Downtown developer Gary Dillabough suggests that homeless vandals are trashing the properties he wants to improve in SJ's struggling downtown. SJ Mercury reports.
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San Jose's belated turn away from Permanent Supportive Housing is not unique: In city after city, county after county, and state after state, Americans have turned away from the idealistic but empty promises of Housing First advocates and toward commonsense policies. But Housing First advocates stubbornly refuse to acknowledge how their failed policies have caused untold misery--and have lost both the argument and their own credibility. National Review reports.
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California is not only the home of innovative technology; sadly, it is also the home of innovative tax ideas. The latest bad new idea, says Marc Joffe of the California Policy Center in a CA Globe article, is a one-time billionaire wealth tax levied on a retroactive basis--which could have disastrous consequences for CA's already beleaguered budget.
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“There have been so many fees and taxes that have driven out all the developers,” says Silicon Valley Business Alliance’s Johnny Khamis. He’s hopeful that rolling back fees will increase building, not just downtown high-rises but throughout San Jose. Will voters keep trusting the tax hikers who still haven’t fixed housing, health care, transportation or mental health services? An Opportunity Now exclusive.
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CA Assembly 28 candidate Carol Pefley looks forward to a 2026 characterized by an end to gaslighting and systemic misgovernment, and a statewide rebirth of accountability, growth, and community spirit. An Opp Now exclusive.
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Manhattan Institute legal policy fellow tax Tal Fortgang argues that decarceration fans like County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg get it all wrong, and that violent crime is overwhelmingly the work of a small group of repeat offenders—that is, it is highly concentrated. The remedy, Fortgang argues, is not social engineering but incapacitation: keeping the violent few from striking again.
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Despite government efforts and a solid economy, homelessness in San Jose and Silicon Valley continues to surge. Latest data suggests that, contrary to local homeless advocates' claims, homelessness tends to arise in the context of long-term, severe deprivation rather than large and sudden losses of income. A recent cross-country analysis found that about two thirds of adult homeless people suffer some form of mental illness. Econofact explores.
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Our region is synonymous with success. But Marc Joffe warns a raft of tax measures this year could prove “existential,” forcing voters to decide whether Silicon Valley rewards innovation, or punishes it. One major ticket to savings, he argues, is driverless buses and trains. Will voters agree? Or will they keep funding a legacy system? An Opportunity Now exclusive forecast for 2026.
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Mayor Mahan and DA Rosen say they were duped by the county on Measure A. Is their remorse convincing? An Opp Now exclusive.
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Opp Now's newest writer, Cristabel Cruz, wonders why SV politicians refuse to acknowledge their failure to deliver on promises. And why SV voters let them get away with it. An Opp Now exclusive.
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How lowered expectations--for employees, managers, and elected representatives--become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Zsolt Farkas explains on Medium.
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It's always somebody else's fault. State policies. County gov't malfeasance. Systemic something. Local politicians sidestep accountability for failed programs by deflecting blame somewhere, anywhere else--as long as responsibility isn't theirs. Governance website examines the science behind the modern day political dodge.
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