Author: Kenneth Schrupp | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The California inspector general tasked with reviewing the state’s high speed rail program issued a new report stating the first segment is likely to be more than three years behind schedule and faces a $6.5 billion funding gap.   “Based on our review of the latest project information, the 2030 target date has been pushed…

(The Center Square) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order for Los Angeles fire “relief” includes provisions creating a 60-day reporting extension for required ethics disclosures of behested payments or conflicts of interest for government officials in Los Angeles County. Transparency watchdogs say elected officials should disclose financial conflicts of interest in real time to avoid corruption,…

(The Center Square) – Housing and land use experts say a Los Angeles city law could require the Pacific Palisades to include “affordable” housing to replace older buildings, and for new buildings where owners cannot definitively prove that their rental apartments had no low-income renters in the past five years.  The new Resident Protections Ordinance taking effect soon requires that…

(The Center Square) – California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a plea agreement has been reached to result in no jail time for activists who recorded conversations with Planned Parenthood staff about the procurement and sale of tissue from aborted fetuses. In 2015, then-California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed 15 charges against David Robert Daleiden and, as…

(The Center Square) – California lawmakers proposed making fossil fuel companies liable for natural disasters by allowing natural disaster victims and insurance companies to sue them due to their alleged impact on the environment. Wildfire experts, however, say that the state’s poor water management and recent cuts to forest management are largely responsible for the state’s…

(The Center Square) – Congressman Kevin Kiley, R-California, has introduced a bill that would prevent states such as California from allowing illegal immigrants to enroll in Medicaid. Kiley estimates this would save California $6.5 billion per year; in January 2024, the state expanded Medicaid enrollment to include all illegal immigrants. “This common sense legislation ensures that taxpayer-funded…

(The Center Square) – California Democrats blocked a Republican amendment to add $1 billion in wildfire prevention funding to the state’s $2.5 billion wildfire recovery bill during a simple procedural vote. Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., Democratic and Republican members of Congress overwhelmingly advanced a bipartisan bill to exempt forest management activities from lengthy and costly environmental…

(The Center Square) – The monthly payment to purchase an entry-level California home has risen 88% since 2020, according to a new report from the non-partisan, state-funded Legislative Analyst’s Office. With the ongoing wildfires having destroyed over 10,000 buildings in high-income areas, prices are primed to go up even further as wealthy families seek new shelter.  “Payments…

(The Center Square) – A federal court partially blocked a California law restricting social media access for minors, blocking its ban on social media notifications for minors during certain hours and ruling that personalized feeds that are built from users’ actions are not protected editorial content under the First Amendment.  The court also ruled that the question…

(The Center Square) – San Francisco started its ban on county-funded cash assistance for individuals with substance abuse disorders who refuse to engage in treatment. Measure F, approved by voters in March 2024, applies to the $714 per month payments to housed low-income adults, and $109 per month to homeless individuals who have been in San Francisco…