SJ's Matt Mahan isn't the only Californian mayor speaking out against Prop 47, which demoted property thefts of less than $950 to misdemeanors. This fall, after a spiny altercation between 7-Eleven workers and an attempted robber, Stockton's mayor Kevin Lincoln observed how the proposition restricts law enforcement from protecting residents—thus creating more Unsafe Neighborhoods and Schools (isn't it ironic?). From WPDE ABC15.
Read MoreRoughly one-fourth of San Jose's offices were empty during 2023's first quarter, leaving residents dubious about leaders' promises of a revitalized post-Covid DTSJ. The Atlantic explains that office glut is now a nationwide problem—and is wreaking havoc on investors' interest rates, banks' loans, and (perhaps most importantly) municipal governments' property taxes.
Read MoreAs Newsom's CARE Court rolls out to seven counties (including SF), many are looking forward to its much-needed “overhaul” of CA's response to folks severely disabled by untreated mental illnesses or substance abuse. Local cities' hands are no longer “tied,” says the SF Standard, and can provide care to these residents who are endangering themselves.
Read MoreKenny Xu, prez of Color Us United, was a leading advocate in the successful fight for race-blind public school admissions (also backed by SCC GOP head Connolly and Palo Alto CM Tanaka). At the Liberty Forum of Silicon Valley, Xu unpacks how the Left's “equitable” educational paradigm exploits Asian and other minority students—by falsely, and dangerously, equating hard work/success with whiteness.
Read MoreArizona Republic cautions that Los Angeles' black market and drug-related crime have only risen since legalizing marijuana. Meanwhile, Gilroy CMs Hilton and Armendariz have high-fived the idea of authorizing pot business ops in the Garlic Capital, just like they're recognized in SJ and Mountain View—though others on Gilroy's City Council remain dubious.
Read MoreWhile the rest of the SJCC followed the admonitions of big state union interests, new D7 CM Bien Doan made a thoughtful and considered statement in support of the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act (TPGAA) earlier this year. An excerpt from Doan's Council comments on 2.28 appears below.
Read MoreIn her Medium blog, Mayor Lydia Kou breaks down builder's remedy provisions, which sidestep local communities' approval of new construction as long as they qualify as “affordable” housing developments. Kou argues these provisions ignore true causes of housing inaccessibility, weakening local elected leaders' voices while barely—if at all—making SCC homes, yep, affordable.
Read MoreFreddie deBoer, longtime “old-school” Marxist/leftist, has extensively researched what he dubs the “Nonprofit Industrial Complex” for his book How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement. In this Opp Now exclusive, deBoer explains the prevailing phenomenon of underperforming homelessness nonprofits—and where the social justice-focused left is taking good intentions to grisly conclusions.
Read MoreThanks to urban-growth boundaries, most CA'ns inhabit cities that, together, occupy 5% of available State land. These pro-density boundaries make it much costlier for locals to develop and buy homes. Edward Ring argues in the Pacific Research Institute that artificial land constraints are unnecessary, impractical, and detrimental to already-struggling downtowns like SJ's.
Read MoreThe SJ Mercury reports that local State Assembly Rep. Evan Low's controversial bill to police what doctors say about COVID-19 vaccines and public health mandates has been quietly repealed by Gov. Newsom. Prof. Daniel Klein of George Mason University provides needed context in the Wall Street Journal's Letters section, and explores how scientific research has often been the target of illiberal regimes intent on enforcing Thought Uniformity across the populace.
Read MoreWage subsidies. Citizen's income. GBI. Known by a trove of monikers, this proposition posits that supplementing people's salaries (e.g., with $1,200/month in SCC's unhoused HS grad program) keeps them out of poverty and encourages career success. But the Journal of Economic Issues' Robert E. Prasch begs to differ. He explains why income subsidies reduce employees' bargaining power and consumers' purchasing power, which amplifies unemployment.
Read MoreOn September 21, the State Auditor announced a winter release date for the audit of the troubled Valley Transit Authority (VTA). This audit could offer further insight into the murky reporting VTA staff has provided regarding the wild BART cost overruns, ever-lengthening completion dates, and ever-shrinking ridership projections. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read More
