by Kent Scheidegger · Feb 28, 2024 3:27 pm
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear former President Trump’s claim of immunity and set the case for expedited briefing. Oral argument will be held during the week of April 22.
The text of the order follows:
by Kent Scheidegger · Feb 12, 2024 9:58 am
You know an incumbent running for re-election is in deep kimchi when he (1) polls only 15% before the primary and (2) has a “disapprove” job rating from an outright majority and more than double the number who approve. The latest California Elections & Policy Poll* is available here. Continue reading . . .
by Kent Scheidegger · Feb 9, 2024 11:28 am
The San Francisco Chronicle has this article on Mayor London Breed joining the coalition to overhaul California’s disastrous Proposition 47. And of course, being the Chronicle, the main thing they emphasize about the initiative is that it is “GOP-led,” generally regarded as a kiss of death in The City.
But Mayor Breed is not the only Democrat to climb on the fix-47 bandwagon. Continue reading . . .
by Kent Scheidegger · Nov 18, 2023 11:29 pm
The WSJ has this editorial on the DA’s race is Loudoun County, Virginia. Loudoun is an “exurb” county, one county removed from the collar of Virginia and Maryland counties that border the District of Columbia. The DC suburbs and exurbs have moved steadily left over the years, changing the formerly conservative Virginia into a “swing state.” The WSJ opines, “Voters don’t want politicized prosecutions, and the Virginia vote shows that progressive prosecutors can be defeated even in Democratic-leaning areas no matter how much Soros cash they may have.” Continue reading . . .
by Kent Scheidegger · Sep 20, 2023 8:21 pm
For several years now, it has seemed like the California Legislature had written the soft-on-crime advocates a blank check. It was passing one bill after another to reduce the consequences to criminals of committing crimes across the spectrum from relatively minor ones to the very worst. Legislators seemed to be competing among themselves to see who could put the most thugs back on the street.
This year, the folks who call themselves “progressive”* are lamenting that so many of their cherished bills failed to pass. Bob Egelko has this article in the San Francisco Chronicle. Continue reading . . .
by Kent Scheidegger · Aug 24, 2023 10:28 am
“The City of Brotherly Love has a new reputation as one of the emptiest office districts in America, sparking a debate over what’s keeping Philadelphia workers at home,” Katie Mogg reports in the WSJ.
Philadelphia, like many U.S. cities, has gone full throttle on efforts to lure people back into downtown areas. But the combination of the office-worker exodus, taxes and crime has resulted in more empty office space on the market today than during the 2008 recession, theorize researchers, Philadelphia employees and real-estate professionals.
by Kent Scheidegger · Aug 13, 2023 10:07 am
The WSJ has this article, with the above title, by Jim Carlton and Katherine Bindley. The article begins:
Local leaders are trying anything they can to keep San Francisco’s struggling downtown core afloat, including paying retired, unarmed police to keep an eye out for trouble.
In many cases, though, “local leaders” are the problem, not the people who are going to find the solution. Continue reading . . .
by Kent Scheidegger · Jul 13, 2023 10:59 am
(7/14 — see update at end of post)
Two months ago, I reported that a bill to make human trafficking a “serious felony” in California, and thus apply the state’s recidivism laws to people who commit it, was watered down in the Senate Public Safety Committee to apply only to trafficking of minors. A majority of that committee apparently believes that actual slavery of adults in the 21st century is not serious enough to apply the same laws that apply to robbery and home burglary.
Well, that wasn’t watered down enough for the Democrats on the Assembly Public Safety Committee, Katy Grimes reports in the California Globe. Continue reading . . .
by Kent Scheidegger · May 5, 2023 3:42 pm
The Public Safety Committees of both houses of the California Legislature have long been known as graveyards. Strong criminal justice bills are buried there. A bill regarding human trafficking, SB 14, emerged from the Senate Public Safety Committee last week, but the extent to which it had to be watered down to survive is an appalling commentary on the present state of the California Legislature.
The base offense is defined in section 236.1(a) of the Cal. Penal Code. “A person who deprives or violates the personal liberty of another with the intent to obtain forced labor or services, is guilty of human trafficking ….” In other words, we are talking about actual slavery in the twenty-first century. Who could possibly be against throwing the book at present-day slavers? Continue reading . . .
by Kent Scheidegger · May 4, 2023 2:16 pm
Shopping Closures Map from SF Chronicle
A huge but common mistake in public policy is to consider only the direct effects of a policy and ignore the indirect effects. Crime harms the direct victims most, but ultimately the indirect effects corrode the structure of society.
San Francisco’s once-famous shopping scene is imploding, and crime is a major reason why.
In the latest blow to downtown, Nordstrom, an upscale anchor store in the Westfield San Francisco Centre, will depart at the end of its lease. Continue reading . . .
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED