Blog
Trucking and Shipping Latest Victims of California’s “Cruelest Law,” AB 5
If anyone thinks they’re seeing fewer trucks ripping up and down Interstate 5 or slogging through the perpetual 405 gridlock, it might not be their imagination. California law is strangling the freight-hauling business. There has been “a wave of bankruptcies among California trucking companies,” reports Floor Covering News, a trade publication, partially the result of the economic decline of the freight ...
Kerry Jackson
December 1, 2025
Agriculture
The abundance of Thanksgiving hides the challenges in agriculture
We are a nation that celebrates with food. Birthdays are synonymous with cake and ice cream. Easter is all about eggs and chocolate. Halloween is everyone’s favorite day for candy. But the ultimate in food-related holidays is Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving, Americans will consume about 46 million turkeys, 77 million hams, ...
Pam Lewison
November 27, 2025
Blog
PRI’s 2026 Holiday Book List
Nikhil Agarwal – Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson The book I’m recommending is Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. A critique of liberal policies by two liberals, the book explains perfectly why government-led development and infrastructure projects are doomed for failure in a pluralistic, democratic society like ...
Pacific Research Institute
November 26, 2025
Blog
LA apartment builders pull back as bureaucracy, taxes take toll
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 ...
Kerry Jackson
November 25, 2025
Blog
Forget the Trade Deficit, Growing Imports Are a Bullish Sign for the Economy
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) just released its monthly report on international trade in goods and services for August 2025. Based on the news coverage, it would seem that the 23.8 percent decline in the trade deficit was the most important takeaway. And this decline is surely viewed as ...
Wayne Winegarden
November 24, 2025
Blog
Privatizing the loo: A solution for cities’ restroom debacle?
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 ...
D. Dowd Muska
November 21, 2025
Blog
Look Out for the ‘Lid Lifters’ Looking for Organic Waste in Your Trash Bin
They are for now “lid lifters,” compliance officers whose job is to make sure the citizens of the city of San Diego are sorting their refuse correctly. The local Fox affiliate says they “are conducting checks on trash bins across the city to prevent fires caused by combustible waste, following ...
Kerry Jackson
November 20, 2025
Blog
The BASIC Fund Gives Hope for a Better Education to Low-Income Children
According to the organization, “Scholarships are awarded on a sliding scale, covering 25%, 50%, or 75% of the Family Portion of the school’s tuition up to a maximum of $2,750 annually per child.” Thus, parents are asked to fund part of their child’s private school costs to ensure that the ...
Lance T. izumi
November 19, 2025
Blog
Will California Finally Overhaul CEQA?
In response, state lawmakers passed AB130 and SB131 this session, a package of bills which exempted various housing developments from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review and provided streamlined review for developments which would have qualified for exemption but for one disqualifying condition. Luis Quiñonez, President of the California Foundation ...
Nikhil Agarwal
November 18, 2025
Blog
Private transit worked in the past. Could it help cities again?
On the surface, Tokyo and Los Angeles couldn’t be more different — one city known for its safety, cleanliness, walkability and vibrancy, while the other is often criticized for sprawl, dysfunction and decay. But there was a time when Los Angeles was known for the former — in part, by ...
Kenneth Schrupp
November 17, 2025
Trucking and Shipping Latest Victims of California’s “Cruelest Law,” AB 5
If anyone thinks they’re seeing fewer trucks ripping up and down Interstate 5 or slogging through the perpetual 405 gridlock, it might not be their imagination. California law is strangling the freight-hauling business. There has been “a wave of bankruptcies among California trucking companies,” reports Floor Covering News, a trade publication, partially the result of the economic decline of the freight ...
The abundance of Thanksgiving hides the challenges in agriculture
We are a nation that celebrates with food. Birthdays are synonymous with cake and ice cream. Easter is all about eggs and chocolate. Halloween is everyone’s favorite day for candy. But the ultimate in food-related holidays is Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving, Americans will consume about 46 million turkeys, 77 million hams, ...
PRI’s 2026 Holiday Book List
Nikhil Agarwal – Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson The book I’m recommending is Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. A critique of liberal policies by two liberals, the book explains perfectly why government-led development and infrastructure projects are doomed for failure in a pluralistic, democratic society like ...
LA apartment builders pull back as bureaucracy, taxes take toll
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 ...
Forget the Trade Deficit, Growing Imports Are a Bullish Sign for the Economy
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) just released its monthly report on international trade in goods and services for August 2025. Based on the news coverage, it would seem that the 23.8 percent decline in the trade deficit was the most important takeaway. And this decline is surely viewed as ...
Privatizing the loo: A solution for cities’ restroom debacle?
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 ...
Look Out for the ‘Lid Lifters’ Looking for Organic Waste in Your Trash Bin
They are for now “lid lifters,” compliance officers whose job is to make sure the citizens of the city of San Diego are sorting their refuse correctly. The local Fox affiliate says they “are conducting checks on trash bins across the city to prevent fires caused by combustible waste, following ...
The BASIC Fund Gives Hope for a Better Education to Low-Income Children
According to the organization, “Scholarships are awarded on a sliding scale, covering 25%, 50%, or 75% of the Family Portion of the school’s tuition up to a maximum of $2,750 annually per child.” Thus, parents are asked to fund part of their child’s private school costs to ensure that the ...
Will California Finally Overhaul CEQA?
In response, state lawmakers passed AB130 and SB131 this session, a package of bills which exempted various housing developments from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review and provided streamlined review for developments which would have qualified for exemption but for one disqualifying condition. Luis Quiñonez, President of the California Foundation ...
Private transit worked in the past. Could it help cities again?
On the surface, Tokyo and Los Angeles couldn’t be more different — one city known for its safety, cleanliness, walkability and vibrancy, while the other is often criticized for sprawl, dysfunction and decay. But there was a time when Los Angeles was known for the former — in part, by ...