Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association's Pierluigi Oliverio scrutinizes Sen. Cortese's proposal to make our County sales tax jump from 1.86% to 2.49% (blowing past the current cap of 2%) in this Opp Now exclusive, noting that Santa Clara County already has “no lack of revenue” (and regularly squeezes taxpayers for non-priority projects). Oliverio's not alone in questioning SB 335: read analyses from watchdogs Pat Waite and Dan Kostenbauder and Elizabeth Brierly here.
Read MoreOpp Now reached out to SJ D6 City Council candidates to address the following question: How should councilmembers balance requests to increase homeless alternatives (interim housing, sanctioned encampments, etc.) with appeals to preserve vibrant/safe business and residential districts? An Opp Now exclusive with varied takes from Michael Mulcahy and Alex Shoor.
Read MoreCato Institute's state policy expert Marc Joffe is dubious about Metropolitan Transportation Commission's slated $10-20 bn “affordable housing” bond. Due to the proposal's fuzzy verbage, it's unclear just how much taxpayers would fork over—and how many housing units would get produced (and when?). An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreMatthew Hargrove is president of California Business Properties Association, a prominent pro-taxpayer org fighting for Prop 13 rights via the courts and ballot box. In this Opp Now exclusive, he analyzes Prop 13's popularity among CA'ns, the tricky Upland loophole that the Taxpayer Protection Act (TPA) would close, and why he believes lowering the voting threshold via ACA 1 would exacerbate housing unaffordability.
Read MoreHousing provider Dean Hotop takes a close look at the City's latest initiative to abate homelessness via sponsored RV parking spots. Getting down and dirty with the numbers, Hotop contends there are far more productive ways to turn taxpayer dollars into real (and lasting) change; and by funding yet another failed solution, gov’t props up its self-perpetuating Homeless Industrial Complex. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreYou didn't think we'd resist putting in our two cents, did you? (It's true: we can't help ourselves.) Below, Opportunity Now's editor Lauren Oliver, inaugural editor Simon Gilbert, and co-founders Christopher Escher and Jeffrey Cristina share the articles, podcasts, movies, and books that really resonated in 2023. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreBetty Duong, Corina Herrera-Loera, and Madison Nguyen—all SCC District 2 Supervisor hopefuls—soar through the highs and lows of '23 to crown what they deem as this year's most meaningful podcasts and TV episodes. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreHoliday Season in Silicon Valley: A winter view through the bare trees. An unexpected shower. Lost clouds lingering along the bottom of Monte Bello Ridge. For many of us locals, this is a distinctive time of year: full of reflection about change, about remembering, about forgetting, about hope. Peter Coe Verbica hits many of these notes in his lyrical poem that journeys from Costa Rica to the crests of the Diablo Range. An Opp Now exclusive. And from all of us at Opp Now—Lauren, Jackson, Lucy, Jeff, & Christopher—we wish you an inspirational Holiday Season and a New Year full of (we had to say it) unlimited opportunity. :-)
Read MoreSan Jose's Mayor Matt Mahan and Councilmembers Dev Davis, Bien Doan, Domingo Candelas, and Arjun Batra cover the intellectual waterfront with their perspectives on the movies, podcasts, and games from 2023 that inspired them to better serve and unite our local community. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreFor the latest in our exclusive Opp Now series about the media that most impacts Silicon Valley movers and shakers, we check in with candidates and influential thinkers from around the Valley, and find a vast constellation of differing, compelling, and intriguing books, songs, podcasts, and videos.
Read MoreSome media we consume is pure brightness, lilting and inviolate joy amidst an oft-downtrodden world (did you know Chat GPT's more optimistic about DTSJ than some local pols?). Other pieces of media, as Kafka poignantly remarks, are more of an “axe for the frozen sea within us.” In this Opp Now exclusive, Irene Smith, Sheridan Swanson, Pat Waite, Lance Christensen, Elizabeth Weiss, and Tom Rubin chime in with their most impactful reads/watches of 2023.
Read MoreAs we give 2023 the door and make way for '24, Opp Now asked local political commentators and officeholders/candidates to break down the books (or articles, films, podcasts—you name it) that stood out to them this year. Media that inspired them. That challenged them, that expanded and, well, maybe even changed their thinking. Below, Opp Now's first installment features exclusive responses from Pierluigi Oliverio, Rich Crowley, and Marc Joffe.
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