Politicians should stand by their word like the solemn responsibility it is. So says Irene Smith of Path Seldom Traveled, who argues that politically expedient or otherwise tokenized, revocable endorsements do grave dishonor to the City of San Jose, and to the voters who look to leaders for guidance. Will politicians find integrity this year? An Opportunity Now exclusive 2026 prediction.
Read MoreTony Guan’s campaign against Prop 16 got national attention and he helped rally for the victorious plaintiffs in a US Supreme Court victory against racial preferences. In this Opportunity Now exclusive Q&A, he talks about the personal cost of activism, ongoing challenges, and the need to build networks and scout for local leaders, to have an even greater impact on state and local policy.
Read MoreFormer CA Assembly candidate Ted Stroll hopes state governance turns from destructive ideologies to practical solutions. Meanwhile, Denise Kalm of Right on the Left Coast argues the Bay Area’s homeless should get housing conditionally, not housing first. An Opportunity Now exclusive look ahead to 2026.
Read MoreSCC Supes warned the H.R. 1 spending slowdown would cost $1B yearly, but Cupertino Vice Mayor Liangfang Chao says that’s exaggerated by multiples. She argues the real shortfall comes from overspending in the county hospitals that predates H.R. 1 by years. It can’t be patched up by the new Measure A sales tax. Yet now, after the ballot measure’s victory, will the county keep taxing its way out of mismanagement?
Read MoreThis week's prized Cognitive Dissonance award goes to D6 CM Michael Mulcahy. He praised—even after five adults were sent to hospital after a wild shooting spree in SJ's boozy San Pedro Square post Super Bowl— “the power of the experience economy.” An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreMeasure A hasn't even been implemented yet. But that hasn't dissuaded SJ City Council from aiming to squeeze hapless businesses and residents with altogether new ways of funding the City's bloated budgets.
Read MoreSuper Bowl gameday proved to be a Sunday Bloody Sunday in downtown SJ, with multiple shootings resulting in yet another fatality and multiple serious injuries. Various local media outlets report.
Read MoreFinancial pressures limit the expansion of the city's interim housing strategy; D9 candidate Hennessy elevates high-capacity shelter strategy.
Read MoreA couple decades after Prop 209 protected non-discrimination rights for all Californians, Prop 16 tried to re-impose racial quotas. Local grassroots organizer Tony Guan worked tirelessly to defeat Prop 16 by showing how affirmative action actually hurts the Asian community and erodes the rights of all Californians. An Opportunity Now exclusive Q&A.
Read MoreCristabel Cruz can't help but play therapist and try to help Dem candidates escape their denial, cognitive rigidity, and constrained worldview when it comes to CA's chronic problems. An OppNow exclusive.
Read MoreIn 1879, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow explored, in The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls, how a wanderer's mindset can travel through and beyond stasis and repetition: "nevermore/The traveler returns to the shore."
Read MorePolitical parties and politicians change positions regularly--and sometimes dramatically. Sage Journals explains how successful volte-faces employ clever techniques of reframing.
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