Steven Greenhut

California’s long-distorted insurance market reached a level of dysfunction in 2023 that had tangible consequences for average homeowners. Following a series of costly wildfires, they struggled to find insurance, faced soaring prices and, in many cases, had no choice but to turn to the overburdened, state-created insurer of last resort, ...

SACRAMENTO – Following the collapse of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push for legislation addressing wildfire liability, a new Pacific Research Institute booklet warns California policymakers against responding to the state’s continuing wildfire and insurance challenges by reversing regulatory reforms that are finally showing signs of restoring competition and coverage. The warning ...

New Solano city’s travails spotlight state’s maddening approval process by Steven Greenhut | September 10, 2026 California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature deserve credit for trying to reduce some impediments to building housing and other projects in our red-tape-laden state. But the latest development fracas in Solano County ...

California pensions: A bipartisan push to destroy municipal budgets by Steven Greenhut | September 4, 2026 Four years ago, California enjoyed an astounding $97.5-billion surplus, but now the supposedly “balanced” budget faces an intractable structural deficit, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Given economic headwinds caused by runaway inflation and fears ...

California’s latest ‘green’ strategy threatens local recycling efforts By Steven Greenhut | August 7, 2026 California’s state recycling agency, CalRecycle, boasts that “California is building a circular economy that can recycle all waste by reducing how much trash we make [and] creating responsible recycling markets.” There’s nothing wrong with recycling, of ...

California has one of the world’s most spectacular coastlines, which meanders 1,100 miles from Imperial Beach to Crescent City. And, of course, everyone wants to “Save Our Coast” and assure public access to beaches, which is why Californians voted 55% to 45% in 1972 for Proposition 20. It promised to protect ...

Under reformist mayor, San Francisco continues to self-correct San Francisco has long been a whipping post for conservatives who like to portray it as the case study for progressive zaniness, an ever-present example of the kind of public policies that other cities ought to avoid. The city has often deserved ...

Three years ago, my East Coast relatives flew to San Francisco for my daughter’s wedding. At the time, national publications were having a field day depicting the city as a pit of decay filled with poop-covered sidewalks and rampant homelessness. My relatives were primed to see an urban landscape beset ...

It’s easy to think that urban policy is solely about big cities and their surrounding suburbs, much in the way that one would naturally believe that farm policy is solely about farm regions. A quick perusal of the statistics suggests that America is indeed an urban nation despite its vast ...