Analysis, Case Studies, and Commentary
Bill Jackson of the Frontier Republicans & Friends says we need a new plan for Bay Area transit, sized for today's ridership, not pre-pandemic assumptions.
Has SJ had enough of "Sacto made me do it?" Councilmembers George Casey and Domingo Candelas have submitted a memo requesting San Jose re-establish local control over key planning and land use matters. SJ City Council will vote on their memo (below) this Tuesday, September 22.
SCC Supe Susan Ellenberg claims “citizens initiatives” are essential to funding “critical lifesaving services.” But in an Opp Now exclusive op-ed, HJTA’s Susan Shelley points out how convenient it is for elected officials to hide behind “citizens initiatives” to score easy tax hikes. Shelley asks what “critical services” are missing from SCC’s current budget, which already crowds $15 billion?
Authorities said 14 people needed treatment or hospitalization last Friday night during a performance by The Chainsmokers, an American electronic music duo, in San Jose.
SF Mayor's moderate image took a hit last week as his proposals to address high rents in city borrow broadly from far-left, anti-market playbook.
Legislatures and governors are not afraid of undermining — or even downright repealing — citizen initiatives that win at the ballot box. Governing magazine explains.
Could BART and Muni cut costs before pushing a sales tax that makes almost everything more expensive?
Lefty non profit SPUR dubiously says No, then goes on to claim transit capital project funds simply can’t be “flexed”--or reallocated --to pay for transit operations. Instead, SPUR encourages Bay Areans to pass RTM, a punishing five-county sales tax hike on this November’s ballot.
But former CA Gov candidate Thunder Parley recently took to X to call out SPUR for flexing the facts and distorting one of the key arguments against the transit tax. He says SPUR is using straw men and catastrophism to hide what this is really about: a bailout for agencies who refuse to spend money responsibly. An Opp Now fact check, with Thunder’s comments below:
It’s as if local media imagines clouds of smog will miraculously disperse if only voters approve the RTM sales tax hike this November. But Los Altos Institution Research Fellow, Opp Now contributing editor, and High School Senior Athan Joshi argues there will be no health benefit. An Opp Now exclusive Op/Ed.