Aaron Green
@aaronguhreen.bsky.social
😂😂
AB 1888 (Ortega and Calderon) would require that home hardening for wildfires using state grants be done with union labor
February 20, 2026 at 3:20 AM
😂😂
And by the way this really is a uniquely California problem. Here are other major cities. NY and Boston have cost of living pressures just like here. What's going on? Why is spending here so out of control?
February 19, 2026 at 5:21 PM
And by the way this really is a uniquely California problem. Here are other major cities. NY and Boston have cost of living pressures just like here. What's going on? Why is spending here so out of control?
It's underdiscussed how spending has exploded in California in a way that it has not anywhere else in nearby states. Very hard to believe that we have a revenue problem when looking at these numbers.
February 19, 2026 at 4:29 PM
It's underdiscussed how spending has exploded in California in a way that it has not anywhere else in nearby states. Very hard to believe that we have a revenue problem when looking at these numbers.
LA is a failed city. Free money but they have to give it back because they were incapable of spending it in a reasonable timeframe. There’s basically nothing the city can do right anymore.
The City of LA is about to give back millions of dollars of previously won money for active transportation projects because it can’t build things in any reasonable amount of time.
February 14, 2026 at 7:01 PM
LA is a failed city. Free money but they have to give it back because they were incapable of spending it in a reasonable timeframe. There’s basically nothing the city can do right anymore.
UCLA Luskin Conference gearing up to host the worst panel of all time.
February 11, 2026 at 11:47 PM
UCLA Luskin Conference gearing up to host the worst panel of all time.
This is always how it would go. The state fire marshall has no incentive to do anything but the bare minimum.
The California state fire marshal was legally obliged to release the single-stair report on January 1. A month later, it's nowhere in sight, and I'm hearing the draft recommends doing the bare minumum. State legislators should just pass the code update themselves.
calmatters.org/housing/2026...
calmatters.org/housing/2026...
Housing advocates still waiting for state-ordered stair report
California’s fire safety regulators are more than a month late with a study on mid-rise apartments and staircases.
calmatters.org
February 10, 2026 at 8:52 PM
This is always how it would go. The state fire marshall has no incentive to do anything but the bare minimum.
Fantastic! Raman supported SB79, has led the charge on City Council to reform Measure ULA, and has been deeply involved with efforts to reform permitting at City Hall. Unlike Bass, Raman cares outcomes. Exactly what Los Angeles needs.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
Rising Progressive Star Shakes Up Race for Los Angeles Mayor
www.nytimes.com
February 7, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Fantastic! Raman supported SB79, has led the charge on City Council to reform Measure ULA, and has been deeply involved with efforts to reform permitting at City Hall. Unlike Bass, Raman cares outcomes. Exactly what Los Angeles needs.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
Uhh ....
"The noose Epstein allegedly used has never been definitively identified. According to the inspector general's report, a noose collected at the scene was later determined not to be the ligature used in Epstein's death."
www.cbsnews.com/news/epstein...
"The noose Epstein allegedly used has never been definitively identified. According to the inspector general's report, a noose collected at the scene was later determined not to be the ligature used in Epstein's death."
www.cbsnews.com/news/epstein...
Who entered Epstein's jail tier the night of his death? Newly released video logs appear to contradict official accounts.
Newly released documents from the Epstein files raise more questions about activity seen on video from the jail the night he died.
www.cbsnews.com
February 7, 2026 at 4:20 AM
Uhh ....
"The noose Epstein allegedly used has never been definitively identified. According to the inspector general's report, a noose collected at the scene was later determined not to be the ligature used in Epstein's death."
www.cbsnews.com/news/epstein...
"The noose Epstein allegedly used has never been definitively identified. According to the inspector general's report, a noose collected at the scene was later determined not to be the ligature used in Epstein's death."
www.cbsnews.com/news/epstein...
Worst Big City Mayor in America
Sources tell the LA Times that Mayor Karen Bass directed changes to the Palisades fire after-action report that softened criticism of the city’s response — contradicting her public statements.
