Surf Revolt

68 cents per gallon state tax funds transportation; outcomes assessment produces familiar result Satire from Bohiney.com and prat.uk. CALIFORNIA — California’s gasoline tax, approximately 68 cents per gallon including state excise tax and various fees, was increased this week as part of the automatic inflation adjustment built into the state’s fuel

LP candidate receives more votes than expected, fewer than required; ideas outperform electoral performance Satire from Bohiney.com and prat.uk. CALIFORNIA — A Libertarian Party candidate ran for a California state legislative office in the most recent election cycle, receiving 3.2 percent of the vote in a race won by the Democratic incumbent with

Pacific swell production continues without permit requirement; Cato, Reason note this as remaining free space Satire from Bohiney.com and prat.uk. PACIFIC OCEAN — The Pacific Ocean, which covers approximately one-third of the Earth’s surface and which produces the swells that reach California’s beaches from storm systems near Antarctica, New Zealan

Legislature adds to regulatory catalogue; surfing community’s antiauthoritarian ethos meets environmental pragmatism Satire from Bohiney.com and prat.uk. CALIFORNIA — The California Legislature this week passed another regulatory measure addressing a product, behaviour, or substance that the Legislature has determined poses sufficient risk to publi

Federal outlays reach 25% of GDP; libertarian tradition notes this has been the direction for 25 years Satire from Bohiney.com and prat.uk. WASHINGTON / PACIFIC OCEAN — Federal government spending reached a record level in the most recently completed fiscal year, according to the Congressional Budget Office, continuing a trajectory that has seen go

County issues bonfire permit requirement; beachgoers note fire predates permit concept by 200,000 years Satire from Bohiney.com and prat.uk. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST — The county government of a Southern California coastal jurisdiction issued new regulations requiring permits for beach bonfires above a certain size, citing air quality concerns, fi

2008 ballot measure’s $33 billion estimate now exceeds $100 billion; no passenger service after 13 years of work Satire from Bohiney.com and prat.uk. CALIFORNIA — The California High Speed Rail Authority updated its project cost estimate this week, reflecting a number substantially larger than the figure presented to voters when they approved the p

California’s extended producer responsibility framework reaches polyurethane foam and fibreglass cloth Satire from Bohiney.com and prat.uk. SAN CLEMENTE — The surfboard manufacturing industry is navigating a new set of supply chain disclosure requirements under California’s extended producer responsibility framework that requires manufacturers to d

Baseball’s free agent and trade market shows voluntary exchange and price discovery in action; libertarians pleased; nobody asked them but here we are MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL The 2026 MLB trade market approaching the August 3 deadline is providing a demonstration of how unregulated labor markets produce price discovery through voluntary exchange: the

Free trade concluded after decade-plus of negotiation; market economists note 14 years of foregone gains; surfers appreciate anything that moves faster than CARB LONDON / NEW DELHI India and the United Kingdom concluded their Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement after 13 years of negotiations. Free market economists support the deal in princi

Japan stock market all-time high on AI investment; Asia technology markets surge; libertarians note deregulated tech sectors outperform regulated ones TOKYO / SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 hit an all-time high on AI enthusiasm, led by Japanese technology companies benefiting from global AI investment flows and Japan’s own AI infrastructure

Musk’s rocket company goes public; surfer-libertarians note private enterprise achieved in 15 years what NASA managed across 50; government disputes characterization CAPE CANAVERAL / SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SpaceX’s public market debut represents the financial market’s valuation of a company that has done something that was supposed to be impossible: m

NYC transit fare hike hits $3 while California surfers solved public transit by having none; neither solution is working for working-class people NEW YORK / SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA The Metropolitan Transportation Authority raised New York City’s subway fare to $3.00 per ride, prompting libertarian analysis that the government-operated transit monopoly’

Japan deploys counterstrike weapons; Pacific geopolitics shift; surfers note the ocean requires the security architecture that keeps it open PACIFIC OCEAN / SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Japan’s deployment of counterstrike weapons marks the most significant shift in the Pacific’s security architecture since the end of the Cold War, producing responses from C

