California ACA 1, given an official thumbs-up by some city councils like San Jose's, would make it easier to advance bonds and special taxes for affordable housing projects by changing the required two-thirds supermajority to a 55% majority. Here, Mark Hinkle—local Libertarian officeholder and SVTA's president—argues that ACA 1 doesn't represent what SJ voters want, given overwhelming Prop 13 support, and would diminish living standards. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreSanjana Friedman pokes a hole in Housing First's idea that subsidizing Permanent Supportive Housing reduces homelessness. Instead, since there's no behavioral requirements (including getting sober) or stay limits (yep, they really do mean “permanent”), unhoused people fighting addictions and mental illness stay in, and even flock to, SF to pursue dangerous lifestyles. From Pirate Wires.
Read MoreUC Berkeley public policy prof Sarah Anzia points out in Urban Affairs Review that when local gov'ts increase pension expenses, they more often slash jobs than hike taxes. So besides racking up billions of dollars in debt, cities like SJ are also harming—by over-trimming—public sector workforces in the long run.
Read MoreThe Marin Post explains that in cities across the U.S., anti-sprawl policies have made homebuying more, not less, expensive. The Post then cites transportation expert and Opp Now commentor Randal O’Toole’s policy brief, which shows why SJ should consider different housing market fixes (such as ditching urban-growth boundaries).
Read MoreIn the Annual Review of Political Science, UC Berkeley political science prof Sarah Anzia relays: City gov'ts are traditionally studied via nonpartisan segments like homeowners. But new research shows that the Left to Right dimension does, indeed, strongly sway local policy outcomes—as “progressive” cities tend to vote for “progressive” laws and approve higher expenditures.
Read MoreIt's no secret: California High-Speed Rail's expenses balloon, but its completion date keeps getting kicked down the road. Is it time the U.S. gov't throws in their hunk of cash? Opp Now asked registered Libertarian presidential candidates Joshua Smith, Mike ter Maat, Jacob Hornberger, Hugo Valdez-Garcia, and Beau Lindsey for their exclusive takes on a federal HSR bailout.
Read MoreCivil rights prof Gail Heriot helped pass 1996's Prop 209 (banning racially-motivated public job/education decisions), which SCC voters affirmed when rejecting affirmative action attempts in 2020. But at the time, SJ City Council voted unanimously—against most constituents—in favor of Prop 16. For Instapundit, Heriot warns against newly proposed ACA 7: It welcomes race-based discrimination as long as “research” gives the O.K.
Read MoreState legislature may want to sweep this one under the rug—hello, quiet DOJ report release—but there's no denying that CA'n property crimes were up big time in 2022: by 6.2%. And what about in SJ last year? Up by 13.3%. Below, CalMatters' Dan Walters unpacks how surging crime is destabilizing our communities.
Read MoreThe Globe's environmental analyst Edward Ring fixes his gaze on CEQA reform. Though well-meaning, the oft-abused California Environmental Quality Act makes housing development extra risky, and costly, for local developers. Ring boldly lays out solutions for CEQA (starting with giving exemptions and anonymous lawsuits the boot) below.
Read MoreA group of Silicon Valley plutocrats has announced their plan to construct a city from scratch in the Montezuma Hills, northeast of San Francisco by an hour. Meanwhile, public policy professor Joel Fox speculates that the threat of a modern Elysium might prompt breakthrough solutions for SF's crime, homelessness, and business closures. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreOverly broad, antiquated fire egress regulations drive up home costs in San Jose. Meanwhile, many European countries don't even bother with multiple staircase requirements, given modern-day fire risk mitigation strategies. It’s time for reform, says Market Urbanist's Scott Beyer. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreWe're not the only ones scratching our heads at LA Assemblyman Isaac Bryan's proposed AB 819: The Globe's Ted Gaines breaks down why redefining BART “fare dodging” from a misdemeanor to a crime with a $400 max fine will make public transit more dangerous and less profitable in the long run.
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