Bass directed watering down of Palisades fire after-action report, sources say
One Bass confidant told a source that 'the mayor didn’t tell the truth when she said she had nothing to do with changing the report.'
www.latimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 7:31 PM
Worst Big City Mayor in America
Seems like these housing bills which Congress has been working on may actually become law.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Congress Targets Housing Crisis as Solutions Elude Trump
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 1:58 PM
Seems like these housing bills which Congress has been working on may actually become law.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
A good reminder of how impactful just a single article can be. I doubt any of this would be happening if it weren’t for the Calmatters DUI article from last October.
Looking through proposed legislation this year... there are a bunch of bills on driving infractions and DUIs.
Looks like CA legislators have an appetite for reform this year.
Looks like CA legislators have an appetite for reform this year.
February 4, 2026 at 3:40 AM
A good reminder of how impactful just a single article can be. I doubt any of this would be happening if it weren’t for the Calmatters DUI article from last October.
Reposted by Aaron Green
San Diego Unified School District has quietly embarked on a massive program to build educator housing.
The focus has been on maximizing the number of units affordable to staff, not on deepest means-tested affordability.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/01/29/w...
The focus has been on maximizing the number of units affordable to staff, not on deepest means-tested affordability.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/01/29/w...
January 31, 2026 at 3:43 PM
San Diego Unified School District has quietly embarked on a massive program to build educator housing.
The focus has been on maximizing the number of units affordable to staff, not on deepest means-tested affordability.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/01/29/w...
The focus has been on maximizing the number of units affordable to staff, not on deepest means-tested affordability.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/01/29/w...
"ONE BILLION dollars" is enough for about 1,000 new homes. Measure ULA has killed tens of thousands of new homes annually.
🚨 HEY 🚨
Measure ULA has raised ONE BILLION dollars for affordable housing, but Mayor Bass is still trying to undermine the will of the people and steal that money for her money pit “Inside Safe”
Tell City Council to protect measure ULA!
One-click email 👇🏼
tinyurl.com/t3st2016
Measure ULA has raised ONE BILLION dollars for affordable housing, but Mayor Bass is still trying to undermine the will of the people and steal that money for her money pit “Inside Safe”
Tell City Council to protect measure ULA!
One-click email 👇🏼
tinyurl.com/t3st2016
tinyurl.com
January 23, 2026 at 6:44 PM
"ONE BILLION dollars" is enough for about 1,000 new homes. Measure ULA has killed tens of thousands of new homes annually.
Nominating Newsom in 2028 would be a very bad idea.
January 23, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Nominating Newsom in 2028 would be a very bad idea.
Rents are higher in Los Angeles so presumably it should be easier for projects to pencil here. But we require builders to pay so much in fees (inclusionary zoning, ULA transfer tax, etc.) that construction is infeasible on almost every parcel in the city. Low-income renters suffer the most.
San Diego is building apartments at nearly twice the rate of Los Angeles, with new construction up 10%, while LA’s has plummeted 33% over 3 years. www.latimes.com/business/sto...
San Diego shows what happens when a city actually lets builders build
Why does San Diego lead California in apartment construction?
www.latimes.com
January 20, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Rents are higher in Los Angeles so presumably it should be easier for projects to pencil here. But we require builders to pay so much in fees (inclusionary zoning, ULA transfer tax, etc.) that construction is infeasible on almost every parcel in the city. Low-income renters suffer the most.
All of this is downstream from police departments completely giving up on traffic enforcement. Last I saw, traffic citations in California are down about 90% over that past decade. Drivers no longer see anyone getting punished for anything so they assume they can get away with almost anything.
Unimaginable evil. The driver just knocked the child over at first, but then killed him in an attempt to flee the scene.
This is not an isolated incident. Violent drivers in PB intentionally destroyed traffic calming devices on Diamond st, a school street.
This is not an isolated incident. Violent drivers in PB intentionally destroyed traffic calming devices on Diamond st, a school street.
Horrific. I hope the driver spends the rest of his life behind bars.
