the ...
California
State Should Embrace Charities, Nonprofits to End Homeless Crisis
California, long considered a land of golden opportunity, has a homeless problem. To the north of San Diego, not far from the gates of the fantasy world at Disneyland, a two-mile long homeless camp reminds us of a real and ugly world. Street people are slowing rail traffic between Sacramento ...
Charter Schools
Charter Schools are Using Innovation to Help Kids with Special Needs
This month, as many Americans celebrated National Charter School Week, charter school opponents continued to claim that charter schools discriminate against students with special needs. Yet in fact, all across the country there are charter schools that are leading the way in helping children with special needs. Charter schools are ...
Blog
What We’re Watching – Not Yanny or Laurel
What We’re Watching – Not Yanny or Laurel While America was obsessed this week with whether we heard Yanny or Laurel (and I hear Yanny for the record), I was busy watching other things online. If you’re interested – or don’t know what the heck I’m talking about – watch ...
Blog
Governor’s Final May Revise Par for the Course for Brown 2.0
On Friday, Governor Brown released his final “May Revise” budget proposal. For those who aren’t fluent in government-ese, the May Revise is the Governor’s revised budget proposal, taking into account updated tax receipts, economic trends, and budget needs. It’s from this proposal that the Brown Administration will negotiate a final ...
Blog
Will Housing People in Our Backyards Help Reduce LA’s Homeless Population?
A drive through the homeless encampment in downtown Los Angeles reveals a swamp of squalor unworthy of a first-world nation. Yet there it is, grim and uncivilized. Los Angeles’ homeless problem is a growing concern. The region has the second-largest homeless population in the country, with more than 55,000 living ...
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 ...
Could Decades of Big Government Be Why Bay Area Residents Want to Leave?
Between 1850 and 1860, California’s population grew by 410 percent – a rapid expansion fueled by the Gold Rush. The rush today, though, is more outbound than inbound. From 2007 to 2016, 6 million people left the state while only 5 million moved in. One could argue that with a ...
Tia Boatman Patterson – Addressing California’s Home Affordability Problem
California Housing Finance Agency Executive Director Tia Boatman Patterson discusses the efforts of the self-supporting state agency she runs to help people find an affordable place to live, and gives her thoughts on what should be done next to address the state’s housing affordability and homeless problems.
Will California Cities Repeat Seattle’s “Amazon Tax” Mistake?
No one should wonder why executives keep saying California is the worst state to do business in. Too many politicians see businesses as nothing more than vessels available to be drained of their substance for the funding of foolish ideas. The most recent proposal among some Silicon Valley politicians is ...
This Year’s Budget Earns a “Participation Trophy”
It’s amazing what a difference one voter-approved proposition can make. The Legislature is poised again to pass a budget before the June 15 constitutional deadline. Gov. Brown has until June 30 to sign it into law. Budgets used to be a lengthy, messy fight at the Capitol. Back in the ...
State Should Embrace Charities, Nonprofits to End Homeless Crisis
California, long considered a land of golden opportunity, has a homeless problem. To the north of San Diego, not far from the gates of the fantasy world at Disneyland, a two-mile long homeless camp reminds us of a real and ugly world. Street people are slowing rail traffic between Sacramento ...
Charter Schools are Using Innovation to Help Kids with Special Needs
This month, as many Americans celebrated National Charter School Week, charter school opponents continued to claim that charter schools discriminate against students with special needs. Yet in fact, all across the country there are charter schools that are leading the way in helping children with special needs. Charter schools are ...
What We’re Watching – Not Yanny or Laurel
What We’re Watching – Not Yanny or Laurel While America was obsessed this week with whether we heard Yanny or Laurel (and I hear Yanny for the record), I was busy watching other things online. If you’re interested – or don’t know what the heck I’m talking about – watch ...
Governor’s Final May Revise Par for the Course for Brown 2.0
On Friday, Governor Brown released his final “May Revise” budget proposal. For those who aren’t fluent in government-ese, the May Revise is the Governor’s revised budget proposal, taking into account updated tax receipts, economic trends, and budget needs. It’s from this proposal that the Brown Administration will negotiate a final ...
Will Housing People in Our Backyards Help Reduce LA’s Homeless Population?
A drive through the homeless encampment in downtown Los Angeles reveals a swamp of squalor unworthy of a first-world nation. Yet there it is, grim and uncivilized. Los Angeles’ homeless problem is a growing concern. The region has the second-largest homeless population in the country, with more than 55,000 living ...
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 ...
