Doubling down on a failed housing strategy. Higher rents. Higher cost of living. These are the results county GOP chief Shane Patrick Connolly sees emanating from SJ City Council's and state legislators' moves to subvert the popular tax safeguards in Prop 13. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreCommunity political watcher Tobin Gilman recently broke the story of how SJ's City Council has overwhelmingly approved recommendations about State legislation that would, in Gilman's terms, constitute a "Stealth Tax Hike Agenda" for San Joseans. Pat Waite, head of Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility, comments and finds the council's decision-making misguided and counterproductive—and the latest in a history of efforts to circumvent Prop 13. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreCalifornia ACA 1, given an official thumbs-up by some city councils like San Jose's, would make it easier to advance bonds and special taxes for affordable housing projects by changing the required two-thirds supermajority to a 55% majority. Here, Mark Hinkle—local Libertarian officeholder and SVTA's president—argues that ACA 1 doesn't represent what SJ voters want, given overwhelming Prop 13 support, and would diminish living standards. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreIt's no secret: California High-Speed Rail's expenses balloon, but its completion date keeps getting kicked down the road. Is it time the U.S. gov't throws in their hunk of cash? Opp Now asked registered Libertarian presidential candidates Joshua Smith, Mike ter Maat, Jacob Hornberger, Hugo Valdez-Garcia, and Beau Lindsey for their exclusive takes on a federal HSR bailout.
Read MoreA group of Silicon Valley plutocrats has announced their plan to construct a city from scratch in the Montezuma Hills, northeast of San Francisco by an hour. Meanwhile, public policy professor Joel Fox speculates that the threat of a modern Elysium might prompt breakthrough solutions for SF's crime, homelessness, and business closures. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreOverly broad, antiquated fire egress regulations drive up home costs in San Jose. Meanwhile, many European countries don't even bother with multiple staircase requirements, given modern-day fire risk mitigation strategies. It’s time for reform, says Market Urbanist's Scott Beyer. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreFoundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) litigation fellow Jessie Appleby discusses Palsgaard v. Christian in this Opp Now exclusive: how local community colleges' required DEI statements force State-sanctioned speech, and why they should be challenged by folks of all political stripes.
Read MoreFormer political strategist Richard Maher is president of the San Francisco Young Republicans and has worked to build the once-flatlining social club into a robust, engaged conservative community. Opp Now exclusively asked Maher to unpack the tricks of the trade when it comes to reaching youth who question the ascendant hard-Left worldview—especially when many are U-Hauling it elsewhere.
Read MoreArizona's public colleges just bid adieu to requiring DEI statements in the application process; and two CA lawsuits could change things up for local professors. SJSU Anthropology prof and National Association of Scholars board member Elizabeth Weiss breaks down these developments—and what's turning people off the once-universally lauded DEI statements. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreTim Rosenberger, Jr., former president of the Federalist Society's Stanford chapter, analyzes the ABA's suggestion that colleges develop policy against “disruptive behavior that hinders free expression.” They mean well, says TJR, but fiascos like the Judge Duncan Incident will only stop if institutions take a firm stand. The ABA Journal's press release, and TJR's Opp Now exclusive statement, below.
Read MoreIn this Opp Now exclusive, Austrian and former White House economist Mike ter Maat unpacks SCC and Supe Ellenberg's latest guaranteed basic income press release—which announces upcoming payouts for young moms, unhoused students, and “justice-involved” residents. Ter Maat argues: Access to capital won't address underlying causes of poverty—and it's “deceptive” to dip into emergency taxes for initiatives that aren't empirically supported.
Read MoreHomeless advocates often misread and misinterpret the Martin v Boise legal decision as suggesting that cities can't get rid of dangerous and unsanitary homeless encampments until some magical number of beds are available. The City of San Diego is leading the way in California with their no-camping ordinance. Irene Smith, president and co-founder of Independent Leadership Group, summarizes and explains SD's ordinance and its relevance to Santa Clara County in this Opp Now exclusive.
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