Free Republic

In 2018, California resident Steven Childs wanted to know how much the state paid to a single vendor over a five-year period. Instead of the data, California Controller Betty Yee sent him an invoice for $1,250. Childs asked more questions and the Controller’s chief counsel, Rick Chivaro, admitted the state held electronic records and “warrant records” akin to “maintaining a checking account online.”Today, in a Sacramento superior court, the controller denies having a checkbook and claims the warrant register doesn’t contain vendor information. The Golden State is the only state in the nation not to produce state spending under open...

Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins was denied Friday in his quest for a religious exemption by the NBA to San Francisco’s vaccine requirement. Wiggins has steadfastly refused to get the vaccine, according to a report this week from the San Francisco Chronicle. Since the city requires vaccination for everyone at large, indoor gatherings — such as basketball games — the veteran forward will not be able to play in any home games if he remains resistant to getting the shot. It’s possible he won’t be able to play at a number of road arenas that also require vaccination.

California is a mess; no secret there. But the degree of decline that befalls it, and the quickness with which that decline is moving, seems to be largely ignored, particularly by Californians themselves. The nation's most populous state, and arguably its most naturally beautiful, is falling apart virtually everywhere we look. Yet state and local governments not only insist on moving forward with leftist policies, but continually double down by moving even farther left, and the state's voters return them to office with ever-increasing electoral margins. California's current approach to virtually all aspects of society — the economy, environment, legal...

Ahh no, KD went down pic.twitter.com/thJCbDomrI— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) June 11, 2019

The opening matchup of the 2019 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors made history last night, in more ways than one. Played before a sellout crowd in The 6, including one former Prime Minister and a very passionate Drake, Game 1 of this year’s championship series was the first to been played outside the U.S. and the first NBA Finals game to see a non-American team win. The Raptors’ 118-109 victory over the reigning champs showed that this battle for the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy isn’t going to be a walk for Steph Curry and...

Warriors complete sweep of Cavaliers with 108-85 win to claim second straight NBA championship and third in four seasons Led by Stephen Curry’s 37 points, Golden State finished off Cleveland, its Finals opponent four years running. LeBron James, a potential free agent next month, scored 23 points for the Cavaliers in the last game of his eighth consecutive Finals appearance.

Talk show host and comedian Steve Harvey referred to the Golden State Warriors as “gorilla’s,” on ESPN’s NBA Finals pre-game show. During an interview with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, Harvey was asked if there was anything his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers could do to derail Golden State? Harvey responded by saying that there wasn’t, because they had “800-pound gorilla’s” on their team: The caption of the video asks Outkick the Coverage’s Clay Travis whether Harvey’s comments constitute a Doug Adler situation. Adler, who is white, was part of ESPN’s coverage of the Australian Open in 2017. During coverage of the match...

Libby Schaaf, the mayor of Oakland California, is set to be in hot water over her possibly criminal actions to protect illegal immigrants from being picked up in raids by ICE. Last week, she sent out a memo (that she also promoted through social media) to warn people that there was a high possibility of a raid coming and that “undocumented” folk should take adequate protections. ICE has just confirmed that due to Schaaf’s actions, around 800 people slipped the net. Schaaf stated that: “My priority is for the well-being and safety of all residents – particularly our most vulnerable....

The Republican-backed federal tax bill flipped the tables on a never-ending question for California politicians: Will high taxes lead the state’s wealthiest residents to flee the Golden State for the comparable tax havens of Florida, Nevada and Texas? Republicans reliably raise that alarm when Democrats advocate for tax increases, like the 2012 and 2016 ballot initiatives that levied a new income tax on very high-earning residents. But now, with the federal tax bill cutting off deductions that benefited well-off Californians, the state’s Democrats suddenly are singing the GOP song about a potential millionaire exodus. “People with higher incomes pay a...

Stephen Curry went to bed Friday night thinking he and the rest of the Golden State Warriors would convene Saturday for their first day of practice to decide whether they would be making the NBA champions’ traditional White House visit when they travel to Washington in February. He woke up to 20 text messages telling him that choice had been made for him, thanks to President Trump’s tweet that Curry’s White House invitation had been rescinded. “It’s surreal, to be honest,” Curry said after that practice had concluded at the team’s facility in downtown Oakland. “I don’t know why he...

