Analysis, Case Studies, and Commentary
Palo Alto CM and CA16 primary candidate Greg Tanaka reviews the primary season, primary vote, and recount drama. His conclusion: alternate, diverse voices aren't heard in our election process, and maybe it's time to consider reforms. An Opp Now exclusive.
We asked District 10 Council finalists Arjun Batra and George Casey for their perspectives on the upcoming Council debate regarding if, and how, Council should reallocate Measure E Housing funds. Their answers below. An Opp Now exclusive.
Remember all the local shenanigans over SB9 and so-called "Opportunity Housing" in SJ? Turns out it may be unconstitutional and dead in the water, at least for charter cities. CityWatch LA and Westside Current cover the blockbuster court ruling, below.
The CA state audit that blistered San Jose and statewide homelessness programs for ineffectiveness called forth a prickly, self-justifying, and lengthy response from SJ City Manager Jennifer Maguire. Scott Beyer of the Market Urbanism Report gives Maguire's 15-pager a close read, and finds that it's evasive and doesn't face up to the legit financial and strategic failures the audit so clearly revealed. An Opp Now exclusive.
Hold onto your (wet) wallets. Opp Now contributor and local City Planning graduate student Susie Murillo takes a look at upcoming plans for the county water district to jack up rates, yet again, with little accountability and dubious reasoning. An Opp Now exclusive.
Former SJ CM and current Planning Commissioner Pierluigi Oliverio takes a look back at how SJ's and the state's homelessness efforts went sideways. Spoiler alert: good intentions can go astray. An Opp Now exclusive.
While local media soft-pedaled the blockbuster State Auditor's report that found that SJ (and statewide) homelessness programs don't work, national housing experts and media were more brutally honest. Excerpts from Calmatters, L.A. Focus, L.A Times, and more, below.
San Jose city government is once again taking big-time heat for its homeless spending--this time in the form of a devastating CA state audit that finds the city's programs are ineffective and unaccountable. Scott Beyer of the Market Urbanism Report provides a sorely-needed pathway for a return to fiscal and management sanity. An Opp Now exclusive.
We asked District 6 Council finalists for their perspectives on the upcoming Council debate regarding if, and how, Council should reallocate Measure E Housing funds. Michael Mulcahy's answer below. An Opp Now exclusive.