The Top Opp Now Stories of 2021
If there's one overwhelming lesson from 2021, it's this: watching history unfold before you sure is a lot of fun. There can be little doubt that Silicon Valley's political structures and power dynamics are undergoing a fundamental transition--and it looks like 2022 will teach us much about what that metamorphosis will look like. For us, chronicling this transformation is an honor and a delight.
So, in what is now an end-of-year tradition, we are listing our top ten individual stories, as measured by reader pageviews, below. We don't claim this list marks some magical divination of local readers' concerns, but it does provide interesting insight into stories that got clicked on the most, linked to the most, received the most attention on social media, and prompted the most online discussion, as those are the elements that generally drive pageviews.
We founded this site because we noticed that free market perspectives were often missing from important local policy discussions and media coverage, and that those perspectives deserve to be heard.
We intuited that a large portion of Silicon Valley agreed with us. And our surprising and skyrocketing growth and reach through 2021 has validated that intuition--many times over. We remain honored and humbled by your readership and support.
So, thank you for your comments, your interest, your arguments, your agreements, your disagreements. But mostly, you have our gratitude for your engagement in a fair-minded, courteous, and wide-open debate about how market forces can help our community achieve greater prosperity, equity, fairness, and sustainability.
Because the opportunity is now.
Your Opportunity Now Team,
Jeff Cristina and Christopher Escher, co-founders
#1: Stone stares down Woke mob.
In what was--by an order of magnitude--the most read, discussed and debated story in Opp Now's history, veteran investigative journalist Mark Lisheron did what local media wouldn't: He dug deep into the dynamics behind the local progressive cabal's attempts to cancel Assessor Larry Stone over the use of slang language, and Stone's firm response. A local journalism professor told us: "This is the single best piece of reporting about local politics in decades." Hey, we agree, and bow to Mr. Lisheron. May 19, 2021.
#2: National Review covers SJ Housing department's podcast of misinformation.
There's nothing like getting a shout-out from national media to boost your readership, and the good folk at National Review obliged, with a summary of our story on how the SJ Housing department was peddling--on the taxpayer's dime--lots of dubious far-left shibboleths in their poorly conceived "Dwellings" podcast series. March 12, 2021.
#3: VTA's problems run much deeper than governance.
Randal O'Toole returned to Opp Now's pages to touch the third rail of SV politics: the outrage and money sink that is VTA. While local media tiptoed around governance issues at VTA, O'Toole went to the heart of the matter regarding the worst performing transit agency in the U.S. March 29, 2021.
#4: CM Cohen braves Woke rage to lead compromise redistricting map.
Even though local progressives savaged him on social media, SJ CM David Cohen showed independence and fair-mindedness in rejecting Labor's wild, gerrymandered redistricting map. December 16, 2021.
#5 (tie): Homicides soar in SJ while progressive chant for defunding the police.
A stunning piece of data--that homicides were way up in 2020--barely edged into local media. Perhaps that's why this short piece delivering the basic facts on rising violent crime and links to wild progressive calls for de-policing made it into our top five. March 26, 2021.
#5 (tie): How SJ held up Google for hundreds of millions.
While the city celebrated the approval of the new Google development downtown, Randall O'Toole explored the hidden truths about the arrangement, and discovered what the shakedown price really was. July 7, 2021.
#6 (tie): Local grassroots organization takes on wild county Critical Race Theory curriculum.
The parent-led fight against false and divisive race-baiting curriculum in local schools was championed by the local Alliance for Constructive Ethnic Studies and they took a hammer to the educational establishment. August 31, 2021.
#6 (tie): Stanford prof critiques county response to coronavirus.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya of Stanford blew up many of the dubious assumptions made by the local health establishment about the effectiveness of lockdowns in the face of the pandemic. June 4, 2021.
#7: Oliverio demolishes bogus racism charges in preservation debate.
In what became a sad refrain in local political rhetoric, CM Sylvia Arenas falsely and ahistorically accused neighbors of racism for wanting to get some protection their centuries-old homes in Garden Alameda. Planning Commissioner Pierluigi Oliverio called out her nonsense. April 15, 2021.
#8: Comparing SB9 to Opportunity Housing.
Taken as a series, our coverage of the SB9/Opportunity Housing debate was the single most-read issue in 2021. This article interviewed Families and Homes leader Tobin Gilman and Planning Commissioner Pierluigi Oliverio about how the local density effort compared to the statewide effort. October 5, 2021.
#9: Political and community leaders line up against county employee giveaway program.
Supes were on the hot seat as local pols sharply criticized the wild "everyone is a hero" bonuspalooza giveaway, making many wonder if this is an example of how countyl staff actually runs its finances. October 18, 2021
#10 (tie): Oliverio sits down with Reed.
In a wide-ranging interview, ex-mayor Chuck Reed discusses housing, pensions, finances, and political culture with Planning Commissioner Oliverio. The interview took place in January--and Reed's prophecies about future developments were already coming true by end of year. January 20, 2021.
# 10 (tie): Community, police officers' groups, outraged that city funds anti-cop art.
SJ's Office of Cultural Affairs, in one of the most tone-deaf moves in city history, curated and promoted a bunch of art at Mineta Airport that--get this--arguably glorified violence against police and openly questioned the validity of national presidential elections. Local police organizations were furious in response. June 9, 2021.
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