California Pols Lose Touch with Reality over Affirmative-Action Ruling

By Will Swaim
07/14/2023
In doing so, they ignore the real scandal in the state’s education system. *     *     * Among the weirdest reactions to the Supreme Court’s June 29 decisions on affirmative action, those megaphoned by California’s political class may be the most unhinged. Here’s the reality: California voters banned race-based admissions in 1996. But in the decades...

TAGS: Affirmative Action, Gavin Newsom, politicians, Supreme Court, U.S. Supreme Court

Newsom Wisely Avoids Transit Bailout in May Budget Revise

By Marc Joffe
05/16/2023
Governor Newsom’s FY 2023-24 budget update included a larger projected deficit and more balancing measures than his January budget. But, despite pressure from Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and transit agencies, the May Revise excluded emergency funding for local bus and rail systems around the state. The agencies’ proposed transit bailout was at best premature,...

TAGS: budget, California budget, California state budget, Gavin Newsom, state budget, Transportation, transportation infrastructure

Sacramento’s Mismanagement of Taxpayer Dollars

By Sheridan Swanson
05/11/2023
Leaders in Sacramento are grappling with the state budget this month as California faces a budget deficit of nearly $32 billion. Senate leaders claim they can address the deficit without cutting spending on state programs, but the reality is that a fiscal reckoning is long overdue. According to a survey released by the Public Policy...

TAGS: budget, California budget, California state budget, Gavin Newsom, state budget

Prop. 30 Splits California’s Ruling Elite

By Edward Ring
09/28/2022
Even by national standards, state ballot initiative campaigns in California are big time politics. You can run a campaign for U.S. Senator in most states in America for less than it costs to qualify and successfully campaign to pass a statewide ballot initiative in California. Political insiders in Sacramento describe any controversial initiative with well...

TAGS: California forest fires, Firefighting, Gavin Newsom, Prop. 30, Transportation, transportation infrastructure

Questions About Water for Governor Newsom

By Edward Ring
08/26/2022
  Borrowing a page from the More Water Now campaign, which unsuccessfully attempted earlier this year to qualify a water funding initiative for the November 2022 ballot, Governor Newsom announced a new water supply strategy on August 11. Perhaps with the presidency in mind, or perhaps because he really means it, Newsom’s remarks were surprisingly accommodating towards those of us who...

TAGS: California water policy, environmentalism, Gavin Newsom, Newsom, water rationing, water reuse, water storage

National Review’s Radio Free California Podcast Episode 209: High-Powered Hypocrisy

By Will Swaim
02/04/2022
Governor Gavin Newsom unmasked at the NFL Championship. Former California AG Xavier Becerra will take the fall for Biden’s ham-fisted Covid response. Why the state takeover of California health care died a quiet death in the Assembly. Sacramento moves ahead on a plan to manage the fast-food biz. The relationship between postmodern philosophy, identity politics,...

TAGS: Gavin Newsom, mask, mask mandate, UCLA, Xavier Becerra

Sacramento’s Surprise Reaction to the California School Boards Association Appeal for Police Help

By Will Swaim
12/03/2021
California’s school board officials say “nothing in recent memory could have prepared” them for the danger they face as parents “lash out on a variety of topics, most notably opposition to state mandates and local COVID-19 mitigation measures.” That was the substance of a September 29 letter in which California School Boards Association (CSBA) CEO Vernon M....

TAGS: CSBA, Gavin Newsom, NSBA, PRA, Rob Bonta

Radio Free California Podcast Episode 201: Newsom’s Cabo Controversy

By Will Swaim
12/02/2021
French Laundry, the Getty Wedding, and now a family vacation in a Mexican resort remind us that our governor is auditorily challenged where political tone is involved. Eric Swalwell wants you vaccinated to protect his kids. Progressives threaten Feinstein over the filibuster. Dem’s federal budget includes tax breaks for government unions. Times are tough, but...

TAGS: California budget, Eric Swalwell, Feinstein, Gavin Newsom, Rivian

Newsom recall a win for accountability

By Chantal Lovell
09/15/2021
Recently, Brandeis University updated its list of no-longer-politically correct idioms we should eliminate from our vocabulary. Among them is the one that’s always disturbed me a little, but seems perfectly apropos this week: There’s more than one way to skin a cat. Perhaps more relatable to Californians living in 2021 (who hopefully will never need...

TAGS: Attempt, Democrat, Elections, Gavin Newsom, recall, Republican

Listen: A bridge too Ferrer

By Editorial Staff
07/22/2021
Latest episode of the Radio Free California podcast is out! In this week’s episode of National Review’s Radio Free California Podcast, CPC’s Will Swaim and David Bahnsen discuss the resurgence of mask mandates, brought to you by Los Angeles County Director of Public Health, Dr. Barbara Ferrer. And, with Governor Gavin Newsom’s recall election in...

TAGS: David Bahnsen, Gavin Newsom, National Review, Radio Free California, Radio Free California Podcast, Will Swaim