Prop 12 has its day in court: will California being the undoing of our national economy?

Right by the Bay | Pam Lewison
November 2, 2022

In 2018, the voters of California supported Proposition 12 as an animal welfare measure that would ban the sale of pork in their state harvested from animals housed in pens smaller than 24 square feet.

Prop 12 went into effect on Jan. 1, effectively forcing pork producers in the United States to adhere to the animal penning requirements for California – regardless of where they raise their hogs.


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How a 'Perfect Storm' Killed an LA Philanthropist
 

Free Cities Center | Steve Smith
October 28, 2022

The murder of philanthropist Jaqueline Avant, the wife of famed music producer (“The Godfather of Black Music”) Clarence Avant, sent shock waves throughout Los Angeles society. Her death, during a home-invasion robbery on Dec. 1, 2021, not only shattered the tranquility of ritzy Beverly Hills, but it spotlighted the connection between the city’s notoriously progressive politics and a recent crime wave that has set Angelenos on edge.


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Free money plan is thin gruel for cities' starving artists
 

Free Cities Center | Matthew Fleming
November 3, 2022

Starve no more, Sacramento artists. The City Council is apparently moving forward with a plan to offer guaranteed income to creative types in the city.

Guaranteed income, often called Universal Basic Income, gives free money to those deemed in need of it by the government. Focusing this latest effort on artists is a somewhat new spin on an old idea.  Supporters say UBI programs are “positive,” citing anecdotal evidence, but critics call them “disastrous,” pointing to some failed past experiments.


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