What’s the point of decriminalizing cannabis if it’s better financially for local growers and distributors to operate illegally? Laura Hauther of the California Globe examines the “huge barriers to entry” Californian legal cannabis cultivators face, while under-the-table operators only get pitiful slaps on the wrist. San Bernandino County’s sponsored AB 2728 would increase illegal operation fines. But why not reduce red tape for legitimate businessowners?

California teacher Brenda Lebsack describes her jarring experience at the NEA’s latest teachers’ convention in the California Globe. Not only did the NEA preach and prioritize social justice Wokeism (only four of the 110 motions addressed relate to student academic achievement, as opposed to progressive identity politics), but they excluded and denounced differing perspectives. If educational leaders are shunning critical evaluation and intellectual diversity, Lebsack points out, how—and what—are our local students being taught to think?

Economist/Hoover Institution fellow Dr. John Cochrane spoke at SJSU Econ dept’s David S. Saurman Provocative Lecture Series on economic reform. Cochrane lays out why outlawing private health and insurance competitors is the antithesis to Silicon Valley-style healthcare advancement. Controversial AB 1400 may have failed again this January, but advocates like SJ’s Ash Kalra haven’t specified if their campaign against the free market—and, according to Cochrane, innovation—is over.

Andrey Mir, author of Postjournalism and the death of newspapers, asserts that traditional ad-based journalism has evolved out of necessity to rely on digital readership. When editorial once depended on ad revenue, it was essential to prioritize credible and objective reporting so they could reach median/wealthy consumers. Now, publications aiming to attract subscribed readers must play to anger and polarization, morphing our economy’s need for “news supply” to propaganda-esque “news validation.”

Repudiating the simplistic assessment that homelessness is caused by lack of permanent housing, Michele Steeb of the New York Post explains how Housing First failed New York and California. After adopting “utopian” Housing First policies, both states observed increased homelessness statistics (in CA, a 47.1% rise in 2016). Steeb argues that in-service treatment centers provide dignified living environments while addressing mental health/substance abuse challenges at the core of long-term homelessness.

Heartland Institute research director Edward Hudgins speaks with experienced Silicon Valley free market advocate Patrick Peterson on the Heartland Daily Podcast. Peterson purports that local tech employees often support socialist economic policies because their high salaries shield them from the brunt of our fiscal crises. Many innovators in tech are optimistic, creative, and openminded—but they struggle to see the “big picture” of free market principles beyond their limited personal experiences.

Political commentator Joel Fox writes about the risks of underfunding local police departments, specially highlighting the Los Angeles Police Department’s past drastic $150 million budget cut. Rather than endangering residents by reducing funding and discontinuing certain types of accident investigation, California’s police forces must be strengthened to serve their ultimate purpose of protecting local citizens, argues Fox.

Scott Beyer of the Market Urbanism Report takes a close look at SJ's parking policies and concludes that the city can solve multiple problems by reducing required parking—and embracing demand-based parking pricing and other deregulations.

In 2020, SF’s school board established a lottery system for Lowell, one of our state’s highest-performing high schools. Due to claimed “racial isolation,” social justice advocates advised continuing the system through 2022-2023, but the Board unexpectedly shot the proposal down 4-3 in June. Former Lake Elsinore mayor Thomas Buckley breaks down the start of Lowell’s shift to lottery, rooted in explicitly anti-Asian interracial “equity” propaganda.