January 19, 2026 at 3:32 PM
All of this is downstream from police departments completely giving up on traffic enforcement. Last I saw, traffic citations in California are down about 90% over that past decade. Drivers no longer see anyone getting punished for anything so they assume they can get away with almost anything.
Reposted by Aaron Green
Don’t Back Down, Europe
open.substack.com/pub/persuasi...
open.substack.com/pub/persuasi...
Don’t Back Down, Europe
Trump’s tariff threats against allies should be the last straw.
open.substack.com
January 18, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Don’t Back Down, Europe
open.substack.com/pub/persuasi...
open.substack.com/pub/persuasi...
Can Californians sign this petition? I would like to sign this petition too.
More than 200,000 Danish citizens have signed a petition to buy California as a response to Trump’s attempt to take Greenland.
They say they will provide Californians with “rule of law, universal health care, fact-based politics, and a lifetime supply of Danish pastries.”
They say they will provide Californians with “rule of law, universal health care, fact-based politics, and a lifetime supply of Danish pastries.”
January 17, 2026 at 6:05 PM
Can Californians sign this petition? I would like to sign this petition too.
Reposted by Aaron Green
It’s cold comfort right now but, if past is prologue, spectacles of violence committed by the state against sympathetic civilians—especially when captured on camera—were the beginning of the end for Bull Connor and Jim Crow, too.
January 14, 2026 at 1:46 AM
It’s cold comfort right now but, if past is prologue, spectacles of violence committed by the state against sympathetic civilians—especially when captured on camera—were the beginning of the end for Bull Connor and Jim Crow, too.
Reposted by Aaron Green
Great opportunity to make a huge difference in California transportation policy for a mid-career professional: www.assembly.ca.gov/system/files...
January 13, 2026 at 1:00 AM
Great opportunity to make a huge difference in California transportation policy for a mid-career professional: www.assembly.ca.gov/system/files...
Hard to think of housing policies which have done more damage than inclusionary zoning. It has not delivered on its promises in a single place it has been tried. Banning it in California is a no-brainer but unfortunately Left-NIMBYs remain too influential for this to have any traction.
At minimum, the state of California should ban unfunded inclusionary zoning requirements for projects with ten or fewer units.
East Palo Alto tried to impose an illegal $54,891 "affordable housing fee (no, this is not a parody) on an ADU, immediately got sued, and dropped the fee. Unfunded "inclusionary" zoning is the is the housing policy equivalent of applying leeches to a sick patient. pacificlegal.org/case/east-pa...
January 12, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Hard to think of housing policies which have done more damage than inclusionary zoning. It has not delivered on its promises in a single place it has been tried. Banning it in California is a no-brainer but unfortunately Left-NIMBYs remain too influential for this to have any traction.
Larry Page and Sergei Brin alone are about 25% of California’s entire billionaire wealth. There are rumors that the total money which has left the state is now close to 50% of all billionaire wealth.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/t...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/t...
Google Guys Say Bye to California
www.nytimes.com
January 11, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Larry Page and Sergei Brin alone are about 25% of California’s entire billionaire wealth. There are rumors that the total money which has left the state is now close to 50% of all billionaire wealth.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/t...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/t...
I’m very surprised there has not yet been a single poll of California’s wealth tax initiative.
January 10, 2026 at 5:53 PM
I’m very surprised there has not yet been a single poll of California’s wealth tax initiative.
Reposted by Aaron Green
There should be some type of state review board that is solely focused on “is this rule stupid?” If the board determines the rule is stupid, it can be ignored.
These rooftop rain collectors are often functionally required of dense buildings by water quality regulators in the Bay Area. They’re insanely costly because you often have to pump water TO the roof to store it, and then insurance companies price in increased water-related risk. It’s terrible.
I worked in this building, and I feel sorry for OpenAI peeps. Some clueless architect decided it would be "green" to have a rainwater collector on the roof. Said water drains in uninsulated pipes through open-air offices, chilling the office no matter the weather. www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco...
January 9, 2026 at 5:49 PM
There should be some type of state review board that is solely focused on “is this rule stupid?” If the board determines the rule is stupid, it can be ignored.