Alan Henry, in Lifehacker, notes how it's common for people to feel like their local gov't isn't giving us time of day. But foot-stomping won't work, he says. Follow a respectful, data-driven approach that aligns with how your local government thinks.
Read MoreNational Federation of Independent Business Josh McLeod discusses how lack of compliance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) by gov't agencies leads to numerous rigid, overbroad regulations that don't take into account the unique needs of local merchants.
Read MoreStephanie Reich, Senior Vice President at Stateside, unpacks how city and county governments are increasingly moving into the space previously filled by state and federal agencies regarding business regulation. And it's making business ever harder for local merchants. Reich provides some useful countermeasures for small businesses at Stateside website.
Read MoreMeasure A money can be spent on anything. But even if it does get sunk into SC County’s health system, well, why? SVTA Board Member Elizabeth Brierly asks why the county overleveraged into failing facilities when 94% of CA hospitals are private. There’s a market if the Supes wanted to trim the fat. Instead, they recently rejected an offer on O’Connor. An Opp Now exclusive Q&A.
Read MoreSo say Gregg Dieguez (SHIFT-Bay Area) and Jan Soule (Silicon Valley Association of Conservative Republicans)—especially when it comes to “virtually bankrupt” yet overcharging local water, sewer, and transit agencies. Perhaps deficits aren’t—and shouldn’t be—inherent to the public sector, after all? More below in this Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreTransit ridership is limping along--usually below pre-Covid levels--yet Bay Area lawmakers want another half-cent sales tax under SB 63. Decades of rising costs, union-driven wages, and pricey “green” megaprojects mean Silicon Valley residents are footing the bill while getting less service in return. Marc Joffee (Visiting Fellow at California Policy Center and President of the Contra Costa Taxpayers Association) and Athan Joshi (CPC intern and Opp Now contributing editor) untangle the mess.
Read MoreA 5/8 cent sales tax might not seem like much, but it’s part of a “death by a thousand cuts” for small and medium-sized businesses in Santa Clara County. So says SVBA Board Member and Treasurer Pat Waite, who argues Measure A will push prices up and hurt local businesses, forcing retailers with thin margins out of business—if they haven’t been shuttered already. An Opp Now exclusive Q&A.
Read MoreCommunications pro & writer Alex Greenwood posits that news media is failing--if not ruining--our democracy. The supposed watchdog of the government, and the defender of democracy, has largely become little more than an echo chamber of partisan politics, peddling an illusion of information. A top-to-bottom reform of media management is called for. From Medium.
Read MoreThe future is a rumor, a distant haze.
The now, a loud and brilliant blaze.
It’s the flash of fire, the immediate spark,
Igniting a hunger in the gathering dark.
No thought of the ashes, the cold, gray ruin.
Just the joy of the fire, the thrill of pursuing.
--Courtney Peppernell
Read MoreInsightful media commenter David Todd McCarty unpacks how we have become terrorized by the 24-hour news cycle and says we should invoke the principles of the Slow Food movement (local, natural, patient, careful) to combat the charade of exigency in hyper-processed Fast News.
Read MoreCould CA’s skyrocketing costs to insure a home ever, you know, go down? According to United Housing Alliance’s Irene Smith and Manhattan Institute’s Tim Rosenberger, we need: proactive wildfire prevention, local gov’t championing older apartment buildings, + state-level advocacy. An Opp Now exclusive roundup.
Read MoreSC County Supes warn funding changes threaten county hospitals. But Dawn Davis, plaintiff in a suit against Measure A, points to chronic waste and degradation in the system. She marvels at O’Connor Hospital’s long wait times, despite county employees’ $1 million salaries and lavish artwork at SCVMC. Rather than squeeze the taxpayer, she asks, why not cut the fat? An Opp Now exclusive Q&A.
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