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Blog
Car-less cities campaign is the latest paternalistic fad
Car-less cities campaign is the latest paternalistic fad By Steven Greenhut | February 16, 2024 Many modern urbanists like to claim the great urban writer Jane Jacobs, author of “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” as one of their own. It’s easy to understand, given that Jacobs was ...
Blog
Learn about push for congestion pricing
Urbanists to suburbanites: Stay out of our trendy ‘playgrounds’
In New York, the city has introduced a “congestion tax” – effectively, a cordon tax – for all cars entering lower Manhattan. In Cincinnati, the City Council voted for a ban on new surface parking lots downtown. In Indianapolis, the state Legislature is trying to prevent the city from halving ...
Blog
Hamburger Politics
Making headlines around the country, California’s iconic In-N-Out recently announced closure of its Oakland California location due to high levels of crime in Oakland’s “crime triangle.” This marks the first ever closure of an In-N-Out location in the company’s 75-year history, which is being celebrated this year. But In-N-Out isn’t ...
Blog
Learn about plan to raise your energy bills
Sacramento Does an About Face on Electricity Bills Based on Income
At roughly the same time that steeper energy bills arrived this winter, Gov. Gavin Newsom declined an opportunity to support repeal of a hated law that directs utilities to charge customers based on truly Marxist principle – their income. Instead, his office said he’s looking “forward to seeing a” proposal ...
Blog
New Sac tax could impose huge burden on entrepreneurs
400 Percent Tax Increase on Entrepreneurs Won’t Generate the Millions Sacramento Seeks
California’s reputation as being one of the most difficult and expensive places to own and operate a business and create jobs has been long established. Year after year, California ranks at the bottom in Chief Executive magazine’s listing of the best and worst states for business. Even in a tough ...
Blog
Despite big budgets, homeless agency is clueless in Seattle
Despite big budgets, homeless agency is clueless in Seattle By Jeremy Lott | February 8, 2024 An optimistic headline topped the joint news release from Washington state’s most-populous city and its most-populous county in December 2019 heralding the formation of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. This effort would create a “new unified regional ...
Blog
The EV Buzz Is Muted
As fads go, electric vehicles are probably not best compared to pet rocks. EVs are more useful. Somewhat. But much like sales of pet rocks falling just a few months after booming during the 1975 Christmas season, it seems EVs have reached the peak of their popularity. More than a ...
Blog
Read latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Well-run California cities grow, while badly run ones shrink
I’ve come up with a unique way to measure how well California cities are doing. It shows those with well-run finances grow in population, while those badly run shrink. It’s a generality. There are exceptions. But look at the trend line on this chart. Notice the trend line, the dotted ...
Blog
When it Comes to Crime Statistics it’s Important to “Mind the Gap”
The Atlantic Monthly, using the work of crime statistician Jeff Asher, have been publishing articles recently putting forth the idea that 2023 homicide statistics indicate that the United States is experiencing the lowest crime rates in “50 years.” On January 19th, Rogé Karma boldly wrote in an article entitled “The ...
Blog
Lessons from Africa: Private utilities offer a way forward
Lessons from Africa: Private utilities offer a way forward By Scott Beyer | February 2, 2024 I was exploring a rural Kenyan village last spring when noticing an infrastructure dichotomy – one I later realized is characteristic of Africa. The government in Wamunyu, a farm town two hours from Nairobi, ...
Car-less cities campaign is the latest paternalistic fad
Car-less cities campaign is the latest paternalistic fad By Steven Greenhut | February 16, 2024 Many modern urbanists like to claim the great urban writer Jane Jacobs, author of “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” as one of their own. It’s easy to understand, given that Jacobs was ...
Learn about push for congestion pricing
Urbanists to suburbanites: Stay out of our trendy ‘playgrounds’
In New York, the city has introduced a “congestion tax” – effectively, a cordon tax – for all cars entering lower Manhattan. In Cincinnati, the City Council voted for a ban on new surface parking lots downtown. In Indianapolis, the state Legislature is trying to prevent the city from halving ...
Hamburger Politics
Making headlines around the country, California’s iconic In-N-Out recently announced closure of its Oakland California location due to high levels of crime in Oakland’s “crime triangle.” This marks the first ever closure of an In-N-Out location in the company’s 75-year history, which is being celebrated this year. But In-N-Out isn’t ...
Learn about plan to raise your energy bills
Sacramento Does an About Face on Electricity Bills Based on Income
At roughly the same time that steeper energy bills arrived this winter, Gov. Gavin Newsom declined an opportunity to support repeal of a hated law that directs utilities to charge customers based on truly Marxist principle – their income. Instead, his office said he’s looking “forward to seeing a” proposal ...
New Sac tax could impose huge burden on entrepreneurs
400 Percent Tax Increase on Entrepreneurs Won’t Generate the Millions Sacramento Seeks
California’s reputation as being one of the most difficult and expensive places to own and operate a business and create jobs has been long established. Year after year, California ranks at the bottom in Chief Executive magazine’s listing of the best and worst states for business. Even in a tough ...
Despite big budgets, homeless agency is clueless in Seattle
Despite big budgets, homeless agency is clueless in Seattle By Jeremy Lott | February 8, 2024 An optimistic headline topped the joint news release from Washington state’s most-populous city and its most-populous county in December 2019 heralding the formation of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. This effort would create a “new unified regional ...
The EV Buzz Is Muted
As fads go, electric vehicles are probably not best compared to pet rocks. EVs are more useful. Somewhat. But much like sales of pet rocks falling just a few months after booming during the 1975 Christmas season, it seems EVs have reached the peak of their popularity. More than a ...
Read latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Well-run California cities grow, while badly run ones shrink
I’ve come up with a unique way to measure how well California cities are doing. It shows those with well-run finances grow in population, while those badly run shrink. It’s a generality. There are exceptions. But look at the trend line on this chart. Notice the trend line, the dotted ...
When it Comes to Crime Statistics it’s Important to “Mind the Gap”
The Atlantic Monthly, using the work of crime statistician Jeff Asher, have been publishing articles recently putting forth the idea that 2023 homicide statistics indicate that the United States is experiencing the lowest crime rates in “50 years.” On January 19th, Rogé Karma boldly wrote in an article entitled “The ...
Lessons from Africa: Private utilities offer a way forward
Lessons from Africa: Private utilities offer a way forward By Scott Beyer | February 2, 2024 I was exploring a rural Kenyan village last spring when noticing an infrastructure dichotomy – one I later realized is characteristic of Africa. The government in Wamunyu, a farm town two hours from Nairobi, ...
