All posts tagged: California

California’s government can’t force churches to provide abortion coverage Federal court rules

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When the State of California decided to force churches to provide abortion coverage for their employees, four churches successfully fought back against this infringement on their religious freedom guaranteed under the First Amendment. Two federal courts have consequently ruled that the government can’t force churches to provide abortions and required the state to cover $1.4 million in attorney fees for the victorious churches. In both cases, the churches were represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). The first case involved Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego and in the second case ADF successfully represented three churches, Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Chino, The Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch and Foothill Church in Glendora. In its news release, ADF Senior Counsel Jeremiah Galus said, “The government can’t force a church or any other religious employer to violate their faith and conscience by participating in funding abortion.” But there was more going on here than just that. “For years, California officials, in collaboration with Planned Parenthood, have unconstitutionally targeted faith-based organizations,” Galus added. “This is …

How Coronado, California ended homelessness

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The city of Coronado has done what most people would think impossible, considering it’s located in California, it has ended homelessness, Fox News reports. The city, which is located in San Diego County and across the bay from San Diego, has the lowest homeless population in the state. This is because the city has taken a unique approach to the problem. Instead of feeding the homeless crisis by providing free drugs and paraphernalia, pandering to their criminal behavior and allowing them to live wherever they want, the city took a hard line. In an interview with Fox and Friends, Mayor Richard Bailey (R) stated that city policies can actually have an impact. He said there are basically two types of homeless, those who want help and those who don’t. The city, along with the police and its homeless services, has implemented policies leaving the homeless with only one option, which is getting the help they need. Along with providing services to help people ‘get back on their feet,’ the mayor said: “We also make it …

California’s predicted massive budget deficit just got bigger

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California is in trouble financially. With ever-increasing government spending and shrinking tax revenues, as people flee the state, the inevitable has come home to roost. While California Gavin Newsom predicted a deficit of $22.5 billion for the upcoming fiscal year, Fox News reports that the shortfall may be far worse due largely to a decrease in tax revenues: The California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), a government agency that analyzes the budget for the state legislature, estimates in a report published last week that Newsom’s forecast undershot the mark by about $7 billion, thanks to about $10 billion less in tax revenues than expected. “In particular, using recent revenue collections and economic data, we estimate there is a two‑in‑three chance that state revenues will be lower than the governor’s budget estimates for 2022‑23 and 2023‑24,” writes Gabe Patek, the legislature’s budget analyst. “Our best estimate is that revenues for these two years will be roughly $10 billion lower — implying a larger budget problem by about $7 billion.” California receives 49% of its personal income tax revenues from 1% …

California’s plan to tax people if they flee the state

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In what can only be described as an admission that their woke policies are failing, California Democrats are in the process of passing legislation that would allow the state to tax people even after they have left, Fox News reports. The provision is included in legislation that would see an extra 1% tax imposed on those who have a world-wide net worth in excess of $50 million and a 1.5% tax on those with a worldwide net worth exceeding one billion dollars. Not only would people be taxed based on assets held outside California, the legislation would potentially apply the tax even if they leave. This is because it also requires them to make annual filings, as long as they hold assets in the state, even though they no longer live there. Despite significant questions about the legality of such legislation, experts warn this could devastate the California economy. It will only further incentivize those with money to flee the state and as well to make sure they no longer have assets, such as a …

Christian Bakery wins Freedom of Religion case in California

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A California court has just ruled in favor of a Christian bakeshop owner in Bakersfield who refused to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple in 2017. After Cathy Miller, the owner of Tastries Bakery, turned down their request, the couple took their case to California’s Department of Fair Housing. The agency in turn sued Cathy arguing she had discriminated against the lesbian couple under the Unruh Civil Rights Act. The Thomas More Society, which represented Tastries Bakery, ironically noted that the Unruh Act intended to prevent discrimination based on religion, race or ethnicity was being used to enforce religious discrimination. However, the judge ruled that under the protection offered by America’s first amendment, Cathy could not be forced to perform an activity that violated her Christian beliefs. During the initial conversations with the lesbian couple, the bakery had no problems providing a cake or previously decorated cake, but would not custom decorate a cake to specifically promote their Lesbian wedding, since it violated their religious beliefs. The case itself took many unusual turns. …

