In 2020, concerned citizen David Yborra sent the following email (abbreviated) to two then-SCC Supervisors. He suggested SJ’s Fairgrounds property could be better utilized throughout the year if the County: used it instead of leasing costly buildings, recycled it into low-income housing, or sold it to the UC system. (And in case you’re wondering: one Supervisor ignored Yborra’s email, and the other promised—but failed—to schedule a meeting on it.)
We were surprised in high school to find Frankenstein’s sewn-together Creature—equal parts eloquent and thoughtful—as more humane than his creator. Indeed, as this excerpt from Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel warns us: shutting down others and their input (we're looking at you, SJ City Council and SCC Supes) only breeds an angry, unbalanced civil society. On the contrary, effective public engagement not only generates good ideas, but shows residents they’re valued as co-thinkers.
For those who do the math, "free" transit days only serve to daylight the hundreds of dollars in subsidies that backstop every public transit ride—wouldn't the money be better spent just giving it to transit-needy in the form of vouchers? Jon Calara opines in Coloradopolitics.com.
Many Bay Areans think political campaigns are too expensive. And efforts in Washington state to level the playing field (via $25 vouchers) have been encouraging, but uncover challenges for local mobilization: due to varying levels of gov't interest, knowledge gaps, etc. From the Journals of Experimental Political Science & Election Law.
The influx of migrants to states like CA played a big role in rising homelessness count nationwide, reports the LA Times.
Homelessness hits record highs nationally, but feds refuse to acknowledge the role of mental health and addiction issues in the crisis, leading to counterproductive Housing First strategies. WSJ editorial.
For 25 years, Dr. Shawn Spano (of Public Dialogue Consortium) has facilitated community engagement meetings and consulted for local city gov'ts. In this exclusive interview for Opp Now, he walks us through planning an input meeting (via the community participation continuum), creatively outreaching to underrepresented communities, and facilitating honest feedback (a.k.a., CMs should sit this one out).
Portland, OR explores how a mix of larger-scale shelters and alternative shelters can work together to address the inhumanity of street homelessness for cities like SJ. Excerpt from Street Roots, Portland's excellent weekly street newspaper.
According to Pirate Wires mag, the many and widespread failures of local gov't during Los Angeles' fires point to a larger problem in CA: We're not prioritizing funding core services. But we are making it rain taxpayer dollars for excessive gov't pensions, ideologically slanted unions, and unaccountable (failing) homelessness initiatives.