Will California hobble the US railroad industry?

• May 2, 2024

American federalism is struggling. Federal rules are an overwhelming presence in every state government, and some states, due to their size or other leverage, can impose their own policies on much or all of the country. The problem has been made clearer by an under-the-radar plan to phase out diesel locomotives in California. If the federal government provides the state with a helping hand, it would bring nationwide repercussions for a vital, overlooked industry.

Various industry and advocacy groups are lining up against California’s costly measure, calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to deny a waiver needed to fully implement it. In the past month, more than 30 leading conservative organizations and individuals, hundreds of state and local chambers of commerce, and the U.S. agricultural sector have pleaded with the EPA to help stop this piece of extremism from escaping one coastal state.

Railroads may not be something most Americans, whose attention is on their own cars and roads, think about often. But rail is the most basic infrastructure of interstate commerce, accounting for around 40% of long-distance ton-miles. It’s also fairly clean, accounting for less than 1% of total U.S. emissions. Private companies, like Union Pacific in the West or CSX in the East, pay for their infrastructure and equipment. These facts haven’t stopped the regulatory power grab.

Most importantly, the California Air Resources Board regulation would have all freight trains operate in zero-emission configuration by 2035. At the end of the decade, the state is mandating the retirement of diesel locomotives 23 years or older, despite typically useful lives of over 40 years. Starting in 2030, new passenger locomotives must operate with zero emissions, with new engines for long-haul freight trains following by 2035. It limits locomotive idling and increases reporting requirements.

Given the interstate nature of railway operations, California needs the EPA to grant a waiver. If the agency agrees, the policy will inevitably affect the entire continental United States.

The kicker is that no technology exists today to enable railroads to comply with California’s diktat, rendering the whole exercise fanciful at best.

The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board explained last November that while Wabtec Corp. has introduced a pioneering advance in rail technology with the launch of the world’s first battery-powered locomotive, the dream of a freight train fully powered by batteries remains elusive. The challenges of substituting diesel with batteries — primarily due to batteries’ substantial weight and volume — make it an impractical solution for long-haul trains. Additionally, the risk of battery overheating and potential explosions, which can emit harmful gases, is a significant safety concern. As the editorial noted, “Even if the technology for zero-emission locomotives eventually arrives, railroads will have to test them over many years to guarantee their safety.”

The cost-benefit analysis is woefully unfavorable to the forced displacement of diesel locomotives. To “help” the transition, beginning in 2026, CARB will force all railroads operating in California to deposit dollars into an escrow account managed by the state and frozen for the explicit pursuit of the green agenda. For large railroads, this figure will be a staggering $1.6 billion per year, whereas some smaller railroads will pay up to $5 million.

Many of these smaller companies have signaled that they will simply go out of business. For the large railroads, the requirement will lock up about 20% of annual spending, money typically used for maintenance and safety improvements.

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Transportation is the largest source of U.S. emissions, yet railroads’ contribution amounts to not much more than a rounding error. The industry cites its efficiency improvements over time, allowing railroads today to move a ton of freight more than 500 miles on a single gallon of diesel. Its expensive machines, which last between 30 to 50 years and are retrofitted throughout their life cycles, are about 75% more efficient than long-haul trucks that carry a comparative amount of freight.

As Patricia Patnode of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which signed the aforementioned letter to the EPA, recently remarked, “Rather than abolish diesel trains, CARB should stand in awe of these marvels of energy-efficient transportation.”

President Joe Biden talks a lot about trains, but his actions since taking office have consistently punished the private companies we should value far more than state-supported Amtrak. In this case, EPA Administrator Michael Regan and the White House need not think too hard. They should wait for reality to catch up before imposing on the rest of us one state’s demands and ambitions.

Veronique de Rugy is the George Gibbs Chair in Political Economy and a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

​ Orange County Register 

Gudetama Cafe, dedicated to Sanrio’s lazy egg character, opening in Buena Park

• May 2, 2024

Drenched in the yellow hue of its yolky animated hero, Gudetama Cafe, based on Sanrio’s lazy egg character, will open its doors in Buena Park on Saturday, May 4.

