Free Republic

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Saturday signed a controversial bill, officially titled “Privacy for immigration support services providers,” which expands the state’s current “Safe at Home” program. Critics have argued that the bill prevents journalists, such as the viral fraud reporting released by independent journalist Nick Shirley. The legislation builds on the Safe at Home program, which has operated since 1999. That program allows eligible individuals — including survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse and certain “health care workers” providing abortions or sex change procedures — to use a substitute mailing address administered by the...

Gov. Gavin Newsom refused to take a position on a raging debate over standardized testing in University of California admissions — dismissing as “anecdotes” the alarming reports from college professors about students who can’t do basic math. The governor was asked at a Wednesday press conference in Hayward about an open letter from more than 1,200 UC professors, including Nobel prize winners and leading scientists, who warned of a “severe” crisis of incoming freshman who are unable to even do fractions, forcing educators to dumb down Calculus and other advanced courses. “Show me the data,” Newsom said. “I have feelings...

Ben Bergquam just did a useful thing: He walked around the actual structures that have been built in Fresno for California’s high-speed rail project, and he showed how useless and incomplete the actual construction is. Screenshot from that linked video: I laughed out loud, because I stood in that spot, and I did it in mid-August of 2025. Gavin's Keynesian HoleChris Bray · August 18, 2025 A test of “let’s just go look at the thing itself.” Read full story Click on that story and go look at the pictures and video. Sample: The difference between the way this critically...

How often do Democrats thunder that “people will die” if Republicans get their way on issues such as healthcare, climate change and gun control? Well, thanks to the sanctuary policies of Gavin Newsom and California Democrats, people have died. Consider the case of retiree Todd Stewart, recently slain on camera in Martinez just a day after his alleged killer was excused from local custody –– by a Newsom-appointed judge. Trump border czar Tom Homan on Thursday put the state and its governor on blast over the slaying –– and hundreds of other cases like it.

California’s bullet train could have a new end point: Brokeville, USA. The state’s beleaguered high-speed rail line is once again careening toward a financial cliff, as a new report — delivered last month to Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislators — says the project could run out of cash by the end of next year. The Office of the Inspector General warned that the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s funds could dry up as soon as December 2027 unless it secures financing — and the authority would need to borrow as much as $9.5 billion over five years just to keep construction...

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A recent San Francisco Civil Grand Jury report found that weak oversight within the city's homeless services system may be putting residents of supportive housing at risk, raising questions about accountability, safety and the management of taxpayer-funded programs. The report comes as city officials continue addressing concerns surrounding permanent supportive housing, where the Department of Public Health reported that 26% of all unintentional drug overdose deaths in San Francisco in 2024 occurred in such facilities. For Aisha McCain, the issue is deeply personal. [snip] The fire department was called in once the body was discovered. "He...

Arc of Justice—the California-based charity established by Code Pink cofounder Medea Benjamin to dole out millions to Code Pink and other far left activist groups—was recently ordered by the state's attorney general to cease all operations after failing to file taxes for three consecutive years and account for more than $51 million in assets that still remain a mystery, according to documents reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon. Since California first revoked the foundation's charitable registration 18 months ago and ordered it to provide a full accounting of $51,445,599 in outstanding assets it held as of 2023, "no public document...

Gavin Newsom’s official calendars show the lefty governor listing zero government business on a staggering 18 taxpayer-funded workdays in the first four months of the year, The California Post has learned. The uber-secretive Newsom — who only finally released his calendars after a monthslong delay that required legal intervention by The Post’s lawyers — marked the 18 non-holiday weekdays as “no official business,” or about one in every four days. The governor’s calendar also includes 53 murky entries only described as “work time,” blocking off the large chunks to tinker on unknown tasks. On Feb. 6, for example, Newsom’s sole...

Fire and looting erupted across Los Angeles in the early morning hours Saturday as two unruly street takeovers spiraled into chaos just hours apart. The disturbing incidents unfolded in East Los Angeles and the Gramercy Park neighborhood. Both sprang from rowdy street takeovers, despite mounting public outrage and a steady infusion of city resources dedicated to stopping them. A car fire erupted after a street takeover in the southern part of the city. Los Angeles fire officials told The California Post that an engine responded to an auto fire around 4:52 a.m. and put out the massive blaze. Footage from...

Gov. Gavin Newsom will travel to Michigan later this week, days after leftist challenger Abdul El-Sayed triumphed in the state’s U.S. Senate Democratic primary over Rep. Haley Stevens, an establishment-backed moderate.

