Free Cities

Can Seattle’s new democratic socialist mayor deliver? By Sal Rodriguez | January 2, 2026 While the election of Zohran Mamdani to be the next mayor of New York City dominated national headlines, voters in Seattle also elected a self-described democratic socialist to be their next mayor. With 50.4% of the ...

Revisiting an age-old issue: How good is zoning? By R.C. Hoiles | December 26, 2025 As we approach the nation’s 250th anniversary, the Pacific Research Institute is spotlighting leading Western thinkers in the nation’s history. This column was written by  The Orange County Register publisher and president of Freedom Communications ...

Private buses are back, but will government leave them alone? Looking forward to attending FIFA World Cup 26? There’s “an easy and affordable way to move between host cities to see the matches.” FlixBus, the world’s largest motor coach service — it has a presence in more than 40 countries ...

For those who missed the internationally publicized brouhaha, a tabby named Kit Kat had lived in the city’s Mission, where he sauntered into bodegas and bars. Dubbed the Mayor of 16th Street, Kit Kat was by all accounts a charming character. Then on October 27, the unthinkable happened: a Waymo self-driving taxi ...

It’s surprising, but Oakland’s lefty mayor embraces deregulation By Sal Rodriguez | December 12, 2025 Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee gets it. The longtime progressive former Congress member has taken a hatchet to the regulatory thicket that’s hindered true progress in Oaktown. “The city has transformed its permitting process with same-day ...

To follow the narrative from California’s political leaders, the state’s transit systems are still struggling because of the COVID-19 lockdowns. Ridership numbers and revenues fell dramatically as a result and have yet to fully recover. Therefore, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), Muni and other public systems need a state bailout ...

after balking, fresno oks housing-streamlining compromise by Sal Rodriguez | December 5, 2025 (Editor’s Note:  This piece has been updated from the article originally published on December 5 to reflect Fresno’s recent action on the issue.) The answer to the housing shortage plaguing cities across the country isn’t really that ...

Waymo is the Autonomous Vehicle division of Alphabet/Google, which for two decades has mapped almost every road in America. The cars are electric I-Pace Jaguars made in Austria by Magna Steyr and, he said, quite luxurious. Other cities hosting Waymos include Los Angeles, Austin, Atlanta and San Francisco, also covering ...

LA apartment builders pull back as bureaucracy, taxes take toll By Kerry Jackson | November 25, 2025 Los Angeles needs more apartments. No one will argue otherwise. Developers want to build more units to meet the demand. It’s what they do. But not in Los Angeles. A third party that should play ...

Privatizing the loo: A solution for cities’ restroom debacle? By D. Dowd Muska | November 21, 2025 Spend enough time researching the subject, and one can be forgiven for abandoning all hope. Simply put, America’s public restrooms are a disaster. First, there aren’t enough of them. Writer Quinn O’Callaghan considers ...