Blog
Blog
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Immigration crackdowns may sabotage L.A.’s rebuilding efforts
Despite some efforts by the state government to cut red tape and accelerate the rebuilding, Angelenos are facing another obstacle: the federal government’s “mass deportations” agenda which will negatively impact the already dire shortage of construction workers. Immigrants make up 41% of the construction workforce in California, according to the ...
Agustina Vergara Cid
May 22, 2025
Blog
Read the latest on the Southern California wildfire recovery
How’s That Post-Fire Rebuild Going?
Shortly after she returned to Los Angeles after her Ghana junket, Bass assured her constituents she would clear “away red tape and bureaucracy to organize around urgency, common sense and compassion.” “We will do everything we can to get” fire victims “back home,” she said. A month later, she swore it ...
Kerry Jackson
May 21, 2025
Blog
Read about the push for drug price controls
Trump and Biden Agree on Drug Pricing
Patients will pay dearly, as Michael Baker and Douglas Holtz-Eakin explain in two recent pieces for the American Action Forum’s “Reality Check-Up: The Truth About Single-Payer Systems. Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law in 2022. It directs the feds to “negotiate” prices for a steadily increasing number of ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 20, 2025
Blog
Read the latest on Gov. Newsom's state budget plan
Governor Newsom’s Budget Message to Crime Victims – Like it or lump it.
For those who may have forgotten, Prop 36’s passage in November 2024 was historic. Despite opposition from Gov. Newsom, the majority of the state legislature, and a host of criminal rights groups, it passed in every county and won passage with over 68 percent of the vote statewide. One would ...
Steve Smith
May 19, 2025
Blog
What will California cities do if the bullet train is derailed?
What will California cities do if the bullet train is derailed? By John Seiler | May 16, 2025 California cities face numerous needs for mass transit at the local level. But lurking over any plans is the California High-Speed Rail project, which has soaked up funds since voters approved it ...
John Seiler
May 16, 2025
Agriculture
Gray wolf study arms ranchers with research in coming gray wolf battle
There’s an adage about bears in the woods. It’s a tongue-in-cheek commentary about what’s obvious in life. Ranchers have known for years that the presence of wolves near livestock has a negative effect on everything from weight gain and maintenance to overall animal stress. A recent study released by researchers ...
Pam Lewison
May 15, 2025
Blog
Can San Franciscans finally overcome their fear of heights?
Like all California cities, San Francisco must comply with state mandates and has in response promised to create “more space for families, workers and the next generation of San Franciscans.” The city’s Housing Element Update is its guidebook for accommodating housing needs through 2031. To get there will require “rezoning to accommodate 36,200 additional units above ...
Kerry Jackson
May 14, 2025
Blog
California’s #1 Charter School Under Assault by Low-Performing School District
Located in Santa Ana, California and operating for 20 years as a charter school, OCSA says that it “offers a dynamic school culture that enables students to flourish as artists and scholars in a uniquely challenging and nurturing environment, celebrating creativity, individual growth, and opportunity.” The school, which enrolls around ...
Lance Izumi
May 13, 2025
Blog
The Spanish Power Outage Flu – Is California Next?
Energy journalist Robert Bryce assures us it is not. “California has already seen blackouts due to the weakening of its grid,” Bryce told PRI, “And no, it’s not too soon to speculate.” On the last Monday in April, “one of the worst” blackouts to ever hit Europe, the Associated Press reports, began ...
Kerry Jackson
May 12, 2025
Blog
Why California Needs Its Own DOGE
Why California Needs Its Own DOGE Originally published in Fresno Bee By Kerry Jackson READ MORE If any government were in desperate need of a DOGE effort, it’s California. The bloated budget, wasteful public works projects and inefficient government programs are all screaming for attention. The federal Department of Government Efficiency ...
Kerry Jackson
May 10, 2025
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Immigration crackdowns may sabotage L.A.’s rebuilding efforts
Despite some efforts by the state government to cut red tape and accelerate the rebuilding, Angelenos are facing another obstacle: the federal government’s “mass deportations” agenda which will negatively impact the already dire shortage of construction workers. Immigrants make up 41% of the construction workforce in California, according to the ...
Read the latest on the Southern California wildfire recovery
How’s That Post-Fire Rebuild Going?
Shortly after she returned to Los Angeles after her Ghana junket, Bass assured her constituents she would clear “away red tape and bureaucracy to organize around urgency, common sense and compassion.” “We will do everything we can to get” fire victims “back home,” she said. A month later, she swore it ...
Read about the push for drug price controls
Trump and Biden Agree on Drug Pricing
Patients will pay dearly, as Michael Baker and Douglas Holtz-Eakin explain in two recent pieces for the American Action Forum’s “Reality Check-Up: The Truth About Single-Payer Systems. Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law in 2022. It directs the feds to “negotiate” prices for a steadily increasing number of ...
Read the latest on Gov. Newsom's state budget plan
Governor Newsom’s Budget Message to Crime Victims – Like it or lump it.
For those who may have forgotten, Prop 36’s passage in November 2024 was historic. Despite opposition from Gov. Newsom, the majority of the state legislature, and a host of criminal rights groups, it passed in every county and won passage with over 68 percent of the vote statewide. One would ...
What will California cities do if the bullet train is derailed?
What will California cities do if the bullet train is derailed? By John Seiler | May 16, 2025 California cities face numerous needs for mass transit at the local level. But lurking over any plans is the California High-Speed Rail project, which has soaked up funds since voters approved it ...
Gray wolf study arms ranchers with research in coming gray wolf battle
There’s an adage about bears in the woods. It’s a tongue-in-cheek commentary about what’s obvious in life. Ranchers have known for years that the presence of wolves near livestock has a negative effect on everything from weight gain and maintenance to overall animal stress. A recent study released by researchers ...
Can San Franciscans finally overcome their fear of heights?
Like all California cities, San Francisco must comply with state mandates and has in response promised to create “more space for families, workers and the next generation of San Franciscans.” The city’s Housing Element Update is its guidebook for accommodating housing needs through 2031. To get there will require “rezoning to accommodate 36,200 additional units above ...
California’s #1 Charter School Under Assault by Low-Performing School District
Located in Santa Ana, California and operating for 20 years as a charter school, OCSA says that it “offers a dynamic school culture that enables students to flourish as artists and scholars in a uniquely challenging and nurturing environment, celebrating creativity, individual growth, and opportunity.” The school, which enrolls around ...
The Spanish Power Outage Flu – Is California Next?
Energy journalist Robert Bryce assures us it is not. “California has already seen blackouts due to the weakening of its grid,” Bryce told PRI, “And no, it’s not too soon to speculate.” On the last Monday in April, “one of the worst” blackouts to ever hit Europe, the Associated Press reports, began ...
Why California Needs Its Own DOGE
Why California Needs Its Own DOGE Originally published in Fresno Bee By Kerry Jackson READ MORE If any government were in desperate need of a DOGE effort, it’s California. The bloated budget, wasteful public works projects and inefficient government programs are all screaming for attention. The federal Department of Government Efficiency ...