The SJCC votes tomorrow whether to oppose statewide Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act. The law would require both two-thirds legislature approval and majority voter approval for new/higher taxes. Local news dubiously claims the Act “threatens billions” in basic public safety funding, citing Mayor Mahan’s concerns. In this Opp Now exclusive, SJ experts Tobin Gilman and Pat Waite respond.
Read MoreThe Mayor's direction couldn't have been clearer: Let's come up with bold, new creative metrics to determine the effectiveness of solutions to SJ's systemic homelessness crisis, with a focus on cheaper/faster/more fruitful solutions for the unsheltered community. Committee members and the public provided many innovative recommendations. But the nonprofit-heavy committee roster just shut their eyes to those proposals and replayed the same old expensive, slow, Permanent Supportive Housing status quo—effectively leaving the cruel policy of sanctioned encampments intact. The Opp Now team parses what the committee left unaddressed.
Read MoreA balanced housing policy would set ideology aside and address the simultaneous benefits of re-development and preservation, while addressing the needs of the Missing Middle, growing local economic activity, expanding the tax/revenue base, and positioning San Jose to exit this nonstop housing shortage crisis. Local housing provider and concerned citizen Dean Hotop offers a thoughtful proposal re: how to get there in this Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreIn the City Journal’s podcast 10 Blocks, journalists Malanga and Lehman address the challenges associated with marijuana’s local “tolerated black market”—and why two-thirds of some states’ sales remain under-the-table. Rules, regulations, and added costs are a deterrent to many sellers; and law enforcement in/beyond CA rarely shuts down illegal businesses.
Read MoreNeil Mammen of the SJ organization Values Advocacy Council addresses mounting concerns that ex-residents are California-fying other, currently right-leaning, states. Rather than encouraging migration to left-leaning territories, Mammen suggests that enforcing two-rep state limits would prevent more populous areas from controlling elections. This originally appeared in The Stream.
Read MoreAs Newsom ambitiously envisions Life Without Petroleum for California, America Out Loud’s Tom Harris offers a reminder: Crude oil derivatives, to be banned as non-renewable energy sources, are needed to create thousands of products CA’ns utilize in everyday living. Ban petroleum? Watch for shortages, inflated prices, and disastrously altered—much less modern—lifestyles.
Read MoreDavid Schonbrunn is the president of the Train Riders Association of California (TRAC) and a longtime rail advocate. In this Opp Now exclusive, he refutes a recent claim that, yes, California’s HSR is a black hole for taxpayer money—but it’s too late to abandon it now. Here, Schonbrunn explains that under its nonsensical, politically-motivated route, this HSR is destined for failure, and needs a full reboot.
Read MoreIn this exclusive, Opp Now hears from Fremont Union board member Stanley Kou about his apprehensions for 2023: maintaining sustainable enrollment numbers, and finding practical transportation for students living in Sunnyvale’s high density housing.
Read MoreAcclaimed Los Angeles cannabis lawyer–analyst Griffen Thorne sat down with Opp Now to break down recently proposed AB 471: In creating and regulating additional cannabis licenses, the bill might just exacerbate locals’ existing red tape—and intrude needlessly on their personal privacy. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreBetween 2019 and 2022, SJ’s homelessness population grew by a startling 11%. Alongside that, the City’s homelessness expenditures continue rising, prompting calls for bureaucratic transparency. The Hoover Institution’s Lee Ohanian discusses why onerous regulations/permit fees have led to less housing supply and, thus, higher unhoused numbers.
Read MoreCalifornia’s high-speed rail gets nowhere fast while sucking hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars—all to construct a politically-motivated route from SF to LA. Public policy/economics experts Dana Goldman and Alain Enthoven take to CalMatters, and posit that local water storage and purification issues must be prioritized over failing transit systems.
Read MoreIn Opp Now’s latest exclusive, activists Eric Scheidler and Nancy Reiko Kato and lawyer Joshua Schroeder discuss: Now that CA Prop 1’s passed, what’s next—as far as interpreting its seemingly beclouded language on late-term abortions? Their varied perspectives below.
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