While the menu has yet to be revealed for the upcoming Buena Park location, Gudetama Cafe’s international locations serve salad, soups, sandwiches and, of course, eggs — many of which come with Gudetama’s face somewhere on the meal.

The new eatery’s interiors will feature branded walls and counters with yellow tables and seating for guests. Murals of cartoon bacon, egg and Gudetama characters wrap around the walls, with an appearance of the titular hero saying “Can I go now?” on the bathroom door. A lethargic Gudetama uttering “meh” can be found painted on the building’s facade.

SEE ALSO: 15 Southern California coffee shops with creative, quirky themes

A portmanteau of the Japanese words for lazy (gude gude) and egg (tamago), Gudetama, created by Sanrio in 2013, is just that: an anthropomorphic, lethargic egg. Initially created for the adolescent market — similar to other characters in the Sanrio-verse like Hello Kitty or Keroppi — teens and adults took to the eggy cartoon. Small wonder as Gudetama has come to represent a identifiable feeling of existential malaise in an era of overstimulation.

Inside Gudetama Cafe opening Saturday, May 4 in Buena Park. (Photo courtesy of Gudetama Cafe)

Gudetama, gender-free because it is unfertilized, can only be seen or heard by people who feel listless. Soy sauce is its preferred food, which is one of the few things that can make it motivated.

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“Our fate is to be eaten, I think,” said the famous yolk in the “Gudetama: An Eggcellent Adventure” show on Netflix.

The Buena Park cafe opening marks Gudetama Cafe’s first foray into Southern California, joining other Sanrio-themed eateries like the Hello Kitty Cafe location in Irvine and the Hello Kitty Cafe truck in Los Angeles. Gudetama Cafes have appeared in Japan, the U.K. and Singapore.

Gudetama Cafe takes over the former Grange Hall space inside the Buena Park Place shopping center.

Find it: 8340 La Palma Ave, Buena Park

​ Orange County Register 

Housing approved for two aging commercial properties in Newport Beach near John Wayne Airport

• May 2, 2024

Two older commercial buildings near John Wayne Airport are set to be torn down, and developers plan to turn them into condominiums and apartments with a percentage of each set for affordable housing.

The Newport Beach City Council recently approved the proposals, voting to override the Orange County Airport Land Use Commission determination earlier this month that the projects were “inconsistent” with the land-use plan in the airport zone.

In January, the commission found that “aircraft noise” would be incompatible with the welfare of inhabitants, saying the airport zones are set up to “support the continued use and operation of an airport by establishing compatibility and safety standards to promote navigational safety and reduce potential safety hazards for persons living, working or recreating near JWA.”

In 2006, the City Council approved development of up to 2,200 housing units in the airport area in an update to the city’s general plan. The applicants asked the City Council to change the zoning for the two commercial building properties from office mixed-use to residential and are using some of the 2,200 units for their project, said Seimone Jurjis, assistant city manager.

The projects – at 1401 Quail St. to be built by Intracorp Homes and at 1400 Bristol St. to be built by the Picerne Group – were previously approved by the city’s Planning Commission in the fall.

At the Quail Street property, the developer plans to build 67 condominiums, eight of which are set to be affordable housing. The development includes a 146-space parking structure.

Another 229 apartments, with 23 affordable units, are planned for the Bristol Street property. That development will connect via a pedestrian bridge to another nearby Picerne property also being developed at 1300 Bristol St. that was approved by the council last year. A 422-space parking structure will accompany the project.

The 2,200 units are almost all exhausted with approved projects. To meet new state housing mandates to plan for 4,845 housing units to meet future needs in California, city officials have identified the West Newport Mesa, Dover-Westcliff, Newport Center and Coyote Canyon areas, along with the airport area, as places for additional development. The city has identified the opportunity for an additional 2,577 units in the airport area.

