Free Cities

Cities’ generosity to professional sports is not as wasteful and sleazy as you think it is. It’s worse. So sayeth J. C. Bradbury, in This One Will Be Different: False Promises and Fiscal Realities of Publicly Funded Stadiums (Oxford University Press; 440 pages; $39.99). The Kennesaw State University professor’s life ...

What will the midterm results mean for America’s cities? Americans from both parties continue to draw differing meanings from Democrats’ drubbing of Republicans in the midterm elections. The conclusions obviously center on the role of President Donald Trump and his national policies including tariffs, the Iran war, gas prices and ...

New Bay-Delta rules highlight state’s slow water progress by Steven Greenhut | November 6, 2026 If you turn a map of California on its side with the Nevada border to the north, you’ll notice a low-lying area where nearly half of the water from the Sierra Nevada Mountains drains before ...

Last month, the city’s planning commission unanimously advanced the “Expanding Housing Options” proposal to update the city’s zoning code for R-1 districts (single-family neighborhoods). In addition to simplifying the zoning code, the proposal would legalize a range of “small lot dwellings” — including single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and townhomes ...

California’s 10 biggest cities are lagging state housing goals By John Seiler | October 30, 2026 California has spent more than a decade trying to solve its housing shortage. In 2024 alone, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed more than 60 housing laws. In 2025 it was more than 50. And, for ...

Will voters continue to subsidize transit’s death spiral in 2026? By D. Dowd Muska  |  October 23, 2026 On Election Day, transit enthusiasts will direct their attention to greater San Francisco. There, five counties will decide whether to hike their sales taxes to bail out rail, bus and ferry services ...

My recent trip to Malibu from LAX was my first post-wildfire drive through the Pacific Palisades and, my goodness, there’s nothing like seeing something with one’s own eyes to grasp the enormity of the devastation. The obliterated hulks along Pacific Coast Highway 21 months after the tragedy raises multiple issues, ...

Game, set, match: Portland turns to private sector to run tennis center By Sal Rodriguez | October 16, 2026 “Portland’s nationally-renowned parks system is struggling,” began a news report earlier this year from Oregon Public Broadcasting. OPB describes many of the practical consequences of deferred maintenance and budget cuts that ...

The Democratic Legislature clearly has a bone to pick with Bianco over his seizure of county election ballots and his conservative, MAGA-style politics. This measure likely stems from that conflict, but should be viewed outside the realm of partisan politics. The sheriff v. coroner debate represents a long-running and broader ...

Newsom saves cities from bipartisan pension-hiking legislation by Steven Greenhut | October 9, 2026 Jerry Brown took his share of indefensible positions in his final two terms as governor, but even Republicans acknowledged that he was the last adult in Sacramento — a backstop against the zaniest ideas in the ...