Dreamin': Puzzle #104
"Qatari bigwig"
Policy
Conservatives Shouldn't Oppose California's Potential Zoning Reforms
You have rights to your property, not to control others.
Seattle Property Owners Challenge Program That Charges 'Affordable Housing' Fees for Building New Homes
A new lawsuit alleges that the city's Mandatory Housing Affordability program unconstitutionally penalizes property owners just for trying to build housing.
New Hampshire's New Booze Law Will Hamstring the State's Brewpubs
Despite passing two bills to reduce barriers to enjoying a drink, the Granite State is making it harder for brewpubs to grow.
Federal Officials Won't Admit the Real Reason for Ditching the TSA's Shoe Rule
The widely resented and ridiculed policy, which the U.S. was nearly alone in enforcing, never made much sense.
Barack Obama Wants Democrats To Be the YIMBY Party. That's Easier Said Than Done.
The housing crisis is bad for national Democrats. At the state level, it's a political winner.
OpenAI and Perplexity's New Browsers Make the Monopoly Claims About Google Look Foolish
The market has demonstrated it’s perfectly capable of fostering innovation and competition without government intervention.
Life as an Academic Defender of the Intuitively Obvious
Academics are supposed to discover nonobvious, counterintituitive truths. But, especially in recent years, much of my work involves defending positions that seem obvious to most laypeople, even though many experts deny them.
America's Baby Formula Rules Are Due for an Update
A new effort called Operation Stork Speed aims to fix outdated FDA rules that block alternative baby formulas from reaching U.S. shelves.
The Decentralized Master Planning of Seaside, Florida
The city where The Truman Show was filmed balances communal norms with private preferences.
Trump Walks Back Talk of Abolishing FEMA
After criticizing the agency for being ineffective for months, the Trump administration now plans to reform it to supplement state disaster response efforts.
New Jersey Court Strikes Down Town's Use of Eminent Domain To Skirt Affordable Housing Mandates
Despite the setback, Middletown Township is taking the case to the state supreme court.
Supreme Court Refuses to Consider Eviction Moratorium Takings Case
But Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a strong dissent to denial of certiorari.
Pacific Legal Foundation Symposium on the 100th Anniversary of Euclid v. Ambler Realty
The symposium is seeking submissions.
The 'Big Beautiful Bill' Expands Health Savings in a Rare Policy Win
In a bill packed with spending, one provision offers real gains for health care choice and savings.
NIMBY Lawsuit Accidentally Abolishes City's Entire Zoning Code
Plus: The Supreme Court declines to hear major eviction moratorium case, Maine passes zoning reform, and why tourist traps are good, actually.
With Environmental Regulatory Reform, California Gov. Gavin Newsom Finally Does Something Substantial
Without Newsom's efforts, major reforms to California's stifling environmental laws would have died on the vine.
NIMBYism Stifles Housing Construction in Previous Growth Areas
In recent years, exclusionary zoning and other regulatory restrictions have begun to block housing construction in areas where it was once relatively easy.
California Passes Important New YIMBY Housing Law
The new legislation exempts most new urban housing construction from the previously often stifling CEQA law. YIMBY ("yes in my backyard") advocates are cheering.
California Enacts Sweeping Exemption to Development-Killing Environmental Law
Plus: Real rent decreases in New York City, the return of missing middle housing in Virginia, and how everyone's a socialist on housing in New York.
New Jersey Towns Face Setback in Lawsuit Against State's Affordable Housing Mandate
Despite this setback, a coalition of municipalities is challenging the state’s housing program in federal court.
How Texas Beat California on Housing
YIMBY policies in Texas have led to lower rents and increasing supply. The same cannot be said for California.
The Problem With Mike Lee's Public Lands Proposal Is That It Doesn't Sell Off Enough Land
America's housing shortage is worst in Western states. That's also where the federal government owns the most land.
On Housing, All New York Politicians Are Socialists
Allegedly sane, centrist opponents of New York City's socialist mayoral candidate are all too happy to regulate rental housing into the ground.