The airport commission will review the planning for the 2,577 units in the airport area and some others proposed for Newport Center on May 16 and the City Council is expected to discuss the housing opportunities on July 23. In November, Newport Beach voters will have an opportunity to make their voices heard about the housing plan under a city law that requires a vote if more than 100 units are added to an area.

Jurjis said the airport commission could find the uses “incompatible,” but the city could again override because the ability is granted by state law.

The city attorney has found no extra liability for the city by allowing the developments in the airport area despite the airport commission’s concerns, he said.

“The city is in a tough spot. Where do you put what the state wants? At the same time, the office market is getting soft. Property owners are reconsidering what to do with their properties,” he said.

“If a developer has affordable housing in its project, cities have little chance in voting that down,” Jurjis said. “It’s in the city’s best interest to approve where the housing will go. If we don’t, we lose local control.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Angels’ Mickey Moniak looks to take advantage of opportunity provided by Mike Trout’s injury

• May 2, 2024

CLEVELAND — The door is open for Mickey Moniak.

When Mike Trout went down with a torn meniscus, Moniak became the Angels’ primary center fielder, at least against right-handed pitchers.

After struggling in limited playing time for much of the first month, Moniak is going to get an extended chance to show if he can repeat what he did last year.

“I just didn’t feel my best,” Moniak said, referring to the start of the season, “but over the last week, definitely feel like I’m back where I need to be and ready to go.”

When Moniak’s thoughts about his progress were relayed to Manager Ron Washington, he smiled.

“I personally hope what he told you starts to happen,” Washington said. “I want to see him turn the corner. Whatever his vision is, I want to see him meet that. But you’ve all been watching.”

Washington was suggesting that Moniak isn’t there yet.

He’s hitting .143 with a .400 OPS in 67 plate appearances. He has 21 strikeouts and four walks.

Moniak had a single late in Sunday’s blowout loss to snap his 0-for-21 skid, and he had an RBI single on Tuesday, his first start after Trout’s injury.

When Washington was asked what has to happen for Moniak to become productive, he had a simple answer.

“Make contact,” Washington said. “He’s not making contact. Use the whole field. Be Mickey. Not that Mickey that hit 14 home runs and thinks he’s a home run hitter. The Mickey who, when he got drafted, he was putting the ball all over the place. And then occasionally he’ll catch a home run.”

Moniak was drafted No. 1 overall in 2016, out of La Costa Canyon High in Carlsbad. He never found his major league footing with the Philadelphia Phillies, and he was traded to the Angels in July 2022.

Last season was the first time he got extended playing time in the majors, and he made it count. Moniak hit .280 with 14 home runs and an .802 OPS.

Amid that, he still struck out 113 times and walked nine times, a combination that raised a giant red flag about the sustainability of his success.

Moniak, 25, said he’s tried this season to be better with his swing decisions. It’s probably too early to read much into the numbers, but so far Moniak has cut his chase rate from 44% to 26%. The major league average is 22%.

“I feel like right now I’m swinging at the pitches I should be swinging at,” Moniak said. “I’m just missing them. That’s on me to figure out.”

Moniak said he is once again focused on hitting the ball the way he did before.

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“Just trying to hit line drives over the shortstop, up the middle, stuff I’ve done my whole life,” he said. “It’s gotten me where I am.”

Moniak hit two fly balls to left field on Wednesday, which he said is a good sign. Once he starts barreling more of those, they will be hits instead of outs.

The prospect of regular playing time means Moniak will get plenty of opportunity to find himself.

“Right now the focus is to get the timing back,” Moniak said. “The more at-bats I get, the more I can get back to doing what I do best. … The results aren’t there yet, but it’s a long season. We’ll take it month by month and revisit it in October.”

