Our readers will recall anthropology professor Dr. Elizabeth Weiss, ousted from SJSU last year for her view against reburying bones. This month, the Nat Review discusses Weiss's new book “On the Warpath: My Battles with Indians, Pretendians, and Woke Warriors”—and how a celebrated researcher was condemned to career-threatening censure, just for (you guessed it) standing up to the Woke elite.
Read MoreBusinesspeople from a wide range of categories were disconcerted to find that the SJ Chamber of Commerce had endorsed Proposition 5, which would make it easier for gov't to raise taxes on local merchants. Concerns, disappointments, and lived experiences voiced below. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreIn this Opp Now exclusive, California Policy Center's Lance Christensen introduces their new Local Fiscal Health Dashboard. This tool tracks and grades every CA'n city, county, and school district on fiscal strength. Here's a hint on what grade letter both SJ and SCC earned (and see below for answer): it's, um, barely a passing grade.
Read MoreCalifornia Policy Center's Education Policy VP Lance Christensen breaks down questions to ask re: SJ Unified's $1.15 bn “facility repairs” bond measure: Where's our money going, exactly? What should be prioritized? And (as many Opp Now readers echo) can we trust SJUSD's fiscal discipline? An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreSince SF's Mayor London Breed launched a plan in August to bus more homeless people out of San Francisco, many unhoused are taking cross-country overnights to states as far away as Texas and Florida. SF Standard, as always, is on the story.
Read MoreAs Californians consider hundreds of local ballot measures, they hear (and mostly believe) an underlying narrative: elected officials and staff are doing their best to provide essential services with insufficient resources. It is this narrative that not only entreats for "yes" votes on local taxes and bonds, but also for state Proposition 5, which will make it much easier for cities and counties to borrow. But is this narrative true? An Opp Now exclusive from Cato Institute's Marc Joffe.
Read MoreBlimey. After many years of avoiding political endorsements, the ostensibly pro-business San Jose Chamber of Commerce earlier this month came out in favor of (no typo) the Make It Easier To Raise Taxes Proposition 5. In this, they are aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, California chapter (CA DSA), which also supports Prop. 5. The CA DSA's Prop 5 and 33 endorsement argument, below.
Read MoreRecently, SJ's Planning Commission stood firm in the face of noisy residents and approved a new Costco store at the Westgate West shopping center. Commissioner Pierluigi Oliverio made the case for the new store, noting that the ever-growing list of city services people vote for actually need, you know, an economic base to pay for them. The Merc reports.
Read MorePat Waite of Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility says decreased population, fleeing young families, and our county’s already chart-topping tax rates make the wave of school bond propositions coming at us this November a bad idea. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreSJ City Council candidates George Casey (D10) and Joe Lopez (D2) are saying No to Prop 5, the tax-raising ballot initiative. In this, they are aligned with the City of Gilroy, its Mayor Marie Blankley, San Jose CMs Batra and Doan, as well as the SJ Mercury News and the SF Chronicle in opposing the proposition. Business leader Johnny Khamis also explains why he's a "no on 5" in a KQED interview, below (edited for clarity).
Read More{Update: Omar Torres has resigned from his SJ D3 CM seat over legal and ethical charges and widespread public repudiation.} Alert Opp Now readers email us to note that Torres' political star once rode high, elevated by enthusiastic support from the local progressive/labor community, according to Torres campaign literature. Endorser list below from 2022 Torres for Council mailer.
Read MoreOpp Now has likened city gov't mission creep to '50s movie "The Blob," as jurisdictions like SJ expand programs and positions that drain the budget while pushing out more essential services. City Journal's N. S. Lyons agrees with this assessment; in his article below, he defines and discusses political “managerialism"—and its devastating cultural consequences.
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