
California’s Housing Problems Require a Better Solution than Densify, Densify, Densify
California’s mounting housing problem requires more alternatives, especially for people seeking lower rents and affordable single-family houses.
The Palisades and Eaton fires represent thousands of personal tragedies, but they also constitute a collective disaster, adding new housing shortages to California’s already massive shortfall — a catastrophe that stems not from acts of nature but from human policy blunders.
Gov. Gavin Newsom bought a new $9-million house in November, but too many of his fellow Californians may never own a home or find an affordable rental. Under Newsom, the state has tried reforms designed to increase building and affordability, but precious little has changed.
Home prices in coastal California are nearly 400% above the national average, and statewide, the median cost of a home is 2.5 times higher than in the rest of country. California has the second lowest homeownership rate in the nation, 56% (New York’s is lowest, 54%).
Pursuit of Happiness

Estimating the Productivity of Community Colleges in Paving the Road To Four-Year College Success
Despite a relatively rich literature on the community college pathway, the research base on the quality differences between these institutions has been decidedly thin.

The Land of Fear and Awe
Taylor Sheridan’s new series, Landman, is a welcome aesthetic expression of the human experience in the rough industry of oil exploration and drilling.

The Mind in a Mustard Seed
The mechanical model of the world inherited from the Enlightenment has been collapsing for some time, and people are starting to notice.