California
Blame slow-growth policies for California’s housing and homeless crises
The roots of California’s housing problems aren’t hard to trace given the reams of house-price and population data going back decades. The Los Angeles Times reported the median price of a California home in 1970 was only 5 percent higher than the national average at $24,300. That year’s nationwide median price was $23,400, which translates to a low $181,000 in 2023 after adjusting for inflation.
So what happened? It’s basic supply and demand. Government policies since the 1970s artificially constrained housing supply through slow-growth rules, urban-growth boundaries, an increase in developer fees, environmental laws (such as the California Environmental Quality Act) and regulatory edicts including inclusionary zoning – i.e., requiring builders to set aside a percentage of under-market units. As population grew, these restrictions constrained the ability of builders to keep up with demand.
California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office points to 1970 as a pivotal year, noting that housing in the following decade soared from somewhat above the national average to 80 percent above it. Something changed in that period. The LAO’s 2015 report concluded that California was underbuilding housing by about 110,000 units a year, especially along the coast – a supply problem that has only worsened.
We often hear from coastal residents who, in arguing against new housing projects, note that not everyone has a right to live in an idyllic beachside community. Sure, one would always expect cities such as Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Laguna Beach – with their perfect climate and magnificent views – to have higher prices than grittier inland communities.
But what these critics – virtually all of whom already own their houses – don’t say is slow-growth policies lead to prices that are much higher than they ought to be. Or that such decisions have a cascading effect, as people flee from unaffordable areas and drive up demand elsewhere until, well, prices are soaring in places like Bakersfield and Reno.
A builder-commissioned study from 2015 explains that as much as 40 percent of the price of a new single-family house in San Diego County is attributable to government fees and regulations – an issue the state hasn’t addressed in the ensuing years. Some of those costs are the direct result of fees, but much of the problem is regulatory. By reducing the amount of developable land, regulators increase the price of buildable tracts. No one has a right to live near San Diego’s coast – but let’s not pretend people are being priced out purely by market forces.
Unaffordable housing exacerbates a related high-profile problem – rampant homelessness. Homelessness is not entirely caused by housing unaffordability. It’s a multi-pronged problem driven to a large degree by addiction and mental-health issues. But regions with higher-cost housing have much higher levels of homelessness because a lack of cheaper housing leaves people on the economic margins with nowhere to go. Homelessness is a social problem that’s compounded – often dramatically so – by exorbitant housing prices.
Loosening housing-construction rules will open opportunities at the lower rungs of the housing ladder. Easing slow-growth restrictions will also make it easier for nonprofits to build temporary and transitional housing that benefit the homeless.
The state also must stop squandering resources on homelessness programs that don’t work, such as Housing First policies that incentivize construction of units that cost $800,000 or more, and start earmarking scarce public dollars toward projects that truly help our poorest neighbors. But the starting point for addressing both crises – housing unaffordability and homelessness – is reducing regulations for all housing construction.
Steven Greenhut and Wayne Winegarden are senior fellows at the Pacific Research Institute. This column is excerpted from their new book, “Giving Housing Supply a Boost.”
California
Christmas storm still on track to hit Southern California. Here is when the heaviest rain arrives
Southern California is preparing for a powerful winter storm over the Christmas holiday, with forecasters warning of heavy rainfall, gusty winds, and potential flooding across the region.
According to the National Weather Service, the storm will bring an extended period of significant rainfall from Tuesday through Saturday, with totals expected to reach 4 to 8 inches across coastal and valley areas and 8 to 12 inches or more in the foothills and mountains by Saturday evening. Officials are urging residents to take necessary precautions, as flooding and debris flows could pose serious risks throughout the week.
The first, and most impactful, surge of rain is expected Tuesday night into Wednesday, when a moderate to strong atmospheric river will target the area. During this period, rainfall totals could reach 2 to 5 inches in coastal and valley regions and 5 to 10 inches in foothills and mountain areas, with hourly rates of 0.75 to 1.25 inches possible. The extended rainfall and intensity raise concerns about widespread urban flooding, mud and debris flows, and hazardous driving conditions, particularly during one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
A flood watch has been issued for all four counties from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening, and the National Weather Service recommends that residents begin taking protective actions now.
In addition to heavy rain, strong southerly winds are expected Tuesday and Wednesday, particularly in the mountains and foothills, with the potential to knock down trees and cause power outages. Officials are advising residents to avoid swollen creeks and rivers, refrain from unnecessary ocean activity, and take precautions such as parking vehicles away from tall trees during periods of strong wind.
