Wildfires
California
Joe Kent – Lessons from Maui as LA Begins to Rebuild
This week, Joe Kent of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii joins us to share lessons learned from the Aloha State’s experience in rebuilding after the devastating Maui wildfires from a few years ago. It’s a conversation everyone who has been affected by the wildfires should listen to, especially as leaders ...
Blog
SmartLA is a not-so-bright way to rebuild Los Angeles
There are rumors that the fires were deliberately started so planners could rebuild under the SmartLA 2028 strategy. Let’s dismiss this conspiracy theory right now. No serious person believes it. But that’s not to say that officials won’t demand that the renewal of the burned-out sections fit their definition of a “smart ...
Blog
Consumer-protection edicts will only slow LA recovery
Consumer-protection edicts will only slow LA recovery by Steven Greenhut | January 31, 2025 A week doesn’t go by that I don’t get at least one unsolicited offer for my property, typically from investors who don’t use a company name or last name. They often claim to have driven by the house ...
Blog
LA needs fewer government rules, not a Marshall Plan
LA needs fewer government rules, not a Marshall Plan By Sal Rodriguez | January 24, 2025 California Gov. Gavin Newsom has a knack for putting forth “big hairy, audacious goals.” From his vow to end homelessness in San Francisco in 10 years, to deliver single-payer health care in California or ...
Blog
Read the latest on the Southern California wildfire response
Rebuilding Los Angeles puts urbanism at a crossroads
Here’s a scenario, for example, that Californians might wish to avoid: The city of Altadena, previously a relatively low-density suburb with detached single family homes, is rebuilt with two-story townhomes along the narrow neighborhood streets, and three-story “luxury apartments” along the four-lane boulevards. There is inadequate street parking at this ...
California
Steven Greenhut – How California’s Insurance Crisis Could Be Double Whammy for Wildfire Victims
This week, Free Cities Center director Steven Greenhut joins us to discuss how California’s ongoing insurance crisis could be a double whammy for Southern California wildfire victims looking to rebuild. He gives the history of the state’s festering insurance crisis, analyzes Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s reform plan announced just before ...
California
As Los Angeles Burns, California Prevention Failures Made Clear
Not nearly enough is being done by California’s ruling class to mitigate wildfires, as the tragic devastation in Los Angeles has shown. Certainly, dry conditions and vicious winds fueled multiple wildfires that, at last count, had burned roughly 40,000 acres, destroyed more than 12,000 structures and claimed at least 25 ...
Blog
Read the latest on California's post-wildfire response
Newsom Right to Waive CEQA for Wildfire Rebuilding, But Lawmakers Should Also Act
The broken clock that has been state government’s response to the Southern California wildfires was right once on Sunday when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order waving numerous environmental requirements that threatened to add unnecessary delay and expense to the rebuilding process. Under the Newsom executive order, California Environmental ...
Blog
Time to pursue emergency reforms to battle wildfires
Time to pursue emergency reforms to battle wildfires by Daniel M. Kolkey | January 15, 2025 Editor’s note: This article is adapted from the Pacific Research Institute’s 2021 book, “Saving California.” We’re reprinting this in the wake of the devastating Southern California wildfires, as its policy prescriptions provide a blueprint ...
California
Southern California wildfires show just how destructive the ‘California Way’ can be
You’ll forgive Southern Californians for throwing up their hands in frustration as destructive wildfires rage across the region. Watching their homes burn and loved ones evacuated, California’s ruling class hasn’t exactly channeled their inner-Rudy Giuliani on 9/11. Read the entire op-ed here.
Joe Kent – Lessons from Maui as LA Begins to Rebuild
This week, Joe Kent of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii joins us to share lessons learned from the Aloha State’s experience in rebuilding after the devastating Maui wildfires from a few years ago. It’s a conversation everyone who has been affected by the wildfires should listen to, especially as leaders ...
SmartLA is a not-so-bright way to rebuild Los Angeles
There are rumors that the fires were deliberately started so planners could rebuild under the SmartLA 2028 strategy. Let’s dismiss this conspiracy theory right now. No serious person believes it. But that’s not to say that officials won’t demand that the renewal of the burned-out sections fit their definition of a “smart ...
Consumer-protection edicts will only slow LA recovery
Consumer-protection edicts will only slow LA recovery by Steven Greenhut | January 31, 2025 A week doesn’t go by that I don’t get at least one unsolicited offer for my property, typically from investors who don’t use a company name or last name. They often claim to have driven by the house ...
LA needs fewer government rules, not a Marshall Plan
LA needs fewer government rules, not a Marshall Plan By Sal Rodriguez | January 24, 2025 California Gov. Gavin Newsom has a knack for putting forth “big hairy, audacious goals.” From his vow to end homelessness in San Francisco in 10 years, to deliver single-payer health care in California or ...
Read the latest on the Southern California wildfire response
Rebuilding Los Angeles puts urbanism at a crossroads
Here’s a scenario, for example, that Californians might wish to avoid: The city of Altadena, previously a relatively low-density suburb with detached single family homes, is rebuilt with two-story townhomes along the narrow neighborhood streets, and three-story “luxury apartments” along the four-lane boulevards. There is inadequate street parking at this ...
Steven Greenhut – How California’s Insurance Crisis Could Be Double Whammy for Wildfire Victims
This week, Free Cities Center director Steven Greenhut joins us to discuss how California’s ongoing insurance crisis could be a double whammy for Southern California wildfire victims looking to rebuild. He gives the history of the state’s festering insurance crisis, analyzes Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s reform plan announced just before ...
As Los Angeles Burns, California Prevention Failures Made Clear
Not nearly enough is being done by California’s ruling class to mitigate wildfires, as the tragic devastation in Los Angeles has shown. Certainly, dry conditions and vicious winds fueled multiple wildfires that, at last count, had burned roughly 40,000 acres, destroyed more than 12,000 structures and claimed at least 25 ...
Read the latest on California's post-wildfire response
Newsom Right to Waive CEQA for Wildfire Rebuilding, But Lawmakers Should Also Act
The broken clock that has been state government’s response to the Southern California wildfires was right once on Sunday when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order waving numerous environmental requirements that threatened to add unnecessary delay and expense to the rebuilding process. Under the Newsom executive order, California Environmental ...
Time to pursue emergency reforms to battle wildfires
Time to pursue emergency reforms to battle wildfires by Daniel M. Kolkey | January 15, 2025 Editor’s note: This article is adapted from the Pacific Research Institute’s 2021 book, “Saving California.” We’re reprinting this in the wake of the devastating Southern California wildfires, as its policy prescriptions provide a blueprint ...
Southern California wildfires show just how destructive the ‘California Way’ can be
You’ll forgive Southern Californians for throwing up their hands in frustration as destructive wildfires rage across the region. Watching their homes burn and loved ones evacuated, California’s ruling class hasn’t exactly channeled their inner-Rudy Giuliani on 9/11. Read the entire op-ed here.
