Pacific Research Institute | California Blog

CEQA Foils Yet Another Important Project for California’s Future

December 10, 2018

We’ve recently said that Elon Musk’s tunnel-boring project could be the potential foundation of a hyperloop transportation system. But as is too often the case in California, a reasonable objective has been sidelined by outrage. Musk has abandoned the project that began near his SpaceX...

Proposition C Makes San Francisco A ‘Sanctuary City’ For The Homeless

December 03, 2018

California

When San Franciscans went to the polls on Nov. 6, they knew in advance what the consequences are likely to be if an initiative to tax corporations to fund services for the homeless was approved. Yet they passed it anyway. Nearly 61 percent voted for Proposition...

Latest Audit Should Be Nail in High-Speed Rail Coffin, But It Won’t Be

November 29, 2018

California

An audit of the California bullet train released the Friday before Thanksgiving should make reasonable people wonder why the project wasn’t killed long ago. For instance, the office of State Auditor Elaine Howle says the high-speed rail has enough funding to complete its initial segments, but...

Could Trump-Dem Infrastructure Deal Mean More Money for High-Speed Rail?

November 28, 2018

California

Ever since Democrats won control of the U.S. House of Representatives, many have speculated whether President Trump and Democrats be able to make a deal on something big. With Democrats saying that they aren’t afraid to use their newfound-subpoena powers against the Trump Administration, the prospects...

Support PRI and Other Worthy Organizations on #GivingTuesday

November 27, 2018

California

If you are reading this blog, there’s a good chance that you have generously donated to PRI, attended one of our recent events, or shared our research with your friends and colleagues. Our work would not be possible without the support of individuals who share...

Did Millennials Fuel 2018’s “Blue Wave”?

November 20, 2018

California

By Makaila Warga Move over baby boomers, millennials are on the cusp of becoming the nation's largest adult generation – and with that comes a significant opportunity to influence the public policy debate. Based on data recently collected by Pew Research, millennials, already the largest generation in...

Elon Musk Shows Private Sector Could Build Better, Cheaper Bullet Train

November 15, 2018

California

While high-speed rail, California’s monument to folly, mocks itself with unfinished concrete pillars rising toward the sky like empty hands and tracks leading to nowhere, a tunnel burrowed by entrepreneur Elon Musk beneath Los Angeles might be the forerunner to a transportation system that’s faster,...

What to Expect from California’s New Governor and Liberal Supermajority

November 14, 2018

California

The 2018 election has come and passed. To paraphrase California’s governor-elect, Gavin Newsom will move to the “corner office” come January, “whether you like it or not.” While a few races are still up in the air as of this writing, it looks like he will...

Los Amazon? Not.

November 13, 2018

It's official. Amazon has announced plans to establish its second headquarters in New York in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens and Crystal City, Virginia, which is just outside Washington, D.C. I first wrote about Amazon’s search in a blog back when several California...

More Election Woes: Tax Hikes to Save Pensions

November 08, 2018

In some excellent reporting by Chris Reed of CalWatchdog, Reed found that more than 100 local governments in California asked voters for tax hikes on Election Day, double the 56 the Bond Buyer said it recorded in November 2016. These 100+ measures were on top...