For the first time, local nonprofits are getting heat for their questionable relationship with the City of SJ. Even Mayor Liccardo recently said the quiet part out loud, expressing concern over how some nonprofits can be seen as unaccountable and underperforming. Some nonprofit leaders took to the pages of the Merc to defend their patch, but, to our way of thinking, came up short. The Opp Now team unpacks the arguments.

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California Policy Center president Will Swaim unpacks the recent flurry of Los Angeles City Journal resignations, prompted by leaked audio where several Latino councilmembers made explicit racist comments. This shocking event, says Swaim, derives from California’s domination by the progressive ideology: Extremely tilted politics are devoid of “philosophical rigor” — which encourages local leaders to resort to ad hominem, ad nauseam.

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Numerous studies have pinpointed the dangers of kids’ screen time, but what about adults’ use of social media and TV? Ever wonder why some local pols seem to lose their cool so often? Entertainment researcher Dr. Cristel Russell explains that according to cultivation theory, consumers’ beliefs about the world are shaped by media, and the effect is more pronounced the more they watch/interact with media. On Fox & Hounds Daily, Russel posits that hateful, name-calling online discourse normalizes cruel communication in the realm of politics.

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Examining key donations from Gov. Newsom’s anti-recall campaign, policy analyst Brandon Ristoff breaks down the biggest collective contributors as government unions — including multiple teachers unions (over $2.3 million total), a peace officers association ($1.75 million), and a service employees union ($1 million). Ristoff’s analysis highlights the dangers of sizable, formidable unions working with politicians to scratch each other’s backs.

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In an email thread recently released by the City of San Jose as part of an action by SJ Spotlight, Mayor Liccardo echoes a concern voiced here on Opp Now: how local nonprofits may be gaming the City's lax management systems, and underperforming due to lack of oversight and accountability. Liccardo’s email and the Spotlight’s comments below.

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In Reason, Eugene Volokh breaks down that universities can’t reasonably police student orgs’ ideological exclusions (even including nine Berkeley Law groups’ blatantly anti-Zionist bylaws). However, this latest UC Berkeley controversy uncovers an anti-Israel tilt among extreme progressives, says Volokh, one that should inform how local Californians view cogent conversations on race.

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The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s 2022 Out of Reach report highlights how burdensome rising rent costs are for the young Bay Area workforce. For instance, San Joseans must earn over $55/hr to afford a two-bedroom rental home. In a Yahoo! News article, Rose Horowitch unpacks further data on the nationwide housing market, of which cost continues to creep up post-COVID — disproportionately hurting recent college grads and beginning professionals.

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As part of Opp Now’s latest election series, San Jose City Council candidates for District 7 — Bien Doan and Maya Esparza — parse the local gov’t decisions they’d undo if given the opportunity. An Opp Now exclusive.

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When even starter homes are financially out of reach, what’s incentivizing Santa Clara County residents to build a life here? (And is it surprising, then, that SC was CA’s #2 most vacated county in 2021?) Realtor.com serves the numbers on home renting and buying in metro areas. At #5, San Jose boasts a $2,175 discrepancy between renting and buying costs per month — making settling down in the capital of Silicon Valley near-impossible.

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As it is, Latino and African American families face disproportionately steep electricity prices. Can every minority or low-income family afford “green” energy if mandated by Newsom? Energy consultant Ronald Stein argues in Fox & Hounds Daily that California’s renewable energy policies unduly plague poor and minority residents, and demands just reform.

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