Last month, Rubio’s Coastal Grill announced the permanent shutdown of 48 of their California locations. Ralph Rubio opened his first restaurant in 1983 in San Diego with a loan from his dad. After years of effort, Rubio’s expanded to approximately 200 locations throughout several states. Traditionally, this anecdote would serve as an example of the...
When the California State Auditor’s Office released its annual report on the “Fiscal Health of California Cities” in fall 2022, most city officials and journalists focused on the blunt financial risk rating results and the relative position of their city organization amongst the 431 cities analyzed. But there is more that we can learn from...
Boasting of his state’s robust economic growth, California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently declared that “California’s values and entrepreneurial spirit have powered this ascent to becoming the 4th biggest economy in the world.” Not so fast. California elected officials frequently cite the Golden State’s position in global economic rankings, comparing the size of the state’s economy...
High-profile California companies continue to join the wave of businesses fleeing a highly taxed, heavily regulated California for more business-friendly environments. You can add Colorado to the growing list of states that former California employers and employees now prefer to call home. Virta Health, a biotech company that specializes in diabetes treatment, announced in late...
Editor’s note: This is the seventh article in a nine-part series on how to fix California. Read the first article in the series here, the second here, the third here, the fourth here, the fifth here, the sixth here, the seventh here, and the eighth here. The policy topics considered in this series—energy, water, transportation, housing, law enforcement and the homeless, forestry,...
A new episode of the Radio Free California podcast is out! The latest episode of National Review’s Radio Free California podcast is out, featuring CPC’s Will Swaim and David Bahnsen. In this week’s episode, they discuss Governor Gavin Newsom’s game-show theatrics aimed at increasing vaccination rates across the state, Joe Biden’s weird affection for California’s...
Why are so many people unhappy and angry? Why is the electorate turning to populist candidates like Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump? Why are they so mad at the Washington D.C. establishment? What’s the problem? Perhaps the biggest problem is the low growth of the economy leading to fewer job opportunities and little or no...
Most countries around the world think that it’s a good thing to have cheap energy. But in California, we have plenty of cheap energy available, just not the political will to access it. California depends on natural gas-driven turbines and hydroelectric generators to provide just 38 percent of its oil needs. The state imports 12 percent...
Prepared by Golden Together, a Movement to Restore the California Dream Edward Ring, California Policy Center Steve Hilton, Founder of Golden Together Published March 20, 2025