Rowena Itchon
Blog
Victory for Free Speech: AFP v. Bonta
After six years and no less than three amici filed by PRI, we are gratified that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Americans’ First Amendment right to make donations to charities such as PRI. The Court struck down as facially unconstitutional the California Attorney General’s requirement that charities disclose the identities ...
Blog
A Custom ESG Portfolio Could Solve the Apples to Oranges Comparison
Necessity is the mother of invention – perhaps that’s why JP Morgan Chase recently bought OpenInvest, a San Francisco-based start-up that provides financial advisors the technology to customize a portfolio of ESG stocks. Rather than put their clients into a self-styled ESG fund, advisors can use OpenInvest to create a ...
Blog
Playing the CalMatters “Spend the Surplus Game”
Now and then during one’s work life, a colleague comes up with something so clever that your heart twinges with envy. This happened to me the other day when I stumbled upon the CalMatters “Spend the Surplus Game,” the brainchild of John Osborn D’Agostino. Kudos to Mr. D’Agostino. For think ...
Blog
The Deep State Strikes Again
In a budget hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Attorney General Merrick Garland assured Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, “I promise you, it will be at the top of my list.” Tops on the Justice Department’s To Do List pledged Garland, is to investigate the source of a massive leak ...
Blog
Book Review: A Dubious Expediency: How Race Preferences Damage Higher Education
It’s been 45 years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Regents of the University of California v. Bakke – the case that opened the door to “diversity” admissions at America’s colleges and universities. What’s happened since this landmark case is the subject of A Dubious Expediency (Encounter, May ...
Blog
Newsom’s “Comeback” Plan for Small Businesses
Back in February, Tim Anaya and I interviewed for PRI’s Next Round podcast Cynthia Ariosta and Carl Dene, small business owners in Napa Valley, to get their perspective on Gov. Newsom’s COVID restrictions on small businesses. This heart-wrenching interview was one of our most listened to podcasts this year. In ...
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 ...
Blog
Early Release for 76,000 California Inmates
Last week, Gov. Newsom, in an “emergency declaration”, is giving 76,000 inmates — including violent and repeat felons — the opportunity to leave prison early in order to reduce the state’s prison population. Of the 76,000 inmates, 63,000 were convicted of violent crimes, including 20,000 serving life sentences with the ...
Blog
Free Community College? Moi?
“A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, all the modern languages . . .” – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice Last week, Pres. Biden proposed to spend $109 billion to make community college free. As in many of the President’s proposals over his first 100 ...
Blog
Carry a Stack of Studies? Moi?
This past week, Politico reported that our fellow think tankers (albeit left-leaning) at the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute were forming unions. I assumed that these think tanks were breaking ground, but it appears that they’re just playing catch-up. The Nonprofit Professional Employees Union had already successfully organized several prominent ...
Victory for Free Speech: AFP v. Bonta
After six years and no less than three amici filed by PRI, we are gratified that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Americans’ First Amendment right to make donations to charities such as PRI. The Court struck down as facially unconstitutional the California Attorney General’s requirement that charities disclose the identities ...
A Custom ESG Portfolio Could Solve the Apples to Oranges Comparison
Necessity is the mother of invention – perhaps that’s why JP Morgan Chase recently bought OpenInvest, a San Francisco-based start-up that provides financial advisors the technology to customize a portfolio of ESG stocks. Rather than put their clients into a self-styled ESG fund, advisors can use OpenInvest to create a ...
Playing the CalMatters “Spend the Surplus Game”
Now and then during one’s work life, a colleague comes up with something so clever that your heart twinges with envy. This happened to me the other day when I stumbled upon the CalMatters “Spend the Surplus Game,” the brainchild of John Osborn D’Agostino. Kudos to Mr. D’Agostino. For think ...
The Deep State Strikes Again
In a budget hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Attorney General Merrick Garland assured Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, “I promise you, it will be at the top of my list.” Tops on the Justice Department’s To Do List pledged Garland, is to investigate the source of a massive leak ...
Book Review: A Dubious Expediency: How Race Preferences Damage Higher Education
It’s been 45 years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Regents of the University of California v. Bakke – the case that opened the door to “diversity” admissions at America’s colleges and universities. What’s happened since this landmark case is the subject of A Dubious Expediency (Encounter, May ...
Newsom’s “Comeback” Plan for Small Businesses
Back in February, Tim Anaya and I interviewed for PRI’s Next Round podcast Cynthia Ariosta and Carl Dene, small business owners in Napa Valley, to get their perspective on Gov. Newsom’s COVID restrictions on small businesses. This heart-wrenching interview was one of our most listened to podcasts this year. In ...
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 ...
Early Release for 76,000 California Inmates
Last week, Gov. Newsom, in an “emergency declaration”, is giving 76,000 inmates — including violent and repeat felons — the opportunity to leave prison early in order to reduce the state’s prison population. Of the 76,000 inmates, 63,000 were convicted of violent crimes, including 20,000 serving life sentences with the ...
Free Community College? Moi?
“A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, all the modern languages . . .” – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice Last week, Pres. Biden proposed to spend $109 billion to make community college free. As in many of the President’s proposals over his first 100 ...
Carry a Stack of Studies? Moi?
This past week, Politico reported that our fellow think tankers (albeit left-leaning) at the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute were forming unions. I assumed that these think tanks were breaking ground, but it appears that they’re just playing catch-up. The Nonprofit Professional Employees Union had already successfully organized several prominent ...
