The irony was delicious: BAHFA last week was compelled to admit it had been peddling prejudicial and inaccurate information in its RM4 ballot language. So the Merc played defense for BAHFA by employing--you guessed it--a bushel of bias of its own in its coverage of the walkback. An Opp Now exclusive media analysis by FOON (Friend of Opp Now) Susie Murillo.
Read MoreFormer SJ CM and fiscal responsibility leader Johnny Khamis spoke with local TV regarding the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) admission that it wildly lowballed (by more than $240 million) annual costs to taxpayers in the mammoth, misguided regional housing bond.
Read MoreTalk about misinformation. The discredited Bay Area Housing Finance Authority yesterday admitted that they'd misrepresented in ballot language the annual cost to taxpayers of the mammoth bond by (hold on) more than $240 million (you read that right) per year. A press release from the opposition group explains how the fiasco went down, and what other false claims are being investigated.
Read MoreWhy did BAHFA have to pay pollsters up to $260/hour to explore the viability of RM4? If only to discover that it has--surprise--a very narrow path to victory? If voters approve RM4, BAHFA promises strict oversight of the $20 billion housing bond. Yet early signs are not encouraging, as even efforts to promote the measure have begun to burn a hole in the agency’s pocket. Documents obtained by Opp Now give a peek into BAHFA’s disconcerting spending habits. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreIt was like Christmas in late July when San Mateo County Supervisor Noelia Corzo invited constituents to an imaginary RM4 unwrapping session over Zoom: how should San Mateo spend its portion of the regional housing bond? For a meeting billed as “informational,” its announcement was inauspicious. The Opp Now team discovers that the email magically doubled the number of units RM4 would build. It also left out a troubling disparity—San Mateo could pay the region more than it gets back. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreThe negative press on the $20 Billion Housing Tax in Regional Measure 4 (RM4) on this fall's ballot is valid, says Gregg Dieguez of 20billionreasons.com, but that press often overlooks an underlying, fatal flaw in the affordable housing market. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreThe potential new bond indebtedness appearing on the November ballot may surpass $80bn --will CA voters say "enough is enough"? Ben Christopher at CalMatters explores why voters may say no to RM4 and other super expensive new tax measures.
Read MoreIf nine Bay Area counties borrow $20 billion together, shouldn’t they each get their fair share back? Turns out the regional housing bond will make smaller counties pay out far more than they get in return. With a local tax, Napa could fulfill its housing need in 16 years. Instead, RM4 would make North Bay taxpayers spend the next half century paying other peoples’ debt. Will Sherman reports in this Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreRegional housing tax. Parks tax. Measure E extension. Prop 5. SJ Unified parcel tax. The list could go on, but the threatening tide keeps rising: politicos are coming at Silicon Valley taxpayers with a tidal wave of new taxes--surging over Silicon Valley's already super high tax rates. But analysts suggest that residents may have had enough of high taxes and crummy services, and a new tax rebellion may be bubbling. Nicole Nixon explains in Capradio.
Read MoreA $20 billion regional housing bond to raise property taxes for the next 54 years in Santa Clara and eight other counties has a somewhat strange definition of “affordability.” Since when did folks who make over $200,000 need a handout from working class homeowners, renters, and retirees on a fixed income? Will Sherman reports in this Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreIt's dubious that two-thirds of Bay Area voters would agree to a whopping $20 billion regional bond that raises property taxes by thousands of dollars. They may not need to. Enter ACA 1, the bond measure’s shotgun bride, also on the ballot this November. ACA 1 aims to immediately reduce the bond threshold to 55%. In an OC Register op/ed, Jon Coupal of Howard Jarvis Taxpayers' Ass'n reports that local taxpayers have organized, and they might loudly object.
Read MoreThe former SJ councilmember and advocate for responsible gov't spending sees trouble in the upcoming tax scheme. He notes how SJ Council blithely supported it without understanding key impacts--especially how the tax will make living here even less affordable. An Opp Now exclusive.
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