California
California’s plastic bag ban has been a failed experiment
We can now add plastic bag bans to the list of “well-meaning but failed experiments” being run in California.
Two devastating pieces in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times reveal how the environmentalist fervor to rid California of thin, single-use plastic bags resulted in a 47 percent increase in plastic waste statewide. Before the ban, California produced 314 million pounds of plastic waste. By 2022, plastic waste in pounds was closer to 462 million.
Both outlets pin the blame on special interests lobbying for exemptions to the ban, which resulted in the now common 10-cent plastic bag so many shoppers encounter in checkout lines both in and out of California, and now lawmakers are moving to pass new legislation that would take plastic bags of all kinds out of circulation. If reducing environmental impact is the goal, California should brace for another failure.
Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan has made her disdain for plastic bags quite clear in saying, “Ten years ago, California attempted to ban plastic bags to stem pollution. Yet, these insidious relics persist, choking our waterways, imperiling wildlife, and despoiling our ecosystems.”
Insidious is a dramatic word choice. Consumers know that plastic bags do not belong in waterways, oceans, and blowing across playgrounds. What is actually insidious —meaning to cause gradual, subtle harm — is the impact of plastic alternatives such as woven bags and paper.
Denmark’s environmental ministry found paper bags need to be re-used 43 times to bring their per-use impact on the environment down to the level of single-use plastic bags, meaning what it takes to produce those bags. Any consumer who has set foot inside a grocery store and hauled food back into their home knows that reusing a paper bag 43 times is near impossible. Paper bags are also 2.6 times as expensive for the consumer, which the government of Canada found in their research after similarly dropping the hammer on single-use plastic bags.
Paper requires trees, energy, and water to produce. For a state that is constantly running into issues with energy shortages, electricity blackouts, as well as water shortages, the plan to curb pollution by increasing the burden of other strained systems is the definition of offsetting costs.
Environmental policy tends to work this way. One state or country will crack down on their emissions output, with no care for what happens on the other side of the globe, and the result is no net improvement in overall emissions. There are significant costs to paper products both for the environment and the consumer.
Cloth bags also are not made from thin air. Your standard cotton tote or grocery bag blows paper products out of the water on the cost-benefit. It takes 7,100 uses of the cloth bag to meet the impact of one single-use plastic bag. A consumer would need to use the bag for 136 years of weekly grocery store visits to be as environmentally friendly as single-use plastic is.
“Environmentally friendly” will always require air quotes of some kind when you’re talking about products being produced from raw materials. A cost always exists whether Californians can see them or not.
For example, polypropylene packaging and woven bags are a 100% byproduct of natural gas and petroleum refinement. These are of course great bags and can be bought at a higher price point in most grocery stores and kept in your trunk the next time you go shopping. They do better on electricity, water, and emissions required to make them, but have you ever heard a major California politician champion natural gas and fossil fuels?
The NYT says California “remains at the forefront of efforts to curb plastic waste,” which is a curious way to frame stubborn failure. Consumers prefer single-use plastic bags because they are cheap, efficient, and convenient when they arrive to shop at the store or pick up food for takeout.
What California can’t seem to get a grip on is the infrastructure required to run a modern waste management system, as well as the will to enforce laws that keep the state clean. Take a walk in downtown San Francisco or Los Angeles and look around. What you’ll see is not a problem being created by plastics.
David Clement is the North American Policy Director for the Consumer Choice Center
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies and other law enforcement cut down cannabis plants during a … [+]
California, the nation’s top cannabis market, continues to battle illegal operations on a grand scale. State officials seized $534 million worth of illegal cannabis in 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office reported Tuesday.
The seizures were part of operations conducted by the Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force, co-led by the Department of Cannabis Control. Efforts targeted illegal retail sales, unlicensed delivery services and unauthorized residential cultivation sites.
“We will continue to target illegal cannabis operations and cut off the illicit revenue streams of transnational criminal organizations that prey on workers, our environment and kids,” Newsom said in a statement. “Enforcement officials have been on the front lines—with local, state and federal partners—to bolster our legal cannabis market.”
Los Angeles and Alameda counties accounted for the largest share of cannabis seizures, each surpassing $100 million in value. They were followed by Mendocino, Shasta, Kern, San Bernardino, Nevada, Orange, Stanislaus and Contra Costa counties. Contra Costa had the lowest total, with $17 million in illegal cannabis confiscated.
In 2024, enforcement teams executed 425 search warrants statewide, targeting indoor, outdoor and retail operations. Of those, 155 were for indoor cultivation, 143 for outdoor cultivation and 87 for retail operations.
Officers seized $268,897,761 worth of unlicensed indoor cannabis yielding 162,887 pounds and over 280,000 plants. They seized $198,305,250 worth of unlicensed indoor cannabis yielding 122,673 pounds and over 190,000 plants. For retail operations, $17,289,441.50 worth of unlicensed cannabis was seized, with an additional 1,275 plants. The warrants led to 113 arrests total.
