Any local law school wanting to avoid similar mistakes as Stanford University's (read: to avoid hiring deans who publicly sympathize with anti-free speech protesters) need look no further. Campus Reform breaks down DEI Dean Steinbach's rampant—and easily accessible—history of opposing law enforcement, criminal justice systems, and, yes, the “patriarchy.”
Read MoreFor years, the growing power and influence of local nonprofits has troubled local politicians, legal experts, and everyday citizens. Recent revelations that local nonprofits act just like lobbyists (but retain their tax exempt status) and brazenly invite conflict of interest concerns (SJ's Housing Dept head also sits on the board of a huge local housing nonprofit that receives millions in city funds) have further raised eyebrows. Joel Kotkin provides the backstory (growing 1% wealth and a 9x-increase in NP funds since 1980) in Philanthropy Daily.
Read MorePrivately operated prisons are often mislabeled by rejoinders as greedy profit machines. Even historically pro-law enforcement SCC was pressured by Ellenberg and other jailbreak activists last year to abandon plans for a new, much-needed, jail. In City Journal, Devon Kurtz points to real-world benefits of performance metric-bound prison contracts, correcting the misconception that local gov't must be at the helm of all criminal justice efforts.
Read MorePerhaps the most enduring of Bolshevism's many ignominious contributions to Western intellectual life is the collective letter of denunciation. Russian writers Boris Pasternak, Alexander Solzenitzen, and Andre Sakharov all got 'em, as did scores of other free thinkers who dared challenge the revolutionary orthodoxies of Lenin, Stalin, & Co. The techniques of othering and public denunciations live on in the hard left bastions of the SCC Democratic Central Committee and various local nonprofit leaders/activists. Tablet magazine explores the phenomenon's history.
Read MoreAs another naively idealistic criminal justice bill makes the rounds in CA's Senate, Ruane Attorneys at Law addresses SB 94's key premise: that elderly criminals, even convicted first-degree murders, pose low risk to public safety. Ruane Attorneys clarifies that in general, older convicted offenders—including felons—face more lax consequences, proving that jailbreak opportunities might be more dicey than what Sen. Cortese has planned.
Read MoreIn the SF Chronicle, Emily Hoeven explains why even the most avid transit advocates are becoming disillusioned with BART: With insane delays and safety concerns both regular aspects of the experience now (reminiscent of Opp Now co-founder Christopher Escher's recent pot and pee-ridden episode), most residents are doing anything to avoid taking a train to work.
Read MoreAt the 3.27 SJ Council committee meeting that rejected the Housing Dept’s COPA proposal, there was a lot of talk about how gentrification and development drive lower-income people away from their neighborhoods. But there was scant data to support those conclusions. In fact, according to BuildingSaltLake.com, two decades of research across the US shows that many common assumptions about the connections between displacement, gentrification, and new, high-density, high-rent development are just plain wrong.
Read MoreIn the wake of the Bay Area's Stanford University free speech scandal, Reason's Josh Blackman asks what everybody is wondering but doesn't want to say out loud: Why was the law school's DEI dean the de facto spokesperson for Stanford? Blackman unravels how Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has stuck its nose into all issues possibly correlated with discrimination (big surprise: it's most of them) and, as a result, has commandeered how local higher ed administrations deal with problems.
Read MoreLocal decriminalization devotees, among them Sen. Cortese (D-SJ), are promoting Californian SB 94 to reduce our jails' elderly population. How? By reducing sentences of CA'ns who were either sentenced to death or are serving a life sentence without the opportunity for parole. The Globe's Michael Rushford argues that the only winners of SB 94 will be dangerous criminals who have committed first-degree murder—and the losers, individuals and families wanting to live and travel safely.
Read MoreThe Bay is experiencing deja vu all over again: Another invited speaker at a local university's student org has been canceled for offensive beliefs. This time, women's sports advocate Riley Gaines was physically threatened by an aggressive, screaming mob at SFSU. After the incident, admin has acknowledged the value of free speech while labeling the protest as “peaceful” and offering the hecklers “healing” via DEI services—not even a slap on the wrist. California Globe's reporting below.
Read MoreAnalyzing LA’s Skid Row Housing Trust and SF’s Tenderloin Housing Clinic, Built in the Cloud’s Adam Mayer discusses why barrier-free Housing First policies inevitably feed into a “vicious cycle” of property damage and expensive unit repairs—as similarly observed in SJ.
Read MoreLocal housing provider Dean Hotop cuts to the chase: If SJ wants to preserve its greenbelt (which it should), we need to find ways to build upwards within our Urban Growth Boundary. Outdated ordinances like the Ellis Act—which make it economically infeasible to densify older, low-density properties—stand in the way of an abundant housing supply and common sense, and have to go. An Opp Now exclusive.
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