Kerry Jackson

Blog

How’s That ‘Accelerated’ Fire Rebuild Going?

The toll from the wildfires is staggering: More than 18,000 structures were burned, 53 square miles were incinerated, 30, maybe more, people were killed, a couple of hundred thousand were evacuated. For the latter, there are pieces to pick up. Some estimates say more than 11,000 homes were destroyed. Politicians, ...
Commentary

California Shouldn’t Set America’s Environmental Policy

For decades, California has made environmental policy as if it were a sovereign nation, not an equal member of the Union. The federal government granted it this privilege on the premise that the Golden State faced uniquely urgent challenges requiring special treatment. Over time, that sense of exceptionalism has only ...
Blog

Taking The Wind Out Of California’s Net-Zero Sails

“We’re not going to let windmills get built because we’re not going to destroy our country any further than it’s already been destroyed,” Trump said before the June 12 signing ceremony. “You go and look at these beautiful plains and valleys, and they’re loaded up with this garbage that gets worse ...
Blog

Limiting Freight Train Length More About Union Demands Than Safety

The perpetual tribulations of the high-speed rail are reported with an almost clockwork frequency, but they aren’t the only train stories in California. Freight trains might soon be getting a larger share of the attention. In their eternal search for more dues-paying members, unions want to shorten freight trains. Rail companies are naturally opposed. ...
Blog

The Heart Of American Entrepreneurship Has Grown Cold

Silicon Valley has long been considered the white-hot destination for entrepreneurs. “The area is extremely start-up friendly,” says the University of Silicon Valley. The University of San Francisco’s Center for Research, Artistic and Scholarly Excellence tell us “Silicon Valley has a long history of creating and nurturing an ecosystem of entrepreneurs, startups, ...
Commentary

California gasoline prices on the rise — yet again

Three days before celebrating Independence Day, drivers will take another hit at the gas pump on what has become an annual ritual in California. On July 1, motor fuel taxes will edge up, just as they have on this date for a number of years. The current state excise tax ...
Blog

Unions push $30 minimum wage for all Los Angeles workers

Under current policy, hotel and airport workers are already on their way to a $30 an hour wage floor ($38.85 if you add in a mandatory additional stipend for health coverage). Good for those who keep their jobs, but not for those who will lose them, or will never be hired ...
Blog

Despite fast-track promises, LA rebuilding is mired in red tape

More than 18,000 structures were burned in Los Angeles County in January. The greatest losses were in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena. While updating the recovery “progress” more than three months ago, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass vowed that she was “committed to rebuilding” this community at “lightning speed.” “I just ...
Blog

Read about the new LA $30 minimum wage

Job Losses, Cancelled Projects Follows LA Passing $30 Minimum Wage

The City Council, operating as if in bubble that can’t be penetrated by real-world economic behavior, voted on May 23 to hike the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers from the current $17.28 (due to rise to $17.81 on July 1) for all workers to $30. If the raise ...
Commentary

Threatened With Legal Action, State Makes U-Turn on Electric Truck Mandates

Pressured by legal action from seventeen states that would have been impacted, California has agreed to not just drop enforcement of its electric truck mandate, but to repeal it entirely. Following the governor’s 2020 executive order that banned the sales of new internal-combustion engine cars in 2035, the state Air ...
Blog

How’s That ‘Accelerated’ Fire Rebuild Going?

The toll from the wildfires is staggering: More than 18,000 structures were burned, 53 square miles were incinerated, 30, maybe more, people were killed, a couple of hundred thousand were evacuated. For the latter, there are pieces to pick up. Some estimates say more than 11,000 homes were destroyed. Politicians, ...
Commentary

California Shouldn’t Set America’s Environmental Policy

For decades, California has made environmental policy as if it were a sovereign nation, not an equal member of the Union. The federal government granted it this privilege on the premise that the Golden State faced uniquely urgent challenges requiring special treatment. Over time, that sense of exceptionalism has only ...
Blog

Taking The Wind Out Of California’s Net-Zero Sails

“We’re not going to let windmills get built because we’re not going to destroy our country any further than it’s already been destroyed,” Trump said before the June 12 signing ceremony. “You go and look at these beautiful plains and valleys, and they’re loaded up with this garbage that gets worse ...
Blog

Limiting Freight Train Length More About Union Demands Than Safety

The perpetual tribulations of the high-speed rail are reported with an almost clockwork frequency, but they aren’t the only train stories in California. Freight trains might soon be getting a larger share of the attention. In their eternal search for more dues-paying members, unions want to shorten freight trains. Rail companies are naturally opposed. ...
Blog

The Heart Of American Entrepreneurship Has Grown Cold

Silicon Valley has long been considered the white-hot destination for entrepreneurs. “The area is extremely start-up friendly,” says the University of Silicon Valley. The University of San Francisco’s Center for Research, Artistic and Scholarly Excellence tell us “Silicon Valley has a long history of creating and nurturing an ecosystem of entrepreneurs, startups, ...
Commentary

California gasoline prices on the rise — yet again

Three days before celebrating Independence Day, drivers will take another hit at the gas pump on what has become an annual ritual in California. On July 1, motor fuel taxes will edge up, just as they have on this date for a number of years. The current state excise tax ...
Blog

Unions push $30 minimum wage for all Los Angeles workers

Under current policy, hotel and airport workers are already on their way to a $30 an hour wage floor ($38.85 if you add in a mandatory additional stipend for health coverage). Good for those who keep their jobs, but not for those who will lose them, or will never be hired ...
Blog

Despite fast-track promises, LA rebuilding is mired in red tape

More than 18,000 structures were burned in Los Angeles County in January. The greatest losses were in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena. While updating the recovery “progress” more than three months ago, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass vowed that she was “committed to rebuilding” this community at “lightning speed.” “I just ...
Blog

Read about the new LA $30 minimum wage

Job Losses, Cancelled Projects Follows LA Passing $30 Minimum Wage

The City Council, operating as if in bubble that can’t be penetrated by real-world economic behavior, voted on May 23 to hike the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers from the current $17.28 (due to rise to $17.81 on July 1) for all workers to $30. If the raise ...
Commentary

Threatened With Legal Action, State Makes U-Turn on Electric Truck Mandates

Pressured by legal action from seventeen states that would have been impacted, California has agreed to not just drop enforcement of its electric truck mandate, but to repeal it entirely. Following the governor’s 2020 executive order that banned the sales of new internal-combustion engine cars in 2035, the state Air ...
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