Category: Northern California

California’s Arts Funding Initiative: More Ballot-Box Budgeting

Commentary Some of the most fun I had growing up was playing violin in the orchestra at my public high school in Michigan. Arts education ought to be the part of every school’s curriculum. But what priority should it get? A California initiative would mandate it be given top priority. It’s officially named the Arts and…


California Gas Tax Relief Delayed

Californians may not see any relief at the pump anytime soon as lawmakers continue to struggle to cut the gasoline tax before it rises this summer. “It is clear now that the Legislature will not act in time to provide immediate [and] limited relief,” a spokesperson from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said. The looming May…


A Solution to America’s Drug Crisis

Commentary The black market supplying drugs to our nation is doubling our crime rate, exploiting our addicts, funding America’s enemies, and costing you billions of dollars per year. The use of illegal opiates and drugs in our society affects each one of us by a significantly increased crime rate, death overdoses approaching 70,000 people per…


Police: Woman Helped Plan Kidnapping of Baby in California

SAN JOSE, Calif.—A woman arrested in the kidnapping of a 3-month-old baby from his San Francisco Bay Area home is a friend of the family and was present when a man abducted the baby while his grandmother unloaded groceries, police said Wednesday. Yesenia Ramirez, 43, had driven the child and his grandmother on a shopping…


Why Rich California Is a Poor State

Commentary California is a state of contradictions. Silicon Valley-San Francisco is the epicenter of global digital production and wealth. Yet the streets of San Francisco are cluttered with the homeless and their ordure and discarded needles. The middle class long has departed the Bay Area, or been reduced from that status to lower-class existence just…


California to Raise Its Nation-High Gas Tax as Prices Surge at the Pump

California lawmakers will miss a May 1 deadline to scrap the state’s yearly increase in its gas tax, said Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office this week. Currently, California has the highest gas tax in the country, adding 51 cents to a gallon of regular gasoline. According to automotive group AAA, the average price for a gallon…


45th Congressional Race Between Steel and Chen Contentious

In the newly redrawn 45th congressional district, Republican incumbent Michelle Steel is facing up against Democrat real estate firm owner and Navy reserve officer Jay Chen. Steel will be running for her second term in Congress, where she last beat incumbent Rep. Harley Rouda in the 48th district in 2020. Previously, she was an Orange…


Kidnapped California Baby Found and 3 Suspects Detained

SAN FRANCISCO—A 3-month-old baby who was kidnapped from his San Francisco Bay Area home was found Tuesday and three suspects were detained, police said. The baby, Brandon Cuellar, was taken to a hospital as a precaution, the San Jose Police Department announced on Twitter, without saying where the boy was located. The announcement came shortly…


Kidnapped California Baby Found, 3 Suspects Detained

SAN FRANCISCO—A 3-month-old baby who was kidnapped from his San Francisco Bay Area home was found Tuesday and three suspects were detained, police said. The baby, Brandon Cuellar, was unharmed but was taken to a hospital as a precaution, San Jose Police Department officials said during a news conference. “This incident is a parents’ worst…


SF Residents Commemorate April 25, 1999 Appeal in Beijing

SAN FRANCISCO—This past weekend, practitioners of Falun Gong along with local supporters from the community held events around the city to commemorate a large-scale protest held in China on April 25, 1999. The historic event was notable because of the sheer number of people who quietly gathered in Beijing as they appealed for their right…