Free Cities

Agriculture

Are Mandatory California Water Cutbacks Coming Soon?

Back in 2014, when I was in my past life working for elected officials, I found myself engaged in one of the more annoying parts of the job – “volunteering” on political campaigns. One day, my volunteer efforts took me to a neighborhood in San Bernardino.  Knocking on doors, it ...
Blog

The California War On Gas Stations

Just a few months back, Petaluma in Sonoma County outlawed the construction of new gas stations, the first city in the nation to do so. Anyone who thought such an extreme measure would end there was being naive. Rather than a one-off event, the Petaluma City Council’s unanimous vote to ...
Blog

The Great California Exodus to the Desert

The results of the 2020 Census are out, and they aren’t pretty for the Golden State, with California set to lose a House seat for the first time in history. While states like Texas and Florida boomed over the past decades, the population of California—along with struggling states like Illinois—has ...
California

Pat Nolan – On California Crime

Next Round’s guest this week is Pat Nolan director of the American Conservative Union Foundation’s Center for Criminal Justice Reform. Nolan, an author of a chapter in PRI’s new book Saving California, discusses the state’s rising crime problem, “woke” prosecutors, and reforming California’s prison system through faith-based programs.
Blog

The Infrastructure Bill – What’s in it for California

Of the Senate’s $1.1 trillion infrastructure bill, California expects to receive at least $39.4 billion over the next five years to help rebuild its roads and bridges, and to improve public transportation. The problem is, writes Reason’s Adrian Moore in PRI’s new book Saving California, “Infrastructure takes long-term thinking, planning, ...
Blog

California Lost, California Regained

Gov. Gavin Newsom, running for his political life, is right, not everything is grim in California. At the same time, a lot of damage has been done over the last 25 years. Don’t believe it? Take a look at any list that ranks the states for any reason and California ...
California

Adrian Moore – Saving California’s Infrastructure

This week’s podcast guest is Adrian Moore, vice president of the Reason Foundation. His areas of research are privatization, government and regulatory reform, transportation, urban growth, and utilities. Dr. Moore discusses his chapter on California’s infrastructure problems in PRI’s new book, Saving California. He also gives his perspective on Pres. ...
California

Rising Crime in California: Media Events Aren’t Enough

When California Gov. Gavin Newsom and a collection of mayors and law enforcement officials held a news conference in Long Beach last month to discuss, according to the governor’s office, “state efforts to address crime and reduce retail theft,” tongues wagged, optics sparkled, and a bill that passed both the ...
Book

In Advance of Recall Election, New PRI Book Offers Realistic Path to Saving California

Experts Offer Market-Based Solutions on Issues from Health Care to the Economy SACRAMENTO – With the September 14 recall on the horizon, the nonpartisan Pacific Research Institute today released Saving California, a new book offering realistic, market-based reforms to 10 of the state’s major policy challenges. The authors are current ...
Blog

San Francisco’s Summer of Discontent

This summer, San Francisco’s politicians have likely endured their coldest winter ever.  As we write, there are no less than four recall efforts underway – three school board members and the district attorney.  If we throw in the statewide effort to recall the city’s former mayor, Gavin Newsom, that makes ...
Agriculture

Are Mandatory California Water Cutbacks Coming Soon?

Back in 2014, when I was in my past life working for elected officials, I found myself engaged in one of the more annoying parts of the job – “volunteering” on political campaigns. One day, my volunteer efforts took me to a neighborhood in San Bernardino.  Knocking on doors, it ...
Blog

The California War On Gas Stations

Just a few months back, Petaluma in Sonoma County outlawed the construction of new gas stations, the first city in the nation to do so. Anyone who thought such an extreme measure would end there was being naive. Rather than a one-off event, the Petaluma City Council’s unanimous vote to ...
Blog

The Great California Exodus to the Desert

The results of the 2020 Census are out, and they aren’t pretty for the Golden State, with California set to lose a House seat for the first time in history. While states like Texas and Florida boomed over the past decades, the population of California—along with struggling states like Illinois—has ...
California

Pat Nolan – On California Crime

Next Round’s guest this week is Pat Nolan director of the American Conservative Union Foundation’s Center for Criminal Justice Reform. Nolan, an author of a chapter in PRI’s new book Saving California, discusses the state’s rising crime problem, “woke” prosecutors, and reforming California’s prison system through faith-based programs.
Blog

The Infrastructure Bill – What’s in it for California

Of the Senate’s $1.1 trillion infrastructure bill, California expects to receive at least $39.4 billion over the next five years to help rebuild its roads and bridges, and to improve public transportation. The problem is, writes Reason’s Adrian Moore in PRI’s new book Saving California, “Infrastructure takes long-term thinking, planning, ...
Blog

California Lost, California Regained

Gov. Gavin Newsom, running for his political life, is right, not everything is grim in California. At the same time, a lot of damage has been done over the last 25 years. Don’t believe it? Take a look at any list that ranks the states for any reason and California ...
California

Adrian Moore – Saving California’s Infrastructure

This week’s podcast guest is Adrian Moore, vice president of the Reason Foundation. His areas of research are privatization, government and regulatory reform, transportation, urban growth, and utilities. Dr. Moore discusses his chapter on California’s infrastructure problems in PRI’s new book, Saving California. He also gives his perspective on Pres. ...
California

Rising Crime in California: Media Events Aren’t Enough

When California Gov. Gavin Newsom and a collection of mayors and law enforcement officials held a news conference in Long Beach last month to discuss, according to the governor’s office, “state efforts to address crime and reduce retail theft,” tongues wagged, optics sparkled, and a bill that passed both the ...
Book

In Advance of Recall Election, New PRI Book Offers Realistic Path to Saving California

Experts Offer Market-Based Solutions on Issues from Health Care to the Economy SACRAMENTO – With the September 14 recall on the horizon, the nonpartisan Pacific Research Institute today released Saving California, a new book offering realistic, market-based reforms to 10 of the state’s major policy challenges. The authors are current ...
Blog

San Francisco’s Summer of Discontent

This summer, San Francisco’s politicians have likely endured their coldest winter ever.  As we write, there are no less than four recall efforts underway – three school board members and the district attorney.  If we throw in the statewide effort to recall the city’s former mayor, Gavin Newsom, that makes ...
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