The California Review

06/09/2023

"If the dairy industry is so environmentally benign, what’s the beef with cows? Without them, we’re left with “meat” produced from tumors in industrial laboratories and “milk” alternatives from genetically modified monocrops grown at corporate farms. Instead of waging war on cows, environmentalists should be championing the cause of the small farmer."

According to a new study from University of California, Davis researchers, California dairies are set to be climate neutral — contributing no additional warming to the atmosphere — by as soon as 2027, thereby upending the prevailing narrative that cattle products must be abandoned for the enviro...

05/23/2023

According to a new study from University of California, Davis researchers, California dairies are set to be climate neutral—contributing no additional warming to the atmosphere—as soon as 2027, challenging the narrative that cattle products must be abandoned for the environment’s sake.

According to a new study from University of California, Davis researchers, California dairies are set to be climate neutral—contributing no additional warming to the atmosphere—as soon as 2027, challenging the narrative that cattle products must be abandoned for the environment’s sake.

05/19/2023

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) launched its La Sombrita prototypes, a “shade and lighting pilot” for its Gender Equity Action Plan. LADOT hired consultants to travel all across the world, from Quito in Ecuador to London and Hamburg in Europe, to best understand how to make the resulting $10,000 bus stop lamps “more gender inclusive.”

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) launched its La Sombrita prototypes, a “shade and lighting pilot” for its Gender Equity Action Plan. LADOT hired consultants to travel all across the world, from Quito in Ecuador to London and Hamburg in Europe, to best understand how to make ...

05/18/2023

"Instead of promoting punitive measures such as mileage taxes and congestion fees that punish lower income Americans for not being able to afford to live close to work, transportation advocates must recognize drivers as a significant part of their constituency in building transportation services that serve as many people as efficiently as possible."

Instead of promoting punitive measures such as mileage taxes and congestion fees that punish lower income Americans for not being able to afford to live close to work, transportation advocates must recognize drivers as a significant part of their constituency in building transportation services that...

02/23/2023

Just over a year after relocating Tesla’s corporate headquarters to Texas, chief executive officer Elon Musk is opening the firm’s engineering headquarters back in California, where the company was founded and previously headquartered.

02/17/2023

Culver City has now joined Santa Monica in banning camping in public spaces in advance of a now-affirmative vote by Los Angeles’ city council on February 15 to significantly expand enforcement of its own anti-camping ordinance.

Under these new enforcement measures, city staff offer shelter and housing opportunities, post notice in areas where enforcement is imminent, offer to store homeless individuals’ belongings, remove any lasting encampment material beyond an individuals’ bedding, and issue citations for noncompliance. Police officers are not able to take individuals into custody for non-compliance with these ordinances.

Culver City has now joined Santa Monica in banning camping in public spaces in advance of a now-affirmative vote by Los Angeles’ city council on February 15 to significantly expand enforcement of its own anti-camping ordinance.

02/16/2023

A new bill from Assembly Member Alex Lee could radically improve apartment building cost and design by allowing for the construction of single-staircase buildings more than three stories tall.

In a bid to improve the supply, quality, and ease of constructing housing, California Assembly Member Alex Lee (AD 24) introduced a bill that could allow for the legalization of single-staircase buildings over three floors as early as 2024.

02/15/2023

A potential constitutional amendment to create a ⅔ popular vote requirement for new or increased local taxes and both a ⅔ legislative vote in each chamber with a majority popular vote for state taxes is qualified for the November 2024 ballot.

On February 2, the California Secretary of State reported the constitutional amendment to create a ⅔ popular vote requirement for new or increased local taxes and both a ⅔ legislative vote in each chamber with a majority popular vote for state taxes is qualified for the November 2024 ballot.

07/01/2022

California’s legislature has approved a ballot initiative to enshrine abortion and contraceptive rights in the state constitution. Come November, voters will be able to approve or reject an amendment to the state’s constitution as California gears up to become “the nation’s abortion provider.”

