Local common-sense environmentalists have been saying this for years (especially since 2020's out-of-control wildfires): good forest management involves prescribed, monitored burns. These burns, as the Mercury News just acknowledged, prevent forests from being overpacked, thereby limiting wildfires' potential to spread and pollute the air. Below, Harvard's Applied Science school explains why controlled burns are helpful, especially in Northern CA.
Read MoreCato Institute's state policy expert Marc Joffe is dubious about Metropolitan Transportation Commission's slated $10-20 bn “affordable housing” bond. Due to the proposal's fuzzy verbage, it's unclear just how much taxpayers would fork over—and how many housing units would get produced (and when?). An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreMatthew Hargrove is president of California Business Properties Association, a prominent pro-taxpayer org fighting for Prop 13 rights via the courts and ballot box. In this Opp Now exclusive, he analyzes Prop 13's popularity among CA'ns, the tricky Upland loophole that the Taxpayer Protection Act (TPA) would close, and why he believes lowering the voting threshold via ACA 1 would exacerbate housing unaffordability.
Read MoreThis April, CA's big franchise fast food restaurants must start paying their workers minimum $20/hr. Reason magazine remarks that local cities should brace for messy consequences: on unemployment rates (did you know San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara already gained 8,000+ unemployed folks since January 2023?), prices for consumers, and companies relying on automated “workers.”
Read MoreGov. Newsom has a habit of repeating the falsehood of California's income tax being lower than Florida's and Texas's; so the Globe's Katy Grimes consulted the Tax Foundation, and sets the facts straight with data-based rankings (sorry, CA's at #1 for tax collections per capita) and a comparative map (still takes #1 with a 13.3% indiv income tax).
Read MoreHousing provider Dean Hotop takes a close look at the City's latest initiative to abate homelessness via sponsored RV parking spots. Getting down and dirty with the numbers, Hotop contends there are far more productive ways to turn taxpayer dollars into real (and lasting) change; and by funding yet another failed solution, gov’t props up its self-perpetuating Homeless Industrial Complex. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreYou didn't think we'd resist putting in our two cents, did you? (It's true: we can't help ourselves.) Below, Opportunity Now's editor Lauren Oliver, inaugural editor Simon Gilbert, and co-founders Christopher Escher and Jeffrey Cristina share the articles, podcasts, movies, and books that really resonated in 2023. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreContinuing our annual tradition of listing our most popular stories of the year, here’s #1 (first posted 6.13): Local progressive nonprofits added a new item to their ever-lengthening resume of ridiculous protest stunts on June 7, when for almost an hour they occupied the offices of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors and threatened staff. SCCAOR's sin? Actually supporting an initiative—not approved by local housing nonprofits—that would provide quick, high-quality housing for our homeless neighbors. Opp Now co-founder Christopher Escher broke it down with SCCOAR's Gov't Affairs chief Gina Zari in this Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreContinuing our annual tradition of listing our most popular stories of the year, here’s #2 (first posted 7.15): A quick quiz: if you were a local businessperson, and you received a letter on city stationery saying you should unionize, would you feel a little, you know, coerced? Former CM Pete Constant weighed in on the hijinks of Ortiz, Torres, and Candelas in their efforts to bully local business Premier Recycle Company into unionizing earlier this year. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreBetty Duong, Corina Herrera-Loera, and Madison Nguyen—all SCC District 2 Supervisor hopefuls—soar through the highs and lows of '23 to crown what they deem as this year's most meaningful podcasts and TV episodes. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreContinuing our annual tradition of listing our most popular stories of the year, here’s #3 (first posted 11.10): In November, Stanford junior and Free Press intern Julia Steinberg testified before Congress about rising antisemitism on college campuses. Her verdict? The hate didn't magically materialize on October 7th. Steinberg traced rampant anti-Israeli discrimination to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ideologies that “pit groups of students against each other.” The speech—hard-hitting and informative—excerpted below.
Read MoreContinuing our annual tradition of listing our most popular stories of the year, here’s #4 (from 1.30): Are nonprofits better than private developers at meeting the needs of San Jose residents? Market Urbanist's Scott Beyer did a deep dive into COPA's history and specifics; he concluded it's a misguided, cost-increasing approach to addressing legitimate affordability and displacement concerns, in this Opp Now exclusive.
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