Blog
Agriculture
Learn about the new bill that proposes voluntary abandonment of farmland
No compensation for voluntary change of farmland status to save water
A U.S. Senator from California is proposing voluntary abandonment of farmland to help conserve water. Senator Alex Padilla, chair of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife introduced the Voluntary Agricultural Land Repurposing Act. The bill would address water conservation by offering federal money to tribes ...
Blog
New poll: More want to flee California
California, You Could Always Check Out, Now You Can Leave
Are policymakers, whose actions over decades are responsible for the “let’s get out of here” mood, going to let this happen? Or are they going to keep making things worse? The California Community Poll, conducted by Strategies 360 for a group of nonprofits and the Los Angeles Times, offered respondents ...
Blog
Southwest cities slowly freeing their housing markets
The southwest has not been immune to the “housing crisis” frequently talked about in more densely populated coastal states like California. Rising housing costs, which can put considerable strain on middle-class and lower-income individuals and families, have been aggravated and amplified by government policies constraining the ability of homebuilders to ...
Blog
Read about Canada's recent wildfires
Bad Policy Could Make Canada’s Recent Fires Regular Occurrence in California
When California is on fire, the rest of the country looks on with the same morbid curiosity it has when yet any of the many Old Testament plagues that shake, rattle, parch, blister and sometimes flood the Golden State. But tables do sometimes turn. Canada’s recent wildfires meant that for ...
Blog
Read about new study on minimum wage and homelessness
At The Intersection Of Homelessness And Minimum-Wage Hikes
It’s widely though not universally acknowledged that minimum-wage increases are job killers. When statutes require employers to pay wages above market value, they will take avoidance measures. In the 2020s, automation becomes an appealing alternative for many. But not all businesses can replace their workers with robots. They are left ...
Blog
Learn about CA's retail theft problem
Rampant Thefts – The New Normal
Calvin McDonald, the CEO of Lululemon, the athletic wear brand, took fire recently for terminating two employees who intervened in an organized shoplifting snatch and grab. Known as “educators,” sales staff in Lululemon stores are told not to intervene during a shoplifting incident. In store video footage, the educators are ...
Blog
Learn About "15-Minute" Cities
Trendy ‘15-minute cities’ get their 15 minutes of fame
But that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily as charming and practical as their devotees portray them to be. “A 15-minute city,” explains the National League of Cities, “enables residents to access most daily amenities within a 15- to 20-minute walk, bike or other mode of transportation from any point in a ...
Blog
Transit bailout will only delay the day of reckoning
Transit bailout will only delay the day of reckoning By Steven Greenhut | June 29, 2023 It was inevitable that the California Legislature would bail out the state’s ailing public-transportation systems, which are facing dire fiscal crises as federal pandemic aid dries up. Although he had resisted a cash infusion ...
Agriculture
Learn how water legislation would affect CA farmers
Assembly Bills Would Upend Century of California Water Rights Management
Water rights are always complicated in the west. They become more complicated when squabbles over who “deserves” more water come into play. The California Legislature is currently considering three bills that would represent a significant shift in how water rights are policed throughout the state. Assembly Bill 1337 would implement ...
Blog
Read about push to increase driving costs
Is It A War On Traffic … Or A War On Cars?
It’s expected that the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will release a study this summer that will offer, reports the Los Angeles Times, “a blueprint for a congestion pricing scheme similar to ones in cities such as London, Stockholm and Singapore, where commuters pay to drive in city centers.” ...
Learn about the new bill that proposes voluntary abandonment of farmland
No compensation for voluntary change of farmland status to save water
A U.S. Senator from California is proposing voluntary abandonment of farmland to help conserve water. Senator Alex Padilla, chair of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife introduced the Voluntary Agricultural Land Repurposing Act. The bill would address water conservation by offering federal money to tribes ...
New poll: More want to flee California
California, You Could Always Check Out, Now You Can Leave
Are policymakers, whose actions over decades are responsible for the “let’s get out of here” mood, going to let this happen? Or are they going to keep making things worse? The California Community Poll, conducted by Strategies 360 for a group of nonprofits and the Los Angeles Times, offered respondents ...
Southwest cities slowly freeing their housing markets
The southwest has not been immune to the “housing crisis” frequently talked about in more densely populated coastal states like California. Rising housing costs, which can put considerable strain on middle-class and lower-income individuals and families, have been aggravated and amplified by government policies constraining the ability of homebuilders to ...
Read about Canada's recent wildfires
Bad Policy Could Make Canada’s Recent Fires Regular Occurrence in California
When California is on fire, the rest of the country looks on with the same morbid curiosity it has when yet any of the many Old Testament plagues that shake, rattle, parch, blister and sometimes flood the Golden State. But tables do sometimes turn. Canada’s recent wildfires meant that for ...
Read about new study on minimum wage and homelessness
At The Intersection Of Homelessness And Minimum-Wage Hikes
It’s widely though not universally acknowledged that minimum-wage increases are job killers. When statutes require employers to pay wages above market value, they will take avoidance measures. In the 2020s, automation becomes an appealing alternative for many. But not all businesses can replace their workers with robots. They are left ...
Learn about CA's retail theft problem
Rampant Thefts – The New Normal
Calvin McDonald, the CEO of Lululemon, the athletic wear brand, took fire recently for terminating two employees who intervened in an organized shoplifting snatch and grab. Known as “educators,” sales staff in Lululemon stores are told not to intervene during a shoplifting incident. In store video footage, the educators are ...
Learn About "15-Minute" Cities
Trendy ‘15-minute cities’ get their 15 minutes of fame
But that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily as charming and practical as their devotees portray them to be. “A 15-minute city,” explains the National League of Cities, “enables residents to access most daily amenities within a 15- to 20-minute walk, bike or other mode of transportation from any point in a ...
Transit bailout will only delay the day of reckoning
Transit bailout will only delay the day of reckoning By Steven Greenhut | June 29, 2023 It was inevitable that the California Legislature would bail out the state’s ailing public-transportation systems, which are facing dire fiscal crises as federal pandemic aid dries up. Although he had resisted a cash infusion ...
Learn how water legislation would affect CA farmers
Assembly Bills Would Upend Century of California Water Rights Management
Water rights are always complicated in the west. They become more complicated when squabbles over who “deserves” more water come into play. The California Legislature is currently considering three bills that would represent a significant shift in how water rights are policed throughout the state. Assembly Bill 1337 would implement ...
Read about push to increase driving costs
Is It A War On Traffic … Or A War On Cars?
It’s expected that the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will release a study this summer that will offer, reports the Los Angeles Times, “a blueprint for a congestion pricing scheme similar to ones in cities such as London, Stockholm and Singapore, where commuters pay to drive in city centers.” ...
