California Globe editor Katy Grimes discusses progressive environmentalism’s hypocrisy and failure to properly govern the Golden State’s resources. If Californian leaders genuinely valued the environment and aimed to overcome ever-present droughts, wouldn’t they end policies that hurt fish, farmers, and residents alike?
Read MoreD3 candidate Irene Smith has come under fire from a group led by nonprofit activists who claim—rather bizarrely—that a campaign mailer of hers has racist undertones. Smith says "they are treating these mailers as though they are a Hidden Puzzle game, and it's just unserious and cynical." Her defense is excerpted below.
Read More"If one is inclined to find racism everywhere, one will find it everywhere," says Dr. Alan Perlman, national commenter on the politicization of race in the U.S. We asked Dr. Perlman to take a look at the overheated race charges against Irene Smith in D3. Perlman thinks they don't add up and asks everyone to “chill out.”
Read MoreSchool–police cooperation prevents local mass shootings. Contrastingly, anti-police rhetoric impacts far more than budgetary concerns, truly endangering children’s safety — as evidenced by the recent Oakland high school shooting. Rudsdale High School’s practices of handling emergencies independently, waiting to notify police of evidence, and dictating students do not cooperate with police created a “perfect storm” for students to be further victimized, suggests Dan Noyes in ABC7.
Read MoreBrian Holtz — the Santa Clara County Libertarian Party Campaigns Committee chair — contends that citywide constraints on land use spike up housing prices, manufacture unnecessary scarcity, and invite discriminatory practices. Unpacking his Libertarian mindset towards governance, Holtz advocates for an end to onerous ordinances in areas like parking and lot minimums. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreThe SCC utilizes the Vulnerability Index–Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT)—a survey on one’s risk factors—to decide where to place unhoused locals. The higher severity of issues, the more permanent housing they are awarded, according to the County. In City Journal, Judge Glock unpacks why subsidizing substance abuse and criminal behavior through the VI-SPDAT only exacerbates local homelessness crises.
Read MoreOverheated and unsubstantiated racializing of issues is nothing new in SJ politics. What's new in 2022 is how everyday citizens are finding the verve to challenge unhinged accusations and baseless allegations. Nancy DeMattei chimes in on the Northside Neighborhood email list and demolishes claims that D3 candidate Irene Smith's flyer is racist.
Read MoreWhy aren’t renewable energy advocates discussing the thousands of essential products (incl. hand sanitizer, disinfectants, and medical masks) that require fossil fuels during production? In Fox & Hounds Daily, independent public policy consultant Todd Royal contends that suppressing the COVID-19 pandemic required more than “green” energy, and that banning natural gas production locally has dangerous public health ramifications.
Read MoreAnalyzing UC Berkeley student groups’ new anti-Israel bylaws, civil rights expert Kenneth Marcus unpacks the (il)legality of excluding individuals by ethnic/racial identity. While defended as reasonable selectivity by student orgs, these bylaws blatantly discriminate against “Zionists” due to their country of origin, their culture: factors they did not choose. That doesn’t seem reasonable — or constitutional — at all, asserts Marcus.
Read MoreJon Coupal — president of CA’s nonpartisan Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association — posits in the OC Register that effective tax policies, like longstanding Prop 13, must be fiercely protected. While it may be vogue to call tax reduction laws unjust and inequitable, Coupal cites evidence in favor of practical, beneficial, realistic property tax legislation.
Read MoreWhile advocacy organizations from multiple angles continue analyzing the State’s contentious (and confusing) SCA 10/Prop 1, Californian press remains, for the most part, oddly quiet. In the latest Opp Now exclusive, local attorneys and organizations interpret whether this bill would alter existing restrictions on late-term abortion operations. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreAfter notable nationwide school choice victories in 2021, the California Teachers Association (CTA) still fiercely opposes two local school voucher initiatives. In the California Policy Center, educational commentator Larry Sand refutes CTA talking points against school choice, emphasizing that vouchers improve educational outcomes without hurting local public schools.
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