Pirate Wires's Dean W. Ball predicts a wave of free market-ification in local jurisdictions like San Jose, when it comes to firefighting, education, and—yes—even police.
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Santa Cruz County finds homeless encampment ground zero for stolen e-bikes. Santa Cruz Sentinel and KSBW report.
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In a free-flowing Substack essay, Samridhi Ranjan pays homage to all the things that don't have a formula. That don't turn out the same way every time. The joys of life that (like the Valley's market itself) get tousled by the wind, molded by human touch, and transformed into something unique before returning to us.
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Elephants have always communicated with their feet (via bone conduction), but it took awhile for scientists to catch on—to see what was right in front of them. When it comes to local issues like housing and transit, we wonder if pols have fallen into a similar trap. From Discourse mag.
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There were an estimated 363 homeless people per 100,000 residents in San Jose last year, according to insidermonkey.com. The only U.S. cities with higher homelessness rates were: NY; LA; and Eugene, OR.
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Gov. Newsom applauds (LA County's) South Bay city for working constructively with state and regional gov'ts to bring median duration for homeless down to 14 days. South Bay regional gov't explains how it's done.
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SF's overhaul of its homelessness strategy is centered on adding 1,500 new shelter beds in the next six months and restructuring outreach teams and supportive service programs. SJ hopes to add 1,400 new beds over the next year. Planetizen reports.
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According to a report by WalletHub, multiple cities in the Bay Area are considered among the worst large cities to start a business (ranked 1, best to 100, worst). SJ ranks 99th out of 100. The reason? Sky-high labor costs. KTVU reports.
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First, DA Rosen slow-walks Prop 36 prosecutions. Now, Newsom defunds it. So much for the popular will expressing itself. CBS Sacramento reports.
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In a recent Reddit thread titled “If you could improve anything about VTA what would it be?,” users in r/SanJose dig into the Valley Transportation Authority's rampant shortcomings re: spending, politics, and practicality. Their suggestions are pragmatic, common-sense, and—we can't help but notice—long overdue.
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The agency's been aware of its structural and sustainability issues for decades now. And it continues shooting down innovative new ideas like autonomous vehicle integration. Gregg Dieguez of SHIFT-Bay Area analyzes, just in time for BART's looming $868k deficit.
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The L.A. Riverbed is the gateway to Long Beach—and historically one of California's worst chronic homeless encampments. The City of Long Beach is employing a system of connecting the homeless to customized services on a person-by-person basis, achieving a 49% placement in permanent housing. Long Beach City explains.
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