California Insider

California cities are weighing taxes on non-primary homes to address housing shortages and mounting budget deficits. San Diego’s Measure A is one of them, with a vote coming this June and a $121 million deficit driving the conversation. What does the measure actually require of homeowners, and what happens after it passes? In this episode, Shane Harris, CEO and founder of S Harris Communications, examines what enforcement would demand of the city and why he believes San Diego’s fiscal challenges call for a different approach. *Views expressed in this video/article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of California Insider.

The avocado most people buy at the grocery store was born in a Southern California backyard a hundred years ago. The industry that grew around it may not survive there much longer. California avocados are losing ground to imports from Michoacán, Mexico, where cartel organizations have moved beyond extorting farmers to seizing their land outright. For California growers already competing against lower labor and environmental costs, the pressure has no simple answer. In this episode, Gary Gragg, president of Golden Gate Palms & Exotics Inc., and Katarina Szulc, LATAM freelance reporter, examine how the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) opened California’s avocado market to foreign competition it was never built to absorb, and what that has meant for local growers trying to stay in business under some of the most demanding farming regulations in the country. *Views expressed in this video/article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of California Insider.

A transplant surgeon in China can source a matching heart in two weeks. In ethical medicine, how is that possible? Jan Jekielek, senior editor at Epoch Times and author of a recent bestseller on the subject, walks through what researchers, whistleblower testimony, and peer-reviewed literature have collectively documented about China's transplant system and its relationship with Western medical institutions. Six states have passed legislation restricting insurance coverage for transplants performed in China. California has not yet taken that step. *Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of California Insider.

The conflict in Iran reads very differently up close than it does from a distance. For most people watching from the outside, the story is incomplete. “California Insider” host Siyamak Khorrami grew up in Iran and has direct contact with people there right now. What emerges is a portrait of a country where the tension between the government and the people it governs has been building for decades. In this conversation, he walks through what that tension looks like from the inside and who actually holds the power to change it. *Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of California Insider.

California’s ballot is filling up with new tax measures this year, and many voters won’t know what they’re agreeing to until after they’ve voted. Some of these measures are framed as temporary or targeted, but the legal fine print tells a different story. When a ballot measure promises to fund a specific cause, how do you know the money goes there? In this episode, Matt Klink, president of Klink Campaigns and veteran Los Angeles political consultant, walks through what voters will be presented with in November and the framework they need to evaluate any measure before casting a ballot. *Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of California Insider.

Paid signature gatherers are operating inside homeless encampments in San Francisco to collect ballot petition signatures for California’s November 2026 propositions. Video evidence captured on the street shows signers being offered payment and instructed by gatherers to use other people’s names and addresses, and the operation was still running the next day at a different location. When something goes wrong at street level, who is actually responsible? In this episode, we sit down with JJ Smith, the San Francisco videographer who filmed the operation firsthand; James A. Kus, Fresno County clerk and registrar of voters; and Susan Shelley, editorial writer at the Southern California News Group, to examine how the legal market for paid signature gathering creates the economic conditions for this kind of fraud. They break down the per-signature price spike driven by the November ballot deadline and why the subcontractor chain behind commercial signature gathering makes accountability difficult to trace. *Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of California Insider.

A large share of police calls in Los Angeles can be traced back to homelessness, at a time when departments are already short on officers. Behind each call is a mix of mental health crises, addiction, and conditions that rarely change after a single intervention. Why do so many people return to the same situation, even after contact with outside services? In this episode, LAPD Commander Blake Chow talks about his decades of experience on the ground and what he learned about why these situations persist and what begins to shift when the response moves beyond isolated fixes. *Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of California Insider.

California’s water, land, and fire systems are, in many cases, driven by federal court orders from litigation decided decades ago, before current conditions existed. That distance between today’s challenges and the decisions governing them may explain more about California’s long-term planning struggles than most coverage admits. In this episode, Wade Crowfoot, California’s secretary of Natural Resources, sits down to discuss what the state is doing to change that, its conservation plan, its water infrastructure, and the conditions behind the Los Angeles fires. *Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of California Insider.

California’s push to phase out fossil fuels has accelerated the closure of the refineries that still supply fuel to its military bases, airports, and 40 million drivers. If the plan is to move away from oil, what happens to everything that gets made from it before it ever reaches a gas pump? In this episode, Ronald Stein, author, columnist, and founder of PTS Advance, and Deborah Sivas, Luke W. Cole professor of Environmental Law at Stanford, examine what refinery closures actually mean for California’s fuel supply and whether the transition plan accounts for all the oil produced beyond gasoline. *Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of California Insider.