UP NEXT

Angels (RHP José Soriano, 0-4, 4.76 ERA) at Guardians (RHP Tanner Bibbee, 2-0, 3.45 ERA), Friday, 4:10 p.m. PT, Bally Sports West, 830 AM

​ Orange County Register 

New Santa Ana POA president wants to ‘rebrand’ organization

• May 2, 2024

The Santa Ana Police Officers Association’s new president, John Kachirisky, said he wants to “rebrand” the organization and get the community to see the union in a more “positive light.”

Following the exit of former union leader Gerry Serrano in late July, Kachirisky, who was previously vice president, is filling in to finish the president’s two-year term, which ends in December when elections will be held again.

Under Serrano’s leadership, the POA filed several lawsuits against city administration alleging retaliation, spying and labor code violations, among other complaints. Prior to his departure, Serrano was also in conflict with city leaders over the amount of his pension.

City Hall officials have said the lawsuits, on top of pricey recall elections against city leaders, strained relations and created severe mistrust with the Santa Ana community. Kachirisky says he wants to fix that.

Kachirisky has worked for the Santa Ana Police Department since 2008; he previously spent three years with the California Highway Patrol. He said he’s always been supportive of unions, but got his start in organizing with the Santa Ana POA.

The new union leader said he wants to build a stronger line of communication and trust with the Police Department’s administration and city leaders, adding, “We’re moving forward, turning a page. We’re not looking back to what has happened.”

When he took the position, Kachirisky said former union president Mark Nichols advised him to keep his focus on the members.

“I believe the role that I’m in is to look out for the members, putting the members No. 1. That’s been my focus,” Kachirisky said.

The POA has about 500 members, including unsworn staff. Some members, however, have shared concerns that Kachirisky is a weak replacement for Serrano or shared doubt in his leadership. Others also worry that Kachirisky’s efforts to get along with everyone will be detrimental to the membership.

To that, Kachirisky said his priority is his members.

“Maybe my members think that I’m trying to make everybody happy. It’s not making everybody happy, but it’s bringing everybody to the table to find a solution of where we’re going, what direction we’re going to go,” Kachirisky said.

The POA is in negotiations with the city for a contract – the last one expired in January. But Kachirisky also said a priority is filling the nearly 40 Police Department vacancies that are leading to overworked officers and staff.

“I’m more worried about the health of my members because right now our dispatchers can’t take days off. They get forced overtime to stay here,” Kachirisky said. “We have officers that have to stay after hours because there’s not enough personnel. I’m more concerned about getting the support that my members need to be able to provide a service for the community.”

The City Council last summer directed the department to put more focus on arresting publicly intoxicated people. More than 950 hours of overtime were racked up between September and December carrying out that directive, Police Department officials recently reported.

Some city leaders said they would be open to remedying the working relationship between City Hall and the POA, but want to see Kachirisky’s promises in action.

“I think that if the new POA president and the POA as a whole want to truly start new, they should start by dropping the lawsuits that they filed against the city,” Councilmember Jessie Lopez said. “If they really want to start new, they should not resort to the manipulative and coercive tactics that they have in the past and take responsibility for the havoc that they’ve caused in the city.”

Lopez, along with Councilmember Thai Viet Phan, was the focus of a POA-funded recall campaign last year. While the effort targeting Phan failed to garner enough signatures to force a public vote, the effort against Lopez did. She survived the recall vote in November – with 56% of voters supporting her.

Lopez said “abuse of power” and “greed” on the part of the POA have strained the working relationship between the union and city officials.

“For years, they’ve relentlessly pursued massive pay increases, even as the city has struggled to provide essential services for our constituents,” Lopez said. “The city has already been embroiled in numerous lawsuits showcasing a blatant disregard for the financial position that the city is in.”

Lopez described the union’s rebranding as a “PR project” by leaders who are “now trying to salvage their image.”

Councilmember Johnathan Hernandez had similar concerns, saying “the POA has a lot of work to do when it comes to repairing the harm that they’ve done to the community in the process of them trying to obtain political power.”

Kachirisky declined to comment on the POA’s previous actions, but said the union is “moving in a different direction.”

