Matthew Fleming
California
California’s construction unions are running ads against their own jobs
Construction unions formed an unholy alliance with their longtime enemy, environmentalists, to defeat a ballot measure and, apparently, winning requires burning down their own village. Their coalition recently launched an ad demonizing “dangerous” gas pipelines, industrial warehouses and data centers. You know, the kinds of things that keep the construction ...
Blog
Los Angeles public school parents are sending a clear message. Is the district listening?
A recent poll shows the district receiving largely positive marks from local parents despite their widespread dissatisfaction with the direction of the state and city. But the same poll shows the district might not know how to leave well enough alone by pushing forward with broad restrictions on classroom technology. ...
California
California spends first, asks questions rarely
In November, California voters will have a chance to take a modest step in the right direction. What will they choose? Prop 41 would do a few things. First, it makes it so that new state taxes cannot dodge the Gann Limit, a constitutional spending limit. Second, it compels the ...
California
A California city is waging a fight against yoga
What did yoga ever do to San Diego? For two years, the city has been waging a protracted legal battle against two yoga instructors. Their alleged transgression? Teaching yoga classes supported by donations in a picturesque public park on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. You know, the kind of ...
CEQA
Californians have a rare chance to rein in CEQA and support housing
Curious who‘s to blame for California’s housing crisis? Just look at who wants to kill the cure. A measure to reform the chief impediment to building homes in the state just qualified for the November ballot, and the same week, labor unions and environmental groups dumped millions into the effort ...
Blog
A public bank in California would be costly, risky and unnecessary
But lawmakers were pushing forward anyway. AB 2243 would have established a taxpayer-funded commission to study the feasibility of a public bank and how it could act “as an additional financial tool to lower borrowing costs, strengthen local lending partnerships and help finance urgent public needs like affordable housing, infrastructure, ...
Blog
Newsom has failed on homelessness, and it shouldn’t be hard so hard to spot.
“I’m a notoriously tough grader, but I would probably give him a B,” said former Congresswoman Katie Porter, who is also a professor at UC Irvine. “I don’t think this has been an easy problem to solve, but I give him a lot of credit for calling attention to the ...
California
Newsom’s $19 Million Ad Campaign Can’t Polish California’s Image
It’s going to take a lot more than a $19 million advertising blitz to make people forget about California’s problems. Governor Gavin Newsom, who is known to love “big, hairy, audacious goals,” recently hired the communications powerhouse Edelman to rehab the Golden State’s image, which, in Newsom’s telling, has been ...
Blog
Price controls won’t save credit card borrowers
Americans are drowning in credit card debt, but President Donald Trump’s suggestion to cap interest rates at 10% for one year is not a particularly good solution. On its face, it sounds great. Americans largely hate banks and Trump’s suggestion gives the Robinhoodish illusion of robbing the rich to give to the ...
Blog
Government Shutdown Threatens Billions in IPO Funding
The federal government has been shut down since October 1 because of a funding disagreement between Democrats and Republicans in Washington. Though a deal could theoretically be struck at any moment, there does not appear to be any end in sight. Only services deemed essential are permitted through the shutdown, which means ...
California’s construction unions are running ads against their own jobs
Construction unions formed an unholy alliance with their longtime enemy, environmentalists, to defeat a ballot measure and, apparently, winning requires burning down their own village. Their coalition recently launched an ad demonizing “dangerous” gas pipelines, industrial warehouses and data centers. You know, the kinds of things that keep the construction ...
Los Angeles public school parents are sending a clear message. Is the district listening?
A recent poll shows the district receiving largely positive marks from local parents despite their widespread dissatisfaction with the direction of the state and city. But the same poll shows the district might not know how to leave well enough alone by pushing forward with broad restrictions on classroom technology. ...
California spends first, asks questions rarely
In November, California voters will have a chance to take a modest step in the right direction. What will they choose? Prop 41 would do a few things. First, it makes it so that new state taxes cannot dodge the Gann Limit, a constitutional spending limit. Second, it compels the ...
A California city is waging a fight against yoga
What did yoga ever do to San Diego? For two years, the city has been waging a protracted legal battle against two yoga instructors. Their alleged transgression? Teaching yoga classes supported by donations in a picturesque public park on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. You know, the kind of ...
Californians have a rare chance to rein in CEQA and support housing
Curious who‘s to blame for California’s housing crisis? Just look at who wants to kill the cure. A measure to reform the chief impediment to building homes in the state just qualified for the November ballot, and the same week, labor unions and environmental groups dumped millions into the effort ...
A public bank in California would be costly, risky and unnecessary
But lawmakers were pushing forward anyway. AB 2243 would have established a taxpayer-funded commission to study the feasibility of a public bank and how it could act “as an additional financial tool to lower borrowing costs, strengthen local lending partnerships and help finance urgent public needs like affordable housing, infrastructure, ...
Newsom has failed on homelessness, and it shouldn’t be hard so hard to spot.
“I’m a notoriously tough grader, but I would probably give him a B,” said former Congresswoman Katie Porter, who is also a professor at UC Irvine. “I don’t think this has been an easy problem to solve, but I give him a lot of credit for calling attention to the ...
Newsom’s $19 Million Ad Campaign Can’t Polish California’s Image
It’s going to take a lot more than a $19 million advertising blitz to make people forget about California’s problems. Governor Gavin Newsom, who is known to love “big, hairy, audacious goals,” recently hired the communications powerhouse Edelman to rehab the Golden State’s image, which, in Newsom’s telling, has been ...
Price controls won’t save credit card borrowers
Americans are drowning in credit card debt, but President Donald Trump’s suggestion to cap interest rates at 10% for one year is not a particularly good solution. On its face, it sounds great. Americans largely hate banks and Trump’s suggestion gives the Robinhoodish illusion of robbing the rich to give to the ...
Government Shutdown Threatens Billions in IPO Funding
The federal government has been shut down since October 1 because of a funding disagreement between Democrats and Republicans in Washington. Though a deal could theoretically be struck at any moment, there does not appear to be any end in sight. Only services deemed essential are permitted through the shutdown, which means ...