Claim OwnershipCalifornia in Focus
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The podcast bringing you the most important stories out of California from TheCenterSquare.com. Join us as we dive into the top headlines and provide insightful commentary and analysis.
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The California Public Utilities Commision is voting later this month on whether to allow illegal immigrants to use the state’s cellphone subsidy program that makes most cellphone service plans either low cost or free, and self-fund and provide the additional federal subsidies undocumented immigrants are unable to qualify for. If adopted, the new plan would allow individuals to use Mexican voter registration cards, foreign passports, consular identification cards, or AB 60 California drivers licenses issued to individuals not legally in the state to access the subsidies. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_6cb8df70-713c-11ef-8d22-7f7a8850b732.html
San Francisco’s former district attorney is leading a class action lawsuit requiring the state to follow through on a 1973 statute signed into law by then-governor Ronald Reagan to pay prisoners who have served more than six months $200 upon their release as “gate money.” Including interest, the case could cost taxpayers $5 billion. With former SF DA Chesa Boudin, now Executive Director at UC Berkeley’s Criminal Law & Justice Center, estimating California releases approximately 30,000 prisoners each year, his case says the class action body “exceeds hundreds of thousands of individuals.” Boudin says the legislature’s statute was quite clear in providing $200 (worth almost $1,500 in current dollars when it first went into effect) to prisoners when they exit prison if they aren’t being transferred to federal prison or another state.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_96d69ff8-7151-11ef-b639-97a162c0d8f9.html
A federal appeals court sided with Elon Musk and X Corporation against a California law requiring companies to report and create definitions for a wide variety of speech violations, finding the law violates the First Amendment by unlawfully compelling companies to provide opinions on contentious matters, including defining what hate speech or misinformation is. The Ninth Circuit Court reversed a lower district federal court’s ruling initially in favor of California, and instructed the district court to enter a preliminary injunction on portions of the law, AB 587. AB 587, signed into law in 2022, was marketed as a transparency-oriented measure to have social companies make their content moderation policies and statistics available in public reports filed with the California Attorney General starting in January of 2024. The law requires social media companies to create and define moderation categories for hate speech, racism, extremism, radicalization, disinformation, misinformation, harassment and foreign political interference. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_21e5a632-6b0f-11ef-990d-3314413b4c42.html
A judge in Los Angeles County ordered the county to rapidly produce court-ordered homelessness program audit data, saying, “If there isn’t documentation of work being done, it’s not being done.” Judge David O. Carter is overseeing a settlement from two years ago between the LA Alliance for Human Rights and both Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles. The City of Los Angeles’ separate settlement requires the city to bring shelter online in each city council district for some 60% of the city’s unsheltered homeless based on the 2020 homelessness count; once each district reaches that threshold, it can begin enforcing anti-camping ordinances. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_4dcd71a2-6b06-11ef-b95e-3fea83a80f32.html
Shake Shack announced the pending closure of nine locations nationwide, six of which are in California, writing, “These Shacks are not projected to provide acceptable returns in the foreseeable future,” in a SEC filing. While Shake Shack did not respond to requests for comment regarding the impact of California’s $20 per hour fast food minimum wage that took effect earlier this year, high commercial rents combined now with even higher labor costs have driven other fast food chains, including Rubio’s and Blaze Pizza to shutter stores.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_51528a7c-6658-11ef-8941-37b777f704b9.html
The California legislature passed a bill allowing undocumented immigrants to make use of the state’s $150,000, 0 down, 0 interest home “loans.” The bill now goes to the governor’s desk, where he must either veto or approve the bill by the end of September. California has one of the worst home shortages in the nation, with an estimated 4.5 million home shortage, and a nearly $1 million median home price. California’s Dream for All Shared Appreciation Loans program allows applicants to secure “loans” of up to $150,000 or 20% of the home’s purchase price — or, about what a typical down payment is — with zero down payment on this state “loan,” and no payments. In exchange, the state receives the original loan amount plus 20% of the appreciated gain when the home is refinanced, sold, or transferred. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_57ac795c-659d-11ef-8cbd-871f41ee2960.html
California government officials and Big Tech are nearing an agreement to jointly provide at least $242.5 million in funding for journalism, including local and ethnic outlets. The agreement, first reported on by KCRA, would put an end to bills that would require tech companies to pay newsrooms a portion of their search and display revenue. Under the California Journalism Preservation Act, which this agreement would stop from advancing, social media companies and search engines would be required to pay a share of their advertising revenue to news organizations based on how much organizations’ content shows up in social media feeds or search results. As protest, Google stopped showing local California news organizations in its search results to some California users. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_abdd2fa6-60c7-11ef-b062-5fe9b8fd437e.html
While fuming over the state of California roads a few weeks ago on a harrowing drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco — I swore to look into why they were so bad. What I found shocked me to my pot-hole-rattled bones – California’s measured road quality had increased 53% since 2015. That’s weird. What’s weirder is that federal statistics claim 65% of California’s roads have disappeared. This set off alarms in my head as I wondered if road “quality” was increasing because of a conscious decision to measure less “bad” roadway to make the state’s roads seem better than they are. While 65% of the state's roads disappeared on paper, they certainly hadn't in reality.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_c7424244-55ce-11ef-a381-175df0170d54.html
California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a video blaming oil companies’ “greed” and “price gouging” for the state’s gas prices, which, at an average of $4.60 per gallon, are $1.16 above the national average. Newsom’s own energy commissioner, however, disagrees, noting in May testimony that no “price gouging” has been found and that “increasing supply in the market” would best “protect consumers.” Total taxes and fees add up to approximately $1.62 to the cost of each gallon of gasoline sold in the state, or more than the difference between gas prices in California and the rest of the nation. Of that $1.62, only 18 cents is from federal taxes, meaning the rest is from California taxes and fees. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_e9d2fd3e-58f9-11ef-8712-4b83ae63798f.html
