Homelessness
California
California Government Awash in Money Now, But a Reckoning Lies Ahead
Did a member of the California Legislature inadvertently, and quite publicly, admit that “progressive” governance is unsustainable? While discussing the state’s eviction protections and financial aid for renters during a CalMatters podcast, Assemblyman David Chiu, a San Francisco Democrat, said “If we run out of money, all bets are off.” This ...
Kerry Jackson
July 27, 2021
Blog
CAPITAL IDEAS: More of California’s Big Cities on the Way to Becoming Next Detroit
DOWNLOAD PDF Two waves have rolled through California in 2021. One so hot that high temperature records were set throughout the state. The other so chilling that stores have shortened their hours and even closed altogether to avoid it. By now, the video of a shoplifter last month filling what ...
Kerry Jackson
July 23, 2021
Blog
George Lucas, Reluctant YIMBY?
The wages of California city planning spare no man—not even George Lucas. As recently as late 2020, the filmmaker sued the California town of San Anselmo to clear up a “surveying error” that may revert a portion of his property to the heirs of its 1920s owners. It’s a trivial ...
M. Nolan Gray
July 14, 2021
Blog
Playing the CalMatters “Spend the Surplus Game”
Now and then during one’s work life, a colleague comes up with something so clever that your heart twinges with envy. This happened to me the other day when I stumbled upon the CalMatters “Spend the Surplus Game,” the brainchild of John Osborn D’Agostino. Kudos to Mr. D’Agostino. For think ...
Rowena Itchon
June 28, 2021
Blog
Getting CEQA Out of the Way of Missing Middle Housing
California is in the grips of an unprecedented housing crisis, which has sent hundreds of thousands of Californians packing for affordable states like Arizona and Nevada. Here in Los Angeles, both home prices and homelessness have hit record highs, a sign of the ironic situation of the Golden State. At ...
M. Nolan Gray
June 21, 2021
Blackouts
NorCal Record Covers Launch of Electricity Reliability Report
As electricity demands increase this summer, The Pacific Research Institute (PRI) has launched a new website to encourage energy competition that leads to more affordability, innovation and climate change solutions. The initiative is prompted by issues facing the nation overall, but California exemplifies the issues, Dr. Wayne Winegarden, PRI senior fellow in ...
Pacific Research Institute
June 15, 2021
Blog
6 Solutions to Encourage Family Growth in California
In addressing the nation’s falling fertility rates, many well-meaning pro-natalists advocate for cash incentives and higher tax credits for families with children. Countries with dismal fertility rates, such as Hungary, have introduced generous programs that include subsidies for minivans, a stipend for grandma, and interest-free marriage loans of $36,000 for ...
McKenzie Richards
June 7, 2021
Blog
Legislative Democrats Enact Their State Budget Plan – How Will Newsom Respond?
On Wednesday, Legislative Democrats announced a budget “deal” amongst themselves, passing their own 2021-22 state budget plan. Now the ball is in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s court to reach agreement on a final budget before the June 15 constitutional deadline. While the Los Angeles Times notes that “the $267 billion legislative ...
Tim Anaya
June 4, 2021
Blog
PRI’s 2021 Summer Reading List
Today marks the unofficial start of the summer season. Unlike last year, Americans might be able to take a vacation and go somewhere this summer as we begin to turn the corner on the Covid-19 pandemic. What’s one of the most important things you’ll need for your summer vacation planning ...
Tim Anaya
May 31, 2021
Blog
Newsom’s Savings Account for Students Needs to Be at the Front End, Not at the Back
In his recently released revised budget, Governor Gavin Newsom put forward a group of proposals to “Re-Imagine California’s Public Schools.” Sadly, most of these proposals will do little to raise student achievement in a public school system that was failing to do so even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps the ...
Lance Izumi
May 24, 2021
California Government Awash in Money Now, But a Reckoning Lies Ahead
Did a member of the California Legislature inadvertently, and quite publicly, admit that “progressive” governance is unsustainable? While discussing the state’s eviction protections and financial aid for renters during a CalMatters podcast, Assemblyman David Chiu, a San Francisco Democrat, said “If we run out of money, all bets are off.” This ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: More of California’s Big Cities on the Way to Becoming Next Detroit
DOWNLOAD PDF Two waves have rolled through California in 2021. One so hot that high temperature records were set throughout the state. The other so chilling that stores have shortened their hours and even closed altogether to avoid it. By now, the video of a shoplifter last month filling what ...
George Lucas, Reluctant YIMBY?
The wages of California city planning spare no man—not even George Lucas. As recently as late 2020, the filmmaker sued the California town of San Anselmo to clear up a “surveying error” that may revert a portion of his property to the heirs of its 1920s owners. It’s a trivial ...
Playing the CalMatters “Spend the Surplus Game”
Now and then during one’s work life, a colleague comes up with something so clever that your heart twinges with envy. This happened to me the other day when I stumbled upon the CalMatters “Spend the Surplus Game,” the brainchild of John Osborn D’Agostino. Kudos to Mr. D’Agostino. For think ...
Getting CEQA Out of the Way of Missing Middle Housing
California is in the grips of an unprecedented housing crisis, which has sent hundreds of thousands of Californians packing for affordable states like Arizona and Nevada. Here in Los Angeles, both home prices and homelessness have hit record highs, a sign of the ironic situation of the Golden State. At ...
NorCal Record Covers Launch of Electricity Reliability Report
As electricity demands increase this summer, The Pacific Research Institute (PRI) has launched a new website to encourage energy competition that leads to more affordability, innovation and climate change solutions. The initiative is prompted by issues facing the nation overall, but California exemplifies the issues, Dr. Wayne Winegarden, PRI senior fellow in ...
6 Solutions to Encourage Family Growth in California
In addressing the nation’s falling fertility rates, many well-meaning pro-natalists advocate for cash incentives and higher tax credits for families with children. Countries with dismal fertility rates, such as Hungary, have introduced generous programs that include subsidies for minivans, a stipend for grandma, and interest-free marriage loans of $36,000 for ...
Legislative Democrats Enact Their State Budget Plan – How Will Newsom Respond?
On Wednesday, Legislative Democrats announced a budget “deal” amongst themselves, passing their own 2021-22 state budget plan. Now the ball is in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s court to reach agreement on a final budget before the June 15 constitutional deadline. While the Los Angeles Times notes that “the $267 billion legislative ...
PRI’s 2021 Summer Reading List
Today marks the unofficial start of the summer season. Unlike last year, Americans might be able to take a vacation and go somewhere this summer as we begin to turn the corner on the Covid-19 pandemic. What’s one of the most important things you’ll need for your summer vacation planning ...
Newsom’s Savings Account for Students Needs to Be at the Front End, Not at the Back
In his recently released revised budget, Governor Gavin Newsom put forward a group of proposals to “Re-Imagine California’s Public Schools.” Sadly, most of these proposals will do little to raise student achievement in a public school system that was failing to do so even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps the ...