California’s Unincorporated Places Can Be Poor, Powerless—And the Perfect Place to Commit Murder

It’s Time to Do Better by Communities That Don’t Even Have Local Police to Call, Let Alone Defund

We are all unincorporated now.

Unincorporated communities—places that aren’t part of an incorporated city or town, and thus don’t have their own municipal government—live at the whims and mercies of their counties, which may or may not provide necessary services. The pandemic is giving all Californians a taste of unincorporated life, thanks to state officials deciding to let the virus-fighting performance and preferences of our counties and county governments determine whether we can shop, play in a park, or send our kids to school.

As we’re learning, life under the thumb of …