Hector Barajas – California Globe

California’s Higher Gas Prices Are a Policy Choice, Not an Accident

January 7, 2026 2:55 amJanuary 7, 2026 8:29 am

Before the end of the year, the California Independent Petroleum Association sent a blunt message to the California Energy Commission: California’s oil industry is approaching a breaking point, and state inaction risks higher gas prices, supply disruptions, and deeper economic...

Americans Haven’t Stopped Caring – They’ve Stopped Trusting

January 5, 2026 4:30 amJanuary 5, 2026 4:31 am

Most analyses of declining charitable giving focus on household balance sheets. Inflation fatigue, higher interest rates, student loan repayments, childcare costs, and lingering uncertainty all matter. James Pollard and Linley Sanders, with the Associated Press, capture that reality clearly: many...

This Christmas, ‘Merry Christmas’ Came Back

December 27, 2025 3:55 amDecember 27, 2025 3:56 am

This Christmas felt different. Not louder. Not flashier. Just more normal. For the first time in a few years, it felt okay to say “Merry Christmas” again. Not whispered. Not followed by an apology. Just said plainly, often, to strangers....

California Spent $460 Million on a 911 System That Doesn’t Work

December 9, 2025 2:45 amDecember 9, 2025 2:46 am

Californians were promised a modern 911 system that would save lives. Instead, after six years and roughly $460 million, the state has delivered a system that doesn’t work. I remember sitting in Senator Shannon Grove’s office as the Senate Caucus...

California’s Poverty Machine Manages Misery Instead of Solving It

October 31, 2025 10:10 amOctober 31, 2025 10:10 am

Something is broken in California. As the federal shutdown threatens to cut off food assistance for 5.5 million residents, we’re once again reminded that our state, the world’s fourth-largest economy (or 5th), is a symbol of wealth and a portrait...

The Forgotten Victims in the Immigration Debate

October 27, 2025 2:49 pmOctober 27, 2025 2:49 pm

I grew up in Echo Park when it wasn’t trendy or safe. The same park that now draws joggers and families once drew gang lookouts. Some of my neighborhood friends got out. Some didn’t. What I learned back then is...

MacArthur Park Exposes California’s Failed Compassion

October 20, 2025 6:42 amOctober 20, 2025 6:42 am

This past weekend’s “No Kings” protest was a display of free speech. That was their right. But part of what they were protesting was the use of federal and state assistance to clean up our streets. I can’t speak for...