A weekend topic starting with the Los Angeles Times. "The recent mayoral election in this sleepy, conservative town nestled in the foothills outside Boise didn’t hinge on which Republican candidate was a fiercer supporter of former President Trump, or who was a stronger opponent of abortion. The key issue? Who was the least Californian. 'It’s ludicrous' that they call themselves Republicans, Mayor Jason Pierce said during an interview on election day in early December. 'You find a lot of Californians who move here don’t realize how much [liberal] baggage they’re bringing with them.'"

"Jorge Grajeda retired from the Long Beach Police Department in September. He was born in Mexico and moved to Southern California with his family when he was 5. He was living the American dream in his early years as a cop, but as his responsibilities grew, he couldn’t help noticing the bite taxes took from his paychecks. And the sense of pride and accomplishment he felt in being a police officer eroded quickly. 'We used to go places and people would wave to us,' or pay for our coffee, but in the last 10 years, 'pretty much all of that went away,' Grajeda said. Now, he said, 'it’s all about race.' Every time you stop somebody, or pull them over in their car, they call you 'a racist,' Grajeda said. 'It shouldn’t be like that. It should be about right and wrong. If you do the wrong thing, there are consequences.'"

The Associated Press. "The Bay Area saw the highest number of reported shoplifting incidents in the state between 2019 and 2022, according to Magnus Lofstrom, policy director and senior fellow with the Public Policy Institute of California. Commercial burglary also has risen, especially in Bay Area counties and coastal Southern California. However, shoplifting dropped in counties with smaller populations. Beginning with shoplifting, San Mateo had the highest rate in 2022, with 347 reported incidents per 100,000 residents, followed by San Francisco (333). These counties saw increases of 53% and 24% compared to 2019, the largest jumps of all 15 counties, according to research."

"Three Central Valley counties had the next highest shoplifting rates: San Joaquin at 297, Kern with 278. and Fresno with 272, the researchers found. Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine) said lawmakers hear about rising retail theft almost daily. 'This is impacting our constituents,' she said."

The Times Standard. "The California exodus isn’t over yet. For the third consecutive year, the Golden State’s population continued to shrink in 2023, even as 42 other states grew this past year, many reversing population declines during the COVID pandemic, according to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau released Tuesday. While California’s population shedding is slowing, it remains among few states still losing residents. Others were New York, Louisiana, Hawaii, Illinois, West Virginia, Oregon and Pennsylvania. And California’s population decline since 2020 remains the fourth largest in the U.S., behind New York, Illinois and Louisiana."

"Of the eight states that lost residents in 2023, all but West Virginia were governed by Democrats, though Louisiana’s termed-out governor will be replaced by a Republican next year. The states that gained population in 2023 the most were South Carolina, Florida, Texas and Idaho, all governed by Republicans. 'Gavin Newsom and California Democrats can continue to make excuses and gaslight residents into believing the California exodus is a ‘myth,’ but the numbers don’t lie,' Jessica Millan Patterson, chairwoman of the California Republican Party, said after seeing the Census reports."

Business Insider. "New York City's population has plummeted by nearly half a million between 2020 and 2022 — shrinking over 5% — according to a new report by the New York state comptroller published on Monday. Part of this stems from New Yorkers being priced out of the city. In 2022, the median wage of those leaving the city fell to $49,000, an 18% decrease from the previous year, per the report. New York City's demographic makeup is also changing, with the report finding that 'the city's populace is overall older and wealthier, with a rebounding population of international migrants and declining shares of White and Black New Yorkers.'"

"The only demographic group analyzed by the city that saw growth from 2020 to 2022 was seniors, which increased by 3.3%. In contrast, the population of under-18s fell by 7.5% during the same period. The New York City True Cost of Living report, published in April, found that half of the city's working-age households earn less than the $100,000 necessary to meet their basic needs. That amounts to nearly 3 million people."

The New York Post. "Migrants staying at the Big Apple’s controversial tent shelter at Floyd Bennett Field have started going door to door in nearby neighborhoods begging residents for cash, food and clothes, furious locals told The Post Friday. David Fitzgerald, 62, said he has noticed an influx of asylum seeker families showing up on his doorstep in Brooklyn’s Marine Park neighborhood in recent weeks asking for spare change — sparking safety fears among some of his neighbors. 'I am all for charity, 100%. I’ll give you the shirt off my back, the money in my pocket, but not this way. It has got to stop,' said Paul Sanzone, who has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years, said migrants now knock on his door on a 'regular basis.'"

"He said he and his wife had been 'on edge' ever since two people who recently came looking for food and money were wearing what appeared to be ankle monitors. 'It’s alarming,' he said."

The Associated Press. "Dozens of migrants were left abandoned at a gas station in Kankakee, Illinois, during the early morning hours Thursday as their bus driver told them they had arrived in Chicago, leaving them stranded and alone more than an hour outside the city, police said. The Kankakee County Sheriff's office reported they were called to a gas station around 7:30 a.m. in the 3400 south block of Route 45/52 for what was described as a busload of migrants dropped off in a parking lot. Once there, officers discovered multiple groups of migrants, some of whom had started walking down the highway and expressway wrapped in blankets. After speaking with 11 people who were still at the gas station, officers learned the bus had traveled from El Paso, Texas, and dropped the group off around 4:30 a.m., with the bus driver 'erroneously informing them that they had reached Chicago, their intended destination,' police said. 'The passengers, hailing from Venezuela, were left without money, food, adequate clothing, and were under the impression that they had reached their destination,' the sheriff's office said in a statement."

