Transportation lawyer Joseph P. Thompson—in a paper presented to the Assoc'n for Transportation Law, Logistics & Policy—questions our need for taxpayer-propped transit systems. Maybe it's time we stop considering transportation a social program, and give it the chance to succeed as a business. After all: In the private sector, commercial activities unavailable to public orgs could keep BART and VTA afloat, without tapping unwilling residents.
Read MoreAthena Thorne of PJ Media connects the dots between San Jose's unused office space glut, the City budget (which must then compensate for lower property/retail tax revenue), and folks pulling out of commercial real estate investments. Meanwhile, experts wonder if—in a post-Covid work culture—we should instead relax planning regulations and start converting offices to homeless housing units.
Read MoreCalifornia's last operating nuclear power plant, in Diablo Canyon, is currently scheduled to shutter in the next year or two. But CalMatters' Dan Walters points out why local cities need non-renewable energy: It's more reliable and we have more of it, whereas 100% reliance on “green” sources causes frequent blackouts for residents.
Read MoreIn a letter to the LA Times, Joanne Hedge of Glendale reflects on the fall of Stanford's now-bowed-out president Marc Tessier-Lavigne, taken down by freshman reporter Theo Baker. Since we can't rely on gov't to get to the bottom of things (we're still hearing crickets on the SCC Aff Housing Network-led threats and ambush of realtor offices), we must nurture the Fourth Estate of powerful, truthful, indefatigable investigative journalism.
Read MoreThe WSJ dives into a bizarre strike(out) from Unite Here Local 11, a union in Los Angeles. In July alone, the labor union has staged three disruptive walkouts. Their demands: that hotels must house homeless people and slap an additional 7% tax on guest rooms. Meanwhile, hotel personnel wonder if it's all one histrionic farce to beef up union membership.
Read MoreThe US Office of Gov't Ethics reminds that federal public employees can't use their positions to craft the illusion of gov't sanction in matters outside of their job jurisdictions, and that employing official letterheads for personal business is a big no. Ethical standards 5 CFR § 2635.702 & .704 written below.
Read MoreIn this Opp Now exclusive, Marie Blankley—mayor of Gilroy since elected in 2020—deconstructs why CA Housing Elements' top-down artificial housing mandate targets don't improve issues of supply, affordability, and meaningful urban design.
Read MoreFile this under “Things we saw coming from a mile away”: The Santa Barbara News-Press breaks down how progressives' soft-on-crime laws enable dangerous criminals to become repeat offenders. Who knew releasing lawbreakers early, and redefining “nonviolent” offenses, harms our communities (though SCC Supe Ellenberg certainly appears aloof to the consequences)?
Read MoreStanford University economics professor and Hoover Institution fellow John Cochrane scrutinizes Ellenberg's guaranteed income program for homeless SCC students. Whereas some subsidies encourage private sector participation, Cochrane doubts if SCC's—arbitrarily targeted and dismissive of underlying trammels—will indeed make positive change. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreInvestments connected to America's downtowns are nose-diving, explains Heather Gillers in the WSJ, due to post-pandemic remote work influxes keeping people away from offices. Is it time to ditch turgid inclusionary zoning regulations and start converting unused office space to homes?
Read MoreFor those on the Left, political conversations often involve one of two things: raging and shouting down their opponents, or passively accepting other viewpoints without asserting their own. The Intercollegiate Civil Disagreement Fellowship—active at five colleges, including Stanford University—has diverse student groups discuss “important topics across political difference.” The Stanford Report analyzes one thing the university's doing right when it comes to diplomatically, but passionately, engaging with others' ideas.
Read MoreGood news for decarceration advocates (including County Supes who think jails are "tired systems that have failed us for generations"). This year's Crime in California report from the DOJ observes the logical conclusion of haphazard local set-them-free policies: Violent crime, property crime, and robbery rates are crescendoing in the Golden State, while overall arrest rates struggle to keep up.
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