Blog
Blackouts
CAPITAL IDEAS – California’s Blackouts: How Did We Get Here and What Can We Do to Keep the Lights On?
Download the Brief Introduction Pacific Gas and Electric of San Francisco began in October 2019 a series of electricity blackouts called “public safety power shutoffs.” The objective was to prevent its equipment from starting wildfires during hot, dry, and windy periods. The Great Blackouts of 2019 plunged nearly 3 million ...
Kerry Jackson
November 7, 2019
Blog
Free Markets: Power to The People
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last week that he was going to name an energy czar “in the wake of Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s prolonged power outages,” says the Sacramento Bee, because. According to the governor, “the entire system needs to be reimagined.” “We cannot afford the kind of public ...
Kerry Jackson
November 6, 2019
Blackouts
On Blackouts, Gavin Newsom Should Beware the Legacy of Gray Davis
Californians are rightfully outraged over what my colleague Kerry Jackson has termed, “The Great Blackouts of 2019.” Naturally, whenever there is a crisis or a scandal in state government like the blackouts and the PG&E bailout and bankruptcy, voters look to blame someone for the problem, typically the Governor. Indeed, ...
Tim Anaya
November 5, 2019
Blog
California Student Test-Score Plunge: Common Core a Likely Culprit
The results of the 2019 National Assessment for Educational Progress, often called the “Nation’s Report Card,” came out recently and California’s scores once again tanked, with one of the likely causes being the national Common Core standards and aligned curricula. The NAEP exam, which is given every two years, tests ...
Lance Izumi
November 4, 2019
Blog
What We’re Watching – Entrepreneurship is Key to Lifting People Out of Poverty
This week, PRI released a new study by Senior Fellow in Business and Economics, Dr. Wayne Winegarden about how government-created barriers to opportunity were standing in the way of low-income and immigrant entrepreneurs starting a business and working their way into the middle class. Along with the video, we released ...
Pacific Research Institute
November 1, 2019
Blog
Zuckerberg, Facebook Go Full Public Relations Blitz as Libra Stumbles
This summer, Facebook unveiled their plans to incorporate Libra, a digital cryptocurrency, into the Facebook platform. By the end of 2020, billions of Facebook users will be able to use Libra like any other currency. In previous Right by the Bay post, I wrote about Facebook’s announcement, highlighting some of ...
Evan Harris
October 31, 2019
Agriculture
Trump Opens Floodgates In California — Will The State Fight Him Or Be Grateful For The Help?
California’s 55 electoral votes won’t go to President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, but he can expect the state’s farmers support. The White House announced on Oct. 22 it will pump water where it’s vital for human needs rather than hold it back on behalf of the Chinook salmon, ...
Kerry Jackson
October 30, 2019
Blog
California is AWOL on Teacher Leadership Policies
A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece on the National Council on Teacher Quality’s excellent research on California’s failed teacher quality policies, and now the organization has followed up by releasing a new analysis showing that California is AWOL when it comes to policies on teacher leadership. The NCTQ ...
Lance Izumi
October 29, 2019
Blog
Change to Sacramento Soccer Stadium Deal Would Be Bad for Taxpayers
Amid much fanfare, Major League Soccer last week announced that Sacramento has been awarded the 29th MLS franchise. Attention now turns to building a new $252 million stadium in the downtown Sacramento railyards before the team’s launch in 2022. Unfortunately, taxpayers are about to have a bucket of cold water ...
Tim Anaya
October 28, 2019
Blog
What We’re Watching – Who’s Giving Away the Most Free Stuff?
Rowena Itchon – Who Is Giving Away the Most Free Stuff? Guess which presidential candidate is giving away the most “free” stuff. Check out John Stossel’s Free Stuff 2020. Evan Harris – Mr. Zuckerberg Goes to Washington (Again) Mark Zuckerberg entertained Congressional members for more than six hours of testimony ...
Pacific Research Institute
October 25, 2019
CAPITAL IDEAS – California’s Blackouts: How Did We Get Here and What Can We Do to Keep the Lights On?
Download the Brief Introduction Pacific Gas and Electric of San Francisco began in October 2019 a series of electricity blackouts called “public safety power shutoffs.” The objective was to prevent its equipment from starting wildfires during hot, dry, and windy periods. The Great Blackouts of 2019 plunged nearly 3 million ...
Free Markets: Power to The People
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last week that he was going to name an energy czar “in the wake of Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s prolonged power outages,” says the Sacramento Bee, because. According to the governor, “the entire system needs to be reimagined.” “We cannot afford the kind of public ...
On Blackouts, Gavin Newsom Should Beware the Legacy of Gray Davis
Californians are rightfully outraged over what my colleague Kerry Jackson has termed, “The Great Blackouts of 2019.” Naturally, whenever there is a crisis or a scandal in state government like the blackouts and the PG&E bailout and bankruptcy, voters look to blame someone for the problem, typically the Governor. Indeed, ...
California Student Test-Score Plunge: Common Core a Likely Culprit
The results of the 2019 National Assessment for Educational Progress, often called the “Nation’s Report Card,” came out recently and California’s scores once again tanked, with one of the likely causes being the national Common Core standards and aligned curricula. The NAEP exam, which is given every two years, tests ...
What We’re Watching – Entrepreneurship is Key to Lifting People Out of Poverty
This week, PRI released a new study by Senior Fellow in Business and Economics, Dr. Wayne Winegarden about how government-created barriers to opportunity were standing in the way of low-income and immigrant entrepreneurs starting a business and working their way into the middle class. Along with the video, we released ...
Zuckerberg, Facebook Go Full Public Relations Blitz as Libra Stumbles
This summer, Facebook unveiled their plans to incorporate Libra, a digital cryptocurrency, into the Facebook platform. By the end of 2020, billions of Facebook users will be able to use Libra like any other currency. In previous Right by the Bay post, I wrote about Facebook’s announcement, highlighting some of ...
Trump Opens Floodgates In California — Will The State Fight Him Or Be Grateful For The Help?
California’s 55 electoral votes won’t go to President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, but he can expect the state’s farmers support. The White House announced on Oct. 22 it will pump water where it’s vital for human needs rather than hold it back on behalf of the Chinook salmon, ...
California is AWOL on Teacher Leadership Policies
A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece on the National Council on Teacher Quality’s excellent research on California’s failed teacher quality policies, and now the organization has followed up by releasing a new analysis showing that California is AWOL when it comes to policies on teacher leadership. The NCTQ ...
Change to Sacramento Soccer Stadium Deal Would Be Bad for Taxpayers
Amid much fanfare, Major League Soccer last week announced that Sacramento has been awarded the 29th MLS franchise. Attention now turns to building a new $252 million stadium in the downtown Sacramento railyards before the team’s launch in 2022. Unfortunately, taxpayers are about to have a bucket of cold water ...
What We’re Watching – Who’s Giving Away the Most Free Stuff?
Rowena Itchon – Who Is Giving Away the Most Free Stuff? Guess which presidential candidate is giving away the most “free” stuff. Check out John Stossel’s Free Stuff 2020. Evan Harris – Mr. Zuckerberg Goes to Washington (Again) Mark Zuckerberg entertained Congressional members for more than six hours of testimony ...