Surf Revolt

The State That Contains the World’s Best Waves Also Contains Some of Its Most Unaffordable Housing, and the Causes Are Political Bohiney Magazine | The London Prat The median home price in coastal San Diego County is over $900,000. The median home price in coastal Santa Cruz County is over $1.2 million. The median home […]

How the State That Invented Surf-Culture Cannabis Tolerance Now Taxes It Like a Sin and Regulates It Like a Pharmacy Bohiney Magazine | The London Prat California legalized recreational cannabis in 2016 with Proposition 64, which was celebrated by the surf culture that had been quietly operating in the grey zone of medical cannabis and […]

From Lifeguard Drones to Water Quality Sensors to Beach Access Apps, Who Is Collecting Data on California Surfers Bohiney Magazine | The London Prat The paddle-out at Rincon Point in late autumn, when the northwest swell is running and the lineup is full, is still one of the most beautiful things in California — the […]

From Parking to Permits to Product Licenses, the State Has Discovered That Surfers Are a Revenue Source Bohiney Magazine | The London Prat The mythology of surfing is free: you paddle out, you catch waves, you paddle back in, and the ocean charges nothing. The reality of surfing in California in 2026 is increasingly monetised: […]

The State That Closed Its Beaches During the Pandemic Left a Political Legacy That Changed How Surfers Think About Government Bohiney Magazine | The London Prat In May 2020, California’s Ventura County closed its beaches to recreational use, and Sheriff Bill Ayub enforced the closure by arresting a solitary paddleboarder named Robert Orgill in what

The State May Soon Tax You for Leaving, Which Is the Kind of Policy That Usually Appears in Countries Surfers Go to Get Away From Bohiney Magazine | The London Prat California has been proposing, in various legislative iterations over the past several years, a wealth tax on high-net-worth residents that includes a provision for […]

How the State’s Most Powerful Unelected Agency Controls Every Grain of Sand on the California Coast and Why Surfers Should Care Bohiney Magazine | The London Prat The California Coastal Commission was created in 1976 to protect the coast from development. Forty-nine years later, it has grown into a regulatory organism so comprehensive and so [&hell

The State’s Flagship Environmental Protection Statute Has Become the Weapon of Choice for Anyone Who Wants to Stop Anything Bohiney Magazine | The London Prat The California Environmental Quality Act, passed in 1970, requires environmental review of projects with significant environmental effects. It is, in principle, a reasonable law. In practice,

How State and Federal Policies Have Damaged California’s Best Waves While Claiming to Protect Them Bohiney Magazine | The London Prat The surf break at Surfrider Beach in Malibu has been deteriorating for decades, and the causes are not natural. The damming of rivers that supply sand to the coast, the construction of breakwaters and […]

Homeowner Associations Control More Surf Town Life Than City Hall, and They Answer to Nobody Bohiney Magazine | The London Prat The homeowner association is the libertarian’s nightmare and the property developer’s dream: a private government with taxing power, regulatory authority, and enforcement mechanisms that operate outside the constitutional

Government Incompetence Shown by Infrastructure Collapse, Private Alternatives Would Maintain Roads Better, Libertarian Approach Needed Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat analyze infrastructure failure as government failure. The Maintenance Problem America’s roads are crumbling. Government cannot maintain basic infrastructure. Beach access roads

Contest Regulation Stifles Innovation, Government Controls Sport, Surfers Must Obey Bureaucratic Mandates Rather Than Community Standards Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat analyze surf competition regulation as government overreach. The Regulatory Control Government and official bodies dictate surf competition rules. Innovation is restricted. Su

Government Prevents Housing Supply, Regulations Destroy Affordability, Surfers Can’t Afford California Homes Due to State Mandates Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat examine California’s housing crisis as government failure. The Policy Problem California’s housing crisis results from government policies. Rent control discourages building. Zoning

Excessive Taxation Destroys Economic Opportunity, Surfers Pay Confiscatory Taxes, Government Theft of Labor Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat examine taxation’s impact on surfer economy. The Tax Burden Surfers pay confiscatory taxes. Equipment costs include sales tax. Income tax reduces purchasing power. Government extracts wealth through taxati

