Posts in Special Reports
☆ Former CSD board candidate: Viable schools are run like businesses

This Opp Now exclusive features Monte Dauer, who ran for Cambrian School Board in November. Dauer argues that rather than regularly being bailed out with additional funds, local schools must be evaluated and compensated based on performance—how it works in the business world. His 2023 hopes and apprehensions for the CSD below.

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☆ A journey into BART's underside—and what it teaches us

Opp Now co-founder Christopher Escher takes a ride on BART, only to realize he's wandered into an anarchic, intimidating environment where regular citizens feel powerless to respond to menacing behavior. An Opp Now exclusive. 

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☆ Addressing FUHSD’s enrollment drop: Stanley Kou’s perspective

In this exclusive, Opp Now hears from Fremont Union board member Stanley Kou about his apprehensions for 2023: maintaining sustainable enrollment numbers, and finding practical transportation for students living in Sunnyvale’s high density housing.

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Special ReportsJax Oliver
☆ Expert: More CA cannabis licensing requirements a step in the wrong direction

Acclaimed Los Angeles cannabis lawyer–analyst Griffen Thorne sat down with Opp Now to break down recently proposed AB 471: In creating and regulating additional cannabis licenses, the bill might just exacerbate locals’ existing red tape—and intrude needlessly on their personal privacy. An Opp Now exclusive.

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Special ReportsJax Oliver
☆ Clarifying new abortion law requires court battles?

In Opp Now’s latest exclusive, activists Eric Scheidler and Nancy Reiko Kato and lawyer Joshua Schroeder discuss: Now that CA Prop 1’s passed, what’s next—as far as interpreting its seemingly beclouded language on late-term abortions? Their varied perspectives below.

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Special ReportsJax Oliver
☆ Local parents frustrated with stringent homeschool charter laws (2/2)

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.

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Special ReportsJax Oliver
☆ Expert: Covid’s not all to blame for community college enrollment declines

Christopher 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.

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Special ReportsJax Oliver
☆ Oliverio: In 2023, SJ must prioritize core city services

Planning 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.

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Special ReportsJax Oliver
☆ Kou’s analysis of FUHSD’s wellness center initiative: Students must know their rights

First-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.

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☆ O’Toole’s free market approach to BART

Nationally 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?

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Special ReportsJax Oliver
☆ Expert opinion on SJ's COPA proposal: "Not sound policy"

Are 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.

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Special ReportsJax Oliver
☆ Perspective: College degrees over-valued in local hiring market

A 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.

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