To kick off the New Year, we asked our editorial team and contributors their opinion of what issues local free marketeers should be watching over the next twelve months. Below is a compendium of their replies. And while of course new issues will arise, we think this list provides a smart checklist for concerned local citizens who care about free markets, free minds, and free speech. --Jeff and Christopher
Read MoreIn this wide ranging interview, Planning Commissioner Pierluigi Oliverio interviews ex-Mayor Chuck Reed on SJ housing crisis--its roots and potential fixes--the state of the Google project, and the status of pension reform and municipal borrowing in this exclusive discussion for Opportunity Now.
Read MoreEx-Mayor Reed and Planning Commissioner Oliverio discuss if the Google project is going off track by adding too many "community benefits" and the status of pension reform and municipal borrow in the third and final installment of their exclusive discussion for Opportunity Now.
Read MoreIn Part Two of their discussion about local housing issues, with ex-Mayor Chuck Reed and SJ Planning Commissioner Pierluigi Oliverio explore the potential impacts of citywide residential upzoning, and whether or not it makes sense to move from SJ to Redding.
Read MoreEx-Mayor Reed and current Planning Commissioner Oliverio dig into the roots of our housing crisis, and Reed offers innovative ways the state can incent cities to build more housing. (This is the first of a three-part interview between the two).
Read MoreNearly a year after making excuses for violent protests in the City of Roses, Mayor Ted Wheeler has finally had enough and is asking DA's to start prosecuting lawbreakers. Aaron Mesh reports for the Willamette Weekly.
Read MoreFour months after Mayor Sam LIccardo's home was trashed by left wing activists, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's home received similar violent treatment, as vandals spray-painted anarchist imagery and messages on her garage door, and left a pig's head and fake blood in the driveway. By the way, no one has yet been charged in the vandalization of Liccardo's home, even though the event was captured on video. Website TMZ reports.
Read MoreRacial justice protests, pandemic deaths and ongoing environmental concerns may signal new ways of thinking about how and why cities can make sense, putting long-held New Urbanist shibboleths to the test. Christian Britschgie explores for Reason magazine.
Read MoreThe founders of Opportunity Now recap a banner year of journalism and thank our readers for their support.
Read MoreIn his exclusive investigative reporting, Mark Lisheron unearthed a story local media wouldn't touch: how county and city DA's refused to charge almost everybody arrested or cited with lawbreaking during the Floyd and associated protests throughout the year. Lisheron shows how these "jailbreak" local DA's are acting in a way that is consistent with the social justice goals of other progressive DAs, including those in Portland and Seattle.
Read MoreIn his exclusive report for Opportunity Now, Randal O'Toole of the Thoreau Institute explored how New Urbanist thinking and misguided anti-market policies created one of the most unaffordable housing markets in the world--and how to fix it.
Read MoreVTA's budget woes and dubious expenditures were all the news in 2020, but these were just the latest faceplants for one of the worst-performing transit agencies in the U.S. Randal O'Toole of the Thoreau Institute explored the issue in this deep-dive, exclusive analysis for Opportunity Now, which social media commentators described as "the only must-read analysis of local transit woes."
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