Bad To Worse
From insurance to affordable housing mandates, California's regulatory noose tightens over wildfire rebuilding efforts.
California
How Do Board Diversity Mandates Affect Firm Value?
A new study suggests California's ill-fated board diversity requirements did not enhance firm value.
California's Terrible Wildfires Exposed a Variety of State Policy Failures
The wildfires will be one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. Hopefully they will also teach policymakers some lessons.
I Left Florida To Try Lab-Grown Meat
When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis banned cultivated meat, Reason's Zach Weissmueller visited California labs to try cultivated chicken and salmon and explore the future of this industry.
California Teachers Make 6 Figures on Average. Now They Demand More.
Plus: Steel and aluminum tariffs, Venezuelan sanctions and deportations, and more...
The Lost Treasures of California's Devastating Wildfires
Some of California's architectural wonders were consumed by the flames.
'Human Trafficking' Sting Yields 547 Arrests, but Only 1 for Human Trafficking
A(nother) look at how human trafficking panic gets made.
California's Rationalist-Linked Death Cult
Plus: Air traffic control failures that led to a plane crash, "why shit not working" in New York City, and more...
California's Wildfires Exposed Failings of the State's Leadership
The potential risks from a major wildfire have been well known for years, but there was little appetite to solve those problems before disaster struck.
California Politicians Now Want Oil Companies, Not Insurers, To Subsidize People Living in Wildfire Zones
A proposed state bill would allow individuals and insurers to sue oil companies for wildfires damages.
Los Angeles Sheriff Misused Confidential Database Thousands of Times To Run Concealed Carry Background Checks
Public records obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation show how sensitive police databases are used and abused.
To Speed Recovery, California Must Let Markets Work
Anyone who thinks state regulatory agencies will help them doesn't understand how these agencies actually operate.
In Session
Lawmakers across the country introduce bills to strengthen private property rights, crackdown on out-of-control regulators, and get the government out of micromanaging stairways.
Price Controls Won't Build Homes in L.A.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom must allow prices to rise if he wants homes to be rebuilt as quickly as possible.
California Squeezes Private Money Out of Wildfire Rebuilding Efforts
Needless regulation on fire insurance, "speculators," and duplexes means fewer dollars are going to rebuild Los Angeles.
The Slow Approval of Self-Driving Cars Is Costing Lives
Laws requiring a "driver" in driverless cars make as much sense as requiring a horse to be yoked to the front of an automobile, just in case.
As Fires Burn, Private Firms and Personal Effort Step In Where California Officials Fail
Californians are turning to private firefighting and security, but officialdom gets in the way.
Meghan Daum: After the Fires, What's Left of L.A.?
Author and podcaster Meghan Daum lost her home in one of the wildfires affecting the Greater L.A. area. She joins the show to discuss what the city is like right now, and how it got this way.
Gavin Newsom Prohibits Offering To Buy People's Property
The California governor is using state of emergency powers to make unsolicited offers to buy people's property in fire-affected areas "for an amount less than the fair market value."
In Defense of Private Firefighters
There's nothing wrong with offering to pay for a service people are willing to provide.
If California Can Suspend Permitting Rules After Wildfires, It Can Abolish Them
It shouldn't take a disaster for the state to consider fixing the rules that make it so expensive to building housing there.
Here's How Police Are Being Trained To Deal With Incels
The Department of Homeland Security is watching men who are mad they can’t get girlfriends.
The L.A. Fires Are a Natural Disaster, Not a Policy Disaster
The Golden State has many bad policies in desperate need of reform. It's not obvious they had more than a marginal effect on the still-burning fires in Los Angeles.
How Awful Policies Fueled the L.A. Fires
Plus: A listener asks the editors if Donald Trump is the most libertarian president ever.
California's Insurance Regulation Fixes Came Too Little, Too Late
Decades-old, voter-approved restrictions on insurers raising premiums have created a regulatory disaster to match the natural one.
Looting Is Bad. So Are Curfews.
The California National Guard should be helping to put out fires, not helping to restrict people's freedom of movement.
What's Wrong With a Private Firefighter?
Plus: Zuckerberg's metamorphosis, Trump's congestion pricing plans, and more...
California's Fire Catastrophe Is Largely a Result of Bad Government Policies
This year’s deadly wildfires were predicted and unnecessary.
Easing Zoning Restrictions Can Facilitate Rebuilding After the LA Fires
The destruction of numerous homes exacerbated the city's already severe housing crisis. Curbing exclusionary zoning is crucial to addressing the problem.
Los Angeles Zoning Laws Pushed People and Homes Toward Fire-Prone Areas
Single-family zoning makes it practically impossible to build more housing in central L.A.
Fires Incinerated the Facade of California Governing Competence
Virtue-signaling is no substitute for disaster preparedness.
California Schools Stay Open Despite Plummeting Enrollment
Ballooning costs and shrinking student populations have left districts facing financial crises, but political pressures have kept closures off the table.
Biden Ends Presidency How He Started It: Halting Oil Production
The president’s ban on offshore oil and gas drilling perfectly encapsulates his top-down legacy on energy.
Stop Overprotecting the Children, Say Courts in Tennessee and California
Courts block laws regulating algorithms and online porn.
State Tax Hikes Set To Raise Energy Costs in 2025
Residents of California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin will get hit with the higher taxes.
2024's Most Undercovered Stories
Surely 2025 will be a freewheeling romp, right?…Right? Happy New Year!
California Gov. Newsom Speaks Loudly, Carries Small Stick
Newsom is a prototypical modern progressive governor whose pro-democracy tour of Southern states evoked more mocking than fear.
Women Allegedly Raped in Prison by Trans-Identifying Inmate Will Have To Refer to Attacker as 'She/Her'
The recent ruling means that on the stand those women may be subject to speech policing from their alleged rapist—who has opted for self-representation.
A San Francisco Coder Built a Musical Surveillance System
With a name inspired by a controversial police surveillance technology, Bop Spotter scans the streets for ambient tunes.
No, California's $20 Minimum Wage for Fast-Food Workers Did Not Create Jobs
A University of California, Berkeley, study trumpeted in the media doesn't say what the press release claims.
Raising the SALT Cap Is a Gift to High-Tax States
Capping state and local tax deductions sparked a tax migration that rewarded pro-growth states. Raising the cap now would stall reform where it’s needed most.