California’s legislature has approved a ballot initiative to enshrine abortion and contraceptive rights in the state constitution. Come November, voters will be able to approve or reject an amendment to the state’s constitution as California gears up to become “the nation’s abortion provider...

06/28/2022

California Democrats have unveiled their latest inflation relief measure, this time in the form of up cash rebates of up to $1050 per household to offset record gas prices, while denying a motion to prevent an increase in California’s gas prices to 54 cents per gallon on July 1.

California Democrats have unveiled their latest inflation relief measure, this time in the form of up cash rebates of up to $1050 per household to offset record gas prices. Meanwhile, California Democrats have denied a motion to prevent an increase in California’s gas prices, which are set to rise...

06/22/2022

608 state-funded apartments under construction in California cost over $1 million to build, casting doubt on the effectiveness of what is the largest publicly-funded housing program in the nation.

06/18/2022

As Californians endure the highest gas prices in the nation — Alpine County residents pay an eye-popping $7.90 per gallon, almost half of which is taxes — a new threat is emerging: fuel thieves are drilling into gas tanks to steal precious fuel at a mass scale.

06/17/2022

The movement to recall Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon announced that it has surpassed the 566,857 signatures it requires to initiate the recall against the embattled official blamed for the city's continuing crime spike.

The movement to recall Los Angeles (LA) County District Attorney (DA) George Gascon announced that it has surpassed the 566,857 signatures it requires to initiate the recall against Gascon.

06/16/2022

By replacing trucks and delivery drivers with drones, companies will be able to reduce delivery costs by as much as 90%. But are consumers — and citizens — ready for a world in which dozens of drones buzz by overhead every hour?

As it continues to attempt to get its turbulent drone delivery service off the ground, Amazon announced it has selected several farming towns in Northern California to host its drone delivery pilot program. While Amazon is still waiting for several FAA and local approvals, it nonetheless is preparin...

06/14/2022

California's budget "surplus" is a myth; a shrinking population, volatile income, and over $1 trillion in unfunded pension liabilities mean there's a 95% certainty California falls off the fiscal cliff by 2025. Instead of spending California's once-in-a-cycle windfall, Newsom must pay down California’s debt, cut spending, and commence with regulatory reform as fiscal armageddon looms.

With Governor Newsom announcing a $97 billion “surplus,” California lawmakers are falling over each other to buy voter favor as elections come near. Chief among these new proposals is Newsom’s $11 billion plan to send $400 gas rebates to every vehicle owner — not now, but in October, right w...

06/08/2022

To guarantee the safety of every Angeleno, LA Metro must crack down on violations such as drug use, public urination, violence and fare-evasion that have brought the system to ruin, writes Kenneth Schrupp.

With the return of Los Angeles’ notorious bumper-to-bumper traffic and gas prices approaching $7 per gallon, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) has the opportunity to finally turn around its long-declining ridership. But rather than addressing rider safety conc...

06/08/2022

Chesa Boudin has been “overwhelmingly” recalled in an election seen as a bellwether for progressive district attorneys across the country -- including Los Angeles' George Gascon.

Chesa Boudin has been “overwhelmingly” recalled with nearly 60% of San Francisco voters supporting the effort. Boudin was a progressive district attorney who supporters lauded his focus on social justice and criminal justice reform. While in office he pledged to end cash bail, not prosecute qual...

06/07/2022

If the 2010s were a cultural era of nihilism, malaise and Walter White's good-man-gone bad anti-hero, today's Better Call Saul is a testament to a new era of strength, hope, and the end of the anti-hero as we know it, writes Jason Garshfield in his latest column for The California Review.

How the unlikely figure of Howard Hamlin stands in judgment of us all. Our modern media ecosystem is one in which the denigration of virtue has become common practice. In the name of “subverting” and “deconstructing” supposedly tired old tropes, storytellers – across literature, television...