Spreading the California Gospel—Enlightenment or Plague?
California has long been considered a bellwether state. What happens here often trends across the country. Is the same true with the Golden State’s turn to progressive politics? Some hope the state’s positions on social, cultural and political issues are a vanguard to change attitudes and ultimately change policies across the country. That is part […]
Divestment: A Dangerous Move for San Francisco
If Californian billionaire Tom Steyer has his way, the San Francisco Employee Retirement System will soon dump its fossil fuel investments – $470 million in total – in a move known as divestment. Such a move would make the SFERS the first major pension fund in the nation to take this drastic action. Steyer pleaded […]
Ring true or be silent
For whom the bells toll? Nobody. That is because UCSB, which has an annual budget of $760 million, can’t find $5,000 to maintain its Carillon studio, i.e., the 61 bells in Storke Tower that can be played like a piano. Despite the fact that the campus spends $73 million per year on maintenance, UCSB claims […]
Where America’s Highest Earners Live
The mainstream media commonly assumes that affluent Americans like to cluster in the dense cores of cities. This impression has been heightened by some eye-catching recent announcements by big companies of plans to move their headquarters from the ‘burbs to big cities, like General Electric to Boston and McDonald’s to Chicago. Yet a thorough examination of Census […]