Stanford and San Francisco State aren't the only Bay Area universities actively combating diverse ideas. We can't overlook one of 2022's top 10 least free speech-friendly U.S. colleges: Santa Clara University. A Reason recap reads below of SCU's efforts a few years ago to shut down a conservative student club, and cogent implications re: discrimination.
Read MoreSteve Heimoff of Coalition for a Better Oakland addresses the enduring myth of “Care not Cages” (to nod to Supe Ellenberg): the idea that quickly releasing criminals back into society, coupled with reform programs, is a more humane approach for the community. On the contrary, says Heimoff, making public spaces unsafe for local families (and devaluing and failing to prevent tragic losses) isn't kind to anybody.
Read MoreContinuing an exclusive Opp Now series, constitutional law expert Dr. Margaret Russell parses CA'n Education Code provisions to answer a hot question about opt-out programs: Can parents opt their kids out of content they're morally opposed to, such as controversial sexuality-based lessons? Unlike CRI's Karen England, Russell concludes (below) that students can legally withdraw from “instruction in human development and sexuality” but not community-specific teachings.
Read MoreGabe Guidarini explains in American Greatness that the Right as a whole isn't attracting young folks—because its narratives are too-often jaundiced by cynicism and impending danger, leaving opportunity and excitement on the back burner.
Read MoreEven the Wall Street Journal concedes that billions of taxpayer dollars later, CA's efforts to ease its homelessness plight have barely scratched the surface. While cities like SJ prioritize developing barrier-free housing, the WSJ's Christine Mai-Duc and Jim Carlton remind that unhoused individuals often also need comprehensive treatment—for mental health and substance abuse disorders—to break free from the cycle.
Read MoreEarlier this year, Dr. Tabia Lee—the Foothills-De Anza Community College's Equity, Social Justice and Multicultural Education faculty director—was fired for, yep, not being Woke enough. This is just one of many incidents of local Leftists ousting moderate allies. The Cato Institute breaks down how this Black professor's earnest challenges to anti-racist orthodoxy got her the boot.
Read MoreMetro Silicon Valley's pot economist Dan Mitchell spotlights California's suffering cannabis market. While Prop 64 legalized weed back in '16, dispensaries still struggle to operate under onerous state regulations and taxes, which are forcing many locations across CA into exorbitant debt. Then, it may not blow anyone's mind that cannabis sellers are heading back to the black market, where revenue is more promising.
Read MoreIt's no secret that SF's once-booming hotel market faces a downhill plunge post Covid. Owners struggle to fill rooms amid rampant crime and filthy streets. But is San Jose's tourism industry headed for the same “gloomy” fate as SF? The San Francisco Business Times' hospitality reporter Alex Barreira shares, in this Opp Now exclusive, why less supply constraints and better street conditions could spell victory for SJ's local hotel market.
Read MoreThe homelessness epidemic is not chiefly an issue of high housing costs or welcoming weather, says the California Globe team, but drug laws. In progressive states that keep homeless numbers down, consequences for hard drug use include substantial fines and sentencing—while in CA, perpetrators get little more than a slap on the wrist, and can stay in the streets while averting needful mental health interventions.
Read MoreLocal progressive nonprofits added a new item to their ever-lengthening resume of ridiculous protest stunts on June 7, when for almost an hour they occupied the offices of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors (R) (SCCAOR) and threatened staff. Trespass and assault charges are being considered. SCCAOR's sin? Actually supporting an initiative—not approved by local housing nonprofits—that would provide quick, high-quality housing for our homeless neighbors. Opp Now co-founder Christopher Escher sits down with SCCOAR's Gov't Affairs chief Gina Zari about why the protest stunt backfired and why she's unmoved by efforts to silence her team. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreSince State Farm announced it will no longer insure new policies in California, state gov't has been scrambling to peddle excuses such as global inflation and “climate change.” OC Register's Steven Greenhut pinpoints the real reason many insurance companies have pulled out of the Golden State: rampant regulatory overreach (especially via Prop 103, which makes turning a profit much more difficult for insurers).
Read MoreIn a recent email memo (excerpted below), the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association announced an upcoming BART panel discussion for June 13th in Walnut Creek. Panelists—Independent Institute's Lawrence McQuillan and Cato Insitute's Marc Joffe—will address how to reform BART without more burdensome tax increases.
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