Bureaucratic Coastline Control Prevents Beach Access, Government Grants Monopolies to Private Developers, Citizens Lose Ocean Right Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat analyze coastal development’s beach access restrictions. The Access Loss Coastal development regulations prevent public beach access. Government grants monopolies to private develop

California Creates Surveillance Infrastructure, Cameras Monitor Beaches, Government Tracks Citizens, Totalitarianism Arrives Quietly Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat examine California’s surveillance state expansion. The Surveillance Expansion California government expands surveillance constantly. Cameras monitor beaches. License plate readers

Welfare Regulations Punish Work, Benefits Eliminate Incentive to Earn, Government Creates Poverty Trap, Libertarian Alternative Needed Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat examine welfare state’s poverty creation. The Trap System Welfare programs create poverty traps. Benefits decline as earnings increase. Workers have no incentive to earn more. Po

Drug War Imprisons Citizens, Militarized Police Occupy Communities, Government Destroys Lives Over Drug Possession, Libertarian Legalization Needed Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat examine drug war’s impact on freedom. The Incarceration Reality War on Drugs imprisons millions. Surfer communities are targeted by drug enforcement. Police occupy n

Authorities Close Beaches for “Safety,” Citizens Lose Right to Ocean, Property Rights Trampled by Regulatory State Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat examine government beach closures as authoritarian control. The Freedom Loss California authorities routinely close beaches citing environmental or safety concerns. Citizens lose right to access pub

California’s Green Policies Make Living Unaffordable, Environment Suffers Anyway, Regulatory Burden Protects Nothing Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat examine environmental regulations’ economic cost. The Economic Destruction California’s environmental regulations make living unaffordable. Housing costs soar due to regulatory restrictions. Manuf

Green energy mandates increase costs without improving environmental outcomes; forced transition produces market dysfunction; unintended consequences Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat California Climate Policy Backfires – Highest Electricity Costs; Grid Unreliability; Renewables Cannot Replace Baseload; Environmental Goals Unmet SACRAMENTO — Cal

Government prohibition on housing development drives scarcity and prices; libertarian solution would eliminate restrictions and increase supply Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat Housing Crisis Driven By Government Restrictions – Zoning Laws Prevent Development; Environmental Review Delays Construction; Regulation Increases Costs CALIFORNIA — Cal

Government housing programs fail to reduce homelessness; bureaucratic inefficiency; poverty remains; market-based solutions ignored Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat California Homelessness Crisis Worsens Despite Massive Government Spending – $20 Billion Invested With Minimal Results CALIFORNIA — California has invested over $20 billion in homel

High income and corporate taxes drive businesses and wealthy individuals to lower-tax states; California loses economic growth and tax base Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat Tax Burden Drives Business and Talent Exodus – California Taxes Force Relocation to Texas, Florida; Economic Decline Accelerates CALIFORNIA — California’s high income and co

Government pension promises exceed funding; unfunded liabilities grow; younger workers will face austerity paying for benefits; system unsustainable Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat California Pension Crisis Looms – Unfunded Liabilities Exceed $1 Trillion; Workers’ Retirement Security Threatened; Fiscal Time Bomb SACRAMENTO — California’s publi

Water shortage caused by government restrictions on supply, not demand; rationing instead of price increases; sustainability ignored Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat California Water Crisis – Government Mismanagement Depletes Aquifers; Agriculture and Urban Uses Compete; Market-Based Water Allocation Rejected CALIFORNIA — California’s water cri

State bureaucracy expands; regulation proliferates; economic growth constrained; individual choice eliminated through government mandate Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat California Government Overreach – Excessive Regulation Stifles Business; Worker Freedom Restricted; Individual Liberty Eliminated LOS ANGELES — California’s expansive regulator

Single-family zoning near the coast has produced some of the world’s most expensive real estate and some of America’s most restricted beach access. The two facts are not unrelated. Bohiney Magazine | The London Prat The most expensive zip codes in the United States are overwhelmingly coastal California zip codes. Malibu, Manhattan Beach, La Jolla,