We believe every Californian should have the opportunity to flourish.

Whatever happened with Proposition 4?

Whatever happened with Proposition 4?

An overview of the bond measure and what it means for California’s budget. Voters were sold a shiny promise — now California is billions deeper in debt. Last November, California voters approved Proposition 4, which authorized $10 billion in bonds for “safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, and protecting communities and natural lands from climate risks.”...

By Sheridan Karras

California Can Dramatically Increase Its Water Supply

California Can Dramatically Increase Its Water Supply

Two imminent federal actions promise to greatly influence water policy in California for the next several years. The first arises out of an executive order from President Donald Trump to the secretary of the interior to restart the work “to route more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to other parts of the state for use by the people...

By Edward Ring

Can EVs make up for gasoline shortages?

Can EVs make up for gasoline shortages?

If he hasn’t done so already, Governor Newsom needs to demand the state legislature rescind the so-called “ABX2-1” passed on October 14, 2024 in an effort to prevent “price gouging.” If the legislature does not cooperate, Newsom needs to declare a state of emergency and suspend the law. Because if he does not, he will lose whatever...

By Edward Ring

Ways to Rein in the California Coastal Commission

Ways to Rein in the California Coastal Commission

There is a growing bipartisan consensus even here in California that environmentalist restrictions have gone too far. It would be a dishonest oversimplification to pretend environmentalists have outlived their usefulness, or that many of the accomplishments of environmentalists over the past 50 years weren’t magnificent and necessary. But when special interests define and exploit environmentalism...

By Edward Ring

Earth Day Reclaimed: Challenging the Top 10 Myths that Hijacked Environmentalism

Earth Day Reclaimed: Challenging the Top 10 Myths that Hijacked Environmentalism

The first Earth Day in 1970 was organized in response to growing public concern for the environment. Many of the calls to action were justified: polluted rivers were catching fire, and smog was so dense that in downtown Los Angeles, you couldn’t even see the hills a few miles away. We’ve come a long way...

By Edward Ring

Taxpayers on the Hook for Sexual Abuse Committed by Government Employees

Taxpayers on the Hook for Sexual Abuse Committed by Government Employees

The taxpayers are always the ‘deep pockets’ that public leaders depend on. There is nothing more infuriating to me than adult predators who exploit and sexually abuse children. As a former president of the board of a summer camp, I know that it had to pay high premiums for liability insurance. Not for the mud...

By John Moorlach

Urbanists and unions can slow but not stop California’s transportation progress

Urbanists and unions can slow but not stop California’s transportation progress

California is the prime battleground between transportation innovation and legacy mass transit. While Silicon Valley is rolling out driverless taxis and testing flying cars, urbanists and transit unions are seeking more taxpayer funding to buttress money-losing train and bus systems around the state. If history is any guide, the new transportation technologies will ultimately replace...

By Marc Joffe

California’s Refinery Capacity Stretched to the Limit

California’s Refinery Capacity Stretched to the Limit

According to the California Energy Commission, in 2024 daily oil consumption in California averaged not quite 1.4 million barrels per day. Meanwhile, daily refinery capacity in California is just over 1.6 million barrels per day. There is a 16 percent buffer between how much oil we use every day, and how much oil we are capable of refining. That...

By Edward Ring

Maximizing Home Protection Against Wildfires

Maximizing Home Protection Against Wildfires

Nobody knew how the fire started. It took hold in the dry chaparral and grasslands and quickly spread up the sides of the canyon. Propelled by winds gusting over 40 miles per hour and extremely dry air, the fire spread over the ridge and into the town below. Overwhelmed firefighters could not contain the blaze...

By Edward Ring

Rebuilding Requires Reimagining Environmentalism

Rebuilding Requires Reimagining Environmentalism

As Los Angeles struggles to rebuild following January’s devastating wildfires, one thing is clear: Our broken policies didn’t just fail to prevent this disaster—they’re making it harder to rebuild. Decades of misguided regulations have restricted the housing supply and inflated building costs, leaving communities struggling to recover. Helping fire victims rebuild quickly has prompted efforts...

By Edward Ring

Restoring the California Dream

Restoring the California Dream

There’s no place like California. Situated on the western edge of North America, isolated from the rest of the world by alpine mountains to the north and east, vast deserts to the south, and nestled against the Pacific Ocean, it might has well be an island. And what an island. The megacity of Los Angeles,...

By Edward Ring

Fast-Track Dredging to Save the Delta

Fast-Track Dredging to Save the Delta

Governor Newsom’s priority constituency is now located outside of California and shaded purple, and a new team occupies the White House that is as red as red can be. So it is probably safe to say that even here in deep blue California, many of the policies governing energy and water are about to be...

By Edward Ring

U.S. Dept. of Education investigates California over FERPA violations tied to AB 1955

U.S. Dept. of Education investigates California over FERPA violations tied to AB 1955

The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday that it will investigate California for violating the authority of parents over their children who attend public schools, specifically on matters of gender identity. According to the Los Angeles Times, the investigation was initiated in response to a January 31 complaint filed by the California Justice Center. In that complaint, California Policy Center’s...

By California Policy Center

Stuck Under the Green Thumb of the California Environmental Quality Act

Stuck Under the Green Thumb of the California Environmental Quality Act

If Californians haven’t already, they’re bound to hear much more about CEQA—pronounced “SEE-kwuh” or the California Environmental Quality Act—in the coming days. Viewed as the Holy Grail of environmental policy, CEQA was signed into law by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1970 in an attempt to allow public input into large government projects. However, a half-century...

By Lance Christensen