California

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Read part 2 of 3 part series on Norway's prison system

Should California Really Be Following Norway’s Lead on Criminal Justice Reform? (Part Two)

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) measures post incarceration conduct three ways: rearrests, reconvictions, and returns to prison.  The most recent study, published in April 2023, studies a cohort of inmates released in 2017/18 for a period of three years. A three-year period is generally accepted as adequate ...
Blog

Read part 1 of 3 part series on Norway's prison system

Prisons – California Dreamin’, or a Norwegian Nightmare? (Part One)

Armed with reports of low recidivism rates – and apparently ignorant of California’s own recidivism statistics (except to say they are too high) – Gov. Newsom made reducing recidivism a focal point of his 2023 State of the State tour where one of his first stops was San Quentin Prison.  ...
Blog

Crime is out of control in Oakland

And Now, On The Other Side Of The Bay …

San Francisco has become almost as famous for its serial store closings as its cable cars. Popular retailers, including Nordstrom, Whole Foods, Saks Off 5th, Anthropologie and Office Depot are shutting their doors because, well, they just can’t take it anymore. The thieves won. Across the water, on the east ...
Commentary

Read Wayne Winegarden's latest at Fox News

New study reveals why Americans are fleeing big cities

Apologists for the declining cities will cite COVID-19 as a causal explanation and even optimistically claim that the declines have moderated. Such blind optimism overlooks the obvious – people are leaving big cities like San Francisco, New York and Boston because of bad public policy choices in those cities. They’re ...
Blog

Read latest from Free Cities Center

Modern take on ‘flophouses’ could ease homeless problem

Let’s first look at the current situation. This year’s approved budget for the King County Regional Homelessness Authority in Washington is $253.3 million. San Francisco spends at least $1.4 billion a year on the problem. Yet that money doesn’t seem to be making a measurable dent in the problem. We ...
California

Kerry Jackson – Climate Change and Big Oil

Our guest this week is Kerry Jackson, PRI’s senior fellow on California Reform.  Kerry has been following Gov. Newsom’s and Attorney General Bonta’s lawsuit on oil companies and its implications.  He also discusses SB 253, a corporate climate change disclosure bill; the federal and state push for electric busses including ...
Blog

Read about Sacramento's growing homeless problem

Sacramento Tax Increase Push for ‘Affordable Housing’ Would Push City’s Problems on County

According to a HouseFresh ranking of the nation’s dirtiest cities, Sacramento ranked second-worst in the country.  California’s state capitol city ranked worse than Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco and others that are covered in grime.  In the zip code where I live, 95817, there were nearly 49,000 complaints per 100,000 ...
California

Clark Judge – Election Preview

Our guest this week is Clark Judge, founder and managing director of the White House Writers Group and Chairman of PRI.  A former speechwriter to Pres. Ronald Reagan, Clark is a veteran of Washington politics and presidential elections.  We chat with Clark to get his insights on California politics from ...
California

Read latest on Sacramento's homeless problem

PRI’s Comments Featured in New York Sun Article on Sacramento DA Suing City Over Failure to Enforce the Law

Overflowing garbage, indecent exposure, public defecation: These are the sights residents of California’s capital city describe seeing in front of their homes and businesses. The Sacramento County district attorney, Thien Ho, wants it to stop and is vowing to hold the city accountable for not enforcing its own public ordinances ...
Blog

Read about latest soft on crime legislation

SB 2 – A Law in Search of a Crime

The 2022 Crime in California report from the state Attorney General’s office tell us, as the reports have shown for the past three years, that crime continues to rise.  Violent crimes are up 6.1 percent and property crimes are up 6.2 percent over the 2021 figures. Yet, progressive lawmakers have continued to ...
Blog

Read part 2 of 3 part series on Norway's prison system

Should California Really Be Following Norway’s Lead on Criminal Justice Reform? (Part Two)

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) measures post incarceration conduct three ways: rearrests, reconvictions, and returns to prison.  The most recent study, published in April 2023, studies a cohort of inmates released in 2017/18 for a period of three years. A three-year period is generally accepted as adequate ...
Blog

Read part 1 of 3 part series on Norway's prison system

Prisons – California Dreamin’, or a Norwegian Nightmare? (Part One)

Armed with reports of low recidivism rates – and apparently ignorant of California’s own recidivism statistics (except to say they are too high) – Gov. Newsom made reducing recidivism a focal point of his 2023 State of the State tour where one of his first stops was San Quentin Prison.  ...
Blog

Crime is out of control in Oakland

And Now, On The Other Side Of The Bay …

San Francisco has become almost as famous for its serial store closings as its cable cars. Popular retailers, including Nordstrom, Whole Foods, Saks Off 5th, Anthropologie and Office Depot are shutting their doors because, well, they just can’t take it anymore. The thieves won. Across the water, on the east ...
Commentary

Read Wayne Winegarden's latest at Fox News

New study reveals why Americans are fleeing big cities

Apologists for the declining cities will cite COVID-19 as a causal explanation and even optimistically claim that the declines have moderated. Such blind optimism overlooks the obvious – people are leaving big cities like San Francisco, New York and Boston because of bad public policy choices in those cities. They’re ...
Blog

Read latest from Free Cities Center

Modern take on ‘flophouses’ could ease homeless problem

Let’s first look at the current situation. This year’s approved budget for the King County Regional Homelessness Authority in Washington is $253.3 million. San Francisco spends at least $1.4 billion a year on the problem. Yet that money doesn’t seem to be making a measurable dent in the problem. We ...
California

Kerry Jackson – Climate Change and Big Oil

Our guest this week is Kerry Jackson, PRI’s senior fellow on California Reform.  Kerry has been following Gov. Newsom’s and Attorney General Bonta’s lawsuit on oil companies and its implications.  He also discusses SB 253, a corporate climate change disclosure bill; the federal and state push for electric busses including ...
Blog

Read about Sacramento's growing homeless problem

Sacramento Tax Increase Push for ‘Affordable Housing’ Would Push City’s Problems on County

According to a HouseFresh ranking of the nation’s dirtiest cities, Sacramento ranked second-worst in the country.  California’s state capitol city ranked worse than Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco and others that are covered in grime.  In the zip code where I live, 95817, there were nearly 49,000 complaints per 100,000 ...
California

Clark Judge – Election Preview

Our guest this week is Clark Judge, founder and managing director of the White House Writers Group and Chairman of PRI.  A former speechwriter to Pres. Ronald Reagan, Clark is a veteran of Washington politics and presidential elections.  We chat with Clark to get his insights on California politics from ...
California

Read latest on Sacramento's homeless problem

PRI’s Comments Featured in New York Sun Article on Sacramento DA Suing City Over Failure to Enforce the Law

Overflowing garbage, indecent exposure, public defecation: These are the sights residents of California’s capital city describe seeing in front of their homes and businesses. The Sacramento County district attorney, Thien Ho, wants it to stop and is vowing to hold the city accountable for not enforcing its own public ordinances ...
Blog

Read about latest soft on crime legislation

SB 2 – A Law in Search of a Crime

The 2022 Crime in California report from the state Attorney General’s office tell us, as the reports have shown for the past three years, that crime continues to rise.  Violent crimes are up 6.1 percent and property crimes are up 6.2 percent over the 2021 figures. Yet, progressive lawmakers have continued to ...
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