Colleges, universities, and academic medical centers play a vital role as engines of learning, innovation, prosperity, and opportunity in America’s cities. But they face growing tectonic stresses: declining public confidence in their programs and value propositions, weak completion rates, overly narrow and incremental research, threats to free inquiry, and unsustainable financial models. America needs thriving higher education and academic medical institutions – “eds and meds” institutions – in cities across the country, which means the eds and meds sector needs to change in significant ways ..read more

Never one to miss an opportunity for posturing, California Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced plans to “Trump-proof” the state if the former president wins later this year. Newsom is particularly concerned about a Trumpian reversal of California’s stringent environmental regulations, which have become a mainstay of his governorship. Yet as the 56-year-old continues to spout on presidential politics, his record in California suggests that the rest of the country may choose to Newsom-proof their own states. The working and middle classes in California are struggling. The state suffers from ..read more

With the COVID-19 pandemic declared over, a significant question for politicians, planners, and pundits alike is what to do with city centers and old urban cores after the pandemic pushed many Americans to move away from dense urban areas. For many, the central city remains an idealized version of spatial organization, serving as an engine of creativity, innovation, opportunity, upward mobility, and the height of civilization itself. But most Americans feel differently, preferring to live in environs well outside urban cores and not just within suburbs but in small towns and rural areas as wel ..read more

One 19th century Gentile described California as “the Jews’ earthly paradise”. It is paradise no longer. Reports of attacks on Jewish businesses, homes and institutions are becoming ever more commonplace, while university campuses – hardly considered to be bastions of hate – have allowed acts of flagrant anti-Semitism to go unpunished. Just last week, pro-Hamas students interrupted a graduation party for UC Berkeley law school graduates at the home of the school’s Jewish dean. The ‘protest’ occurred on private property, but that didn’t prevent the leader of ‘Berkeley Law Students for Justice i ..read more

On the last working day before the Holidays the OMB of the White House announced a notice of decision regarding the statistical treatment of race and ethnicity topics in all government statistical programs and analyses. In a revised Statistical Policy Directive 15 it stated: These revisions to SPD 15 are intended to result in more accurate and useful race and ethnicity data across the Federal government. (emphasis mine) That last sentence is a little tough to swallow. Rather than straightforward and easily comprehensible categorization, the agency is imposing assemblages of warped race and eth ..read more

Few states are more ostentatious in their concern for racial equality and minority uplift than California. The Golden State leads the nation in promoting racial reparations, doggedly supports affirmative-action quotas, and pays students to teach educators about implicit bias. From his first day in office, Governor Gavin Newsom has deemed addressing inequality a “moral imperative” in his fight for “a California for all.” A new report from Chapman University’s Center for Demographics and Policy, to which we both contributed, suggests the state is falling short of these lofty ideals. We and our c ..read more

Every few years within the energy sector, a new 'entrepreneur' emerges with a supposedly 'revolutionary' idea that often turns out to be nothing more than a repackaging of an old concept that failed to gain traction. The latest contender for this title is 'the hydrogen economy'. My scepticism stems from the physical characteristics of hydrogen gas. While all technologies experience learning curves and adhere to an equivalence of Moore’s Law, which revolutionised the semiconductor industry, it is important to remember that ultimately, learning curves are constrained by the laws of physics. This ..read more

This newly released report covers the challenges and successes of Latinos, their history in California, and present day role in the economy. Soledad Ursúa is the principal researcher for this project; contributors include Jennifer L. Hernandez on housing; Karla López del Río on policy, and Sen. Gloria Romero (Ret.) on education. Below is an excerpt from the report. Key Findings: From 2010 to 2020, the Latino populace has witnessed a notable uptick of 23%, presently constituting 62.1 million individuals, equivalent to 18.7% of the overall U.S. population. Within California, this demographic has ..read more

If you live in an urban area, you may mistakenly believe that everyone has access to reliable Wi-Fi, personal computers, and cellular networks. However, millions of rural Americans live without these increasingly essential amenities. This sentiment is echoed by data collected by the Pew Research Center. Researchers discovered that, despite recent gains, roughly three in 10 rural households do not have broadband. Similarly, 20% of the rural population do not own a smartphone, and 28% do not have a laptop or PC. The idea of living without smartphones or the internet may sound romantic at first ..read more

Less than half of New York City residents feel safe riding the subway today, down from 82 percent before the pandemic. Subway crime is so bad that New York’s governor called out the national guard to patrol subway stations. Crime is up on San Francisco BART trains despite the agency putting more police on trains. A few days ago, a mentally ill person stabbed someone to death on a Portland light-rail train. Will putting more police in subway stations solve the crime problem? Probably not if BART’s experience is any guide. Some people say transit crime is dropping so it’s safe to ride transit. O ..read more