Surf Revolt

California’s one-time wealth levy looks headed for defeat in early returns, and a rival pair of measures could erase it even if it survives. SACRAMENTO, California (Surf Revolt) – California voters spent the week after Election Day watching the country’s first statewide wealth tax slide toward defeat. Proposition 40, a one-time 5 percent levy on [&

Voters appeared to reject a business-backed plan to put deadlines on California’s environmental review law, leaving builders and homeowners with the same maze. SAN FRANCISCO, California (Surf Revolt) – A ballot measure that would have put the clock on California’s most feared permitting law was losing as the post-election count continued. Propositi

A 2-1 panel with a Trump appointee in the majority says the 2025 takeover of 4,000 troops exceeded presidential power. LOS ANGELES, California (Surf Revolt) – A federal appeals court has ruled that President Donald Trump unlawfully took control of about 4,000 California National Guard members during the immigration protests in Los Angeles. The Nint

Prices are still near $900,000 while sales fall, and the state’s answer is more borrowing and more subsidy. SACRAMENTO, California (Surf Revolt) – California homebuyers are caught between a price that will not come down and a borrowing cost that keeps going up. The California Association of Realtors reports that the statewide median price for [&hel

The state’s insurer of last resort is charging more and holding more risk than ever, a sign that price-managed coverage cannot hold forever. LOS ANGELES, California (Surf Revolt) – Hundreds of thousands of California homeowners who cannot find coverage anywhere else are now paying more to the state’s last-resort insurer. The California FAIR Plan’s

The Pentagon’s own estimate keeps climbing while Congress has yet to vote on the money or the war. SAN DIEGO, California (Surf Revolt) – The Pentagon now puts the cost of the war with Iran at $47.1 billion, and the meter is still running. The figure, which comes from U.S. Central Command and was supplied […]

Propositions 1, 2, 3 and 37 passed on Election Day, adding debt, a bigger reserve and permanent high-earner rates to the state’s books. SACRAMENTO, California (Surf Revolt) – While the billionaire tax drew the headlines, California voters quietly approved something with a larger footprint on ordinary budgets. The Associated Press called Proposition

Two teams of economists studied the same one-time wealth tax and reached opposite answers, which is the best argument against it. SAN FRANCISCO, California (Surf Revolt) – When two sets of respected economists study the same California tax and one finds it will raise about $100 billion while the other finds it will lose the […]

Two dissenters wanted another hike, and Los Angeles-area gasoline is up more than 26 percent in a year. LONG BEACH, California (Surf Revolt) – The Federal Reserve left its benchmark rate at 3.75 to 4.00 percent at its latest meeting, but the vote was no show of unity. Two members of the rate-setting committee wanted […]

A pending ordinance would bar parking fees at more than 50 city lots, setting access against a budget gap the city says will keep growing. SAN DIEGO, California (Surf Revolt) – The question of whether a Californian should pay to park a car at the beach is not abstract in San Diego, where the city […]

Valero’s Benicia plant and a Phillips 66 site in Los Angeles are closing, and drivers who chase swell are watching the pump Two Refinery Closures Put About a Fifth of California’s Gasoline Capacity in Question Valero’s Benicia plant and a Phillips 66 site in Los Angeles are closing, and drivers who chase swell are watching […]

Four stories from the past year show where the state’s cost of living is being decided, and who is arguing what The Surfer’s Guide to California’s Affordability Fight: Gas, Wages, Insurance and Housing Four stories from the past year show where the state’s cost of living is being decided, and who is arguing what The […]

The authority’s draft 2026 business plan, a lost federal grant and a long timeline leave taxpayers asking what they are buying California High-Speed Rail Now Projected at $231 Billion; Voters Were Promised $33 Billion The authority’s draft 2026 business plan, a lost federal grant and a long timeline leave taxpayers asking what they are buying [&hel

