SACRAMENTO — Since COVID-19 emerged as a public-health threat in 2019, the federal and state governments have embraced a wide range of policies that were designed to “protect” us but instead have unleashed a fury of unintended — but easily…
SACRAMENTO — The basic rule of thumb in the California Legislature is that lawmakers will spend the bulk of their time meddling in areas they should avoid while steadfastly not addressing the matters they should. So as the Legislature finishes…
SACRAMENTO — Are California lawmakers serious about dealing with its housing and homelessness crises? We’ll soon see once we gauge their reactions to a proposed new city in Solano County — a rural and exurban area nestled between Oakland and the…
SACRAMENTO — Several years ago, I was shopping in a Santa Ana big-box store when a nondescript young man asked the clerk to show him a video game system — probably a $200-to-$300 item — that was kept in a…
SACRAMENTO — After a shocking city hall scandal led to the resignation of Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu last year, the city commissioned an investigative report detailing what went wrong. The results — a remarkably thorough page-turner — were released this week….
SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has positioned himself as a defender of democracy as he prepares himself for a possible run for the presidency. In March, he launched a “Campaign for Democracy” and toured some Southern “red” states, where he vowed…
SACRAMENTO — If you find yourself at a libertarian gathering (not usually recommended) and are a mischievous sort who wants to start a squabble that might lead to fisticuffs, don’t raise the usual hot-button issues of, say, the wisdom of…
SACRAMENTO — One would never know from the new $310 billion state budget that California had been experiencing an enormous $32 billion deficit. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislators touted all the spending in the new deal — including a…
SACRAMENTO — Years ago, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) warned attendees at a conference about the need to watch out whenever public officials claim to be doing something for the children. She was talking specifically about Los Angeles Unified School District’s eminent-domain…
Editor’s Note: This column was reprinted from author Steven Greenhut’s new Pacific Research Institute Free Cities Center book, Putting Customers First: Re-Envisioning Our Approach to Transportation Planning. One need only spend a little time on a transit-oriented social-media page or…