Joel B. Pollak

Conservative San Francisco Chronicle columnist Debra Saunders could not get much of an answer from Mayor Ed Lee when she asked him about the city’s housing shortage, though he introduced a seven-point plan in January. She does, however, have something of

Despite quitting the race for California Secretary of State, indicted State Sen. Leland Yee (D) will remain on the June 3 primary ballot–in the top position–because the state does not permit withdrawals. That, plus the strong poll numbers shown by

Azusa Pacific University, an evangelical Christian university near Los Angeles, has disinvited American Enterprise Institute scholar Charles Murray from a forthcoming appearance, saying that it needed more time to ascertain whether, according to Murray, his visit would involve “hurting our

California is one of many states that do not require photo identification for voters at polling places. The state government believes, as do many Democrats and the Obama administration, that requiring photo ID for voting is a subtle form of

For 40 years, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) has ensured that the Democratic Party owned West Los Angeles. But after a tough re-election fight in 2012 and the likely prospect of remaining in the minority in the Republican-controlled House for the

California is one of many states that do not require photo identification for voters at polling places. The state government believes, as do many Democrats and the Obama administration, that requiring photo ID for voting is a subtle form of

The New York Times reports that Dr. Adrianne Wadewitz, a prolific Wikipedia editor and scholar of 18th-century British literature, died tragically earlier this month after injuries sustained in a rock climbing accident in California’s Joshua Tree National Park: The bulk of

The attorney representing alleged Chinatown gang boss Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow says that the FBI entrapped his client, and “wined and dined” him using “millions of dollars, liquor and cigarettes seized in other cases,” the Associated Press reports. Chow was indicted

More than two-thirds of the 63 pardons issued by California Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday were for drug-related crimes, including “selling, transporting or manufacturing” marijuana, the Sacramento Bee reports. The pardons came on Apr. 18, just two days ahead of

On the heels of one of the worst droughts the state has ever experienced, California is bracing for another big challenge as summer approaches: wildfires. Thus far in 2014, the Wall Street Journal reports, fires have been breaking out in California

Easter Sunday 2014 coincides with the 20th of April–otherwise known as 4/20 Day, for 420, a number that has come to symbolize marijuana smoking for the pot subculture. Legends abound as to the origins of the symbol, but Ryan Grim

The lawyer who defended California’s Proposition 8, the 2008 referendum defining marriage as being between a man and a woman, is now planning his daughter’s lesbian wedding, the Associated Press’s Julie Pace reports. “My daughter Ashley’s path in life has

The Associated Press reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has approved plans for “the nation’s first cross-border airport terminal.” The terminal, run by Otay Tijuana Venture, would include a pedestrian bridge connecting Tijuana, Mexico and San Diego, California. The company would

Two Democratic Party candidates in the primary race for California’s 33rd congressional district in West Los Angeles have accused local party officials of using an arbitrary fundraising minimum to favor established insiders–then raising that minimum at the last moment to

The Associated Press reports that a man robbed a bank in the East Bay city of Hayward, CA wearing a t-shirt that said, “I Have Issues.”  According to the AP: Hayward Police Department Sgt. Eric Melendez said Thursday that the

Amidst the general gloom about Republican electoral fortunes in California, past and present, came some good news last week: Pete Peterson, director of the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership at Pepperdine University, is leading the race for Secretary

Gary Cohn, writing at the Huffington Post (and Capital & Main), takes on the “Corporate Democrats” of California–those Democrats who support moderate policies despite the overwhelming power their party enjoys in the state legislature. He advances two theories for their behavior:

California has become one of the most reliably “blue” states in the Union (the Democrats having convinced the rest of us, somehow, to assign to Republicans the “red” that used to mark both Democrats’ electoral victories on the map and

A new Field Poll yields a surprising result: by 54% to 35%, California voters “say they prefer lower taxes and fewer government services to higher taxes and more government services.” In addition, an astonishing 73% of California voters believe government

Californians may be rethinking widespread opposition to using recycled water for drinking, reports Brian Resnick of National Journal. In the past, the option of using treated wastewater to augment the state’s drinking supply has been rejected by voters. But in

The Wall Street Journal has published a scathing editorial in Thursday’s edition, castigating California Attorney General Kamala Harris and her proposed ballot initiative to raise damage caps on medical malpractice suits. Calling the state’s 1975 reform–under Jerry Brown, in his first

Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is leading a congressional delegation to Ukraine during the two-week April House recess, the Orange County Register reports.  The delegation will also visit Azerbaijan to discuss regional security issues,