Forecasters emphasized that the timing and intensity of the storm could still change and encouraged residents to monitor updates from the National Weather Service and KTLA’s meteorologists.
A massive fog bank that has been blanketing much of California’s Central Valley with low-lying clouds since Thanksgiving time has prompted fears online of a mysterious and harmful “radiation fog,” but scientists say this is a misunderstanding of basic scientific terms and common weather patterns in the region.
“There’s something in the fog that I can’t explain,” a California man said in a recent video as he wiped soot from his truck bumper, in a post by Wall Street Apes, a popular X account.
There is indeed a “radiation fog” over the region, but that term refers to the general radiation of energy, not nuclear radiation. During radiation fog events, or “tule fog” as it’s known in California, named for a native marsh plant, fog forms when the moist ground cools rapidly at night, causing water vapor in the air to condense into thick fog.
A rainy autumn and winter in California, as well as a late November high-pressure system over the state, has further exacerbated this effect, helping create a fog bank that often stretched 400 miles up the center of the state.
Residents described the fog, which may actually be getting less common in the region compared to historical trends, as cold and eerie.
“It’s like going into a dream stage where you can’t see anything around you,” David Mas Masumoto, a peach farmer in the San Joaquin Valley, told The New York Times. “You feel like you’re in this twilight zone.”
Masumoto added that he can’t remember another time with such thick fog in the last 50 years.
As for the particles that some residents were seeing in the fog, there’s a standard explanation for those too.
“Fog is highly susceptible to pollutants,” Peter Weiss-Penzias, a fog researcher at UC Santa Cruz, told The Los Angeles Times.
The Central Valley, home to the state’s key north-south highway and miles of agricultural land, is known for its poor air quality.
“It could be a whole alphabet soup of different things,” Weiss-Penzias added.
The fog, which continued through late this week, is expected to thin out as heavy rains disrupt weather patterns in the state.
One lucky Southern Californian has won over $2.3 million after numbers were drawn for the Powerball jackpot on Saturday night.
Although no winner hit all six numbers for the $1.5 billion jackpot, one ticket matched five numbers and will take home $2,323,527.
The winning numbers were 4, 5, 28, 52, 69 and a Powerball of 20. The Power Play multiplier was 3x.
The SoCal ticket that hit five numbers was sold at Wright’s Market at 2691 Ventura Blvd. in Oxnard.
The Powerball jackpot will rise to an estimated $1.6 billion for the next drawing on Monday, Dec. 22 – the game’s fourth-largest prize ever and the fifth-largest among all U.S. lottery jackpots.
If a player wins Monday’s jackpot, they will have the choice between an annuitized prize estimated at $1.60 billion or a lump sum payment estimated at $735.3 million. Both prize options are before taxes.
If the winner selects the annuity option, they will receive one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5 percent each year.
The new prize marks only the second time in Powerball history that the game has produced back-to-back jackpots exceeding $1 billion. The only other time was in 2023, when a $1.08 billion jackpot was won on July 19, followed by a $1.765 billion jackpot on Oct. 11. Both jackpots were won in California.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million and the overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 24.9.
Top 10 largest U.S. lottery jackpots across Powerball and Mega Millions:
- $2.04 Billion – Powerball – Nov. 7, 2022 – CA
- $1.787 Billion – Powerball – Sept. 6, 2025 – MO, TX
- $1.765 Billion – Powerball – Oct. 11, 2023 – CA
- $1.602 Billion – Mega Millions – Aug. 8, 2023 – FL
- $1.60 Billion est. – Powerball – Dec. 22, 2025
- $1.586 Billion – Powerball – Jan. 13, 2016 – CA, FL, TN
- $1.537 Billion – Mega Millions – Oct. 23, 2018 – SC
- $1.348 Billion – Mega Millions – Jan. 13, 2023 – ME
- $1.337 Billion – Mega Millions – July 29, 2022 – IL
- $1.326 Billion – Powerball – April 6, 2024 – OR
Lottery officials noted that so far, the 45 consecutive Powerball drawings without a jackpot winner have raised over $100 million for public schools in California.
“Every California Lottery game sold contributes to the Lottery’s mission of raising extra money for California’s public schools,” lottery officials said. “These funds support a variety of programs across the state.”
Powerball tickets are $2 per play and drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday night at 7:59 p.m.
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