News For Reasonable People

 Landlords in Oakland, California, are on the brink of despair as tenants exploit eviction moratoriums to dwell rent-free. This situation has driven property owners deep into debt, with retiree Pamela Haley, among many others, fretting over her retirement plan being crippled due to unpaid rents amounting to more than sixty thousand dollars. This mess, coupled with tenants damaging her property, sh...

As the tension over RV homeless camps in Seattle heats up ahead of the All-Star game, there is an air of rebellion amidst the motorhome owners. The city, usually reeking of urban struggle and complications, is witnessing an unexpected twist. A self-proclaimed revolt by the RV owners is about to be in full swing. The rebellion intends to park their motorhomes by the stadium, in a defiant response t...

Pilfering, swindling, purloining – call it what you will – the organized theft crisis in America is now a colossal industry, surpassing the $100 billion mark. Today, we're peeling back the layers on this syndicate from the perspective of a former professional booster turned author who's no stranger to skid row or the dark abyss of addiction. The walkways and aisles of Walmart, Nordstrom,...

In the humble neighborhoods of Southeast Portland, residents seem to be entangled in an unwanted dilemma. A maze of tents and ramshackle RVs characterizes the face of the city, casting a gloomy shadow on the picturesque homes that are fighting to preserve their curb appeal. Homeowners, like a local woman whose quaint three-bedroom house has been in the market for three months, are starting to feel...

The modest city of Coronado, California, has made a decisive move towards combating homelessness, their solution as simple as it is resolute - a zero-tolerance policy on encampments. Coronado's Republican mayor attributes their success to their refusal to encourage destructive behavior. They offer compassion, yes, but not the kind that tolerates a homeless individual's descent into lawle...

In a surprising turn of events, the concrete jungles of Downtown San Francisco are seeing a shocking slump in commercial real estate prices. Soaring skyscrapers that once commanded sky-high prices are being traded for dimes on the dollar, if not less. So, if you've been keeping an eye on the 180 Howard Street building, you'd know that Ellis Partners and Bob House Group snagged this once...

Retail theft has escalated to never-before-seen heights, leaving store owners desperate for creative solutions. One such innovation hails from the windy city. Chicago has seen business owners employ a unique method to combat thieving hands - deploying fog machines in stores. A simple truth informs this strategy: a burglar can't steal what they can't see. As the old adage goes, 'nece...

After six decades of serving tech titans and breakfast lovers, the HRD Coffee Shop, a cherished establishment in the heart of San Francisco, is shuttering its doors. While the restaurant was a celebrated local hero for decades, with its unique Chinese and Mexican fusion fare winning the approval of culinary celebrities like Guy Fieri, the owner cited the city's lack of business support amid s...

California, the Golden State, carries a grim medal for accommodating over half of America's homeless population. A former Oceanside police officer and eye-witness to the escalating crisis holds a different perspective to Governor Gavin Newsom's stance. He asserts the lack of affordable housing is not the root cause of California's homelessness, addiction, and mental health issues, b...

Before the pandemic, Tylan Vinson mostly fixed windshields damaged by flying debris or broken in accidents. But nowadays, at Super Auto Glass, his auto glass repair shop in South San Francisco, half of his work is replacing windows broken by thieves. “It’s been a busy day,” Vinson said over the phone Friday between fix-it jobs. Vinson mainly works on private vehicles but occasionally fixes rental...

Another retailer is threatening to close stores due to theft. This time, it's Giant Food, which operates about 170 stores in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. Giant President Ira Kress told Washington DC radio station WTOP on Monday that thieves are stealing "everything," from shrimp to deodorant, at Giant's stores. In response, the chain has placed more items u...

In a sobering perspective on urban life, a San Francisco shop owner from Afghanistan has called the crime situation in his new city "worse than Afghanistan." The increase in brazen smash-and-grab thefts has small businesses caught in the crossfire. This new crime trend involves large groups simultaneously targeting businesses, resulting in the loss of significant merchandise. San Francis...