City spokesperson Paul Eakins said five “SAPOA-related cases” have been filed since Serrano’s departure, however the POA is not a plaintiff in those cases. Claudio Gallegos, political director at the Santa Ana POA, said the union is not paying for legal defense in officer-involved cases. It is unclear what city officials meant by “SAPOA-related.”

One lawsuit was filed in September by Kachirisky, who is alleging the Police Department administration denied him a promotion in 2020 and again in 2022 in retaliation because of his “association with the POA/Serrano and the POA’s/Serrano’s ongoing attempts to hold (former Police Chief David) Valentin and his supporters accountable,” according to court documents.

Kachirisky declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The union is in the midst of a lawsuit with a former public relations consultant Ernesto Conde, who was hired by Serrano in 2020. In the suit, the POA alleges that Conde is posting content to the union’s pages without permission and refusing to give up control of the social media channels. In his response to the suit, Conde accused the union of walking back on promises to pay canvassers for their work.

Kachirisky declined to comment on the lawsuit, but said the payment was the responsibility of the Residents for Responsible Leadership, an organization that received funds from the POA for recall efforts.

“As a laborer, I believe everybody should be paid,” Kachirisky said. “This has nothing to do with the Santa Ana Police Officers Association or any entity with Santa Ana.”

But both Lopez and Hernandez said the allegations make them dubious of the POA’s new direction.

Councilmember Benjamin Vazquez also said the allegations are troublesome and he will be keeping an eye on the situation, but is optimistic of brighter days.

“I appreciate him saying that he wasn’t trying to bring the heat to his office like the previous president of the POA,” Vazquez said. “I think that the last president was detrimental to the whole Police Department, and that really brought morale down. Hopefully we can even things out together and make sure that everybody in the city feels respected.”

Mayor Valerie Amezcua, who was endorsed by the POA in 2022 along with Councilmembers Phil Bacerra and David Penaloza, said seeing Kachirisky meet with councilmembers, police leaders and the acting city manager has shown her that he is serious about rebranding the union.

“What I just ask is that they maintain good, positive relationships, as much as possible with the city, the police chief and the police leadership so that the community can benefit, the officers can benefit, and the city as a whole can benefit,” Amezcua said. “When people see that people are working together, attempting to get along, have the same goals, then our community benefits from it.”

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​ Orange County Register 

The Iron Sheik threatened to kill him. Years later, a road trip would reunite them.

• May 2, 2024

On the day after Christmas in 1983, the wrestler known as The Iron Sheik won the World Wrestling Federation belt, beating the champion Bob Backlund in a classic “heel” vs “babyface” match at Madison Square Garden.

Brad Balukjian, a gangly, socially awkward elementary schooler, loved the Iron Sheik, a villainous character known to wave an Ayatollah Khomeini flag while screaming “Death to America” at matches. So in 2005, Balukjian was set to become the official biographer of his Iranian idol – whose given name was Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, or “Khos” for short – until the project, in spectacular fashion, melted down. (This wasn’t what’s known in wrestling as kayfabe – the term for pro wrestling’s blending of real/fake culture – either; the breakdown between hero and fan was a real one).

Balukjian went on to get a Ph.D. in entomology and became a science writer and a professor of natural history and sustainability at Merritt College in Oakland, but he never fully gave up on turning his Iron Sheik material into something.

So he did. Coming out of peak Omicron, Balukjian set out on a 12,525-mile journey to meet up with a handful of wrestlers who appeared at MSG that night like “Mr. USA” Tony Atlas, The Masked Superstar, Tito Santana, and the man who would claim the belt from Iron Sheik a month later, Hulk Hogan. The author would even reconnect with the Sheik himself.  

Balukjian’s new work “The Six Pack: On the Road to Wrestlemania” is a spiritual sequel to 2020’s surprise hit  “The Wax Pack,” in which he opened a pack of baseball cards from 1986 and went in search of what the players were doing now. For this book, Balukjian spent 62 days on the road seeking out his heroes from the WWF (now known as the WWE). The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. 

