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Agriculture

The Judge – Justice and Compassion in the Salinas Valley

In 1775-1776 the de Anza Expedition traveled from Sinaloa to San Francisco establishing the inland route from Mission San Gabriel to San Francisco. On their way north they camped in Natividad – now Salinas – along what is today Old Stage Road on their way to the site of Mission ...
Blog

Misplaced Priorities

There is much to lament in California and Los Angeles, but the Los Angeles Times recently chose to rub its knuckles Pelosi-style at the lack of focus on climate change in the city’s mayor race. “Neither Rep. Karen Bass nor developer Rick Caruso mention the issue of climate change on ...
Agriculture

Prop 12 puts food security, animal health at risk

Livestock raising has long been a complex and misunderstood issue outside the agricultural community. Large communal pens often are considered the most humane by casual observers, but they do not tell the whole story. That is the case with California’s Proposition 12. The legislation created problematic perimeters for housing of ...
Blog

Los Angeles’ Campaign To End Homelessness Isn’t Working. What Now?

A recent audit by the Los Angeles Controller’s office made it clear: Proposition HHH, the city’s signature $1.2 billion initiative to end homelessness, isn’t working. Launched in 2019 with an ambitious goal of building 10,000 homes, the program has thus far yielded fewer than 1,200. And while an additional 6,000 ...
Blog

What’s Next for CEQA Reform After Berkeley Vote?

Responding to the public outrage, California lawmakers took unusually swift action in passing CEQA reform legislation this week. Senate Bill 118 responds to a CEQA lawsuit filed by a neighborhood group challenging a housing and classroom project under construction on the UC Berkeley campus.  Earlier this month, the California Supreme ...
Blog

Will Newsom’s CARE Court plan help get “perilous trifecta” off the streets and into treatment?

In advance of last week’s State of the State address, Gov. Newsom visited a San Jose mental health treatment center last Thursday to unveil his proposal for a “CARE Court”. According to a fact sheet from the Governor’s Office, “Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court is a new framework ...
Blog

L.A. School District and Teachers Union Keep Mask Mandate Despite Science

It is St. Patrick’s week, but there is little Irish luck for school kids in Los Angeles who are still being forced to wear masks, despite strong science showing that mask mandates result in little benefit. At the end of February, Governor Gavin Newsom finally relented and issued a statement ...
Blog

Here’s Something to Inspire A CEQA Overhaul

The California Environmental Quality Act, often used as a blunt instrument to crush needed housing development, has become a “Swiss cheese” law due to all the carveouts that have been created to allow favored construction projects to go forward while others are mired in bureaucracy and legal limbo. It’s another ...
Blog

Biden’s Non-Plan for Fighting Inflation

In a recent survey, Americans ranked inflation as the most urgent issue facing the country.  So, our ears perked up when Pres. Biden began laying out his plan to bring down inflation in his State of the Union address.  After listening to his speech, you can’t help but think that ...
Blog

California’s Poor Literacy Rates Makes Case for School Choice

When PRI pointed out a few years ago that California had the highest poverty rate in the nation, it’s fair to say it caught many by surprise. How could the biggest state economy in the country, brimming with tech, entertainment, and financial institution wealth, have so many poor? Turns out ...
Agriculture

The Judge – Justice and Compassion in the Salinas Valley

In 1775-1776 the de Anza Expedition traveled from Sinaloa to San Francisco establishing the inland route from Mission San Gabriel to San Francisco. On their way north they camped in Natividad – now Salinas – along what is today Old Stage Road on their way to the site of Mission ...
Blog

Misplaced Priorities

There is much to lament in California and Los Angeles, but the Los Angeles Times recently chose to rub its knuckles Pelosi-style at the lack of focus on climate change in the city’s mayor race. “Neither Rep. Karen Bass nor developer Rick Caruso mention the issue of climate change on ...
Agriculture

Prop 12 puts food security, animal health at risk

Livestock raising has long been a complex and misunderstood issue outside the agricultural community. Large communal pens often are considered the most humane by casual observers, but they do not tell the whole story. That is the case with California’s Proposition 12. The legislation created problematic perimeters for housing of ...
Blog

Los Angeles’ Campaign To End Homelessness Isn’t Working. What Now?

A recent audit by the Los Angeles Controller’s office made it clear: Proposition HHH, the city’s signature $1.2 billion initiative to end homelessness, isn’t working. Launched in 2019 with an ambitious goal of building 10,000 homes, the program has thus far yielded fewer than 1,200. And while an additional 6,000 ...
Blog

What’s Next for CEQA Reform After Berkeley Vote?

Responding to the public outrage, California lawmakers took unusually swift action in passing CEQA reform legislation this week. Senate Bill 118 responds to a CEQA lawsuit filed by a neighborhood group challenging a housing and classroom project under construction on the UC Berkeley campus.  Earlier this month, the California Supreme ...
Blog

Will Newsom’s CARE Court plan help get “perilous trifecta” off the streets and into treatment?

In advance of last week’s State of the State address, Gov. Newsom visited a San Jose mental health treatment center last Thursday to unveil his proposal for a “CARE Court”. According to a fact sheet from the Governor’s Office, “Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court is a new framework ...
Blog

L.A. School District and Teachers Union Keep Mask Mandate Despite Science

It is St. Patrick’s week, but there is little Irish luck for school kids in Los Angeles who are still being forced to wear masks, despite strong science showing that mask mandates result in little benefit. At the end of February, Governor Gavin Newsom finally relented and issued a statement ...
Blog

Here’s Something to Inspire A CEQA Overhaul

The California Environmental Quality Act, often used as a blunt instrument to crush needed housing development, has become a “Swiss cheese” law due to all the carveouts that have been created to allow favored construction projects to go forward while others are mired in bureaucracy and legal limbo. It’s another ...
Blog

Biden’s Non-Plan for Fighting Inflation

In a recent survey, Americans ranked inflation as the most urgent issue facing the country.  So, our ears perked up when Pres. Biden began laying out his plan to bring down inflation in his State of the Union address.  After listening to his speech, you can’t help but think that ...
Blog

California’s Poor Literacy Rates Makes Case for School Choice

When PRI pointed out a few years ago that California had the highest poverty rate in the nation, it’s fair to say it caught many by surprise. How could the biggest state economy in the country, brimming with tech, entertainment, and financial institution wealth, have so many poor? Turns out ...
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