☆ Measure A Mythbuster—How many units did Measure A itself actually build? (1/7)
☆ Measure A Mythbuster—How many units did Measure A itself actually build? (1/7)

It's an election year, and many local and regional municipalities are busy creating a new ballot measure to tax us more so we can “End Homelessness.” Santa Clara County’s 2016 Measure A tax, a $950 million initiative that promised to build 4,800 housing units for vulnerable populations and people who are chronically homeless, is currently being marketed as a successful model for future bonds and taxes. But did Measure A really do what it was supposed to do—substantially reduce homelessness—or is that a myth? Former SJ CM and small business owner Johnny Khamis kicks off Opp Now's exclusive Measure A Mythbusters series by revealing how there's a whole lotta exaggeration goin' on regarding what Measure A literally achieved.

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Jax OliverComment
Opinion: Like Prop 13, Taxpayer Protection Act holds its own against legal pushback
Opinion: Like Prop 13, Taxpayer Protection Act holds its own against legal pushback

Despite Newsom's vocal condemnation of the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act (and scrambled attempt to pull it from 2024's ballot), the measure doesn't actually “restructure” the Constitution or scupper essential services. Yet San Jose CMs—all but Doan—claim the Act will compromise gov't operations. Below, OC Register's analysis with taxpayer advocate Jon Coupal.

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Jax OliverComment
In two months, Reno did more to solve homelessness than SJ's done in two decades
In two months, Reno did more to solve homelessness than SJ's done in two decades

Local progressives have long advocated (sometimes aggressively) for permanent supportive units for our unhoused neighbors, despite an increasing public outcry that they're inefficient, unsustainable, and even dangerous. Meanwhile, SJ's homeless numbers continue shooting through the roof. The WSJ unpacks how the City of Reno took swift and productive action on homelessness, lowering stats by over half (58%) through a cost-effective quick-build tent.

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Jax OliverComment
SCC resident brands BART extension a disastrous, inefficient, top-dollar “rodeo”
SCC resident brands BART extension a disastrous, inefficient, top-dollar “rodeo”

In a letter featured recently in the Mercury News, Santa Clara's William Ortendahl critiques BART's ever-delayed extension boondoggle to downtown SJ and Santa Clara: it's crazy expensive, pragmatically questionable, and—to complete the lineup—abysmally managed. Read Ortendahl's insights below.

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Jax OliverComment
After deserting 95 paratransit vehicles for four years, VTA's ready to sell
After deserting 95 paratransit vehicles for four years, VTA's ready to sell

Amidst concerns that the transit agency is squandering taxpayer funds on BART's mismanaged and long-delayed extension project, VTA's announced it's been sitting on nearly 100 old, retired, depreciating vehicles and will soon auction them off. Board Chair and SCC Supervisor Cindy Chavez shares her concern with NBC Bay Area: that VTA's “critical window” to sell with high returns is likely gone.

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Jax OliverComment
☆ Blocking investors from owning/leasing homes forces out less affluent residents, studies say
☆ Blocking investors from owning/leasing homes forces out less affluent residents, studies say

In SV Biz Journal, Assemblymember Alex Lee argues that companies should be limited to buying and renting out 1,000 homes, to keep housing affordable for Bay Areans. Howbeit, Reason's associate editor Christian Britschgi recaps two studies showing that corporate involvement actually safeguards low rent options—and when investors can't manage rental homes, neighborhoods start to “exclude” less wealthy residents. Britschgi's article, and Opp Now exclusive comment, below.

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Jax Oliver Comment
Gilroy resident: City should avoid performative virtue signaling about faraway lands, reject Gaza ceasefire resolution
Gilroy resident: City should avoid performative virtue signaling about faraway lands, reject Gaza ceasefire resolution

Gilroy, along with Morgan Hill, is considering passing a Gaza ceasefire resolution (an idea rejected by SJ and Santa Cruz in January). In anticipation of tonight's Council meeting, a concerned Gilroyan (anonymized by request) writes to Mayor Blankley and the six other councilmembers, urging them to avoid “virtue signaling” in lieu of thorough, practical protection for victims of local hate crimes. The letter, in its entirety, reads below.

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Jax OliverComment
☆ Prop 19 perspective: the good, the bad, and the ugly
☆ Prop 19 perspective: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Bay Area-raised Anne Gray volunteers with For Californians, focused on restoring Prop 58 parent/child transfer rights that were lost when Proposition 19 passed in 2020. In this Opp Now exclusive, Gray walks us through her Top Five observations about Prop 19: how it works, who's impacted, and where she thinks we're headed.

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Special ReportsJax Oliver Comment
☆ Expert questions SV Biz Journal's dubious panegyric on MTC housing bond
☆ Expert questions SV Biz Journal's dubious panegyric on MTC housing bond

The Metropolitan Planning Commission's proposed bond, which would dump $10–20 bn across the state for nebulous “affordable housing” purposes, has been criticized by finance and policy professionals for being vague and misguided. Silicon Valley Business Journal recently published effusive laudation of the bond, dubbing it a “vital lifeline”—but gov't finance consultant Tom Rubin begs to differ. His Opp Now exclusive breakdown below.

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Special Reports, Regional Housing TaxJax OliverComment
☆ Perspectives: What does SJSU's response letter about pro-Hamas fray mean—and is it enough?
☆ Perspectives: What does SJSU's response letter about pro-Hamas fray mean—and is it enough?

In light of Monday's antisemitic incident at San Jose State—and SJSU's official acknowledgment on 2.20—Opp Now called up three locals well-versed in issues of free speech and ideological discrimination in higher ed. Insightful comments below from Jay Sures (lone regent voice opposing UC faculty council's pro-Hamas letter), Elizabeth Weiss (whom SJSU tried silencing for her bone reburial views), and Tim Rosenberger, Jr. (then-president of a Stanford student group whose speaker was heckled by students/a dean). Also, Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) Bay Area weighs in. An Opp Now exclusive.

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Special ReportsJax OliverComment
Analysis: Expect to eat out less under new $20 minimum wage
Analysis: Expect to eat out less under new $20 minimum wage

File this one under “things we all should have seen coming”: Many of CA's beloved chain restaurants—including McDonald's, Chipotle, and Jack in the Box—are promising to raise consumers' prices in response to a statewide $4 min wage spike (from $16 to $20/hr). WSJ's Heather Haddon serves up the situation, otiously created by State overreach and proving most harmful to the everyday residents it's meant to help.

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Jax OliverComment
Judicial reform extremists tout prison-closing, ignore money-draining culprit of labor salaries
Judicial reform extremists tout prison-closing, ignore money-draining culprit of labor salaries

Thanks to disproportionately exploding prison labor wages (by 3x inflation rate), California’s shelling out more than $130,000/yr. per prisoner. CalMatters reports that we can shutter underutilized prisons, we can praise restorative justice programs, but the State has yet to put its money where its mouth is and find the most efficient uses of taxpayer contributions.

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Jax OliverComment