Big News in the Bay Area
What to know: Even the San Francisco Chronicle is covering TPPF’s new lawsuit against the city of Oakland for its decision to fine a couple nearly $1 million for removing dead and dying trees from their own property.
The TPPF take: The city’s actions constitute an uncompensated taking of private property.
“You can burn down an entire forest in California and the criminal penalty is only $50,000,” says TPPF’s Laura Beth Latimer. “But Oakland is fining this couple more than 18 times that amount for cutting down their own trees on their own property. It sounds like something out of a dystopian novel, but it’s a devastating reality for our clients.”
For more on Oakland’s tree ordinance, click here.
Wealthy Texas Islamists
The TPPF take: More than 700 Islamic nonprofit organizations operate across Texas, and at least a third operate under the influence or control of one of seven terror-tied Islamist networks.
“It is difficult to estimate the true scale of Texas Islamist revenue,” says TPPF’s Sam Westrop. “All we know is that it is significantly more than we know. Other data sources do offer additional—if oblique—indications. For instance, many of the Texas mosques that do not file returns have registered architectural projects with the state government. Since 2009, almost a quarter billion dollars of planned or completed mosque building costs have been registered with the state.”
For more on Islamism in Texas, click here.
No Ice Cream for You
What to know: An ice cream shop in Poland has had to end its tradition of rewarding top students with ice cream for good grades. Advocates of “equity” didn’t like the shop singling out excellence.
The TPPF take: It’s not just in Poland; “equity” is ruining kids’ days even here in the U.S.
“The purpose of a reward is to recognize accomplishment,” says TPPF’s Kate Bierly. “Once rewards become disconnected from achievement, they cease to have meaning. If every student receives the same reward regardless of performance, the reward no longer communicates success; it only communicates attendance.”
For more on ice cream and equity, click here.