Spurred by recent SJ Merc reports on collapsing ridership and dubious cost and construction timeline estimates by VTA, city, county, and state transit and political experts have joined the growing chorus for fundamental change at the embattled transit agency.
Read MoreIn an exceptional pair of stories this past weekend, SJ Merc reporters Maggie Angst and Eliyahu Kamishar delivered some top-notch reporting about the blistering criticism the Feds have delivered to VTA regarding dubious BART extension costs and timelines, as well as the sad (and tremendously expensive) tale of VTA and Caltrain's ridership implosion since the pandemic. Randall O'Toole of the Thoreau Institute provides some useful historical background as to how VTA took the wrong turn decades ago, and why we are still paying for those mistakes. O'Toole's piece is an Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreLocal philanthropists were surprised recently when many of the local environmental, health care, and community nonprofits to which they donate were discovered to have lobbied the SJ City Council in support of Labor's widely criticized redistricting maps, which have been credibly accused of suppressing Asian-American votes. The Labor plan failed, but the question lingered as to the appropriateness of those nonprofits' legislative solicitations. Opp Now co-founder Christopher Escher talked to nonprofit attorney Scott Hartley of Hartley Law (full disclosure: he’s also Opp Now’s lawyer) to get some clarity about the parameters that apply to nonprofits when it comes to political activity.
Read MoreLocal small housing provider Dean Hotop takes a close look at SJ Housing Dept's recent presentation to SJ City Council and discovers, voila, they appear to be raiding Measure E funds for another expenditure--handouts to the local nonprofit housing cabal. If you've ever wondered where all the billions of dollars local taxpayers have spent--to little or no effect--to solve homelessness and affordable housing crisis, take a look at the financial chicanery outlined below, not to mention the $200,000+/year salaries of executive directors of regional "nonprofit" housing providers
Read MoreKerry Jackson of the Pacific Research Institute argues that California’s economy is on the path to serious destruction. For years, residents and businesses have rampantly migrated out-of-state to avoid excessive legislation and costs. Though California—particularly Silicon Valley—is uniquely entrepreneurial and innovative, it’s become a challenging place to do business. The state’s steady loss of business will reap noticeable damage on the economy, Jackson claims.
Read MoreThree members of San Francisco’s school board were recalled Tuesday in the wake of widespread revolt over their woke policies and the slow reopening of schools shut down by COVID-19. What should concerned parents whose kids attend Santa Clara County public schools glean from the fiasco, and what it took to slow down the hijacking of their kids' education? The Opp Now editorial team parses the NY Post's news coverage of the special election and warns that the recall may be but a speed bump on racial equity warriors' long march through our public schools.
Read MoreState progressives indulged in another round of "eat-your-own" theatrics after local rep Ash Kalra pulled his proposal for a state-run, socialized healthcare regime. Prompted by their union paymasters, progressive reps and advocates threatened all sorts of retribution on the moderate Democrats who opposed the radical plan. California Policy Center has the inside story.
Read MoreProfessor Joe Mathews explains that California’s governance issues can’t be solved by hiring more political consultants, as Gov. Gavin Newsom continually does. Instead, the state needs strong leaders with operational expertise—leaders to follow through on issues affecting local citizens, businesses, and schools. Newsom’s “dropped the ball,” and his political spin doctors aren’t recovering it. This article originally appeared in Foxes and Hounds Daily.
Read MoreEven though Susan Ellenberg and progressive advocates aggressively pushed for a county decarceration plan as part of their opposition to an improved county jail, Ellenberg lost the vote at the County Supervisors. Only Cindy Chavez voted with her. D1 Supervisor candidate and former SJ city councilmember Johnny Khamis analyzes the votes and corrects some of the dubious claims made by the decarceration advocates.
Read MoreLocal social media certainly had fun mocking the wild statements of progressive city councilmembers and staff at the 2.1.22 council meeting about the Office of Racial Equity. But the party continued on the national level as well, as commenters at center right community site ricochet.com joined the party with some incisive comments on the OppNow coverage of the meeting, below.
Read MoreDavid Pandori, ex-District 3 councilmember (1990-98), was a driving force behind the creation of the Guadalupe River Park. He expresses surprise and consternation at a recent report, written by SPUR (a nonprofit urban planning group that often works with the city of SJ), which claims that the park's design is--get this--racist and sexist. Pandori's letter to SPUR is below.
Read MoreEconomics professor Bryan Caplan theorizes in EconLlib that a fully deregulated housing market would encourage construction in urban and suburban areas. Combating the refrain that nobody wants to live in cities, Caplan explains that deregulation enables choice; if construction increases, housing prices decrease, and local individuals and families make priority-based decisions from a range of options.
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