Blog
Blog
Does Oakland show any hope of exiting its doom loop?
Does Oakland show any hope of exiting its doom loop? by Matthew Fleming | August 30, 2024 Even before FBI agents raided the home of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao in late June, it was safe to wonder: What the heck is wrong with Oakland? Defenders of the city point to ...
Blog
‘Vision Zero’ is latest utopian fad designed to frustrate drivers
As of February 2024, 59 U.S. cities had adopted Vision Zero, including 13 in California. Indianapolis is one of the latest to jump on the bandwagon, and it has already begun implementing some of its strategies. These include reducing speed limits to 20 mph and banning right turns on red ...
Blog
Read the latest on California's growing crime problem
Public Safety on the Edge – Law enforcement in California’s Fastest Growing County
On July 22, the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC) published a research brief shedding new light on the problem of rural police staffing in California. So acute is the problem that two years ago, the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office made national news when it announced that staffing shortages ...
Blog
State Fair High Speed Rail Exhibit Shows Project That May Never Materialize in our Lifetimes
An HSR official told Newsweek that the showcase is “the culmination of years of construction progress, outreach, and community collaboration to make sure these trains and this system mirrors the diversity and vibrancy of the people who’ll ride it.” Too bad this grand “culmination” arrived so late. The project was ...
Blog
Spending Watch
California’s Expensive but Ineffective Income Support Spending
California’s Expensive but Ineffective Income Support Spending Wayne Winegarden August 2024 Including federal, state, and local funds, California’s per capita spending on income support programs is 81 percent higher than the average expenditures for all other states – per capita spending of $3,869 compared to $2,141. These expenditures include “cash ...
Blog
Read the latest on California's homeless crisis
Is drop in Sacramento homelessness a fluke or trend?
Officials reported a 29% decrease in overall homelessness in 2024 compared to 2022. But this coincides with a change in methodology in how people were counted, as well as a discrepancy between the count and what local nonprofits are finding on the ground. And one year does not make a ...
Blog
More Californians plan exit as home prices top $900K
More Californians plan exit as home prices top $900K By Steven Greenhut | August 22, 2024 When I received a job offer to move from Northwest Ohio to Orange County, Calif., in the 1990s, I thought that I had hit the lottery. The 3.1-million-population county has nearly perfect weather, idyllic beaches, ...
Blog
Read the latest about California's misguided energy policies
As Chevron Exits California, Will Still Attempt to Buy Its Oil Refineries?
It’s unlikely that was the plan. But it is interesting that at roughly the same time Chevron made its announcement, which was no surprise to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, the California Energy Commission issued a staff report that includes a dedicated section (Chapter 3, page 7) on “State-Owned Refineries.” It’s ...
Blog
Learn about the latest soft on crime proposal coming from the State Capitol
SB 94 Comes Back to Life –Plan Would Release Multiple Murderers and Rapists
Yet today, the overwhelming majority of California’s violent inmates are already or will be eligible for a parole hearing and potential release. And they are being released in record numbers. It is a common misconception that California’s prisons are full of non-violent offenders. That ended with the passage of AB ...
Blog
Latest Experiment Further Proof That Basic Income Doesn’t Lift People Out of Poverty
Under the experiment, which was funded by OpenAI founder Sam Altman, 1,000 participants in Texas and Illinois received $1,000 per month for three years starting in 2020, with a control group of 2,000 additional participants who received $50 per month. The recipients earned an average income of less than $29,000 ...
Does Oakland show any hope of exiting its doom loop?
Does Oakland show any hope of exiting its doom loop? by Matthew Fleming | August 30, 2024 Even before FBI agents raided the home of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao in late June, it was safe to wonder: What the heck is wrong with Oakland? Defenders of the city point to ...
‘Vision Zero’ is latest utopian fad designed to frustrate drivers
As of February 2024, 59 U.S. cities had adopted Vision Zero, including 13 in California. Indianapolis is one of the latest to jump on the bandwagon, and it has already begun implementing some of its strategies. These include reducing speed limits to 20 mph and banning right turns on red ...
Read the latest on California's growing crime problem
Public Safety on the Edge – Law enforcement in California’s Fastest Growing County
On July 22, the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC) published a research brief shedding new light on the problem of rural police staffing in California. So acute is the problem that two years ago, the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office made national news when it announced that staffing shortages ...
State Fair High Speed Rail Exhibit Shows Project That May Never Materialize in our Lifetimes
An HSR official told Newsweek that the showcase is “the culmination of years of construction progress, outreach, and community collaboration to make sure these trains and this system mirrors the diversity and vibrancy of the people who’ll ride it.” Too bad this grand “culmination” arrived so late. The project was ...
Spending Watch
California’s Expensive but Ineffective Income Support Spending
California’s Expensive but Ineffective Income Support Spending Wayne Winegarden August 2024 Including federal, state, and local funds, California’s per capita spending on income support programs is 81 percent higher than the average expenditures for all other states – per capita spending of $3,869 compared to $2,141. These expenditures include “cash ...
Read the latest on California's homeless crisis
Is drop in Sacramento homelessness a fluke or trend?
Officials reported a 29% decrease in overall homelessness in 2024 compared to 2022. But this coincides with a change in methodology in how people were counted, as well as a discrepancy between the count and what local nonprofits are finding on the ground. And one year does not make a ...
More Californians plan exit as home prices top $900K
More Californians plan exit as home prices top $900K By Steven Greenhut | August 22, 2024 When I received a job offer to move from Northwest Ohio to Orange County, Calif., in the 1990s, I thought that I had hit the lottery. The 3.1-million-population county has nearly perfect weather, idyllic beaches, ...
Read the latest about California's misguided energy policies
As Chevron Exits California, Will Still Attempt to Buy Its Oil Refineries?
It’s unlikely that was the plan. But it is interesting that at roughly the same time Chevron made its announcement, which was no surprise to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, the California Energy Commission issued a staff report that includes a dedicated section (Chapter 3, page 7) on “State-Owned Refineries.” It’s ...
Learn about the latest soft on crime proposal coming from the State Capitol
SB 94 Comes Back to Life –Plan Would Release Multiple Murderers and Rapists
Yet today, the overwhelming majority of California’s violent inmates are already or will be eligible for a parole hearing and potential release. And they are being released in record numbers. It is a common misconception that California’s prisons are full of non-violent offenders. That ended with the passage of AB ...
Latest Experiment Further Proof That Basic Income Doesn’t Lift People Out of Poverty
Under the experiment, which was funded by OpenAI founder Sam Altman, 1,000 participants in Texas and Illinois received $1,000 per month for three years starting in 2020, with a control group of 2,000 additional participants who received $50 per month. The recipients earned an average income of less than $29,000 ...