Gulf conflict disrupts energy markets; EV sales jump on fuel price arithmetic; libertarians note market signals outpaced regulation again; surfers check charging maps SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA The Iran war’s disruption of the Strait of Hormuz produced the single most effective EV adoption incentive in California history: fuel prices at levels that make t

Eaton Fire litigation continues alongside utility rate increase petition; libertarians note the problem is the regulated monopoly model, not one company SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Southern California Edison’s simultaneous positions as defendant in wildfire litigation and petitioner for rate increases illustrates a specific failure mode of regulated utilit

CARB zero-emission mandate tightens; wave riders weigh EV advantages against range anxiety on remote surf trips; market signals vs mandates debate SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA California’s zero-emission vehicle mandate — which requires all new passenger vehicles sold in the state to be electric by 2035, as administered by the California Air Resources Board

Nithya Raman advances in LA mayor runoff on progressive platform; libertarian analysis notes both major alternatives offer varieties of big government LOS ANGELES, CA The Los Angeles mayoral primary produced a runoff between Karen Bass, the Democratic incumbent, and Nithya Raman, the Democratic Socialists of America member who challenged her from t

Fifty-Year-Old Tax Limitation Continues to Protect Existing Homeowners at Cost of New Entrants LOS ANGELES / SAN FRANCISCO — Proposition 13, which California voters passed in 1978 and which has capped property tax increases at two percent per year regardless of market value appreciation since then, continues to be both one of the most popular [&hel

Annual Freedom Index Notes Contradiction Californians Have Chosen to Live With WASHINGTON / LOS ANGELES — The Cato Institute’s annual Economic Freedom of North America index ranked California last among US states for the 12th consecutive year, measuring state-level regulation, taxation, and government size against a framework that values market out

Proposed Restrictions Would Cap Commercial Instruction Hours; Small Businesses and Surf Culture Aligned VENTURA, CA — Ventura County’s parks commission is considering limiting the number of permitted surf lesson hours on county-managed beach sections, in response to crowding concerns during peak summer periods that have produced complaints from rec

New Tenant Protection Ordinances Adopted in Redondo Beach and Culver City; Housing Supply Models Updated LOS ANGELES, CA — Redondo Beach and Culver City have joined the growing list of California municipalities that have adopted rent control ordinances following the restoration of local rent control authority under state law, bringing the total num

Caltrans Funding Study Revisits User Fee Model for Coastal Route; Existing Taxpayers React MALIBU, CA — A Caltrans funding analysis has revived the proposal to implement a user fee on the Pacific Coast Highway between Malibu and Santa Monica, citing the highway’s maintenance costs and the disproportionate use of the route by vehicles from outside [

Governor Adds to Nation’s Most Ambitious Climate Portfolio; Businesses Discuss Relocation Calculus SACRAMENTO, CA — Governor Gavin Newsom signed California’s latest climate legislation package into law, adding emissions reduction requirements, clean energy mandates, and environmental justice provisions to what is already the most ambitious state cl

Decommissioned Nuclear Site Transforms Into Public Recreation Area; The Irony Is Not Lost on Anyone Who Surfed There SAN CLEMENTE, CA — The former San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station site, which produced electricity for Southern California for decades and which surfers best knew as the backdrop for Trestles, one of the best waves in California, [

State’s Minimum Wage Leadership Continues as Small Businesses Calculate Margin Compression LOS ANGELES, CA — California’s minimum wage for fast food workers, which reached $20 per hour last year following the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act, has produced documented price increases at fast food restaurants, documented employment

Upscale County Adds to Prohibition List; Liberty Institute Notes Pattern of Expanding Restrictions MILL VALLEY, CA — Marin County has become the latest California jurisdiction to ban gas-powered leaf blowers, joining dozens of cities and counties that have restricted small engine outdoor power equipment in the name of air quality, noise reduction,

Regulatory Body Extends Authority to Ocean Events; Libertarians Note the Wave Has Not Consented SANTA CRUZ, CA — The California Coastal Commission has issued updated permit requirements for surfing competitions held within the coastal zone, requiring event organizers to submit environmental impact assessments, traffic management plans, and vendor l