Michael Alexander, the California School Choice Foundation president and Californians for School Choice chairman, spoke with Opp Now about why Silicon Valley innovation unequivocally necessitates parents’ right to choose K-12 schools.

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Mayor Liccardo and City Councilmembers Carrasco and Mahan’s April memorandum—titled “Addressing Rising Crime & Expanding Treatment for Arrestees in San José”—analyzes mounting public safety concerns associated with the “revolving door” of cyclic catch-and-release policing. In 2021, SJPD observed a 10.4% upswing in local violent crimes, which Liccardo et al. connect to research data on rampant pre-trial releases. Opp Now spoke with the ACUF Nolan Center for Justice and Right on Crime on why catch-and-release practices acutely harm communities like SJ’s.

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On June 20th, the CA State Senate passed Constitutional Amendment (SCA) 10, which aims to “not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion." George Skelton at the LA Times suggests that "Based on a simple reading, Proposition 1 would seem to push California abortion law far left by allowing pregnancy termination right up until birth." But some legal scholars see more nuance. Opp Now reached out to local constitutional law scholars and local/national advocates for their perspectives. State citizens will vote on SCA 10 in November.

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To unravel one of leftist extremists’ most-repeated arguments against school choice—that it fails to preserve equity—Opp Now interviewed the California School Choice Foundation president and Californians for School Choice chairman Michael Alexander. Alexander explains that equity is a common progressive talking point, but power and money are truly what drive legislative decisions—thus creating an ill-equipped next generation of learners.

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Michael Alexander—the California School Choice Foundation president and Californians for School Choice chairman—breaks down what the recent Carson v. Makin ruling on a publicly-funded tuition assistance program means for California. The first of an exclusive series with Opp Now.

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Exorbitant housing costs are the #1 reason ex-Californians cite for leaving; yet Houston, Texas continues steadily gaining residents and was ranked the #3 metropolitan area for population growth in 2020. Opp Now spoke with Ray Miller—Houston’s Assistant Director of Multifamily & Public Facilities in the Housing and Community Development Department—about Houston’s flourishing housing market and local takeaways for SJ.

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The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) has campaigned against California’s HSR fiasco since 2008, when their co-authored nonpartisan report found the project “highly risky for state taxpayers.” HJTA president Jon Coupal spoke with Opp Now to rebut pro-HSR’s elusive affordability arguments.

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Yet another appalling budgetary upsurge (currently, the SJ–SF section alone will cost $5.3 million), and Brian Kelly still calls California’s failed high-speed rail project affordable? The Opp Now team spoke with Kelly Decker and Cindy Bloom of the SAFE Coalition about this fallacious claim and why HSR is a “Train to Nowhere” except taxpayers’ pockets. The San Fernando Valley-based SAFE (Save the Angeles Forest for Everyone) Coalition originally fought the HSR project on environmental grounds and now also its overall devastation to California.

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In the last 10 years, San Jose has made substantial changes to its streetscape to make it more bike-friendly. In an Opp Now exclusive, we talked to John Brazil, Transportation Options Program Manager, and Colin Heyne, Public Information Manager in the City's Dept. of Transportation. They described the unique opportunities and challenges of creating a bike-friendly environment while respecting vehicular traffic.

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In what universe is a $5.3 billion price tag (more than three times the original estimate for SJ–SF and likely to further escalate) a bargain? In an exclusive Opportunity Now interview, David Schonbrunn—president of the Transportation Solutions Defense and Education Fund (TRANSDEF)—provides perspective on CEO Brian Kelly’s recent claim that the SJ­­­­–SF HSR project is a fiscal “bargain.” TRANSDEF has spearheaded litigation against this project since 2008 and continues to advocate for effective Bay Area transportation solutions.

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Concerned citizen Dean Hotop agrees with Scott Beyer's analysis of SJ's housing permit woes (see nearby) and examines the unintended consequences of the Ellis Act which tries to "preserve" affordable housing.

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