Q: “The Wax Pack” was such an ingenious way to frame a book that I’m curious if you knew you wanted to tell “The Six Pack” in a similar fashion? 

The best answer is, sort of? “The Wax Pack” was rejected 38 times and it took years to get published. People in the industry didn’t get what I was trying to do, which is take readers along on a personal quest, part sports history, part present-day reporting, part memoir, and not just a straightforward biography of baseball players or wrestlers. Once the book got out there and sold pretty well, I knew I had some leverage, but I didn’t want to write a straight sequel where I, say, open a pack of 1991 hockey cards or whatever. Even though it would’ve been fun and an easier book deal to secure, I wanted to push myself creatively but recognized that if I could somehow link the books thematically it could become my personal stamp. 

I have a background in science writing, and an inspiration is Mary Roach, who’s created a cottage industry of books with one-word titles, “Stiff,” “Bonk,” “Gulp,” etc. Using the word “Pack” twice as part of the framework was a conscious choice, but “Six Pack” works in the WWF world for: The number of guys I caught up with from that 1983 lineup; the many, many beers they drank; and their ripped ab muscles. I’ve done some interviews with the WWE world where I’ve gotten a little pushback for putting myself in the book – some fans just want the war stories – but I think it’s a much more interesting approach. So the two books definitely have that road trip in common. 

The Iron Sheik, born Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, plays a role in Brad Balukjian’s book, “The Six Pack: On the Road to Wrestlemania.” Here, the wrestler is seen arriving at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles on July 15, 2009. (Photo credit: Matt Sayles/AP Photo)

Q: “The Six Pack” also grew out of a book project with your WWF hero, The Iron Sheik, which you abandoned some 20 years ago because, as you write, he threatened to murder you? 

That is the absolutely true story that serves as the “The Six Pack” prologue. He was my favorite wrestler when I was a young 1980s kid, and in 2005, I took a gamble and left a job as a magazine fact-checker in California, moving to suburban Atlanta to write a biography with him. We set off on this path together but the whole thing went sideways because he was too addled by substance abuse. On one occasion, I drove Khos to his crack dealer, so needless to say, the collaboration didn’t work out as I envisioned. 

Q: And then Khos threatened to kill you by dealer’s choice: gun, knife, or broken leg? You went with the “.38 Magnum for my fate,” as it’s the quickest option, but I think a snapped femur would have a higher chance of survival, no? 

Fair point, but I wasn’t thinking too clearly at that moment. To be honest, Khos was in his 60s and had the threat lingered and become truly menacing, I would’ve bolted and run away as fast as I could. 

Q: The Iron Sheik isn’t the only character in the book with a host of problems. Was it surprising how far down stars like Tony Atlas had spiraled? You write that Atlas was basically living on the street due to severe drug addiction because as you declare in the book, “The Road ate people alive…”

There’s a show and podcast beloved by wrestling fans called the “Dark Side of the Ring,” which details what so many of these guys went through with drugs, sex, violence, steroids, and burning through money with no real health benefits.

What I try to add to the mix in “The Six Pack” is a way of looking at these aging men and how they view their lives now, their vulnerabilities and emotions as they look back. These stories hit on real-life issues we all deal with, fathers and sons come up repeatedly, so it’s as much a reflection on the humanity behind the kayfabe as it is ‘Wild Tales of the WWF.’  

Q: As an interviewer, even after all these years, was it hard to portray them, or even just talk to them about their careers, as both human beings and their characters simultaneously? The all-encompassing 24/7 role is its own animal…

Professional wrestling is a totally unique art form and profession. When they sign an autograph, they sign their character name. Actors and musicians don’t do that, they might change their name for professional reasons, but it’s not a character. If you go to a convention today and wait in line to meet Sgt. Slaughter, that’s the name he’s signing, not Bob Remus. These guys inhabited these characters for the majority of their lives.

