California

California’s proposed shoplifting law would be a disaster

Published

1 year ago

June 12, 2023

California’s proposed shoplifting law would be a disaster

Thomas Baltimore Jr., the chairman and CEO of Park Hotels and Resorts,
announced
earlier this month that his company would stop paying a $725 million loan on two of San Francisco’s largest hotels, Hilton San Francisco Union Square and Parc 55.

Baltimore
cited
low demand and “concerns over street conditions” as reasons to stop payments on the hotels, which will be returned to the lender.

CONGRESS CAN DO MORE TO PREVENT MEGAFIRES

The decision is another blow to downtown San Francisco and California, which has experienced a massive outflow of people and businesses. In fact,
the list of companies
that have left the Golden State is far too long to enumerate in a single article and includes established Fortune 500s such as Hewlett-Packard, Chevron, and Pabst Brewing, as well as rapidly growing ones such as Snowflake, Palantir, and Tesla.

There’s no single reason companies are abandoning California in droves. Aggressive lockdown policies likely didn’t help, and California’s tax and regulatory climate also played a role. And then there is the problem of crime, which Park Hotels
discreetly sidestepped
.

Few would deny crime is a growing concern in the Golden State, especially in major cities. In 2021, New York Times journalist Thomas Fuller went to a San Francisco Walgreens to buy a toothbrush and saw a man walk into the store, grab a bunch of beef jerky, and walk out.

“I’m new to San Francisco,” Fuller said to the clerk. “Is it optional to pay for things here?”

Fuller was referring to what he called an “
epidemic of shoplifting
,” which he traced to changes in California law that reclassified thefts as misdemeanors if the stolen goods totaled less than $950. Videos on social media
show people
walking into stores, loading up on goods, and walking out.

The culture has caused companies such as Walgreens, which
shuttered 22 stores in San Francisco alone
over a period of five years, to cease doing business in many of these locations. Many accused Walgreens of “crying wolf” on the matter of retail theft, and California lawmakers recently made it clear they don’t take the matter seriously.

Earlier this month,
the California Senate passed Bill 553
, legislation that would discourage retail store employees from confronting shoplifters. The legislation — passed weeks after a Home Depot security guard
was shot and killed
during a Pleasanton, California, robbery — is designed to protect employees, supporters say, by forbidding employers from instructing employees to confront shoplifters.

“What we’re saying in the bill is it’s not OK for employers to take a rank-and-file worker, somebody whose job is really something else … and say, ‘Hey, you know, if there’s an intruder, we’re going to deputize you to intervene,’” California state Sen. Dave Cortese told a local news station.

Even accepting Cortese’s argument that the legislation doesn’t prevent employees from intervening in cases of theft and only makes it unlawful for employers to ask employees to stop thieves from stealing, the legislation would be disastrous.

A law that would prohibit employers from telling their employees that customers are not allowed to take whatever they want without paying would clearly incentivize shoplifting. It would further promote the culture Fuller described, one in which it is viewed as “optional” to pay for things.

This is the culture that is driving companies out of California. It’s not just crime or high taxes or pandemic mandates. It’s a culture that shows disdain for property rights, which are
the wellspring of all human rights
and a pillar of civilization.

“The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence,” John Adams famously wrote in 1787. “If ‘Thou shalt not covet,’ and ‘Thou shalt not steal,’ were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society, before it can be civilized or made free.”

California lawmakers have shown utter contempt for property rights for years. Making it illegal for employers to instruct employees to stop customers from stealing is just the latest example.

Until California changes this culture and demonstrates it respects the property rights of people and businesses, it will continue to decline — and lose beautiful hotels such as Hilton San Francisco Union Square and Parc 55.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Jon Miltimore (
@miltimore79
) is the managing editor of FEE.org.

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California

Northern California driver dies after vehicle found in floodwaters, 1 other found dead

Published

2 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Northern California driver dies after vehicle found in floodwaters, 1 other found dead

PIX Now morning edition 11-23-24

09:29

SONOMA COUNTY – A man died when he was found in a flooded vehicle after an atmospheric river dumped heavy rain in Northern California, authorities said.

In Sonoma County’s Guerneville, first responders responded to a report around 11:30 a.m. Saturday for a vehicle that was seen in floodwaters near Mays Canyon Road and Highway 116.

