Free Republic

The political leaders coming from around the world for Gov. Jerry Brown’s climate action summit this week will grapple with a lot of urgent deadlines to drive down emissions, but one date is especially exasperating. It is 2035 — the year advocates aim to kill off production of gasoline and diesel powered vehicles.

A series of four anti-gun bills were approved late this week and are heading to Gov. Jerry Brown for signature. The measures — Assembly Bill 2888 and Senate Bills 221, 1100, and 1177 — passed the state legislature and now head to the state’s Democratic governor for further consideration. AB 2888 would expand who can file for one of California’s Gun Violence Restraining Orders, adding coworkers, employers, and school employees to the list that currently includes family members and police. Such orders, largely pioneered by the state, have been derided as “turn in your neighbor” laws as they allow for...

A net neutrality bill that would prohibit internet providers from a host of discriminatory practices cleared the California Assembly on Thursday, setting up a potential showdown with the Trump administration over the rules of the road for the internet. The legislation, which passed in a 59-18 vote, will now go to the Senate, where a vote is expected next week. It would then go to Governor Jerry Brown. California is also the largest state to pass net neutrality legislation in response to the Republican-led FCC’s move late last year to dismantle many of the existing rules. Democrats have seized on...

In the latest episode of “Banished!” by the People’s Republic of California, Governor Jerry Brown is likely to sign a bill that prohibits restaurants from offering anything other than milk or water with their kids’ meals, under the pretense of preventing obesity. Effectively they’re telling parents they’re not capable of being trusted with their children’s health. It’s Big Brother Knows Best vs. mom and dad. They want to control what little Johnny and Susie drink with their kids’ meal. If restaurants don’t play along they could be fined up to $500. So now California isn’t just the nanny state, it’s...

After this "reclassification" of intent, the State will probably appeal to the California Supreme Court. Gov. Jerry Brown was recently ordered by the state’s 3rd Appellate District Court to repay more than $331 million in funds the state illegally diverted from a national fund intended to help homeowners struggling with foreclosures from the housing crisis. Instead of complying with the court order, Democrats are pushing through a bill to legitimize the theft of funds. The Assembly already passedAssembly Bill 1829, which makes the statutory changes related to the National Mortgage justifying this theft. AB 1829 was passed on a party...

A dozen alleged members of an MS-13 gang in Santa Cruz have been accused in a revised indictment by a federal grand jury in San Jose of charges including murder, drug trafficking and racketeering.

One major part of the President’s recent shutdown showdown announcement was a dispute over funding to continue construction of the border wall. And the word “continue” is important here because portions of the project are already underway, in addition to the previous submissions of wall design samples. Much of that work took place in Southern California and now the city of San Diego has a message for all of the construction contractors who have taken part in the effort. Don’t bother applying for any more city contracts because you’re going to be on their blacklist. (Free Beacon) As President...

What if the bluest state in the country stole a third of a billion dollars from victims of chicanery and the media refused to notice?    I have been stunned at the lack of media coverage of California’s foiled robbery of almost a third of a billion dollars. That’s right: under Governor Jerry Brown, the Great State of California helped itself to hundreds of millions of dollars – money that was supposed to go to home owners, and you probably didn’t hear about it. Bib Egelko of the San Francisco Chronicle was one of the few to cover this...

Sure, it’s just a primary. And the general election is five months away. But is that reason enough, in a state that has screamed its political resistance loud and clear, to sleep through an election? The answer, my fellow Californians, is yes. Andrew Hernandez, 30, told me he had not voted but he had the materials at home and might still cast a ballot. I asked who was running for governor. He thought for a moment, as if the answer might bubble up, but there was no fizz. “I couldn’t tell you,” he said. U.S. senator? Hernandez shook his head....

California Republican Party Chairman Jim Brulte on Franklin Graham encouraging Evangelicals in California to get out and vote, the latest in California's governor's race and the debate over the state's new gas tax hike. Video at link!

CNN projected Republican John Cox will finish in the top two, and advance to the general election in the California governor’s race. Cox, a San Diego businessman, was endorsed by President Trump. Republicans feared they could be shut out of the governor’s race in November, which could have depressed GOP voter turnout and adversely affected the party's congressional candidates. Former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was attempting a political comeback in the race, but will fall short of making the general election.

Hundreds of thousands of voters’ names have been accidentally left off the rosters in Los Angeles County because of a printing error. About 2.3 percent of registered voters in the county — or 118,522 voters — were missing on the lists for Tuesday’s primaries, according to The Los Angeles Times. But those voters are still able to cast provisional ballots, though they won’t be verified right away. This will have an impact in more than a dozen House districts, but will likely have the most dramatic effect on the race to replace retiring GOP Rep. Ed Royce, where Democrats are...

Voters on Tuesday head to the polls for California's pivotal primary, which could help determine whether Democrats will gain control of the House in the November midterms. The Golden State is home to 10 of the most competitive House races in the nation, virtually all currently held by Republicans. The state is a key to the Democratic Party’s plan to net the 23 seats it needs to flip the House majority in November. But uncertainty abounds thanks to the state's "jungle primary" system, where the top two vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. The unusual dynamic...

Results and Observations, please.

In California, it’s different. The state doesn’t have primaries; it has a “top two” race, in which the top two vote-getters in a June primary election proceed to the general, regardless of party. Erected by referendum in 2010, the “top-two” system is supposed to circumvent party primaries on both sides to produce Democrats and Republican who appeal to the broad electorate. *** In practice, the system turns each cycle into a potential fiasco. The “top-two” elections might produce a Democrat and a Republican for the November ballot, or they could produce two Republicans or two Democrats. That’s what happened in...

The California Assembly discussed Thursday a bill that would replace Abraham Lincoln or George Washington’s birthday with International Socialist Workers’ Day as a paid holiday. California Democrat Assemblyman Miguel Santiago introduced Bill AB-3042, which would allow schools to replace Washington Day and Lincoln Day with Presidents’ Day and install an “International Workers’ Day” — conventionally known as “May Day” — as a second holiday. “I’m aghast that a bill like this would be able to get through committee,” California Republican Assemblyman Matthew Harper said to the Assembly. “Are we in competition to be the laughing stock of the United States?”...

The biggest boondoggle in California history is now under the microscope of the U.S. Department of Transportation as costs continue to climb on a multi-billion dollar high-speed rail project that routinely misses deadlines and blows through budgets. The DOT is currently auditing the pricey West Coast venture—something critics claim is long overdue on what’s essentially a pet project that’s billions in the red, seven years behind schedule and appears to have no plausible way of living up to its goal of getting riders across the state in three hours or less. The audit was requested by Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif.,...

California’s air pollution levels are among the worst in the country, and climate change is making the situation worse, according to a new report from the American Lung Association. Despite the state’s efforts to reign in air pollution, 90 percent of California residents are exposed to unhealthy air at some point during the year, according to the State of the Air 2018 report. While air pollution is bad for everyone’s health, low-income communities, children, seniors, and people with underlying health problems tend to be most impacted when ozone and particle pollution levels soar, experts said. Afif El-Hasan, a pediatrician in...

California Governor Jerry Brown blamed “low-life politicians” for a growing backlash against the “sanctuary state” policies he has enacted in his state during an appearance at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.

California has rejected the federal government’s initial plans for National Guard troops to the border because the work is considered too closely tied to immigration enforcement, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press. The state informed federal officials it will not allow its troops to fix and repair vehicles, operate remotely-controlled surveillance cameras to report suspicious activity to the Border Patrol, operate radios and provide “mission support,” which can include clerical work, buying gas and handling payroll, according to officials with knowledge of the talks who spoke condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter. Talks...