Blog
Agriculture
California Has Millions of Acre-feet of Water Waiting to Be Built
As part of its May Revise rollout, the Newsom administration announced $5.1 billion for water infrastructure and drought response. While the announcement invests on funding better data collection, continuing the implementation of Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA, and maintaining current water infrastructure, nothing in Newsom’s proposed funding will solve ...
Evan Harris
May 26, 2021
Blog
California DAs Hope to Slow the Flow of Early Inmate Releases
The planned early release of 76,000 inmates from California prisons is a big meal not well digested by prosecutors across the state. “Allowing the early release of the most dangerous criminals, shortening sentences as much as 50%, impacts crime victims and creates a serious public safety risk,” says Sacramento County ...
Kerry Jackson
May 25, 2021
Blog
Newsom’s Savings Account for Students Needs to Be at the Front End, Not at the Back
In his recently released revised budget, Governor Gavin Newsom put forward a group of proposals to “Re-Imagine California’s Public Schools.” Sadly, most of these proposals will do little to raise student achievement in a public school system that was failing to do so even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps the ...
Lance Izumi
May 24, 2021
Blog
Analyzing the Biden Administration’s Tech and Innovation Policy Agenda
While it took a couple months for clarity to replace idle speculation, the Biden administration’s tech and innovation public policy agenda is increasingly clear. The forecast? Government with little chance of free markets. At his recent address to Congress President Biden highlighted “technologies of the future” as a place where ...
Bartlett Cleland
May 21, 2021
Blog
Extra Time to File Doesn’t Mask Pain of California’s Huge State Tax Burden
California taxpayers – and all Americans were given a bit of breathing room this year when the IRS announced that this year’s tax deadline would be May 17th, instead of the usual April 15th. The extra month given us to pay and file our 2020 taxes doesn’t mean that Californians ...
Tim Anaya
May 20, 2021
Blog
Redistricting: Let the Games Begin
Last month, the Census Bureau announced the official results of the state population counts, determining how many Electoral votes and House seats each state will have for the next decade. As was predicted, California lost a seat along with New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia. All were ...
Rowena Itchon
May 19, 2021
Blog
Being An Entrepreneur In San Francisco Is A Financially Punishing Experience
Living in San Francisco is a dollar-burning experience. It’s the most expensive housing market in the country, and the cost of living is higher only in Manhattan. But what about building a business in the city that fancies itself as The City? Don’t even ask. Nevertheless, we’re here to tell, ...
Kerry Jackson
May 18, 2021
Blog
Newsom’s May Revise Places Big Spending Bet That the Good Times Will Continue to Roll
On Friday, Gov. Newsom unveiled the “May Revise” to his 2021-22 state budget plan, proposing a record $196.8 billion in General Fund spending and $267.8 billion in total spending. Saying that the budget doesn’t “play small ball,” Newsom presented what he called a “generational budget” and “a historic, transformational budget.” ...
Tim Anaya
May 17, 2021
Blog
Winners and Losers – May 14
Tim Anaya – Senior Director of Communications and PRI’s Sacramento Office Winner: Vaccinated Americans – Americans who have received both jabs (or the single jab with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine) will no longer have to wear masks outdoors and in most indoor settings, the Centers for Disease Control announced ...
Pacific Research Institute
May 14, 2021
Blog
California Drought Brings the Hammer Down on Arrowhead’s “Free Water”
The fight between Nestlé and the California State Water Resources Control Board finally bubbled over last month after years of finger-pointing. In an April 23, 2021 letter, the board ordered that Nestlé cease-and-desist “unauthorized diversions and threatened unauthorized diversions from Strawberry Creek in San Bernardino County…” The letter, which according ...
Evan Harris
May 13, 2021
California Has Millions of Acre-feet of Water Waiting to Be Built
As part of its May Revise rollout, the Newsom administration announced $5.1 billion for water infrastructure and drought response. While the announcement invests on funding better data collection, continuing the implementation of Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA, and maintaining current water infrastructure, nothing in Newsom’s proposed funding will solve ...
California DAs Hope to Slow the Flow of Early Inmate Releases
The planned early release of 76,000 inmates from California prisons is a big meal not well digested by prosecutors across the state. “Allowing the early release of the most dangerous criminals, shortening sentences as much as 50%, impacts crime victims and creates a serious public safety risk,” says Sacramento County ...
Newsom’s Savings Account for Students Needs to Be at the Front End, Not at the Back
In his recently released revised budget, Governor Gavin Newsom put forward a group of proposals to “Re-Imagine California’s Public Schools.” Sadly, most of these proposals will do little to raise student achievement in a public school system that was failing to do so even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps the ...
Analyzing the Biden Administration’s Tech and Innovation Policy Agenda
While it took a couple months for clarity to replace idle speculation, the Biden administration’s tech and innovation public policy agenda is increasingly clear. The forecast? Government with little chance of free markets. At his recent address to Congress President Biden highlighted “technologies of the future” as a place where ...
Extra Time to File Doesn’t Mask Pain of California’s Huge State Tax Burden
California taxpayers – and all Americans were given a bit of breathing room this year when the IRS announced that this year’s tax deadline would be May 17th, instead of the usual April 15th. The extra month given us to pay and file our 2020 taxes doesn’t mean that Californians ...
Redistricting: Let the Games Begin
Last month, the Census Bureau announced the official results of the state population counts, determining how many Electoral votes and House seats each state will have for the next decade. As was predicted, California lost a seat along with New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia. All were ...
Being An Entrepreneur In San Francisco Is A Financially Punishing Experience
Living in San Francisco is a dollar-burning experience. It’s the most expensive housing market in the country, and the cost of living is higher only in Manhattan. But what about building a business in the city that fancies itself as The City? Don’t even ask. Nevertheless, we’re here to tell, ...
Newsom’s May Revise Places Big Spending Bet That the Good Times Will Continue to Roll
On Friday, Gov. Newsom unveiled the “May Revise” to his 2021-22 state budget plan, proposing a record $196.8 billion in General Fund spending and $267.8 billion in total spending. Saying that the budget doesn’t “play small ball,” Newsom presented what he called a “generational budget” and “a historic, transformational budget.” ...
Winners and Losers – May 14
Tim Anaya – Senior Director of Communications and PRI’s Sacramento Office Winner: Vaccinated Americans – Americans who have received both jabs (or the single jab with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine) will no longer have to wear masks outdoors and in most indoor settings, the Centers for Disease Control announced ...
California Drought Brings the Hammer Down on Arrowhead’s “Free Water”
The fight between Nestlé and the California State Water Resources Control Board finally bubbled over last month after years of finger-pointing. In an April 23, 2021 letter, the board ordered that Nestlé cease-and-desist “unauthorized diversions and threatened unauthorized diversions from Strawberry Creek in San Bernardino County…” The letter, which according ...