Scott Knies of the San Jose Downtown Association gets a shocking lesson in how local government--in this case Santa Clara County--can purchase or lease property in your neighborhood without complying with city land-use laws--and with hardly any public outreach. From an SJ Mercury op-ed.
Read MoreThis week, the fine readers of the Merc, Spotlight, and SJ Inside, check in on housing controversies,The Flea Market, and more.
Read MoreInfluential press with statewide and national reach is having fun with the Santa Clara County Democrat party's overheated call for Assessor Stone's resignation because he said his potential rival was "sucking union tit" in an interview. The Radio Free California podcast has a laugh over the local pearl-clutching (we say that metaphorically).
Read MoreLocal progressives often contend that business and capitalism are the root of our culture’s extreme income and social disparities, and suggest government programs as the remedy. Witness the array of Housing market interventions promoted by city staff and local advocates. This approach is upside down, suggests Andy Kessler in the Wall Street Journal, noting that it’s misguided government policies that cause these inequities in the first place.
Read MoreAnti-Asian bigotry has a long history in the Bay Area, from exploitation of Asian workers building railroads to the Chinese Exclusion Act and forced internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Sadly, the bigotry continues, now with discrimination against Asians in school admissions. Wencong Fa of the Pacific Legal Foundation explores in the Wall Street Journal.
Read MoreIn 2016, county voters passed Measure A, a $950 million (no typo) property tax increase to generate 4800 new housing units, focused on the chronically homeless. Since then, the county has built at whopping 214 (no typo) units. Planning Commissioner Pierluigi Oliverio wonders why we’re raising taxes to not build anything when the county fairgrounds may be a solution staring us in the face.
Read MoreMany local political watchers in Santa Clara were scratching their heads (ooops, apologies if that verb "scratch" makes anyone feel unsafe) around the local Democratic Party's decision to call for the resignation of Assessor Larry Stone over his use of a rural metaphor ("sucking tit") in an interview with a local journalist. Dr. Alan Perlman, forensic linguist and long-time language activist and outspoken critic of political correctness and language control, surveys the intellectual and academic roots of the attempted cancelling.
Read MoreFriend of Opportunity Now Richard Friedland forwards the following comments from documentarian Leighton Woodhouse on Substack. Richard writes: "Thanks for the Doctor Jay critique of local public health officials last week. Much needed. The following piece from L. Woodhouse examines the forces that make modern scientific research go off the rails."
Read MoreAs the debate about the Fallon statue continues, many are left wondering why some controversial public art is cancelled and other (surprise! left-leaning) art continues to get city support and funding, even in the face of mass community protest. For example, the online petition to take down Americana, artwork from the Holding The Moment public art show which depicted violence against police officers, has surpassed 500 signees. And the petition has earned the support of the Silicon Valley Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 52. Cindy Calderon and Tim Jackson of the Lodge had these comments about the artwork in an exclusive Opportunity Now interview with Jonathan Fleming:
Read MoreNow that the coronavirus pandemic has eased, the effectiveness of local public health officials’ response to the crisis is coming under increasing scrutiny. In an exclusive interview with Opportunity Now, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, walks us through the Merc’s recent article about “lessons learned” from the outbreak, and contends that local health officials implemented a lockdown strategy that was overbroad and needlessly destructive.
Read MoreSanta Clara County teachers’ unions brazen power play in keeping schools closed despite scientific evidence that said it’s okay to reopen may have backfired. Parents around the country are checking out of public schools and private and charter schools are benefitting. Paul Peterson reports in the Wall Street Journal.
Read MoreFrederich Hayek, noted libertarian thinker and steadfast defender of personal liberty, discusses how it's important for modern people to keep the protocols of our family and intimate relationships free from the conventions of the public square.
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