☆ Silicon Valley Obon Festival celebrates the past

Local historian April Halberstadt notes that this weekend, July 12–13, all of us in Santa Clara County have a unique opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of our Japanese neighbors at the annual Obon Festival. Halberstadt also explores the difficult times and unfairness early Asian American immigrants to California had to overcome. An Opp Now exclusive.

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Costi Khamis
A history of San Jose history

Arguably, the single best vista in San Jose is the lit-up electric light tower at History Park San Jose, at dusk, from upper rows of the first base line during a San Jose Giants baseball game. SJtoday explores how this exceptional park and organization came about.

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Costi Khamis
Big Labor’s media megaphone mutes California—and Silicon Valley—workers

The legacy media’s love affair with unions paints a rosy picture of Big Labor, but Maddie Dermon at National Review argues it’s more PR than reality. This glossy coverage risks sidelining concerns about corruption and overreach from Silicon Valley workers who prize independence. Are local workers buying the hype, or tuning it out?

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Costi Khamis
Who needs to explore the universe to discover alien life? Try our backyards

Thor Hanson of Noema magazine describes the process of discovering new species and their lifecycles right outside his kitchen door.

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Costi Khamis
How misguided gov’t interventions stifle CA and Silicon Valley housing

In a recent LinkedIn post, land-use veteran Shawn Milligan argues that CEQA lawsuits, Cortese-Knox red tape, and Prop 13 tax distortions interlock into a Golden-Gate-wide deadbolt that shuts down the state’s housing supply. Wonder why the average monthly rent in most California cities is now $3,000? Milligan explores the impact of these three laws.

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Costi Khamis
Opinion: (Post)modern journalism is a mishmash monster of conflicting goals

If Silicon Valley's advocacy local journalism gives you deja vu all over again, you're not alone. Political philosopher Peter Berkowitz explains how we've slapped together the “frank[ly] partisan” early American news approach and pious 20th century “objectivity” label, thanks to postmodern progressivism's subtle creep into academia. From RealClear Politics.

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Costi Khamis
Merc op-ed demolishes arguments for extending BART to downtown SJ

The South Bay Progressive Alliance, in a smartly argued Merc editorial, says VTA can't justify ballooning costs when newer technologies offer faster, cleaner, and more flexible alternatives.

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Costi Khamis
Lived experience: Local GOP candidate digs into homelessness realities

Carol Pefley, candidate for CA 28 State Assembly, gets to know a homeless student at SJ City College, and discovers lots of nuance in the homelessness experience in Silicon Valley.

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Costi Khamis
☆ UBI is really just a sugar high

Local political commentator Denise Kalm digs into Mountain View's upcoming University Basic Income (UBI) plan, and finds (not surprisingly) that previous cities' experiments give users a near-term pop but zero long-term improvement. An Opp Now exclusive.

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Local GOP leader decries fecklessness of Silicon Valley leaders in the face of menacing of area conservatives

SVGOP's David G. Johnson notes how local leaders essentially normalize bullying and violence against local conservatives by refusing to criticize a long train of intimidating incidents launched by the local left.

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Costi Khamis
☆ Mark Moses: Ponzi schemes are dependent upon growth. Cities shouldn’t be (2/4)

“Cities should be neutral when it comes to growth,” says Mark Moses, author of The Municipal Financial Crisis, adding that the need for an ever-expanding tax burden suggests less-than-transparent accounting of the costs. He argues that unfair business incentives further disrupt carefully planned fee structures, shifting the burden to residents and other businesses. An Opp Now exclusive Q&A.

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Costi Khamis
Silicon Valley's Ro Khanna scares—and impresses—national conservatives

The congressman from the 17th CA district (which includes much of Silicon Valley) displays a civil, inclusive approach, which has conservative pundits worried—and taking notice. Kurt Schlichter from Townhall reports.

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Costi Khamis