California

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Read about controversial Sacramento Forward plan

So-Called Sacramento Forward Plan Would Take City Backwards on Housing, Homelessness

In my most recent blog, I documented the city of Sacramento’s worsening homeless problem, and the inaction by city leaders to get the problem under control. Now entering the policy void are a troika of left-wing city councilmembers who have put forward a plan called “Sacramento Forward” that would be ...
Blog

Read latest on California's growing crime problem

Murders are up – We’re just dying less.

Writing for The Atlantic recently, Jeff Asher predicted that, “The United States may be experiencing one of the largest annual percent changes in murder ever recorded, according to my preliminary data.” That’s a bold statement and will undoubtedly be used to evaluate the effectiveness of criminal justice policies around the ...
Blog

Read latest about state pension problem

ESG and CalPERS Sub-par Investment Returns

CalPERS has one core social responsibility – maximizing returns to help secure the retirement of millions of current and future pensioners. The pension fund is also a major proponent of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing. CalPERS claims that ESG “disclosures provide important metrics to understand how a company’s practices ...
Blog

Read about Sacramento's growing homeless problem

On Homelessness, Sacramento is “City of Problems”

When you drive into the City of Sacramento on I-5 going north, you are greeted by a massive water tower at the city limits bearing two designations.  Sacramento, the city proudly boasts, is the “City of Trees” and “America’s Farm to Fork Capital.” Read a newspaper or walk around downtown ...
Blog

Read latest from Free Cities Center

Why do politicians hate planned communities?

Planned communities simply are centrally planned, residential communities that are built from scratch and filled with amenities designed specifically for residents. They are usually built by private developers – and tend to be less costly to build than multi-family properties within the urban footprint. Many feature significant amounts of infrastructure ...
Blog

Read about new CA green mandate

Outlawing Commercial Gas Ovens Latest Government Hit on Minority Workers

You may have missed it, but there was another shot fired last week in the war by California bureaucrats against gas-powered appliances. The South Coast Air Quality Management District – the unelected body given sweeping regulatory powers in the name of reducing air pollution in Southern California – passed a ...
Blog

Read about Pamela Price controversy

Pamela Price Gets it Wrong

Oakland’s social, economic, and criminal justice challenges are well known.  Lost jobs, expensive housing, poor performing schools, and a crime problem that exceeds neighboring cities are constant challenges. However, a recent surge in crime shows violent crime is up 14 percent, rapes are up 18 percent, robberies are up 18 ...
Blog

Read about proposed ballot measure

‘Transparency’ Measure Would Paint False Picture of What’s Happening at State Capitol

Consumer Watchdog, the self-appointed group with a history of waging controversial ballot measure fights, announced this week that it was launching a 2024 ballot initiative campaign aiming to, according to Politico, “forc(e) unprecedented scrutiny into lobbying activities at the Capitol.” The proposed “Government Transparency Act”, according to a campaign press ...
Blog

Read about new legislative caucus

‘End Poverty in California’ Caucus Poised to Worsen State’s Poverty Problem

You may have missed it, but a new legislative caucus has just been announced to address California’s status as the worst-in-the-nation state for poverty. With visions of Upton Sinclair dancing in their heads, the “End Poverty in California” legislative caucus is the brainchild of former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs. It ...
Blog

How local governments can prepare for a possible recession

A recession is beginning now, according to the June 22 Chapman Economic Forecast Update, the most accurate in the country for GDP prediction. Said President Emeritus Jim Doti at the event, “We’re pointing to a negative change in the third quarter and the fourth quarter and that’s the stuff of ...
Blog

Read about controversial Sacramento Forward plan

So-Called Sacramento Forward Plan Would Take City Backwards on Housing, Homelessness

In my most recent blog, I documented the city of Sacramento’s worsening homeless problem, and the inaction by city leaders to get the problem under control. Now entering the policy void are a troika of left-wing city councilmembers who have put forward a plan called “Sacramento Forward” that would be ...
Blog

Read latest on California's growing crime problem

Murders are up – We’re just dying less.

Writing for The Atlantic recently, Jeff Asher predicted that, “The United States may be experiencing one of the largest annual percent changes in murder ever recorded, according to my preliminary data.” That’s a bold statement and will undoubtedly be used to evaluate the effectiveness of criminal justice policies around the ...
Blog

Read latest about state pension problem

ESG and CalPERS Sub-par Investment Returns

CalPERS has one core social responsibility – maximizing returns to help secure the retirement of millions of current and future pensioners. The pension fund is also a major proponent of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing. CalPERS claims that ESG “disclosures provide important metrics to understand how a company’s practices ...
Blog

Read about Sacramento's growing homeless problem

On Homelessness, Sacramento is “City of Problems”

When you drive into the City of Sacramento on I-5 going north, you are greeted by a massive water tower at the city limits bearing two designations.  Sacramento, the city proudly boasts, is the “City of Trees” and “America’s Farm to Fork Capital.” Read a newspaper or walk around downtown ...
Blog

Read latest from Free Cities Center

Why do politicians hate planned communities?

Planned communities simply are centrally planned, residential communities that are built from scratch and filled with amenities designed specifically for residents. They are usually built by private developers – and tend to be less costly to build than multi-family properties within the urban footprint. Many feature significant amounts of infrastructure ...
Blog

Read about new CA green mandate

Outlawing Commercial Gas Ovens Latest Government Hit on Minority Workers

You may have missed it, but there was another shot fired last week in the war by California bureaucrats against gas-powered appliances. The South Coast Air Quality Management District – the unelected body given sweeping regulatory powers in the name of reducing air pollution in Southern California – passed a ...
Blog

Read about Pamela Price controversy

Pamela Price Gets it Wrong

Oakland’s social, economic, and criminal justice challenges are well known.  Lost jobs, expensive housing, poor performing schools, and a crime problem that exceeds neighboring cities are constant challenges. However, a recent surge in crime shows violent crime is up 14 percent, rapes are up 18 percent, robberies are up 18 ...
Blog

Read about proposed ballot measure

‘Transparency’ Measure Would Paint False Picture of What’s Happening at State Capitol

Consumer Watchdog, the self-appointed group with a history of waging controversial ballot measure fights, announced this week that it was launching a 2024 ballot initiative campaign aiming to, according to Politico, “forc(e) unprecedented scrutiny into lobbying activities at the Capitol.” The proposed “Government Transparency Act”, according to a campaign press ...
Blog

Read about new legislative caucus

‘End Poverty in California’ Caucus Poised to Worsen State’s Poverty Problem

You may have missed it, but a new legislative caucus has just been announced to address California’s status as the worst-in-the-nation state for poverty. With visions of Upton Sinclair dancing in their heads, the “End Poverty in California” legislative caucus is the brainchild of former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs. It ...
Blog

How local governments can prepare for a possible recession

A recession is beginning now, according to the June 22 Chapman Economic Forecast Update, the most accurate in the country for GDP prediction. Said President Emeritus Jim Doti at the event, “We’re pointing to a negative change in the third quarter and the fourth quarter and that’s the stuff of ...
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