T. Logan Dayne (from the San Diego News Desk) reports that months after Gov. Newsom’s promise to aid Middle Class families through a tax refund, myriad families across the Golden State have yet to receive their checks. Was Newsom’s ambitious program paltry political theater — and if not, what’s halting the process at a critical financial time for many residents?
Read MoreThe liberalization perspective on hard drugs appears to be fading away, in favor of the hard enforcement approach — particularly on fentanyl dealers (who sell the opioid responsible for 1 in 5 young adult CA’n deaths) distributing fatal doses to clients. CalMatters’ Emily Hoeven summarizes the state’s mounting fentanyl overdose crisis, and lawmakers’ efforts (from both sides of the aisle) to clamp down on crime.
Read MoreIn Front Page Magazine, educational commentator Larry Sand analyzes local teachers unions’ pressure to keep public schools closed during and post-pandemic, and how recent data highlights the academic achievement consequences students face today as a result.
Read MoreEnergy literacy expert Ronald Stein unpacks the dangers of a complete local switch to renewable power (as pushed by Gov. Newsom). If over 6,000 essential products require crude oil — and there’s no “green” plan to replace their production — shortages and inflation will inevitably follow a fossil fuel ban, says Stein.
Read MoreSince reposting what’s been labeled an insensitive meme on his LinkedIn page this Sept., Chabot-Las Positas Community College District Trustee Luis Reynoso has faced threats of removal from the board. During the Oct. board meeting, then-board candidate for Hayward USD Tom Wong unpacked and applied First Amendment rights to contentious local situations like Chabot’s. Wong’s comments excerpted below.
Read MoreThe recent City Hall brouhaha over special elections v appointments for open council seats put a spotlight, for many, on the City's flawed system of citizen feedback. Why come out and speak at Council meetings if you're not heard, and if the end result is that you don't even get to vote? Former D3 CM candidate Irene Smith (Q&A nearby) advocates for a more up-to-date, professional Office of Public Listening. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreThis week's showdown at City Hall over special elections featured a lot of yelling and name calling and hardly any listening. Former D3 CM candidate and President of Business & Homes Network - San Jose, Irene Smith, puts on her Counselors' spectacles and sees a misguided system in a chat with Opp Now's Christopher Escher. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreIt’s no secret that when it comes to elections, the scales are often tipped in the direction of donations: campaigns’ lifeblood, especially for those struggling to afford even a ballot statement. California Policy Center’s Edward Ring unpacks why, in 2022, it’s still challenging to identify which unions are funding which candidates; it’s an issue of decentralized agencies and counterproductive contribution limits.
Read MoreIn For Kids & Country, seasoned educator Larry Sand explains how local public school teachers commonly send their children to private options. If the instructors most intimately involved in traditional education are often too wary to enroll their own kids, what does that mean for the importance of CA’n school choice programs?
Read MoreSigned into law this September, AB 2229 hopes to reduce prejudice within the police force by requiring applicants to “pass” a psychological bias evaluation. Critics have wondered if state-mandated “ideological purity tests” could lead to discrimination against certain (e.g., religious) groups. Local law/justice experts parse the bill’s implications below. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreJamie Heston (past Homeschool Association of California board member, “15 year veteran homeschooling expert” and consultant) explains the benefits of gov’t-hands-off homeschooling. While some call to constrict homeschool laws, Heston charges that they remain flexible in CA — to encourage rigorous out-of-the-box, individualized options. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreSoon-to-be-second-term Fremont Union High School District board members Naomi Nakano-Matsumoto (current president) and Rosa Kim (current VP) chat with Opp Now about cultivating board–constituent relationships — where both are informed and engaged with the other’s needs, platforms, and actions. An Opp Now exclusive.
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