Los Angeles has any number of problems: crime, homelessness, and productive people are leaving due to the idiot policies of the city and the state of California. Now, we can again add that ancient curse of big cities: Disease. The other thing Los Angeles shares with so many other large cities throughout human history is rats. Rats have accompanied humans almost everywhere, and they bring disease with them. That, too, is happening right now in Los Angeles. In Los Angeles County (L.A.), rats abound. You may see only an occasional rat dart across an alley or root through a restaurant...

Governor Gavin Newsom announced Friday that California’s statewide minimum wage will increase to $17.40 per hour beginning January 1, 2027. The rate is higher than any current statewide minimum wage in the nation and nearly two-and-a-half times the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. The increase is already automatic under California law, which adjusts the minimum wage annually to keep pace with inflation. Newsom, who is expected to run for president in 2028, contrasted himself against President Trump in announcing the increase. “For years, Donald Trump and Republicans have blocked efforts to raise the federal minimum wage while handing...

Investigators have extensive wiretap evidence and may soon charge several individuals in a sprawling corruption probe involving Gavin Newsom and his wife Jennifer Newsom. It was reported earlier this month that the FBI used a Democrat insider as an informant to infiltrate Governor Gavin Newsom’s inner circle before the corruption probe expanded into the governor and his wife Jennifer Newsom. Recall that Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, was indicted on federal wire fraud charges last year. Last month, Newsom fumed as he announced the corruption probe had expanded, and he and his wife are now under investigation. Newsom...

No-bid contracts require justification to the Department of General Services and public posting Gavin Newsom has a $6.2 million diaper problem. His administration awarded a no-bid contract to Baby2Baby, a nonprofit with longstanding ties to the Newsom administration. One of its co-CEOs, Norah Weinstein, also serves on the board of the California Partners Project, the nonprofit co-founded by First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. Then Newsom told Californians the deal had gone through “a competitive bidding process.” It had not. California’s own contracting database labels the $6.2 million deal “NON-COMPETITIVELY BID.” Newsom’s administration now says the governor was referring to the...

Vice President JD Vance spoke to podcaster Joe Rogan on Wednesday about how California has declined under Gov. Gavin Newsom to the point that it gave him flashbacks to visiting a "third-world country." Vance recalled driving through a rough neighborhood in Los Angeles on his way to an elite Christmas party and was struck by the contrast between the two settings. "And I realized when I was there, you know what this reminds me of? This reminds me of going to the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti," he said, as Rogan chuckled. "Like super security, crazy wealth and privilege and...

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra has opened up a commanding lead over Republican Steve Hilton just weeks after the pair advanced from California’s primary, according to a new poll. The survey from the Public Policy Institute of California found Becerra leading Hilton by 25 percentage points, with 61% of likely voters backing the former health secretary compared to 36% for the ex-Fox News host turned Republican candidate. The results mark a dramatic shift from California’s June 2 blanket primary, when Becerra finished first with about 28.1% of the vote and Hilton followed closely behind with roughly 24.7% Support remained overwhelmingly...

Bin inspections are set to be deployed this month due to SB 1383, a law that requires local governments to take steps to reduce methane emissions caused by short-lived climate pollutants. One of the key goals of the initiative is to see if homeowners are sorting their organic waste properly. City officials say they caught many sorting their trash into the wrong bin. “We conducted the same reviews last June, and we found high contamination levels of, you know, issues like plastic bags in recycling, garbage in the organics,” Jesa David, a city representative, told KCRA. No fines will be...

Californians are set to notice a major change the next time they stroll through a grocery store. State officials have ordered a sweeping overhaul of food packaging that will alter how millions shop. From July 1, food manufacturers and retailers across the Golden State will no longer be allowed to slap 'sell by' dates on most packaged foods sold to consumers, under a controversial new law aimed at tackling food waste and clearing up widespread confusion over expiration labels. The shake-up, which will be felt across supermarket shelves statewide, effectively strips out a long list of familiar date markings that...

Fourth of July descended into mayhem across Southern California as unruly crowds overwhelmed packed-out fireworks displays, looted stores, ignited fires and saw cops charge on horseback. The worst unrest erupted in Newport Beach, where Independence Day revelers poured into Orange County, choking traffic and triggering a police response as disorder spread near the pier. Authorities ultimately shut down businesses from the Newport Pier to Pacific Coast Highway as officers moved in to restore order. Officers were swarmed by hundreds of people who hurled bottles and other debris at them before the crowd turned on one another and began fighting. Mounted...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued on Saturday his July Fourth address that he teased a day earlier —and nearly all eight minutes of it was spent talking about US President Donald Trump. Newsom’s office had shared some excerpts of the speech ahead of time he tries to grow his national brand in advance of a likely bid for the White House. The speech at that point seemed to focus on election policy to combat narratives from Trump that California’s elections were rigged. Instead, the governor also went on multiple asides personally attacking the president.