San Jose isn't the only Californian city where public transportation—once a hallmark of all successful and progressive urban areas—is sinking in quality and losing once-loyal riders in droves. Many no longer feel safe taking the train to work and back. In recent news, the Westside Current reports that local Eric Lewis was viciously beaten by eight teenagers who were also on LA's Metro Expo train.
Read MoreHoning in on New York, Judge Glock and Renu Mukherjee of City Journal discuss the left's mounting failures to resonate with local Asian American voters. Rent control, kindly called “rent stabilization” in SJ, is proving a cogent battleground issue for Asian Americans, many of whom have bought/rent out their own homes and may not be able to shoulder higher rents emerging from stringent COPA-esque policies.
Read MoreAccording to the SF Standard, SF's Board of Supervisors' Budget and Legislative Analyst Office recently released a report on the city's Housing Dept. A key finding was what was missing: much documentation on local affordable housing projects, including how the Dept—you know—actually spends their funds. SJ's Housing Dept, too, is no stranger to financial black holes (did we say billions?).
Read MoreCalMatters reports on the post-Covid public transportation quandary: Ridership is plummeting, federal funding is running out, and quality continues to go down as revenue thins. Yet, whether additional funds (and the associated extra burden on taxpayers) would improve the situation remains doubtful.
Read MoreZoila Herrera Rollins ran for Union School District Board this past November to advocate parents' rights and transparency to families. Here, Herrera explains that budgetary accountability within the USD means getting rid of pointless positions (hint: the USD's paying $100k/yr for a DEI expert). After Stanford's free speech disaster, many others, too, are questioning if Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion jobs belong in education. The first of two Opp Now exclusive comments.
Read MoreSJ church Calvary Chapel drew national attention over the last couple years for boldly refusing to adhere to local Covid ordinances. Though their controversial contempt-of-court charges were dropped last year, Calvary was recently fined $1.2 million for mask violations. Bob Tyler, president of Advocates for Faith and Freedom (which represents the church), analyzes how invasive laws infringe on private liberties. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreLet's face it: Local approaches to the crime, drug, and homelessness trifecta aren't working, says Coalition for a Better Oakland's Steve Heimoff. So-called solutions tend to be costly and contract with minimally monitored nonprofits, casting aside accountable, data-evidenced results. Heimoff calls for Bay Area cities to “stop playing around” and, instead, strengthen law enforcement responses to public safety threats.
Read MoreSJ's Housing Dept has often characterized its strategy with clever alliteration: “PPP”—shorthand for Production, Preservation, and Protection. But as homelessness and affordability get even worse, it's clearly time for a pivot. Irene Smith of SJ's United Housing Alliance suggests reforms—and a greatly increased role for local rental vouchers. From Medium.
Read MoreThanks to Oakland's 2020-established eviction moratorium, a tenant has been living for three years in a 3-bedroom, 1-bath completely on landlord John Williams' dime. And he can't evict her because—Covid. CBS News explores yet another case of “tenant protections” going overboard and hurting honest, everyday people trying to make a living.
Read MoreAnn Althouse of Althouse breaks down why scandals like the Stanford Law free speech incident continue to happen across the US: As the extremists get louder, the moderates—really, anyone with common sense—tend to get quieter. They seek “invisib[ility]” and avoid conflict, which only serves to encourage existing radicalism.
Read MoreThe more people look closely at the cozy relationship between local nonprofits and the city government entities that fund them, the more concerned people get. Local neighborhood coalition and planning group Families & Homes SJ extends the argument by wondering how it's okay that the city's Housing Director can sit on the board of a local housing nonprofit, and asks the Mayor and Council for greater transparency.
Read MoreNonprofit advocates and SJ Housing Department staff (oops, did we repeat ourselves?) have struggled for three years to get Council approval for their flawed proposal to privilege local nonprofits when it comes to buying up older properties (it's called COPA). Since a Council economic committee rejected the latest COPA version on 3/27, the spin machine from city staff and nonprofits has shifted into high gear in an effort to restart the broken-down concept. The Opp Now team examines their rhetorical maneuvers in this exclusive.
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