Free Republic

Billionaire Tom Steyer pledges $12 million to support Proposition 50, which could give Democrats five more congressional seats in California. Charles Munger Jr. has donated $32 million to the opposition, arguing that the measure undermines California’s voter-approved independent redistricting commission. As California voters receive mail ballots for the November special election, which could upend the state’s congressional boundaries and determine control of the House, billionaire hedge-fund founder Tom Steyer said Thursday he will spend $12 million to back Democrats’ efforts to redraw districts to boost their party’s ranks in the legislative body. The ballot measure was proposed by Gov. Gavin...

I just signed legislation allowing the 800,000 rideshare workers in California to unionize. California is determined to give working people a voice, to give them choice, give them dignity, and give them a say about their future.

The California FAIR Plan, the state’s home insurer of last resort, is seeking an average 35.8% rate hike, its largest in years, following billions of dollars of losses incurred in the January fire storms.The Los Angeles-based insurance pool, operated and backed by the state’s licensed home insurers, filed this week for the dwelling policy rate hike, which must be reviewed and could be reduced by the state insurance commissioner.“By statute, FAIR Plan rates must be sufficient to pay anticipated claims and expenses,” said FAIR Plan spokesperson Hilary McLean in a statement. “The FAIR Plan is working closely with the California...

The “emergency” special session called by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham ended this week with all five Democrat-sponsored bills passed, some on party-line votes. However, the real headline was the deep partisan divide and the governor’s furious reaction to Republicans for opposing her vaccine legislation. The two-day session, which cost taxpayers an estimated $250,000, was ostensibly meant to offset federal funding cuts. But much of the time was consumed by heated exchanges over decorum and the content of the Democrats’ agenda, which Republicans said was drafted in secret and offered little room for participation. House Minority Leader Gail Armstrong (R-Magdalena) told...

This is not a war zone, a riot didn’t happen here, and no a bomb didn’t go off here This is Los Angeles, California in a location that used to be full of stores. Busy traffic still drives by and Gavin Newsom wants to be President… “You know I love exploring but even I got my limits when I’m by myself”

The far-left Wall Street Journal reports that at the end of 2024, there were only 100,000 motion picture jobs in Los Angeles County, compared to 142,000 two years earlier. That’s a 30 percent collapse. The Journal spends a thousand or so words laying out the symptoms without diagnosing the disease causing it. Here are some of the report’s bullet points: * After the boom that saw the studios spending billions to bulk up their streaming services with lousy TV shows and movies, that screeched to a halt a few years ago. Compared to 2022, 30 percent “fewer movies and TV...

Gov. Gavin Newsom is threatening to withhold billions in state funds from any California college that signs onto an agreement crafted by President Donald Trump's administration requiring schools to agree to support the President's education agenda in order to have access to federal dollars.

Race to replace Gavin Newsom continues to thin as longtime Calif. legislator exitsThe California governor’s race is continuing to slim down. Toni Atkins, the first openly gay president pro tempore of the California State Senate, and a longtime legislator, became the latest candidate to drop out of the race this week, citing polling data. “It’s with such a heavy heart that I’m stepping aside today as a candidate for governor. Despite the strong support we’ve received and all we’ve achieved, there is simply no viable path forward to victory,” Atkins said in a statement Monday. She continued, “With Donald Trump...

(DCNF)—U.S. job growth in the year through March was much weaker than previously reported, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revisions released on Tuesday. The U.S. economy likely added 911,000 fewer jobs in the year ending in March — or an average of almost 76,000 fewer each month — according to the BLS’ preliminary benchmark revision. The report comes after job growth slowed in August, with the U.S. economy adding just 22,000 nonfarm payroll jobs, according to data released Friday by BLS. ADVERTISEMENT The jobs report revisions were even worse than the downward adjustment of 700,000 that was previously...

In case anyone had any doubt where this gerrymandering fight is going: And here’s California Democrat Rep. Zoe Lofgren with absolutely no shame, confirming that wholesale Republican voter disenfranchisement is exactly where the party is going: Just put aside the Texas Republicans for a moment, even though their cause is righteous. Put them aside, because even though they are the reason California’s Ms. Lofgren and her fellow travelers are up in arms, we don’t need them to make the point that the gerrymandering is already insanely lopsided!Eight blue states have zero Republican representation. Zero. That’s fully 16% of our 50...