The whole point of “The Six Pack” is digging into to what extent did they actually become their characters? And once they were done wrestling, could they go back to their real selves? How does that work? So yes, when interviewing them it’s a Jekyll and Hyde dance you’re doing, trying to figure out the line between the man and the alter ego.

Q: You and the Iron Sheik ended on good terms before he died last June, was that the full circle of life piece you needed for “The Six Pack?” 

Meeting up with Khos gives the book a driving narrative tension. What’s it going to be like seeing the man who threatened to kill me 17 years later? I knew he’d cleaned up, quit cocaine, and in working on the book, I had filled in all these gaps – like finding the now-94-year-old wrestling coach who welcomed Khos to the U.S. in 1969 – so I knew we had plenty of ground to cover. Over the years, I called him here and there, so there was some contact but I didn’t go see him in person until 2022. We spent a wonderful evening together, dinner with his family, and catching up. 

He died less than a year later and the family invited me to attend his services. The Iron Sheik and I had a long history together. It was quite a journey from where it started to where it ended, but it marks a new beginning for me. The experiences I had in writing and reporting these two books has convinced me to leave academia and give full-time writing a go. There are plenty of old-school sports stories to be told. Pro wrestling will certainly be a part of it, the WWF left quite an imprint on my babyface childhood.  

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​ Orange County Register 

Why one California retiree’s Supreme Court win is a victory for property rights nationwide

• May 2, 2024

California retiree George Sheetz has spent more than seven years locked in a long-running legal dispute with his local county over exorbitant permitting fees. But on April 12, Sheetz took his case to the U.S. Supreme Court — and won.

The unanimous decision was a big win for Sheetz as a plaintiff. But it’s an even bigger victory for the countless property owners who confront abusive permitting fees when seeking to develop their own property, and for those of us who care about government accountability.

The ordeal began in 2016, when Sheetz bought a rural property in El Dorado County, in northeast California, on which he planned to build a retirement home where he would live with his wife and grandson. But that simple plan became more complicated when county officials demanded Sheetz pay a “traffic impact fee” of $23,420 in exchange for the permit needed to develop his property.

The rationale for that demand: in 2004, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors had enacted a countywide plan to address future road construction and improvement needs. That plan came with a big price tag — more than $800 million — and to raise the needed funds, the county jacked up permitting fees on property owners and developers—particularly those seeking to build new homes.

It’s hard to imagine how Sheetz’s development, a modest manufactured home sited on a rural property, was going to lead to a noticeable increase in traffic congestion on county roads. But having already invested a great deal of time, money and energy into his retirement property, Sheetz paid the fee under protest, so he could continue developing his land.

In the meantime, he challenged the county’s permitting scheme in state court, arguing that the disproportionate fees violated his constitutional rights under the Fifth Amendment, which protects private property owners against takings by the government without just compensation. Under this argument, the county’s impact fees might be thought of as extortion, since the onerous fees are a condition of getting the building permit to use the property.

Typically, such administrative fees are held to reasonable limits, thanks to earlier judicial precedent. Previous Supreme Court decisions including Nollan v. California Coastal Commission and Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District, both brought and won by Pacif Legal Foundation, established that local governments can impose impact fees on new development, but the permitting conditions must be proportional to the actual anticipated impacts of the development.

To get around those inconvenient court rulings, local governments often impose the fees through legislation, rather than through the bureaucratic process, to give the fees a veneer of accountability. And California courts agreed that extortionate fees are exempt from constitutional protection if it’s the legislature that’s doing the taking.

Denied justice at the state level, Sheetz ultimately pursued his case to the highest court in the land, where the justices issued a unanimous decision in his favor. As Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote in the decision, there “is no basis for affording property rights less protection in the hands of legislators than administrators. The Takings Clause applies equally to both — which means that it prohibits legislatures and agencies alike from imposing unconstitutional conditions on land-use permits.” Which is to say, property rights don’t receive less protection depending on which branch of government violates them.

