Pergola and California

Yesterday, one of my colleagues said that he had tried to build a pergola in his backyard, but he learned that he needed a permit from the city as the structure could be seen from outside his home. I won't disclose the city (at least, it's not my city - Palo Alto), but he heard the permit cost more than $1,000. And the city even charged more than $200 for his inquiry phone call. He'd better talk with news stations; Fox would love the story. SF's $1.7M public toilet gate showed the inefficiency of the Blue State. And I realized I didn't need to find another in a 30 miles away City.

I don't think derisions of right-wing media are legit. However, it is disheartening to witness the current state of California, where immense wealth and groundbreaking innovations coexist alongside extreme poverty. That being so, the recent episode of the Ezra Klein Show - the interview with California State Senator Scott Wiener - was interesting. It informed me about NYC's shelter policy vs. SF's permanent housing policy, the pros and cons of ballot measurement, etc. Yes, things might be going to be better. But I wanted to ask when and what would be the sign of each step of progress. Not making people exhausted and keep fighting would be what politics should do. I hope we can find an answer; no, we will - because I don't want to live where the leader does not show compassion and abuses selective facts for a purpose.