In April, there were 9 Republican mayors in America’s 50 biggest cities. In May, that number fell to 8. Democrats are celebrating Omaha’s mayoral election win as proof that Republicans are out of step with America, when it’s really evidence how the nation’s cities have fallen out of step with America. There was a time when America’s cities were symbols of progress, but they have long since become sinkholes of decline, clinging to a handful of industries that employ a tiny fraction of their population as evidence of their relevance. When Americans think of big cities, they think of tall...

California state lawmakers have rejected a change to state policies that would have required male student athletes identifying as transgender to compete on sports teams consistent with their sex.On April 1, Democratic lawmakers on the state Assembly’s Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports and Tourism rejected two bills introduced by Republican lawmakers—AB 89 and AB 844. Democrats hold a supermajority on the committee.AB 89 would have required the California Interscholastic Federation, which governs high school sports, to follow rules banning male students from playing on girls’ sports teams at school.AB 844 would have effectively repealed the 2013 California School Success and...

The Pacific Palisades fire burned more than 6,800 structures, both homes and businesses. Clearly, the rebuilding process is going to take a while for many families even if insurance covers the losses. What should not take a long time are permits for people who lost everything to get started. Indeed, Mayor Karen Bass vowed to streamline the process and made a big show when the first permit was issued.The first permit was issued March 5, less than two months after the Palisades fire destroyed or seriously damaged more than 6,000 homes in Pacific Palisades and surrounding areas.“We want this to...

California’s newly elected Assembly members and Senators were sworn in Monday December 2nd… while elections officials were still counting ballots. The first Monday in December has always been swearing-in Day for the California Legislature, from back in the day when California managed to report election results at the end of the Election Day along with all other 49 states. We are not sure how swearing in day is legal anymore… Wednesday, Dec. 5th, one month after Election Day, California wrapped up counting votes. And once again, California lost two more Republican congressional races after the election – one month after...

New Mexico is on the verge of living a real, not imagined, dystopia of one-party rule. The one party is the radical progressive Democrats. The New Mexico House and Senate already have overwhelming majorities of these progressives — many hand-picked and endorsed by my opponent, Martin Heinrich. A dystopia is the opposite of a utopia. In a dystopia, one party rules; the citizens chant slogans, don’t think and don’t connect the dots regarding actions and consequences. It is a society where there is no common sense. Progressives want to ban fracking. Martin Heinrich doesn’t think public lands should be used...

California officials have been working for months on a plan to “Trump proof” the state’s leading edge environmental and climate policies, in the event that former President Donald J. Trump returns to White House and follows through on his promise to gut them.Whether California succeeds could affect more than a dozen other states that follow its emissions rules, and could have global impact because the state’s market muscle compels auto makers and other companies to conform to California standards.The strategy now being crafted in Sacramento includes lawsuits designed to reach wide-ranging settlements with industries that generate greenhouse gases, and new...

COMPTON, Calif. -- More and more stores across the Southland and the country are taking stricter measures to fight a growing epidemic of shoplifting. At least one Rite Aid store in Compton appears to be taking security to the extreme. The store on Long Beach Boulevard installed locked glass cases on every aisle, meaning a majority of items for sale apparently require the assistance of a store employee. It's a sign of a growing and disturbing trend that's been seen in social media videos and news reports of shoplifters taking items from retailers without significant resistance by employees or security....

Justice Department reports show that 576 public officials in California have been convicted on federal corruption charges over the last 10 years. According to an exclusive report from The New York Times, a real estate boom was behind driving the corruption specifically in the city of Los Angeles. The Times report cited Jose Huizar as an example. Huizar, a graduate of Berkeley, Princeton and UCLA law school was on the school board and City Council. He was eventually arrested after FBI agents found out he received about $1.8 million worth of casino chips and other favors from Chinese developers which...

George @BehizyTweets BREAKING: Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has officially signed the WORST election overhaul bill into law. This law will stop local officials from conducting recounts to investigate fraud and when fraud occurs, they have to call on the George Soros DAs & Attorney General Cheating in Michigan elections is now basically legal because no one will get caught Republicans should immediately sue because this law is unconstitutional. Michigan's constitution guarantees voters a right to a recount/audit and specifically states that legislative action can ONLY expand voters' rights,

On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) argued that “the only way that immigration ever gets solved as a problem is if Democrats are in charge of the House and the Senate,” like they were from 2021 to 2023, and “we change the rules, and we get something passed with a majority vote.” Murphy said, “I think, for the time being, Republicans are never going to compromise on immigration. I think the only way that immigration ever gets solved as a problem is if Democrats are in charge of the House and the Senate, we change...