While city and county local government eye new taxes, California is going well beyond them to soak the rich. Chris Micheli reports for California Globe.
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Charter schools have begun taking legal action against the state of California. This all began as a result of the government’s decision to defund public school students. Katy Grimes reports for California Globe.
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San Jose’s government interference in housing may result in unfavorable consequences for all parties involved, as suggested by recent developments in Los Angeles. Raul Riesgo, a commentator for the Golden Globe explores the issue.
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The less than favorable results of High Speed Rail's Madera Bridge Project mess-up points to a potential underlying theme: Is the return on taxpayer investments a genuine concern of California’s government? Evan Symon reports from California Globe.
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Irony Alert: As San Jose and other Silicon Valley cities create offices of Racial Equity, they don't make moves to undo their policies that create racial inequity. Gerald Seib from the Wall Street Journal.
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Insults flew at the 6/31/20 San Jose City Council meeting, as progressive councilmembers lit into Councilmember Khamis regarding his comments around his "aye" vote on a Black Lives Matter resolution (which the complaining councilmembers also supported), and his comments on trying to achieve a more equitable society. An edited transcript follows. Timestamps are from a video of the meeting, which is available on the county YouTube Channel.
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The San Jose City Council is forging ahead with a November ballot proposition to “align authority with accountability” as Mayor Liccardo wrote in his memorandum proposing changing the City Charter to provide the Mayor more power, reduce the power of special interests and move the mayoral election to coincide with the presidential election cycle. “What’s the rush?” asks Pat Waite, President of Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility.
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One hundred fifty leading academics, writers, journalists, and artists recently submitted a letter to Harper's Magazine expressing their concern over recent trends in our political environment that aim to silence opposition, enforce conformity, and bully independent thinking and debate.
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Concerns about gentrification and displacement (they're not the same thing) in SJ appear to be overblown, at least compared to SF and Oakland. Louis Hansen of the San Jose Mercury News reports on a new study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition that ranks gentrification rates (low-income, low-education families being replaced by high-income, high education residents) in major metros and finds that SJ is gentrifying at about half the rate of its northern neighbors.
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San Jose is not alone in its efforts to cut back operations to meet declining revenue, although the city bravely rejected calls to defund its police department. Heather Gillerts at the Wall Street Journal explains how many cities approach the problem.
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While San Jose dithers over efforts to increase housing supply, Sacramento may end up overruling local control and come up with a statewide upzoning policy. Evan Symon reports from California Globe.
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California faces a tough economic recovery following the pandemic, and the high cost of employment is a significant concern. Historically excessive regulation in the Silicon Valley has inevitably put job growth on the backburners. What is currently happening in California has notable implications for the valley. John M.W. Moorlach reports for CalMatters.
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