Three official figures, $231 billion, $18 billion and 29.1 percent, explain why residents feel the state’s costs are moving faster than their wages California’s Mood Swings: Insurance, Rail and Budget Numbers Behind the Anxiety Three official figures, $231 billion, $18 billion and 29.1 percent, explain why residents feel the state’s costs are movin

A unanimous April 2026 ruling in a Los Osos housing case redraws the line between state and local control of the coast California Supreme Court Tells the Coastal Commission It Cannot Overrule a County Permit A unanimous April 2026 ruling in a Los Osos housing case redraws the line between state and local control of […]

The state’s budget now leans on a handful of AI-linked companies, and the LAO is not comfortable with that The Legislative Analyst Warns California of an $18 Billion Hole and an Overheated Market The state’s budget now leans on a handful of AI-linked companies, and the LAO is not comfortable with that The Headline Figures […]

The insurer of last resort now covers more than 668,000 homes, and its exposure has grown by 230 percent in a year California’s FAIR Plan Wins a 29.1 Percent Rate Rise as Wildfire Risk Reprices the Coast The insurer of last resort now covers more than 668,000 homes, and its exposure has grown by 230 […]

A UC Berkeley study found a 3.7 percent price rise and no overall job loss, while franchise owners and critics point to other data What the Research Says About California’s $20 Fast-Food Wage So Far A UC Berkeley study found a 3.7 percent price rise and no overall job loss, while franchise owners and critics […]

Sam George’s April 2025 column in The Inertia says thin margins could push prices up by as much as 25 percent in some cases Surfboard Makers Brace for Tariffs on Foam, Resin and Fins, One Surf Writer Warns Sam George’s April 2025 column in The Inertia says thin margins could push prices up by as […]

From the 1972 ballot to this year’s Supreme Court ruling, California’s coast has been a running argument about liberty and the commons Who Owns the Wave? The Coastal Act, Public Access and the Surfer’s Sense of Freedom From the 1972 ballot to this year’s Supreme Court ruling, California’s coast has been a running argument about […]

California voters will decide this November on a 5 percent tax on billionaires’ wealth, but new research challenges the economics behind it, and billionaire departures have already shrunk the very base it aims to tax A Tax On Wealth, Once This November, California voters will decide Proposition 40, a ballot measure that would impose what […]

California’s average pump price came within 4.4 cents of the 2022 all-time high this month, and while a war in Iran pushed crude higher, two refinery closures and a hostile policy climate explain why California pays far more than everyone else The Price Of A Dawn Patrol Every surfer in California knows the arithmetic. Load […]

A Pacific Research Institute study finds job growth since the pandemic at less than half the national rate and a shrinking share of the national economy, as Cato and Mercatus rankings place California near the bottom for tax and regulatory freedom A State At A Turning Point California remains the largest economy in the United […]

SB 747 creates a state right to sue any official, federal, state or local, who violates constitutional rights under color of law, a rare civil liberties win that still leaves victims facing a judge-made shield A New Right To Sue For years, Americans whose constitutional rights were violated by federal officers have faced a near […]

The long fight over a gated beach in San Mateo County, owned by a billionaire venture capitalist and challenged by surfers, poses hard questions for anyone who loves both the ocean and property rights A Gate On The Road To The Sea For generations, surfers, anglers and families drove down a private road off Highway […]

From October 15, many policyholders in the state-created insurer of last resort face average increases of 29.1 percent, the latest symptom of a market that price controls and regulatory delay have pushed toward collapse The Last Resort Gets Pricier For a growing number of California homeowners, the California FAIR Plan is not a choice. It […

Since July 1, goat herders have been covered by standard minimum wage and overtime rules, a change that grazing businesses say could make fire-prevention grazing unaffordable in a state desperate to clear brush The Four-Legged Fire Crew Drive the hills behind California’s coastal towns in late summer, from the canyons above Malibu to the ridges [&h

A bill from State Senator Josh Becker would add war to the emergencies that trigger California’s 10 percent price-gouging cap, including on rents, adding another layer of controls to an already strained housing market War As An Emergency At Home California already has local rent control in many cities and a statewide cap on annual […]