California Insider

California once made rooftop solar a smart investment for homeowners. After new rules took effect, that balance changed almost overnight. In this episode, Siyamak sits down with Bernadette Del Chiaro, senior vice president for California at the Environmental Working Group, and Johnny Graham, CEO of Pacific United Power, to examine how the state’s new policy is changing the way solar works for homeowners.

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 economy keeps growing, but that growth looks different across the state. Some areas are thriving, while others feel the strain—a shift we discuss with Jerry Nickelsburg, Professor Emeritus at the UCLA Anderson School of Management; Mark Schniepp, Director of the California Economic Forecast in Santa Barbara; and Kymberlee Dildine from the Central California Food Bank to understand where the state’s economy may be heading next.

California is drawing a line on what children are fed in public schools. A new law confronts the rise of industrial additives that have come to define many of the meals served to students. In this episode, Bernadette Del Chiaro, Senior Vice President of the Environmental Working Group, explains how these additives made their way into lunch trays and what California’s bold move could signal for the rest of the country.

Many Californians are realizing after wildfires that their insurance doesn’t cover what it costs to rebuild. In this episode, industry experts Rex Frazier and Robert Anderson explain how shifts in state rules and market practices left many homes underinsured. They also show how small choices made when buying a policy can determine whether a family recovers or faces lasting loss, and what this means for the state’s growing FAIR Plan.

Water in California is getting more expensive, and the reasons go beyond drought. Rising maintenance costs are consuming budgets once reserved for future projects, leaving districts to choose between higher bills or deferred upgrades. In this episode, we speak with District 6 Director Tony Estremera and EMWD General Manager Joe Mouawad about the financial strain behind California’s water system and how those choices could define its future.

California’s community colleges have been confronting a growing wave of enrollment fraud. Through stolen identities, fake students are collecting financial aid meant for real applicants.

In this episode, N2N Services CEO Kiran Kodithala explains how large-scale fraud networks infiltrated the system and what investigators are now uncovering behind the surge.

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 Proposition 50 would challenge the once-a-decade rule for drawing congressional maps. While some lawmakers call it a necessary response to partisan redistricting in other states, critics warn it could weaken protections against partisan gerrymandering in the state and shift congressional seat representation.

In this episode, former state Assemblyman Mike Gatto, Democratic strategist Michael Trujillo, and county Republican leader Will O’Neill join us to look at how this proposal could impact voter trust and the balance of power in California politics.

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 high-speed rail has been in the works for years, but the story behind its delays is more complex than it looks. In this episode, developer Elaine Culotti talks about why progress has slowed and what’s already taking shape. We dive deeper into what the project shows about how California builds infrastructure and why finishing the project has become so difficult.

Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Los Angeles County’s eviction process has become a drawn-out struggle over how property rights are enforced. Real estate attorney Avi Sinai shares what he’s seeing in court as legal delays and expanding tenant protections have changed how landlords and renters deal with each other across the county. Property owner Thomas Maimone recounts how his family’s warehouse in Altadena was taken over by tenants who knew how to work the system. In this episode, their experiences reveal how policy and enforcement gaps play out in real life.

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 electric vehicle market is starting to shift as key incentives come to an end.

In this episode, we speak with University of California–Davis professor Daniel Sperling, one of the driving forces behind the state’s clean-car policies, about how reduced support is impacting the market and what it could mean for California’s clean-car goals.

Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.