Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility's VP Rich Crowley once served on a Bay Area transportation work group. He here advises from his experience with BART's inflexible system, mismanaged funds, and evolving cultural work trends: Extending through DTSJ to Santa Clara will further clean out residents' wallets—without an adequate payoff. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreContinuing an exclusive Opp Now series, retired police officer and Libertarian presidential runner Mike ter Maat analyzes the county's Police Department. While the Dept has competitive pay and mid-level transfers, requiring private sector liability insurance (in lieu of qualified immunity) would enforce accountability for “bad officers” and cultivate a free market-driven police force.
Read MoreThough SJ's latest homeless stats signal we're making strides in a positive direction, there remains a core problem: Too many people are still living in inhumane conditions on streets, creekbeds, and public spaces. Thomas Elias proposes in the CA Focus that vacant local offices be repurposed into residential units, saving time and money while tackling the homelessness crisis.
Read MoreBay Area political candidate Tom Wong addresses why locals should be concerned about Woke college takeovers, and how their extreme ideological pushes could exacerbate enrollment drops. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreThe pointless BART extension to downtown SJ will cost more than $9 billion. And transit experts are now suggesting that all the expenditures and tearing up of streets will yield—hold onto your hats—a scant 0.4% improvement in traffic on our clogged roadways. No typo—that's less than half a percent of relief. Marc Joffe of the Cato Institute surveys the madness.
Read MoreA recent research survey highlights what SJ residents know very well: 83% of riders feel unsafe using BART. Just as (un)surprising? They'd take the Bay's transportation system more regularly if rule-breakers were expunged, and if police/transit officers were on board. The Globe's breakdown here.
Read MoreFollowing the Bay Area Air Quality Mgmt District's March decision to begin banning natural gas furnaces/water heaters in 2026, American Greatness's Edward Ring observes some hefty economic implications of the ordinance: Considering the high costs of switching to renewable energy, low- and middle-class residents may be forced out of their neighborhoods, further jeopardizing the balance of top-heavy cities like SJ.
Read MoreAustrian economist and Libertarian Party presidential hopeful Mike ter Maat doesn't understand why CA's lawmakers (such as the Senate when shutting the door on a recent ESA proposal) are so afraid of two straightforward words: “school choice.” In this Opp Now exclusive, ter Maat breaks down the free market rationale behind tuition stipends, and their benefits for families across the Golden State.
Read MorePlanning Commissioner Kylie Clark was censured by the Town of Los Gatos this Feb for dismissing proponents of a referendum as “rich white anti-housing men” via email to CA's HCD. In April, the censureship was revoked after ACLU threatened legal recourse. Here, Clark addresses her perspective on public vs. private speech, and why she believes power holders' demographics should be in some cases discussed when making political decisions. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreNational rankings have confirmed what San Joseans have clearly discerned through and post Covid: SJ's population has dipped to the point of excluding the once-flourishing tech hub from the US's 10 biggest cities. While housing scarcity and unaffordability reach frightening highs, it's no shocker that residents are fleeing to areas with more hospitable policies. Yet, SJ rates #13 on U.S. News' "best places to live" list (#1 in CA) due to high quality of life—for the rare few who can afford to live in the 14th most expensive city. SF Chronicle & U.S. News report.
Read MoreWith all the wrangling and jockeying about how to best spend “Measure E Funds,” local small property owner Dean Hotop unpacks what kind of tax Measure E really is, and wonders if something's amiss. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreSurprise, surprise: After removing maximum stay limits on temporary homeless housing, San Francisco finds that the average guest checks out after roughly six months. Meanwhile, shelter space further dwindles, prompting calls for local land use deregulation, so that quickly-built tiny homes can serve the unhoused community. The SF Standard's analysis below.
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