The Wall Street Journal's Peter Grant reports that office vacancy rates are rising as the SV slides further away from the tech industry's early pandemic hiring boom—and as more residents are opting to skip the commute and work remotely. Now, companies like Google are increasingly interested in subleasing their office space, leaving landlords desperate and throwing incentives at anyone willing to rent.
Read MoreThe specter of censorship looms over public school districts, as some locals worry their school libraries are pulling content parents label as inappropriate. Really, do parents have the constitutional right to request—even demand—a book is removed from their public school's selection? Opp Now asked four legal experts (three from CA) to speak to this controversy. Their exclusive varied takes below.
Read MoreResidents in their 20s and 30s are high-tailing it out of the Bay Area in droves, disproportionately aging our local communities. The SF Chronicle clarifies that (acc to CA's HCD) $96,000/year is considered “low income” for one-person households in the SCC, thanks in part to unreachable housing costs. Is it a surprise, then, that young folks who haven't nabbed high-paying tech jobs aren't sticking around?
Read MoreLouis V. Gerstner Jr.—chairman of a NY philanthropic fundraising nonprofit—has seen firsthand how temporary financial aid programs are a cheap and effective way to keep folks from falling into the poverty cycle, tackling homelessness before it's an issue. Contrarily, putting unhoused people in shelters (whether long-term or quick-build, as advocated by SJ mayor Mahan) can cost taxpayers over 100x more. Gerstner Jr.'s analysis in the Wall Street Journal.
Read MoreThe National Review's Becket Adams reflects on imbalanced reporting in nationwide school board controversies, including the bogus claim that Tennessee restricts Black history instruction (nope, anything goes that isn't racist or divisive). The Bay Area, too, has seen elevated media slant since the last election cycle, and local school board members who don't submit to Woke doctrine often struggle to get their voice heard.
Read MoreFunds needed for new, affordable developments can be financed through capital markets without the massive gov't outlays, says Leonard Grunstein, Managing Member at Hanlen Real Estate Development & Funding. In fact, cities can use a public/private funding model that would use market forces to fix their housing crises in an economical way. Originally in Gotham Gazette.
Read MoreTime has validated former CM Johnny Khamis' opposition to SJ's slow and wasteful Housing First ideology. After the most recent Council voted to continue draining city coffers with its Measure E compromise, Khamis examined why SJ is devoted to a discredited housing dogma in an exclusive conversation with Opp Now's Christopher Escher.
Read MoreConsidering CA's housing supply and affordability problems, CalMatters' Dan Walters suggests that proposed constitutional amendment ACA 10's grand promise—closing housing affordability gaps via guaranteeing residents the “right to housing”—would fall short of actual reform. He goes on to argue that the true architects of change are private investors, who must be persuaded via developer-friendly regulations to conduct business in the State. So, another vaguely worded new CA'n right may do no more than “virtue signal” or encourage frisky court battles (we're hearing echoes of Prop 1).
Read MoreAB 2011, going into effect on July 1st, is expected to boost affordable housing commerical-to-residential conversions by fast-tracking approval and eliminating the potential for CEQA lawsuits. The LA Times' editorial board dissects AB 2011 and two other CA'n bills designed to make repurposing office space a more feasible project.
Read MoreHaving gotten a bailout in the latest California state budget, Bay Area Transit agencies are seeking further subsidies from bridge users. If the $1.50 toll hike is passed by state legislature, transit agencies will be able to return to business-as-usual despite carrying a fraction of the passengers they transported in 2019. Mark Joffe reports in this Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreThe latest kerfuffle at SJ City Council about interim vs. permanently subsidized housing revealed not just competing ideologies, but also a competing sense of what housing metrics SJ should monitor. SCC Libertarian Party secretary Brian Holtz suggests that removing SJ's affordable housing mandates will accelerate new construction (who knew the free market works better than constrictive laws?): allowing the City to prioritize more valuable metrics like supply, cost, and population change. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreTechies aren't totally abandoning the Bay Area anytime soon, though mass layoffs continue wreaking havoc on residents at an avg of 3,000/month (as compared to 2022's 871/month). While the Silicon Valley still takes the top spot nationwide in venture-capital investments, other cities like Miami, New York, and Austin are starting to catch up, as the SV relinquishes more market share (and residents). The Washington Post breaks it down here.
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