In the LA Times, oil historian Gregory Brew unpacks why California’s energy remains sky-high expensive: Amidst promises to “green-ify” all energy sources, Sacramento pols have discouraged local fossil fuel production. But because CA’s energy needs haven’t diminished, we now import 56% of our crude oil — for nothing short of a small fortune.
Read MoreGoogle announced earlier this month that, given the changes in the office market, it may push back its development in Diridon West, aka the Google Village. Nonprofits and their supporters who are on the receiving end of more than $200m of Google largesse (in the form of community grants, public spaces, and property) started squawking. D6 CM Dev Davis sets the record straight in this exclusive interview with Opp Now.
Read MoreSomeone asking you to pay your late rent is not the same as locking you out of your apartment. But you wouldn't know that from the Merc's 2.12.23 (reporter: Ethan Varian) article, which basically plays stenographer for extremist Housing Rights advocates to create a bogus narrative about a non-existent eviction "tsunami." Irene Smith and The Bay Area Housing Network fact-checked the Merc's two most dubious assertions.
Read MoreCampaigns Committee chair of the SCC Libertarian Party Brian Holtz argues that AB23—which would reduce CA’s petty theft threshold amount by $550—complements a libertarian emphasis on individual liberty. While local gov’t overreach needs to be fought, residents’ property must be protected, valued, championed (recalling John Inks’s maxim “don’t take or mess with [people’s] stuff”).
Read MoreIn 1972, Californian author Stewart Brand (subscriber paywall) predicted that the advent of computers would herald an era of enhanced “spontaneous creation and of human interaction,” empowering all of society “as individuals and as co-operators.” It didn't turn out that way—far from it, as Joel Kotkin explains in First Things.
Read MoreIn the California Policy Center, Edward Ring breaks down the latest data on Latino families’ attrition from public K-12 school districts. More and more Latino parents are opting to homeschool or place their children in local charters, which reflects existing findings that school choice is supported by a variety of diverse voters.
Read MoreIn the OC Register, political science writer Steven Greenhut breaks down how California’s water issues are due to insufficient public policies—related to available storage, desalination opportunities, etc.—but are treated as unpreventable, unsolvable tragedies. Local CA’ns bear the brunt when asked to ration water or stop watering their own lawns; yet, there exist ample local remedies, says Greenhut.
Read MoreIn the last of exclusive Opp Now coverage on a statewide measure, Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association board member Pierluigi Oliverio unpacks local media’s fundamental misinterpretations about existing vs. proposed tax increases. Billions of SJ funds will remain available for public safety services whether or not the Act passes, and no laws currently in place will be repealed.
Read MoreThe Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is one of three orgs championing the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act, which meets CA ballots next year. Susan Shelley (HJTA VP of Comm’s) recenters the conversation around Constitutional rights, as opposed to pointing fingers at the rich or theorizing public safety is in jeopardy. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreThe 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.
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