Hector Barajas – California Globe

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...

The Dangerous Path of Social Engineering Through Science

October 7, 2025 11:44 amOctober 7, 2025 11:44 am

Two academics from Western Michigan University’s Department of Medical Ethics, Humanities, and Law recently published a paper in Bioethics making a radical claim: it is “morally obligatory” to promote the spread of alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), a tickborne disease that makes...

Exposing California’s ‘Secret Police’ Hypocrisy

October 2, 2025 2:55 amOctober 2, 2025 2:56 am

Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom, state legislators, local elected officials, and community leaders were on camera thundering about “authoritarian regimes” and “secret police tactics.” They staged press conferences, accused others of “terror campaigns,” and congratulated themselves for “bold leadership”...