California
Blackouts
NorCal Record Covers Launch of Electricity Reliability Report
As electricity demands increase this summer, The Pacific Research Institute (PRI) has launched a new website to encourage energy competition that leads to more affordability, innovation and climate change solutions. The initiative is prompted by issues facing the nation overall, but California exemplifies the issues, Dr. Wayne Winegarden, PRI senior fellow in ...
Blog
Which Sinks First: The Creaky Queen Mary or Foundering California?
The Queen Mary, docked in Long Beach since 1967, could sink “if something is not done soon,” the media reported last week. An overactive imagination isn’t needed to see this as a metaphor for California. “After years of neglect by a string of operators,” says the Los Angeles Times, “the ...
Blog
Newsom, Lawmakers Thrown Pay Raise Hot Potato
That sound you heard at the State Capitol last week was constitutional officers and state lawmakers running for cover. “Gov. Gavin Newsom, California legislators and other state elected officials were approved to receive a 4.2% salary increase this year,” the Los Angeles Times reports. There is no bigger political hot ...
Commentary
Don’t be fooled by Biden’s victory lap on Obamacare
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services just released a report asserting that 31 million people now have insurance coverage thanks to the Affordable Care Act. That would be a record, an increase of nearly 4 million from 2020. That headline number could go up in the months to come. But the growth ...
Blog
“Pay Our Interns” Activists Should Be Careful What They Wish For
During my past life at the State Capitol, I had the pleasure to mentor many great interns. I would host one or two interns at a time, who would work for four months during summer break or during the semester while attending college. My former interns have become legislative chiefs ...
Agriculture
Progress in California Road Repairs Lagging Despite Gas Tax Hike
Four years ago, Will Kempton, then executive director of Transportation California and a former Caltrans director, said the state’s roads were “the worst I have seen.” A few months later, the state began collecting revenue from a $52 billion, 10-year fuel tax hike to raise enough revenue to bring up to date ...
Blog
Can Legislators Tame California’s Infamously High Impact Fees?
If you haven’t been living under a rock, you know that California is currently in the grips of a worsening housing affordability crisis. I take that back—if you’re living under a rock, you’re probably acutely aware of this fact. Before the pandemic, over half of all California renters spent more ...
California
Anne Marie Schubert – The Rising Crime in California
In this podcast our guest is Anne Marie Schubert, District Attorney for Sacramento County. Ms. Schubert along with 44 DAs are suing Gov. Newsom for his policy to allow 76,000 inmates – including many who committed violent crimes – to attain early release with good behavior credits. We also discuss ...
Blog
6 Solutions to Encourage Family Growth in California
In addressing the nation’s falling fertility rates, many well-meaning pro-natalists advocate for cash incentives and higher tax credits for families with children. Countries with dismal fertility rates, such as Hungary, have introduced generous programs that include subsidies for minivans, a stipend for grandma, and interest-free marriage loans of $36,000 for ...
Blog
Legislative Democrats Enact Their State Budget Plan – How Will Newsom Respond?
On Wednesday, Legislative Democrats announced a budget “deal” amongst themselves, passing their own 2021-22 state budget plan. Now the ball is in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s court to reach agreement on a final budget before the June 15 constitutional deadline. While the Los Angeles Times notes that “the $267 billion legislative ...
NorCal Record Covers Launch of Electricity Reliability Report
As electricity demands increase this summer, The Pacific Research Institute (PRI) has launched a new website to encourage energy competition that leads to more affordability, innovation and climate change solutions. The initiative is prompted by issues facing the nation overall, but California exemplifies the issues, Dr. Wayne Winegarden, PRI senior fellow in ...
Which Sinks First: The Creaky Queen Mary or Foundering California?
The Queen Mary, docked in Long Beach since 1967, could sink “if something is not done soon,” the media reported last week. An overactive imagination isn’t needed to see this as a metaphor for California. “After years of neglect by a string of operators,” says the Los Angeles Times, “the ...
Newsom, Lawmakers Thrown Pay Raise Hot Potato
That sound you heard at the State Capitol last week was constitutional officers and state lawmakers running for cover. “Gov. Gavin Newsom, California legislators and other state elected officials were approved to receive a 4.2% salary increase this year,” the Los Angeles Times reports. There is no bigger political hot ...
Don’t be fooled by Biden’s victory lap on Obamacare
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services just released a report asserting that 31 million people now have insurance coverage thanks to the Affordable Care Act. That would be a record, an increase of nearly 4 million from 2020. That headline number could go up in the months to come. But the growth ...
“Pay Our Interns” Activists Should Be Careful What They Wish For
During my past life at the State Capitol, I had the pleasure to mentor many great interns. I would host one or two interns at a time, who would work for four months during summer break or during the semester while attending college. My former interns have become legislative chiefs ...
Progress in California Road Repairs Lagging Despite Gas Tax Hike
Four years ago, Will Kempton, then executive director of Transportation California and a former Caltrans director, said the state’s roads were “the worst I have seen.” A few months later, the state began collecting revenue from a $52 billion, 10-year fuel tax hike to raise enough revenue to bring up to date ...
Can Legislators Tame California’s Infamously High Impact Fees?
If you haven’t been living under a rock, you know that California is currently in the grips of a worsening housing affordability crisis. I take that back—if you’re living under a rock, you’re probably acutely aware of this fact. Before the pandemic, over half of all California renters spent more ...
Anne Marie Schubert – The Rising Crime in California
In this podcast our guest is Anne Marie Schubert, District Attorney for Sacramento County. Ms. Schubert along with 44 DAs are suing Gov. Newsom for his policy to allow 76,000 inmates – including many who committed violent crimes – to attain early release with good behavior credits. We also discuss ...
6 Solutions to Encourage Family Growth in California
In addressing the nation’s falling fertility rates, many well-meaning pro-natalists advocate for cash incentives and higher tax credits for families with children. Countries with dismal fertility rates, such as Hungary, have introduced generous programs that include subsidies for minivans, a stipend for grandma, and interest-free marriage loans of $36,000 for ...
Legislative Democrats Enact Their State Budget Plan – How Will Newsom Respond?
On Wednesday, Legislative Democrats announced a budget “deal” amongst themselves, passing their own 2021-22 state budget plan. Now the ball is in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s court to reach agreement on a final budget before the June 15 constitutional deadline. While the Los Angeles Times notes that “the $267 billion legislative ...
