“What about the Sierra-Nevada CONservancy that covers the other side of the state? Over 1/5th of the state!!!”
In order to have a decent place to live, the decent people living in California would need to excise everything below the Tehachapi’s, and everything west of I5 until you get to the Mendocino County line. You would obviously have to also put a wall around the area that includes Sacramento and Stockton. The only part of the coastline would be from Mendocino northward. The infection has gone that far!
I've long promoted on FR the dividing line for CA from "Sierra Republic" be by leaving any county that is in contact with salt water in CA and granting statehood to the 51st state of "Sierra Republic" made up of the rest of decadent old CA's countys!!!
Sacramento and San Jaquin countys both have deep water ports that keep them in contact with salt water by way of dredging. It's too bad we can't make exceptions for Riverside and San Diego counties but... Oh well, Sayanara... We must make the division on some major and strongly consistent natural basis!!!