District Attorney Thien Ho recently filed a lawsuit against Sacramento for looking the other way on dangerous street encampments. The DA claims these homeless camps are contaminating Sactown's once-beautiful waterways (and leave residents shaken after violent encounters with folks who need mental health/substance abuse treatment). Below, Ho chats with the Globe to unpack our local homeless crisis.
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 MoreTom Rubin—boasting decades of experience assisting gov't agencies with capital, operational, and financial planning—is no stranger to the Golden State's outmigration crisis. Indeed, SJ lost 50k folks in just four years, losing its place in the top 10 most populated U.S. cities. For Opp Now, Rubin exclusively breaks down the tax/cost of living barriers excluding even longtime locals from CA living.
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 MoreTransit analysis blog Systemic Failure sheds light on why many Bay Area transportation advocates, and even BART staff, are questioning VTA's insistence on developing a single-bore tunnel through DTSJ to Santa Clara: single-bore (two tracks stacked deeper underground) incurs extra operational costs/hurdles, while impairing passenger accessibility.
Read MoreIf we've taken anything from 2023, it's that traditional media doesn't always see eye-to-eye with (cough) reality—and that while it's tough to escape their many obfuscations, the truth is always out there. What's more, audiences who want intelligent, common-sense commentary (hello, faithful free market readers!) are only growing. In the next exclusive installment, Opp Now contributors Steve Heimoff, Dean Hotop, and Johnny Khamis analyze what's shaped their political perspectives this past year.
Read MoreSan Francisco homeless advocate JConr Ortega offers up three practical steps for addressing homelessness in and beyond the Golden Gate City: audit nonprofits and withdraw funding from ineffective orgs, impose accountability requirements for social service recipients, and crack down on local drug cartels. Ortega's hard-hitting comments for California Insider (the final Opp Now installment) reads below.
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.
Read MoreVTA stumbles forward to waste billions more on its misbegotten extension of BART to downtown SJ—and beyond. Randal O'Toole, transportation and land-use policy analyst for the Thoreau Institute, has another idea: how about a system based on actual usage patterns of Valley residents and a concern for speed, service, and efficiency? An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreHaven for Hope, a headline-making shelter located in San Antonio, serves 85% of the city's homeless population, providing a bed and litany of social services to virtually anyone in need. CalMatters breaks down keys to the shelter's overwhelming success: sobriety requirements, all-inclusive services (not just a place to sleep), and proximity to mental health and substance abuse recovery facilities. Implications for California's homelessness response—take note, SJ Housing Dept—below.
Read MoreBelow, Peter Coe Verbica observes important lessons on managing money and relating to gov’t (take note, ‘24 city/county candidates). In this Opp Now exclusive, Verbica breaks down “The House of Rothschild,” which tells the story of Europe’s preeminent, elusive Ashkenazi Jewish finance family.
Read MoreSJtoday takes us on a tour through the heart of DTSJ's streets, highlighting the unique, vibrant, and culturally rich murals the Silicon Valley's Capital has to offer. Below, take a break from local news and enjoy a tasting plate of SJ's best art: celebrating cultures all over the globe, important figures like San Josean LGBTQ+ activist Billy DeFrank, and—you got it—innovation itself.
Read More
