California
San Francisco Mayor Slaps Down Clever Plot To Make Housing Crisis Worse
The mayor vetoed a controversial ordinance that would have legalized more types of housing on paper while making it harder to build in practice.
California Enacts Gun Control Law Modeled on Texas' SB 8 Anti-Abortion Law
Both laws seek to evade judicial review by delegating enforcement exclusively to private parties.
A Black Family's Property Was Seized via Eminent Domain. A Century Later, Their Descendants Just Got It Back.
Segregation-era racists tried to drive the Bruces away from their own beachfront property. When intimidation didn't work, they resorted to the power of the state.
How Demands for 'Local Control' Become an Excuse for NIMBYism
Conservatives' guiding principle should always be less government control, not more.
Truckers Shut Down California Port Fighting for the Right To Be Their Own Bosses
The terrible consequences of A.B. 5 keep coming.
California Environmentalists: Bees Are Now Fish
The state's Endangered Species Act doesn't protect insects, so environmentalists and government officials intent on helping bees had to get creative.
A California Bill Wants To Punish Social Media Companies for 'Addicting' Children
The bill makes little note of parents' ability to control their own children's social media access.
California Bill Would Mandate That Legal Marijuana Products Come With Warning Labels, Brochures
An earlier draft of the bill, favored by the Los Angeles Times, would have required the labels be huge, with 12-point font and yellow backgrounds.
Politicians Defy the Supreme Court's Ruling on the Right To Bear Arms
Several states are retaining subjective criteria for carry permits or imposing new restrictions on gun possession.
A California Law Regulating Ride-Share Apps Leaves Truckers in Limbo
The state's trucking industry fears drivers will quit or work out of state.
California Police Can No Longer Arrest Suspected Sex Workers Who Stand Around in Public
The law is an important step, but ending police harassment of sex workers requires decriminalizing the trade entirely.
Liz Wolfe: How San Francisco's Failures Could Help Austin and Miami
Associate Editor Liz Wolfe discusses the political and economic fortunes of both Austin and Miami, plus potential reasons these pastures might not always be greener.
Red Tape Fuels Wildfires Scorching America's Forests
We need to clearcut the government regulations hampering efforts to effectively battle wildfires.
State Reactions to the SCOTUS Ruling Against Discretionary Carry-Permit Laws Range From Compliance to Defiance
Some states promptly eliminated subjective standards, while others refused to recognize the decision's implications.
Modest Tax Relief Comes to California's Cannabis Growers
Unfortunately, so do more regulations and potential fines.
The War on Weed Continues in California, Which Supposedly Legalized Marijuana Six Years Ago
Federal and state agencies are busting unlicensed marijuana merchants, who face decades in prison.
California Accidentally Leaked the Personal Data of Thousands of Licensed Gun Owners
Plus: America's falling murder clearance rate, the Fed wrestles with inflation, and more...
California Fights Inflation by Sending People Free Money
Plus: A New Hampshire distiller fights invasive species by turning them into whiskey, a New York City law letting non-citizens vote is overturned, and more...
California's Competitors
Miami and Austin lured people away from California. But the new tech hubs could end up repeating San Francisco’s mistakes.
What the Chesa Boudin Recall Means for America
Journalist Nancy Rommelmann reports from San Francisco on the ouster of a leading progressive district attorney.
Delusion on San Francisco Crime Will Get You Recalled
Prosecutorial reform is one thing. Chesa Boudin’s incompetence is another.
San Francisco Recalls Progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin
Mayor London Breed, who has herself recently pivoted away from criminal justice reforms, will select Boudin's successor.
Bad Candidates Threaten Criminal Justice Reform in California
In Los Angeles and San Francisco, voters face candidates who promised criminal justice reforms but whose records have been disappointing.
The American Rescue Plan Bailed Out Unprofitable Government-Owned Golf Courses
Perhaps the government shouldn't be running golf courses in the first place?
Government Employees Got $872 Million in Bonuses Out of COVID Aid Cash
The federal bailout of state and local governments padded the paychecks of many public employees.
California Considers Mandating Even More Sexual Harassment Training for College Students
The new law would require all state community college students to attend annual sexual harassment training.
California Court Rules That Bees Are Fish
Insects aren't a category protected by the California Endangered Species Act. So state officials classified four bumblebee species as fish to get them listed.
County Where It Took 50 Years To Approve New Subdivision Bans New Airbnbs
Officials in Marin County, California, argue a temporary moratorium on new short-term rentals in western portions of the county is necessary to preserve the area's limited housing stock.
California's Water Bureaucrats Are Making a Bad Drought Worse
Fifty percent of the state's water flows to the Pacific Ocean. Another 40 percent is used for agriculture. But it's average residents who are being forced to cut back.
Gov. Newsom Proposes Eliminating One of California's Many Marijuana Taxes
The cultivation tax has driven up the cost of growing cannabis, fueling illegal operations and the state’s enormous black market.
Inflation Triggers Mandatory Minimum Wage Increases in California
The state’s unemployment rate is well above average, yet there’s a ballot initiative hoping to push the minimum wage to $18 an hour.
Sheriff Agrees To Stop Stealing Cannabis Cash From Armored Cars, Saying His Deputies 'Are Not Highway Robbers'
The settlement came after the Justice Department agreed to return more than $1 million in proceeds from state-licensed marijuana businesses in California.
California Is Forcing Smokers To Buy More Dangerous Products
Banning less harmful tobacco alternatives is not a way to improve public health.
A New Report Explains How California Screwed Up Marijuana Legalization
Heavy regulation, high taxes, and local bans combined to cripple the legal cannabis industry, which accounts for just a third of the state's pot market.
Stop Using Legislation To Virtue Signal
Both Republicans and Democrats are abusing states' police powers to achieve performative political goals. They should stop.
City Council Furious at Cop Who Played Disney Songs To Keep from Being Recorded
There is some confusion over what the response should be, but there is broad agreement that the officer acted inappropriately.
California's New Food Waste Law Is Backfiring
Compliance is proving to be expensive and confusing.
California Cities Are Rethinking Their Marijuana Business Bans
Nearly two dozen towns that had said no to legal weed shops are reconsidering.
He Faces 10 Years to Life for Selling Pot, a Legal Business in Most States
Jonathan Wall, whose federal trial begins on May 2, notes that many people openly engage in similar conduct with impunity.
People Are Fleeing California Cities, Despite Pols' Push for 'Urbanism'
San Francisco lost a whopping 6.7 percent of its population during the COVID-19 pandemic, the second-largest percentage drop after New York.
The Feds Will Return More Than $1 Million in Marijuana Money That California Cops Stole From Armored Cars
Empyreal Logistics agreed to drop its claims against the Justice Department, but it is still suing San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus.
