San Jose CM's Peralez, Arenas, and Jones suppressed efforts by CM Dev Davis to bring the question of local gov't control over land use planning to the City Council. Davis was responding to a power grab by Sacramento to have the state take over control of zoning decisions in the city (SB9) The L.A. City. Council was not so timid, and voted to oppose SB9, reports Spectrum News 1.
Read MoreWhile vast numbers of current elected officials across California (more than 500 of them) and cities up and down the state (more than 70 of them) have voted to protect local government authority over zoning, CM Dev Davis' efforts to get the SJ Council to debate and vote on the issue was stymied by CM's Peralez, Arenas, and Jones in the Rules Committee. Below are a list of electeds and cities who don't suppress citizens' voices on this fundamental governance issue, as reported by California Cities for Local Control.
Read MoreIn a surprising abandonment of civic responsibility, the Rules Committee of San Jose on August 11 refused to contest the State of California’s usurpation of local control over zoning policy across all California cities.
Read MoreCalifornia Senate Bill 9, which CM Raul Peralez supports (see nearby), would strip San Jose City Government of any direct authority over residential zoning decisions, ceding that power instead to Sacramento. Peralez embraced this newfangled position by noting that State Senator Dave Cortese represents some areas of San Jose, and he is in favor of SB 9. As a result, according to Peralez’ logic, this means San Jose residents remain adequately represented on zoning issues.
Read MoreLocal media and progressive housing advocates mistakenly magnified a recent inaccurate report by the Othering and Belonging Institute in Berkeley which suggested--contrary to everyone's lived experience--that cities like San Jose are more segregated today than they were 30 years ago. And that (surprise!) government interventions are necessary to correct this fabricated example of "systemic racism." Judge Glock of the Cicero Institute reveals the sad spin, the sloppy scholarship, and the bald-faced bias in the report, and points out that, in fact, the study's numbers show America is becoming more integrated. First published in the Wall Street Journal.
Read MoreThe Democratic party's redlining policies during the New Deal, which championed deep federal government intervention in the housing finance and insurance markets, were deeply flawed: racist in impact, anti-free market, and the progenitor of a bundle of negative, unintended consequences. But to suggest, as local housing advocates and academics recently have*, that those flawed FDR policies are the root of current segregation (or, more accurately, lack of integration) in American cities, is just ahistorical misinformation. Liberal historian Carl H. Nightingale in his epic work Segregation: A Global HIstory of Divided Cities provides a useful context.
Read MoreIn a recent SJ Housing Dept community meeting, an advocate bemoaned the fact that "private property" concerns were getting in the way of a more "equitable" housing market. A quick look at National Low Income Housing Coalition's Advocates Guide explains the context for the comment, and gives an idea of how housing advocates are working towards a wildly expanded role for local government in owning and distributing housing, all under the banner of "housing as human right."
Read MoreChanges in market forces are doing what billions spent on gov't-subsidized "affordable" housing can't: making it easier for residents of all income levels to buy homes in Santa Clara County. Louis Hansen at the Merc parses the most recent data from real estate analytics firm Attom.
Read MoreCounty and local schools have recently rolled out extremist critical race theory-inspired history courses in local schools while ignoring or refusing to give voice to community input. As Wilfred McClay explains in City Journal, opposition to these ahistoric and divisive narratives is vital for a functioning democracy.
Read MoreIn their unimpressive defense of the city-funded imagery that promotes violence against law enforcement, local progressives have claimed that the role of art is to be "transgressive." Who--besides fraudulent artist--thinks so? Roger Kimball offers perspective in The Spectator.
Read MoreUnnecessary pandemic school closure, driven by local teachers' unions, disproportionately harmed children of color in lower-income schools, says a new report from McKinsey and Co. The Wall Street Journal laments.]
Read MoreThe suspension of light rail service in the county has prompted many transit watchers to wonder: maybe this is an opportunity to move past throwing more and more money at the worst-performing element of the worst-performing transit agency in the country. Marc Joffe at the Reason Foundation sees innovative solutions available to solve VTA's woes, if we have the courage to pursue them, in an SJ Merc op-ed.
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