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Blog
Read latest from Free Cities Center
Privatized parks revitalize public spaces and neighborhoods
Recently, Zócalo Public Square, a media enterprise affiliated with Arizona State University, published an essay asking the question, “How public is your favorite public park?” The essay, written by Kevin Loughran, an assistant professor of sociology at Temple University, walks through the rise of private ownership or management of public ...
Blog
Read about latest Sacramento green overreach
Is Sacramento Going to Ban Classic Cars? Recent History Suggests It Might.
California, according to the Capitol Museum in Sacramento, “is the world’s first auto-civilization.” A PBS affiliate says “as an innovator and early adopter of freeways, California became the symbolic capital of car culture.” Just five years ago, Jalopnik reported that “California is one of the hottest beds of car culture ...
Blog
Read part 1 of 3 part series on Norway's prison system
Prisons – California Dreamin’, or a Norwegian Nightmare? (Part One)
Armed with reports of low recidivism rates – and apparently ignorant of California’s own recidivism statistics (except to say they are too high) – Gov. Newsom made reducing recidivism a focal point of his 2023 State of the State tour where one of his first stops was San Quentin Prison. ...
Blog
Crime is out of control in Oakland
And Now, On The Other Side Of The Bay …
San Francisco has become almost as famous for its serial store closings as its cable cars. Popular retailers, including Nordstrom, Whole Foods, Saks Off 5th, Anthropologie and Office Depot are shutting their doors because, well, they just can’t take it anymore. The thieves won. Across the water, on the east ...
Blog
How new city can change how California envisions its future: Part Two
How new city can change how California envisions its future: Part Two Edward Ring | September 29, 2023 Building a new city from scratch on 50,000 acres of cattle ranches is an audacious goal, even for the coterie of Silicon Valley billionaires who have been identified as behind the project. ...
Blog
Read latest from Free Cities Center
Modern take on ‘flophouses’ could ease homeless problem
Let’s first look at the current situation. This year’s approved budget for the King County Regional Homelessness Authority in Washington is $253.3 million. San Francisco spends at least $1.4 billion a year on the problem. Yet that money doesn’t seem to be making a measurable dent in the problem. We ...
Blog
Read about latest costly green mandate
New Climate Disclosure Laws Will Hurt Business, Won’t Help Planet
When author and journalist Tom Wolfe coined the term “statusphere” – in which participants compete for prestige within a groupthink bubble – he didn’t have the California Legislature of the 21st century in mind. But he could have. In California, it’s routine for lawmakers to pass bills that have little ...
Agriculture
Read the latest on animal rights extremism
City-based activists push radical animal-rights agenda from the comfortable security provided by rural Americans
The phrase “First World Problems” has become a punchline. It is a throwaway statement because it is uttered by people with plenty of gadgets, a reliable food supply, and a secure roof over their heads. It has also dulled our experience of a world in which seasonal food is the ...
Blog
Read about Sacramento's growing homeless problem
Sacramento Tax Increase Push for ‘Affordable Housing’ Would Push City’s Problems on County
According to a HouseFresh ranking of the nation’s dirtiest cities, Sacramento ranked second-worst in the country. California’s state capitol city ranked worse than Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco and others that are covered in grime. In the zip code where I live, 95817, there were nearly 49,000 complaints per 100,000 ...
Blog
How new city can change how California envisions its future: Part One
How new city can change how California envisions its future: Part One Edward Ring | September 22, 2023 It’s not news that California has a housing shortage, nor are the reasons for this shortage a mystery. For decades, California has restricted exurban development, passed building codes that are the most ...
Read latest from Free Cities Center
Privatized parks revitalize public spaces and neighborhoods
Recently, Zócalo Public Square, a media enterprise affiliated with Arizona State University, published an essay asking the question, “How public is your favorite public park?” The essay, written by Kevin Loughran, an assistant professor of sociology at Temple University, walks through the rise of private ownership or management of public ...
Read about latest Sacramento green overreach
Is Sacramento Going to Ban Classic Cars? Recent History Suggests It Might.
California, according to the Capitol Museum in Sacramento, “is the world’s first auto-civilization.” A PBS affiliate says “as an innovator and early adopter of freeways, California became the symbolic capital of car culture.” Just five years ago, Jalopnik reported that “California is one of the hottest beds of car culture ...
Read part 1 of 3 part series on Norway's prison system
Prisons – California Dreamin’, or a Norwegian Nightmare? (Part One)
Armed with reports of low recidivism rates – and apparently ignorant of California’s own recidivism statistics (except to say they are too high) – Gov. Newsom made reducing recidivism a focal point of his 2023 State of the State tour where one of his first stops was San Quentin Prison. ...
Crime is out of control in Oakland
And Now, On The Other Side Of The Bay …
San Francisco has become almost as famous for its serial store closings as its cable cars. Popular retailers, including Nordstrom, Whole Foods, Saks Off 5th, Anthropologie and Office Depot are shutting their doors because, well, they just can’t take it anymore. The thieves won. Across the water, on the east ...
How new city can change how California envisions its future: Part Two
How new city can change how California envisions its future: Part Two Edward Ring | September 29, 2023 Building a new city from scratch on 50,000 acres of cattle ranches is an audacious goal, even for the coterie of Silicon Valley billionaires who have been identified as behind the project. ...
Read latest from Free Cities Center
Modern take on ‘flophouses’ could ease homeless problem
Let’s first look at the current situation. This year’s approved budget for the King County Regional Homelessness Authority in Washington is $253.3 million. San Francisco spends at least $1.4 billion a year on the problem. Yet that money doesn’t seem to be making a measurable dent in the problem. We ...
Read about latest costly green mandate
New Climate Disclosure Laws Will Hurt Business, Won’t Help Planet
When author and journalist Tom Wolfe coined the term “statusphere” – in which participants compete for prestige within a groupthink bubble – he didn’t have the California Legislature of the 21st century in mind. But he could have. In California, it’s routine for lawmakers to pass bills that have little ...
Read the latest on animal rights extremism
City-based activists push radical animal-rights agenda from the comfortable security provided by rural Americans
The phrase “First World Problems” has become a punchline. It is a throwaway statement because it is uttered by people with plenty of gadgets, a reliable food supply, and a secure roof over their heads. It has also dulled our experience of a world in which seasonal food is the ...
Read about Sacramento's growing homeless problem
Sacramento Tax Increase Push for ‘Affordable Housing’ Would Push City’s Problems on County
According to a HouseFresh ranking of the nation’s dirtiest cities, Sacramento ranked second-worst in the country. California’s state capitol city ranked worse than Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco and others that are covered in grime. In the zip code where I live, 95817, there were nearly 49,000 complaints per 100,000 ...
How new city can change how California envisions its future: Part One
How new city can change how California envisions its future: Part One Edward Ring | September 22, 2023 It’s not news that California has a housing shortage, nor are the reasons for this shortage a mystery. For decades, California has restricted exurban development, passed building codes that are the most ...