"Kankakee Mayor Christopher W. Curtis told NBC Chicago in an email that the bus dropped off 30 to 40 individuals from Venezuela. He went on to say that the country's current immigration system is 'broken.' …There is a process to come to our Country and the rules and laws must be followed,' the mayor said, in part. 'We understand that families have immigrated to our community for many years, but at pace that is substantial. We don't have the housing, resources, or financial dollars available to handle busloads into community, especially with no announcement or warning. In the end, we have a duty to protect all our residents and visitors in our City and we will, however, our first duty and oath as elected officials is to help and protect our residents first and that is what we will do.'"

"Earlier this week, a plane carrying dozens of asylum-seekers arrived at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, having traveled to the city unannounced from Texas, officials said. In a statement from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's office, his press secretary confirmed Texas is 'expanding our operation to include flights to Chicago.' The private aircraft’s arrival came one day after Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson repeatedly criticized Abbott while fielding questions from reporters about the death of a 5-year-old child who had been living at a migrant shelter in the city's Pilsen neighborhood."

"'Until we get a handle on what has happened internationally, the city of Chicago, the city of Denver, the city of New York and all these other cities in which this raggedy governor of Texas is shipping people across the world, and particularly against the country; until we get a handle on that, we’re going to constantly have to come up with innovative approaches (to address the migrant crisis),' Johnson told reporters Monday."

KDVR in Colorado. "Residents who live near a migrant encampment at Zuni and Speer say the number of tents is growing and the trash is becoming a larger issue. On Thursday, nine buses arrived in Denver with 341 migrants inside. On Friday, an additional seven buses arrived. The city said that puts Denver on track to break 100 buses just in December. One of the main spots they’re landing is an encampment at Zuni Street and Speer Boulevard. Beau Blackford is one of those residents with concerns. 'I just keep seeing more buses show up and more and more and it stresses me out, and if looks like the tents are coming up here, I don’t want to live there. The more that show up, the worse it’s going to get,' Blackford said."

Global News in Canada. "The Ontario government is providing over $490,000 over the next three years to help police in central Ontario combat and prevent auto thefts. On Wednesday, Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith said $492,609.94 will help support the Peterborough Police Service, Rama First Nations Police Services and the Ontario Provincial Police's Central Highway Safety Division. The province says from 2014 to 2021, there was a 72 per cent increase in auto thefts across Ontario — with a 14 per cent increase in 2022 alone. Solicitor General Michael Kerzner says in Ontario, a vehicle is stolen every 14 minutes."

CTV News in Canada. "In Toronto neighbourhoods where car thieves break into homes to get keys – terrifying residents at home at the time – some are taking security into their own hands, with entire neighbourhoods looking to hire dedicated private security. In one case, 57 households banded together to hire a dedicated patrol car and security guards to patrol nightly from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. – a tactic common in gated communities but novel in neighbourhoods with public streets. 'We went from nightly occurrences to zero occurrences for the last two months,' said Ranko Vukovic of Blackbird Security, whose company provides the service in one neighbourhood, which asked not to be named."

"In several terrifying videos obtained by CTV News, thieves can be seen breaking into homes to search for the keys their drivers have with them. In one case this fall, two thieves clad in hoodies and masks kick down a door together in a home in Rosedale. They come face-to-face with the man who lives there, who screams at them to get out. 'I was lying in bed and heard a crash, and it jolted me, waking me up,' said the man, Richard, who asked not to use his last name. 'I walked down the stairs, and two guys were in the house, running around the main floor, clearly looking for my keys. It was scary, man. Super scary,' he said. The thieves couldn’t find the keys and took off, Richard said. He said he is among a group in Rosedale that is also considering private security."

"Coun. Dianne Saxe, who represents the ward of University-Rosedale, said she understands that people who feel desperate would turn to private services. 'There is an enormous increase in auto theft in the last year. It’s higher than it’s been seen in decades. And my constituents are justifiably very frightened and distressed,' she said. But Saxe said the city services need to do what they are meant to do, called for better coordination among police forces, and to fix structural financial problems facing the city since it was amalgamated. 'I think it’s extremely harmful to the city for public services and public spaces to be degraded so that people who can withdraw into private services do – that can be a doom loop,' she said."

ABC News in Australia. "Thefts from retail stores have risen to their highest levels on record in Victoria, with fresh figures revealing a near 40 per cent jump in shoplifting incidents. In the year ending September 30, 2023, there were 25,607 recorded thefts from shops, up from 18,445 in the previous year. Crime Statistics Agency Victoria chief statistician Fiona Dowsley said the biggest rise in thefts had been around low-cost goods, rather than expensive luxury or electronic goods. 'These aren't diamond heists … when we look at the top three items that we're seeing stolen, they tend to be consumable items,' Ms Dowsley said. She said 'liquor, snack food and clothing and soft drinks' rounded out the top categories."

"Petrol thefts have also risen in the past 12 months, which Ms Dowsley said was historically seen when there was pressure on people's ability to pay. In a statement regarding the crime statistics, Victoria Police linked the rise in theft to inflation and cost-of-living pressures. 'Police intelligence indicates as many as 40 per cent of offenders are first time offenders,' the statement said. 'In Melbourne, price rises in fuel, alcohol, cigarettes, groceries, and transport aligned with the items targeted in theft from shop incidents.'"

"ACRS research and engagement director Eloise Zoppos said 'deviant behaviours' that were not directly theft were also seen as more justifiable by those surveyed. 'For example, 37 per cent said that scanning items as cheaper items when using self-check out was justifiable because of what's happening in their economic situation and in the current climate,' Dr Zoppos said."