Transit commentators analyze BART's initiative, rolled out this Monday, to run frequenter—but shorter—evening trains. Biggest potential hurdles to cost-effectiveness? Extra costs of hiring more drivers, and lack of transparency with the public—though the plan appears a step in the right direction. An Opp Now exclusive featuring Marc Joffe (Cato Institute policy/transit researcher) and Rich Crowley (previously on a Bay Area transportation work group).
Read MoreEmployees at downtown San Francisco's Nancy Pelosi Federal Building are being warned that rolling up to the office in person may be too dangerous a risk. Though police cover the area, lax directives are perpetuating wild drug- and violence-filled streets, about which Rep. Pelosi herself is worried. From Fortune.
Read MoreIsai Lopez, the Silicon Valley Young Republicans' president in 2022, shares key challenges youth-serving orgs face in the heart of the Tech Capital. Part of an Opp Now exclusive series on engaging conservative youth—in a poignantly progressive pocket of the U.S.
Read MoreLocal Libertarian John Inks—formerly Mountain View mayor and two-term councilmember—breaks down San Jose's brash support of ACA 1. Inks predicts a wave of costly housing-related taxes moving forward, and wonders why SJ gov't isn't stepping up better to protect residents' voices. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreCA'ns will vote next year whether to pass the Justice for Renters Act, which would reallow rent control ordinances statewide (they've done so well in SJ, right?). Here, Daniel Yukelson—executive director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA)—pinpoints why “stabilizing” landlords' rents would drive up housing scarcity, making home offerings lower quality and rent much costlier for already-struggling tenants. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreDoubling down on a failed housing strategy. Higher rents. Higher cost of living. These are the results county GOP chief Shane Patrick Connolly sees emanating from SJ City Council's and state legislators' moves to subvert the popular tax safeguards in Prop 13. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreNeighbors Together Oakland founder Seneca Scott analyzes how when cities are gentle on policing public intoxication, drug possession, and unsafe homeless encampments, they become magnets for “drug tourists” who seek consequence-free lifestyles. And some—including Mayor Mahan—fear San Jose is headed there, too. A Washington Examiner excerpt below.
Read MoreEnvironmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria have engulfed the investment world in a matter of years. Local companies like Hewlett-Packard and Adobe scramble to regularly publicize “social responsibility” data that—according to the Financial Times' Scientific Beta research breakdown—doesn't actually translate to less carbon emissions per revenue unit (go figure).
Read MoreCommunity political watcher Tobin Gilman recently broke the story of how SJ's City Council has overwhelmingly approved recommendations about State legislation that would, in Gilman's terms, constitute a "Stealth Tax Hike Agenda" for San Joseans. Pat Waite, head of Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility, comments and finds the council's decision-making misguided and counterproductive—and the latest in a history of efforts to circumvent Prop 13. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreIn a 2015 Journal of Politics article, UC Berkeley's Sarah Anzia and Stanford's Terry Moe find that increasing gov't workers' wages snags public attention (case in point: SJ's still-ongoing kerfuffle), as many residents are unwilling to shell out more taxes or see services cut. But an overlooked target of public unions is “fringe benefits.” They appease Labor while quietly ruining City budgets for future pols.
Read MoreThe American Enterprise Institute's Edward Pinto isn't a fan of “ill-conceived” housing assistance policies that are mere Band-Aid fixes for surging construction costs. Instead of having taxpayers fund more subsidies, local gov'ts like San Jose's should take the more affordable option: Remove regulatory burdens to housing supply, like density/parking, building code, and zoning requirements.
Read MoreJay Bhattacharya, Stanford University prof and Opp Now contributor, was a leading voice during Covid against unscientific lockdowns. But the gov't pressured social media sites to censor mentions of his co-authored “Great Barrington Declaration,” as well as other Covid info they disagreed with. Bhattacharya reflects in the Free Press on recently winning Missouri v. Biden along with the New Civil Liberties Alliance—and what it means for free speech.
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