Blog
Blog
Where is California Still Growing?
Much has been made of the decline of California over the last year, and not without reason—the Golden State lost 173,000 residents last year. Worse yet, that’s probably an improvement: by one estimate, 650,000 people left California in 2020. Indeed, as a result of population stagnation over the 2010s, we ...
M. Nolan Gray
May 11, 2022
Blog
The Data is In: California No Better Off Under Plastic Bag Ban
Newton’s third law says that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Politicians know this as the law of unintended consequences. They are well aware of its existence and have seen up close the damage it can do. Still, they make laws they know they shouldn’t. The ...
Kerry Jackson
May 10, 2022
Blog
Been There, Done That on Attacking Charter Schools
Been There, Done That on Attacking Charter Schools Inspired by a recent California law, the Biden Administration has proposed federal regulations that would require new charter schools to “demonstrate community need” before being approved, and also restricts the ability of new and existing charter schools to receive federal funds. California ...
Pacific Research Institute
May 9, 2022
Blog
Climate Change: Adapt Or Mitigate?
Along the Sonoma County coast, CalTrans is relocating a stretch of Highway 1 farther inland in response to the ocean taking out about a foot per year of the cliffs overlooking the Pacific. This concept is often referred to as managed retreat, where entire communities and neighborhoods are forced to ...
Kerry Jackson
May 6, 2022
Blog
Grazing is part of successful wildfire suppression
Not very many people are capable of scaling rock faces, and none are able to properly digest the diets of ruminant animals – range grasses, small woody stalks, underdeveloped trees – which makes those animals perfect for wildfire suppression efforts. Earlier this year, the city of Sacramento deployed nearly 1,000 ...
Pacific Research Institute
May 5, 2022
Blog
California’s Poseidon Desalination Adventure Might Be Sinking
A virtually unlimited water supply sits just to the left of California, there for the taking, as William Mulholland might say. But this state has little appetite for useful projects. The ambitious and enterprising Mulholland wouldn’t recognize it. Almost a quarter of a century has passed since Poseidon Water announced ...
Kerry Jackson
May 4, 2022
Blog
China Cuts Taxes, U.S. and California Want to Raise Them
Tax cuts are the “fertilizer applied to the roots of the economy.” That’s not Arthur Laffer talking, but China Premier Li Keqiang. Last month, China’s Finance Ministry announced that it would cut income taxes for small companies from 25 percent to 20 percent to boost the communist country’s slowing economy. ...
Rowena Itchon
May 3, 2022
Blog
State Budget Update: Senate Democrats Want to Spend More as Analyst Warns About Higher Spending
While Democrats fought amongst themselves over gas tax relief last week, attention is now shifting to next week’s release of Gov. Newsom’s “May Revise” updated budget plan. In advance, Senate Democrats put down their marker, unveiling their gas tax relief plan called the “Better for Families Rebate” as part of ...
Tim Anaya
May 2, 2022
Blog
Thousands of Californians Live Out of Their Cars. Now What?
In the alley behind my apartment, there’s a man who lives out of an old Honda Accord. Each morning, he departs for work in what appears to be a fast-food uniform. In the evenings, he reclines and watches television on his phone. It isn’t glamorous, but in a West Los ...
M. Nolan Gray
April 29, 2022
Blog
National Crime Victims Week 2022
For over 40 years America has recognized the last week of April as National Crime Victims Week. California honors Crime Victims Week in a variety of ways at the State and Local level. This year, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation adopted a theme of “Rights, Access and Equity” ...
Steve Smith
April 28, 2022
Where is California Still Growing?
Much has been made of the decline of California over the last year, and not without reason—the Golden State lost 173,000 residents last year. Worse yet, that’s probably an improvement: by one estimate, 650,000 people left California in 2020. Indeed, as a result of population stagnation over the 2010s, we ...
The Data is In: California No Better Off Under Plastic Bag Ban
Newton’s third law says that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Politicians know this as the law of unintended consequences. They are well aware of its existence and have seen up close the damage it can do. Still, they make laws they know they shouldn’t. The ...
Been There, Done That on Attacking Charter Schools
Been There, Done That on Attacking Charter Schools Inspired by a recent California law, the Biden Administration has proposed federal regulations that would require new charter schools to “demonstrate community need” before being approved, and also restricts the ability of new and existing charter schools to receive federal funds. California ...
Climate Change: Adapt Or Mitigate?
Along the Sonoma County coast, CalTrans is relocating a stretch of Highway 1 farther inland in response to the ocean taking out about a foot per year of the cliffs overlooking the Pacific. This concept is often referred to as managed retreat, where entire communities and neighborhoods are forced to ...
Grazing is part of successful wildfire suppression
Not very many people are capable of scaling rock faces, and none are able to properly digest the diets of ruminant animals – range grasses, small woody stalks, underdeveloped trees – which makes those animals perfect for wildfire suppression efforts. Earlier this year, the city of Sacramento deployed nearly 1,000 ...
California’s Poseidon Desalination Adventure Might Be Sinking
A virtually unlimited water supply sits just to the left of California, there for the taking, as William Mulholland might say. But this state has little appetite for useful projects. The ambitious and enterprising Mulholland wouldn’t recognize it. Almost a quarter of a century has passed since Poseidon Water announced ...
China Cuts Taxes, U.S. and California Want to Raise Them
Tax cuts are the “fertilizer applied to the roots of the economy.” That’s not Arthur Laffer talking, but China Premier Li Keqiang. Last month, China’s Finance Ministry announced that it would cut income taxes for small companies from 25 percent to 20 percent to boost the communist country’s slowing economy. ...
State Budget Update: Senate Democrats Want to Spend More as Analyst Warns About Higher Spending
While Democrats fought amongst themselves over gas tax relief last week, attention is now shifting to next week’s release of Gov. Newsom’s “May Revise” updated budget plan. In advance, Senate Democrats put down their marker, unveiling their gas tax relief plan called the “Better for Families Rebate” as part of ...
Thousands of Californians Live Out of Their Cars. Now What?
In the alley behind my apartment, there’s a man who lives out of an old Honda Accord. Each morning, he departs for work in what appears to be a fast-food uniform. In the evenings, he reclines and watches television on his phone. It isn’t glamorous, but in a West Los ...
National Crime Victims Week 2022
For over 40 years America has recognized the last week of April as National Crime Victims Week. California honors Crime Victims Week in a variety of ways at the State and Local level. This year, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation adopted a theme of “Rights, Access and Equity” ...