CA schools were supposed to work in tandem, from UC’s down to CCC’s like Santa Clara’s Mission College. Today, they suffer from “mission creep”—degree inflation, union power grabs, and administrative bloat now cannibalize resources and inflate tuitions. California Policy Center’s Peter Constant (not the former SJ CM) suggests revisiting the Master Plan.
Read MoreLast month, AG Rob Bonta charged LA DA George Gascón’s head of ethics Diana Teran with improperly using confidential police officer personnel information in court or before a trial. Gascón faced recalls in SF and LA for soft-on-crime policies. Despite an informational black hole from the AG’s office Thomas Buckley of California Globe points out that Teran’s alleged misuse of documents could potentially have satisfied the DA’s ideological mission to help inmates get out early.
Read MoreIndependent Leadership Group and United Housing alliance chief Irene Smith continues her call for a local Non Profit Registry by highlighting how local NPO mismanagement of affordable and Permanent Supportive Housing negatively impacts both tenants and neighborhoods with increased crime, fires, and blight. From Medium.
Read MoreSF Standard updates an ongoing story about a parade of nonprofits that have been swept up in investigations by the city, including J&J Community Resource Center, which was barred from funding in February after allegedly swindling at least $100,000 in reimbursements for things like booze, cigars and motorcycles. The newest NPO under the microscope: Providence Foundation.
Read MoreRoberta Moore of SJ's Housing and Community Development Commission (HCDC), takes issue with the hyperbolic comments from the subsidized, affordable housing lobby and calls for greater accountability and cost-effectiveness in SJ's housing policy. From a letter Moore wrote to members of the SJ City Council.
Read MorePoliticians and activists have long tried to dress old, failed, sometimes contentious and often intrusive ideas in new clothing. Kerry Jackson of the Pacific Research Institute says we’re seeing it anew here in Santa Clara Valley, where Democratic Assemblyman Alex Lee of Milpitas has introduced a bill with the title, “The Social Housing Act.” Jackson says he wouldn’t dare call it “The Public Housing Act.” Too much baggage associated with that terminology. Her analysis follows.
Read MoreThe urgent need to reform San Francisco’s perverse business tax formula is getting support from across the City's political spectrum. SF Standard reports.
Read MoreShocking data reveals that 898 homeless people died last year on streets, in shelters, on freeways and elsewhere in Los Angeles County. LA Times reports
Read MoreAustin’s liberal establishment--just like Santa Clara County's--has been trying to trick taxpayers into pouring billions into their light rail boondoggle for decades, finally winning an apparent victory when voters approved a scheme in 2020. But it turns out that the terms of the ballot language may have doomed the project. BattleSwarm Blog reports.
Read MoreWhile City staff continues to ignore the scathing critique of SJ's homelessness programs, the WSJ opines that without a change in strategy, the Housing First failure will just continue despite new programs with an even higher price tag.
Read MoreWe asked District 2 Council finalists for their perspectives on the upcoming Council debate regarding if, and how, Council should reallocate Measure E Housing funds. Joe Lopez' answer below. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreFamilies & Homes thinks non profits skirt City sunshine , lobbying, and conflict of interest policies--and it's time to tighten up ethics and transparency guidelines.
Read More
