California Insider

The Oakland Trib reports today that a new study by the Institute for Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley suggests that Prop. 77 would result in more competitive districts but would not help either party in the Legislature. The story says the study was due to be released today. But IGS has canceled its briefing and now says the study won't be released "pending further research."

Prop. 76 opponents have rolled out a new ad today that describes Prop. 76 as a power grab. Here is the link to watch the ad.

News flash: the price of housing is largely driven by supply and demand.

So says a multi-thousand word (and very readable) cover story in the New York Times Magazine. The story shows how ever-more restrictive local zoning laws have shrunk the supply of available land on which to build houses for a growing population. And while builders say they would be happy to build with more density, and probably make more money if they did, local authorities and buyers' tastes across the nation are still moving in the opposite direction. The piece quotes experts predicting that the US market will gradually become similar to that in Europe, where the average person has half as much space and spends seven times their annual salary on a home, compared to less than four times salary currently in the United States.