Young professionals fleeing New York and California

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According to a study conducted SmartAsset, workers who are under the age of 35 and earn $100,000 or more a year, are abandoning states which have embraced left-wing ideologies, the New York Post reports. SmartAsset gained this information from studying data from tax returns submitted to America’s IRS. In other words, these woke states are being abandoned by a key demographic, young, rich taxpayers. The New York Post reports on the findings: New York had the largest net outflow of young professionals — 15,788, the study found. A whopping 28,741 moved out, while 12,953 moved to the state. […] California saw the second-highest net outflow of young professionals. In 2019 and 2020, 20,568 young professionals moved to the state, but 28,528 left, according to the SmartAsset study, making for a net outflow of 7,960. Illinois has also been hemorrhaging under-35 workers, the study found. The Prairie State lost 9,386 young professionals while gaining just 6,527 — a net outflow of 2,859. Several large companies have recently announced they were moving their headquarters out of Chicago, citing soaring levels of crime. …

Is California more dysfunctional than North Africa?

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A railway company, owned by the French government, has decided to pull out of the project to build a high-speed rail line from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and will instead be building a railway line in Morocco. Despite Morocco experiencing what Transparency International called ‘severe and systematic’ levels of government corruption, the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français (SNCF) made the decision describing the California government as being more ‘politically dysfunctional’ than Morocco. SNCF had been contracted to build the line in 2010 at an estimated cost of $33 billion. However, because of continued political interference and changes, the SNCF decided to pull out of the project in 2020. If constructed, it is now estimated that the line will cost California taxpayers upwards of $113 billion. READ: Foreign Railway Company Decided Not To Build In California Because It’s More ‘Politically Dysfunctional’ Than Morocco

Oh, the California irony

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It’s California, so it is to be expected. But just days after California announced that it will be banning the sale of new gas-powered personal vehicles effective 2035, Californians were asked to limit the charging of electric vehicles, because of a looming electricity shortage on the Labor Day weekend. The Blaze provides more details: California energy managers are warning that an expected heat wave over Labor Day weekend could cause blackouts and are urging state residents to conserve energy — which is bad news for electric vehicle owners. The California Independent System Operator — a non-profit that manages the power grid for 80% of California and a small part of Nevada — issued a bulletin Tuesday announcing that “extreme heat” conditions are “likely to strain the grid with increased energy demands, especially over the holiday weekend.”[…] “Set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, avoid using large appliances and charging electric vehicles, and turn off unnecessary lights,” the ISO advised. READ: Californians are urged to avoid charging electric vehicles, days after state announced ban of new …

Tax revolt in California?

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It’s hard to believe that there are actually San Franciscans talking about a tax revolt against their enlightened politicians. But there are. Apparently, among other things, small business owners are tired of having to sweep up human feces from the front of their stores, before they open their doors. The Blaze reports: Small business owners in San Francisco’s Castro District are demanding city officials take action to address the growing issues of crime, drug use, and homelessness in the area. The Castro Merchants Association sent a letter to San Francisco city officials saying members of the group plan to stop paying taxes if the city doesn’t do more to address the issues. In the letter, the association said people who are living on the streets “regularly experience psychotic episodes” and have vandalized storefronts and harassed business owners, employees, residents and tourists, reports The San Francisco Chronicle. READ: San Francisco businesses threatening to not pay taxes unless officials clean up city Of course, there are different ways of conducting a tax revolt. Some people are just …

It’s unbelievable, except it happened in California

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The principal of Theuerkauf Elementary School in Mountain View, California, called police to remove a 4-year-old boy because he refused to wear a mask. It was his first day of school and the boy, who may also have learning difficulties, was already inconsolable when teachers asked him to put on a mask, the Daily Mail reports. When his dad showed up, the principal ordered him to leave the school grounds under threat he would be removed if he didn’t leave. The police then escorted the boy off the school premises. Theuerkauf Elementary School is one of only a handful of schools mandating masks in California. It changed its policy the next day. READ: Shocking moment boy, 4, is removed from his Silicon Valley school by POLICE after he refused to wear mask: Dad says face-coverings leave youngster ‘distraught’ As one blogger noted: “It’s the people in charge who are the children.” Meanwhile, as police walk 4-year-olds out of school, restaurant owners are training their workers in kung-fu to fight real crime. READ: Store Owner in …

