A Journey Through the Inferno

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE INFERNO

Good morning!

Welcome to today’s edition of the California Policy Center Week in Review! We have a lot of news to cover so buckle up, keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle, and let me guide you through the Golden State Inferno. 

We begin our journey in the forests of Northern California. Decades of negligence, due in large part to Sacramento’s regulations, have choked-off the utility companies’ ability to properly maintain power lines in our forests. If you’re wondering how we let this situation spiral, National Review’s Rich Lowry offers some great insights. Click here to read Rich’s article. 

Moving beyond the forest, we enter the suburbs, the place where our civilization lives and works. Unfortunately, with the Santa Ana winds picking up, utility companies across the state are now shutting off power to residents and sending maintenance crews prevent forest fires from downed power lines. California’s residents have re-entered the premodern age. 

Sammy Roth of the Los Angeles Times writes about the negative impact of blackouts on the environment. He points out that the blackouts could complicate climate activists’ and state policymakers’ goals to gut natural gas use and “electrify everything.” Gov. Newsom, in an attempt to curry favor, announced a $75 million program to assist local cities as they prepare for PG&E blackouts. However, throwing money at the problem will not fix it overnight. Sacramento’s governing culture needs to change.  

Unfortunately, incompetent governance is not just limited to our state government. According to a recent report by California Auditor Elaine Howle, over half of the state’s cities are at moderate to high risk for financial troubles. For many cities, pension obligations and the cost of health and dental care for retired workers is crowding-out government services provided to residents. 

At this point, you might be throwing up your hands, thinking all is lost. Yet, I am here to tell you that there is hope for the Golden State. California’s government unions may hold the reigns of power, but proponents for more limited government are firing back. Myrna Castrejón, President of the California Charter Schools Association, is mobilizing parents from all religions, races, and socio-economic status to defend a parent’s right to choose the proper education for their child in the Golden State. 

Another brave Californian, leading the charge to give a voice to the voiceless, is my CPC colleague, Ceci Iglesias. Last week, Ceci was invited by Romeo Agbalog of Kern Citizens for Sustainable Government to talk about her experience as an elected official. Both as a board member of the Santa Ana Unified School District and a City Councilmember of Santa Ana, Ceci has faced many challenges from her colleagues. Yet, despite these, she continues to fight for greater accountability and transparency. Click here to listen to the interview.

While California city councils statewide are quick to offer lavish subsidies to corporations to build in their communities, the city of Yorba Linda is bucking the trend. Taking a principled stand against crony capitalism, the city council became the first in the state to give initial approval to a “Fairness in Business” ordinance, which prevents city councils from financially preferring some businesses over others. Recently, the Orange County Register threw its support behind this measure and encouraged other cities to adopt it as well. Click here to read the Register’s piece.

Upcoming Events:

Hoover’s One Hundred Years of War, Revolution, and Peace
On Monday, November 4, the Hoover Institution will host its next A Century of Ideas for a Free Society lecture at 4:30 pm. Historians Niall Ferguson and Victor Davis Hanson will discuss the seminal events of the last century—the two World Wars, the Great Depression, the rise and fall of Soviet communism, and the advent of modernism and globalization—and how Hoover Institution scholars, informed by the lessons of history, have interpreted these tragedies and challenges. For tickets, click here.

Veterans Day Commemoration
To honor the men and women who serve in the United States Armed Forces, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library will host its annual Veterans Day Event on Monday, November 11. The program, which begins at 11 a.m., will include an honor guard, live music, and remarks by keynote speaker Captain Dan Pedersen, who formed the Navy’s legendary “Topgun” graduate program at Naval Air Station Miramar in March 1969. To register for this event, click here.

A Reagan Forum and Book Signing with Dr. Wilfred McClay
Dr. Wilfred McClay, the Ronald Reagan Professor of Public Policy at Pepperdine, will visit the Reagan Presidential Library to discuss “Recovering the American Story: Consciousness and the American Past” on November 15. The event is free and begins at 11 am. For more information, and to reserve your spot, click here.

Labor and Capital Market Policy: From Ideas to Actions over One Hundred Years
The Hoover Institution will host its final A Century of Ideas for a Free Society lecture on Tuesday, November 19 at 4:30 pm. Caroline Hoxby, John Cochrane, and George P. Shultz will discuss how ideas about the roles of government and private enterprise have changed, how good ideas stressing economic freedom can be advanced into action, and the influence of globalization on the ability of governments to apply good ideas to capital flows and immigration. For more information, and to register, click here. 

Conversation and Book Event with Ambassador Nikki Haley
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library will host former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Tuesday, December 10 for a discussion about her new book, With All Due Respect: Defending America with Grit and Grace. Tickets to this event are $85 per person and includes a dinner in the Air Force One Pavilion following the program. To reserve your stop for this exciting event, click here.

If you have items for events anywhere in the state, please send them to me!

As always, if you’d like to join our movement to save California, we invite you to support us. Click here to donate to CPC.