Blog
Road to Freedom – Unravelling the Riddle of David Allen Funston
California’s “elderly parole” system, created under AB 3234 and related statutory reforms, allows incarcerated people to be considered for release once they reach age 50 and have served at least 20 years. It is routinely described as a compassionate mechanism for aging inmates and prison population management. But the label ...
Steve Smith
April 21, 2026
Blog
Despite Exorbitant Fees, LA28 Ticket Buying Experience Was Gold Medal Worthy
Recently, I felt like Charlie Bucket searching for the golden ticket in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I “won” the lottery for the first draw opportunity to buy 2028 LA Olympic tickets. Much of what I read about the process online were complaints, primarily about pricing. A limited allotment ...
Tim Anaya
April 20, 2026
Blog
Las Vegas shakes, rattles business model to draw back tourists
Las Vegas shakes, rattles business model to draw back tourists Sarah Downey | April 17, 2026 You can’t always bet on a full house so always be ready to adapt — that’s likely the message Las Vegas is getting after the number of visitors fell last year. The national news ...
Sarah Downey
April 17, 2026
Blog
BOOK REVIEW: Does backing the blue mean backing unions’ ‘Blue Power’?
Five years ago, in response to George Floyd’s death, the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute issued a report outlining methods to move toward a “criminal justice system — police, courts, prison, reentry, community supervision — that is focused on the safety, health and well-being of communities rather than ...
D. Dowd Muska
April 16, 2026
Blog
Cost of California’s High-Speed Rail Goes Up Again
It was also supposed to be carrying 65.5 million to 96.5 million intercity riders a year by 2030. Yet now 2040 is the date for “full service to start.” Skeptics don’t believe we’ll ever see the train run with paying customers aboard. “In my judgment, the Draft 2026 Business Plan describes a project that has reached a ...
Kerry Jackson
April 15, 2026
Blog
The Gordon Chang Report–A New Phase of the North Korean Threat
READ THE PDF A New Phase of the North Korean Threat On March 20, Iran launched two intermediate-range ballistic missiles from its territory to Diego Garcia, the joint U.K.-U.S. military base in the Indian Ocean. Fortunately, both missed. Analysts were surprised that Tehran’s regime possessed a missile that could reach ...
Gordon Chang
April 14, 2026
Agriculture
Farmer’s share of the grocery dollar shrinks again
Almost everything from the price of a dinner out to the cost to heat one’s home seems to take a bigger chunk out of the wallet lately. According to the Consumer Price Index, the overall cost of goods rose 2.4 percent in January. Even as grocery store prices rose, the ...
Pam Lewison
April 13, 2026
Blog
San Francisco new commission struggles to shut down commissions
San Francisco new commission struggles to shut down commissions Sal Rodriguez | April 10, 2026 San Francisco has too many government commissions. Who could’ve guessed? On January 30, the city’s Commission Streamlining Task Force issued a 134-page report on the 152 boards, commissions and similar bodies operating in the city under ordinance ...
Sal Rodriguez
April 10, 2026
Blog
Infill rules help, but growth boundaries remain a housing obstacle
The “landmark” measure — imposed at the behest of environmentalists and agricultural interests — was designed to stop urban sprawl, protect open space and promote transit use. “Observing the loss of farmland and greenspaces, as well as poorly planned development in other states, Oregonians saw that they could no longer ...
Steven Greenhut
April 9, 2026
Blog
Why Don’t We Find More Waste, Fraud and Abuse in California?
Shocking exposes of waste, fraud, and abuse in state government have dominated media headlines in recent weeks. Our friends Christopher Rufo and Kenneth Schrupp at the Manhattan Institute uncovered an unfinished wildlife “bridge to nowhere” in Agoura Hills, which has cost taxpayers over $100 million to date and counting. CBS ...
Tim Anaya
April 7, 2026
Road to Freedom – Unravelling the Riddle of David Allen Funston
California’s “elderly parole” system, created under AB 3234 and related statutory reforms, allows incarcerated people to be considered for release once they reach age 50 and have served at least 20 years. It is routinely described as a compassionate mechanism for aging inmates and prison population management. But the label ...
Despite Exorbitant Fees, LA28 Ticket Buying Experience Was Gold Medal Worthy
Recently, I felt like Charlie Bucket searching for the golden ticket in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I “won” the lottery for the first draw opportunity to buy 2028 LA Olympic tickets. Much of what I read about the process online were complaints, primarily about pricing. A limited allotment ...
Las Vegas shakes, rattles business model to draw back tourists
Las Vegas shakes, rattles business model to draw back tourists Sarah Downey | April 17, 2026 You can’t always bet on a full house so always be ready to adapt — that’s likely the message Las Vegas is getting after the number of visitors fell last year. The national news ...
BOOK REVIEW: Does backing the blue mean backing unions’ ‘Blue Power’?
Five years ago, in response to George Floyd’s death, the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute issued a report outlining methods to move toward a “criminal justice system — police, courts, prison, reentry, community supervision — that is focused on the safety, health and well-being of communities rather than ...
Cost of California’s High-Speed Rail Goes Up Again
It was also supposed to be carrying 65.5 million to 96.5 million intercity riders a year by 2030. Yet now 2040 is the date for “full service to start.” Skeptics don’t believe we’ll ever see the train run with paying customers aboard. “In my judgment, the Draft 2026 Business Plan describes a project that has reached a ...
The Gordon Chang Report–A New Phase of the North Korean Threat
READ THE PDF A New Phase of the North Korean Threat On March 20, Iran launched two intermediate-range ballistic missiles from its territory to Diego Garcia, the joint U.K.-U.S. military base in the Indian Ocean. Fortunately, both missed. Analysts were surprised that Tehran’s regime possessed a missile that could reach ...
Farmer’s share of the grocery dollar shrinks again
Almost everything from the price of a dinner out to the cost to heat one’s home seems to take a bigger chunk out of the wallet lately. According to the Consumer Price Index, the overall cost of goods rose 2.4 percent in January. Even as grocery store prices rose, the ...
San Francisco new commission struggles to shut down commissions
San Francisco new commission struggles to shut down commissions Sal Rodriguez | April 10, 2026 San Francisco has too many government commissions. Who could’ve guessed? On January 30, the city’s Commission Streamlining Task Force issued a 134-page report on the 152 boards, commissions and similar bodies operating in the city under ordinance ...
Infill rules help, but growth boundaries remain a housing obstacle
The “landmark” measure — imposed at the behest of environmentalists and agricultural interests — was designed to stop urban sprawl, protect open space and promote transit use. “Observing the loss of farmland and greenspaces, as well as poorly planned development in other states, Oregonians saw that they could no longer ...
Why Don’t We Find More Waste, Fraud and Abuse in California?
Shocking exposes of waste, fraud, and abuse in state government have dominated media headlines in recent weeks. Our friends Christopher Rufo and Kenneth Schrupp at the Manhattan Institute uncovered an unfinished wildlife “bridge to nowhere” in Agoura Hills, which has cost taxpayers over $100 million to date and counting. CBS ...