California’s ballot argument rules give tax proponents an unfair advantage
California’s ballot argument rules give tax proponents an unfair advantage
This year’s California county voter information guides will once again display a serious inequity. Arguments in favor of bond and tax measures will usually be well written and signed by several local luminaries. Arguments against will often be less professionally written, have fewer signers, and may even be completely missing. In San Bernardino County, for...
By Marc Joffe
Revisiting the “Crisis” of Sea Level Rise
Revisiting the “Crisis” of Sea Level Rise
Whenever a natural disaster occurs anywhere in the world that can be connected in some way with the alleged climate crisis, out come the professionals to make that connection. From the federally funded NPR, “A melting glacier contributed to the deadly Nepal floods. We can expect more like this.” From CBC, “Scientists fear Nepal’s disaster is...
By Edward Ring
Where does California get its energy?
Where does California get its energy?
Finding quality, consolidated information on energy use in California is surprisingly difficult. The California Department of Energy provides detailed information on electricity production, and a variety of reports on, for example, refinery inputs and production. But there is no report available from official state sources that puts it all together. This is unfortunate, because as a state...
By Edward Ring
Some Unions Actually Have the Power to Save California
Some Unions Actually Have the Power to Save California
There is no special interest in California more powerful than unions. While they aren’t significantly represented in the private sector, where they are present, they have disproportionate influence over what public works are prioritized by the state. And in the public sector, union members dominate the public workforce in almost every agency and department, from...
By Edward Ring
Without Sediment Removal in the Delta, California Risks Winter Flooding
Without Sediment Removal in the Delta, California Risks Winter Flooding
In the cities and farms immediately south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the worst flooding of the 20th century happened in 1997. Several days of unrelenting rain pummeled the slopes of the Sierras, and with the snow line unusually high at 10,000 feet, nearly all of it poured into the San Joaquin River and other tributaries. Reservoirs...
By Edward Ring
AB 1383 is a costly pension mistake in the making
AB 1383 is a costly pension mistake in the making
California lawmakers are once again advancing a familiar and costly mistake — one that risks leaving future generations to pay the price. Assembly Bill 1383, introduced by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, D-Inglewood, would increase pension benefits for public safety employees — allowing earlier retirement with higher payouts — while reducing the contributions those employees are required to make....
By John Moorlach
AI Is Amplifying an Unexamined Government
AI Is Amplifying an Unexamined Government
AI—The Gamechanger For decades, cities and counties operated on an understanding rarely discussed: municipal codes would never be fully enforced. I watched city councils adopt multi-family rental smoking bans and plastic utensil bans in response to zero public outcry, while staff confirmed there was no compelling local justification for the ordinance and no capacity to...
By Mark Moses
Iron Air Batteries—Niche, or Next Big Thing?
Iron Air Batteries—Niche, or Next Big Thing?
Iron air batteries appear poised to play, at the least, an important niche role in the emerging electric age. A very recent example of this is the $750 million equity financing that Form Energy secured this week, raising the total investment in that iron air battery manufacturer to over $2 billion. Iron air batteries offer...
By Edward Ring
California’s Neglected Infrastructure is Harming America
California’s Neglected Infrastructure is Harming America
California attracts a lot of criticism, with perhaps the most bipartisan criticism focusing on its punitive cost of living. And this bipartisan criticism even extends to agreement on the reason California is too expensive. In their bestselling 2025 book Abundance, authors Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson argued that liberal governance has become too legalistic, bureaucratic,...
By Edward Ring
CalSTRS is 79% Funded—Well, Maybe
CalSTRS is 79% Funded—Well, Maybe
CalSTRS earned 13.9% on investments for the year ended June 30, 2026, up from 8.5%, and called it a significant step toward full funding. The National Association of State Retirement Administrators said this is “a marathon, not a sprint.”[1] Thirty years in local government finance taught me to distrust a figure that measures the wrong...
By Mark Moses
Is Covering California’s Aqueducts and Canals with Solar Panels Economical?
Is Covering California’s Aqueducts and Canals with Solar Panels Economical?
Earlier this week, a respected YouTube channel covering the future of technology and energy released a video exploring the viability of solar panels covering California’s canals and aqueducts. The videos are hosted by Ricky Roy, a California-based mechanical engineer whose channel is called “Two Bit Da Vinci.” Reviewing his findings is an opportunity to offer some updates...
By Edward Ring
The Delusional Premises of Woke Greens
The Delusional Premises of Woke Greens
While the burgeoning democratic socialist movement is getting a lot of attention in advance of the 2026 midterm elections, a parallel dimension of wokeism quietly continues to advance. For now, the Trump administration has attenuated its most extreme threats, but its institutional support is unwavering, and its slow progress is unrelenting. The woke greens are...
By Edward Ring
California Could Use Some Allegedly “Zany Ideas”
California Could Use Some Allegedly “Zany Ideas”
Veteran political strategist Garry South has just published a guest commentary in the San Francisco Chronicle in which he asks the question, “Is Steve Hilton a serious candidate?” South then launches a series of attacks to make clear he doesn’t think Hilton is gubernatorial material. But only a serious contender could have survived California’s so-called “jungle primary,” where...
By Edward Ring