They say daylight is the greatest disinfectant. Tax expert Jon Coupal suggests that DOGE's tallying of the economic illiteracy of CA's High-Speed Rail boondoggle will sunset the misbegotten project.
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Brendan McCord—past research affiliate with Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, and successful tech CEO—discusses economist Hayek's idea that the marketplace elegantly assembles human knowledge to make more efficient, developed, and truthful civilizations. From the University of Austin.
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21st century academics have flattened the discipline of literature to a "mere political vehicle" for ideology, says Liza Libes in Pens and Poison blog. And this narrow-minded view of text as "battleground for social justice"—but not art—is robbing today's students of universal lessons, complexities, and beauty.
Read MoreIn this Opp Now exclusive on the recent Los Angeles wildfires, political analyst Denise P. Kalm argues that we need solid answers—and major changes—on California's fire management practices to avert future disasters.
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The City of San Jose's feedback system has been long criticized as limited, unproductive, and performative. But our friend to the north, Santa Rosa, used an in-depth online survey and series of meetings last year for input on homelessness/affordable housing. The city explains, here, how they're applying residents' feedback to Santa Rosa's communication and strategic plan.
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At the peak of SF's hotel shelter program, more than 400 homeless people lived in the eight-story Hotel Whitcomb. Sources said the period was marked by chaos, rampage, overdoses, and property destruction. The SF Standard reports.
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It’s not just about free speech; science itself suffers when we prioritize political correctness above good research, says Heterodox Academy’s Dr. Elizabeth Weiss. Weiss (whom SJSU punished for snapping a photo with a human skull) explains local anthropology’s recent ban on pics of human remains—and how it only pushes Silicon Valley’s “non-academics” towards pseudoscience.
Read MoreThanks to the groundbreaking work of new Housing Director Erik Soliván, the SJ Council appears to be (finally) pivoting towards a Shelter First homelessness strategy. But Soliván & team will still have to overcome a lot of false narratives from councilmembers and Housing First advocates alike, as evidenced by CM Pam Foley's comments made while she rejected consideration of congregate shelters at a 2024 Rules Committee meeting. We explore the mistaken assumptions in Foley's anti-shelter statements, below in this Opp Now exclusive.
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Politico reports that a new state Inspector General report says that CA’s beyond-troubled High Speed Rail project has whiffed on meeting land purchase and construction deadlines, even as GOP admin in D.C. looks askance at the whole boondoggle.
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In the SJ Council debate about election vs appointment for D3, some CMs worried that the campaign process might be rushed. Maybe that's an advantage, notes the NYT.
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D3 candidate Irene Smith and Recovery Education Coalition’s Tom Wolf parse the discouraging data on current local/statewide homelessness approaches—and how they think we can get back on track with interim housing, CARE Court, Prop 36 enforcement, and behavioral codes. All parts consolidated, below, from this Opp Now exclusive.
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