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he is deploying California National Guard lawyers to prosecute cases in Alameda County, where Oakland is. Newsom’s office also detailed Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price’s months of delays preventing CalGuard’s deployment, publicly highlighting the state of the district attorney’s office. Alameda County violent crime rose 188% in 2023 compared to 2022, 74% of which was in Oakland, where violent crime rose 237% over 2022. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_0538ba30-5104-11ef-90cd-07be40cbb031.html
The California legislature is advancing a bill that would ban library governing bodies from banning a book or requiring that a book be purchased. As noted by the state legislature’s analysis, most ban requests in California and nationwide target “books accessible to minors that include LGBTQ themes or sexual content.” The bill would also ban library governance bodies’ decisions on librarians’ programming decisions for events or displays. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_be65dc24-5373-11ef-b712-57b8f587c0d1.html
Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles, which have the largest homeless population in the nation, rejected California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order to clear out homeless encampments from government property. Officials are concerned that homeless individuals who do not comply could face fines that, if unpaid, would lead to incarceration for the simple fact of being homeless. The City of Los Angeles is home to 45,000 of the 75,000 homeless individuals in Los Angeles County. Under a new unanimous order from the five-member Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the county will not cite or arrest individuals during encampment sweeps for being homeless. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_6e83eb14-4f96-11ef-a354-b3d0338e2327.html
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order demanding the state streamline housing development and determine how to use federal climate change funding towards housing as a climate mitigation element. Housing experts note that Newsom’s suggestions could reduce the cost of building housing by as much as 30%. Newsom’s directive orients building housing as an element of achieving the state’s climate change goals, which he says should enable the use of federal climate funding towards housing production. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_a60dc8b6-4f8c-11ef-b079-3fe28d5f976f.html
California battery-electric vehicle sales are stabilizing after peaking halfway through 2023 and entering steady decline. BEV sales peaked at 102,730 in the second quarter of 2023, bottoming out at 89,503 in the fourth quarter of 2023, before recovering to 101,443 in the second quarter of 2024. However, with BEV market share remaining in the same steady 21% range since the start of 2023, it’s unclear how the state is going to meet a new mandate for 35% of vehicle sales to be BEVs by model year 2026, which will start in 2025. Because consumer product trends follow seasonal trends, comparing BEV sales to the same point in time last year is a more accurate measure of BEV resilience; BEV registrations are down only 1.25% over the year prior this quarter, while overall vehicle registrations are down 1.7%. This means BEVs are actually outperforming the overall vehicle market.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_b4267ea4-4a03-11ef-a95a-9bc90cbe4d6c.html
Giving Americans $1,000 per month in taxpayer-funded guaranteed income makes them worse off, says a new three-year, 3000-participant study. The National Bureau of Economic Research’s massive study found recipients and their partners work and earn less, with the negative effect on wages and earnings getting worse over time. While proponents of universal basic income theorized such programs would improve non-economic metrics for recipients, the study surprisingly showed leisure time only increased as recipients spent less time on sleeping, child care, community engagement, caring for others, and self improvement. Transfers also reduced recipients’ non-transfer incomes significantly, with the study finding “for every one dollar received, total household income excluding the transfers fell by at least 21 cents, and total individual income fell by at least 12 cents.”Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_f8b0401c-485c-11ef-b461-07b78b1e61ef.html
Despite broad support, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state didn't need increased oversight on how tax dollars are spent on homelessness. Newsom vetoed an unopposed bill that would have required the state to evaluate the money it gives to cities and counties for homelessness programs, saying it would create “unnecessary ongoing workload” and that other actions already to increase oversight render the bill “redundant.” Earlier this year, a state audit found the state was not adequately tracking the outcomes for much of its recent $24 billion in homelessness spending. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_4b89fea0-43b1-11ef-95b6-8bd259d9f1eb.html
Just after California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning parental notification for gender change requests from K-12 students, entrepreneur Elon Musk announced he is moving the headquarters of X, formerly known as Twitter, and SpaceX from California to Texas in response to the law. “This is the final straw. Because of this law and the many others that preceded it, attacking both families and companies, SpaceX will now move its HQ from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas,” said Musk on X. “I did make it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children.” Less than 20 minutes later, Musk announced he is also moving the X headquarters to Texas as well.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_3cd1f14c-43bb-11ef-a494-d7a467619500.html
California’s Little Hoover Commission, a bipartisan and independent state oversight agency, issued its much-awaited report on retail theft, finding that theft is underreported — at an unknown degree — and causes inflation. The commission’s two recommendations are the state collect more data on individuals arrested for theft, including law enforcement response, people arrested, demographics, charges, and recidivism, and conduct studies on theft prevention. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a measure to impose a curfew on businesses in the city’s Tenderloin District over concerns that open businesses are hotspots for crime, drug dealing and drug use. The legislation also noted how the city’s police officers are typically outnumbered by large groups of “people engaged in illegal activity,” suggesting crime in the area's disarray has grown past law enforcement’s ability to control. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_975c1804-3fc9-11ef-8d7d-5fa533c9774d.html
California Governor Gavin Newsom touted the state’s job growth in his State of the State Address last week, but a new report from a state agency found the state’s private sector employment has been declining since 2022, with public sector hiring accounting for the entire state net increase in jobs. California’s state-funded, non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office found the private sector lost 154,000 jobs and the public and public-supported sector has gained 361,000 jobs since the peak of the state’s labor market in September 2022. This means on net, the state’s 207,000 job increase in employment since September 2022 has been from growing government-related hiring. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_694094b0-37fc-11ef-836d-bf00a60dae8d.html
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