New report : California Coastal Commission has collected nearly $50 million from property owners since 2016
The California Coastal Commission has long been described as the most powerful land use authority in the United States. A new PLF report puts some hard numbers behind that reputation. The Power of Punishment: How the California Coastal Commission's Increased Enforcement Power Affects Property Rights examines the Commission's enforcement activity ...
The state wants to track lobstermen’s every move. One is asking the Supreme Court to end it.
Everyone in Vinalhaven knows two things: the weather and the price of a lobster — $6. Ten miles off the coast of Maine, this rugged outcropping of fewer than 1,300 people is one of the cradles of the New England lobster industry. Dark evergreens cling to the hillsides above its blue coves; granite cliffs take the full force of the North Atlant ...
Washington activist continues legal challenge to unpayable fines
Tim Eyman is trapped by an unpayable debt that's growing daily. Between fines, attorney fees, and ever-increasing interest, the State of Washington expects him to find and turn over $8 million. Since he can't, the State is adding $700,000 to that total every year. Eyman has been fighting this unconstitutionally excessive fine in the Washington c ...
Who owns the rain? When government regulation loses common sense
There are moments when you hear a legal argument and wonder whether common sense has quietly left the building. Take the case of an Oregon man who went to jail in 2012 for collecting rainwater in basins. The state water department said he was interfering with local rivers because they're usually filled by the rain. If you "interrupt the flow of ...
California Globe : In California, You Can Do Everything Right, and Still Get Crushed
Take an oil and gas operator who spends millions upgrading equipment, filing emissions reports, and complying with air-quality rules that change more often than a coastal forecast. Every form is filed. Every inspection is passed. And yet, a permit is suddenly delayed or reinterpreted, a new reporting requirement is layered on top of the old one, or ...
Youth climate suits don’t have a constitutional leg to stand on
A federal appeals court has just announced an April hearing date in the youth climate suit Lighthiser v. Trump. The lawsuit was filed against the Trump administration in May 2025 by a group of 22 youth plaintiffs and spearheaded by the environmental activist organization "Our Children's Trust." The lawsuit asks the court to strike down a group o ...
How a Policy Interpretation turned Title IX against itself
When Title IX was passed in 1972, it promised to provide men and women with equal access to opportunities like scholarships, athletic programs, and extracurriculars. It was a beacon of progress in the fight for gender equality and transformational for women's athletics. It's perplexing, then, that the number of NCAA men's gymnastics teams has dw ...
A rancher’s land dispute could prompt SCOTUS to clarify sovereign immunity
Tammy Blakey's career as an airline captain took her all over the world from Shanghai to the Middle East. Now retired, she may soon be heading to the most exotic location yet: The Supreme Court. In 1990, Tammy and her husband acquired 165 acres of ranchland in Snohomish County, Washington. Together, they ran their small business, Flying T Ranch. ...
Wyoming county apologizes for wrongful fee, pays family back
In early March, Wyoming homeowners Shelby and Trey Scharp received an unusual letter from their county government. The letter began, "Teton County made a mistake. We required you to pay an affordable housing mitigation fee that you did not need to pay. We are sorry… and regret every minute of distress this litigation caused you." That le ...