Blog
Blog
Afghan Refugees Are Being Steered Away From California – It’s Just Too Expensive to Live Here
Thousands of Afghans who escaped as the Taliban was overtaking their country are being relocated in the U.S. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom, “proud,” he said, “of the fact that, over the last decade, the state has taken in more refugees than any other state in America,” announced in August ...
Blog
The Road (and Funding) to More California Broadband
In August, I detailed the $42 billion broadband grant program proposed in the $3.5 trillion infrastructure package. Not to be outdone, California is pursuing its own broadband grant program expansion. Connectivity to the internet is a must for education and every industry, especially after going through the last 18 months ...
Blog
California’s Students Desperately Need Housing. College Towns Aren’t Building It.
In the coming weeks, nearly a million Californians will be returning to college campuses across the Golden State as in-person instruction resumes within the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems. Many students, faculty, and staff will be returning to college towns and neighborhoods for the first ...
Blackouts
Been There, Done That on Broken Promises on Wildfire Prevention
Been There, Done That on Broken Promises on Wildfire Prevention While touring wildfire damage in Northern California, President Biden touted billions in proposed federal dollars for wildfire resilience and forest management. But California dollars that should be spent on fire prevention, forest management, and equipment upgrades to reduce fire risk ...
Blog
Crowdsourcing: A Revolutionary Solution to Health Care Price Transparency
On January 1st, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid gifted the American people with a new rule requiring price transparency in healthcare. The federal rule requires hospitals to publish cash prices, prices with insurance plans, and minimum/maximum commercial negotiated prices in a “manner that is consumer-friendly,” each year. If ...
Blog
When Sacramento Big Spenders Suddenly Become Budget Hawks
On Wednesday, the day after millions of Californians cast ballots in the Newsom recall election, there was a common refrain in Sacramento. Prominent advocates of big government and perpetually increasing government spending were suddenly transformed into budget hawks overnight. Their target of “government waste” – the California recall itself and ...
Agriculture
AB 701 Guarantees Workers Restroom Breaks . . . and Lawsuits
When states claim to be first at something, it’s usually cause for pride. But in California, it’s often a signal to head for the hills – or rather, to other states. In another first in the nation, the California Legislature passed a bill last week that would require warehouses to ...
Blog
Banning Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers Could Have Unintended Consequences in Next Power Outage
Californians who have been seen power supplies become more unreliable in recent years have increasingly turned to gas-powered electric generators to keep the lights on during “public safety power shutoffs.” According to the industry trade group, there are 1.5 million portable generators in use in California today. The average gas-powered ...
Blog
How CEQA II Could Be a Hollywood Sequel That Everyone Likes
When then-Gov. Ronald Reagan signed CEQA, the California Environmental Quality Act, into law in 1970, it’s unlikely anyone thought it would eventually be equipped with a warhead and then used to harm business rivals, block development for political rather than environmental reasons, and leverage better labor deals for unions. Yet ...
Blog
How NIMBYs Almost Killed Disneyland
The politics of “Not in My Backyard” (NIMBY) have helped to make California one of the most expensive states in the country by blocking the construction of much-needed housing. But did you know that the same impulses once imperiled one of the region’s most iconic institutions, a destination on par ...
Afghan Refugees Are Being Steered Away From California – It’s Just Too Expensive to Live Here
Thousands of Afghans who escaped as the Taliban was overtaking their country are being relocated in the U.S. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom, “proud,” he said, “of the fact that, over the last decade, the state has taken in more refugees than any other state in America,” announced in August ...
The Road (and Funding) to More California Broadband
In August, I detailed the $42 billion broadband grant program proposed in the $3.5 trillion infrastructure package. Not to be outdone, California is pursuing its own broadband grant program expansion. Connectivity to the internet is a must for education and every industry, especially after going through the last 18 months ...
California’s Students Desperately Need Housing. College Towns Aren’t Building It.
In the coming weeks, nearly a million Californians will be returning to college campuses across the Golden State as in-person instruction resumes within the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems. Many students, faculty, and staff will be returning to college towns and neighborhoods for the first ...
Been There, Done That on Broken Promises on Wildfire Prevention
Been There, Done That on Broken Promises on Wildfire Prevention While touring wildfire damage in Northern California, President Biden touted billions in proposed federal dollars for wildfire resilience and forest management. But California dollars that should be spent on fire prevention, forest management, and equipment upgrades to reduce fire risk ...
Crowdsourcing: A Revolutionary Solution to Health Care Price Transparency
On January 1st, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid gifted the American people with a new rule requiring price transparency in healthcare. The federal rule requires hospitals to publish cash prices, prices with insurance plans, and minimum/maximum commercial negotiated prices in a “manner that is consumer-friendly,” each year. If ...
When Sacramento Big Spenders Suddenly Become Budget Hawks
On Wednesday, the day after millions of Californians cast ballots in the Newsom recall election, there was a common refrain in Sacramento. Prominent advocates of big government and perpetually increasing government spending were suddenly transformed into budget hawks overnight. Their target of “government waste” – the California recall itself and ...
AB 701 Guarantees Workers Restroom Breaks . . . and Lawsuits
When states claim to be first at something, it’s usually cause for pride. But in California, it’s often a signal to head for the hills – or rather, to other states. In another first in the nation, the California Legislature passed a bill last week that would require warehouses to ...
Banning Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers Could Have Unintended Consequences in Next Power Outage
Californians who have been seen power supplies become more unreliable in recent years have increasingly turned to gas-powered electric generators to keep the lights on during “public safety power shutoffs.” According to the industry trade group, there are 1.5 million portable generators in use in California today. The average gas-powered ...
How CEQA II Could Be a Hollywood Sequel That Everyone Likes
When then-Gov. Ronald Reagan signed CEQA, the California Environmental Quality Act, into law in 1970, it’s unlikely anyone thought it would eventually be equipped with a warhead and then used to harm business rivals, block development for political rather than environmental reasons, and leverage better labor deals for unions. Yet ...
How NIMBYs Almost Killed Disneyland
The politics of “Not in My Backyard” (NIMBY) have helped to make California one of the most expensive states in the country by blocking the construction of much-needed housing. But did you know that the same impulses once imperiled one of the region’s most iconic institutions, a destination on par ...
