Tax and transit experts from the region's five counties are rejecting this November's ballot initiative that aims to bail out the underperforming and grossly mismanaged transit agencies like VTA, BART, and SF Muni. Instead, The Committee for Affordable Bay Area Transit calls for long-overdue fiscal and operational reform at the transit agencies.
Read MoreEven though SJ tried to calm soccer watch events by requiring (free) tickets and moving the "parties" to SAP and Discovery Meadow, the July 5/6 scene devolved into mayhem--yet again. The Merc reports, below.
Read MorePredictably, more violent mayhem has occurred in SJ's downtown "Entertainment Zones." Multiple stabbings and property damage upended a June 30 soccer watch party at SJ's San Pedro Square. NBC Bay Area reports below.
Read MoreAssembly candidate Carol Pefley provides a useful primer as to why gas is so expensive in SV and all of CA. "California built a system where gas taxes rise automatically every year," she notes.
Read MoreIt was certainly one of the more eye-popping acts of legislative hypocrisy in recent years. East Bay state Assembly member Buffy Wicks on June 29 trumpeted on X how she both wrote and voted for advancing the revised Local Taxpayer Act (2/3 voter threshold for new taxes),while at the same time saying she "adamantly opposed" the bill. Lance Christensen of the California Policy Center and longtime Sacramento watcher unpacks the double-dealing in this exclusive Opp Now Q&A.
Read MoreA recent Mercury News article threatens the “sky is falling” if taxpayers don’t bail out transit, says Tom Rubin, who argues that ridership collapsed years ago. Where the Merc doesn’t look for cost savings, the former transit executive does: automate the trains like they did in Vancouver, hire way more part-time operators. Don’t like traffic? Encourage remote work because data show workers are driving, not riding, back to the office. An Opportunity Now exclusive rebuttal to the Merc.
Read More“People are leaving BART and other transit systems because they feel unsafe and because it's dirty,” says transit consultant Tom Rubin. While the Mercury News promotes a massive sales tax to rescue the troubled trains, Rubin asks of tax-happy government leaders: “why should they think if they give BART more money, that something will change? An Opportunity Now exclusive rebuttal to the Merc.
Read MoreThe Mercury News reports BART fares only cover 30% of costs, and suggests the only solution is a sales tax. But past transit executive Tom Rubin asks why BART is spending over a billion dollars to increase capacity, when ridership is down. He says BART could harness massive savings if they automate trains like they do in Vancouver. Why won’t the unions allow it? An Opportunity Now exclusive rebuttal to the Merc.
Read MoreA Mercury News piece whips up fear that BART will raise fares and shut down stations, if voters don’t agree to a half cent sales tax. Quote: “it’s an attack on the lower class.” But transit expert Tom Rubin says the top 20% of income earners would be the most impacted. Should the Bay Area’s poorest suffer a regressive sales tax to bail out rich commuters? An Opportunity Now exclusive rebuttal to the Merc.
Read MoreIn a cornerstone Medium essay, President of the United Housing Alliance, Irene Smith, JD, PhD contends that perhaps the most significant factors driving unaffordability emanate from City Halls all around Silicon Valley and the State. These include a spiderweb of often unnecessary and complicated regulations that drive up costs to providers and renters alike. Below, Smith lists her perspective on the Top 10 cost increases to housing providers that drive unaffordability.
Read MoreIt’s not a club you want to join: cities that could break past 11% sales tax rate this November. The regressive half-cent transit tax for boondoggle bailouts wants to soak the poor and blast small businesses in Oakland and Berkeley.
Read MoreUnder pressure from a nascent taxpayer revolt, Sacto Dems chose to advance an initiative that supports the 2/3 voter threshold for local taxes. Lance Christensen of the California Policy Center unpacks the big conclusions.
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