Data: Labor scaremongering about AI is b.s.

Oh, look: AI is creating 5x new jobs for every redundancy, demolishing inaccurate alarmism from local Labor/left

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christopher escher
Jackson: Time to develop a new regional transit plan based on a modern, post-pandemic reality

Bill Jackson of the Frontier Republicans & Friends says we need a new plan for Bay Area transit, sized for today's ridership, not pre-pandemic assumptions. 

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christopher escher
Will SJ reclaim local control over zoning?

Has SJ had enough of "Sacto made me do it?" Councilmembers George Casey and Domingo Candelas have submitted a memo requesting San Jose re-establish local control over key planning and land use matters. SJ City Council will vote on their memo (below) this Tuesday, September 22.  

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christopher escher
Opinion: Santa Clara County Supes don’t need a shortcut to raise your taxes

SCC Supe Susan Ellenberg claims “citizens initiatives” - like the Bay Area’s transit tax - are essential to funding “critical lifesaving services.” But in an Opp Now exclusive op-ed, HJTA’s Susan Shelley points out how convenient it is for elected officials to hide behind “citizens initiatives” to score easy tax hikes. Shelley asks what “critical services” are missing from SCC’s current budget, which already crowds $15 billion?

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christopher escher
SF's out-of-control rent control

Experts say Mayor Lurie's rent control schemes actually increase costs.

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christopher escher
SJ sure knows how to throw a party

Authorities said 14 people needed treatment or hospitalization last Friday night during a performance by The Chainsmokers, an American electronic music duo, in San Jose.

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christopher escher
Lurie looks to DSA to address SF housing costs; offers full package of discredited left-wing policies

SF Mayor's moderate image took a hit last week as his proposals to address high rents in city borrow broadly from far-left, anti-market playbook. 

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christopher escher
Lawmakers increasingly overriding citizen-led ballot initiatives

Legislatures and governors are not afraid of undermining — or even downright repealing — citizen initiatives that win at the ballot box. Governing magazine explains. 

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christopher escher
Flexing the facts

Could BART and Muni cut costs before pushing a sales tax that makes almost everything more expensive?

Lefty non profit SPUR dubiously says No, then goes on to claim transit capital project funds simply can’t be “flexed”--or reallocated --to pay for transit operations. Instead, SPUR encourages Bay Areans to pass RTM, a punishing five-county sales tax hike on this November’s ballot.

But former CA Gov candidate Thunder Parley recently took to X to call out SPUR for flexing the facts and distorting one of the key arguments against the transit tax. He says SPUR is using straw men and catastrophism to hide what this is really about: a bailout for agencies who refuse to spend money responsibly. An Opp Now fact check, with Thunder’s comments below:

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christopher escher
☆ Op/Ed: Hiking the sales tax on Santa Clara County residents will not clean up the air

It’s as if local media imagines clouds of smog will miraculously disperse if only voters approve the RTM sales tax hike this November. But Los Altos Institution Research Fellow, Opp Now contributing editor,  and High School Senior Athan Joshi argues there will be no health benefit. An Opp Now exclusive Op/Ed.

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Demography is destiny: what happens when young people flee?

Economic pressures compel under-40 residents to find greener (and cheaper) pastures in the South and Southwest. The impact on Silicon Valley politics and economics will be substantial. 

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christopher escher
☆ They are just trying to scare you

Boo! For local gov't, it seems like every day is Halloween. Yet another chance to scare us all with monsters and ogres who can only be chased away with....more taxes or more density! Our Susie Murillo takes a close look at the costume. An Opp Now exclusive. 

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