Gov't misconduct expert Josh Koehn reports on a new lawsuit against SF nonprofit org the United Council of Human Services, which alleges that CEO Gwendolyn Westbrook has inappropriately used funds for personal benefit (“living a lifestyle inconsistent with her reported salary”). From the SF Standard, the latest chapter exposing local nonprofits' alarming lack of accountability.

In the Cato Institute, Marc Joffe updates readers on California’s high-speed rail project—and nobody paying any attention is surprised. The HSR faces ballooning costs, declining ridership projections, and delayed launch dates, which has prompted calls for an independent review before legislators recommit.

Ginny Burton of ChangeWA previously worked for a nonprofit that carried out Housing First policies, but she was horrified to observe homeless individuals rampantly endangering themselves and others--and being, in the most practical sense, rewarded for it. Instead, homelessness and housing approaches must manage underlying causes, says Burton.

Coalition for a Better Oakland’s Steve Heimoff dives into local progressive pols’ vision to eliminate eviction, thus—supposedly—mitigating residents’ housing challenges. Instead, Heimoff believes this platform is more dangerous than it appears. It hinges on an aversion to private property ownership, and will lead to reduced rights for others if unchecked. “First they came for the landlords, and I did not speak out—because I was not a landowner…”

Analyzing several well-subsidized SF nonprofits, Josh Koehn explains in the SF Standard that many residents are urging for transparency in how NP partners address objectives and use taxpayer funds. Even SF Mayor Breed acknowledges difficulties in working with NPs, but local nonprofit lobbyists strongly request no additional stipulations be enforced—lest the paperwork adds up.

On March 27, SJ's Community and Economic Development Committee voted 3-2 to reject the Housing Dept's report on their COPA proposal. The most compelling argument that surfaced during the meeting was simple: What SJ residents need—especially lower income residents—is an abundance of new (hence more affordable) housing. And that hyper-complex, Rubik's cube proposals like COPA are misguided, as they do nothing to create new housing, and in fact constrain it. Roger Valdez, director at the Center for Housing Economics, explains in Forbes.

The recent Stanford Law controversy, in which a mob of students relentlessly belittled and shouted down invited speaker Judge Kyle Duncan, prompts TXEER Politics and Religion Board user pvbmtnr to consider the common binary thinking separating free speech and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—as especially located in Dean Steinbach’s WSJ defense piece.

Silicon Valley used to be a place of innovation, dynamism, and ambition. A place where hard-working people could make the products of the future—and make something of themselves, too. But no more. The forward-thinking engineers of old have been replaced by a new elite, made up mainly of financiers, media types, and NGO bureaucrats, explains Joel Kotkin in spiked.

Historically, simply garnering more taxpayer money is not an effective path to solving local homelessness crises; instead, accountability for existing expenses is needed—ensuring we are investing resources in worthwhile places. Adam Mayer from Built in the Cloud surveys Housing First’s failure to address root factors of homelessness, and why “more funding” is a hollow call to action.