On Monday, Mayor Liangfang Chao, Vice Mayor Kitty Moore, and Councilmember Ray Wang voted to oppose Measure A, calling the proposed 5/8-cent sales tax regressive, hasty, and too broad to ensure the funds would support county hospitals. Even if it did, they said, the amount wouldn’t be enough. With another half-cent VTA tax on the ballot next year, Cupertino leaders fear losing flexibility to raise local revenue. AI Summary of the 10/13/25 meeting via Citizen Portal.
Read MoreAn active Sunday: The Merc comes out No on Measure A. And a lively, bipartisan No on A rally convenes a big crowd and growing list of local pols rejecting the county sales tax hike.
Read MoreThe research of Professor Michael Bamberg of Clark University takes a look at how dominant narratives emerge and how counter narratives get created and believed. Through the analysis of narrative practices, Professor Bamberg proposes that we can intentionally begin to present stories that enable social change, by looking beyond the story, to uncover and challenge the assumptions behind dominant narratives. From Research Outreach.
Read MoreMatt Sheehan on Medium explores how the days of overarching, "Master Narratives" may be waning. Modern communication technology allows for the propagation of new, popular narratives that challenge the blinkered worldviews that marginalize alternative perspectives. Sheehan warns that counter narratives run the risk of becoming master narratives themselves.
Read MoreThe Danish Institute for International Studies explores the use of "counter-narratives" to dissuade potential terrorists from committing violent acts. Turns out, counter-narratives don’t do much, and the propaganda that the Danes were attempting to counter wasn't very effective, either.
Read More“Cities should stay in their lane,” says Santa Clara CM Karen Hardy, who is “horribly uncomfortable” with the city’s 4-1 decision to put a resolution on the agenda to endorse Measure A. Voters should make up their own minds, she says, while pointing out the threat of federal spending cuts is speculative. She adds that SC County made a dubious decision to buy up more hospitals: now the regressive sales tax could hurt those it claims to help. An Opportunity Now exclusive commentary.
Read MoreThe tech companies who have endorsed Measure A wouldn’t treat their own money this way. So says SVTA’s Elizabeth Brierly: while Santa Clara County sinks billions into a misguided public hospital project, it fails to show the math to justify charging taxpayers another $1.65 billion, or more. In this Opportunity Now exclusive rebuttal, Brierly slams Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s (SVLG) support for the regressive, 500 percent increase to the county’s general sales tax rates, being imposed on working families, seniors, and small businesses.
Read MoreThere’s no guarantee Measure A will “save the hospitals” says South County Biz Alliance board member Matt Wendt. He says the general sales tax could be siphoned off to overspending in other areas, like Santa Clara County’s new fire department contract which is vastly more expensive than CalFire. The county should learn to budget, he says, or sell off the hospitals now and cut its losses. An Opportunity Now exclusive commentary.
Read MoreSteven Scharf, past mayor of Cupertino and a Democrat of 51 years, notes that Supe Ellenberg's arguments in favor of the county's sales tax hike are full of inaccuracies.
Read MoreMargie Warrell in Forbes, suggests that we can alway manage up--in families, in the workplace, and in business. She provides useful tips for how to confront the Bad Boss phenomenon.
Read MoreLay Pastor Scott Hubbard examines Christian scripture and finds many examples of leadership failure--but also examples of how leaders with the requisite modesty and self-criticism can turn mistakes into a staircase.
Read MoreBill Cole, Founder and CEO of William B. Cole Consultants, examines the causes of squandered leadership opportunities in business, and offers solutions for salvaging the leadership imperative: strategic planning and mental toughness.
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