SMART bomb: Wine country’s commuter-rail catastrophe
D. Dowd Muska
June 5, 2026
SMART bomb: Wine country’s commuter-rail catastrophe By D. Dowd Muska | June 5, 2026 BOOK REVIEW: “The Great Train Heist: The California SMART Taxpayer Rip-off” They tried in 1990. It didn’t work. They tried in 1998. Nothing doing. They tried ...
Newsom’s May budget portends future crises for local governments
John Seiler
June 4, 2026
Gov. Jerry Brown’s last budget spent $140.4 billion in the general fund for fiscal year 2018-19. Newsom’s May Revision to his 2026-27 budget exploded that to $246.6 billion. That’s a 76% increase in eight years at a time the state’s ...
Watch PRI’s interview with Rick Caruso – one year after the wildfires
Pacific Research Institute
January 7, 2026
In this special Free Cities Center interview, Rick Caruso – founder and executive chairman of Caruso, longtime civic and philanthropic leader in Los Angeles and former mayor candidate – discusses LA’s rebuilding efforts one year after the wildfires. He shares ...
America’s Smaller Cities Hold Big Answers for Urban Revival, New PRI Booklet Finds
Steven Greenhut
April 29, 2026
As policymakers search for answers to the growing challenges facing America’s largest cities, a new study from the Pacific Research Institute – the California-based, nonpartisan, free market think tank – suggests they may be looking in the wrong places. PRI’s ...
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