Karen Golden, director of L.A. homeschool center Creative Learning Place, continues her analysis of CA’s ever-rigidifying HSC restrictions. Ultimately, explains Golden, “there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to education”; to best instruct students, parent and charter educators must be trusted — and provided appropriate flexibility. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreChristopher Jepsen — economics professor and former Public Policy Institute of California researcher — pinpoints why CA community college enrollment is on a startling downslope. Jepsen also suggests local policy initiatives to keep public colleges affordable and high quality. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MorePlanning Commissioner Pierluigi Oliverio contributes to Opp Now’s exclusive Local Gov’t Hopes & Fears series: He emphasizes SJ’s need to focus on a smaller list of city services, rather than try to expand jurisdictions and “duplicate” larger gov’t efforts.
Read MoreFirst-term Fremont Union board member Stanley Kou dissects the district’s push for holistic student/teacher wellness centers (to be developed in each of the five local campuses) — highlighting that clear communication with students about mandated reporting is key. Part of an Opp Now exclusive series assigning goals and apprehensions to the New Year.
Read MoreNationally recognized transit expert (and frequent Opp Now contributor) Randal O’Toole continues Opp Now’s exclusive series on Local Gov’t Hopes & Fears. His pitch: The SCC should treat failing urban transit systems as private businesses that are losing customers/revenue. After all, should local transit agencies get heftier subsidies to serve less riders?
Read MoreAre nonprofits better than private developers at meeting the needs of San Jose residents? Market Urbanism Report's Scott Beyer does a deep dive into COPA's history and specifics; he concludes it's a misguided, cost-increasing approach to addressing legitimate affordability and displacement concerns, in this Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreA recent Campus Reform video chronicles how myriad prominent companies are no longer requiring the “golden ticket” of a four-year university degree. CA School Choice Foundation president Michael Alexander discusses the dangerous implications of employers over-prioritizing college education in applicants, especially as a proxy for actual skills. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreDisenfranchisement. Voter suppression. Lack of transparency. Backroom deals. The list of concerns about SJ Council’s wrongheaded moves to deny District 8 and 10 citizens the right to vote continues to grow. Irene Smith, head of Bay Area Housing Network—SJ adds a new critique: The appointment process aims to erase the city’s much-vaunted diversity. From an exclusive phone chat with Opp Now’s Christopher Escher.
Read MoreThe snatching of citizen voting rights by SJ City Council has some people wondering if our deeply centralized, bureaucratic model of city governance has gone too far. Irene Smith, former candidate for D3 (and critic of the council appointment process, see here) laid out a new way of looking at municipal governance that focused on a more bottoms-up, "deconcentrated" approach, excerpted below.
Read MoreRose Herrera (District 8) and Forest Williams (then-District 2) have both served as SJ councilmembers, so they bring experienced points of view to how SJ politics have changed, and the challenges the new council faces. Both have applied for the interim seats the council will appoint. They chatted with us in this Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreNationally-recognized housing expert Scott Beyer (founder of Market Urbanism Report) suggests SJ's newly-electeds can take a look at best practices and be inventive to solve city’s housing crisis--if they retain a sharp focus on greatly increasing supply asap. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreSilicon Valley Taxpayers Association president Mark Hinkle examines zoning laws, construction codes, and permit fees as three key hindrances to a thriving San Jose housing market. An Opp Now exclusive.
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