Blog
‘Back Yard Nukes’ An Answer To California’s Future Energy Questions
A bill that would allow portable solar devices to be installed in apartment complexes and condominiums, as well as in back yards and small patios, is just a Gavin Newsom signature away from becoming law. While it’s a small step for lowering power bills, it is no giant leap toward ...
Kerry Jackson
September 8, 2026
Agriculture
Meat processing deregulation plan could have dire consequences
On the heels of an announcement to allow 300,000 tons of beef into the U.S. without tariffs, the President announced late last week that the Administration was looking to “allow farmers and ranchers to be given the right to process their own food.” According to the President’s announcement on Truth ...
Pam Lewison
September 7, 2026
Blog
California pensions: A bipartisan push to destroy municipal budgets
California pensions: A bipartisan push to destroy municipal budgets by Steven Greenhut | September 4, 2026 Four years ago, California enjoyed an astounding $97.5-billion surplus, but now the supposedly “balanced” budget faces an intractable structural deficit, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Given economic headwinds caused by runaway inflation and fears ...
Steven Greenhut
September 4, 2026
Blog
Sounds like a plan: Cities embrace pre-approved housing designs
Sounds like a plan: Cities embrace pre-approved housing designs By D. Dowd Muska | September 4, 2026 It’s so obvious, even Los Angeles gets it. In response to the savage firestorms that struck California’s largest metro region in January 2025, both the city and county of Los Angeles enacted a ...
D. Dowd Muska
September 3, 2026
Blog
Flouting the Law: USDOJ Finds UC Med Schools Racially Discriminated
In 1996, California voters approved Proposition 209, which prohibited government, such as public universities, from discriminating or granting preferences based on race, sex, or ethnicity. After its approval, the language of the proposition became part of the state constitution. In 2020, an effort to overturn 209 was soundly defeated by ...
Lance Izumi
September 2, 2026
Blog
Young Americans Have Real Problems. Socialism Is the Wrong Answer.
That’s an extraordinary reversal and simply telling young Americans that socialism doesn’t work won’t reverse it. To make the case for free markets, we first have to understand why socialism is appealing to so many young Americans. Consider the Democratic Socialists of America have become a visible political force appealing ...
Anthony Velasquez
September 1, 2026
Blog
How Will The Next California Governor Handle The State’s Zero-Emission Vehicle Mandate
Gov. Gavin Newsom has spent years insisting California will end sales of new gasoline-powered cars in 2035. His successor might have other ideas. When asked if the Newsom’s mandate was the “right goal,” Republican nominee Steve Hilton has said “of course” it “has to be dismantled.” This is exactly as ...
Kerry Jackson
August 31, 2026
Blog
Pensions are main reason for slowing police response times
Pensions are main reason for slowing police response times by John Seiler | August 28, 2026 One of the reasons to be vigilant about excessive police compensation is because it ironically can crowd out funds for adequate numbers of officers. As cities enter a period of mounting budget deficits, that ...
John Seiler
August 28, 2026
Blog
Bay Area transit tax would lock in flawed spending system for decades
It’s a tax that would run for 14 years and raise an average of $1.2 billion a year. The four northern counties of Marin, Napa, Solano and Sonoma looked at the deal and opted out. To work around the need for a two-thirds majority, tax proponents funded a petition drive to place ...
Free Cities Center Staff
August 27, 2026
Blog
The High Cost of Doing the Right Thing – What a Trip to the Dump Has in Common with the DMV
Oakland has become one of America’s most visible symbols of illegal dumping. Discarded mattresses line neighborhood streets. Sofas, refrigerators, tires, construction debris and bags of household garbage accumulate beneath freeway overpasses, in vacant lots and along roadsides. The consequences extend well beyond appearance. Illegal dumping attracts rodents, creates fire hazards, ...
Steve Smith
August 26, 2026
‘Back Yard Nukes’ An Answer To California’s Future Energy Questions
A bill that would allow portable solar devices to be installed in apartment complexes and condominiums, as well as in back yards and small patios, is just a Gavin Newsom signature away from becoming law. While it’s a small step for lowering power bills, it is no giant leap toward ...
Meat processing deregulation plan could have dire consequences
On the heels of an announcement to allow 300,000 tons of beef into the U.S. without tariffs, the President announced late last week that the Administration was looking to “allow farmers and ranchers to be given the right to process their own food.” According to the President’s announcement on Truth ...
California pensions: A bipartisan push to destroy municipal budgets
California pensions: A bipartisan push to destroy municipal budgets by Steven Greenhut | September 4, 2026 Four years ago, California enjoyed an astounding $97.5-billion surplus, but now the supposedly “balanced” budget faces an intractable structural deficit, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Given economic headwinds caused by runaway inflation and fears ...
Sounds like a plan: Cities embrace pre-approved housing designs
Sounds like a plan: Cities embrace pre-approved housing designs By D. Dowd Muska | September 4, 2026 It’s so obvious, even Los Angeles gets it. In response to the savage firestorms that struck California’s largest metro region in January 2025, both the city and county of Los Angeles enacted a ...
Flouting the Law: USDOJ Finds UC Med Schools Racially Discriminated
In 1996, California voters approved Proposition 209, which prohibited government, such as public universities, from discriminating or granting preferences based on race, sex, or ethnicity. After its approval, the language of the proposition became part of the state constitution. In 2020, an effort to overturn 209 was soundly defeated by ...
Young Americans Have Real Problems. Socialism Is the Wrong Answer.
That’s an extraordinary reversal and simply telling young Americans that socialism doesn’t work won’t reverse it. To make the case for free markets, we first have to understand why socialism is appealing to so many young Americans. Consider the Democratic Socialists of America have become a visible political force appealing ...
How Will The Next California Governor Handle The State’s Zero-Emission Vehicle Mandate
Gov. Gavin Newsom has spent years insisting California will end sales of new gasoline-powered cars in 2035. His successor might have other ideas. When asked if the Newsom’s mandate was the “right goal,” Republican nominee Steve Hilton has said “of course” it “has to be dismantled.” This is exactly as ...
Pensions are main reason for slowing police response times
Pensions are main reason for slowing police response times by John Seiler | August 28, 2026 One of the reasons to be vigilant about excessive police compensation is because it ironically can crowd out funds for adequate numbers of officers. As cities enter a period of mounting budget deficits, that ...
Bay Area transit tax would lock in flawed spending system for decades
It’s a tax that would run for 14 years and raise an average of $1.2 billion a year. The four northern counties of Marin, Napa, Solano and Sonoma looked at the deal and opted out. To work around the need for a two-thirds majority, tax proponents funded a petition drive to place ...
The High Cost of Doing the Right Thing – What a Trip to the Dump Has in Common with the DMV
Oakland has become one of America’s most visible symbols of illegal dumping. Discarded mattresses line neighborhood streets. Sofas, refrigerators, tires, construction debris and bags of household garbage accumulate beneath freeway overpasses, in vacant lots and along roadsides. The consequences extend well beyond appearance. Illegal dumping attracts rodents, creates fire hazards, ...