Despite the crackdown, state officials remain optimistic. The Department of Cannabis Control released a market outlook report Monday showing that legal cannabis prices remain stable, industry value is rising and the licensed market is growing.
“These enforcement efforts highlight California’s continued focus on maintaining the integrity of the legal market, supporting licensed operators, and protecting consumers and communities from the harms associated with unregulated cannabis activities,” Department of Cannabis Control Director Nicole Elliott said.
Illegal Cannabis Thrives in California
The black market continues to saturate the state. Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), discussed California’s illicit market on NPR last month.
“We’re talking about a market that lacks transparency and accountability,” Armentano said. However, he emphasized that buying cannabis from a regulated market is safest. “Whether I was getting cannabis, alcohol or my broccoli from an entirely unregulated market, I’d be concerned about any number of issues.”
Since 2019, authorities have seized and destroyed nearly 800 tons—about 1.6 million pounds—of illegal cannabis, valued at approximately $2.8 billion. More than 1,400 enforcement operations have led to the destruction of 2.8 million plants, with many cases involving additional charges for weapons violations. In total, 733 arrests have been made.
Officials also issued “red tag” violations at 105 locations for code infractions, including unsafe electrical wiring, mold and illegal chemical use.
A new focus for state regulators, announced last September, is cracking down on illegal hemp products that contain active compounds believed to be used recreationally.
Newsom established the state’s cannabis task force in 2022 to enhance enforcement coordination between state, local and federal agencies. The task force includes representatives from the Department of Cannabis Control, the Department of Pesticide Regulation, the Department of Toxic Substances Control and the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Despite these ongoing efforts, illegal cannabis continues to thrive in California.
A man in California has been charged with nabbing about $25,000 of Lego in two state counties, according to officials.
Michael Ivory Fletcher, 32, is accused of stealing the Lego products from Target stores in Walnut Creek and San Ramon between 15 August 2024 and 15 February 2025, according to the Contra Costa district attorney’s office. He faces multiple charges of commercial burglary and grand theft.
Fletcher is alleged to have used the same method in each theft: he would enter the store alone, load his cart with Lego items and leave quickly, all within a matter of minutes.
He then supposedly placed the stolen toys in a vehicle parked in a designated accessible parking spot. According to the district attorney’s office, Fletcher carried out this scheme at least seven times. It’s unclear whether he targeted specific Lego sets.
Fletcher is also suspected of thefts in several other counties, including Solano, Alameda, San Joaquin, Sonoma and Santa Clara.
Besides the charges in Contra Costa county, Fletcher has been charged by the Alameda county district attorney for stealing $1,881 worth of Star Wars Lego sets in Fremont, according to KTVU.
Fletcher was arrested at a Target store in Walnut Creek and is currently being held at the Martinez detention facility on nearly $500,000 bail. If convicted on all charges, he could face up to nine years and four months in county jail.
Lego products have become a popular target for theft in the Bay Area. Last year, a man led police on an 11-mile chase after allegedly stealing $900 worth of Lego sets in Solano county. Additionally, in June 2023, four people were arrested for stealing more than $3,500 worth of Lego bricks from a San Mateo store.
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Lego sets, which range in price from $100 to $1,000, are easy to resell, with used sets in decent shape going for 50% of the original price.
LOS ANGELES, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Applications are now available for California Credit Union’s Summer Internship Program for college students. Now in its fourth year, the program offers paid internships to provide students with professional work experience and mentoring in multiple areas throughout the organization, including opportunities in the Accounting, Electronic Services, Human Resources and Treasury & Finance departments.
“An important part of our educational support initiatives is providing hands-on work experience and mentoring local students to help open doors to a future career,” said California Credit Union President/CEO Steve O’Connell. “Our highly successful Summer Internship Program integrates students into teams across the credit union so they can apply what they learn in the classroom to a hands-on setting in the business world.”
College students can learn more and apply for the internships through the credit union’s website.
The California Credit Union internships will provide students with practical work experience within and across multiple departments, leadership development skills, and school-to-career readiness, with direct training and mentoring with managers. All internships will be paid, full-time (30 – 40 hours/week) opportunities at the credit union’s Glendale headquarters office from June 16th through August 15th.
About California Credit Union
California Credit Union is a federally insured, state chartered credit union founded in 1933 with assets of $5 billion, approximately 200,000 members and 25 retail branches. Named a Forbes Best-In-State Credit Union in 2024, California Credit Union serves community members and businesses in the California counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura as well as school employees throughout the state. The credit union operates in San Diego and Riverside Counties as North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union. The credit union offers a full suite of consumer, business and investment products and services, including comprehensive consumer checking and loan options, personalized financial planning, business banking, and leading-edge online and mobile banking. California Credit Union is certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with a Low Income Designation, offering inclusive products and services to build financial stability in our underserved communities, including a checking account certified as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards. Visit ccu.com for more information or follow the credit union on Instagram® or Facebook® @CaliforniaCreditUnion.
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