Washington Examiner : Permitting reform—The key to unlocking housing and energy affordability
For years, homeowners and builders have been trapped in a cycle of waiting — waiting for permits, waiting for inspections, and waiting for approvals that can take months or even years to arrive. Now, policymakers across the country are taking a fresh look at outdated permitting processes, and they're beginning to cut the red tape that has made bu ...
Judge’s ruling protects due process rights of Californians caught in federal registration trap
On April 9, a federal judge issued a permanent injunction blocking the Department of Justice from prosecuting California residents under a federal sex-offender registration law without first confirming with the state that those individuals are required to register in the first place. PLF represents a group of plaintiffs who are caught in a bind ...
A court finally tells FinCEN there is nothing questionable about buying in cash
When a federal court struck down FinCEN's real estate surveillance rule, Celia Flowers finally got an answer to the question that had been haunting her business for two years: Could the government force her to hand over her clients' private information? In 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) finaliz ...
The Hill : How the federal government is forcing states to spy on lobstermen
The federal government is forcing constant, warrantless GPS surveillance on thousands of small fishing businesses — and threatening their livelihoods if fishermen or state governments object. A federal regulation requires ten East Coast states to adopt and enforce an electronic tracking requirement for federally permitted lobster vessels. Comp ...
Orange County Register : California should extend lifesaving telehealth tech options
Dr. Gene Dorio and Robin Clough spent their careers looking after their neighbors' needs. In Santa Clarita, they were the kind of couple every community quietly relies on—running programs for seniors, checking in on isolated neighbors, and making sure residents had support when things went wrong. They were the helpers. Then came their own brus ...
Kansas city wastes over $800,000 ordering local restaurant owner to abandon mural
A Kansas entrepreneur's First Amendment lawsuit may present one of the most unconventional stories the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit hears this year. Restaurant owner Steve Howard sued the City of Salina for violating his free speech rights after city officials ordered him to abandon a sci-fi-inspired mural on the side of his small bu ...
American Heroes : When the government wipes out your property rights and your family legacy—overnight
What happens when the government doesn't just regulate your property, but effectively erases its value? That's the reality for John Morgan and his family. In the latest episode of American Heroes, Kathy Hoekstra sits down with John to unpack a California law (SB 1137) that has shut down access to oil and gas resources—wiping out both the va ...
The woman who sued to enforce the Declaration’s promise of equality
The Declaration of Independence's bold proclamation that "all men are created equal" was the foundation on which the pillars of American ethos were built. Its principle endured, later shaping the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equality before the law. Self-evident as this truth may be, how these words would be lifted from the parchment and ...
Does the Constitution protect a cancer patient’s right to call his doctor?
When Jun Abell was just 18 months old, he was diagnosed with pineoblastoma—a rare, aggressive brain tumor. After multiple surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy, he was referred to Dr. Shannon MacDonald, a leading pediatric radiation oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Jun's family moved to Boston for two months while he underwent proton ...