Jon’s Weekend Reading Recommendations! Articles, Charts, Videos, Podcasts & More…

This Saturday feature, which is a labor of love for me, is packed with amazing content. It’s very popular. For those of you who subscribe ($70/year, $7/month), this column is a thank you for your support of my independent work. There are a couple of items above the paywall worth reading/watching. But that is the tip of the iceberg. SO MUCH more under the paywall.

THANK YOU for being part of this project and for putting a spotlight on California politics!

First - A Saturday Mini Column - And Yes, As You Read This - Ghirardelli Chocolate in San Francisco Is Closed - Shut Down By Union Protestors

San Francisco’s War On The Chocolate Sundae

Only in San Francisco could a chocolate sundae become the center of a labor dispute over a government-created health-care mandate. Ghirardelli temporarily closed its flagship Chocolate and Ice Cream Shop at Ghirardelli Square after unionized employees went on strike. Workers are protesting proposed changes to their health coverage and demanding information about the 6 percent “healthcare fee” added to customers’ bills. San Francisco does not require Ghirardelli to print that surcharge on the receipt, but the expense behind it is hardly imaginary. The city requires covered employers to make mandated health-care expenditures, and Ghirardelli chose to show customers one of those costs rather than quietly burying it in the price of every hot-fudge sundae.

There may be legitimate questions about transparency. Labeling something a “healthcare fee” creates an obvious obligation to explain where the money goes, and without seeing the details of the proposed replacement plan, nobody outside the negotiations can responsibly declare management blameless. But step back and admire the larger absurdity. San Francisco politicians repeatedly impose higher wages, health-care spending requirements, scheduling rules, paid-leave mandates, taxes, permitting costs and regulatory paperwork. The same political culture then reacts with outrage when businesses raise prices, add fees, automate jobs, reduce hours—or close.

The miracle is not that Ghirardelli is having labor trouble. The miracle is that any labor-intensive retailer still chooses to operate in a city that treats profitability as suspicious and employers as bottomless sources of money. There is, to be fair, something of a moderate, arguably pro-business resurgence taking place in San Francisco, led by Mayor Daniel Lurie. That is encouraging. But this episode is a reminder that one well-meaning mayor, even with earnest reformers behind him, has decades of terrible policies to unwind. Those rules were imposed quickly. Cleaning them up will take time.

In the meantime, one of San Francisco’s most iconic dessert destinations remains closed. And no amount of whipped cream can cover that up.

KFI’s John Kobylt does a segment on my column yesterday on ten political labels used by the left (especially the media) instead of using, you know, unbiased words…

You can listen to it right here.

Reading/Watching/Listening Recommendations!

TWO FREE CURATED LINKS…

XAVIER BECERRA USES TACOS TO DISTRACT VOTERS FROM HIS FAILURES

Chef Andrew Gruel argues in The California Post that Xavier Becerra’s praise for street taco vendors exposes California’s warped economic incentives. Licensed restaurants face crushing taxes, labor mandates, permits and health regulations, while politicians celebrate vendors operating outside many of those rules. Gruel’s broader point is devastating: California leaders have made traditional restaurants unaffordable, then treat sidewalk dining as cultural progress instead of evidence of policy failure.

WHY DO CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS HATE VOTERS SO MUCH?

Katy Grimes throws down in the California Globe that Democratic lawmakers repeatedly work to nullify voter decisions when Californians reject Sacramento’s priorities. She points to efforts involving Proposition 36, the Taxpayer Protection Act and the voter-identification initiative as evidence that the governing majority values political control over public consent. Grimes delivers a blistering indictment of one-party rule and the institutional contempt it breeds for voters.

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OK, this column is like an iceberg. You can see 10% of it above the water line. Below the paywall is SO MUCH MORE. I curate a BUNCH of articles, a great chart, a great video, a great long-form story, and much more. And what famous entertainer was born in this day in 1980?

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