The Biggest Impediment to Kathy Hochul's Pro-Nuclear Plan for New York Is the Government
Hochul's plan for the government to lead in building a new nuclear power plant is a surprising one, given New York's history of using top-down policies to shut down the energy source.
State Regulations Make Wrestling Less Fun
Missouri's denial of Miyu Yamashita's wrestling license, despite a valid work visa, is a microcosm of overregulation that hurts professional wrestlers and the industry across the country.
Advertising Companies Cave to the FTC. Media Matters Sues To Defend the First Amendment.
Omnicom Group and the Interpublic Group of Companies accepted the Federal Trade Commission's anti-boycott proviso to complete their merger. Instead of capitulating to the commission, Media Matters is suing.
Stealing the Farm
Plus: housing reform is killed in Connecticut, bonus ADUs are gutted in San Diego, and two decades of Supreme Court-enabled eminent domain abuse.
Why Do Republicans Support the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit?
Publicly funded homes in some cities are costing taxpayers more than $1 million per unit, but Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” would increase funding for these inefficient projects.
The Federal Government Owns Too Much Land. Selling It Helps Rural Communities.
Why Sen. Mike Lee's plan to sell public land doesn't go far enough
The Government Seized Her Home for a Project That Never Happened
Twenty years after Susette Kelo lost at the Supreme Court, the land where her house once stood is still an empty lot.
My Forthcoming Article on " Public Use, Exclusionary Zoning, and Democracy"
It is part of the Yale Journal on Regulation Symposium on the 20th Anniversary of Kelo v. City of New London.
How Much of Trump's 'Built in America' Phone Is Actually Built in America?
The Trump Organization says the phone is domestically manufactured, but its hardware—and a statement from Eric Trump—suggest otherwise.
If Brendan Carr Cares About Free Speech, He Should Make These Changes at the FCC
Now is the perfect time for the FCC to change its precedent to comply with the First Amendment.
Did Justice Barrett Flip in PennEast Pipeline?
An interesting tidbit from today's NYT profile of Justice Amy Coney Barrett
The FTC Risks Chilling Speech With Its Advertising Boycott Investigation
The FTC’s investigation into advocacy groups like Media Matters and advertisers is an indefensible assault on the First Amendment.
New Jersey Business Owners Sue City of Perth Amboy Over Bogus Blight Designation
Two business owners are suing the city of Perth Amboy for using eminent domain to seize their property based on unsubstantiated allegations of blight.
Tax Comparisons Show 'Free' Stuff is Very Expensive
And the stuff you get is of the government’s choosing—not yours.
Aspiring Barbers and Cosmetologists in Iowa Can Now Learn on the Job Instead of Paying Thousands for Classes
A new law creates an apprenticeship program allowing unlicensed Iowans to make an income from providing cosmetology and barbering services.
SpaceX's New Company Town Considers Adopting NIMBY Zoning Code
Starbase, Texas, is rushing to restrict development in the newly incorporated city.
Missouri Town Wants To Seize Local Businesses Over Chipped Paint and Cracked Sidewalks
Brentwood business owners are challenging the city’s definition of blight in an ongoing lawsuit against city officials' use of the dubious designation to invoke eminent domain.
Democratic FTC Commissioner Quits—But That Doesn't Mean He's Dropping His Lawsuit
Trump fired Federal Trade Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya in March. Yesterday he gave up his claim to the job, but he's still challenging the White House's right to dismiss him.
Iowa Landowners Fight Seizure of Private Property for a Pipeline
The proposed 2,500-mile pipeline would transfer carbon dioxide from ethanol plants in five states to a permanent storage site in North Dakota.
New Study Highlights Housing Shortages Caused by Regulatory Barriers to Construction
The study by leading housing economists Edward Glaeser and Joseph Gyourko finds there are 15 milion fewer housing units in the US than there would be if construction in 2000-2020 had continued at the same pace as in 1980-2000.
The 5 Worst Green Energy Projects Funded by Biden
From financing eminent domain abuses in Tennessee to climate-friendly ketchup, the Biden administration approved billions of dollars in wasteful spending.
