South LA Charter Schools have 37% More College-Ready SAT-Taking Students than Comparable District Schools Nearby
South LA Charter Schools have 37% More College-Ready SAT-Taking Students than Comparable District Schools Nearby
A new CPC analysis suggests that South LA charter schools have 37% more college-ready SAT-taking students than comparable district schools nearby. The analysis compares the California Department of Education’s SAT College and Career Readiness Benchmarks at charter and district high schools located in historically disadvantaged neighborhoods in South Los Angeles (Zip Codes: 90001, 90002, 90003,...
By Brandon Ristoff
Pension Problems in America’s Finest City – CPC Newsletter
Pension Problems in America’s Finest City – CPC Newsletter
San Diego’s pension problems are a microcosm of the state: There’s a growing public pension storm in San Deigo. As reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune this week, the city’s pension debt has been revised up from $3 billion to $3.3 billion, nearly triple the debt level of 2007. The pension board is demanding a $50 million increase in the city’s...
By Jordan Bruneau
Environmentalists Increase Influence on Local Governments
Environmentalists Increase Influence on Local Governments
In less than a year, three Orange County cities will be in the utility business. Fullerton, Costa Mesa, and Irvine have created a joint powers authority to purchase and distribute electricity to households and businesses in those cities, under what’s known as “community choice aggregation.” It’s difficult to imagine how this model will result in...
By Edward Ring
The Clampdown on Free Expression – CPC Newsletter
The Clampdown on Free Expression – CPC Newsletter
The attack on free expression: Just as we warned last week, union-backed politicians in California and across the country are exploiting the Capitol riots to try to quash free speech. This week, former union leader, and current California Democratic Party chair, Rusty Hicks repeatedly called the (lower-case “d”) democratic effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom “a coup.”...
By Jordan Bruneau
Mayor Garcetti’s Homeless Policy is Destroying Los Angeles
Mayor Garcetti’s Homeless Policy is Destroying Los Angeles
There are many flawed theories that underlie housing and homeless policies in Los Angeles. To name a few: “Housing first,” first endorsed by Obama’s Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, which prioritizes funds to provide shelter before using any government money for treatment or counseling. The concept of “wet shelters,” which admit homeless individuals regardless...
By Edward Ring
California’s General Fund Relies on Bailouts and Billionaires
California’s General Fund Relies on Bailouts and Billionaires
One of the biggest reasons California’s technology moguls supported the Biden/Harris candidacy had nothing to do with ideology. It had to do with their pocketbooks. Because with a Californian presiding over the Senate, and a Californian Speaker of the House, expect federal bailouts to flow west by the hundreds of billions. The likelihood of federal...
By Edward Ring
Carnage at the Capitol – CPC Newsletter
Carnage at the Capitol – CPC Newsletter
Carnage at the Capitol: Five people, including a San Diego woman and a Capitol Police officer, are dead after rioters seized the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday in a scene that looked from some developing world dictatorship. We strongly condemn any violence or rioting, in all its forms, whether committed by MAGA or Black Lives Matter supporters....
By Jordan Bruneau
Big Tech Censorship Suppresses the Reopen California Movement
Big Tech Censorship Suppresses the Reopen California Movement
“This isn’t just an event, this is a movement.” That’s how Jack Frost, one of the organizers of the ReOpenCalNow conference, planned for this weekend, characterizes their effort. Presenters include a bipartisan group of politicians including Fiona Ma, California’s State Treasurer, a Democrat, and Congressman Tom McClintock, one of the most reliable conservative Republicans in America. Presenters...
By Edward Ring
The Coalition That Will Realign California
The Coalition That Will Realign California
Poor governance, beginning long before the bungled response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to a recall campaign that may very well put California Governor Newsom into a fight for his political life in the Spring of 2021. If a suitable challenger emerges to replace Newsom, he could end up in well deserved political exile. But what’s happening in...
By Edward Ring
Grassroots Group Fights for Common Sense Water Policies
Grassroots Group Fights for Common Sense Water Policies
The Great Valley of California, variously referred to as the Central Valley, or, north of the Delta as the Sacramento Valley, and south of the Delta as the San Joaquin Valley, is one of the geographical wonders of the world. Nearly 450 miles in length and around 50 miles wide, it stretches from Redding in the...
By Edward Ring
California’s Cruel Green Cramdown
California’s Cruel Green Cramdown
A few years ago a provocative book by Rupert Darwall entitled “Green Tyranny” made the case that climate alarm is more about power and control, and less about the climate or the environment. Darwell’s reasoning, echoed today by a growing number of economists and environmentalists such as Bjorn Lomborg and Michael Shellenberger, concludes that environmental extremism, especially now...
By Edward Ring
An Agenda to Realign California Politics
An Agenda to Realign California Politics
When it comes to California’s political dysfunction, over and over, the story’s already been told. Failing schools, crumbling infrastructure. Highest taxes, highest unemployment, and highest cost-of-living. Hostile business climate. Crippling, punitive regulations and fees. Widest gap between rich and poor. Burning forests, lawless streets. Record numbers of homeless. Unaffordable housing. Water rationing, electricity blackouts. And...
By Edward Ring
Toothless Regulations in Topless Bars – CPC Newsletter
Toothless Regulations in Topless Bars – CPC Newsletter
Toothless regulations in topless bars: California and the U.S. are in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic. Every day, more Americans are dying from the disease than the number killed on 9/11. ICU capacity in Southern California is reportedly at zero percent. Countless Californians are about to have their worst Christmases ever. Yet policymakers must resist the...
By Jordan Bruneau
All’s Not Well With Swalwell – CPC Newsletter
All’s Not Well With Swalwell – CPC Newsletter
All’s not well with Swalwell: Axios reported this week that California Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from the East Bay, may have been compromised by a Chinese agent, with whom he had a personal relationship. Swalwell responded to the leaked disclosures by (surprise!) blaming Trump. His response is ironic given that Swalwell was one of the biggest purveyors...
By Jordan Bruneau