CA politicians talk a lot about national issues

But not so much about state-, county- or city-wide fiscal realities. For good reason. Peter Verbica explains.

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christopher escher
Opinion: SJ's upzoning plan may be an affordability chimera

Families and Homes SJ suggests that the city's vast "Missing Middle" zoning recommendation is a leap in the dark--characterized by lots of wishful thinking and unproven assumptions.

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christopher escher
Regional transit tax pollster: It's a toss-up

Transit tax boosters’ own internal pollster warns the initiative’s small polling lead (54-46) relies on “soft support.” This means the onerous sales tax hike has an extremely narrow track to victory and, if historic trends hold, could be headed off the rails. Research from the Public Policy Institute of California points to four reasons why the race looks to be so close, below.

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christopher escher
Dubious consensuses

When left-leaning Bay Area pols unite behind candidates, trouble often arises.

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christopher escher
Opinion: Why SJ’s Missing Middle upzoning proposal could worsen San José's jobs-to-housing imbalance, exacerbating City's fiscal challenges

According to citywide neighborhood group Families and Homes, SJ’s greatest long-term planning challenge is not simply a housing shortage—it's an imbalance between housing and jobs. While the proposed Missing Middle program would add significant residential capacity, it does not include a strategy to create the employment needed to support that growth. The result could be greater fiscal strain on an already financially constrained city.

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christopher escher
The bluntest instrument

California’s tax system is designed with a measure of humanity, diverting money back to low-income, working-class families. But a local sales tax for transit on the ballot in five Bay Area counties this November will punish the region’s poorest, with no rebates or any other kind of offset to ameliorate a sudden jump in prices on almost everything. Below are three ways the regressive transit tax hurts the least deserving.

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christopher escher
Atherton (!) OK’s 30-unit townhomes within city limits

The town known for single-family homes on spacious acre-lots could soon see a 30-unit townhome development. The Glenwood Avenue project relies on a new state law which allows multifamily housing near transit stops.

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christopher escher
Opinion: Concerns that upzoning will increase traffic and pollution as Vehicle Miles Traveled goes up

Families and Homes examines potential environmental impacts of the “Missing Middle” Planning Commission recommendation. 

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christopher escher
Evidence proves homeless benefit greatly from interim shelters

Despite mountains of data to the contrary, the local Housing Industrial Complex is still busy filling local media op-ed pages with dubious and false arguments supporting Housing First, and disputing the success of provisional housing for the homeless. The data speaks for itself, below.

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christopher escher
☆ How SF Standard's coverage of transit tax embodies the most lame kind of media bias

Sometimes it's so obvious you can't help but laugh. The SF Standard, a large, well-funded online media outlet in that boutique suburb to the north, recently beclowned itself by employing a sad assortment of vulgar media-bias tricks in an effort to smear anti-transit tax advocates. Our Susie Murillo explores the comedy in this Opp Now exclusive. 

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Debunking the transit tax advocates

How do we save the Bay's troubled transit system? Proponents of a five-county sales tax are peddling misinformation to convince Bay Areans that making everything more expensive is the only solution -- while The SF Standard and KQED take their deceptive talking points at face value. We caught up with Gregg Dieguez, spokesperson for the opposition, who debunks three of their most glaringly unquestioned claims.

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christopher escher
Neighborhood group warns about impact of upzoning on City's vital tree canopy

In response to plans to upzone all of San Jose to high-density, multi-unit neighborhoods, the community group Families and Homes warns that the plan could lead to a dramatic loss in the city's tree canopy.

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christopher escher