People continuing to abandon California

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California was once the land of promise, but after years of woke politicians and socialist policies, people are coming to their senses and abandoning the state, according to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Breitbart explains: California lost 352,000 residents between April 2020 and January 2022, according to the state’s Department of Finance statistics. The departure of hundreds of thousands of California residents comes after the state lost a congressional seat for the first time in history due to its below-average population increase from 2010 to 2020. The Democrat-run cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles rank first and second in the nation for outbound moves. California residents are fleeing the state in droves due to its extremely high cost of living, housing prices, crime rates, and homelessness rates. The data shows that Los Angeles residents left the city for areas like Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Antonio, and Dallas. Roughly 41,000 Angelenos left the city in the second quarter of 2022, up from the 33,000 who left the city during the same period in …

Brazen daylight robbery in LA reveals the root of California’s problem

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A brazen daylight robbery in Los Angeles reveals the root of the problem of what is going on in California. The Daily Mail writes that six women entered Ulta Beauty Salon during a smash and grab and looted bags full of perfume and cosmetics while the alarm blared and customers watched. Thieves have targeted the store multiple times. The telling moment is that two of the thieves didn’t even bother to wear masks. This is because they have absolutely no fear of being arrested. If caught, they will be out on the street within hours. This is because LA County has a left-wing District Attorney, George Gascon, whose progressive soft on crime policy combined with a law that treats any thefts below $950 as a misdemeanor has led to a crime wave in California. Commenting on the theft, one LA county detective said, the maximum penalty they would receive would be the equivalent of a traffic fine. In other words, it’s just part of the cost of running a criminal enterprise in California. READ: Brazen …

California Apple Store plundered in broad daylight

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Since California politicians started defunding and demonizing the police last year, it has only emboldened the criminal element. The most recent involved a ‘smash and grab’ at a Santa Rosa Apple Store that took place in broad daylight. Fox News reports that four individuals walked into the store at 11:30 am on Thursday, Nov 25, 2021, and while staff and customers looked on, stole $20,000 worth of merchandise. Democrat Gov Gavin Newsom promised to deal with the brazen thefts by setting up a task force to discuss it. READ: California Apple store hit in latest smash-and-grab in broad daylight MEANWHILE, a couple of university professors state that it’s racist to use the word ‘looting’ to describe the ‘smash and grabs’ sweeping California. READ: ‘Smash-and-grabs’ should not be called ‘looting’ because term is ‘racist’: Experts AND Greg Gutfeld: Americans are focused on the crime wave, the left is focused on language RELATED: Rampant smash-and-grab theft part of failure to prosecute criminals, tolerated by officials, experts say 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many …

Are global warming policies to blame for the empty store shelves?

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As people around the world experience shortages and empty store shelves, it is easy to blame the lockdowns. Though this policy failed to stop COVID, it was particularly effective in damaging the economy. But we can’t give all the credit to the lockdowns, apparently global warming extremists have to receive at least an honourable mention.

Tesla headquarters moving from California to Texas

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The steady stream of people and businesses leaving California continues as Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company’s headquarters will be moved from Palo Alto, California to Austin, Texas. Musk made the announcement at the company’s recent shareholder meeting. The company CEO added that Tesla’s plant in Fremont will remain open, but noted that there is a limit to how much they can do at the plant. He added that any future production plans will be done at locations outside California. Tesla is currently building a factory in Austin, Texas. The Tesla CEO was infuriated last year when Alameda County bureaucrats tried to shut down production at the company’s Fremont plant as part of its COVID lockdown. He said in his opinion, the state’s orders telling people they could not leave their homes as part of this lockdown was unconstitutional. READ: Elon Musk Says Tesla Moving Headquarters From California To Texas Several major hi-tech companies have already abandoned California including Hewlett Packard and Oracle. Reports earlier this year, noted that the population of California shrunk …