LeBron James called Donald Trump a "bum" after the US President rescinded an invitation for Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry to go to the White House. Trump tweeted Saturday that Curry is no longer invited to the White House because of what the president called hesitation by the two-time NBA MVP in deciding whether to make the traditional champions' trip to Washington. That prompted an angry response from Cleveland Cavaliers star James. James tweeted: "U bum. Stephen Curry already said he ain't going! So therefore ain't no invite. Going to White House was a great honour until you showed...

This week, California lawmakers introduced a new bill that will use taxpayer dollars to help low-income residents go on beach vacations. This is not simply an abuse of tax money — it is a perfect representation of how far California has drifted away politically from the rest of America. The legislation, introduced by Democrat Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher, would direct state agencies to develop new, low-cost beach rentals and to improve existing ones at taxpayer expense. While so many across America voted for lower taxes and less regulation, Californians chose a different path of higher taxes and more regulation. The politicians they...

Under Armour could have lost one of its most popular clients hours after CEO Kevin Plank sang Donald Trump’s praises. Stephen Curry, who has built a strong partnership with the sports-retail brand over the years since he ditched Nike in 2013, heard Plank call Trump an “asset” for supporting American businesses in an interview with CNBC Tuesday. So Curry trimmed a few letters to fit his beliefs. “I agree with that description,” Curry told Mercury News, “if you remove the ‘-et’ from asset.” Curry, who quietly supported Hillary Clinton in the election, opened up on Wednesday about the frantic aftermath...

The Warriors are one win away from posting back-to-back NBA championships. Powered by a second-half comeback, the defending champions vanquished the Cavaliers 108-97 Friday night in Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. The victory gives the Warriors a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. They can close it out Monday night with a win in Game 5. Four Warriors scored in double figures, with Stephen Curry pouring in 38 points to lead the way. Klay Thompson put in 25, with Harrison Barnes tossing in 14 and Andre Iguodala adding 10 off the bench. The Warriors were...

Two games into the NBA Finals, the Warriors are halfway to repeating as champions. A 110-77 rout of the Cavaliers in Game 2 on Sunday at before a supremely satisfied sellout crowd at Oracle Arena gives the Warriors a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, which shifts to Cleveland for the next two games. Forward Draymond Green scored 28 points to lead all scorers, while guard Stephen Curry finished with 18 and guard Klay Thompson finished with 17. Guard Leandro Barbosa came off the bench to put in 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting. The Warriors shot 54.3 from the field,...

Programming note: Watch Steph Curry's MVP press conference today at 2pm on CSN Bay Area, and streaming live right here. The NBA made it official on Tuesday morning, as Steph Curry captured his second straight MVP award. Curry, who led the Warriors to a come-from behind victory on Monday night by scoring an NBA-record 17 points in overtime, becomes the first unanimous MVP in NBA history. Draymond Green finished in seventh place after capturing two second-place votes, six fourth-place votes and 19 fifth-place votes, for a total of 50 points. Kawhi Leonard came in second with 634 points 54 second-place...

The biggest story of the NBA's regular season has reached its resolution. It ends with the Golden State Warriors holding a 73-9 record, a new league record for wins in a single season. The Warriors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 125-104 at Oracle Arena on Wednesday to end the season on a four-game winning streak that puts them one win ahead of the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls for the new mark. If the Warriors can repeat as champions, they will certainly be remembered as one of the greatest teams in NBA history and will be considered a budding dynasty. This final win...

The Golden State Warriors have equaled the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ record for wins in a season, and they’ve still got a little room to move. The defending champs topped San Antonio on Sunday night by a 92-86 score, in San Antonio’s building, running its record to 72-9. With a win over a depleted Memphis squad on Wednesday night Golden State will finish its season at 73-9, setting an NBA record for wins in a season. Sunday’s conquest fittingly came against San Antonio, the team that has played the Warriors the best this season, one that features a coach in Gregg...

Ever since the demographic composition of California was transformed by the infusion of millions of Hispanics and the driving out of middle- and upper-middle-class residents (of any race) through high taxes, the state has been a Democrat stronghold - a sure win for the Electoral College and Senate. Could that possibly change? The announced retirement of Senator Barbara Boxer has created an open seat, and there has been much glee among progressives over the prospect of the dimwitted but vicious Boxer being succeeded by the photogenic and much smarter attorney general of California, Kamala Harris, who has been dubbed "The...

Do you worry about the future of California? Then you should worry about Salinas. Because if the Monterey County city of 155,000 can’t build itself a brighter future, then it’s hard to imagine other struggling places doing the same. “Rich in land. Rich in Values. Ripe With Opportunity,” reads the slogan on a city website, and that’s no exaggeration. Salinas might be the richest poor city in California.