States across the nation are stirring into action, gazing warily at the urban predicament of San Francisco and preemptively strategizing to avoid such a fate. Here's a little insight into their whirlwind of thoughts: What if the housing affordability crisis, spurred by the City by the Bay, starts chewing at our own turf? Well, they've got a plan. And it's all about remaking, rethink...

Here's another one biting the dust. Amazon Go has thrown in the towel and shuttered yet another store in the heart of Seattle. Originally placed at the epicenter of city life, these digital stores were supposed to represent the future of retail. But alas, just three months ago, Amazon announced the closure of eight high-tech outlets across the United States. And now, another casualty. This ti...

Unprecedented steps are being taken in the San Francisco Bay Area as local grocery stores fortify their entrances with metal gates to curb an escalating shoplifting crisis. Many are left slack-jawed, me included, witnessing the measures they've had to resort to. And why is this happening? Let's just say, laws and leadership have rendered shoplifting a misdemeanor offense, effectively ope...

An LA Times poll recently revealed a shocking number: four out of ten Californians are seriously contemplating ditching their sunny west coast lifestyle. Frustrated, bewildered, and caught in a conundrum of sky-high living costs and growing discontent, they are looking at greener pastures. Political ideologies sway on a pendulum that seems to be leaning more towards the left, and unsurprisingly, t...

As the summer season unfurls, Chicago’s crime rates seem to be taking a nasty hike. Mayor Brandon Johnson, though heavily criticized for his hands-off approach to this escalating issue, stays adamant. "It's a long-term project, can't expect miracles overnight", he retorts, creating a maelstrom of skepticism and doubt among the city’s weary residents. His police staffing plan is...

In a bizarre twist, San Francisco's Mayor London Breed is seemingly playing a game of Simon Says with downtown office developers, crying, "help us, help you!" Despite her valiant effort to tame the urban wilderness that has become the city center, a huge chunk of commercial space demands attention. A cynical smile creeps across one's face when considering the monumental task of...

Strolling through the urban landscapes of the Midwest, it's hard to ignore the creeping sense of decay. In cities once teeming with bustling businesses and vibrant downtown scenes, we now see echoing silence, a ghostly testament to a time before our world was consumed by the realm of remote work. Central Business Districts across Middle America are struggling as their once booming workforces...

The once revered Golden Gate University law school is staring down the barrel of bankruptcy and closure, and the irony is hard to ignore. Struggling to stay afloat, the institution pinned their hopes on a real estate deal that was meant to be their lifeboat. But as luck would have it, the downtown San Francisco commercial real estate market has taken a nose-dive, leaving the school's administ...

Approximately 9% of America’s corporations moved headquarters since the beginning of 2022, the highest rate since 2017, with most corporations moving to Florida, Texas, and Arizona.  The states that corporations were most likely to abandon were Washington, New York, and California.  “Florida had 86% more corporations move their HQ there, compared to the number of companies that chose to move their...

Fewer buses along Muni routes. A longer wait for a 911 response. An overcrowded hospital. San Francisco has thousands of city jobs unfilled and finds itself in an “unprecedented hiring crisis,” according to a report published Wednesday by the civil grand jury that paints a grim picture of public services in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The City has twice as many vacancies — about 4,800 in to...

Just when you thought things couldn't get any more bizarre, another seasoned property developer, investing in the heart of Portland for the last four decades, has finally given up. After grappling with an unprecedented string of property violations, from the so-called homeless habitually breaking into his properties to a sluggish bureaucracy seemingly deaf to his pleas for help, the real esta...

If you thought the city by the Bay was on a highway to heaven, think again. San Francisco seems to be taking a detour through the valleys of Sodom and Gomorrah, according to this columnist from Hot Air. Shockingly, it seems that the residents of this once-proud city are more concerned about the plight of their "unhoused" drug addicts than they are about the hardscrabble taxpayers who are...

San Francisco's urban glamour once drew crowds, but Florida Governor Ron DeSantis argues that the city has seen better days. In a recent visit, DeSantis observed firsthand the degradation of the once-booming metropolis. San Francisco's crumbling status is a direct result of leftist policies, DeSantis posits, pointing to defecating pedestrians, rampant drug use, and the disappearance of t...