Crime in California is at some of its lowest levels in decades. So what explains what people are still seeing on the street every day? In this episode, Siyamak sits down with Magnus Lofstrom, senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, to look at what the data actually shows and where it stops being able to answer that question. *Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of California Insider.

California’s gasoline supply was already under pressure before the Strait of Hormuz developments complicated things even more. With refinery closures accelerating and import sources drying up simultaneously, how much runway does the state actually have? In this episode, Skip York, chief energy strategist at Turner Mason & Company, explains why California is structurally isolated from the relief valves the rest of the country relies on, without the pipeline connections, surplus capacity, and flexible fuel specifications that protect other states. *Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of California Insider.

A state audit found that a Southern California school district issued California high school diplomas to students in China who never set foot in the state and never attended a single class. The scheme ran for years before it surfaced. How does something like that go undetected? In this episode, Sonja Shaw, president of the Chino Valley Unified School Board, walks us through what the audit uncovered and what an ongoing investigation still needs to answer. Epoch Times reporter Joshua Philipp explains how this case connects to larger concerns about foreign influence in American schools. *Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of California Insider.

California produces only 25% of the crude oil it consumes and has no pipelines bringing refined fuel into the state. When global fuel supply tightens, where does a state that depends on imports turn? In this episode, Jodie Muller, President and CEO of the Western States Petroleum Association, explains how California's shrinking refinery base and dependence on imported fuel affects what consumers pay at the pump and whether the state's fuel supply is as stable as it appears. Skip York, Energy and Oil Fellow at the Baker Institute, adds context on what global market pressures mean for a state already running on thin supply margins. *Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of California Insider.

California's post-production workforce, the people who edit, score, and mix every film and show you've ever seen, has been losing work to other states and countries for years. How does an industry this embedded in a state end up competing for its own survival? In this episode, we speak with a panel of post-production professionals about the economic forces driving work elsewhere, and about the bill in Sacramento they believe could change that. Featuring: Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

LA hosted the Olympics in 1984 with 23 events. In 2028, it's committing to more than double that, and the city carrying that weight today is a fundamentally different place. In this episode, Artin Sodaify, LA County Commissioner, walks through what's actually being built and contracted right now to get the region ready. The question of whether those preparations outlast the games is one LA residents will be living with long after the torch goes out.

Battery storage plants have been exploding in California with a regularity that is easy to miss if you are not living near one. Eight went up last year alone, and the one in Moss Landing burned for three weeks. In this episode, physicist and Chairman of the Board of the California Arts and Sciences Institute, C. Michael Hogan explains what these facilities actually release when they go, and why the consequences for the people and the land around them outlast the event itself by a very long time. Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Billions of taxpayer dollars have moved through California’s homelessness system over the past decade. Yet on the streets of Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Diego, the tents remain and the strain on local services continues. How are state and local leaders evaluating the impact of that spending? In this episode, we sit down with Alex Villanueva, Former Sheriff of Los Angeles County, Assemblymember Tri Ta, and San Diego Superviser Jim Desmond to discuss how funding moves from the state to local agencies and how those policy decisions show up on the ground in light of recent scrutiny and renewed attention to how funds are used. Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

California’s housing costs are among the highest in the nation, while single-family construction continues to lag demand. If land is not the only constraint, what is driving the gap between need and supply? In this episode, we sit down with Michael Capaldi, Partner at FBT Gibbons, to examine the approval process, local fees, and state mandates that influence what gets built. We trace how those choices translate into the price of a home and the calculation families make about staying in California. Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

The Port of Long Beach recorded its highest cargo volume in 2025, marking a strong year for one of the nation’s most critical trade gateways. With imports surging and competition rising from other U.S. gateways, attention now turns to whether this pace can hold and what it could mean for the state’s broader economy. In this episode, we sit down with Noel Hacegaba, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Long Beach and President of the California Association of Port Authorities, to understand what is behind the record volumes and how long term rail and infrastructure investments could determine the state’s economic footing in the years ahead. Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

California vineyards are operating in a market where harvested grapes may not have a buyer. The reasons are not always visible from the outside, but the effects are showing up across growing regions. In this episode, Rodney Schatz, owner of Peltier Winery who manages about 1,100 acres of farmland, explains what is changing inside the business and why those changes matter beyond wine country. Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.