2024: The Year of the Driverless Car
Waymo is expanding its autonomous taxi fleet that can carry passengers on public roads, no human driver required.
California
Supreme Court Won't Hear a Qualified Immunity Case Where a Cop Disclosed an Abuse Report to a Woman's Abuser
Desiree Martinez says police officers ignored her attempts to report her abusive boyfriend, who was also a cop. Those officers now have immunity from her lawsuit.
California Voters Opt for Orderly Urbanism on Election Day
Golden State voters decisively rejected progressive approaches to crime and housing.
Kamala's California Problem
As skyrocketing costs and mass exoduses define the Golden State, Democrats face a crucial reckoning.
California's Rent Control Initiative Goes Down in Flames
A related initiative preventing the state's most prolific rent control–supporting nonprofit from funding future initiatives is headed for a narrow victory.
New Cities Offer a Chance To Rethink How Local Government Works
California would benefit from building more housing and having more experimentation with how public services are delivered.
Voters Like Early Voting and Voter ID, No Matter What Politicians Say
Majorities of Americans want casting a ballot to be easy and secure.
The Year's Most Important Housing Vote
Proposition 33 would repeal all of California's state-level limits on rent control. It's passage could prove to be a disaster for housing supply in the Golden State.
Napa's Wineries Battle Local Restrictions
In the heart of California Wine Country, rigid local rules are choking small businesses and stifling growth
Elon Musk Versus the California Coastal Commission
The state's powerful coastal land-use regulator is arguing its awesome development-stopping powers applies to rocket launches as well as housing.
In Rush to Redevelop, a California City Tramples Property Rights
Urban renewal efforts should recognize that existing businesses and new residents can coexist.
Expanding Rent Control Will Not Make Housing More Affordable for the Disabled
Advocates unconvincingly argue that repealing California's limits on rent control will open up more housing for people with disabilities.
Argentina Ended Rent Control. Guess What Happened Next.
A free market for housing is one that benefits both renters and landlords.
Kamala Harris Says She Owns a Handgun—Despite Fighting To Ban Others From Doing the Same
Journalists should be interested in interrogating this contradiction, should the 2024 presidential candidate continue giving interviews.
Learning the Wrong Lessons From the Eminent Domain Legacy at Chavez Ravine
Progressives are trying to fix the errors of the past, but they're ignoring the best solution: More robust property rights.
Judge Stops California Law Targeting Election Misinformation
A federal judge ruled that the law was overbroad and violated the First Amendment.
8 Years After Legalizing Pot, California Will Finally Allow Cannabis Cafés
The new law should help licensed retailers compete with the black market while mitigating the odor that offends Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.
America's Trial Courts Have a NIMBY Problem
Plus: the transformation of California's builder's remedy, the zoning reform implications of the Eric Adams indictment, and why the military killed starter home reform in Arizona.
Should California Vote To Roll Back Criminal Justice Reforms?
Conservatives blame Proposition 47 (2014) for higher rates of shoplifting in the state, but the real story is more complicated.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom Vetoes Car Speed Alarm Bill
He returned S.B. 961 to the California Senate for all the wrong reasons.
California County Fines Man $120,000 for Refusing to Evict a Family From His Property
Plus, a look at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Tina Smith's plan to resurrect public housing in America.
California Lawmakers Think They Can Outsmart AI
Politicians are always trying to control what they can't understand.
California Legislators Vote To Slap a Giant Warning Label on All Gas Stoves
The wordy label makes no mention of the environmental agenda driving the bill’s passage.
Urban Living Would Be Better if Big City Governments Were Less Incompetent
Unions and other special interests seem to get what they want before many urban residents get basic services.
Biden Administration Gives $10 Million Grant to Non-Profit Accused of Running 'Inhumane' Slum Housing
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has been dogged by accusations that it operates dangerous, dilapidated housing. Now, it'll distribute taxpayer dollars to tenant groups fighting for better living conditions.
The First Amendment Right To 'Greenmail' Developers
Plus: The Montana Supreme Court rescues zoning reform, and a new challenge to inclusionary zoning.
9th Circuit Partly Upholds Injunctions Against Location-Specific Gun Bans in California and Hawaii
The ruling says some restrictions on guns in "sensitive places" are constitutionally dubious but upholds several others.
Gavin Newsom Wants California To Have More Restrictive Drug Laws Than Florida
Newsom's "emergency" rules banning all THC in hemp products doesn't square with his insistence that his state provides more freedom than Florida under Gov. Ron DeSantis.
California Bill Requires All New Cars To Beep When You Speed
Drivers in the state narrowly avoided an even harsher restriction on their automotive freedom.
Harris' Candidacy Puts a Spotlight on California's Failed Policies
From overspending to the state's overly powerful unions, California keeps sticking to the taxpayer.
Photo: When the City Says Your Boat Needs a Fence
The city of Seaside, California, ordered a man to cover the boat parked in his driveway. He offered a lesson in malicious compliance.
Are You Living in San Diego's 'Worst ADU'?
Plus: The feds come for RealPage, a YIMBY caucus comes to Congress, and tiny Rhode Island enacts a big slate of housing reforms.
California To Bend Last-Call Law for Elite Clippers Fans
If you want to drink alcohol in California after 2 a.m., it helps to be the billionaire owner of the L.A. Clippers.
Gavin Newsom's 'Price Gouging' Shtick Is Running on Empty
Gas prices in California are exceptionally high because of the state's high taxes and anti-oil regulations, not because gas station owners there are greedier.
California Legislature Extends Exhausted Homebuyer Subsidies to Illegal Immigrants
There would seem to be little added fairness, and little added incentive for illegal immigration, in letting more people draw from a well that's already run dry.
Limit Government's Use of Surveillance Technology Before It's Too Late
We can't stop technological advancement, but we should limit government misuse of it.
California Lawmakers Face Backlash Over Doomsday-Driven AI Bill
The bill could have unintended consequences that reach far beyond California, affecting the entire nation.
San Francisco City Council Targets Free Speech To Cover Up Its Own Housing Failures
Desperate to control soaring rents, the city council bans rental data tools while ignoring its own role in the housing crisis.
California's AI Bill Threatens To Derail Open-Source Innovation
The bill’s sweeping regulations could leave developers navigating a legal minefield and potentially halt progress in its tracks.
California School Punishes First-Grader for a Drawing, Sparking Federal Lawsuit
The First Amendment case about a first-grader’s free speech rights is headed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
