The Power (and Threat) of the Unelected
It’s easy to bash the Governor for this and that. It’s equally simple to criticize state lawmakers for passing bad laws – something they do with great regularity. Indeed. it’s a fairly effortless and common exercise – carping at the Governor and legislators – mostly because they are public figures. It’s almost sport. Should we […]
More on homelessness
The following story is comes from Christopher F. Rufo, of the Discovery Institute Center on Wealth, Poverty, and Morality. Chris has been and continues to be a valuable resource on my commentaries about homelessness in America. In recent years, discussion about homelessness has been circumscribed around a set of premises acceptable to progressive opinion. The […]
Scaled-Down Density Legislation Still not the Answer
Scott Wiener is at it again. The state senator from San Francisco wants to create denser neighborhoods as an answer to California’s housing crisis. In a recently introduced bill he seeks to force high-density multifamily housing on local governments. But, this latest effort is less a fix and more an accommodation. Wiener, as you recall, […]
What is Environmental Racism?
What is “environmental racism”? I haven’t a clue and apparently neither does the senior Newsom Administration official who after suggesting polluters were committing it retracted her assertion. Even before the ink was dry the official removed her accusation from the Twitter blast that contained it. Indeed, Mary Nichols, Chairman of the California Air Resources Board […]
Paying Union Wages Kills Housing Affordability
Here’s a shocker for you: the building trades opposed a housing production bill this session. In fact, they opposed two production bills. Mind you, the association representing unionized subcontractors and their employees did this in the middle of a combined job drought and housing crisis – defying reality. AB 2580 (Eggman) and AB 3155 (Rivas) […]
What Will a Post-Virus Housing World Look Like?
The COVID-19 (Corona virus) pandemic sweeping the globe will go down in history as the single-most compelling incident of our time. It ranks up there with the devastation – to both property and the human psyche – of World War II. It’s kept us cooped up in our homes and wrecked the economy. It’s touched […]
Gavin’s, Legislature’s Poor Housing Record
“If elected, I pledge to lead the effort to develop 3.5 million new housing units by 2025 to address the state’s affordability crisis.” That was candidate for governor Gavin Newsom’s promise to the California electorate in 2018 when he was running for the state’s office of chief executive. As we know, Newsom was elected – […]
Townhomes the Answer to Housing Affordability?
Is downtown only good for rental housing and lofts? Or, are California urban areas ready for something new? Throughout the West homebuilders are turning to townhouses as a way to build smarter and more affordably. For years, townhomes have appeared as a housing choice in master-planned communities throughout east-coast developments. Indeed, most so-called cookie-cutter housing […]
California Housing: Costs May Be Greatest Threat
Amid the tempest and tumult brought on by the Coronavirus is a troubling issue for housing: rising costs. High costs, so prevalent in California communities, are already swamping markets – threatening affordability, particularly for households with lower incomes. Nevertheless, high housing costs will likely go higher. Lingering just below the surface of the current statewide […]
The Real Story Behind Homelessness
The following story is comes from Christopher F. Rufo, of the Discovery Institute Center on Wealth, Poverty, and Morality. Chris has been and continues to be a valuable resource on my commentaries about homelessness in America. The homelessness crisis in America’s West Coast cities is beginning to draw national attention. There are now an estimated […]