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The Supreme Court decision doesn’t put a definitive end to Sheetz’s case — but it does allow him to go back to state court for a new hearing. And it does send a clear message to local governments that they can’t treat property owners like an ATM, and that abusive fee demands will be subject to intense legal scrutiny. Other jurisdictions would be well advised to review their permitting requirements closely to ensure they’re complying with the Supreme Court’s decision and the Constitution.

In a local news interview after the court’s April 12 decision, Sheetz was humble about his day in court: “I’m the little guy, and to get that far is amazing and it shows you that every once in a while, the small guy can win one,” he said. That win isn’t his alone — it’s also a significant victory for all the “little guy” property owners who are facing extortionate fee demands from local government officials.

Brian Hodges is a senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, a public interest law firm that defends Americans’ liberty against government overreach and abuse. Paul Beard is a partner at Pierson Ferdinand.

​ Orange County Register 

4 tips to help parents avoid obstacles to good family nutrition

• May 2, 2024

Feeding young children can be challenging for a host of reasons. While parents and caregivers strive to encourage healthy eating, common strategies may backfire. Families’ eating habits have a huge impact on children’s daily nutrition and relationship with food and potentially even their longer-term health.

How can busy parents tackle the obstacles to good family nutrition?

Making dinner every day can be a significant source of stress. This is particularly true for parents and caregivers with kids who have picky or selective food preferences. Just as there are different parenting styles, there are different approaches to promoting healthy eating at home. However, it’s possible that common strategies can actually make mealtime harder.

Here are some important considerations to promote both optimal nutrition and a healthy mealtime attitude for families:

Rethink the Clean Plate Club

Requiring children to eat everything on their plates doesn’t usually get the intended results. Ideally, children should learn to eat based on their internal cues of hunger and fullness. An expectation to finish everything that is served to them teaches kids to override their own cues, using external cues instead. Learning to ignore their bodies’ signals can lead to overeating and other concerns. Instead, encourage kids to check in with their bodies to decide the right portions at meals. Children can learn to describe their level of hunger to help adults serve them a portion that best matches their appetite.

Offer Balance and Variety Instead of Alternate Meals

Making one meal for the entire family is the most economical and time-efficient approach to meal time. However, 60 percent of parents report making separate meals for children who don’t like what’s served for dinner. These backup meals are often less nutritious “kid foods” like pizza or frozen nuggets. Plus, acting as a short-order cook can become a bad habit that’s hard to break even as children get older and more familiar with different foods. Instead, offer a balanced meal containing a variety of foods including at least one food the child typically eats. Healthy children who eat little at one meal will often catch up at the next meal.

Include the Whole Family in Meal Planning

Parents are dealing with not only the challenge of selective eaters, but also the rising cost of food. A real concern of family meal planning is reducing food waste. Including children in meal planning empowers children and encourages accountability that can help improve food acceptance at meal time. Discuss recipes and ingredients together and, when possible, include everyone in the cooking process. While it’s still the caregiver’s role to decide what’s for dinner, knowing that your child will eat carrots if they are raw and broccoli if it’s cooked with garlic, for example, can help make dinner more successful and less wasteful.

Choose Healthy Snacks

Well-timed nutrient-dense snacks can help young children meet their nutrition needs. Snacks, or mini meals, are especially important for active kids and those who get full quickly, needing to eat more frequently. However, excess unplanned random snacking can lead to poor intake at meals or skipping meals altogether. Many packaged snacks marketed to children are high in sugar, fat and calories and can disrupt the natural instinct to feel hungry leading up to a meal. Snacks that contain fiber and protein like fruit, veggies, yogurt, hummus, seeds, homemade bran mini muffins and air-popped popcorn can help stave off hunger between meals without throwing the next meal off course.

LeeAnn Weintraub, MPH, RD is a registered dietitian, providing nutrition counseling and consulting to individuals, families and organizations. She can be reached by email at [email protected].

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