Offering a different angle than folks thinking about antisocial implications, Noema mag's Shannon Vallor believes Silicon Valley's AI boom poses a cogent opportunity for us: to “reclaim” our own humanity. To better carve out what distinguishes real, human intelligence (and creativity) from flat, conventional, unfeeling artificiality. Vallor's essay is excerpted, below.
Read MoreWe've noticed that a lot of literature depicts free enterprise in caricature, from Dickens' cartoonishly greedy businessmen to American Psycho's thesis that capitalism makes men into crazed murderers (!). But the reality of how business plays into society—as Bay Area English professors explore, with seven book rec's—is much more complex. And fascinating. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreSome cities have surveys. Or focus groups. San Jose has 2-min public comment slots. But Edinburgh, Scotland uses a randomly chosen 12–24 person “Citizen's Jury” to debate and deliberate ideas for policymakers—and the methodology looks quite promising. The Social Science & Medicine journal analyzes, below.
Read MoreNow-outgoing General Manager Michael Hursh of AC Transit has been earning an exorbitant $400k+ salary for several years now—and will earn about $400k more before November, all while doing... no work. Below, Contra Costa Taxpayers Ass'n unpacks what's going on with AC Transit's controversial “sweetheart agreement,” and how Bay Area transit could better allocate its taxpayers' money.
San Jose State's women's volleyball associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose—who was suspended 11.2.24 without explanation—had filed with Title IX alleging unjust favoritism of a transgender player over other players. In Quillette, Batie-Smoose says she and her team had been warned (by head coach Kress) against voicing opinions different from SJSU's—and were labeled “bigots” if they did.
Read MoreDoes MTC have a dissenter in its ranks? San Mateo County’s rep wants out of a 2026 tax hike to rescue the Bay Area’s transit agencies. After all, SMC already helps fund BART and Caltrain, she pointed out. A San Carlos councilman also argued in a letter that a half cent regional hike will undermine the county’s own sales tax that’s up for renewal in 2033. From Palo Alto Daily Post.
Read MoreSeveral years ago, CA Globe editor-in-chief Katy Grimes spoke at the Silicon Valley Association of Republican Women (SVARW) about traditional vs. modern forest management—and how radical environmentalism has spelled disaster for California's forests by leaving them overgrown, underutilized, and vulnerable to wildfires. Her poignant (and prescient) comments below.
Read MoreAn emergency is a one-time, unexpected event—not what our Bay Area transit agencies have experienced, yet they “qualified” for a $774MM funding package to fix budget shortfalls. Let's put it this way: imagine you stop paying your mortgage, spend your income lavishly—but expect the gov’t to foot the bill. An Opp Now exclusive, below, from local political commentator Denise Kalm.
Read MoreLong after SF lifted its COVID controls, Union Square Hilton and Parc 55 are still bedridden. Westfield has all but given up the ghost. Marc Joffe explores for NR how parasitic financial instruments—variants of those that triggered the Great Recession—have immunocompromised the city center while crime creeps in.
Read MoreContra Costa Taxpayers Ass'n invites folks to hear from Lisa Strange (CA Insurance Dept's Northern CA Outreach Manager) at a special members' meeting next Friday. CoCoTax's announcement, with more info, reads below.
Read MoreNew research reveals that homelessness across the U.S. is up more than 10%, despite billions (mis)spent on addressing the crisis. Robert Marbut, former U.S. homelessness czar, says that the country's Housing First policies—which effectively redirected monies away from treatment and towards expensive new housing—has exacerbated unprecedented levels of human suffering. In the Dallas Morning News.
Read MoreProp 5 (to lower CA's bond approval reqt from 66.6% to 55.%) may have been supported by local councilmembers, our governor, and even SJ's Chamber of Commerce—but not voters. In November 2024, over 55% of CA'ns rejected Prop 5. What happened? In this exclusive, we walk back Opp Now's Prop 5 coverage (incl. when it was ACA 1), starting in September 2023 up until Election Day '24.
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