The caller believed that at least one person was inside the vehicle.

When crews arrived, they said the vehicle was recovered but a man was pronounced dead at the scene. He has not been identified.

The Russian River, which flows through Guerneville, reached the flood stage on Friday evening and exceeded what was forecasted.

This area went into a flood warning around 2 p.m. Friday and was still in place as of Saturday afternoon.

Guerneville is about 75 miles north of San Francisco.

Around 8:45 a.m. Saturday in Santa Rosa, a man was found dead in Piner Creek just south of Guerneville Road, the police department said. His death is being investigated.

Brandon Downs

Brandon Downs is a digital content producer at CBS Sacramento.

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California

Laura Richardson completes a political comeback, winning tight race to represent South L.A. in the California Capitol

Published

10 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Laura Richardson completes a political comeback, winning tight race to represent South L.A. in the California Capitol

Laura Richardson emerged the victor of the competitive, costly and feisty election to win a South Los Angeles seat in the state Senate — completing her political comeback more than 10 years after a tumultuous tenure in the House of Representatives.

Richardson narrowly won the race against Michelle Chambers, a community justice advocate who faced accusations of misconduct in prior public office. The Associated Press called the race Friday after weeks of ballot counting.

The contest between two Democrats with similar social policies but differing views on crime and business attracted huge spending by special interests.

Independent expenditure committees poured more than $7.6 million into the race, making it the most expensive election for state Legislature this year, according to California Target Book, a political database. Negative campaigning dominated the race as business interests and labor unions battled for their favored candidate.

Richardson, a moderate Democrat, will join a Democratic supermajority in the Legislature. But Republicans are on track to flip three legislative seats this year, one in the Senate and two in the Assembly.

Richardson’s biggest supporters were businesses, including PACs funded by oil companies, and law enforcement associations that said they advocated for candidates who shared their beliefs on free enterprise and public safety. Meanwhile, Chambers’ biggest portion of support came from healthcare workers and teachers unions, who spent millions of dollars backing her.

Chambers wrote in a statement she was “proud of the campaign we ran,” thanking supporters who canvassed, phone-banked or cast votes for her “vision of better jobs, better wages and a California that works for everybody, not just the wealthy and well-connected.”

“This was the closest state senate race in the state, but unfortunately it appears that we will fall just short of victory,” she added. “Our people-powered efforts were not quite enough to overcome millions of dollars in outside spending on lies from the oil and tobacco industry and their allies.“

Richardson will succeed Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) in the 35th District, which encompasses the cities of Carson, Compton and stretches down to the harbor. Bradford, who had endorsed Chambers, said he believed both candidates were “qualified to do the job.”

Bradford, who championed reparations legislation during his tenure, hoped the future senator would be “willing to meet with all factions of the community, because it’s a great diverse need in this district.”

“I’m also deeply sad to see how negative this campaign was, probably one of the most negative campaigns I’ve experienced in my 30-plus years of being involved with elections,” he said. “I just hope that we can come together after such a negative campaign, regardless of who the victor is, and understand that we have to work together.”

Richardson and Chambers took aim at each other’s past controversies. For Chambers, who had picked up the endorsement of various state and local elected officials, opposition groups seized on a criminal misdemeanor charge from 30 years ago. She was also accused of bullying and intimidation from her time as a Compton City Council member, allegations that she has repeatedly denied.

Richardson faced criticism over her tenure in Congress, where a House Ethics Committee investigation found her guilty in 2012 of compelling congressional staff to work on her campaign. The committee report also accused Richardson of obstructing the committee investigation “through the alteration or destruction of evidence” and “the deliberate failure to produce documents.”

Richardson admitted to wrongdoing, according to the report, and accepted a reprimand and $10,000 fine for the violations. She previously said that during her time in Congress, Republicans frequently targeted members of the Black Caucus. After she lost her reelection bid for a fourth term, Richardson said she worked at an employment firm to improve her managerial skills and has recognized previous mistakes.

“It’s been said voters are very forgiving, and if you stand up and you accept responsibility and you improve in the work that you do — we need people who’ve been through things, who understand what it’s like to have had difficulties,” she previously told The Times. “And so that’s exactly what I did. I didn’t shy away from it.”

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